Debut or Die - Chapter 152

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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 152
The moment I stepped into the Advertisement Filming Set, I spotted a face I wasn’t thrilled to see.
“How have you been? You seemed to have a lot on your mind.”
It was VTIC Chung-ryeo.
‘This is going to drive me crazy.’
Why is he showing up here of all places?
For the record, I hadn’t received any heads-up from the Company either. They’d rushed me out the door saying they’d landed a good commercial, so I’d only glanced at the storyboard before coming.
Shouldn’t someone have at least given me a courtesy heads-up if we were working with someone I knew?
‘I want to quit.’
There was no joy left in this work.
But showing it would only make me a rumor-generating machine. I’d just nod along.
“Yes. Thanks to your advice, I resolved it well.”
“Ah, is that so? That’s good then.”
Chung-ryeo smiled and extended his hand.
“Let’s do well with today’s shoot.”
“I’ll do my best as well.”
I didn’t resort to the childish move of squeezing harder, but the handshake ended in an instant.
“See you in a bit then.”
“Yes, senior.”
I didn’t want to see him again.
I recalled the storyboard, felt an odd sensation wash over me, and changed into my costume to prepare for shooting.
The outfit was a trendy training suit. Except it bore the company logo.
‘I already know why I’m wearing something like this.’
For one thing, the filming location was a Grass Field, and the shoot involved a lot of physical activity.
It was that kind of thing.
“Action!”
At the director’s call, a pack of four-legged creatures came bounding toward Chung-ryeo and me standing in the Grass Field.
They were three-month-old retrievers of various types and a bunch of rural dogs.
“Woof!!”
As I petted their necks just as the storyboard showed, one of them even jumped up and headbutted my face.
‘They’re excited.’
Once one did it, three or four more came bounding up. Hey, don’t lick me.
I scooped up the fluffy bundles with both hands.
…They were cute, I had to admit.
“Pffft!”
Now one was coughing right in my face. I nearly toppled over trying to correct it.
I held three or four of them in my arms, covered in saliva, and tried hard not to grimace.
“Cut! Oh, that was great~”
“…Thank you.”
A staff member rushed over to clean up my ruined face. We were all suffering equally.
“Hold the puppy more securely, like this~ and give it a bright smile!”
Right. That ‘secure feeling’ is important.
We’re shooting an insurance company advertisement after all.
To be precise, it was a corporate brand image advertisement promoting a major insurance company’s abandoned dog support and guide dog training program.
‘Usually they cast someone with mainstream recognition for these things.’
But apparently the actor originally slated for my role got arrested in a sexual harassment scandal, so they cast me instead.
The middle-aged demographic recognition I’d gained from 【The Singer I Created】 must have had some influence….
“Good boy.”
…Though I suspect my public association with him didn’t hurt either. That left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Even though filming had stopped, Chung-ryeo was subduing the pack of puppies with ghostly hand movements.
I noticed the ones rolling around exposing their bellies. They were genuinely photogenic.
‘I’d like to capture one shot.’
But I wasn’t about to pull out my smartphone. It would look bad.
At that moment, Chung-ryeo opened his mouth.
“Do you like puppies?”
“…They’re not bad.”
The staff had conveniently stepped away. Since we were only capturing visuals with narration to be added in post, there were no lavalier mics.
In other words, this was the perfect timing for him to say something ridiculous.
But my prediction was wrong.
“Right? They’re really nice animals. Good-natured.”
“….”
“They’re easy to handle too. Praise when they deserve it, scold when they deserve it.”
Chung-ryeo simply stroked the dogs while talking about them.
Information reflexively flashed through my mind.
-Isn’t that hyung donating half of his settlement money to the Abandoned Dog Center?
Could that actually be true?
Well, it doesn’t matter.
“You seem to be fond of dogs, senior.”
I was playing along, trying to buy time until filming resumed.
But he tilted his head to the side.
