Chapter 635
Chapter 635
Summer was hot.
The news of the #1 spot spread like wildfire.
As the additional promotions for the remix entered their fourth week, TeSTAR naturally scaled back their broadcast appearances, but the prestige of the venues they did appear in grew without limit.
Furthermore, even when they didn't appear in person, TeSTAR and their remix tracks were being mentioned everywhere.
TeSTAR itself had become a tool for virality.
It wasn't just that they had gained buzz; they had reached a level where they were the buzz. The internet was even more electrified by this situation than the members themselves.
To put it bluntly, it was a "chart high."
To take the #1 spot with scores that didn't lag in any category—digital sales, streaming, radio airplay, and critical acclaim!
Amidst all those reactions, stories, soaring rankings, and growing recognition...
"They have no weaknesses."
Ryu Seo-jin, the twin fansite master for Park Moon-dae and Lee Se-jin, finally admitted it.
TeSTAR had finally broken through the ceiling of their prime.
They performed well both domestically and abroad; not only did they satisfy these god-tier conditions, but they also achieved a perfect balance between fandom power and public appeal.
"The promotion itself was a success..."
The song, the stage, and the artists.
The three elements fell perfectly into place. It was as if a rank that seemed to have no room left to grow had shattered the final ceiling and ascended.
Achievements that defy standard scales are bound to catch the eye and draw interest, even from those who aren't looking.
How much more so for someone who had watched them from the very beginning?
She remembered what her older sister had said.
That was the common sentiment shared by the people who had previously worked with TeSTAR.
While saying it was a shame, they were subtly flaunting their connections. There was a hint of pride in their foresight, like someone whose investment had just hit the jackpot.
And...
A strange sense of support.
The twin fansite master curled the corner of her mouth.
‘Even though there were members you tried to destroy with malicious editing before their debut.’
But funnily enough, she understood that sentiment to some extent.
The twin fansite master watched a video of TeSTAR playing before her eyes.
TeSTAR still diligently uploaded behind-the-scenes and individual self-filmed videos to their channel and SNS.
[Hahaha!]
[Hyung, you can't draw!]
The screen shook as if a member were filming with a smartphone, showing drawings made with chocolate pens.
On the edge of a whipped cream cake, the animals representing TeSTAR were drawn with quite a bit of effort.
[Wow, honestly, it’s a good thing we decorated this anniversary cake ourselves.]
[You're right. The cakes Moon-dae hyung makes are delicious, but his drawings are weird.]
[Yu-jin is being brave. Saying that to the one who holds the snack rights...]
[(!!!!!)]
[Noooo!! Cancel! Cancel that! Moon-dae hyung is great at drawing!]
[This is the first time I've seen Cha Yu-jin so desperate.]
[Hahaha!]
Casual jokes and laughter were exchanged as large, busy hands moved, trembling while squeezing out letters with small chocolate pens.
The words were being completed on top of the whipped cream.
The phrase was... "I love you this year, too."
[Ta-da!]
[Ah, ah, don't throw it at my face! Protect our TeSTAR Animals!]
[Careful, careful!]
The filming date was June 18th.
This was a video of them giggling as they held a modest celebration for their debut anniversary.
Ryu Cheong-woo, who had been on hiatus at the time, was occasionally caught on screen sitting in a corner with a quiet smile. They had clearly made an effort to go to him and coordinate their schedules.
[Shall we all... make a wish together?]
[Sounds good!]
They were consistent.
However, the comments on this video were overflowing with foreign languages more than any other promotional period.
This was a characteristic of TeSTAR's recently uploaded content.
"..."
The twin fansite master thought to herself.
Coldly speaking, if one wanted to see them often domestically, this wasn't exactly a situation to welcome.
‘They’ve reached a level where we won't see them often.’
It wasn't just that their name value had risen abroad; their status had fundamentally shifted.
Once they blew up to this extent, it was obvious they would stop appearing on most programs to reduce image consumption and further increase their value.
Even if the members wanted to, the company would surely persuade them to do so.
‘The annual plan has definitely changed.’
It might be good for them, but looking at it long-term, wasn't it a disappointing direction for domestic fans?
TeSTAR was already an indisputable Tier 1 group domestically, and they were the type of guys who would have tried to do something together even after returning from the military.
‘It’s not like they would have had any grievances over their results anyway...’
If that were the case, it might have been better for the existing fans if they hadn't released this album at the same time as VTIC and just maintained their "Tier 1" reputation...
[Hmm... a wish.]
On the screen, Ryu Cheong-woo spoke while quietly looking down at the cake.
[We have a big performance coming up soon. I hope everyone can show a stage as good as they want, safely and without getting hurt.]
"..."
[Let's do everything we want to do, without regrets.]
She already knew the result of that wish.
She knew the conclusion that had finally arrived, achieved through the consistent sincerity, effort, and talent they had built up until now.
Watching TeSTAR's daily life in that state... there was just something about it that made one's heart swell.
[Happy Birthday, TeSTAR!]
Laughter and cake flew everywhere along with confetti poppers.
[Ack!]
[It splashed everywhere!]
[Ah, if this (cream) gets on your face, you have to scrub it off hard.]
[Scrub... Scrub Moon-dae.]
[Pfft,]
[Uwahahahaha!]
Seeing TeSTAR still the same as always.
Seeing Lee Se-jin in a real-time reaction video after finally hearing the news of hitting #1 on Billboard.
That scene simply made her feel good.
Even her.
"It's ridiculous, really."
