Chapter 84
Chapter 84
"Yawn..."
The dorm’s living room had finally grown quiet.
Perhaps because the tension had snapped after winning first place, combined with the alcohol and accumulated fatigue, most of the members were out cold.
The two minors had eventually drifted off as well. Lee Se-jin had already headed to his room halfway through, likely due to a lack of stamina.
He was probably asleep by now, too.
So, the only ones left in the living room were...
"Moon-dae, are you okay?"
Just me and Ryu Cheong-woo.
He had a high tolerance for alcohol, and I was still lucid thanks to my 'Bacchus 500' trait.
"Yes. I'm fine."
"That’s good, then."
Ryu Cheong-woo gave a faint smile and took a long swig of the beer in his hand.
Just how many cans has he had?
It didn't matter since he didn't seem drunk, but he had definitely finished at least six. His tolerance was clearly immense.
"So, how are you finding our promotions?"
"I'm doing alright. It's manageable."
"Haha, Moon-dae, you're always so composed."
Ryu Cheong-woo crushed the empty beer can and set it down. His expression looked strangely bitter.
What is it this time?
We had just won first place, yet his face was clouded with worry again.
"I wish I had a composed personality like yours."
"...I think you're plenty composed, Hyung."
Considering his behavior over the two months since Idol Inc. ended, it was an unexpected comment. However, Ryu Cheong-woo shook his head.
"No, I don't think my judgment is very good in critical moments. Like how I couldn't even give a proper acceptance speech today... It's like that in general."
"......?"
This was even more out of left field.
The acceptance speeches were already a mess, so what is he talking about?
"You've been a great leader since the auditions, Hyung. I don't think you've had any issues like that."
"I only became the leader because I was the oldest, not because I was good at it. The teams never really ran smoothly... well, except for the second evaluation when we were together."
Honestly, that wasn't Ryu Cheong-woo's fault.
You just had terrible luck with your teammates.
I awkwardly cracked open another beer.
"During Idol Inc., it was a survival show and everything happened so fast; it was rare for any team to run smoothly. And anyway, TeSTAR seems to be doing just fine."
"...I'm just worried that things are going well now, but a mistake of mine might cause a problem later."
Ryu Cheong-woo gave a wry smile.
"To be honest, the only position I felt I could contribute to this team was being the leader, so I took it... but it feels like I've hit a limit. I'm not naturally the type of person to hold things in this much."
"Hmm."
I had wondered why Ryu Cheong-woo’s attitude had become more conservative and moderate since TeSTAR formed; it turned out he had been suppressing his true self.
Thinking back to the second evaluation, he originally had a more adventurous and cheerful personality.
It seemed the conflicts he faced during Idol Inc. had given him some strange psychological baggage.
Even as I thought this, Ryu Cheong-woo continued. He must have really needed to vent.
"I even had doubts during Idol Inc.. Wondering if coming on the show was really the right choice..."
"......."
Come to think of it, there was no reason for someone who had won a gold medal to quit archery and appear on a failing audition program.
"How did you end up appearing on it?"
"Ah, I guess no one knows this. One of the writers for Idol Inc. is a relative of mine."
"......!"
Wait.
"Is it by any chance Writer Ryu Seo-rin?"
"That's right. Did you figure it out because we have the same last name?"
Ryu Cheong-woo laughed, but I couldn't join him.
"She begged me so much... and since I had already decided on this as my new career path, I decided to give it a shot."
A cold sweat broke out on my back.
If this gets caught now, isn't it a total scandal?
It wouldn't have mattered when the audition was failing, but now Idol Inc. Season 3 was established as a massive hit.
And one of the members who debuted is a relative of a writer?
On top of that, Ryu Cheong-woo received nothing but favorable editing.
This was a full-blown scandal.
Ryu Cheong-woo seemed to have enough sense to realize this, as he added with a smile:
"It won't cause any trouble for you guys. We're distant relatives and barely knew each other. She just contacted me out of the blue one day... it was basically a casting call."
In terms of formality, he was saying it was no different from how Park Moon-dae was cast.
However, the media wouldn't be so kind when writing the headlines.
They’d be things like: 'TeSTAR Member Revealed to be Relative of Idol Inc. Writer' or 'Casted Relative Debuts... The Shadow of Idol Inc.'
I barely managed to open my mouth.
"...Don't tell anyone else."
"Mm, don't worry about that. You're the first person I've told."
He said Writer Ryu Seo-rin had also called him right after the first episode aired to warn him repeatedly.
...We just need to get past this period.
By the time the season after next of Idol Inc. comes out—so, in about two or three years—it wouldn't be a big deal if it broke. And if it hadn't come out during the broadcast or even now, it meant no one knew yet.
Just to be safe, I checked with Ryu Cheong-woo again.
"Exactly how distant of a relative is she?"
"Well... aside from being from the same Pungsan Ryu clan... I don't even know how many degrees removed we are. That's about it."
"......."
If it was like that, we could even argue they weren't really relatives if push came to shove. We could spin it as her having an easy time casting him because they shared the same ancestral home.
