Debut or Die - Chapter 197

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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 197
Testa’s reality show maintained its buzz even as Season 2 began.
In fact, it received even better ratings in terms of mainstream appeal.
Season 1, which aired on Television, achieved solid viewership, so the gap before Season 2’s Television broadcast shrank dramatically.
Just one week.
Moreover, since the YouTube edits and Television edits differed slightly, hardcore fans ended up watching both versions.
Of course, more viewers relied on the helpful and swift labor of netizens to catch up.
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[Our Hall Television Additional Cut (1/3)]
: (Video)
0:43 Interview with Grandmother Cha Go-young
3:58 Chung-woo Whistling
5:02 Park Moon-dae Smile Compilation
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-Grandma’s pick is Chung-woo… he’s definitely my guy
└Go wash your feet and sleep
-Lee Sae-jin whistling too?? What’s your limit exactly
-Smiling while serving? Park Moon-dae is guilty
After Ajusa, this was the first time the group Testa itself had been directly exposed to the public in such an entertainment capacity.
Naturally, fans enjoyed this promotional timing with delight.
For a while, everyone thought VTIC would sweep everything alone, but with Testa striking back like this even during their hiatus, there was no way not to feel good about it.
[Testa’s Our Hall After Season 2 Started]
[Testa Members Who Heard They Were Hot Throughout Their Service in America]
[An Idol Who Measures 30g by Hand]
During the first week alone that Episodes 1 and 2 of Season 2 aired, dozens of popular posts rose and fell on the Internet daily.
The momentum didn’t die even in Episodes 3 and 4, the tourism episodes released the following week.
[Testa’s Secret Santa Tourism!]
During this tourism, the members drew lots to become each other’s Secret Santas.
[Kim Rae-bin: It’s Chung-woo hyung!]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Ah, it’s Moon-dae.]
[Bae Sae-jin: …Lee Sae-jin.]
Then they had to buy one of the gifts their assigned member had pre-selected as “gifts I want to receive” as a tourism souvenir without getting caught.
The concept was to watch Testa desperately playing spy—a role completely foreign to them—to avoid punishment… but.
[PD: Deep friendship that thinks of the members! This tourism will truly showcase the power of friendship!]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Ah, yes!]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Then let’s just pretend we don’t know.]
[Production Team: !!!!]
Ryu Chung-woo’s innocent, transparent loophole completely ruined it.
The members lined up, entered the Shopping Mall one by one, and came out with completely wrapped gift boxes.
[PD: Um, everyone. Aren’t you curious who your Secret Santa is?]
[Lee Sae-jin: Yes~]
[Kim Rae-bin: Since my identity will be revealed in half a day anyway, I think it’s bearable!]
Despite the PD’s desperate pleas, Testa remained unmoved.
Moreover, Cha Yu-jin even misunderstood the PD’s words as a question.
[Cha Yu-jin: Oh! Me!]
[PD: Ah, as expected! Eugene, you’re curious, aren’t you~?]
[Cha Yu-jin: No! I know! Manito is Spanish! Friend!]
[Park Moon-dae: !!]
[I found the youngest member’s erudition unfamiliar….]
The PD clutching his head and Park Moon-dae expressing admiration with a blank face were cross-edited with comedic effect.
Since they’d already extracted plenty of laughs from the PD’s antics during the promotional segment in the previous episode, this was a trope-breaking development that was possible.
And it didn’t end there.
In the latter half of the broadcast, they captured not just entertainment, but professionalism and warmth as well.
That evening, after thoroughly exploring the Safari and Shopping Mall.
[Lee Sae-jin: Should we do a toast over there? With drinks!]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Should we? What do you think?]
[Sun Ah-hyun: I’m good with it…!]
[Bae Sae-jin: Let’s just order drinks.]
As if the members would have a candid conversation at a pub and create a clichéd editing moment, this segment started with such dialogue but its nature changed because of one element.
[Lee Sae-jin: Is that a Noraebang machine on the stage? Oh, this place has a Karaoke Bar concept!]
