Debut or Die - Chapter 24

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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 24
It was time.
I closed the comment section on the October 31 Stage video I’d been watching.
First, let me summarize what I’ve learned from analyzing the overall situation….
‘The growth has been terrifyingly explosive….’
Truly, there was no other way to describe it.
From view counts to article comments, the numbers exceeded those of other teams from Episode 3 by five to six times over.
Ryu Chung-woo’s team had generated buzz in a different way, and it seemed like we’d benefited from some of that spillover effect too.
As long as I didn’t stumble here, it looked like I could smoothly advance through the second round.
That’s why the next filming was even more critical. Now that I’d experienced the power of editing firsthand, I needed to be more careful.
So let me examine what would help with the next filming.
I entered a new search term into the search bar.
[Park Moon-dae individual fancam]
When I searched, an official video posted “1 day ago” appeared first.
I’d avoided watching it for a day to objectively assess the feedback.
And when I checked, the numbers were higher than expected.
[Views: 320,000]
Considering that I wasn’t a participant known for strong dancing, it was an impressively high figure.
I looked at the other participants in the related videos shown below.
“30,000, 120,000, 7,000, 20,000, 60,000… hmm.”
There weren’t many figures higher than mine. In fact, roughly half the participants hadn’t even broken 50,000 views.
Based on views alone, I’d likely be comfortably within the top twelve.
Considering the Stage had already been released, that made the result even more impressive.
‘But substance matters more.’
I sorted the video comments by recommendation and scrolled through them.
– Look at Park Moon-dae’s expressiveness in each part. He’s an idol full of genius and was born to be an idol.ㅠㅠ
-Moon-dae pulls off even this concept perfectly what a surprise
-Popcorn chicken feet and now horror too is Park Moon-dae a god
-The bridge was such a treat thank you
-Moon-dae I’m a Malang Dalcom fan so I got excited when the song choice was announced haha you were so cute!
The last comment seemed to have a slight misunderstanding, but since they were being supportive, I’d count it as praise.
Most of the other comments were complimentary.
When sorted by most recent, occasional hate comments appeared, but they were quickly swept away and buried beneath the flood of late English comments.
This time I searched for my name on SNS. “Park Moon-dae,” and “Moon-dae.”
Videos and images attached to posts immediately filled the screen.
-Moon-dae is so cute (individual fancam gif)
-How did you come up with horror there?ㅠㅠ Our literary skills, personality and sense are all three-in-one idolsㅠㅠ
-Park Moon-dae sings well but I’m not sure he’s that exceptional though his face is totally my type (production briefing photo)
-Moon-dae is Moon-dae-puppy eat well okay be loved okay♡ (dog eating broadcast composite photo)
The sheer variety of reactions was almost overwhelming.
My face, voice, expression, shoulders, eating habits—even quirks I wasn’t aware of myself—people were writing about how cute they found them.
I touched the back of my neck with my hand.
It was a bit embarrassing, but… I didn’t feel bad about it. I was grateful, and strangely, a surge of motivation felt quite pleasant.
Of course, this wouldn’t represent the entirety of Internet opinion.
I fell into deep thought.
Let me see—if they’d disguised “Moon-dae” so it wouldn’t show up in searches….
“Mm.”
Without hesitation, I entered a search term.
[Gommeo]
It was a simple variation—flipping the character for “Moon” and changing “dae” using similar notation.
Back when I was selling data, this was practically the standard method, so it should work.
Results poured in as expected.
“This damn editor can’t even properly edit a simple popcorn scene, where the hell is the editing lol I hate it so much, seriously seriously seriously”
-Honestly Ajusa doesn’t have decent main vocalists so they’re pushing Gommeo hard? The voice is too;; typically processed and clean… ugh
-And the whole thing about Gommeo being a Malang Dalcom fan is obviously just a concept lol~
-Nah I wanna see Gommeo’s chest the next stage should show skin
“Lol a regular person? What’s with the bear? Probably washed up after training at some shitty agency~ I could even hack their account, honestly when I see them it’s so forced I can’t even watch it”
Malicious comments without any filter flooded in.
Oh, even though I’d mentally prepared myself, it was still shocking.
There was something odd mixed in the middle, but… it probably looked like sexual harassment, so they’d probably disguised it to avoid search results.
What was interesting was that quite a few of the accounts posting malicious comments had chosen Cha Yu-jin’s photo as their profile picture.
I suspected it was partly as a check against the most popular participant, but there were probably genuine fans too.
And that seemed to be creating a peculiar tension.
The atmosphere where people grouped together and praised participants from the same team in the first team stage, while attacking participants from other teams.
