Debut or Die - Chapter 133

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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 133
‘Huh.’
Park Moon-dae’s Home Ma clicked on the W Live notification without hesitation, barely breathing.
‘A live video chat right now?!’
Testa had always been diligent about SNS activity even during their inactive periods, but I never expected them to do this right after the concert.
And within an hour of it ending, no less!
‘They must be exhausted.’
Thinking of the setlist that drained every ounce of their energy made me worry, yet my lips couldn’t help but curve upward.
‘I get to see Testa again right away!’
It felt like the hollow emptiness that would normally flood in after a concert had been preemptively blocked.
So many people had flooded in that after a longer-than-usual loading time, the video finally began to play.
Testa was gathered around a table laden with delivery food.
[Oh, here they come!]
[Can you see us okay?]
And as Testa waved in greeting, every single member was wearing a colorful party hat on their head!
‘How cute!’
It was clearly a post-concert celebration. Home Ma quickly checked Park Moon-dae’s face with a warm expression.
“…?”
Somehow… a Tibetan fox was showing through?
His expression looked lonely, as if he’d been hit with a sudden wave of reality.
‘Our professional idol Moon-dae, reduced to just a party hat…?’
Home Ma’s confusion was soon answered.
Looking closer, it seemed the members had decorated the hats themselves, each one inscribed with a message in crayon.
And Park Moon-dae’s message was this:
-(Celebrating) Two Days Straight Crying King (Sad)
“Ehehehe….”
It was insanely cute!
The other members wore playful messages like ‘Preparing abs,’ but Park Moon-dae’s sullen expression was adorably lethal….
She covered her mouth to avoid looking like a madwoman on the Subway, though she didn’t realize there was no need.
Half the car was filled with people heading home from the concert anyway….
Every other passenger was either groaning or struggling to hold back laughter.
The W App comments instantly flooded with people asking about the hat messages or gushing over how cute they were.
After waving a few times and checking the comments and viewer count, Testa answered with a mix of embarrassment and joy.
[Ah, the messages? Haha… you noticed right away.]
[Yes, we wrote them for each other~]
[You like my message! Moon-dae hyung wrote it!]
Cha Yu-jin lifted his party hat high with both hands, revealing the message: ‘Begged on knees to ride Wire one more time.’
It was a cute message, though Cha Yu-jin seemed to think it was cool because it showed his passion.
‘Cha Yu-jin is cute too, I suppose.’
Home Ma graciously accepted the situation.
It meant she was accepting the maknae position who played well with the group.
Park Moon-dae chuckled as well.
[I’m glad it worked out.]
[Hehe.]
[In that case, I’m really curious who wrote the text on my hat….]
[Hahaha! We all wrote it together, all of us!]
[Ah! Lee Sae-jin hyung wrote it!]
[No, Yu-jin!]
The atmosphere was adorably chaotic. She held her breath, eyes glued to the screen.
Ryu Chung-woo opened his mouth with a smile.
[So, how was today’s concert….]
Click.
The video suddenly cut out.
[W Live has ended.]
“…?”
Just like that?
It wasn’t even in the middle of the members touching their phones.
‘What? A glitch?’
Apparently Testa was caught off guard too, because the live notification came again after a brief moment.
[We invite Reviewer back to Testa’s concert afterparty! ♡ >_<]
The Testa members, who had even removed their party hats in confusion, were now sighing with relief as W Live came back on.
[Phew! There seems to have been some kind of issue!]
[Reviewer, hello again!]
[N-now it should work fine, right?]
[Ah~ of course! So, shall we continue? Kim Rae-bin!]
[Yes, we thought it would be nice to give our Reviewer friends some fresh entertainment on your way home….]
Click. It cut out again.
This time it didn't even broadcast properly for a full minute.
"…."
Home Ma was seized by a very ominous premonition.
The next W Live came back on immediately.
[Why does this keep happening?!]
But the video quality was terrible.
Testa, who now looked like pixelated images, muttered while staring at the screen.
[It doesn't seem like we touched something wrong?]
