Debut or Die - Chapter 291

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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 291
To cut to the chase, the track became a massive hit.
“W-what rank…?”
“Hold on.”
I checked the daily music chart.
[#3 Testa – Promise]
“Incredible.”
“We climbed one more spot from yesterday!”
“Wooooow!”
Cha Yu-jin hummed something like a strange hooligan chant as he passed by. Honestly, I understood—the excitement was justified.
My own pulse was racing too.
‘There’s no hormone rush quite like seeing returns on your investment.’
The tracks above us were a drama OST and a song from an indie band that had been dominating for years.
In essence, among all the easy-listening releases aimed at summer, we were performing the best.
‘The buildup worked perfectly.’
The exhilaration of having a completed song two months before comeback, meticulously calibrated to hit every timing beat—it was almost euphoric.
Buzz. And more buzz.
I reflected on the flow of the past week.
The rainstorm stage, which drew attention with half controversy and half admiration, swept across social platforms, then solidified into a ‘positive image’ thanks to the perfectly-timed clarification that exploded with full force.
-It’s just a fucking masterpiece
-Wasn’t this the person who said watching Testa’s comeback stage comments made them feel good? This makes me feel even better lolol
-Godly song godly idols godly performance
-It’s so amazing that water can splash like that you guys are literally mermaids
-K-pop this summer is seriously so fun in 10 years we’ll all be reminiscing about this lololol
It had become a hot topic, but safety concerns had prevented people from enjoying it freely. Now, there was no hesitation in consuming it.
‘Human psychology is fascinating—people get more excited when restrictions are lifted than if they were never imposed in the first place.’
After that, as expected, everyone who encountered this water-spray choreography became instantly drawn to the track the moment it caught their ear.
Once again, a massive positive feedback loop between music and performance was complete.
[(Preview) ☜Those Sailing Toward the Sky☞ Appearing with Water Drop Dance!│Tiny Club Episode 102]
Even a parody preview, hastily composited for this week’s TV variety appearance featuring Testa, had dropped.
The fact that it came from the most conservative media outlet meant the trend had been established.
‘TV is using that stage image as clickbait for viral content.’
And so, here’s the result.
-Testa’s song is literally everywhere I went to Hongdae and was shocked lol
-Honestly both the song and choreography are so well-made the rainstorm dance is seriously dripping with that capitalist flavor
-Even my kindergarten niece is copying it where does this even end
The song itself, the performance itself, had become a mass trend.
‘It’s momentum.’
Though it had been shattered in a traffic accident back then, it resembled the trajectory I’d glimpsed during the “Call” promotions.
Testa’s influence extending far beyond their first-tier name value.
To what extent had things escalated that even people on the Internet claiming they “didn’t feel it” were buried under mocking comments?
“Kim Rae-bin made such a great song that we’re all doing well together.”
“You’re too kind! It was a collaborative effort, and without the hyungs’ feedback and Park Moon-dae hyung’s vision, this song would never have been created. I won’t become arrogant and will continue to improve!”
Kim Rae-bin spoke without barely taking a breath. Anyone watching would think he was giving an award acceptance speech.
Meanwhile, Cha Yu-jin was responding seriously.
“For Kim Rae-bin’s song, me and Big Sae-jin hyung created a completely amazing choreography. It wasn’t just Kim Rae-bin’s work!”
“That’s exactly what I was saying, idiot!”
“That’s what I was saying too, idiot!”
They were having fun. I said something to the person being mentioned.
“That must feel great.”
“Huh? …Of course it does~ People love it.”
Surprisingly, Big Sae-jin seemed a bit embarrassed.
“I’m not sure how to put it… It’s hard to believe things are going this well.”
….
It almost felt like emotion.
He was someone who’d had almost no solo music activities. The fact that choreography he’d personally selected and arranged was becoming trendy must have stirred something deep within him.
Big Sae-jin looked up at the ceiling once, took a deep breath, and threw both arms up.
“Ah~ I don’t know! This is great! Thank you! Thank you so much, our members~”
“Fighting!!”
When things go well, the atmosphere improves—watching Bae Sae-jin’s face turn bright red as he applauded Big Sae-jin during the music chart ranking celebration ceremony was entertaining.
