Debut or Die - Chapter 249

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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 249
Rewinding time to a few weeks prior.
Right after a subtle teaser dropped for ‘the broadcast revealing the stages that weren’t selected at Testa’s charity concert’.
Fans, their hearts racing, checked which network would air it and felt slightly puzzled.
-CVN?
-Huh? Not even Tnet, but suddenly CVN?
It wasn’t a music-focused channel like Tnet that would simply air performances; it was a cable network famous for variety shows and dramas.
-Are they doing a variety show?
-How are they planning to appear? Don’t tell me it’s another reality show
-The timing feels off
In most cases, idol reality shows relied on their own internet platforms.
It was rare for a major network to suddenly schedule a full-fledged program, especially during such an ambiguous period—neither a comeback season nor a tour season.
-What did T1 do
-They’re not trying to spin a story out of the incident, right? We won’t let those T1 bastards off easy
└It wasn’t an incident (X) T1 caused an incident (O) ^^
└That’s right
-Attempted murder X small company went under I just hope the kids do well
Though it was an exceptional situation that occasionally drew skeptics and worried comments, most fans simply harbored mild curiosity and waited for the new development.
And a few days later.
[Let’s go on vacation to a villa just for Testa!]
[【Testa’s Island Life】, 9/30 Wed]
Beneath a brilliant blue sky, teaser images alternated between a beach, a hammock, and refreshing drinks.
This promotional material, unveiled through official channels and articles, pointed to one simple fact.
Testa’s rest and healing!
-Oh, thank goodness
-Of course, it’s best to rest in a place without cameras, but… thank you, kids.
I hope the kids get to eat lots of delicious food, sleep well, and have fun playing for the first time in a while without worry…
-They picked a good secluded spot without having to go abroad
Fans were relieved and delighted by the remarkably conventional and sensible reality format.
When news even leaked that Testa would receive a sudden vacation during the Chuseok holidays after filming, the atmosphere softened further.
Hey guys, let’s eat lots of delicious food and get some good rest.
-You’ve worked so hard, really. Thank you for taking care of the Reviewer until the end. Please take care of your health and see you in good spirits ♡♡♡
Concerns that the group might not rest properly due to filming began to fade.
‘Testa will be able to rest well after filming’, ‘that pathetic company is finally showing some sense’—such sentiments dominated fan SNS and online communities.
Of course, not everyone felt that way.
‘They’re not cutting a reality deal disguised as a vacation, are they?’
A working professional who operated an account posting photos of Park Moon-dae and Lee Sae-jin was far more cynically pessimistic.
‘We’ll let you rest well during the holidays, so just do this one thing for us. We won’t ask for much, just have fun… something like that, I bet.’
They suspected it was work to rehabilitate T1’s image.
But Home Ma, the working professional, soon shrugged her shoulders.
‘Well, that’s not really the issue.’
The real problem was that if this turned out to be just a pure healing program, getting a slot on CVN would actually be a mistake.
‘Healing content isn’t entertaining.’
I could already picture the general audience’s reaction—drawn in by the buzz around Testa from the traffic accident and charity concert, they’d watch episode one and then bail.
-Sorry, but this is boring..
-The kids are cute though lol gonna watch clips later!
If it was purely healing content, realistically only the fans would be counted in the viewership ratings.
‘If the ratings tank like that, people are going to lose their minds.’
-Shocking Testa reality show episode 2 viewership
-Testa variety show is a flop vs It’s not that bad
-Testa’s reality show performance leaves much to be desired
The headlines were already writing themselves.
I predicted that VTIC fans would be excited and running wild, while office workers would likely spend the next two weeks frustrated and exhausted.
But there wasn’t much I could do about it.
‘Well, unless T1 loses their mind, they won’t throw anything too difficult at us in this situation.’
Right now, public opinion had barely managed to shift toward their idol work through the charity concert, but the shock from the traffic accident was still only lightly covered up.
If the format had been different, there’s no way they could have avoided massive backlash.
‘If it had been like last time, making them sell hotteok to pay off travel debts… they would’ve wanted to kill someone.’
Given the current atmosphere, an article about the company apologizing to the members wouldn’t have been out of place.
Of course, I thought that was a perception quite divorced from the company’s actual reality.
‘They’re just working, that’s all. Anyway, I’ll just go with this variety show.’
I thought about it indifferently, and this conviction only solidified after seeing the next preview.
[Testa does everything they want!]
[Testa: Wow, we get to use all of this ourselves?]