The twin fansite master snorted and pressed her hand to her forehead.
The fact that someone else's life beyond a screen could affect a person's mood like this. This was why being an idol fan seemed so irrational and funny.
And yet, she had no intention of stopping.
"Let's just do some editing."
[2X0723 Stage #LeeSejin #ParkMoondae]
The twin fansite master took the fancam data she had bought in advance, cut the clips cleanly and attractively, and uploaded the two people she supported.
It was when her unnecessarily fluttering heart was gradually calming down through the repetitive work.
A quoted post caught her eye.
Ding.
It was the private account for casual talk belonging to a famous fansite master who had been photographing Park Moon-dae since his debut, someone who often appeared across her timeline.
Originally, even though they were both fansite masters, their tendencies were so different that she didn't understand the other person and felt neither like nor dislike for them.
"..."
She silently pressed "Like" on the post using her own casual account.
It felt like it was okay to do that now.
‘The timing is just right.’
Of course, as many new foreigners joined the fandom, new incidents and accidents would surely break out and take responsibility for her stomachaches and irritation.
But until then, she decided to enjoy this atmosphere of harmony and success.
The time of the harvest.
She leisurely navigated SNS, watching the domestic fandom atmosphere become surprisingly tight-knit and the old fans kindly providing information to the newly joined overseas fans.
Then, uncharacteristically, she thought of it and sent a message to a junior.
To a data seller who was famous for taking great photos.
Since he was a guy with an extraordinary eye for idols, it wouldn't be strange if he had hoarded some, anticipating a massive surge in popularity.
And although it was clear he had read the KakaoTalk message, the reply came only after quite some time had passed.
"Liar."
She had clearly seen him at an awards ceremony in a suit on his way home from work, holding a telephoto lens.
But before she could dig further into who might have offered a better price, the next message arrived.
"..."
To think she would see this bloodless, tearless price-demon... say he was rooting for an idol.
‘Has time passed that much, or is it just that TeSTAR is in a period where they can truly do anything?’
...Or, perhaps she had misunderstood this junior since college.
Regardless, she sent a reply.
It was truly a strange season.
With a somewhat relaxed heart, she clicked her mouse and looked at SNS again.
Clumsy Korean.
‘The influx of foreigners...’
She wanted to check and quantify this directly...
‘Wait.’
A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she stopped scrolling through SNS.
Instead, she entered a site that tallied album sales.
In this period, additional album sales were the clearest indicator showing a meaningful influx of light fans just before they became core fans.
‘In the streaming era, buying an album is what shows the potential to spend money.’
So, looking at TeSTAR's sales now...
[Sales: 79,627]
"...!"
An astonishing figure was recorded.
Nearly 80,000 copies. It was close to a single day's figure during the first week of sales for a decent group.
Since the first week was already over, it seemed no one was paying much attention, but...
‘No way.’
The twin fansite master's hand moved quickly across the screen using keyboard shortcuts.
She downloaded the data for the two groups whose release dates were only a few days apart into Excel, applied date corrections, and sorted them.
The first thing she looked at was the first-week sales (Chodong).
The first week after release.
[VTIC | Non-Cryptid (Full Album) | 2,931,713]
[TeSTAR | Badtime (Full Album) | 2,083,375]
It was a hell of a difference.
‘Damn it.’
Looking at it again made her want to curse.
At the time, they didn't know, but it was later revealed that TeSTAR's first-week sales had actually suffered because two or three overseas group orders were recorded late due to shipping and system issues.
They had been so focused on surpassing 2 million copies that they were late in raising suspicions.
‘I wondered what the point was back then.’
The first week was already over, and even including those, the difference was nearly 700,000 copies.
The twin fansite master twitched her eyebrows and turned the page.
Flip.
After that gap of several hundred thousand copies in the first week, their daily sales seemed similar, but in fact, VTIC was slightly superior.
However, at some point, TeSTAR's sales began to jump.
[VTIC | 12,721]
[TeSTAR | 20,274]
It was when TeSTAR's Glastonbury performance blew up.
‘A meaningful influx started coming in from here...’
Still, it wasn't a massive difference. It was just the buzz being indirectly reflected.
‘There was some reaction when Attraction came out, too.’
But in July, TeSTAR's momentum, which had been fluctuating like that, suddenly began to sprint.
It was right as summer began.
[TeSTAR | 45,261]
[TeSTAR | 81,563]
[TeSTAR | 50,171]
[TeSTAR | 62,872]
After starting the remix promotions, TeSTAR's album sales began to draw an upward curve again.
‘The graph completely broke through.’
Because they had continuously updated the existing album USBs with the remix tracks and concept photos, the people drawn in by the remix concept ended up buying the existing album...
‘They even sold them as sets with decorative goods so people could customize their USBs with the remix concept.’
Even existing fans who had room in their bank accounts bought one or two more copies out of pure impulse.
But no one cared about the album sales because of that. The first-week period was over anyway. It was meaningless.
But now.
When looking at the cumulative album sales with her own eyes...
[TeSTAR | Badtime (Full Album) | 3,428,611]
[VTIC | Non-Cryptid (Full Album) | 3,387,942]
"..."
The results had been overturned.
The twin fansite master quietly let go of her mouse with a trembling hand.
The long, long season of simultaneous releases.
Contrary to the thoughts of those who had reached that conclusion in just fifteen days, TeSTAR, having run fiercely through the long summer to change the field, finally refuted that sentence.
TeSTAR had won in the end.