Debut or Die

Keun Sejin grumbled for quite some time.

“No, you’re not playing along. It’s not like I asked for a girl’s number.”

“…”

If you did, something else would have gone away, not glucose candy.

Anyway, after eating all the candy, Keun Sejin felt better and he joked again after getting into the car.

“Ah, I get it. Is there a girl idol you want to see, Moondae?”

There isn’t any, you bastard.

‘I saw them a lot at events, what are you talking about.’

I smirked and replied.

“What about you?”

“Ah, I’m married to the fans~ Girl idol? What is that?”

Ryu Chungwoo laughed at Keun Sejin’s natural words.

Kim Raebin responded seriously.

“That’s right. We should try to stay wary of other groups, regardless of gender.”

“Hn?”

“Because girl idols are also competitors…!”

“…?”

Everyone couldn’t answer for a moment because Kim Raebin suddenly shouted fiercely.

I didn’t know what kind of signal he took it for, but Kim Raebin continued to explain more seriously.

“Think carefully. Idols are a long-term competition. But there are only a few people who like idols. Then, idol groups last for a long time regardless of gender, and the more you try different concepts, the more our target audience overlaps….!”

Seon Ahyeon was taken aback.

“I-I see…!”

“That’s right. So we must always be on our guard against idol groups whose demands might overlap!”

“…”

“…Um.”

There was a moment of silence.

‘Just… Let’s just agree.’

I struggled to open my mouth.

“Um, that’s right.”

“…!! Right!”

Kim Raebin’s eyes sparkled as if he was enjoying the moment of victory. Ryu Chungwoo gently took over the situation.

“Raebin is smart.”

“Thank you!”

Behind Kim Raebin’s spirited voice, I heard Cha Eugene muttering softly.

“Are you an idiot?”

The relationship between those two similar people consisted of ignoring each other. I got it now.

* * *

Filming for music shows continued every day until Sunday after that.

After doing the pre-recording in the middle of the night every other day, my head started to feel dizzy.

At least, the pre-recording on Fridays was held from 9:00, so I could take a breather, but since I went to work at 7:00, there was no big difference.

I became like this with even the characteristics of ‘Baccus 500′, so I didn’t have to see the other guys’ situation to know how they were doing.

‘Lee Sejin almost collapsed yesterday.’

Fortunately, he fell down in the car and finished without getting hurt. Perhaps the agency was also surprised, the diet that didn’t contain any grease had loosened up since then.

In the midst of this, we had to shoot reality show content in the evening so it was natural that our physical strength would run out.

‘…I can’t believe I have to do this every week.’

The only thing I liked was the moment when I performed on stage while listening to the cheers. The fact that both fans and idols had to put up with the time of endurance for that moment was a great structure.

It was even more so considering the fact that there were many children crying because they didn’t get this opportunity.

‘They’re squeezing people out.’

I sighed.

“In the third week of June, the number one popular music is… Congratulations, VTIC’s Night Sign!”

Anyway, the last music show on the weekend was finally over. I mechanically applauded the first-place winner.

‘I slept a little because they didn’t let us do a pre-recording here.’

From what I heard, it seemed they were a bit territorial because we were from a cable audition.

For that reason, our order of appearance was in the early and middle stages.

Of course, there were pros and cons. Since there was no pre-recording, there was a limit to the composition of the stage.

Because we had to finish the stage with just one live broadcast.

‘In the first week of activities.. Pre-recording would be useful.’

It was ridiculous when I thought about it, but if there was no work-life balance anyway, I thought it was better to have a good result.

“Shall we take some pictures?”

“I’d love to!”

“Moondae, how about a selfie?!”

As soon as I returned to the waiting room, I received a photo request first.

‘It’s for SNS upload.’

I had to take a picture of this. Needless to say, I just received the smartphone and turned on the front camera.

And I adjusted the angle so that all 7 of us could come out with our upper body costumes, and took the picture consecutively.

Like this, they picked out well among themselves excitedly.

Sure enough, there were some guys who were arguing again about which photos to upload.

“Now, isn’t photo number 3 the best? It’s better to see all 7 of us smiling~”

“My mouth looks weird. Use the next one!”

“Don’t listen to him. It’s unreasonable to use a photo where only one person comes out good.”

“A-All the photos came out great…”

Of course, Seon Ahyeon’s attempt to stop them didn’t work.

In the end, two photos were uploaded, one selected by Keun Sejin and one selected by Cha Eugene.

Lee Sejin looked at the process with a tired expression, then shook his head.

It seemed he had completely forgotten his complaints yesterday about posting something where he didn’t come out.

‘Haha, the team is doing really well.’

It was just a relief that it didn’t build up into a fight due to the camera.

Anyway, the first week of activities seemed to end like this.

‘…For now, I’m glad that the reaction to the stage was good.’

I checked it from time to time whenever I had free time. Both the number of views and the overall rating were great.

‘As expected, the correct answer was to shoot the choreography.’

