Chapter 83

If we can't debut, we'll get a disease that will kill us 083

The anger towards the agency, which had yet to give them anything, from the fandom name to the official color and cheering sticks, spread like an escalator.

'This is a situation where I've endured enough.'

Honestly, it wouldn't have been strange if it had exploded earlier, but the song was so good and they were riding the wave, so they couldn't publicize it for fear it would affect their performance.

In any case, thanks to this, it seems the company's planning department has been put on red alert.

The schedule related to Testa's company, originally planned for tonight, has been canceled.

"Congratulations!"

Instead, a small 1st place party was held at the dorm. It was a modest affair, with a few chickens ordered using the company credit card.

The unexpected element was the presence of alcohol.

"Since it's a 1st place celebration, I thought a little beer would be okay. Let's drink just enough not to get drunk and clean up afterward."

"Okay!"

Ryu Cheong-woo, who had obtained permission, spoke confidently and downed a beer in one go. It wasn't surprising given his strong drinking impression.

Of course, the two minors were given carbonated drinks.

It seemed like they were feeling left out, as Seon Ah-hyun rarely spoke to them.

"Hey, let's definitely drink together next year...!"

Jae Yoo-jin, with a paper cup in his mouth, replied. He seemed distracted by the carbonated drink he hadn't had for a while.

"I can't drink..."

"Uh, uh, uh?"

"That's because he's a Korean American; drinking is only allowed at 21."

The older Se Jin, who was opening a beer, chuckled and interjected.

"Hahaha, what does it matter? We'll drink in Korea anyway!"

"......!"

Both Kim Rae-bin and Jae Yoo-jin looked as if they had a great revelation.

'They sure know how to have fun.'

I held a beer in one hand and operated my smartphone with the other to check the situation.

'How did we get 1st place?'

It was clearly an impossible situation a few days ago when I last checked.

After that, I didn't look into it because the ranking period for this week had already ended.

"......"

And a little later, I realized the situation.

'Three factors overlapped.'

The first was the early release of the variety show, which served as a small catalyst, gradually boosting the chart rankings through the music video and audio streams.

The second was... the fan signing event.

The additional fan signing event applications kept the album sales quite high.

'...The number of cuts increased, too.'

Seeing the fan signing event cuts, which had now reached 180, made me break out in a cold sweat.

I'll think about this later. I have no idea what to do to make it worth it...

...In any case, these two factors coincidentally synergized, and the fans noticed the situation first and flooded the votes. The voting momentum for VTIC's music show activities had slightly decreased after they ended.

Moreover, a decisive third factor came into play. The 'Popular Music' show, which airs on Sundays, had recently revised its ranking system.

In the process, the tally date, originally on Monday, was pushed back to Wednesday, allowing the increased audio scores to be fully reflected.

The special effect of Testa's fan signing event on album sales was fully reflected, while VTIC's scores were delayed due to the tally period, widening the gap.

'It's a stroke of luck.'

So, we narrowly beat VTIC.

To what extent? The score difference was only 7 points.

"......"

I unconsciously chugged the beer. I couldn't believe we had pulled it off.

Of course, I suffered a lot. So, it felt incredibly exhilarating when it finally worked out.

Plus, a small experiment was also successful.

"Are you going to drink more?"

"Yes."

I took another beer can from the older Se Jin and brought up the status window.

"Kyahaha!!"

Laughter filled the room.

They were watching the encore video with subtitles on the TV screen.

In contrast to the embarrassed but laughing and enjoying guys, a cold and clean status window popup caught my eye.

[Successful 1st Place!]

You have successfully achieved 1st place on the public music show 'Popular Music'!

!Time Limit: Satisfied (Great Success)

!Status Abnormality: 'Death if not 1st place' removed!

: Verify Truth ☜ Click!

The 'Verify Truth' reward for removing the status abnormality

If I don't claim it, the status abnormality won't be removed.

In other words, the popup content won't apply if I don't receive the reward.

'I was already considering this.'

The sooner I remove the status abnormality, the shorter the interval before a new one appears.

This would result in a sudden increase in difficulty while the sudden death threat remains.

So, it was better to stretch the time as much as possible within the deadline.

After considering the previous case, I was relieved that the simplest guess worked.

'I feel much better now.'

The biggest reason is that I can observe the situation without being chased for about 300 days from now.

Next, the fact that this status window is a system, not a fluid entity with malice, is a strong guess.

'If it had malice, it would have already threatened or forced me to claim the reward through a popup.'

Since that didn't happen, it's highly likely that this status abnormality also has an end. After all, games usually have endings.

'Well, it's just a hopeful guess.'

Once one problem is solved and the alcohol kicks in, I tend to interpret the situation positively.

In any case, now that the popup is on hold, I can take my time to observe the status window and the situation. I took another sip of the beer in my hand.

"Mu, Moon-dae."

"Uh."

"You, drinking too fast... Ah, it's not good, I think..."

"Oh, you're right."

Drinking a can at a time was a bit much. I clicked my tongue, put away the beer, and grabbed some chicken.

"Da, I saw you like chicken."

"Me? Ah, the fan signing event."

