Debut or Die-Chapter 241
The real-time comments ballooned monstrously.
“—It’s a concert, so let’s go cool!”
“—#1”
“—#2#2#2 please cuteㅠㅠㅠ”
“—Does this count if I use it too??”
“—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ this is so funnyㅋㅋ”
Some were just testing other numbers, some were genuinely pushing one choice, and most were picking at random for fun. A flood of different messages updated the comment feed in seconds. The vote count on the big screen climbed just as fast.
[TeSTAR is]
Cool (2017)
Cute (1992)
Park Mundae’s off-screen mumble rang out again before he’d even appeared.
[Hmm... It’s incredibly close. Thanks for voting so quickly.]
[Time limit is three minutes. Now... 120 seconds remaining.]
His calm voice betrayed a hint of surprise—he hadn’t expected such enthusiasm.
‘Ah, so cute!’
The graduate student pounded the keyboard with both hands, then cast her vote too.
“—#1 TeSTAR 최고!”
‘At a concert, Mundae would probably want to show something cool too, right?’
She felt pleased with her choice—#1 was just barely ahead!
But unfortunately for her, a good many of those early test-votes were insincere. Many who’d logged in the moment the concert started were hardcore fans—hardly representative of the general public. The more entrenched the fans, the more likely they were to pick the less mainstream option.
“—Pick 2 right now!”
“—All you viewers watching the TeSTAR con, please boost #2 — I’m #2, hurry!”
“—ㅅㅂ let’s see those idols acting cuteㅠㅠㅠ”
Because footage of TeSTAR’s “cool” stage was already everywhere in data-archives, a genuinely cute performance was a rare treat—only seen in surprise concert stages or on SNS. Fans weren’t about to let this chance slip.
‘An official cute stage!!’
They went absolutely nuts for option 2. As a result:
[TeSTAR is]
Cool (10,286)
Cute (15,601)
An overwhelming victory.
“—헐ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
“—You poor souls who don’t appreciate TeSTAR’s coolness!”
“—싸ㅏㅏㅏ~~”
“—Yes! Cute conquers the world!”
Despite the chaotic sea of comments, Park Mundae’s voice remained measured.
[The audience’s choice is... “TeSTAR is cute.” Thank you for participating.]
He even sounded a little amused.
[Honestly, I didn’t expect results like this.]
‘Cute!!’
Even the graduate student, who’d been disappointed at #1 losing, happily accepted the outcome.
[Then, let’s meet the “cute”... TeSTAR.]
No sooner had he finished speaking than the screen changed.
“Wow.”
What appeared was... a brand-new stage. TeSTAR hadn’t rented just one performance hall.
This new set looked like a high-quality kindergarten play stage.
‘Panels?’
Adorable stage props painted with trees, the sea, a tiled roof house, and a smiling sun gathered into a charming backdrop—like a children’s folktale unfolding.
[I... love playing wildly until I crash!]
Cha Yoo-jin’s Korean narration, far livelier than the original, sounded over the loudspeakers. Shimmering helium balloons burst above the stage as TeSTAR poured out.
Children’s cheers were mixed in.
[Waaaa!]
They charged on wearing costumes that belonged in a folktale play: the Woodcutter, the Scholar, the Tiger, the Magpie, the Goblin—each outfit theatrically exaggerated into something irresistibly cute.
A true children’s stage. Yet TeSTAR didn’t flinch—they launched into their fierce title song, “Spring out,” whose concept was Joseon steampunk.
“—The sensation of today seeps in
At this moment, this gaze, this premonition
Now, without warning
Spring out”
Meanwhile, the choreography had been tweaked to feel more like nursery-school movements—an opening that was intensely striking in its own way.
“—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ they’re serious about this?”
“—TeSTAR so cutesyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
“—They’re actually amazing—cute was the best choice”
“—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ but they perform so well it’s annoying”
Viewers were in stitches, commenting at the innocently bright, honest performance worthy of a charity show. But some fans felt a pang of nostalgia.
“—Reminds me of that impromptu concert stage...”
“—They canceled the tour, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ so they’re giving us this similar vibe—makes me tear up”
“—They’re cute, but I’m the only one getting choked up”
All of these reactions created an utter madhouse in the comment feed. The same phenomenon rippled across SNS and community boards, earning TeSTAR huge ad reach.
“—What is everyone talking about?”
“—TeSTAR doing a play?”
“—Come watch the free concert, everyone—it’s hilarious, fully comment-driven!”
“—What the heck is going on?”
Even people who’d never cared about idols’ charity concerts clicked the link in curiosity. Through it all, TeSTAR kept performing flawlessly—never overplaying the cuteness, allowing themselves a touch of self-consciousness that only added to the fun.
“—Man, TeSTAR is so dedicatedㅋㅋㅋ”
“—They’re really serious about this charity, guys”
“—I should’ve picked #1 ㅠㅠ (just kidding)”
After watching this unconventional stage, people grew curious what the other option had been.
“—So what was ‘cool’?? What would the cool stage have beenㅠㅠㅠ”
“—Don’t you have any details on the other choice?”
“—Maybe it comes up in the next stageㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
With a bit of anticipation, they waited for the “proper” cool stage to follow. But it never came.
[If you choose one path at the crossroads, you cannot travel the other.]
[So the unchosen path is erased as if it never existed!]
After the set ended and the members gave their awkward individual bows, that message appeared. Lee Se-jin grinned, raised his index finger into an X, and held it up to the camera. The others chuckled in disbelief, but the comments fell silent.
“—??”
“—Really?”
“—No way that’s realㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
[Oh, what a pity! You prepared so hard~]
[But the show goes on. Next choice!]
With the members’ cheerful voices, the audience began to realize what was happening.
“—This means we definitely have to give up one option, right?”
