Debut or Die - Chapter 300

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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 300
T-Holic. The top tier that dominated the idol industry before VTIC rose to power.
In short, they were the symbol of the previous generation of idols.
“Wait, is this the artist who first sang the song that Mun-dae covered?”
“Yeah.”
The song ‘Party in me’ that I performed during the ranking evaluation at Ajusa was actually a solo track from one of this group’s members.
‘They’ve been around long enough that solo activities have been encouraged for years now.’
Most idols from that era had already gone their separate ways.
Yet this group had released a new album with everyone except for one member.
I watched T-Holic’s music video autoplay at the bottom of YouTube’s trending videos without much interest.
The thumbnail happened to feature the member who had originally sung the song I’d covered.
[T-Holic – Let’s Go M/V]
Honestly, it lacked sophistication, and the emotional tone felt dated by several years.
“Oh, T-Holic sunbaes made a comeback~ Wow, it’s been forever. I used to cover their songs a lot back in middle school~”
Lee Sae-jin, sitting in the back seat, leaned forward and chimed in.
As a result, the attention somehow shifted to Cha Yu-jin as well….
“Who? Umm… I don’t know them well.”
Being American, he seemed uninterested in idols who were popular more than a decade ago.
However, Kim Rae-bin appeared to be shocked.
“You don’t know T-Holic sunbaes?”
“That’s right!”
“It’s unprofessional to be actively working as a K-pop idol without understanding the background knowledge!”
“…! I know many K-pop songs! Just not the ones I didn’t study!”
Right. By the time K-pop expanded to America, most of them were busy with military service and couldn’t do much group activity, so Cha Yu-jin’s argument had merit.
“I know the name! T-Holic sunbaes!”
“That’s not enough!”
This was getting ridiculous.
Lately, whenever any topic comes up, reactions trigger a chain reaction that creates this mess.
I watched Bae Sae-jin, across from me, squeeze himself further into the corner and plug in his earbuds without any particular interest.
Our activities were progressing smoothly, and no one was showing any signs of worry or suspicious behavior.
That’s why they were reacting so strongly to such trivial conversation.
‘We’ve grown comfortable with each other too.’
I watched them freely interrupt each other and join in the conversation, then assessed the situation.
The reality content would turn out well.
That was the extent of my thoughts that day.
However, T-Holic’s comeback created a bigger ripple than expected.
The first was nostalgia sentiment.
In crude terms, nostalgia-baiting.
-T-Holic really had so many masterpieces when you think about it
-Honestly, the individual charm of the previous generation was better, now they seem like factory-made dolls
-Oh, I miss it. Back then, everyone was wearing UGG boots and dancing to that song.
People in their twenties and thirties reminisced about their childhood and showed favorable reactions toward T-Holic.
With members barely leaving the group and a group album coming out after years, the nostalgia and admiration created buzz.
The beautification and longing for their own childhood mixed together, and even those who disliked T-Holic back then showed positive responses.
‘Of course, if the song is mediocre, these impressions will disappear like a tempest in a teacup.’
But the next factor emerged here.
The second was T-Holic’s nature.
These guys were… hilarious.
—Laughed so hard I almost threw up
No, falling like that is crazy. Why did we all fall together lol
—What the hell did they do in the military? How did they get even funnier?
—I’m not even a fan but I just realized my entire algorithm is T-Holic clips
From YouTube content reminiscing about past K-pop to broadcast television.
These guys hit the jackpot every time they appeared on variety shows. It was thanks to their skillful ability to not fear making fools of themselves while still maintaining boundaries.
Composure and wit.
‘Experience doesn’t go anywhere, I guess.’
This stood in stark contrast to VTIC’s approach of fine-tuning each media exposure.
They greedily occupied content and built momentum.
Normally, freshness would wear off and they’d either fade or settle down, but a few lucky coincidences applied.
Several broadcast scenes became memes.
—T-Holic’s tray Noraebang is a legend
—Is it my fault?.swf
—The “Is it my fault” meme originated from T-Holic?
Ultimately, they were consumed completely, and instead of their exhausted old image, they succeeded in trending as the latest memes and appealing to younger generations.
And riding that momentum, they even created their own YouTube channel for variety content.
[We’re starting fresh on our YouTube… Desire PPL Maniacs│T-Holic’s Show Business Ep.1]
Moreover, unlike this variety show buzz, T-Holic’s album and music chart performance wasn’t at an incredible level.
Just respectable enough to save face.
In the current K-pop market inflated by inflation, their sales were at the tail end of the first tier.
Because of this, current idols’ fans showed less of a competitive wariness toward them.
Show business is really clean, it’s just professional entertainment lol
—I wish our kids appeared too
They were consumed by classifying them into a different category from existing idols.
And ultimately, T-Holic’s own variety show became a massive hit in a short period.
It was a bad sign.