In fact… Right before filming the music video, I invested the one remaining point into the dance stat.

It was because not only the vocal, but my portion on stage was also larger than I thought. It was probably the side effect of winning first place.

‘I have to move to the center a lot so it can’t be helped.’

I was agonizing about other stats until the very end, but for now, my judgment leaned toward the priority of covering up the weakest stat.

‘If I get mocking memes for no reason, it will be troublesome.’

Thanks to that, my current dance stat was ‘B-‘.

It meant I could just dance well.

‘Of course, I didn’t gain much because three of us are grade A.’

It was not an individual competition anymore, so let’s be satisfied with the leap to a level that contributed to quality.

…Well, it was fun to see fans enjoying Park Moondae’s fancams.

“Thank you for your hard work~”

“The first week of activities has ended successfully!”

Before leaving the waiting room, the members and staff congratulated each other with a smile. The manager added.

“Congratulations on being in the top 10 on the digital music charts~”

“Hahaha!”

Right. As the manager said, the songs were going up encouragingly well.

I thought of the 24Hits ranking screenshot that was posted in the group chat today.

[10th place Magical Boy ▲ 4]

[13th place Hi-five ▲3]

‘I guess there really is such a thing as a music show buff.’

What surprised me a little was that Magical Boy made a reversal.

Perhaps it was thanks to the stage, but the fact that the song didn’t get boring easily also played a part.

‘Because even the people who thought that High Five is loud all the time would think that ‘Magical Boy’ is fine.’

I was satisfied because my new characteristic for selecting songs seemed to be quite effective.

…Of course, VTIC was still at the top of the music charts. They were really great guys.

‘Hmm, is it impossible to win first place on the music show with this activity?’

Looking at the situation, it seemed the next album would be released within this year, and since the results of this album were good, I didn’t have to be nervous and worried.

…In the first place, it would have been better if there wasn’t this damn situation where sudden death was renewed.

Deep anger that I had forgotten in my busy schedule tried to rise, but I managed to suppress it.

Getting angry didn’t change the situation, so let’s calm down.

‘…Should I be satisfied with putting them on a smooth path?’

I shrugged and grabbed my bag. From next to me, I heard Ryu Chungwoo asking the manager.

“Then, shall we go straight to the dorm today?”

“Ah… Actually, I had an urgent meeting today.”

“Yes?”

“You guys wanted to be on a variety show. You’ll get a variety show!”

When the manager spoke brightly, several guys were hooked even in the midst of exhaustion.

“Oh~ what kind of variety show is this?”

“Is the variety show fun?”

The manager nodded proudly.

“It’s a program called <Working Man>!”

“…?”

“This is a new program launched by TVC, you know? All the variety shows made there are good~”

“Ooh!”

Several members nodded their heads as if they were tempted. The manager added more.

“It’s a variety show where you experience a unique job, and the PD is a good person, and everyone says they have high expectations. They said they really wanted to work with Testar, so let’s work hard!”

“…”

…Ah, I already had a feeling.

‘It was weird from the moment his tongue grew longer.’

TVC was a broadcasting station affiliated with T1. In short, since they were launching a new variety show within their own affiliates, they wanted to use Testar to make the headline.

In addition, it was a program that even I, who came from 3 years in the future, hadn’t even heard of.

‘You put us in because you think the program is going to fail.’

Since Testar hadn’t been able to win first place in other broadcasting companies, it was difficult to give a casting call to people from a cable audition, so it seemed they were fighting internally with the entertainment casting.

‘You can’t wait for that deal so you put our first variety show special there?’

It was ridiculous to see the company making a decision that had no productivity in the group because they were drawing a big picture.

However, the members who didn’t know answered the manager brightly and spiritedly.

“Yes!”

“All right!”

“…Yes.”

I eventually nodded, too.

Right. What else could I do with the camera there? It wasn’t like rookies had the right to reject a schedule, so let’s just stop talking and come back.

And just then, my eyes met Keun Sejin’s, who was smiling and nodding.

“…”

Looking like a di*k, his eyes were saying something different.

Later, when I sneakily asked him in the car, he said that the reaction to the first episode of <Working Man>, which aired just before, was devastating.

‘As expected.’

I thought I had given up enough expectations for the company, but it seemed I had unnecessarily regained them back while preparing for the album.

Let’s throw away some more.

* * *

“Hello~”

There was a camera at the meeting with <Working Human> as if the talk of our appearance with the agency was already over.

‘They’ve already set things up between themselves.’

“Let me ask you a few questions first.”

“Yes!”

The meeting ended in a hurry by exchanging about 10 questions and answers without a single greeting, probably because the next shooting was right around the corner.

Just like the title <Working Human>, it was a question that mainly asked what we wanted to do.

‘…It’s best not to work.’

However, I couldn’t write down these answers due to my current job, so I replied with a few moderately unusual jobs.

‘We’re in a hurry.’

The production team hurriedly collected all the questions and answers they wanted and ended the meeting.

