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these chs are commissioned if you would like your series to be translated you can contact us on discord
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Everything happened too suddenly for those who didn’t notice the signs. There was no choice.
-Well, that’s T1 for you, lol.
Even after T1 received corrective action and Tnet was warned by the Communications Commission, everyone just clicked their tongues and moved on, since the agency never had a clean image to begin with.
In that period, when it was hard to stir up any buzz by associating them with TeSTAR, the sentiment of ‘T1 being T1 again’ simply became more common.
[T1 Stars Board Members Arrested on Stock Manipulation Charges… “The True Face of T1”]
One day, this headline suddenly appeared in the news. The board members of TeSTAR’s agency were prominently displayed.
-????
-Crazy b*stards at T1.
-Is this related to TeSTAR?
-Ah, f*ck, here we go again.
At first, even the fans thought it was just another common misfortune, a case where the agency would receive some criticism and have to endure some heat directed at their affiliated artists.
They’ll just replace the board members and act like nothing happened.
But… the articles kept coming.
[
[T1’s Suspicions… Prosecutors Find Evidence of Ties with the Head Office]
The agency remained silent. T1 also didn’t release a proper response. At this point, even the casual fans noticed it… It leads to a sense of foreboding.
-They turned off the fax machine and won’t answer the phone.
-What’s going on here?
-What’s the exact situation with T1 right now?
It was a calm yet uneasy atmosphere, like the eye of a storm.
The much-anticipated comeback schedule for TeSTAR ended abruptly after barely completing two weeks of music shows. Although we fulfilled the previously set or announced schedules, there were hardly any additional schedules. There were certainly unpublished schedules too, but we had canceled all of them.
By now, most hardcore fans had realized. Those things are so critical that the agency can’t even take care of their flagship group, TeSTAR.
“These things are so critical that the agency can’t even take care of their flagship group, TeSTAR.”
-Even the official fan account and app haven’t been updated.
-Ah, damn it. Their concept and song this time are good, and they’re doing well on the charts without any useless nonsense, but they can’t even promote.
-The board members should all die.
-Anyway, TeSTAR isn’t directly linked to them as it’s just their agency, so they should be fine as long as they keep their distance. It’s not the members’ fault.
Various opinions emerged, but as the silence continued, the likelihood of a more serious situation only grew.
Then, one day, out of nowhere, this article appeared.
[Tnet
It was an article that contained a subtle nuance about Tnet’s latest popular survival show.
-Whoa.
-Is Be My Girls rigged?
-All the contestants were pre-selected, and the auditions for the general public were just for show…
-All their PDs and writers set their SNS accounts to private.
People turned their attention to this fresh new controversy. Tnet faced growing suspicions and articles head-on without being able to do anything. They canceled several new programs they were planning to launch and quietly scaled back their aggressive ‘Global K-Pop’ business.
Meanwhile, the story of TeSTAR’s agency had become old news, and fans were somewhat relieved. Amidst the pressure and the broadcasting agency’s impending explosion, T1 Entertainment finally made a decision.
[T1 Entertainment Pursues Subsidiary Independence, Agencies Start to Stand on Their Own]
Another announcement was made without any warning. The independence of entertainment agencies, T1 Entertainment’s subsidiaries T1 Stars, which included TeSTAR, Miry-nay, and Spacer, was no exception.
-Crazy, T1 Stars is going independent?
– T1 is causing so much trouble that they all decided to break away together.
– Wow, T1 was so bad that even the subsidiaries saw the signs and left first, haha.
The article’s nuance was oddly focused on the ‘active push by the subsidiaries,’ and because T1 Entertainment had been embroiled in scandals lately, the public understood it that way. The subsidiaries fleeing T1! Exodus!
Of course, some who thought more deeply speculated that ‘T1 might be pretending to cut ties just to save the subsidiaries,’ but that was it. What mattered was that most people believed the subsidiaries would be happy about it.
-TeSTAR is just under that label and already a top group, so they’re fine. The members do their own production, so there’s no risk of quality dropping, lol.
-Actually, it’s better this way.
-This is good news. They got rid of the board members, right? The artists will feel more comfortable promoting now.
The fan atmosphere was generally positive, especially for TeSTAR. After all, TeSTAR had already risen to prominence.
If it were a group that hadn’t properly established itself, there might have been concerns, but now TeSTAR no longer needed T1’s halo. In fact, they were just tired of T1 trying to squeeze them into every possible opportunity. Perhaps now was the time to separate before getting dragged into rumors of manipulation or anything else.
Yes, we have nothing to lose!
-Let’s go for Orbit label independence~
It was already irreversible and beyond their control. So, the fans tried to manage the mood. They quickly shut down any doubts and intentionally steered public opinion positively, dreaming of TeSTAR’s promising activities!
* * *
Damn it.
I gritted my teeth. Beside me, Kuen Sejin was flipping through the articles with a serious expression.
“We’ve been abandoned, haven’t we?”
“Yeah, abandoned.”
T1 has cut ties with its entertainment subsidiaries. A signal to the political world that ‘you’ve hurt me this much, so please let me off.’ A sign of surrender and negotiation. And that means… this subsidiary is now like a kite with no string.
They’ve already cut ties. So, they won’t support us anymore. Of course, they wouldn’t want to see us do better after the breakup. Now, any benefits this agency had from T1’s platform were over.
Ryu Chungwoo frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “We’re supposed to start contract negotiations next week.”
“A few months ago, we had a positive conversation, but…”
“No good.”
“No good!”
Two people with the same name, who usually didn’t get along, spoke at the same time and then looked at each other. For the record, I completely agree.
