Chapter 69
Chapter 69
‘The day has finally come.’
Park Moon-dae’s first fansite master cracked her knuckles while staring at her monitor.
Today was the day the first episode of the reality show would finally air.
Her chat logs with her friend were still filled with the excitement they felt over the trailer released a few days ago.
To fans suffering from a chronic lack of content, the video teasers were practically like a drug. She had rewatched the short, cutely edited trailer so many times she practically had it memorized.
And now, she was seconds away from the actual premiere!
‘It’s starting…!’
As the ‘Rated 12+’ rating appeared, she rubbed her hands together. She paused the teaser stream she had been running to boost views and stared at the screen with the posture of a soldier on duty.
[The Glory of Debut!]
The program began by establishing TeSTAR’s current status, showing brief clips of the final announcement from Idol Inc. and various media reactions.
[TeSTAR, Finally Formed]
[Where Are They Now?]
Meaningful captions appeared.
And immediately after that…
[Aaaargh!!]
[Just one more time!]
[Uh, u-u-uh….]
It was the TeSTAR members completely losing themselves in a board game.
Just as people were buzzing on social media, TeSTAR looked like they were having a blast. The fans were heartened to see them looking so relaxed after the stress of the audition, but that feeling didn't last long.
[Why is TeSTAR… playing games this hard…?]
With a humorous caption, the scene changed.
[May ■■, 202■. 9:00 AM]
[Wooooo!!]
[The house is great!]
The footage showed TeSTAR noisily entering their new dorm. The members’ efforts to look bright and excited, combined with the editing, made them look like a pack of puppies.
‘Where’s Moon-dae?’
Park Moon-dae wasn't running around, but he was looking around the house with wide eyes. He was wearing the yellow hoodie seen in TeSTAR’s first social media photo.
‘He looks even cuter in motion…!’
While she was overcome with emotion, other viewers were busy discussing their casual clothes.
On screen, the TeSTAR members began receiving mission cards from a robot vacuum.
[To help you become a true group, please CLEAR the missions!]
[Ah.]
[Oh… a mission.]
From then on, the way the winners overreacted and looked slightly depressed whenever they encountered elements reminiscent of Idol Inc. was used as a great comedic element.
The viewers roared with laughter while empathizing.
And when they saw the members flip their attitudes and get completely sucked into the games for the roommate mission, they burst into laughter once again.
[Please, just once!]
[I want to win!]
The fact that the most obsessed person and the calmest person took first and second place respectively added another layer of fun.
[Hell yeah! I won!]
[……Um, congratulations.]
Park Moon-dae’s calm, bewildered expression in the face of Cha Yu-jin’s boisterous celebration created a hilarious contrast that reminded people of their team battles.
However, the reaction cooled slightly when the roommate results were revealed. It was a combination no one had really thought of or particularly wished for.
Still, the reaction mostly recovered during the dinner preparation scene. The contrast between the grocery team, who excitedly sprinted through the mart grabbing everything in sight, and the cooking team, who harmoniously made braised spicy chicken, was adorable.
In particular, Park Moon-dae and Seon A-hyun secured plenty of screen time with their unexpected cooking skills.
[I think it’s best to prep the ingredients first. I’ll handle the chicken, if that’s okay?]
As soon as the ingredients arrived, Park Moon-dae quickly delegated tasks and took the most difficult job for himself. It was purely because he didn't trust the other members, but on screen, he looked quite reliable.
On the other hand, Seon A-hyun, who looked like he would be a good cook, completely messed up and secured his screen time by being utterly flustered by his own incompetence.
[I-I’m s-sorry…….]
[Nothing to be sorry about.]
Park Moon-dae looked back and forth between the mangled onions and the kitchen knife that had almost chopped Seon A-hyun’s hand, then gave the dejected Seon A-hyun a new task.
[With this… could you go tidy up the dining table?]
[Y-Yes!]
On screen, Seon A-hyun brightened up instantly with a flowery visual effect. Naturally, the fans were delighted.
The sight of them eating the braised spicy chicken as their first meal in the dorm and chatting harmoniously was also well-received as the typical scene fans expect from a reality show.
And then came the highlight of the episode. It was the group horror movie viewing.
[He-he-he-he-he-he-he]
At the sight of the ghost’s face on the screen, the store-brand popcorn flew into the air.
[Uwaaaa…….]
[Whoa!!]
Thanks to the production crew capturing each member’s reaction one by one, fans were able to enjoy building up the members’ characters even more.
Before Park Moon-dae’s cut appeared, his fans were all guessing. Of course, there was no way Park Moon-dae would be scared!
However, when Moon-dae finally appeared on screen…
He was looking down, eating popcorn. And every time a ghost sound was heard, the popcorn bucket would intermittently jump.
[Gyaaaaaaaa…….]
[(Popcorn Acrobatics)]
Even so, Park Moon-dae stubbornly refused to look toward the horror movie. The comments exploded.
