Debut or Die - Chapter 307

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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 307
The composition camp began immediately.
The task: arranging a boss theme BGM from the sequel to 【127 Section】 within 60 seconds.
“Wow, why are game soundtracks so addictive?”
“I think it’s because the sections repeat.”
Since this wasn’t a life-or-death matter, the members casually chatted to set the mood as they opened the composition program.
The Agency had given everyone basic training on how to use the composition program back during debut when we were self-producing for marketing, so everyone knew the fundamentals.
The problem was that after three years of not touching it, that knowledge was practically useless.
“Hmm.”
“Why is there an order here? Can someone explain it to me?”
“Well, first… the top note…”
‘This is a mess.’
I looked down at my laptop screen.
I knew I had to extract the original sound and organize it, but I didn’t have any proper foundational knowledge of the standard process.
-Moon-dae, do you happen to know how to load this?
-…Let’s watch a basic tutorial first.
That’s right. Frankly, we were all just winging it.
Everyone knew it, but we deliberately hadn’t studied harder than necessary.
‘That doesn’t match our purpose.’
This was just a hobby, after all.
“Sorry, but this one is…”
“It’s the drum machine group!”
“…Thanks.”
I watched Kim Rae-bin manipulate his laptop rapidly without blinking, yet he answered the surrounding questions with genuine sincerity.
Then he’d get pulled back into his laptop again.
“…”
The chaotic environment around us actually prevented us from having the leisure to agonize during composition.
‘Not bad.’
I moved my mouse and began laying down a decent bass foundation.
And shortly after.
“Three hours up! Now let’s listen to each other’s work~”
“Yeah!!”
Since everyone except Kim Rae-bin was basically at the same level, we played our three-hour compositions in turn without much pressure.
And as expected, the quality was rough, but… surprisingly eccentric rough pieces started emerging.
“Hahahaha!”
“This is cool!”
“Yeah, it’s cool!”
Unadjusted rough sounds burst through the Bluetooth speaker.
It was fortunate we were at the Mountain Lodge. If this were a Resort, we’d have been kicked out.
I shook my head listening to Cha Yu-jin’s wildly excessive arrangement.
“How does it sound, hyung?”
“Hmm, like thunder.”
“Hehe.”
It wasn’t exactly praise, but I’ll take it.
When I turned my head, Kim Rae-bin’s pupils were trembling. He looked flustered.
Still, giving feedback was easy enough.
Instead of pointless worries about overstepping when the other person was more skilled, I could offer advice and speak freely.
As Sun Ah-hyun’s song played next, Kim Rae-bin beside me finally opened his mouth.
“Um, um… what do you think…?”
“Well…”
Besides, I had to give only positive feedback.
The burden of needing to be honest offset that pressure once more.
Kim Rae-bin played the sound seriously several times, seeming to exert all his effort to squeeze out praise.
“The harmony is thicker than the original, so it sounds soft and beautiful…!”
Of course it would. The original was 8-bit.
“I see… Th-thank you.”
Still, since it was praise from an expert, Sun Ah-hyun’s face brightened.
“Right, it feels more like a protagonist than a boss? Classic Ah-hyun~”
“…It’s easy to listen to.”
This really was like a club. Kim Rae-bin chimed in quietly.
“That’s correct. Since the guitar sounds good, I think it would be beautiful even if we raised the volume a bit more.”
Well, well. Now he even wanted to refine it.
It seemed clear that I’d escaped the pressure of evaluation. As I praised these beginners’ arrangements, they’d gain confidence.
And not long after, it was time to play Kim Rae-bin’s song.
I deliberately placed it in the middle, not at the very end or beginning.
“Ooh~ Rae-bin~”
“Yes. I’ll play it.”
Kim Rae-bin manipulated the mouse with a slightly excited expression.
And densely woven notes like a spider’s web began to flow out.
“…!”
It wasn’t in pop song format.
A sleek structure closer to new age.
The short segments from when it was a BGM were well arranged, preserving its essential flavor of background and theme.
But the song’s resolution was different.
‘…I didn’t know it could sound like this.’
It felt like the essence of the song—what enters the ear and stays in the mind—had been extracted and ideally implemented.
And after the first 30 seconds passed, a different element mixed in and the song ascended.
“…!”
“This is our song! Right?”
It was the signature from my rap part in ‘Bonus Book’, the collaborative OST we created, mixed right in.
A melancholy melody drips like water droplets onto a web-like structure.