We need to get out. If we stay on this sinking ship, the outcome is obvious. We’re already labeled as part of the T1 line, making it hard to switch sides. So what would happen if we become a label that’s been cut off by T1?
It would be over.
No matter how valuable our name is, if we can’t promote properly, we won’t last long.
“We mustn’t renew our contract here.”
“…!”
If anyone suggested renewing the contract, I was prepared to persuade them for three days and nights without sleep. In fact, I had enough time for that. Since all our schedules are drowning in the drain anyway.
Even the label staff and managers are having trouble staying in touch with the agency, damn it.
I squeezed the smartphone in my hand so tightly that it seemed like it would shatter. One or two soft-hearted members hesitated in confusion, but then nodded.
“Uh, mmm…”
“But… doesn’t that mean we should all sign with another agency together? Should we start looking for a suitable agency now?”
Right. And that’s the problem. Not only is time tight, but it’s also uncertain if there’s an agency where TeSTAR can continue to operate as before.
We need to find a place where we won’t become a cash cow just spinning around on tours. It would be great to take the team we’ve carefully put together, but the biggest issue is still this:
“And… there’s a high chance we won’t be able to use the name TeSTAR.”
“…!”
“Aah, ah… That’s right.”
TeSTAR was a group name created from
Even the people of the agency know that this is their livelihood. Whether traditionally, economically, or emotionally, they will never let it go easily.
“…”
Naturally, the atmosphere grew a bit somber in the silence.
It’s impossible not to develop an attachment to a group name used consistently for five years. But even so, Cha Eugene shrugged his shoulders.
“Even if we change our name, TeSTAR is still TeSTAR. I’m okay with it. We can make a cool name ourselves! A fresh new start!”
“Ooh.”
Some members nodded at his bold words.
Kim Raebin also agreed. “That seems like a definite advantage. Indeed, Cha Eugene is right for once, and now is the time.”
“My words are always right! Kim Raebin mistakes me for being wrong, which makes him wrong.”
“…?? …! I retract my statement! Cha Eugene is right, only this time!”
“Haha!”
Thanks to those two consistent guys, the mood eased up a bit. As expected from guys who’d been through all sorts of things even before debuting, they started managing their mental health brilliantly. I chuckled.
Kuen Sejin clapped his hands. “That’s right~ Our Eugene can come up with a cool English acronym!”
“Yep~ I have a lot of ideas!”
“Ooh~”
Kuen Sejin responded with a smile. But in fact, I saw that guy grimace when the group name was mentioned earlier. That couldn’t be helped either.
Right. If possible…
If possible, I want to keep this group name. It’s already become a symbol. You can’t easily build brand value again, and changing the name can alter the perception in some cases. That’s quite a risk in an image-based industry… I’ll have to think even harder.
Considering the possibilities, I cracked my knuckles. “Let’s first avoid suspicion from the agency.”
And each member started receiving their tasks. For starters, Ryu Chungwoo, as the group representative, made some planned remarks at the renegotiation meeting that the agency barely managed to set up.
“Um, can we rewrite the contract after we discuss this a little more? Things are a bit chaotic right now.”
He intentionally made ambiguous statements to buy some time. So that the other side would misunderstand that we were scared due to the mess at the headquarters.
“We’ll renew the contract, but just give us some time.”
Let’s stick to this approach.
Ryu Chungwoo’s trustworthy image helped it work well.
Using the extra time we had gained, Bae Sejin did a fairly good job of hiring a lawyer just in case.
Now, we needed to seriously start looking into other companies that might reach out to them. The thing is… Ideally, they should be the ones who come to us.
Have you ever seen a hot free agent proactively marketing themselves when they hit the market? The moment we lower our heads and approach them, we’re on the fast track to worsening the contract terms. Besides, if we’re caught looking for another agency by our current agency, rumors could start circulating.
But… even though TeSTAR is in the contract renewal season, hardly anyone is reaching out.
No other companies are contacting us.
The problem is that the industry has already heard rumors that TeSTAR will renew its contract. In fact, since they set up the label, it’s been treated almost as a given, so hardly any companies are trying to approach TeSTAR.
And even if they do, they’re small fry. Only those who are looking for a jackpot, if they hit the mark.
But no matter how desperate we are, we can’t go back to an agency like Dream K, where Bae Sejin used to be. I remember Bae Sejin deleting those tentative contact KakaoTalk messages as if he was about to breathe fire.
In the end, the guys sprawled out in the living room and even started saying things like this.
“Ah~ should we just start our own agency?”
“Honestly, that might be better…”
Seon Ahyeon sighed. It was a rare sight.
“Isn’t it impossible for us to go independent with the label staff? I’d like to just change the name and try it.”
“It seems impossible…”
“Yeah…”
At Kim Raebin’s words, Ryu Cheongwoo let out a sigh. This was also a rare sight.
Everyone is tired.
I held back my own sigh and picked up my smartphone. Well, if there are no contacts, there’s no choice. Given the situation, we’ll have to quietly poke around and see if any decent opportunities respond…
Hmm. But there was already a message on my smartphone. It wasn’t an advertisement, a greeting, or a stalker. It was… a congratulatory message.
This was ridiculous.
This b*stard… how long has he known?
However, the moment I read the next message, my thoughts stopped for a moment.
“…”
…A new home?
Could it be… LeTi?
It was the first scouting offer.
these chs are commissioned if you would like your series to be translated you can contact us on discord
https://discord.gg/NjqvcWRvbD
Please Read At manhwa-freak.org First So We Can Continue To Update More Chapters….
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