Debut or Die-Chapter 357

“So you’re telling them to resume a schedule that was already canceled, and on the same day, no less?”

Of course that wouldn’t fly. Setting aside whether they made a fuss or not, most of the time the circumstances simply didn’t allow it. So the day they resumed activities was slow. The headlines were something like, “TeSTAR Signals Comeback After Two Days’ Hiatus... Currently Undergoing Recovery Management.”

Thanks to that, the members had plenty of breathing room and only had to fulfill company-arranged schedules for one day.

“Hmm~ I feel both sorry for and grateful to the staff.”

“Y-yeah. Really, same here....”

Right. Even if they’d had to pay penalties, a sudden artist issue during a promotional cycle would’ve given the company a headache, so this time the company earned its keep. I felt thankful toward the staff.

But I’d anticipated there’d be backlash.

- Even so, taking a full rest mid-promotion due to flu symptoms... isn’t that too much of an exception?

- Someone screwed up LOL word’s out among the sasaengs

- There were whispers they’d moved the university event to Wednesday because of TeSTAR, then announce a condition hiccup the next day? This is so weird

Big Sejin had posted a quick update on social media to explain the circumstances, but after the “Byul-ui Byeolgok” incident, you could guess how rabid some fans would get. I need to get ahead of this.

As the one who caused it, smoothing things over was mandatory. I refined a few plans and logged on to the internet. Hmm...? To my surprise, the mess I’d predicted never materialized. Instead, our Billboard rankings appeared just as the news of our hiatus was tapering off.

“Wow... I almost forgot about this.”

“That’s right. I think they confused our previous film OST with the current title and had a momentary mix-up.”

For real. They’re finding the best possible explanation. I shook my head and scrolled down. First, the album chart—Billboard 200.

[8. WEAPON for you / new!]

Eighth place.

“Oooo!”

“S-single digits....”

The members, who’d checked belatedly after the chaos, were thrilled, but honestly, this was within expectations. For a K-Pop boy group with a bit of name recognition in the U.S., landing in the top five on the album chart at their peak is no longer jaw-dropping.

Still, it’s a result I like. It signals that our chronic weakness overseas is being addressed. The real question was the next one: the song chart, i.e., the Hot 100.

[15. Savior / new!]

“......?”

“No way?”

It had landed at number fifteen. You might wonder why I’d be surprised to see it lower than the album chart, but cracking the song chart with a foreign-language track is exponentially harder. You need massive mainstream appeal or a fanbase big enough to override that language barrier.

So... this is odd. I’d expected maybe the thirties at best. Actually, without the boost from our recent film OST, even top-thirty would’ve been unlikely. This is a ranking comparable to when TeSTAR released a performance-focused track years ago, even on the Korean weekly streaming charts. I felt uneasy.

Thanks to this, public reaction to our hiatus was neatly resolved. Comments like:

- Wow, the flood of streams is smashing charts~

- If that were me, my sides would split

- If they can stomach this, they must really be sick LOL

- Must be using tricks to hurry up U.S. dates, right? LOL

If they were sane, they wouldn’t be resting mid-promotion—so they must really be ill. Plus, conspiracy theories like “It’s just noise from rushing U.S. schedules” emerged and siphoned off the chatter.

“.......”

It really worked out spectacularly, though I still don’t understand the mechanism. Bae {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Sejin, having apparently done some YouTube research, asked a local expert with skepticism in his eyes. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“Is it... normally this high?”

But the local shrugged.

“I don’t know! I don’t really follow Billboard.”

“Then what do you look at?”

“Umm, Dotify~”

“Dotify?”

A popular global streaming site in the U.S. ...Streaming, huh. I realized I should’ve checked where the points came from in the first place. I immediately looked up Billboard’s scoring breakdown: song sales, streaming index, radio airplay...

“Hmm.” There’s an airplay score. Foreign‐language songs rarely get U.S. radio spins, so that’s respectable. Looks like the company spent wisely. And of course, sales driven by the fandom were highest, but...

“...!” Streaming’s solid too. The streams were almost neck and neck with similarly ranked tracks. So it’s...

“Cha Yoo-jin, do you have a Dotify account?”

“I do!”

“Show it to me.”

I browsed Dotify on Yoo-jin’s phone and checked the chart. Number twenty-six on the global chart. For a song two weeks post-release, that’s incredible staying power. Then I checked the U.S. chart...

[25. Savior / by TeSTAR]

“Ooo~ twenty-five is great!”

“...!” Higher than the global chart? That’s anomalous too—K-Pop usually scores better globally than in the U.S.

“Hyung, can I keep using your phone?”

“Just a second.”

While I scrolled a fan account on my phone, I kept checking streaming ranks on Yoo-jin’s. Then I realized:

“It’s promotion.”

“...Promotion? Ads?”

“Yes. It looks like they’re recommending our new track to listeners who heard our film OST.”

