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When Testar got the invitation, Moondae was a bit surprised. It wasn’t that he had forgotten about the disastrous talk show that led to Testar’s open support of the queer community, more so that he hadn’t thought much about it after the controversy had passed.
Well, mostly. The day after the stream was a lot for all of them. Raebin’s parents had called and officially disowned him.
It was hard for him. Moondae remembered how distraught the boy had been—and how furious his older sister had been when she arrived.
Moondae thought she was pleasant enough, but unlike her brother, her RBF was only activated when she was truly pissed.
While she chewed out their parents, Testar ate ice cream and comforted Raebin. After the whole debacle, he mixed a new song, which he released as a single, called “Home”. It featured his sister, and was pretty explicitly about a teenager getting kicked out for being gay.
The manager didn’t like it at first, but it gained a lot of traction among queer and non queer fans for the relatability of disappointing your parents, and eventually became popular enough the Producer forgave him.
Moondae didn’t get the hype of the song but that was probably because his parents were dead two times over.
It had been a few months, full of concerts and tours and music videos—and Moondae hadn’t really been paying attention to their previous stance on the LGBTQ besides the occasional social media post mentioning it.
It was fine for him. Though, occasionally he used a fake account to look through some Asexual community posts. It was nice to see other people like him.
Still, he was a bit surprised when Ahyeon invited him to Seoul Pride. His friend had pointed to a picture of the invite very nervously before asking him if he wanted to go with him and Raebin.
At first, Moondae had been hesitant. Would it not pour fires on the old rumors they were all gay? But.. the very selfish part of his mind wanted to do it.
It also didn’t help that it was Ahyeon asking him. Cha Eugene would have been too annoying when he asked, so he probably would have said no, but Ahyeon just made him want to go.
It would probably look worse if they didn’t go to the event, so Moondae bit the bullet and agreed.
Apparently Raebin and Ahyeon had also invited the others, but everyone else had plans, even Eugene.
The day soon arrived. It was during Testar’s week off, so Moondae was fine with going.
Still, it would definitely be annoying to be caught on social media—and he had no doubt they would. Fortunately and unfortunately, Testar was very popular now, and would likely continue to be for a good long time.
If news outlets saw them, it would become about a billion articles about the Testar members being gay(or about them showing support), and the Fandom would flare up in surprise. But if they didn't go, some people might also throw out thoughts about Testar’s lack of support for Seoul Pride and events like it.
It would cause the fans just as much discomfort if antis tried to use their not going as a weapon.
The Fandom was as per usual an amalgamation of support, concern, and too many theorists. Especially after the release of Raebin’s song, there was a bit of a divide in the Fandom space about if Raebin’s song was just about his sister, or also about himself.
Thoughts like those were floating around the fans when the parade was set to start.
Moonlightlover: OK so I’m sure y’all remember the minor controversy from a couple of months ago where TeStar revealed they supported the LGBTQ+, which was super encouraging to get to hear from rookies! But.. like… do we think they’re fr allies? Here’s my thoughts… (1/3)
Raebinnieni: Raebin’s support literally got him disowned I don’t think he was faking itㅠㅠㅠㅠ
->PancakeLover454: IT WHAT…????
——>Raebinnineni: Yeah… If u remember the release of ‘Home’ was around that time too..
Cha_Cha_Eugene: Cha Eugene the Caliboy you are.. genuinely surprised anyone thought he’d be homophobic. LOOK AT HIM.
Rabbit_Boy121: The fact that people think Raebin is straight after ‘Home’ shocks me. Like… gurl.
-> Miss_Sejinnie: He literally said that he wrote it when thinking of his sister, she’s literally in the song, but No, it’s totally about him..
——> Moondaeeclipse: Two things can be true at the same timeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Chungwooshouldwoome: Ok but TeStar has lowk been so quiet abt pride I’m DYING to know if anyone is gonna be there especially bc there’s a low/no phone rule for privacy reasons…
MoonPuppypie: So tempted to bring my phone today but Noona’s gonna be good…. Sigh. I just hope that I can see them there…
Moondae suspected that it would only get more stressful from there. However, one thing was working in their favor—not many photos were allowed at the event. If they kept it quiet, their manager would hopefully leave them alone.
