The theme song that Kim Raebin arranged alone was commented on by T1 Plays, the company that took over the production team of Section 127.
And the comment, which hadn't even been a day since it was commented, was flooded with large comments from people who were full of expectations and pilgrimages to holy places.
-Gaahhhh
-Ah, ㅋㅋ they work well ㅋㅋ
- I'm waiting.
-Put it up!
The atmosphere made it seem like this arrangement would be officially adopted for something like a cinematic trailer.
There were even overflowing foreigners posting foreign memes plastered with emoticons.
"Uh, uh…"
Kim Raebin was stunned. He seemed to have overloaded his brain in an unexpected situation.
It was funny, but I felt the same way.
'When did it get to this point?'
I knew the reaction would be good, but wasn't it a separate issue from being a topic?
A parody video of a game on a new account suddenly turned into such a big deal in one week.
It was an anonymous account anyway, so we just left it there, but it didn't work.
I turned on my smartphone to find the cause of this uproar.
'Is it an algorithmic pick again?'
It wasn't. It was more artificial than that.
It was true that 'Section 127' had gone through its heyday again in Korea, leaving only maniacs behind and losing popularity and sales.
However, perhaps because of the right sensibility, overseas, it had settled down as a steady seller based on a strong fan base.
Thanks to that, there were a lot of people who were hung up on this game series even among overseas gamer WeTubers, and one of them seemed to have seen this video during a livestream.
The subscribers…
[25.92 million subscribers]
Yes, it was a piece of cake. Thanks to that, it came into the eyes of the person in charge who was working hard, and this situation happened.
So what was the conclusion?
"What should we do?"
"Yes."
Since a while ago, the frequency of 'yes' as an answer had increased significantly.
It was a funny situation.
It wasn't like he was a minor character, it was because he was going to build a second career as a professional composer.
That was because the current partner was caught on the bait by himself.
At that moment, Cha Eugene raised his hand.
"Let's do it! It's fun!"
I thought so.
"Wait, wait!"
"Let's think about it, Eugene!"
Watching Ryu Chungwoo and Lee Sejin stop Cha Eugene, who was trying to throw it away by majority vote, I opened my mouth.
"First… If you really accept this offer, you will have to put your real name and account number when writing the contract."
"Ah, so we'll get caught right away, right?"
"Yes."
At that moment, it was clear that TeStar was being used as a story to promote the game. Since it was the same affiliate, the headquarters would push it without thinking that it was right.
It was a fun story, so I thought that TeStar would benefit and the game would benefit as well.
'And suspicion of fabrication is everywhere…''
Of course, such a coincidence could look like an obvious marketing deception.
- Using TeStar is disgusting.
-Look at them trying to get fame one more time.
-I change my mind. T1 marketing team, why are you doing this?
It was stupid to make such noise in front of the target. The formation of the public opinion would be like, 'TeStar is not qualified' during the Rookie of the Year award.
It was important to actually receive the grand prize, but the public's acknowledgment of 'deserved' would definitely affect the success of the mission.
'Even if we try to stop it, one of the upper heads at the head office can interfere the moment we make up our minds.'
I imagined it.
Then, an unexpected person opened his mouth with a serious face.
"H-how about doing it in the name of family… ?"
It was Seon Ahyeon. It seemed that he suggested it because he felt sorry for giving up on Kim Raebin's achievements.
"Oh, that sounds pretty good?"
"I like it!"
I answered with difficulty.
"No. The moment it gets caught, they'll accuse us of tax evasion."
No matter what. It was a sensitive area these days, so we had to be careful.
Bae Sejin, who once went through an uproar over his comprehensive income tax return in the first year of his debut, swallowed his saliva.
"Then… Should we ignore it?"
"Some of that too."
Since it has already received attention once, it seemed that contact stories would continue to emerge if we continued to post arrangements on this account.
'If it's Kim Raebin's talent, it's understandable.'
Besides, looking at the comments was amusing right now. On the contrary, if there was no response, that part may be unique and it could attract aggro.
Then those who wanted to use it as viral content would come out.
'… Should we just change the account?'
Well, I thought this account had a symbolic meaning for Kim Raebin overcoming the slump, so I was going to leave it as long as possible.
To avoid that… In the end, we had to do something.
"If you're thinking of refusing, I think it's better to express yourself in appropriate words."
"Yes."
It was perfect if we had an appropriate excuse that everyone could understand and would make them move on.
There would come a time when their interest would fade away, and he could just do his composing activities without difficulty.
"Well, make up something plausible, since you are good at such things!"
"What? Me?"
Bae Sejin flinched when Keun Sejin laughed as if it was ridiculous. They had been behaving politely for a year or two now, so it seemed that the medicine seemed to be running out.
'Still, is it okay to say it openly?'
Anyway, Keun Sejin gave his opinion instead of fighting uselessly with Bae Sejin.
"As expected, the opinion of the first contributor is important for this~ What does Raebin think?"
"What?"
Kim Raebin, who seemed to be deep in thought with his mouth open, suddenly came to his senses at Keun Sejin calling his name.
And he answered carefully.
"I… I don't mind refusing the offer!"
"Wouldn't it be a waste?"
"Yes! It was originally made at a composing camp as a hobby, not for commercial purposes, so even now, the reaction is undeserved and enjoyable!"
"Okay, if Raebin thinks so."
"Okay~"
The conversation ended with an appropriate refusal phrase or thought.
"We should say that we're busy studying, right?"
"Yes. Let's tune it up a bit."
So this was the comment we put on the video.
-I really appreciate the formal contract proposal, but I don't have time because I have to study. I'm satisfied with being able to share it on WeTube.
It was a reason that was moderate enough that there was nothing to be caught, and common enough not to be suspected.
