Debut or Die - Chapter 218

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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 218
In truth, what surfaced from the exposed person’s private account was nothing but a tired repertoire.
[Ugh, so damn boring]
When will this ever be done? (fire emoji)
[This crap is driving me insane… sigh, the weight of a star’s crown]
It meant the account was filled with complaints and curses about their own work, much like how office workers gripe about their jobs.
If it had ended with just cursing the company, it might’ve been written off as “somewhat enlightening,” but this bastard had freely criticized colleagues and fans alike.
Naturally, the Internet erupted.
-Quit, you psycho
Haha, I didn’t realize it was such a hassle. I’m sorry for foolishly spending all this time on you. From now on, I’ll live comfortably as a half-assed person.
-Isn’t it wrong to leak someone else’s private account? It’s as if everyone has never cursed twice while working. Yes, swearing at celebrities is fun, isn’t it?
Are you involved in this? Instead of leaving comments, why don’t you just retire already?
-I don’t think that momentary emotion defines everything about them, but still couldn’t they have been more careful? My head is pounding…
I knew you’d be like this, acting all high and mighty.
Their past actions and verbal slip-ups were all dredged up, cross-referenced with SNS posts, and all manner of speculation and suspicion ran rampant.
-This seems to match the fans mentioned during that visible radio appearance, seemed really uncomfortable on the radio back then (video link)
-Shouldn’t we verify the same-age friends close to this person? Hmm…
“That’s what a star’s life is like lol fan signing the next day wow” (schedule screenshot)
Well, half of it was probably speculation, but people couldn’t resist the thrill and eagerly began collecting every detail.
And in the midst of it all, Sun Ah-hyun was singled out.
“Club Jukdori being all fake nice again lolol Did the water taste that good yesterday?”
Checking the screenshot, this post had been uploaded on the very day Sun Ah-hyun had filmed a special stage with them.
And with the keywords ‘male,’ ‘schedule overlap,’ and ‘acting innocent,’ Sun Ah-hyun was pinpointed in an instant.
-Honestly, if you eliminate all other possibilities, only one remains
-This is so blatantly ㅅㅇㅎ? LOL The schedule is perfect ㅅㅇㅎ There isn’t even a schedule the day before the shoot. It’s creepy.
-I’m staying neutral for now, but honestly it’s pretty damning, his image management has always been excessive, that fakeness…
Since Sun Ah-hyun had such a gentle image, there was actually a minority opinion suspecting “there’s no way that’s real,” but it seemed like people were gradually joining in from there.
Moreover, I’d seen some posts underground treating it almost as an established fact, which was likely deliberate.
-Ah, stuttering, now you know that women are crazy, you poor losersㅠㅠ
“It’s blown up, it’s blown up. You bastards, bring me more details on who did it, hurry up. I’m gonna expose them lolol”
-Sigh, finally can this gloomy bastard be exposed? I love it (clapping emoji)
‘These are the same people from the Ajusa days.’
People who seemed to have staked their lives on tearing down and crushing Sun Ah-hyun.
Most had either dropped off after Ajusa ended or switched allegiances the moment a new Survival Show Program started, but a few apparently remained.
‘Other people naturally have their persistent antis too, but the ones attached to Sun Ah-hyun are different somehow.’
It wasn’t just “I hope they fail”—most of them were obsessed with damaging Sun Ah-hyun’s image and crushing his spirit.
Now that Sun Ah-hyun was receiving counseling and his demeanor in public had become less passive, they seemed even more unhinged.
‘What’s the point in trying to figure out the logic of these insane bastards.’
The answer was a lawsuit, but for now, it was best to contain the damage quickly.
I rubbed my chin with my hand.
‘…Cleaning this up shouldn’t be difficult.’
All I needed to do was leak evidence that contradicted their circumstantial suspicions, and the public opinion would settle cleanly among the fans.
Even now, in places beyond what they could touch, Sun Ah-hyun’s fans were fiercely dismantling that narrative.
Hahaha it’s so ridiculous it’s actually embarrassing. Telling someone who knits and does embroidery to go to clubs lol
-Wow, there’s so much grounds for a lawsuit. We’re collecting PDFs. Better prepare your corporate legal team~
-Ah-hyun doesn’t even socialize outside the group, so stop spouting this crazy stuff
-Oh, why don’t you go to the club? My kid is a professional kid who doesn’t have a controversial schedule and punk attitude that deceives fans. Haha.
I was quite pleased with how they were strategically dividing public opinion, even preparing for the possibility that he actually had gone clubbing. Of course, someone like Sun Ah-hyun would never be a club regular.
As a defensive measure, I had plenty of content to upload as counter-evidence—the moving news from back then, roommate content, and so on.
Before things spiraled further, uploading something today would resolve everything in one go.
However, I needed to consider Sun Ah-hyun’s mental state.
‘There’s a possibility he might panic or get ahead of himself.’
Given his personality, he wouldn’t rest properly anyway, and I could already envision a scenario where all the counseling he’d received so far would be rendered useless.
‘…His next activity will be worth watching.’
My temples were already throbbing.
It was best to move quickly and wrap this up at a level where Sun Ah-hyun wouldn’t even notice.