And that is how Moondae ended up in a taxi driving to the center of Seoul with Raebin and Ahyeon. Raebin had insisted on not wearing any sort of mask. Usually, Moondae would have disagreed with him, since it would be difficult not to be spotted, but Ahyeon was with them, so they were going to be spotted no matter what.
Ahyeon’s facecard was stronger than any facial protection. As they drove down, he shifted nervously against his seat, and Moondae couldn’t help but wonder why he was going to begin with. Raebin was obviously going for his sister, so it made sense, and Moondae had an alibi of his own, even if he secretly was hoping to see support for asexuality.
He wouldn’t ask unless it came up later. Ahyeon was the most calm person to be around in Testar, there was no reason to cause any animosity between them.
The traffic was bad, so they were stuck for a while. Raebin took the opportunity to get out the rainbow things he had brought for them.
Ahyeon had done his makeup before, so he was already covered in rainbow makeup, but apparently Moondae’s outfit was “Borderline homophobic with how boring it was”, as Cha Eugene put it before he left the apartment.
Raebin himself had painted a lesbian flag on his cheek and was wearing rainbow fishnet gloves. Raebin always looked a bit delinquent despite his good looks, so he ended up coming off as very alternative.
It wasn’t a bad look. Moondae wondered if they could use a look like that in their next performance.
He passed over a couple of pins to Moondae, looking at him intently. “I picked the ones I thought you’d like best to maximize your comfortability, so tell me if there’s anything I need to change….” He continued to mutter to himself, but Moondae wasn’t listening.
Raebin had given him four pins. One of them was a traditional rainbow, another heart rainbow flag, one just said “Pride”, and the last one was an “Ally” pin. Moondae sighed, weighing his options.
“U-uhm, Raebin.. could I take one?” Ahyeon spoke before he got to thinking too hard. Raebin nodded, “Sure.” He took the pride one and fastened it on his shirt. It left Moondae with three choices.
On the one hand, he could solidify his position as that of an ally without causing any doubts within the fandom. On the other hand, he was lying. Ryu Gunwoo and by extension Park Moondae was a part of the LGBTQ. He was asexual, and it would be wrong to lie to the fans like that.
Moondae grabbed the rainbow pin. It was best to be honest, and allies could also wear the rainbow. It would be fine. “This one is good,” he passed the other two back to Raebin, and that was that.
Soon enough, they arrived in central Seoul. Moondae could see the tents and parade floats in the distance. “Okay, T-the event is set up with tents on one side and a parade on the other. There …are some food stands in the middle.. I think?” Ahyeon had a map pulled up on his phone, which Moondae appreciated.
Embarrassingly, he was awful at directions. Luckily, it hadn’t come up too much, but it was a frustration for him.
Even as a civil service examinee he only barely remembered the path back to his apartment from the train station. It was honestly quite embarassing.
Ahyeon should have been worse at it, considering his well off upbringing, but no, he and Chungwoo were by far the best. Moondae was a little bit jealous, but he kept that to himself as they got out of the taxi.
Seeing Ahyeon excited to lead them into the venue was more than enough to make up for it.
“…can we go to the festival first..?” Raebin asked, closing the door to the taxi lightly and adjusting his fishnets. “I need to pick up some stuff for that dummy Eugene.”
He sounded too fond for it to be an insult. Moondae wondered what exactly Eugene wanted.. but perhaps it was best left unknown.
After last time, it was a blessing Cha Eugene wasn’t going with them. Eugene was a little too happy to call himself pansexual for the loviewer, and while it was a sweet sentiment, doing that in front of fans would be.. problematic, even if he was pansexual,
Still, Moondae nodded. The parade was more likely to have news reports and recordings about, so it would be safer to go to some of the booths first.
It would also allow them to ease into the crowd. Ahyeon smiled, pointing towards the tented section. “Let’s go..!” The dancer exclaimed, leading them towards the area.
Moondae wanted to squish his cheeks. It was a natural response to prolonged Ahyeon exposure.