"Uh, uh!"

Seon Ah-hyun nodded with a smile.

"Ma, eat a lot!"

"I will."

"Eat a lot... a lot!"

"......"

'He seems a bit drunk.'

He hadn't even had a can, but he seemed to not know his limit. Maybe he hadn't tried drinking before.

I handed Seon Ah-hyun a carbonated drink. While tearing into the chicken, I thought about the home fan I met at the first fan signing event.

'He does a good job with color correction.'

He had uploaded a lot of content during 'Aju-sa,' so I felt a bit indebted.

Next time, I should allocate more time to his camera.

"Ooo!"

"Hey, what do we do? We really look stupid, huh? Hahaha."

The others had already switched to the main broadcast clip of 'The Guy Who Only Does the First Verse' on the TV screen.

[Heeeek!]

A close-up of Jae Yoo-jin screaming at the neckless bird mask was shown.

"Uhahaha!!"

Even he was laughing and shedding tears.

'It is really funny.'

The editing was done well to avoid any sadistic controversy. Plus, the final beef scene was well preserved, adding a warm touch.

[You must have been surprised. Eat a lot and go home.]

[On this day, Testa]

[Ate 5kg of beef...☆]

[It was worth the production cost. All staff]

The members were shocked.

"Wow, wow."

"5, 5kg..."

"No wonder my weight increased the next day..."

"It's okay. It was all due to the schedule."

"You're right."

A few worried members muttered amidst the shock.

"I didn't expect them to eat 5kg."

"The cost must have been quite high."

"...It'll be fine."

While it was written as a loss, no show actually loses money.

I took the remote from the older Se Jin and brought up the related video.

[Testa's 5kg Beef Eating Stream | Unedited Version | 'The Guy Who Only Does the First Verse' ep.2]

"They probably recouped the cost of the beef by now."

"......!"

The views had already surpassed a million. The members nodded in amazement.

"Should we try a food stream? We can try everything we usually want to eat."

"Let's make Moon-dae the center!"

"Ce, center!"

Who gave Seon Ah-hyun another beer?

Fortunately, this topic quickly passed.

"I want to keep watching!"

"Ah, right! Let's start from the time Moon-dae burst in!"

The excited guys chatted and rewound the video.

'Now that I notice, they're all a bit drunk.'

Even the two minors were caught up in the atmosphere.

Well... they look happy, so I'll let them be.

After all, it's in the dorm, so it's fine if they get drunk.

I decided to catch up on the monitoring on my smartphone.

-Thank you for feeding our kids so much beef... Overwhelming gratitude...!

-Jae Yoo-jin watches horror movies well but is weak against real-life horror, which is so cute. Uzzu, Uzzu, is the young eagle scary?

-As funny as the pre-release video. I successfully marketed it to my muggle friend who hasn't seen 'Aju-sa' yet. Hahaha

-About the fact that the photos Moon-dae took of Ah-hyun are better than mine... Yosol 1 loss, Moon-dae 1 win. (Edited photos)

"......"

The last one... looking at the profile, it's a casual account that posts photos of Seon Ah-hyun.

The attached photo of Seon Ah-hyun was taken a few days ago. I didn't expect to find it online.

Just as the beef eating stream ended on the TV screen, related content appeared.

[Ding!]

[※Cookie Video※]

First, a short clip of Testa members holding cameras and taking pictures of various places passed.

[The Result of This Action]

The shaky, monster-like images, the feet running alone on the ground, random sky photos, and unbalanced water edge photos were a mess.

And the subtitle appeared.

[Unrecognizable...]

"Ahahaha!"

"First time using it!"

"A waste of film."

While the members added their comments, a new subtitle appeared on the screen.

[Exception]

Black birds flying out of the water, blue birds swinging branches, and a few scenes of the reservoir passed.

In contrast to the previous chaotic photos, these were clean and neat.

Finally, a bright photo of Seon Ah-hyun smiling in the sunlight appeared.

This was the original of the edited photo that Seon Ah-hyun's home fan had posted.

"Huh?"

"...It must be Park Moon-dae."

As the calm older Se Jin said, the subtitle immediately appeared.

[All photos were taken with the same camera.]

[↓Photographer]

A video of Park Moon-dae taking photos of Seon Ah-hyun was shown.

And a voice with a self-imposed mosaic, labeled 'Camera Director,' was inserted.

[How did he take such good photos...?]

[This guy really takes good photos, doesn't he? (Embarrassed)]

The screen showed the staff members looking at the camera with 'Oh~' in amazement.

[Park Moon-dae: Mysterious Golden Hands (Camera Director's Testimony)]

[※Certified in 'The Guy Who Only Does the First Verse']

A stamp effect appeared above the subtitle, and the video ended.

"......"

I didn't expect this to be turned into content.

And the older Se Jin started pretending to be heartbroken.

"Ha... This is so disappointing? Moon-dae is discriminating against his friends? Isn't he too focused on Ah-hyun? If there were a friend who could do this well, wouldn't it be right to often take and upload photos to prove the friendship?"

"......"

"Wouldn't I talk less and less as I become more heartbroken? Wouldn