Debut or Die - Chapter 266

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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 266
Cha Yu-jin was accustomed to conversing in a language that wasn’t his native tongue.
But that didn’t guarantee perfectly rich and nuanced expression. And misunderstandings always arose to some degree.
That’s why the words Cha Yu-jin chose were always direct.
“Those people only ask bad things.”
“The Documentary Production Crew?”
“That’s right!”
Cha Yu-jin nodded and popped ice cream into his mouth.
Then he began grumbling in rapid English.
“What traces did the car accident leave, how difficult was concert preparation, are there no injuries or safety concerns? In the end, have you ever felt doubt about this work? It felt like they were interviewing a prison warden!”
Park Moon-dae snapped his fingers in response.
“So they kept asking if you were unhappy.”
“Exactly!”
He’d understood. That’s why conversations with this person felt so good!
“Why should I? We barely have time to show off our amazing side, our best selves. And I’m happy!”
He wanted to bring joy, not showcase pain or negative energy.
Cha Yu-jin had a philosophy about his profession. He had no intention of living like some celebrities who sold their personal lives for fame.
So he crossed his arms.
Coincidentally, it was the exact same posture as the person across from him.
“So, I’m not apologizing.”
It was a declaration of conviction, but the pink-haired person across from him let out a soft laugh.
“…Lee Sae-jin must have hurt your feelings quite a bit, huh?”
A direct hit.
“Of course!”
“Lee Sae-jin said that for your sake. If only the part where you hit the camera gets aired, it’s definitely your loss. People will misunderstand.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“Then mind the team. We mind.”
….
Park Moon-dae had used an ambiguous expression that meant both the damage to the team and concern for Cha Yu-jin.
But Cha Yu-jin understood only the latter and nodded obediently.
‘He’s worried about me.’
A positive function of linguistic misunderstanding.
“And that Production Crew probably wanted to show that we can handle hardship and difficulty too. We’ve already shown plenty of success and coolness.”
Park Moon-dae slowly shifted the direction of his words.
“Everyone has pain, and when people see it firsthand, they feel more human connection. It seems more genuine.”
Cha Yu-jin listened intently to his clever teammate out of respect.
And Park Moon-dae slowly respected Cha Yu-jin in return.
“But you can’t force someone to show their pain.”
That was the right answer.
“Yes.”
Cha Yu-jin growled.
[And those bastards are all lying frauds.]
“Liars?”
[I was very clear when we did the initial interview. I said I didn’t want questions about injuries, pain, or personal matters. I told them to discuss those things with my company!]
“…! Yeah.”
[Those people nodded and said they’d be careful. But you saw it too, didn’t you??]
“Yeah, I saw.”
Cha Yu-jin recalled how throughout the concert, they’d constantly tried to capture his pain in every frame, their cameras probing for signs of his ‘discomfort.’
And the endless questions about the accident on top of that!
-I don’t want to do that.
-Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.
Their responses were compliant enough.
But then, every time an opening appeared, they’d attempt similar questions again.
That was no longer something worthy of respect.
“They did it so many times! More than ten times!”
“….”
And most damningly, when I got angry once, they simply shifted their target—that was cowardly.
-It’s remarkable how quickly you regain your composure, Eugene… Did something from the previous accident perhaps—
That was clearly an attempt to ask Park Moon-dae about the time he’d been in a coma!
‘Asking someone performing at a concert about their unconscious state without permission?’
How dare they ask something like that!
“That’s too disrespectful. That was wrong. I stopped them from doing it.”
Cha Yu-jin switched back to Korean to assert his point more forcefully.
And Park Moon-dae seemed lost in thought.
“….”
But it didn’t take long for an answer to come.
It was the answer he’d been waiting for.
“You’re right.”
“…!”
Exactly!
“Okay. I understand.”
Park Moon-dae wrapped it up simply and clearly.
“Let’s go get an apology. They were in the wrong.”
“Yes!”
Cha Yu-jin raised his fist for a bump, then extended his hand for a handshake. Park Moon-dae thought ‘really?’ but responded without showing it.
‘This is what being on a team is all about!’
Cha Yu-jin dusted off his hands and laughed refreshingly.
Of course, there was something to finish first.
“I’m going to finish all of this.”
“Yeah. Eat plenty.”
Cha Yu-jin spent the morning at the beach with me, unwinding from the tension.
It was quite a pleasant holiday.

* * *
“Buy pizza! The pizza here is delicious!”
“Sure.”
