Debut or Die - Chapter 324

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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 324
I clenched my fists.
I had suspected that “please take care of things for a while” didn’t simply mean he wouldn’t use Ryu Gun-woo’s body for an extended period.
But I thought it was just an ethical matter—something about being sorry since it was ultimately his body—not an explanation about dying next summer. Why would that suddenly come up now?
And why would he add something like “I, as a person, died by next summer and came back to the past”?
Did only you come back to the past?
“Those guys who were originally dead all lived just fine even after passing that point. What are you talking about?”
“Brother, I don’t mean I’m going to die.”
He shook his hand. And he answered somewhat glumly.
“It’s just… once the date I lived as a person passes, it becomes difficult to continue existing as a person.”
I instantly interpreted what he meant.
In other words…
“You’re reverting to a status window.”
“…Yes.”
The guy across from me lowered his head. I swallowed hard and asked.
“Why does that happen?”
“It’s not the system—it’s me. The status window gave you a mission and implemented the reward, so that’s why.”
Right. I used my new trait “Mission Constitution” to receive “Conversation with Park Moon-dae” as a reward, and that’s how this guy was implemented.
“Why is that?”
“You saw it yourself. Even when you come back to the past, the life you lived before doesn’t disappear—it stays exactly as it was and doesn’t change. And when the time travel ends, you receive your original life back intact… that’s how it works, right?”
“….”
“I seem to work the same way. So when this time travel where I live in a human body ends, I get my previous life back too.”
He swallowed.
“As a status window.”
“Wait.”
I raised my hand.
“So if I call the status window now, it won’t appear because you’re here?”
“Oh, no. I’m here as a person, but the part affected by the system remains there. It will appear.”
“So you’re in a separated state.”
“Yes….”
I called the status window as a test.
[Reward Collection in Progress]
It’s real.
‘Now that I think about it, even when I returned to my original body, there was no “Reward Collection Complete” popup or anything like that.’
If that’s the case, then I was still in the middle of collecting the “Conversation with Park Moon-dae” reward.
Essentially, this bastard was stretching out the “reward collection period” as long as possible through a loophole, and the limit was next summer.
‘Sigh.’
I held back a sigh and organized everything we’d discussed so far in my head.
And I thought of the first solution. It was a similar idea to what I’d been thinking before.
“I could just set another mission and receive a similar reward, right?”
The ‘Mission Constitution’ trait wouldn’t have simply vanished.
So if I set compensation for him to permanently use Ryu Gun-woo’s body and receive missions, wouldn’t that solve it?
But Big Dal shook his head.
“That’s… probably when I become a status window again, it’ll be difficult to separate me like this and have me enter the body.”
“Why.”
“I can feel the parts synchronized with the system growing stronger. It seems to have some effect even when transferred to a different body.”
Big Dal swallowed hard.
“If I go back, I think we’ll merge completely.”
“….”
I closed my mouth. The guy across from me chuckled.
“But hyung, I’m really okay! There’s still several months left. And even if I become a status window, I’ll try to find a way to talk with you….”
“No, be quiet.”
“Yes…?”
I rubbed my jaw and reached a conclusion.
It was clear.
“Let’s eliminate the system.”
“…Yes? Wait a moment.”
“If the system disappears, the parts of it synchronized with you would probably disappear too.”
“That could happen, but… no, that’s also just speculation….”
“I was planning to eliminate it anyway. This system creates too many variables. With so much already to consider, it’s getting in the way of my activities.”
“You’re going to eliminate the system because it interferes with your activities!?”
I’d just reached a perfectly rational conclusion, so why is he freaking out?
He even slams the table as if something just occurred to him.
“Oh wait, hyung you said something like that before! With those returnees!”
“Returnees?”
“People who came back from the past!”
He uses the technical term so casually. Anyway, I nodded.
“Right. I’ve been tracking the system all along. You would’ve seen it too when you were a status window.”
“That’s… that’s the thing!”
The guy across from me jumps to his feet. Then he mutters with a slightly anxious expression.
