Debut or Die - Chapter 326

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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 326
When I made the deal with the Director about establishing an independent label upon winning the award, I had attached deliberately stringent criteria for the awards ceremony as a condition.
It was meant to make the company lower its guard and sign off, since achieving it within the timeframe seemed difficult.
-‘Annual Awards Ceremony’ refers to an awards ceremony hosted by a music or album platform that reflects sales figures from that year’s music market by 70% or more.
And let’s look at the award we received.
We won it at an awards ceremony hosted by a music platform that reflects sales figures up to 75%.
‘Flawless.’
It was a condition achievement beyond dispute.
And there was someone who brought this up before I did.
“We… can finally go independent!”
It was what Bae Sae-jin shouted the moment the Manager disappeared from the Training Room today.
“I-independence…?”
“Are you moving out of your brother’s place? Isn’t that what independence means?”
Of course, the response came back as if he’d said something ridiculous, and Bae Sae-jin’s face flushed, but he remained steadfast.
“No, that’s not it… don’t you remember? Park Moon-dae brought the contract. It said we could establish a label if we won the award!”
“…!”
Perfect timing. Since someone else took the initiative to bring it up, it made things easier for me. I nodded to the members looking back at me.
“That’s right. I asked them to spin off our dedicated team into a label entirely and place it as a subsidiary.”
“Ohhh.”
“I had forgotten amid all the experiences we’ve gone through….”
Most of them nodded and showed positive reactions readily.
Quite some time had passed since that damned traffic accident, so feelings toward the company had softened considerably, but that didn’t mean the company’s ruined reputation would recover either.
“Right. Sae-jin brought it up well. We should talk to the company about it.”
“Ahem, exactly. So when the Manager comes back, let’s bring it up right away.”
However, not everyone agreed with this.
Big Sae-jin glanced back and forth between the Training Room mirror and Bae Sae-jin a few times, then spoke with a somewhat melancholic tone.
“Ah~ it’s definitely a good thing, but wouldn’t it be better to talk about it after the awards season ends? We have a lot to prepare for right now….”
“What are you talking about? We should bring it up while we can, so they can’t say anything else…!”
“….”
Big Sae-jin’s lips twitched for a moment, but he soon continued speaking gently.
“Think about it, hyung. Don’t you think we might win more awards from several places this year?”
Yeah, that’s true.
“There are many awards ceremonies in early next year, and if we win a few more awards there and then bring it up all neatly organized, the company really won’t be able to say anything else. It’s a guaranteed win~”
“Ohhh~”
Big Sae-jin gave a thumbs up in response to Cha Yu-jin’s encouragement, then wrapped up his point.
“So for now, I’d really like us to focus a bit more on preparing for the awards ceremony. The stage is the most important thing after all~ Of course, it’s just my opinion.”
“….”
And as if this touched something, Bae Sae-jin remained silent for a while before opening his mouth.
“…I’m not saying I’ll neglect stage preparation. I’ll work hard on it.”
“That’s not what I meant… no, that’s not really the important part.”
These guys who don’t mesh are trying so hard to be polite with each other. I cut the conversation short right there.
“Whether we say it now or later doesn’t matter. Let’s not waste energy on this.”
The answer was obvious anyway. I crossed my arms.
“No matter what, we’re launching the label regardless.”
“….”
“Y-yeah, that’s right.”
“Right, we should.”
What, why.
“Hmm… should we just vote on it?”
Following Ryu Chung-woo’s suggestion to settle things, the minor dispute was cleanly resolved with a vote.
The result was razor-thin.
“4:3.”
Bae Sae-jin, Sun Ah-hyun, and Ryu Chung-woo voted for announcing it immediately.
And with one more vote added here, the winner was decided.
“Moon-dae’s on this side too, right?”
“Yes.”
That was me.
“…!”
Ryu Chung-woo immediately declared it.
“Looks like more people want to announce it right away. Should we go with that direction?”
“Sae-jin, that sounded cool! The vote is weird….”
“Hey Eugene, why are you like that! You have to accept it gracefully!”