It matched the character’s narrative perfectly, and the way the song unfolded was exquisite.
“Wow~”
“Kim Rae-bin, this is so good??”
Yeah. It’s good.
It’s not the kind of pop song I’d sell to the masses, but the composition was good enough that I found myself using expressions like web-like structures to describe it.
And even though I’d decided to give only positive feedback, there was sincerity in my gestures and voice.
“This sounds great!”
Kim Rae-bin seemed slightly flustered by the flood of praise, but also appeared to be getting emotional.
I kept my evaluation brief.
There was no need for more words.
“It sounds more like the original than the original itself.”
“…!!”
Kim Rae-bin’s head snapped up. I nodded.
“…Thank you.”
I could hear his voice trembling, but I didn’t point it out.
Even after the one-minute arrangement finished playing, Kim Rae-bin kept staring at the laptop screen, his fingers hovering over the touchpad.
We left him alone for a moment.
And when Kim Rae-bin came back to his senses, it was time for the next person’s turn—a public execution in its own right.
“Hmm~ Next is Moon-dae!”
That was me.
I sighed inwardly, but I’d chosen this hell myself.
‘Keep it short and impactful.’
And I pressed play.
Whoosh.
Well, since this character’s symbol was a drone, I’d emphasized the electronic sounds to make it sound ominous.
And I’d added that crackling… whatever that instrument effect is called.
People around me nod their heads.
“That’s decent?”
Is it? I don’t need sympathy.
Listening to this right after a perfect professional’s composition is like watching a dog walk backwards—it’s just wrong.
My ‘discerning ear’ is practically screaming in protest.
I crossed my arms without interest, but Kim Rae-bin across from me raised his hand.
“The elements are fun, and your sense in modifying the melody seems quite ingenious…!”
“Right. Moon-dae seems to have a good sense for this.”
Even Kim Rae-bin is being insincere… Wait.
I looked at his face.
Kim Rae-bin had the same focused expression as when he’d checked the theme on TV earlier.
“…?”
Is he being sincere?
He went straight to my laptop and even checked the notes I’d written.
Then he clenched his fist.
As if he wanted to grab the mouse.
“Hyung! If you don’t mind, could I arrange this song just a little bit…?”
“Sure.”
Kim Rae-bin looked up at me with a bewildered expression.
“I’d appreciate it if you polished it up.”
His face broke into an uncontrollable smile.
For someone with such an intimidating appearance, his expression was surprisingly bright and innocent.

* * *
The first day of the composition camp transformed into a lecture on arrangement techniques led by Kim Rae-bin.
-The VSTs you used have a lot of rough, powerful sounds, so if we adjust the levels here….
-WOW!
Kim Rae-bin enthusiastically offered advice to highlight the strengths of each member’s arrangements, and they all happily revised their compositions.
As for my song… well, Kim Rae-bin basically overhauled it.
The interesting part was that he still preserved the original feel.
-The concept behind your arrangement was excellent, and because the direction was so clear, we were able to progress quickly!
In other words, that meant I hadn’t noticed the imbalances that he could easily fix with his hands.
…Anyway, as long as he was satisfied, that was what mattered.
Kim Rae-bin revised all seven theme songs into his own versions, then contentedly had dinner and ended the camp for the day.
And now it was early morning.
“…Mm.”
Since I’d woken up before the alarm went off, I figured I might as well review today’s schedule in advance.
I stepped over the guys sprawled on the blankets and sat at the kitchen table.
Then I ran my hand through my hair.
‘Today….’
I was thinking of picking one children’s song and one idol title track and combining them.
Of course, I’d choose from among the talented junior members for the idol track so we’d have no way to officially use it.
‘And if I have time, since Ryu Chung-woo even brought hiking boots….’
“Hyung?”
“….”
Just then, the guy who’d been sleeping with his blanket spread out in the kitchen area opened his eyes.
It was Kim Rae-bin.
“Go back to sleep.”
“No, it’s fine….”
And he deliberately got up with a groan, sitting across from me.
“I really wanted to express my gratitude.”
Right now?
“It may be my own inflated self-awareness, but I feel like you’ve shown me considerable consideration in helping me recover my abilities in composition….”
“It’s not about consideration.”
I shook my head.
And the words I should have said days ago when I confiscated his laptop came out.
“We needed to start developing a hobby for composition anyway. With seven members, it’s abnormal to dump all the music production burden on one person.”
“….”
“So even if you quit because you don’t want to compose, that’s fine. Nobody else was doing it anyway.”
