Debut or Die - Chapter 182

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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 182
Asking Sun Ah-hyun for assistance with stage-related matters was already a proven method.
After all, he’d eagerly helped me during the Ajusa grading evaluation when we were barely acquainted.
However, the conversation took an unexpected turn.
“Ah, that won’t work!”
“…?”
The moment I explained the situation, Sun Ah-hyun’s demeanor shifted entirely.
‘Did this guy suddenly develop a competitive streak?’
Finding it rather absurd, I watched as he shrank back slightly but pressed on stubbornly.
“Y-you’re injured, and doing something like that would be dangerous….”
Ah, so that was it.
“It’s fine. I’m not saying I’ll start practicing right away. I’m planning to do it once I’ve recovered adequately.”
Since I already had a foundation from my previous training regimen, I intended to focus on planning and memorization first, then begin serious practical training about two weeks before the performance.
I wasn’t some drama character who gets shot and is running around the next episode—I’d obviously already planned how to take care of my body.
Yet despite this detailed explanation, Sun Ah-hyun still looked deeply uncomfortable.
“S-still, it seems like it would put more strain on the joints than expected…, ah, is it something you absolutely have to do…?”
“Hmm….”
“Y-you already! Your singing is really excellent, so you don’t even need to do something like that….”
He was practically sweating profusely at this point.
‘…He’s sensitive about injuries.’
I’d initially thought it was simply because he came from a dance background, but there was something more desperate about his concern.
“Hmm.”
In any case, it seemed I wouldn’t get an answer this way, so I decided to shift my approach slightly.
“You’re right. What you’re saying makes sense.”
“…! R-really?”
“Yeah. I should be careful for my health.”
Sun Ah-hyun’s expression brightened considerably.
I then casually added something afterward.
“So I’ll just use the apparatus briefly…. Right, just to be safe, could I ask you about some safe techniques?”
“Y-yes!”
Perfect.
Sun Ah-hyun nodded in agreement. I played a video on my smartphone and showed it to him.
“About this part where you release tension….”
A classic case of misdirection.
In truth, if I thought about it carefully, I was just going to do what I originally intended, but I knew this guy’s personality would make him fall for the implication that ‘the other party had agreed.’
I picked up a few practical tips from Sun Ah-hyun and even secured a promise that he’d demonstrate them in the training room.
“Thanks.”
“W-what are you thanking me for!”
And it was only after Sun Ah-hyun arrived at the massive training room that had been rented for the upcoming concert that he noticed something odd.
The company had apparently moved quickly—they’d already rented the apparatus.
“Uh, uh….”
Sun Ah-hyun’s expression became a question mark, but the situation was already over.
“You’re not… going to do it?”
“You said you’d show me.”
“B-but….”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Well… if you don’t feel like it, that’s fine too. The instructor’s here now, so I can just ask them slowly.”
“…! Oh, no! I’ll show you!”
“Thanks.”
That’s how I got to see Sun Ah-hyun’s demonstration as well.
Whether he’d done it before or not, it went smoothly even without the instructor’s advice.
And it felt different.
‘…There’s definitely a difference.’
I needed to master that.
“Ooh!”
Apart from Cha Yu-jin barging in midway, excitedly wanting to try it himself and nearly crashing his face into the floor, everything proceeded smoothly.
However, a few members did ask quietly.
“Moon-dae, did you get checked by a doctor? They said it’s okay to do this, right?”
“Ah, yes, it’s fine.”
I nodded immediately at Ryu Chung-woo’s subtle question.
“Once I recover, I’m going to try it within safe limits.”
“…Got it. But don’t push yourself too hard.”
It really was fine. Not only had I cleared my schedule, but my recovery speed was definitely faster than before.
‘Must be thanks to Bacchus 500.’
Since fatigue accumulated slowly, I must be getting some compensation in recovery.
I crossed my arms and examined the apparatus that Cha Yu-jin had just come down from, chuckling.
‘The visuals will definitely work out well.’
Now I was starting to feel the thrill of this. My mood was quite good.
The concert was becoming quite anticipated.

* * *
“This is… a toast to our success.”
“Oh, I love it! Cheers!!”
Park Moon-dae’s Fan and her graduate student friend clinked their beers together.
‘Ahhh!!’
