Chapter 106

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Bae Sejin’s name change received a moderate amount of attention and passed safely.

Since only the surname changed, and the new name was one of the nicknames used to distinguish him from Big Sejin, there was no particular sense of incongruity.

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[Heol, TeStar’s Lee Sejin really changed his name to Bae Sejin]
: I heard his mother’s surname is Bae. LOL. He said he’s changing his name out of respect because his mother raised him alone. It’s really funny how his nickname became his name. LOL. (Article link)
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– Eh, is this for real? LOL.
– How fascinating. LOL.
– Filial piety I never imagined.
└ LOL.
– Well, there are personal family matters, but there are two Lee Sejins in TeStar, so it must have been too confusing. I guess they couldn’t keep adding alphabets. LOL.
– LOL. It’s good that the fans won’t be confused.

However, the fans weren’t blindly happy.

It was because ‘Bae Sejin’ was less of an affectionate nickname from fans and more of a case where ‘Actor-nim’ (Bae-woo-nim), used sarcastically by viewers of Idol Inc., spread and became established as a nickname.

As time passed, the negative nuance was mostly buried, but still, fans who remembered the beginning couldn’t help but feel a mysterious sense of unease.

However, after reading the full text of the article, a subtle atmosphere was formed among fans to accept this name change positively.

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…According to the agency T1 Stars Entertainment, Bae Sejin stated, “I am aware that there is an existing nickname that overlaps with the name I am changing to. It is a fascinating thing, and I intend to accept this as an opportunity. I hope this nickname can approach the fans with a new feeling.”
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It was because they could feel Bae Sejin’s will to break through head-on.

– From now on, it’s the official history that Bae Sejin is a name like a gift received from his mother.
– I never used that nickname because I was worried Sejin would be hurt. But Sejin is saying it’s okay to use it first….
– There are plenty of people who feed their fans a hard time, but our Bae Se is a complete filial son. A filial son to his mother and a filial son to his fans T_T *muah muah muah*
– Hmm, out of the two, I felt uneasy about changing the little Sejin’s name, especially to that nickname, but after reading the full text, it makes sense. Sejin seems like a much sturdier person than I thought.

Within the TeStar fandom, not just Bae Sejin’s individual fandom, they moved on with comments like ‘It’s good not to be confused, it’s fascinating and cute’.

Since it was already the general atmosphere not to refer to them by their real names to distinguish the ‘Lee Sejins’, there was no particular rejection.

However, the malicious fan accounts of Big Sejin were briefly in a stir.

– Ah, did he finally get the name Lee Sejin back? It was shitty having to search for a nickname every time instead of a decent name, but thank goodness.
– My baby is so easygoing and quick-witted that I was pissed off seeing him make a nickname and cater to the Actor-nim’s mood. LOL. ‘That person’ even takes the image with him while changing his name. Wow, great. ^^
– Instead of attaching a political frame to our kid, shouldn’t he attach it to his own head?

But this reaction also only fluctuated briefly below the surface and ended.

Thus, as TeStar and the company hoped, the name change was naturally established with the public as if it had always been that way, without any major waves.

And around the time when Bae Sejin’s name change was no longer new news.

The comeback date approached.

* * *

“Finally.”

The graduate student, who was released from the lab after pulling two all-nighters, stumbled through the entrance. Her pet dog was enjoying a nap in the living room.

But she couldn’t sleep.

‘I have to watch the TeStar music video.’

Even though it was revealed yesterday at midnight, she still hadn’t seen it.

Thanks to that, the only thing she knew was the teaser video she had last seen.

Even that was just a collection of short cuts similar to the concept photos tied together with a single melody, so it wasn’t a major clue or hint.

Because of that, she was incredibly curious about the music video, but….

Since it was already late, she had grit her teeth and run home with the thought of watching it on a large screen at least.

As soon as the graduate student washed her face with cold water, she sat in front of the computer. Then, with a thumping heart, she entered WeTube.

Without needing to go further, as soon as she entered the trending tab, the title she had been waiting for appeared at the top.

[TeStar ‘Airplane’ Official MV]

“…Phew, hah!!”

She could finally see it. Finally!! She clicked on the music video immediately, without even looking at the thumbnail or anything.

The first thing that appeared was a white school hallway cutting through the blue sky.

The fantastic screen, which looked like it could appear in an abstract painting, strangely reminded her of the previous Magic Boy concept.

But before she could properly examine it, the cut suddenly changed to a pitch-black hallway in the same composition.

‘Eh?’

Water was dripping from everywhere in the black hallway. The graffiti drawn with fluorescent paint and the blinking emergency lights were distorted by the flowing water, glinting strangely.

And at that moment, someone appeared from the end of the hallway.

“……!”

A dark silhouette stumbled and hurriedly walked forward while leaning against the wall.

Just as she thought she caught a glimpse of who it was.

The palm extended by the dark silhouette suddenly covered the camera.

[…]

The screen turned pitch black. And….

The sound of an acoustic guitar began to ring out.

“…?!”

It was a terrifyingly clear and nostalgic sound that she hadn’t expected at all.

Then the palm was removed from the screen.

A sky full of deep blue and white clouds. Below it was an old school.

However, it didn’t look like a hideous object. The small school nestled between mountains and trees like a picture looked as if it would appear in a youth novel.

And the next moment.

A boy was standing in front of the school gate.

