VTIC's teaser started with an ominous siren sound and an antique four-foot bathtub.
Wheein~
'Hmm?'
For a while, the office worker who was watching the teaser was puzzled, saying that the combination did not suit them.
The sound of the siren slowly faded away, and the place was filled with the sound of water dripping into the bathtub.
Tok-.
Tok-.
There were white marble tiles with black bathtubs.
It was the moment the siren disappeared and only the sound of water droplets remained.
Click.
An image went by.
There was a red candle, a sign of silence by bringing an index finger in front of the mouth, an old book, a virus structure, a drop of blood, an ominous sign.
Tok-.
And lastly... There were the feet of a man entering a bathtub.
There was an incredible sense of speed and symbolism.
After the flashback-like image cuts were over, the moment when the still and black screen seemed to calm one's breath down...
Elegant and soft string instruments filled the screen.
[Ooh~ ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh]
Acappella-like humming.
At the same time, the screen lit up.
It was a cut of the bathtub that was just shown, but...
"... !"
The bathtub was half-broken, rising into the air. A solid figure, which squeezed out the body, was raising the bathtub.
It was the eight tentacles of a dark green cephalopod that were intensely sculpted.
The camera showed the dangerous inside of the bathtub.
A figure was lying in it, submerged up to his neck in water.
It was a silver-haired Cheongryeo. Maybe because of the screen light, the reflected light looked green.
'Dyed hair??'
Before the viewer could think further, Cheongryeo opened his eyes.
[What I don't understand
I can forget
This moment of needing understanding]
A melody in a minor key gently wrapped the screen, and light streamed down from the broken ceiling onto the bathtub.
Light poured down on Cheongryeo's languid face.
'Look at his face.'
Around the time when the office worker felt a reflexive admiration for a cut that even touched her...
The cuts of the other three members slowly flowed and appeared on the screen.
[Ooh~ ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh]
Chaeyul holding his index finger to his mouth in front of a huge stained glass window, Shinoh holding a candle in a dark hallway, and Judan wearing a black robe over his head in the forest.
And the screen of Cheongryeo submerged in the bathtub came back.
The last verse ended with a graceful cut where he laid down until his head was submerged in the water and whispered a low note.
[Blow out the candle right]
Pas.
An empty bathtub fell alone from the air.
"... !"
There was no trace of the legs of the cephalopods that were constricted and supported. It was right before it hit the floor and shattered into pieces...
At that moment, the screen froze.
And ominous black letters were engraved on it.
[He got a Permission to Explore my Land]
(TN: This part was already in English in the novel.)
Sentences were rearranged by gathering only the uppercase initials and became titles.
[H. E. L. P.]
And the moment the last letter was reversed.
[H. E. L. L.]
The sound of a bathtub smashing echoed across the black screen.
"... …"
That was how the video ended.
"Ah."
The office worker tried to respond with voices for a while but consciously stopped.
But her brain already knew. Looking at the updated real-time response, it was impossible not to know.
-OMG, is this real?
-C-c-crazy guys
- No, what?
-This year, VTIC will eat it all again too
VTIC came with a crazy title that only had concepts that their fans would be thrilled with.
A cool horror sense perfect for summer.
".. They will earn well."
The office worker got a reality check while making an estimate.
And she wanted to ask the idols she caught.
She hoped that they wouldn't release a slump album that would dampen the upward trend.
'Why did they bring seasonal songs into this country?'
* * *
"... …"
I browsed social media.
-I almost got shortness of breath
- I love it so much that I'm going crazy. The concept of the outfitted song, please, let's keep going like this
- Firm belief that it will not be a teaser scam. VTIC needs to protect it.
(TN: Teaser scam: when the teaser and the music video turn out to be completely different)
-Aren't they getting mad at the mannerism of negligent management with this annual leave? There's no doubt ㅋ Ah, VTIC are professional idols~
These were the reactions to the VTIC teaser.
It could be seen that the fans who were really thrilled were running excitedly, not just posting good news for the sake of public opinion.
"Hmm."
The song definitely went well.
Just looking at it, I could tell that the horror concept had been refined to the limit so that the horror concept was not crude, and had accumulated thick layers.
'Even to the people who listened to the previous album, they made it look like a grand finale.'
The advantages of the repackage were also maximized.
Thanks to this song, the concept of the previous album was completely overturned and it seemed to give room for a new interpretation.
Some said it was a 20th-century cosmic horror concept, but it seemed to have worked well to the point that it was not a one-dimensional special feature.
-The timing is perfect for their previous album, Broadway, ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Cosmic Horror Concept, idols with 10 years of experience? Wasn't this only in 2D?
-I can already hear the overseas fans going crazy, they like this more than we do ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-It's good, the original intention shines.
The moment the choreography-oriented teaser 2 was released, public opinion rose once more.
'Sophisticated.'
They met the demand that the public could expect from a popular idol in almost every respect.
Camera work that went into the right place, intense formation using dancers, group dance, and costumes that weren't overly experimental.
The popularity that neutralized the first teaser, which was conceptual to the extreme, was visible.
'I thought their vocals would be weak.'
This was also well adjusted to the level that was comfortable to listen to.
Summing it up... It was an activity that fans would clap their hands for and cheer.
'There is no luck.'
I chuckled. It was something I guessed from the moment I saw Cheongryeo with dyed hair anyway.
