Debut or Die - Chapter 293

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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 293
The Ajusa Season 5 Debut Group—still without an official group name—had an increasingly packed schedule lately.
Simultaneously preparing for debut while juggling advertisements, interviews, and other commitments as winners of the Audition Program, their days were relentless.
Though the buzz didn’t quite match the prestige of the previous male season’s Testa, it was still enough to set their hearts racing.
And some members felt a sense of victory for entirely different reasons.
‘Can’t even reach out? That’s pathetic.’
Chae Seo-dam checked a contact in her smartphone that had gone unanswered.
[Senior Park Moon-dae]
She’d coaxed the number out of Testa’s former manager with some flattery. Stroking that loser’s ego with “hyung this, hyung that” had been child’s play.
‘Even if he puts on airs, his true nature shows through.’
Chae Seo-dam suspected Park Moon-dae was cut from the same cloth.
The maladjusted kid who couldn’t even speak to her in high school, now intoxicated by becoming a popular idol and acting tough—it was shameful to witness.
‘What’s so special about some lucky bastard?’
From what she’d heard, he acted like he was doing her some grand favor, but in the end, he was nothing more than a pretender.
Even now, whenever she mentioned Park Moon-dae in interviews or during shoots, he gave no response whatsoever.
He was clearly afraid.
‘I thought he’d lash out, but he’s too scared to even do that.’
And she could already picture how he was romanticizing himself like some manga protagonist in his head. Every class had one or two of those incompetent types.
‘Where does this lucky fool get off introducing himself like that?’
It was laughable that someone who’d succeeded merely by catching the right timing and having decent looks could lord it over someone like her, who’d clawed her way up through sheer determination.
Chae Seo-dam gave herself direct respect for the feet she’d worn raw through practice, for the cunning way she’d navigated every obstacle without hesitation.
She’d stumbled momentarily, but that was all.
‘I won’t let that happen again.’
She’d milk Park Moon-dae for every ounce of recognition and image benefit until she’d squeezed him dry, and then came the truly exhilarating plan.
The moment she faced Park Moon-dae again, she’d provoke him into losing control and exploding directly. Drawing out others’ reactions was her specialty, after all.
‘It’d be even better if I could report it to the company too.’
If the company tried to cover it up, that would be perfect ammunition. She’d gather it all and use it as leverage later.
‘If it comes down to it, I can use that as evidence of harassment against me and slip away clean.’
That would be a perfect image reversal—killing two birds with one stone.
‘An idol who continuously harasses a junior member using a conveniently deleted recording as an excuse!’
“Ah.”
The scenario was so plausible that Chae Seo-dam felt satisfied just imagining it.
And she briefly recalled the other party involved in that recording—Chung-ryeo—whom she hadn’t fully considered in her excitement back then.
Of course, by now she’d rationalized it all as part of her master plan.
There was no way that person would make any gesture against her.
‘That’s just how it is, right?’
Since she wouldn’t be harmed, Chae Seo-dam was confident Chung-ryeo would welcome Park Moon-dae’s misfortune. After all, they were competitors, weren’t they?
She’d learned that this idol had done well right after debuting, so she could easily predict how childish his personality must be.
‘He might even contact me to make a deal.’
She’d been sufficiently polite and humble in that situation, so there’d be no reason for him to harbor any resentment.
Perhaps he was simply waiting for Park Moon-dae’s weakness to crack.
“Hmm~”
Chae Seo-dam contemplated this logic that unfolded as naturally as a rolling snowball, and cleanly discarded the anxiety that had plagued her for the past several days.
‘I played my hand boldly and well.’
The arrogance that had persistently gripped her ankles throughout her life sprouted anew.
And this optimism shattered days later, when she encountered someone in the company corridor.
Sun Ah-hyun—her peer from back then, now her senior.
“Hello, senior!”
“Hello…!”
