Chapter 74
Chapter 74
TeSTAR’s performance on the digital charts caused a massive stir.
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[TeSTAR 24 Hits Entry Rankings (1 Hour)]
: Hi-five #85, Magical Boy #88. New record for the highest entry ranking for a boy group since the chart reorganization.
One of their songs is even higher than VTIC’s. Whoa...
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Their public recognition in Korea was already at its peak.
The internet was a mess, with everyone who had watched even a single episode of Idol Inc. chiming in. Furthermore, as a competitive rivalry began to form, the reaction from VTIC fans turned cold.
Thanks to malicious netizens who gleefully fanned the flames to incite conflict, the atmosphere between the fandoms was becoming ice-cold.
On the other hand, people who were only casually interested in idols found it incredibly entertaining.
The next day, TeSTAR climbed the daily charts, with "Hi-five" reaching #17 and "Magical Boy" reaching #19.
It was an impossibly fast climb, but naturally, it wasn't quite at VTIC’s level.
Everyone was appropriately surprised, and expectations were reasonably met.
And then, Thursday arrived.
It was the day of TeSTAR’s first music show pre-recording.
“I’m so sleepy.”
“Tell me about it.”
I never thought the day would come when I’d sincerely empathize with Cha Yu-jin.
I knew we’d start at dawn. I just didn't account for the preparation time.
Let’s say the music show pre-recording starts at 4:30 AM. That means you have to be on standby at the station by 4:00 AM at the latest. Which means you have to go to the salon several hours before that…
In short, it was night labor.
We’re at least moving around indoors, but what about the people coming to see this?
Even if they applied and were chosen by lottery, honestly, if you’re going to call people out at this hour, shouldn't you at least pay them an hourly wage?
At least it wasn't cold. No one would catch a cold while waiting.
“I’m gonna sleep…”
As soon as we entered the waiting room, Cha Yu-jin sprawled out on the sofa.
“S-Should we wake him up? H-His voice might not come out well if he just woke up…”
“He’s lived like that every time and did just fine. Don’t worry about him.”
“I-I see.”
At Kim Rae-bin’s firm words, Seon A-hyun pulled his hands back. His face was pale.
It didn't seem to be from lack of sleep, but rather from nerves.
“…Hold on.”
“Huh?”
I rummaged through the small bag I carried and tossed a pack of candy to Seon A-hyun. It was glucose candy.
“Eat some. It’s good when you’re tired.”
“O-Oh…”
“Whoa, Moondae, me too!”
Keun Se-jin, who had been staring at his smartphone, quickly tried to snatch a candy from Seon A-hyun, but surprisingly, Seon A-hyun blocked him.
“I-I’ll enjoy them!”
“Wait, A-hyun did that…!”
“……”
Without a word, I pulled more candy out of my bag and tossed it. Keun Se-jin took it gleefully.
“Oh, thanks!”
…Whatever it is, I’ll have to buy three or four times as much if I want them to eat their fill.
Our financial situation wasn't great yet, so this wasn't exactly a desirable phenomenon.
Just then, the manager and Ryu Cheong-woo entered the room with a camera.
Is this for the reality show again?
Since this music show was on Tnet, they seemed to have easy access.
The manager waved with a bright smile. Ryu Cheong-woo spoke with a grin.
“Guys, the fans sent lunch boxes!”
“Gasp!”
“…Lunch boxes!”
The sleeping Cha Yu-jin bolted upright. Truly amazing.
The lunch box containers brought into the waiting room were extravagant.
I never thought I’d see a five-tier lunch box in person.
I felt a bit bewildered as I disassembled the containers filled with various dishes. Usually, a lunch box felt like something less than a proper meal… like something you just used to get by.
There was a sticker on the very top of the box.
[TeSTAR’s debut is]
[Magic ♡]
Below that, it simply said, "From all TeSTAR fans."
“……”
It was likely prepared jointly by several individual fan communities. Since it was the group’s first debut stage, they probably sent it together rather than splitting up the names.
It was a delicate consideration for the members.
“Let’s take a photo!”
“I think it would be best to take one shot like this, then open them and take another.”
“That’s a great idea. Moondae, you’re good at photos, you take them.”
“Sure.”
“Oh?”
Without a word, I adjusted the angle and focus on my phone and snapped a few shots. Then, I immediately color-corrected them by adjusting the brightness and saturation.
“You really took these well.”
“Y-You seem to be good with your hands…!”
“Thanks. I’m thinking of uploading this, is that okay?”
“Huh?”
I asked the members, but I said it for the manager to hear.
Ever since Lee Se-jin posted, we hadn't really uploaded anything personal. It was due to potential spoilers and the general atmosphere.
I thought it was about time we started managing it, and fortunately, the manager gave a casual "okay" gesture.
The members also caught the gesture and continued the conversation.
“Of course it’s okay~”
“Moondae had a good idea.”
“Can we eat now?”
Cha Yu-jin’s desperate question was implicitly ignored. Instead, Kim Rae-bin nodded seriously.
“Starting with this, I hope we can upload various updates frequently.”
“……Right.”
But you… you should probably get yours checked before posting.