“Hyung… no, I think I’ve wanted to tell you this since I was a status window….”
“What.”
“Please don’t touch the system if you can help it, hyung….”
Big Dal looked at me seriously. For a moment I wondered if he’d developed some sympathy for the system, but I read a familiar emotion in his eyes.
It was fear.
“That’s… really strange. This isn’t some fantasy or sci-fi movie, it’s strange, I’m telling you? It’s like some kind of AI, and also like a ghost….”
“But you said you exchanged influence with it.”
“That’s exactly why I know what I’m talking about!”
He was saying it wasn’t self-deprecation, but he shouts loudly.
“Honestly, even if I did have an influence, I don’t know what or how I influenced it… and you described the system as a mental parasite, hyung. It really seems like that…. Like an incredibly powerful supercomputer parasite….”
“….”
“Just… hyung, couldn’t we skip things like that? I’m getting scared.”
I deliberated for a moment, then nodded.
“Sure, I’ll consider it.”
“That means you’re going to ignore me, doesn’t it?!”
The seniority he displayed through the status window hadn’t gone anywhere. I ignored his words exactly as he expected. He deflated.
“Really… it’s dangerous, I’m telling you. You can’t do this, seriously….”
“Before that, let me ask you one thing.”
“…Yes?”
I asked calmly.
“Is it possible to use the original status window functions instead of this ‘Receiving Rewards’ screen? Like checking other people’s stats or using traits.”
The guy across from me blinked rapidly.
“That… I think it might be possible.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ve tried things like that before. If you ‘access’ the status window and manipulate it….”
He forgot his frustration entirely and became absorbed, his expression going blank as if concentrating.
It looked like he was attempting to hack something.
I closed the status window just in case and waited for him.
“….”
And shortly after, his expression returned and he opened his mouth brightly.
“Hyung, this is…!”
That was the moment.
Knock, knock.
“…!”
The sound of someone knocking on the door.
And the Restaurant Private Room door opened gently. Big Dal immediately sat down in his seat.
“….”
“Oh, looks like you were having a conversation.”
Ryu Chung-woo, who had left, had returned.
I immediately checked his face. It was calm.
‘Did he hear?’
Just now, Ryu Gun-woo calling Park Moon-dae hyung.
As long as Big Dal doesn’t say anything unnecessary, I….
“Yes, yes! You’re back.”
If you’re going to open your mouth, don’t look serious. And don’t laugh awkwardly either.
“It’s been so long since I’ve met someone I knew… the words just wouldn’t come out. Haha, hahaha….”
No. At this point, he really looked like a long-time test-taker who had spent years substituting social skills with studying before finally passing.
I felt somewhat relieved instead. And sure enough, Ryu Chung-woo just awkwardly smiled back.
“Exams are really a battle with yourself, after all. I’ve had similar experiences… ah, hyung, you speak quite well already.”
This guy seems to be feeling a bit sorry for him, doesn’t he?
“M-me? Thank you. Honestly, I’m still amazed I even passed the interview… ha, haha.”
“Have a seat, hyung.”
“Oh, right.”
I cut short their conversation and seated him immediately. Eat your food and keep your mouth shut.
I need to organize my plans.

* * *
After that, we proceeded without incident, each swallowing down noodles while discussing Testa.
The man boasted fairly extensive knowledge of Testa, from albums to concerts, which left Ryu Chung-woo somewhat taken aback.
-You really know a lot. I hope we haven’t been distracting you from studying….
-No. You’ve given me great encouragement….
It was certainly heartwarming.
Watching him no longer seem awkward, Ryu Chung-woo couldn’t help but diagnose that he was ‘the type who speaks well only about fields of interest’.
“Thank you for today.”
“I should be the one thanking you…!”
In any case, we successfully exchanged numbers and wrapped up. As we parted, I gave him a slight nod.
‘I’ll call you with the details.’
‘I’ll definitely go to the concert!’
It didn’t seem like much got through, but texting would work fine.