Soon enough, the three of them arrived at the entrance. There was a banner hanging brightly welcoming them, while below a couple of volunteers were offering wristbands out. Moondae wasn’t too inclined to grab one, but Raebin started heading towards there so they ended up at the booth.
A woman dressed in pink greeted them. “Welcome to Seoul…” she paused when she saw their faces before seeming to regain her composure. “Welcome to Seoul Pride. Would you like a bracelet?” She managed.
Raebin and Ahyeon seemed a bit nervous to continue interacting with someone who clearly recognized them, so Moondae took the lead. “Yes, thank you.” He took three from her hand and nodded to her.
“S-so where.. do we want to s-start..?” Ahyeon spoke nervously. Moondae sighed internally.
Raebin was looking intently at one of the pop-up shops, but it was clear he had also realized the issue. Ahyeon was panicking. Even with a lot of speech therapy and some major improvements, Ahyeon still had social anxiety, and whenever he got too nervous, his stutter would become much worse.
“Ahyeon..” Ahyeon looked to him with surprise. “Let’s have fun,”. It was a good slogan for Ahyeon. It also was a goal, one that was simple and grounded.
Raebin smiled a bit threateningly before excitedly rambling off as the three started walking again, “Yes, Hyungs, let’s have fun. I personally was hoping to see some of the shows later today! Also, my sister said she might be here today and I’d love for you to meet her..” he kept rambling lightly with a couple of quiet additions from Ahyeon, and Moondae felt at peace.
While Moondae tolerated Testar’s loudness, he had a deep appreciation for the quietest members. Raebin was talented and passionate, but he did not yell into Moondae’s ears, unlike Eugene.
Ahyeon was perfect on most accounts. His only issue was his own lack of confidence at times.
The only downside to spending time with the two of them together was that the anxiety was much higher overall. Still, that was acceptable.
The next hour or so was spent wandering through the booths and window shopping. They chatted with a couple of different vendors and got recognized far too much.
“You’re Kim Raebin! I loved ‘Home’. Thank you for writing it,” the man packing up one of Ahyeon’s purchases(a pair of rainbow crochet hooks) exclaimed. Raebin seemed very embarrassed. “….I’m glad you liked it, sir.”
The man laughed, patting him on the shoulder before handing Ahyeon his hooks. Raebin had gotten a lot of attention, even from people who didn’t know the rest of TeStar.
It was clearly giving him a lot of confidence, which was always good for Raebin. Confidence meant they would be getting 11/10 song mixes from him instead of his usual 9/10.
They went on into the next tent, which was selling pins, bracelets, and a couple of other charms. Raebin had picked up a couple of different ones, including some pansexual pins and lesbian flags. Moondae had a feeling where each one was going.
Ahyeon had found a cute rainbow sweater that fit him well. They could take a couple of PR photos with it later for the sake of content if it came up.
Moondae was a little hesitant to buy things, but he figured it would probably be worse to buy nothing since he was here anyways. He quietly paid for a sticker pack with plenty of different flags. He could pocket the asexual flag and give the rest to anyone who wanted them.
“Excuse me…?” A woman spoke from behind him, and Moondae turned to meet her. She was wearing a face mask and a pin with what Moondae remembered as the bisexual flag. “Are you Park Moondae?”
Ah, a fan. He nodded, and the woman let out a quiet gasp. “I won’t bother you any more, but thank you for coming.. it means a lot to a lot of people, me included.” Moondae nodded again. “Of course.”
He thought for a moment before opening the package and handing her one of the bisexual stickers. It was heart shaped and rather cute. The woman let out a gasp, taking it and holding it close to her. “Thank you!” She waved, before quickly heading off.
It was nice to see loviewers at the event, especially ones happy that he had come. Even though he couldn't really express his own pride, it seemed that being there mattered to begin with.
After passing through a couple more stands, Raebin pulled them aside suddenly.
“Hyungs! My noona and her girlfriend are at the event! Since it’s close to lunch, I was hoping we could meet them..?” He held up his phone to Moondae and Raebin proudly.
