Debut or Die
chapter-176

First of all, one thing to point out, just because I had the characteristic ‘Now that I heard it, it’s true’, it didn’t mean I could be all-around persuasive.

Let’s look at the description of the characteristic again.

[Characteristic: Now that I heard it, it’s true(A)]

– It causes emotional agitation to the ‘listener’

: Activation rate 60%, basic activation state

It caused ’emotional agitation’ but that didn’t mean they would be convinced of whatever I was saying.

In other words, it was an assisting wheel to various types of communication situations, ranging from stage to conversation.

Therefore, in order to string around this America-obsessed director, I had to come up with a convincing reason.

Then where should I prod him?

I had to stimulate this guy’s inner desire that wanted to go to America.

Namely, the ‘image’.

“If it goes well in the U.S., that would be great, but… How long are you planning on doing this?”

The director was outspoken in his answer, as if he had already made all the plans.

“Two years if it’s short and about three years if it takes a long time. It’s a fully feasible plan.”

This meant that it would fill the period until the contract ended.

‘That shouldn’t happen.’

I asked right away.

“But if we work in the US for that long, won’t all the Korean fans leave?”

“Haha, that’s all in the past. These days, everyone knows the world news through WeTube or SNS. You all speak Korean anyway, right? Korean fans have more access.”

“Hmm… Then I think they’ll hate it even more.”

“Yes?”

“No. When we go to America, we have to start it all from scratch without having any recognition, but I think they’ll hate it if they have to see it all.”

I deliberated paused and then added.

“They think we’re a great team, but wouldn’t they think differently if we start from the bottom in America?”

“…!”

“If in Korea they don’t see things going well for two to three years, I don’t think our image will recover.”

“That’s right~ I think other countries are responding because we’re doing much better than we normally are! As the director said, everyone in the world knows everything in real-time these days~”

Keun Sejin interrupted with a smile. I continued right away.

“The reaction in Japan you mentioned earlier, I think they got immersed in the program because they know that we succeeded in Korea after <Idol Inc.>.”

“…Mmm.”

A strange look passed over the director’s face, along with the displeasure at being talked back by young idiots who hadn’t even graduated from college.

It was the agitation of being bothered by something.

And at that moment, a pop-up came up.

[‘Now that I heard it, it’s true (A)’ activated!]

‘Done.’

It was plausible to predict that the Korean market, which had already been established, would be shaken by the broken image of Testar’s brand in Korea because of its devotion to the US for two to three years.

Originally, he could have said something like, ‘If it goes according to my master plan, we’ll succeed in America, so it doesn’t matter!’ but here, the characteristic popped out and his agitation intensified.

‘Now all I have to do is make a stake that the director can afford to lose.’

So that he could rationalize it with ‘being considerate of the singers’ while quietly withdrawing.

“…It’s because we’re anxious.”

“T-That’s right.”

“We’re still growing in Korea, so I want to work harder to reach the top.”

The members also fired their support shots.

We’d already been in agreement since the last meeting.

– It’s good to film a reality show in the US, but having America as the target is a bit…

– It’s weird. It’s like they’re saying they’re aimlessly aiming for Hollywood

– I think it’s a perfect metaphor, hyung!

– W-Whatever…!

Through this process, the conversation had already ended, concluding that if there was any more talk about America, we would cut them off.

Here, Ryu Chungwoo carefully added the last words.

“Until our position is solid enough to receive Grand Prize in Korea… Can’t you think about it some more? Please.”

“…”

The director twitched his eyebrows for a moment, then shrugged as if he was the bigger man.

“Well, it can’t be helped. Since it’s an entertainment business, the thoughts of the parties involved are important. I think your opinion should be respected.”

“Thank you!”

Now, we just had to leave before he could change his mind.

“Phew.”

When I left the director’s office, sighs of relief were heard here and there.

“I never thought he would really let it go.”

“I-I was surprised.”

‘At least I bought time until the end of the year.’

If we happened to win the Grand Prize this time…then. Well, at that time, our right to speak would be stronger, so negotiations would be easier.

Ryu Chungwoo came out and hit Keun Sejin on the back.

“Good job.”

“What’s with you?”

“Sigh.”

“Are we still going to America? Are we going to my house?”

“Yes, we’ll go there”

There wasn’t anything I could do about the reality show.

“Wow!”

Cha Eugene raised both his hands.

Gazes that said ‘I am glad you’re happy’ secretly fell on Cha Eugene and then disappeared.

‘Still, it’s going well.’

I had met with the director and was convinced.

He was the type to get overconfident in his work, but not difficult to deal with.

‘He just has to put himself in the position of a giver.’

Above all, it was better to want to grow Testar itself rather than thinking about using us for T1.

‘I just need to change the flow.’

I stretched myself. There seemed to be a strange noise coming from my shoulders.

“Sigh, do you want me to give you a massage?”

“It’s fine.”

From ‘Present’ to the current repackage ‘Picnic’, my body felt a little sluggish after rushing non-stop

‘Still, the results are great.’

Although the music shows of this album’s activity had ended, the music score was still good.

‘Although we were beaten by VTIC at the last minute.’

VTIC, who pre-released the song from the same composer yesterday, climbed up the music charts at a terrifying pace.

‘It can’t be helped.’

However, the text message I received yesterday was a bit annoying.

– Thank you for the song, hubae. ^^

He even sent me a screenshot of the music chart.

I got pissed off for a moment, but after realizing that I didn’t have to deal with him in the current peaceful status quo, I calmed down.

‘Now… Should I just decide on the concert unit performance?’

