Chapter 101

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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It was Sunday, September 23rd.

TeStar’s fans, the Loviewers, were grieving over the dried-up breadcrumbs of content.

Of course, TeStar periodically left updates on social media, and news related to advertisements or events was steadily delivered every few days.

However, the fans could not forget the taste of that debut activity period when content poured down like a waterfall.

– Don’t the kids have any other news…?
– Since we even kicked out that general manager guy, I wish they’d do a celebration party on W-App for about a week.
– We have a conscience, so we’re not hoping for comeback hints already, guys. But couldn’t they at least do a self-produced variety show on WeTube…? Hehe.
– It feels like I was eating a feast every day, but now I’m only eating barley rice with soy sauce. T_T

The fans, who were conflicted between their conscience and their desires, were planning to fall asleep while dreading the upcoming Monday.

That was, until that video was posted.

– Oh, something was just posted on the official account. It’s WeTube?! (Link)

[TeStar ‘Bonus book’ Comeback Trailer (with 127 Section)]

– ???
– Comeback trailer?
– All of a sudden?
– My heart almost stopped.

People screamed and were terrified, but they clicked on the video immediately.

The thumbnail was a left eye seen through a scope. It was unknown whether he was wearing lenses or if it was CG, but it was glowing with a somewhat eerie purple light.

And soon, the video began to play.

[…]

What appeared were long, black legs. Stretched out in sleek leather pants, the feet strode towards somewhere.

As the camera followed those footsteps, it quickly showed a hallway with clear traces of being destroyed and patched up with boards and cloth.

Then the camera moved up from the legs and showed a left hand wearing a black finger-suit. In the process, a close-up of the side profile was shown together.

It was Cha Yujin with his red hair down.

And what was in Cha Yujin’s hand was… a worn-out red stuffed doll.

[♬♪♩♪~]

Cha Yujin whistled a low, familiar melody and turned the stuffed doll over.

There was a gear attached to the back of the doll. His right hand unhesitatingly grabbed the gear and began to turn it.

Creek, creek.

The sound of the gear turning rang out loudly, and soon strange notes began to mix in.

Pi Pi Pi Pipipipipi-
PPi-.

Boom.

With an exploding sound, the screen turned black. Narration played.

[WHAT makes people live?]
[…A CHOICE]

The moment the screen brightened again, the scenery changed.

It was a semi-destroyed playground. The sand had hardened, and the goalposts were already worn out. In the middle of it, a strange pattern was briefly caught in an aerial shot.

An extremely heavy beat began to ring out.

DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM

And a dazzling string orchestra began to play. It was an accompaniment in an urgent minor key.

On top of that, an intense synth with an electric sound began to play a riff melody like a lightning strike.

– I’m gonna survive,
Like you did before
I’m gonna grab it,
Just like I dreamed

It was a high-pitched intro.

At that moment, the area under the goalpost in the playground exploded. And Cha Yujin popped out from under it.

– Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
But NOT for me, not me
I’m alive, that’s right, like
Legends never die

Cha Yujin, who shook off the dust and sand from his hair, kicked the goalpost once as if he were excited and ran across the playground towards the main gate.

The moment he kicked open the main gate, which was thick with dark red ivy, and strode through, the scene transitioned.

– Every fork in the road is a crossroad of choice
But wherever you go, find
The most certain equation
You will never die

It was Lee Sejin, the former actor, looking into a monitor in a blue laboratory filled with samples.

Contrary to his delicate impression with glasses, the gown he was wearing was covered in green and dark red stains.

Lee Sejin, who watched Cha Yujin sprinting out of the main gate through the monitor, stood up from his seat.

Then, as he walked towards the iron fence that blocked the laboratory door, he stopped his feet and read the warning signs pasted all over.

It was a biohazard mark.

At that moment, the cut changed to a hand tearing off the same mark from another location.

– That’s what keeps me alive
I’m chasing fiercely
The footsteps that will complete my life
If I reach out, I can hold it

The one holding the torn paper in one hand was Big Sejin in neat, modern attire. He was standing on an old podium as if he were giving a speech.

And the moment he threw the paper he was holding towards the old iron fence.

Thud.

The crumpled paper bounced off the iron fence powerlessly, but the people standing under the podium rushed towards the iron fence in a swarm.

Big Sejin shrugged his shoulders, picked up a baseball cap hanging on one side, and placed it on his head. Then he leisurely disappeared from the podium.

At that moment, the camera soared into the sky.

– I’m gonna survive,
Like you did before
I’m gonna grab it,
Just like I dreamed!

A sniper equipped with modern combat gear from head to toe was aiming at something strange through his sights on a rooftop.

A blue light was fired from the sniper’s gun.

The moment the light hit a throbbing red lump, the lump burst and an explosion occurred.

The camera spun once, showing the sniper standing up while throwing his gun. It was Ryu Chungwoo.

The moment the gun thrown by Ryu Chungwoo fell below the rooftop, it melted red and seeped into the asphalt, disappearing without a trace.

And the camera fell below the asphalt.

– I will never die
Like I did before
I’m gonna keep you
Alive- Alive- Alive!

In a huge sewer where water had pooled, mannequins and all sorts of weapons were piled up in a semi-destroyed state.

