Debut or Die - Chapter 158

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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 158
Since Kim Rae-bin had brought comments that received plenty of recommendations, I figured I’d respond with measurable data on our side too.
“Fine, let’s look at this objectively. Right now ‘Procession’ has a higher music chart ranking than that song. Isn’t that the objective, cold assessment of public opinion?”
But Kim Rae-bin wasn’t fooled.
“That seems like a sampling bias problem stemming from differences in recognition. We need an evaluation based on actually listening to both songs without personal feelings…!”
“….”
So it had come down to needing my opinion. I suppressed a sigh and answered slowly.
“Fine… I get it. To my ears, ‘Procession’ is the better song.”
“R-really??”
“But their song is definitely more commercially appealing.”
“…!”
“It’s an easy, comfortable listen.”
Kim Rae-bin’s hands, resting on his knees, clenched tightly. I continued my explanation.
“But that’s because our priorities differ. We made our song with performance as the absolute priority from the start.”
“However….”
“It means there’s no need to compare them. There’s never a song that’s perfect in every aspect. Objective comparisons are difficult anyway. Timing, preference, luck—all these factors matter.”
“…Yes.”
Kim Rae-bin still looked somewhat deflated, but he nodded, understanding what I meant.
I let out a small laugh.
“You’re that bothered by it?”
“Huh? …Yes.”
Kim Rae-bin hesitated before adding more.
“I… don’t have strong verbal skills and I’m often told I’m not suited for communal living.”
Good grief.
“So if I’m also lacking in my producing contributions, I thought it would be right to develop other capabilities that could help the group.”
“Hmm.”
Kim Rae-bin probably needed reassurance that even if he couldn’t perform right now, he was still contributing to the album.
‘Then maybe this approach really is best.’
I recalled one plan I’d been preparing.
But before I mentioned that, let me first correct what I said earlier.
“First… I don’t think you’re particularly bad at communal living.”
“Oh, but I’ve often been told I can’t read the atmosphere….”
Yeah. He’d probably heard that plenty throughout his life.
But he wasn’t stubborn or malicious in interpersonal relationships, so there were no problems working with him.
“Really? During Testa activities, has any member ever gotten angry at you?”
“…No.”
“See? It’s not at a level to be a problem, so don’t worry about that.”
“Oh, I see!”
Kim Rae-bin’s expression brightened a bit.
“And about the producing issue… well. Hold on.”
I turned on my smartphone and pulled up Golden Age’s new song information displayed on the music streaming site.
It was the copyright holder section.
“See the composer and arrangers here.”
“Yes.”
The information I’d already confirmed flowed smoothly from my lips.
“The composer is an external freelancer, but the arrangers aren’t from that composer’s team. They’re from Golden Age’s company.”
“Mm, yes.”
“Do you understand what I’m getting at?”
“Modern composition is a comprehensive production process involving multiple stages of work, so attributing responsibility solely to oneself would be excessive self-consciousness…?”
An unexpected answer tumbled out.
“…No, I mean you can make a direct comparison.”
I tapped the composer’s name on the screen.
“Actually, I’ve already received some songs from this composer.”
“…!! When? How did you proceed with that??”
“A while back. It went well.”
Chung-ryeo’s tone was irritating, so I’d already made contact when I started my activities and received several songs.
They were candidates for the title track to be used in the repackage album that would follow shortly after this album’s promotional period.
“Golden Age performed decently with this song, so they’ll definitely get another track from the same composer. And the company will handle the arrangement again.”
“…No way.”
“Yeah.”
Now you’ve caught on.
“If you arrange a song from the same composer and release it, you can make the direct comparison you want.”
“…!”
“Who arranged this popular composer’s song better.”
It was a conclusion I’d reached after listening to all of this composer’s candidate tracks.
‘The melodies stick well and are nicely crafted, but the structure is weak.’
In crude terms, the completion was lacking. It seemed like it would heavily depend on the arrangement quality.
Kim Rae-bin, who had been standing there with his mouth open imagining what might unfold, suddenly snapped back to attention and spoke.
“But if we’re not careful, it could become too direct of a confrontation, which might disadvantage both sides….”
Oh. You thought that far ahead?
I let out a small laugh. I was genuinely impressed.
Kim Rae-bin was right—if handled poorly, Testa could actually suffer from that framing itself.
No, judging by what that agency was doing, they might even try to steer public opinion toward the narrative that Testa had poached Golden Age’s composer.
But in reality, that would be difficult to pull off.
