Debut or Die - Chapter 163

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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 163
Did I really say that if the two of them didn’t resolve things quickly, we could get by with just one or two schedule conflicts?
I need to correct that. It was complete nonsense.
‘How the hell did both of them clash right from the start?’
I’d taken the risk of brushing it under the rug, thinking that if it exploded bigger half a year later, the atmosphere would become completely uncontrollable. But I never expected that risk to detonate on the very first round.
I never thought the risk would blow up like this on the first try.
‘I wish this were a dream.’
What frustrated me most was that it had erupted precisely where I’d built my defensive measures to prevent this exact disaster.
Anyway… this W App content started like this.
“Hello, Reviewers! It’s been a while since all seven of us have done W App together, right? Did you happen to see the preview~?”
“We’re currently… ta-da. At the Indoor Climbing Center. Today we wanted to show you a fresh side of how we play.”
“Should we split into pairs? Yes. Thank you for the cheers.”
“Oh, and Chung-woo will be hosting due to fairness concerns!”
Originally, Big Sae-jin was supposed to be the MC.
I mean, this wasn’t the Olympics or anything—we were just playing among ourselves. What did fairness matter?
‘Actually, it would’ve been more entertaining if Ryu Chung-woo had dominated.’
But since Big Sae-jin as MC would have to keep conversing with Bae Sae-jin, I arbitrarily removed him and reassigned the role.
I’d already quietly mentioned it to the company—asked them to make sure those two didn’t end up on the same team.
But somewhere in the communication process, something went wrong. When they drew chopsticks, Big Sae-jin and Bae Sae-jin both pulled the same color in sequence.
“…Wow! Both Sae-jins are on the Blue Team together.”
Before the viewers could sense something was off, I had to start clapping immediately.
Clap clap clap clap!
Fortunately, everyone clapped desperately. It seemed like it might be okay.
“Oh, let’s do our best, hyung.”
“…Yeah.”
At least they managed to have a conversation in front of the camera.
Deep frustration welled up toward the company.
‘These bastards really can’t get even this right.’
Sure, mistakes like this happen everywhere, but with this timing aligning perfectly, I wanted to tear them apart.
And here’s the final problem: this wasn’t a recorded broadcast where editing magic could save us. It was a live stream.
“….”
In short, total chaos.
Once the broadcast ended, I could already see anonymous accounts flooding in with new posts.
‘This won’t do.’
I could practically hear those two’s mental states crumbling from here.
Just as cold sweat was pouring down, a vigorous voice came from beside me.
“Hyung! We’re going to win! Go Red Team~ Go Red Team!”
“Yeah.”
That’s it. The only way was to have the remaining members react dramatically and bury the awkwardness.
I deliberately egged on Cha Yu-jin, who’d ended up on my team.
“Which team do you think will win?”
Cha Yu-jin responded exactly as I’d anticipated.
“Umm… Kim Rae-bin’s team!”
“That statement is nothing but a guess! Sun Ah-hyun and I were former roommates, so we clearly have effective operational skills….”
Perfect. Now everyone just needed to burst into laughter and react.
I skillfully manipulated Cha Yu-jin in a similar fashion, driving the atmosphere forward.
The real-time chat reactions on the W App that I glimpsed were unfolding exactly as intended.
-Why is Moon-dae so excited lolololol
-No Moon-dae lol
-The maknae guys are like Maltese dogs
-Already boring
-So cuteㅠㅠ
Good—seeing the stable, substance-free hate comments meant there wasn’t an awkward tension yet.
‘As long as those two get through their match smoothly, we’re fine.’
Fortunately, with three teams, those two were selected to advance directly to the finals by default.
Of course, I’d intentionally lost to make it happen.
“So the rock-paper-scissors elimination results… the team advancing directly is Blue!”
“Ooh~”
“I think you actually lost out by playing fewer games.”
“Ah~ thanks, Rae-bin. I wasn’t even excited because of you.”
Big Sae-jin smoothly glossed over the fact that the two of them hadn’t even done a single high-five, making it seem like it was because of Kim Rae-bin’s comment.
