“Crazy board game;;;”
With the news of TeSTAR’s limited-edition board game album, fans’ SNS timelines started blazing.
Once people compared the images and realized the board game looked exactly like the one in the teaser, reactions grew even stronger.
Most posts were excitement and anticipation, but not all were positive—because of the limited quantity.
Even if a regular edition came later, its contents would surely differ from the limited set.
As a result, TeSTAR’s new label, Orbit Entertainment, finally started catching flak too.
In truth, they’d rushed production to meet schedule and simply couldn’t crank out tens of thousands in time.
But they’d also let some of the negative buzz linger on purpose—to temper the overly idolized atmosphere around the new label.
It was a burden for both the fledgling company and the group. And since the regular edition would be almost identical, complaints would soon die down.
Moreover, fans were focused on TeSTAR’s comeback itself, not bashing the label.
For example:
This time, TeSTAR’s album wouldn’t be a CD but a USB.
And a minimalist one at that: just the album USB, its playback case, and one photo card.
Still, not getting a physical photo booklet or lyric book left people oddly disappointed.
In an era of online streaming dominance, buying a physical album meant owning something tangible.
And fewer components felt somehow underwhelming.
The USB no doubt contained photos and lyrics digitally, but not having them in hand was a let-down.
Because the teaser quality was good and they were continuing the high-teen concept from the last album, criticisms were relatively muted.
But they were there: a subtle deflation in atmosphere created by the few detractors.
“Sigh....”
Worried fans deliberately tried to find more positives.
On TeSTAR’s album pre-order page, they spotlighted special content not included on a normal CD album and spread the word.
But that was it.
No more specific info dropped as the comeback date approached.
“What are they thinking??”
As a result, even Park Mundae’s first home-ma was at her wit’s end.
A few concept photos had been released, but they were similar to the teaser’s comfy high-teen vibe.
Pleasant and pretty, but lacking distinction.
Too reminiscent of the last album.
Against the 30-minute teaser “Procession,” the cinematic trailer “Better Me,” or the filmic “Promise”...
“Just one teaser, a USB album, sparse contents...”
The scary word “cost-performance” flashed through her mind.
Beneath the surface, anxieties, doubts, excitement, and expectation swirled until the fateful day arrived.
On TeSTAR’s first comeback day under the new label, at midnight...
Finally, the MV dropped.
“...huh.”
[TeSTAR ‘Roll the Dice’ Official MV]
The home-ma took a deep breath.
The title was “Roll the Dice,” and the thumbnail showed dice...
How far would they take this?
“Seriously, a full board-game concept? It feels over the top... but no, this is awesome!”
She chased away unhelpful thoughts and clicked the MV with trembling fingers.
Then...
“Huh?”
The screen showed a floor—exactly the attic floor from the teaser.
But TeSTAR wasn’t sitting there. The focus was on the board game itself.
Game tokens and cards lay scattered across it.
It looked different than the teaser’s brief glimpse.
She had expected a simple, segmented path game, like advancing territory blocks.
But this was more elaborate—realistic, like architectural blueprints of a building.
“...a prison? A maze?”
At that moment, the camera was sucked into the board.
[You have my dice]
A {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} low voice echoed in the blackness.
Then the view cut back.
Doong...!
A long, straight corridor appeared.
Built of gray stones with varying contrasts, it looked like part of a massive underground dungeon.
A huge rusty nameplate briefly came into view on the floor.
Keep It Safe
The camera moved forward.
thud, thud.
Footsteps echoed as iron doors lined both sides—like someone’s perspective.
‘A jailer?’
Then the camera detached.
Whoosh.
It pierced through one iron door on the left and immediately approached a figure sitting on the floor.
The figure wore a white harnessed outfit, resembling a stage costume reminiscent of a straightjacket or prison uniform.
As soon as the viewer saw the bowed head, they immediately recognized it.
Eyes closed... Park Mundae, with dark hair.
‘Gasp!’
His slightly long bangs hid his eyes.
As his pale face filled the frame—
pipipipipipipipipi...
A faint mechanical noise began—like a sensor activating.
Park Mundae, still with closed eyes, raised his hand and struck down somewhere.
thud.
The surveillance camera in mid-air shattered on screen.
Then the music burst forth.
[In your hands
My tape wraps again]
A crisp, refreshing mid-high tone.
The image leapt upward, bursting through the dark cell and ascending to some upper floor.
A single beam of light shone down through a grated steel ceiling.
The tempo rose.
[The moment your heart pounds
All senses go slow]
In that beam, someone slid down swiftly from the ripped grate—Ryu Geon woo in a sleek leather suit.
thwack.
He landed with a playful smile on his face.
A drum beat kicked in, merging into a more rocking sound as a heavy bass charged forward.
[Thrilling contact
In your silent eyes
I’ll find the one true answer]
Ryu Geon woo touched his ear, and the cut switched to someone making the same gesture—glasses-clad Kim Rae bin.