“It’s fine. It won’t become a confrontation.”
“Pardon?”
“We’re not the only ones using that composer’s songs.”
I turned off my smartphone screen.
“The VTIC unit and Young-rin will also be using that composer for their next album.”
“…!”
That’s right.
Eating something like this alone would only make me sick. I needed to pull others in to share it.
‘I’m glad I got Young-rin’s number back during that doppelgänger variety show.’
…Chung-ryeo was a bit of a concern, but keeping him on the same boat was better than letting him cause trouble.
Either way, both of them agreed without much fuss.
-Oh, this should be fun. Good thinking ^^
-Thanks for introducing a talented composer. This will really accelerate our new album work.
With top-tier artists from different agencies, different career levels, and different images all accepting songs from this composer, it would be hard to tie them exclusively to Golden Age.
The composer’s name value would simply rise.
Gold 1’s company didn’t even bribe the composer to keep songs away from them like Chung-ryeo suggested—by this standard, wasn’t this quite a conscientious move?
‘Yeah, right. Grabbing someone by the collar without permission.’
It was reaping what you sow.
I smiled and crossed my arms.
“By the end of the year, three or four songs from the same composer with different arrangements from each of us will be out. It’ll be a real showdown.”
“….”
Kim Rae-bin swallowed hard.
“Still want to do it?”
“Y-yes!”
Good. Now that the game was set, his motivation had returned. Kim Rae-bin’s eyes gleamed with enthusiasm.
“Of course, you don’t necessarily have to use that composer’s song as your main track. Since it’s going on the candidate list, consult with the members and pick something more commercially appealing.”
“Understood!”
I nodded.
“Right then. Go get some sleep.”
“Yes…?”
Kim Rae-bin was flustered by the abrupt ending. I continued without hesitation.
“Even if you sleep now, you’ll only get four and a half hours.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry! I’ve caused you so much trouble with your sleep schedule….”
“It’s fine. Just go to bed.”
I stopped Kim Rae-bin from apologizing further and immediately turned off the lights.
Tomorrow morning I’d have to wake up early and practice what kind of performance I’d show in Japan with Kim Rae-bin, whose mobility was still limited.
‘Maybe I should burn it into a tiger doll.’
Hoping that either the company or the members had come up with some usable ideas, I drifted off to sleep.
It was three days before the Japan broadcast stage recording.

* * *
A weekday morning in August during summer break—a time every student looked forward to.
A high school boy, lounging in the cool air conditioning while browsing YouTube on his computer, discovered a music video still lingering in the top trending videos.
[TeSTAR ‘Present’ Official MV]
“….”
Truth be told, he’d already watched this music video.
Entirely because of the teaser.
His older sister had gently coaxed him, mentioning that Park Moon-dae—the May Groom from “The Singer I Created,” who’d left quite an impression on him—had his finals performance featured here.
-Hey, check this out
-Ugh, get lost
-When are you gonna pay back that hundred thousand won, huh?~ I’ll knock off ten thousand if you just watch this. Park Moon-dae’s here singing the song from “The Singer I Created”
-….
-This thing went viral like crazy, so it’s got tons of views now. Just watch it already
So the high school boy eventually caved and watched the teaser, and the sheer scale of it had captivated him.
His sister’s sales pitch had succeeded.
But the boy was vehemently in denial.
‘…I was just curious if they’d rearranged it, that’s all.’
He told himself he’d only wanted to hear a different version of the finals song performed by the May Groom.
‘But honestly, objectively speaking, the video quality was solid. It looked like a Netflix blockbuster drama trailer, so of course it’d be entertaining, right?’
In fact, by his standards, the music video was even more entertaining than the teaser.
The music video was much shorter and packed with intensity.
‘The pacing was insane.’
After a moment of internal conflict, the boy clicked play on the music video.
‘I’ve already seen it once anyway, so what’s the harm in watching again?’
Fortunately, the video started without any ads.
[The armored warrior Chung-ryeo steps forth to receive the royal command.]
The music video showed Ryu Chung-woo, tasked by the king with capturing the “most harmful monster,” traveling throughout Joseon with a yokai investigation record in hand, searching for creatures.
Each member, disguised as a yokai, interacted with Ryu Chung-woo, offering clues about the “most harmful monster” or being vanquished.
-The day finally arrives
Present
Here at last, today
Particularly when the chorus kicked in, the intense choreography cuts and dynamic story cuts intersecting created an overwhelming impact.
