Debut or Die - Chapter 274

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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 274
When someone with strong inferiority complexes and competitive instincts enters a Survival Audition, no matter how perfectly they manage themselves at first, their true nature inevitably surfaces as time goes on.
‘Because the program deliberately stokes those psychological fires.’
Especially by the time the first team competition rolls around, the participants will have already checked how the public first reacted to them.
They may not know their exact rankings, but they can tell from view counts and mentions.
‘They’ll know they’re in the upper tier. And they’ll know which participants threaten their position.’
When someone sees real potential, they naturally become more obsessed with it.
The probability that Chae Seo-dam was included among the “problematic participants” Mirinai Junior mentioned wasn’t low.
I opened my mouth again.
“Would it be alright if I asked which participant you meant….”
-W-well, but I might have some bias, so it’s a bit awkward to say specifically who did something wrong!
“I understand.”
I answered flatly.
“I’m not trying to use this to badmouth anyone. I’m just a bit concerned about something. If they debut, they’ll end up at the same company as us.”
-Oh, yeah, that would be awkward!
“Yes.”
I paused for a beat before asking.
“So… could I ask about the most memorable bad behavior you witnessed?”
A candid voice came through the receiver.
-Oh, that? Sure, no problem!
Perfect.
“Thank you.”
-Right! What bothered me most was deliberately pretending not to hear!
“Ah, so they ignored you.”
That’s a bit one-dimensional.
-No, no! I mean…. Ah, how do I explain this?
How would I know?
That’s when it happened.
-Huh?
-Unnie!
The sound of running footsteps came through the phone, followed by excited exclamations that made everything chaotic.
“…?”
The phone seemed to be covered for a moment, and then the voice changed.
-Hello, senior! I’m Park Min-ha from Mirinai!
She was ranked second.
“Yes…. Hello, Min-ha.”
-Yes!!
She was breathing heavily from the sudden switch. I wondered if she’d misunderstood the call as something romantic.
“I called because I had some questions about the new season of Idol Corporation.”
-Oh, if you tell me what you’re curious about, I can explain! I went through it too!
That’s urgent.
“I see. Since your filmed episode hasn’t aired yet, I thought only Jung Yul-gi appeared on the show.”
-Ah, I see!
A lie. I simply thought it would be easier to get answers from Jung Yul-gi, who ranked first.
-Yes… What story are you curious about, senior!
I condensed the conversation I’d had with the first-ranked contestant earlier and relayed it. At that, Park Min-ha drew in a sharp breath.
-Ah… that.
“It seems you saw it too, Min-ha.”
-Um, yes.
The junior member hesitated, speaking as if reluctant.
-What the senior mentioned… it was about a false accusation.
Oh.
“A false accusation.”
-Yes. They made it look like only they were the victim.
The second-ranked contestant grew increasingly composed as the explanation unfolded.
-So… they definitely received word of the new practice schedule when there were no cameras or microphones, but in front of the camera, they said dismissively, ‘I’ve never heard of anything like that.’
“…!”
-The senior and I overheard it while moving to get something. They probably didn’t know we were there.
A participant actively creating their own editing points—quite the spectacle.
“With that approach, the person on the receiving end must have pushed back hard. Called it a lie.”
-Yes. So then… they just said afterward in a submissive tone, ‘Right, you did tell me, but maybe I just don’t remember. Sorry I didn’t hear it.’
“….”
-So it became awkward for us to say we saw it too….
Clever.
Making the person making claims look foolish. A move that fully considered the editing angle.
If that’s the case….
“The person who suffered wasn’t ranked high. Probably wasn’t the type with many friends either.”
So they could be blocked from the game at the very next ranking announcement. Trouble prevention.
-…Yes. Um.
“By any chance, what was the victim’s position?”
-Dance.
I deliberately didn’t pause and asked the next question immediately.
“And the person who did it definitely seems like they’d have debut rights.”
-…! Th, that cou, um.
“Ah, if it’s sensitive, you don’t have to answer.”
Their guard had dropped—the response wasn’t composed. I felt sorry, but that reaction alone was as good as confirmation. It would definitely come out once it aired anyway.
‘Dance position with current confirmed debut rights.’
There were only two or three people including Chae Seo-dam. And considering how similar this was to the case I’d heard from Sun Ah-hyun….
‘It’s safe to say it’s essentially Chae Seo-dam.’
Indeed, this person’s mind worked quite well.
Within the team, someone in the same position who could compete with me for parts. Lower ranking, narrow interpersonal skills—a convenient sacrifice. That’s what he used them for.
And considering the Production Team’s editing style… it’ll probably be framed as the victim’s jealousy, exactly as he planned.
‘This makes it harder to call him out even after elimination.’
He’d already preemptively surrendered at that moment, saying ‘I might not remember it’, didn’t he.
With his image already set, it would only look like a eliminated contestant’s envy toward first place.