Moondae thought for a moment. It would be good publicity to meet Raebin’s sister, since it provided a great explanation for why Raebin, Moondae, and even Ahyeon were there specifically.
It could also reduce the likelihood of trolls causing discourse since it was reasonable to meet up with a family member at an event like this. “Sounds good.” He handed the phone back to Raebin. Ahyeon nodded rapidly. “I agree! T-though we met her once before, I-it wasn’t the best time.. so I think it’d be nice.”
Raebin seemed very excited about their approval, texting with his sister quite a bit as the three sat down on a nearby bench. They waited for a couple of minutes deciding on a nearby cafe to meet up with them at.
While Raebin was distracted, Ahyeon had gotten approached a couple of times. Surprisingly or perhaps unsurprisingly, Ahyeon was getting a lot of attention with the makeup and his general good looks.
Though some people who approached him were definitely Loviewers, there were a couple younger men Moondae had a feeling were interested in him in an entirely different way.
On one hand, it was very strange to flirt with strangers in Moondae’s unbiased opinion, but on the other hand, it was Ahyeon. He had a face good enough to make anyone near him look 50% better, he was going to get approached by gay men with a mission.
Moondae was actually pleasantly surprised with how Ahyeon was handling it. Though he was clearly very embarrassed and somewhat flattered, he was able to politely decline in a practiced and respectful way, which Moondae knew was something he had probably spent a long time working on.
It was a relief to have chosen a place, though. Moondae was admittedly a bit hungry, so the cafe was a good choice.
After a couple of minutes of walking, they arrived at the restaurant. Moondae decided to get them a table seeing as Ahyeon seemed a bit frazzled from people approaching him and Raebin was clearly anxious.
Still, they found their seats and waited for a bit before the two women arrived. Raebin hugged both of them before letting them sit across from the three of them at the table.
“This is my sister, Sumi” Raebin reintroduced her, but Moondae remembered Kim Sumi from the night Raebin had been disowned. She looked largely the same as she did that night.
She could best be described as goth or something similar. Her hair was dyed red in streaks; She wore black fishnets and a black dress. The only color in her outfit was the lesbian flag pinned to the top of her dress.
She bowed slightly before taking a seat, face largely impassive. “It’s lovely to meet you,” she spoke lightly. Her voice was unsurprisingly high quality. Moondae remembered it from ‘Home’.
“And this,” Raebin pointed to the other woman, “Is Han Jiwoo.” As Moondae got a closer look at her, he realized why her face was sort of familiar.
She had been at a couple of concerts cheering for Raebin. He recognized her hair, since it was dyed dark blue, a pretty surprising color. She nodded once before sitting down.
Things were silent for a couple of moments. Times like this were when Moondae wished that Eugene or Keun Sejin were here. Those two excelled at concersations.
Luckily, conversation did begin. It was Sumi who started it. “Seon Ahyeon, correct? I like your makeup,” and with that, the slight tension had been broken. Light conversation continued on as they ordered, and Moondae learned a little more about Raebin’s upbringing, and how exactly Han Ji-Woo was involved with it.
“Since Sumi was applying for college then, that meant that Raebin came to me for a lot of stuff.. including his application.” Han Ji-woo ruffled Raebin’s hair slightly, a teasing grin on her face. Ahyeon blinked a couple of times before frowning, “But weren’t you also applying to colleges then, Ms. Han?” He asked.
Sumi spoke before he could continue, “Shh!” She put her finger to her lips, “Ji-woo never likes to admit it, but it was because she wanted to go to the same college as me.” She smiled lightly.
It turned out that Kim Sumi was a surprisingly bright person. Despite her looks, she was actually much less cold then Han Ji-woo, who seemed to be more of a sarcastic person.
Still, they were nice enough company. Ahyeon and Raebin had done most of the talking, and they were in a relatively prívate place, so it was a nice experience. The food was also good.
“Actually, I had a different question.” It was Han Ji-woo who spoke then. She raised an eyebrow at Ahyeon and Him. “Why exactly did you two want to come? I know you all had that press release, but you don’t have to lie about it. I’m sure most of that was a result of Raebin and his Eugene.”
