Debut or Die - Chapter 205

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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 205
‘I believe you two will be more than capable on your own.’
On the surface, it sounded like a reassuring statement brimming with trust and confidence, but when a superior said this, it meant one of two things.
Either ‘figure it out yourself’ or ‘if you mess up, it’s your fault’.
And this Management Director had unknowingly managed to pack both meanings into a single sentence.
‘If Testa fails to achieve global results this cycle, he’s just handed the Director a perfect excuse to swoop in.’
Predictable. The Director would probably spout something like ‘see, you have to do things my way to crack the global market’.
‘Naturally, Testa’s influence would weaken from here on out.’
I’d barely managed to build up this much authority in the first place, and in this incompetent company, such a scenario was nothing short of a landmine.
But backing out now by claiming Testa couldn’t guarantee a global hit with this album was equally problematic.
Because that would give the Director another opening to interfere.
In short, I was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
‘This bastard Director played me like a fool.’
What could you expect from a parachute hire, but it was infuriating nonetheless.
“Of course, we’re working hard to deliver good results, but I can’t guarantee success every single time…”
“What? No, no—just do what you’ve been doing so far. Don’t worry about it!”
The Manager had been so fixated on protecting his own authority that he’d carelessly assumed Testa would naturally maintain its upward momentum as usual.
‘Just keep doing what you’re doing~’—he hadn’t even considered the burden this would place on the artists.
Typical of a parachute hire, completely clueless about what it takes to grind it out on the front lines.
“…Yes.”
Ryu Chung-woo finally fell silent.
He’d realized that pushing back seriously here would only make the group look bad.
‘Damn it.’
This single was supposed to be light and commercially accessible—the arrangements and choreography had already been finalized with that in mind. We’d planned to capitalize on the domestic recognition we’d gained from the reality show.
‘We even made the chorus point dance easy to follow.’
And now, just weeks before the comeback, it looked like we’d have to tear everything apart and start over.
I’d be walking through hellfire again, just like debut.
“…”
Was there any way out of this?
I ran through the possibilities quickly in my mind.
‘Testa’s gradually shedding its rookie status anyway, so if I can work this right…’
That’s when Kim Rae-bin suddenly raised his hand and threw out a fastball.
“Actually, this single was structured with a focus on domestic popularity, so we weren’t aiming for a global hit in the first place.”
“…!”
‘Oh.’
For a moment I thought about shutting him up, but seeing the Manager’s flustered expression, I understood.
‘This might actually be more effective.’
Kim Rae-bin’s face was filled with pure, guileless curiosity—no hidden agenda whatsoever.
When Ryu Chung-woo’s eyes met mine, he gave a subtle nod.
“…”
Alright, let me see.
“Well, if it does well domestically, it’s natural that we’d get a good response overseas too, right?”
“That’s not necessarily the case. The gap between domestic K-pop hits and global hits has been steadily widening over the past few years, creating various examples….”
Kim Rae-bin eagerly explained everything from songs that had hit domestically but flopped in the global market to the opposite cases.
And he finished his explanation with a satisfied expression.
“Which is exactly why we can’t guarantee a global hit this time!”
“….”
The Manager seemed slightly overwhelmed by the well-intentioned barrage of background knowledge.
Though he seemed to understand that Kim Rae-bin had no intention of contradicting him, he began muttering in a disgruntled tone rather than looking offended.
“We still have several weeks until the comeback—what if we adjusted our direction a bit? The Director is such a stubborn independent operator anyway…. You all know that, right?”
Got him. I found the opening.
I interlaced my fingers.
“So you’re saying we need to completely reorganize our group’s promotional direction to match what you just said, right?”
“…!”
Our performance isn’t even bad, and it’s fair game to say this much to a parachute hire.
“Of course, I understand you’re saying this for our benefit, and I do think we need to work harder….”
But I’ll still lay down a buffer.
“It’s just that this goes against our original intent, so I’m a bit worried the Director might say this isn’t artist-focused either.”
“….”
In other words, the orders to “respect the artist’s wishes” and “change everything to prioritize global results regardless of what the artist planned” contradict each other, don’t they?