[M-maybe we should try switching phones…?]
[…At least it would be better to stream the audio stably. The app environment itself seems a bit unstable right now….]
Before Park Moon-dae could finish speaking, the video ended.
'Damn it!!'
Ever since the app update not long ago, idols had been experiencing errors in turn, and now it seemed to be Testa's turn.
Home Ma immediately checked the W App notifications, but there wasn't a single notice about errors or server instability, no matter how hard she looked.
'…Right. They don't do that kind of thing.'
Treated as a reliable cash cow as always, she was left speechless.
"…."
Testa needed about five more minutes before their next attempt. It seemed Sun Ah-hyun's suggestion to switch phones had worked.
Now the W Live broadcast title had started displaying crying emoticons.
Please let me have Testa's concert afterparty… (crying emoticon)
A clear screen greeted Testa and the viewers.
'Ah, will it work this time…!'
Home Ma felt momentarily relieved, thinking Testa's strategy of switching phones had paid off.
But this time, there was no sound.
[(Excited Cha Yu-jin)]
[(Questioning Kim Rae-bin)]
[(Bae Sae-jin reading comments aloud)]
[(Flustered Ryu Chung-woo)]
And Park Moon-dae, who had stepped out of frame, appeared holding a piece of paper with crayon writing on it.
-Can't you hear us?
Comments flooded in confirming they couldn't.
Big Sae-jin, with an expression that was neither laughing nor crying, scribbled over the paper with crayon.
I'm crying / Sob
And another attempt.
Testa was gradually wearing down.
[We meet again, everyone.]
[Hehehehe….]
[Can you hear us well this time?]
But this time, it seemed like it wouldn't cut out!
[Ah, it seems stable now!]
[Well, there seems to be some error on our end….]
[If we restart and it cuts out again, we'll be in real trouble, so let's just proceed as is.]
[Agreed!]
At Ryu Chung-woo's cautious words, most of Testa nodded in agreement.
If it cut out again after restarting, there really would be no solution.
[So, shall we start by talking about the most memorable moment from our concert?]
[Me! Let me go first!]
[Yeah, let's hear from Yu-jin first!]
Only then did Testa become excited and dive into the full concert recap.
[Using the rope was so fun!]
[Oh my, our Yu-jin kept breaking the rope during practice because he found it so fun~?]
[I didn't break it!]
[You dummy, I don't mean actually consuming food.]
[No, the fool is Kim Rae-bin.]
[…!! That's not true! My IQ score is officially recorded from a certified test…!]
But they didn't know.
That the broadcast had crashed for nearly every viewer except a tiny handful.
That the decrease in comments wasn't the error—the viewer count remaining unchanged was the error.
That the vast majority of Reviewer users were staring at infinite loading screens or error messages, wailing their hearts out….
And Park Moon-dae's Home Ma was among that majority.
[A temporary error has occurred.]
"…."
A few malicious individuals among the successful minority gleefully relayed the situation on SNS like they were doing charity.
-Wow, I'm tearing up chicken. I have to leave a comment asking if I'm in my right mind this late at night.
-During the concert rehearsal, Cha Yu-jin and Kim Rae-bin apparently checked how many people were outside, and like… aren't those old guys just establishing hierarchy over the young, handsome ones? Ugh
The usual flame-bait posts that would have been buried were now getting attention, and you could see the shares and retweets multiplying.
"…sigh."
Home Ma felt a deep frustration for the first time since the rookie award controversy.
Since there were more than a few people like that, naturally W App's SNS account got bombarded with an enormous wave of complaints.
-Fix Testa's W App already
-Give me back my stoneㅠㅠ
-I'm curious how W App manages things. There have been error reports for different idols ever since the update.
-Errors errors errors, it's always errors, how is there not even one apology you damn bastards
-WHY(angry emoji)
But W App said nothing.
'…I knew, but….'
These guys had served up five errors during a VTIC member's personal W Live just recently without apologizing.
Unless the comments section got completely blocked or functions were paralyzed to that degree, they just had the audacity to brush off errors like nothing.
