Debut or Die - Chapter 176

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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 176
First, I needed to clarify one crucial point: the “That Actually Makes Sense” trait didn’t grant me omnipotent persuasion just because it activated.
Let me review the trait description again.
[Trait: That Actually Makes Sense (A)]
-Induces emotional turbulence in the listener.
: Activation probability 60%, default active state
It induced ’emotional turbulence’—it didn’t mean they’d accept any nonsense I spouted.
In other words, this was merely a training wheel across various communication situations, from the Stage to conversations.
So to derail this America-obsessed Director, I needed to bring evidence he’d actually accept.
Then what should I target?
I had to strike at his true motivation for wanting to go to America.
‘Image.’ That was it.
“If we succeed in America, that would be wonderful for us, but… how long are you planning this venture to take?”
The Director answered without hesitation, as if he’d already mapped everything out.
“I’m looking at somewhere between two years minimum and three years maximum. It’s a perfectly feasible plan.”
He meant to squeeze every last drop from the contract period.
‘That won’t work.’
I pressed forward immediately.
“But if we’re active in America for that long, won’t all our Korean fans leave?”
“Ha, that’s ancient history. These days everyone knows what’s happening worldwide through YouTube and SNS in real time. You all speak Korean anyway, right? Korean fans actually have better accessibility.”
“Hmm… but I think they’d actually dislike it more.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that when we go to America, we’ll have to start from scratch with no recognition, and watching that might actually make them resent us.”
I deliberately paused before adding.
“I thought we were a remarkable team, but wouldn’t our image collapse if we’re starting from the bottom in America?”
“…!”
“If we can’t show growth in Korea for 2 to 3 years, I’m worried your image won’t recover properly.”
“Exactly! We’re already doing so much better in our original position that we’re getting responses from other countries too! Just like you said, Director, these days everything goes global in real time~”
Big Sae-jin interjected with a laugh. I continued immediately.
“Even the response you mentioned from Japan—wouldn’t they have been even more immersed in the program because they knew we’d succeeded in Korea after Idol Corporation?”
“…Hmm.”
A strange expression crossed the Director’s face—displeasure at being contradicted by uneducated youngsters, but something else too.
It was the turbulence that comes when you hear something that strikes exactly where it matters.
And in that moment, a popup appeared.
[‘That Actually Makes Sense (A)’ activated!]
‘Got him.’
My prediction that Testa’s brand image would deteriorate domestically during those 2-3 years devoted to America, destabilizing the Korean market we’d already secured, apparently sounded plausible enough.
Normally, stubbornness might have let him say something like “If my master plan succeeds in America, it doesn’t matter!” but the trait’s activation intensified his emotional wavering.
‘Now I just need to set up a board where the Director can gracefully concede.’
A retreat that still allowed him to rationalize it as ‘considering our contracted artists.’
“…We’re just anxious about it.”
“Y-yeah, that’s right.”
“Since we’re still growing domestically, we’d like to focus more on stabilizing our position here first.”
The members backed me up perfectly.
We’d already reached a consensus after the previous meeting anyway.
-Filming the reality show in America is fine, but targeting America entirely feels off….
-It’s weird. Like they’re awkwardly trying to copy Hollywood sensibilities without good reason.
-That was a fitting analogy, hyung!
-W-what…!
After going through this process, we’d already decided that if America came up again, we’d shut it down.
Ryu Chung-woo added the final word gravely.
“Until our position solidifies after winning the Grand Prize in South Korea… couldn’t we think about it a bit more? We’re asking for your understanding.”
“….”
The Director’s eyebrows twitched for a moment, then he shrugged his shoulders as if he’d become magnanimous.
“Well, there’s no helping it. This is the entertainment business, and what the people involved think matters. I believe that should be respected.”
“Thank you so much!”
Now I just had to leave before he changed his mind.
“Phew.”
As we exited the Director’s Office, sighs of relief echoed from all around.
“I can’t believe he was actually going to send us.”
