Debut or Die-Chapter 289
“Want something to drink, Mundae?”
“Just water.”
I volunteered and took the water from Big Sejin, who was handing out drinks, all while keeping an eye on the monitors.
We still had some time.
‘First... album sales.’
The album trend was as expected... no, even more inflated than I’d thought.
Both VTIC and TeSTAR.
‘Competitive psychology, huh.’
[TeSTAR “The Ocean of Wonder” – 1,317,215]
Already over 1.3 million copies in just four days.
I eyed the sales figures with some unease, then thought of VTIC’s first-week numbers and paused.
A repackaged album hitting over 2 million in first week? Insane.
‘They really milk this market.’
If we wanted to look competitive against them, we needed to double-check every figure carefully.
I checked the streaming charts next.
[7th VTIC “H.E.L.P.”]
[9th TeSTAR – “Promise”]
We were hot on their heels in the daily rankings. On 24Hits, we were swapping positions, and soon we’d likely overtake them.
Our song’s reception was as expected—easy listening, perfect for the season, and existing TeSTAR fans added it straight to their playlists.
‘Great driving song.’
And it had the buzz to attract new listeners, thanks partly to simultaneous release with VTIC, but still....
“Definitely Ahhyun’s the perfect fit here.”
“Right? If Ahhyun actually came out with a mermaid tail, it’d work perfectly~”
“We have plenty of tails! We’re not doing that!”
“Hey, Yujin, your tail didn’t even show up in the MV~”
“Ha ha.”
Yeah. That hype helped a lot.
The mermaid concept troll bait exploded.
‘Just hearing about it sounds shocking...’
Our core fans knew what kind of videos we made, but to the uninitiated, “they’re going to show up in mermaid makeup!” conjures B-movie or kids’ animation vibes.
‘Unless it’s an indie art film.’
But when you click expecting full mermaid CGI, you only get a brief animatronic tail shot inserted among the cuts.
Just enough to justify “mermaid concept” for dudes in T-shirts and shorts splashing on the beach.
‘Honestly... it feels closer to art-house than pop.’
People who clicked expecting full-body CG tails were caught off-guard.
“?? It’s actually great.”
“Just a really well-made vibe video with tons of budget.”
“So that tail fin means mermaid? Oh, I get it lol.”
“Only Cheong-woo went shirtless? Fine, I’ll settle for the silhouette.” 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Watching those bait-and-switch clicks turn into genuine praise became an internet story—and MV views kept climbing.
Word-of-mouth about the song helped streaming too.
‘Of course... you can’t avoid some backlash.’
“I love the mermaid concept so much 😭”
“That’s not it.”
“Re-release without the tails, damn it.”
“Then watch the stage.”
“I’m too scared to see a real mermaid on stage, please VT1 guys.”
Reactions ranged from love to disappointment, but a majority positive meant success. It was noise-marketing gold.
‘I planned for this.’
The MV wasn’t so bad it’d become regret later—it had enough quality to avoid full-blown embarrassment.
I’d considered only hinting at the mermaid, but that wouldn’t have generated enough buzz.
‘I needed the impact.’
A straightforward travel concept wouldn’t have created the TeSTAR–VTIC showdown.
Buzz equals momentum.
‘Image is ultimately a power play.’
Positioning TeSTAR as broad-appeal and VTIC as fandom-driven required us to take bold steps, especially since VTIC’s horror concept was killing overseas.
I recalled our hallway run-in.
“Hello, TeSTAR juniors!”
“Long time no see~”
VTIC smiled and greeted us warmly, and we exchanged polite small talk.
‘Lots of staff and artists around, so it had to be cordial.’
We even offered them congratulations.
“Congrats on #2 on the Billboard album chart, seniors! We respect you!”
“Ha ha, thanks!”
It turned out their cosmic horror concept was part of a well-known, prestigious universe overseas.
Their fandom abroad attached quickly, locking in a full American schedule. Smart move.
‘If that hits the press, it could become a matter of national pride....’
Glad we grabbed mermaid buzz first.
I shrugged off the thought.
Conclusion was obvious.
‘We have to deliver on stage.’
We needed to translate current attention into performance. Only that would sustain this showdown.
I put down my phone. Ryu Cheong-woo, who’d been listening to Kim Rae-bin’s grilling of Cha Yoo-jin, turned and asked:
“Want to stretch?”
“Yes.”
Soon it was time for the live broadcast.
TeSTAR’s slot was third-from-last.
After us was a veteran girl group... and last, of course, VTIC.
Waaaaah!!
Maybe they planned the lineup to avoid direct comparison, but sharing the venue made little difference.
‘Lots of people.’
I saw VTIC and TeSTAR fans crowding the floor as we lined up.
Pre-recorded segments sometimes skip the audience, but live this close, you give it your all.
‘Fancams will pick it up too.’
We walked on, waved, and took our positions.
First up: a performance-style sub-track with chairs, leaning toward Latin pop.
[Como tu dulce y amargo café
My dear]
Cha Yoo-jin handled the Spanish refrain with dazzling moves and vocal runs.
‘He’s improved.’
I briefly considered checking my status screen, then remembered I was on stage.
[In the hot air, your charm blooms like smoke]
I launched into the verse melody, spinning through choreography, sliding to the side to grab a chair and shift formation.
Then Kim Rae-bin sat solo for a singing rap.
We cleared verse two, the refrain, and the climactic finale without a hitch.
Adrenaline surged.
“Phew.”
Wow!!
The response was great.
‘We really flexed the performance difficulty on this one.’
I prepared for the title track, glancing down at my feet just before the instrumental break.
And couldn’t help but grin.
There was a funny contrast: our current outfits were a bit too... sweaty for the sub-track.
They were meant for the live single.
