Chapter 632
Chapter 632
I stared into my smartphone.
TeSTAR was active again.
Since the news broke, the internet had been buzzing with various reactions.
Of course, it wasn't uncommon for idols to release a repackaged album with a new song immediately after their promotion period ended. In the past, it was even frequent for groups to pick a B-side from the same album for follow-up promotions.
‘But I doubt anyone has ever suddenly come back with a remix of the same song.’
Especially not in this manner—just as the promotion period seemed to be winding down, a flood of new activity plans was suddenly unleashed.
At first, everyone was bewildered.
As expected, the first issue raised was their performance. People questioned why they were doing fan service activities that seemed to cost more than the potential gain, especially when they were already maintaining a good position on the digital charts.
Thankfully, the arrows of criticism were aimed at the company, not us.
Criticisms like these popped up here and there. However, after a short while, the tone of the conversation shifted.
This was because international reactions were pouring in at an overwhelming volume. And the foundation for that was… accessibility.
It was because Limestone had stepped in with promotions.
The global content giant that operated Dreamland had openly come forward. It wasn't some cringeworthy viral marketing either; it was a full-on, traditional promotion. To ensure that anyone with even a passing interest would know about our return to activities, they coordinated a standard news blitz, ranging from Times Square billboards to radio spots.
The result:
The comment section of the remix music video began to overflow with English comments from people who had discovered us through the Glastonbury performance.
Domestically, the confusion only deepened.
The logic was that this was the kind of treatment a company only gave to its own artists. It took exactly half a day for the theory that ‘TeSTAR’s US label is Limestone’ to emerge.
And the truth was soon revealed.
In other words, Limestone was simply promoting their own attraction in a standard way.
As if they finally understood the context, people nodded, saying, ‘TeSTAR didn’t miss the chance to skyrocket their global recognition to a god-tier level.’
If they understood it that way, that was fine by me.
Sure.
‘Thank you.’
Since we were doing a week of domestic music shows as well, there was no unnecessary noise or unpleasant feeling of distancing ourselves from the local fans. It would be treated like a formal promotion.
And above all…
‘The reaction to the remix itself is good in Korea, too.’
Honestly, people could have found it tedious or random, wondering if we were beating a dead horse with the same song. But thanks to the Glastonbury performance going viral, expectations were high.
The anticipation of ‘What are they going to do next?’
Being understood as ‘rowing when the tide is in’ was an unexpectedly favorable condition.
‘Actually, I was prepared to take a risk with domestic public opinion here.’
We had happened to catch this flow.
Of course, whether it was coincidence or luck, a chance is only a chance if you know how to grab it. I knew we caught it because this group was filled with members who had truly chosen the right profession.
I smiled quietly.
“Hmm? Moondae, what is it?”
“Nothing.”
I turned my head toward Ryu Cheong-woo, who was stretching beside me. He looked at me curiously for a moment before offering a slight smile.
This guy seemed to have completely regained his composure after that insane performance. No, if anything, he seemed bolder than before.
“Let’s go ahead with the pre-recording for this music broadcast as planned. No need to keep it private.”
“Yes.”
Moving away from his previous habit of asking for opinions one more time and inserting a safe consensus-building process whenever it came to group matters, he had started to act a bit more selectively and freely.
‘He used to try to take the bullet like an obvious older brother because he’s the leader.’
The tension in his shoulders had eased.
In the past, whenever he saw members who tended to avoid issues, he would show a troubled and cautious air, as if saying, ‘I want to help you. I’ll try to understand even if I don’t quite get it.’ That, too, had vanished.
Should I say the distance in his thoughts had decreased?
‘Is it because he experienced a time where he was lost in his own thoughts and couldn't do anything?’
He had concluded that such behavior wasn't like him, but he had clearly gained something from it. He had become more informal and unhesitating when giving directions or talking about work.
I still remembered what Ryu Cheong-woo had said nonchalantly a few days after the performance.
— Hyung, I like that I’m someone who can be considerate of others.
