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Park Moondae was just given a problem. A massive problem.
It was another one of those talk shows, pretty open ended in the premise. They wanted you to talk and talk and talk. He didn’t mind it very much, but It was a little boring as the questions went on. He was attending the show with Cha Eugene and Kim Raebin, who also seemed quite bored after a while.
The questions were from fan themselves and were more or less.. exactly what Moondae wanted to avoid. They were mostly up to interpretation or very personal in nature, which was a huge issue.
Idols needed to be moldable. The perfect artist to be desired, one that didn’t need to have strong opinions. Of course, personality quirks were fine, as were hobbies. In fact, those often gave to the authenticity of the creator. Absolutely no one had complaints about Ahyeon knitting, or Chungwoo’s Archery. The problem came with more divisive issues.
If he answered honestly or not, nothing would change the fact that he would alienate an audience. Those types of questions could also be used by companies or directors to push one agenda or another, which was obviously an issue. In short, those were unanswerable.
Worse, of course, were the questions about his childhood. Moondae knew almost nothing of the actual Park Moondae’s backstory other than the fact it was shitty and that Park Moondae watched his fancam videos.. which was completely useless in the long run.
For the first two rounds of the gameshow, he avoided any troublesome questions, though the ones he did get were annoyingly gag-based. “Do you like dogs?” Yes who could have guessed?
It was fine… until, “Park Moondae! This is a question for you! “How do you feel about the LGBTQ+ community?” Oh come on. This was a horrible question.
Of course, Moondae had no particular problem with the LGBTQ+ community, and should say as much. The problem was… would that satisfy the fans? Queer Kpop artists were not mainstream nor popular, so Park Moondae definitely couldn’t be gay, but Moondae also shouldn’t condemn the community, since that would be an easy thing for him to paint him as a bully for doing.
That wasn’t mentioning the many fans who liked to ship idols together. Yes, It was overwhelmingly the best idea to stay ambigious… but Moondae might have taken too long to answer. Yes, everyone was now looking at him rather awkwardly, so he continued, “Ah.. I—“ Fortunately yet Unfortunately for him, the situation was made exponentially worse by Cha Eugene, who took the mic from him, “Why’s that a question? It’s obvious!” He looked at the others in confusion.
“Why wouldn’t Moondae support the community? Gay people are people too, you know..” Eugene almost seemed angry at the matter. Moondae recalled that America talked much more openly about Queer identities, so It was likely a cultural difference and should be brought up as such.
But now, Moondae couldn’t answer ambigiously at all… and Cha Eugene’s likely kind-hearted support only made it seem like he was protecting someone. The MC laughed, but shook his head at Eugene, “It’s just a question! Besides, shouldn’t Moondae here be the one giving us an answer?”
Ah, and now the pressure was back on him. Moondae was well aware that this was being done to get an answer back at him. If he answered positively of the community, it may make him queer or one of the other members seem queer in the eyes or the public, but if he answered negatively, he was absolutely going to cause an uproar from fans of Cha Eugene. What a mess.
So again, It was probably best to speak neutrally. But if he did that..would he be seen as too impartial…? Moondae was at a loss.
This was a completely stupid hill to die on, so he finally answered.
“Ah. I don’t think I have an opinion.” Short, simple, sweet… Cha Eugene looked at him with sad goo goo eyes. What was that dude’s problem???
Kim Raebin took the mic—these guys did know you weren’t supposed to do that, right? And then proceeded to tell Moondae in detail about the community. “Ah, So Moondae, there’s Gay, They are men who like men, and Lesbian, women who like women, and Bisexual, who like both men and women, and Transgender, who were born one gender and become another and—“ The MC cut him off again with a loud laugh, “Thank you for your answers, sirs, but the show must go on!” Kim Raebin visibly wilted at that.
Moondae knew in that moment they were screwed. No amount of editing could save this situation. The problem in itself wasn’t supporting the community.. but rather how much it implicated them with it. … what a headache. He could only hope that his input was fine.
The rest of the rounds passed quickly, with Cha Eugene answering the most. The rest of Moondae’s questions were easier to answer and more fact-based, so that was good.. but he still felt a sense of foreboding.
On the ride back from the studio, Kim Raebin and Cha Eugene had decided to combine forces to explain gay people to Moondae.
…
It was surprisingly interesting. He didn’t know queer identities had a history. And there were a lot of unique labels. Eugene pointed them all out and went over their names in both Korean and English if the word didn’t have another translation. “[And this one’s Pansexual!] Have you heard of it?” He waved a flag in front of Moonsae’s face. Raebin nodded, “It means you’re attracted to anyone regardless of their gender!!” He put his fist up passionately.
