Debut or Die - Chapter 180

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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 180
I had no idea how long I’d slept.
It felt like an instant, but the moment I thought it probably wasn’t that short, the realization hit me.
My head felt refreshed.
“….”
Fortunately, the moment I opened my eyes, the place before me was unmistakably a private hospital room.
‘Good.’
Whoever answered the phone must have handled it properly….
“…! Moon-dae.”
“…!”
As I turned my head, my eyes met Ryu Chung-woo’s, who had jumped up from the chair he’d been sitting in.
‘What?’
What was he doing here?
“Wait, calling!”
But before I could say anything, Ryu Chung-woo immediately pressed the button to call the medical staff.
And shortly after.
“Yes. There are no other abnormal signs. Is the IV drip speed comfortable for you?”
“Yes….”
“Then we’ll change it again in an hour.”
The medical staff who visited gave their assessment that there were no major issues.
I looked at the back of my hand where the IV was inserted with an uncertain gaze.
‘No wonder I feel so refreshed.’
It must have been because the antibiotics and nutrients went in directly.
“If you feel anything unusual, just call.”
“…Yes.”
“Thank you!”
Click.
And the moment the medical staff left, serious-faced figures popped out beside my bed.
Not just one, but three of them.
Ryu Chung-woo seemed to fiddle with his smartphone for a moment, and then Big Sae-jin and Bae Sae-jin burst in from somewhere.
‘What is this?’
Wasn’t this the kind of composition you’d only see in a gangster movie?
In the midst of it all, Ryu Chung-woo opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“…Your wrist is a sprain with three weeks of full recovery, your ribs have two fractures requiring four weeks. The bruises on your limbs should fade faster than that, they said.”
“….”
“You were out of it for a full day.”
The injuries were less severe than I’d expected. Park Moon-dae’s body must have been surprisingly resilient.
‘At least nothing was broken.’
But… looking at this situation, I’d need to use my head carefully.
The person who had called me right before I was about to lose it finally opened his mouth.
“…Well, at least it seems like things are getting better. That’s a relief.”
It was Big Sae-jin.
Without even looking, I knew there was no other way out of this situation except for him to have contacted the other two.
“…Hey.”
“What, why.”
Why was his response so uncooperative in the middle of all this?
“How was I supposed to move you to the hospital without calling 119 myself? Is there any other way besides calling a hyung who has his own car?”
“….”
I wasn’t trying to interrogate him, but I certainly had nothing to say in response.
Big Sae-jin didn’t stop there.
“When I first called you… I was actually meeting with Chung-woo hyung.”
“….”
“Your messages were way too weird.”
“…What?”
Big Sae-jin crossed his arms.
“Park Moon-dae abandoning a perfectly fine dormitory to go to a hotel is already strange, but then cutting off contact right after that message makes it even more suspicious.”
“…!”
“So I asked the other guys too… and every single response was weird.”
Big Sae-jin tilted his chin slightly toward Bae Sae-jin.
“That hyung was also contacting Chung-woo hyung because of it.”
Bae Sae-jin mumbled while avoiding eye contact slightly.
“…You were talking about filing a comprehensive income tax return, and then suddenly you didn’t know the apartment’s square footage, so it seemed off.”
“….”
Had they figured it out?
Big Sae-jin asked with a hardened expression.
“That wasn’t you, was it?”
“….”
“So tell me—what the hell is going on with you? What happened?”
Yeah. I knew this question was coming.
“I stopped Chung-woo hyung from reporting it right away… but honestly, I don’t even know why I stopped him. I’m seriously overthinking everything….”
Big Sae-jin sighed while staring into empty space.
“If the only reason is that you want to handle it alone—which doesn’t make sense—then I’m reporting it right now. Just tell me what’s going on.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
“I’m trying to avoid reporting it if possible.”
“Then why!?”
“Moon-dae, regardless of the reason, it’s better to file an official report first. Let’s report it.”
“…Is it because of your activities?”
“No.”
I shook my head. And I answered in a serious voice.
“Because it could end up being handled both ways.”
“…!!”
“What, what?”
I clenched my fist with the hand that didn’t have an IV line running through it and shook it.
“Thanks for beating me to a pulp.”
“….”
“….”
“I ran into some lunatic while I was out, knocked him down, and gathered some evidence. But our country’s self-defense laws are so narrow in scope that even if I win, going to court would just waste time.”
“S-still, that bastard should face the full force of the law….”
“I literally cracked his skull with steel, so it’s fine.”
“….”
Handcuffs, sure, but steel is steel.
I continued my explanation calmly toward Bae Sae-jin, whose mouth hung open and expression had gone rigid.
“Actually, most of my injuries came from trying to subdue him in return, so I wasn’t defenseless when I got hit. If I make a fuss and let the media pick it up, it’ll just be annoying for me.”
“…Hmm.”