Moondae frowned. While it wasn’t exactly incorrect, saying it like that was a bit unsatisfactory. Raebin seemed a bit miffed by her question, “it was a group decision, Ji-woo.”
He wasn’t exactly sure how to answer. If he was being honest, it was a mix of many things. Ahyeon’s invitation, his own identity, and wanting to protect the peace of the fans. But he had a feeling two out of the three of those answers wouldn’t satisfy Han Ji-woo.
Ahyeon interrupted his thoughts with his own reason. “Uhm.. well. It’s not too well known, but I was uhm, mistreated a lot as a c-child as a result of my speech impediment.”
He seemed a bit nervous, so Moondae patted his hand under the table. He jolted slightly, continuing. “Uhm, and as a result, I got called a lot of slurs and other mean words.. so…I understand how important it is to lobby for rights…?” He sounded a little unsure at the end. Han Ji-woo nodded, before seeming to reconsider her question. “I’m sorry kid, I didn’t need to ask.”
It didn’t seem like anyone would ask him now, but the table was still silent. It couldnt hurt to set his own record straight. “I came because I wanted to.” To be accurate: this was the honest truth.
It might have been an awkward thing to say, but Moondae knew the fandom-wide understanding of him was that he was new to the LGBTQ movement. And while it was in part dishonest, there was some truth to it. Ryu Gunwoo had only really been aware of the concept of being gay, and was neutral about it. The community was new.
The answer was accepted, and the conversation moved on. Moondae did end up learning some interesting information. Apparently, Kim Sumi worked as a sound technician in her free time, and had taught Raebin when he was a child.
It explained so much. The whole family was talented… actually, maybe skipping a generation. Kim Raebin’s parents were entirely unpleasant. His grandmother? A saint with the voice of an angel.
Unfortunate genetics on the parents’ part.
The lunch ended pleasantly. Moondae offered to pay, since he still had some money left over from one of their large checks, but Kim Sumi wouldn’t let him.
“Of course I’m paying. You’re my brother’s friends and groupmates, it’s only natural.” Privately, Moondae thought it would have been most efficient for Ahyeon to pay, but for the sake of keeping the peace, it was probably best he didn’t.
“We’ll be off to the tented section. Have fun at the parade!” Kim Sumi waved them goodbye, and Han Ji-woo quirked her lips up into a slight smile. It was an enjoyable lunch.
The relative peacefulness of the parade was left behind as Ahyeon led them into the parade area. The parade itself would start in half an hour, but it was a good idea to come early, as there were already many people.
He turned to Raebin, curious. “Where do we stand? Or sit?” The musician blinked a few times before pulling him and Ahyeon towards a break in the crowd.
They ended up in a small crowd a block or so down from the area marking the start of the parade. Though Moondae wasn’t sure if pushing their way to the front was worth it, Ahyeon really wanted to see the parade, so Moondae let them to the front of the growing audience.
After a couple of minutes of waiting, the pride parade began. First, a couple of cars came through with performers standing or sitting on top of them. “Hello Seoul!” A woman held the microphone, dressed head to toe in rainbow and sitting out of the sunroof of one of the cars, which had stopped right at the entrance line.
Her call was answered with what must have been thousands of greetings back. The ‘Hello’ was resounding. “Ah, I’m happy to see you too! Just a few reminders before the parade officially starts~! Firstly, photography is heavily discouraged, especially on cars with a ‘No-Phone’ symbol! Please respect this rule! Secondly, please do not enter into the sectioned off area! Cars, bikes, motorcycles, parade floats, and people will be passing through, so please don’t stand in the road. Lastly, remember to stay safe, especially when traveling home!”
She rattled off a couple more rules before excitedly pumping her hand up to the sky. “Alright Seoul Pride, it’s time to begin the parade!” A large applause broke out, and the car the woman was in began to move again.
Following that were several different groups and parade cars. One for gay men, lesbians, transgender people, it was honestly kind of hard not to give into the excitement.
Raebin seemed particularly entranced by a couple of the floats, murmuring what must have been potential lyrics under his breath. It was a bit foreboding, but Moondae had no doubt that if he made a song about the parade it would still be a hit.
