Debut or Die - Chapter 183

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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 183
Testa’s concert began beneath a weighty backdrop of sound.
Whiiiiish!
In that instant, darkness swallowed the Concert Hall, and a massive screen flickered to life with the sound of wind tearing through air—a dark video played across it.
A Pine Forest in the dead of night.
[….]
With brush stroke effects as if drawn in ink, someone emerged from between the pine trees.
It was Ryu Chung-woo, draped in a traditional robe.
The composition felt as though it connected seamlessly to the final scene of the ‘Procession’ music video.
Six more figures revealed themselves behind him.
Then the sound of drums and the sharp clash of gongs began to ring out.
The instrumental track for ‘Procession’.
Waaaaaaa-!
As twenty thousand voices erupted throughout the Dome, the actual members appeared on stage before the intro even finished.
The moment they took formation, a fierce rap verse and choreography crashed in.
-No escape no matter how you struggle
Today the Procession arrives, it arrives
The fans screamed while their minds raced with fleeting thoughts.
‘They’re opening with Procession??’
‘I thought they’d do all the solo tracks and save it for the end!’
Just like at the first concert, the audacious setlist had the audience electrified.
Even the staff bustling about Backstage felt the tension of the concert finally beginning, and the atmosphere in the venue was contagious enough to lift their spirits somewhat.
Though not everyone felt the same.
‘Why does the song sound like that.’
The Daily Part-time Staff member assigned to access control in the Backstage Corridor frowned as he heard the roaring crowd.
Between the sound system speakers and the voices of the audience and staff inside, his ears throbbed with pain.
‘Damn loud.’
Fragments of the members’ faces occasionally appeared on the partially obscured screen.
“Hey, you can see them from here too!”
“Oh, they’re handsome.”
He didn’t want to be amused or impressed like those thoughtless other part-timers.
‘All these celebrities probably get managed at hospitals—how much money do they spend?’
The Stage wasn’t visible from this angle, but he figured they were probably just doing standard idol choreography.
Yet even through all that noise, Testa’s voices came through clearly to the Corridor.
‘Must be pre-recorded.’
The part-timer thought as cynically as possible and subtly reached for his smartphone.
Maybe he’d check the live broadcast comments now….
“Excuse me, please don’t use your phone.”
“….”
Another part-timer lecturing him—how annoying.
The Daily Part-time Staff grumbled and pocketed his smartphone.
‘I’ll check everything later and post it.’
Planning to attach proof as well, the Daily Part-time Staff stood sulkily in the Corridor and furrowed his brow.
And regardless of what the Daily Part-time Staff was thinking, the concert surged forward relentlessly both on and off the Stage.
“VCR in 120 seconds!”
“Next costume, hurry!”
The moment the ‘procession’ ended, what followed was a portion of the game 127 Section collaboration track and its title at the time, ‘Better me’—but it was a remix version, not the original.
This was because it had been arranged with traditional instruments to maintain the flow of the ‘procession’, and most of the chorus had been changed to Korean.
-In this very moment
You cannot pass me, never
The high-pitched chorus pierced upward like an awl amid the massive Stage apparatus resembling a beast’s gaping maw and the dancers.
And using white strings similar to the sangmo headdress of traditional Korean folk play, an exceptionally sharp dance break unfolded.
-Better me
Flinging the strings skyward alongside countless dancers, the three songs poured out in a torrent and came to an end.
It was a dazzling production befitting a Concert.
Aaaahhhhh—!!
As light sticks shook wildly and flickered in various colors through central control, the VCR began again.
And members and dancers poured into the Corridor.
“Costume!”
“Sun Ah-hyun, over here!”
“Yes…!”
Sun Ah-hyun moved swiftly among the heaving members.
The first solo stage was about to begin immediately.
“Ah-hyun, huff, great stamina.”
“Huff, lung capacity, truly, a dance major….”
And the other members needed a moment to catch their breath, each recalling their own solo stages.
“Moon-dae?”
“Moon-dae, are you okay!?”
“…Huff, yes.”
Park Moon-dae slid down to sit against the Corridor wall and exhaled deeply.
“Want a heat pack?”
“I’m fine.”
Park Moon-dae answered firmly and wiped away the sweat.
‘It’s more manageable than I thought.’
My ribs had fully healed a few days ago. I’d just been told something like ‘don’t overdo it.’
‘That’s naturally what the Hospital would say.’
Who would tell someone they were fully recovered to just live recklessly? Park Moon-dae rationalized bluntly and placed a hand where my lungs would be.
‘My wrist still has some pain….’
But it would be fine.
‘The choreography is well structured.’
Park Moon-dae was certain of it.
From above, he could hear Sun Ah-hyun finally taking the stage.
-Rippling voice
Among those voices
I can hear your breathing
Awwwww!!
“Everyone loves it so much~”
“…Yeah, they would.”
Park Moon-dae understood it too.
Sun Ah-hyun’s stage, moving across the water and splashing droplets, would certainly be spectacular. The lighting must have been used well too.
“Wow! That’s me!”
“Yes, yes! Moving now!”
Cha Yu-jin, the next performer, excitedly patted the staff member’s back and ran off.
‘He changed clothes fast.’
The show was proceeding smoothly.
The solo stages, arranged in the same order as the music video teaser, didn’t deliver shocking impressions with that sequence, but they created structure.
It meant there would be a lingering resonance when all the solo stages finally ended.
“After Cha Yu-jin comes me….”
“You’ll do great. Don’t worry, Sae-jin.”
Beside Park Moon-dae, he heard Bae Sae-jin’s voice, sharp with tension, and Ryu Chung-woo’s encouragement.
‘The stage setup was cleverly constructed, so there shouldn’t be any problems there either.’
Bae Sae-jin’s stage incorporated a rotating platform and several magical elements. It was probably the most expensive stage of today’s concert.
So even after Cha Yu-jin, it would be able to hold its own, Park Moon-dae reasoned.
‘The audience will find it fascinating.’
If anyone else had been placed there, they might have suffered from the comparison of stage capabilities.
Park Moon-dae casually added his words.
“That’s right, hyung. It was good, so don’t worry.”
“…Ah, got it.”
“Ah~ how heartwarming!”
Lee Sae-jin laughed. Beyond her, he could see a behind-the-scenes content camera following along.
‘…I better not end up throwing up on camera.’
It wouldn’t be broadcast, but being caught on camera would still be quite embarrassing.
Park Moon-dae brushed himself off and stood up, moving to prepare for his own stage.
His solo stage was fifth. He had plenty of time.

