Chapter 119

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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I couldn’t tell what that crazy guy Cheongryeo was thinking.

He posted on social media as if to say ‘get f*cked’, and then not even a few days later, he was doing this sh*t again.

‘Even calling the company?’

Even worse, I was at the shop right now. It was because I was preparing for the evening schedule.

I saw Kim Raebin, who was getting his hair dried next to me, eyes wide open. He must have read the manager’s mouth shape.

It was even more unpleasant because this place was full of all sorts of officials.

‘Who knows what he’ll say.’

In the middle of this, the hairstylist who was holding my hair readily urged the situation.

“Take it, take it~ It’s okay. It’s almost finished.”

They probably thought I was hesitating because I was worried about interfering with the hair styling.

‘I just don’t want to take it though……’

I suppressed a sigh. And first, I said to the manager.

“…Can’t you tell him that I’ll contact him later?”

“Uh, he says you don’t know the number? He said he changed his number and called this way. Moondae, you don’t pick up unknown numbers.”

“……”

It was obvious why he went through the company to call instead of just texting.

‘He knows I blocked him, I see.’

If he goes this far, there’s no choice. It didn’t look good to keep asking the manager to relay things.

Let’s finish it quickly.

“Yes. Then.”

I took the smartphone from the manager and brought it to my ear.

“I’ve taken the call. This is Park Moondae.”

-Ah, finally.

A voice full of laughter was heard. Do I have to listen to him giggling like this too?

“I heard you changed your number. I’ll save this number.”

-Yes. Do that. And congratulations on the Rookie of the Year award.

Strength went into the hand holding the chair armrest on its own.

“…The awards ceremony hasn’t even fully proceeded yet, so we don’t know. Then…”

At the moment I was about to wrap up my words immediately, Cheongryeo replied without giving a gap.

-It’s almost certain. Well, aren’t you curious about what will happen next?

I’m not curious, you son of a b*tch.

Anyway, even if I interact with this guy like this, I don’t think I’ll get proper information.

He stabbed me in the back, and now where is he trying to gently lure me.

“Not really. Anyway, I’ll save the number well. I hope you finish your year-end activities well. Sunbae-nim.”

It meant I was hanging up now.

-…Ah, does it turn out like this.

Then, suddenly the guy’s way of speaking changed as if it was a bit difficult.

-Well, it seems like a misunderstanding happened… I don’t do things that will harm a hoebae out of the blue. I have a line too.

Line my a*s.

“Is that so. I understand.”

-We’ll keep meeting while doing year-end activities so… hmm, I’ll have to explain it then. It’s a bit much to do over the phone.

“It would be nice to see you if there’s a chance. Then, I’m sorry, but I’ll hang up as I have a schedule.”

Cheongryeo replied like a joke.

-Sure. Don’t accidentally block me this time.

“Yes. Then.”

I quickly hung up. If it had been the dorm, I probably wouldn’t have been able to hold back a word, but I endured it because it was the shop.

And I gave the phone back to the manager.

“Here you go, hyung. Thank you.”

“Sure~ Ah, I’ll send this person’s number to you via text.”

“……”

There was no way to curse the kindness of the manager who didn’t know the whole story. I suppressed a sigh and leaned back against the chair, closing my eyes.

‘It’s annoying.’

At first, I wondered if I could gain some benefit, but this guy was nothing short of a pure troller.

Moreover, the sudden change in attitude made him look like a really crazy guy, so I couldn’t predict him.

‘As expected, the answer is cutting ties.’

I’ll finish it quietly without making things worse.

Anyway, in two years, the future I know will end. Then that guy won’t have anything to use me for, so he’ll naturally fall away.

Until then, it’s enough to avoid getting involved by dodging situations gently.

Teastar seems like they’ll even hang their feet in the top tier by the next album, and if that guy values his position, he won’t be able to come out more blatantly than this time.

Apart from being insane, he seemed quite obsessed with his position as an idol.

‘Then I just need to not build up ill feelings to the point of wanting to die together.’

Well, originally I was so pissed that I thought about sending him away somehow, but after the matter was resolved and I thought rationally, my risk was too big.

