Debut or Die - Chapter 14

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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 14
After the most hectic yet hopeful discussion session of the past two days ended, I approached Sun Ah-hyun during a brief break.
“Tired?”
“Oh, no….”
Sun Ah-hyun shook his head with a tense expression. He seemed anxious, as if he himself recognized his poor condition and feared being criticized for it.
I wondered if this approach would work. I broached the subject as gently as possible.
“Then is the feedback from the choreography check earlier on your mind?”
An apology came immediately.
“…S-s-sorry…. I-I’ll work harder….”
This guy is truly guileless. My chest swells with warmth.
“You don’t need to apologize to me. And I’m saying this so you don’t misunderstand.”
I should try to gently convey that the Dance Trainer had issues with his character and was using personal attacks as motivation.
“The Dance Trainer didn’t say those things because he actually thinks I’m better than you. He was trying to provoke you.”
To create a comfortable atmosphere, I continued speaking and sat down near Sun Ah-hyun.
“He probably felt frustrated because he thought you could do better. It’s just his nature to speak harshly.”
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun couldn’t bring himself to respond, unable to say the nonsense that I was actually better. Even you think my words make sense, right?
“D-do you really think… I c-can do well…?”
“Hmm?”
Is he asking me?
He couldn’t possibly be asking while calculating that I would never answer “the Choreographer is one thing, but I don’t think that way”…. or could he?
I folded my arms and replied matter-of-factly.
“Why would I lie?”
“…!”
Sun Ah-hyun swallowed hard, then asked back with a voice tinged with hope.
“Th-th-then… how c-can I do well….”
“…Are you asking for my opinion?”
“Y-yes!”
Sun Ah-hyun nodded earnestly.
‘He’s asking for advice from a complete novice who started with an audition.’
I suppressed my bitter feeling and offered my assessment based on Sun Ah-hyun’s status window.
“In my opinion, you think too much unnecessarily.”
Sun Ah-hyun seemed shocked.
“U-u-unnecessarily….”
“I don’t mean your thoughts are useless. I mean you’re overthinking things you don’t need to think about at all. Why don’t you try clearing your mind?”
Let me add a more concrete example.
“Just think ‘I’ll pull this off’ and that’s it.”
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun seemed lost in thought. It’s quite ironic for someone who just heard advice to abandon thinking.
In any case, what came next was positive.
“O-okay. I’ll… I’ll give it a try.”
Determination flickered across his face—this wasn’t mere lip service.
But he was burning with passion far beyond what I’d expected? His shoulders tensed with resolve.
On top of that, he was muttering something under his breath… probably something like “I can pull this off.”
“….”
Hmm, did I really have this much talent for giving advice?
The moment doubt crept in, a status window popup appeared.
[‘Now That You Mention It, That Makes Sense (C)’ activated!]
-Target: Sun Ah-hyun
-Effect: Trait activation through successful persuasion
Ah, so that 35% probability had triggered after all.
I didn’t know it could be used this way… but this trait seemed quite useful. Of course, assuming I could break through that 35% chance.
To confirm the exact changes, I pulled up Sun Ah-hyun’s status window as well.
[Name: Sun Ah-hyun]
Vocal: B- (A)
Dance: A (EX)
Appearance: A+ (S+)
Charisma: B (A+)
Trait: Grit (A)
!Abnormal Status: Low Self-Esteem DEACTIVATED
The abnormal status was deactivated?
The popup said a trait had been activated—could that be the reason?
Let me check the trait details.
[Grit (A): One’s mindset is forged by oneself. Burning concentration suppresses negative states.]
-Upon activation, nullifies one abnormal status (highest priority).
That’s a broken trait.
If I had this trait, I would’ve already deactivated this “fail to debut and die” condition and quit auditioning.
I was so frustrated I couldn’t think straight.
Only after some time passed and vocal practice resumed could I settle down and process the situation calmly.
So now Sun Ah-hyun could actually use his full abilities according to that status window?
Just then, Moody praised Sun Ah-hyun’s voice.
“Ah-hyun just nailed that note!”
“Th-thank you…!”
Even to my ears, it was better than during practice. He’d probably start producing sounds that matched his B- stat more and more.
‘Hmm.’
It was good that Sun Ah-hyun had snapped to attention and raised the stage quality. But I couldn’t let him run away with it solo.
‘No matter how non-overlapping our positions are, if he monopolizes all the buzz, that’s a problem.’
I needed to create stage time where I could appeal as an individual.
I needed something that would contribute to the stage quality while letting me monopolize the impact.
“So horror then? If you guys pull it off, I think that direction works too. What’s your plan?”
I raised my hand along with my teammates excitedly discussing arrangement directions in response to Moody’s question.
“I have an opinion on arranging my part. Is it okay if I share it?”
“Oh, Moon-dae~ where?”
“This section.”
I pointed my finger at the lyrics sheet.
“The bridge.”
I saw Choi Won-gil beside me drop his jaw in surprise.
Thanks for the part, Won-gil. I’ll use it well.

