Debut or Die - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 105
The Manager’s return was predictable, but he brought troubling news.
“…You were planning to report this to the police?”
“Yeah. Something about assault and whatnot… I was sweating bullets, honestly.”
He’d nearly provided strange gossip material before the comeback, the first Manager said, wiping cold sweat from his brow. Then he grumbled.
“That’s why I don’t understand why he had to contact that person in the first place… tsk.”
It was a jab at the second Manager, who wasn’t present at the moment.
For reference, he was absent because he was accompanying Lee Sae-jin during her meeting with the Company.
“How did that person even get into the Lobby?”
“Apparently, on the way back from the Hospital, Bae Sae-jin said he wanted to go to the Training Room, so he came to the Company. The guards who knew his face let him in when he said he was a member’s parent.”
“Ah, I see.”
Big Sae-jin let out an exclamation, but his expression didn’t look particularly relieved.
‘It’s not something we can completely prevent at the source, is it.’
Family scandals could continue to occur even if the person involved cut ties.
Moreover, if someone was causing a disturbance in the Lobby, they weren’t an ordinary person, so there was plenty of potential for problems later.
“…Anyway, Bae Sae-jin must have been shocked too, so treat him well when he comes back to the Dormitory.”
“Of course.”
“Understood.”
With the ankle injury and family issues erupting, it was almost certain he’d be emotionally struggling.
The members nodded readily, though they seemed to be wrestling with their own thoughts about the situation.
Not long after, Lee Sae-jin returned to the Dormitory with a half-cast on her leg.
It was the same situation as a few days ago, but the difference wasn’t just that she had no companion.
Lee Sae-jin’s expression was resolute.
“…?”
Whether they all sensed her mood, the members hesitantly tried to speak to her.
“Sae-jin, um… did the conversation go well?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. …I’m perfectly fine.”
Lee Sae-jin spoke as if making a vow, then walked steadily through the entrance toward the kitchen.
And she downed a glass of water in one shot.
Gulp, gulp.
Lee Sae-jin set the cup down on the dining table with a sharp clink, took a deep breath, and spoke.
“Tomorrow… I’m going to file a restraining order.”
“…!”
“Oh, against your father?”
“My father? That bastard divorced us when I was little and doesn’t even have custody…!”
Some members who heard Lee Sae-jin curse for the first time were taken aback.
“…Do you have evidence?”
“I’m not filing it against me. …I’m filing it for my mother.”
“…!”
“…Sigh.”
Lee Sae-jin exhaled deeply, then explained the situation in measured terms.
“…That man started contacting my mother constantly for money back when I gained some recognition as a child actress.”
But her mother hadn’t let young Lee Sae-jin notice the situation, she said. She only learned about it when discussing this current matter.
“When I took a break from child acting, he went quiet, but…once I joined Ajusa, he started contacting her again.”
Lee Sae-jin swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly as she continued.
“I just…thought the two of them had drifted apart due to personality differences. She said things were difficult, so I sent him money….”
But the amounts he demanded kept growing, accompanied by subtle verbal abuse and threats.
“…Since the program was doing so well, from the middle onwards he was doing it almost every day.”
Lee Sae-jin’s face grew pale as she recalled those times.
‘…So that’s why I became so unusually sensitive starting from the third competition round.’
Her mental state had already shattered by then.
“…Then, during my last vacation, I finally opened up and talked with my mother about it.”
That he’d originally divorced due to gambling and theft, and that my biological father had been continuously extorting money from her.
“….”
A brief, anxious silence fell.
“…So why have you still been in contact with him until now…?”
“…I, I was afraid if I moved carelessly, it could cause trouble for my mother or… the group. There was already that agency issue last time.”
Lee Sae-jin clenched her teeth, then wiped her eyes fiercely.
“I decided not to run away, so I was thinking I’d try to handle it somehow. …But it didn’t work out well.”
“….”
“I apologize in advance—if I file a restraining order, there might be articles about it. The company said they’d do their best to suppress it, but….”
Lee Sae-jin hung her head low.
“If this becomes a problem again… I’m sorry.”
“…!”
“Sae-jin, you don’t need to apologize for something like this.”
“No, really, it’s okay…!”
Among the members fluttering about anxiously, Big Sae-jin opened his mouth with a sympathetic expression.
“Hmm… hyung, while your hardship is truly unfortunate, I don’t think a restraining order alone will resolve this. Shouldn’t you consider other methods?”
“…I know.”
Lee Sae-jin swallowed hard.
“That’s why… I found out where that man gambles.”
“…!! H, how did you…?”
“…Does it matter? Anyway, I’m going to report that location to the police.”
“Wow!”
“Then he’ll go to prison. In the meantime, I can settle accounts with him and move my mother somewhere with better security.”
“Ooh!”
Among the admiring minors, I thought with reservation.
‘Illegal gambling usually results in fines, doesn’t it?’
Even when sentences were handed down, I’d only ever seen cases end with suspended sentences.
Besides, there’s the question of whether the police who received the report would so readily believe it and dispatch officers.
“…Wouldn’t it just end with a suspended sentence?”
“It won’t be that simple. He worked at a gambling den and committed fraud gambling.”
“…!”
“I recorded everything he said to intimidate me. About being a gangster and all that…. If needed, I can send it to the police anonymously.”
I’d thought it was a gambling addiction issue, but he turned out to be a more serious criminal than expected.
Well, I understood Lee Sae-jin’s desire for catharsis and the bigger picture. But honestly, wouldn’t this situation become even more dangerous?
‘If that criminal goes around claiming he’s Lee Sae-jin’s father, things could get really messy.’
It really did seem like it would be better to make a clean break from Lee Sae-jin… Hmm. But I did have an idea.
