Debut or Die - Chapter 460
“Gasp! Hello, TeSTAR!”
“Hello!”
We entered through the open office door. The ones who opened the door were the creators of <127 Section>.
The office was smaller than when they were under T1 Place, a subsidiary of T1. But it was bustling with energy. We received a warm welcome.
“I didn’t expect you to contact us. It’s really nice to see you! It feels like it’s been a long time…”
“Haha, yes. It’s the first time we’ve met in person since the collaboration. Ah, this is… a late opening gift.”
“It’s okay… Wow, thank you.”
Ryu Chungwoo handed over an SF concept mood light that was in line with the number of employees. The faces of the representatives lit up, fitting the company that takes these things seriously.
I knew it would work. I was glad I ignored Cha Eugene’s strong opposition.
Naturally, past stories came up.
“Seeing this reminds me of when we worked on the tutorial characters! You communicated so well and made it so fun. We really enjoyed it.”
“Really~? We did too!”
The atmosphere became even more harmonious. Well, we did manage to do a good job back then without any embarrassment.
There might be various reasons why the meeting was set up so quickly… but there must also be more practical reasons.
I scanned the faces of the representatives.
Networking. These people didn’t just walk away from T1. They are bold, but they must be somewhat worried because they’re at odds with a large corporation. Even though T1 isn’t that big in the gaming industry, it has a significant influence across the cultural industry and platforms.
Starting again from scratch as a startup must be quite stressful.
At that moment, if the verified star marketing entity that once had a great promotional effect requested a meeting, I would accept it too. Especially if the circumstances are similar, it would spark curiosity.
We also walked away from T1, and again, it looked like we left another company. It wouldn’t be strange to be misunderstood as ‘comrades.’ We came here with that in mind.
We exchanged a few words as we moved to a place that looked like a meeting room and sat down. There were game posters, drawings, and figures here and there.
There are <127 Section> characters too. They wouldn’t have the copyright anymore… This must be done out of affection rather than company pride.
As I looked around, I finally noticed a poster of an unfamiliar character on the wall. It was a character in a conductor’s uniform holding a grotesque flesh weapon.
This… It wasn’t in the representatives’ portfolio. Good.
“Is this also a game character?”
“Ah, yes!”
“I think it looks really cool.”
“Really? It’s your style, Moondae!”
Kim Raebin looked at the poster with curious eyes. “Is it a new game?”
“It’s the main image character of our new game, which is currently in development. But the launch schedule is quite far off…”
“When is it planned?”
“The plan is… well, around the end of next year.”
That was a long way off. Moreover, they don’t mention the exact quarter. This implied that development wasn’t proceeding very smoothly and tightly.
It’s so ambiguous. It could be pushed back to the year after next.
Hmm.
I smiled inwardly. And then, I carefully examined the poster again. It had a somewhat grotesque yet modern feel. The quality was good, showing they still knew how to maintain the line.
“So probably around next summer, we’ll start the official promotion. It’s a story about a train to the afterlife…”
Perhaps thinking we were interested, the male representative’s eyes lit up as he eagerly started explaining the story.
Oh boy.
He must be hoping that TeSTAR will help with the promotion or collaboration again then. Indeed, they are a bit clumsy in sales.
While listening intently, I glanced sideways. Keun Sejin also nodded his head to the representative, who seemed genuinely interested.
But I remembered. When I told the members that we had found the newly established company of the <127 Section> production team, ‘Ruin Factory.’ I remembered this guy’s reaction.
“Wow… finding them is so like Moondae. But you don’t want to do another game collaboration, right?”
He acknowledged finding them but wanted to avoid overdoing collaboration. I also remembered my response to that.
“Of course not.”
What we need isn’t that.
“Actually, hearing you talk, it still seems like the games made by Ruin Factory are uniquely cool and fun.”
“…! Oh, thank you.”
“So, I have a request.”
I moved on to the main point. The reason we came here.
“Could you make a game for us?”
Not a game collaboration, but a real game.
“…!”
The representatives’ eyes widened. And as if wondering if I was joking, they glanced at the others. Unfortunately for them, none of the other members were surprised. Instead, Ryu Chungwoo just said this.
“Well, we do have the scenario ready.”
“…”
The representatives looked at each other and then spoke up. “Um, it usually takes a long time to develop a game. Even with a scenario, creating the art, graphics, UI, coding, and implementing it is another story… it involves complex steps.” Instead of yelling at us like we were crazy, they kindly explained it from a public perspective.
Indeed, it would be nice to work together. I nodded seriously while smiling inwardly. “We don’t intend to take up too much of Ruin Factory’s time, of course.”
“Pardon?”
“Actually, we’re not talking about the kind of game you usually develop…” I continued explaining.
A type of game content that wouldn’t be awkward to fit into our existing idol business. As such… small in volume, and special. This would certainly be feasible within the time frame.
We would work our butts off. All we have to do is squeeze out our labor.
And as I continued to talk, the representatives’ expressions changed more and more. It was definitely interesting.
“Aah~ That’s…”
Hmm, it’s done.
* * *
“Thank you~”
After several explanations and meetings, contracts were completed smoothly. Ryu Chungwoo sent the signed contract to the company with a bright smile.
“It’s convenient to have authority in these matters.”
“Yeah! It’s certainly good not to hear unnecessary comments!”
Bae Sejin nodded with a rarely excited face.
“This is it. Now we can do that, um, album prediction… we’ll do that again, right?”
“Yes.”
We should.
Then, suddenly, a voice interjected.
“Ah, Moondae, before that! Everyone heard this, but just to make sure, one more time.” Keun Sejin smiled. “On any broadcast or anywhere, let’s not say we’re company directors or anything like that!”