Whether to add a unit stage to the composition, and if so, who to form with.

It’s not like there was a particularly huge landmine hiding there, but I just had to consider the quality of the concert and Cha Eugene’s fighting spirit.

‘I’d like to do a unit with someone else, like Kim Raebin.’

Thinking of the unit candidates I had originally thought of, I thought about how to separate myself from Cha Eugene.

However, before I could make the final decision, something happened that would make a major impact on the decision-making.

The edited version of the horror room escape with Cha Eugene was uploaded.

* * *

[Moon Puppy and Cha Kitty’s number one horror escape | Testar Roommate Extra EP.1]

This video, which was slightly more distinctive from the preliminary title Park Moondae had heard, provided a different kind of fun from the real-time W live at the time.

When viewed live, the video was transmitted through a shaken smartphone camera, so it was like a fake documentary in the style of found footage.

However, in this video, that feeling was left out and entertainment editing was added.

So, rather than the immersion in escaping the horror room, the characters of those two were more emphasized.

[The theme of this room is… The nightmare of a child who has picked up a strange doll… Hmm, this is why garbage sorting is important.]

[Are you afraid of dolls? I hate nightmares!]

Before entering, Park Moondae was calm and Cha Eugene was making a fuss.

Even after entering, this format was similar but the position was reversed.

[Hyung, hyung! That hair over there! The Teddy Bear‘s hair is human hair! It’s not pretty!]

[Put that down, put it down, Eugene.]

Cha Eugene made a fuss and Park Moondae calmly freaked out.

And at the end of the game, they threw away the initial format and were both terrified and trembling.

It was because they got immersed in the story, but there was no such gag for the fans who could see one step away from it due to the editing.

[Like this… If you get it right… Is it an English sentence?]

[It is! Umm~ THIS IS NOT A DREAM… It’s not a dream!! It’s not a dream!!]

[W-Wait, wait.]

Gugugugung!

Suddenly, the lights flashed red, and the crude mannequin in the corner turned its head.

[Hiiii!]

The sight of those two jumping backwards while holding each other was truly worth seeing even through the infrared camera.

And as soon as they saw the video theme, people were satisfied with the picture they had expected.

– (00:57) (05:14) (13:09) Both their eyes get bigger over timeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– It’s the mannequin’s fault. It threatened the two scaredy-cats

– ㅅㅂThis is the first time I’ve seen Park Moondae rely on Cha Eugene like thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠ

– It’s heartwarming to see them pulling each other’s clothes because they won’t damage the property. Law-abiding idols

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋCrazy

Both of them had the strongest mentality, almost second to none, but thanks to the additional explanation that they chose the content themselves, there were very few people who felt particularly uncomfortable watching it.

[It was fun. It was refreshing.]

[Let’s do it again one day!!]

[Yeah.]

After escaping, they naturally liked it as if it had been done easily, it was an example of a great idol’s content.

And it settled down better than Park Moondae expected.

– Scaredy-catz will continue to walk the path of fear…

Under the nickname ‘Scaredy-catz’.

In fact, it was as if they were giving suggestions to the people who wanted to group first place and second place together but had no special connection.

The fierce battle of solo fans who bared their teeth under the surface was so noticeable that people who liked them both reacted strongly.

“…”

In the end, Park Moondae, who only monitored in moderation, also said this to Cha Eugene.

“Hey, let’s do a unit.”

“Wow!”

It was a plain declaration of surrender.

However, in order to avoid direct comparison with the unit of the last concert, the timing of the unit stage was slightly adjusted.

“Then the unit stage will be revealed later during the encore concert?”

“Good, good~”

It was the conclusion of the final concert concept meeting.

Instead, they added some surprises to the tour.

“People will be surprised, right?”

“I think they will fall over laughing.”

Everything was neat.

Testar finished the preparation for the concert step by step without any particular conflict.

Under the direction of the new director, the agency even gave Testar a long 10-day vacation before the tour’s final rehearsal.

Along with the wonderful words, ‘It is also the company’s duty to manage the artist’s condition’.

‘Are you trying to get a head start?’

Park Moondae was not very impressed, but he welcomed the vacation anyway.

It was time for everyone to take a break.

* * *

“After a long time, I’m going home~”

“Let’s get some rest.”

“I’ll say hello often.”

They left the dorm after a loud farewell as if we were parting for half a year.

– I-If you don’t mind… Do you want to come over?

– My grandmother said she was impressed with the Groom in May.

– I’m looking for a house to move in with my mom, but, uh, if you have plans too, it’d be nice if you could share!

A few people invited me to go to their house together, but I declined.

‘I’m finally alone.’

I cheered as I reviewed the ten-day seclusion plan.

I established an emergency contact network with the company in case I got sick and received first-aid medicine. I also bought porridge.

‘It’s just a cold anyway.’

It didn’t matter if I got sick. The vacation was ten days long, so even if I got sick for about three days, I would be able to rest for a week with a sane mind.

‘Let’s not monitor too often.’

Funnily enough, I decided to reflect on Cha Eugene’s advice this time.

‘I can rest for a few days.’

The director was very interested in Testar, so he must have strengthened the Internet monitoring within the company.

This meant that I could expect to be contacted if a problem occurred.

“All right.”

Smartphones were also set to silent except for emergency calls. I even put up a status message.

– Vacation. Slow to check.

Like this.

I picked up my smartphone to double-check and found that the screen was already on.

The phone was ringing.

[VTIC Cheongryeo sunbae-nim]

I wasn’t really happy about this.