Debut or Die - Chapter 21

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 21
The first donation comment was blunt and direct.
#Why did you choose chicken feet? LOL
People murmured in agreement that it was an excellent question. Park Moon-dae paused briefly before answering honestly.
“Well, actually, the keyword for my collaboration item wasn’t chicken feet—it was frozen food.”
-Wow, that’s gross
-Now that I look at the chicken feet again, they’re kind of beautiful
-Why would those production guys put frozen food in an idol’s PR campaign…?
“Like, T1 has carbonated water too, so why would they even put something like dumplings as a candidate? lol”
Unaware of the comments, Park Moon-dae continued matter-of-factly.
“Among the frozen food samples I received, the chicken feet tasted the best. That’s why I chose them.”
-!!
-He tried all the samples…?
-This contestant is ‘genuine’
At this point, it’s not something you can just laugh off by saying you’re working hard, lol
“Well, since it’s an advertisement… it’s hard to say something tastes good when it doesn’t.”
As Park Moon-dae answered, he brought the chicken feet back to his mouth and took another bite. Immediately after, a barrage of new donations flooded in.
#Besides chicken feet, what’s your favorite food?
#Which contestant are you close with?
So what criteria did you use to pick the triangle kimbap then? lol
“I’m not picky about food—I eat everything well. As for which contestants I’m close with… well, I think that would be a spoiler, so I’ll skip it.”
You’re really thorough, haha.
-Our Moon-dae definitely has close friends, right? Grandma believes in you!*^^*
Sun Ah-hyun just said on the broadcast next door that he’s close with you, lol.
Haha, okay got it. Mun-dae, are you close with Ahyun?
From Park Moon-dae’s perspective, directly naming someone could become a liability, so he’d deflected.
But the comments were already using even that as material to play with.
And just as Park Moon-dae was carefully explaining why he’d chosen the triangle kimbap, a fresh wave of backed-up donations came pouring in.
“The tuna mayo is strong, so it goes well with the chicken feet like a sauce… oh.”
#Mundae-ya, please just sing one lineㅠㅠ
Don’t just eat everything, introduce yourself too lol
#Do you have any secrets to singing well?
“Well, singing.”
Park Moon-dae set down the last piece of chicken feet he’d been about to eat.
-D-D-D
-Has his idol persona awakened?
-He only came back to life after one chicken foot was left… is that meaningful…?
-No, Mundae’s song is shit. I watched the team match and it was shit.ㅠㅠ
-It was good on broadcast, but I wonder how the live performance will be
As the comments chattered away, Park Moon-dae began to sing.
“Standing on the Stage, you won’t know yet~”
It was “It’s Me,” the broadcast’s theme song.
Park Moon-dae had simply chosen a song that was already verified and well-received by trainers without much deliberation, but from the viewers’ perspective, it was nothing short of solidifying his character.
-Park Moon-dae, he’s a pro
-Isn’t he the contestant who’s most sincere about broadcasting?
-Truly unpredictable, not the thinking of a criminal
I’m going crazy, this is so funny lol
The comments were overflowing with people cracking jokes. But that wasn’t all.
-But he sings well
-Why does a chicken foot look so sweet in a single frame?
-It sounds good even without accompaniment
-Good job, Mundae. Now sing another song.ㅠㅠ
Despite using budget equipment due to the recklessness of conducting a live broadcast with 77 people simultaneously, Park Moon-dae’s voice was transmitting clearly.
Without any mumbling or blurred sections, Park Moon-dae carried the song through smoothly.
It was a pleasant voice without a single wavering note.
As if concentrating, the pace of incoming comments slowed slightly. Exclamations of admiration mixed in with the responses.
And it was when the chorus began, passing the final part of the pre-chorus.
“Right now on the Stage….”
Beep beep beep beep beep!!
An alarm rang powerfully from the clock on the desk.
It was the 30-second warning before the end. The five additional minutes had expired.
“Ah, time’s up.”
Park Moon-dae stopped singing immediately.
He had no intention of dragging out the song unnecessarily and giving room for controversy.
The problem was that he stopped so decisively.
-No, you’re stopping here?
Why’d it have to be right before the chorus lolol
-Argh so frustrating, ugh I’ll just sing it myself, right now shining on the Stage is me!! Argh!!
