Chapter 8

7. MTube Star Taesan

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Taeju was lying on the sofa, blocking Taesan, who was trying to crawl underneath. Annoyed by Taeju's hand blocking his way, Taesan made a meowing sound and tried to move to the side.

"Bro!"

"What?"

"Taesan doesn't seem like a cat."

When he was a kitten, Taesan was very similar to a cat, but now, at almost 30 days old, he was definitely a bit different from a cat.

"Look at this photo. Isn't Taesan similar? There are some cats that look like tigers. This one has yellow eyes, so it looks more like a tiger than Taesan."

He had already found the photo to show anyone who was skeptical. Although the thickness of the legs and the body shape were different when looked at closely, there were similarities in the facial features.

"Huh? Really. Wow, this one really looks like a white tiger cub."

"Our Taesan does look a bit like a tiger."

"Really, he does. I posted a video of Taesan, and people asked if he's really a cat."

Taesan, ignoring his surprised brothers, was dragging Taeju's scarf around.

"We need to buy a new scarf."

"Taesan!"

Recently, Taesan had developed a habit of carrying things around. He often dragged objects much larger than himself. Despite being a young cub, he was very strong.

If he were a real cat, it would be time to start weaning him, but as a white tiger, Taesan still needed to drink milk for a while. This point suggested he was a tiger, but there were also aspects that differed from a tiger, making it difficult to determine his true identity.

"I hope Taesan is a tiger."

"What?"

"When I looked it up, tigers live longer than cats. If Taesan is a tiger, we can be together for a longer time."

I didn't expect him to be worried about Taesan's lifespan already. Honestly, I wanted to tell him that Taesan is not an ordinary tiger, so there's no need to worry. A white tiger that hasn't completed its first growth phase will continue to live as a young cub until it meets the growth conditions. After meeting the conditions and completing the first growth phase, it will develop unique skills and grow larger.

'I have no idea what the growth conditions are.'

Anyway, since Taesan is designated as Taeju's pet, lifespan isn't an issue. As long as Taeju is alive, they can be together. Moreover, if Taeju can't figure out the conditions and can't make Taesan grow, they might have to stay together as a young tiger indefinitely.

"You worry too much. He's still a cub, and you're already worrying about this?"

"Kind of, right?"

Taeju laughed awkwardly, realizing his worry was excessive.

"Bro, our Taesan is really popular. The video I posted has already been viewed by over ten thousand people."

"Is ten thousand a lot?"

"It's a lot. I only posted videos of him drinking milk and playing with a string, but there are so many comments."

Taeju had never posted personal videos or SNS content before, as his company managed it for him. As a result, he couldn't remember the number of views on the thank-you messages and recent updates posted on the fan cafe.

"Wow, our Taesan will become a star soon."

"Hehe, not really."

*

Manager Kim Dojin had his phone's ringtone set to the maximum volume and was holding it in his hand from early morning, waiting for Taeju's call. He had met Taeju over the weekend and was waiting for his call. Although he had been in the entertainment industry for a long time, he had never met someone with such a strong presence. He had seen many top stars, but none had naturally overwhelmed people like Taeju.

"Waiting for a call?"

"Yes, Mr. Kim, he's really a big deal."

"What's so special about him?"

"He has a halo, you know."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

It was hard to understand his rambling, distracted words.

Trrrr~

"Hello. Yes, yes. That's right."

– ...

"You can come to the company at 5:30 PM this Friday."

– ...

"Yes, I'll see you then."

The manager, who was watching him answer the phone politely, whistled. He was curious about who could make him act like that.

"Who is it?"

"It's someone coming for an audition. There's an audition this week, and this person is coming."

"Wow, show me the profile."

"I don't have it."

Kim Dojin confidently said he had cast the person on the street after watching a play over the weekend.

"Manager Kim, are you a scout? You're the head of the PR department. What casting are you doing?"

"He has a halo."

"What does he look like? Is he a guy? A girl? How old is he?"

"Just a moment."

Although he was an ordinary person, with that level of appearance, he thought he could find him on the internet. So he typed 'Lee Taeju' into the portal, and sure enough, photos appeared. There were many photos, including one in a school uniform and one playing guitar at a performance.

"Wow, he's handsome."

"He looks even better in person. The quality of these photos isn't great."

"Play a video. He seems to be singing."

"Sure."

The audio quality wasn't great. It seemed to be a recording of a performance at a school festival. Despite his young appearance in a school uniform, his playing and singing skills were not those of an amateur.

"Was he a trainee? He looks like someone who wanted to be a singer."

"I don't know."

"The application period is over, right? Call and get his profile by email."

"Got it."

*

Taeju sent his profile to the email address he received via text. The photos for the profile were taken at a studio recently, as he was considering acting again. The attached video was edited to include scenes of acting practice and guitar playing.

Taeu, who was asked to edit the video, was surprised. When he saw Taeju skillfully editing the practice video, he came running with wide eyes. Although Taeu had seen Taeju sing and perform a few times, he had never seen him act, so he was surprised. When Taeju told him it was for the agency audition, he got motivated and prepared some really good scenes.

When asked how he learned such editing skills, Taeu replied with "fandom." He said he became familiar with editing videos and adding subtitles while being a fan of Park Kyungjin.

"Bro, look at this."

Taeu played the video and sat Taesan in front of the monitor. It was a video of Taeju playing the guitar and singing. As soon as Taeju's singing voice came on, Taesan started meowing as if he had been waiting for it.

