_Testa’s Working Holiday_ received a good response on YouTube, gradually gaining some recognition among international K-pop fans.
– So if I shout “hotteok,” I can buy a smile from Testa, right? (crying emoji)
– Every time a customer says, “Wow, such a handsome young man,” I just want to shout “Obviously!” (loving fan emoji)
– Anonymous: Asian precision really comes through with chopsticks, huh? lol
– Raebin: Measured exactly 30 grams by hand.
– Anonymous: Why is no one mentioning Cheongwoo’s kindness? Everyone’s only talking about how “hot” he is. (laughing and crying emoji)
Following their song collaboration for a game, Testa left a good impression on international fans, and their reality show became a key gateway for fans to discover them.
However, it wasn’t as if they had broken into the global mainstream just yet.
They had simply gained recognition within the existing community of people who were already into K-pop.
So when I heard we’d appeared on an American show, I thought maybe the _hotteok_ segment had gone viral… but after checking, I found out it was something completely unexpected that had gained attention.
“This! This right here!”
As soon as I arrived back at the dorm, Cha Yujin shoved a phone in my face. It was a short video with English subtitles that had been making rounds on social media.
It was from season 2 of our reality show, during the scene where we were having a meal with Yujin’s mom.
We had split into teams and divided roles, so it was Yujin, Ryu Cheongwoo, and I who joined this meal… and the dining experience was rather unique.
[We won the lottery! I thought it’d be great to take you with me.]
It was a meal provided by a famous American chef survival show.
Our production team had eagerly negotiated on-site to get a few shots, but to be honest, it wasn’t exactly a relaxing meal.
[Wait, hyung, that’s not fully cooked.]
[Really?]
[Oh my, let’s ask them to cook it more!]
When Ryu Cheongwoo sent back his undercooked white fish to the kitchen, we suddenly heard loud shouting.
[This fish is so cold it’s giving me frostbite just touching it!]
[….]
Seems like the vibe of survival shows is the same everywhere.
It brought back memories of being scolded by trainers back in the _Ajusa_ days whenever things went wrong—definitely an unforgettable experience.
But apparently, this whole scene aired on the cooking show as well.
However, there was a misunderstanding.
They thought we were all siblings.
Yujin’s mother had submitted her request with a message along the lines of, “A meal with my sons who’ve returned after a year abroad : )” which led to some confusion.
This created a whole storyline for the chef’s rebuke.
[Those guests! They’ve returned home after working abroad and are having a special meal with their mother for the first time in a year!]
[You’re ruining their precious moment!]
[That’s it! Everyone out of my kitchen, now!]
This is what the judge said.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, they even aired footage of us sitting calmly despite the chaos in the kitchen, our blank expressions adding the finishing touch.
[This reminds me of the old days.]
[It really does.]
These lines were kindly subtitled.
The whole scene, with our calmness contrasting the wild kitchen environment, apparently came off as quite funny.
It briefly became a meme among East Asians on American internet forums.
– “A” isn’t just called Asian “C” for nothing, lol
The joke was that “for hardworking East Asians, the chaos of American survival shows is just part of the daily grind.”
Naturally, K-pop fans who already knew Testa quickly caught wind of the clip.
– Oh my God, it’s Testa!
– You idiots, those guys won a *real* survival show, lol.
– When they said “this reminds me of the old days,” they were referring to the actual survival show they went through! How could this misunderstanding be so funny? (laughing emoji)
– This scene already aired in their reality show. (link)
– The part where Moondae realizes the fish is undercooked is always funny.
– Their survival show had insane rules. I’m so proud of Testa for overcoming that♡
This buzz soon spread through American internet communities, gaining attention as a surprising and amusing twist.
But the real peak came when the situation almost turned into a controversy.
– Am I the only one who thinks mistaking a group of Asian people for siblings feels kind of racist?
Thankfully, the misunderstanding, caused by Yujin’s mother’s message, was quickly cleared up. But the combination of humor and a brief controversy gave the moment viral momentum.
[Here’s a segment introducing viral stories from the internet!]
Eventually, it was even covered in a short segment on an American entertainment news show that discussed internet gossip.
That’s what Yujin showed me.
“It’s amazing!”
“It really is.”
It’s funny how people can go viral in such unexpected ways.
I wasn’t sure why Yujin was so excited about it, but maybe it was even funnier to him since it was all in English.
Yujin was happily humming the song “Baro Na” while scrolling through English pages. Shaking my head, I headed to the kitchen.
“Moondae, Moondae, there’s still some barley tea left~ Hyung says you can have it. Drink up!”
Yeah, right.
“No thanks.”
“What, are you disrespecting my mom’s kindness?”
“….”
In the end, I gritted my teeth and took out the barley tea. Geon Sejin burst into laughter.
‘That guy, seriously.’
It was a bit annoying, but honestly, we were all just lazing around the dorm, enjoying some downtime.
‘…It’s been a while since we’ve had a break.’
Now that the damned “truth” revelation had been postponed, I could relax. Once we finished the final touches for the comeback single, everything would be fine.
‘The songs are nearly done; just need to wrap up the final adjustments.’
The single was light and conceptual, a bit of fan service, and a way to show we were in good form before the release of the full-length album.
If everything went as planned, the latter part of our promotions would coincide with the university festival season, which would help me meet the quota for my status condition.
‘Good.’
Aside from the unpredictable nature of this absurd game system, the immediate future seemed smooth.
…That is, until the next day threw a wrench in everything.
I received news that the director had gone crazy.
* * *
The problem was that American meme.
