Chapter 425
Kim Raebin's fan was checking TeSTAR's trends as usual.
Although it was bullshit to call a tour that barely had fancams a hot topic, she had quite high expectations this time.
'If it appears on TV, it will be recognized as a hot topic.'
The problem was that when she watched the concert, she realized that 'TeSTAR's Concert' wasn't the only content!
[Spacer – To the World]
'They're really trying to tie them in.'
She was holding back her anger and watching live TV for the first time in a long time.
[Make some noise!]
The opening and first few stages were a real live concert, but it made people angry when other groups came out in the middle where the VCR and concert event stage were supposed to be.
-It looks like they will become variety show idols like T-Holic. ㅎㅎ Let's chat with the young and handsome Spacer boys while they are idols.
- Call it popularity, read it as image consumption. No subject.
'You crazy bastards!'
Like a cat cornering a mouse, aggressive opinions were coming out rapidly.
Since they were all survival show groups in the first place, there was no such thing among fans as 'they're all in the same agency, so we should love their juniors too', except for those who were truly passionate about survival shows.
Since TeSTAR came out with a label, it would be nice to treat them all as if they were strangers, but the agency had been especially difficult with encouraging transfers.
And now there was some result.
-Oh
-It's pretty good.
-The stage is fun, what the heck?
"Fuck… !"
The general public's interest and favorable response to Spacer's guest performance!
Even fans couldn't criticize it outright. Because it was a public broadcast stage late at night, even non-fans were flocking to watch it.
If Kim Raebin's fan didn't think that way, she would get so angry that she wouldn't be able to stand it.
… And that wasn't the only problem.
-Shouldn't T1 idols also be boycotted?
-Aren't they ashamed for publicizing this? ㅋㅋ
There were haters that appeared one by one in the comments.
Kim Raebin's fan muttered while making harsh comments like 'They're blaming the victim.'
They had always been good at important times, but this time they really had to do well.
Especially in situations like this.
[---]
The screen changed, and the main group finally appeared again.
The lighting changed from a feverish concert hall to a quiet stage.
Tak.
White and pale lighting.
Moonlight illuminated the stage, shining softly like the surface of the water.
And what appeared was a dancer.
A ballerino.
Cutting the silence, a slender dancer with his face covered by a white mask over a classic black poet shirt began a solo dance.
It was a melody that hadn't been heard for a while, but it was still familiar to fans.
(It's quiet now
Songs and dreams
Forget everything)
The elegant cello melody of 'Midnight, and Next', which was the title of TeSTAR's first full-length album, filled the speakers along with the piano and string instruments.
(It's midnight here.
Your midnight)
Even though no words were spoken, it still felt like the lyrics could be heard.
It struck an exquisite balance between existing choreography and classical ballet, with movements and expressions of terrifying quality that were close to those of an art performance.
It was all good.
'… But where's TeSTAR?'
No, where did this ballerino come from? Did Tnet have a ballet survival show or something?
Kim Raebin's fan, who was watching with her mouth open for a moment as if fascinated, eventually burst out in anger.
The music ended with the ballerino, standing gracefully on the edge of the stage, slowly straightening his body.
And when the pale white hand took off the mask…
[Midnight Intro – Seon Ahyeon (TeSTAR)]
-????
-Huh
-Seon Ahyeon?
-I thought it was a real ballerino
-It's Ahyeon.
"… ??"
Hey, what was this?
Kim Raebin's fan thought her eyes were about to pop out.
But it was a real situation. If it wasn't fake, did that mean the ballerino who just appeared on screen was Seon Ahyeon?
"…"
She checked again to confirm, and things were correct.
Was this even a… live broadcast?
She remembered the body of the ballerino wearing the mask earlier and saw Seon Ahyeon with his bangs slicked back in the screen where a magnificent orchestra was playing.
'… Looking at it again, it definitely looks like Seon Ahyeon's body.'
She couldn't recognize him immediately since she didn't pay as much attention to Seon Ahyeon, and Seon Ahyeon's fans probably had their own reasons for not making a fuss about it.
Because it was at a level that was impossible based on common sense!
This meant that there was no separate professional ballet performance.
'When did he practice this?'
No, could this be considered a short practice? Even though Seon Ahyeon majored in modern dance, he only briefly studied ballet when he was young!
"Ah!"
At that moment, there was a card that passed by like lightning.
As soon as their recent tour started, there was a certain thought that circulated not only around Seon Ahyeon, but also to the entirety of TeSTAR!
-The kids' atmosphere seemed to have changed a bit, in a good way. I should say that there seems to be more solidness on stage. Anyway, I definitely recommend seeing this tour in person.