Still, I thought he would lose touch on his way out, but the song became more interesting as he became less careful.
'Hmm.'
"Moondae, let's stop-~ We're busy watching too~"
"Okay."
I turned the screen of my smartphone obediently at the sound of him stopping me.
"Good!"
It wasn't like I could change it even if I kept looking at the same people, and it was just that my mind became complicated for no reason.
But actually, I wasn't very nervous.
'It doesn't overlap.'
This was because the most wary part of becoming a latecomer had been resolved.
The concept genre these guys were aiming for was completely different from ours.
However, it seemed that there were some guys who thought deeply about this.
It was because Bae Sein said this after the schedule that day was over.
"Hey, is this okay?"
"Yes?"
"I'm talking about our teaser. I feel a bit..."
"Ah, ah."
If he only looked at the teaser... I saw what he meant. I nodded.
"I think it will be fine."
"….. Are you sure?"
"Yes. Rather, it will be beneficial. Any reaction is a topic after all."
If public opinion was to be overturned anyway, it was just a build-up that raised the plate.
And a few days later, VTIC's music video was released two days before our first teaser.
* * *
VTIC's music video maximized the feeling of the teaser and mixed it with a slightly more tragic and sexy feeling.
An ominous occult element paid homage to the splendid and laid-back Broadway scene of the previous album, creating goosebumps and creating a sense of tension.
Above all, it was cool without any parts that were childish or broke the atmosphere.
- This should be handed down as a cultural heritage.
-It's lamentable that I can only express it like this. VTIC is a god.
-They shouldn't overdo it because they're getting old.
└ You're calling them old but they haven't even joined the army yet… Are you even a fan of them?
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I see the subiect!
- It's really amazing to be kept in check by this annual leave.
The overflowing reaction videos, favorable reviews, and even the satisfaction of fans.
At first, reactions such as 'the song is so splendid that it makes you tired' and 'difficult' had reversed over time.
Because the music quality was good.
-Muggles are also attached. What should we do?
- For a male idol to be on the charts with a song like this, only VTIC can do it.
└ Beep! This comment will be deleted when TeStar has a comeback.
└ What? The group that pushes easy listening into each album because they want to somehow appear popular?
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Good results had the power to make negative public opinion noticed.
Their fans became more reluctant to the news of TeStar's comeback with the VTIC down title that satisfied them without betraying their expectations.
Even if we didn't announce our activities so closely, they would have enjoyed VTIC's activities without worry.
- Rude + Stupid Combo. It's crazy, really
-Worry about being number 1 for a week and disappearing
-It seems disgusting because the strategy is visible.
But the general public enjoyed it.
A great clash between male idols of the highest weight class!
No matter who won, it was fun to compare and evaluate.
Even some fast-paced agencies hastened the comeback of idols who lacked recognition. It was definitely at this time when the ratings for music shows were the highest this year.
-TeStar teaser will be out soon
-Oh, it's fun haha
-You don't know if it comes out because it's buried in VTIC? ㅋㅋ
└ Seeing that they're doing shit every day, it doesn't seem like that's going to happen
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
And when TeStar's teaser finally came out, even people who normally skipped teasers clicked on it.
Because they wanted to compare it with VTIC!
However, at this time, in fact, people clicked the video with more perseverance because they had already given VTIC a decision victory.
Click!
[TeSTAR (테스타) '약속' (Promise) Official Concept Teaser]
And in fact, ambiguous reactions began to flow.
-???
-Hmm
The video was a short first-person exploration of swimming through the deep sea and ascending to the surface.
A slow bass and string accompaniment sounded without the main melody.
The video was dark, and there was a calm and deep background sound... Strangely, it even looked similar to VTIC's teaser.
-It's like an experiential VR game
-Mmm
-That's interesting.
-Am I the only one who thinks of VTIC?
And after a while, social media and communities were covered with openly harsh reviews.
It seemed like a branch similar to VTIC, but it wasn't as impressive.
It made them want to pour harsher evaluations and ridicule.
-It sounds normal, like something I've always listened to.
-Yeah, I can feel it just by looking at the VTIC backward compatible teaser
-These guys are also standardized now, just doing what they used to do and going on tour is an unstoppable flow. Get ready.
-I think the song will be good~ But the concept feels the sameㅠ
-Well, that's why it's no big deal to have a producing member in a group, but at this point, I'm feeling down.
The reviews were cruel enough to make fans freeze. In the meantime, there must have been some determined VTIC fans, but anyway, the general public opinion was clear.
-They're trying to keep us in check, so don't worry too much.
-If you look at it like this, we will experience this once or twice, but we'll just do what we have to do.
-You don't have to worry about it when you buy it. Let's get ready to stream
There were also anonymous accounts that were excited and shouted things like 'TeStar has already failed', but most of the fans silently waited for the next piece of new content.
It was because of the trust that had been built up over the years.
They didn't know anything else, but TeStar's album quality had never been bad!
And a week later...
TeStar's real music video had been released.
- The MV is out
- Horror again?
However, people's expectations were surprisingly wrong.
The thumbnail of TeStar's music video was a beautiful white sandy beach with blue waves. It felt like a typical bright summer season song.
-???
-It's bright?? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
It was a teaser scam!
No, everyone thought this moment was a teaser scam.
People clicked on the video, somewhat bewildered.