By the time the sun reached its peak, Cha Yu-jin had fully recovered. And all the way back to the hotel, he was ordering and buying pizza.
‘Fine.’
I’d decided to indulge whatever he wanted today. He wasn’t the type who needed to watch his weight anyway, so pizza was nothing.
[That’s eighty-nine dollars.]
[Here you go.]
I paid for the pizza while mentally organizing the situation.
Just as I’d expected, once I fed Cha Yu-jin something sweet near the beach, the full story came pouring out.
‘Cha Yu-jin had every right to be upset.’
Hearing the details, it was worse than what he’d experienced with me.
The documentary production crew had filmed Cha Yu-jin and then deliberately pressed further.
I could guess the reason immediately.
‘They probably thought Cha Yu-jin seemed the least polished.’
Among us, he appeared the most unguarded and genuine, so they likely saw him as the easiest to extract raw material from.
And they’d simply “pushed” to get footage worth using in the documentary.
‘How typical….’
I recalled something a lecturer had said during a photography elective course in university.
‘Portrait photography is better done first and negotiated later rather than asking permission first.’
The idea was that the photo opportunity disappears while you’re getting consent. I remembered this because it had sparked controversy on the school’s online community afterward.
In any case, if this mentality was prevalent in parts of this industry, then Testa’s documentary crew had simply drawn the short straw.
They had no sense of proportion.
‘It’s time to give them a warning.’
Just then, Cha Yu-jin walked excitedly with his pizza and asked.
“Hyung! I have a question about that. How should we talk to those people?”
“We don’t need to say anything.”
I spoke leisurely.
“The company will handle it. Just accept their apology.”
You have too many details that could reverse this dynamic if you spoke about it.
“Go upstairs and eat. I need to make a call.”
“Got it!”
As soon as I returned to the hotel, I contacted the company.
After the recent deal, the management side had been completely overhauled and become more efficient, so there was no need for us to step in directly and worry about our image.
“Hello. …Yes. I understand the situation with Eugene has been reported to you.”
-Yes, yes! We’ve received information about your and Eugene’s location.
“Right. So I have some information from what Eugene told me… I’ll relay that to you now.”
I carefully wove together what Cha Yu-jin had told me at the beach, and salvaged a single proposition.
“…which means the Production Team shouldn’t be doing this, right?”
—Ah~
The Manager’s voice shifted slightly.
—I understand what you’re saying.
There was an odd confidence in his tone. He’d grasped it.
‘Now it actually feels like the company exists.’
Until now, I’d wondered if Ryu Chung-woo was even getting paid, but this was something to welcome.
I ended the call and headed up to my hotel room.
And the moment I visited Cha Yu-jin’s room to check on things and pick up the pizza—
“Moon-dae hyung!”
“Moon-dae, welcome~”
Guys holding pizza waved from all over the place.
It seemed they’d been waiting in the room, timed for Cha Yu-jin’s return.
“Hyung’s here!”
Cha Yu-jin sat in the center with a visibly brightened expression. The atmosphere had already loosened considerably. With Sun Ah-hyun there as interpreter, communication was manageable enough.
“H-here, we saved this one for you, hyung…!”
“Oh, thanks.”
I squeezed in among the waving hands and sat down.
“Did the conversation go well?”
“Of course~ Aigo, our Eugene hyung didn’t even ask what was going on before apologizing—was that disappointing?”
“Yes!!”
“I thought something terrible might happen if I didn’t apologize. Of course I’m on Eugene’s side!”
“It’s okay! I didn’t consult either. I’m very sorry.”
“Yeah yeah, let’s do better together!”
True to their quick feet, their reconciliation was equally swift. Bae Sae-jin seemed to be agonizing over whether this could really be resolved so easily, but soon gave up and just ate pizza.
And Kim Rae-bin remained serious alone.
“Cha Yu-jin, from now on you must contact us before leaving. Even if it’s a day off, we’re in the middle of official schedules, so be careful about your movements.”
“Yeah, got it!”
“…! Yes yes.”
Kim Rae-bin was momentarily flustered, but soon looked satisfied. He plays well.
Though Ryu Chung-woo seemed to be carefully considering something as he watched this scene.
‘Hmm.’
Since his expression seemed relaxed, it probably wasn’t anything serious.
And the real commotion was about to be unleashed on the Production Team shortly after.
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
I imagined that scene while eating pizza.
And evening came.
Before the members’ group interview began, I heard the company and Production Team talking in the adjacent room.