I immediately called the Company to adjust the content release timing.
But that’s when a problem arose.
“There was some unnecessary noise during Ah-hyun’s shoot. Wouldn’t it be better to just release it now? …Oh, it’s not finished yet? Then even if it costs more, we should push to have it completed by midnight….”
“W-wait, Moon-dae?”
“…!”
Of all times, Sun Ah-hyun had come all the way to the Balcony looking for me.
This was the downside of dormitory living. Damn it.

* * *
“I, I thought it would look nice next to the bed…”
“Yeah, okay.”
Sun Ah-hyun had come to find me about an interior decoration issue in the room. I took the dog plushie he offered and placed it appropriately beside the bed.
‘…I probably should have given more thought to the fact that he’s my roommate.’
In any case, once I’d already heard about it, there was nothing I could do.
‘Sun Ah-hyun is the type who overthinks things anyway.’
If he doesn’t hear the accurate facts, he’s more likely to jump to worse conclusions about the situation.
‘I’ll keep it light.’
I spoke to the visibly tense Sun Ah-hyun in as casual a tone as I could manage.
“It’s nothing serious. Some idol is getting hate, and since it has nothing to do with you, I thought it was better to prevent any connection in the first place, you know?”
“Oh, I see…”
“Yeah.”
“Got it.”
Sun Ah-hyun nodded obediently.
‘This doesn’t seem like it’s going to end here though.’
“Um, but.”
I knew it.
“W-what kind of story is it…? My, my name came up because…?”
So he’d heard that much.
Either way, I decided not to drag it out and just said it plainly.
“It’s ridiculous nonsense. They’re asking if you go to clubs.”
“C-clubs??”
“Yeah. Everyone doesn’t believe it, but apparently they’re saying the dates are similar or something. So I was trying to show that you were doing something else that day.”
“Ah, I see…”
Sun Ah-hyun accepted it obediently this time as well.
‘Is it over?’
I thought that if I just kept him from using his smartphone for a few days, he wouldn’t go looking for any weird rumors on his own.
“Since the situation hasn’t blown up, you don’t need to search for anything yourself.”
But Sun Ah-hyun’s acceptance didn’t end with just a nod.
“Um, so. Does that mean Park Moon-dae looked through everything…?”
If I said I hadn’t looked, it would sound like the situation had gotten big enough that you could encounter this nonsense anywhere.
I shrugged.
“Well, while I was monitoring things, I sometimes had to dig pretty deep.”
“Hmm.”
And Sun Ah-hyun seemed to be gauging my reaction, hesitating for a moment, but ultimately continued speaking.
“Um, you know.”
“Yeah.”
Sun Ah-hyun clenched both his fists tightly.
“F-from now on, wouldn’t it be better if Park Moon-dae didn’t search for people who say things like that…!”
“…!”
“Hey, it’s tough, you know? Words like that… they don’t make you numb the more you see them. They just hurt more.”
“…Yeah.”
I was a bit taken aback. This wasn’t a lull in the situation, and I certainly didn’t expect to hear something like this when things were going our way.
I crossed my arms.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to handle it quickly?”
“N-no, it’s fine.”
Sun Ah-hyun spoke with surprising firmness.
“That’s not the truth, and not everyone believes it that way anyway…!”
“…!”
“M-maybe if more people start believing that, then it would be okay to address it later…”
“….”
“S-so… I’d rather Park Moon-dae not worry too much or stress about it.”
It was hard to believe this was coming from Sun Ah-hyun, who had said during the Ajusa days that he was used to being criticized so much.
So this is the power of consistent counseling.
‘That’s surprising.’
As I fell silent for a moment, Sun Ah-hyun spoke first.
“I… I think if I search for it, I actually get more anxious.”
“Is that so.”
“Yeah. B-before, it wasn’t something I did, but I kept thinking everyone would believe it anyway… and I was worried no one would listen to my explanation….”
“….”
This sounded like personal experience.
“M-maybe even if my explanation works, later on it becomes a problem again and causes real trouble… so I kept checking and worrying.”
Yeah, it definitely sounds like experience.
‘Is this about peer relationship issues?’
I listened quietly. Sun Ah-hyun swallowed.
“B-but the chance of something like that actually happening is really low, right…?”
“That’s right.”
“Y-yeah!”
Sun Ah-hyun’s expression eased at my immediate response.
“So I’d like it if Park Moon-dae didn’t worry too much either…!”
“….”
Well, I should probably feel a bit offended being told to hold back when I’m trying to help, but it’s such sound logic that I can’t bring myself to feel that way.
‘It’s just concern anyway.’
I uncrossed my arms and let out a small laugh.
“Well, I’m not obsessing over it like that these days. This time I just happened to notice it.”
Ever since I heard something similar from Cha Yu-jin last time, I’ve stopped trying to catch every little thing.
Sun Ah-hyun’s face brightened a bit.
“Oh, I see!”
“Yeah. And honestly, there’s something kind of fun about it too.”
“…! Is it… is it fun…?”
“Not just watching. The real thrill is when you sweep it all away.”
“Ah, I see.”