These guys’ faces were all slack-jawed, complicated, and chaotic.
But Bae Sae-jin’s expression remained dark.
“Still, you got hit—that’s a fact…! We can handle it quietly, so let’s report it properly. He might try to retaliate against you again.”
“Well, even if we report it, he’ll lose anyway, so he can’t open his mouth. I scared him well enough that he won’t try anything stupid.”
“Sc-scared him?”
“Yes. I did it properly.”
I tilted my head to the side.
“Do you think I handled things sloppily?”
“….”
Apparently not. The trust I’d built up over time was paying dividends here.
“Was my explanation satisfactory? That’s why I decided not to report it. I asked them not to call 119 either, since they’d immediately try to trace the cause of the injuries.”
“…Moon-dae. You should still report it to the hospital.”
“…!”
Ryu Chung-woo gave a bitter smile.
“Your condition was really serious. You had a fever and there were marks like you’d been beaten and restrained….”
“….”
“I don’t know how much you hit whoever it was, but regardless of what the self-defense laws say, you’re the victim. Looking at you now, there’s no way anyone would call this mutual combat.”
Ryu Chung-woo sighed.
“I already told the hospital it was an accident during concert practice while you were pushing yourself while sick… but I’d still like you to report it. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can’t force you.”
“….”
“Or at least, let’s share whatever information you have about this person with the company. We need to make sure he can’t approach you again.”
“Hmm….”
I nodded.
I could just make up a rough composite sketch and tell them.
“Yes. I’ll contact the company.”
“…! Good thinking.”
“Tell us too! Everyone needs to be careful around a lunatic like that.”
“Got it. And, um.”
It was a bit embarrassing, but I felt I should say this.
“Thank you.”
“…!”
“We’re grateful too, hyung. Honestly, if that call hadn’t come through, things would’ve been rough.”
I let out a soft laugh.
“That impersonated message was pretty convincing, honestly. I didn’t expect anyone to catch it.”
“….”
For a moment, the hospital room filled with a warm sense of gratification and accomplishment.
‘If we’d played it right, we might’ve caught him before he even escaped—before he could lay a hand on Ah-hyun.’
Just as I was thinking how impressive that was, Big Sae-jin nodded seriously.
“Exactly. So you’d better treat me better from now on. First, my personal photos—”
“Cancelled.”
“Hey! That’s too much!”
Big Sae-jin smacked the bedsheet. Funny bastard.
“…Ahem, ahem! Get some good rest. Anyway! Take care of yourself!”
“Yeah. Still, I’m glad you made it to the hospital in time.”
The other two looked satisfied too. Good, the situation wrapped up well.
“Oh, should I grab some drinks? What do you guys want?”
“No way, hyung. I’ll go get them~”
“Nah. I wanted to walk around a bit anyway. Um, Park Moon-dae—apple juice?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
And if there was one more thing I’d noticed, it was this.
‘Yeah, it’s definitely easier now.’
Ryu Chung-woo felt less awkward.
Apparently my subconscious had properly re-filed the guy who’d helped me when I was in pain back into my brain.
‘You really do need to feel it to understand.’
Once my body benefited, my head came back around too.
“Then get some rest.”
“Yes.”
I waved appropriately to see Ryu Chung-woo off.
Click.
And as he left, Big Sae-jin suddenly asked casually.
“Hey, the leader hyung’s gone too.”
“….”
“Is there anything you don’t want to tell the company about, but want to get off your chest? Sae-jin hyung would definitely listen if Park Moon-dae opened up, right?”
“What, what? Oh, that… of course!”
Sharp kid.
‘He caught on that I was deflecting with praise.’
Well, I was planning to explain the situation to a few people anyway, just in case.
It was to steer team opinion toward avoiding entanglement with VTIC during future activities.
‘No point in stirring up unnecessary trouble.’
For that, they needed to be distant enough that they couldn’t conspire behind my back, and they had to be the type with good enough character not to blab about mistakes to others.
‘Perfect.’
I opened my mouth.
“The person who attacked me—actually, I know them.”
“What?”
“Who!”
“VTIC Chung-ryeo.”
“…!!”
Bae Sae-jin’s face visibly hardened.
“That bastard, I knew something was off about him.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, his eyes were strange…!”
“We should report it.”
“…!!”
Big Sae-jin stepped forward with a rigid expression.
“We’re going to keep seeing him at award shows and music broadcasts. We can’t let this slide. We should report it.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“You might be fine now, but when you actually meet him….”
I let out a dry laugh.
“What’s that bastard going to do.”
“…!”
“I told you. I’m the one who threw the punches.”
I stretched carefully, mindful of the IV in my arm.
“That guy’s face got hit hard enough that he won’t be able to work for a while.”
“…If he reports you first,”
“I have recordings, photos, and even got an apology in the end. He can’t.”
“…Sigh.”
Big Sae-jin let out heavy sighs but didn’t push back further.