His ability to mix music was too strong for it not to be.
In all honesty, Moondae was very tempted to pull out his phone and see the live reactions to the parade, to know how their presence was being perceived.
What if the loviewers were taking their presence in a bad light? It would be troublesome.
Maybe the concern was obvious, since halfway through Ahyeon grabbed onto his hand. At first Moondae thought maybe it was that, but then he realized that Ahyeon was shaking.
Right. He wasn’t good with crowds. Though he did seem happy to see the event.. maybe it was exposure therapy his psychiatrist was working on him with..?
The show continued on for a while. At one point a group of motorcycles rode through, which was definitely striking. The thing that stood out to him most, of course, was the group of people who came through with asexual flags.
It shouldn’t have meant so much to him. It was just a group of youths waving around some colors. But it did matter. It made some part of Park Moondae, no, Ryu Gunwoo, satisfied.
Maybe it was because he knew for as long as the status window continued to exist, he could never risk his career by coming out, and maybe it was nice to see
It was a nice event. The only thing that was displeasant was the heat, which wasn’t awful, just annoying.
Moondae had a nice enough time.
The only uncomfortable experience that worried him was on their way out after most of the parade had ended. There was an anti-lgbtq group.
It wasn’t that Moondae had never seen them before, but it had never been directed at him before. The group was maybe twenty or thirty people with signs, shouting slogans. There was a group of women dancing to some anthem.
But honestly, Moondae didn’t really care about what they were saying. The actual issue was that he was sure that one of the protestors had a camera and was recording.
He had more time to think about it after they had gotten into the taxi, when Raebin was napping and Ahyeon was writing paragraphs to send in the TeStar group chat.. once again, they needed to say something.
The recording itself wasn’t the issue, but rather the narrative that could be used as a result of it.
“Raebin, Ahyeon, do you want to take a photo for today?” He asked lightly. Raebin, still half asleep, nodded. Ahyeon looked up nervously from his phone, “Are we m-making a statement or anything? S-shouldn’t we ask the others about it?” It wasn’t a bad point.
“If you want you can text them first,” he offered. Maybe he was being too hasty, but Moondae wanted to strike while the iron was hot.
As said, the issue with having a photo taken at the event wasn’t that the photo existed, that was to be expected, it was the idea of “secrecy”.
Idol culture loved scandals. Dating scandals, bullying rumors, baseless lies and hard truths. The gossip mill was both a blessing and a curse, and it was all too easy to get pulled into those kinds of forums and stories, but the biggest kind of story is always the idea of a secret.
Under most circumstances, TeStar going to an event like pride wouldn’t be a huge story. Idols go to places, even controversial events, all the time. An article could come out, the story would circulate for a couple of days, and then the world would move on.
The issue would be their attendance looking like a secret, because that implied there was something to hide.
Scandals start because someone assumes that people have things to hide. Even if it doesn’t make sense, as long as there could be a connection, the idea becomes interesting, like with Sejin’s bullying scandal. Even though the evidence was badly photoshopped, because it looked reasonable it became a scandal.
If a photo becomes public with a caption like: “TeStar secretly goes to pride, hides from camera”, their attendance becomes controversial.
Even though now it seemed their attendance was mostly contained to LBGTQ forums.
AceofSpace: TeStar at pride???
Oh. My. GOODNESS. Guys, am I hallucinating or was fucking Kim Raebin from TeStar there?? Like, ‘Home’ Kim Raebin??? And Moondae and Ahyeon???
>>>>>>>QueenofQueers: thank GOD I thought I was going crazyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ At one point I was at one of the shops and I did a double take bc of Ahyeonnie’s beauty but this noona was convinced that she was seeing things…
>>>>>MoonBBforlife: OMG OMG OMG YES!? GUYS. GUYS, I GOT TO TALK TO KIM RAEBIN. HE THANKS ME? FOR LIKING HIS SONG? I AM DEAD.
>>>Fudanchi223: Wait help those idols doing the stupid ads were at pride??? Fr??
