Naturally, I had assumed that the new idol group selected through Season 4 would be coming to this agency.
What made things interesting was the current situation.
‘I assumed they’d obviously hire a new dedicated team for them.’
TeSTAR was only in its second year, and they were planning to pull people away from us?
For a group that hadn’t even entered the company and been properly evaluated yet.
“Oh~ So we’re getting juniors too! Ah, but are they not hiring new people? Are our staff members going over there? Whew, won’t everyone’s workload get way too heavy?”
“They’re hiring new people too! But apparently they want to distribute some of the experienced staff around. Don’t worry, hyung isn’t going anywhere~ I’ll send the second manager instead!”
“Haha~”
Big Sejin laughed brightly at the manager’s joking words, but since he had experienced agencies both large and small, he had probably already guessed the general atmosphere.
‘The division head has let go of TeSTAR and decided to grab onto the junior group.’
More precisely, he had gotten sick and tired of TeSTAR’s fans.
From the division head’s perspective, two predecessors had already been replaced in rapid succession, and it would be easy enough for him to think the fans became terrifyingly angry at every little thing.
In reality, TeSTAR’s fans already viewed the agency with hostility anyway.
‘And even the members seem opposed to his vision.’
That damned obsession with America.
The new group would already have built a sizable fandom after surviving the insane survival show, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to redirect key personnel toward them and start dreaming about a new vision.
“Our company’s been doing well lately~ Better people will come in, so don’t worry too much about it!”
“Yes, yes!”
What did I think about it?
‘This is fucking great.’
Extremely good, actually.
The company wouldn’t want to create more pointless friction with the fans, so they would still take proper care of us.
If so, the best possible situation was having the division head stay out of our way while continuing to approve capital investment.
We could handle the planning ourselves anyway.
‘Is the approval bot making a comeback?’
There was only one thing that bothered me.
The risk that at some point they might stop properly investing in new albums and simply run us ragged on tour instead.
‘Treating us like a cash cow.’
Even right after this tour, once they checked the profits, there was a decent chance the division head’s eyes would turn at the size of the revenue.
If he now had another option he could personally focus on developing, it would be a problem if he decided to just squeeze money out of TeSTAR.
Then what was the countermeasure?
Simple.
‘Make it impossible for them to give up capital investment in TeSTAR.’
Three and a half years remained until our contract ended.
We just had to maintain steady growth throughout that period.
We would simultaneously appeal to the economic angle—“If they grow even bigger, we can expand the scale of the tours even further”—and his desire for prestige—“An artist under me became this successful.”
‘Judging by this division head’s personality, there’s no way he’ll be able to let go.’
Which meant TeSTAR’s public momentum during this tour was important.
This was our first long hiatus.
We needed to manage our buzz beyond merely showing our faces at award ceremonies.
But with the schedule already packed, there was no way we could add more domestic promotions.
Then there was only one answer.
‘We need to make the reality show better than originally planned.’
Expand the scale of a schedule that was already set.
‘I’ll have to be proactive about it.’
It was the first time since that I had made a resolution like this.
Let’s make the content and character concepts a little provocative.
“Are we going to meet our juniors??”
“Probably not right away.”
Nearby, I heard Ryu Chungwoo answering Cha Eugene.
And he was right.
We were leaving for the tour tomorrow.
After the highly praised Seoul concerts, TeSTAR immediately departed for the United States.
The plan was to handle America now, since the venues there were smaller and the schedule would end quickly, then move to nearby Japan in January so we could travel back and forth to Korea easily during the crowded award-show season.
And the fans, having exhausted all the concert content, were left sucking their fingers.
It was around then that the final episode of Season 4, which had stirred up attention using TeSTAR’s concert, aired.
[Controversial and Much-Discussed <Relisted! Idol Incorporated 2>… Is the Grand Finale Finally Here?]
[ Season 4 Debut Group Name Officially Confirmed as ‘Miry-nay’]
[’s New Season Winners to Join TeSTAR Under the Same Agency?]
