Debut or Die - Chapter 237

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 237
The call to Chung-ryeo connected after several rings.
However, there was no conventional greeting like “hello.”
-You’re alive.
I figured as much.
“It just happened to turn out this way.”
-Ah, not that I was hoping you’d die.
“It doesn’t seem like you were particularly hoping I’d stay alive either.”
If I’d kicked the bucket, one rival competitor would be eliminated—a net gain. I wouldn’t have blamed him for thinking that.
Yet the voice on the other end of the line didn’t laugh.
-You said you couldn’t restart.
“….”
-Then you have to stay alive. That’s strange talk coming from you.
Well, well.
Being rebuked for irrationality by this lunatic—now that’s truly strange.
Though I won’t deny there was something oddly pleasant about it.
The madman I saw in the coma spouting wisdom about the value of life—time really does heal all wounds, it seems.
Of course, that’s only because he had his reset button taken away.
“Well, I appreciate the concern. In any case, I’m perfectly fine.”
-I see. So why did you call?
“I had something I wanted to ask you.”
After finishing my calculations, I spoke directly.
“Do you happen to be free tomorrow morning or the morning after?”
-What’s the reason?
Simple enough.
“I can visit you in the hospital.”
Given my circumstances, I can’t go anywhere, so I’ll need to summon him here instead.
Only then did laughter come through the phone.

* * *
After negotiating several terms and arrangements, VTIC Chung-ryeo said he’d visit Saturday morning, four days from now.
It was feasible because the other members, who usually rotated visits almost daily due to upcoming activity schedules, would be returning to their hometowns for the weekend.
Well, except for one guy.
“When can I eat melon?”
“Once the hospital approves it.”
“I’ll go ask them!”
“Don’t.”
Cha Yu-jin, taking pity on himself for being stuck at the Dormitory even on weekends, had been stationed in my Hospital Room.
His parents had apparently entered the country when they heard he was injured, but they’d returned home last week.
Well, it’s difficult for working adults to stay abroad for more than two weeks. Even in America, it’s hard to take more time off.
I tossed him a few large hybrid mandarins instead of melon. Sun Ah-hyun had bought them.
Probably because they store well, he’d picked fruit that could be eaten immediately once dietary restrictions were lifted… though I doubted any would remain by then.
“Eat up.”
“Is the sugar content the best?”
Did Big Sae-jin teach you that?
“Yeah.”
“Wow!”
I watched Cha Yu-jin peel and eat the mandarins.
This was essentially a bribe.
“…Someone’s coming in about thirty minutes, so don’t mention it to the other members, alright?”
“A guest, hyung?”
“Something like that.”
“Who?”
“VTIC Chung-ryeo.”
“Oh.”
Cha Yu-jin gulped down the mandarins rapidly, then shrugged his shoulders.
“Okay~”
Perfect.
This guy’s straightforward nature made things easy. His individualistic streak that didn’t complain was proving useful.
“But why is he coming?”
Because this is annoying to handle otherwise.
“I need to ask him something about our next activities.”
“Ask me!”
“…I need to ask someone with more experience.”
“Aw.”
Fortunately, the barrage of questions ended there, but it was obvious a similar situation would repeat once VTIC Chung-ryeo arrived.
And thirty minutes later.
“I want to listen too!”
As expected.
“Go buy yourself a snack.”
“Ugh….”
Still, thanks to him actually engaging with me earlier, the firm command worked.
Cha Yu-jin left grumbling. Though he didn’t forget to give VTIC Chung-ryeo a proper Korean bow.
“Senior, hello!”
Tap!
The guy bowed deeply and shut the hospital room door behind him with a cheerful bang.
VTIC Chung-ryeo watched him leave, then laughed.
“He’s a difficult type, but your team’s atmosphere seems good. He’s manageable.”
“….”
“I’ve dealt with a similar guy before… He missed schedules after 16 months. Was that the sixth time? Haha.”
This guy really had a talent for killing the mood.
Anyway, I crossed my arms and got down to business.
“The reason I called you here today is obviously because of the emergency situation.”
“Yes.”
“I think we’re going to fail the mission.”
“….”