It was also interesting that both Kim Raebin and Cha Eugene were supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. Moondae was curious, so after they had finished explaining the next on their list, he spoke up again. He had to be careful, because it would be easy to misunderstand his curiousity as mockery.
“Do you two have some sort of connection to the queer community?” He asked honestly. Luckily for him, neither of the two took it badly. Cha Eugene’s eyes sparkled At the idea of explaining, “I’ve got lots of gay friends back in Cali, so it’s pretty normal for me! [When I got to Korea I was a bit surprised.] it’s very different here!”
Ah, that made sense. “Oh! Also I’m pretty sure I’m Pan! My love is for any loviewer no matter what!” The guy started speaking nonsense after that, so Park Moondae ignored him, and turned to Kim Raebin, who stiffened.
“Ah.. my noona is a lesbian.” Moondae remembered earlier he mentioned his sister. “After she came out, my parents disowned her…but she raised me, so I care deeply about her, and I wanted to learn more.” His tone was soft, but as per usual he was glaring at Moondae. It was truly both a blessing and a curse that Raebin had an RBF.
Cha Eugene leaned into his space again. “So! What do you think! Has your opinion changed?” He grinned at Moondae.
What was this guy up too? Moondae didn’t really know what to feel.. but he should probably answer positively, so he did.
“I guess I understand it better now, it seems fine.” The answer was short and polite, so it probably wouldn’t upset them. But It was Eugene, so he still pouted at that. “[I wasn’t asking for the auto-generated opinion], How do you actually think?”
He actually thought that Eugene was being annoying, but.. “I said, it’s fine.” Moondae wasn’t being dishonest. The only thing that had changed in his head was a few new definitions of sexual orientations.
Kim Raebin flicked Eugene’s forehead, and somehow Moondae’s mind felt clearer at that. “I think that’s a good answer, Hyung.” He nodded to Moondae, and he let out a sigh of relief.
At least Raebin was being somewhat sensible.
“I think.. I should compose a song about this..” And Moondae took it all back. Why was he teammates with these guys…?
~~~~^~~~~^~~~~^~~~~^~~~~^~~~~^~~~~^
The TV episode was edited swiftly and aired about a week after they had gotten back from it. The studio producing It was relatively new and successful, but had gotten a reputation for releasing surprising answers that caused controversy. Even before it was released, Loviewers were already nervous.
MoonBB_forLifeeee: Ahhhhh im too nervousㅠㅠ they’re known for evil editing.. i don't trust them
RaebinEars22: it should be fine, no? At least Raebin is getting screen time.. my crops are growing, the sun is shining, it is good.
Cha_Cha_Eugene: Questions? What kind of questions? Don’t stress the Loviewers like thisㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
It was all a relatively stressful event, but Moondae was glad it wasn’t live. Though he didn’t have trust in the producers, it would be decently hard to edit Moondae maliciously…. Though he doubted they needed to. Their actions were already a mess.
It was made worse by.. the truth.
Moondae.. no, even Ryu Gunwoo, absolutely associated with one of the labels.
Asexuality.
It was no secret that Moondae wasn’t a particularly socially aware guy. This was true for Sex as well. Ryu Gunwoo had never understood the hype around sexuality, and Moondae didnt seem to either, so it wasn’t much of a shift between him and Moondae, but even as Ryu Gunwoo he had a libido.
This Moondae guy? Nothing. He didn’t particularly care one way or another about it all, but it was strange. He could definitely tell the attractiveness of people, like Ahyeon Seon, but.. it was much less so a reaction from his pants, which probably would have clued him into his sexuality sooner. It wasn’t like he was supposed to date anyways, so he didn’t care. Though, as Ryu Gunwoo, he had never had anyone like that either. He hadn’t felt particularly lonely then, but… he liked having friends. It was fun, on stage, so he was content with that. After he escaped the system, he didn’t really desire a wife nor children, nor was there outside pressure for him to do so.
Romantically, he was pretty uninclined as well. … he wasn’t opposed, but he wasn’t looking either. He wasn’t inclined to label himself romantically one way or another, even personally. Still.
It was a bit strange. He had to be sexy, and he didn’t really mind that, but would the Loviewers? Certainly, it could be turned into a scandal, so he should keep it to himself.
Moondae was also grateful that Eugene had mentioned being “Pan for Loviewer” in the car without cameras. While it was a sweet gesture, it could easily be cut and start troublesome rumors.