After TeSTAR fans reacted sharply, Tnet quietly backed off too, and the TeSTAR concert appeared only briefly, framed in a way that praised the concert itself.
But even aside from that issue, Season 4 had failed to shake off its countless controversies.
TeSTAR’s Season 3 had been such a huge success that the new season was constantly compared to it, and every time that happened, the show brought out something even more provocative.
-Even I’m a survival-show addict and I can’t take this season anymore. Dropping it
-Rewatching Season 3 makes it look like a saint
-What the fuck is this, I was watching and fled to TeSTAR instead
Between criticism that the show was excessively sadistic and wringing every last drop out of the contestants’ dreams and hopes, and testimony from contestants who had dropped out midway through, the program’s image was terrible.
So regardless of the show’s ratings, an underlying sense of discomfort toward the group debuting through this season had settled over the general public.
Naturally, TeSTAR’s fans didn’t want to become deeply entangled with them either.
All the more so because TeSTAR had been in the middle of establishing its own independent image and worldview since debut.
-Just don’t package them together
-I know it’s not like the girls did anything wrong, but it still feels uncomfortable
-Everything’s nice and quiet after we beat them into submission. As expected, violence was the answer
Still, apart from a few articles testing the waters, the agency hadn’t done anything particularly reckless, so the hostility wasn’t especially strong yet.
There were far more fans nervously focusing on TeSTAR’s scarce updates instead.
-Looks like they prerecorded Gayo Daejeon and immediately flew out. Haven’t seen their faces in forever (photo from leaving work)
-Please come on the app, guysㅠㅠ There’s no self-produced content lately either, I’m bored…
-2X1221 New Jersey concert preview (photo)
-Moondae’s solo got changed so he rises while sitting in the chair. It does look safer, but I’m a little sad tooㅠ Manifesting immediate Seoul concert VOD release
Except for one major terrestrial-network year-end program and one major award ceremony, TeSTAR was outside Korea for nearly all of December.
And aside from one short WLive commemorating Park Moondae’s birthday, the only updates were about the tour.
There was no self-produced content either.
Perhaps because they were saving it for the VOD, even the concert behind-the-scenes videos weren’t being uploaded.
Naturally, people started worrying ahead of themselves.
It was a deduction produced inductively by prior experience as K-pop fanatics.
-The way things are going, I’m worried we won’t get any content for the entire tour;
-These shitty-company bastards obviously pulled TeSTAR’s staff to take care of the rookies and pushed TeSTAR’s new content to the back. Like we haven’t been through this before
-Loviewers, enjoy award season while you can. This is the last year you’ll get to see TeSTAR promote for three full weeks on Korean music shows every comeback lol
-Fuck, our boys are only in their second year, don’t tell me they’re already going to run them around on tours nonstop. Guarantee two comebacks a year, you bastards
-It is about time for them to start shifting promotions overseas though. They’ve gotten way too big internationally
Some people even went this far.
-I hope the next album gets a bad response overseas. Then they’ll have to focus on Korea
└Don’t say things like that with the members in your profile
└Why? lol I’m not an international fan. Them getting any bigger does absolutely nothing to improve my experience as a fan. They stop coming back to Korea, fansign cutoffs get fucking ridiculous, they lose their original mindset, and early fans leave. Fastest route possible
In truth, TeSTAR hadn’t even gone one or two full months without updates, so it was far too early for people to be talking like this.
The problem was that until now, TeSTAR had worked tirelessly like oxen, with new updates pouring out practically every day.
Even during vacation they had kept fans updated through all sorts of SNS posts and videos.
Once that abruptly stopped, this brief silence alone was enough to unsettle some people.