In a way, it would've been stranger if W App made any kind of statement about Testa's situation.
'Will I really not be able to watch Park Moon-dae live like this?'
Park Moon-dae's Home Ma kept clicking in and out of Testa's live W Live thumbnail just in case, but nothing happened.
And by the time she got home, Testa's W Live had already ended completely.
"…."
The replay would show up at the earliest tomorrow, or at the latest a week from now.
'If the error is really severe, the replay won't even show up… No! That can't happen!'
It was better not to dwell on such ominous premonitions.
"Phew…."
Home Ma let out a long sigh and headed inside.
'I'll shower and then organize my data.'
There was no need to be upset about this after enjoying the concert so much.
'Right, it was so good.'
As she recalled the two-day concert, her mood quickly improved again.
And when she picked up her phone again, a new message had arrived.
"…?!"
A notification from Testa's SNS.
And it was from Park Moon-dae!
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Hello, Reviewers
I'm Moon-dae (puppy emoji)
This is today's W Live direct camera footage.
I wanted to meet with so many Reviewers, but it's a shame. I'll be back soon. (clumsy fox drawing)
(video)
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The attached video was… a recording of the W Live that had just happened!
That's right. When the members switched phones to retry the broadcast, Park Moon-dae had placed his own phone beside theirs just in case.
With video recording turned on.
And the moment W Live ended, he grasped the situation and immediately uploaded it.
Since it was filmed on a completely different phone, it didn't violate the W App contract terms.
'…Good grief.'
Home Ma flopped her head down onto the bed.
Park Moon-dae was such a brilliant and remarkable idol that she was at a loss for words.
And as she barely managed to look at Park Moon-dae's SNS post again, something she hadn't noticed before caught her eye.
A fox drawing, crudely sketched with crayon strokes.
'No, does this actually make sense as a human being, seriously?!'
Considering Park Moon-dae's catastrophically poor drawing skills, he must have practiced copying it over and over before posting it.
'He even went out of his way to mention that there's no Tibetan fox emoji…!'
Home Ma cried out at the existence of such an idol, and social media was no different.
And the momentum didn't end with Park Moon-dae's individual fans.
The members began posting comments on his post one after another, sharing concert practice photos and afterparty preparation pictures.
Moreover, there were even tidbits of information included.
-Crazy, the Bae-Moon unit stage, Bae Sae-jin picked the big ribbon headband lolololol Ah-hyun picked a pretty one for us, thanks lololol so funny lololol
-So the waiting was Lee Sae-jin's pick, as expected my bias knows what's up
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠThank you so much for the photo of Ryu Chung-woo wearing only a white t-shirt and dragon robe. I love you, Ravin.
-Wait, you're all just posting each other's photos nonstop lololol fine, we'll just support everyone then you guys
The disappointment of Testa's fanbase at not being able to watch W Live together had already vanished.

* * *
"Mm, everyone seems to like it!"
"Phew."
"Right?"
"I'm really glad!"
At Big Sae-jin's affirmation, sighs of relief echoed from all around.
I held back my own sigh.
'Of all the timing for that error to pop up.'
It would have been problematic if the mood soured on the day the concert ended.
Everyone needed to leave excited and happy so they'd want to attend the next concert and listen to this album.
Still, I was grateful things had turned out well in the end, but the fact that W Live hadn't proceeded as planned left a bitter aftertaste.
'We even rented a venue for that.'
It was truly disappointing. But scenarios never unfold exactly as expected, so I decided to be satisfied with how things turned out.
"So, shall we continue more comfortably?"
"Sounds good~"
"Let's order chicken!"
Back at the Dormitory, Testa had finally changed into comfortable clothes.
And now the second round was about to begin.
'They've got good stamina.'
Probably the lingering excitement combined with no morning schedule tomorrow was making them act recklessly.
'I should slip away at an appropriate moment.'
It would look odd if I left alone while even Bae Sae-jin was choosing food.
Instead, I had some things to handle while these guys were occupied.
'Status window.'
Since the concert had wrapped up well, I had some things to settle.

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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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