Though.. if Cha Eugene was Pansexual, it probably wouldn’t come out to badly for him. As an American, he had some leeway in that affair. And.. it might be nice for the community.
That was too optimistic, it would be a headliner for weeks. What a hassle.
The episode itself? Utterly disastrous.
“And Moondae… doesn’t know what the LGBTQ is?” The first. clip. Moondae couldn’t do this anymore. Well, at least the Media wasn’t reaction too poorly? He watched the live responses fill in.
Moonpuppy_bestpuppy: Every now and then I remember that this Tibetan Fox never finished highschool and doesn’t know what social media isㅠㅠㅠㅠ
KeunMoonse: Is this real?? Clickbait trailer I swear
KimRaeByebye: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Moonpuppy wasted all his studying on Korean History… none on anything else
There were a lot of similar responses, so It was a bit overwhelming for Moondae. The good news was that because of the reputation of the studio, audience members weren’t blindly trusting the broadcast.
The show started, and as per usual they were introduced, the editing wasn’t too obvious here, with only their names being emphasized. From the start, Cha Eugene was edited to be close too if not the winner. It was only a half truth, since he had lost the first few games by a lot of points, and only regained them by answering unique questions.
Then, it came time for the worst of it. “Park Moondae! This is a question for you! “How do you feel about the LGBTQ+ community?”
Silence. Moondae was edited to be in complete confusion, which definitely helped his Im age a bit. They had luckily cut just how long it took him to respond, but it ended up making Cha Eugene’s comment and action much more proactive.
“Hey, why’s that even a question? Of course Moondae would support the community. Gay people are people too!” His answer rang out loudly, with a surprising earnestness. While he came off as a bit confused, Eugene was clearly fired up over this.
FireEugene: Ah, Caliboy V homophobia. Tale as old as time
Moonbbg3: Moondaeㅠㅠㅠㅠ why do you still have a confused expression on your face?
Eugenetown: you know i wasn’t too sure about the community.. but if Eugene likes it..
Deleted user: F*g!! Should have known SHAMSTAR would be full of homos (this message has been deleted)
KimRaebyebye: This is a wild episode I can’t believe it was airedㅠㅠㅠ
The reactions weren’t good, but most weren’t bad. Moondae was not ready for this…but the scene continued despite his feelings.
“It’s just a question! Besides, shouldn’t Moondae here be the one giving us an answer?”
He could see now for himself the annoyance on the man’s face. It wasn’t surprising, but might be helpful. If he’s painted villainously, it would be much easier to make Testar seem like heroes comparatively. Though.. his reaction might dictate that.
Moondae did not expect himself to seem so contemplative as he answered, though the editing put question marks around him—clearly trying to make him seem confused.
“Ah. I don’t think I have an opinion.”
The livestream chat he was watching imploded.
Moonbbg: I can’t with this man WHAT DOES HE MEAAAN
Cha_Cha_Eugene: does he.. actually not know what gay people are????ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Moondae_or_die: this—this can’t be real MOONDAE NO
Eugenie_4life: I am so happy right now WHAT TO YOU MEAN TESTAR SUPPORTS LGBTQ??? And that MOOONDAE DOESNT KNOW WHAT GAY IS
Keunsenses: This is unexpected for sure….is it evil editing?
Then, Raebin excitedly took the microphone,
“Ah, So Moondae, there’s Gay, They are men who like men, and Lesbian, women who like women, and Bisexual, who like both men and women, and Transgender, who were born one gender and become another and—“
The MC cut him off, but as Moondae thought, this was already going to be huge. They didn’t cut anything out of the conversation, so Moondae looked like he didn’t know what being gay was and Raebin and Eugene were painted as allies, which they were. But the livestream was still having a mental breakdown as the episode moved on.
Moondae_Loviewer_2: Ok Raebin pop off???
Cha_Cha_Eugene: Raebinnie’s so into this oh my goodnessㅠㅠㅠ
KimRaebyebye: Noona’s doing her research now too! Anything for my rabbit 🐰
Eugenetown: Him too?? Is this a publicity stunt or???
Moonbbg: I still can’t with Tibetan fox Moondaeㅠㅠㅠㅠ
It was more positive then he had thought. Most people were just confused, not malicious. Moondae guessed Korea has become a little more open minded. Or maybe they just liked Testar too much to disagree with them openly.. either way, Moondae was surprised.
The rest of the episode passed pretty smoothly, and now plenty of clips and memes were circling around. People joking of course Eugene knew about gay people, he lived in Cali, this and that,
And of course, a comparison photo with Moondae and confused Tibetan fox became a hit meme, as well as the audio clip of his shortened response to the MC.