— But I want you to feel that it’s okay even if I’m not considerate.
Right. It was much better than trying to carry everything and fretting alone.
I let out a short laugh.
Keun Se-jin, who was fixing his in-ear monitor behind me, also gave a wide grin.
“Is it been a while since we were on this talk show? Even though it’s not our first or second time in the US, I feel strangely sentimental.”
“Maybe it’s because we didn't appear on it during our last comeback.”
“Ah~ that’s true.”
We were backstage.
We were preparing to film for an American talk show we were about to appear on. Since we had postponed our full-scale overseas push to coincide with this remix promotion, we had crammed all our international appearances into this timeframe.
As a result, our schedule had become tight, flying from place to place with only a day's gap in between.
The one among us with a scheduled individual activity had been struggling a bit more.
“Um, Se-jin hyung… you have to prepare for your next project, too.”
“Right. That romantic comedy!”
However, the person in question, Bae Se-jin, remained calm.
“It’s fine. Acting isn't something you absolutely have to do in a practice room.”
“Whoa.”
“Ooh~”
“Hyung, you’re so cool!”
Despite the exaggerated reactions, Bae Se-jin didn't snap this time. Instead, he gave a slightly awkward but genuine smirk.
“…! Oh?”
“Hyung. You’re not getting mad?”
“I’m not. It was a compliment.”
Even Kim Rae-bin looked at Bae Se-jin with slightly surprised eyes, but soon everyone was chuckling.
“I think we really pull off these outfits.”
“Do we?”
Even though these were undercover-style suits, a suit was still a suit, and everyone was acting a bit more mature.
“I have something to admit, too.”
Cha Yu-jin, who had been muttering something like a prayer in Spanish to himself, chimed in.
“What is it?”
“I can do fun things well here.”
“Here?”
“On this program.”
Cha Yu-jin said with a blunt face.
“The Andy Show.”
“Oh my god.”
A few years ago, when we first appeared on this talk show after appealing to the gaming community with Section 127, he had been horrified, saying, ‘I can’t believe I’m appearing on such a nerdy show.’ Now, he nodded seriously.
“If the fans like it, I’ll try anything I like too. I’ll do what the members want to do.”
“Oh~”
The members clapped as if proud of him.
“…You’ve changed a bit, too.”
Bae Se-jin muttered before hurriedly adding more. He must have realized the potential issue with his nuance.
“I mean in a good way! That, uh, the teamwork has improved.”
“Haha, yeah. Yu-jin probably understood.”
“Yeap, I know it’s a compliment!”
I looked at Bae Se-jin.
“You’ve changed a lot too, hyung. In a good way.”
“…! Is… that so.”
Bae Se-jin’s face turned a bit red, but it soon settled into a calm, thoughtful expression. He seemed to be looking back on everything he had experienced, starting from the debut survival show.
Well, a lot of things had happened.
I looked around at the familiar members huddled together amidst the unfamiliar staff.
I saw the faces of the guys standing here after going through all sorts of ups and downs since—no, even before—their debut.
The guy who would have avoided eye contact a few years ago, the guy who would have only initiated small talk when the cameras were rolling, the individualistic guy who wouldn't have bothered to step forward….
These guys, who each had their own circumstances, were now all gathered together, sharing honest and calm conversations.
With passion in their hearts.
Of course, there was also the guy who was consistent in a good way.
I patted Kim Rae-bin on the shoulder.
“…? Hyung?”
“Let’s do well today, too.”
“Of course!”
Right.
Seon A-hyun, who happened to turn around, listened intently to a staff member before nodding with a bright face.
“They say… filming is about to start…!”
“No delays? Nice.”
Out there, there was an audience, a show host, a band…….
And countless people who would see us through the camera.
But for now, it was just us here.
“Alright, everyone, get in position.”
The guys, slightly damp with sweat, stood in a circle. Heat radiated from where our heads met.
But it was okay.
“TeSTAR is going to show them something today.”
“We have to.”
