Debut or Die - Chapter 232

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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 232
The absurd plan to bring a new member into VTIC started with a fresh load of nonsense.
“First, the junior member will make a pre-debut solo release. Alone.”
“….”
A solo debut out of nowhere?
“If there are no special incidents this year… winning the rookie award in the male solo category would actually be easier. There won’t be any competitors.”
He spoke with such natural confidence.
“Didn’t you say this agency doesn’t support solo activities?”
“A pre-debut release seems worth trying to convince them about.”
Chung-ryeo delivered his affirmative answer with composure.
‘Even if it’s just a preview activity before an official debut, how can he be so certain?’
So this agency’s extreme exclusion of solo work really did have his fingerprints all over it.
I crossed my arms.
“What guarantee is there that debuting that way will produce results as a male solo artist?”
It felt like an eternity since a male idol without a group managed to succeed as a solo artist.
But Chung-ryeo laughed.
“Ah, not a performance-focused idol, but a vocally-centered singer.”
“…!”
“The first junior member from LeTi Entertainment after VTIC. The buzz factor is guaranteed, right? Since it’s a different genre, we’ll avoid some of the interference too.”
He had a point.
Besides, traditional male solo singers targeting music releases rather than dance-focused idol tracks—ballads and indie—had decent success rates.
If the song was good.
“And early next year, we’ll release a collaboration track with a VTIC unit. It would be nice if it showcased some performance.”
“….”
So he was appealing that performance was possible while tying me to VTIC.
“Same-agency collaboration tracks have plenty of precedent, so even if there’s backlash, it’s manageable. If the results are good and the junior member’s role is clear, fan resistance will soften too.”
At this point, I understood what he was getting at.
I opened my mouth.
“…And if that main vocalist incident breaks, you’re saying you’ll actually accept the nonsense like ‘just put Ryu Gun-woo in instead’ and bring me into the group?”
“Sharp. That’s right.”
So he was planning to inject Ryu Gun-woo as naturally as possible as a replacement main vocalist for VTIC.
‘This is insane.’
Of course it was.
I’d mentioned the main vocalist incident because it was the most valuable information he’d be desperate to know.
‘Plus, it’s an incident that breaks 1-2 years later, but it happens right around this time.’
In other words, verification would be easy. I judged it would be convenient to prove I came from the future and build trust.
But this bastard was thinking of swapping me out instead of preventing the controversy to maintain that guy’s image.
I furrowed my brow.
“I don’t understand why you’d make such a proposal when you could prevent the incident from happening.”
His expression vanished.
“People aren’t something you can just fix and reuse.”
“….”
“Remember that. It’ll be useful information going forward.”
Treating me like a spare part.
‘He’s definitely insane, but….’
Let’s move past this for now.
Essentially, what he’s saying is that he won’t leave behind any seeds of discord he can’t control, even if it means taking a hit to the group.
And in exchange, he’ll bring in someone obedient and desperate, plus someone useful enough to warrant surveillance.
“So, you’ll give it a try, right?”
He’s talking about me.
‘I never thought I’d face something like this.’
Getting the chance to be in the same group as this bastard.
I opened my mouth.
“No. I’ll have to decline.”
“….”
No matter how I think about it, that plan could easily fall apart.
And isn’t it just handing the knife over to him completely?
‘This bastard could sweet-talk me into it, and then if the situation changes, he could bury me after my free debut.’
Besides, if this were just a dream, it’d be one thing, but right now all my actions are about finding hints for what happens in the coma. I shouldn’t take unnecessary risks.
‘I’ll stick as close to reality as possible.’
…Even if I couldn’t land Bae Sae-jin, if the Ajusa program collapses, there’ll be another chance to recruit him.
I clenched my fists.
But since there’s no need to antagonize this guy, I came up with a very plausible excuse first.
“I’m not confident the solo newcomer award category fits the mission requirements. I’d be satisfied with just the idol group newcomer award.”
“Ah.”
I knew this would work. Chung-ryeo crossed his arms and laughed cheerfully.
“Haha, well then next time we can try a different approach. You’re lacking in competitive spirit.”
“….”
Don’t have a long conversation with this bastard.
After that, Chung-ryeo left without immediately withdrawing the proposal, saying he’d give me ‘a month to think it over,’ leaving room for reconsideration.
‘He seems so confident I’ll give up within a month.’
An irritating bastard. I’d rather deal with the real-world version who just posts dog pictures when he’s bored.
I held back a sigh and pushed myself up.
‘Time to move on to the next thing.’
I’ve laid all the groundwork, so now I need to draw out the guy living in seclusion.
…Sun Ah-hyun in this dream, that is.

* * *
The Hospital Room was silent.
Only the soft white noise of medical machines and the distant movement of people beyond the Corridor gently enveloped the private room.
The private room wasn’t chosen solely for his status as a public figure.
