Chapter 107
Debut or Die
A few days had passed since the song was released last Monday. This meant that the schedule for the first stage was just around the corner.
However, perhaps because the company was conscious of the debut showcase accident, I heard that the company wouldnât hold a showcase for this comeback.
But we got new content.
âI never thought weâd have a separate comeback show.â
âIâm really excited!â
Cha Eugene finished Ryu Chungwooâs slightly burdensome words and completely changed the line.
In any case, it was just like he said. Testar received a solo comeback show next Thursday at Music Night.
In addition to the performance of the last album, it seemed the fact that we were from Tnet also had some influence.
âWe debuted with so weâre like a royal.â
Anyway, the VCR filming was already over.
âIsnât it nice that we donât have to sing âJust Meâ since we already have a couple of songs? It feels like weâve established ourselves as a group. Haha!â
Keun Sejin seemed to be in a good mood. Perhaps this comeback show was one of the step-by-step goals he had set.
âThatâs great.â
I shrugged and continued what I was doing. I was going to check it out a while ago, but I couldnât because I didnât have time.
âA-Are you going to look at the album?â
âYeah.â
I was going to check the actual album.
I received one separately from the company, but I just pre-ordered this.
Because the last album was prepared in such a hurry, we confirmed that there were quite a few cases where the actual album was not finished or the printing on the inside was poor.
âHopefully, it wonât happen again this time.â
There was nothing I could do if such cases got away from me due to a lucky draw, but I still wanted to order it myself and take a look.
âOh, Moondae, are you unboxing the album? Do you want me to film a video for you?â
âNo, itâs fine.â
I turned down Keun Sejinâs offer and tore off the bubble wrap.
A huge album composition set box was revealed before my eyes.
âWowâ¦â
ââ¦Can you call this an album?â
Bae Sejin murmured. Ah, by the way, he had completely got rid of his ankle brace last week.
Anyway, just like he said, this box was the size of a drawer.
And there was a reason why it had to be.
âAh, is this the set that includes the lightstick?â
âThatâs right.â
It was because the lightstick was finally released and they were booked together.
âThen letâs check the actual lightstick first.â
I opened the box. And I was taken aback.
ââ¦!â
On the left, the lightstick between the buffer material⦠It was much more colorful than I thought.
In particular, the huge cubic glowing with the aurora light in the center was overwhelming.
âItâs more colorful than the final pictureâ¦?â
I could feel the madness of the office workers who wanted to put in everything they had.
The other guys watching from the side also seemed a little taken aback.
âOh⦠Oh~â
âI-Itâs very⦠big.â
âItâs sparkling!â
Cha Eugeneâs vocabulary had improved.
âAh, that thing next to the lightstick, do you put it on top of the lightstick?â
âMaybe.â
I took out the black cylinder placed next to the lightstick.
Ah, the baseball bat shape was rejected because it was difficult to attach and detach it due to the time and the cost.
âThis is actually more than I expected.â
I tried changing the shape of the lightstick by putting the cylinder on top of it, and after confirming that it was placed stably, I took it out again.
âNow, the album.â
On the right side of the box, there were two albums that were almost as thick as a hard-cover book.
ââ¦Itâs really big.â
âI think itâs because the photos take up a big part of the composition.â
âYou can use that as a weapon.â
I checked it properly by looking into the two albums in order.
One side had a summer watercolor landscape on a white background, while the other featured luminous graffiti on a black background. However, thanks to having the same basic design, the sense of unity was alive.
Fortunately, both of them had a clean finish and the print quality looked good.
âOh, the photocards are falling~â
ââ¦! I-I got themâ¦!â
For reference, the photocards were Seon Ahyeonâs selfie in a classroom and Ryu Chungwoo taking off his gas mask respectively. I gave them the cards and finished checking the album.
âHey, Ahyeon is really handsome. How can you be so handsome when youâre bad at taking selfies?â
âT-Tthank youâ¦?â
He got S- stat recently, so it was understandable.
After this, it was time to prepare for the pre-recording of the comeback show.
âSince weâre not just doing one song, letâs properly distribute our stamina.â
âYes!â
After a few confirmations, we went out on stage to record our first song.
And I checked the actual long-distance of 500 lightsticks.
âWaaaaaagh!!â
ââ¦!â
I expected it, but⦠No, it was more than I expected⦠It boasted a tremendous brightness.
Each person seemed to be holding a mirror ball.
ââ¦Doesnât it get in the way of watching the stage?â
Having a light source that close would bother me.
It looked fantastic on stage, but wouldnât be useless if the people holding it were uncomfortable?
I raised my mic after the members exchanged a few greetings with the fans.
ââ¦About the light stickâ¦â
âItâs pretty!â
âI love it!â
ââ¦All right.â
As long as youâre satisfied.
* * *
The morning after Testar filmed the comeback show with fans all day long. Of course, reviews were posted.
Among them, Park Moondaeâs anonymous fan community was also there.
[Comeback show pre-recording review]
: Gommeo, that crazy guy has platinum blonde hair, f*ck, this kid needs to keep blonde hair forever.
The stage was good, I am not telling you how it was. Watch the broadcast~
â Gasp
â Blonde again?