Among people, that typically means… confusion.
“Fond? I’m not sure. It’s just easier not to keep them anyway.”
Until now, I’d thought he meant puppies were too much trouble to handle.
“I used to raise dogs whenever I’d start over, but after a while… rumors spread that I was a habitual dog abandoner.”
“…!”
“I would’ve suspected myself too. When I checked, the dog breeds kept changing every time I mentioned them. Hmm, once it was proven false, then people started talking about schizophrenia…. Haha, I was completely ruined back then!”
Chung-ryeo laughed out loud. My spine went cold.
“…They weren’t the same dog?”
“Huh? Haha, it’s a bit much to keep the exact same dog every single time.”
“….”
Chung-ryeo stopped laughing.
“I tried, but it didn’t work out. If things get tangled and I can’t bring it back, it just bothers me and becomes inconvenient.”
I was left speechless.
The problem was that I actually understood why this bastard had gone insane.
I responded as calmly as I could manage.
“…Since you won’t have to start over now, it seems like you could raise a new one instead.”
In other words, give up.
“You’re quite confident. Could this be… the final mission? I calculated it the way you taught me, and that’s what I got?”
“….”
Silence was the best strategy.
But this bastard interpreted my silence as confirmation.
“Congratulations. But do you believe that?”
“…!”
“Haha, just kidding. Based on my experience, it should be right. I don’t lie about things like this.”
Imagining smashing the grand prize trophy into that smug face became my only consolation.
“…Hmm, so then… it’s really over.”
His expression vanished from his face in an instant, and he removed his hand from the puppy’s belly.
‘…Wait.’
Please don’t tell me he’s about to pull some “just one more time before it ends,” “once it’s over there’s no more chances, the timing is now” bullshit and mess with me again.
Let me lay down some groundwork immediately.
“The VTIC seniors should have no rival groups even if you just maintain the status quo. Your current position is the best there is.”
“Well… that’s fine.”
Chung-ryeo sounded indifferent.
And he picked up the puppy by the scruff of its neck.
“It’s not that I’m perfectly satisfied… but, well… that’s how it is. I’ll have to adapt.”
“…!”
It was a roundabout declaration of surrender.
‘That’s it, damn it.’
I felt like my lifespan was shortening. I was suspicious whether cold sweat was beading on my forehead.
But Chung-ryeo’s words weren’t finished.
“Still, junior, I think it’s best not to let your guard down too much.”
I desperately wanted to stop hearing this nonsense.
I found myself unconsciously petting the dog. The mindless, fluffy creature had somehow become a source of comfort.
And fortunately, what Chung-ryeo said next wasn’t nonsense.
It was the voice of cold reason.
“In this industry, ‘popularity’ is a limited resource. In other words, when another team harvests resources well, my resources leak away. It’s always been that way. Especially when limited to the domestic market.”
“….”
Was he comparing VTIC and Testa?
But an unexpected name came out instead.
“A group under Traveler that debuted this year has been doing quite well. Keep an eye on them.”
Traveler is Gold 1’s agency.
In other words, what he was saying was advice to keep tabs on Gold 1’s group—decent rookies that they were.
‘…Why bother?’
They weren’t even in a weight class worth monitoring yet, and if I played it wrong, I’d just be handing them a narrative.
Besides, they debuted after the period I knew about anyway. It’s not like I’d confirmed their futures.
But since there was no real reason to antagonize that bastard, I simply nodded.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Don’t just say it—anyway, I noticed the song is really good. But the composer isn’t affiliated with the company.”
Chung-ryeo laughed.
“It’d be nice if we could buy out the composer.”
“…!”
“It’s simple and easy. If the song’s no good, that’s the end of it.”
“I didn’t hear that.”
“Sharp. Fine. But don’t forget it.”
‘Why has this bastard gotten so talkative?’
He’s spouting words like he’s undergoing animal therapy with a pile of puppies.
