Debut or Die - Chapter 220

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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 220
To be honest, I had no grand intentions about taking the GED Exam.
I simply thought it wouldn’t hurt to at least secure a high school diploma, just in case something went wrong in life.
‘Even after using my brain so much on variety shows, those bastards still mock me for being a middle school graduate. There’s no way they’ll shut up just because I passed the GED.’
So I approached it the same way I refreshed my TOEIC scores—without much fanfare, I just solved some past exam problems and called it done.
I had a college degree and had even prepared for civil service exams. There was no way I’d fail the GED.
And as expected, when I checked my scores on the practice problems, I was comfortably in the passing range.
“I just need to go quietly and come back.”
That was my conclusion as I closed the graded problem set.
My activities had ended yesterday, and while I wasn’t at the level to take a vacation yet, my official schedule was relaxed enough that I only had commitments every other day or two.
After resting for about two weeks, I’d have to start preparing for the next album anyway, but that meant there was no problem with taking the GED the day after tomorrow.
I crossed my arms.
‘Let’s not make a fuss about this.’
There was nothing good about my GED news leaking to public opinion.
It would only multiply unforeseen complications—from unnecessary sympathy to stalkers showing up and causing trouble at the exam site in the worst case.
With monitoring already restricted, the last thing I needed was more hassle.
‘No need to tell the others either.’
Since we had a rare day off, I’d let everyone enjoy themselves however they wanted.
[These damn K-pop bands!]
“Wahaha!”
Cha Yu-jin’s boisterous laughter erupted from just outside my door.
It seemed he was binge-watching K-NOW from episode four onward, and thanks to the noise, I got in some effective practice exam training.
Though I had no idea why Cha Yu-jin was laughing so hard.
‘The atmosphere shifted a bit starting from episode four.’
Unlike the early episodes, which had that “serving K-pop hell to clueless attention-seekers” vibe, from episode four onward, the show began highlighting the participants’ personal stories and subtly building emotional connection.
[Ever since my parents passed away, I’ve rarely felt like other people truly ‘cared’ about me.]
[I really need that prize money. It’s for my family.]
And matching that tone, the editing of the participants’ attitudes naturally shifted as well.
Unlike before, when they suffered through the camp and dropped out like extras playing villains under K-pop bombardment, now they showed genuine fulfillment as they completed performances one by one.
[I don’t think I’ve ever pushed myself 100% like this before.]
[They’re the real deal. Factory-line training? Tell them to go eat dirt! This effort is genuine, and they train like athletes—that’s what I’m saying!]
And on top of that, they even built emotional rapport with the K-pop mentors.
For instance, they wove in things like Park Moon-dae’s family circumstances with the participants’ stories.
Ah, a scene mentioning me just passed by outside—I could hear the audio.
[After my parents died, I lived like trash just taking drugs, but my mentor went to an audition and won first place.]
[That really means a lot to me.]
It was just a scene where I’d given tips on finding the camera during performances, but they’d edited it together with the interview perfectly.
Overseas audiences didn’t seem to find it stale yet, and the emotional melodrama code seemed to work well, so it was probably gaining traction smoothly.
‘The cast will get their share too… so I’ll let it slide.’
Come to think of it, I’d already heard that season two production was confirmed.
‘I hope the next album gets plenty of inflow.’
I opened the door with indifference and stepped out. Cha Yu-jin immediately turned his head, eyes widening as he exclaimed.
“Hyung! You’re amazing, you’re such a cool person!”
“Yeah, thanks.”
He looked ready to shout “Love yourself” any second now. Truly an American.
I went to the Kitchen and poured water, then asked.
“Did everyone go out?”
“I don’t know! I just woke up!”
It’s 2 PM and he says it with genuine pride.
Well, during our active period we survived on three or four hours of sleep, so it’s not fair to call him lazy for sleeping twelve hours over a few days.
“Hyung, let’s play games!”
“Later.”
“Now!”
“Finish watching what you were watching first. You have to watch it all before we play.”
“Okay.”
I’ve bought myself some time. There’s about a fifty percent chance he’ll forget he even asked me to play games after watching that variety show.
I sat down at the dining table and sipped my water slowly. A moment later, Bae Sae-jin quietly emerged from the adjacent room.
“Hyung, did you sleep the whole time? I did too!”
“Ah, no, I was just… reading a book.”
“Come on.”
