Debut or Die - Chapter 339

—————

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 339
Mid-April, with only a few weeks left of Testa’s American tour.
“Let’s go to the movie theater again!”
“I don’t have time.”
“Then we’ll make time!”
He was being unusually persistent today.
I watched Cha Yu-jin, who was singing about watching a movie even during our composition camp.
Because of this guy, I’d been sneaking out at night to watch “Cosmic Gunner” in every city we toured.
‘The sightings have gotten pretty widespread too.’
We’d stopped going because people started anticipating and hunting for us, but he was acting like he was going through withdrawal symptoms.
“Cha Yu-jin, repeatedly robbing your hyungs of sleep just to rewatch your few-second cameo appearance isn’t very good….”
“My voice is in it for a long time! And we looked amazing!”
“Ha, you’re right. It was strange hearing our song in the ending credits.”
Yeah, I never expected them to actually adopt our song as the main theme.
I had a feeling the producer’s personal appearance last time was partly because the song impressed them more than I’d imagined.
‘Though those bastards still didn’t pay us any extra.’
Let’s just say they used it as promotional material. At least the composer himself is incredibly excited.
“Yes! I found it quite amazing too!”
“Right.”
“Wasn’t I amazing? Rae-bin’s song was really good~”
Praise poured out once more for the primary contributor. Even Cha Yu-jin nodded in agreement.
“Kim Rae-bin’s song was great too.”
Kim Rae-bin nodded solemnly.
“While there were some regrettable aspects in terms of completeness due to the rushed production, we incorporated feedback after filming and made improvements, so I judged that it was ultimately finished at a respectable level.”
“GOOD~”
Rare for the two of them to agree without arguing.
“T-the response has been incredible. Even in America… articles are coming out.”
“Oh~ Really?”
Sun Ah-hyun had apparently even attempted a search, which was unusual. When he does something different, everything works out.
I translated the article he handed me.
“The main insert song for this Limestone film was composed by a K-pop boy band…, and the identity of that impressive cameo appearance is surprising audiences,” it says.
“Ooh~”
Articles blow up over anything, so it’s premature to be impressed, but when I actually went into the American anonymous community and dug around, posts were indeed coming up here and there.
‘The film was quite successful at the box office, after all.’
This was something we couldn’t control, so we were lucky.
In any case, thanks to making a good impression in that successful film, posts about us were already appearing.
Even with low-quality leaked footage of Testa’s cameo scene attached.
The funny part was that many people didn’t realize it was a cameo, saying things like “I thought they were a supporting character, but they never appeared again, which was disappointing.”
-I thought that crazy band would appear again later, too bad 🙁 But the song in the ending credits is definitely them performing, right?
└It’s a cameo, the band’s a K-pop group
└Oh my goodness
As a result, posts identifying who these guys actually are have started appearing
I recalled the comments flooding under a popular post titled “The Identity of the Insane Band from Cosmic Gunner”
-*This* is K-pop?
-Is my preconception the problem, or are these guys just exceptions?
└Both (laughing while crying emoji)
-Testa is one of the most talented K-pop groups I’ve ever seen, so I wasn’t surprised
└Right! I’m pretty sure this song is also by their member Kim Rae-bin? He’s the boy with the red sea urchin-like keyboard in the cameo 🙂
└K-pop fans really do pop up everywhere lol
And further down, there are often cases where the variety show we did selling hotteok in America gets recommended at the end
In other words, the overseas response is better than expected
“The overall response really is quite good.”
“Tell me about it.”
And here, there’s someone pretending not to listen but carefully catching every word of this
The very person who, alongside Kim Rae-bin, orchestrated this dual-pronged response
I turned my head
“Your acting was really excellent, hyung.”
“…Hmm.”
It was Bae Sae-jin
People have been saying this so many times that he’s finally getting a bit shy about it. He used to make such a fuss at first
Cha Yu-jin cheered
“That’s right! It was really perfect!”
“It wasn’t actually perfect. I did my best to interpret the lines to match the makeup and situation, but there were pronunciation issues and… anyway! Thanks! You really helped a lot with the pronunciation.”
“I know!”
Bae Sae-jin stopped there and readily admitted it. It seems he’s finally starting to realize that if he got serious here, the mood would become awkward
The sheer volume of positive reviews he’s seen probably played a part too
I recalled the flood of favorable reactions that poured in just one day after the release
-I thought he was an actual actor there
-Insane
-Bae Sae-jin what is this Bae Sae-jin what—a Hollywood-quality cameo performance that captivates everyone in 3 seconds, is this real?
Honestly, I was surprised too
‘He asked a lot of questions on set.’
Bae Sae-jin used Cha Yu-jin as an interpreter while making every effort to understand as much as possible about the script and the situation
‘When he wrapped up at the end, that ad-lib he did passed in one take.’
Originally, the cameo dialogue was just one line of humorous cursing and banter
But the thought that “wouldn’t it be more fun if he said something at the end?” led us to consult on the spot, and that ad-lib was the result
-Come hear it again
It was a pun he inserted knowing our song would play again in the final battle scene
I never expected the full version with vocals would even appear in the end credits and tie it all together
In any case, his abilities related to acting and charisma were of such a caliber that they swept up overwhelmingly positive reviews
Of course, there were some who tried to sow discord because of it.
-I don’t get why they’re doing idol work when acting suits them better. Testa’s stage quality improved and Bae Sae-jin gets to do what he’s good at
Haha, look at the way you talk—no, never mind.
└Sae-jin’s such a pro idol, total ham actor, we don’t accept his retirement chants~
This level of noise was predictable enough that the group’s fans were all prepared to shut it down.
But the real problem was that this kind of reaction was emerging noticeably even among casual moviegoers and cinephiles.
-It’s such a waste for him to just do a cameo, build up his filmography faster
-There’s a shortage of male actors in their 20s, so child actors really are the most reliable
The predictions and expectations were that once Bae Sae-jin gained more experience, he’d naturally pivot his career entirely toward acting.
‘Seems like people still value actors more than idols, after all.’
Was it a matter of career longevity and characteristics? I pondered briefly before just shrugging it off.
‘Let’s just let them enjoy it for now.’
Right now, with Testa winning awards and riding high on elevated group status, public opinion remained stable and balanced.
Besides, Bae Sae-jin appeared in this film as part of the group since Testa participated in the OST.
It wasn’t as if people expected Bae Sae-jin to abandon group activities immediately and pursue acting full-time.
‘Still, if he’s going to do solo work while naturally continuing group activities, I need to be strategic about this from now on.’
I had no idea what these guys would prioritize later, but creating an environment where they had choices was the safer bet.
‘It’s best for the group to engage in diverse activities and deliver solid results.’
And I had a feeling that things still unrevealed from this film project might help with that.
Right then, a similar topic came up among the members.
“Um, hyung, do you know when our OST will be released in full? Did anyone mention a specific date?”
The OST for this film that we performed.
‘Black Hole’.
Even though the official audio hadn’t been released yet, illegal rips extracted from the trailer were already circulating. It was even showing up in Google’s autocomplete in English.
But we don’t have the authority to release the track ourselves.
“Well, I didn’t receive specific dates, but… it’ll probably be released according to the film company’s schedule.”
I nodded.
“Right. Since it’ll be included in their OST album, not ours.”
From T1’s perspective, the contract was structured that way, so there was nothing we could do about it.
…And honestly, I was counting on this.
‘If we had the authority, I would’ve excitedly released it on opening day.’
This kind of thing needs to drop when demand is at its peak, and I’m certain I wouldn’t have been able to hold back given the hype. I’m confident about that.
Plus, there’s one more crucial reason.
“Limestone will handle it themselves.”
Specifically, the ‘Limestone’ title.
A famous American superhero film franchise.
‘If it releases as the OST for this film, we’ll gain massive traction in America.’
The moment a K-pop artist’s name appears in an unfamiliar foreign market under the familiar and impressive Limestone title instead, the barrier to entry for the song vanishes.
Preconceptions and prejudices eliminated.
It was the greatest advantage.
‘This is worth doing.’
Plus, there’s content here to boost it even further.
‘Hmm.’
“An American album—that’s quite remarkable.”
“Y-yeah. The film OST was my first time too… You’ve worked hard, Kim Rae-bin…!”
“Ah-hyun hyung has also worked hard with smooth communication support and performance coaching!”
Watching these guys exchange pleasantries about how “the experience alone was enjoyable,” I was mentally running investment return calculations in my head.
And a few days later.
Under the pretext of “gratitude for support,” the OST track was released under the Limestone label.
And not just the audio—a short music video was released to the world as well.
-What is this?
-Holy crap
It was the live performance we’d shot at the Space Bar set on the filming studio.
Yeah, those Limestone bastards decided to release this for promotional purposes—not as a VOD or director’s cut.