“What’s your opinion on the LGBT community?”
Moondae: doing 4d chess in his head to remember what LGBTQ is: “Ah—“ *knows nothing*
It was highly embarassing. Moondae was most worried with the reaction of the other members. Seon Ahyeon probably wouldn’t care, but he could imagine either Lee Sejin or Ryu Chungwoo having a problem with the community, and that would almost certainly cause discord among the members ..
And Moondae… didn’t want that. Fans would be able to notice the tension, which would probably make the situation worse. How annoying.
Maybe some part of him hoped that he could be honest about how he felt as well, but that was unnecessary, so he probably wouldn’t mention anything.
Rather suddenly, he recieved a call—ah. From the PD. He answered it swiftly. “Ah, please come to my office, Park Moondae” . . . This was going to be annoying, huh.
He arrived at the Manager’s office, and unsurprisingly, Eugene and Raebin were there as well. “Moondae!” Eugene called over, “Do you know why we’re here? [it’s not the show we did, is it?]” Raebin frowned, “I won’t take it back.” Moondae sighed. These guys were pretty determined.. but it wasn’t too bad.
The Manager had prepared them drinks and told them to sit down. “What were you all thinking?” He looked utterly exasperated. Moondae couldn’t blame him too much, this was a huge mess. Having two of the most popular Kpop idols from a relatively new group almost immediately support the community was certainly a strong start.
“I didn’t like the question.” Kim Raebin unexpectedly spoke first, over Eugene who looked like he was about to explode. The Manager raised his eyebrows. “Could you answer me honestly then? Are you gay?” Moondae sighed. This was going great. Kim Raebin seemed to think for a moment, “My Noona is.”
The director relaxed a bit at that, and Moondae knew why. Kim Raebin’s connection explained away his support without implicating him the same way. Eugene finally spoke, completely fired up. “I’m Pansexual for the loviewer!!” Moondae face palmed. This guy…
“Ignore him, he doesn't know what he's talking about.” Moondae finally spoke up, surprising the other three. Eugene pouted, “But it’s true! My heart and soul is for the Loviewer, no matter the gender!” The director sighed. “Maybe don’t say it that way, Cha Eugene. Anyways; I’m trusting you all to make a statement about this, clarifying how you are just supportive because of Kim Raebin’s Noona and Eugene’s Americanism.” The three nodded, and were promptly kicked out of the office.
“We’re not doing that.” Eugene spoke resolutely. These guys… “No, we should. It doesn’t need to be exactly what he said, but we should have a statement.”
Raebin and Eugene turned to him surprised, so he continued.
“Realistically, a lot of people are wondering what sexuality we are. That’s in the nature of being an idol, and supporting the LGBTQ. It’s better to clarify now.”
Eugene looked at him with a huge grin when he said that. Why..??? He hadn’t said anything special, but Kim Raebin was smiling as well.
“….what?”
“You said you’re an idol who supports the LGBTQ!” Eugene pulled him into an unnecessary hug, and Moondae sighed. What was his life?
Soon enough they arrived back at the dorms. After talking for a bit Moondae made them consider talking to the others before releasing a statement since it includes all of Testar, but the two both seemed very happy on the walk back. Moondae didn’t really know why they were so excited, but he probably shouldn’t have expected anything else from his annoying teammates.(friends)
Raebin seemed hesitant to open the door, so Moondae did. He was greeted to Ryu Chungwoo, who seemed surprised at their return but smiled a bit awkwardly, “We just finished watching the episode..” he scratched the back of his neck.
Moondae couldn’t take another moment of that and walked into the apartment, where the other three were. Ahyeon was frantically typing in his phone and the Sejins were both sitting on the couch in different levels of surprise.
Wanting to avoid the dramatic ones he went over to Ahyeon and sat down, who jolted at his presence before nodding slightly, clearly nervous.
He was about to ask Ahyeon, but Chungwoo sat them all down on the couch and stood in front of them.
“We should talk about this.” He said curtly. Moondae was a little annoyed. It was very easy to release a statement.
Though, if the fans saw them discordant that would also be bad, especially in relation to the community. Having in fighting would make any statement less reasonable, and cause more issues.
“What do you want us to say? I don’t regret standing up for the community [And I never will].” Eugene stood his ground, and Raebin nodded. “It’s important to us.”
Chungwoo sighed, “I understand. I am in support of the community, so I have no qualms against a public statement.”
Ahyeon hesitantly spoke up, “Uh—it’s important…. That we make a statement together… R-right?”