The place Testa had entered was a Karaoke Bar with a Noraebang machine.
[Ryu Chung-woo: Now that you mention it, it seemed like Moon-dae wanted to sing.]
[Park Moon-dae: Me?]
[Lee Sae-jin: Wow~ Applause!!]
[Park Moon-dae: (Tibet)]
And Testa, joking around, ended up grabbing the Noraebang machine and singing.
[Park Moon-dae: (Full-throated singing)]
[A professional’s rampage in an innocent bar]
[Singing so well it makes you wonder if it was even necessary….]
Though the subtitles were playful, the skill was undeniably exceptional.
And it was also Testa’s true profession being highlighted for the first time in this reality program.
[Pouring cheers and applause]
Being recognized among foreigners with virtually no recognition gave viewers a peculiar sense of vicarious satisfaction.
And it wasn’t just Park Moon-dae.
[Lee Sae-jin: Hyung~ How about one song?]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Should we? Rae-bin, want to sing together?]
[Kim Rae-bin: I’ll do my best!]
The members took turns using the Noraebang machine, alone or in pairs and trios.
There were hardly any Korean songs, but since everyone knew a few pop songs anyway, it didn’t matter.
Later, caught up in the atmosphere, they even ended up singing and dancing to a classic American boy band song from their youth with a stranger.
[Cha Yu-jin: You got a vibe~ (meaning you’re doing well)]
[Customer: I know! (meaning you’re drunk)]
[This stylish customer was so moved that he even bought them drinks]
By sprinkling in humor like this while fundamentally satisfying the music entertainment format, the content became even richer.
Testa didn’t force themselves to perform their own songs or deliver promotional remarks—they simply let time flow naturally.
Thanks to that, viewers could enjoy the content without any sense of burden.
[Sun Ah-hyun: Hey, if we order more here, I think we’ll be in debt…!]
[Lee Sae-jin: Oh my]
[Park Moon-dae: Let’s head out soon.]
And when they finally returned to Cha Yu-jin’s place, the segment reached its heartwarming peak with them exchanging gifts.
[Ryu Chung-woo: Moon-dae gave up his cushion to Eugene. So I picked this out.]
[Sun Ah-hyun: What I prepared is a wrist rest. Since Rae-bin uses the computer a lot….]
Just as it seemed the segment would wrap up on this friendly note.
[Cha Yu-jin: The popcorn is delicious!]
[Bae Sae-jin: ????]
The camera captured Bae Sae-jin receiving an absolutely massive popcorn bucket from Cha Yu-jin, his expression completely blank.
[Bae Sae-jin: When did I ever…!]
Bae Sae-jin’s protest was cut short as peaceful background music played and a caption appeared.
[Analysis Results]
[On Bae Sae-jin’s gift list]
[there was a snack.]
[Cha Yu-jin’s overwhelming victory]
The final shot captured Bae Sae-jin waddling as he moved the popcorn bucket, and ending on that burst of laughter left a perfect aftertaste.
With an appetizing preview added afterward, it was an excellent variety show that built anticipation.
So the reactions couldn’t help but remain favorable.
-This is seriously hilarious
-Please continue to produce other idols in this series.
-It seems fun because it’s Testa, so let’s keep going with Testa
-Honestly I just live waiting for Wednesdays these days, please let this go on forever~
Of course there were some jealous comments from other groups, but you could see the popularity growing to the point where people were starting to genuinely love the show itself.
Naturally, fans began screaming their demands.
-Please comeback before this high wears off
-You gotta row when the tide comes in, you T1 bastards
-Do some promotion already, you idiots
It was a desperate cry not to let this variety show momentum slip away.
During awards season they’d felt less urgency since they knew there was a guaranteed draw—the awards stage—but now there was no guarantee of other schedules.
-What if they add a tour? There’s a high chance they’ll get bolder with overseas tours thinking the domestic market is solid
-Wasn’t Miry-nay’s debut next month? Are our kids’ schedules getting pushed back?