As the dance scenes interspersed throughout heightened the atmosphere further, Ryu Chung-woo finally encountered Kim Rae-bin in a cave.
Kim Rae-bin attempted to discover the identity of the “most harmful monster” using lantern lights suspended throughout his cave.
At this moment, his own part in the song overlapped, and the way story-cut Kim Rae-bin directly faced the camera while delivering his part created a peculiar sensation.
Inside the cave, the lantern lights shimmered with all manner of neon colors.
Like warning lights.
-Now, it appears
Warning upon warning
Approaching in eights
Slow and tingling.
As the flickering lanterns created an otherworldly glow, the camera spun in a circle, capturing Ryu Chung-woo.
—Me.
The song stopped.
Then a very brief flashback sequence filled with screams and frantic movement cut in.
[Aaaahhh!!]
[Uuughhhh….]
It was a four-legged beast.
The creature, whose form was barely visible as it flashed past in an instant, transformed into the shape of a young child as the sun rose.
Overlaid above it was the present moment—Ryu Chung-woo inside the Cave.
Ryu Chung-woo realized that he himself was ‘the most dangerous monster.’
Again, the song exploded.
—Even if I bow my head, I cannot escape.
Watch carefully, right now.
A chill follows me.
For several dozen seconds, including the final dance break, the choreography cuts at their peak rushed forward without narrative context.
Only when the song’s climax ended and the track concluded did the story cuts return.
[….]
A dark night. Ryu Chung-woo, who had been glaring at the camera, turned his back and disappeared into the Forest.
With the sound of a taepyeongso, the song ended.
[Procession]
And the ending credits rolled.
Accompanied by an unfamiliar background track.
—Lying in bed late at night,
I think quietly, perhaps
You were never
Me from the beginning.
It was a song about parting. At first glance it sounded like a love song, but flowing after this story, it carried profound meaning.
It was Ryu Chung-woo’s solo track, “Truth.”
Countless fans and YouTubers dissected the music video and teasers from beginning to end, hunting for every clue and analyzing them, but the high school student knew nothing of this and had little interest.
He simply marveled that ‘the video was incredible,’ thinking only this.
‘There’s even a post-credits scene.’
Indeed, once the ending credits finished, another scene appeared.
The identity of the king whose only legs had been shown, solemnly commanding Ryu Chung-woo in the first music video scene.
[You fell for it~]
It was Lee Sae-jin with fox ears sprouting from her head.
Lee Sae-jin, giggling, crumpled her massive tail decoration and sprawled lazily across the throne, bringing the post-credits scene to an end.
Unaware of the fans who shuddered at the shock and cuteness of this ending, the high school student simply smacked his lips.
‘Why doesn’t Netflix make stuff like this.’
Even as he deliberately thought it would have been better with real actors instead of idols, the high school student found neither any particular flaw nor awkwardness in that video.
‘…They’re actually pretty good.’
The boy reluctantly admitted it once more before attempting to exit the music video screen.
Or rather, he tried to exit, but the page stuttered and the back button wouldn’t respond.
‘Ugh, seriously.’
The high schooler groaned in frustration, repeatedly jabbing the back button until the rapid page reversals accidentally pulled up an Internet page his sister had left open.
It was a private browsing history—the kind of digital footprint his sister rarely left behind.
“What the—??”
On the blue SNS page was an animated GIF of Park Moon-dae turning around in some classroom.
========================
Magic Boy MV Behind-the-Scenes Cut (1) Park Moon-dae
(Color-corrected GIF)
#ParkMoon-dae #BlondeParkmoon-dae #GoldenMoon-dae #MagicBoy
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Park Moon-dae stood in a white sailor uniform against a vivid sky of red, yellow, and purple—black-haired at first, then turning around with blonde hair.
It was an exceptionally well-edited GIF.
“….”
The account bio, for reference, read: “A blood oath to love only Golden Moon-dae.”
‘They look basically identical either way.’
The boy grumbled to himself but secretly concluded that the black hair was easier on the eyes than the chaotic blonde.
‘Is this even a music video? Feels pretty cheap, honestly.’
Despite his sarcasm, the high schooler searched for “Testa” on YouTube out of curiosity.
But something caught his eye before the “Magic Boy” music video appeared.
It was a video uploaded yesterday.
[Testa’s Japan Broadcast Appearance CUT]
‘Huh?’
The thumbnail showed a Japanese comedian with his mouth wide open.
‘Oh, I can’t pass this up.’
National pride bait. The boy snickered and clicked on it first.

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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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