Moondae was about to brave stan twitter when Ahyeon spoke again, “Everyone says it’s fine! K-Keunse told us not to say anything provocative, Eugene said to tell the Loviewers he wanted to come, Cheongwoo said to be responsible, and Bae Sejin just gave a t-thumbs up.”
Raebin nodded, and turned to Moondae. He pulled out his phone and took a selfie. It was a little bit of an odd angle, but they had all done their makeup so he didn’t have to worry about it coming out badly.
The photo looked alright so Moondae set up the post as the taxi was pulling into their apartment complex. Raebin kept adding comments as he went, and then Ahyeon would worry over them, so by the time they were in the house he had added nothing of significance.
As they came in, they were greeted by Eugene eating dejectedly in the kitchen. “Hi hyungs.. and Raebin..” he looked up at them with puppy dog eyes.
Moondae was not impressed, but Raebin’s scoffed and handed him over one of the bags he had picked up. “Thank you! [I promise not to break into your studio again], I’ll be nice now forever!”
He seemed genuinely excited, pulling out some of the merchandise Raebin had bought or taken for him from the stands and gasping over it. Moondae let them be, heading into his room before finishing up the media post.
“Today Ahyeon, Raebin, and I went to Seoul Pride to celebrate. Happy Pride month to all our fans” The Photo was attached below. Short, sweet, and concise. He signed off with a puppy emoji and then went over to Keun Sejin who was sitting alone on the couch.
At first Moondae wanted to ask Cheongwoo, but he realized the leader was still out doing promotions. His second best option was Keun Sejin.
Though he was maybe a little too cautious, that would be the best for a post like this.
“Oh? Moondae-Moondae? Did you miss me when you were out…” he trailed off, looking at Moondae’s outfit and the pin still attached to him before letting out an amused huff. “Are you here to scold me for cautioning Ahyeonnie?”
He clutched his chest, looking up at Moondae with a fake pout, though as per usual, something was hidden underneath.
He rolled his eyes. Keun Sejin was overly practical and generally trustworthy for the stage, but sometimes he could be more dramatic than the actual actor of the group.
“Is this fine?” He asked, holding out the post for Sejin to see. It was better for a critical eye to see this, since it would reach more people than a W-live. Such was the nature of the casual fan, willing to look at the occasional social media post but not to join a livestream.
Keun Sejin looked it over for a couple of seconds before frowning. “Didn’t Eugene want to say something?” Moondae side eyed him. “He can do it himself.”
Keun Sejin raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment further. “It looks okay,” he said at last, nodding to Moondae. He seemed a little awkward. Moondae took his phone back and posted it to their account before looking back up at Sejin.
He looked conflicted. “Look.. I’m sorry about last time. You were right.” Huh? What? Was this overconfident guy admitting he was wrong?
“It ended up being alright, I overreacted about you guys being open about your.. uh. Beliefs.. I don’t want you thinking I don’t support.. uh. The LGBTQ.” …he was going to say Moondae, he was going to say ‘I don’t want you thinking I won’t support you.’
He was so done with this guy. Keunse could really afford to be less observant. This was too awkward.
“You’re not wrong for being cautious, someone has to be with things like this. Not everyone will be nice about it. I appreciate your concern” He spoke carefully. Keun Sejin looked surprised again, Moondae didn’t really get it.
Even if it was annoying at the time and somewhat personal, Sejin wasn’t wrong about the risks involved in supporting a partisan issue. It was just that in that case, the benefits outweighed the downsides. However..Keun Sejin still looked upset.
He must have felt pretty guilty about that time. “No, I was concerned about myself instead of the group. That was my bad. I’m sorry.” Oh, he was honest. Moondae was surprised.
He nodded. “Its fine.” After a moment, he rephrased, “It was a while ago, so let it be in the past.” As long as he didn’t cause more trouble, Moondae had no complaints.
He left after that, returning to the kitchen where Ahyeon and the kids were.
“Moondae-Hyung! How do I look!” Eugene called from the kitchen. He had covered himself in pansexual merchandise. He was wearing an atrocious pair of sunglasses, pins, and flags. He was also completely covered in stickers from some sticker pack Raebin must have bought him. He was wearing Raebin’s rainbow fisnets gloves and grinning proudly. It was an awful outfit.