A moment of bewilderment flashed across the Manager’s face.
Sounds convincing to you too, doesn’t it?
If the Director changes his tune and I get caught on a technicality after barely winning, the stress would come crashing down.
“Right~ We already had a direction we wanted to pursue, so it could definitely look that way!”
“Since we don’t have big ambitions in America yet, we’d like to continue preparing for the comeback by focusing on domestic activities.”
Supporting fire pours in.
We’re continuing with what we were doing, so you clean up the mess you started.
Naturally, the Manager’s complexion darkens.
“Well, then it becomes a bit difficult for me to support you going forward….”
He doesn’t want to awkwardly retract what he said and sound regretful.
‘Hmm, if I push any harder, this bastard might get his feelings hurt and do something stupid.’
The Manager’s arrow should be aimed at the Director, not at Testa.
But cornering him like this has plenty of advantages.
‘It’ll be easier to extract what we need.’
So like this… oh, right.
‘…I decided to proceed after getting the team’s consent.’
I made eye contact with the other members and gave a subtle nod of approval.
‘Let’s just go along with what he says—if we mess this up, it’ll blow up.’
‘Yeah, yeah~’
‘Either way, I’ll do my best…!’
‘I’m hungry!’
I ignored what seemed like a strange signal at the end.
Anyway, no one shook their head or outright objected. I answered the Manager slowly and seriously.
“Well… what if we did it this way?”
“What do you mean…?”
“The Company saw the reality show doing well and made a large investment, so we expanded our planning scale before the comeback.”
Just pour in more capital.
“Then the context would seem natural, but what do you think, Manager?”
The strategy was to throw money at the time shortage and fill the gap with capital.
‘That guy’s a parachute hire, so he’ll pull funds from headquarters well enough.’
Sure enough, the Manager brightened up.
“It looks fine to me.”
Done.
Since it doesn’t look like Testa asked for more money, even if we end up average, there won’t be much gossip.
Now let’s pour in an enormous amount of capital and revise the arrangements, choreography, and music video in four weeks.
‘Damn it.’
I’d suddenly turned this into a forced march.

* * *
That day, we postponed recording and locked ourselves in the Conference Room.
“Global hit….”
“Hmm.”
Surprisingly, it was Bae Sae-jin who spoke first.
“…What if we did it in English?”
It was a fairly reasonable suggestion.
But looking at K-pop’s global ecosystem, it was too early a proposal.
“Using English means targeting English-speaking regions’ popularity… but first, those audiences need to know who we are for that to work, don’t you think?”
“Ah.”
Right. We needed a solid fanbase there first before trying that strategy.
If we weren’t careful, we’d just end up with a negative label like ‘too conscious of America.’
So how do we solidify people who came in through American memes into our fanbase?
“It might be good to look at the concepts that existing K-pop overseas fans liked.”
“Oh, that’s definitely true~”
At Ryu Chung-woo’s murmur, Big Sae-jin raised one hand with a snap.
“Cool choreography, good beat~ they like impressive music videos, don’t they?”
“Well, wouldn’t people in South Korea like things that cool too…?”
“Yeah, true. But how do I put it—in South Korea, dance tracks with really emphasized beats… if it’s a male idol song, a lot of people don’t listen to them?”
He had a point.
That’s why we also pushed ‘Magic Boy’ more—the one with a beat that wasn’t too loud and was easy to listen to—over our other debut title track.
‘That one definitely had higher chart rankings than ‘Hi-five’ and had better longevity.’
In that same vein, the extremely conceptual and intense track “Procession” had slightly weaker streaming rankings compared to the previous title track.
This was despite it being a career-high activity period with visibly massive fandom influx and entry into the top tier.
Still, Big Sae-jin was right.
‘It’s a shame to waste the domestic popularity that’s just swelled up, but if we need overseas response, this direction is correct.’
Of course, even after deciding on a direction, it wasn’t easy to modify everything overnight.
“The choreography and all that can be adjusted without major issues… Sae-jin, you’re okay with this, right?”
“…Of course.”
Bae Sae-jin responded steadily to Ryu Chung-woo.