Bae Sejin spoke up, “Yes. If we don’t, the press will be worse. For the record, I’m fine with the LGBTQ+ too.”
Kim Raebin and Cha Eugene smiled at each other. It was then Moondae realized most of them were looking at him.
Some part of Moondae wanted to say that thing he learned about himself earlier, but he also wanted to keep it to himself.
Talking about all of that made him feel a bit.. uncomfortable. He’d keep it to himself for a while.
“I think we should make a statement of support.”
Moondae replied curtly. It was probably best to just be frank, though Moondae was a bit worried about one of the members. He had been silent all throughout the conversation.
Keun Sejin was undoubtedly a smart man. Moondae had no doubt that he was thinking about the media reaction and the problems they were sure to face as a somewhat new and popular group.
“… There’s nothing I can say that will change your mind, right?” Keun Sejin looked up at them. He was frowning.
Moondae had a feeling this was going to be an issue.
“I am very hesitant to say something. It will undoubtedly be bad press for us. Isn’t it better to leave it ambiguous?” Keun Sejin raised his concern with a little bit of bitterness.
Usually Moondae doubted he would make a comment, but Sejin was undoubtedly stressed out over this. Showing support like this would have an impact on their reputation. If it had been a few days earlier, Moondae would have agreed.
But it was now and Moondae was—Ryu Gunwoo was—“No.” the word slipped from his mind before he could register it, but he continued on.
“Because we have already made a statement. Sticking to it is better then going back or not saying anything.” Keun Sejin looked at Moondae with some mix of unease and contempt.
“…..” he got up and left to his room, looking the door behind him.
The others looked on, concerned and confused. Park Moondae wasn’t confused though.
Keun Sejin was probably… worried about the future. Something that didn’t seem like it mattered too much to say could put their work into jeapordy. And Moondae understood it.
If something had the chance to ruin his career as an idol of course he wouldn’t want to; but Moondae was much more involved in this. After Cha Eugene and Kim Raebin supported the LGBTQ on national television with him he couldn’t exactly say he hated gay people now.
Keun Sejin, on the other hand, hadn’t had that happen, but had still been implicated into a situation it was hard to reply too without causing a scandal. It was understandable.
But that didn’t make it any less frustrating. If they didn’t do the statement as a group, it could cause division and discomfort among the fans, and that would really end their careers.
He was forced back to reality when Cha Eugene ran off into their shared room. Now the rest of them were stuck in an awkward situation. Ryu Chungwoo turned to him, “I can go handle Sejin, if you want.” Moondae appreciated the gesture, but he had a feeling that Chungoo wouldn’t help.
Also he still felt somewhat uncomfortable with the man. “I’ll deal with Keun Sejin.” He spoke curtly before turning to the door in front of him. The others might be too soft in their confrontation. Moondae wanted to directly address him.
He also wouldn’t be surprised if logic didn’t work. It could also be plausible that Sejin had a more personal perspective as well. Either way, he wanted to do it himself.
He knocked on the door. Sejin didn’t answer, but the door unlocked. Ahh. He did want to talk about this, huh?
Moondae entered the room and closed it behind him. Sejin was sitting on his bed, clearly trying to remain passive. Moondae had a feeling he wanted to be unreasonable, but this guy, ever the team player, wouldn’t let himself.
“Ah, Moondae. Here to tell me off?” He laughed bitterly. Moondae didn’t like the expression on his face.
“Not particularly, no.” That response certainly got Sejin up in surprise. Moondae bet he didn’t expect anyone to listen to him.
“Really? I’d expect you to be with your crusader friends..” jeez, what was with this guy..? Was this personal?
“I was hoping we could come to an agreement.” Moondae sat down besides him. “I already explained my reasoning. It’s much better that we act as a group.”
Keun Sejin sighed and leaned back against the walls of their apartment. “Can’t you let me dissent? Is it a crime to not want this?” Moondae heard the anger in his voice. So this was a long time coming, then. That wasn’t so surprising.
It made sense to Moondae. This guy was very charismatic. He wouldn’t object if it looked bad on camera, but Sejin probably had a lot of problems he forced himself to get over. This was a breaking point.
“Some of it’s personal, right? Like with Bae Sejin?” He froze at that. Ah, Moondae was right.
He looked up at the ceiling for a long time. Moondae guessed he was contemplative. “Yeah. At my old company, there was this guy. He was an upcoming idol. He got really famous early on as a solo artist, before coming out as gay. He lost hundreds of thousands of fans. Hundreds of thousands.”
