Chapter 77
Chapter 77
After reorganizing the choreography on Sunday evening, I collapsed from exhaustion. When I finally woke up, a new week had begun.
This meant it was time to check the first-week album sales.
The results were... terrifying.
"...670,000 copies?"
"Yeah!"
I asked the manager once more to be sure.
"Actual sales? Not just pre-orders?"
"...You even know the difference? Anyway, yes, those are the actual sales!"
"..."
For context, pre-orders refer to the quantity retail stores order in advance based on expected demand.
I suspected it might be pre-orders since stores usually stock more than the first-week sales.
But to think 670,000 copies actually moved.
It doesn't feel real.
No matter how much album sales have inflated recently, this was a number that made my senses go numb.
Considering TeSTAR's fanbase was primarily domestic, as expected of a group from an audition program, it was even more staggering.
It had even increased compared to what I remembered.
Wasn't it originally 600,000?
In the original timeline, the group that debuted through Idol Inc. had first-week sales of 600,000. I had no idea where those extra 70,000 people came from to buy our albums...
"...They say we've broken the record for the highest debut album sales for a boy group?"
"Uh, u-uhhh..."
"Holy moly."
The others seemed more overwhelmed than happy.
If it had been around 300,000, they would have been rolling on the floor with joy, but seeing double that figure seemed to have scared them a little.
Of course, someone snapped out of it quickly. It meant they had started making realistic calculations.
"...Does this mean we might actually hit number one next week?"
"...!!"
In an instant, the tension in the room spiked.
Ryu Cheong-woo spoke up.
"What were VTIC sunbaenim's sales for this week?"
"I'll check."
Kim Rae-bin immediately started searching.
He could check the weekly sales directly on the album charts.
"[LONG NIGHT / VTIC: 312,608]"
"..."
"Whoa."
It was an unbelievable figure for their second week.
Even if it includes the final day of their first-week sales, still.
That was equivalent to the total sales of a fairly successful boy group.
At this point, I was genuinely curious about their first-week sales for this album.
"...Wait a second."
I tapped Kim Rae-bin's smartphone screen a few times to check VTIC's sales for the first seven days—their Chodong.
[1,872,863]
"..."
Ah, never mind.
"Wow~"
"Haha."
"I'm sure the day will come when we hit number one if we keep working hard!"
The tension vanished instantly. The members began to laugh and encourage each other.
They had expected it, but such a massive gap in the base score killed any competitive fire.
This week's tally, where the album sales gap was only double, would have been our best shot, but we were getting crushed on the digital charts, so it looked difficult.
It's not like our album sales will suddenly spike after the first week... It'll probably be tough in the second week too.
Our digital ranking was slowly climbing, but I was skeptical about whether we could displace VTIC, who were firmly rooted at number one.
I shrugged.
"Should we get ready to head out?"
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Let's do our best today too~"
The members scattered to change into their outdoor clothes.
The manager muttered something like, "This isn't how it was supposed to go..." a few times, but he soon accepted reality and let out a deep sigh.
He must have had something else in mind.
Well, he'd figure it out.
The manager brought up a new topic right after we got into the car.
"You guys know your fan signing events start in two days, right?"
"Already?"
The members tensed up. They had heard about it when promotions started, but they had forgotten the dates because of the busy schedule. The manager nodded.
"Yeah. Since the fans bought so many albums and are cheering for you so passionately, you have to do a good job~ Treat them with sincerity~"
"Oh, of course!"
I guess he threw out the album sales numbers first to build up to this. He looked relieved to finally get it off his chest.
A fan signing event.
I'd need to psych myself up to talk to a hundred people in a row without making a mistake.
However, it seemed this had the opposite effect on one member. Seon A-hyun's face turned pale instantly.
"I-I-I don't think I can do it."
"Why?"
"Huh? B-because I'm not good at talking...?"
"...? Hyung, your Korean is fine right now."
Seon A-hyun, caught off guard by Cha Yu-jin's nonsense, began to look even more confused.
