Debut or Die - Chapter 115

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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 115
The comments arguing that Testa shouldn’t receive the Rookie Award had become far more sophisticated in their logic than before.
They’d shifted the focus away from Testa itself and onto the rookies instead.
Honestly, it really breaks my heart… When I think about how kids who would have easily gotten in based on last year’s standards have given up…
-Entertainment show backgrounds alone are market disruption. If Testa had just debuted normally, would a rookie even have these stats? Absolutely not.
└With Ajusa already facing fairness issues, trying to snatch the Rookie Award too is seriously crossing the line.
-You guys seem like the ones crossing the line? You’re acting like Testa committed bulk-buying fraud or something;
└Honestly, I think it’s worse than bulk-buying.
└But bulk-buying is literally a crime. What are you even talking about…
└Doesn’t it feel more problematic because it’s not a crime? That’s why there’s been no way to stop it until now.
Shouldn’t we separate cases where people get good results quickly through the program? The rookie award should really go to actual rookies.
‘They’re weaving quite a narrative.’
Since they couldn’t possibly attack the group’s actual performance, they seemed determined to at least deny us the symbolically significant Rookie Award.
If this campaign succeeded and I somehow didn’t win the Rookie Award, they could turn around and say, “Things must’ve been pretty bad if we didn’t even get the Rookie Award,” using it against us.
But that wouldn’t happen.
Whatever they argued online wouldn’t affect the actual award criteria.
‘It’s not like Ajusa where negative voting is possible.’
The mainstream opinion was already solidified, so the probability of issues arising in the judges’ scores was low.
Sure, I might get some hate from a few online communities and not receive congratulations for winning the Rookie Award… but it didn’t seem like the award itself would face problems.
Besides, this post was already being pushed down as time passed.
-Now they’re even bringing up bulk-buying? Seriously seems like people have lost their minds to jealousy.
If there was a comet-like rookie who sold around 200,000 copies, I would’ve been convinced too.. but unfortunately, that never happened.. lol
I understand how you feel, but what are you guys doing trying to redefine the standards for rookies lol
Comments like these were becoming quite prevalent.
‘I should just focus on practicing for the year-end stage.’
I stopped monitoring for now. I didn’t want to be unnecessarily influenced.
‘…I hope the fans aren’t too stressed about this either.’
Since all communication activities on SNS and such were suspended, there wasn’t much I could do.
I could technically push back the controversy with something like, “Then who do you think should get the Rookie Award instead of Testa?” if I really tried…
But if Park Moon-dae’s name got caught in that, it’d be a real scandal.
‘I need to focus on the stage.’
In the end, my thoughts returned to practice. I sighed and accepted the conclusion.
“One more time.”
“Yes.”
And not long after, the others’ practice atmosphere became noticeably solemn too.
‘They all figured it out.’
The controversy-stirring posts must’ve spread quite a bit. I wondered if they’d seen the fans’ laments.
Thanks to that, the determination to show something was almost at the level of an Ajusa team match.
Ryu Chung-woo, already on the verge of exhaustion, muttered as if grasping something he already knew.
“The practice we’re doing right now… was it for SBC?”
“That’s correct.”
As Kim Rae-bin answered, Bae Sae-jin muttered with a pale face.
“…This seems to be the hardest part.”
“Right! It’s fun!”
“….”
Bae Sae-jin stared at Cha Yu-jin’s cheerful face for a moment, looking like he wanted to punch him just once.
Ryu Chung-woo laughed and summarized the situation.
“Yeah. Let’s work hard and put on a good show for everyone.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Let’s all do our best~”
Perhaps because the Agency was conscious of potential additional controversies, the external schedule in November had been reduced slightly, which meant more practice time.
So the year-end awards season arrived only after we’d made thorough preparations for various award show stages.
The first awards ceremony was ToneA.

* * *
ToneA. A self-proclaimed Asia’s largest-scale global music awards ceremony hosted by T1.
What this really meant was that it was an awards ceremony hosted by the parent company, which was full of enthusiasm about promoting Testa.
Naturally, Testa won awards according to their performance.