Sejin looked at Moondae with a touch of insanity. This guy.. was really worried, huh. Moondae understood. This would undoubtedly make some people stop supporting them, as all divisive topics do.
The difference was… “Why can’t you just take it back?” The words cut through his thoughts. Sejin glared at him. “Why can’t we just release a statement saying that Raebin, Eugene and you have a reason for all this! Stop pretending like this is objective, will you?”
Moondae paused at that. . . . “I’m not objective. None of us are.” He looked blankly at Sejin. “That doesn’t make my logical argument any less true.”
He continued. “Logically, we should act as a group. It would be better than tearing our fandom in half by having someone object.” Sejin let out a groan, and buried his face in his pillow. “Mmmhm mhhhhmhmhm mhm mmh.”
“You do know I can’t hear what you’re saying, right?” A nod. This guy…
Sejin resurfaced from the pillow, and sighed.
“I just wish we never got involved with this in the first place.. my image, our image..” Moondae internally groaned.
This guy was worried about hismself here too, but he hadn’t even said anything. People would be much more interested in Moondae and Him and Eugene and he was acting like he was the first pick.
It was frustrating because Moondae did understand. Before getting into this situation and learning about the community he felt similarly.
Having it ambiguous was undeniably the best situation for an idol. That he could get.
But in some way he felt that it was a bit childish as well.
“The internet won’t forget. It's not like your scandal. We can’t erase it.” Sejin stiffened as he spoke.
“… do you really think this is the best situation.. Moondae? Being truly objective..?”
He considered it for a long time.
“No. But I want to do it anyway. Consider this my bias.” Sejin blinked in surprise, seeming surprised by his answer.
“The director said it would be better to clarify me and Raebin and Eugene’s opinions. But.. I want to cause the least discomfort for fans. If they think that we are fighting over this, it will cause conflict.” He turned to face Sejin, sighing.
“And between you and Eugene, who is going to be obviously upset and cause an outrage by the fans.?” Sejin sighed, burying his head in his hands.
“Cha Eugene who can’t hold a straight face when he’s upset.” He mumbled.
“Of course. . . I also want to make.. our fans feel comfortable being themselves.” Moondae admitted the last part mostly to himself, but Sejin perked up at that, so he probably heard it too.
He had said what he wanted to say, so Moondae got up and opened the door—but Sejin caught his wrist. This was way too dramatic..
“I’ll do it… and come out of my room in a bit. Can you tell the others that?” Moondae nodded.
He left Sejin and went back over to the other room, where Bae Sejin, Ahyeon, and Raebin were sitting. Moondae wouldn’t have expected them to socialize but apparently they had bonded over wanting to learn more about the gays, and were now using poster board to craft up a presentation for Keun Sejin.
The afforementioned poster had words in Korean, English, and… French? He was assuming that was Ahyeon, since the man seemed to know it pretty fluently.
“Sejin agreed.” As soon as he spoke, three people’s attention turned to him. They all seemed surprised.
“R-Really? I didn’t think…he’d change his mind.” Ahyeon spoke, a bit of nervousness seeping into his tone. Moondae nodded.
Raebin nodded, “We can show him the poster then.” Even worse, Bae Sejin agreed with him. . . He thought the actor was reasonable. Why were these guys his teammates again?
This was why Ahyeon was nice to be around. By far the least stupid or stressful.
“I’ll go inform Chungwoo and Eugene.”
He walked over to him and Eugene’s room.. To which Chungwoo had just left. The man looked.. Stressed. “He wouldn’t talk to me in Korean. I can’t tell if he genuinely forgot or is being unhelpful on purpose.”
The man looked like he needed about 20 hours of sleep and several doses of a painkiller. “Go rest.” He pushed ahead of Chungwoo and into the room.
It was dark, the only light coming from the door he opened. Eugene was curled up under his blanket. Moondae had to remind himself that this guy was quite literally 18 at the sight.
“It’s me.” He turned on his own lamp and closed the door behind him. Eugene’s face peaked out from the mass of pillows and blankets. Tear tracks. Right, this guy.. was pretty empathetic.
Moondae should have remembered to bring Ahyeon’s chocolates. He grabbed a few from his own stash and offered one to Cha Eugene, sitting besides him.
Before he could move, he was enveloped into a hug.
. . . Was this an American thing or a Cha Eugene thing? The man grabbed the candy from him and pulled away, muttering to himself. “[Sorry..]” Yep. He was speaking English alright.
“Is this about Sejin or something else?” Best to get straight to the point.