“Hmm?”
“Why, even though we have contract authority~ Don’t talk about that, just like before, say ‘we’re producing the album!’ and that’s it!”
Hmm, sure. This was important. If we didn’t want to be held accountable if the company did something stupid, we should cut ties early. This was more important since we became independent. The risk of being considered the same as the company is greater. T1 has taken a lot of flak. There’s no guarantee that Orbit won’t follow the same path.
…Sometimes, due to circumstances unknown to outsiders, you make choices that attract criticism. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if we don’t benefit from the image of being company directors. The image we can have as idols is enough.
“Alright, got it!”
“Hmm… okay.”
“Good~”
Some seemed to understand, and some seemed unsure if it was necessary, but everyone agreed.
And it was after entering the company meeting room.
“Um, Moondae must be tired too… shall we do the album prediction after going to the dorm and resting?”
“Hmm, it’s okay to do it now.”
It doesn’t particularly drain my energy.
I simply connected the laptop to the meeting room screen and started typing the album production hologram.
Since company people might come in by chance, I’ll hide the personnel part…
[Album]
[Personnel: A]
-Kim Raebin (★★★★★), Kim Seowon (★★★★), Park Jaeseok (★★★★), Park Wonjoo (★★★)….
[Capital: S]
-5,000,000,000
[Duration: B]
-60 days
(Personnel Bonus +150%)
(Capital Bonus +200%)
*Start Production ← Click!
Everything looked almost the same. The personnel, the duration. However, after the ‘personnel part’ indicated by the ellipsis, there was something else.
External personnel. I thought of the external personnel invited by this contract with ‘Ruin Factory.’ Based on that, we will discuss the direction of the album project we created.
“T1 is blocking us… but they won’t expose our crucial weakness.”
…if everything goes as planned.
Indeed, an impressive album will be made.
I pressed the ‘Start Production’ button. The effect credits began to pop up.
[External Personnel: Setting]
[Plus Effect Occurs!]
Surprisingly, using this method, the company producing the physical album doesn’t need to be one of the top 1 or 2 in the industry. T1’s interference doesn’t matter.
[Production Company: Setting]
[Minus Effect Offset!]
The concept is also set.
[Concept: Immersive Feeling]
[Plus Effect Occurs!]
It’s not just the game, but it seems unified with it. Well, that’s fine. The important thing is the effect occurred.
The words shone brightly.
[Plus Effect]
External Personnel: New Attempt
-Promotion ↑↑
Concept: Feeling of Immersion
-Quality ↑
[Prediction Result Complete!]
I read all the words without taking my eyes off them. And finally, the moment the grade appeared.
“…”
I clenched my fist tightly.
[Expected Album Grade: S+ ~ A+]
Yes.
“… Let’s produce it.”
* * *
It was a few weeks later. One day, as it started to warm up.
-TeSTAR’s comeback is insane!
-For real?
-How did they do it so fast?
The sudden news of TeSTAR’s ‘album pre-order announcement’ stirred the idol gossip board. It was less than a month since TeSTAR moved to a new company.
How was this possible? It was soon revealed.
-It’s a repackage
-OMG!
Repackage. It means releasing a new album with one or two additional songs from the previous album. Originally, TeSTAR intended to create an entirely new mini-album or single. This was according to some members’ claims to avoid provoking T1 further. But once T1’s shenanigans were revealed, the situation changed.
Since we’re already marked, whatever. So, we decided to confidently use the concept and songs from the previous album!
However, people were even more excited. How could they release a previous album after moving to a new company?!
-They must have acquired T1 Stars and got all the copyrights! Hahahaha. Amazing, that’s why they could do it! Hahaha
-Wow, TeSTAR’s big picture…
-Orbit loyalty!
-I’m about to cry ㅠㅠㅠ
Reviving the previous high-teen concept album, which only had two weeks of promotion and no proper concert! Fans were eager to pre-order, regardless of the comeback interval.
-Make money, please
-When will it open?
And that was the same for Park Moondae’s first fan site manager (Homma). She clutched her smartphone tightly. I was earning money for this day…
She had a grand plan. Even if attending all fan meetings was impossible, she aimed to attend at least half… But first, to support Moondae’s fresh start, this album’s pre-order sales had to be good!
Aah… they probably won’t appear on Music Bomb.
Casual fans who didn’t know better might cheer for T1’s escape, but she knew. Severing ties with the broadcasting station, especially the home station, was not a good sign for activities.
This activity is really important!
Though it worried her that Moondae might have rushed it, performance! Only performance mattered!
She nodded. At that moment, an SNS popup appeared on her smartphone.
“…!”
TeSTAR’s official company account…!
This must be the album sales notice. She hurriedly clicked it. And quickly recalled the information she had known. This album had 3 versions, and…
-They’re producing 1,000 limited edition sets with some special perks. Is the company crazy?
There was an article stating that only 1,000 sets would be sold, labeled as ‘limited edition.’ Although it received praise for the friendly announcement that ‘regular edition MD will be produced later,’ it was also criticized for not disclosing the exact contents.
It seemed like they were fishing for reactions. And now the details have been announced. Reading the SNS post quickly, her eyes widened in surprise.
“…A board game?”
And on the same day at midnight, in TeSTAR’s new song teaser.
[Hmmm…]
In a dimly lit attic wrapped in blankets, 7 members in cozy, casual clothes gathered around a lamp and fairy lights. It was TeSTAR, who appeared in the high-teen concept from the previous album. They were sitting around in the attic, with a board game in the middle.
-Let’s start
The chaos begins as the dice roll.