Chapter 154

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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TeSTAR’s new album was naturally receiving overflowing expectations from fans, but at the same time, it was also receiving concerns from some fans.

It was because of the announcement of solo songs for each member.

– Ah, what, solo songs already? What are you going to do about the ranking? ㅠㅠ

– Just thinking about the trolls going crazy about re-sorting TeSTAR rankings makes me so stressed.

– You were so frantic about making everyone ‘all-fan’ (supporting the whole group), so why the sudden change in direction?

Of course, the music chart performance of solo songs did not directly indicate the members’ recognition.

Since they were released as one album and exposed together under the group name anyway, the rankings would eventually be divided by the song’s public appeal.

However, due to the nature of a survival group, it was inevitable that a live broadcast called ‘TeSTAR members’ individual chart performance’ was expected.

While such slight concerns were growing amidst great expectations, TeSTAR’s teaser was announced.

It was a pre-announcement video using the premiere function on WeTube.

It meant that the video would be released a day later.

[TeSTAR ‘Present (행차)’ Official Teaser]

A thumbnail with no major hints, ‘an arrow stuck in a tree in a dark forest’, appeared with it.

Since it didn’t arouse much interest, people were indifferent.

– It seems like a historical drama style is right.

– Are they doing this on purpose?

– An arrow? lol

But as soon as people checked the video information, the situation changed completely.

Because the length of the video was as much as 8 minutes and 12 seconds.

– They said it was a teaser! They said it was a teaser!

– Is there a group that releases an 8-minute trailer??

– Guys, what on earth is happening? This is crazy, I’m so curious.

– Didn’t it get uploaded wrong? What kind of teaser is 8 minutes;

K-POP music video teasers were usually short, within a minute. 8 minutes was exceptionally long.

Of course, being long was not likely to be critically fatal. It was because teasers were now closer to fulfilling fans’ expectations rather than for promotional purposes anyway.

Still, among fans who cared about results, some people came out feeling disappointed.

Since it was a teaser, even fewer people than fans would watch it to begin with, but since it was 8 minutes long, it was obvious that the views would decrease.

Coincidentally, as appearances on American programs were going well and the influx of overseas K-pop fandom was expected, there was also a desire to check certain indicators quickly.

– No matter how much teaser views aren’t really used as data… it would have been better if it were short ㅠ

– I think it would have been better to split it and release several instead, but I don’t know.

– Please, it’s not a boring T1-style sentimental story MV, right? Tell me it’s not.

– I think it’s about time for them to make a misstep, but I hope it isn’t. I hope they used the money sensibly.

Of course, since things that would spoil the mood right before a comeback shouldn’t happen, fans pushed the atmosphere with unconditionally positive words in open communities or SNS.

– 8 minutes is so good. We can see the kids’ faces for a long time starting from the teaser ㅠㅠ

– Can we see our Actor Bae’s acting by any chance??? Ahhh, I’m so looking forward to it.

– How can I wait 24 hours?

– If I wait for the premiere and it ends in 30 seconds, I think I’ll really go crazy. To give us 8 minutes, TeSTAR is indeed a very generous group.

Thinking that they hoped this expectation wouldn’t cool down as soon as the teaser came out, fans waited anxiously for the teaser to be released.

And on the day of the release.

The people who were waiting for the premiere in the live chat of the teaser video were astonished together.

– ????

– What is this?

As the fans’ guesses went, the teaser was indeed in a very full-fledged historical drama style.

However, the roles the members took were not humans.

The video started with a giant palace, went inside as if being sucked in, turned around corners, and entered after opening a sliding door.

It was a library filled with books.

Among them, the screen followed a classic and old book that was spread out on the floor after falling.

Inside it, an arm rising above the sea was roughly drawn as an ink wash painting.

At that moment, the video changed the screen to an actual beach.

*Flutter.*

The screen went into the sea in an instant and illuminated a figure lying on a giant rock under the water.

The figure was blonde Seon Ahyun loosely wearing a white dop’o (robe).

Sunlight rippled through the blue seawater onto the white face on the rock. It was a beautiful but eerie landscape.

A white subtitle appeared at the bottom in an elegant font.

[Breath (숨소리)]

It was the title of the song that was on the released tracklist.

And with the sharp sound of a gayageum, Seon Ahyun’s solo song flowed out.

At that moment, Seon Ahyun sat up and slowly started a dance under the water.

It wasn’t a fixed choreography for the song, but just a beautiful movement.

His hair and dop’o drew graceful lines under the water.

– Wow ㅠㅠㅠ

– He’s really handsome.