Sun Ah-hyun, approaching from the opposite direction, held his head high and looked directly at her—unlike when they were in high school.
Having to treat someone like that as a senior because he’d debuted first was infuriating.
Chae Seo-dam’s mood soured instantly.
‘If Ajusa hadn’t gotten lucky and succeeded, he wouldn’t even have a career in this industry.’
The way this man flaunted himself as if he’d achieved more success than her always left a bitter taste of absurdity.
‘But what are you going to do about it?’
All he could do was boast about his seniority. As long as he cared about the social position he’d barely secured.
And Chae Seo-dam honestly found Sun Ah-hyun’s boasting utterly unimpressive.
“Um, I have something to tell you, Seo-dam. Do you have a moment?”
“Oh, yes! Hyung!”
Though his desperate attempt not to stammer was somewhat irritating, she inwardly scoffed at how Sun Ah-hyun deliberately singled her out. The recorder was still running.
The recorder was still running.
‘One more weakness to add to the collection.’
But the moment Chae Seo-dam entered the conference room in the corner, she was hit with Sun Ah-hyun’s fastball.
“I’m struggling a lot with whether I should tell the truth—that you harassed me.”
“…!”
Tell the truth about what?
Chae Seo-dam momentarily questioned whether this was real.
But Sun Ah-hyun’s words weren’t finished.
“Seo-dam, I have recordings.”
“…!”
“I was so scared of you that I wondered if something was wrong with me, so I recorded you for a while to listen back and try to understand…”
“….”
“And I still have them.”
Chae Seo-dam felt a chill run down her spine.
It was the survival instinct that awakens before a crisis.
‘No, that’s not it.’
Chae Seo-dam barely denied reality. And she rationalized it, mistaking herself for being rational.
Continuing as she always had, but slightly stronger.
‘He won’t be able to release them even if he says that, right?’
If he did, wouldn’t he lose too? He’s an idol doing so well right now, after all.
It was hard to make a fuss about school violence just because his performance suffered when he was in a bad mood during high school. At least, that’s what he believed.
‘And what exactly did he record?’
As far as he was concerned, no matter how much they scrutinized it, he’d never hurled abusive language or laid hands on anyone badly enough to be held accountable.
This was just an attempt to intimidate him.
‘But.’
But just in case… yes, it was for contingency’s sake.
After rationalizing his position, Chae Seo-dam opened his mouth with a tone of regret.
“Ah-hyun, do you really hate me that much?”
“….”
“We had some friction back in high school, but it wasn’t anything like this… Are you doing this because I beat you for top grades? I’m genuinely taken aback.”
If he’d expected her to make excuses while looking flustered, he was sorely mistaken.
“Since my image is poor, I wondered if you found it amusing, and that’s made me feel quite self-loathing….”
He was conscious of his recorder, pouring effort into manufacturing evidence—
“Seo-dam.”
But Sun Ah-hyun remained utterly unmoved.
“Those tactics don’t work anymore.”
“…!!”
“I’m genuinely considering going public. I came here to tell you beforehand… because this feels like my final closure on all of this.”
“….”
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
Sun Ah-hyun lowered his head slightly, then left the conference room with a resolute expression.
And Chae Seo-dam’s mind went completely blank.

* * *
‘There’s no way he’d actually do it.’
Chae Seo-dam lay on her bed in the dormitory, repeating the thought to herself.
He’d probably just thrown it out there to intimidate her a bit, enjoying his newfound position of power.
‘That pathetic bastard probably saw it somewhere and thought he could use it.’
…Yet on the other hand, she found herself continuously imagining what kind of fallout there would be if Sun Ah-hyun actually released the recording.
As time passed, even this thought began to creep in.
‘…Should I apologize now?’
No, an apology would be an admission! He absolutely couldn’t apologize…. Besides, had he really done anything wrong enough to warrant one?
He was sick of watching the mentally weak one collapse on his own while he played the victim over something so trivial.
