Debut or Die - Chapter 229

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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 229
Testa’s second-year debut anniversary was planned to be celebrated with a fan meeting. It was a classic approach, but one that guaranteed entertainment value.
True to form for a fan meeting, the concert hall was smaller than a typical concert to maintain an intimate atmosphere, and they were providing paid live streaming online as well.
‘It’s obvious that YouTube will be flooded with illegal broadcasts.’
This wasn’t something new—it happened all the time. The paid platforms would handle reporting diligently enough.
‘At least this is better than skipping online streaming and letting scalpers inflate ticket prices.’
And by tracking the number of people paying to watch the fan meeting, I could gauge how much our recent activities had resonated with the fanbase.
After all, these were people choosing to pay despite being able to watch for free if they ignored their conscience.
So if I compared the price-to-time ratio against VOD rates…
‘…yeah, this should be worth concert pricing.’
Enough pointless YouTube calculations. Time to focus on doing my job right.
Fortunately, the fan meeting that day started smoothly.
-It doesn’t matter what the forecast says
Today is the day I want to see you
Waaaaaahhhhh!!!
Countless colorful balloons floated skyward on a blue opening stage.
Starting light and bright with “Picnic,” this fan meeting’s subtitle was 【Daydream】.
You could say we’d flipped the English subtitle of this song—”Nightmare”—on its head.
‘When there’s a connection like that, the stage gains a theme.’
And that makes it all the more fun to watch.
The entire event was planned to proceed with that same soft, warm atmosphere.
Given how eventful the past year had been, a fan meeting like this felt like a safe choice.
I’d conceptualized the whole thing with a fairy-tale vibe.
So I’d tried to keep the talk segments and variety games in the middle cute as well, but… I’m not sure it worked out.
The direction shifted partway through.
At least the start went smoothly.
“Hello, everyone!”
“Today marks a special day for both Testa and Reviewer. 【Tesversary】! Thank you so much for being here.”
“Let’s have fun together!”
Recent updates and sticky note questions were practically standard protocol for first fan meetings, and the expected answers flowed out seamlessly.
Of course, the confident ones started ad-libbing right away.
Yeah, Big Sae-jin.
“Huh? ‘Who’s the cutest?’ Well, we’ll have to see! Come on everyone, get ready to show us some aegyo~”
He’s spouting off unapproved content without hesitation. Be grateful this is a live broadcast, buddy.
When the camera turned to me, I matched the vibe and shamelessly performed the latest trending aegyo.
Gasps and screams erupted from the audience. …screams?
“Wait, when did you even practice that, Moon-dae?”
“I’m an idol, so I don’t sleep. I use the spare time.”
“Ah, ahhh~”
Laughter burst from the audience.
By my third year, even embarrassing antics had lost their sting. I was becoming quite the attention-seeker, and smoothly at that.
But Big Sae-jin, who’d been playing along with my ridiculous nonsense, let out a snicker and slapped my back.
And brought reality crashing down.
“Still, you need sleep, Moon-dae! Ah, everyone! Moon-dae hasn’t been sleeping at all lately!!”
“…!”
“Moon-dae hyung just works in the early morning! Works so much!”
“From what I can see, he only sleeps once every two days.”
I had no idea how someone so utterly oblivious could be so perfectly accurate about this.
‘It’s true, I’ve been sleeping about that much lately.’
Bacchus 1000 was to blame.
Thanks to it, I’d quickly finished the interview questions and skillfully shaped the dedicated team composition to my liking, plus secured new management personnel—I was very satisfied.
‘Still, to people who can’t see the status window, it probably does seem unusual.’
One thing was certain: there was no need to take it seriously.
‘If it becomes material for jokes like “Park Moon-dae doesn’t sleep, so why do you?” it’ll be a headache.’
Better to laugh it off. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Well… idols don’t sleep anyway, right?”
“Ooh~ idols are people too~”
“Aren’t we idols?? Huh?”