Eugene ate the candies and sniffled some more before answering. “[Why is Korea like this..? All hate.. the US can be bad but it’s not—]”
Moondae didn’t catch the rest of it. His college education English wasn’t quite good enough to get all the slang Eugene loved using, but he got the jist of it.
It was undoubtedly true that Korea was not as accepting of many things, the LGBTQ+ included. Moondae hadn’t been affected by it, but it was prevalent on the internet and throughout many people’s lives.
Looking back through some of the old messages Park Moondae had gotten.. slurs against gay people were certainly a favorite of highschool bullies.
“[I can’t tell you it will become better. Korea is very traditional.]” he spoke back. His words were probably stagnant, but Eugene perked up at the sound of his own language.
“It’s just unfair, you know…? [Why can't they be who they want to be?]”
Moondae sighed. “That’s how it is. Conformity and all that.” Eugene buried his face back under the covers. “It’s so unfair. [Why does it matter?? It shouldn’t matter!]” The man was frustrated, and who was Moondae to blame him?
“Of course it’s unfair. The best we can do is show support. Sejin agreed to do it. I talked to him.” He spoke curtly, before switching to english again.
“[It’s the best thing to do for now.]” he spoke firmly. Finally, the Caliboy’s expression brightened.
“Keun Sejin agreed?” Moondae nodded, and Eugene’s passion reignited like a particularly stubborn match, and all was loud and well again.
Later that night, Testar started a W-live. Responses started pouring in as per usual—but it was clear this was much less scripted than usual.
The whole group was there, and there was a huge poster behind them, looking like a truly unique arts and crafts project.
Raebin, Ahyeon, and Bae Sejin were in front of the poster,
Moondae was seemingly painting??? Something the background behind the couch, and Chungwoo was assembling flags of different colors, which a keen Loviewer might recognize as some of the gay flags.
Meanwhile, Keun Sejin was setting up the stream.
“Hello Loviewer! Ah, did we surprise you? Consider yourself in on the secret, This stream is a Testar original~” Sejin grinned, adjusting the camera. He winked to the audience
The replies filled in quickly, and between his project and the others’ conversations Moondae barely caught the string of responses filtering through the screen.
Cha_Cha_Eugene: What in the world are they doing?? I wasn’t planning on a live today these boysㅠㅠ
Loviewer_4Life: Wait where did this stream come from hello??
Sejin_isbestjin: Premium Sejin content let’s go????
KimRaebyebye: Are they addressing the situation?? I see flags????
Moonbbg: Moondae’s not quite on screenㅠㅠ Move over Keun Sejin let me see!!!
The comments were sort of relaxing to see, insane as usual, excited about the impromptu stream. It was the reaction they wanted—anticipation, rather than dread.
By making their stream seem joyous and interesting, they could erase the unease people felt about the inevitable response to the episode.
“We have many things to show you today, so please be patient as we finish up preparations, okay~?”
It was disgusting how charismatic Sejin was in front of a camera. Still, his demeanor certainly helped the atmosphere.
Moondae finished the preperations last, and joined the rest of the group on the couch—Chungwoo’s flags and his piece at beside the couch on the table.
They were answering questions now.
“Moondae! T-this one’s for you! It says… ‘Is this stream a…direct response to the recently released episode?” Ahyeon showed him the question. Perfect.
“Manager-nim told us to make a response on social media—“ he started, but Cha Eugene cut in before he could finish, “He wanted us to make up excuses, but we didn’t feel like it~ so instead we’re having a w-live! Don’t tell!” He winked at the camera. Finally, It was Kim Raebin’s turn to talk.
“Today we will be giving a presentation on the gay community, reasons why they’re valid, people discriminate against them, and our opinions.”
While Rimbae spoke, the other boys(minus Ahyeon and Bae Sejin) got off the couch and pulled the huge board behind them in—it was huge.
The giant poster was decorated with rainbows, different colored flags, and lots of cute notes from the different members. The three’s handwriting was also pretty different—Ahyeon’s pretty cursive, Sejin’s perfect print, and Kim Raebin’s long messy rambles.
All of it was poured into the poster. They started to talk. Kim Raebin explained the history of the LGBTQ+ community, why it had been discriminated against, and arguments for supporting those within the community.
“The community is in many mythologies as well, and stories have been talked about for centuries…”
Then, Bae Sejin gave a basic explanation of the different sexualies. He talked about it clearly, showing a genuine interest in it.
“And this is Pansexuality—considered a cousin of Bisexuality, it is also a sexuality in which one feels attraction to both men and women, as well as nonbinary folk…”
He continued on for a while. Moondae was happy enough to sit in the background—Chungwoo brought out flags for them to hold.