Bae Sae-jin’s expression was unusually relaxed.
Since he started sharing a room with Big Sae-jin, I’d noticed him quietly coming out to the Living Room and sitting in the corner, so Big Sae-jin must be out right now.
‘Now that I think about it, Sun Ah-hyun wasn’t in his room either.’
Even if Big Sae-jin and Ryu Chung-woo are out, the fact that even Kim Rae-bin and Sun Ah-hyun—who rarely go out—have left shows we’re truly in the off-season.
“…Hey.”
“Yes. Would you like some water?”
“Huh? Um, well…”
I handed water to Bae Sae-jin, who had come to the Kitchen.
Bae Sae-jin held the water cup in his hand with an awkward expression, then asked abruptly without even drinking.
“…Is there nothing you want to say?”
“…? Not really.”
Surely he wasn’t expecting me to offer to switch rooms.
Sorry, but my goodwill ends with water.
“Yeah, okay.”
Bae Sae-jin’s eyebrows seemed to twitch slightly, but without saying anything more, he quietly drank his water and went back into his room.
‘What was that.’
He seemed to have something to say, but the atmosphere didn’t feel serious, so I let it go.
‘If he’s worried, he’ll say something on his own.’
We’re just starting the off-season, so I should rest too.
I shrugged and put the water cup away. With nothing else to do, I was thinking of solving some more problems.
“Hyung! I saw it all!”
…And shortly after, Cha Yu-jin finished watching the variety show without forgetting about the game, so I played a few rounds with him.
Honestly, since I had nothing else to do and was bored anyway, it was worth doing even if it was a bit of a hassle.
[How about playing Hovering Knight? A friend said it was fun last time!]
“Do whatever you want.”
Looking back on it now, I should have paid more attention instead of brushing past it so carelessly.
Because two days later, in the morning, I received something I never could have imagined.

* * *
The morning of the GED Exam Site day.
I had set my alarm to vibrate only so I wouldn’t wake anyone else.
‘Everyone should still be sleeping.’
I quietly got out of bed, went to the Bathroom, and washed my face.
But when I came out of the Bathroom, I noticed the opposite bed was empty.
“…?”
Where did Sun Ah-hyun go?
‘Maybe he used the other Bathroom and went to the Living Room.’
Making the most likely guess, I put on my outdoor clothes and carefully opened the door.
The first thing I felt was… a smell. A fairly savory food aroma.
And then I heard a loud voice.
“Park Moon-dae’s here!”
“…?!”
When I looked up, my roommates had filled the bright Living Room and Kitchen.
‘What is this?’
Just as I was about to wonder what day it was, Big Sae-jin approached and clapped his hands.
“Oh my, Moon-dae, Moon-dae~ You’re taking a test today, right!”
“…!!”
Big Sae-jin was grinning widely. And looking around, the others were no different.
It meant they all knew—it was a foregone conclusion.
“How did you find out?”
Big Sae-jin shook his head with an exaggerated pitying expression.
“Moon-dae, let’s not forget that we live together as a group… Your smartphone screen… the person next to you can see it clearly too.”
“…!!”
“I mean, how~ could you go through something so important and not say a word to your members~ Isn’t that too cold??”
“It’s not like it’s the college entrance exam or anything, there’s no real need to mention it….”
“Sob sob, such hurtful words!”
“That’s right! We’re hurt!”
“….”
These guys are deliberately acting offended. Are they having fun with this?
At least a rational explanation came from Ryu Chung-woo.
“Besides, everyone has time today, and we’re all at the Dormitory anyway… I thought it would be nice to give you a surprise send-off. Haha.”
“…Yes.”
I didn’t see this coming. They didn’t have to do this.
“Out of consideration for your preference to take the exam quietly, we’ve decided to refrain from accompanying you to the GED Exam Site.”
That’s a sound judgment.
But it didn’t end there.
“So, um… we all made this together.”
Sun Ah-hyun, standing at the back, quickly moved the ladle and soon placed a bowl on the dining table.
What was inside… was chicken porridge.
“….”
“I wanted to make chicken soup! But everyone opposed it!”
“S-since it’s before the exam, I thought something familiar would be better.”
“Chicken soup is delicious though….”
The image of that charred chicken soup—something that looked like it had crawled up from hell—involuntarily comes to mind.
The fact that it had evolved into this perfectly presentable chicken porridge after going through two iterations is simply unbelievable.