“From what we’ve confirmed, this is a complete contract violation.”
“No, there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“It’s too clear-cut a violation to call it a misunderstanding. We went over all of this when we first explained the terms.”
“Look, if you’re going to be this strict about the filming….”
“That’s not it. The artist already asked you multiple times to discuss this with the Agency. I heard you’ve recorded everything, so let me verify that.”
“…!”
There it was. This was the problem.
Cha Yu-jin had already brought up the Agency. Multiple times, in fact.
When the subject refused to comment on a specific matter and told them to discuss it with the Agency, they ignored that and kept pushing?
That was a contract violation. This clause was written into the agreement.
[In the event of filming related to Party A’s sensitive personal information, if Party A makes a request, Party B shall renegotiate the timing of said information’s disclosure.]
And the contract included damages clauses for violations.
Since T1 was backing the Agency, the documentary production crew—not even a broadcasting company—would have no choice but to back down if the Agency took a hard line.
The guy eavesdropping from the adjacent room tapped my shoulder.
“Damn, Moon-dae’s got a sharp mind.”
“What.”
I shrugged.
Now I just needed to use this as leverage to threaten the documentary contract’s cancellation, and they’d delete the data. That would be the end of it.
“Yes. We’d appreciate that.”
And the deal seemed to work.
Before filming resumed, the production crew even apologized to Cha Yu-jin—though it was more of an excuse.
“If we offended you, we’re truly sorry.”
The gist being that they hadn’t intended malicious editing, just wanted to create more authentic and better content.
“…Okay~ But it’s my content, so listen to my opinion.”
Cha Yu-jin handled it coolly, and the situation didn’t escalate further, but the production crew became noticeably more cautious.
It benefited all the members.
‘Done.’
I stopped Cha Yu-jin from giving me a subtle thumbs up.
The remaining documentary filming proceeded with greater focus on Testa’s expertise.
And that night, after the interviews ended.
Testa left their individual rooms and gathered in a massive hotel room.
“It’s incredibly spacious!”
“Wow~ Nice facilities. Is Chung-woo treating us?”
“Yeah, just for tonight.”
Ryu Chung-woo, the one who’d initiated this, answered as he closed the door.
“The Agency will probably cover it going forward.”
“Going forward… you say.”
There’s a going forward?
“Yeah. I was thinking, while we’re on tour, what if we spent one day a week like this together? What does everyone think?”
Ryu Chung-woo’s expression was quite serious.
“I’ve been thinking about it—with individual rooms on this tour and barely any schedule, we don’t get much chance to talk to each other.”
“That’s… true.”
The guys who’d been living somewhat independently over the past few weeks stared blankly at Ryu Chung-woo.
“I think Eugene’s situation became more complicated because of that too. We didn’t have time to understand each other’s thoughts.”
Ryu Chung-woo finished speaking with a gentle smile.
“I wish we had time to talk with each other and check in on how we’re doing. That’s my opinion.”
Sincerity resonated in his words. And just like that, the guys were moved.
“Hyung….”
“Sniff sniff, that’s so touching!”
“I, I like it…!”
“It’s, not bad… right? For a day.”
Even Bae Sae-jin agreed. With even the guy cheering from the solitary room doing so, it was practically unanimous.
“What about you, Moon-dae?”
“…I’m fine with it.”
It was a reasonable decision. It would help prevent impulsive actions.
I nodded readily, but suddenly reality dawned on me.
‘Wait, I said it nicely, but… isn’t this basically a workshop once a week?’
Gathering these guys and checking if they have any stray thoughts while talking about albums, activities, concerts….
No, it’s already spreading.
“We have amazing teamwork. I’m really moved.”
“We could bring a projector next time too.”
“Should we order room service?? Let’s play some cards while we eat?”
“….”
Yeah, we’ve come too far to treat this as just coworkers. Work is the last thing on anyone’s mind.
‘It’s like a club room.’
I sprawled out on the sofa and accepted it. These guys no longer felt uncomfortable enough to call this a workshop.
‘…No, it’s more than that.’
I won’t deny it. Even surrounded by so many people… it felt quite comfortable.
I relaxed and thought.
‘For a while, I just need to focus on the tour.’
…However, I was overlooking one thing.
Cha Yu-jin’s sensitive footage was cut due to the company’s strong measures, but my footage went out without any objections.
The wave of ‘a perfectionist idol who overcomes aftereffects and does their best’ was approaching fast.

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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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