Well, this was a flow traditionally observed in audition programs of this type, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.
It was something I’d experienced firsthand when I was selling data.
People who bought data on both the audition participants they were pushing for and the ones they wanted to check, then disposed of the latter.
And to put it simply, Cha Yu-jin and I seemed to have ended up in opposing camps.
‘Should I call it a side effect of skyrocketing from the team stage going extremely well?’
Anyway, it was something I could tolerate, so I moved on.
Rather, I needed to check if there was anything worth extracting from the malicious comments.
‘First, I don’t need to worry about singing.’
Since objective stats existed for this, they’d be continuously verified as the broadcast progressed.
Next, what came up most frequently was talk about my character.
The reactions were mostly contrived and unlucky, or criticism of Park Moon-dae’s appearance, such as ‘That concept with that kind of face? Haha.’
Wait, so if your face isn’t good enough, you shouldn’t have a character either….
I’d never even liked that editing direction, and it felt slightly bitter.
But I soon realized it was an unnecessary emotion.
‘Faces can be made.’
The next filming was the ranking announcement ceremony.
Compared to Episode 4, which would air soon, there was about a month’s gap in filming time.
It meant people would overlook minor changes in appearance.
“Status window.”
I poured points into my appearance stat without hesitation.
After a moment’s thought, I pulled out my smartphone, opened the group chat, and posted a message.
[Does anyone know a good salon?]
Since I was going to do this, I might as well do it properly.

* * *
A few days before Episode 5, the ranking announcement special, aired, all sorts of rumors claiming to be ranking spoilers circulated through Internet communities.
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[OJS Ranking Spoiler]
: I’m a staff member (unclear Filming Studio photo)
1st Cha Yu-jin
2nd Ryu Chung-woo
5th Kim Rae-b
6th Sun Ah-hyun
Child actor ㅇㅅㅈ failed to make it to the top 10. I was having a hard time while filming.
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-Looks fake but I hope Lee Sae-jin crashes lol. A washed-up child actor showing up in an idol survival show lol
└I got a pdf.
└Yeah lol get it lol
-So Cha Yu-jin is really 1st.
-Ryu Chung-woo got 2nd through editing magic, lucky him
└You idiots it’s obviously fake don’t pretend to fall for it, it’s disgusting
└But there’s a verification photo, isn’t it real?
└Here it is, it’s a stolen behind-the-scenes photo from another variety show uploaded last year (link)
└Wow…
This kind of manipulation kept getting exposed, and the posts kept getting deleted.
The Production Team did everything in their power to block spoilers, and their efforts succeeded half through sheer luck.
Thanks to that, just before Episode 5 with the ranking announcement aired, viewers found themselves sitting in front of their screens with bated breath.
A woman sitting in front of her desktop felt the same way.
She had her hands clasped together in prayer.
‘Please, Park Moon-dae, rise to the top….’
In a minimized tab on her desktop, Park Moon-dae’s fancam that she’d filmed at the press conference was uploading.
That’s right. She was the owner of the large camera who’d watched the first team battle as an audience member and become a fan of Park Moon-dae.
Through the PR broadcast and the program itself, she’d completely switched her support to Park Moon-dae.
She’d even settled in as a home master, uploading the photos she’d taken.
And today was the long-awaited ranking announcement day. She thought anxiously.
‘There’s no way Moon-dae got eliminated. But if he gets a high ranking here, it’ll solidify his position in the upper ranks.’
The reality was that latecomers always took the hits, and it was nearly impossible to break through the already-hardened concrete layer and rise above.
‘That’s why the first ranking announcement is so crucial.’
With that thought, she typed a post on her account using one hand on her smartphone.
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FullMoon Baby
: Uploaded Park Moon-dae’s production press conference fancam. (YouTube link)
#ParkMoon-dae #ParkMoon-daeStockPurchase #AjusaParkMoon-dae #Moondaedaeng #Moondae
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It was a post attached with the production press conference fancam that had just finished uploading moments before.
The share count climbed steadily the moment she posted it.
‘Perfect.’
She watched the phenomenon with satisfied eyes, then immediately added a promotional message.
-Please show lots of support for our Moon-dae! :D♡ (Idol Corporation stock purchase link)
After posting, the final advertisement was slowly coming to an end.
In five seconds, the broadcast would begin.
She bounced her leg while staring at the logo on the screen.
[Idol Stock Company]
Soon the screen transitioned, and a brief preview was broadcast to build anticipation.
[30th place participant, 20th place participant, …who will be the 49th place participant who seizes the final spot?]