“N-no, I was shocked.”
‘At least we’ve bought time until the end of this year.’
If we won the Grand Prize this time, our negotiating position would be stronger anyway, making future discussions easier.
Ryu Chung-woo lightly patted my and Big Sae-jin’s backs.
“Good work.”
“No problem.”
“Phew.”
“So we’re still going to America? Or going home?”
“Yeah, we’re going there.”
There was no avoiding the reality show filming.
“Wow!!”
Cha Yu-jin threw both hands up in the air.
A look of relief that at least he was happy briefly swept across everyone before fading.
‘Still, things are going smoothly.’
After meeting with the Director, I was certain of it. He’s the type who overestimates his own abilities, but he’s not difficult to handle.
‘All I need to do is make him feel like he’s the one giving.’
Besides, he wanted to build up Testa itself rather than use it for T1’s benefit, which was actually better.
‘I just need to steer things in the right direction.’
I stretched. My shoulders made an odd sound.
“Ugh, want to give me a massage?”
“That’s enough.”
From the ‘Procession’ era straight through to this ‘Picnic’ repackage, I’d been pushing myself relentlessly without a moment’s rest, and it was starting to take a toll on my body.
‘But the results have been solid.’
Even after finishing all the Music Broadcast Studio promotions for this album, the digital sales numbers remained strong.
‘Though VTIC did edge me out at the end.’
Yesterday, VTIC had come surging up the charts at a terrifying pace using a pre-release track by the same composer.
‘Can’t be helped.’
But that text I received yesterday still irritated me.
-Thanks for the song, senior ^^
The bastard even attached a screenshot of the digital chart rankings.
For a moment, irritation flared up, but realizing my current peaceful state had nothing left to deal with, it subsided just as quickly.
‘Now… I just need to settle the concert unit stage.’
Whether to add a unit stage to the setlist, and if so, who to pair up with.
This wasn’t some hidden minefield or anything—it was purely a matter of considering the concert quality and Cha Yu-jin’s morale.
‘Ideally, I’d want to do the unit with someone else, maybe Kim Rae-bin.’
I thought through the unit candidates I’d originally considered, pondering how to separate Cha Yu-jin from the equation.
But before the final meeting to decide this, something happened that would significantly influence the decision.
It was the edited footage from the horror escape room I’d done with Cha Yu-jin being uploaded.

* * *
[Park Moon-dae and Cha Yu-jin’s Horror Escape Number One│Testa Roommate Bonus EP.1]
This video, which added a bit more character to the preliminary title Park Moon-dae had heard, provided a different kind of entertainment compared to the live W Live broadcast at the time.
During the live stream, it had come across like found footage style fake documentary since it was transmitted through just one shaky smartphone camera.
But in this edited video, that feeling was completely stripped away and replaced with variety show editing.
So instead of immersion in the horror escape room itself, the two of us’s character dynamics were emphasized even more.
[The theme of this room is… the nightmare of a child who picked up a creepy doll… Well, this is why proper waste separation is important.]
[Are you scared of dolls? Do you hate nightmares!]
Before entering, I had been composed while Cha Yu-jin was making a fuss.
This dynamic remained similar after we entered, but our positions reversed.
[Hyung! Look over there—hair! The teddy bear has human hair! It’s not cute!]
[Put it down, put that down, Yu-jin.]
Cha Yu-jin was enthusiastically making a fuss while I calmly freaked out.
And toward the end, we abandoned the initial dynamic entirely and both trembled in sheer terror.
It was because we’d become immersed in the story, but for fans watching from a step removed thanks to the editing, it was comedy gold.
[If we match these… is this an English sentence?]
[Yes! Umm~ THIS IS NOT A DREAM… it’s not a dream!! It’s not a dream!!]
[Wait, hold on.]
Crack!
Suddenly the lights flashed red, and the neck of the crude mannequin in the corner rotated.
[Ahhhhhhh!!]