Amid the playful jeers, Bae Sae-jin muttered darkly.
“Sounds like a labor law violation to me….”
“….”
I let out a strange cry—half laugh, half concern—and avoided the camera’s gaze, conscious of the audience’s bizarre cheers.
‘Can’t exactly show them Bacchus 1000.’
In the midst of this, Big Sae-jin giggled and deliberately held his microphone toward Sun Ah-hyun.
“So, Ah-hyun, Moon-dae’s roommate, care to comment?”
“…That’s right! Moon-dae, you really don’t sleep…!”
“…!!”
Sun Ah-hyun spoke earnestly with a determined expression.
“For your health, if you could sleep more….”
These guys….
Sleep!! Moon-dae, sleep!!
You really need to sleep!!
‘…I’ve been cornered.’
I fell silent for a moment at the audience’s chants, then shifted tactics.
“…Of course. Just joking. I should sleep well.”
“Promise! Promise!”
“I’ll make sure to sleep well without straining my health.”
“Yaaay!”
It’s not a lie, really.
“So everyone! Since we’re on the topic of sleep~ aren’t you curious what kind of pajamas we wear??”
I’m so curious!!
I’m dying to know!!
“Let’s meet through this stage!”
The conversation flowed smoothly, and the prepared animal pajama version of the choreography performance proceeded in grand fashion.
-Awesome!
The crowd was delighted, and performances and events continued without injury or mistake.
…Just as I’d envisioned, the thrill of delivering a great stage remained intact. There was no room for other thoughts.
And the final stage before the encore.
Only after showcasing a classical arrangement version of this title track “Call” did I finally have a moment to think about anything else.
Encore! Encore!
The familiar chants echoed from above.
“VCR starts in 3 minutes!”
I caught my breath while checking my freshly changed outfit, and only then did I recall the earlier talk show, stifling a laugh.
‘From now on, every time fans watch the late-night show, the comments are going to be flooded with “Moon-dae’s nose grows”….’
I might not be able to use Bacchus 1000 at full strength for a while….
That’s when it hit me.
“…!”
Wait.
Wasn’t this basically… making the fans monitor me?
And when I think about who brought this up, it’s obvious.
‘He planned this.’
After finishing my outfit change, I looked at Big Sae-jin receiving makeup touch-ups.
Big Sae-jin winked at me.
“You looked really handsome today, hyung~ I know everything.”
“….”
We’ll settle this after the fan meeting.

* * *
The fan meeting concluded with the final stage of “Magic is You,” a fan song arranged with an upbeat band sound.
“Please board the car. I’ll grab some feedback and be right there!”
“Got it.”
I wiped my sweat-drenched face and boarded the car under the new Manager’s guidance.
Then I briefly checked the online reactions.
-First time seeing the bonus book stage outfit in ages… massive thanks to the stylist (screenshot)
-What is Moondaeng Idol Drip? Why do you say it so naturally? This soft apple rice cake puppy is moist and moist ㅠㅠㅠ 10 hours of sleep!
-2nd anniversary cake cutting ceremony lol Cha Yu-jin caught stealing a bite (GIF file)
-Testa fan meeting_talk other idol song medley (1)
‘Nothing unusual.’
Clean—no incidents or accidents. As for the undercurrent reactions… I’d decided to exercise restraint anyway, so I’ll skip those.
I immediately turned off my phone screen and opened my mouth.
“Lee Sae-jin.”
“Huh?”
“You did that sleep thing on purpose.”
Big Sae-jin, who’d been chattering away with Cha Yu-jin in the front seat, immediately turned around with a grin.
“Why are you asking the obvious?”
“…!”
“No way~ Park Moon-dae’s not some Terminator~ you never sleep and just work. Then you’ll drop dead in your thirties!”
‘I won’t, you bastard.’
If anything, I might drop dead next year because of this abnormal condition.
But Big Sae-jin instead glanced around the car, raised his hand, and spoke.
“Who here thinks Park Moon-dae sleeps enough~?”