At first glance, it looked like the kind of healing content where they’d let them do everything they wanted—from food to hobbies.
And the first episode that actually aired was exactly that.
A beautiful and serene island in Namhae and a tastefully decorated villa. Plus a modest chicken coop and wildflowers blooming profusely.
[Cha Yu-jin: Chicks! They’re so cute!]
[Lee Sae-jin: Wow, I can’t believe we get to enjoy something like this.]
The members excitedly explored the island and villa, ate nourishing food, and enjoyed luxurious massages.
[Bae Sae-jin (massage enthusiast): Ahhhhh]
[Park Moon-dae: (bewildered)]
[Ryu Chung-woo (hiking enthusiast): I brought hiking shoes.]
[Park Moon-dae: (turning away)]
Funny moments were sprinkled in here and there, but only in small doses.
Overall, it was a vicarious satisfaction-type reality show that indulged Testa’s every whim.
-Cha Yu-jin eating a few chicken legs lol eat lots and sleep well!
-My heart feels warm
-Did you see Ah-hyun meditating? There’s no prince of the forest like him, he IS the X-Z prince
-Yeah this is what we wanted
The fans were delighted, but the Entertainment Company employee had already made peace with it.
After all, it was content meant only for the fans to see.
‘There are bound to be some rough patches here and there.’
Since they were sharp people, they’d naturally prepare the next album well on their own, so the employee smacked his lips in satisfaction.
But everything flipped when the preview dropped at the end of Episode 1.
[The next day…?]
[??? : (static)– Day 1, 9:11 AM.]
[??? : The recorder is (static)– 21-year-old Kim Rae-bin.]
“…!?”
The newly released preview had suddenly become spectacularly dramatic!
[An unprecedented weather disaster]
[Announcer : Namhae is being hit with heavy rain accompanied by powerful winds….]
[The Production Team cut off!]
[Junior Writer: We’ve almost run out of water?]
Assistant Director: Hahaha (genuinely)
[Mental breakdown]
Bam-bam-bam bam-bam-bam-bam la-la-la↗
Against the backdrop of intense BGM, shots of a storm raging wildly across the Island and news footage were edited together.
Then faceless side profiles and back views of the Production Team members losing their minds were cross-edited in a rhythmic sequence.
The final shot was Kim Rae-bin, appearing on a screen edited to look like camcorder footage.
Kim Rae-bin clenched his fists tight.
[Kim Rae-bin (21) : We will save the chick…!]
[Testa : Kyaaaaa!]
The preview ended with Testa in pajamas rushing toward a chick drifting away on the water.
“….”
SNS was already flooded with question marks and laughter.
‘…They really went that direction?’
The employee laughed in an uncharacteristic way, then stopped searching in bewilderment.
And shortly after.
Reactions exploded in the Online Community used by non-fans as well.
Testa’s variety show suddenly turns into a survival situation lolol
[Isn’t this killing instead of healing]
Check this out quick, I’m dying lolol (trailer link)
“Hmm.”
True to the saying that those destined to shine will shine no matter what they do—it seemed her idols couldn’t tolerate even a moment of stagnation.
The employee watched the situation with satisfaction and selected a retouched shot of Park Moon-dae and Lee Sae-jin to post on the account. It was a cut of Lee Sae-jin teasing Park Moon-dae during meditation.
But at the same time, she had a premonition.
‘People are going to complain, aren’t they?’
Sure enough, around the time she posted the retouched GIF file, new opinions were spreading through shares.
-Did they really force filming when a typhoon was coming
-They made it look like healing, but all they did was put the kids through hell. I’m seriously pissed
-Wait, are they really broadcasting a disaster as content? They’ve lost their minds
‘Ah, more incitement.’
In truth, it was a morally sound request, but the brain of a salaryman corroded by social ambition perceived it all as trivial.
‘Damn it, we already filmed it. What, throw away the footage?’
What was one supposed to do about such a sudden natural disaster?
Those idols they adored would have struggled desperately to salvage something during a disaster—why didn’t they understand that?
“Right.”
She subtly lent her weight to the prevailing opinion that dismissed all such objections as ‘being overly serious.’ Of course, anonymously.
Please, just let me watch it as it is… You were like this during the charity concert too, and now you’re doing it again.
-Seems like there are people mixed in trying to sabotage because Testa’s variety show is going to do well

1526
The result was that news of Testa’s spectacular vacation broke, and the controversy was buried without gaining traction.
‘Done.’
She saw Park Moon-dae’s first Home Ma post on her personal SNS account, still fretting over things, and let out a scoff.