‘There’s no need to risk my life to catch a troller.’

I’ll just keep this as a contingency plan. I organized my thoughts like that and opened my eyes.

And Kim Raebin, whose eyes were shining next to me, talked to me.

“…By any chance, the arrangement program is,”

“He said it’s confidential information.”

“I understand……”

I’m sorry, but I don’t think the day I ask him that will come.

I threw a glucose candy to the dejected Kim Raebin.

* * *

After running a few year-end events, the day to do another year-end stage soon came.

This time it was the KBC Gayo Daechukje.

Because it was proceeded by calling only the singers who were quite active this year, we received a good amount of stage time compared to other terrestrial broadcasters, but……

The problem was elsewhere.

“We’re coming out!”

“Wow, it’s that advertisement from then! That artificial intelligence!”

“Oh my god.”

…As a commercial during the break between parts 1 and 2, we came to check the actual 350 million won ad for 3 months.

On the screen, Teastar sitting in a white living room that looked like a set to anyone was transmitted, each holding different props.

For reference, I was… a lightstick. And in the form of a glittering magic wand.

“……I want to make an excuse that there was no choice.”

Anyway, the artificial intelligence assistant contracted this time seemed to have the advantage of being small and detachable everywhere.

[Connect to the item that shows my sensibility.]

[Your own assistant who understands the user, play exactly that song you thought of.]

And suddenly the screen showed a character-type AI speaker with vague eye finishing.

Cha Yujin smiled and tapped the speaker.

[I want to hear Airplane~]

Then the speaker unexpectedly started to play a low-quality ‘Fly, Fly, Airplane’ vigorously.

[……?]

After the cut of the surprised Cha Yujin, Park Moondae with a calm face popped out.

Park Moondae smiled while waving the lightstick.

[Curious, play Airplane]

Then the audio was filled with Teastar’s song ‘Airplane’.

Over the clean quality BGM, cuts of Teastar members making gestures passed.

[Magic Boy Teastar’s]

[Magic-like AI assistant!]

…There, with Park Moondae who suddenly attached dog ear drawings and mimicked a dog while shouting ‘Curious’, the ad ended in an instant.

[Curious! Woof woof!]

And the waiting room was full of laughter.

“Hahahahaha!!”

“Pfft.”

That… no matter how I think about it, it was a laughter that came from the relief that they avoided it.

“……”

I suppressed a sigh. Ryu Chungwoo, who was the first to stop laughing, began to comfort me only after coughing.

“Ahem, I think it’s because you’re first place, Moondae-ya. How good is it that you have a lot of screen time in the ad?”

“O, of course…!”

“Right, right~ Chungwoo-hyung said good things.”

Ah, is that so?

I nodded.

“I see. You’re right.”

“Right?”

“Yes. I want to see other people’s versions soon too.”

“……??”

“Other people’s…?!”

Bae Sejin quietly told the truth to the horrified members.

“…It was written in the storyboard that there are 7 versions of this.”

“…!”

For a while, every time we watched TV, we’ll be enjoying a thrilling Russian roulette.

The members’ faces were filled with tension as they each recalled their own storyboards.

Well, there wasn’t time to worry for long. Because our stage was near the end of part 2.

And this stage was important. Because it was the first year-end stage after SBC.

‘I have to drive a stake into the turned public opinion.’

If we looked clumsy in anything, it was inevitable that words like ‘I don’t know Teastar’s skills… I guess they only did that special stage with their teeth clenched ㅠ’ would come up.

We had to do well here unconditionally.

Thanks to that, the guys quickly became sharp with tension of a different meaning.

And right before going up on stage, they even gathered and put in spirit.

“Ah, Teastar will show something today!”

“Let’s go!”

I wondered if we had to use this phrase but…… well, the atmosphere was lively so it was fine.

Teastar went up on stage riding the lift device just like that.

Waaaaaaa!

All sorts of lights waved from the audience seats.

It still didn’t feel real that each of those lights was a person.

Still, there was a lightstick that stood out uniquely. As you would have expected, it’s Teastar’s lightstick.

…Because its luminous power is exceptional.

‘It looks like a flashlight was placed among fireflies.’