‘I’m not sure if he’ll agree to it, though.’
Let me just bring it up.
“Someone with a criminal record like that might later use your name without permission or pull scams like investment fraud after getting out of prison. We should make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“…!!”
“What if you draw a clear line right now?”
“Uh, how…?”
I made a circular gesture with my finger.
“Change your name to your mother’s surname.”
“…!! *cough*.”
“Completely sever the connection to your father’s side.”
It must have been such a radical proposal that he’d never considered it. Lee Sae-jin choked.
“Calm down.”
I poured more water into the glass he’d been drinking from earlier. He downed it in one gulp, then muttered with a dazed expression.
“I… I’ve never thought of something like that.”
“Neither have I.”
“Me neither.”
Cha Yu-jin and Sun Ah-hyun nodded blankly from beside me.
Big Sae-jin quickly searched something on his smartphone, then nodded.
“Oh~ If you’re not a minor, you don’t need the biological father’s permission. Though they do send some kind of opinion inquiry form. If you report that gambling den and do it when things are hectic—boom! It should work out?”
Lee Sae-jin’s expression became complicated.
“…But that would take quite a while, and changing it in the middle of comeback activities feels a bit….”
Hmm, he’s overthinking this.
“You could just use it as a stage name right away.”
“…!!”
“Ah, right! You change your stage name first, then naturally proceed with the legal name change later!”
Kim Rae-bin exclaimed in admiration. Lee Sae-jin still had that dazed look on his face.
‘Well, if you suddenly get the chance to change your surname, it makes sense to be conflicted about it.’
It’s a bit funny that I’m thinking this way when both my name and surname have changed.
After all, he’d built a career under that name since his child actor days, so it was only natural he’d feel reluctant about changing it.
‘He might refuse.’
The moment I thought that, Lee Sae-jin nodded with grim determination.
“…Alright! Your surname doesn’t really matter.”
Her eyes were blazing with fervor.
‘…Those are the same eyes from a few days ago when she was staring at her smartphone.’
It must have been her yearning for catharsis.
In any case, the members applauded at Lee Sae-jin’s spirited declaration of her name change.
“Ooooh!”
Lee Sae-jin turned her head away shyly.
‘The decision’s made.’
I immediately added my final instructions.
“Make sure to tell the company to frame the article so it clearly implies the divorce was entirely the biological father’s fault—not outright, but something readers can read between the lines.”
In other words, don’t provoke attention, but don’t leave room for doubt either.
Of course, the company would handle it well enough on their own, but there’s no harm in being thorough.
And Lee Sae-jin’s expression shifted to something contemplative.
“…I thought about it last time too, but you’re… never mind.”
“…? Please, go ahead.”line>
“I said never mind.”
“I’m telling you, that’s not it.”
Well, if you insist.
Ryu Chung-woo joined the conversation with a slightly awkward smile.
“Actually, setting aside the reasons we just discussed… I think it’s a genuinely good decision. Your mother’s surname—the one who actually loves you—is so much better than his.”
“…You’re right.”
“Anyway, thank you for making such a difficult choice. Sae-jin.”
“…It wasn’t that difficult.”
Lee Sae-jin had apparently exhausted half a year’s worth of social energy, reverting to her usual terse manner of speaking.
“Anyway. I’ll call the company right now then.”
“Yes!”
“I’m glad we reached a good conclusion.”
“…Thanks.”
“Hehe.”
“You’ve worked hard~”
Big Sae-jin offered his congratulations with a smile as well.
He still didn’t seem particularly fond of Lee Sae-jin, but at least he wasn’t annoyed by this whole situation.
Lee Sae-jin had been so absorbed in the task that she hadn’t had time to find Big Sae-jin bothersome either.
‘That worked out well.’
As long as we didn’t force them together, we’d be fine.
In that harmonious atmosphere, I suddenly asked a question that had occurred to me.
“By the way, what’s your mother’s surname?”
At that, Lee Sae-jin’s ears turned red. What was that about?
“…Bae.”
“Pardon?”
“I said Bae!”
“…!!”
And so, after all the twists and turns, the child actress Lee Sae-jin had truly become Bae Sae-jin.
This time, the surname came not from an abbreviation of “actor,” but from her mother’s family name, so Bae Sae-jin herself seemed satisfied with it—which was a relief.
It was theoretically fascinating how the same name could yield such different results depending solely on how the recipient perceived it.
But the most astonishing part of this incident lay elsewhere.
It appeared in an Internet article that Bae Sae-jin brought to me a few days later.
“This is it!”
Bae Sae-jin thrust his smartphone toward me, his face alight with rare excitement.
“…?”
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[Illegal Gambling Ring Operators Arrested in XX City… Drugs Also Discovered]
: The Gyeonggi Northern Police Station announced on the 12th that it had arrested A (Age 43) and five others on the 11th on charges of operating a gambling establishment and conducting illegal gambling in an underground warehouse of a building in XX City.
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“…!!”
“How about that! Looks like we won’t have to worry about this for years!”
“…Yes.”
Truly, I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

* * *
And then, a few days later, around the time Bae Sae-jin was removing his half-cast and switching to a lighter support brace.
‘The music video teaser drops at midnight today.’
It was essentially the opening salvo of our full-fledged activities.
And now, finally, the day had come for me to make the choice I’d been putting off.
The point allocation.
‘Status window.’
I had 3 usable points. I planned to reserve one for emergencies and definitely use the remaining 2 points.
The question was where to spend them.
“Hmm.”
I didn’t deliberate long before deciding where to allocate the points.
And before actually raising my stats, I decided to handle something first.
“Hyung.”
“Huh?”
“What do you think about changing the Shop?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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