They’d set up a U.S. promotion algorithm to feed this title to anyone who’d streamed “Black Hole” from Cosmic Gunner. ...Effective. Same composer, same vocalists, similar sample feel—of course it fits their tastes. It’s a maximized natural promo effect. Combined with our cameo in the movie and variety show appearances, the synergy was huge. ...That “laid-back gamer alien” image. Even the cryptic lyrics became a unique charm, softening any resistance.

So, the bottom line...

“The company did well.”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t deny that. You could feel their dedication to squeezing the U.S. market. And there’s only one person who’d do that.

“Here. Good job.”

“Yes!”

I handed back Yoo-jin’s phone, my mouth tasting bitter. ...The head of business actually did good work. No wonder he’s obsessed with the U.S. market—or maybe he learned through trial and error at Miraenae. It’s good, but it feels strange. Maybe because I secretly think of him as an asshole.

“Mundae Mundae~ coming down?”

“Mm.”

Stepping onto the tour concept-photo set, I finished my thoughts. For now, I’d work—and I needed to set up a Dotify monitoring account. That night, as I guided Yoo-jin through creating a U.S. account, I realized it was a pretty solid idea.

The next night—after midnight, crawling back into the dorm— I soaked in the bathtub to loosen up. Checking my status window without thinking, I suddenly saw Geon-woo furiously typing:

[Did you see this?]

[Comet-like debut of rookie girl group Powty... Heading for a Billboard takeover]

[Youngrin’s junior Powty: “Please love both our double titles!”]

[Powty storms global streaming charts—The arrival of NEXT Youngrin]

“.......” After reading through the avalanche of posts, I groaned.

“Double titles, huh.”

I logged into my newly made Dotify monitor account. Two freshly charting songs appeared:

[14. Love Soul / by Powty]

[17. Underwater / by Powty]

Two tracks in the top ten. I clicked one—it was a sleek, trendy English dance song that started:

“Hey goody, do you want a....”

It was structured like an ad jingle—ear-wormy and mass-appeal. A solid hit.

“.......” I stopped the music and pressed my temples.

“Damn...” What the hell is happening here?

[They say the parodied teaser of both titles went viral on TikTok and even got love in the U.S....]

Thanks for the context, but the cause doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that these rookies have exploded beyond the norm. We’re screwed. Let’s first see what record we were aiming for: “Two simultaneous TeSTAR songs within the Billboard Hot 100 top 20.”

There it was. Considering our film OST would still be charting, it was a smart choice—OSTs run long as the movie reaches more audiences. If we could ride that momentum and push just the title, we’d pull it off. VTIC didn’t even attempt this. Their albums were strong, their songs less mass-friendly, so they never tried such an uneconomical tactic. I thought, That’s the right move.

We’ll strike here. Records often hinge on public perception beyond the usual heavy hitters—whether something is recognized broadly or buried as a media stunt. In that sense, seeing the same artist twice in the top twenty is pretty impactful. I’d even run it by Geon-woo:

So I treated it as a done deal and moved forward... Then a rookie pulled off something similar? I immediately thought, Unless an even bigger upset happens, their final sales and streaming scores will still trail us. On Billboard’s weekly metrics, we’d win hands-down. But that’s not the point. Even if their song ranks lower, people inherently boost dark horses in memory:

- Wow, rookies competing with TeSTAR on the charts

- What’s happening in K-Pop this year

If the public declares their verdict there, the record loses its impact. A minor contender conveniently follows suit, diluting everything.

“...Right.” I took a cold breath. Youngrin... Youngrin’s junior. Then I realized—they were the group Youngrin introduced at last awards season. I gave a wry smile. This industry is so full of variables, competitors pop up everywhere.

But now’s not the time to concede. We needed to wrest back the narrative. That meant... artificially intervening. Intervention method, huh. I lowered my head to think, the bathwater so murky I couldn’t see an inch ahead—much like the current situation. Suddenly:

“Oh.” Of course. We need to muddy the waters. Split the field. “If these rookies aren’t mentioned alongside us, we’ll be fine.”

[?? How... can we do that?]

Why not? We just need to muddy the tone and attach them to a different class. Give the public a more interesting storyline. I sat in the tub, brainstorming until the water cooled—chasing, refining, aiming for the most advantageous angle.

The next day:

“Manager, can I have a moment?”

“Yes?”

Before setting off for an early schedule, I requested a meeting with the head of business. It was my first voluntary contact since the label deal—I was curious how he’d take it. And one more thing. Climbing into the car, I picked up my phone and texted:

[If you see this, please call me when you have time.]

I’d barely sent it when my phone rang.

“- Ah, hello, Sunbaenim!”

“Hello.”

“- Yes!”

His tone was strict—just how I remembered.

“Thanks for calling. I have something I’d like to discuss.”

On the line was Park Min-ha of the rookie girl group Miraenae, my direct junior. After a brief pause, I got to the point:

“Do you have any concerns these days?”

“...Excuse me?”

“About your group’s direction.”

Right. Now that we’d launched our own label, it was time to contribute to the company.