‘…That’s rough.’
The victim has no real way out.
I clicked my tongue, but honestly, this wasn’t a bad situation for me.
He’s consistently showing his true nature here too. His tail should be easy to catch.
I’ve already caught Mirinai once before, haven’t I.
‘We can’t do it directly….’
Unavoidable, but I’ll have to use this call.
“…By any chance, are there more Ajusa-related schedules this season?”
-Pardon? Yes. Since we’re providing the songs, I think we’ll probably go once more! That would be… around the time the second-round teams are confirmed and the mid-evaluation happens.
“Then at that time, could you observe the trainees’ atmosphere a bit?”
Gulp.
I heard the sound of someone swallowing on the other end of the line.
-M-may I ask the reason!?
“From what you just explained… my gut feeling is really bad. If he does something worse, even if we debut and end up in the same agency later, I’m thinking of keeping some distance.”
-Ah. Um, understood!
Second place seemed considerably relieved.
After adding several disclaimers like ‘I’ll try, but please don’t have too high expectations of me’, he finally hung up with a polite greeting.
Seeing how he’s gradually adding self-protective remarks beyond just ‘I’ll do my best’, his rookie days are coming to an end too.
-Sleep well, senior!
“Yes, you too, Min-ha. Sorry for bothering you at such a late hour.”
I hung up the phone.
“Hmm.”
The situation was manageable.
This bastard’s head seems to be working, but I can already see him making increasingly careless moves.
‘If it were me, I would’ve been absolutely careful.’
I understand—at the point where he didn’t know about first place, he was obsessed with ‘maintaining momentum’ rather than ‘solidifying his position’.
And now that he’s achieved first place… he’s probably getting complacent.
“….”
I might actually be able to catch something interesting, so I should create one more thread.
Right now happens to be a break in filming before the first ranking announcement.
After thinking for a moment, I sent a text.
[Watched the broadcast. Hope you get good results. I’m rooting for you]
The recipient was Gold 2 Kwon Hee-seung.

* * *
The next morning, I checked and found that Gold 2 had already replied.
[Brotherㅠㅠ Thank you so much for your support. I couldn’t contact you because I was afraid it might be a burden!]
[I’ll work hard! I’ll definitely see you on stage! (heart emoji)]
Since we’d occasionally exchanged greetings, it didn’t feel like he was suddenly contacting me because I was about to blow up.
And for someone returning to that damn program, he seemed quite hopeful and spirited. He had every reason to be.
‘He got Platinum this time.’
Gold 2 had escaped the Gold tier.
Moreover, he was on a winning streak with good editing points.
Usually, a second survival audition appearance is either a massive hit or a complete flop, but he’d pulled off the massive hit.
-Hee-seung is literally the icon of sudden transformation
-Age really is a cheat code lol he’s still so young hahahaha
His first ranking was 3rd place.
Even with an existing fanbase, that was a solid performance, and the fact that it didn’t cool down after the broadcast started meant his debut prospects were quite high.
‘And if I had to pin down Gold 2’s position, it leans more toward dance.’
Which meant… there was a high probability that Chae Seo-dam had filmed him.
As someone we might need to watch out for.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae, who’s texting?”
“Gold… I mean, Kwon Hee-seung.”
“Mm.”
“I heard something interesting last night.”
I told him about my call with Mirinai. And added a few theories.
“Ah~ got it. Okay.”
Big Sae-jin nodded with a smile. Then he turned on his smartphone.
[Big Sae-jin : Is everyone doing well? (eye-rolling emoji)]
[Big Sae-jin : I was watching Ajusa’s first team match this time, and it really made me think of our team lol. Man, in my mind it was totally… the legendary legendary stage!]
He briefly activated the group chat of October 31, the team he’d been on during Ajusa’s first team match.
And after putting in effort for several days, he drew out active responses and participation from Gold 2.
[Big Sae-jin : Hee-seung, how are you doing? Are you showing us that legendary stage again? (sparkling eyes emoji)]
Kwon Hee-seung: Hahaha, hyung, I have no idea!! (embarrassed emoticon)
Bae Sae-jin was startled by the suddenly active group chat.
“Why is he… doing this?”
“Ajusa this season reconnaissance.”
“Reconnaissance? …Ah! That bastard. Got it.”
Bae Sae-jin became suddenly cooperative.
And it seemed like he was trying to write something himself.
[Big Sae-jin : Tonight I’m planning to watch Ajusa while eating an apple. Don’t you think it’ll taste spicy? lol]
Kwon Hee-seung: Hahahaha, white props for sure.
[Bae Sae-jin hyung : That’s why apples are better eaten in the morning than at night]
The messages suddenly stopped, and only after 2 minutes did a reply come.
Golden Age Ha Il-jun: Haha, Se-jin’s still the same!
“….”
Thud.
