Debut or Die - Chapter 213

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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 213
The Stage constructed on the Set followed the style of an open amphitheater like those found in American parks—a small circular staircase theater completely exposed to the elements.
In short, it was tiny and completely open on all 360 degrees, meaning the audience would be right in front of us from every direction.
‘This will certainly be a fresh experience.’
As the invited residents filtered in as audience members and went through security checks, I sat in the Waiting Room with a camera on me and received an envelope.
The glitter was flashy—quintessentially American aesthetic.
Along with the artificial intelligence MC’s English explanation, the translation came through my in-ear monitor.
[What’s inside this envelope are the signature songs chosen by the participants!]
[Our K-pop mentor is expected to master all three songs within an hour.]
[Let’s see how it goes!]
There’s nothing to see.
The Production Team had already told me in advance which songs would be the candidates.
‘Of course, not narrowed down to just these three.’
They gave me about a dozen songs and hinted that it would be one of these—since they’re pop songs, there was a chance I wouldn’t know them at all.
And the participants probably selected these three songs through some kind of race or competition.
Yeah, I could already picture a participant shouting on broadcast something like, “This isn’t the damn song I wanted!”
[Are you nervous?]
[Well, a little bit.]
I gave a predictable answer to the predictable question and opened the envelope.
“Hmm.”
Yeah, exactly as expected.
‘I won’t even need an hour.’
Let me just use this time to shake off the jet lag.

* * *
The Set buzzed with murmuring crowds.
Holding gift bags of wine and cosmetics in one hand (all sponsored by T1), the residents stood with arms crossed, waiting for the Stage without much anticipation.
It wasn’t a show with any real name, and beyond Netplus Production, they knew nothing about it.
[I heard they’re singing.]
[I wish they’d at least do a magic show instead!]
A father and daughter shrugged their shoulders as they conversed.
Behind the Stage, cameras were rolling to capture the participants hearing this murmur from the audience.
In this ‘Intro Stage’, a total of eight participants had chosen ‘singing’ as their specialty to become a celebrity.
And the audience members were each given a button.
[When the audience members press the button, lights flash instantly in that spot!]
[They’ll press the button when they feel it’s good.]
[And… warning! They think everyone appearing is a participant, and they have no idea about our secret K-pop mentor’s existence!]
[Now then, our ‘K-pop’ camp participants, please come up on the Stage!]
The audience reflexively cheered as nine people ascended on a lift onto the Stage.
[Wow!]
The participants too reflexively waved their hands or bounced excitedly. How their excited appearances would be edited as arrogance or naïveté on broadcast was anyone’s guess.
And in one corner stood an East Asian youth wearing a large hood pulled over his head.
But unlike the other loud participants, he made almost no movements and was barely noticeable.
Naturally, it was Park Moon-dae.
[Now, the first song is… oh! ‘Drive It’ by Phil Garcia! Shall we go for it!?]
It was a hit from a few years back that skillfully blended R&B and pop into something pleasant to listen to. And it was also a staple song in this country’s Audition Programs for men.
[Oh~]
The audience gave a conventionally polite level of reaction to the song choice.
But once the next rule was explained, genuine admiration began to mix into their response.
[The participants on the Stage will sing whenever they’re randomly selected.]
[If you like it, press the button without mercy! The more lights that stay on for longer, the more you’ll get to hear that participant’s song!]
[If there aren’t many lights… well, next!]
Laughter poured from the audience at the mechanical voice’s cheeky words.
[Hahaha!]
Good response meant more singing time, bad response meant the end.
It was a rule that was easy to understand, visually obvious, and thrillingly cruel—genuinely entertaining!
[Now then, starting from number one… begin!]
Music rang out among the participants, some taking deep breaths or pretending not to be nervous as they twirled their microphones.
And participant number one blinked and raised the microphone.
A trembling voice produced a fairly decent sound.
-Driving the car without hesitation~ I have a big engine and shining headlights, I, I have them~
[Oh….]
The people who had been pressing the button moderately stopped as soon as the participant stumbled over his words.
[Now, next!]
The moment the light dimmed, the artificial intelligence unhesitatingly pointed to number 7.
-I’m not a reliable man, but I’m wild. That’s my charm….
The song began flowing smoothly from person to person in that manner.
Most managed barely a single verse, while those who pushed further only got through two or three.
It was unavoidable.
With the artificial intelligence’s sudden designation and the visual display right before their eyes screaming “one mistake and it’s over,” participants ended up making mistakes they normally wouldn’t.
-My eyes can s-see… damn it!
[N-ext!]
The participant who couldn’t even finish a single line now received jeers from the audience, who had grown accustomed to the spectacle.
The moment the audience became more merciless with familiarity.
[Number 7!]
The scoreboard call came to number 7 for the first time, standing blankly in the corner.
[….]
The hooded young man of Eastern descent glanced at the illuminated turn indicator, then immediately opened his mouth and raised the microphone.
And the song began exactly where it should have.
Naturally, as if it were originally his part.
-Such a sight keeps me alive
Today too, the city’s light
Running, running,
Between the stars and the light
[Oh!!]
The pleasant voice resonated solidly through the speakers.
The clarity of tone and volume difference, as if using entirely different equipment than everyone else.
Tap-tap-tap! Crack! Tararara-crack!
In an instant, the sound of rapid button mashing erupted from the audience seats, and lights of every color began sparkling.
The song stretched forward powerfully.
-Running, running,
Between the stars and the light
Tonight.
Even on the chorus’s high note, the voice remained unwavering.
Rather, the melodic section that truly revealed the song’s essence stood out brilliantly.
[Wow!]
The button mashing didn’t diminish. The lights continued sparkling, and number 7’s surge continued unbroken.
But the problem was… they were now entering the instrumental break.
Once the singing stopped, the light would inevitably fade. Then would come the natural moment to pass to the next person.
[Hmm!]
As the lyrics disappeared from the scoreboard, several audience members who quickly grasped the situation even let out sighs of regret.
-DDU DDU DDururu
DDU DDU DDU
[…!]
Number 7 began adding humming into the instrumental break.
Not just casual humming, but with an absolutely stunning vocal range and technique that rivaled concert-level ad-libs.
[Wow!!]
The audience’s fingers flew across the buttons at this dazzling display, extending Number 7’s time once again.
Paba-paba-bak! Paba-bak!
Lights flashed from every direction.
At this point, some of the other contestants were standing with their mouths agape, watching what Number 7 was doing.
But Park Moon-dae didn’t continue the display.
Instead, a measure or two before entering the second verse, I stopped the ad-lib and lowered the microphone respectfully.
[Well then, next!]
The audience lamented at the artificial intelligence MC’s cheerful announcement, but there was a reason for it.
‘Push at this timing.’
Number 7, Park Moon-dae, understood the loophole in this rule.
‘People grow accustomed to stimulation.’
It was more important to sing better than the previous measure than to simply sing well consistently.
If I just sang straight through without thinking, the audience’s reaction would inevitably fade after the climax.
Since it wasn’t better than the climax they’d just heard, people would naturally refrain from pressing the button.
So whether it was high notes, ad-libs, or variations, I had to keep providing new stimulation and surprising elements.
This was also why those who had been singing decently earlier couldn’t get past two or three measures.
That’s why Park Moon-dae skipped the introduction of the second verse where the song’s tempo would adjust again.
‘Well, I need to give the contestants a chance too, so might as well kill two birds with one stone.’
As a mentor, I had to occasionally yield to the contestants so that the domestic Internet wouldn’t spout nonsense like “am I the only one struggling?”
And Park Moon-dae had already done the math.
‘Considering the number of contestants… they’ll definitely give me another turn at the end.’
Looking at the rotation timing, it seemed my turn would come around again after going through all the contestants once.
[Too bad, next!]
Because Park Moon-dae had performed so well earlier, the audience’s standards had become harsh, and most of the intimidated contestants were eliminated in a single measure.
And just as Park Moon-dae planned, he was called on again during the pre-chorus right before the final chorus.
[Ooooh!]
Amid the audience’s now-biased expectations and premature cheers, Park Moon-dae seized control of the song from the very first measure and never let go.
-Run, run
Blast the horn and crush the light
Tonight
Park Moon-dae’s total song possession time was 1 minute and 3 seconds.
Thus, the first “Intro Stage” ended—so one-sided and overwhelmingly dominant that it wasn’t even a competition.
[The winner is… Number 7!]
[Yaaaay!!]
‘I earned my keep.’
Instead of bowing my head, I waved to match the audience’s mood and let out a quiet laugh.
From beyond the Stage camera, I could already hear the Production Team drooling.
‘If we play our cards right, they might even use this as a teaser.’
And that prediction proved accurate.

