Debut or Die - Chapter 265

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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 265
As expected, the encore itself proceeded without incident.
[See ya!!]
Cha Yu-jin sprinted across the stage as if he hadn’t just shouted, searching for the camera and audience.
He maintained that energy right up until the moment he descended behind the stage.
‘Good.’
I settled my mind, still buzzing with the afterglow of the concert.
I’d head down and talk to Cha Yu-jin, then use that as a basis to loop in the company and have another conversation with the production crew about this.
I understood they wanted to capture compelling footage, but they needed to dial it back.
But there was no time for that—the cameramen who’d been stationed backstage followed us down from the stage.
‘These bastards really don’t know when to quit.’
I had a strong premonition that if I got angry, they’d actually be pleased, thinking the boundary between the documentary and real life had blurred.
“….”
Cha Yu-jin glanced at the Documentary Production Crew but said nothing, simply accepting water and drinking it.
‘He seems calm.’
Looks like he let off some steam during the stage. I wiped my neck with a towel and assessed the situation.
That’s when it happened.
The production crew quickly approached me. The camera pressed in close.
“Eugene seems to regain his composure very quickly… Is it perhaps related to that accident from before-”
“Stop.”
“…!”
Cha Yu-jin suddenly cut in and pressed his hand against the camera.
It was an impulsive move.
“Hey!”
“I told you. Why won’t you listen?”
“Wait.”
Why the hell is he suddenly acting like this?
‘If he does this, we’re the ones crossing the line first.’
The other members, startled by the sudden action, gasped and rushed over.
But Cha Yu-jin kept his hand on the camera for quite a while, staring at the production crew.
“Eugene, let go of the camera.”
“What are you doing right now!”
“Just a moment, just a moment. Director, I’m sorry, but we need to talk amongst ourselves. Just give us a moment.”
Big Sae-jin finally cut off the situation and smoothly ushered the production crew away, then headed straight to the Waiting Room.
Thud.
“Sit down.”
“….”
Cha Yu-jin sat silently on the sofa. Ryu Chung-woo spoke first.
“Eugene, the production crew might be uncomfortable, but… you still can’t put your hands on them first when they’re working. You need to talk it out.”
“They weren’t listening to what I said.”
“Hold on, hyung. Cha Yu-jin, listen.”
Big Sae-jin interjected.
“You cried back at Idol Corporation but just endured it anyway. When we were filming reality content right after our debut and the Dormitory was packed with cameras, you didn’t say anything, right?”
His tone wasn’t the usual gentle coaxing—the urgency and gravity of the situation had stripped that away.
“But if you come out now saying this, do you think people will actually consider whether you’re right or wrong? They’ll just assume you’ve changed as a person.”
“That’s different.”
“It could be. But if the viewers don’t see it that way, what good does it do?”
“….”
“Eugene, when you’re working, not everything is going to seem rational and right to you. If that were possible, you’d be a god, not a person. Just apologize first for touching the camera….”
But before he could finish, pushback came immediately.
“…No, those people were actually the ones who messed up first. They were rude.”
“…!”
It was Bae Sae-jin.
“I think that needs to be made clear. Just because we held back during our debut doesn’t mean we should hold back now.”
“S-Sae-jin hyung.”
Sun Ah-hyun called out nervously, but Bae Sae-jin didn’t retract his words.
Instead, a brief flash of irritation crossed Big Sae-jin’s face.
“Hyung. When you’re talking about that right now…. No, I’m not asking him to apologize and say those people did well.”
“Yeah, you’re trying to smooth things over. But does it have to be that way?”
“…Wow, so like… phew.”
“Stop.”
I raised my hand. Then I pressed my temples.
“We don’t need to drag this out among ourselves. We can just talk to the Production Team and have them cut the footage.”
It was a situation where opinions differed, but there was no need to settle it here. I just needed to be careful in this moment.
I summed up the entire situation in one statement.
“This kind of thing happens when you’re working.”
“….”
Both of them fell silent. They were trying so hard not to clash, but clearly they still weren’t on the same page.
‘That almost went south.’
I held back a sigh. Then I spoke to Cha Yu-jin, who was still hanging his head.
“…You need to cool your head.”
“….”
There was no response.
I confirmed that Kim Rae-bin hesitated before staying in the Room, left water for them, and stepped outside.
I was planning to talk to the Production Team with Ryu Chung-woo, but the camera was following again… Damn it, this needs to stop.
I half-listened to Ryu Chung-woo’s empty words of concern about Cha Yu-jin’s camera and the camera director’s condition, then broached the main topic.
“The members seem like they need to rest today. Would it be possible to meet again tomorrow and discuss this?”
