Debut or Die - Chapter 116

—————

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

—————

A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 116
The card news-style post was composed of large, eye-catching fonts and images.
[Do you happen to know ONYX?]
[A rookie idol group that debuted this year]
Below that, ONYX’s performance metrics were attached. With initial sales of 80,000 copies and overseas performances, it was the kind of achievement a well-established rookie idol group could be proud of.
[However, ONYX cannot expect any rookie awards this year.]
[Because there is a group that has achieved results unbelievable for a rookie.]
The post dedicated an entire page to showcasing the appearance, name, and achievements of Testa, the group receiving the award.
And from the next page onward, a one-sided explanation about Testa began.
[Testa is a group created through entertainment programming.]
The discussion covered how heavily the Broadcasting Station was involved in Idol Corporation and what a strong entertainment-focused program it was.
And even the controversy surrounding the Writer’s relatives being cast and the editing issues were listed out, pulling from article headlines.
[The Entertainment Division and the power of mass media have come to control the success of the music industry.]
And they didn’t forget to include a page defending against anticipated questions.
[Q: Haven’t there been numerous idol audition programs until now?]
[A: The problem is the audition ‘entertainment’ format.]
[The issue is that it’s not the agency’s own audition being broadcast, but rather ‘genuine entertainment’ created by Entertainment Division producers and writers.]
[Q: Aren’t there many solo artists who debuted through audition entertainment programs?]
[A: They weren’t formed through the program itself; they were discovered artists in an existing format.]
[Q: Weren’t there many projects where artists released music and promoted through entertainment programs?]
[A: They were not evaluated in the ‘rookie award’ category.]
And alongside pictograms, photos of rookie idols struggling hard appeared.
[Rookie idols clashing with nothing but albums on an unfair platform]
Finally, an additional page was attached.
[This year’s ToneA Awards]
[Testa received 4 awards including the rookie award and 4 performance slots.]
[Other rookies didn’t get even a single award or the chance to showcase even one song.]
Images of other rookies applauding were placed as the background.
[The major corporation that sponsored ToneA was the same one that sponsored the entertainment program that created Testa.]
The card news concluded with a quote from the bestseller “The Illusion of Fairness.”
It meant they had meticulously covered all the structural elements, even utilizing images that people considered authoritative.
Moreover, they had subtly shifted the tone again.
‘…They’ve connected it to the Entertainment Division’s infiltration into the music industry.’
Of course, if you think about it clearly, it’s nonsense.
That’s because stage projects done in entertainment programs are one-off and created for episodic purposes.
‘Whereas Ajusa was launched from the start as entertainment with the intention of creating an idol group.’
The nature was completely different.
Besides, this industry was already unfair to begin with.
The problem of different starting lines in attention and opportunity depending on whether one came from a major agency was already chronic.
‘Testa alone doesn’t have a uniquely special problem.’
However, the problem was that there had always been plenty of people who disliked Testa itself, and the community sentiment had turned sour due to fairness concerns that arose from the nepotism issue.
Moreover, the post didn’t claim that Testa’s achievements were unfair—it limited the argument to the ‘Rookie Award’ alone, which lowered people’s resistance to the idea.
So what would have normally fallen on deaf ears gained traction thanks to all those ‘people who wanted to believe it.’
-It’s not that Testa did anything wrong, it’s that the current method is strange. I agree.
└Right, the influence of entertainment broadcasters has become way too distorted in the music industry.
It’s so frustrating that reviewers mock Onyx for being greedy about rookie awards when they only have 80,000 members… I feel it all.
-I’m seriously sick of this. What’s the reason for going this far?
“Entertainment shows always hit different lolol Reviewers, don’t foam at the mouth—read it carefully first~”
-What’s this now… Ajusa’s boost only lasted until their debut album got attention. Now they’re performing well because they’re actually good.
└Are you really that desperate for a Rookie Award?
-? All audition programs are made by Entertainment Division PDs and writers. It’s not just Ajusa.
└Then name one idol audition that’s as attention-grabbing and variety-show-like as Ajusa.
As a result, the comments section descended into chaos—some agreeing, others telling people to stop spouting nonsense.
With opinions so polarized, the topic gained even more traction.
‘Damn it.’
This clearly wasn’t made by ONYX fans.
There’s no way they’d want to pick a fight when the weight class difference between Testa and them was nearly tenfold.
This was made by people who just wanted to screw Testa over.
‘They’re going this far?’
The fact that they’d even made card news showed no ordinary dedication. Not to mention the diligence of posting it simultaneously across every SNS and community.
I couldn’t fathom how much someone had to hate something to go to such lengths. If it were me, I’d just ignore it.
Honestly, it was… unsettling.
‘Could it be that Testa won’t get the Rookie Award because of this…?’
No, that would still be a stretch.
‘It would have to blow up big enough to make the news to actually take it away.’
At any respectable awards ceremony, they wouldn’t deny the award to someone who deserved it just because of something like this.
‘They just want to trash Testa’s image. They’re hoping the fans get tired and drop out.’
My head cooled down instead.
‘…Maybe I need to use more extreme methods.’
I’d held back to avoid getting dragged into those fools’ mess, but now the real problem was the fans’ resilience.
And there was no point in deliberating long. Because an even more infuriating post had just gone up.
=======================
[Chung-ryeo hearted this—is this a sign?]
: These are photos from after the ToneA Awards, and ONYX is in them.
(Chung-ryeo heart screenshot)
Hoping for good results at year-end too; did only I catch the signal?
=======================
