TeSTAR’s concert began over heavy background music.
Fwoooosh!
The venue suddenly went dark, and an ominous video appeared on the enormous screen at the front, accompanied by the sound of wind slicing through the air.
It showed a pine forest in the middle of the night.
[…….]
With the effect of brushstrokes drawn in ink, someone walked out from between the pine trees.
It was Ryu Chungwoo, wearing a chollik.
Just as the thought occurred that this composition seemed to connect to the final scene of the “Procession” music video—
Six people appeared behind him together.
Then came the beating of drums and the fierce sound of a kkwaenggwari.
It was the instrumental for “Procession.”
Waaaaaaah—!
Amid the cheers of more than twenty thousand people filling the dome and echoing through the space, the actual members appeared below the screen before the intro had even finished.
And the instant they formed their positions, an intense rap verse and choreography crashed in.
-Struggle all you like, there’ll be no escape
Today he comes—he makes his procession
Even as they screamed, short thoughts flashed rapidly through the fans’ heads.
‘They’re hitting us with “Procession” first??’
‘Whoa, I thought they’d do all the solo songs and save it for the end!’
It had been the same at the first concert, but the audience was driven into a frenzy by the sheer nerve of the set list.
Even the staff bustling around backstage and elsewhere were tense at the thought that the concert had finally begun, while at the same time being infected by the atmosphere in the venue and growing slightly more energized themselves.
Of course, that wasn’t true for everyone.
‘What kind of song is this.’
The one-day temp worker assigned to restrict access to the backstage passage frowned as he listened to the shouting.
Between the sound from the speakers and the voices of both the audience and the staff inside echoing around, his ears hurt.
‘It’s fucking loud.’
Parts of the members’ faces appeared from time to time on the partially obscured screen.
“Hey, you can see some of it from here too!”
“Oh, handsome.”
He didn’t want to enjoy it or be impressed like those other thoughtless temp workers.
‘Celebrities probably get all kinds of professional treatment at clinics anyway. How much money do you think they spend?’
The angle made it difficult to see the stage itself, but he figured they were probably doing some predictable idol choreography.
Still, even through all the surrounding noise, TeSTAR’s voices carried clearly all the way into the passage.
‘Probably prerecorded.’
The temp worker made himself think as cynically as possible and discreetly touched his smartphone.
Around now, he could make another live update post…….
“Excuse me, don’t look at your smartphone.”
“…….”
Same temp worker as me, and they’re giving me this shit.
Grumbling, he put the phone away.
‘I’ll look at everything later and post it then.’
Planning to attach proof and everything, he stood sullenly in the passage with a scowl.
And no matter what thoughts were running through the one-day temp worker’s head, the performance above and below the stage was moving at a feverish pace.
“VCR, 120 seconds!”
“Next costumes, hurry!”
Immediately after “Procession” ended came part of the collaboration song with the game <127 Section>, followed by the title track from that period, “Better me”—except it was a remix rather than the original.
To carry on the flow of “Procession,” it had been rearranged with traditional instruments, and most of the chorus had been rewritten in Korean.
-In this very moment
You can never surpass me
Inside an enormous stage structure shaped like a beast’s maw, surrounded by dancers, the high-pitched chorus pierced upward like an awl.
Then an exceptionally agile dance break unfolded using long white ribbons similar to those attached to the sangmo hats used in pungmul performances.
-Better me
The three-song sequence came to a close in a rush, the members and countless dancers sending the ribbons flying through the air together.
It was exactly the kind of extravagant production one expected from a concert.
Aaaaaaah—!!
Lightsticks waved madly, blinking in different colors under central control as another VCR began.
Then the members and dancers poured into the passage backstage.
“Costumes!”
“Ahyeon-ssi, over here!”
“Yes…!”
Among the panting members, Seon Ahyeon hurriedly moved into place.
His solo stage was first and began immediately.
“Ahyeon really has, huff, great stamina.”
“Hff, that lung capacity, truly, as expected, of someone who majored in dance….”
While the other members took the chance to catch their breath and mentally go over their own solo stages—
“Moondae?”
“Moondae-ssi, are you okay!?”
“…Haa, yes.”
Park Moondae slowly sank down against the corridor wall and let out a breath.
“Want an ice pack?”
“I’m fine.”
Park Moondae answered firmly and wiped away his sweat.
‘It’s more manageable than I expected.’
His ribs had finished knitting back together a few days ago.
He had been told something along the lines of, “Don’t overdo it,” but—
‘That’s obviously something a hospital has to say.’
Who would tell someone that they were fully healed, so they should go live recklessly now?
Park Moondae justified it to himself with a sullen expression and rested a hand over roughly where his lungs should be.
‘My wrist… still hurts a little.’
But it should be fine.
‘I planned the composition properly.’
Park Moondae was confident.
From above came the sound of Seon Ahyeon finally beginning his performance.
-Amid the rippling flow of words
Among those voices
I hear the sound of your breathing
Waaaaaah!!
“Everyone really loves it~”
“…Of course they do.”
Park Moondae knew that too.
Seon Ahyeon’s stage, moving across the surface of the water and scattering droplets, would undoubtedly be spectacular.
The lighting was probably being used well too.
“Wow! I’m going!”
“Yes, yes! Moving!”
Cha Eugene, whose stage came next, excitedly smacked a staff member on the back and ran off.
‘He changed fast.’
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
The solo stages had been arranged in the same order as in the music-video teaser, and while the order itself might not provide any startling surprise, it created structure.
Meaning that once every solo stage had finally ended, it would leave a lingering effect.
“After Cha Eugene, it’s me…….”