-There are definitely subtle changes that cannot be conveyed through fancams.
-Did the kids really go camping and do waterfall training or something? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
'I just thought fans were bragging about getting tickets and trying to get others to go to the concerts.'
However, it now seemed like they really went into some kind of awakening state.
'What is it, I heard there are people like that among athletes.'
-Wow, that was crazy~
-Hey, shut up!
Kim Raebin's fan was upset about the commotion she had with her younger brother… She nodded inwardly, remembering the argument.
Now, she was very happy.
'Everyone in this group has to do well first. If they don't do it, everyone will die.'
Although no one intended it, it was the effect of unity among individual fandoms within TeSTAR created by an external enemy.
Of course, this situation was not the case she imagined, but there were some similar aspects. It felt like a state of awakening.
'Whoa.'
On stage…
Seon Ahyeon raised his head and took a step forward. A lighted camera followed him.
And he evaluated it calmly. The performance just now was good.
Of course, there were limits because his body had changed. Difficult techniques and details couldn't be grasped.
Still.
'This is also… fun.'
There was a newly acquired knowledge and experience that encouraged a sense of elation on stage.
The members dressed similarly to one another and appeared on stage with effects.
[Welcome]
Seon Ahyeon joined the group with a faint smile.
What followed was another of TeSTAR's previous hit titles.
Nightmare.
A catchy song in a minor key that was arranged for an orchestra deeply resonated.
[Call-it
Call that name now
Sticks like honey and won't fall off]
In this tour, this decadent song, which only appeared briefly in the medley, was included as a special stage.
And as always, the provocative sexy concept was powerful. The reaction was even hotter because there were many members who temporarily changed their hair for this stage.
Kim Raebin's fan was very enthusiastic about writing comments.
-Kim Raebin's secret two-toned hair??? I can't believe that male idols who can pull off something crazy like this exist.
In addition, there was a closing comment specially prepared for the broadcast.
[Thank you for enjoying the long concert together with us. Finally, only the last stage remains.]
-What?
-Seon Ahyeon, why is he speaking so well?
-He's so cool?
Seon Ahyeon once again exploded in response as he spoke with softer and clearer pronunciation than ever before.
[Then, now, I will tell you the 'promise'.]
In this way, TeSTAR's contest broadcast ended successfully.
It was thanks to the unexpectedness and uniqueness that went beyond simply performing well on stage that it attracted attention.
However, for that reason, the 'controversy' that arose in the agency became bigger.
• * *
After returning home after the concert live schedule was over…
[You can't buy the outfits from the TeSTAR concert. (Daily Talk Talk)]
"Hmm, it seems like the articles are getting stronger?"
"Oh my, they did a good job of linking it to our concert story."
"… That's right."
I didn't know why they looked at me like that, but I wasn't the one who did it.
'I just added some buzz.'
I just started by pretending to send an early holiday gift to the head of the management office and getting some information from the higher-ups at the agency.
"It's an obvious result."
I shrugged. My body felt refreshed after cleaning up.
Just as it was natural to feel refreshed after cleaning up, it was also natural to fail if problems were left untouched.
Rather than raising the junior groups that the agency wanted us to raise, I focused on something else.
-T1 Stars is having a collaboration with a clothing company. An agency with no roots.
When I thought back to collaborations with games like 〈127 Section〉, this was good.
'Idols shoot a lot of clothing advertisements.'
The problem was… that the company did something reckless while dreaming of 'diversifying sales.'
This collaboration had grown a lot.
-Wow, from bronze to platinum. A variety of options, from affordable low prices to special premiums?'
-There seems to be a big difference in design and quality of fabric depending on popularity.
First, the design was somehow broken down into several lines, and it seems that this was taken directly from the ratings of
'It's just a business thing.'
Still, if only this had been announced, they would have been criticized for being insensitive, old-fashioned, and a bunch of innocent thieves.
The problem began next.
-'T-shirts made by idols', certain products can only be purchased by membership subscribers.
First of all, they revealed their desire to collect money one more time between the lines, making fans extremely uncomfortable. Still, this could have been resolved somehow.
If it weren't for this:
-TeSTAR, Mirynay's 'platinum' clothes?
-The 'Platinum' level is produced in only one size like what the idols wore in order to present the most beautiful image…
If only these crazy people didn't post in the media that they'd only sell platinum-grade clothes in 'sizes that the idols wear themselves'.
I understood what they were aiming for.
They probably wanted to go beyond the feeling of 'actual wear' and encourage fans' desire to own it, but it ended up being shit.
This was the result of not recognizing the difference between goods and clothing.
-Isn't that crazy?