Ryu Chung-woo continued with a somewhat apologetic expression.
“Right. So, I think we can gradually refine the rest in a more impressive direction… but I’m worried the arrangement will be difficult.”
At that, everyone looked at Kim Rae-bin.
“…?”
Kim Rae-bin looked around with a puzzled expression, then opened his mouth with a dawning realization.
“Once the concept is set, I’ll bring several arrangement proposals tailored to the atmosphere! Just give me four days!”
It was an enthusiastic declaration.
“Really…? Won’t it be too much trouble…?”
“Actually, this title track has such a great melodic top note that can be combined in various ways, so being able to attempt something new is incredibly exciting!”
“….”
Kim Rae-bin seemed thrilled at the prospect of trying things he couldn’t do while chasing the commercial success formula.
‘Well, at least someone’s happy about it.’
I opened my mouth.
“Got it, Rae-bin. Then let’s quickly discuss the concept so our Rae-bin can get started on the work right away.”
“Yeah.”
“G-great!”
“Moon-dae, got any ideas? You’re the idea bank anyway~”
Originally, we planned to release a seasonal spring song without any particular fixed image—something refreshing and well-toned.
We needed to change this into a concept with the scale to produce an impressive music video…
And simultaneously, it had to appeal to English-speaking audiences so the Director couldn’t complain.
Ideally, I wanted to maintain domestic popularity without sacrificing it.
Since it was a digital single without physical album sales, the streaming charts were crucial.
‘…Hmm.’
Impressive choreography, intense beats that fit well, and something fans could easily consume?
‘…Ah.’
I opened my mouth.
“Let’s expand our universe with this opportunity.”
“Our universe? Which one?”
“Procession.”
Shortly after, following an intense brainstorming session, the revision passed unanimously, even including the arrangement.
‘As long as we keep it as easy to listen to as possible!’
And three tumultuous weeks passed.

* * *
Testa’s fans already knew this comeback was a single.
The comeback announcement had been rapidly distributed to the press in tandem with the encore concert, all part of maintaining buzz.
And through the additional phrases added to each article, fans had already gleaned the song’s atmosphere.
[Testa Makes Comeback with Cherry Blossoms]
[Testa Comeback Hype Rising… Challenging the Spring Carol Genre?]
[National Treasure Testa Returns with Fresh Spring Sensibilities]
After the Agency’s staff confirmed the plans for this Testa activity, they had deliberately guided the press releases to set the tone.
Thanks to this, fans universally anticipated an easy-listening track that was public-friendly, similar to “Picnic,” the title from the last repackage album.
Of course, it wasn’t just the fans who thought so.
-They topped the charts with Picnic, so they’re probably playing it safe
-Haha, it’s a bit disappointing. The color of the testa looks like a magic boy or something like that.
-Something like Veracity would’ve been perfect, but they keep doing easy songs so it feels like the hype is cooling down
-They haven’t even been around that long and they’re already lowering the choreography difficulty lol. I guess the fans love them anyway so that’s why they do it
Since the reality program had been such a hit, Testa’s comeback drew almost as much attention as their debut, and plenty of people were annoyed by it.
-This song hasn’t even been released yet, so it’s already damn it haha. How much of a crisis is there? I feel sorry for you.
-There’s no impact, it’s weird
-It’s a digital single so… they’ll probably come hard with the full album anyway, but it’s annoying when people like this squeeze in and whine about being disappointed even though they’re fans
-Whatever our boys do, we’ll figure out how to love it, so stop the unsolicited advice
Hahaha it’s working so well that now I can only scratch it like this, it’s kind of sad lol
Fans could brush off those reactions with a mix of mild irritation and dismissive laughter.
Given the current momentum, there was no way this comeback could fail…!
And while part of them hoped this performance would be entertaining and spectacular enough to shut that guy up completely, fundamentally they all trusted Testa.
‘They’ve never failed so far!’
And on the day Testa’s comeback teaser dropped.
Fans were met with an absolutely massive thirty-second video they never saw coming.
‘Fire, the Wilderness??’
The concept Testa had chosen was… steampunk Joseon.

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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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