“It’ll go well. Don’t worry, Sejin.”
Beside Park Moondae came Bae Sejin’s voice, sharpened by nerves, and Ryu Chungwoo’s encouragement.
‘The stage equipment is laid out cleverly, so he should be fine too.’
Bae Sejin’s stage involved a rotating platform and several magical elements.
It was probably the most expensive stage in today’s concert.
Park Moondae figured that should make it capable of holding its own even after Cha Eugene.
‘The audience will find it interesting.’
If they had put someone else after Eugene instead, that person might have suffered from having their stage ability compared directly.
Park Moondae casually added his own words.
“That’s right, hyung. It looked good, so don’t worry.”
“…O-Okay.”
“Ah~ This is heartwarming!”
Lee Sejin grinned.
Beyond him, Park Moondae saw a camera for behind-the-scenes content following them.
‘…I’d better make sure I don’t end up throwing up or anything.’
They obviously wouldn’t broadcast that, but just having it caught on camera would be embarrassing enough.
Park Moondae shook himself off, stood, and moved to prepare for his own stage.
His solo stage was fifth.
There was plenty of time.
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‘Here it comes.’
Kim Raebin finished his solo stage beneath stage lights gleaming with neon colors—a rhythmic song with a slightly cute, deliberately unbalanced charm—and went backstage.
The moment he disappeared amid the piercing cheers, that was the thought running through the fansite master’s head.
‘Now it’s Park Moondae’s turn.’
The few practice shots she had taken of Kim Raebin had come out quite well, making her grip tighten with even more confidence.
‘All their stages are good.’
From Seon Ahyeon to Kim Raebin, even Bae Sejin’s stage had been entertaining.
‘Moondae’s going to tear the place apart with his vocals alone…!’
Conscious of the twin fansite master for Park Moondae and Big Sejin sitting three seats away from her, the fansite master solemnly lifted her camera slightly.
Just then, she saw security catch the camera of someone in the standing section ahead.
It was the same person who had tried to prop a huge white telephoto lens on the shoulder of the person in front during the previous stage.
‘Amateur.’
Watching them fail to play innocent even after getting caught, the fansite master thought so reflexively.
And there was someone else who attached a value judgment to the sight.
‘This is seriously ridiculous.’
It was the temp worker standing in the backstage passage.
Watching the audience member have their camera confiscated by security, he clicked his tongue.
‘Why the hell do they take that many pictures? Aren’t they embarrassed?’
He looked down on the person as some fangirl who couldn’t even enjoy the performance.
A line for his verification post had already formed effortlessly in his head.
-They did nothing but take fucking pictures, how boring does a concert have to be lol
Grinning at the thought, the temp worker shrugged.
‘Once the concert starts, this job’s easy as hell.’
There were hardly any audience members trying to approach the backstage passage, so he could slack off easily.
That was when—
“People inside here!! Follow me!”
A staff member came running from farther inside and started calling the temps over.
Apparently something had collapsed or spilled everywhere.
‘What now.’
Complaining under his breath, the temp worker followed the staff member urging them forward.
Behind him, the slow, beautiful VCR came to an end, and Park Moondae appeared onstage.
Waaaaaaah—
Because of the still atmosphere of the stage, the cheers died down fairly quickly.
On the darkened stage, illuminated by a single beam of light, Park Moondae was sitting on a chair, exactly as many had expected.
But the multicolored fabrics they had seen winding around the abandoned house in the music-video teaser stretched out from every direction onstage as well, wrapping tightly around both the chair and Park Moondae.
And instead of wedding robes, he wore a light white stage outfit.
On the silent stage, with not even an instrumental playing—
Park Moondae began singing first.
-On the last night of April
Even the moon cannot be seen
My beloved does not come
And love rots away
The moment the first verse ended, his heavy voice ringing out completely alone—
The instruments came crashing in.
Woooooo!
Just as the minor-key traditional instruments softened slightly, the next line began, and color entered the lights.
Red, blue, flashing illumination heightened the strange tension.
‘Huuugh.’
The fansite master barely managed to keep hold of her camera while listening to Park Moondae’s voice.
‘He sings so fucking well.’
There was genuinely nothing else she could say.
Swallowing, the fansite master captured Park Moondae through her lens.
‘Hair, makeup, styling—everything’s good.’
At the same time, she drank in the emotional high notes rushing through the chorus with her ears.
-Still, I will wait
‘Gaaaaah.’
The moment the chorus ended, catharsis squeezed around the fansite master’s heart.
‘With nothing but his voice!’
It felt incredible.
But the instant the second verse began, the situation changed.
-The moonless night passes
Yet the sun does not rise
With the lyrics, one of Park Moondae’s hands rose halfway into the air.
It looked as though the cloth wound around his arm were pulling it upward.
‘Huh?’
Just as she hurriedly tried to convince herself that the slightly strange movement had been made by Park Moondae himself, his other arm rose at a different angle.
-My beloved does not come
And love rots away
Then Park Moondae’s waist lifted, and his body rose into the air.
“…!!”
The movement made it look as though the fabric itself were leading him through a zero-gravity space.
Rising above the chair in a reclining position, his body hanging loose, Park Moondae continued to sing.
“……Ah.”
The fansite master made a sound without realizing it.
Expressions similar to hers appeared all around the audience.
And it wasn’t only the audience.
The temp worker who was clearing away the collapsed luggage inside also saw the image being transmitted to the stage screen through the monitoring display directly in front of him.
“……Huh.”
Still holding a load in his arms, the temp worker stared at the screen with his mouth hanging open.
And he finally understood why the audience member who had been dragged away had been so desperate to take pictures.