Besides, at the last moment he even managed to grab autographs from both of us, which seemed to completely harden Ryu Chung-woo’s expression.
This is what he said as we got in the car and started the engine.
“I should’ve brought autographs from the other members too if I’d known.”
“Right.”
Fine. Even if suspicious, the circumstances were convincing enough. I relaxed my shoulders and leaned back against the seat.
Now I could plan how to keep that guy attached to Ryu Gun-woo’s side….
“Ryu Gun-woo hyung, your expression seems to have changed quite a bit.”
I stopped thinking for a moment.
“…My expression?”
Did he perhaps recall meeting me when we were younger? I kept quiet and searched my memories, but the explanation continued.
“From that home video. You watched it with me too.”
“…Right.”
Ah, that. The home video from Ryu Chung-woo’s house where I’d tracked down Ryu Gun-woo’s whereabouts.
I leaned back against the seat again.
“People are creatures of their environment, as they say. It makes sense that you’d change.”
“Right. Exactly.”
Ryu Chung-woo responded comfortably.
“But… you actually look similar to him.”
“…!”
“The person in the video had an expression similar to yours.”
Ryu Chung-woo glanced slightly toward me, then turned his gaze forward again.
“Your expressions and movements, not your appearance.”
“….”
“Those things don’t change unless you deliberately correct them. I know this well from archery—I got scolded plenty about my posture and gait until I fixed them.”
Ryu Chung-woo left it at that without further explanation. I understood from his attitude.
This bastard was certain.
And I’d missed my window to make a natural excuse.
-Turn left 50 meters ahead.
But after the navigation’s voice finished, Ryu Chung-woo spoke again.
“You have your reasons, don’t you?”
“….”
“I’m not trying to pry. I just wanted to say—don’t worry about whether you’ve been exposed or if you need to cover it up. It’s no different from when we went hiking last time.”
Ryu Chung-woo added with a slightly embarrassed tone.
“I did hesitate about whether to say anything, worried things might get awkward between us.”
“….”
“That’s all.”
And I realized something.
He wasn’t demanding a satisfactory explanation from me. He simply wanted to convey that he’d noticed the situation—that the two of us had switched.
Nothing more than that.
And that was… far more accepting than I’d anticipated. No, absurdly accepting.
‘Does this even make sense?’
Not a recommendation for psychiatric evaluation, but tacit understanding instead.
I glanced at him driving without thinking.
There was a subtle tension masquerading as composure, but beneath it lay something more fundamental.
Stability.
In other words, trust.
“….”
As the light changed and the car came to a stop, Ryu Chung-woo opened his mouth again with a somewhat sheepish expression.
“Well, if my words were unnecessary and only made you uncomfortable, I apologize. And, um, should I change how I address you—”
I spoke up.
“Hyung.”
“…?”
“Just drop the formality. Hearing you suddenly speak so formally feels weird.”
“…!”
Ryu Chung-woo looked startled for a moment, but eventually laughed and turned the steering wheel.
“Ha, should I? Yeah, it felt weird to me too.”
“Yes.”
I hesitated, then added briefly.
“And… thank you.”
“…For what.”
Ryu Chung-woo seemed to smile faintly while looking ahead. Then he shrugged and spoke.
“Again, if you need help, just say so.”
Ah, right.
I felt a slight lift in my mood and opened my mouth.
“Actually, there is one thing.”
“Hmm?”
“I’d like to hear your advice.”
In fact, around the time dessert was being served in the Restaurant Private Room, the status window I called up again showed the ‘Reward Collection in Progress’ window classified as a pop-up.
And I could use the existing functions through the main window.
‘Good.’
Big Dal had, by his own account, successfully ‘logged in’.
And my request to have this returned wasn’t simply to check the status windows of competitors while active and devise countermeasures.
There was another reason I wanted it back.
[Trait: Mission Constitution (S)]
This one.
And every single ‘reward’ candidate I had considered displayed the identical mission content.
It was this.
[Mission: Break a K-pop Industry Record]
“What K-pop Industry records do you think we could break?”

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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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