“Let’s go.”
We stepped out onto the stage.
[Please welcome today’s guests. They are the K-pop stars who recently gave an incredible performance in the UK. Currently the hottest seven-member band in the world…….]
The curtain was rising.
Korea.
[Andy: It’s been a long time! But… did you guys change professions?]
[Cha Yu-jin: Oh, how did you know? We got jobs at the CIA.]
[Hahahaha!]
“Uwaaaa….”
A fan was melting down while watching TeSTAR’s American talk show, for which a real-time pre-release clip had already been posted.
She was an ‘all-fan’—someone who stanned the whole group—a type of fan said to be rarer than wild ginseng during the early debut days.
She was a Loviewer of TeSTAR.
The number of all-fans was no longer small. After watching the video, she happily logged onto the internet.
TeSTAR was there, too.
“Thank you….”
Saving the daily high-quality edited shot posted by Park Moon-dae’s first fansite master on her private social media account, the fan scrolled down with an excited heart.
TeSTAR’s world unfolded beneath her fingertips.
GIFs of pair choreography fancams posted by a twin fansite master of two members, variety show appearances, concept photos, past stages, and each member’s departure scenes at the airport became a story that caught her eye.
And the reactions.
Captures of WeTube comments, article rankings, digital music ratings, and concert reviews embroidered the timeline with numbers and descriptions.
Eventually, passing by posts from individual fans engaged in keyboard battles, she refreshed her timeline after glancing at pleasant posts from a civil servant and a former graduate student who were her social media friends.
The sea of TeSTAR.
Just then, a new post popped up for the fan who was deeply immersed.
Huh?
Urged by the urgency, she clicked the link, which led to a post on a community site.
[<Billboard Hot 100 Predictions>]
At the top of that chart translated into Korean… she could clearly see a line highlighted in red.
[Bad Feelings / TeSTAR — #26]
“……Huh?”
All sorts of people were expressing bewilderment, joy, and absurdity at TeSTAR’s title track suddenly re-entering the predictions after the promotion period had ended.
And it was even in the top 30!
Not on the album chart, but on the singles chart.
What was this?
“Uh, uhhh?”
Before the joy could fully sink in, a comment posted at the very beginning caught the fan’s eye. It was written in a tone that was clearly meant to rain on the parade.
What did that mean?
The fan hurriedly searched the term on the internet and soon understood what it meant.
‘Ah…!’
The remix expedient.
On Billboard, remix versions of a song weren't counted as separate tracks.
‘Since they bundle them all into the original song, there’s an expedient of intentionally releasing dozens of remixes….’
In fact, since the competition for results was so fierce, it seemed more like a way for large fandoms to show their purchasing power rather than a mere trick, but labels were bound to be attached.
Those looking to belittle others were bound to attach derogatory terms.
Furthermore, there seemed to be many cases where people stubbornly insisted it was a remix expedient even when the circumstances suggested otherwise, just to ruin another artist.
‘…Could it be TeSTAR, too?’
TeSTAR had currently released remixes for the Glastonbury performance version and the secret agent version. These results would likely have been aggregated significantly….
It was a thought that momentarily chilled her heart.
The fan bit her lip and returned to the previous post to see the reactions, barely managing to lower her gaze to the comments.
However….
“Huh?”
Public opinion was very good.
The fan blinked and realized the reason.
In the case of TeSTAR’s current remix, there was a clear justification.
A track released impulsively due to the great reaction to a performance, a collaboration track for a theme park attraction, and even the fact that they resumed activities with it….
There was no logic that couldn't defend against the claim that ‘they intentionally increased the number of versions for the sake of results.’
If anything, it was more accurate to say, ‘They released the remixes late, but due to the nature of the US charts, it built up without any loss.’
If that was the case, if that was the case….
“…….”
The fan left the post and returned to her social media timeline.
In the newly uploaded posts, new excitement, anxiety, and anticipation surged like waves.
Her heart pounded.
Just what was about to happen from now on?