“Ah, TeSTAR showed something special this time too~”
It was 1 AM and there was another schedule at 4 AM, yet everyone seemed to have forgotten about fatigue.
Based on the track record so far, these weren’t the type to slack off on schedules, so it should be fine…
‘But I shouldn’t let my guard down.’
In terms of name value alone, it’s hard to say we’ve surpassed VTIC. Plus, the difference in first-week sales is significant.
Of course, we did sell quite a lot this time…
[TeSTAR “The Ocean of Wonder” – 1,558,114]
First-week sales of 1.558 million copies.
To be honest, I hadn’t expected us to perform this well, so various thoughts crossed my mind.
Even at a glance, it’s an astronomical figure. Excluding VTIC, there are fewer than three active idols currently in the industry who’ve achieved sales numbers like this.
‘The momentum is still strong.’
I checked the album sales continuing even after the first-week period ended, then shrugged.
‘We’ll sustain this for at least a month.’
I was almost certain this structure would continue.
Until mid-August, it didn’t seem like other top-tier artists would enter the music show rankings.
‘I wouldn’t even enter.’
Why would I try to benefit from a situation where the two top-tier groups are cleanly dividing first place?
Now that TeSTAR has moved beyond barely holding on to becoming a genuinely solid dual-power structure, it’ll take quite some time before either group falters.
Even VTIC fans seemed to understand this and shifted their stance.
-Both are doing well so we won’t fall for fanwars
-VTIC and TeSTAR have completely different concepts, so why are people comparing them like this?
-Why is it so pathetic that you guys are so excited that they are hitting Testa with the V-Tik soundboard and V-Tik with the Testa sound source? Those stones have no future.
It was a ceasefire gesture.
The moment TeSTAR’s song settled into the trending charts, it seemed like the decision had been made: ‘We won’t win this through public opinion warfare.’
Instead, they were solidifying VTIC’s top-tier position and redirecting their arrows—no more stress.
‘Experience doesn’t go to waste.’
Of course, behind the scenes they were probably grinding their teeth to crush TeSTAR and fabricating rumors… but that was expected anyway.
Since the song resonated this well, our fans—our fans—would feel far more excitement than stress.
For those climbing up, this situation was practically a decision victory.
‘That’s enough.’
I turned off my smartphone.
…Maybe this was the right moment to savor a bit more of this exquisitely successful gamble and challenge.
“Park Moon-dae!”
“Moon-dae, come here! You need to do this too!”
Seriously.
I stood up. It was funny how the excited guys kept cheering me on.
I’d go put an arm around their shoulders. It was still a good moment.

* * *
Eight hours later. After the dawn photoshoot, at 9 AM came a light interview shoot.
The host was Tnet again.
Since this two-day TaKon had gotten such a great response, they seemed to be putting together an elaborate VOD bonus package.
It looked like they’d been shooting from dawn straight through the Ajusa debut group all the way to Miry-nay.
But honestly, I thought even if the Broadcasting Station called, someone with VTIC’s reputation would skip it….
“Hello!”
“Good morning~”
But they showed up anyway. Apparently they were in the country at the time.
It wasn’t surprising that our time slots overlapped.
‘They gave me the most convenient time slot.’
So if we were just doing the shoot, the two of us meeting in the same time slot was practically a natural flow—we were the hottest acts right now.
But there was no need to assign us the same Waiting Room, the biggest and best-equipped one at that.
“….”
“….”
I fell silent watching the guy who happened to finish his interview first walk in.
Chung-ryeo.
So I’d have to be alone with this bastard for about twenty minutes until the next guy arrived.
Well, it’s pointless to be reluctant about it now.
“Looks like you were the first one to film too, Junior.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Are you enjoying your activities these days?”
“I’m trying my best. It’s enjoyable too.”
Don’t tell me this bastard’s losing his mind because my music got pushed back.
But Chung-ryeo’s expression looked quite at ease.
“Me too.”
“….”
“No, it’s fun. It’s been a while since I’ve worked on a new song. There are so many variables here that until now, I only used songs that had been tested in previous periods.”
His face wasn’t the only thing relaxed—his answer used words far too comfortable for this setting.