The sight of the two of them leaping backward while practically clinging to each other was genuinely captivating even on the infrared camera.
And the moment people saw the video’s theme, they were satisfied with the picture they’d anticipated.
The longer time goes on, both of their eyes get bigger lol
-The mannequin did this wrong, it threatened the two scaredy-cats
-ㅅㅂPark Moon Dae Cha Yu-jin This is my first time seeing you rely on me like that hahahahaha
-The way they just grab each other’s clothes without damaging anything is heartwarming, truly law-abiding idols
Hahahahahahaha that’s insane
Both of them had an image of having unparalleled mental strength, and with the added explanation that they’d chosen the content themselves, there were few people who found it particularly uncomfortable.
[That was fun. It felt fresh.]
[Let’s come back and do this again!!]
[Yeah.]
After escaping, the way they nonchalantly enjoyed themselves as if they’d accomplished it effortlessly was a textbook example of excellent idol-created content.
And this settled in far better than Park Moon-dae had anticipated.
-The scaredy-cats will only walk horror roads from now on…
That was the nickname—”the scaredy-cats”.
In truth, they’d wanted to bundle the top two together and see if people would like them as a pair, which was essentially poking those who had no special connection.
The response from people who had favorable feelings toward both was so strong that you could sense the fierce battles between individual fans that had been simmering beneath the surface.
“….”
In the end, even Park Moon-dae, who’d only done some light monitoring, found himself saying this to Cha Yu-jin.
“Hey, let’s do a unit.”
“Wow!!”
It was a simple declaration of surrender.
However, to avoid direct comparison with the unit stage from the previous concert, there was slight adjustment made to the timing of the unit stage.
“So we’ll reveal the unit stage later at the encore concert?”
“Sounds good, sounds good~”
That was my conclusion from the final concert concept meeting.
Instead, they added a few surprise events to this tour.
“People will be shocked, right?”
“I think they’ll laugh so hard they fall over.”
Everything was clean.
Testa finished preparing for the concert step by step without any particular conflict.
In fact, under the direction of the newly arrived Director, the Agency even gave Testa a long ten-day vacation before the tour’s final rehearsal.
‘Managing an artist’s condition is also the company’s responsibility’—that was the impressive phrase that came with it.
‘Preemptive strike, is it.’
Park Moon-dae wasn’t particularly moved, but in any case, I welcomed the vacation.
It was a timing when everyone needed rest.

* * *
“It’s been forever since I’ve headed home~”
“Let’s get some proper rest.”
“I’ll keep in touch regularly.”
Anyone watching would’ve thought we were parting for half a year with all that fuss, but finally they left the Dormitory.
-Hey, if you’re free… want to come hang out?
-Apparently my grandmother was really impressed by May’s groom.
-…I’m looking at places to move to with my mom, but, uh, I thought it’d be good if you shared your plans too, you know?
A few of them tried to convince me to come along to their places, but I politely declined.
‘Finally alone.’
I reviewed my ten-day seclusion plan and let out a delighted laugh.
Just in case I got sick, I’d already set up emergency contacts with the Company and stocked up on first aid supplies. Even bought some rice porridge.
‘A cold or body aches? That’s nothing.’
Even if I caught something, it didn’t matter anymore. With ten days ahead, I could afford to be bedridden for three days and still have a full week of proper rest.
‘I shouldn’t monitor things too obsessively.’
It was funny, but this time I decided to actually take Cha Yu-jin’s advice to heart.
‘A few days of rest should be fine.’
This Director was overly interested in Testa, so he’d definitely strengthened the Company’s Internet monitoring operations.
Which meant if any problems erupted, I’d get a call.
“Good.”
I’d switched my smartphone to silent for everything except emergency contacts. I’d even unusually set a status message.
-On vacation. Slow to respond.
Like that.
I picked up my smartphone to double-check, only to find the screen was already lit up.
A call was coming in.
[VTIC Shin Chung-ryeo Senior]
Really unwelcome.

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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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