Sun Ah-hyun nodded eagerly, though his pupils seemed to tremble slightly—probably just my imagination.
“Ah, got it. If that’s how Park Moon-dae feels….”
“Yeah. I’ll keep it reasonable.”
“Mm.”
At my words about it actually relieving stress, Sun Ah-hyun settled down again.
‘Ever since becoming roommates, we’ve ended up talking about all sorts of things.’
And only then did a more conventional response come.
“Um, and… Park Moon-dae. Really, thank you. For caring about even this kind of thing.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Well, since I already know about it this time, I’m just responding accordingly.”
“Ah, I see. …But, um! If the others are having a hard time, you don’t have to….”
“No, I’m not doing it for anyone else.”
“Huh?”
I’d already decided on something back when the answer came that editing would take a bit more time.
“You and I will do it.”
“Huh…?”
And that meant on that free evening, I spent four or five hours glued to my laptop.
Thanks to that, I was able to upload the content right on schedule at midnight.
Of course, it wasn’t the official content I’d discussed with the Company earlier.

* * *
Even fans could tell that Testa made excellent use of their SNS account.
Photos and updates cycled through almost daily, and occasionally they’d showcase the members bickering or competitively uploading cute moments.
But videos were a rare occurrence.
And a substantial one at that—not a short clip, but a proper-length video for the first time since the surprise fan song reveal.
-A 6 minute 27 second video?
-Who’s this dutiful son
Haha, I don’t know, just click it for now.
The post contained nothing but “Good night” with no special commentary, yet people rushed to click on the video.
“…!”
And they reflexively broke into broad smiles at what appeared.
-whoa a vlog
-omg i love this
What played was a raw, unpolished video of the members lounging freely in an unfamiliar living room!
There were even small captions added.
[Popcorn Lover Cha Yu-jin]
[Nom]
Instead of roommate content or moving content that didn’t align with schedules, Park Moon-dae had quickly edited and uploaded personal footage he’d shot and kept for himself.
He’d even deliberately used a 90s film camera filter to display the date and time, a calculated touch he hadn’t forgotten.
[19:11:21]
[Tonight’s Dinner Crew]
[Sun Ah-hyun: No Fire Access]
Within the dim yet warm, nostalgic color palette.
The members chattered away while eating dinner, with the kitchen barely visible in the background, boxes still unpacked.
Quick cuts showed them playing games together, making peace signs at the camera, or waving hello.
[Pajamas Were Comfortable]
[Good Night!]
Even brushing teeth and heading to bed made the cut.
A mellow BGM created a cozy atmosphere.
Even without the filter, the aesthetic felt raw and unvarnished, carrying a different charm from official content.
-so cute
-i love that they’re still wearing the animal pajamas they coordinated since debut
People enthusiastically enjoyed this intimate, approachable content.
Of course, side effects emerged reliably.
-that’s not the dorm though
-what is this a team outing??
-no way the kids actually moved!!
-So, is this a roommate game? It’s so tantalizing to reveal it so quickly.
-did Park Moon-dae film this..? (screenshot of Park Moon-dae’s cut when he turns the camera)
-please god let Park Moon-dae and Cha Yu-jin be roommates again that’s my dream
The two unreleased pieces of content—the moving vlog and the roommate game—were presented with a teaser-like quality that built anticipation.
Of course, the most crucial objective had already been achieved.
[Sun Ah-hyun’s innocence confirmed]
Since every member appeared on screen across every time slot without exception, Sun Ah-hyun’s innocence was naturally and cleanly proven.
There was no way he could have gone to a club and returned in just thirty minutes during the gaps.
-ㅅㅇㅎ What happened to the club? ㅠㅠ I think that’s right?
└He was at the Dormitory celebrating the move at that time lol~
The suspicion that had been building up from fans’ pressure was struck down once more and subsided.
-Cunning bastard
Did a bear design this for you? Haha
Are you trying to cover up the club guys? You didn’t learn anything from Beatbox.
It was when people realized this bait no longer had any traction even underground and were just making meaningless last-ditch efforts.
Once again, a wave came crashing in to sweep away the pointless rumors.
-Hey, something’s up on YouTube too
-What? What’s happening today?
-I haven’t even slept
One hour after the vlog was released.
Around 1 AM, a notification from T1 Star’s official YouTube channel appeared.
[TeSTAR ‘Enchanted?’ Concept Film]
Against the black thumbnail, Ryu Chung-woo sat with a pine tree as his backdrop, dressed in an outfit from somewhere between the “Spring out” music videos, looking serene.
-What
It was the concept film TeSTAR had prepared as a finale for this promotional cycle, designed to connect their universe.
It was originally scheduled to release four days later, but Park Moon-dae had pulled it forward through a group meeting. It was only possible because editing was already complete.
It was an outright content blitz.
As a result, the fans’ reaction was this:
-Out of nowhere?
-Don’t know what this is, but thanks guys
-Ah, you really are a quality restaurant—generous portions too
The moment excited fans frantically clicked on the video amidst the flood of content.
“…!”
The atmosphere of the video instantly consumed the screen, causing the light hearts of the viewers to plummet.

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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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