“Next scene prep is almost done~ Three-minute standby!”
Fortunately, the announcement that filming was resuming echoed across the set. People scurried about busily.
‘That’s the end of it then.’
The next cut will be my last time shooting with this bastard. I held back a sigh.
And just before filming restarted, a small voice reached me.
It carried a slight hesitation.
“…Did you manage to resolve that problem you mentioned?”
“….”
I opened my mouth slowly.
“More or less.”
“I see. Well… if you change your mind or have any concerns, reach out.”
“…Understood.”
At least it was less unsettling than before.
“Woof! Yip!”
Filming wrapped smoothly. Chung-ryeo finished early and left due to scheduling conflicts.
And I accepted several training suits as gifts—identical to the one covered in dog hair—and returned to the dormitory.
Everyone had apparently left for additional choreography practice, so only one person who’d finished early was there.
Cha Yu-jin.
“I’m back.”
“Gifts??”
“Yeah. Take one.”
“Wow!”
I accepted one training suit and watched Cha Yu-jin beam with delight, seized by a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘…Isn’t he more dog-like than I am?’
I’d actively embraced it, but it was a peculiar world of nicknames.

* * *
A few days later, I’d completely mastered the title choreography.
“Phew, the choreography video is done!”
“Ah, that’s great~”
Having finished the choreography video shoot earlier than expected, I had some time to spare. Everyone sprawled across the floor, enjoying a well-deserved rest.
“Cha Yu-jin, are you wearing that again?”
“It’s comfortable!”
“Ah, will it be okay if the… lo, logo shows up in the choreography video…?”
“Oh, I already asked and they said it’s fine. Don’t worry.”
“Wow, you’re fast, hyung~”
Cha Yu-jin had been wearing the training suit I’d received as a gift from the Advertisement Filming Set shoot constantly.
‘Next time, it’ll be his turn to do an advertisement shoot.’
I chuckled and turned on my smartphone. The album pre-orders had started, and the cover design had been released, so I wanted to monitor the reactions.
“Mu, Moon-dae. Want an ice pack?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
The air conditioning was running, but we’d been moving around so much that it was still hot. I scrolled through the screen with the ice pack Sun Ah-hyun had handed me as a neck pillow.
‘Not bad.’
Both versions of the album cover—black and white with an ink wash painting concept and color with a traditional painting concept—were receiving praise.
-I think it’s a traditional concept, I really like itㅠㅠ
-Hanbok perseverance victory
-Can’t wait for the photocard
At first, the Company had suggested something ridiculous: “Since it’s a solo with 7 songs, how about 8 album versions—seven colors for seven members plus a group version?” I’d had to fight hard to talk them out of it.
‘Fortunately, the idea of including stickers for decorating the album inside or just a few random selections from 8 types got through.’
If all 8 versions had gone through, the Director would have approved it without question.
‘Come to think of it, the Director is supposedly leaving soon.’
Since I’ve been talking with Company people a lot lately—from the new album to variety show stage production—I hear a lot of rumors like this.
The rumor was that the Director was leaving soon.
‘I should push things through quickly while the approval bot is still here.’
Since the future is uncertain, I need to take what I can while I can.
I checked my plans for resolving the abnormal condition and casually changed the monitoring search terms.
“Mu, want some water?”
“Uh… thanks.”
Sun Ah-hyun had brought me something else. I accepted the water with slight reluctance.
I’m grateful, but… it reminds me of being a bread shuttle, and I feel sorry about that.
‘Maybe I should do some monitoring.’
Without much thought, I tried to search Sun Ah-hyun’s name on SNS.
Then the autocomplete suggestions appeared.
[Sun Ah-hyun Dating]
“…?”
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae, what are you…?!”
Big Sae-jin, who had been interjecting, froze as he looked at the screen.
I was a bit flustered too.
‘Sun Ah-hyun?’
A dating rumor I never saw coming.

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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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