[Take your STAR
On the day stars rain down]
We all wore jeans and white T-shirts.
‘Yes!’
Mundae’s first home-master saw our first broadcast outfits and instinctively pumped a victorious fist.
It was the MV outfit he loved most—and first.
‘If you hate this, you have no taste.’
Jeans and white T-shirts—if you’ve got the body, you can’t go wrong!
They must’ve trained hard; even light fabric showed every line. He was ready to clip the performance.
He also ran through possible future outfits in his head: MV looks, stage costumes, beach robes...
‘...Maybe a mermaid outfit once?’
But since that never appeared in the MV and was only implied, he dismissed the thought fast.
‘Based on this debut choice, they’ll play it safe and stick to the pretty looks. Please keep this up.’
The performance began!
He cleared his mind and focused entirely on the screen.
A bright backdrop of blue sky and white sands.
And the stage...
Felt like the pure essence of visual and auditory fun.
[An island sailing the sky
We’ll fly so far]
The choreography had no walking—every slide, jump, or bounce was designed to catch both eyes and rhythm.
Genres shifted by part, each change marked by a signature move.
Sejin’s bridge borrowed tango leg kicks; Yoo-jin’s refrain featured popping locks.
Empty space only existed through speed variations. No one rested.
They made it impossible to get bored.
[Make you fly!]
“MUNDAE!!”
Coupled with crisp live vocals, it felt like drinking icy soda.
The “Take your STAR” gesture and gaze choreography stuck to the song like a perfect sticker.
‘The choreography makes the song even better.’
I imagined Sejin and Yoo-jin nearly fighting over the concept boards, and thought how proud they’d be.
On screen, the members hit every camera cue and expression, flying through the stage.
Before I knew it, it was the ending.
[To the island beyond the horizon
Today will sparkle]
Amid wave-like formations and extreme camera work, Seon Ah-hyun closed in for a close-up.
His emotional vocals and drums traded off, and an acrobatic move appeared for the first time.
[Umm~ UmmUmm]
Even their seated cross-legged pose was a choreo point.
Members exchanged sly smiles, leaned on each other, and the song ended.
Their well-maintained, handsome faces filled the screen in rapid succession.
[TeSTAR – Promise]
“Ha.”
Only when the title faded and Mundae’s ending close-up vanished did the home-master exhale.
‘So much fun.’
Conclusion: it works.
An “#Promise” choreo challenge was inevitable. Clips would flood in before the broadcast even ended.
The choreography was impressively memorable without being absurdly difficult.
Real-time SNS reactions mirrored my thoughts.
-Already over?
-They’re so good. Forget mermaids, it’s the stage that matters lol
-After the stage, the song sounds even better, is this an audio illusion?
-Stage masters for real.
“That’s enough.”
TeSTAR is the domestic trend, no matter VTIC fans’ rants!
He predicted the future with satisfaction—and his prediction was about to come true.
But the attention wasn’t just consumed by TeSTAR.
“Explosive musical fun! MusicBOMB~”
“This week’s #1 is... congratulations, VTIC!”
The MCs ceremoniously handed VTIC the bouquet and trophy.
Expected. Last week’s stats fell within the tally period, so if VTIC didn’t win, it’d be rigged.
“First, thanks to all our T-Carats....”
I clapped and smiled at the #1 winners. Everyone did.
No fool would ruin their expression now.
Inside, though, I thought... yeah, I’m measuring.
‘These guys really nailed it.’
This was the first time I’d watched their title stage properly.
And it was... impressive.
‘They drill deep into one thing.’
Their MV was a compendium of fan rewards; the stage matched that—high-quality, intense, provocatively bold.
They didn’t abandon pop entirely, but the snake-battle intro was clearly for their core.
‘Their stage skill is top-notch.’
No wonder they keep gaining new fans at their level.
“MusicBOMB! See you next week!”
I bowed to the #1 winners, waved, and stepped off stage, concluding both performances were solid.
Responses matched.
The following week, TeSTAR climbed the streaming charts by word-of-mouth and social picks.
And then what was bound to happen did.
[TeSTAR just overtook VTIC on streaming]
: Climbed to #5—seems TeSTAR is the true streaming king (screenshot)
-Insane
-So fun lol congrats TeSTAR
-Honestly the song is fire, all credit to the track
└That’s Rae-bin’s composition
└Lol producers get name-checked once in a while? Here they just tack it at the end
└It’s first time ever (screenshot)
└Lolololol
-Worth the one-week delay, album sales illusion too
-Knew it would go well. Stage was amazing, MV story was great
-Luck
└Salt
-The atmosphere is fierce. Will it stay this way till the finale?
Crowds erupted claiming the verdict was in, but it calmed quickly. VTIC’s global record remained untouchable.
‘Starting with #1 in 76 countries...’
Interviews, award invites, English-language buzz, MV views—astronomical.
Their shining prestige kept listeners coming back, holding VTIC’s track high on the domestic chart.
They led not only in streaming but in overall buzz. We became the challengers.
‘Close call.’
We swept #1s that week as planned, but how this would look by August remained unknown.
‘At least the two-horse race is solidified.’
No one would dare question TeSTAR vs. VTIC now.
We had to sustain this tension through year-end.
I made a mental note and waited for the critical moment.
Again, music-show day arrived.
TeSTAR’s comeback Week 3 music show—VTIC’s last domestic music show appearance for this album.
They shouldn’t even have needed to appear last week, but as a special, Tnet clung to them.
And then I realized this was the first decisive timing.
‘We have to seize the narrative.’
We needed another buzz spike.
But I hadn’t foreseen the unwelcome ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) surprise we’d encounter on that special stage.
A rookie junior appeared as a special guest.
The debut group from this season of Ajusa.