-Ugh these guys have no sense, and it’s been like this forever, so I’m worried;
-Don’t tell me they’re just gonna keep doing reality content and drain all the juice—please go back to the main job while people are still clapping
Fortunately, before the reality show even aired the following week, new news broke.
[Testa 【Enchanted ME】 Seoul Encore Concert Ticket Open Notice]
It was news of the Seoul encore concert.
-Finally
-Insane I love this so much
-It’s been a while since I’ve seen the kids’ facesㅠㅠ
└You have to succeed at ticketing to actually go
└I’m planning to sell my organs if I have to
As if their worries about the added tour schedule had been a lie, fans rejoiced at the additional Seoul concert.
It wasn’t simply because they could see them in person. A concert in South Korea, their home base, had content expansion potential.
Since it meant entering the country, considering efficiency, it was common to proceed with domestic schedules in succession rather than immediately departing again.
For instance, something like a new album comeback.
-I know it hasn’t been that long since Picnic, I have a conscience, I’ll be satisfied with a single
-Even if they just catch an event, there’s more chance for a break, right
-Wait for Moon Dae-ah, my sister is coming with her savings.. Only this time, I’m going to go to the fan clubㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Moreover, Testa had even released a new song at their first concert.
With the anticipation of ‘Could a comeback be coming soon?’, Testa’s fan communities began buzzing with speculation everywhere.
-Rae-bin just authenticated the wrist rest Ah-hyun gave him, seems like he’s appealing that they’re working on something
It was the perfect time for fans to make creative interpretations of every SNS post the members uploaded as comeback hints.
And not long after, an activity announcement really did come from the agency.
-Huh?
But it wasn’t Testa.
[Miry-nay Debut Intro – ‘NO magic in this WORLD’]
It was a debut preview video for the junior group.
-Ugh sharing from the agency channel is already annoying
-Wouldn’t it be better if they just posted to each group’s official channel going forward
Kids are cute, I’m rooting for them.
Testa fans grumbled and ignored the video, or clicked on it out of curiosity.
Though some had clicked because they felt a strange sense of incongruity.
‘Magic? …sorcery?’
‘The background color is purple….’
And from the very first scene of the video, they encountered a mise-en-scène that felt oddly familiar.
[….]
With the sun hanging at the edge of the earth, a uniformed teenager standing at a window tinted crimson red turns to look back.
It was a scene they’d seen many times before.
-It’s a magical girl
The association was far too vivid.

* * *
1 AM Korean Standard Time.
I’m sitting in an airplane seat during a schedule transfer, watching a video that was uploaded an hour ago.
Surprisingly, the airline actually provides WiFi.
“Hmm.”
On the screen, an idol in a school uniform is captured by the window in a very familiar composition, then suddenly jumps through the glass.
And abruptly falling onto a massive spider web in the dark night, transforming into a cocoon before fading out.
The scene reminiscent of ‘Magical Girl’ lasts only about 3 seconds at first.
“Oh.”
They put some thought into this.
I chuckle and close the video.
Truth is, I’d already heard about it through the grapevine.
The Junior Member group’s title track was finalized as a previously rejected candidate song they’d written and composed themselves.
So what is this then?
‘They’re trying to squeeze out whatever they can, up to the limit.’
They want to milk ‘Magical Girl’ for a quick promotional boost for Miry-nay’s title track.
Just enough to be excused as a simple ‘homage’.
Even if Testa fans openly call it out and get angry, they’re carefully drawing attention in a way that won’t garner public sympathy.
The Junior Member group took my advice and stripped it down to just the essence, while the company merely grazed the trap I’d laid.
‘…They played it smart.’
Fine. I’ll admit it.
I don’t know whose idea it was, but the company seems to have made a decision that’s more intelligent than I expected.
And I’m more upset about it than I thought I’d be.
‘This won’t do.’
Can’t you feel them trying to claim some credit by any means necessary, following their own playbook?
‘I hate how they make decisions among themselves while leaving the actual targets in the crossfire.’
Not knowing where I’ll be in six months, I’m starting to pull at threads I deliberately avoided before.
‘Tear the factions apart.’
I need to create some discord in the company.

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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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