Debut or Die - Chapter 206

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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 206
Testa’s teaser began with a steam locomotive passing through a desolate field.
Screeeech!
A brass-hued train with prominent gears drew diagonally closer on screen.
And as if pulled inward, the interior of the train’s window zoomed into close-up.
[….]
[….]
It was a passenger car with an antiquated aesthetic blending mid-Joseon architectural style.
Two passengers seated across from each other wore black and white durumagi coats draped like overcoats.
Beneath the outer garments, modern-style clothing with leather straps and buckles was visible.
Suddenly, the camera captured the face of the one in the white durumagi. Sun Ah-hyun, with neatly swept-back hair, gazed downward.
And across from him.
In-young, who had been reading an old newspaper with the headline “Why Issue Citizenship Certificates to Demons?” lowered the paper.
It was Park Moon-dae with silver hair.
Park Moon-dae lifted his head expressionlessly and stared directly at the camera.
In that moment, music entered.
[♬♩-♪♬ ♩ ♩ ♩]
Rhythmic drums and cascading wind chimes created an enigmatic period-drama atmosphere as the footage rapidly transitioned through cuts.
Lee Sae-jin with a monocle flicking a gold coin appeared to smirk briefly, then a formally dressed Kim Rae-bin holding a gas lamp passed by in front of a coal mine.
And even Bae Sae-jin with light brown hair peering into a peculiarly designed analog brass gauge panel.
The moment Bae Sae-jin gazed downward out the window, the camera followed his line of sight into a bizarre city through which the train had entered.
A city chaotically interwoven with traditional architecture and symbols of the industrial revolution flashed briefly before the focus shifted to the train racing atop buildings.
And the next instant.
The train derailed.
Screeeeeech!
Colliding with buildings, roof tiles scattered down. Golden dust and debris swirled through the air.
From within it, a foot wearing a walker jutted out.
Pop!
In-young immediately kicked off the debris and clung to the side of the train. Ornate metallic medals gleamed brilliantly on his chest.
[Wow!]
Cha Yu-jin in a reformed military uniform grinned widely while clinging to the train, debris scattering behind him.
And the camera followed the oldest among the numerous bounty posters being pulled into that debris.
[100,000 Yang]
It was around the moment one could recognize the identity of the dark figure of In-young on the poster.
Suddenly, the camera showing the screen shook as if struck from outside, then fell.
Crackle-!
The accompaniment stopped as if broken.
Against a trembling black background, Ryu Chung-woo with a musket slung over his shoulder held his chin up while gazing downward, shooting a look at the camera.
His eyes gleamed a brilliant blue like those on a poster.
[….]
The screen faded to black.
A song echoed out.
-no oh, no-oh no-oh
A moment of parched thirst
A single melody phrase.
And with the silence, subtitles appeared.
[TeSTAR]
[Spring out]
Immediately after, the comment section began refreshing frantically with question marks and tears.