* * *
‘Here I come.’
Kim Rae-bin finished his solo stage—rhythmic yet slightly cute, an unbalanced charm—under the stage lights that glimmered with luminescent glow.
In that instant, amid the deafening roar, Home Ma’s thought crystallized.
‘Now it’s Park Moon-dae’s turn.’
I’d taken several photos of Kim Rae-bin as practice, and they’d turned out quite well, giving me renewed confidence.
‘The kids all bring such presence to the stage.’
From Sun Ah-hyun to Kim Rae-bin, even Bae Sae-jin’s performance had been captivating.
‘Moon-dae will absolutely tear it up with his vocal prowess alone…!’
Conscious that the twin Home Ma of Park Moon-dae and Big Sae-jin was seated three seats over, I subtly raised my camera with solemnity.
Just then, I noticed a security guard confiscating a camera from someone in the standing section ahead.
It was the person who’d tried to rest their camera on the shoulder of the person in front during the previous stage.
‘Amateur move.’
Watching them unable to resist once caught, I reflexively thought so.
And there was someone else forming a value judgment about this scene.
‘This is ridiculous.’
It was the part-time staff member standing in the Backstage corridor.
The Daily Part-time Staff clicked his tongue at the audience member having their camera confiscated by security.
‘What’s with all that photographing? Have they no shame?’
Dismissing them as a fan unable to enjoy the concert itself, the Daily Part-time Staff thought with some contempt. A verification post caption was already forming in his mind.
-They were just snapping pics the whole time lol what kind of concert is that boring
Smirking at the thought, the Daily Part-time Staff shrugged.
‘This part-time gig is actually pretty sweet now that the concert’s started.’
Since there were barely any audience members trying to access the Backstage corridor, I could loaf around easily.
Then it happened.
“There’s someone inside!! Follow me!”
A staff member came running from deeper within, calling the part-time workers.
Something must have spilled.
‘What now?’
Grumbling, the Daily Part-time Staff followed the hurrying staff member.
Behind them, a slow and beautiful VCR ended, and Park Moon-dae appeared on stage.
Wooooow—
Against the stage’s serene atmosphere, the cheers subsided fairly quickly.
On the darkened stage, bathed in a single beam of light, Park Moon-dae sat in a chair, exactly as many had anticipated.
But the colorful fabrics that had wrapped around the abandoned house in the music video teaser now stretched from all directions on stage, binding the chair and Park Moon-dae tightly together.
And his costume wasn’t a wedding robe, but a light white stage outfit.
On the silent stage, with no accompaniment flowing.
Park Moon-dae began singing first.
-On the last day of April
The moon cannot be seen
You never came
And love decays
The moment the first verse ended, heavy with nothing but his voice resonating through the space.
Instruments crashed in like a tidal wave.
Whoooosh!
Just as the minor-key traditional instruments began to fade, the next verse flowed seamlessly, and color flooded the lighting.
Red and blue lights, flashing in rhythm, heightened an uncanny tension.
‘Oh my god.’
Home Ma barely held onto the camera as she listened to Park Moon-dae’s voice.
‘He sings so damn well.’
There was nothing else to say. Home Ma swallowed hard, capturing Park Moon-dae’s image through the lens.
‘Everything about his makeup and styling is perfect.’
And through her ears, she absorbed the emotional high notes that surged through the chorus like a rushing current.
-Still, I will wait
‘Oh my god.’
The moment the chorus ended, Home Ma’s heart seized with catharsis.
‘Just his voice alone does this!’
The feeling was incredible.
But the moment the second verse began, everything changed.
-After the new moon passes
The sun does not rise
With those lyrics, Park Moon-dae’s hand lifted halfway into the air.
It was as if fabric wrapped around his arm was pulling him upward.
‘What?’
Just as she was about to hastily convince herself that this strange movement was Park Moon-dae’s own choreography, his other arm rose at a different angle.
-You never came
And love decays
And then Park Moon-dae’s waist lifted, and he floated up into the empty space.
“…!!”
It was as if he were suspended in weightlessness, drawn by invisible threads.
Rising onto the chair, his body stretched out in a reclined position as Park Moon-dae continued singing.
“…oh.”
Home Ma let out a sound without thinking.
Similar expressions appeared scattered throughout the audience.
And this wasn’t just happening in the audience section.
The Daily Part-time Staff organizing fallen equipment backstage also saw the scene being broadcast on the stage’s main display through the monitoring screen.
“…wow.”
The staff member stood frozen, holding the equipment, mouth agape as he stared at the screen.
And now he understood why the audience member had been so desperate to take photographs.

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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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