Big Sae-jin raised both hands with a smile.
“Understood. If that’s the team’s decision, then~ just make sure everyone practices as hard as usual, okay?”
“Of course, sir!”
“Obviously.”
And so practice resumed in that warm atmosphere.
But shortly after.
I got put in a headlock by Big Sae-jin when he followed me to the bathroom during practice.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae, this is a betrayal…! We need to handle things one by one properly. What is this?~ Did you already talk to the company?”
Accept the result, my ass. This guy pretended to be fine but he was clearly pissed.
I barely escaped and spoke.
“That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and muttered.
“I just want to get the label off these bastards as soon as possible….”
“….”
I mean, even setting aside the mission, the way the company executives operate is irritating.
They cross the line constantly. If they did this every time, it was practically a skill at this point.
Big Sae-jin sighed.
“Yeah, you’d be able to handle that, Moon-dae….”
Why? Ah, because I took the worst injuries in the car accident, so I’m being reasonable about it.
‘Flip it around—the other guy bringing it up means he doesn’t understand.’
Bae Sae-jin.
I’d been sensing his influence wearing thin for a while now, but especially during intense seasons like year-end, new year, or active periods when emotional and physical exhaustion runs high, the two of them are barely managing to overlook things anymore.
After spending so long together as a team, the implicit hierarchy had crumbled, so Big Sae-jin wasn’t in the dominant position like before, but this equality brought its own new friction.
‘Hmm.’
Instead of directly defending Bae Sae-jin and ruining the mood, I worded it carefully.
“I’ll make sure there are no problems with stage preparation, so don’t worry.”
“I know… but that’s just more stuff to worry about.”
Big Sae-jin sighed as he walked.
“Everyone’s just too anxious overall. Label independence is no joke, and the company won’t let us go easily… Why give them advance notice and time to prepare… Ugh.”
Yeah, he’s right. You can’t rely on just a contract; it’s better to have the environment fully prepared.
I admitted it honestly.
“Logically speaking, your argument makes sense.”
“Hey, you should’ve said that earlier!”
If you had, the vote might’ve changed, you bastard.
Still, I understood his feelings, so I shared my own assessment instead.
“The problem is that the company probably thought the same logical way.”
“….”
Big Sae-jin closed his mouth for a moment, then opened it again with the expression of someone who’d just been hit on the back of the head.
“They already know.”
“Exactly.”
There’s no way the company would forget that we’re a cash cow trying to slip away quietly.
They definitely scheduled relevant meetings the moment we won that award.
“So I figured it’d be better to bring it up quickly to at least establish justification.”
“…Sigh.”
Big Sae-jin gave a bitter smile.
“This is going to be frustratingly drawn out.”
And the situation unfolded exactly as predicted.
On the way back after practice, the message about ‘label establishment’ that I’d relayed through the Manager came back with a response the next day, late in the evening.
“Since it’s the year-end, new year season right now, there are a lot of decisions being made within the agency, so it seems difficult to schedule a meeting right away….”
They’re playing games. I let out a dry laugh.
‘Starting with tricks right away.’
Number one: buying time.
They’re scheming to push back the contract fulfillment period somehow. Meanwhile, they’ll be meeting with lawyers.
‘We’ll add the label to your offer when you renew after completing your contract’—something like that.
‘Since I didn’t specify the fulfillment period separately in the contract.’
The moment I’d written that in, it would’ve looked incredibly annoying, so I left it out for now.
I could invoke principles like good faith, but since the label would be under T1 anyway, I need to push carefully and tactfully here.
‘I can’t come across as too radical, like I’m desperate to leave T1 altogether.’
I needed to give the impression that I simply wanted to maximize my potential as an artist.
“Hmm….”
I paced back and forth in the Training Room corridor, organizing my thoughts briefly. I planned to head back in before break time ended.
That’s when it happened.
Click.
“Hey.”
The guy who opened the Training Room door called out to me. It was Bae Sae-jin.
‘What is it.’
He closed the door, glanced around, walked toward me, and muttered quietly.
“…Thank you.”
“…?”