[…]

The boy’s back seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he soon grabbed the doorknob.

The moment the door slowly began to open.

A clear and refreshing voice began the song.

– My heart is fluttering
I want to send it somewhere
Every single piece of it

– Open the window now
I’m going to send it to the sky
The paper airplane I folded today

The boy ran out into the hallway beyond the opened door. The camera turned slightly to the side, revealing his profile.

It was Park Moondae.

At that moment, a cool drum sound rang out.

Tang Tang! Drdrdrdrdr!

Band sounds and violin sounds were layered heavily on top, filling the ears.

They were classic instruments and sounds that might have been popular in the early 2000s, but thanks to the modern arrangement of the beats and the detailed elements created with synthesizers, it captured a retro sensibility without feeling tacky.

In the meantime, the boy who arrived at the door at the end of the hallway burst it open.

Thud!

Beyond the opened door was a dormitory room.

The boys, who were each hanging out, widened their eyes and looked back at the camera.

[…?]

And the video completely transformed into a youth drama.

The appearance of TeStar attending classes and enjoying daily life in a small rural school followed.

Every time the school area they stayed in changed, a choreography cut was included. As if the students had cleared it themselves, even the desks pushed slightly awkwardly into the corner brought the atmosphere to life.

‘Oh my goodness.’

The graduate student already had this music video, which poured in a mixture of youth and nostalgia, embedded in her heart, but this wasn’t the end.

It was because new cuts began to mix in from the start of the second verse.

The TeStar members began to experience minor abnormal phenomena as they each encountered specific situations and props in the school and forest.

For instance, the moment Seon Ahyun turned on the water at the playground’s tap, shimmering soap bubbles poured out instead of water.

“Wow….”

She reflexively exclaimed in admiration.

The sight of the shimmering light orbs swirling around Seon Ahyun along with the wind was truly a great cut….

After that, the first encounter with the abilities most members showcased in ‘Magic Boy’ was depicted without being too overt.

‘What about Moondae?’

While she was worried that he might be omitted since he appeared in the opening, Moondae’s ability appeared on the screen.

The moment Moondae, who was about to follow his friends leaving the music room after class, grabbed the doorknob, an illusion of a mysterious pattern being engraved on top of it flickered.

And the door was locked.

‘Heok.’

While the graduate student swallowed a scream, the music video rushed toward its climax.

The seven boys came up with a plan to secretly sneak out of school during curfew and play using their abilities.

So, in the middle of a night full of stars.

A playful escape began.

When Big Sejin closed his eyes and confirmed that the situation in the outside hallway was okay, Cha Yujin wound up the gear of a small bear decoration to make it human-sized and covered it with a blanket.

However, Kim Raebin carefully tried to open the window with a compass, but ended up making a pretty circular hole in the window and looked back at his friends with an ambiguous face.

Anyway, after much trial and error, the boys eventually succeeded in secretly escaping from the school building.

The last chorus flowed out.

– I’ll let it go without holding on
The joy
And the regret
When it fills up again
I’ll make it and send it again
An Airplane for you

– Airplane

A drop entered along with modern electronic instruments, and a group choreography cut with a field full of stars as the background appeared.

And the moment that glamorous choreography stopped.

The members stopped dancing and began to run through the field. The storyline naturally began to connect with a one-take that wasn’t cut.

[Hahaha!]

At the moment the sound of the boys laughing was inserted over the accompaniment, the drums dropped out.

The bridge was rearranged to wrap up the song softly.

– Fly high in the distance
My heart that flies away
Crossing the Milky Way
I hope it becomes a shining star

Ryu Chungwoo laughed and fired a toy gun into the sky.

Along with a cheerful bursting sound, the bullet burst with light like fireworks and embroidered the night sky.

– Pray again with hands together
To reach you
Beyond our line
I want our hands to touch

The boys laughed loudly and ran out into the field.

The camera captured their backs on the screen for quite a long time.

‘Ah… it was good.’

Her tension relaxed, and she tapped the keyboard with limp fingers. It was an action born from being so good but having no physical strength.

However, the video wasn’t over yet.

The moment the music ended, the screen suddenly turned black.

“……?”

The black screen was… a classroom window at night. However, it was pitch black outside the window without a single night light or star, creating a huge sense of incongruity.

And instead, suddenly, light flickered on the curtains.

“…!”

The fluorescent graffiti she had seen at the beginning of the video was densely filling the curtains.

Thanks to that eerie light, a silhouette leaning over the window was finally visible.

It was a composition familiar to TeStar fans.

‘…The Magic Boy teaser!’

The composition was identical.

…But this time, no magic happened.

[…]

The video ended just like that.

“…Whew!”

The graduate student let out a long sigh.

‘The hint at the end… no, before thinking about that… it was so good…!’

The song was good, the choreography was good, and even the costumes were all good!

However, due to physical strength issues, detailed impressions weren’t completed in her head and only feelings floated around.

‘At times like this, you look at other people’s impressions…!’

Then she didn’t have to use her brain and could empathize with the fan talk. Excitedly, she scrolled down to the comment section.

“……”

And she froze upon seeing the screen filled with English.

It was due to WeTube’s policy of exposing English comments at the top first.

There was only one Korean comment exposed at the top.

– Looking for Koreans. TeStar, I love you! (Smiling and crying emoticon)

“……”

The graduate student decided to create a social media account.