– Is the underwater filming crazy?

People marveled. And they thought.

‘Seon Ahyun’s solo song is the intro!’

But as soon as the beautiful underwater performance ended, the camera met eyes with Seon Ahyun in the bubbles and then soared out of the sea again.

And it approached a strange circular pattern drawn with mother-of-pearl on the sandy beach.

At a dark time when the evening glow was fading, a figure that had been crouching inside the pattern straightened up and stood up.

It was Cha Yujin covering his mouth with one hand.

On his cheeks, collarbone, and the back of his hands, old Hangeul in a strange font glowed like patterns in five-colored mother-of-pearl light.

*Tididing, tingting, tiding!*

Along with the sound of a kkwaenggwari, a new song with an intense beat started.

[Rhythm (장단)]

It was Cha Yujin’s solo song.

– Eh?

– That was insane.

– Heol, no way.

– Crazy Cha Yujin ㅠㅠㅠ

The live comment section exploded as reactions to Cha Yujin’s performance and strong guesses about the current situation were mixed up in a dizzying manner.

And their guesses were right.

In this way, the solo songs of all members were introduced in succession.

Following Cha Yujin, Bae Sejin, whose eyes were covered, sang a song with a ballad melody while perched on an old tree. The subtle sound of a pyeonjong was added.

And the vision of the video that went into a cave in the forest illuminated Kim Raebin, who used lantern light like neon.

Kim Raebin’s solo song was future bass with the sound of a saenghwang as the main.

After that, the camera that emerged from the cave headed for a worn-out thatched house on one side of the forest.

While strangely colored fabrics were wrapped around the rotten sliding door of the thatched house incongruously.

Park Moondae was sitting on the wooden veranda.

And the already familiar sogum sound of ‘Flower Month-end’ (꽃 그믐) rang out.

– Wedding attire!! This is crazy, thank you ㅠㅠ

– As expected, for Moondae, you have to see his face.

Finally, the video returned to a luxurious palace that contrasted with the thatched house.

In the middle of it, Lee Sejin performed a stunt-like dance to the sound of a drum while wearing a waist ornament that looked like a giant tail. It was a cheerful easy-listening song.

Naturally, the fans were happy.

– Hey, all the songs are good.

– ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– The hair, makeup, and costumes (He-me-ko) are good.

– The visual beauty, oh my god.

– Ah, I want to get the album quickly ㅠㅠ

– Full video, please.

– The most fulfilling 8 minutes of my life.

But after Lee Sejin’s dance ended and he smiled broadly and turned his body to disappear into the palace, the screen turned off.

– ???

– Where is Chungwoo?

– You’re not showing the title track? lol

– Is this really a teaser?

Thinking that one member didn’t even come out and that the title track wasn’t even shown, the flustered fans breathed a sigh of relief at the screen that turned on again.

– Is it a traffic error?

– Ah, thank god.

– This is why premieres are a problem ㅠㅠ

But the screen illuminated Seon Ahyun under the sea again. Along with the gayageum sound that had been used in his solo song.

– Eh.

– Again?

– It’s a repetition error, right?

It wasn’t an error.

Seon Ahyun on the screen vanished after gazing at the camera for a moment, and next, it changed to a cut of Cha Yujin on the sandy beach gazing at the camera.

Next was Bae Sejin.

But even when the characters changed, the sound of the traditional instruments playing in the background did not disappear and remained as it was, continuing to pile up.

– Eh?

The members put traditional instruments into the beat melodies of their solo songs one by one.

As those traditional instruments were harmoniously put into the sides one by one, a new beat melody started to be created.

Finally, when the screen illuminated Lee Sejin, the song started to take shape with the sound of a drum now being heard.

At the moment when modern instruments filled the inside.

Suddenly, the song stopped.

And on the screen that returned… a hand appeared.

[…….]

A large and sturdy hand picked up the book that had fallen on the floor. It was the book with the strange ink wash painting that had appeared at the very beginning.

The spine of the book was caught by the camera.

[Record of Monster Investigations (요괴답사록)]

“Are you planning to set out?”

The camera that went up the hand caught the owner of the arm.

It was Ryu Chungwoo wearing a cheol-rik.

– He’s so handsome.

– Ahhh, Chungwoo-ya.

Regardless of what was shouted in the comment section, Ryu Chungwoo in the video dusted off the book and tucked it away with a complex expression.

And he answered someone outside the screen with clear eyes.

“I must.”

Capturing the back of Ryu Chungwoo leaving the library, the melody exploded out.