Of course, the meme wasn’t something that would have garnered widespread attention, so it died down quickly. But some people remained interested.
– I’ve always been a VTIC fan, but now I’m curious about Testa.
– I was curious about how _Burning Chefs_ was received abroad, so I looked up their program, and it has over 10 million views! (Testa’s Working Holiday Episode 1 screenshot)
– Their name is Testa? How interesting. I never thought I’d be searching for K-pop (laughing emoji).
– What kind of survival show did they go through for that chaos to “remind them of the old days”?
Some people, from K-pop fans to those casually looking for something different, started to dig deeper.
And eventually, they found _Idol Stock Company_ on Netplus.
– I found the survival show they were on, and it has a negative voting system! Wow (shocked GIF).
Soon, small online communities in the U.S. began to gain interest in _Idol Stock Company_.
The emotional tone of the show might not suit American tastes, but the intensity guaranteed some level of word-of-mouth.
– They reveal the rankings of hate votes? That’s insane.
– Only one member is guaranteed survival? Let’s bring this to the U.S., XD.
└ Psycho, lol.
└ No need to import that. Don’t you know we already have enough messed-up survival shows here…?
Of course, it wasn’t as if the show had climbed into Netplus’ daily rankings for American viewers.
It was more of a small success, where _Idol Stock Company_ started showing up in the recommendations for U.S. viewers who had watched Korean shows or dramas before.
But to the director, this seemed like a much bigger deal.
To him, it looked like his vision of using reality shows to appeal to the U.S. had actually worked.
He probably forgot that the reality show’s concept had been changed. Or maybe he believed that if it hadn’t been changed, it would’ve been an even bigger hit.
‘No, he probably thinks it would’ve exploded even more.’
Drunk on his belief that he had been right all along, the higher-ups were like runaway trains.
The junior idol group, Mirinae, also had a successful debut, which only fueled the fire.
‘Damn.’
The only saving grace was that the head of management seemed to be putting a lot of effort into criticizing the director’s behavior.
It felt good to see my earlier plans bearing fruit.
“My boss says that people who steal the artists’ success shouldn’t be running a company.”
“Wow.”
Our third manager, who was the cousin of the head of management, read the message off his phone with a disinterested look.
‘Seems like their relationship has really deteriorated.’
Hopefully, they’d keep tearing each other apart for the next four weeks, so nothing would
get done, and by the time we released our single, everything would fizzle out.
‘Just keep fighting for four weeks.’
“We really appreciate how much attention they’re giving us.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Manager #3 casually replied and went back to playing a game on his phone.
‘He really doesn’t care about this stuff.’
Still, he was reliable when it came to doing what was asked of him, making him more useful than the first manager.
Plus, since he didn’t have much experience in corporate politics, he didn’t think twice before showing me messages like that.
“…Alright, guys, let’s get moving.”
“Yes, sir.”
On the other hand, the first manager seemed pretty stressed by the new environment, and his lazy attitude had significantly improved.
That was convenient, and the new chief manager was also pretty efficient.
‘But Ryu Cheongwoo still has too much on his plate.’
The road managers were only doing what they were told, so in the end, Ryu Cheongwoo was taking on the bulk of the responsibilities.
Normally, the managers should handle everything, and Cheongwoo should only be giving feedback.
‘I’ll need to push for someone more competent to join the Testa management team.’
I’ll have to plan this out. But for now, the priority is preparing for our next round of activities.
Next up on the schedule was a meeting about the concept for our stage outfits.
“I want red hair!”
“Sure, go for it, Yujin.”
“Hehe.”
“By the way, Sejin… Bae Sejin, have you thought about dyeing your hair a lighter color? We think it might suit you really well.”
“…! It might look strange… but if necessary, I’ll do it.”
“No, no! We’re not forcing you! We just thought it might be fun to try a new image.”
“I love image transformations~ Moondae, how about a piercing?”
“You go get one.”
“W-Wait, you don’t like piercings, Moondae?”
“Not really. Do you?”
“N-No! I’ve never had one before…”
“Wow, look at Moondae being all discriminatory.”
Thanks to our growing influence, our opinions were starting to be reflected more when it came to hair and makeup.
“Great job, everyone~”
“See you in a few days!”
‘Hmm, a piercing, huh.’
After the meeting ended, as I mentally reviewed the undecided details, I headed to the recording studio.
“Excuse me, I’m really sorry to bother you, but could you stop by the management office for a moment?”
“Ah, sure.”
There was a cautious call from the management office.
‘What now.’
I had a bad feeling about this sudden request, and unfortunately, I was right.
“Testa, don’t worry!”
The head of the management office greeted us with a cheerful smile as soon as we arrived.
‘Why does he look so pleased?’
“I know it must have been stressful, with the director pushing for you guys to target the U.S. market with this comeback.”
“It’s alright, really.”
In reality, we hadn’t received any direct orders from the director. Besides, it wasn’t like we could laugh along when someone badmouths their boss right in front of us.
Ryu Cheongwoo awkwardly responded, but the head of management doubled down.
“No, no. We have to respect the talents and wishes of the artists! And during our meeting, I got a definite answer.”
“Huh?”
It was clear he had called us here to brag and show off, but what was this “definite answer” he was talking about? A feeling of dread crept in.
And then he said the fateful words.
“For this Testa comeback, the director has agreed that you guys don’t need to go to the U.S. to appeal to the global market!”
“….”
“So, you can focus on making the album you want without worrying about debuting in America.”
Are you out of your mind?
Just like that, our simple fan-service single had turned into something that had to be a global hit.