‘Seems like he’s starting to realize what a mess it would become if we reported it.’
Still, it was unusual for someone so obsessed with group performance to suggest reporting it.
“Why did he even attack you….”
“I don’t know. Guess he just couldn’t stand the sight of me.”
“Crazy bastard.”
Having seen more outlandish people in the industry, Bae Sae-jin surprisingly accepted this flimsy explanation without much resistance.
Then he hesitated before asking.
“…Is there a reason you’re only telling me this?”
“Well, if we happen to have schedules where we’d meet VTIC, I was hoping you could help me avoid them skillfully.”
Let me butter them up a little too.
“You always give great feedback whenever we work together.”
“…! Y-yes. Got it.”
Instilling a sense of mission worked wonders. Much better. Good.
“Still, just in case—make sure you keep the evidence safe!”
“Of course.”
And so the explanation and acceptance of “why Park Moon-dae ended up in this state” came to an end.
‘That was harder than I expected.’
Well, I suppose it was difficult in a good way.
“You guys, drinks.”
“Oh~ Thank you!”
“…Thanks.”
Shortly after, Ryu Chung-woo returned, and I sipped on a fairly expensive convenience store apple juice while turning my thoughts in a different direction.
‘So… it’ll take roughly four weeks to recover the injury to a point where I can move around comfortably.’
It looked like I’d barely make it in time for the concert to start.
‘If push comes to shove, I can skip the Seoul concert.’
The real problem was that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the final rehearsals during that time.
I’d learned the group choreography before the vacation, so if there were no changes, I could manage somehow, but the solo stage was what worried me.
And there was also a new fan service segment that required learning new choreography.
‘The best I can do is carefully memorize the movements.’
There was no helping it right now.
I shrugged and picked up my smartphone.
First, I’d ask the other guys for their understanding about the injury, and then contact the company to ask them to release an article preemptively.
‘If I drop this now, everyone will understand even if I’m not fully recovered by the concert.’
…But if I’d known this action would create a shockwave far stronger than expected, I would have considered delaying it a bit longer.
[Me: Got tangled up with some crazy stalker and got injured subduing them. After vacation, assume all messages are from that person impersonating me—please disregard them all. (sighing emoticon)]
The moment Sun Ah-hyun saw that, he abandoned his trip and showed up at my hospital room.
He’d apparently seen those lunatics who’d broken into my one-room apartment before, so the word “stalker” made him panic even more.
“M-Moon-dae!”
“…? Hey.”
Before I could even give him a look that said “why are you here?”, Sun Ah-hyun gasped and burst out in alarm.
“This isn’t just a minor injury!”
“….”
Well… it’s not like I’m in a full cast, so isn’t this pretty minor?
I calmed down Sun Ah-hyun, who looked like he was about to cry, and received a gift box full of bread.
Apparently it was from a famous bakery in Sokcho, and it tasted great regardless.
I also exchanged awkward greetings with Sun Ah-hyun’s parents, who’d brought him here.
They were so sympathetic that I actually felt a bit embarrassed.
“Next time, definitely come with Ah-hyun. There are so many strange people these days… Oh my, what should we do.”
“It’s fine. I won.”
“W-well, I suppose… but still….”
His forlorn expression was identical to Sun Ah-hyun’s—I wondered if it ran in the family.
“If you need anything, just call me!”
“Got it.”
After that, Sun Ah-hyun continued to visit my hospital room throughout the remainder of my vacation.
It was remarkable patience. I would never visit someone daily during my own vacation.
‘Perhaps it’s a difference in character.’
Of course, I also received calls from the other members besides Sun Ah-hyun.
Among them was someone I’d been meaning to contact anyway.
-Hyung! Are you doing okay?
Kim Rae-bin, that is.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Actually, I was meaning to talk to you anyway.”
-Huh…?
And so I did what needed to be done.
“Hello, ma’am. This is Park Moon-dae.”
[Oh my!]
I’d initially planned to sing some trot to lighten the mood, but Kim Rae-bin’s grandmother had firm tastes.
[That one—the one my husband used to sing! Winter Night!]
“I-I’ll sing it for you.”
[Oh, how lovely~]
Well, it was quite an amusing experience, all things considered.
And finally, Cha Yu-jin… surprisingly, didn’t contact me until the day before vacation ended.
When he did report his survival, it was through a brief video posted in the group chat.
[Wahahahaha!]
[Watch out!]
…It was a video of Cha Yu-jin diving into the sea, captured dynamically and energetically.
In late autumn, no less.
[Cha Yu-jin: Mom took this for me!:D]
He was truly consistent.
Still, perhaps he saw my post a step too late, because he called me that night to check on me.
-Hyung!! Did you beat up the stalker?? Did you hit them!?
That was equally consistent of him.
“Sigh.”
And around this time, the company finally began releasing articles about my injury.

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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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