â Blonde hair! (Park Moondae doing puppy landing GIF)
â No, my babyâs scalp is going to melt. Just go with black hair⦠Isnât black hair better for the song concept?
âHn, no, Park Gommeo only has blond hair
â How many songs?
â Is this fake?
âSimilar posts continue to appear on other sites
â Gommeo seems to know somethingã ã But donât come in here when you search. If youâre watching, press back and never return
âThis is called excessive self-consciousness
â The pre-recording was held on weekdays, so even these guys were going
The first comeback stage hadnât been aired yet, so even if they looked at the reviews written in detail, the only thing fans could intuitively feel after reading the pre-recorded reviews was the description of the change in appearance.
And since the first comeback stage was scheduled to be aired on Thursday evening, the pre-recording of the Music Night was held early at dawn.
Naturally, the early morning in mid-to-late October was quite cold.
âDonât push!â
ââ¦Itâs cold!â
Kim Raebinâs fan grumbled and entered the pre-recording site. The article she checked earlier still lingered in her head.
ââ¦Park Moondae dyed his hair blonde again?â
Good⦠No, it was only because Park Moondae looked better with blonder hair.
After the 2nd team match, she secretly became concerned about Park Moondae, and sometimes went to Park Moondaeâs fan site to check the news.
Even when her acquaintance on SNS, a personal fan of Kim Raebin, criticized Park Moondae, she was secretly rooting for him.
â Did you see Gommeo paying attention to Rebin? Selling stories to the elders and winning first place. There are no young people hereã
âStill, Gommeo is good for him. With Big Bird-ssi, Rebin only gets political
â¦It was mostly like this. By the way, Big Bird was a nickname that had been changed to the extreme to prevent Keun Sejinâs search.
Nevertheless, she was still in denial of having feelings beyond a favorable impression toward Park Moondae.
ââ¦Letâs just watch the performance!â
She quickly shook off her thoughts and pulled out her lightstick. The composition of getting a Shara-La magic wand when you removed the black cylinder was honestly funny.
âThe lightstick is nice.â
As the fans waited with their lightsticks, Testar walked out from across the stage.
âHello!â
âHello, Loviewer!â
Deafening cheers rang through the recording studio.
âAre you tired? Thank you so much for coming.â
âYeah!â
âNo, Iâm not tired!â
It was a mess, with peopleâs reactions ranging from honest to kind, but the atmosphere itself was fun, so everyone laughed.
Testar showed signs of nervousness, but they spoke well in generalâ¦
Above all, the outfits were really amazing.
âWhatâs with thatâ¦!â
In their winter school uniform, Testar was wearing techwear props instead of jackets.
The silhouette of the accessory made of black leather, plastic, and metal went up over the student uniform and pants, and it fit just right.
âI thought the atmosphere would be different from the title track⦠I knew it!â
But it was still shocking because she didnât know it would be more serious than the concept photo.
In addition, Kim Raebin had grown his hair a little longer, leaving only half of his forehead exposed.
âHalf bang!â
She really liked the fact that he was moving into a dangerous impression rather than being a bad boy!
She wanted to express this excitement by hitting something with her lightstick, but she endured it because there were too many people.
And at that moment, Park Moondae, who was standing a little away from Kim Raebin, caught her eye.
ââ¦!!â
So handsome?!
Why are you so handsome? She looked at Park Moondae, doubting her own eyes.
Although Park Moondae was trendy, attractive, and objectively handsome⦠He wasnât a handsome man that made her admire him the instant she saw him.
But for some reason, he looked like that today!
âIs it because of that platinum blonde hair?!â
Park Moondae had platinum blonde hair that looked almost colorless.
And she didnât know why, but it seemed to suit him so well.
ââ¦Did you get plastic surgery?â
She suspected briefly, but couldnât pinpoint the difference in features.
Then she heard someone whispering to each other quietly next to her.
âI heard they changed the salonâ¦â
âThey must have changed it to a better one. The kids seem to have gotten more handsome.â
ââ¦â
âAh, thatâs what happened.â
She was quickly convinced of the situation.
She didnât know who it was, but it was clear that they were a great expert.
In the meantime, Testar finished the short greetings and the small talk with fans, and they lined up to prepare for the stage.
As Testar turned around and each took a starting position, she waved the lightstick in her hand in excitement. And she realized.
âAh, the lightstickâs coverâ¦â
Come to think of it, when she came in, she was told not to take off this black cylinder.
âAre you telling me to cheer for them like this?â
As she looked at the black stick with hesitation, the lightstick was switched on by a central controller connected via Bluetooth.
Then a familiar luminous graffiti wrapped itself around the cylindrical shape as it activated.
ââ¦!â
It felt like the light inside was leaking through, but for some reason, it reminded her of a neon sign.
âHeol.â
She wasnât interested in this cylinder and didnât know anything about it, so she was taken by surprise.
However, most of the fans were just staring at the stage, perhaps they had already turned it on at home.
âAh!â
She quickly fixed her eyes on the stage, too. She couldnât waste her time on this.
At that moment, the lights in the studio went out.
And an intense prelude began to play out on the stage.