* * *
[K-pop? I don’t listen to that sort of thing.]
[Calling that music is… no, don’t misunderstand me. I don’t consider this country’s boy bands music either.]
[My younger sibling is completely obsessed with it, but honestly, they’re out of their mind.]
“Oh, a teaser?”
“That’s right!”
Inside the car, Cha Yu-jin played Netplus on his smartphone and eagerly shook the screen to show the members.
Immediately, the members focused their attention on the brief preview video.
Interview clips of participants spouting the typical “I’m not interested in that pathetic subculture K-pop nonsense” passed by, followed by short snippets of actual footage.
[This summer.]
[To reality show participants hungry for fame,]
[a K-pop baptism descends!]
“Wow, look at the subtitles.”
“The translation is really well done.”
[Ahhhhhhh!!]
[What the hell is this….]
Screaming participants and laughing K-pop idols.
Then my profile as I sang and the wide-eyed expression of the participant next to me flashed across the screen.
“Besides you, there were two more vocal teams, right?”
“Yeah.”
They probably used my first stage effectively since the participants’ reactions would be the most dramatic.
“I heard everyone won their matches.”
“Of course they did. They all have positions, after all~ Did you think they’d lose?”
Seeing him grin like that, it seemed he’d dominated pretty overwhelmingly in the dance stage too.
[Do you know K-pop?]
[Do you like it?]
[Want to try it?]
[K-NOW]
Right after the title appeared, “Episode 1 Coming Soon” displayed alongside the date.
Usually, programs released on Netplus would bundle three or four episodes and release them all at once, but it seemed the studio and production had agreed to release them one at a time.
“Cha Yu-jin, you absolutely must turn on notifications for when it releases so you don’t forget and can watch immediately….”
“I know!”
“Knowing doesn’t help when you didn’t do it!”
‘Anyway, the broadcast isn’t far off.’
Perhaps because the filming had wrapped successfully, I found myself genuinely curious about how the first episode would be received.
And by the time we see it, there’s a new event coming up.
Sun Ah-hyun had just noticed the date and was shouting about it.
“Ah, wait—this is… this is our moving day…!”
“Really?”
“It feels worthwhile that we ordered a large Television for the end of the shelf!”
“That’s wonderful!”
It was the move itself.
We were finally relocating to the New Dormitory.

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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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