It was because the patient using this private room still hadn’t regained consciousness.
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun sat quietly in the caregiver’s chair.
Park Moon-dae had no blood relatives. Even after Testa achieved tremendous success, not a single distant relative had emerged claiming kinship.
So in this Hospital Room, aside from the hired caregiver, only those he’d met since beginning his entertainment career came and went.
Centered around the members who’d regained consciousness, Company staff occasionally opened the door as well.
But the countless gifts sent by fans were still undergoing inspection. As a result, the Hospital Room remained emptily bare.
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun placed a soft, fluffy knitted doll on the table. He’d made it himself.
The hand holding the doll trembled.
‘Get it together….’
Sun Ah-hyun held his breath tightly.
He was the member who visited this Hospital Room most frequently and could at least pretend to provide care.
Because Sun Ah-hyun… had barely been injured.
Unlike members who needed treatment for fractures or those busy fighting with the Company, he’d been mobile from the start.
And despite having no reason to feel this way, he was consumed by a burning sense of guilt.
‘I couldn’t say a word….’
When the other members somehow tried to persuade or report the former Manager, he couldn’t bring himself to speak up.
It wasn’t that fear had paralyzed his tongue.
He’d worried that stepping forward without proper articulation would only get in the way.
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun quietly clasped his hands together on his lap and froze in the chair.
The younger members were fine. They were his juniors, after all.
But while the two his age persuaded the former Manager, his inability to do anything was clearly a problem.
It was the same after the accident.
Even if he came up with clever or brave ideas, lacking eloquence meant he’d need someone to cover for him when dealing with public opinion and the Company.
‘Even when I got angry at the Company, it doesn’t feel like it actually got through….’
He had no one backing him up.
And it wasn’t as if he’d suddenly gained medical knowledge to help with Park Moon-dae’s treatment.
All he’d done was guide the members to the ambulance that arrived after the emergency call. His body was fine, after all.
But even that had been done in a half-dazed state.
Sun Ah-hyun clenched his fists.
‘Pathetic.’
So he was truly useless. At least, that’s how he felt.
But a greater worry about reality pushed his self-loathing down the priority list.
Park Moon-dae… had been unconscious for five days.
I heard the surgery had been quite successful, but the shock and blood loss seemed to have been too severe.
‘I should have sat in the back seat then….’
That would have resulted in a much better outcome. Park Moon-dae would have been less injured too….
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun wiped his face.
He couldn’t cry shamelessly over something like this.
He should have been praying instead of wasting time on tears.
‘Healthy… without any complications or aftereffects.’
I hoped he’d come back soon.

* * *
“Wow, we’re meeting again like this~ Nice to see you!”
“A-ah, h-hello….”
“….”
Lee Sae-jin, artificially cheerful and melancholic, greeted her, while Sun Ah-hyun couldn’t even lift his head to respond.
I watched them in silence, my lips pressed together.
A dull ache throbbed in my temples.
‘…They didn’t even exchange contact information.’
I’d thought there was a high probability they would, since they were on the same team.
This meant Lee Sae-jin didn’t feel the need to force a connection with Sun Ah-hyun for networking purposes.
‘With that kind of performance, Lee Sae-jin would normally probe once for potential connections.’
It also signified that Sun Ah-hyun’s performance quality and broadcast editing had become problematic.
Actually, I’d watched the broadcast too, so I knew what had happened.
‘…He’d been subjected to excessive interference.’
In the first team competition, the others had forced unsuitable parts on him and treated him like garbage, thanks to their sabotage.
Even the editing wasn’t particularly favorable to Sun Ah-hyun, who’d suffered this treatment.
-Sun Ah-hyun is seriously underdeveloped;
-Just because he stammers doesn’t mean he can’t communicate, damn it I would’ve cursed too out of frustration
Sun Ah-hyun’s teammates received all sorts of criticism, but public opinion that they “deserved the mistreatment” was also substantial.
As a result, comments like “someone like that shouldn’t appear on survival shows” received the most upvotes and caused an uproar.
And Sun Ah-hyun here… was directly affected by the negative votes and barely got eliminated.
“….”
I pressed my temples.
‘At least I managed to pull him out….’
Since I already knew where his house was, going there to talk wasn’t difficult.
Fortunately, I visited while he was organizing to move out of his room, and I persuaded his parents under the guise of being a “LeTi trainee,” bringing him along.
They were so worried about Sun Ah-hyun’s condition that they were swayed by the reputation of an agency known for good artist care and image management.
Of course, convincing him personally was a condition attached to it.
-It’s not an immediate debut, but I thought it would be nice if he could train and stay with us.
-Thank you for the offer, student. But if Ah-hyun says he doesn’t want to, I won’t push further.
-…I could try to persuade him once more.
I took Sun Ah-hyun to my room and began the persuasion.
-The Agency says… the group debut is only possible if you’re included.