Bae Sae-jin buried his head and collapsed onto the sofa.
Well, since everyone was like that, there was no need to be too ashamed about it.
Either way, he’d done his part in lowering the tension and making things comfortable, so he’d done his job properly.
And a few weeks later, the moment arrived.
[Participant Chae Seo-dam, who wasn’t notified of the changed practice time]
[The team’s frozen atmosphere]
[Chae Seo-dam: …No, I’m sorry. I must not have heard it. My apologies.]
[Lee Ho-yoon: No, that’s not it (edited) So I definitely told you!]
[Chae Seo-dam: Yes, you did tell me, but I think I misremembered it….]
‘That scene’ had finally made it to broadcast.
“Wow, impressive.”
“Right?”
The members were watching the episode in the living room while Sun Ah-hyun was doing punch exercises in his room.
We’d already explained the whole situation beforehand.
[Q: Any grievances?]
[Chae Seo-dam: There’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t ruin the team’s atmosphere… It’s fine.]
Even Chae Seo-dam’s interview, appearing at such a perfectly timed moment, had that typical Ajusa editing flavor.
“Is there any chance this was actually due to a fatal memory problem and she really couldn’t remember….”
“No way. That’s just a bad person.”
Bae Sae-jin’s expression hardened as he glared at the screen. Looks like he sensed it.
Anyway, the broadcast continued as planned.
[The winning team is… ‘Changer!’]
[Kyaaaaa!!]
[You’ll receive a survival lottery ticket! And… as a prize, you can appear on Tnet’s global music broadcast, Music Bomb!]
And the episode ended with Chae Seo-dam’s team winning.
“Now they’re even handing out survival rights through random lottery.”
“Right?”
These guys are bloodthirsty. Of course, there was something I needed to do right now instead of having time for these thoughts.
‘Now that it’s confirmed that the person Mirinai mentioned is Chae Seo-dam.’
I followed the others as they naturally dispersed when the program ended, and entered the room with Big Sae-jin.
It was time to carry out what we’d discussed.
“I’m doing it?”
“Yeah.”
This would be better coming from him than me. Big Sae-jin shrugged his shoulders and made a call.
To Gold 2.
“Recording?”
“Can’t do it. He uses an Apple phone.”
Alright.
Not long after, the call connected smoothly.
“Hey, Hee-seung. Just calling to check in…. Actually, I heard something about it.”
-What?
Big Sae-jin carefully processed what he’d heard from Mirinai Junior and explained it. Of course, he’d conveniently changed the source to some other staff member.
Naturally, his tone wasn’t accusatory—it was concern for Gold 2.
“…And so. But when I watched the broadcast today, I actually saw that scene, and I thought, ‘No way.'”
-….
Gold 2 fell silent for a moment. But soon, a long, heavy sigh came through the phone.
-Ah…. Yeah, something did feel off.
Right?
“Did something bother you?”
-Yes! In our group chat… ah, anyway! After the rankings came out, their attitude toward me got weird.
“Don’t tell me they were trying to sabotage you?”
-Exactly! Now I get it…. But I never thought they’d be like this! Ugh, why does this keep happening to me? It happened last time too!
Gold 2 made a whimpering sound.
Now that I thought about it, Gold 2 had faced unusual sabotage and neglect from Choi Won-gil in the previous season. That’s probably why this hit harder.
Big Sae-jin gently steered the conversation.
“Look, once that person debuts, they’ll be in the same group as you anyway. So I thought it’d be good to give you a heads-up just in case!”
-Ugh…. Yes, hyung! Thanks so much…. Sigh, my life is such a mess.
Gold 2 grumbled and sighed heavily before hanging up.
Click.
Big Sae-jin lowered his smartphone and laughed.
“That groundwork wasn’t bad.”
“Good.”
At this rate, Gold 2 would join as an ally if needed.
I shrugged, then gave a high-five to the guy demanding one before heading out.
Tap.
And as I was entering my room.
Sun Ah-hyun, who was sitting at his desk organizing the completed rug, quietly asked.
“Um… ah, you saw Ajusa, right?”
“…!”
Did he hear?
I nodded. Sun Ah-hyun spoke calmly.
“It’s… it’s okay. Next time, I want to… sit down and watch it with you.”
“…Yeah.”
Sun Ah-hyun’s face was slightly pale, but he smiled, finished organizing, and stood up.
“I can’t keep going on like this…. I want to get better.”
“Got it.”
I tapped his back.
‘I’ll just show them the shorter videos first.’
But the opportunity for this ‘challenge’ came far sooner than expected.
A few days later.
“Hello, senior!”
Testa encountered the Idol Corporation participants for this season, accompanied by a swarm of cameras, in the Broadcasting Station Corridor.
It was the winning team’s privilege to appear on a music broadcast.
‘Damn it.’
Of course, he was among them.
“Good day.”
Chae Seo-dam.

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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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