Debut or Die - Chapter 113

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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 113
Over the past few days, several hardcore players in the Section 127 Online Community had been analyzing the “BETTER ME” music video.
The reason was a peculiar belief that had formed—that there would be game-related clues due to the connection with the trailer.
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[Checked Godstar’s latest video]
: The appearance of the school uniform monsters that appear midway is a clue.
When you go to the Gangnam Mungo den in the game, there’s a record of survivors from when the meteorite fell, and the description of people mutated by that meteorite is identical to what appears there (game screenshot)
In other words, Godstar’s video is a clue about the point in time 7 years ago when the meteorite fell.
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Is the collab infiltration really reaching this far?
-Damn, that’s plausible
-Do I have to watch boy group music videos to play this game?
-Is this what you call excessive immersion and obsession?
-Nah that’s not it. If 7 years have passed, it means their faces stayed the same. The factory freaks don’t miss stuff like this
└What if they’re all already in a post-human state infected by the meteorite? Godstar has a superhero concept, right? What if those superpowers are due to meteorite mutation?
└This guy’s got a sharp mind
└Your brain’s mortgaged to the factory, you obsessive delusional freak
But to my ears, already a factory laborer, it sounded rather intriguing, didn’t it? Doesn’t seem like a bad theory?
Those crazy bastards lol
Though there was room for controversy, the more people dissected the music video, the more suspicious elements they uncovered.
It was the kind of thing where you could interpret anything however you wanted, but the point was to discuss it first and ask questions later.
-See the calendar behind the classroom? It’s 2030. Section 127’s setting is 2037, 7 years before the meteorite incident. Dead certain, right? (blurry MV background capture)
-Godstar fans were pushing the theory that Bi-il and the Doctor are the same person, but this explains why only Bi-il has a codename—Bi-il is a drone-linked android clone
These guys are actually hilarious lol
However, no major evidence had emerged, and since it wasn’t designated as an official collaboration video, the discussion remained in the realm of speculation.
And as usual, the atmosphere continued with occasional appearances of people chanting early companion lore.
“I don’t know anymore, just give me back the sniper, you abandoned factory bastards lol. Or else sell your colleague’s name-change right and give the sniper a new name.”
└Eek, o-oppa…!
└You do that kind of thing?
-I just started and I’m in a hurry, so I’m asking—why does everyone die? Can someone give me a guide?
└There’s no such thing
If you go to the official cafe, guys like you show up every hour. Let’s go.
It was during this period when the early companions were still a hot topic that Testa uploaded a belated Halloween-themed choreography video.
Moreover, the thumbnail itself showed all of Testa’s members collapsed on the ground.
And the moment the intro to “BETTER ME” played, the members who rose up smoothly each took a starting pose different from the original choreography.
It was precisely the pose from the illustration that appears when entering combat in the game.
With quite elaborate makeup, the members who matched the trailer even wore similar expressions, heightening the atmosphere.
Cha Yu-jin even changed the opening.
-Do you trust me?
It’s ME
Oooohh….
After that, whenever each member’s most impressive part came up, they brought out small props symbolizing their character and briefly mimicked the combat highlight cutscenes from the game.
Most compromised with simple items like hats, flasks, or at best piles of small lightbulbs to enhance the choreography, keeping the atmosphere light and cheerful.
However, Kim Rae-bin stumbled while dragging a mannequin out of the camera’s blind spot during his chorus, catching everyone off guard.
-It’s just confusing
When did it start
I’m just confused
Umm
How far does it go
With Kim Rae-bin’s flustered expression and the other members stifling their laughter while helping him move the mannequin, the melancholic lyrics somehow became funny like a meme.
Moreover, from members who handled such situations with shameless confidence to those who felt awkward or embarrassed by the exaggerated combat motions, everything matched the impressions the characters had given in the game.
As a result, viewers’ over-immersion deepened even further, reaching its climax in the final part.
-Thank you!
-See you again~
-See you next time!!
It was the final dance break where the originally gloomy atmosphere lifted and rushed toward its peak.
But the moment the members danced joyfully while waving their hands and said those words, the game’s ending perfectly overlapped with them.
The members had simply acted out of excitement during a somewhat embarrassing and fun shoot, but the aftermath was devastating.
The comments were filled with people crying. English comments were even flooding the top-exposed section.
Waaahhh! (crying in despair)
-You’re seeing it again, right? Right guys? ㅠㅠ Are we collaborating again!?
-Ugh, I’m getting PTSD, but what is this happy feeling?
-Guys, wait. I’m going to go pick it up now. I won’t stop until I get all of my kids guessed.ㅠㅠ
-Our kids are alive and well there, but I was obsessed with the wrong ones in the game… I need to let them go… and wait until our Testa comes back…
Conflicting opinions received recommendations simultaneously, and people in the replies cried and laughed in abundance.
Even in the game community where this video was shared, the atmosphere was identical.
-Dead teammates came back for Halloween
Damn it.
└Don’t write comments like that, it’s sad
Lol our Bi-il didn’t die, it’s alive and well in my deck, we just changed its name, what are you talking about?
-Don’t pull this kind of childish prank when we call you Godstar (emoticon unable to hold back tears)
-Godstar is better than those demonic factory bastards
As a result, innocent game players who weren’t even fans joined the procession of reviewers crying and laughing in the comments.
Foreign fans who didn’t understand the situation were confused again, but after learning the context through translations on social media, they suffered even more.
It was because Section 127 hadn’t launched global service yet….
-I really want to play that game (emoticon smiling while crying)
-PURE JEALOUSLY (burning emoticon)
Along with the anguish of foreign fans who didn’t even get the chance to grieve, the Halloween choreography video successfully became a gateway for game enthusiasts to flood in.
Thus, the stormy October with the game collaboration came to an end.