No point hiding it. When we’re desperate enough to borrow a cat’s paw, a dud like him—even with resets blocked—can still be useful in the right place.
“This mission?”
“400,000 audience members.”
“….”
VTIC Chung-ryeo fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
Then he tilted his head to the side.
“That’s very specific, isn’t it?”
“….”
“How are you so certain…. That’s interesting.”
Just as I thought.
‘Something’s bothering him.’
I’d have to put off talking about the status window for now, just in case.
But this level of detail was necessary to discuss without knowing the specific conditions, so there was no helping it.
‘I need more precise predictive data.’
With the tour cancelled, the probability of sudden death was skyrocketing endlessly.
He might think it unfair that he was headbutting bare ground while I had advantages, but I needed to keep him from developing that line of thinking any further.
‘Change the subject.’
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Well, being able to know specifics isn’t bad. Besides, with the car accident and all, I already went right up to death’s door and came back during these two years of activities.”
“…Well, this job does have a lot of variables.”
“Yeah, thanks to that, I’ve nearly died twice already in two years of activities.”
“Twice?”
“Yeah, the first time was you.”
He burst into laughter, then quickly composed himself with an apologetic smile and nodded. His mind seemed to be working again.
The gamble of sending twenty dog photos had apparently paid off.
‘So there’s still a bit of guilt and… a sense of camaraderie lingering.’
The fact that he’d send dog photos upon hearing I’d awakened meant he did feel some goodwill toward me.
Still, this bastard wasn’t entirely normal, so let’s move past this before he thinks of something else.
“Anyway, thanks to all this, the tour got cancelled and I’m stuck in the Hospital. But I still need to meet 300,000 more audience members.”
“Hmm, it’ll be difficult to book a new Dome tour for the end of the year.”
“Yeah.”
Year-end was peak season. Testa had already booked most of the Dome-sized Concert Halls for weekend slots.
Besides, though I couldn’t tell him this, if the lawsuit went through, forget the tour—my entire entertainment career this year would be finished.
And Chung-ryeo presented the most logical and reasonable alternative.
“What about non-face-to-face performances?”
“…That’s the problem.”
I furrowed my brow.
“The counting criteria are ambiguous.”
“…”
The fan meeting I’d held right before the accident.
That performance had been streamed online simultaneously, but neither paid online viewers nor illegal viewers were counted.
Only the in-person audience was counted as ‘audience members.’
Looking at just that, non-face-to-face performances seem useless, right?
But then again, some performances that were planned entirely as non-face-to-face did have partial counts.
‘The comeback show lives I did on W Live with real-time paid streaming did count.’
The setup had viewer messages and feedback displayed on the big screens.
And considering all these patterns, one very ambiguous criterion emerged.
“It seems like… only when I acknowledge the audience during the performance are they recognized as ‘audience members.'”
I have to perceive the audience. Not as numbers, but as themselves.
Their passion and energy.
“Ah.”
Chung-ryeo’s eyes narrowed.
“So it’s audience in the theatrical sense.”
“Theatrical?”
“The existence of reaction becomes part of the performance itself. Well, it’s a bit… unsophisticated, but.”
“…”
He seemed to have lived a life with some intellectual depth. He knew how to explain concepts quickly.
Chung-ryeo stroked his chin.
“Either way… that would be quite challenging then.”
“Right.”
I clicked my tongue.
“I’d need to gather around 300,000 audience members capable of real-time interaction simultaneously, which is difficult.”
It’s not just about selling VOD—I’d need to keep 300,000 people glued to their screens at the same time.
‘…There’s a limit even if I increase the frequency.’
Even if I kept changing the concert composition, the moment it exceeded two showings, the real-time viewership numbers would continue to plummet.
According to the law of diminishing marginal utility and scarcity.
Busy modern audiences would complete their payment but postpone watching.
And through the self-issued indulgence of ‘since I’ve already paid for one, I can watch the rest for free without issue.’
Chung-ryeo saw my anguish and smiled faintly.
“Well, if that’s the case, would you like to be a guest at a VTIC tour? Just suffer for a month or two….”
“Have you lost your mind.”
“Haha!”
He was shamelessly asking despite knowing his own words made no sense.