When your legs don’t work like they used to before

And I can’t sweep you off of your feet♩♪~

"Meow meow meow♪"

"Hahaha. What's going on? Is Taesan singing?"

"It sounds like babbling, but he does this every time you sing."

"This will be a hit if we post it on Taesan's channel."

"I was planning to. Bro, sing one song. Let's post a video of us singing together."

"Okay."

Taeju brought the guitar and played and sang a simple children's song that Taesan could follow. Taesan especially liked songs with animal sounds.

Whenever Taeju sang "Peep peep chicks~," Taesan would sing along with "Meow meow meow~."

Taeju and Taesan's duet was edited and posted on Taesan's channel that evening with the title "Singing Kitten."

*

New items were on sale in the shop. Previously, he had bought the egg that contained Taesan during a sale. He was curious about what items would be available this time.

It looked good for acting practice. It could float in the air and be used underwater. It could be activated by speaking commands out loud or by thinking the command twice.

"I need to buy this."

He immediately purchased it. The camera seemed like it was made just for him. When linked to a tablet, the video could be viewed directly on the tablet. This was a very helpful feature for Taeju, who was not good with electronic devices.

In fact, Taeju was not skilled with electronic devices. He could use a smartphone to some extent because he had used it for a long time, but he could only use the most basic functions like calls, messages, camera, and internet.

For someone like him, the shop's tablet was a great item. By simply touching other objects, it could sync, and most functions could be used by thinking while holding it, making it a magical device.

After buying a few more items, Taeju closed the shop. Since the garden would soon turn to night, he had to be satisfied with this much shopping.

Recently, Taeju had been fishing at the moonlit pond every night in the garden. He needed the scales of golden carp for a sparkling skin cream, but he hadn't caught a single one. He had learned and practiced fishing techniques, but it seemed he had no aptitude for it, as he had no success.

'At least the pond is beautiful. If I don't catch any, it will be useless.'

He wished there was a way to determine his aptitude. Taeju already knew he had no talent for cooking or fishing. He even considered buying a scout to measure himself, but since the scout could only be used on others, he had to give up.

This time, Taeju spent the night without any success. After harvesting crops and fruits and doing basic acting training and exercise, he returned home. He had become accustomed to entering and exiting the garden, setting a schedule to go and return. He entered at 5:00 AM and returned at 6:00 AM in real time.

'Today, I need to take the driving test and visit a music store if I have time.'

Before the regression, he had learned the violin for a movie shoot. He had continued to practice for nearly ten years because he enjoyed it. He planned to buy a suitable violin and keyboard for practice. Although he had stopped playing the piano after starting to learn the guitar in middle school, he didn't know when he might need it again. He had never filmed a piano performance before, but he wanted to be prepared for other movies and dramas.

'I want to bring the grand piano from home, but it's not possible.'

Taeju's mother, although indifferent to the family, provided sufficient pocket money and lesson fees. Thanks to this, Taeju could freely learn anything that interested him. Besides taekwondo and piano, which many children learn, he also learned horseback riding, fencing, and saxophone.

'Hmm. I'll start horseback riding and fencing again in the spring, and I'll skip the saxophone since it wasn't interesting.'

He wasn't into wind instruments. Although he had also learned the flute, he quickly gave up because he didn't find it interesting. While Taeju mainly learned active things like instrument playing and sports, Taeu learned calligraphy, pop-up book making, and metalwork. He had good manual skills and a patient personality, so he enjoyed making things in workshops.

"Meow~."

It seemed the sleeping cub had woken up. 'Meow.' It was embarrassing for a tiger. Maybe because he was called a cat, he was acting like one.

"I know, I'll give it to you. Wait."

Knowing that Taeju was preparing his milk, he sat next to his leg and tapped his paw, urging him to hurry. Although he wanted to give it immediately, he had to wait for it to cool to a suitable temperature.

Suck.

Taeu, who had appeared, was taking a photo of Taesan drinking from the bottle. Taeu happily took a photo of Taesan, who was nestled in Taeju's arms, holding the bottle with his front paws and drinking vigorously.

"Handsome man and a cat."

"Ugh. Did you take a photo without me washing?"

"It's fine. You look good even without washing. And you're not really in the photo."

"Okay."

Taeju, who had already given up on anything related to Taesan, was impressed by Taeu's extreme fondness for Taesan. It seemed as if Taesan had become the most powerful figure in the house.

Taeju was waiting at home until Taeu returned. Since Taesan was too young to be left alone, he had to wait at home until Taeu came to take over. While waiting, he registered for the driving test online and played with Taesan.

Ding.

The door opened, and Taeu returned from school.

"Bro! Our Taesan is a star!"

"Huh?"

"Check the video I posted yesterday. The views are crazy."

As soon as he returned, Taeu, without even putting down his bag, excitedly showed the number of views.

"3.6 million? How did it get so many views?"

"Maybe because Jihyun from TB posted it on Bluebird."

"What?"

"Bro! Jihyun, the main vocalist of TopBoys, posted a link to our Taesan's video on Bluebird. TopBoys fans have all seen it. Even overseas fans have seen it. There are a lot of foreign languages in the comments."

It seemed a member of a famous idol group had promoted Taesan's video. No wonder the Kakao Talk notifications kept popping up; it was probably people who recognized themselves in Taesan's video.

"Hehe. Taesan became a star before me."

Taesan, unaware of the situation, was playing with the front of his slippers. From the moment he was born, he had defied expectations, leading to an unpredictable situation.