We were done with this.
Everyone probably had similar thoughts, but things didn't go that way.
• * *
"Hey, this guy is persistent."
A few days later, we found the rep's comment below the pinned comment.
- That satisfaction… wouldn't it be bigger if money was included? (frown emoticon)
We can make a contract with the arrangement you have already made, so please feel free to contact us! Go study! (smiley emoticon)
And as if they were impressed by this cheesy gag, people clung to the comments with more excitement.
'… It's slowly coming up in the community.'
[Abandoned factory under consideration]
[The arrangement is such a masterpiece? It looks difficult to create]
[Current status of the hard-working company]
Since it looked fun, people were taking screenshots.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Can we get an update at a time like this?
- Accept it! Accept it!
With the current atmosphere, if we refused here, we would break the fun and be considered rude.
Of course, there would be people who would curse the person in charge and say, 'Why are you bothering them when they said they didn't want to do it?'
Then it would really be shitty… There was no topic that spread as easily as a controversial one.
If it turned out that the composer was actually TeStar in the mess, a really unpleasant situation would break out.
'It's a controversial feeling.'
Moreover, elements other than the arrangement was becoming a hot topic, so more and more people were writing bad reviews or compliments in the comments with intentions.
The essence of opening an account was already blurring.
'Fuck.'
It really bothered me.
We were busy concentrating on the concert, so what kind of fuss was this?
Kim Raebin even felt a little bit down thanks to it.
"I'm really sorry for bothering you about trivial matters at such an important time…"
I smiled.
"What, are you apologizing for your talent?"
"That, of course, I didn't mean it that way… !"
Kim Raebin was stunned, but couldn't find anything to refute, so I checked once again to turn the conversation on.
"You agreed to reject it not because it was burdensome, but because it was uncluttered given the circumstances."
"Yes? Yes. That's right, but…"
"That's it. It's okay to ignore all of this. Because the concert comes first."
"… Yes. Alright!"
Kim Raebin seemed relieved to hear such a definite answer. On the spot, Keun Sejin smiled and put his arm around his shoulders.
"Yes~ We have to show a great image at this concert~ We are preparing so hard!"
That was true too.
In fact, there weren't many people left with enough energy to pay a lot of attention to this game company's shit.
The more he immersed himself in the setlist he changed, the more details he took care of.
'He's a good guy.'
I looked at Keun Sejin again.
If he had something to gain, he was pretty good at designing a realistic path there.
'That's why he's the one who played the biggest role in my plan.'
Yes. The curriculum I had set up when planning the trip to the mountain cabin was still unfinished.
There was one final step left.
-Stage 3 of composition camp.
Since he had recovered his confidence through the second step, this time it was a way to prevent mental collapse even in a slump situation.
'As soon as…'
Making him feel a sense of accomplishment and reward in a situation where he was cut off from the right to produce.
That was what this concert was.
• * *
"I feel like my heart will explode."
"Me too."
The graduate student made a fuss with her friend, who was a Park Moondae homma and was sitting diagonally in front of her.
And unlike the excited ones, a third person with a shy face was also sitting nearby.
'Why am I here…'
It was their friend. She participated in ticketing as a mercenary, but surprisingly, all of her friends succeeded in ticketing and there were still remaining tickets left.
And with the persuasion and curiosity of her friends, she ended up sitting here… she was already regretting it.
'I should have just sold it.'
She didn't want to get caught and have trouble getting a job, bit it was a waste to sit here in an uncomfortable chair.
'I could've used that money for 100 years!'
Yes. She was a modern mobile gamer who wasn't afraid to spend money on random games.
'I was surprised because these are really famous idols… phew.'
She looked at her friends who were already talking excitedly, then shook her head.
'This is also a bit embarrassing.'
The lightstick was so dazzling that she wanted to throw it.
However, at the concert hall, where everyone was excited and sharing the same sensibility, she had no choice but to helplessly hold the lightstick.
'Ugh, really.'
Just when she was beginning to resent her friends…
-Geeeeeng!
An announcement in a soft voice began to sound.
-Hello.
Aaaaaa!!
"Oooh."
Was it that exciting at the start? She was startled by the cheers that erupted around her.
-We would like to inform the audience who came to see TeStar's 'Wave for me' today.
It was nice to hear the man's voice talking about the manners of the audience, but somehow it felt a little out of place.
It was becausee it was a word choice that would have been made in a more theatrical venue than a concert, but she didn't notice it specifically.
-Then, we hope you enjoy watching.
At that time, the graduate student mouthed the name of the person who said it.
'That's Moondae!'
What?
At that moment, the lights went black.
-Now, we'll go into the waves…
The performer's last announcement sounded just in time.
And in the venue that suddenly became quiet, a sound slowly began to be heard.
It was the sound of the sea.
Then, the orchestra and electronic sound slowly melted into it, and it began to come to the front.
A clear rustling sound.
It was a song she had heard.
'Is it TeStar's debut song?'
However, the very next moment, another powerful melody entered.
This was a song she knew. But again, in a matter of seconds, the next accompaniment appeared…
'What?'
It was an overture.
A notice played at the opening of an opera or musical.
The difference was that this was not meant to introduce the songs.
Because everyone at the scene already knew the songs.
This was for immersion.
'… There's an atmosphere.'
And the lights came back on in the arena.
It was an intense blue light that covered all the seats. But it wasn't static.
"… !"
Numerous light blue and deep blue colors rippled and colored the indoor performance hall.
The air moved.
Cheeeeek.
Dry ice was spreading underneath their feet. Smoke billowed softly.
"Wow."
The lighting and oscillations, the cool smell, and the accompaniment resonated a little drowsily…
The five senses helped bring forth the metaphor they were trying to create.
The concert hall was underwater!