Debut or Die

The concert schedule was definitely set, but unlike other set lists that were mostly fixed, opinions on the units were still divided.

‘Some people also said that we don’t need it because we have solo songs.’

We were going to sing a few ballad songs as a group instead, but I was actually more inclined to do the unit.

I thought it would be more fun to look forward to.

Looking at Cha Eugene waiting for an answer, I smiled.

And answered.

“No.”

“Yes? Why?”

Cha Eugene looked betrayed.

This guy was funny.

I shrugged.

“Why do you want to do a unit performance with me?”

“Hyung is great! It’s cool to do it together!”

“I don’t know about that. You’re good at dancing and I’m good at singing, so I don’t think we’ll fit together.”

“We can practice!”

He talked about effort casually. He’d become a Korean, too.

Cha Eugene looked upset, which was rare for him. I put down my smartphone and crossed my arms.

“From the beginning, you chose me as your roommate with the unit performance in mind.”

“Yes!”

He nodded his head eagerly as if he didn’t particularly intend to hide it.

‘Did you choose me because you thought of how the roommates did the unit stages last time?’

I looked at Cha Eugene without answering, and Cha Eugene whithered slightly.

“Hyung’s performance is fun… I want to do that, too.”

Hmm. He was still as stubborn as ever.

“You think my performance is fun?”

“Yes…. Can I say it in English?”

What are you asking permission for after saying whatever you want so far? I nodded, and Cha Eugene explained the situation in English.

[I’ve been thinking about it since we were on the survival reality show, hyung’s stage ideas are really cool. So I want to devote myself 100% to it and try it at this concert!]

Cha Eugene blinked and pointed at himself and me alternately with his finger.

[Best dance, best vocal! I assure you, with a little more practice, it will be a great performance!]

Oh, it was more than I expected.

‘Come to think of it, in Idol Inc, he kept asking to perform together next time.’

At that time, there was no next time so I thought it was just some nonsense, but I supposed he had thought about it from a long-term perspective.

Seriously.

‘Should I explain it more to him?’

Look at his confidence when he proudly said he was the best dancer even though there were three dance lines on the team.

It was clear that if I just refused, he would continue to beg for a unit because he wasn’t convinced. I opened my mouth, rubbing the back of my neck.

“First of all, we don’t even know if we’ll do unit performances or not you know?”

“But I like the unit! Just say we’ll do it!”

“No. We should think carefully about which one is better, and consider other people’s opinions.”

“….”

Cha Eugene looked sullen, but he seemed to understand in his own way.

I went on to explain.

“And our positions are very different. If we play a unit where we clearly have to show different strength points, which is neither dance nor vocal, and doesn’t meet people’s expectations, the situation can become ambiguous.”

“I’m not worried. We have great skills, let’s try it!”

Even if you’re not worried, I totally am, you bastard.

It would draw attention if the first and second-place winners formed a unit among themselves, and from there, some fans of other members would get upset.

However, if we failed to meet their expectations after performing on the stage, we could suffer losses without gaining anything.

So, in other words, I had no reason to do a unit with Cha Eugene.

“Challenge is good, but we’re at work. This is not a school, so you can’t challenge yourself however you want. You have to be careful.”

“…”

Cha Eugene slumped. It was the first time since Idol Inc that I’d seen him so discouraged.

‘I guess you have grand ambitions.’

I finally shrugged and opened my mouth.

“So, when the unit stage is confirmed and a good idea comes up… Why don’t we talk about it again then?”

“…!”

It meant it was a postponement, not a rejection.

‘I shouldn’t press him too hard.’

It was okay to bring Cha Eugene down to reality, but there was no need to blindly press him down.

Well, I might come up with some really good ideas.

Sure enough, Cha Eugene was excited again.

“Good! I have a lot of old men! Let’s talk a lot!”

You mean inspiration.

“I get inspiration only three times a day.”

“Umm… Got it!”

The conversation seemed to end with Cha Eugene snapping his fingers, but…

[Right! How about an underwater concert?]

“…”

Think of our concert budget.

‘I should’ve just discouraged him.’

I briefly regretted my choice.

But I never thought that the fuse would be ignited by something more trivial than this concert unit.

* * *

A few days later, Testar’s roommate reassignment content was uploaded to WeTube.

It was released only to the people who subscribed to the account membership so that they could see it a week earlier, but of course, illegal pirated copies spread everywhere.

It was thanks to Testar’s popularity, but there were other reasons for the number of views in each illegally uploaded video.

– Crazy, hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

It was incredibly funny.

Just like most of idol’s own content aimed at fans, Testar’s recent WeTube content was somewhat heartwarming and less provocative.

However, from this roommate content, the production PD changed, reviving the stimulating taste of Testar’s debut reality show.

As T1 reorganized Testar’s own content, they also recruited the production team that filmed the debut reality show.

They actively added character traits, drove them, and made good use of the editing twists.

[Bae Sejin (Investment addict): (After investing in everything, all I have left is 2 coins…! It’s really just these coins now!)]

[Seon Ahyeon (Building owner): Ah, that… I ask Sejin hyung to collect 3 coins…]

[Bae Sejin (Just went bankrupt): !!!!]

Besides, there were so many unexpected situations in this game.

Thanks to this, the comments in the videos were filled with repeated laughter in foreign languages and Korean.

– Everyone, this video is so real, I almost threw up while laughing

– They’re crazy, they’re making each other go bankruptㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Guys, look after your territories, why do you keep selling themㅠ

– (19:41) Cha Eugene’s reaction the moment he got the highest amount through 1/216 odds probabilityㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Child Ryu Chungwoo and Bae Sejinㅋㅋㅋ

└I think they’ve never played a game where they have to make fake money because they’ve been making real money since they were young… (Pitying emoticon)

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋNo, how can you talk about national team members and child actors as if they’re illegal child labor!!