It was exhilarating.
They’d just successfully completed the advance ticket reservations for Testa’s second concert!
And both of them had gotten tickets.
“This is standing room, right? Do we have to stand the whole time?”
“No, no! There are chairs over there! You can just sit and stand depending on the vibe.”
“Oh, I see!”
The graduate student beamed, having secured a decent spot in the front section of what was colloquially called “sit-standing” seating—folding chairs arranged in the standing area.
‘And she said she barely had time.’
Park Moon-dae’s Fan watched her with slight sympathy, then glanced at her smartphone as it buzzed.
Buzz!
The moment she checked the message, she grabbed her phone tightly.
“Oh my god, Moon-dae posted!”
“No way!”
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Hello, Reviewer
I’m Moon-dae (puppy emoji)
This is my dinner today
I made it
(photo) (photo)
Chung-woo hyung took the pictures
Reviewer, please enjoy a delicious meal too
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The attached photos showed a home-cooked meal laid out quite nicely—spicy soybean paste stew and fried eggs.
And even a photo of Park Moon-dae’s profile as he seriously photographed the table.
‘This is driving me crazy, seriously.’
His Fan felt like hitting her head.
Park Moon-dae was truly the best. But he was doing too much.
‘Just rest!!’
She’d cleared his schedule so he could rest, so why was he cooking and posting about it?
Moreover, looking at the photos again, several concerning details jumped out at her.
The graduate student murmured with worry.
“He’s still wearing a wrist brace….”
“And look at his waist. You can see the outline under his shirt.”
It had already been a week since hearing about his injuries, but she couldn’t help but feel concerned.
The mood at the drinking table grew slightly subdued.
“…Still, Park Moon-dae’s solo track isn’t exactly a high-energy piece either, so the concert should be fine, right? He stood and performed it on 【My Singer】 too.”
“That’s true. He can sit and perform.”
They made a reasonable assumption—if necessary, he could even skip the group choreography and perform seated.
‘He’ll be so disappointed.’
After observing him for over a year of activities, Park Moon-dae seemed like the type who pretended not to crave the stage, but clearly did.
Home Ma held back the urge to wail while thinking she should send ginseng through the agency right away.
“…Still, this concert seems like it’ll be even more fun than the first one! The venue is bigger too!”
“Mm, yes, that’s right.”
The Graduate Student attempted to shift the mood, and Home Ma played along, but couldn’t help feeling a dampness in her spirits.
Both of them had suddenly remembered what they’d been quietly ignoring while facing the joyful reality of successfully securing tickets.
‘Of all places, Gocheok Dome….’
Last time, the concert at the Gymnastics Arena with a capacity of 13,000 seats was now being held at Gocheok Sky Dome with 21,000 seats opened.
Of course, with Testa’s concert riding a wave of insane momentum, expanding the scale was the right choice from the agency’s perspective.
But from a fan’s standpoint, Gocheok Dome wasn’t particularly appealing.
‘The sightlines are terrible.’
She wanted to cry out asking them to extend the duration at the Gymnastics Arena for two weeks instead, but she knew that was impossible because of the tour schedule.
‘Ugh.’
Home Ma, who couldn’t perfectly follow the entire tour due to personal circumstances, took a shot of beer.
‘I’ll just have to buy the data for some of the shows….’
The beer was sweet.
And she barely managed to bring up something positive.
“…And right after the concert ends, it’s awards season, right? Even if you go on tour, you’ll see the kids’ faces often!”
“Oh! That’s true!”
Expectations for Testa’s awards season performance this time were quite high.
‘There’s even a possibility VTIC won’t attend.’
One member had gotten caught up in a messy social scandal that erupted at a club, and the group’s comeback itself had been delayed.
As a result, VTIC had only released a pre-release track and gone silent, leaving fans anxious.
After cutting the controversial member cleanly, even their official SNS and such had gone quiet, apparently.
They’d even been silent on a member’s birthday.
‘The birthday person was Chung-ryeo, wasn’t it?’
That guy who subtly fed our kid—whether out of closeness or something else, she couldn’t tell—suddenly came to mind anyway.
But he vanished from her thoughts just as quickly.
‘Well, he’s first-tier anyway, so he’ll manage just fine.’
In fact, even removing VTIC as a variable, Testa’s momentum was undeniable.