The comments were flooded with VTIC fans telling people to stop spouting nonsense, but the fact that the post had gone up at all meant it was over.
An article was already in the countdown to publication.
‘What the hell is this now.’
It was clearly intentional. The way he controlled the severity within easily defensible bounds wasn’t the work of an amateur.
‘What the hell is he thinking?’
I felt the anger rising and opened the messaging app, but closed it the next moment.
‘Don’t respond.’
He’d probably find it burdensome to escalate further anyway.
The fans wouldn’t appreciate involvement in such a sensitive issue, and it could become ammunition against me later.
‘He’s just trying to provoke me into a power struggle.’
The message was clear—he could destroy me, so I should cooperate and spill everything I’ve been hiding.
Contacting him now would only risk me losing ground to my own anger.
‘…I’ll handle this situation first, then reach out with a clear head.’
I blocked Chung-ryeo. It was a preemptive strike to stop myself from contacting him in a fit of rage.
But I’d need to figure out how to deal with this bastard in the near future.
‘First, let me handle this issue.’
I called the members who hadn’t checked SNS yet and were still blissfully unaware. They gathered in the living room with bewildered expressions, having been about to sleep.
“Oh, so you called all of us….”
“Ah, did you prepare gifts to celebrate our first awards show? I’ll take the biggest one. Thanks.”
“Exploiting the bias that bigger is better, there’s also a probability that something small contains an excellent gift….”
“…It’s not a gift.”
“Yes, sir.”
The tension suddenly evaporated. I looked at Ryu Chung-woo, the only one with a somewhat serious expression, and made my proposal.
“About our SBC stage.”
“Huh?”
“What if we change the arrangement?”
Everyone looked startled.
“Right now?”
“Just for the special stage performance.”
“…Is there a reason?”
Bae Sae-jin looked like he wanted to refuse immediately but was holding back to at least hear the explanation.
I hesitated, then explained the situation.
I couldn’t persuade them without telling them, and it seemed they’d find out by tomorrow anyway.
“Actually, on the internet right now….”
As I explained, the members’ expressions hardened.
“Reminds me of the Ajusa days.”
“So those same people are still at it. Hmm… but why change the arrangement?”
To Big Sae-jin’s question, I answered without reservation.
“To create shock value.”
Then I explained the direction I wanted to take it.
“…!”
The members seemed somewhat taken aback.
“Isn’t that… isn’t that going a bit too far…?”
“I’m a bit worried too.”
But Big Sae-jin had already cast his vote in favor.
“I think we really need to be prepared for this, but… yeah, I’m in favor for now.”
“…!”
At this point, persuasion was essentially half-won.
“It seems like the most effective response for our current situation. Does anyone object?”
“….”
Bae Sae-jin seemed to be glaring at Big Sae-jin, but when our eyes met, his momentum faltered.
“…?”
No, I was planning to at least hear his opinion if he disliked it.
But no opposing view came. Even Ryu Chung-woo simply nodded his head.
“Let’s do it. Right now, I can’t afford to consider anyone else’s perspective but yours.”
“Brother….”
It seemed Ryu Chung-woo was still bothered by the fact that public opinion had twisted because of him.
“Those kinds of people are always like that. Even if it wasn’t your situation, they would’ve created some other incident, so don’t worry about it.”
Of course, I wouldn’t mention the truth that the timing would’ve been different if that were the case.
Surprisingly, Sun Ah-hyun chimed in.
“W-well, that’s right. Those kinds of people don’t change, so… shouldn’t we avoid wasting energy on them…!”
It seemed like he was repeating something he’d heard during counseling.
“Oh~ Sun Ah-hyun said something great!”
“Great words!”
“A-ah, no….”
Sun Ah-hyun’s face flushed red. Ryu Chung-woo nodded with a smile.
“That’s the spirit. Thanks.”
Bae Sae-jin glanced around the warm atmosphere, then spoke in a subdued manner.
“…So we’re changing the arrangement like this….”
“Let’s change it!”
“Anyone have objections~?”
Following Cha Yu-jin’s lead and Big Sae-jin’s echo, no one voiced any opposition.
And Bae Sae-jin looked resigned. In the battle between his willing self and his reluctant body, the former had won.
“This will be quite the push. We’ll need to stay strong.”
“Let’s stay strong~”
And so, changing the arrangement was agreed upon.
The next day, the company’s meeting concluded with confirmation. Thanks to that, we received the song without delay and began re-rehearsing.
“I think it’s unavoidable.”
Kim Rae-bin seemed slightly disappointed that he couldn’t do it himself, but he appeared to understand the situation.
Over the course of just over a week, we revised the choreography and stage movements.
During that time, the Internet had predictably churned out all sorts of speculation. Articles had apparently surfaced as well.
I even heard that ONYX had won the Rookie Award at a smaller awards ceremony that Testa didn’t attend.
[ONYX Wins Tearful Rookie Award at Seoul Choice Awards]
The voting had been entirely democratic, with each community broadcasting it live while throwing around phrases like “upholding justice”—apparently coordinating their votes that way.
On top of that, I heard VTIC’s fans subtly voted together when they were voting for the Grand Prize.
Such award ceremonies didn’t really matter to me, but the problem was how the fans’ momentum was accelerating and the trolls were having a field day.
When fans participated in voting, they’d frame it as “Testa isn’t even here, and you want to steal this rookie award too?”
Thanks to that, our stage preparation went incredibly smoothly. Even the members who’d been slightly conflicted about the stage format were now fired up.
And then came the day of the SBC Music Awards.
A truly decisive incident occurred.
“Hello~”
“Hello!”
The moment I passed by ONYX with a smile and a greeting, I heard those words.
“…Weren’t they just talking about upholding justice or something?”
“I heard it too.”
“Yeah, I heard it.”
…Honestly, it was the kind of thing you could say when it was just among yourselves.
Sure, they could naturally be in a good mood right now. They got the award, and their competitor got slightly screwed over.
But the problem was that we happened to have good ears, so we caught it too.
“Man, I really want to get on that stage now.”
“Same here.”
“…Me too.”
Thanks to them, we all shed our internal conflicts and waited for our stage with excited anticipation.
They’d eliminated our guilt and strengthened our unity—truly good people.

