Debut or Die - Chapter 281

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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 281
Testa’s Roommate Assignment content had typically been short videos that wrapped up in one or two episodes.
But now they were numbering it as a full season, and zombies?
Even without analyzing the specific reasons in exhaustive detail, the appeal hit intuitively.
‘This is going to be fun!’
Content that promised entertainment from even simple reactions naturally built up anticipation.
The thumbnail and title had successfully grabbed attention—so much so that even people who’d thought “I’ll watch this on the weekend” and forgotten about it found themselves clicking play.
The Graduate Student was no exception.
She’d planned to wait until she got home, showered, and settled in before watching with proper reverence, but instead she just hit play right there on the subway.
‘Thank you, Bluetooth earbuds!’
The first thing she heard was elegant classical strings.
Dun-da-dun-dun-da-la-la~
[Today’s Story]
[Researcher: Through scientific methods! We plan to find and match the most compatible roommate for each of you.]
[Testa: Wow! (sparkles)]
Then, accompanied by a somewhat clumsy and cheerful recorder BGM, Testa appeared with sparkling eyes, clapping her hands together.
[Testa’s curiosity and joy…]
[Kim Rae-bin (adorable maknae): It was a fascinating experience. I think I’ll come to understand myself more deeply!]
[Sun Ah-hyun (gentle deer): Wouldn’t this side be warmer…?]
But as black subtitles and eerie sound effects kicked in, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.
[Transforms into zombies!]
[Kim Rae-bin: Ahhhhh!]
[Lee Sae-jin (possessed): Kyaaahhh!]
Kim Rae-bin screaming while stuck in the ventilation duct, Ryu Chung-woo sliding with a laser gun, Cha Yu-jin hanging from furniture in the darkness—they all flashed across the screen.
The final shot was members running through a smoky corridor with flickering lights.
[Testa: Ahhhhh!!]
[↑Fooled by the production crew again]
“Hngh.”
The Graduate Student clamped her mouth shut in alarm. It was so funny she couldn’t make a sound, and her stomach felt like it might burst.
[♡Always rewarding the crew’s efforts♡]
‘Hold it in! Hold it in!’
To avoid becoming a subway lunatic, she took the deepest breaths she could manage.
But she couldn’t tear her eyes from the screen. It was already so entertaining!
Now the video was parodying the opening of some famous classic sci-fi film, displaying subtitles with a grand orchestral score.
[May XX, Research Institute in Ilsan]
[The Testa members, for whom it’s time for roommate reassignment, gather once more, recalling their previous three roommate assignments (though they’re always together anyway). However, lurking in this gathering is a sinister plot by attention-seeking production crew…]
Highlights from past roommate videos fade across a black cosmic background.
Bae Sae-jin deceived, Cha Yu-jin winning first place, Park Moon-dae throwing cards and chasing Lee Sae-jin…
And then Testa appeared on screen, standing in a white indoor space with a perfectly cheerful expression.
[Lee Sae-jin: Everyone~ do you know what content we’re going to do today?]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Let’s all say it together.]
[Testa: ‘Roommates are science’!]
True to idol content form, the first episode’s opening was packed solid with psychological test results. It was content the fans would be curious about, so it wasn’t omitted.
[Chinchilla VS Rabbit—who’s stronger?]
[Bae Sae-jin: (eyes widening) I think the rabbit would be stronger. They have teeth and all.]
[Members who don’t lose their professionalism despite the increasingly absurd questions]
The questions looked utterly baseless no matter how you looked at them, but knowing they’d already be torn apart by zombies made even that hilarious.
And watching the members bicker or cooperate with each other while answering was always a joy to see.
[Cha Yu-jin: Chinchillas have teeth too!]
[Bae Sae-jin: (flying off into space effect)]
-So cute♡♡
-These kids’ ideas are seriously out of the box lol
-Why are the youngest ones so hyped lol
-If anyone goes to a fan sign, please ask them a lot of psychology test questions
– Mundae is so smart, isn’t he a genius? How did you come up with another animal there?
By the way, that last comment was typed by the College Student. This was how she vented what she couldn’t scream aloud.