-The tour literally just started and they have year-end shows on top of it, of course they’re busy. Stop making a fuss
└What are you talking about, pics of the boys sightseeing all over the place have been posted everywhereㅎ Guess leaving the country was more for tourism than the tourㅋ
-I’m only saying this here but… honestly, is it really that hard to post a single photo while they’re hanging out together? I do feel a little hurt
└Right, and that birthday celebration for Moondae at the final concert too… the fact they ended up releasing absolutely nothing about it bothered me quite a lotㅠㅠ
-This fandom is a disaster. Did the idols treat everyone too well until now, or are there just too many people who’ve never stanned before? Getting upset and throwing fits over every tiny thing
Still, because there were year-end program appearances, they weren’t entirely deprived of content, so those voices remained relatively minor throughout December.
And on the last day of December, while fans were disappointed that TeSTAR’s appearance on MBS’s Gayo Daejejeon had also been prerecorded—
A notification arrived from TeSTAR’s official WTube channel.
Ding.
[(Trailer) Happy New Year! TeSTAR’s New Reality Show Arrives With the New Year!]
The thumbnail showed seven figures sitting by the sea.
‘Ah, finally!’
‘Right, they should at least give us a reality show during the hiatus!’
‘They’re touring, so it’ll probably be documentary-level boring, but who cares! It’s content!’
Relieved by the New Year’s gift, the fans quickly clicked the thumbnail.
Then they became somewhat confused by what started playing.
‘…??’
First of all…
Without warning, grandiose brass instruments and an opera singer’s high note came crashing in.
Bam, bam, bam, bam, babababam!!
[Ugh!]
[Ack!]
[Whoa,]
[Oops!!]
[Urgh!]
In time with the music, scenes of each TeSTAR member screaming or groaning flashed past.
[…….]
Finally, the shot lingered on Bae Sejin, completely frozen with both hands raised.
A tub of ice cream could be seen splattered all over the floor beneath him.
-???
-lol huh?
-What is this lololol
Leaving the bewildered real-time reactions behind, the video suddenly became calm.
Peaceful everyday interview footage of TeSTAR abruptly appeared.
The question was simple.
[Have you ever worked a part-time job?]
[Lee Sejin: Yes!]
[Chungwoo: Only helping out at my parents’ store, I guess?]
[Bae Sejin: …No. (tense) W-Why?]
White text appeared over a black screen.
[Just wonderingㅎ]
Then the scene changed again.
TeSTAR stood there holding suitcases, unmistakably dressed like people in the middle of a business trip, while the production team called out to them.
[Everyone! Are you ready to film your reality show? This time, the theme is a free trip!]
[Lee Sejin: Wow!!]
[Seon Ahyeon: Really?]
[Of course! Go wherever you want!]
Warm shots flashed past of TeSTAR spending happy moments in groups of two or three, or all together, at foreign beaches and restaurants.
Along with this red caption.
[※Expenses will be charged.※]
White text appeared meaningfully against the black screen again.
[Will TeSTAR be able to earn enough money to go have fun safely?!]
[Eugene: I want to go home.]
[Moondae: Please, let’s go….]
Park Moondae and Cha Eugene appeared looking hopelessly miserable, covering their eyes with both hands.
[TeSTAR’s Reality Show Show Show]
[Idol Working Holiday]
[Episode 1 Releases Thursday, January 9!]
Naturally, it had the feel of a full-fledged mainstream variety show that even the fans hadn’t expected.
Read only on MUGEX
“So today’s sales finally went over a thousand dollars, which means I think tomorrow we can go to the theme park without any debt.”
“Wow!!”
Applause rang out around me.
The members stretched proudly and exchanged high fives.
“D-Do you want some of this?”
“Thanks.”
I gulped down the maesil juice Seon Ahyeon had made for me.
I felt pretty satisfied.
‘Everyone did work hard.’
At this rate, we should be able to keep going around without taking on any debt—
Wait.
“…….”
‘This… doesn’t feel like a variety show anymore…?’
Everyone was way too immersed.
Realizing that the filming set had somehow become more serious about paying off debt than actually having fun, I broke out in a cold sweat.
‘How am I supposed to save this?’
This won’t do.
Looks like I’ll have to encourage them to blow some money.