Debut or Die - Chapter 148

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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 148
As the audience applauded, a microphone materialized before the hologram of a singer character named “May’s Groom”.
It was a standing microphone.
The marble stand microphone—something that could never exist in reality—was intricately woven with ornate floral vines and white lace.
“May’s Groom” bowed respectfully.
Then, with both hands clad in white gloves, he grasped the stand microphone.
[So what kind of voice will “May’s Groom” deliver!]
The high school student, barely recovering from the shock of the ornate flower bouquet object head, tapped his foot impatiently.
“What a tryhard concept.”
It seemed like he was trying to look cool for the girls, which made him feel a slight distaste.
But the faintly eerie and peculiar feeling that pierced through the wedding’s glamorous and pure image was entertaining.
‘Guys who put on airs usually can’t sing worth a damn.’
The high school student deliberately suppressed his interest and watched the screen.
The accompaniment was beginning.
The crystalline sound of two pianos and the bright, cheerful brass notes bloomed above the drum beat.
-With the most beautiful heart
My confession I offer to you
“Huh?”
It was a very famous proposal song.
In the first preliminary round where ten contestants originally appeared, the rule was to sing a song so faithful to the character concept.
So it was naturally a predictable song choice, but there was one thing the viewer hadn’t anticipated.
He sang really well.
-In blooming May
Our youth overflowing
With the most virtuous heart
My love I give to you
The neat and pure voice produced a low, rich tone.
It wasn’t the kind of high note that sent shivers down the spine or flashy technique. But it was a voice perfectly suited to this song.
As if this song was always meant to be sung this way.
-When love is heard
Think of me
Today and tomorrow
I love you
It was a beautiful song with no faltering or regrettable moments, one you wanted to keep listening to.
And since only one minute and thirty seconds were allowed in the preliminary round, the song cut off right at the point where you wanted more.
[The sweet voice of a proposal song]
Beyond the applause and subtitles, “May’s Groom” bowed respectfully once more.
“Whoa.”
He’s pretty good?
The high school student nodded his head. He seemed to be a singer rather than an actor or model.
‘A ballad, then?’
It wasn’t an explosive vocal performance, but it seemed like I could easily pass the first round.
[The resonance is so rich—you can really feel the inner strength, you know?]
[What a beautiful voice~]
[You’re definitely a singer.]
No matter what the musicians invited as judges said, ‘May’s Groom’ showed no particular reaction.
He simply stood in an upright posture, tilting his head at their questions.
In other words, the bouquet swayed.
“Ah, concept-obsessed bastard.”
The high schooler was sick of it—wasn’t this just some old singer doing variety shows?
The movements and atmosphere were so convincing that he kept getting drawn in, which made him feel ashamed of himself.
[Thank you for the performance~]
Soon after hearing all the judges’ comments, ‘May’s Groom’ slipped away from the stage.
And the subsequent first-round performances were all mediocre except for one or two.
This meant the list of finalists announced after the commercial break was predictable.
[The third singer advancing to the finals is… ‘May’s Groom’!]
‘I knew it.’
The high schooler marveled at his own eye for detail—he’d predicted all six finalists except one.
‘I’m really damn good.’
Up until this point, the high schooler had no expectations for ‘May’s Groom’s’ next performance.
He thought what was shown in the first round was his limit.
‘I’ll bet a thousand won he’s just riding on his tone.’
And shortly after.
His thousand won vanished mercilessly.
[Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!]
“…?!”
The high schooler’s mouth fell open.
…There were several reasons why things turned out this way.
In the finals where six contestants advanced, they had to sing assigned songs. So the contestants had already practiced one of three songs provided by the Production Team for the finals.
Originally, there was the fun of seeing which character chose which song, and the enjoyment of comparing contestants who picked the same song.
However, this time an upset occurred. Four contestants chose the same song.
It was ‘Winter Night,’ a masterpiece ballad from the 90s.
And ‘May’s Groom’ couldn’t escape this probability either, selecting that very song.
With four contestants, the arrangements inevitably overlapped.
But ‘May’s Groom’ used a slight shortcut.
-Drunk in this dawn
Even as I sing
The winter night remains unchanged
The snow wind blows fiercely
He had rearranged the ballad song, whose sorrow of parting was poignant, into an elegant orchestral arrangement in a musical style brimming with tragic grandeur.
What I mean is, the high note at the climax was absolutely insane.