-I hope everything went well and they finished filming with smiles and no issues… I just hope Moon-dae didn’t overexert himself
‘Idols are a profession built on overexertion, though.’
With a career peak that doesn’t last long, it’s a job where you have to row when the tide comes in.
The salaryman thought this way and simply waited for the next episode of Testa’s reality show to air.
And Episode 2 aired amid interest that had swelled even more than Episode 1.
Surprisingly, the starting point wasn’t Testa.
It was the Production Team.
[An Unprecedented Filming Halt]
[The Junior Production Staff Cut Off and Stranded…☆]
[Assistant Director: This wind and rain is insane;;]
[Junior PD: Are we actually going to be stranded like this?]
[Junior Writer: I think we’re already stranded… hahaha]
The Production Team lamented their fate in a dark indoor space scattered with filming equipment, writing implements, and water bottles.
However, the editing atmosphere wasn’t so grim.
[※Sea Routes Cut Off※]
[※Helicopters Can’t Take Off※]
[Junior PD: This won’t work, won’t work. Can’t even reach the Villa. Can’t contact the cast]
[Junior Writer: Wow….]
[※Can’t Even Walk (!)※]
From a distance, tragedy becomes comedy. With humorous BGM and editing, their ordeal was rendered somewhat comical, like a candid camera segment.
Yet a sense of sympathy remained.
[Junior Writer: We… we haven’t washed our hair in three days now… (can’t finish)]
Such exchanges occurred, and even those focused on Testa’s situation found themselves growing solemn without realizing it.
Of course, fundamental questions persisted.
‘But what about Testa?’
And just as this question began to swell in everyone’s minds.
[Screeeech!!]
[Production Team: Aaaahhhhh!!]
Suddenly, the dark wall the Production Team had been leaning against tore open, and a door swung wide.
And bursting forth from within was… Testa.
In that instant, Testa’s shocked faces froze on screen in a close-up.
[Testa: Kyaaahhh!!]
[????]
Massive red subtitles blazed across the screen.
And then a voiceover cut in.
[Ryu Chung-woo: Are you all alright?]
[Junior Writer: Heuuugh]
[Testa has… come to the rescue!!]
Angelic choir BGM swelled beneath it. The entrance was pure heroic spectacle. They’d even added a CG halo behind Testa.
“No way…!”
It was an entrance so impactful that even the office worker was left speechless.
[Assistant Director: But… you didn’t even know where this place was. How on earth….]
Testa glanced between them intermittently, then offered a deflating smile.
And then the subtitles again.
[But how did Testa even appear here?]
[◀◀◀]
The screen began rewinding.
[Day 1 of Stranding]
And so, Testa’s perspective on the stranding story began.
[Park Moon-dae: The wind is blowing way too hard. I can’t go outside.]
[Lee Sae-jin: Right~ Another blank today. Sigh!]
[Kim Rae-bin: Midnight. The hyungs discussed the direction of future survival. The no-going-outside rule seems to be settling in as a new regulation.]
Kim Rae-bin’s camera played a crucial role. The sound of his self-camera narration slipped in like commentary at every important moment.
And made the situation even more hilarious.
[Bae Sae-jin: No! Sweet potatoes are easier, so I should go first….]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Sae-jin, but Kongi grows faster, right? I’m taking this card.]
[Bae Sae-jin: (Shock)]
[Cam: During the board game, content about grains came up. In case we end up farming, I made careful note of it.]
The level of immersion was extraordinary.
Hahaha Kim Rae-bin is seriously hilarious.
-So this is the character you are lol so cool I thought you were a medieval rabbit riding a snail but you were just a rabbit
“What is this? Why are you filming a real survival diary alone? lol”
-Who gave the kid a camera confess
And beyond such humorous elements, there was little sense of glossing over or beautifying their hardship.
It was the impact of the first episode’s editing.
Rather than emphasizing Testa’s hardships, his virtuous and adventurous nature was highlighted even more strongly.
In reality, Testa didn’t panic or complain about the weather—he diligently found tasks to accomplish and played with genuine enthusiasm.
[Cha Yu-jin: Hide and seek?? Let’s play!! Hide! Hyung!]
[Park Moon-dae: (wavering)]
[Sun Ah-hyun: Sounds good…! Should I hide too?]
The kids are really diligent, they’re willing to try anything lol
-It’s so sad that the food was poor. The production team must repay with Korean beef and snow crab.
The broadcast proceeded smoothly in this manner until it finally reached the long-awaited blackout episode.

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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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