“Damn it….”
Everything was uncertain. But the moment he took any action, his own feet would get tangled.
‘Should I just ignore it?’
But it gnawed at him. His thoughts kept circling back to the beginning….
After several days of this anxiety and maddening uncertainty passed.
Finally, something changed.
“Seo-dam, um… the Management Director at the company wants to see you.”
“…Yes.”
Damn it! Damn it!
Chae Seo-dam had a sudden realization. From the manager’s expression, it didn’t look good—which meant that bastard Sun Ah-hyun had actually gone through with it.
“…!”
That’s it!
In that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through Chae Seo-dam’s mind.
If she could gather evidence first that Park Moon-dae had harassed her, then even if Sun Ah-hyun exposed the recording, she could use it to make a deal with the company, right?
As she followed the manager down the corridor toward the Management Department, her mind continued calculating.
‘If I send a message now and provoke him a bit….’
Click.
But after confirming whether she was carrying a recording device, when the door to the consultation conference room opened.
“You’re here.”
Sitting there was… someone she completely hadn’t expected. In-young.
Park Moon-dae.
“…!”
What on earth was this situation?
Park Moon-dae, sitting in the director’s seat, casually looked her over and then gestured with his chin.
“Have a seat.”
“….”
“Oh, I’m acting as the director’s substitute.”
Tap.
Park Moon-dae murmured this absurd statement with complete composure, glancing at the door as the manager closed it behind her.
And then he smirked.
“Let’s have a conversation.”
Only then did Chae Seo-dam recall the suspicion she’d forgotten, looking down on Park Moon-dae with renewed contempt.
The reason she’d tried to spy on Park Moon-dae.
Revenge.
-That lucky bastard.
After Park Moon-dae’s remark, every incident and exposé that had befallen her—the suspicion that it might not be Park Moon-dae’s doing at all.

* * *
I lifted my head to confirm the person who’d opened the door and entered.
Chae Seo-dam looked as though she’d seen a ghost.
‘Perfect.’
The more disoriented someone was, the easier they were to handle. This already simple target would become even simpler.
I spoke to the one still standing.
“Won’t you sit down?”
“….”
“It doesn’t matter… I’ll just speak then.”
I continued flatly.
“We received a report regarding school violence….”
“It was all you, wasn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“….”
But instead of answering, the bastard’s expression shifted as though he’d realized something.
Only then did he pull out the chair and sit.
‘Oh.’
He spoke with eyes flickering.
“I think you’re misunderstanding something… I don’t care if something blows up and I stop this, senior. I’ve already taken enough heat… and this isn’t my only path anyway, right?”
“….”
“Yeah. I’m just going to quit being an idol anyway, so I’m planning to tell you everything and leave. What? Your senior group all conspired together, and the company even pressured people with you to create rumors.”
A typical response.
‘Cornered, so let’s all go down together. I’ll self-destruct.’
‘Maybe he thinks he can return to the entertainment industry if things go south.’
The bastard had enough sense to figure it out, but from Testa’s perspective, whether I or Sun Ah-hyun exposed either matter, the damage would be real.
‘That’s why I’ve been so careful all along.’
So he must have thought that now the threat would fade and we’d move into negotiation.
“I see.”
Unfortunate, but pointless.
There’s no negotiation with you.
“So if you quit being an idol, are you planning to study abroad?”
“What are you saying….”
“It seems like it’ll be difficult to live in South Korea right away.”
I spoke without looking at Chae Seo-dam, my chin propped in my hand.
“I’ll expose every single fact and make sure you can never work in South Korea again.”
“…!”
“I don’t care either way. Whether it blows up or not. It’s not like Testa will collapse because of it.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“The moment you started spouting nonsense about recordings, everyone involved already made their decision, you idiot.”
A method to push this bastard into a panic state where he had nothing left to trust.
Pure bluffing delivered with absolute sincerity.

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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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