Moondae thought it was a bit dumb, especially since photos of them like this could be taken, but he got to hold the asexual flag in his hands, among others, and it was.. nice. Just a little bit.
Eventually Ahyeon nervously cut in, talking about different names for the sexualities, which ones were good or bad to use, and slurs that were offensive and shouldn’t be used.
He did so in Korean, English, and French, which was frankly a bit insulting, because his english was unreasonably good for someone who had recently started learning, even if his accent was clearly french.
“So, that’s uhm… why the term PD in French is offensive! For any learners… please don’t use it….” He started speaking in French again.
Soon enough the presentation was over, and Cha Eugene was up to explain his time in America and how that colored views about the community.
Moondae tuned that out and looked back at the chat.
Keunsenses: I—I cannot believe this is realㅠㅠ
Deleted User: I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!!!(This comment has been deleted)
KimRaebyebye: Tell us more Raebin!! Noona is listening 🫡
Eugenie_4life: This is the best day of my life THEYRE SO COMMITTEDDD
Deleted user: F—k everything you can’t do anything these days without seeing homos like this(This message has been deleted)
Eugenetown: Ahyeon knowing three languages and using them to tell us which slurs are bad is the best part of this stream
Loviewers4Love: Testar is honestly so kind for doing thisㅠㅠ I really appreciate it as a bi woman I never see idols supporting us!!
Chungwoo tapped his shoulder, and shook his head at Moondae. What was he on about?
Moondae didn’t understand what they were doing until Ahyeon had closed out the chat viewing tool.
Ah. They were worried about him. Cha Eugene was almost done with his talk, so Moondae guessed it was fair. After all, he was up next.
Moondae wasn’t sure why they wanted him to talk so much, but it was fine. He just hoped he could make the right impression.
“And also Raebin talked with me a lot about it back when we were trainees! Because his Noona. She’s suuuper sweet but their parents kicked her out cause she was lesbian, which is just — ah, whats the word? [Abbhorent!]” Moondae sighed, and leaned towards the camera.
“You can just use bad for that, Eugene. Or Terrible.” He looked back towards Moondae and nodded, “Yeah, it’s terrible! So that’s why I reacted so surprised about the question on the show.”
Eugene waved the fans goodbye. It was Moondae’s turn now, so he went up to the center area and showed off his artwork.
he wasn’t sure why they wanted him to paint a shark, but he did. “I painted a shark. For the community.”
He could hear Keun Sejin holding in laughter. . .
Moondae turned to the others, “What?” They were completely unhelpful, so he looked to the screen—before being reminded Ahyeon had turned it off.
He showed off the shark to the camera. Moondae wasn’t sure if it could be called a shark. . . It was a bit mangled.
Moondae could not draw. Everyone knew this, which is why he knew he was about to be memed to help.
“Support the community.” He said that before walking off. Keun Sejin burst out laughing, followed by some of the others. These guys…
The stream ended soon after that. They had already gotten an angry call from their manager, but that was honestly the least of his concerns.
At most they’d be punished, not cut their record deal, because Testar was profitable and this was a minor “scandal”, so the biggest factor was social media.
He had gone back to his own room in hopes the other members wouldn’t worry too much, and luckily Cha Eugene had fallen asleep almost immediately, so it was easy.
The social media posts were a bit surprising.
User_342: How do people feel about Testar’s recent stream?
I’ve been seeing a lot of mixed feelings, mostly since it’s just a surprising thing to do for rookies. Listening to their stories though, it makes sense. Kim Raebin’s especially.
To me it’s pretty heartwarming, if perhaps a bit silly, but I’m glad to see it. How do you feel?
>>>>>AhyeonKinnie: Tbh I’m not a particular fan of the LGBTQ community but I do appreciate they didn’t give one of those typical ambiguous opinions. All of them were clearly in agreement and seemed comfortable about that fact, which was nice.
>>>>Loviewer_223: Honestly I had a pretty negative view of the LGBTQ community, and i’m still not a particular fan, but the stream they did was actually pretty information heavy and was logical as well, so i liked it.
>>>Moonbbg: I’m moreso worried about rumors and slander..
The posts went on, but Moondae got the main opinion.
While many people were surprised or upset, the fandom had formed their opinion—they would still support Testar and fight against antis—especially ones using their opinion the LGBTQ. It was a good thing, but Moondae was still a bit annoyed. He had caused discomfort to the fans.
It would eventually sort itself out.
. . . Hopefully.