“Yes, yes. But I’m really sorry—would a brief interview be possible right now? We know you’re resting tomorrow, just really quickly, just a moment.”
“…Wait.”
Oh, they’re not listening.
‘Is Cha Yu-jin upset because of this?’
Since the cameras were visible and clinging like this rather than being unmanned, from the perspective of an American who’d lived in a paparazzi den, it probably felt even more suffocating and infuriating.
‘And from the Production Team’s standpoint, they can’t miss this opportunity.’
When people talk while exhausted and emotionally unstable, they tend to give more genuine answers.
Seeing how we handled Cha Yu-jin, they probably figured he wasn’t the type to say “Screw this documentary nonsense and everything else!”
Fortunately, company staff rushed over immediately and intervened, placating the Production Team and sending them away.
“If you do this, we really can’t… it’s difficult! We appreciate your understanding.”
Then they asked us with anxious faces.
“Did Eugene perhaps have some friction with the documentary Production Team…?”
“There seems to be some issue.”
Ryu Chung-woo looked around the room, and when our eyes met, he let out a short sigh.
“Let’s just leave it for today. Let him cool off.”
“Yeah. That’s the right call.”
Besides, tomorrow had no schedule anyway. After the concert, the exhausted members were just holed up in the hotel, and all that was left was recording some documentary commentary.
The staff looked tense, but ultimately accepted it and decided to wait for Cha Yu-jin to come out of his room.
“I think it’s best not to contact him right now.”
“Yes, yes. We’ll be very careful.”
Since I usually worked with guys who either resolved things internally or moved past them without fuss, the staff seemed quite unfamiliar with and flustered by this situation.
Still, they handled it well enough.
“Everyone, please go rest. We’ll wait here until the two of you come out.”
….
Right. We’d see each other again tomorrow morning anyway, so let’s just go now. If people with different perspectives stick around and it escalates into another pointless fight like before, we all lose.
‘Kim Rae-bin is with him, so it should be fine.’
In situations like this, someone his own age is more comfortable than someone older.
“Let’s head in.”
“…Yeah.”
The members looked uncomfortable, but eventually agreed and moved to the car.
“Should we… maybe send him a text? In English?”
“Hmm, wouldn’t it be better to talk slowly while having breakfast tomorrow morning, face to face?”
“Mm…”
Comfort is good, but he also needs time to reflect on his own actions.
I returned to my hotel room in an extremely exhausted state. I showered and went straight to bed.
“…Sigh.”
Tomorrow morning, I’d have to cater to Cha Yu-jin’s preferences.
And I planned to hear in detail what had happened with the Production Team.
But the next morning.
While everyone else showed up by the usual breakfast gathering time, Cha Yu-jin didn’t appear.
….
“It’s past 9:30 now, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
I opened my mouth.
“Kim Rae-bin.”
“Yes!”
“How was Cha Yu-jin yesterday?”
“He was quiet and seemed somewhat dispirited, but he didn’t express any particular anger!”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. I believe the current situation is either due to oversleeping or a form of protest!”
I see.
I adjusted my hat.
“I’ll bring him. You come too.”
“Me…? No, yes. Understood!”
Leaving the others waving with peculiar expressions behind me, I headed to Cha Yu-jin’s room with Kim Rae-bin in tow.
And I immediately pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
“….”
There was no response.
“Cha Yu-jin. Open the door.”
Still nothing. Even though we controlled this entire corridor, I didn’t want to shout any louder.
He should have heard me at this volume.
‘Is he really protesting?’
This was getting serious. I sighed and pulled out my smartphone to call Cha Yu-jin.
But the call wouldn’t go through.
[The customer’s phone is turned off….]
“….”
This felt off.
“Hyung?”
After trying to call once more, I accepted the situation.
“Kim Rae-bin.”
“Yes?”
“Call the Manager.”
I stared at Cha Yu-jin’s door.
“It seems Cha Yu-jin isn’t in his room.”
“…!!”
A moment later.
“Seriously.”
When we opened Cha Yu-jin’s room with the help of a hotel staff member, it was… completely empty.
‘Damn it.’
This was a situation I hadn’t anticipated.
‘Was it a mistake?’
Should I have sat down with him immediately and coaxed him instead of letting him cool off until morning?
‘No matter what, he’s not some ninja pulling off an escape like this….’
I nearly bit my tongue before barely managing to ask the Manager.
“Did you happen to receive any contact last night?”
“No! I never received any contact from Eugene…!?”
The Company staff were nearly in a panic. And for good reason. This was the first disappearance since our activities began.
Though it wasn’t as if he’d vanished without a trace entirely.