But Kim Rae-bin opened his mouth with difficulty.
“However, many people are looking forward to it. The Company staff and the AR Team members are waiting for my songs, they said….”
“You’re afraid those people will be disappointed if you can’t write?”
Kim Rae-bin hesitated. That was a yes.
I held back a sigh.
“Rae-bin. You perform well on stage and you rap well, so why do you act like you’re only good at one thing?”
“…!”
“If you enjoy writing songs, great—do it. If not, we can change our approach, and this group will still function just fine. We can always buy songs.”
Kim Rae-bin lifted his head.
“Of course, it’s true that you create incredibly good songs, and we’ve received tremendous help because of you. We should be grateful for that.”
I continued calmly.
“But it’s not wrong if you don’t do it, and it won’t lead to failure. Always remember that there are other options.”
“…Yes.”
Kim Rae-bin answered with his hands clenched tightly and his head bowed.
“I won’t forget.”
His answer carried moisture, but there was definitely a sense of relief in it too.
‘So the burden really was heavy.’
It hadn’t felt real while he kept producing good work, but once he stumbled, fear took hold.
The worry that his reputation would be destroyed and he’d cause tremendous damage to the team.
‘Come to think of it, that’s what happened when he got criticized at Ajusa too.’
I remembered how during the second team competition, he’d suddenly lost confidence and blindly accepted all feedback.
‘…Could that have been the cause?’
Well, I can’t figure that out with just speculation, so I’ll let it go.
Regardless, now that he’s made good songs again and escaped some of that helplessness before saying this, at least he should feel a bit of relief.
I waited for Kim Rae-bin to calm down.
He wiped his face briefly with his shirt, then opened his mouth again with a determined, quiet voice.
“I… but, would it be alright if I said just one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
Let’s see.
I even anticipated him saying something like ‘With the current members’ composition skills, my absence would be quite fatal.’
But Kim Rae-bin spoke seriously.
“Since all members are participating together in album and activity producing, I think it’s an overstatement to say I’m providing one-sided help…!”
“….”
He really is consistently the same.
“Yeah.”
I let out a short laugh and uncrossed my arms.
“Thanks.”
“Not at all.”
Kim Rae-bin answered steadfastly.
Beyond him, the balcony came into view as the sun rose, light pouring in. It seemed to push back the darkness.
‘That worked out well.’
And the cylindrical bottle gleaming in golden light….
Hmm.
[Large 150,000 Small 70,000]
[Cash Price]
I spoke without thinking.
“Should we have a drink?”
Kim Rae-bin followed my gaze and spotted the ginseng wine. Then he exclaimed with a bright expression.
“Yes! I’ll pour for you right away.”
“…?”
I thought he’d refuse.
But Kim Rae-bin’s face showed confusion instead.
“Pardon? You said ginseng wine is good for the mind and body….”
“…Your grandmother said that?”
“Yes!”
Right. That was indeed a fair point.
At 6:30 in the morning when everyone else was asleep, I drank ginseng wine with Kim Rae-bin.
The alcohol, tasted after so long, wasn’t quite as thrilling as I remembered, but it was delicious.

* * *
“Sir, is something bothering you?”
“No. It’s just… the arrangement feels different somehow.”
I dismissed Bae Sae-jin’s comment from this morning. There was no evidence.
Instead, after hastily finishing breakfast with some rice balls, just as I was about to move on to the next schedule.
One of the guys who’d been giggling while replaying the songs we made yesterday opened his mouth.
“Hmm… Rae-bin. Instead of not releasing this at all, what if we upload it to the Internet? It’d be a waste for only us to hear it.”
“…! You mean on Testa’s SNS account?”
I’d gone to all this trouble specifically to prevent that.
‘…Originally I was planning to do it after the camp ended on the final day.’
Since it came up anyway, I might as well proceed with it.
I naturally moved to the next phase.
“Let’s just create a separate YouTube account and upload it there. As long as we don’t use our names, it’s fine.”
“Oh, that works.”
“Yeah, that’ll do it!”
Bae Sae-jin got even more excited at the suggestion and quickly created an account. He was doing well.
I mentally reviewed the sequence.
Camp Phase 1.
1. Create hobby songs straight through without any mid-stage feedback.
And then the next phase.
The no-label verification itself.
“Ah, wait a moment~ How about we choose our channel image first?”
…However, this would spiral into a verification far larger in scale than I’d anticipated.

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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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