* * *
“Phew!”
Kim Rae-bin’s devoted fan caught her breath at the sight of the package that had arrived.
Since Testa’s latest activity had only released a single title track, there was no album, but T1 had milked the related merchandise for all it was worth.
What Kim Rae-bin’s fan had purchased were light stick parts and… a concept photobook.
The website sold everything from bags to hats, but she’d made the conscious choice not to become such a pushover as to buy all of it.
‘Those T1 bastards are seriously incredible.’
I never expected them to push photobooks this aggressively instead of an album.
Of course she wanted to check the photobook first, but she had to remove the light stick decoration parts that were on top first.
‘It’s so cute, seriously!’
The golden gears and pocket watch connected to the pipes looked adorable. As she organized them with a satisfied hum, her thoughts drifted to the music video.
“It’s insane.”
She really couldn’t think of any other word for it.
The reaction had been explosive from the moment the teaser dropped. Of course the video quality was excellent, but there was a bigger reason than that.
-Spring youth, they said! Spring youth, they said!
-Spring youth (derails train)
-I see… so they wanted to express spring with yellow dust and fine particulates drifting, not cherry blossoms
-I didn’t know Spring meant that kind of Spring
After hyping up the media with talk of a “refreshing spring carol song” vibe, the teaser itself delivered a worldbuilding rush dripping with sci-fi fantasy energy.
Still, there were far more excited people than disappointed ones.
-Yokai with traditional aesthetics? This is definitely the Haenggcha worldbuilding lolol
-Oh my god Ryu Chung-woo’s final boss material is insane, are you kidding~~ National team sharpshooter!!
-Steam engines, brass, gears—this is straight-up steampunk, what’s going on with Joseon steampunk
-T1 has so much money that’s why we just accept it and keep supporting
-Wow they’re dropping this as a single
It wasn’t even a full album—it seemed like a single that would pass by like fan service—yet they poured this much capital into it and released it with such polish, which naturally stirred up overwhelming emotions.
Since T1 was already famous for being a large conglomerate subsidiary that spent money freely, few people complained or worried.
Of course, that didn’t mean no one was picking at it.
-But this seems like it should do well if they sell an album, the digital release though… who knows
-T1’s got guts, but it feels like they’re chasing a weird kind of hype lolol
-He had a chance to dominate the male idol mainstream appeal category, but he kicked away his own fortune.
Those who thrived on controversy suddenly shifted their narrative, as if they’d never said “mainstream songs are boring,” and began their disparagement.
But that too ended the moment the track dropped.
-Seeping into today’s sensation
Savor this moment, this gaze, this premonition
What’s up?
the real flavor (come out)
The song was rhythmic, languid reggae.
With intense drops woven into the interlude and bridge, it was clearly going to deliver a performance that did the track justice, yet overall it was easy on the ears.
In other words, it was the kind of song you could enjoy swaying to during a drive.
‘Only Kim Rae-bin, a fellow rabbit, could pull off catching both hares like this.’
Kim Rae-bin’s fan casually made a comment about the rhyme scheme matching and continued dismantling the package.
But her mind was racing through the internet reactions she’d already seen.
The general audience who had flowed in through the reality program—those waiting for Testa’s comeback for the first time—had been confused from the teaser itself.
-Looks like a movie trailer
-These guys must be making serious money
-Wait, I thought this was an idol music video, but why is it sci-fi Joseon era?
-Is that Cheongwoo at the end? ㅠㅠ Oh my goodness, Cheongwoo makes that kind of expression, he’s so cool!
“What’s up with those cute hotteok-selling girls’ hair colors being so flashy all of a sudden? It reminds me of magical girl transformations lol”
└Surprisingly, their debut song was about magical boys
└Seriously?
These people could only be spotted on SNS; the YouTube video comment section had been swept away by a wave of foreigners.
-So… that ‘work’ they were doing in South Korea was this kind of thing? (chin-resting emoticon)
-I nearly stopped breathing at Sun Ah-hyun’s pompadour hair
-Did everyone not know that in South Korea airships fly around and steam locomotives run on top of buildings? (crying-laughing emoticon)
-I can’t believe those who won in that grueling audition program are now filming such amazing content, so I’m rooting for them from Wisconsin ☺
-Testa deserves even more recognition!
Foreigners who had flowed in through memes and even watched Ajusa began leaving comments.
It wasn’t just America—the story itself that “such a thing happened in America” had circulated among K-pop overseas fandoms, making this possible.
Thanks to that, the music video exceeded 30 million views in 24-hour view counts.
Now Testa’s fans were starting to make jokes about tasting first-tier status.
‘The tour schedule is going to expand even more….’
Kim Rae-bin’s fan painted a bleak future in her mind and finally succeeded in unwrapping and removing the photobook from the package box.
“Phew.”
For reference, it was volume four.
It was because those greedy capitalist pigs at T1 had implemented the random photocard system they used for albums here too….
Park Moon-dae might have stopped it if he’d known, but he was caught up in a crazy schedule and couldn’t manage to keep track of this far.
Kim Rae-bin’s individual fan clenched both fists tightly.
‘Please be Kim Rae-bin!’
She had already looked up and roughly figured out which photocards were included for each member.
In total, there were fourteen types of photocards—two for each member.
Kim Rae-bin had one selfie taken while winking, and one music video behind-the-scenes shot of him in formal attire wearing a traditional hat.
‘I’d prefer the former, honestly.’
Kim Rae-bin rarely took selfies.
[Hello! I’m Kim Rae-bin. I thought of you while working, so I’m posting this. (photo)]
Early in their debut, if they posted like this on SNS, the attached photo was often just a picture of their own equipment—so that would explain it.
And… if Kim Rae-bin wasn’t in it, well, there was someone I desperately hoped would appear instead.
‘Silver-haired Park Moon-dae…!’
It was the first time Park Moon-dae had dyed his hair such a cool shade. And the freshly trimmed hairstyle, swept back past the halfway point, was absolutely stunning!
-What is this Park Moon-dae situation lol
-Please make this a concert experience I need to see this in person
-Spring Park Moon-dae Siberian Husky dog breed let’s agree on this right now (screenshot)
The moment the teaser dropped, the reaction was explosive—”Moon-dae silver hair” immediately trended in popular posts and real-time keywords.
‘He definitely knows what he’s doing.’
Ignoring the fact that most other members with newly dyed hair or colored contacts had generated similar buzz, I nodded to myself.
And I eagerly began opening the photobook.
‘Without the cards, it’s not worth selling anyway! As long as one copy is intact, that’s all I need!’
Checking the photocards was the priority.
I boldly opened the first photobook and caught the card that fell out from the middle.
“…!”
The person in the photo was… Cha Yu-jin.
“Ugh.”
Not Kim Rae-bin, not Park Moon-dae—I sighed at the reality, but quickly recovered.
‘Cha Yu-jin cards are always tradeable!’
It was obvious that Cha Yu-jin’s dedicated fans were overflowing, desperately hunting for trades with wild eyes.
Besides, this music video outfit version of Cha Yu-jin’s photocard turned out exceptionally well.
Cha Yu-jin, lounging with feet propped on a classic convertible, smiling that characteristic grin, shone with a golden radiance.
It had the kind of magnetism that made you want to scream and keep it forever.
“….”
Should I not sell it?
Even I, who had no particular feelings toward Cha Yu-jin, ended up clearing my throat and carefully tucking the photo away.
“Well… I mean, the others might show up in the remaining three copies.”
Muttering excuses to myself, I reached for the remaining photobooks, but I couldn’t shake the strong premonition that I wouldn’t be selling that card.
‘Whatever, I can just buy more.’
The real question was whether they’d wear the same outfit from the music video on the Music Broadcast Studio.
Two days later… or rather, since midnight had just passed, tomorrow was the first Music Broadcast Studio appearance.
Recalling the murderous schedule of the first week of idol activities, I thought listlessly.
‘By now, they’re probably in the middle of final choreography practice.’
Unfortunately, my prediction was wrong.
At that same moment, the members were huddled together in the Training Room, looking worn and exhausted, staring at a monitor.
“Let’s… cut.”
“Got it.”
After finishing the relentless schedule that had consumed the past month, we were finally filming the music video reaction footage.

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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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