“….”
“Then who thinks he needs to sleep more?”
Hands shoot up smoothly.
Ranging from visibly nervous to obviously convinced, but they all seem to agree I’m overdoing it.
“See~ we’re a team. Look after yourself, Park Moon-dae!”
I held back a sigh.
Yeah, well… I get that you’re worried.
“Got it.”
“Good!”
Since the dedicated team composition is already finished anyway, I can shelve this for a while.
‘I used those days well.’
I shrugged and leaned my head back against the seat.
Ryu Chung-woo smoothly took control of the situation.
“Right, Park Moon-dae and all… everyone worked hard until this second anniversary. I think we’ve really done well.”
“I, I think so too…!”
“Well said~”
That’s right, two years. Time really does slip away.
“I love this team. Our teamwork is the best!”
“…Thanks for everything so far. Let’s keep working hard going forward.”
“Well said. I won’t let my guard down either, and I’ll give my all for the remaining three years!”
I heard the guys spouting their own thoughts.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
‘…Right, three years left on the contract.’
That’s longer than what we’ve already done. Still, I’d be happy if we could keep going like this….
“….”
I was just trying to map out the route where everything would go most smoothly.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae.”
“What.”
“Got anything you want to say?”
“…? Not really.”
“Hmm, I see~”
Big Sae-jin said it in passing.
“Yeah, just tell me if you think of anything.”
“….”
That’s something you’d only say if you were certain I had something to say.
‘This guy wouldn’t say something like that without reason.’
I pushed myself up from the backrest.
“What are you—”
That’s when it happened.
Click!
The car’s front door opened.
A staff member in a hat climbed into the driver’s seat. They got in so quickly I couldn’t get a good look, but if I ruled everyone else out, only one person remained.
‘Must be the Manager.’
Wait, hold on.
The Manager earlier wasn’t wearing black staff clothes, was he?
Ryu Chung-woo beside me called out.
“Excuse me?”
But the staff member didn’t answer, and right after, the car’s engine started.
“…?”
What’s this guy doing?
I checked the front again.
‘…No member got in the passenger seat.’
They’d piled luggage in the passenger seat, so everyone was in the back.
But without showing their face or answering, they just started the engine like that….
“…!!”
Damn it. Don’t tell me.
I immediately whispered to the people beside and in front of me.
“Get down. All of you.”
“What?”
“Open the door right now…!”
That was the moment.
“Hyung? Aren’t you Kim Jun, the Manager hyung?”
“…!”
Big Sae-jin in the front seat calmly addressed him, conveying the information.
And what that meant was… the guy in front was the former Manager.
The one who got fired from the company a few days ago because of the call recording.
‘Damn it.’
No matter how I thought about it, his intentions were absolutely not good.
Vroooom!!
And the problem was that this bastard had started driving the car.
At an insane speed, no less.
“Tch,”
“Hyung, hyung? Just a moment… please calm down.”
“Calm down about what, damn it!!”
The former Manager suddenly let go of the steering wheel and spun around to look back.
Screeeech!
The car stopped abruptly after leaving the parking lot.
In the middle of the road, in the dead of night.
‘This crazy bastard.’
Blaaaare!
Late at night. A car that had been speeding from directly behind us let out an enormous horn and swerved past us.
“….”
Cold sweat dripped down my face.
The car’s engine was still running. If I tried to open the door and get out now and this bastard took off, I could end up hospitalized with serious injuries.
I immediately checked if there was anything in the back seat I could throw at him.
I had to drag this bastard out right now.
“You, you guys. Huh? You like blackmailing people with recordings? Huh?”
The former Manager spat as he spoke.
“I came here right now just to get an answer, so tell me. Is this my fault? Huh? Just because I misspoke once, you fire someone? Where in the world….”
“I was wrong, sir.”
“…!”
First, I had to calm this bastard down. I immediately interjected and answered obediently.
“There was a hacking attempt on the cloud account, so we reported it to the company. It seems they discovered the recording while verifying the breach….”