* * *
“….”
I checked the viewership ratings for T-Holic’s variety show, which had become a massive hit on YouTube and was now scheduled as a regular program on CVN.
The first episode didn’t count—it always gets a boost from being new—but the second episode was what truly mattered….
-Episode 2: 5.8%
It was an astounding figure. We were talking about prime-time flagship variety show numbers on CVN.
‘Excessive.’
They’d capitalized on the gap left by the absence of trending dramas or variety shows, and the results exceeded all expectations.
“Wow~ T-Holic seniors are really riding high, aren’t they?”
Big Sae-jin, who was waiting like me for the next filming session, shrugged his shoulders and chimed in.
I nodded readily.
“They sure are.”
Though I doubted it would last long.
‘When something does too well, there are always vultures circling, waiting to tear it down.’
The downfall of someone who was thriving is always juicy gossip. The moment a single flaw surfaces, the momentum collapses under controversy.
Even setting that aside, the lifespan of variety show popularity isn’t that long.
So this trend’s shelf life was probably… at most three or four months.
‘That won’t make them real competition.’
Everyone knew that in terms of actual performance metrics, they weren’t even in the same conversation.
But the timing was the problem.
‘We can’t afford to lose the second-half momentum.’
Testa had sold both digital and physical albums well, but neither was overwhelmingly dominant enough to guarantee the award.
‘That’s VTIC and Young-rin.’
So in the current evaluation system where digital and physical sales are split, winning the award required a solid image of being “the trend.”
And yet, these guys were suddenly absorbing all the public attention.
‘And they’re still officially classified as idols, after all.’
Which meant the idol with the most public attention right now was… T-Holic.
‘Dangerous.’
If the metrics for “current trend”—which existed separately from actual performance—dropped, Testa’s presence would suffer, and that could jeopardize the award.
I turned off my phone screen and muttered.
“We need to work harder too.”
“Right?”
Big Sae-jin agreed lightly.
The fact that he didn’t brush it off with something like “we’re already working hard” suggested he’d picked up on the situation too.
“Let’s give it our all through the end of the year~”
And then there were those who, even without knowing the full picture, just felt the pressure and resolved to push harder.
“Yeah! I’ll try to talk more on variety shows too…!”
“It really makes you realize that idols are comprehensive artists, so we need diverse entertainment skills beyond just album activities.”
In that sense, this group had assembled people with stats worth noting—metrics that didn’t show up on the status window.
Mental fortitude, that is.
It means that even in a situation where things are going this well, I’m maintaining enough ambition to consider various variables and make rational judgments.
‘Usually in a situation like this, people get swept away.’
Right now, we’re in the middle of a photo shoot.
“Yes, we’ll proceed right away~”
“Yep!”
It wasn’t just a typical magazine photo shoot either.
Through a partnership with a certain magazine company, we’re creating a special edition that uses only Testa’s photo shoots, interviews, and advertisements from start to finish.
I heard that this magazine, which features eight different covers with individual shots of each member and group shots, has already surpassed 800,000 pre-orders.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful~”
“Haha!”
There’s no one on staff saying anything negative during the shoot. We’re treated almost unconditionally as the superior party.
‘It’s an environment that openly ruins people.’
Especially for guys who just turned twenty, it’s the perfect setup to destroy their social skills and manners.
You can act out toward the people you work with without any penalty, and when there’s no coercion, it’s hard not to become rude and insincere when you’re struggling.
The difference between when your stamina and mood are good versus when they’re not becomes extreme.
‘If you want to act like shit, you can act like shit.’
But these guys are maintaining the same energy they had right after debut.
“One more time~”
“Yes!”
For the group shot to be used on the cover, the guys in jeans and t-shirts bunch together to take shots.
And during the brief time to change and refine the concept, Bae Sae-jin murmured.
“…It reminds me of our debut.”
“Right? The hair color is exactly like back then.”
“I like red hair!”
This photo shoot’s concept spans from Testa’s debut to the present.
You could say it’s a concept befitting a group that has one of the best boy group songs of this year.
‘Has time really passed this quickly?’
I looked back on the years with a strange feeling.
I’ve experienced so many absurd events, but when I think about it again, it feels like I did Ajusa just last year.
And the “Magical Boy” shoot also feels like it was just recently.
Just before the shoot resumed, I unconsciously recalled the compliment I had intentionally given Bae Sae-jin back then.
“You were good at filming back then and you’re good at it now.”
“Mm, you guys are doing well too.”
And unlike back then, Bae Sae-jin accepted the compliment willingly and seriously.
‘Yeah, one thing has changed.’
The emotional distance has decreased. We must have built up some trust in our own way, going through all sorts of things in between.
“….”
“Oh~ Your expression looks so good!”
“Thank you.”
Well, this isn’t the time to get lost in sentiment.
We’re only a few steps away from the goal, so I need to clear away these fallen rocks that suddenly appeared.
So what’s the best approach?
First of all, directly copying the entertainment show format would be stupid.
‘If I release a reality show at this timing, it’ll only invite comparison.’
There’s no need to butt heads with the fruits of luck and experience that led to a regular entertainment program slot.
So, if I think a bit more strategically….
‘Hmm.’
I pondered this until filming ended, and finally reached a conclusion.
‘Turn it around and use it to my advantage.’
To catch a tiger, you enter the tiger’s den.

* * *
T-Holic’s program was doing well.
What that meant was that T-Holic’s relevance was now essentially dependent on their entertainment program.
And the program’s relevance could be leveraged by anyone appearing on it.
Especially if you’re a guest—depending on the format, you could even overshadow the host and become the star of the program.
If you brought more buzz than the everyday topics T-Holic usually covered.
And if it was entertaining on top of that.
‘That would be perfect.’
So after consulting with the group, I analyzed T-Holic’s program format and selected two people who would have the strongest impact.
Completely tailored.
“I’m really looking forward to this!”
Cha Yu-jin.
“This is my first time being selected for an entertainment show with such a small number of people, so I’ll do my absolute best!”
Kim Rae-bin.
And… one more person who hadn’t been pre-booked for other entertainment shows at the same time slot and whom these two could work with.
“That’s right.”
Me.
I brought Cha Yu-jin and Kim Rae-bin to T-Holic’s ‘Show Business’ filming studio.

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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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