-When the night of tears passes
When the morning with stinging eyes comes
By the sunlight at the window
I will return to myself
A note that was originally meant to finish in a low register was stretched all the way up and pulled into an ultra-high note instead.
In stark contrast to the tender and gentle first song, the overwhelming rush of high notes and the solid, unwavering vocal technique hit like a shockwave.
And this parade of vocal acrobatics worked brilliantly on the live stage.
[Waaaaaaah!!]
The applause and cheers that followed were incomparable to the first performance.
What would have been an excessively high note that ruined the lingering impression instead delivered only a thrill, thanks to the grand arrangement.
It was like winning a one-versus-three bare-handed duel in the Colosseum.
“That’s insane.”
The high school student gasped aloud.
What he’d assumed was a washed-up singer who only appeared on variety shows had suddenly transformed into a ‘genuine artist overshadowed by the times, unable to shine.’
‘Even accounting for production value, isn’t that top-tier?’
At that level, even if it’s all concept, it deserves recognition. The high school student nodded.
He was solidifying his speculation—either an indie singer afflicted with artistic pretension or some middle-aged guy trying to look cool—when he suddenly noticed something.
It was a biologically older female.
“…What are you doing?”
The high school student’s older sister, a fan of Kim Rae-bin, was staring at the TV with her mouth hanging open.
She must have been hearing ‘May’s Groom’ sing as she passed by. Or maybe she heard it and it was so incredible that she rushed out.
The high school student felt oddly proud and spoke up.
“See? This is what a real singer sounds like!”
His sister finally recognized true talent instead of those dancing, scrawny male idols, and the high school student felt satisfied to have found common ground after so long.
Kim Rae-bin’s fan shouted.
“That’s Park Moon-dae…!”
“…?!”
The high school student’s ears doubted themselves for a moment.
Park Moon-dae was one of the male idols his sister liked!
“Stop talking nonsense, that wasn’t his voice~ He sings like that?”
“Even just listening, it’s obviously Park Moon-dae, you idiot!”
“Ugh, why are you being so embarrassing!”
The siblings began pointing at each other and shouting.
And this conversation was happening identically all over the Internet.

* * *
“Have a good day, Park Moon-dae~”
“Thank you.”
On my way back after finishing this week’s consultation session.
Sun Ah-hyun had already texted his goodbyes and headed to the Filming Studio for a cosmetics exclusive advertisement shoot.
[Moon-dae, I’m sorry I couldn’t monitor the episode of “The Singer I Created” you appeared in yesterday because of my schedule, but today’s packed too, so I’ll have to watch it later. I’ll definitely make time somehow and watch it… (Read more)]
‘…Another long message.’
It’s practically a letter.
I replied appropriately with something along the lines of “Really, it’s fine—rest when you can.”
‘Come to think of it, this is good timing to check.’
My Stage… or rather, the Stage for “May’s Groom” that I created.
Clips should have been uploaded to the Internet right after the broadcast ended last night, so reactions should have accumulated nicely by now.
‘Let me watch it now.’
I logged into YouTube.
[Finding the Bride | “May’s Groom” – 【A Day in May】 | 【The Singer I Created】 Preliminary Round Stage | 202X0611]
Fortunately, both Stages had decent view counts.
‘I thought the first Stage might get fewer views.’
After all, I performed a song without particularly high climactic moments.
But it seemed quite a few people were particularly interested in the character’s design.
-Is the fucking bouquet head crazy? I like it ㅠㅠ
-Honestly the flower head looked kinda scary but the moment he started singing it all disappeared and he turned into a handsome guy
-Thank you for the proposal, where’s the venue?
Look at how immersed in character they are, saying a flower can’t be both cute and handsome lol 😭😭😭
-White formal wear with a veil? A flower-adorned stand mic? This combination is unacceptable unless he’s handsome, so he must be handsome
“Huh…”
Since the character matched the song well, I noticed quite a few people were immersed in it more than expected.
‘As long as they enjoyed it, that’s what matters.’
I shrugged and checked the next video. The comments on the “Winter Night” video I performed in the finals had this tone.
-Seriously so damn good, my chest feels wide open
-I’ve been playing it all day. Please release the musicㅠㅠ
-Rooting for you to win next week~
-I’m so curious who you are^^ Just from the movements, he’s so handsome my heart’s pounding… I’m really looking forward to it…
-The hair’s weird but the singing is world-class.
-Even if the bride dies young, this groom is such a renowned singer he’d go to the afterlife to find her
…It seemed the preferences of older viewers aligned well with this.