-lololololol awkward
-Rae-bin’s so sharp
-Ugh sudden tension
-Bae Sae-jin’s expression lololololol
‘Just one more hurdle left.’
As long as those two didn’t glare at each other during the finals or pull their shoulders away the moment they touched, we’d be fine.
I began climbing against Kim Rae-bin and Sun Ah-hyun’s team alongside Cha Yu-jin, feeling somewhat tense.
‘We can’t lose.’
If they won and advanced, I couldn’t count on them to handle unexpected interpersonal situations.
The problem was that they climbed better than I’d expected.
Especially Sun Ah-hyun.
“Come on, fighting…! Watch your foot….”
“Thank you!”
He climbed right up and even pulled Kim Rae-bin up with him.
I wanted to praise his strength and sense of balance, but it didn’t help.
‘Then again, if that team had any sense to throw the match, they wouldn’t have needed to lose in the first place….’
I suppressed a bitter laugh and climbed steadily on.
And fortunately, we won.
“Red team victory!”
“Wow!!”
Cha Yu-jin had ascended at tremendous speed, blocking both opposing team members.
I landed on the ground and eagerly exchanged a high-five with him.
And I spoke with genuine sincerity.
“Nice work.”
“Hehe.”
Cha Yu-jin grinned and waved at Kim Rae-bin.
“Winning feels great!”
“Cha Yu-jin interfered with the other climber’s ascent, while Sun Ah-hyun and I helped each other, so I believe they’re fundamentally incomparable!”
“Hmm, Whatever~”
Cha Yu-jin didn’t even pretend to listen. The live chat erupted in a wave of comments about how cute Kim Rae-bin’s protests were.
-The best rabbitㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Cha Yu-jin discovered variety show entertainment
-Kim Rae-bin is so cute
hahahahahaha
And then the fateful moment arrived.
“Alright, Testa’s climbing competition—the finals begin now. Everyone get ready… ahem, Eugene, step back.”
“Yes.”
At Ryu Chung-woo’s sharp command, Cha Yu-jin, who had stepped forward slightly in his excitement from the game, retreated back into position.
And he shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s fine. We’ll win even if we’re late!”
“…!”
“Oh~ Eugene’s so confident—wouldn’t it be embarrassing if you lost to your hyungs after saying that?”
Big Sae-jin threw out a pointed remark, but Cha Yu-jin laughed brazenly.
“We can’t lose!”
“…!”
It was insane provocation.
‘What’s wrong with this guy.’
I thought that baseless confidence was meant to be funny, and the staff and live chat seemed to take it that way, but from where I stood, he was dead serious.
‘Does winning once make him think he’s invincible?’
These guys were about to cross a line they shouldn’t….
“Huh~? What are you going to do if you win, Eugene? Are you going to cry?”
“No, I’m not!”
Big Sae-jin laughed sharply.
“Yeah? Then I guess we’ll have to see~”
I could feel the sincerity in those words.
Even Bae Sae-jin, who had been rigidly tense, was quietly checking his gloves in the back.
Their eyes had definitely gone wild.
‘These bastards both absolutely hate being disrespected.’
In that moment, something flashed through my mind.
Wait a second… is this actually helping us instead?
I opened my mouth immediately, deliberately putting on a serious expression.
“Right. Doesn’t seem like we’ll lose.”
“Exactly!”
“Wow, even Park Moon-dae is saying that!”
While Big Sae-jin jeered, Bae Sae-jin turned to look at me this time.
He looked like he felt betrayed somehow.
‘What’s with him.’
Either way, it worked. If I got them absorbed in the competition, they’d feel less awkward about it.
“Alright, let’s stop with the psychological warfare. All four of you line up again.”
The four members waited in front of the climbing wall with even more enthusiasm than before.
“Ready… go!”
And they all started climbing with a rush.
‘They’re really going at it.’
I deliberately climbed at a moderate pace to observe the situation, and I grew a bit concerned watching three people move their limbs while only looking upward.