-….
-I was just curious if you’d consider coming to practice. I think you’d be really good at it.
Sun Ah-hyun either didn’t respond or kept his head bowed, but eventually he nodded.
He looked physically unwell… but if I just got him eating properly and sleeping well, he’d improve considerably.
‘If he can just practice and debut properly, his mental state will recover too.’
Sun Ah-hyun was the type whose mental state might look like crumbling tofu in moments like this, but he had excellent resilience.
‘…I’ve seen it happen many times.’
As long as I comforted him enough, it should work out. I made an objective judgment.
And shortly after.
“Ah-hyun, just a moment.”
-….
Sun Ah-hyun left with his parents to meet with Agency officials, his head still bowed.
And Lee Sae-jin asked me in a subtle tone.
“You’re putting that friend in this group too?”
“Seems like it.”
“Hmm~ I see. I heard you persuaded him yourself earlier—really?”
-….
“Wow, you’re quite skilled~”
Lee Sae-jin plopped down beside me. I suppressed a snort.
‘His mental state has recovered a bit, at least.’
It felt like he was back to around the time we first met at Ajusa.
Lee Sae-jin, sitting beside me, spoke casually in his sociable tone.
“Hmm… did the Company mention any other candidates they had in mind?”
“…Why are you asking?”
I wondered if he was curious about other members. But Lee Sae-jin waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, no—that friend might leave anyway~ just in case!”
-…!
There was an odd nuance, as if he was certain that friend would leave.
I asked immediately.
“Why do you think that?”
“Huh? That guy came this far because he was scared of you.”
-…!!
“You can tell just by looking… oh, was that intentional? Like, you were trying to scare him a little and motivate him? Haha, sorry~”
-….
I… came across that way?
‘That can’t be right.’
I used the most gentle method possible to persuade him. I never forced or coerced him.
‘I just meant that Sun Ah-hyun was needed….’
In that moment, Sun Ah-hyun’s condition flashed through my mind.
Self-esteem bottomed out, mental state shattered.
And the words I had used.
-The Agency says the group can only debut if you’re definitely included.
…It might have sounded like if you don’t come, I can’t debut, and that’s your fault.
So Sun Ah-hyun couldn’t say anything back and came along anyway.
“Well, anyway, you don’t really know who’s coming either, right? Okay~”
“….”
Lee Sae-jin wrapped up the conversation casually, then walked out of the Training Room while fiddling with her smartphone.
I stood there thinking.
Was Sun Ah-hyun really the kind of person I thought he was?
Was Lee Sae-jin really the kind of person who would say things like that?
‘…No.’
She wasn’t.
In that moment, my thoughts suddenly began to unravel.
I stood motionless, retracing my own course of action.
‘Nothing adds up.’
What was I saying when I started doing this—trying to debut exactly like reality?
Finding a hint to wake up from the coma?
There was no guarantee I’d find one, and there was even less reason it had to go exactly like reality.
‘It’s just my speculation.’
So then, why had I been trying to convince myself of this speculation no matter what?
Hell. Simply because I wanted to.
Because I wanted to recreate the life I lived as Park Moon-dae exactly as it was.
“Hah.”
I breathed heavily and sank down onto the floor of the Training Room.
And I recalled the message from the status window.
-Enjoy your daydream :)-
‘So that’s why it was a daydream.’
A daydream means a vain fantasy.
…In other words, this had been my desire all along.
I wanted to take that life I lived as Park Moon-dae and make it mine.
But I already knew the answer.
It was something I said directly to Chung-ryeo with my own mouth.
-Even if I start over and form the same team again, it could never be the same as now. Because the events and stories we’ve shared would be different.
It was impossible.
It could never be the same….
So why had I been rationalizing this madness all along?
“….”
I pressed my head against the massive mirror and thought.
And finally, I admitted it.
‘The past two and a half years as Park Moon-dae have been my life too.’
Though I experienced it through Park Moon-dae’s body, every choice, every thought, every experience belonged to me.
My consciousness lived through it directly. That couldn’t change.
Even if all this madness ended and I somehow returned to my original body, to Ryu Gun-woo… that wouldn’t change the fact that these were my experiences.
Now I understood.
“Sigh.”
I lifted my head from the mirror.
The mirror was fogged over, obscuring my reflection.
“….”
Even though the face that should be visible there belonged to Ryu Gun-woo, this dream still wasn’t separate from my life.
‘Enough.’
I’d been here too long. I wanted to return to reality now.
To my reality. The one I actually lived.
That was the moment.
Ding.
“…!!”
[Feature Unlocked!]
[Feature: Gacha (Consumable)]
A popup appeared.
And one more thing.
Something I’d left behind in reality.
[Remaining Gacha: 1]
[Treasure Trait Gacha ☜ Click!]
I raised my hand and tapped it repeatedly.

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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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