Anyway, it was a good thing that it could be recognized immediately. Since it’s a live broadcast, I can’t do anything great but I can at least greet that way when entering.

Meanwhile, the intro for entry was ending.

I walked out to the center and took my place.

Then, the prelude of ‘Magic Boy’ arranged for the year-end stage began to flow.

It was an orchestral live version.

Matching the live violin melody echoing from below the stage, I started the introduction.

“I think of you who I’ll meet tomorrow all day today, dreaming a blue dream like the day-.”

The ensemble of string and wind instruments gorgeously filled the hall.

It was complete live music proceeding in real time.

What this means is that to bring out the live band feel, they boldly didn’t lay down AR at all.

‘It was comfortable because I was the introduction.’

If I couldn’t match the pitch and beat when entering, it’s an immediate catastrophe. It was right for the guy with the lowest failure probability to take it.

And after that, everyone was stable because they were good at live singing.

“Cast a spell-”

“Make a wish come true, true, true~”

Matching the gorgeous performance, some modern dance moves were mixed into the choreography. It became an atmosphere more like a fantasy epic than a dreamlike one, but it had its own flavor.

The costumes were a bit too fluttering so it was embarrassing, but it seemed like people would like it.

‘Seon Ahyun is flying.’

Since he is the guy who receives this kind of concept the best, he seemed more excited than usual. In the dance break part where only the violin solo and percussion remained, I even felt artistic quality.

And it was the part where the song naturally passed to the chorus of ‘Airplane’.

-Airplane

Screeeech-!

‘The in-ear, seriously.’

A sound like scratching a blackboard popped in my ear.

The device that was put on to prevent missing the beat due to cheering or echoing conversely interfered with concentration.

Screech screech screeeeccch!

…I’ve had the volume be too loud or not heard something, but this mess is the first time.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Unable to bear it any longer, I roughly pulled out the in-ear from where the accompaniment was coming out. Seeing a few members doing the same action next to me, it was a transmission error.

‘Terrestrial broadcasters are running so well during the year-end.’

But a more maddening thing happened next.

The in-ear that Bae Sejin pulled out slid down and fell on the stage during the choreography of lying down.

The person doing the fixing work must have made a mistake.

‘…I’ll kick it away in the next part.’

But at that moment, Seon Ahyun, who was coming to the center while changing his movement path, stepped on the wire wrongly and slipped.

And that too, with his head toward the floor!

“……!”

Reflexively, I grabbed Seon Ahyun’s back.

And I met eyes with Ryu Chungwoo who did the same thing as me on the other side.

‘Help him up and return immediately.’

This kind of thing couldn’t be helped.

In an instant, the situation happened, and the judgment ended in a flash.

But at the moment I was about to put strength into my hand, conversely, Seon Ahyun began to kick his feet as he was slipping and give momentum to his body.

“……!”

Using inertia, Seon Ahyun stretched out both legs and did an elegant backflip while leaning both hands on the arms of Ryu Chungwoo and me who were holding his back.

And landing like a picture, he continued to sing his part.

“…Fly high over there, I hope my heart that flies- passes the Milky Way and becomes a shining star.”

“……!”

Unlike my horrified heart, a modified choreography popped out from my body as practiced. It was a huge relief.

The moment the last verse followed, the members naturally returned to the original movement path.

Bae Sejin sang while pressing his head mic. His face and voice were fine, but his fingers were trembling thinly.

“…I want our two hands to touch-”

The song ended with a choreography where the seven people standing in a circle gathered one hand toward the sky and then spread it out.

“……”

Aaaaaah!

With the cheering sound, the camera on-air light went off.

And only after the lights went out, expressions that looked like they were drenched in cold sweat began to appear on the members’ faces.

‘…Was it handled?’

For now, the stage properly…, no, shouldn’t I see the state of that guy Seon Ahyun first?

‘What kind of crazy guy does a backflip while falling there without any practice.’

Wasn’t it a situation where his head could have cracked if something went wrong.

But in terms of the broadcast proceeding, there was no time to linger any longer here. We quickly just waved to the fan seats and came down from the stage.

And without time to exchange words, we immediately faced the monitoring screen.

“……!”