I sighed and stepped in.
"You're the cautious type, so you're actually less likely to make a mistake. Don't worry too much."
"...T-thank you."
Seon A-hyun replied with a faint smile, but he didn't look particularly reassured.
It's understandable.
He'd barely ever spoken to fans to begin with.
While we occasionally saw fans up close while moving between schedules, we usually just exchanged quick greetings or fan service before hopping into the car.
The ones who persistently followed us near the dorms or convenience stores were sasaengs, not fans, so they didn't count as a proper sample.
Talking one-on-one in a formal setting is enough to make any member nervous...
"I wish time would go faster~ I want to see our fans' faces!"
"..."
Except for that guy.
In the front seat, Keun Se-jin was humming while scrolling through his phone.
He's confident, I see.
I never thought I'd see such polar opposite examples of idols facing a fan signing event.
...What about me?
I don't know.
I'd been paid to go to public fan signings for famous idols as a proxy photographer a few times.
But I'd never heard what kind of conversations they had while getting their albums signed.
The venues were usually so noisy and chaotic that most voices were drowned out.
Well... I've seen them wearing headbands a lot.
That kind of thing might be a bit embarrassing, but it wasn't impossible, so I brushed it off.
I racked my brain, which was filled only with visual images, and clicked my tongue. No practical substance.
Maybe I should look up what people usually talk about.
Since we were currently traveling in the car and there were no reality cameras, I immediately accessed social media on my phone and started searching.
[Fan Sign Review]
If I add 'Review' at the end, I should be able to filter out most of the fansite master photos.
But before I could even move to the popular posts tab, a recent post caught my eye.
"..."
Wait.
*
[The cut for TeSTAR's fan sign this time is 120 copies ㅋㅋㅋ It's crazy for a weekday! I failed miserably... so please post lots of reviews ㅠㅠ (Photo)]
*
The image attached to the post was a screenshot of a verification post from someone who bought 100 copies and didn't make the cut.
"..."
120 copies?
To be honest, this was the first thought that popped into my head:
...How much is that?
The list price for TeSTAR's debut mini-album is 15,000 won. Even if they got a discount through a group order... the lowest price would be around 11,000 won.
Even calculating with that...
It's 1.32 million won.
"...Hah."
My brain started working overtime.
The conversation will last maybe a minute or two at most.
Since there are seven members in TeSTAR, it meant I had to provide at least 180,000 won worth of value per person.
Isn't the efficiency here way too low?
Could I provide 100,000 won worth of value in a one-minute conversation? I certainly wasn't confident.
Should I just... do everything they ask me to do?
I couldn't think of any other specific strategy. I put my phone down and pressed my temples.
I'd been around to take photos of guys whose fan sign cuts were over 100 copies, but I never thought I'd be the one on the other side.
I started breaking out in a cold sweat.
Park Moon-dae's first fansite master arrived at an art hall in Mok-dong, where the fan signing was being held, fully prepared.
The cozy stage and seating area, which could accommodate 300 people, easily handled the 100 waiting attendees.
Then, the waiting numbers were distributed.
[07]
Praise the early numbers!
Thinking she could talk to Moon-dae before he got tired, the fansite master happily and quickly set up her camera.
And just slightly past 7:30 PM.
TeSTAR entered from the side of the stage.
In an instant, a roar loud enough to make her ears ring filled the small art hall. Normally, the sound of camera shutters would have been heard first, but the excitement of the first fan sign took precedence.
TeSTAR, entering while waving their hands with slightly shy expressions, stood in front of the signing tables set up on stage and bowed.
"Take your STAR! Hello, we are TeSTAR!"
"Waaaaah!!"
It was a formal greeting typical of rookies who weren't yet used to fan signings. The fans cheered enthusiastically, though internally, each was screaming for their favorite member.
Park Moon-dae's fansite master was no different.
Moon-dae with black hair!! Ah, I love it so much!!
She had been to several pre-recordings, so this wasn't her first time seeing Park Moon-dae's black hair in person, but she loved it every time she saw it.
