Debut or Die - Chapter 304

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 304
“Ahahahahaha!!”
Big Sae-jin burst into laughter in the living room. On the massive smart TV screen, three grown men were swinging capes around.
[♡Magic Heart Bullet!♡]
“….”
It was the YouTube edited version of the penalty stage.
Playing a children’s anime cover performance in the middle of the living room was essentially a public execution.
“Turn it off.”
Before Cha Yu-jin could jump out and grab him by the collar.
“Ah, why~ Your professionalism really shines through, it’s so good?”
But Big Sae-jin kept giggling.
“Sae-jin’s got professionalism too, but ugh, I’m so sad I couldn’t participate~”
“You went to the jungle and came back.”
While the others were putting on capes and clowning around, this guy was shooting solo commercials and appearing on variety shows—look at that long tongue.
Of course, this guy had every right to feel regretful about it.
“That’s why I’m saying, if there had been just a two-week gap, I would’ve made time no matter what….”
I could feel Big Sae-jin glancing at the TV with a look of regret.
“The reactions are really good.”
That was an undeniable truth.
[Testa’s maknae line so invested lol]
[Gen M idols helpless against Gen Z lol]
[Park Moon-dae pine tree certification broadcast.jpg]
[Today’s T-Show with Testa is seriously insane]
The character built up from the debate segment exploded all the way through the penalty, completely dominating the buzz.
‘It’s ours.’
This buzz wasn’t due to the program itself but stemmed from the cast members—in other words, it’s attributable to Testa’s image, so it could be considered a goal achieved, but….
“Look at this, they’re asking if Moon-dae maybe watches magical girl anime as a hobby?”
“Why would I?”
“Ahahahahaha!!”
…Doing that at this age is a bit, well, something.
‘At least everyone danced to Popcorn.’
Fortunately, after some time passed, people started pouring in who were either amazed by or addicted to the performance itself.
‘It was well-made, after all.’
If the performance had been ridiculous too, it would’ve been a dark history, but successfully establishing an image as a singer rather than an entertainer is satisfying.
-Please release the song
-Not releasing this as an official track is mocking the nostalgia of 90s babies lol
-Park Moon-dae did it in the original key, the main vocalist really is precious
I could see praise for Cha Yu-jin’s stage performance too, but the main attention for ability went to Kim Rae-bin as expected.
An interview was inserted as a post-credits scene at the end of the penalty video, and Kim Rae-bin answered very honestly about the arrangement process.
[Moon-dae hyung recommended (edited) a meaningful and wonderful song, so I worked on it joyfully. Thank you for the great opportunity.]
[Editing took a total of 5 hours!]
-They pulled off a 20-year-old anime theme song arrangement in just 5 hours?
Arrangement and composition by Kim Rae-bin solo
Park Moon-dae recommended it in the meantime lol, so you were being serious after all.
-Just heavenly tier, knocked out an arrangement in a day
People who came in with casual interest in Testa to watch variety shows had big reactions, but even the fans seemed a bit surprised.
-Kim Rae-bin what’s going on? I knew you were a genius, but this is inhuman
└That’s probably how it is, since he’s a rabbit
Hahahaha
-Would Kim Rae-bin be fine just being an idol? Maybe we should give him a country instead
I hadn’t expected it to be this impressive.
Everyone was astounded by his skill in polishing an old children’s anime theme song—and a magical girl theme at that, a song that could easily become ridiculous—entirely on his own.
‘Since most of the work has been collaborative producing so far, Kim Rae-bin’s abilities have probably been undervalued.’
“Hey Rae-bin, look at this~ You’re a genius!”
“I’m truly grateful for the excessive praise, but I’ll work harder and continue to improve!”
Kim Rae-bin responded in an instant like some kind of fully-automated robot.
Judging by his solemn expression, it seemed he’d also seen the internet reactions and gotten overly fired up again.
‘Well, he’s always been good at this.’
In truth, the reaction wasn’t excessive. Kim Rae-bin’s ability distribution was cheat-level in this industry.
Especially his composition-related abilities, which weren’t even listed in stats, were exceptional. Plus, with the trait ‘Maestro (S)’, he was fast too.
He churned out results as orders came in, one after another.
‘Isn’t he the ideal employee in modern society?’
He lacked some social awareness, but his straightforward and sincere nature could be seen as an advantage too.