I relaxed slightly.
I didn't know what the next Status Effect would be, but I knew a blow to the team wouldn't be good, so I guess I had been tensed up.
Then, another thought occurred to me.
Come to think of it, was I also from the Pungsan Ryu clan?
I wasn't sure since I hadn't paid much attention after my parents passed away, but I thought so.
If that were the case, I was probably in the same generational line as Ryu Cheong-woo. Ryu Gun-woo, Ryu Cheong-woo.
Hmm.
We probably share the 'Woo' character in our names.
Well, whatever. I just shrugged it off.
"It's strange that I'm telling you all this... I don't usually talk about these things with the younger ones. Haha."
"......."
Did he instinctively sense I was older?
I changed the subject.
"So... if you were cast, that means you were already preparing to be a singer."
"Yeah. I couldn't continue archery."
Ryu Cheong-woo made a motion as if rotating his shoulder.
"I was in a pretty bad car accident when I was young... I guess it hit something wrong because the aftereffects only showed up after I was fully grown. My hands shake when I apply pressure."
"......."
"So I quit the year before last... and started exploring a new career path to see what else I was good at. Haha."
His attitude carried the ease of someone who had already overcome their struggle.
It means it's a thing of the past.
I simply nodded.
Just then, there was a rustling sound by my feet.
"...Sniff."
"......??"
"I'm sorry. I heard everything..."
Cha Yu-jin, who had been face-down on the floor, sat up with tears streaming down his face. Behind him, Kim Rae-bin also sat up, sniffing.
"I happened to wake up... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop..."
"No, it's okay. Sniff."
"......."
The two who hadn't touched a drop of alcohol seemed to have been woken up by the conversation.
Ryu Cheong-woo looked flustered for a moment but soon laughed it off.
"It's my fault for talking in the middle of the living room. Don't worry about it and go to bed."
However, the two lingered, adding a few more words.
"Hyung. I'll do better..."
"Cheong-woo Hyung, you're cool. You're a great idol!"
"...Um."
Ryu Cheong-woo nodded with a complex expression. I chimed in.
"It looks like they'll listen to you now, so why don't you stop holding back and just do what's comfortable? Leader."
"...Don't you want to do it?"
"Me? I'd obviously give up halfway and ruin everything."
"......."
Me, the leader? I'd definitely get pissed off and cut ties with one or two of them.
Sensing my sincerity, Ryu Cheong-woo looked speechless. He had a look of utter disbelief.
"......Phew."
But soon, he replied with a much more relaxed tone.
"...Alright. I get it. I'll keep being the leader."
"Yay!"
"In exchange, you guys have to stop me if I try to do something unnecessary. I can't just keep hitting the brakes anymore."
"Of course!"
Ryu Cheong-woo muttered something like "Good grief," then stretched and headed into his room. His steps looked much lighter now that he had unburdened himself.
And in the living room... only food waste and collapsed human bodies remained.
"......"
"...Shall we go in?"
"Yes."
They'll go in on their own when they wake up. Let's leave them.
Immediately after TeSTAR finished celebrating their first-place win.
The fans waited until the news of TeSTAR's first win broke and they trended on real-time searches. They didn't want to ruin the good news with internal conflict.
The fans continued to quietly demand feedback through individual calls and emails.
However, even after several days, they received no response.
The public opinion that had been simmering beneath the surface finally exploded, and the fans eventually released a formal statement directed at the agency.
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[Statement Requesting Support for Artist Activities]
[On July 10, 202X, the United Fan Association of TeSTAR criticizes the irrational management of T1 Stars Entertainment and demands respect for the legitimate rights of the artists and consumers (fans). Since before their debut...]
=========================
Because this wasn't tied to a single member, the scale grew exponentially as individual fan communities for all members joined the alliance.
As fans prepared for the next steps—faxing and post-it note protests—the agency finally responded.
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[Hello. This is T1 Stars Entertainment.]
[The company is putting all its efforts into supporting TeSTAR's activities, and the matters fans are currently concerned about will also be implemented without delay...]
=========================
It was a declaration of surrender.
Some fans were annoyed by the slight nuance of 'We were already preparing it and you guys overreacted!', but the atmosphere calmed down somewhat at the news that something would be done soon.
The agency tried to test the waters with an article about an Idol Inc. style event where 'fans choose the fandom name themselves,' but they were sunk by the fans' backlash.
Fortunately, the agency stopped testing the waters and worked hard on the schedule.
And so, on Friday of that week.
[The National Stocks have arrived!]
[TeSTAR's First W Live]
[Talking about the fan name TeSTAR is giving us!]
[7/15 (SUN) 3:00 PM]
An event banner popped up in a hurry.
The fans, who had barely seen TeSTAR moving in real-time outside of music shows, were incredibly excited.
Subscribers began pouring into TeSTAR's W App channel, which only had a single teaser video uploaded.
And at 3:00 PM on the day of the event.
[Testing, testing!]
[Hello~]
TeSTAR turned on their W Live.