Debut or Die - Chapter 303

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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 303
The penalty stages or skits from 【T-Holic’s Showbiz】 were, naturally, designed for comedic purposes.
They would either reinterpret or faithfully recreate famous memes that were either trending or had become timeless classics.
‘T-Holic has done about half of them so far.’
In fact, considering how often they let guests win, the number might be even higher.
And because these guys had such a knack for pulling off hilarious performances, even when guest artists received solid direction and coaching, the perception remained strong that T-Holic were the “originators.”
So then, what was the most critical thing to consider when structuring this stage?
“Next, we have a proposal where we’ve given it a drum sound and reconstructed the beat.”
Vroooom!
The moment a well-executed exhaust-like accompaniment filled the air, Cha Yu-jin’s eyes lit up.
“This is awesome! Let’s do this one!”
“Wait.”
I stopped Cha Yu-jin.
“Listen to the others too.”
“Yes, then we’ll play option three.”
The key point was that we couldn’t just execute it flawlessly and warmly.
‘If we just do it well, they’ll say it’s not funny.’
What the viewers expected was a funny performance, and if we pulled it off without any humor, there was a high probability they’d think ‘they’re even cutting corners on this.’
The fact that we’d poured everything into creating this with only a week’s worth of time wasn’t their concern.
‘For that kind of narrative to work, it needs to be a survival show.’
In a regular variety program, that logic doesn’t hold water.
But targeting only laughs without any nuance wasn’t the best approach either.
‘There are more than a few funny people in this penalty.’
It would be faster to find the ones who couldn’t make people laugh and fell flat. The production team had done a good job structuring it.
If Testa followed this same trend, they’d simply be absorbed into the program’s good reputation.
-As expected, T-Holic’s Showbiz is ruthless lol Testa too
-Wow, so pleasant. I never thought I’d see Testa do something like this
-Please call our kids back to T-Holic’s Showbiz. Promise…*^^*
Roughly the kind of reaction the program was aiming for, right?
‘They even gave us a recommendation list.’
I scanned through the list of “nostalgic anime theme songs” the production team had provided.
A motorcycle racing manga, a Greek and Roman mythology manga, a mystery manga….
‘The one I just heard was a mystery manga opening….’
Kim Rae-bin had transformed it into a well-executed, hardboiled-flavored, sleek rhythm. In other words, it wasn’t funny at all. Just cool.
The next song was the same.
“This music is great!”
“Right?”
The next one was the Greek and Roman mythology manga theme, and with such a pleasant arrangement, it was like listening to easy-listening indie band music.
And only then did I realize my mistake.
Deciding on a direction by first looking at the arrangement was putting the cart before the horse.
‘I should have given him direction coaching from the start.’
When Kim Rae-bin received the order to ‘arrange the anime theme song to fit the Testa stage,’ he delivered exactly that—nothing more, nothing less.
Not a hint of absurdity. Refined, polished.
‘Actually, I doubt he could even produce a comically bad arrangement of that quality….’
Sure, he had the sensibility to churn out variations once he’d absorbed a few references, but it wasn’t his specialty by any stretch.
Especially not when he’d gone ahead and prepared arrangement drafts for every candidate song, saying it sounded ‘fun’—there was a high chance he’d be disappointed.
“How is it? The details and mixing haven’t been finalized yet, so it might sound a bit rough, but I believe all the essential emotional delivery is there!”
“Yeah. It’s definitely easy to listen to.”
“Thank you!”
Yeah. This guy was completely thrilled.
‘And time’s running short.’
If I said something unnecessary and Kim Rae-bin started spiraling with questions like ‘funny… music?’ it’d become a headache.
I listened to all three tracks he’d brought and fell into thought.
The purpose of the video.
‘Why were only animations that went viral on YouTube selected as candidate songs?’
I wanted to drop the generational talk, but regardless—it was a choice targeting both the Gen Z who’d seen those viral videos and the Millennials who’d watched the actual cartoons as kids.
The real keyword was… resonance and buzz in terms of content.
‘Hmm.’
I was rubbing my chin when it happened.
Cha Yu-jin asked bluntly.
“Moon-dae hyung! You don’t like this much?”
“…!”
Damn.
“…! If you point out what’s lacking, I’ll revise it immediately!”
