Chapter 103

===================

Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

I returned to the dorm after finishing my unproductive meeting with Cheongrye.

It was already 3 AM. Naturally, everyone was sleeping.

‘…I have to wake up at 8 AM tomorrow.’

I had to go to sleep immediately. I lowered my footsteps and quickly went to my room.

And I was surprised.

“……!”
“Hic….”

It was because Lee Sejin was buried in his bed, looking at his smartphone and sobbing.

Light leaked from the phone screen, illuminating Lee Sejin’s drenched face.

‘…Is he watching NetPlus or something?’

It was very awkward.

“……”

I intentionally made a slight stepping sound and walked past the room. It was to give him time to pull himself together.

‘I’ll just wash up and change my clothes first.’

And when I came out after even taking a shower in the bathroom, Lee Sejin was nowhere to be seen, having pulled the blanket over his head.

He had every right to feel embarrassed.

‘…Let’s sleep.’

I lay down on my bed. I probably didn’t need to put on earplugs in the middle of the night.

However, it wasn’t long before I regretted not wearing them.

“……Hic.”

It was because the sound of sobbing and gasping for air rang out dully from next to me.

To anyone listening, it was the sound of someone crying with their face buried in a pillow under the blanket.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

I seriously contemplated whether to put on earplugs and lie back down, but eventually, I got up and approached the bed next to mine.

Then I tapped on the blanket.

“Hyung. Is something wrong?”

“……!!”

The blanket shook, and the sound of coughing rang out.

‘Tears, snot, and even saliva must have come out….’

Even without looking, it didn’t seem like a sight to be shown to others, so I waited with my arms crossed.

“…Did you not put on, hic, earplugs?”

“I didn’t know I’d need to wear them in the middle of the night.”

The sound of tossing and turning came again. Then Lee Sejin’s voice became calm, close to his usual self.

“……Go to sleep. It’s nothing.”

“……”

That means something is definitely up.

At that moment, a warning sound, now faint, rang in my head.

“…Hyung, surely it’s not a drug problem?”

“Are you crazy?”

Hmm, it’s not.

I checked Lee Sejin, who had kicked off the blanket in horror, and returned to my bed.

Even in the dark, I could see Lee Sejin’s face was beet red, perhaps out of anger.

“Do I look like someone who would do drugs?”

“No…. It’s just that I met Cheongrye Sunbaenim today, and I heard some stories about people who were ruined by drugs. It suddenly came to mind, so I asked.”

“……”

Lee Sejin seemed to have recalled a few specific examples, as his expression became uneasy.

“…It’s best not to get involved in such things if possible. You should also avoid making connections with strange people altogether.”

“I understand.”

I shrugged my shoulders and covered myself with the blanket.

‘It’s become awkward to ask further.’

Lee Sejin also seems to be trying to grow in his own way, so if a really big problem arises, he’ll speak up.

And just in case, let’s say this.

“Hyung.”

“What.”

“If it’s hard, talk to someone.”

“……Okay.”

“To Chungwoo Hyung.”

“…Hey!”

I waved my hand at him and lay down in a straight posture.

And I fell asleep in an instant.

* * *

As the comeback approached, fatigue began to accumulate as I balanced practice and schedules.

“Still, it’s more manageable than the debut album.”

“I think so, too.”

Compared to when we prepared a double title in a month, this was practically a piece of cake, so the praise within the group was still overflowing.

Certainly. First of all, it was worth living because at least the minimum amount of sleep time was secured.

‘There’s also time to monitor things every now and then.’

I checked the current trends on my smartphone.

Hmm, until a few days ago, fans were developing deductions by comparing the recently revealed concept photos and album specifications.

– Is the album title Choose Your Side because the crazy album comes in two versions, Side A and B? Fans cry at such details.
– I’m betting A is refreshing and B is dreamy.
└ What about the trailer?
└ Isn’t that just an intro song?
└ I think that part is Side B.
– No, Magic Boy props clearly appeared in the trailer T_T It’s ambiguous to see it as just a game advertisement, but the game hasn’t even been released yet, so I can’t even compare…!
└ Hello, teacher. Ruined Factory has only released god-tier games so far. Please try it when it’s released..!
└ Ah, yes, I understand.