“….”
“We never intended for this to happen. When the company was setting up a dedicated team, they probably just told you without consulting us.”
“….”
I’m shaken. Thank goodness he’s an idiot.
Big Sae-jin immediately pushed forward from right beside me.
“Hyung, I’m sorry we couldn’t make a stronger case for you. We thought you’d been scouted out until now. We’ll tell the company right away when we get back, okay?”
Ryu Chung-woo beside me was deliberately keeping his mouth shut. He seemed to know that he was the one who provoked the Manager at the end.
But he was gripping a book in his hand. It looked like he was prepared to throw it if things went south.
‘If this doesn’t work this time, I really will have to throw it.’
I watched the lunatic in the driver’s seat carefully.
He was breathing heavily, and finally, he took the bait.
“…So you’re saying you want me to come back to work, is that it?”
“Yes, sir!”
“We’ll definitely make a strong case to the company.”
“Yes, yes.”
The atmosphere seemed to ease slightly, and the members eagerly chimed in.
And in the corner of the front seat, Bae Sae-jin was silently texting 112 with his hand turned backward.
“….”
The former Manager was about to place his hand on the steering wheel again.
‘Perfect.’
If I just pull over to the shoulder and ask him to call the company….
That was the moment.
“…Huh?”
CRASH!
…An enormous sound came from behind.
Along with a jolt.
Could you even call this a jolt?
This was… an impact.
A tremendous impact that started with the jolt sent my body flying forward.
‘Damn it!’
We’d been rear-ended.
And in that split second, I saw it.
The crumpling car frame and seat. Between the deploying airbags, something sharp and broken was about to pierce someone’s head.
Sharp and massive.
‘…!!’
Without thinking, I threw my body forward to knock the debris away.
It seemed like I could do it.
Of course, it was insane.
Thud.
Instead of catching the debris, it pierced my chest where my seatbelt was fastened.
The impact tore through my chest.
“Gasp.”
And everything went dark.

* * *
When consciousness returned.
A small light flickered in the darkness of my vision, amid the roaring thunder in my head.
Ting—.
A gleaming golden circle tore through the black void and bounced upward.
And as it slowly fell… its outline became clear.
A golden coin.
‘…A coin.’
[Insert Coin]
The status window that appeared… swallowed the coin like a slot.
And then.
“Gahhh!!”
I… I.
Opened my eyes staring at the moldy Motel ceiling.
Just like some day two and a half years ago.
“….”
A ceiling I knew… one I couldn’t forget.
‘No.’
This couldn’t be happening.
I lifted my head and surveyed my surroundings. A musty blanket fell beneath my feet.
That scene I’d seen once before… no, wait.
‘Is this a hallucination?’
There had to be another explanation… some other way to interpret this….
“Yeah.”
I stumbled out of bed. And moving almost like a crawl, I went to the dresser.
And… I looked.
“…!!”
The face reflected in the mirror… wasn’t Park Moon-dae.
It was me. Ryu Gun-woo.
…A face I hadn’t seen in two and a half years.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“No.”
Even if I came back, I’d still be Park Moon-dae.
Why would I wake up in the Motel room where Park Moon-dae had been? It made no sense. It wasn’t natural, the logic didn’t add up….
‘A status window appearing and entering someone else’s body makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?’
“Shut up.”
I buried my head in the dresser.
And muttered.
“Status window.”
But nothing happened.
I tried again.
“Status… window. Status window, status window….”
Anything at all….
Ding.
“…!”
A window appeared before my eyes.
But it wasn’t the status window I knew.
[Name: Ryu Gun-woo (Park Moon-dae)]
-Enjoy your daydream :)-
That was it.
“….”
I leaned back against the bed and sat down.
And as objectively as possible, in a way that wasn’t rationalization… I reviewed the situation several more times.
After that, I reached a conclusion.
‘This is… a dream.’
I must have fallen into a coma.

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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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