“—Guys, are you crazy? Why go this far for a charity concertㅠㅠ”
“—They’ll post the unrevealed one online, right?? Right?”
They reasoned that TeSTAR wouldn’t just throw away one prepared set, but what they saw onstage was only the winning choice—and then it ended. The forced binary decision! Fans’ voting frenzy ramped up again.
[This winter, we will]
Go to a snowy winter sea
Drink warm cocoa at home
The voting scoreboard returned. Now the comments aimed to persuade.
“—Obviously cocoaㅋㅋㅋ that’s crossing the line”
“—Winter sea would slay on stage”
“—Do you really want a dull work-from-home vibe at a concert? Of course we go to the sea”
“—They’ll come out of the dorm for this, so please cocoa, pleaseㅠㅠ”
After a nail-biting battle of over fifty thousand votes, the winter sea won with thirty-thousand votes.
[Oh~ what a result!]
[A wonderful choice.]
The scene shifted. The members sat on the floor of a dreamily swaying gray stage, singing “Picnic,” rearranged with more delicate harmonies to suit a vocal-performance style.
“No need for weather forecasts
Today’s the day I want to meet you
Take a light step as you go
Today the sky is blue, yeah”
It was a cool, beautiful a cappella. Making use of the non-contact concert format, silvery-blue waves gently rippled across the screen in harmony with the song. At the climax, Park Mundae led a dramatic chord that left the stage echoing.
“—That was so good...”
“—Ahㅋㅋㅋ great choice”
“—TeSTAR has so many good songs”
Every time a fun or memorable stage stacked on top of the last, viewers boasted of their votes and wondered what the other choice would have been—immersing themselves ever more in the concert.
Even those who’d been watching an unauthorized stream on YouTube because they found niche platforms annoying felt drawn to vote.
“—ㅉㅉ pick #2 for the dance vid, the MV’s so cringe #2”
“—If you pick puppy you get Mundae, pick kitty you get Cha-go-young center, right?ㅋㅋㅋ”
“—Just type # and upload, right?”
“—Boring”
“—Wow this is so closeㅋㅋㅋ”
Trolls tried to stir up trouble, but it didn’t matter—the comments couldn’t influence TeSTAR directly, only by piling votes behind one number. The thrill lay in the instantaneous feedback and high-stakes choice. People voted on “Dog vs. Cat,” “Hotteok vs. Yakgwa,” “Magic vs. Baseball,” and more. Some choices blatantly favored TeSTAR’s connections, others made no sense—but whatever they picked, the resulting performance resolved the mystery and sparked laughter or amazement.
“—So it was a cover song contest—sweet kitty for catㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
“—Baseball=Hi-five, nailed it. Cheong-woo in a baseball uniform always looks so goodㅠㅠㅠ”
“—Hotteokㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ did they roll a mukbang VCR?”
Ingenious captures and GIFs flooded SNS in real time. And TeSTAR didn’t forget the mid-show ad.
[Help Somang, who’s never left her hospital room, by giving her the gift of tomorrow’s dreams.]
In collaboration with a child welfare foundation, hopeful donation appeals appeared intermittently—to remind viewers this was a charity concert, and they worked remarkably well. Because donation moments were scheduled, funds poured in all at once. Firework effects in the comment feed encouraged even reluctant viewers to give.
“—Awesome”
“—We’re so cultured”
“—Saturday leisure, yeah”
By the time everyone was fully comfortable with the system and flow...
[Now... the next choice concerns a special stage.]
[Please look forward to it...!]
After Seon Ah-hyun’s gentle voice, the big screen displayed a choice no one expected.
[My guess is the special stage will be]
TeSTAR covering VTIC
VTIC covering TeSTAR
Suddenly, a senior group entered the picture.
“—???”
“—What is this?”
“—Seriously?”
“—Why is VTIC here?”
But soon viewers caught on.
“—ㅋㅋㅋㅋ If you pick #2, TeSTAR will pretend to be VTIC”
“—That’d be hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
“—Listen to TeSTAR’s VTIC-style rearrangement? That’d be so funㅋㅋㅋ”
“—Maybe TeSTAR shows up to apologize to the nation”
Option #1 was obviously the safe, intended choice—fans all assumed they’d vote for TeSTAR covering VTIC. But the audience pool had grown now that everyone knew how much fun this was. Those familiar with the format would never pass up a chance to troll.
“—Let’s go #2”
“—Curious what it’ll beㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
“—They’ll be so embarrassed?ㅋㅋㅋ #2”
“—#2, the answer is #2~~”
Even fans wanting to tease TeSTAR joined in, and the vote tipped to #2. A few hardcore fans squirmed at the thought.
‘If this backfires, we’ll be accused of exploiting VTIC...’
‘This is risky...’
But with only three minutes on the clock, there was no time for second thoughts. The result was in.
VTIC covering TeSTAR — 71,432 votes
Option #2 was the victor.
“—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ insane”
“—So, what will TeSTAR do~~”
“—Wow, #2 actually wonㅋㅋ”
“—Can’t wait, guys”
As that mischievous anticipation peaked...
[Ah... so it’s come to this.]
[Indeed.]
A sudden back-and-forth narration played—unlike Park’s earlier voice.
“—?”
“—Does TeSTAR regret this yetㅋㅋ”
Non-fans laughed in the comments, but TeSTAR’s fans froze.
‘This... isn’t TeSTAR’s voice.’
Moments later, instead of the stage changing, the big screen rose.
“...!!”
From the black backstage, four silhouettes emerged through swirling dry ice.
“—헐”
“—Wait, what”
“—No way”
It was real. VTIC themselves had made a cameo at TeSTAR’s concert.
“—Crazy”
That unexpected, dramatic twist sent the audience into a frenzy.