And today, the second concept photo was revealed.

[TeStar Concept Photo ‘Side B’]

It was the appearance of TeStar wearing classic winter school uniforms.

There were connection points with the previous album, but the atmosphere was clearly different.

It was because the classroom in the background wasn’t simply old or destroyed, but covered in graffiti with rough neon-colored lights.

Furthermore, the material of the classroom wall seen through the graffiti was not the usual ivory color, but rusted chrome structures were revealed as they were.

In addition, some members were holding gas masks or unique mechanical equipment. The equipment also flickered with neon-like lights.

To anyone’s eyes, it was a cyberpunk with a dystopian feel.

– Uaaaah.
– Crazy cyberpunk.
– I love it so much.
– Look at them taking care of the winter uniforms since they couldn’t do it in the last album… Our kids are so well-educated that Loviewers are about to trip over their long academic backgrounds.
– T_T Chungwoo finally dyed his hair, everyone. It’s close to black… but it’s blue. I’m so happy, everyone, please be happy.
– I’m smashing my head for only thinking of something like ‘Dreamy 2’….
– I like both concept photos so much. I hope the album comes soon T_T

The fans were happy without even needing to manage public opinion.

‘I think the worries about the game have mostly disappeared.’

In fact, this concept photo had many similarities with the trailer, and because it felt good, the ominous premonitions seemed to have vanished.

And reactions were generally good even on most internet communities, not just places where fans gathered.

========================
[TeStar Choose Your Side Concept Photo]
: Side A (Photo)
: Side B (Photo)
The current public opinion is that they are generally well-made.
========================

– Oh, handsome.
– Seon Ahyun gets more handsome every time I see him.
– Their concept is excessive every time, but it feels like they’re pushing it with money.
└ LOL. A perfect explanation.
└ I’m a 2D fan, so maybe that’s why I end up watching them. Hehe.
– Kim Raebin really suits the second concept. It’s more decadent than a delinquent, so he stands out.
– I’m looking forward to the music video. If it’s uploaded, please upload it here, too!

There were people who tried to change public opinion somehow, but it didn’t have much effect.

– I don’t know… where are they saying it’s well-made? LOL?
└ Eh, public opinion is good wherever you go… Everyone here is saying it’s well-made, too.
└ It could be that fans flocked here T_T
└ If this many people are all fans, then isn’t their opinion just the public opinion? LOL.

It usually ended like this.

‘Too bad for you.’

I exited the post with a smirk.

“M-Moondae-ya. Are you… looking at the internet?”

“Yeah, I checked the reactions to the newly uploaded concept photos.”

“I-I see.”

Seon Ahyun didn’t bother to ask what the public opinion was like.

I heard he’s training to not care too much about ‘what other people think of me’.

Whether the new doctor suits him well, Seon Ahyun’s face has been bright lately.

‘Did he say he’d start speech correction in earnest after these activities end?’

Well, I hope it goes well.

“I-It was really hot when we were taking photos.”

As soon as Seon Ahyun spoke a word, shouts of agreement burst out from here and there.

“That’s right!”

“Due to the heatwave that hit in early autumn, perhaps because of abnormal temperatures, the air conditioning in the set was insufficient!”

“……”

Thanks for saying what I wanted to say.

“Still, Sejin’s face color didn’t even change when he was taking photos. Amazing.”

“Actors are cool!”

“Indeed.”

Lee Sejin, who received a sudden compliment, almost spat out the water he was drinking, but soon replied softly.

“…Thanks.”

“I just said you did well because you did well.”

Ryu Chungwoo laughed and started stretching again.

This kind of scene, where he boosted Lee Sejin’s morale when he couldn’t keep up with the progress of learning new choreography, was quite familiar now.

‘Well, it’s not like he’s saying something that didn’t happen.’

Once content requiring acting was included, Lee Sejin was mostly overwhelming in skill.