Especially Park Moon-dae’s recent upward trajectory had become even steeper.
To the extent that new fans had been flocking to him over the past six months.
‘How many people have switched over!’
She’d witnessed fans of other groups quietly switching allegiances offline more than once or twice.
In fact, the person who’d grabbed the same section as her at this concert was one such case.
‘She was even a twin fan with Big Sae-jin!’
I heard that at the first concert, someone casually filmed Big Sae-jin, and then posted incredibly high-quality eye-contact photos from the “Waiting is Good” stage on an anonymous site.
But then they actually opened a fan account and started posting different cuts from those photos.
Including shots of Park Moon-dae and Big Sae-jin together!
‘…I thought they only filmed Big Sae-jin, but they’re managing Park Moon-dae’s account too.’
A subtle competitive fire ignited in my chest.
This concert, I absolutely had to capture Park Moon-dae photos that would blow away those twin fan accounts they’d switched to!
Park Moon-dae’s Fan ignored the fact that she’d also switched accounts and made a firm resolution.
“I’m definitely getting some killer shots this time.”
“Oh~ that’s awesome! Show me!”
The Graduate Student answered brightly. And she ordered another beer.
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
The two of them clinked glasses again, their hearts racing at the thought of the upcoming concert.
Neither of them could have imagined that on the first day of the concert, they’d be wailing and waving their light sticks while choking on snacks.

* * *
And then, on the day of Testa’s concert rehearsal.
“Alright, move it right away!”
“Yes!”
Various people were moving busily in preparation for the performance.
Among them were many Daily Part-time Staff who had been hastily hired to fill the immediate labor needs.
‘Ugh, this is brutal.’
One Daily Part-time Staff member irritably dropped the luggage he was carrying. He’d applied after seeing the 70,000 won daily wage, but he was sick of the endless labor.
“….”
The Daily Part-time Staff member looked around, then discreetly pulled out his smartphone. And he posted an angry message on an anonymous site.
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[I’m a male idol concert staff, not taking questions]
: You’d be better off doing loading and unloading, they pay minimum wage and pile on endless work
There’s already tons of fangirls outside, do these people have nothing better to do lol
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‘Is this bait good enough?’
A few comments had been posted, as if the post was interesting enough.
But they weren’t positive.
-lol you’ve never done loading and unloading
-you’re obviously just a daily part-timer
-lololol so you don’t give work to part-timers you idiot
-fangirls=spend money, OP=minimum wage
‘These bastards…!’
The part-timer scowled and turned off his phone screen.
“Hey! What are you doing!”
“…! Y-yes.”
The Daily Part-time Staff member averted his gaze at the sharp observation, moving the luggage with half-hearted effort. Other part-time workers around him kept stealing glances, but their enthusiasm had already evaporated.
‘Maybe I should just desert.’
While I was carefully gauging my chances of escape, a sudden murmur erupted from one side.
‘What’s going on?’
I craned my neck to look, and recognized several famous faces.
“…!”
Testa had arrived for rehearsal.
They moved hurriedly through the corridor alongside staff members, bowing respectfully here and there.
“Hello~”
“…!”
Lee Sae-jin happened to make eye contact with the part-time worker and greeted him with a gentle smile.
His physique and face were well-maintained and impressive.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay~”
Park Moon-dae nudged Lee Sae-jin. The two bowed a few more times and quickly moved on.
“They’re all so handsome.”
“Wow.”
“Pretty amazing.”
The other Daily Part-time Staff members whispered excitedly beside me, but the one who’d been eyeing escape felt his mood darken instead.
‘What’s so great about what they do anyway.’
It was envy.
Someone around the same age had achieved tremendous success, and he didn’t want to acknowledge it—that was the attitude that emerged.
Still, his desire to desert had diminished somewhat.
‘Let me see what they’re actually capable of.’
Whether it was their character or talent, surely people who rose to fame through a single program without any obscure period couldn’t be flawless.
These days, a single verification post could testify to all sorts of facts.
‘Well, I’m anonymous anyway—what could they do?’
The part-time worker thought carelessly, sinking into rather unsavory fantasies.
And regardless of one individual’s imagination, the concert proceeded smoothly toward completion, buoyed by the expectations and efforts of countless people.

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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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