‘It might be better to be a bit more careful.’
Especially the one lacking muscle mass.
The moment I thought that, Bae Sae-jin’s foot slipped.
“…!”
But he quickly regained his posture and continued climbing.
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine.”
Bae Sae-jin’s voice responding to Cha Yu-jin’s question was clear.
Big Sae-jin, who had been bickering with Cha Yu-jin while climbing, hesitated for a moment, but soon answered casually.
“Then I’ll go up first~”
He must have been wondering whether he should say something worried too.
What was surprising was that Bae Sae-jin responded.
“…Got it. Just a moment.”
“Ooh~”
By the way, that exclamation was from Cha Yu-jin.
Cha Yu-jin reached the goal point right after.
“Cha Yu-jin succeeds!”
“YEEES~!”
Cha Yu-jin quickly shifted positions and made a few meaningless gestures as if to interfere with Bae Sae-jin, then soon approached in my direction.
And as if to help support me, he stretched out his arm, then whispered silently with just the shape of his mouth.
It was English.
[We have to lose!]
“…!”
We have to lose.
It was an insightful remark I never would have expected to hear from Cha Yu-jin.
Is this a dream?
Of course it was reality.
For a moment, I nearly looked at Cha Yu-jin with suspicious eyes, but I quickly dismissed the thought and moved naturally instead.
Honestly, it would have been laughable to claim I was going easy on him because my grip was already weakening after two consecutive matches.
“Huff.”
“Park Moon-dae, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
While Cha Yu-jin casually checked on me as a pretense, my climb stalled, and Bae Sae-jin scrambled upward with determination.
And he touched the target hold.
“Done…!!”
Bae Sae-jin’s face as he turned around was flushed red.
“Excellent, Blue Team wins!”
“Ooh!”
The other members applauded Bae Sae-jin, who was triumphantly gripping the hold, forgetting all tension.
I did it.
I landed on the ground and exhaled in relief.
At least I’d successfully lost naturally.
Then Cha Yu-jin came down with a flourish as if performing some trick, and the two winners also landed on the ground.
“Wait, Eugene was supposed to win~”
“I won! Park Moon-dae lost to Bae Sae-jin.”
“Hey.”
I deliberately hit Cha Yu-jin on the back. The staff members observing from behind the camera hastily stifled their laughter.
“Ow! You’re making a hole in my back!”
I left Cha Yu-jin to his obvious dramatics and turned to speak with Bae Sae-jin.
“You did really well.”
“Well, it’s just… somehow it turned out that way.”
Despite his words, his face looked satisfied.
Big Sae-jin was exchanging banter with the exaggerating Cha Yu-jin when our eyes met.
“….”
I gave Big Sae-jin a subtle chin gesture.
Big Sae-jin slowly opened his mouth.
“…Yeah! You did great, hyung.”
“…!!”
Bae Sae-jin’s shoulders seemed to flinch in surprise, but fortunately his expression quickly regained composure.
“…Yeah. Thanks. You… did well too.”
“Haha.”
The two of them high-fived with considerable formality.
Even if they were acting like that for the camera, it was clear that some of the tension had eased.
Both of them must have had a lot on their minds last night.
Cha Yu-jin, watching contentedly from beside me, whispered something in English.
[Success and victory in sports. It always works, you know.]
“…Are you speaking from experience?”
[I was actually quite a good American football player! Well, back in middle school, of course.]
No matter how intensively I’ve been studying English conversation, I can barely understand half of what this guy says—it’s not standard speech at all. How many times does “like” appear in a single sentence anyway?
…Though I can’t fault his excellent judgment.
‘So it wasn’t that he lacked social awareness—he just chose to ignore it.’
I tapped Cha Yu-jin on the back.
“Well done.”
“Of course!”
As we exchanged a casual fist bump like some second-place ceremony, the reality of having safely completed this shoot finally sank in.
And it seemed the two of us who had clashed were ready to converse in a surprisingly amicable atmosphere far sooner than expected.

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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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