* * *
The SBC Music Awards typically aired on Christmas Eve, but this year it was pushed back due to special programming scheduling.
As a result, it was slotted for an awkward Friday night in mid-December—a time slot freed up when a drama concluded.
-Why is the date like this
-I thought they’d do a drama special, but suddenly some unknown idol group
-SBC always just calls idols, it’s so boring. They’re giving up on ratings and just chasing YouTube
-Who appeared?
-I have no idea who they are
Of course, the majority were people waiting for the year’s first year-end music program.
But because the concluded drama had been popular, quite a few people had turned on SBC out of habit.
Indifferent comments from non-fans were casually thrown into the chat.
-So excited
-Aren’t they doing special stages this year?
-Everyone in Sollie is so pretty
-Part 2 should have some worth watching
-Wasn’t there a rookie special stage in Part 1? I think I saw an ad for it
-Another carol arrangement, I’m so sick of it. It’s amazing how they manage to do it so poorly every year
-Does VTIC only appear in Part 3?
-Switching channels, later
People chattered away, skipping through Part 1 sporadically.
Aside from the opening, it was mostly third-year rookies or groups just beginning to gain recognition.
Then a short VCR appeared.
[KPOP ROOKIES STAGE!]
[Testa’s Park Moon-dae: We’ll draw lots to directly experience each other’s stages.]
[Sollie’s Min-jung: Wow! That sounds like fun!]
[ONYX’s Pox: I really have a song I want to try!]
-Oh, this must be the special stage in Part 1
-Isn’t Testa above that level though?
-I guess they’re calling them ‘rookies’ lol
-Public broadcast is definitely cheaper than cable, seems a bit stingy
-Right! Testa was from cable variety shows~
-I won’t know any songs except Testa’s…
-Is it five teams? Please don’t perform the whole song, it’ll be boring
Regardless of what the real-time comments said, the VCR showed groups drawing lots and screaming, then ended with a final caption.
[What will their stage be like?]
And then stages of songs that seemed vaguely familiar began.
They had each chosen songs that were at least somewhat hit-like.
-At least I know the chorus
-Why make them do this pointless thing, just have them cover famous idols
-The kids who got Testa’s song must have been relieved lol
-Who wouldn’t find it hilarious if someone outperformed Testa?
-Hey, you said it was ‘skill’, not entertainment value. Don’t just say things like that carelessly.
Hahahahaha
While people laughed and chattered, the three teams finished their brief performances and exited the stage.
Then, subtitles appeared beneath the darkened stage.
[Testa – “Those Who Enjoy” (ONYX)]
-Whoa, Testa’s up
Of all songs, it had to be an ONYX song lol
Looks like you two picked each other lolol
-What kind of twisted fate is this
-Feels like SBC rigged it?
I’m so curious lol
But the moment the brief intro played and the opening began, the comments grew slightly bewildered.
-They didn’t rearrange it?
That’s right.
Testa had brought ONYX’s debut song.
Untouched, performed exactly as the original.

—————

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

—————