‘Looking at it this way, I was really lucky.’
During the Ajusa appearance, debuting was urgent and afterward there were strings of ‘abnormal conditions’ attached to a crazy future I didn’t know about, so I hadn’t evaluated individuals’ long-term value.
But after debuting, a survival show combination this well-rounded with such strong abilities was almost miraculous.
‘I thought there’d be at least one or two delinquent types.’
I shrugged my shoulders.
Anyway, now that we’ve gone head-to-head with T-Holic and held our ground, the second half’s buzz is stable.
If we just manage things well until the year-end awards season, we should be fine.
Ryu Chung-woo spoke with a smile, offering words of encouragement.
“Come to think of it, this activity is wrapping up soon too. Everyone worked hard.”
“That’s right.”
The domestic schedule was in its final stages with no new advertising or event bookings coming in.
What remained was the concert and next album preparation. It was a clean success.
“Now our Rae-bin will do a wonderful job with the concert arrangement too~”
“I’ll do my best to create a great song that lives up to expectations…!”
The atmosphere was good. There were no pressing issues at the moment, and we were basking in the afterglow of success that comes right after releasing and receiving high praise for results.
I nodded and turned off the television.
‘The perfect time to relax and enjoy ourselves.’
The major hurdles had passed, so I thought we’d be fine.
But there was one among us who couldn’t quite enjoy this timing.
From his perspective, the “major issues” were still scattered about.

* * *
A few days later, after the last domestic event ended, came a brief respite.
Knock knock.
“Moon-dae. Have you… seen Rae-bin by any chance?”
“Hmm.”
Sun Ah-hyun knocked cautiously before entering, then asked with equal caution.
‘But the question came out of nowhere.’
Kim Rae-bin’s whereabouts? I pulled my eyes from the proposal I’d been drafting and answered.
“No. Why?”
“Ah, well… he, he hasn’t been coming to the room much lately.”
“….”
Even after hearing the explanation, it still seemed odd.
Sun Ah-hyun was Kim Rae-bin’s roommate. Since both of them tended to stay in their room, they should naturally see each other often, so the fact that he hadn’t been coming in was strange.
He wasn’t the type to go out frequently.
“I haven’t seen him today either. Should I ask around?”
“Ah, yes, yes. That would help. Just a moment—!”
“Wait, hold on.”
I had my smartphone right here—why the rush?
I stopped Sun Ah-hyun from heading back to his room and sent a message from my phone instead.
[Where are you]
But no reply came.
“…?”
Usually he’d respond within five seconds with a polite message.
“Hmm.”
“No… no reply?”
“Seems not.”
I called him.
Ring—
“….”
But he didn’t pick up.
‘What’s going on.’
There was a possibility he’d left his phone and was somewhere on the Dormitory’s balcony… but if he wasn’t in the Dormitory, that meant he’d gone out.
‘Has anyone seen Kim Rae-bin leave?’
I immediately went to the Living Room and asked the others if they’d spotted Kim Rae-bin.
Cha Yu-jin and Big Sae-jin were out. That left Ryu Chung-woo and Bae Sae-jin.
“Rae-bin? Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve seen him today.”
Ryu Chung-woo in the living room seemed equally puzzled.
And then there was Bae Sae-jin.
He avoided my gaze.
“Today… I haven’t left my room.”
“….”
“What’s going on??”
“…Kim Rae-bin is nowhere to be found.”
I understood the situation well enough. Kim Rae-bin had vanished without a word.
This was strange, even for a break period. If it were Cha Yu-jin, I wouldn’t be surprised, but him leaving without saying anything and not answering calls?
“He’s not answering his phone either.”
“Yes. I was thinking of contacting the company.”
I made one final check with Sun Ah-hyun.
“When was the last time you saw Kim Rae-bin?”
“Yesterday evening, and I haven’t seen him since….”
“When he was sleeping?”
“I went to bed early… so, I’m not sure. Sorry. I’m his roommate and all.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Right! There’s nothing to apologize for!”
I left the consoling to Bae Sae-jin and picked up my smartphone again to call the company.
That’s when it happened.
[Kim Rae-bin]
“…!”
A call came through from him.
“Uh, uh…!”
“Rae-bin?”
“Yes.”
I answered immediately. Words poured out as if he’d been waiting.