‘Arghhhh!’
She thought she was smoothly descending into deep fandom, but it was still a sufficiently ordinary choice.
Thus, Episode 1 had already shown the warm and humorous flavor of idol content deeply enough to make one forget about zombies, but….
The foreshadowed twist didn’t wait until after Episode 1—it burst out spectacularly in the latter half.
[Researcher: Ugh!]
[Collapsing…?]
[!!!!]
Clang. Bang!
The office being sealed off by an iron door was edited spectacularly as it passed.
The fast-paced and thrilling effects were so intense that even knowing exactly what was about to happen, one couldn’t help but stay focused.
Still, Testa huddling together in the center the moment things went wrong was adorable.
[Testa: …?]
[Suddenly the atmosphere turns zombie]
Frozen in place, Testa struggled to understand what was happening before realizing they’d been tricked, and the situation wrapped up comically.
[Lee Sae-jin: Director!!]
The live chat exploded.
Hahaha come out here, camera director! Haha
-They found the production crew right away
How badly must I have been fooled lol
-Stop making that hamster composite where Bae lost it to someone, it’s too funny
-Ah so fun
[Unexpected zombie research facility escape!]
[How will Testa respond?]
And from here on is where Testa’s individual interview footage comes in.
[Kim Rae-bin / Rapper / 20 years old / Born November 11, 200X / Rabbit]
[The timid rabbit of this district, yet a diligent worker of the times]
[Counselor: Based on your score distribution, you’re a very conscientious and virtuous person with a distinct sense of self. The synergy when you encounter good feedback and advice will be excellent.]
On screen, footage from past Testa entertainment shows featuring Kim Rae-bin played, foreshadowing his future performance in the zombie escape.
Primarily, it was the remarkable feat of tearing off the perfect weight of hotteok dough with just one hand.
Fans burst into laughter at the cute explanation about bringing a real rabbit instead of a medieval one, but the video didn’t stop.
[Cha Yu-jin / Center / 21 years old / Born March 6, 200X / Tiger (self-proclaimed)]
[Quick reflexes and wild instinct, the neighborhood boss of this district]
The introduction style resembled a heist film’s member presentation—like an all-star crew gathering to steal jewels—which elevated the atmosphere even further.
And finally, the Graduate Student’s favorite appeared.
‘Moon-dae!’
[Park Moon-dae / Main Vocal / 22 years old / Born December 15, 200X / Puppy]
‘A puppy!!’
The Graduate Student was moved by something trivial.
[Brilliant ideas and sound judgment, the Tibetan fox of this district]
[Counselor: You have strong introverted tendencies, yet you’ve matured by developing many extroverted qualities yourself. That’s why you seem to employ both elements appropriately when making decisions.]
[Counselor: However, you are quite the perfectionist. (laughs)]
In the reference footage, Park Moon-dae’s face flashed by as he seriously calculated the number of hotteoks and beverages he’d sold so far.
‘Ah, he’s really too adorable….’
The Graduate Student felt happy checking the live chat.
-Park Moon-dae is the best puppy and I won’t hear arguments
-Moon-dae’s always sincere about work lolol
-The production crew knows what’s up, supporting the Tibetan fox faction
The final introduction, going up in reverse order of birthdays, was Ryu Chung-woo.
‘Huh? If Sae-jin’s February 7th and Chung-woo’s October 28th, wouldn’t Sae-jin be the eldest?’
The Graduate Student recalled the screen that had just passed and wondered about the order, but figured it was because Ryu Chung-woo was the leader and let it go.
[A dependable leader, brilliant survival instinct]
[Counselor: What’s impressive is your strong independent and autonomous nature, yet you hold the position of a leader with great capacity for acceptance.]
[Counselor: Your psychological state is extremely stable.]
In the reference footage, Ryu Chung-woo appeared with an unfazed expression, taking care of the members and laughing through all sorts of horror-related content.
And then the main broadcast returned.
[Cha Yu-jin: Wait, wait!! There’s a door back here!]
The video ended completely as the members, having finally discovered the ventilation duct behind the production crew, crawled inside.
[Testa Dream Team!]