[Only one choice
Yes, take it all (one more)
Even if you drop this grasped hand]
In a dark monitoring room, Kim Rae bin looked like a hacker or technician.
Then, expressionless as if perplexed, he simply pulled a spike from his coat and smashed the monitor.
Just before the screen flickered off—
Between the distorted angle shift, Cha Yoo jin in the straightjacket shot a canine-toothed smile at the camera.
Then the monitor died, and silence.
[Let’s start—the mayhem begins]
With a low melody, the pre-chorus exploded.
[Find them, confront their face
I don’t care what’s next]
Gray corridors, the cell, the maze, the monitoring room, and other conceptual settings flashed without pause.
[Chaser, today too
Don’t let go of your hand]
Just when the viewer wondered how many cuts they’d filmed, a gloved hand suddenly blocked the view.
[Figure-eight gloves]
[Reveal everything
Don’t be scared what’s next]
The hand belonged to Lee Sejin.
In a navy uniform, sipping coffee, she smiled and then turned to look at the shattered monitor. She tucked a key into her pocket and hummed as she walked out of the monitoring room.
[Chaser, tomorrow too
Don’t end the twist]
Then the chorus.
[Just roll the dice]
A dance break.
Like a stage montage, costumes and backgrounds changed seamlessly—from white prison gear to the navy uniform to the leather suit.
“Wow.”
How many cuts did they film? The production must have been colossal—but more than that, it was exhilarating.
The home-ma swallowed hard and kept watching.
[Trust, take my side]
In the second verse, story and choreography blended, returning to a pure K-POP performance video filled with symbolism and intensity.
Thanks to the early narrative, the story was fairly clear.
‘Let’s see... Mundae and Yoo jin are the prisoners. Rae bin and Geon woo are the phantom thieves. Keun Sejin is the jailer, right?’
But Bae Sejin and Seon Ah hyun appeared in various outfits, and it wasn’t obvious which roles they played.
[This is the final round]
As the bridge melody flowed, the rapid edits switched to a long take.
thud.
The camera revealed a massive iron door with someone’s back to it.
It pivoted halfway around to show Bae Sejin.
‘Ah, he’s the phantom thief!’
Dressed similarly to Geon woo, Bae Sejin calmly stared at the door, then reached for the lock pad beside it.
A strange machine-like key in his gloved hand filled the frame.
vrrroom...
Suddenly his hand flickered between a white-gloved hand and a bloodied one, crackling with distortion.
“Huh!”
Then it returned to the gloved hand.
The moment the key touched the pad, a code-entry interface appeared.
[_____]
‘Oh!’
Bae Sejin seemed to faintly smile, but—
thud!
With a solid impact sound, the screen went dark.
“...??”
[Just roll the dice
Trust, take my side]
No more story. Instantly, the dazzling performance video resumed.
Mesmerized, the home-ma still had questions—but surrendered to the performance.
‘They’ll drop a hint at the end...!’
They did. When the song ended, but not in the way she expected.
On the black screen, instead of Bae Sejin’s fate, another shot appeared—a close-up of a beautiful face.
“...?”
It was Seon Ah hyun in a navy uniform, blonde hair framing his face.
He looked straight at the camera and parted his lips.
“...Choose your side.”
A gentle string melody began.
As the top and bottom of the screen slowly faded to black, Seon Ah hyun turned and started walking down the corridor—the same gray hallway from the start.
A black baton hung from his waist, like something used for subduing.
“.......”
The screen went fully black.
Only the echo of heavy boots remained over the soft strings.
tap, tap, tap....
Then the final text appeared.
[Roll the Dice]
~Please enter the code
The blinking black box—the same interface that had appeared on Bae Sejin’s pad in the MV.
And...
“......ha!”
The home-ma gasped, exhaling at last.
Insane!
‘I worried for nothing!’
The quality felt cinematic—different from any usual MV, and sure to get a reaction.
‘Foreign fans will freak out....’
The world-building was... ambitious, to say the least.
‘Is the board game itself that world? Playing it must unlock the meaning!’
As she raced through thoughts, her SNS inbox exploded with personal messages.
‘What is it?’
Thinking it was just fan chatter, she clicked.
“...??”
“...uhhh??”
She opened her mouth to scream.
“Aaaargh!!”
And the next day.
“Hurry up! Hurry up!”
She tore into the delivered album like a maniac.
Carefully but frantically detaching the MV prop USB and plugging it into her computer, she accessed the folder—because...
‘They made it so cryptic on purpose!’
The MV extended-cut must be in there! She had to see it!
‘If I just click the video file...!’
But she wasn’t greeted by a video player.
[“TeSTAR – Roll the Dice MV Extended (Playable) app requests permission to change your device settings.”]
An app?
In that moment, she realized.
“.......”
‘Playable.’
A game.
The MV extended cut was... a game.