It was obvious that they were busy to death.

‘The reaction to episode 1 isn’t good, so people’s opinions seem to be divided.’

Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to take the car back to the dorm before nightfall.

“Now, everyone, please raise your hand~”

As I dutifully waved my hand to Keun Sejin, who was taking a video to post on SNS, I felt a vibration in my pocket.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

After confirming that Keun Sejin finished taking videos and turning off the camera, I checked my smartphone.

[VTIC Cheongryeo sunbae-nim: I haven’t heard from you, so I’m texting you first. Is this Park Moondae-ssi’s number?^^]

“…”

Wow, this was really uncomfortable.

‘Are you secretly preying on a rookie just because he didn’t contact you first?’

I knew he didn’t take my number because he really wanted to get close to me.

Still, I couldn’t ignore it due to the annual ranking, so I sent a reply.

[I’m late to contact you because I don’t look at my smartphone often. I’m sorry, sunbae-nim.]

Then a reply came in an instant.

[VTIC Cheongryeo sunbae-nim: There’s nothing to apologize for, I just texted you to say hello.]

I was so tired.

I sent a short reply, roughly saying, ‘Okay, thank you’, and turned off my smartphone altogether.

‘I’ll be late checking the message tomorrow so let’s just replace it.’

It was annoying that strange kids kept popping out, how did they find it anyway?

Let’s change the status message while blocking contact with numbers that were not in the address book.

‘Anyway, today… Are we going home like this?’

Just as I was about to fall asleep in the car, I heard Ryu Chungwoo’s voice.

“Guys, the beats of our choreography are gradually changing, so shouldn’t we set it up since we have time?”

“…”

I immediately woke up.

Looking around, everyone had ‘I want to rest’ written on their faces. However, they couldn’t bear to refute what was right, so there was only an implicit silence of agreement.

I held back my sigh.

‘…Going home, my ass.’

I should go practice.

* * *

While Testa pulled off the first week of murderous activities, fans were having a happy time with overflowing content.

That also served as Testar’s driving force to quietly follow the schedule.

– The first week’s cross-edited music shows came up on WeTube, and it’s really cool (link)

– This week’s reality show episode was so good! The kids doing their hair was so cute. I cried when they were seriously preparing for the stage. Let’s keep going for a long time, Testarㅠㅠ

– CQ pictorial, interview, and behind-the-scenes. The magazines are all sold out. (link)

└Ah…ㅠㅠ I’m late…

└Take more pictures, please…ㅠㅠ

Since the contract with Testar was not short-term, the agency worked hard to create an atmosphere that favored the group itself rather than deliberately promoting individual competition among members.

And that effort tried to settle down well in the fandom.

The fact that the group used only one SNS and frequently uploaded photos of them together no longer created backlash.

However, it was not possible in one area.

It was the random photo card that went into the album.

Since it was a factor directly related to the album sales, the photo cards of the members, which were included in the album at random, were put in as it was according to the traditional tactic.

Thanks to this, people who wanted to curse at Testar were excitedly sticking to related comparison articles.

[Testar photo card unit price ranking]

: Cha Eugene>=Park Moondae>Seon Ahyeon>Kim Raebin=Keun Sejin>=Ryu Chungwoo>>Lee Sejin

+) The statistics are published by Secondhand World. I won’t accept denial~ (link)

– As expected, Cha Eugene is in first placeㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Ah, Park Moondae presented the ending centerㅋㅋ Was it good to sell your dead parents and get first place?

– Lee Sejin is really useless everywhere. Does he have anything else to do besides getting airtimes in music videos?

– Ryu Chungwoo’s bubble finally burst. I knew he wouldn’t have any core after seeing the final rankingㅋ

– Please stop pretending to be a popular guy, pretending to control the situation, and pretending to be a cheerful guy. Keun Sejin, unpopular members shouldn’t seek attentionㅠㅠ

– Even with that face, Ahyeon’s limit is third place, I think it would have been better for him to choose a job where he doesn’t have to talk. Not an idol, but a picture model? Same thing!

No matter how much fans reported or ignored them, there was a limit. The jealousy and anger that poured out, which was ‘on the verge of going beyond imagination’, was at a level that was difficult to understand with common sense.

Because the ridicule was poured out on all members in all directions, a strange consensus was formed among fans.

– Let’s not feed these crazy people

– It’s been a long time since Idol Inc was over, and they’re still hung up on that? I’m sure they’re not the kids’ fans or a personal fan

└If they’re really a fan, does it make sense that they express themselves that way?ㅋㅋ

– You don’t have to be swayed by sick bastards who pretend to know it all just because they watched Idol Inc. We just have to look at the kids.

– That’s right, Testar is this good, so there’s no need to waste emotions on things like that. They’re just losers or agencies that don’t know anything.

Among them, the identity of a ‘group fan’ was slowly forming, not only as a formal expression.

And right around that time, a special event was coming up.

It was Testar’s first fan-signing event.