[Will they succeed in escaping from the research institute filled with zombies!]
‘Ah, so the full zombie content starts from episode 2!’
In truth, despite the title being established from episode 1, there hadn’t been much zombie content, but thanks to the situation where incidents unfold and the role preview being laid out comprehensively, it delivered both satisfaction and anticipation simultaneously.
As a result, the response was entirely positive.
-Wow they really committed to the scale
-The production crew is amazing, they were hiding the ventilation duct lolol
-Oh, give me episode 2 right nowㅠㅠ How can I wait until next week?
-By some law, they have to release 2 episodes at once. Anyway, that’s right, please.
So what does this have to do with the roommate anyway? The roommate totally got used lol
The Graduate Student savored the lingering impressions while scrolling through posts from several people she followed on SNS.
‘Ah, Yeon-ju must have watched it too, right?’
She then messaged her friend Home Ma and got excited talking about it again, before letting out an internal scream.
‘I missed my stop!’
For the record, Home Ma’s reaction was ‘I’m dying to know if Moon-dae gets scared of zombies too’.
And exactly one week later, Testa’s zombie escape footage was released in full.
[Kyaaaaaah!!]
[Lee Sae-jin: Ugh (mouth covered)]
The editing was superb—combining thrilling chases and combat scenes with Testa members looking out for each other.
Especially the part where they emerged from the ventilation duct and blocked the entrance with a cabinet received high praise for looking like a genuine zombie movie.
-It’s way more fun than I imagined;
-Is Ryu Chung-woo insane? The way he shoots zombies like he’s a movie protagonist
-Even people who don’t know these guys would find this entertaining. Definitely worth promoting
-Episode 3 come out quicklyㅠㅠ
Episode 2 balanced two parts perfectly: members finding the laser gun and eliminating zombies through coordination, then carefully moving because they couldn’t handle the situation.
The balance between catharsis and fear was excellent.
-I almost screamed in the bathroom. The sound of zombies banging on every door was so creepy
I thought Rabin was going to pass out walking by there lol
lol for real
-Ah-hyun rummaging through the dolls in the playroom was so impressive I screamed
In particular, Sun Ah-hyun’s calm, fearless behavior in the corner was emphasized through separate editing, contributing significantly to strengthening his character.
Even Testa didn’t know Ah-hyun did so much of this stuff lol, it came up on the kids’ SNS (link)
-Ahyeon still doesn’t understand why people are surprised. It’s so cuteㅠㅠ
-The embodiment of inner strength with outer softness… my beautiful musk deer elk..
And Park Moon-dae’s fans were satisfied too.
Home Ma sent her friend this message.
[Yeon-ju: This was a precious variety show that taught us the valuable information that Moon-dae is only half scared of zombies]
This was because Park Moon-dae got scared of unseen zombie sounds, but when they actually appeared, his expression became like a Tibetan fox.
Fans rewatched episode 2, which ended with Testa rushing toward the back door, and produced countless GIF files.
-I think the kids would be fun with concepts like this too. Zombie apocalypse survival students… I’m already in full fantasy mode
-Anyone want to see Cha Yu-jin throwing a ball to distract the zombie in the playroom? (GIF file)
Lee Sae-jin’s amazing communication skills while playing hard to get with a zombie lol (connected screenshots)
Overall, the satisfied fans were all immersed in peaceful enjoyment.
There were no particular questions or controversies.
Probably episode 3 will be about escape + roommate assignments. It seems like the zombie part is almost over lol
-Episode 2 had good pacing. For episode 3, I’m expecting that cute, familiar roommate content vibe
This was the consensus.
However, the day the highly anticipated third episode was released.
-What
-Going crazyyy
-Chung-woo?
[Ryu Chung-woo : You need to give me your ID card. Park Moon-dae.]
[Park Moon-dae : !!!!]
The moment Ryu Chung-woo pointed a laser gun at Park Moon-dae, who had been showcasing brilliant deductions in the first room, the reactions exploded.
And as the two of them stared at each other within the screen frozen like a film frame.
The screen rewound, returning to Ryu Chung-woo’s individual consultation cut.

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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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