A guest appearance at a VTIC concert?
That would be absolute hell.
If I made a guest appearance at someone else’s concert the moment I recovered from my injury, both the Testa fanbase and the VTIC fanbase would ignite like hellfire from the underworld.
Yet Chung-ryeo remained composed.
“It seems better than dying. Think about it. It might be your last chance.”
“….”
Of course, VTIC would have more excuses than Testa, so it would be bearable.
‘Still, it’s a loss either way.’
And this guy—obsessed with perfect top-tier idols to the point of paranoia—was making such a insane proposal?
It reminded me of the VTIC main vocalist recruitment offer I’d received while in a coma. I responded reluctantly.
“I don’t understand why you’d deliberately take a loss.”
“Well, because I’m sorry.”
“….”
I studied his expression, wondering if he was joking with me, but there was no deception or madness in his demeanor.
Instead, he seemed quite composed.
“I’ve interfered with you a time or two… quite severely, so consider this repaying a debt. What do you think.”
“…Hmm.”
It seemed that witnessing how close I came to death in this accident had made him reflect on his own past actions.
‘Raising a dog really does wonders for one’s mental state, doesn’t it.’
But I had no intention of investing in such a poor strategy. I reviewed everything we’d discussed so far.
‘The resources I can use….’
My stats, connections, time, money….
‘…Money?’
“…!”
I nearly widened my eyes in realization.
I found it.
“No, I won’t use that method.”
“Then?”
“…I’m going to do a non-face-to-face concert.”
I concluded decisively.
“Completely free.”
“…!”
I don’t know about other limitations, but I can cover the financial barrier myself.
‘I can manage the cost of putting on a concert.’
I have quite a bit of money sitting unused. I don’t need anyone else’s support.
“Ah, would you take a settlement instead?”
That’s why he was making suggestions like this.
I let out a quiet laugh.
“No. I want something else instead.”
The biggest obstacle to a free concert isn’t money.
It’s the existing contract.
‘Testa signed a three-year exclusive contract with W App.’
And W App doesn’t support free concerts.
However, since Testa’s online concert broadcasts had to go through W App without exception, I needed a workaround.
“Let me borrow your platform.”
The exhibition and performance platform that LeTi Entertainment created in collaboration with an overseas funding company.
‘Solo member concerts weren’t specified in the contract—only Testa as a group.’
The rest—business ethics and public opinion—could be managed by adjusting how the concert was structured, and doing it with them would be much smoother and faster. They’re a company name, after all.
‘This seems like the most winning combination right now.’
Sure enough, even VTIC Chung-ryeo nodded with a smile.
“That’s a good idea.”
Better than your suggestion, anyway. I held back a click of my tongue and answered flatly.
“Obviously better than following VTIC around on tour.”
“Huh? Ha ha. Of course. Surely you wouldn’t do something so ridiculous?”
“….”
“I just meant I could do even that if needed, but I guess it sounded plausible.”
That bastard was definitely trying to deceive me.
The guy I met in Coma probably just squeezed what little value he could from being VTIC’s main vocalist and then tossed him aside, the asshole.

* * *
Park Moon-dae felt a surge of fury for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and rapidly finalized the details with VTIC Chung-ryeo.
He immediately contacted the Company and discussed the ‘contact with a new platform’ in considerable depth.
‘Easy.’
Calculating that he could redirect attention and suppress the unsettling atmosphere, the Company—despite being in shambles—gave the green light with surprising speed.
Approval came through by Monday morning, right after the weekend.
“Yes, thank you.”
Of course, it was a terrible miscalculation on their part, but Park Moon-dae happily accepted their error.
‘I hope things continue smoothly like this.’
Now I just needed to convince the members, so I adjusted Monday afternoon so their visits would overlap.
‘It’ll be better to discuss it all at once.’
And so, a few days later.
Park Moon-dae found himself breaking into a cold sweat, forcefully subjected to the members’ demands for self-reflection and repentance.
“Park Moon-dae, sit down and listen.”
Somehow, the members had already heard the news.
Cha Yu-jin hadn’t held back.
“I asked the Company!”
‘This bastard.’
Of course, it was my own doing.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————