Various participants appeared in quick succession—heads bowed, lips bitten, tears streaming—flashing across the screen.
It was deliberately provocative editing designed to create tension, but she had no mind to pay attention to such things.
Just now, Park Moon-dae’s cut had appeared on screen….
A new hairstyle with soft perms, the hair color was….
“That’s… blonde.”
She uttered the words blankly, then realized what she’d said and covered her mouth with her hand.
‘Moon-dae has blonde hair!!’
In reality, it was closer to golden-brown—a less drastic hair color—but that hardly mattered.
It looked impossibly good on him and was absolutely adorable!
Taking dyed hair well was a virtue of idols, so why did Park Moon-dae have to possess that too?
It was clear that the heavens had deliberately poked and prodded him into becoming an idol.
As she refreshed the SNS timeline with trembling hands full of emotion, similar murmurs poured in as expected.
-Insane
-Wow blonde
-Did his hair go crazy
-Moondaedaeng is definitely trying to kill me today…
Oh no, my turnstile rice cake!
-Actually, the academic consensus is that he’s been dyeing his blonde hair black all this time. Anyway, so
Park Moon-dae’s fans poured out endless anguished posts.
In truth, Park Moon-dae’s impressive appearance stat investment played a major role in these reactions.
However, everyone firmly believed that the hairstyle change had brought about a complete transformation in his looks, so it naturally passed without question.
Because that single shot turned out so well, their rampage continued for quite some time.
[PR Broadcast Production Behind-the-Scenes]
After all the minor production behind-the-scenes footage wrapped up, this was the exact moment when the PR broadcast pre-recording was being filmed, right before the rankings announcement.
On screen, the participants were reacting with shock to the MC’s announcement.
[For the next 15 minutes! All you need to do is find the treasure balls!]
[Huh?!]
‘I was actually curious about this.’
She snapped back to attention and refocused on the broadcast content.
She wished they’d shed even a little light on how Park Moon-dae had ended up choosing chicken feet.
[Yaaah!]
[Yes! Gold!]
But the screen only showed participants rushing around in a mob, searching for and snatching balls from one another for quite a while.
‘What? Park Moon-dae doesn’t even have screen time.’
Park Moon-dae’s fans grumbled that the Production Team had no sense.
Even ordinary viewers made similar complaints, which was unusual.
-The chicken feet guy’s story never got explained?
-Looks like he just failed and picked chicken feet
haha
But these reactions changed in an instant.
Park Moon-dae suddenly appeared quietly in the empty Dormitory Cafeteria.
-??
-What? Why is nobody here
-Why is Park Moon-dae alone?
Park Moon-dae, who had entered the Cafeteria, gestured behind his back.
Then a head peeked out from behind the door.
[Lee Sae-jin B : Nobody’s here, right?]
[Park Moon-dae : Yeah. Going in now.]
[Ha Il-jun : Okay!]
The viewers fell into even greater confusion.
-Huh?
-How are only these guys here
-Is this some kind of privilege?
Even the subtitles fueled the confusion.
[How did these people end up here…?]
No, we’re the ones who want to ask you that.
-Tell us!
The screen briefly captured the three participants swiftly and methodically searching through the Cafeteria.
Then, whoosh, the scene rewound.
[◀◀◀]
And click.
[09:30 AM – Treasure Hunt Begins]
The screen resumed from the moment the participants rushed out to find the treasure balls.
But this time, Park Moon-dae’s movements were highlighted.
[Going through the back door?]
Big Sae-jin and Gold 1 had unilaterally followed along, but from the distant camera angle, it looked remarkably natural.
And the three of them quickly began searching for balls in the back area where no other participants were present.
Hahaha, crazy
-that’s crazy
-wow, he came up with that in such a short moment
-the idea is actually really good
-Park Moon-dae’s personality is annoying, but I’ll give credit where it’s due. He’s definitely talented. Which is why it’s even more annoying.
└LOL Correct answer
The three of them were so perfectly synchronized that whenever they heard another participant approaching, they instantly cleared the area and moved elsewhere.
The viewers were amazed, and Park Moon-dae’s fans were even more delighted.
-our Moon-daeng is so smart as expected
-all three have good physicality so they’re progressing smoothly, truly October’s finest
But why did you find so many places like that for Mun-dae, and it turned out to be frozen food lol
‘Right, seriously.’
Park Moon-dae’s fan clicked a heart on the latest post in the fan community, then quickly refocused on the broadcast.
And then witnessed that scene.
The scene where Park Moon-dae, having so impressively swept up the balls, received only a single bronze ball from Sun Ah-hyun and handed over all of his balls in return.

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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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