-Don’t you understand this is the bigger picture to make us watch episode 2? Moon-dae is sincere about the program
-If he’d only eaten one less chicken foot, wouldn’t he have been able to sing the whole first verse?
If only I could sing even just one verse right now… Ugh, Moon-dae.
A delayed donation appeared on screen.
#Your voice is so good!
The gentle donation, contrasting with the current comment atmosphere, caused the comments to explode further.
“Thank you. I’ll do my best. Well, now that I think about it, the remaining donation questions are….”
Park Moon-dae quickly scanned through the questions again, taking in “self-introduction” and “the secret to singing.” And he thought.
‘It was actually fortunate that time ran out.’
In fact, Park Moon-dae had deliberately dragged out the song to postpone answering the next donation question. It was because it would have been difficult to answer.
First, the self-introduction… there was nothing to say since I had entered someone else’s body.
I hadn’t completely grasped the background of ‘Park Moon-dae’ either. And the background I had already grasped was nothing but gloomy.
The secret to my singing was even more awkward to explain.
‘The system window helped me? That’s insane.’
Park Moon-dae made his decision in an instant and continued speaking.
“Well, to introduce myself first,”
At that moment, the screen went black.
[The live broadcast has ended.]
The broadcast time had run out.
-??
-What?
-Looks like it’s over?
-The Production Team ended the broadcast all at once
The remaining viewers were confused at first, but soon grasped the situation and burst into laughter.
hahahahahaha
-Apparently they didn’t hear a single word of his self-introduction…
-It just felt like watching a pre-roll ad mukbang
-Ah, that was quite the spectacle
No, Park Moon-dae is seriously funny lolol such a mysterious comedian.
People left their comments one by one in the still-active live chat.
But quite a few stayed behind for a considerable time, continuing to comment. They were the ones who had grown fond of Park Moon-dae.
They compared the Park Moon-dae from Episode 1 with the Park Moon-dae from the previous PR live, delighting in the contrast.
-But Mundae is really cute… He eats well and sings well even with such an unmotivated face. Yum yum good, even without any tricks.
-His face has that trendy vibe, so it’s the perfect finishing touch. With just a bit more grooming, he’d be really handsome
-Okay, I’m making a fan account right now
-Where can I vote?
-Idol Corporation homepage -> stock purchase section. One vote per day, and you can get additional votes by purchasing collaboration bundles
-The commercialism is real
-I gave him a vote because Moon-dae is cute, seriously
The comments continued with criticism of the money-driven voting system, but soon the conversation returned to Park Moon-dae’s previous broadcast.
-In the meantime, I enjoyed the chicken feet so much. I ended up going through the link and buying them.
-I’m getting delivery right now. Thanks Moon-dae, chicken feet in the middle of the night, my diet is ruined
Then suddenly, one comment said something completely unexpected.
-But why does Moon-dae’s eating look so familiar? I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere
-Huh, really?
-Did he film a baby formula commercial? (excited)
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He said he has no experience in the entertainment industry.
-Ah, found it. This is it. Check it out (link)
The link led to a chicken feet mukbang video.
The way he shoved the chicken feet into his mouth and crunched them was identical to the live broadcast they had just watched.
Only the subject was different.
[Rural Dog Eating Chicken Feet Mukbang!]
In the video, a large dog of indeterminate breed was eating raw chicken feet.
The channel name was Sigorza Breed’s Food Exploration.
The black-furred dog with perked ears, its face appearing sullen beneath its dense coat, wagged its tail eagerly as it snapped up the chicken feet.
Overlaid upon that image was Park Moon-dae’s seemingly indifferent yet hearty mukbang footage.
-Lol
In that instant, Park Moon-dae’s first nickname was born.

* * *
-Look at this, they’re literally identical lmaooo From now on Park Moon-dae is Moon-puppy, no arguments (Sigorza Breed mukbang screenshot) (Park Moon-dae live screenshot)
On the SNS post shared over four thousand times, there was a side-by-side image of me as “Park Moon-dae” shoving boneless chicken feet into my mouth, and some large dog biting into chicken feet.
I felt somewhat flustered.
The familiarity had offset the negative image—it seemed to be progressing successfully.