Next to him, Big Sejin grumbled playfully.

“Hey, that’s too much~ Let’s not forget that there’s also a Sejin over here, everyone. I took good photos, too~!”

“Haha!”

“Wow, Hyung is cool.”

“Yujin-ah, you have no soul.”

“I can’t lie. Ack!”

Big Sejin gave Cha Yujin a light headlock, laughed loudly, and let him go. Lee Sejin turned his head away.

‘Those two still have an ambiguous relationship.’

It’s not that it seems like they’ll fight, but just… a feeling that they don’t want to associate with each other because they dislike each other.

“Alright, let’s start practice again~”

“Yes!”

Short rest ended, and the choreography began again.

“Watch your feet~”

“This way~”

The members, who had the choreographer’s advice stuck in their mouths, did vocal impressions while dancing the chorus. It was a sight to see everyone’s corners of the mouth constantly rising as they couldn’t hold back their laughter.

However, Lee Sejin still seemed to find it difficult to keep up. He’s looking at the mirror with his mouth tightly shut.

‘That’s understandable.’

His dance was still D+.

Since jumping over one alphabet level was at a level where a certain classification group changed, it would be hard for someone who originally had no talent in dance to overcome it in a short period.

‘I think he’ll be able to overcome it soon if he continues like this, though.’

I checked Lee Sejin’s status window.

[Name: Lee Sejin]
Vocal: C- (B+)
Dance: D+ (B)
Appearance: A+ (S)
Talent: A (S-)
Trait: Focus (B)
!Status Abnormality: –

Vocal was already in the C range. Since it was originally higher than dance, he seemed to have raised it relatively quickly.

And since Lee Sejin’s potential dance stat is ‘B’, he’ll probably go up to C as long as he does it steadily.

‘Moreover, that trait.’

It was quite good.

[Focus (B)]
: I want to make it happen
– Concentration +100%

It had a simple name and description, but it seemed quite versatile. Even if it had appeared for me, I probably would have kept it.

‘Speaking of which, I should organize my status window once, too.’

I pulled up my status window.

[Name: Park Moondae (Ryu Gunwoo)]
Level: 15
Title: None
Vocal: A
Dance: B-
Appearance: B+
Talent: B
Traits: Infinite Potential, Now that I hear it, you’re right (C), Bacchus 500 (B), Catching Ear (A)
!Status Abnormality: Debut or Die
Remaining Points: 3

It was a triumph brought about by achieving stage achievements up to the 100s and practice achievements up to the 5000s.

The pop-up that appeared when doing a good stage was also updated a couple more times, and I received additional stats.

In this process, I also received a trait draw….

[Trait: Faucet Under the Eye (B)]
– Open and close it comfortably!
: Tear control ability MAX

I threw it away immediately. Damn it.

Anyway, even excluding that, it seems I’ve taken quite a lot.

‘…Debut activities were tough, indeed.’

I feel like the reward for not being able to sleep is taken care of here as well. However, this wasn’t the most surprising point.

…The most surprising thing was that the Talent stat increased naturally.

…I’m guessing that W-Live or fan signing events had an influence.

Of course, most of the members besides me and Lee Sejin had their stats increase naturally, but for now….

“Moondae, stop spacing out~!”

“…!”

I stopped thinking immediately at Big Sejin’s call.

‘Let’s focus on practice for now.’

And after a while, the last accompaniment ended.

Big Sejin, who wiped off his sweat, asked out of courtesy.

“Phew, shall we play it again from the beginning?”

“Let’s do that.”

“Yes!”

Big Sejin raised his dance stat from A- to A, and his speed of picking up the choreography given by the choreographer, even capturing the feeling, became significantly faster.

‘I’m envious.’

At the moment I was thinking about putting all my remaining points into dance.

During the intro choreography that started again, Lee Sejin fell to the floor.

“…Heok!”

“Are you okay?”

“……I’m fine,”

Lee Sejin hesitated while trying to get up.

Then, while lying down, he grabbed his ankle and bit his lip.

…I didn’t have a good feeling.