“Ah-hyun worked hard… and Sae-jin, I mean Bae Sae-jin, did most of it. Among us, only Kim Rae-bin and Sae-jin can actually cook.”
“It seemed like Bae Sae-jin hyung definitely had more expertise than I did!”
“N-no, it’s not that much.”
Bae Sae-jin cleared his throat awkwardly. Right. Kim Rae-bin and he were on about the same level.
‘They managed to pull it off.’
I stared at the chicken porridge, which appeared to have considerable care put into it and looked quite decent, but found myself at a loss for words.
It’s a bit… overwhelming, and I feel sorry too.
“How is it, Park Moon-dae? You’re so grateful you can’t even speak, right? I get it, enjoy the meal~”
Excellent. My guilt vanishes instantly.
“What did you do.”
“Hey, we all went shopping together~ If we’d ordered delivery, you would’ve found out. The ingredients didn’t just fall from the sky, right?”
So that’s why everyone was mysteriously absent yesterday. I’m impressed they managed to hide it and even get it into the Refrigerator.
“Do you understand now?”
I let out a sigh, then eventually cracked a bitter smile.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“…!”
“Thank you all.”
“Well, thanks.”
“Eat it while it’s hot!”
Anyway, I ended up sitting among those grinning guys and eating the chicken porridge.
“…Does it taste good?”
“Yes. It’s delicious.”
I thought I’d get indigestion.
But since I didn’t want to hear what they’d say if I left any, I cleaned the bowl completely.
…It was something to be grateful for, after all.
“Want another bowl?”
“No thanks. Big Sae-jin, don’t take pictures of me.”
“Huh? You don’t want to share this important moment with Park Moon-dae’s fans? We members worked so hard on cooking~”
“….”
Fine, do whatever you want.
It’s not like I’m announcing that I’m taking the GED exam right now, and posting later that Park Moon-dae had breakfast here should be fine.
“Should I pack the leftovers as a lunch box?”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”
Actually, I’d roughly prepared something to eat for lunch yesterday, but I could eat that when I get back.
I picked up the thermal container with chicken porridge and left the Dormitory at an appropriate time, seeing off the others.
“Get a perfect score~”
“Have something delicious for dinner!”
The feeling was strange.
‘I brought a lunch box I packed myself when I took the college entrance exam too.’
I never thought I’d be eating something like this while taking the GED exam in someone else’s body.
‘…Just do well on the test.’
If I failed after all this, it would be genuinely ridiculous, so that wouldn’t happen—but I should focus a bit more carefully.
I put on a mask, pulled down a baseball cap, and headed out.
The GED Exam Site wasn’t far, and I arrived easily and quietly by taxi.
And naturally, no one paid attention to me. If I’d requested security personnel from the Entertainment Company, I would’ve been criticized for interfering with the exam.
‘There are plenty of people dressed similarly to me.’
With such a wide age range, my ordinary appearance blended right in.
Thinking it was good I didn’t unnecessarily leak the news, I sat at my desk and pulled out a pen.
It had been a long time since I’d taken an exam.

* * *
Inside a GED Exam Site in Seoul.
Just as Park Moon-dae had described, people of various ages sat at their respective desks, each absorbed in their own world.
However, there was one thing Park Moon-dae hadn’t anticipated.
By sheer coincidence, one of the test-takers possessed such fervent fandom that they could identify a certain idol by skeletal structure alone.
‘P-Park Moon-dae??’
Indeed.
The test-taker behind Park Moon-dae’s desk, in the act of placing their bag on the chair, froze upon glimpsing that familiar back.
That bone structure. That hairline at the nape of the neck.
Countless rear-view fancams of Park Moon-dae flashed reflexively before their eyes.
And a realization struck like a thunderbolt!
‘Wait, he’s on hiatus now… and Moon-dae dropped out of high school! He could totally be here to take the exam!!’
Thoughts cascaded like an avalanche. Of course, the rational part of their mind was simultaneously screaming that this was an absurd fantasy.
“….”
But moments later, having emerged from the whirlwind of speculation, the test-taker struggled with a difficult realization.
‘I need to be careful!’
The odds were infinitesimal, but whether it was him or not, approaching would be rude either way. Above all, I couldn’t afford to disrupt the exam!
With firm resolve, the test-taker quietly took their seat at their own desk.
And so the thrilling GED exam began.

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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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