Fans encouraged people to report illegal videos, but inwardly, they liked the videos because they were so funny.

– I think it would help promoting to muggles… Is it the idol delusion? (resting chin emoticon)

– It’s just for promotional purposes anyway, so don’t be blinded by the small amount of money you get from the membership and release the video right awayㅠㅠ

– Ah, so much fun… I love you guys

– You waste your life if you don’t dig up this funny group right away. Check out the best cost-effectiveness Testar that will bring back your laughter on WeTube now

– Lee Sejin’s cute hand gesture that grabbed the soul of the bankrupt Baese… (GIF)

And the PD made the forming of the roommates after this game quite fun.

[Cha Eugene: Wow!! Moondae hyung! We’re roommates!]

[Park Moondae: ….Wow? (I don’t know English, but let’s thank him first)]

Because the roommates were assigned to maximize the emotions each member expressed in a positive way.

And among them, the combination of Cha Eugene and Park Moondae, which was rarely seen after their debut, was quite entertaining and received good responses.

– I think Cha Eugene just picked Park Moondae because he was next to himㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Moondae must have thought Eugene would pick Raebin, look at his expressionㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Moon Puppy and Cha Kitty’s combination, how long has it been~~ Show us more

– ㅅㅂOn the topic of Park Moondae being an introvert, Cha Eugene accepted everything he said, what a sweet cider maker

– This Incheon Tibetan fox dried up under the direct sunlight of the super extrovert Caliboy (screenshot)

Most of the fans who liked Testar and Park Moondae also liked this format. It was because their characters were strong and kind, so it was fun.

However, there were also some people who didn’t like it.

Among Cha Eugene’s solo fans, there were stuck-up people who had been there since the beginning of ‘Idol Inc’ drama.

– Ah, I see someone who pushes forward to be everyone’s favorite even though he doesn’t do anything blergh

– He can’t get rid of the habit of instigating with emotion, he can’t help it, just dieㅠ

– Gommeo that *sshole is showing his dirt, but his friends are trying to make him look like a kind person. After the summer package, is Euggene next?ㅋㅋ

Their argument was that Park Moondae forcibly staged the neglect of Cha Eugene and had it directed in a warm-hearted way.

Of course, this was not the general public opinion of Cha Eugene’s fandom.

Their aggression had softened a lot thanks to Cha Eugene’s successful debut, and their exclusivity had decreased a lot as they mixed in with new fans.

However, there were still some fans who questioned the legitimacy of Park Moondae’s first-place ranking.

And their emotions led to a poor view of Park Moondae’s solo performance.

Therefore, some people made these hateful remarks not only on anonymous sites or secret accounts under the surface, but also in public places.

This day was the same always.

– What are you guys doing?

However, the difference from before was that Park Moondae’s fans didn’t have to endure it any longer.

– (screenshot) The second-place’s akkgaes are still doing this, It can’t be helped that he got pushed out because he wasn’t good enoughㅠㅠ

– Hn, the freaks are swamped with inferiority complexes~

– I think I’m going to throw up when I see freaks like you using his profile

– He can’t appear on a solo variety show because he stupidly can’t keep his mouth shut, what can we do about that? Does the 1st place have to take responsibility?ㅜ

In Idol Inc, they had no choice but to put up with it and be satisfied with behind-the-scenes work because of the preoccupation of Cha Eugene’s fandom which had been immovably at the top since the beginning, but the situation had changed.

Because Park Moondae did great performances after his debut.

His appearance and stage continued to improve step by step, the influx of fans increased, and entertainment shows often hit popularity with each of his appearances.

Even in this album, his photo card market price had become similar to Cha Eugene’s.

So, it was only natural that Park Moondae’s radical solo fans secretly started thinking like this.

‘Isn’t it fine to openly beat them up now?’

And once they started to refute, curses and accusations began to pour out like a broken reservoir.

Of course, it wasn’t just Cha Eugene’s malicious solo fans alone.

Some people deleted their posts and disappeared, but the remaining people went under the surface and began to respond more violently.

– Ah, If you ask me not to talk freely in my account, just don’t look. Why are you using force?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Pretending to be an all-fan, but refusing to stream solo songs behind the scene. Wow, really, The idol and his suckers are the same

– Ugh, *sshole, thinking he’s the popular member and going crazy. Yes, congratulations on being the pick of grandmothers and grandfathers who don’t spend money~ (applause emoticon)

It was a complete mess.

– Whenever Cha Eugene isn’t the center of the chorus, they use dirty methods such as using fax machines. We need to take this opportunity to root them out

– Park Moondae’s akggaes have an open message room, why are you pretending not to know?ㅋㅋDo you enjoy spreading rumors? (screenshot)

Revelations upon revelations followed, and rumors and fake testimony sneakily came out.

– Let’s be happy, guys

– I will block all the related content, I am just going to enjoy kids’ content~

– Quit the fandom, please

Among the fans who hadn’t dipped their toes into this, many who noticed the situation were disgusted or ignored it, but unsurprisingly, there were also people who expressed their opinions.

– Honestly, the solo fans are going too far, they’re crazy

– Gommeo’s are the same but Euggene’s are all jerks, what’s wrong with them

– Cha Eugene should have won first place. it got twisted from the beginning, you just gave me a chance to feel upsetㅋㅋㅋ

If things spread a bit more, it was only a matter of time before they entered SNS or community popular posts.

‘F*ck.’

And it was at this point that Park Moondae saw this.

“…Eugene.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s do a W live.”

After a short phone call with the company, Park Moondae turned on a personal live broadcast with Cha Eugene.

It was less than half a day after the situation was confirmed.