“I see.”
Why is he speaking so openly like that? What if someone walks in?
“Hm? Speak comfortably.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Ah.”
But the guy across from me just grinned.
“It’s not an advertisement, not a music broadcast… it’s rare for outsiders to come to internal shoots arranged this hastily. I think it’s fine to relax.”
Is that so.
‘Is this veteran idol speaking from personal experience?’
True, our staff could come in, but there was no real reason or justification for them to press their ears against the door and listen.
“Then so be it.”
“Haha.”
I leaned back on the sofa and picked up my smartphone. Chung-ryeo stopped laughing and asked.
“You’re aiming for an award, right?”
“All singers do that.”
“No, I’m not talking about such universal goals… it seems like you’ve planned a thorough strategy for this year.”
“….”
“From the release timing to the music video, and even this Sonagi stage—the viral effect has been working well.”
I looked at Chung-ryeo.
“Fundamentally, it worked because the song and stage were good.”
“….”
“I did it because it was worth doing.”
“I see.”
“Don’t you think your song succeeded because it was worth succeeding?”
I lowered my gaze back to my smartphone.
“You said it was a song you’d never tested before. So what did you believe in to do it?”
“I’m not sure.”
Chung-ryeo’s voice became monotone.
“I just… tried to make it well.”
“And it worked out.”
“Though the Junior Member took more of the music sales.”
Yeah, I knew this topic would come up eventually.
“Who sold two million albums? Don’t pretend to accept the results one-sidedly.”
“Haha!”
Chung-ryeo laughed.
“Yeah, we should. I wasn’t planning to fall behind anyway.”
That answer sounded refreshingly confident.
“As expected of you.”
I sank back into the sofa. The atmosphere loosened a bit.
And then, suddenly, I caught a faint rustling sound behind my voice—a dull noise.
‘No way.’
My mind went blank.
“Ah, Kongi….”
I didn’t even finish listening to that and immediately stood up. Chung-ryeo quickly closed his mouth and rose with me.
Without warning, I turned around, approached the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled it open.
“…!!”
Damn it, someone was there.
Jumping up from beyond the door was….
Chae Seo-dam.
“….”
Shock, surprise—I cast them all aside.
‘This bastard was trying to eavesdrop.’
I reflexively replayed the conversation Chung-ryeo and I had just shared.
‘No cursing, nothing unrealistic….’
Did I say anything similar? No, I think I used overly primitive expressions about this activity….
I spoke informally to Chung-ryeo.
“That’s strange. There shouldn’t be anyone coming through this route… oh.”
Damn, you said no one comes through here.
Chung-ryeo looked at Chae Seo-dam, his eyes brightening.
“You came looking for the Junior Member.”
“…!”
“That seems right. Since I have no connection with you… there’s no reason to come all the way out here for any other purpose. Right?”
“….”
He came looking for me?
Looking at that expression—like he was about to break into a cold sweat—it seemed to check out.
Chae Seo-dam recovered his composure in that moment, his expression returning.
“I… just got lost and ended up coming this way. Seniors.”
“Filming should be finished by now.”
“They said we’d wait a bit longer and shoot again after lunch time.”
This bastard’s filming schedule got pushed back because they gave the best time slot to the first team, so he’s still in his waiting period.
And he tracked down my whereabouts and came here, trying to eavesdrop on our conversation from outside the door?
“But there’s something that concerns me. Senior.”
Then, for some reason, Chae Seo-dam’s voice suddenly took on a relaxed tone.
“Truth is, I’ve been scared of a lot of things lately… so I record everything while I’m working. I’m worried something could be misunderstood and blow up in my face. Right?”
The confusion gradually faded from Chae Seo-dam’s face, replaced by a glimmer in her eyes.
“I mean, I debuted because I was ‘lucky’… but if rumors start up again, I figured I’d need some objective proof to defend myself.”
There was a subtle emphasis woven into her tone.
This bastard….
I reflexively recalled the shape my mouth had made when I’d said it to him.
‘Lucky bastard.’
“And this recorder—it actually has better performance than I expected. Since it could become a problem… I’m asking out of concern.”
“….”
“Did we say anything that would be inconvenient if it were recorded?”

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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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