* * *
Early November. The game collaboration content had finished rolling out.
But naturally, the group’s schedule only grew busier. This comeback had performed even better than our debut, and our stock had skyrocketed accordingly.
I was currently running through a schedule that seemed to prove it.
A high-paying commercial, to be precise.
“Lift those corners of your mouth higher—smile for us~”
I held the light stick and made my best effort to smile in a way that actually resembled a smile. Fortunately, the director seemed satisfied, and the next instruction came.
“Tilt your head here!”
Tilt my head…..
By the way, I’d heard that a dog ear illustration would be composited above this.
‘…Isn’t this going a bit too far?’
The commercial’s title was this, no less.
[Magical Boy Testa’s Magical AI Secretary, Curious!]
Since this AI character was a dog, it looked like they were planning to use Park Moon-dae more aggressively.
I did wonder whether this would really be okay to air on television as-is…..
But at 350 million won for three months, I decided to keep my mouth shut and follow the advertiser’s instructions. They’d handle it themselves.
“Yes. That’s a wrap~”
“Thank you.”
In any case, the shoot wrapped smoothly. The members who’d been waiting expressed their joy at the end of today’s schedule.
However, Big Sae-jin didn’t take his eyes off his smartphone, just waving his hand with a smiling face.
Hmm, he’s not usually like that—something felt off.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, sorry. It’s nothing.”
Big Sae-jin shrugged and pocketed his smartphone.
And Cha Yu-jin, who’d been standing beside me staring blankly back and forth between us, suddenly lit up and blurted out.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“…!!”
“What?! No, absolutely not! Hey, what are you saying~!”
“Aaaah!”
“Don’t even think about dating!”
“I’m not!”
Big Sae-jin shook Cha Yu-jin a few times and let him go. Then he chuckled and added a reasonable explanation.
“Some guys who debuted earlier suddenly contacted me. It’s just… kind of surprising, you know?”
Sun Ah-hyun marveled from beside him.
“S-Sae-jin really does have so many friends!”
“Aha, well, not quite friends~ just people I kind of know?”
Big Sae-jin drew the line with a grinning face.
‘Reaching out now feels kind of pathetic.’
Big Sae-jin shrugged and wrapped up his thought.
“Anyway, I’ll see them in person next month anyway~”
“Huh? Y-yes?”
“Ah, you mean the year-end awards ceremony?”
Big Sae-jin nodded at Ryu Chung-woo’s words.
“Yes. We have less than a month left until the first ceremony now~”
“Wow….”
“Time really flew by.”
Everyone seemed lost in thought at those words. They were undoubtedly recalling the tumultuous year that had unfolded since Ajusa, culminating in this album.
And I sensed it immediately.
‘The schedule is going to get even more insane.’
It was a schedule with almost no free time except for sleep. And now we had to prepare for year-end awards ceremonies on top of that?
It was obvious that the Agency was already trying to cherry-pick only the most lucrative schedules.
We probably couldn’t cut back on those, which meant we’d have to sacrifice our sleep instead.
I wasn’t the only one who’d reached that conclusion, as Kim Rae-bin raised his hand and spoke up.
“So we’ll be starting preparations for the year-end awards ceremony stage soon, then.”
“Mm.”
“…Is there a lot to prepare separately?”
At Bae Sae-jin’s cautious question—someone with little experience at music award shows—passionate reactions erupted from the K-pop veterans scattered around.
“We do special stages!”
“We’ll probably create about three different arrangements. Though how much we’ll actually be involved is still uncertain….”
“And the choreography too—we’ll probably create a lot of new moves…!”
“….”
Bae Sae-jin, whose stats were the lowest, already looked exhausted, but he soon nodded. His expression turned resolute as he grasped the situation.
“…Ah, I got it. We’ll have to work hard.”
“Yeah. Let’s work hard and attend lots of award ceremonies.”
“That’d be great!”
“Ah, if we win, that’d be really nice~”
The cheerful conversation of guys who’d already given up on sleep continued harmoniously. The problem was that I was one of them too.
‘I need to focus on the Rookie Award.’
Sleep could wait. I checked my condition abnormality once more.
[‘Award or Death’]
: If you fail to win the Rookie Award at the most prestigious domestic awards ceremony within the set period, death
Given how vague the phrase “most prestigious” was, it essentially meant I needed to secure the Rookie Award at all three of the most famous ceremonies.
‘The stage performance on the day isn’t directly related to the awards, but if the stage lacks sincerity, even voters will lose their enthusiasm.’
Thinking about the month-long awards season ahead, it meant I had to pay maximum attention to the stage performances too.
‘Well, there’s no real competition in terms of performance anyway.’
I definitely felt more at ease than before.
“For now, Park Moon-dae will handle our live performance. Doesn’t that put your mind at ease?”
“I, really!”
“I’m always grateful.”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
“Ha ha!”
While I was organizing my thoughts, I’d become the topic of conversation. Either way, the team’s atmosphere was good.
That night, while being driven in the car, I received a message.
[VTIC Chung-ryeo: The next one is the Rookie Award, right?]
“….”
Was this guy still on tour?
Either way, I had no intention of taking the bait. I quickly sent a reply.
[I think I’d be genuinely happy to receive any award. I hope you get good results too, senior.]
After some time passed, a reply came back.
[VTIC Chung-ryeo: Yes^^]
‘I really want to block him.’
I turned off the message notifications and opened the Internet.
While browsing award ceremony-related content, I spotted a post that caught my eye.
[Isn’t Testa a bit much for the Rookie Award?]

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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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