Fans were completely thrilled by the agitation of Park Moon-dae, who had always appeared calm on broadcast whether he was staying up all night for a week or winning first place.
Watching the screen, Park Moon-dae’s fansite master couldn't help but message her friend.
[Aaaah]
[Moon-dae is good at cooking]
[He’s good at board games too]
[But he can’t watch horror movies LOL. This is so crazy cute I want to punch a wall.]
Typos were rampant because she kept her eyes fixed on the screen while typing, but that was exactly what she wanted to say.
[7 People, 7 Colors]
[TeSTAR, Getting to Know Each Other Anew]
[What Will Happen Tomorrow?]
The first episode of the reality show concluded with the horror movie segment, which provided enjoyment for fans of every member.
“……Ah.”
Come to think of it, an hour had already passed. As she felt the lingering regret, a teaser aired after the mid-roll commercials.
[We’re in the studio right now~]
The footage showed TeSTAR members discussing things in a music studio equipped with soundproof booths. And then…….
[We are… on our way to the announcement now.]
It showed the members dressed in neat clothes, entering a conference room.
“Gasp.”
There was going to be footage related to the album production too! She already wanted to see the next episode. She quickly opened social media. she wanted to share this overflowing sentiment.
She agreed with every single post appearing on her timeline. She smiled warmly and was about to press the post button when she saw a new post on her refreshed timeline.
=========================
[Ah… I’m losing it (Link) (Screenshot)]
=========================
“Huh?”
The link was to a news portal. And the screenshot… was a capture of that article.
“……!”
As soon as she read the content, her heart went cold, as if she had been splashed with freezing water.
=========================
[‘Idol Inc.’ TeSTAR Exposed Through ‘Unfair Contract’ Lawsuit]
: The former agency (Dream K) of Lee Se-jin (22), a member of TeSTAR who debuted through <Re-listing! Idol Inc.>, has filed a lawsuit against Tnet regarding an unfair contract.
According to Dream K’s claims, Tnet coercively demanded the participation of artists from multiple agencies to recruit participants for <Re-listing! Idol Inc.>, which began airing last January, and forced the signing of unfair contracts that would transfer the artist’s affiliation to Tnet if the participant debuted through the program.
……
=========================
She swallowed hard and clicked on the article.
In the middle of the night, past midnight.
The atmosphere in the dorm where the trouble had broken out was like walking on thin ice.
“…Let’s summarize.”
“…….”
“So, Se-jin’s former agency… is asking for their artist back.”
Ryu Cheong-woo calmly summarized the situation. I suppressed a sigh.
‘It was bound to happen.’
In the first place, it was a reckless move for Tnet to push a contract stating that any participant who debuted through Aju-sa would belong to them. It was likely a method born from their greed to keep the group they made famous through the audition for a long time.
‘But usually, don't they just do a dual-affiliation and take a cut of the settlement twice?’
Taking them away entirely was something almost unheard of even in this industry. Most agencies would have just given in since they couldn't fight a broadcasting station, but because this season of Aju-sa did so well, it seemed a fuse had finally blown.
‘Probably… the dissatisfaction had been building up since the ‘Casting Call’ content, where the station suggested changing agencies at their whim.’
Moreover, Lee Se-jin could be used as an actor on his own, so they had even more reason to find it a waste. At the very least, they probably wanted to take their share during TeSTAR’s activities.
“…….”
Lee Se-jin did not answer even as the standoff continued for quite a while. He was just sitting on the sofa with his head bowed. Keun Se-jin urged him with a smile.
“Hyung-nim, say something~”
He had been coaxing and soothing him at first, but his tone was starting to change as if he couldn't take it anymore.
“Keun Se-jin.”
“We need to settle this quickly. You know we only have a week left until our debut date, right? We don’t have time~”
“…….”
“If you don’t clarify your position now, Hyung, other agencies might jump on the bandwagon and start talking about lawsuits too, right?”
Keun Se-jin was still smiling genially, but his speech was getting faster.
“If you stay quiet, it’s not just you who’s finished; the other members will be affected too. Whether you’re going or staying, talk to the current agency quickly.”
‘His mental state is blown too.’
I clicked my tongue. Come to think of it, Keun Se-jin’s agency might also test the waters and join the lawsuit filed by Lee Se-jin’s agency. Keun Se-jin’s blood seemed to be boiling just thinking about that happening right before their debut after finally passing the audition.
“…….”
But instead of opening his mouth, Lee Se-jin suddenly stood up and ran away.
“……!”
“Hey.”
Slam.
He went into his room and closed the door.
‘…Is he kidding me?’
To avoid things so primitively when it was his own business. By this point, even I, who hadn't thought much of it, was starting to get annoyed. This wasn't the first or second time; what on earth was he doing?
‘…I’ll have to pick the lock if I want to sleep today anyway.’
I walked up to the door and struck the locked doorknob from above.
Thwack.
Since it was just a regular house doorknob, it opened easily. All that exercise paid off.
“……!”
“I’m coming in.”