“Let’s definitely include ‘We love you.’”
“W-Won’t it look like we’re saying we love them just because they gave us lunch boxes…?”
“Gasp.”
While I edited the photos, the members began working hard on the caption.
“There’s a 180-character limit. Let’s choose carefully.”
“Yes!”
The resulting caption was as follows:
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[This is TeSTAR’s account!]
: Waiting for TeSTAR’s first music show recording! Thank you so much for the lunch boxes! We’ll eat well and gain strength to put on a great performance.
We have so much we want to show you since we prepared so hard! To everyone who waited for us, thank you so much and we love you ㅠㅠ Let’s see each other for a long, long time ♡ (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)
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“Great! It’s uploaded!”
While the members were looking proud, Ryu Cheong-woo, who had been watching with a faint smile, suddenly looked flustered.
“……?”
“Wait, what time is it now?”
…3:50 AM.
The dead of night.
Seon A-hyun turned pale.
“W-We just sent a n-notification in the middle of the night…”
“Delete… if we delete it, will the notification go away?”
“It definitely already went through…”
“……”
The atmosphere became solemn.
Of course, many idols post in the early morning, but the problem here was that we had sent the first group update in a month like a late-night text.
Cha Yu-jin, who was looking sadly at the lunch boxes, asked.
“Why?”
“It’s a nuisance to have notifications go off at dawn.”
“Aha.”
Cha Yu-jin said brightly.
“Apologize!”
“……!”
A moment later, another new post notification popped up on TeSTAR’s account.
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[This is TeSTAR’s account!]
: We’re so sorry for posting so suddenly at dawn ㅠㅠ We lost our sense of time and this happened… Next time, we’ll definitely come find you during the day! (Photo)
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The additional photo attached showed all of TeSTAR bowing their heads in the waiting room.
I felt a sense of déjà vu.
“…Wait a minute.”
“Hmm?”
“I think we just spoiled our costumes.”
“…!!”
…Fortunately, we were able to get understanding from the production crew.
However, the faces of the members, who had experienced an unexpected heart attack right before the pre-recording, were now haggard.
“…From now on, let’s think for at least 30 minutes before posting on SNS.”
“Yes…”
Once that chaotic mess was over, the recording time was right in front of us.
“Now, let’s eat the lunch boxes quickly!”
“There’s no time. Let’s eat after we’re done.”
“Oh…”
Cha Yu-jin was heartbroken.
We each grabbed one of the vitamin drinks included in the lunch boxes and headed straight for the stage.
“Waaaaah!!”
About 200 people who had been waiting in line since the night before sent up a cheer.
For the record, we hadn't even stepped onto the stage yet. We were just moving back and forth beside it.
Keun Se-jin said seriously.
“Let’s not ask questions like ‘Did you eat?’ It’ll just feel like we’re teasing them since we’re the only ones who ate lunch boxes at this hour.”
The members, who had fully realized it was dawn thanks to the previous incident, nodded vigorously.
Except for Cha Yu-jin.
“But I didn't get to eat…”
“Let’s eat as soon as we’re done.”
“…Yep.”
Ryu Cheong-woo lightly took control of the situation.
“Going up now~!”
“Yes—”
The members stepped onto the stage following the staff’s instructions.
The set was impressive. It looked like the core parts of the ruined school set from the MV had been moved here, and with the purple LEDs and bubble effects, it was perfect.
They spent some money.
But there was no time to look at the set in depth. Hundreds of people were watching from the front.
“This is our first recording stage. Everyone, please look after us.”
“Please look after us~”
As the members greeted following Ryu Cheong-woo’s lead, the cheers from below were mixed with screams and greetings.
“If there’s anything you want from TeSTAR…”
“Post often!”
“Ah, posts.”
Whether they had checked the SNS posts from earlier, an explosion of laughter erupted from below the stage. Ryu Cheong-woo couldn't help but laugh too.
“We’ll post often. Just not at dawn.”
“We’ll post today!”
“When you say often, what’s the unit…?”
“Every day!!”
The fans shouted at the top of their lungs. They weren't losing to Kim Rae-bin. Impressive.
Since it was our first time having a conversation this close to the stage, honestly, I couldn't say the communication was natural.
But it had its own fresh charm. It’s only for a short time during the rookie days, so the fans would probably enjoy this atmosphere.
“Ah, we’re starting.”
After a few short words, the members soon took their positions on stage at the staff’s signal.
Since the choreography started with me in the center for the first part, I stepped forward.
“Moondae-ya!”
I hesitated for a moment, then made a small heart. Not the… so-called K-heart. Just a regular hand heart.
“Aaaaah!!”
I felt like my skin was crawling, but as long as the people looked happy, it was fine…
Their legs must hurt from being here since dawn; they should at least have this much fun.
As the reaction subsided, the intro began to play.
♫♪♩♪-♫♪♫♪-♪♩-
And then, powerful voices could be heard from below the stage.
…It’s the fanchant.
To think I’d be hearing that.
— Thinking of you all day today,
Whom I met tomorrow
“Think of you!”
As I went into the first line, I smiled without realizing it.
It was actually quite fun.