Kim Rae-bin startled like he’d been struck, his posture snapping rigid like a soldier at attention.
‘Was I too quiet?’
Well, anyone with decent instincts would’ve picked up that I wasn’t entirely satisfied. I let my guard down because it was Kim Rae-bin.
In moments like this, an easy reaction keeps the mood from getting heavy. I shrugged my shoulders.
Besides, I’d just thought of a way out.
“The arrangement is good, but… I’m not sure you guys would know these cartoon songs. Just curious if you do.”
“I don’t!”
“I’ve watched Detective Arthur, but I’ve only heard the names of the others.”
Cha Yu-jin asked cheerfully.
“Hyung, do you know this? Have you seen it?”
…Right. Park Moon-dae was only two years older than these guys.
I gave a reasonable answer.
“…I saw it on YouTube.”
“Oh.”
“I see. Preparing thoroughly for the stage—truly admirable!”
Let him misunderstand.
“Anyway, the songs the Production Team gave us are decent, but they don’t really have any connection to us….”
I dangled the bait.
“Wouldn’t it be more fun if we performed something related to us?”
“Do you have such a song in mind?”
“Oh, ‘Billy’s Exciting Animal Tale’ is great!”
An American cartoon I’d never heard of suddenly popped up.
I shook my head and spoke.
“It has to be a cartoon from around the 2000s that was famous in South Korea. That’s the penalty condition.”
“Ugh….”
Since this was about ‘nostalgic anime theme songs,’ Cha Yu-jin’s sensibility was rejected on those grounds.
‘This should work.’
Instead, I showed them a YouTube video of the candidate I’d just thought of.
This one definitely became a meme on TikTok because of some viral gesture trend.
“So… how about this?”
“…?”
With this, I could dampen Kim Rae-bin’s enthusiasm enough that we wouldn’t have to resort to a ridiculous arrangement.
‘And we don’t need to dress up ridiculously either.’
We could make it funny in a different way.
‘The stage itself isn’t funny, but the situation makes it funny.’
Humor created through context.
Even the person arranging it could work comfortably without being conscious that this was funny, fully immersed in the process.
“This is… ah.”
Sure enough, Kim Rae-bin’s expression brightened.
“I see. Certainly… this could be a meaningful challenge. Please give me a moment!”
And Kim Rae-bin put on his headset and dove into work.
‘…Without even an original to reference?’
Either way, the spark had clearly ignited. I nodded.
‘That works.’
Then, the last unit member standing beside me opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Hyung.”
Ah, this guy could be a problem.
I’d bet anything this wasn’t Cha Yu-jin’s taste.
“What.”
“Do you and Kim Rae-bin really like this? Really?”
“Yeah.”
Then Cha Yu-jin watched the video once, looked at Kim Rae-bin once, and finally looked at me before letting out a long sigh.
[Good grief!]
What?
“This is a comedy stage meant to be funny. At this level, it’s acceptable.”
“I know! But….”
Cha Yu-jin wore a regretful expression and smacked his lips a few times before shrugging his shoulders.
It was a surrender.
[Hyung, I’m really doing this for the team. I never thought I’d end up doing something like this in my life.]
I let out a snort of laughter. Got it, you bastard.
“If we adjust the pitch here….”
Kim Rae-bin diligently adjusted the key and matched the accompaniment, producing a one-minute-twenty-four-second arrangement in half a day.
Thus, the urgent dawn practice session was locked in.

* * *
Shifting scenes to the moment right after the sophistic debate segment with Testa finished airing.
In reality, they’d filmed the penalty a week later, but the broadcast seamlessly cut to the penalty segment following Testa’s absurd defeat.
Of course, after the commercial break.
[What penalty stage did Testa prepare?]
[Reveal in 60 seconds]
Those already familiar with this marketing tactic began speculating and chattering away during the break.
-My vote goes to the classic stage where Dionysus takes responsibility for the mood
└T-Holic already did that..
Hahahahahahahaha
└That’s respectable at this point
There were various funny songs and concepts that came to mind when thinking of nostalgic animations.
And given this program’s track record, it had never failed to be funny, so viewers already had expectations for the direction and feel.
-Definitely looks like late 90s aesthetic direction incoming
-Please at least save their faces
hahahahahaha
That deliberately B-grade, tacky sensibility—a taste from another dimension.