* * *
Idol Corporation Season 3 was burning across the Internet, fueled by mockery and criticism that it would fail.
At this point, with only participant profiles and first performances revealed, a production press conference hadn’t even been held yet, but a recruitment notice for audience members for the first team match had already appeared on the Tnet Broadcasting Station homepage.
It was due to scheduling issues with filming order, but regardless, riding the wave of overwhelming buzz, the competition rate for selecting audience applicants was quite fierce.
And here, someone had broken through that competition rate (27:1) and confidently come to watch!
‘I won’t get caught, right?’
Now that I think about it, she didn’t seem particularly confident.
Hidden in her backpack beneath a cardigan used as camouflage were a compact white bag and camera that were at least portable.
There was a specific reason she had brought a hidden camera while coming to watch.
The moment she saw Ajusa’s first performance this season, “Right Now Me,” she had a sudden intuition.
This might actually work!
‘This atmosphere… sure, it’s getting criticized now, but once the broadcast starts, all this negativity could turn into interest. As long as the participants are decent!’
Then the value of the photos she was taking now would skyrocket!
It was half a gamble. But the saying that penny stocks are always a gamble dominated her thoughts. And besides…
‘…if there’s actually someone good, it’s nice to establish myself early as a fan.’
Since her former idol had recently made a mess of themselves in the news and lost all her goodwill, she wanted to use this opportunity to clean up her account.
So today she had to take as many shots as possible. She didn’t know which participant would shine on which stage.
She waited calmly for filming to begin.
An MC who had switched from being a broadcast announcer to acting came on stage, delivered a few words of caution, and then filming started.
“This stage features two teams covering songs by senior idols from the same entertainment agency. The winning team will receive an incredible prize. That prize is… something you’ll have to see on broadcast!”
People had agreed to a pledge not to spoil anything until the broadcast aired.
Still, since people were chattering about it all over the Internet, it seemed they were trying not to reveal anything beyond the stage itself.
“Idol Corporation Season 3, the highly anticipated first team match begins now! Shine Your Star!”
After the voting method was announced and stage setup was verified, the first performance started immediately.
The first stage featured two teams covering idol songs from QuZ Entertainment, famous for betting on mainstream idols.
‘Kind of boring, isn’t it?’
It wasn’t bad overall, but it was inevitable that it fell short of the original song.
While she secretly took a few shots, she didn’t have much hope. What mattered was a team with participants who were getting mentioned on the Internet.
After the second team match passed uneventfully, finally a team worth watching appeared.
It was the match featuring Cha Yu-jin, who had the most screen time during the “Right Now Me” performance.
“Whoa, Cha Yu-jin!”
“The kids are fine~”
Since it was a team with many familiar participants, there was a noticeable difference in the cheers during their initial appearance. Some people were already holding placards.
Most importantly, they performed well on the Stage.
‘Wow, they’re actually really good?’
Their skill level was impressive enough to believe they’d already debuted, and the arrangement was excellent too.
They’d transformed an old song—one consumed on the Internet like a meme due to its excessively sexy concept—into something refined and cute.
Moreover, it wasn’t just Cha Yu-jin who stood out; the rap participant from the same Entertainment Agency also caught my eye.
‘Those two will make it.’
I diligently recorded data centered on the two of them, subtly avoiding Siku’s wandering gaze in between.
The team that faced off against this one also had multiple recognizable participants, making it interesting in a different way.
‘Probably this will be edited as the final match in the broadcast, won’t it?’
I thought about it with some intrigue, but I felt disappointed.
It seemed like the next teams onward would be boring.
Since more than half of the worthwhile participants had been concentrated in the previous team match, everything after this would likely be tedious.
And sure enough, the next Stage wasn’t very entertaining.
Probably made up of team members who weren’t selected, only one team received evaluation through absolute standards, and honestly, I understood why they weren’t chosen.
It was the worst performance so far.
“What is this.”
“My legs hurt.”
Now people in the back were starting to quietly slip away.
Bored and with aching legs, I didn’t want to bother watching the backstage performances either.
In that scattered atmosphere, the MC shouted.
“The first round team matches are heating up! This time, participants covering a song from LeTi Entertainment, the agency of VTIC, the global trending group that recently won the Grand Prize!”
The MC didn’t even mention Malang Dalcom.
It was audience bait.
But the effect was tremendous.
“VTIC?”
The audience began to stir.
VTIC was currently the hottest boy group.
At the mention of covering a song by the undisputed award-winning idol group that sold 1.2 million copies on first release, even those about to leave paused.
With that atmosphere of recovered anticipation, the MC cheerfully announced.
“Then, the first team to take the Stage is October 31!”
It was a team name that reminded me of an ice cream shop.
It wasn’t even a name that stuck in your ears at once.
Since participants typically had poor sense for naming, everyone let the team name pass without much interest.
‘Never mind that—what VTIC song did they cover?’
“The song the participants covered is… ah, these people debuted as Flower Fairies, right? The girl group that was active as a national girl group, Malang Dalcom’s ‘Into a New World’!”
“…!?”
People were confused.

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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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