“I mean, thanks for agreeing with my opinion!!”
Ah, yesterday.
Bae Sae-jin exhaled and calmed himself down, then continued with surprising sincerity.
“Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t work out. I figured some people might think I lack tact and can’t read situations….”
“….”
I see.
Just like during the company lawsuit, Bae Sae-jin had experienced his opinions being dismissed by the team far too often.
“No, sir. I actually thought the same way you did. I was grateful you brought it up first.”
“…Right.”
Only then did Bae Sae-jin’s expression brighten. He seemed genuinely pleased.
‘Is this really something worth taking time out to say….’
Indeed. For someone as reckless, sensitive, and blunt as him, he was surprisingly weak to support from others.
Despite his straightforward nature, he was the type easily taken advantage of by con artists.
“…Hmm.”
Wait.
“Why, why?!”
No, it just reminded me of something.
‘…I think I did something similar in Ryu Gun-woo’s body.’
When we met in front of the bathroom sink.
-I saw your stage performance earlier. Your expressions always seem really great.
I had encouraged Bae Sae-jin when he wasn’t receiving recognition.
‘Surely he’s not so starved for acknowledgment and praise that he’d remember words from back then.’
I recalled that guy who particularly liked searching for things like “Bae Sae-jin’s Stage Evolution” on YouTube and grew suspicious, but quickly dismissed the thought.
‘No way.’
Even with all the criticism he faced, he had enough fans to become Testa. There’s no way incidents like that were rare.
Let me just continue with what we were talking about.
“It’s just, seeing how the company operates, I realized that label independence really isn’t something they’re keen on.”
“Right… I was right, wasn’t I? These guys are doing this on purpose! Should I… come at them harder…?”
“Hold on a moment.”
I stopped him.
“There’s no need to come at them aggressively. Just… move first.”
“…?”
I’d just thought of a method, actually.
I didn’t leave out the contract duration clause for nothing.
‘When did our relationship with the company fall apart anyway.’
It was something I’d considered before, but we couldn’t afford to escalate tensions with T1 during the label creation process.
But then again, T1 Stars was hastily assembled as a subsidiary just to get Testa, and if we became independent, its revenue would drop below half—so what?
‘If there’s justification, it’s fair game.’
I smiled and opened my mouth.
“Hyung, I have an idea.”

* * *
A few days later, at ToneA, the awards ceremony hosted by T1.
In front of an ornate fountain set, dressed in modern formal wear, we finished our stage and won an award as scheduled.
Artist of the Year.
“Congratulations, Testa!”
Flowers and cheers. The guys, now somewhat accustomed to this being their second time, smiled brightly as they took the stage.
‘Honestly, if I hadn’t known we’d win this, it would’ve been ridiculous.’
“Thank you. It’s a tremendous honor to receive such a prestigious award before K-pop listeners from 32 countries watching ToneA live, and above all, I’d like to dedicate this joy and gratitude to our reviewers….”
I listened past Kim Rae-bin, who delivered his remarks without taking a breath, as the other members who hadn’t spoken before shared their own words.
And at the very end, when the prompter showed the closing cue.
Just when everyone thought the remarks were wrapping up.
“Thank you~”
“Thank you!”
I grabbed the microphone with a bright face as if I’d just remembered something urgent.
And I announced it.
“We’re launching our label to commemorate this award!”
“…!”
Sorry, but I didn’t include a confidentiality clause in your additional contracts.
‘What are they going to do about it.’
The contract conditions are already met, the company’s already been informed, and we can just say we mentioned it in the heat of the moment.
“Woohoo!!”
“We look forward to your support~”
The members are also laughing joyfully without any sense of discord at this statement, each adding their own words. They’re doing great.
‘Perfect.’
Moreover, this live broadcast had an additional effect beyond mere announcement—something the company absolutely couldn’t retract.
‘I’m already looking forward to the reactions.’
“Once again, we’re grateful to everyone at the company for their support in every way. We’ll continue to show you even better performances. Thank you!”
I set down the microphone with a smile.
And from that evening onward, the articles began appearing at a terrifying pace.

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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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