-I’m calling back after seeing your missed calls. I’m sorry for the late response…!
“No, it’s fine. More importantly, where are you right now?”
-Yes? Oh, I just came out to the Company Recording Studio!
Ryu Chung-woo added quietly.
“Rae-bin. Even on your day off, let us know before you go out. No one’s seen you today, and everyone was worried.”
-Today….
The line went quiet for a moment. What was that?
But soon came an earnest apology.
-I’m sorry! I was careless!
“There’s no need to go that far… Anyway, do good work and come back.”
-Yes!
Kim Rae-bin offered a few polite words of gratitude before hanging up.
Bae Sae-jin let out a sigh and muttered.
“It was nothing serious.”
“That’s right.”
“Kim Rae-bin must have forgotten to contact us while working.”
Internally, we settled on the story that he’d rushed out after some inspiration struck.
‘Is that the end of it?’
I shrugged my shoulders and moved to finish up the proposal I’d been working on.
And a few hours later, evening arrived.
Kim Rae-bin, wearing glasses, bowed his head as soon as he entered.
“I went to the Studio to review our plans going forward. Since I could finally carve out a long stretch of time, I felt I couldn’t miss this opportunity!”
“I see.”
“I apologize if I caused you any concern.”
“Oh, no. I was just worried—wondering if something uncomfortable had come up. If that’s the case, I’d really appreciate it if you’d tell me.”
“There’s nothing uncomfortable at all. If anything comes up on my end, I’ll be sure to let you know!”
The two of them exchanged considerate words in a warm, friendly conversation.
‘Well, that settles it.’
I was about to shrug and pass by, but in that moment, I got a closer look at Kim Rae-bin’s face.
“….”
That guy looks way too haggard.
He wasn’t someone with a particularly pleasant expression to begin with, so it was obvious.
‘Hmm.’
He’s someone who frequently works on music tracks even at the Dormitory. This isn’t the kind of guy who’d end up like this just from touching up a song for a bit….
‘Don’t tell me.’
I stopped Sun Ah-hyun, who was about to leave after finishing our conversation.
“Kim Rae-bin.”
“Yes?”
“Did you pull an all-nighter working?”
“…!”
“It’s not that Sun Ah-hyun went to bed early yesterday and didn’t see you—you didn’t come back to the Dormitory at all.”
“…Well, that is.”
His face screamed that he’d been caught.
Kim Rae-bin hesitated, but soon quietly confessed.
“I… got so absorbed that I didn’t realize how much time had passed, and I failed to report it. I apologize.”
True to form for someone who can’t lie, he spills the truth.
Well, pulling all-nighters isn’t exactly a rare occurrence in this line of work, so he’ll manage on his own, but it bothers me that this isn’t really the season for it.
“What kind of work were you doing?”
“I was working on the Concert music and preparing for the next album!”
I said this to test him.
“You don’t have to do that. There’s no rush on the timeline.”
There’s quite a bit of time before the Concert. The next album is even less urgent.
“You work at a fast pace anyway, so there’s no need to pull all-nighters….”
“I can’t rely on such shortcuts!”
“…!”
Kim Rae-bin seemed shocked by his own interruption and retort.
“I-I’m sorry! I just… this time might not be as fast, so I wanted to prepare more thoroughly….”
“….”
So it wasn’t inspiration that had driven him to work like a madman—it was pressure.
“Alright, I understand. Just don’t overdo it.”
“Yes….”
Kim Rae-bin nodded slowly, then walked back to his room at a measured pace.
Sun Ah-hyun remained in his seat, watching until he disappeared.
His face bore the unmistakable expression of worry.
“Something bothering you?”
“Yeah.”
Sun Ah-hyun seemed to have reached a similar conclusion.
“He… he seems to be under a lot of pressure. I think I’ve been there before too.”
“Mm, yeah.”
Everyone on the Internet was calling him a genius—of course the next release would weigh on him. It was inevitable.
Wasn’t he the type who’d obsess over every possible outcome before each album dropped?
‘But he’s always delivered so far.’
Worries were just worries. Time would pass, the results would come, and his confidence would return.
‘Right now, telling him not to worry would only make him think of counterarguments.’
I decided to let him do what he wanted without interference.
But this time, there was a variable.
A few days later, during a blind test for the concert arrangements… Kim Rae-bin’s arrangement was eliminated in the final round.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————