-Currently, the idols are being broadcast on a flat screen, so everything has been managed to the limit. But 'only the most beautiful size' is crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Are you telling me to buy it with that money and fit my body to fit the clothes, or to buy something and live with it?
In the meantime, an interview with a person who said, 'We are taking the opportunity to hold an actual wear certification photo event' was discovered… Public opinion was plunged into an abyss.
-Yes, I understand the sign that only people with idol bodies should wear it.
-If you go to the store, you will be scanned up and down and you will not be able to buy anything. This is how trauma starts.
-If they launch it like this, don't you think they'll judge people's faces as well? I'll get kicked out right at the entrance once they see my face…
'It's a really stupid idea.'
In fact, when I thought about it, it looked like they were trying to raise money unethically by saying 'Only people like idols can wear it' as a differentiation strategy.
Because they weren't able to accurately pierce the people's psychology, they suffered a fatal injury.
'If they wanted to benefit from class division, they should have done it more cleverly.'
Why did Tnet's survival show keep making people watch it even though it was being criticized?
This was because it was provocative, sophisticated, and made fun of itself to create content appeal.
'But what about these bastards?'
There weren't many people in this company who could do that. This was because we swept it all away while creating the label.
And all the people there were on the working level, so who caused all this commotion? The higher-ups actively signed contracts to share profits with the portfolio.
Therefore…
'The promised results have arrived.'
It was all shattered.
"Is everything okay?"
Yes.
"Is that all?"
I was innocent.
I just posted an anonymous post out of context.
-Platinum level, the line that everyone knows about from
-There are people of various sizes in the world with various charms.
"That's instigation!"
"No. I wrote it exactly as it was written in the article."
"… Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Just in case, I wrote it down while using a VPN. There was no need to get caught.
"… Also, the costumes we wore during the live concert were originally intended to be sold here at the 'Platinum' level."
"Wow, our agency is really great too."
"I guess that's why a lot of articles like this appeared…"
Thanks to this, as the concert's live broadcast went well, it seemed that it attracted more aggro.
So, will we, who were tied to the agency, also be affected?
'It was a close call.'
I guess it was because it was the signboard of this agency.
-Didn't TeSTAR ultimately agree to this and come out?
└Do you think they even knew?
But it wouldn't last long enough to have an impact.
If the problem got this big, the head office would take action.
"Hmm. Can't this affect the stock price?"
"Maybe so."
Besides that.
'From TI Entertainment's perspective, the agency under it only needs to act as an agency.'
From the head office's perspective, it was enough to conduct other business through other affiliates. The only thing that was disappointing about the side business was the lazy higher-ups.
So what would T1 Entertainment experts, who were familiar with this business, do, unlike the agency's superiors?
They would try to preserve the original value of branded products.
Their attention would be on their idols who were selling well.
"There's already an article about handling the situation."
While updating the news page, I noticed movement at headquarters.
They probably watched it while preparing and checked the reactions as soon as the concert ended.
[T1 Stars' arbitrary actions, artists' embarrassment]
[Tussle A, "The contract was groundless… It was in the discussion stage."]
Everything was said to have been set up by the agency's unresponsive management.
It was a beautiful sight where those who had done wrong paid the full price. In this way, the board of directors of this agency were cut off from the headquarters.
'One or two people won't be able to save their place.'
And in order to quickly cover up this bad news, why not hold an event with major stocks as well?
Ryu Chungwoo grinned.
"What does that mean?"
I laughed too.
"We are releasing an album."
"Oooooh!"
It was a promised development.
"They will give priority to groups with better results. They'll have to cover it with good news."
"Then…"
Bae Sejin didn't say anything, but everyone realized it and smiled. Of course, it was a test stage.
"It was easy thanks to Ahyeon's good work on today's broadcast~"
"That's right, good job!"
"Thank you… !"
During the late night, compliments flew around the living room.
'Those who were fooling around are ruined… Now we can release an album.'
The atmosphere was nice.
It was then.
Ring-
My phone was ringing.
"By any chance, you already got a call…?"
"Could it be T1??"
At 2 am?
I wondered if T1 would act that quickly, but I also had some expectations.
I quickly looked down at my smartphone, and then a thought occurred to me.
'But if they're talking about an album, isn't it right to call Ryu Chungwoo, not me?'
I knew already.
And again, it wasn't an album call. Instead, a person I had never imagined called me.
"…"
"Moondae?"
I answered the call.
-Hello.
It was the voice of a VTIC member.
… But, he was a guy who had never called me before.
-How are you, Moondae-ssi?
It was Ju-Dan.
Why did a guy going to the military call me early in the morning…
-I really would like to make a suggestion, and I think this would be a game where no one loses.
I already wanted to quit.
—