“Moon-puppy….”
At twenty-nine years old, I never imagined I’d end up with such an embarrassing nickname.
I’d heard a few compliments over the years about eating well.
‘I suppose it was because I didn’t waste food and wasn’t picky….’
The truth was simply that after my parents passed away, I couldn’t afford to be selective about food.
So I never expected such a reaction just from eating some chicken feet.
“Fourth place already.”
Not long after the live stream ended, the PR video was uploaded, and my current video ranking had climbed into the top tier.
It was still rising too. If things went well, it might even surpass Lee Sae-jin’s video, which was currently in third place—the former child actor.
I decided to accept the situation.
‘Embarrassment or whatever, this is a good position to be in.’
I couldn’t afford to be picky when sudden death was looming over me. Besides, my sense of wonder outweighed any embarrassment. I was genuinely grateful, actually.
‘Thanks to this, I’ve moved one step further away from sudden death.’
I posted a brief thank you to the person who uploaded the SNS post and those who shared it, then moved on to my next concern.
Now there was only one pressing issue.
How would my editing look in Episode 2, which would air soon?
Especially the fact that I’d received a Platinum rating in the evaluation weighed on my mind.
‘If the editing is even slightly poor, people will definitely say things like “they should have gotten it instead of Park Moon-dae.”‘
Somewhat tense, I opened the on-air window on my smartphone.
Still, Episode 2 was easier since they didn’t do unnecessary reaction shots. Thanks to that, I could even crack open a beer.
[Re-listing! Idol~ Corporation!]
Listening to Young-rin’s voice inserted into the opening, I slowly took a sip of beer. Then I focused on the content.
“….”
By the time Episode 2 ended, there were two beer cans sitting beside my smartphone.
I took a final sip of the last beer and thought.
‘That was pretty good.’
The Production Team had put effort into editing my rating evaluation as well.
They verified my flawless execution of the choreography and precise pitch through the judges’ commentary once more, stamping their approval on my performance.
They didn’t even highlight the scene where I received a Platinum rating. They just handled it with a vibe like, “Of course a participant at this level should get it~”
They didn’t bring up the judging controversy at all.
“What am I thinking?”
The alcohol was loosening my tongue. I mulled over my editing direction carefully.
‘There’s something that bothers me… there is.’
They didn’t show any of the week I spent practicing without sleep.
I understand they couldn’t show everyone’s circumstances with 77 participants, but it was strange that they deliberately included the scene where I asked Sun Ah-hyun about the choreography.
What bothered me was that they edited it to make it look like I learned the entire choreography after hearing it just once.
‘Now that I think about it, they also included an interview where I looked unimpressed when receiving my rating.’
Hmm, once I laid it all out like this, the pattern became clear.
The Production Team seemed intent on pushing the “Park Moon-dae” character from Episode 1 forward.
To put it bluntly… the “oblivious, self-centered, talented ordinary person” character.
The fortunate thing was that thanks to the PR Live, Internet opinion had already attached a “clever puppy” image to me.
‘I think they probably let it slide.’
I immediately checked SNS. Sure enough, people had already seized the narrative by treating Episode 2’s Park Moon-dae with the same “clever puppy” gimmick.
It was fortunate, but I couldn’t let my guard down. Editing conquers all.
‘Should I lean more into the puppy character.’
Buzz buzz!
My smartphone rang while I was pondering.
It was Big Sae-jin. The fact that he sent it as a text message rather than through a messaging app showed his meticulousness.
[Hey Moon-dae, our team wants to watch Episode 3 together. What do you think?]
Did we really need to do that? I immediately started typing a reply.
‘Sorry, but I have something then….’
Just as I was about to make an excuse and decline, another text arrived in quick succession.
[no way… Sad things like missing only the door don’t happen, right? ㅜㅜ Lee Se-jin said he was coming too!]
“….”
Everyone’s already agreed?
This guy would spill the story to the Production Team about how we watched it together and even send proof photos.
With the editing direction already seeming suspicious, I had no idea what would happen if I was the only one missing.
I slowly rewrote the text.
[Yeah, I’ll go.]
A reply came right back.
Haha, I knew you’d like it too~ See you then!
“….”
Somehow… it feels like I lost.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————