“You should change. I’m not making a post for you, it’ll be more sincere if you do it yourself, yes?” Eugene frowned, and Moondae turned to Raebin with annoyance. This was what they had spent all that time in shops for?
Raebin, the accomplice, looked up at Moondae with a pleading expression. Moondae just glared back. He did it to himself. He left them to fix their own issues.
Meanwhile, Ahyeon was scrubbing his makeup off in the sink. He looked up as Moondae approached. Half of the makeup had been wiped off, making the half of the rainbow that still existed more prevalent on his face. It reminded Moondae of those monotone posters with a single drop of rainbow color.
It was really unfair to the rest of them how beautiful Ahyeon was. No one stood a chance. He could even make half a face of makeup look good.
“Moondae..? What is it?” Ahyeon seemed a but nervous. “Why are you wiping off your makeup in the kitchen?” He asked.
“Bae Sejin is s-showering… he was getting his hair redyed today, remember…?” Oh. That made good enough sense.
Moondae frowned at Ahyeon went back to scrubbing his face. He didn’t have any makeup remover, so as Moondae got closer he realized the part of his face without the makeup was rubbed red.
“Stop. I’ll grab some makeup remover wipes.” He left quickly, bursting into the bathroom and apologizing to Bae Sejin as he left with the supplies
He returned with a sense of purpose. Ahyeon looked a little touched, but Moondae was worried about his skin.
Ahyeon’s face was a huge selling point for TeStar, they really couldn't have their main visual rubbing his skin red. He could already imagine the flame articles that loviewers would write if they though Ahyeon was being hurt.
“Let me.” He wiped the rest of it off of him easily, though it didn’t seem to stop some red from forming on the non-scrubbed side of Ahyeon's face. It was better than nothing, he supposed.
After getting a bit more settled, Moondae decided to give into his desires and check social media.
The internet had, predictably, exploded.
Mimilimi: LIVE REPORTING OF SEOUL PRIDE 202X: The venue is lovely to start out, people r filling up the area as we speak… (1/20)
—->Mimilimi: BREAKING NEWS: TeSTAR members Seon Ahyeon, Park Moondae, and Kim Raebin spotted at Seoul pride!!!
Moondae_or_die: Wait fr?? Wait yalll remember how Ahyeon said he would be busy this week and couldn’t do any streams THIS WAS WHY
StarlightLoviewer: guysguysguys I cannot believe this one of my friends who was at Seoul pride and is a normie told me he saw this cute guy and tried to flirt with him and long story short it was Seon Ahyeon. My bro got politely rejected by SEON AHYEON???? (1/2)
Cha_Cha_Eugene: Guys guys guys look what Eugene just posted on his story????? HES SO CUTE OMG He said he was sorry for missing out on the event…I love him sm
—->Eugenie_4life: he’s covered in the Pansexual flag.. he put the colored hearts in his note too…. Who are you trying to fool Eugeneㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Moonbbg: Love how Raebin and Ahyeon have dramatic makeup and full fits and then Moondae’s just wearing a single pinㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ go king, give us nothing.
Lgtviewer: Sobbing the stories coming out of Seoul pride are crazy Testar is crazy… omg
Ah. Well, the Loviewers were having a good time.. though he definitely needed to look over Eugene’s post.. maybe he shouldn’t have trusted Eugene’s media training.. Now.. the haters. Moondae pulled up the traditional hater tags: M00nd4e, SHAMstar, etc etc.
It was as annoying as expected.
KimRaeBxtch: Can’t believe SHAMstar still is trying to push the Gay agenda.. its soooo obvious they dont care…
Momo243: Fxcking M00nd4e running around with the Homos. Can’t believe I supported him.
So on, so forth. This time, it wasn’t too bad. Just some trolls with meaningless complaints. The video he was concerned about wasn’t showing up.
Maybe it hadn’t been posted yet. Well. He might as well look back on whatever Eugene had posted.
. . . . . .
Damn it.