It might have been because Park Moon-dae had black hair when she first became a fan.
Blonde was good too, but black hair is definitely the best.
She briefly thought of her friend, who was a die-hard blonde-hair supporter, but quickly brushed it off and focused on her camera.
She had to take good photos and spread that face far and wide.
He seems to get more handsome every time I see him.
Perhaps because of the album concept, Park Moon-dae, with his black hair and wearing a white summer school uniform as his stage outfit, had a strangely refreshing aura.
This isn't just fan-girling, it's the truth...!
As she muttered to herself, TeSTAR finished their greetings and slowly moved behind the tables to sit down.
Moon-dae is at the very end.
The fansite master muttered that it was a good thing she had brought gifts for the other members just in case. It would be awkward to walk all the way to the end where Moon-dae was with hands full of gifts and not give anything to anyone else.
"We'll start in numerical order~"
Soon, the fan signing event officially began.
Because she had an early number, she didn't have to wait long before she could start getting her album signed. It was just before Moon-dae met the fan with the first number.
The first up was Ryu Cheong-woo.
"Hello!"
"Ah, hello."
Seeing Ryu Cheong-woo greet her first, the fansite master stuttered slightly.
He's handsome too.
She had seen him being called nicknames like "Confucian Boy" on social media, and seeing him up close, she understood why.
He looks like a physical education student who'd be the male lead in a webtoon...
She exchanged a few words of light small talk, and after a high-five, she handed him a small box of red ginseng.
"Wow, thank you!"
"Oh, it's nothing~"
The first signature ended on a warm note. And then, the next turn.
"Where should I sign for you?"
It was the child actor, Lee Se-jin. Lee Se-jin, with his delicate and neat impression, wasn't particularly proactive, but he wasn't insincere either.
"Who did you come to see?"
He even threw out a question first, surprisingly.
"Oh, I came to see all of TeSTAR~"
"Is that so? Thank you."
Lee Se-jin replied plainly without any particular sensitivity and finished the signature cleanly.
He's more refreshing than I thought.
Strangely, with every member she met, her impression of them improved.
It was the same for the members who followed.
"Um, then I'll try to find a blank space that's visible but doesn't cover your face..."
She also liked Kim Rae-bin, who, despite his sharp looks, was clearly nervous and signed shyly.
"Which album cover do you like best? I like the violet one best!"
Cha Yu-jin was also cute, being more excited than the fan getting the signature, adding all sorts of doodles around his signature and bombarding her with questions.
He was really annoying in the beginning of Idol Inc.
She praised herself for not saying anything unnecessary back then.
And then came Keun Se-jin.
"Welcome~ How did you feel coming to our first fan sign today? I was really nervous!"
"I was nervous too!"
"Aw, you don't look nervous at all~"
With his friendly tone, Keun Se-jin quickly got her to spill everything—what she did during the day, how she was feeling now, and even her worries.
Moreover, even though she didn't ask, a high-five happened automatically.
"See you next time~"
"Yes...!"
...I feel like we've become friends?
It felt like she had developed a personal friendship with a handsome Business Administration class president. Even though she vaguely guessed that he probably treated all his classmates with that same friendliness.
While she was impressed by the "insider" vibes she felt from just a two-and-a-half-minute conversation, she braced herself for Moon-dae's turn, which was coming up soon.
Moon-dae is two people away...!
With that anticipation, she had intended to move past Seon A-hyun quickly.
...But his face was too incredible for that.
"N-nice to meet you...!"
Seon A-hyun listened intently to her words with a bright smile. Thanks to that, she got her signature as if she were possessed.
Seon A-hyun even added a sincere P.S. at the bottom.
[Thank you so much for coming today, Ji-won! I'll work harder to show you a great side of myself in the future! ^^]
...He really is a natural treasure.
That face with that personality. It would be hard to maintain even as a character.
...And now, all that remained was her ultimate bias.
She swallowed hard and turned toward Moon-dae.