‘Maybe it’s because I arranged it a bit more vintage-style.’
Anyway, overall the comments were brimming with praise and anticipation.
I straightened my back.
‘The strategy worked out.’
I’d factored in that the first and second Stages would air in the same episode.
‘Anyway, if everything airs in a single episode, both performances become first impressions. That makes the buildup structure work.’
Even if the first stage is weak, viewers see all the way through to the backstage in one go.
So I kept the first stage slightly understated to highlight the character, and saved the stronger arrangement for later.
‘Glad it seems to have worked.’
I let out a quiet laugh.
However, when I sorted the Stage reactions by most recent, a subtle conflict emerged.
Boiling it down, it looked like this.
-Seems like it could be Park Moon-dae…
-Park sings well too, but I don’t think it’s him. The vocal tone is different~
-You guys are idiots. When idols show up on these things, they deliberately hide their identity by making funny characters. But he made a cool character outright, so he’s not an idol, got it?
└What if that logic is reversed and he IS an idol?
└There are plenty of idols who sing well… hmm, the Park Moon-dae I saw at Ajusa wasn’t at this level
└Check out the performance he did on that American program once. He’s really good. I’m pretty sure it’s Park Moon-dae (link)
└Oh, he does sing well, but the voice is different. Doesn’t seem like the groom
In this way, those suspecting it was Park Moon-dae found themselves in the minority, pushed aside.
Fortunately, since it was fairly well-known that Park Moon-dae sang well, there wasn’t a particularly mocking atmosphere about it.
“Hmm.”
This wasn’t the situation I’d aimed for.
Truth be told, I hadn’t expected the speculation that “May’s Groom” was Park Moon-dae to gain so little traction.
Of course, I’d deliberately tried to vary my voice somewhat to maintain the fun of deduction and tension.
I’d even altered my vocal technique compared to when I sang with the group normally.
‘…I was aiming for that ambiguous, hard-to-pin-down level.’
I’d thought people who’d heard Park Moon-dae sing often would catch on.
But perhaps because the character was so strong, public opinion proved more stubborn than expected.
‘Maybe I should’ve just gone with a bipedal cat or something.’
I briefly regretted not choosing the phantom thief cat that had been in the final candidates, but quickly moved past it.
‘I liked this one more.’
Actually, I’d been mindful of advice I’d received during counseling.
-How about practicing choosing what you personally like instead of what’s objectively best? Even just once or twice a week?
-Making a list of ‘what I like’ is the homework I’m giving you this time.
Well, if an expert says so, I decided to go big with it.
‘It’s not really related to this abnormal status anyway, so it should be fine.’
Human limbs following my movements seemed easier to watch than cat paws.
‘People seem to like it too.’
I shrugged my shoulders and stepped out of the car in front of the Dormitory I’d arrived at.
‘The character profile releases next week.’
I reviewed the profile I’d prepared in advance, checking if there was anything I wanted to modify.
At the same time, I opened the Dormitory door and stepped inside. Someone sitting in the Living Room acknowledged my arrival.
It was Ryu Chung-woo.
“You’re back?”
“Yes, hyung.”
“I bought ice cream. Have some.”
Ryu Chung-woo gestured lightly toward the refrigerator, then rose naturally from the sofa where he’d been sitting and turned to leave.
In that moment, I understood.
‘He’s giving me space.’
He was getting up because he thought my presence might make him uncomfortable. So I could relax freely in the Living Room.
‘…Sigh.’
Somehow the tension drained from my shoulders. The lingering awkwardness unraveled like a knot coming undone.
I opened the refrigerator and called out to Ryu Chung-woo.
“Hyung, have some ice cream too. What flavor would you like?”
“…Ah, should I?”
“Yes.”
Ryu Chung-woo, who had settled back onto the sofa, chuckled softly.
“Then give me orange flavor.”
Just then, someone came bounding in from behind.
“I want ice cream too!”
‘Where did he come from?’
I instinctively tossed an ice cream to Cha Yu-jin, whose grammar had naturally improved, then went to sit on the sofa.
And we watched the rerun of “The Singer I Created” together.
“Your hair is like flowers! It’s amazing!”
“Thanks.”
“You really sing well, Moon-dae.”
“You’re too kind.”
It wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
The moment my stage performance ended, Ryu Chung-woo asked.
“You just filmed next week’s episode, right?”
“Yes.”
“How was it?”
“…It was fun.”
I let out a quiet laugh.
I was really looking forward to next week’s broadcast.

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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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