This program didn’t half-ass things; instead, it faithfully excelled at recreating this kind of hilarious aesthetic!
But when the commercial break ended and the screen returned.
-?
The three members of Testa simply stood in the studio wearing neat school uniforms.
The lighting hitting Testa from behind had a modern sensibility. No other filters were applied.
-Huh?
-This is Testa’s penalty, right?
At that moment, a bright and cheerful accompaniment began, and the song started.
Park Moon-dae at center turned around and made an iconic gesture.
[A dream of love conveyed through song
Now let it begin]
-?????
It was the exact gesture from the transformation theme song of “Melody Angel,” a magical girl anime from 2001.
A classic magical girl cartoon where the protagonist becomes a magical girl through melody and purifies enemies with magical songs.
Testa, who had recreated that school uniform with realistic detail and without exaggerated makeup, gripped an actual microphone and began performing live.
-What is this
-A live performance?
[Magical lights up!]
This anime had received investment from an ambitious animation-focused broadcasting station, which resulted in original compositions rather than mere adaptations—and what was playing now was precisely one of those songs.
The theme song of the protagonist group.
A nostalgic opening theme, cleanly arranged to sound perfect right now.
A melody that nearly everyone in their twenties and thirties knew, played back with the original’s emotional sensibility intact.
[Pouring love into a pure song
The magical Heart bullet takes flight!]
Those lyrics and choreography had once sparked a trend of darkly comedic videos showing people collapsing as if shot by actual bullets, destroying childhood innocence. Thanks to that, even teenagers knew the original video.
But Testa didn’t use or perform that meme. They simply faithfully recreated the original anime.
They even donned a cape and gloves as stage props during the chorus, continuing the performance with perfect visual flair.
It was precisely the moment when the cape should appear in Melody Angel’s full transformation sequence.
[Open your heart LOVE
Today I’ll make a wish]
Testa had truly performed brilliantly.
In terms of accuracy and faithfulness to the original manga, it surpassed any video uploaded on the Internet. The singing, expressions, and synchronized choreography—everything screamed professionalism.
Which made it all the more hilarious.
-???????
hahahahahahahaha
Yo, Testa’s being serious lolololol
He got way too into the debate, and now he’s way too into the punishment haha
-Their magical boy experience hasn’t gone anywhere
Overflowing respect for the original artists!
The sincerity of those whose debut song was “Magical Boy” wholeheartedly covering “The Singing Magical Girl”!
It was such genuine over-investment that laughter was inevitable.
One of the T-Holic members could be spotted in the background with crossed arms, their eyes conveying a “Really, to that extent…?” expression—a perfect tableau.
Damn, Jintae’s pupils are shaking lol
-At this point, even wasting talent deserves recognition as craftsmanship
-But Testa’s actually serious about this too, so why are they serious about everything
From the viewers’ perspective, this was the culmination of the “sincerity” sentiment that had been building since the debate segment they’d just watched. People couldn’t help but burst into uncontrollable laughter.
[Cool. True. Paint your dreams
The world becomes beautiful~]
The CG sparkle effect appeared only once, and even that matched the anime’s direction exactly, making it even more ridiculous.
Then came the brief instrumental break in the latter half of the stage.
Where the program traditionally displayed reaction captions, the comment that appeared was the absolute peak.
[Thank you for the wonderful song, Melody Angel Pepperto senior. I respect you. by Park Moon-dae]
[I felt a shared purpose in the concept of saving people through song, so I covered it with all my effort. I’m rooting for you! by Kim Rae-bin]
[Watching it for the first time, but everyone seems to like it. by Cha Yu-jin]
-What exactly are they rooting for
Are you crazy? lol
-Park Moon-dae is also a fan of Soft and Sweet, and Melody Angel is even a senior hahaha.
-I thought they were Gen Z but they’ve got that same-generation vibe
Why is Cha Yu-jin’s subtitle a manga appreciation essay again, ugh seriously lol
The stage was magnificent, the commentary was hilarious.
The three members of Testa finished their performance with unwavering seriousness throughout.
-What’s going on with Testa for real
The character is one of a kind lol
And the buzz began to grow in the direction Park Moon-dae had envisioned.

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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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