“The award goes to… Testa! Congratulations!”
I heard that phrase four times today alone.
They took home the Excellence Award, Popularity Award, and even the Music Video Award.
And of course… they also received the Rookie Award.
“Thank you so much! I accept this award as a reminder not to lose our initial passion, and I promise to be more careful and work harder going forward.”
Big Sae-jin deliberately gave the Rookie Award acceptance speech. It was something Ryu Chung-woo and I had discussed.
We’d coordinated the content with the Company to avoid any controversy, so we’d only face the criticism we were expecting anyway.
…However, as expected, my abnormal condition didn’t resolve.
‘I didn’t expect it to anyway.’
Even if ToneA claimed to be Asia’s largest-scale ceremony, everyone watching would know it didn’t carry much authority.
In any case, the members seemed quite relieved now that the first awards ceremony had ended safely.
“You all worked hard~”
Even though we won awards, the feeling seemed to be more relief at ‘we did it’ than actual joy.
‘Of all times, it had to flare up now, causing us all this stress.’
I wasn’t happy about missing the perfect moment for these guys to feel the full reward of a year of grueling work.
“You guys, you really worked hard.”
“Hehe.”
“Well, it seems to have ended well, so that’s a relief.”
“If we judge based solely on ourselves and exclude other variables, it seems we performed the stage as well as we prepared.”
Kim Rae-bin’s words were followed by a brief silence.
‘…We did work hard.’
We got about eight minutes for this stage.
Tnet asked us to structure it as “Testa produced so many hit songs,” so we strung four songs together as a medley.
Thanks to that, there were barely any additional choreography, so practice was relatively easy. The problem is that with no breaks in between, I had to search for an oxygen mask after coming off stage.
Still, I think I executed it without mistakes, but the issue was… the camera.
I only monitored the latter half, and it captured something I couldn’t even tell what I was doing.
On top of that, the screen was so dark that I couldn’t concentrate well.
‘This is frustrating.’
I hope someone got a good fixed camera shot, even if the data quality isn’t great. I’ll have to search for it on YouTube later.
“…Well, the people at the venue must have received it well.”
“The cheers were great~”
Since we couldn’t complain about the camera in the corridor behind the stage, everyone did their best to brush it off.
With so many more carefully prepared stages remaining, it seemed bearable to hold back the disappointment.
‘…Let me just find my smartphone in the Waiting Room.’
I wanted to check if any other issues had popped up. Though I suspected it would probably just amount to some insults on a popular post or two.
And when I returned to the front of the Waiting Room, I encountered a face I hadn’t expected at all and wasn’t happy to see.
“Hello.”
“Oh! Senior!”
“Hello!”
…It was Chung-ryeo.
‘An award winner standing in front of the rookie Waiting Room door?’
It looked like a demonstration for the staff to see.
‘Are they trying to make it so I can’t avoid this?’
In any case, the members, caught off guard by this unexpected situation, bowed their heads repeatedly and poured out congratulations.
“Congratulations on the double crown award, Senior!”
“Congratulations!”
“Ah, thank you.”
Chung-ryeo smiled and accepted the greetings. Kim Rae-bin’s eyes widened as he asked.
“What brings you to visit our Waiting Room?”
“I wanted to congratulate you and see my juniors’ faces.”
Chung-ryeo made eye contact with me.
“Congratulations on the Rookie Award. Though it probably didn’t mean much.”
“…!”
“Pardon?”
Chung-ryeo added awkwardly to Kim Rae-bin, who looked momentarily deflated.
“Since you already achieved a quadruple crown, you’re juniors who are doing too well to be considered rookies anymore. I look forward to your continued success.”
“Ah, thank you!”
“Well, I’ve seen your faces, so I’ll be on my way. I have another schedule.”
“Yes, please take care!”
Chung-ryeo nodded slightly and smiled.
“Work hard.”
And he strode down the corridor and disappeared.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
‘…They’ve completely pegged me as a rookie.’
It was clear he’d been in similar circumstances. He’d even thrown in that a ToneA rookie award held no meaning.