Kim Raebin was lying quietly at the very top. A ray of sunlight fell on him, but at the same time, water dripped down, soaking his black hair and face.

At that moment, Kim Raebin lifted his eyelids.

Then he only rolled his pupils to the side. The camera moved along that somewhat eerie gaze.

Splash.

The cut continued with the busy footsteps of people moving through the sewer.

Instead of dropping, the song became more melodic. A soft, beautiful voice followed.

– Choose your way
Choose your side
Make your way
Decide your fate

The camera’s focus shifted to a massive object like a water tank that people were moving.

The water tank trembled, then the top opened and a white arm popped out.

The one who pulled himself out of it was Seon Ahyun.

Beyond the shaking camera, strangely glowing water overflowed from the tank.

Behind Seon Ahyun, a feast of glowing water droplets stopped like a halo.

At that moment, the camera left the sewer along with the soaring water droplets.

Then it showed the broken window of a high-rise building.

– Choose your way
Choose your side
Make your way
Decide your fate….

Standing behind the window was a boy looking into a smartphone.

The song faded out.

[…]

The boy, with his black hood pulled down, faced away from the camera and gazed out the window. What he held in his hand was an old smartphone.

Even though it was the middle of the night, the city was filled with shimmering lights. The boy’s silhouette became darker due to the backlight.

At the moment his upper body was gradually zoomed in.

The boy suddenly turned around and stared at the camera.

It was Park Moondae’s face.

The camera pulled away quickly as if it were surprised. Then, drones floating around the boy were seen.

The drones with shimmering neon lights stared at the camera.

Park Moondae looked at the camera with eyes shimmering in a strange purple light, then threw the smartphone out the window.

And the moment Park Moondae approached the camera, the screen turned off.

Click.

Subtitles appeared.

[Choose Your Side]
[127 Section]
[Coming Soon]

The video ended like that.

– ????
– !?!?

And the fans began to overflow with question marks and exclamation points.

* * *

The trailer video was a short 2-minute and 42-second video, and only about the length of the first verse of the song was cut and released.

However, because of the overflowing visual beauty, meaningfulness, and elements connecting with the previous album, all social media fan accounts and communities forgot it was Monday and immediately started talking about the video.

– T_T No, is there a rule that you have to surprise a faint-hearted fan like me by dropping a trailer without any notice like this? Really T_T Thank you. Please make it a law.
– It was a good thing we kicked out the general manager. As expected, they’re doing well even without that guy.
– This seems like a pre-release song, right? It was a bit disappointing that there was no choreography, but I think the tension would have been broken if a group dance scene was included, so it was perfect.
└ That’s right. It wasn’t really a one-take, but I also liked that it was edited with that kind of feeling.
– But I still don’t know why the song title is Bonus book. LOL. It means an appendix, but is it just the video title?

Of course, news was immediately posted on general entertainment-related communities as well.

========================
[TeStar’s Comeback Trailer is Out]
: The fans seem to be in a panic because they didn’t know it would be released.
========================

– Wow, the smell of money.
– It’s like a movie trailer.
– But there’s no choreography, and the song doesn’t really feel like an idol song. T_T
– It seems like T1 is really investing a lot of money. Lee Sejin must be lucky to have joined as an addition and get to enjoy all that.
└ Hmm, for this one, I think the video quality went up because a former actor appeared instead?
└ LOL. He only appeared for 20 seconds; is it possible to judge his acting skills and emotions?
└ Oh my, it’s too bad that the participant you were supporting in Idol Inc. was unfortunately eliminated. Who was it again?
– It feels like it was swallowed by the worldview… It’s too geeky.
– It’s seriously awesome.

There were many people who loudly shouted their dislikes, but the comments and view counts did not lie.

And naturally, the subtitle hint that appeared at the end of the video was immediately analyzed and a conclusion was reached.

========================
[TeStar’s current video seems to be game-related]
: The subtitle at the end, ‘127 section’.
When I searched for it, a game scheduled to be released in October came up.
(Article capture)
It was originally a small development team, but T1 acquired them.
========================

– Oh.
– Was it a game collaboration?
– Heol, I like it even more. No wonder it felt like a game.
– Then was it just an advertisement video?
└ Seeing as it’s called a comeback trailer… it doesn’t seem to be just at the level of an advertisement… Hehe.
– Hmm, I don’t like it. It’s just a time when they’re barely establishing their own worldview. T_T
– But to say it’s just for a game, there are too many connection points with the Magic Boy music video? The fans are digging into it a lot.
└ Did T1 make the game for TeStar’s worldview? LOL.
└ Heol.
└ No way.
└ It’s a true waste of money;;;

People who were moderately interested in TeStar observed the situation with interest.

The fans went back and forth between worry and expectation, but the situation ended with everyone deciding to wait for now as the album pre-order notice was posted the next day.

– Seeing how they poured money into the video, it’s not a throwaway card. The song is also good and the worldview seems to be connected to the last album, so for now, I’m going in.
– I don’t think this is the title track, but just a collaboration of one or two songs with a game company. Anyway, I’m satisfied just by seeing this quality trailer!
– The song, video, and visuals hit perfectly, so I liked it. I’m looking forward to the title track. T_T

However, there was still a side that hadn’t finished yet.

[Hey, did you guys see this?]

It was a game community.