-I’m going out
At least he’d left behind this note. Written in large Korean characters, no less.
“Eugene must have been really hurt….”
“But disappearing like this is strange…. Wait, could this be a kidnapping or something?”
“If it were, this room would look far worse than this. That idiot left of his own volition!”
“That’s true.”
That assessment was correct.
The room’s condition was far too pristine for a kidnapping, and besides, this wasn’t the sort of hotel where someone could break in easily.
But looking at it calmly, I could piece together what had happened.
“…Hmm.”
I glanced around the room once, then nodded.
“He didn’t go far.”
“R, really…?”
“Yeah. He left all his luggage behind. He only took his wallet and phone… so it was probably impulsive.”
The likelihood was high that he woke up still irritated and just left on the spot.
At that moment, Kim Rae-bin suddenly raised his hand.
“Um, sorry to interrupt, but would it be alright if I shared my opinion?”
“…? Go ahead.”
He swallowed, then spoke with some hesitation.
“It just… seems like he went out to have fun since there’s no schedule.”
“….”
“….”
Wait.
“That’s… possible.”
“Yes!”
Bae Sae-jin interjected urgently.
“But! His smartphone is turned off…!”
“He probably turned it off to avoid being disturbed while having fun.”
“….”
Right. Since it’s a day off anyway, he likely figured he didn’t need Company permission. The probability was… quite high.
The members were bewildered.
“R, right. That could be it.”
“…To think of such a possibility….”
Ryu Chung-woo lightened the mood.
“Well, but it might not be, so let’s look at the situation a bit more and prepare.”
“Okay. Got it~ Should we check the CCTV then?”
“I’ll confirm it right away, so please wait for now. Someone else will be coming!”
The Manager rushed off with a hotel staff member. His diligence was admirable, but I understood the feeling of having a bomb dropped on you.
Still, if it was just a search, there didn’t seem to be much to worry about.
“I should be able to find it with this.”
I pulled out my smartphone.

* * *
Cha Yu-jin tapped the sandy beach with the tips of his toes, feeling the sea breeze.
On a rare day off, going out on a bright morning was quite a leisurely affair.
‘The weather’s nice.’
Yet his mood wasn’t particularly refreshed. He propped the back of his neck with both arms to shake off the gloom.
He’d come out for a change of scenery because someone told him to ‘clear his head’, but either way, he couldn’t quite figure out if he’d really done something wrong—that was his conclusion.
‘No, I’m not apologizing.’
Instead, he decided he should explain to his teammates why he wouldn’t apologize to those idiots with cameras.
Still, it felt a bit unsatisfying.
‘Nobody even cares about my situation.’
He grumbled that no matter what, it didn’t make sense that no one had sent him a single text all night.
There really was no one who would understand and acknowledge his thoughts….
“Cha Yu-jin.”
“…!”
At the familiar yet unexpected voice, Cha Yu-jin nearly jumped out of his chair.
“Hyung??”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
It was Park Moon-dae.
‘Good grief.’
His teammate had sprinted across the sandy beach and rushed toward him.
He seemed genuinely happy to see him, though it was also surprising. What kind of magic had he pulled off?
“How did you find me? You found me?”
“Does that matter?”
Park Moon-dae was dressed casually. And his pink hair, having apparently searched quite earnestly for him, was windswept by the sea breeze.
But instead of getting angry, he chuckled and held out a paper bag.
Inside was an ice cream sold at a nearby shop.
“Your destinations are predictable. I searched for places near the beach that sell sweets, and this cafe was close to the hotel.”
“….”
“I figured you’d definitely be somewhere around here.”
It was an accurate deduction. Before feeling unsatisfied or even a chill, Cha Yu-jin found himself genuinely impressed.
“You’re amazing, hyung.”
“Yeah. Since you know, go ahead and eat the ice cream. Outside food is allowed here, right?”
“If the tip is generous enough. This isn’t Disneyland, after all.”
It was a decent joke, but Park Moon-dae didn’t seem to grasp it particularly well. Cha Yu-jin, accustomed to such situations, simply let it pass.
Culturally speaking, a man his age sitting around with such flamboyant dyed hair wasn’t particularly American in the first place.
But Park Moon-dae’s main point began when Cha Yu-jin had eaten more than half of his ice cream.
“So explain while you eat. Why exactly did you do that to the Production Team?”
“It sounds exactly like an interrogation.”
“It’s not an accusation—you must have had a reason for it. I’m just asking.”
Park Moon-dae folded his arms.
“You’re a smart guy, after all.”
Cha Yu-jin felt unexpectedly moved.
So he shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth immediately.

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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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