‘This leaves a bad taste.’
Information had flowed one-sidedly without any return, and the aftertaste wasn’t pleasant.
‘He could even propose a deal using the list of abnormal conditions he’s experienced.’
As I was mulling this over, the others beside me struck up a conversation.
“Oh~ Moon-dae, did you build connections through variety shows?”
“Are you… really close?”
I almost hardened my expression at Sun Ah-hyun’s question.
“…Just got to know them a bit, that’s all.”
“W-well then, would it be alright if I asked just one question…!”
The last one wasn’t Sun Ah-hyun but Kim Rae-bin, who’d jumped into the conversation. His excessive excitement seemed to have made him stammer.
‘Now that I think about it, this guy mentions VTIC pretty often.’
Just as I was guessing he might be a fan, Kim Rae-bin, who’d regained his composure, spoke earnestly and desperately.
“I’m really curious about the arrangement program the VTIC seniors used for their last album’s title track…!”
“….”
He was more interested in the gear than the person.
“I’ll ask if I get the chance.”
“Thank you so much!”
Kim Rae-bin, completely missing the implication that the opportunity might never come, looked delighted. Well, at least one person was happy about it.
‘I should check the viewer reactions.’
On the drive back to the Training Room, I scrolled through SNS and the Online Community.
Public opinion hadn’t deteriorated, fortunately—there were actually more congratulatory comments than subtle jabs.
‘…The fans are holding back.’
It was clear they were trying their best not to give any ammunition, gently scratching at things while pushing congratulatory posts to the forefront.
Getting drawn into an emotional conflict would only hurt the group in the end.
Of course, personal SNS accounts were filled with posts of condemnation.
-In the end, only records remain. Don’t worry about bullshit that’ll disappear in half a year, just vote
-Ugh these bastards need to get beaten down, trying to hold back is making me lose my mind
There are so many kids who’ve gotten a taste for spamming Rising, and now Balka too lol I’m losing my mind.
-ㄹㅊㅇ What is all this about because of unattractive muggle picks? In ㅇㅈㅅ, the whole team was ruined and we have been fighting ever since we wore the leader armband.
Everyone from group fans to toxic individual fans was expressing exhaustion.
A sense of debt welled up inside me.
‘…I’d rather just say I don’t need to accept it.’
Trying to keep my mouth shut to avoid sudden death felt a bit bitter.
‘Still, it doesn’t feel like I’m going to die.’
The fortunate part was that public opinion hadn’t turned against me, so it seemed like we’d continue hovering at this level and things would fizzle out by the end of the awards ceremony.
‘ToneA only took what was appropriate.’
I’d been slightly worried they might overdo it, but they seemed to have enough sense to stop at the right point.
Since it was merely the level of awards anyone could pick up at a friendly awards ceremony, the criticism didn’t gain significant traction online.
‘It’s unfortunate that I didn’t gain much from the Stage performance.’
That would likely be resolved to some extent once the fancams dropped. There were more performances coming anyway.
‘Things didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped, but I suppose that happens sometimes.’
Once things settled down, I’d need to upload some content to help my fans relieve stress.
I organized my thoughts and turned off my smartphone.
Well, I was about to turn it off—but then I caught sight of a post title that had just been registered as the latest trending post on the Online Community.
[A rookie male idol who could only applaud while a Tnet entertainment veteran swept four awards]
“….”
I clicked on the title immediately.
Then a series of images in card news format appeared.
‘Damn it.’
These bastards are making their move.

* * *
Chung-ryeo lowered his gaze to his smartphone. A popular post that had turned into chaos over the rookie award was displayed.
“I’m curious.”
“…Yes? About what?”
Chung-ryeo didn’t respond to his member’s words. He simply pulled up his SNS account on the screen.
‘Let’s see how this plays out.’
Chung-ryeo uploaded several photos he’d taken today to his SNS one by one, along with captions.
And among them, he casually selected one more photo and added it as if it were nothing.
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Hardworking juniors
Hoping for good results even at year’s end
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Then he pressed upload.
The fuse had been lit.

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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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