And Ryu Chungwoo, who walked out even beyond the wall, took out the bow hanging on his back and aimed at the forest.

It was a guk-gung (national bow) lacquered in black.

[Now, you have appeared

Warning and warning again

Approaching in a figure-eight

A slow, thrilling]

The arrow flew with a sound of cutting the air and was deeply stuck in a giant bamboo.

[Me.]

The video ended by illuminating the arrow stuck in the tree.

It was the thumbnail.

– Crazy crazy.

– Wow.

– Was that the title track just now??

– Ahhh.

– Are the other members monsters and Chungwoo is catching them??

– I love you, TeSTAR ㅠㅠ

– Ah, is it crazy that all the solo songs are connected!!

The members’ solo songs were connected and composed the title track. And the story of the music video was implied through the video.

In a sense, it was faithfully performing the meaning of a teaser.

And it was a composition that clearly showed that they had thought about organic completeness within the album.

This point was more clearly revealed in the information that was specifically added to the ‘See More’ section of the teaser video.

The list of copyright holders for lyrics, composition, and arrangement for all songs in the album was included.

– Why are the kids’ names on every song?

– You guys made it all together ㅠㅠ

Although the order was in the back, the names of various members were seen for every song. It was the same even in places that weren’t their own solo songs.

And from the fact that they specifically connected and showed all this starting from the teaser video, a clear expression of intent was felt.

That ‘the album songs are works made by the group’.

Even if ranking by fancam views might come out later, it meant that they had presented the logic to defend against the comparison of performance by member with the songs within the album in advance.

– The kids are really so sincere about the group.

– We’re going together until we have a dinner show. I’m going to see TeSTAR’s dinner show ㅠㅠ

– Yeah, the MV views are what’s important. As for the teaser, isn’t it enough if only we find it fun? Thank you guys. The 8 minutes were fulfilling.

TeSTAR group fans who liked the members all around, or individual fans who weren’t aggressive, were mostly in an atmosphere of satisfaction.

However, Ryu Chungwoo’s fans showed a subtle reaction.

Looking at the end of the teaser, it seemed like Ryu Chungwoo was indeed the center of the title track, but it was because his solo song wasn’t actually introduced.

– No way, is there no video only for Chungwoo’s solo song?

– The chanting about him not having a core (fandom) is already annoying, but the neglect is also imaginative lol.

– If we protest, Cha Yujin’s fans will probably go crazy asking why we’re making such a fuss over just a teaser after taking the center, right? lol Disillusioned.

– I hate it more that they set the mood so that we can’t even protest about the screen time.

‘You’re overreacting before the comeback lid is even opened’ and ‘Of course it feels bad because the song didn’t even come out in the teaser’ exchanged a subtle fight.

Fortunately, before that was captured and displayed everywhere as ‘A topic under controversy in TeSTAR’s fandom’, a post was uploaded on TeSTAR’s SNS.

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Hello, Loviewers. Did you enjoy the teaser?

I’m a bit nervous because I heard the encouragement that my role is large in this activity throughout the work, but I hope you look forward to the album.

Ah, I am Ryu Chungwoo. (Smiling emoticon)

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It was a post containing the nuance that ‘you don’t have to worry about Ryu Chungwoo’s screen time’.

* * *

“Will this much be enough?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, it seems a bit arrogant too.”

“It’s not, so don’t worry.”

“Haha, I got it. …Thank you.”

“…Don’t mention it.”

Ryu Chungwoo smiled and turned off his smartphone.

He didn’t seem to linger much on the reaction. It was because it was a reaction that would subside as content was released as time passed anyway.

Still, I thought it would be good to reassure them once at this timing, so I suggested it.

‘This is settled with this.’

After checking that Ryu Chungwoo’s fan public opinion had agreed to ‘let’s wait and see for now’, I called up the articles I was looking at earlier again.

‘This is more of a concern.’

It was exactly the article about that group that included Gold 1.

[Giant Rookie Golden Age, Comeback Countdown]

[Golden Age from , Will They Meet TeSTAR?]

[August Music Industry in Turbulence… From TeSTAR to Golden Age]

In short, they were articles informing that this group’s comeback happened to overlap with TeSTAR’s activity period.

Naturally, a composition that came to mind as soon as I saw it existed.

‘At the time of our debut.’

TeSTAR’s debut, which was released simultaneously with the immovable top-tier VTIC.

It was a simultaneous activity that made me think exactly of this composition.

‘Look at them.’

I clicked my tongue. Now I definitely had a feeling.

The agency of these bastards was doing their job well..