* * *
The day the OST and performance video dropped.
We were briefly returning to South Korea, and we watched the video on a tablet using the airplane’s WiFi.
“Wow.”
“The editing is definitely different.”
Edited to feel like part of a film rather than using typical stage camera work, it had a refreshingly unfamiliar quality to it.
[Black-hole!]
The hands and feet working the instruments, the jaw, the lighting—all captured artistically beneath neon-like colored lights.
The avant-garde outfits and backdrop, the rebellious performance, the distinctive vocal tone—that band performance really brought out the full atmosphere of Cosmic Gunner. It was genuinely worth watching.
The bizarre cosmic instruments felt natural, probably because they’d assigned people who’d actually handled similar instruments.
[Hit it like a comet!]
At the end, I nodded as I watched the camera angle from below capturing Cha Yu-jin at center stage catching the microphone he’d thrown upward.
‘They really put in the effort.’
It was brimming with American sensibility, but because the band’s image in the film was so striking, it felt unique. It had a solid charm.
And I don’t think that’s just because I was the one performing.
[22,938,704]
It had already surpassed tens of millions of views in just a few hours of being released.
At that moment, Cha Yu-jin whistled.
“We’re the second most popular video in America!”
“Ooh~”
“Real-time trending video rankings, right?”
“That’s right!”
So that’s where the view count was coming from. The target market.
‘Perfect.’
Whether it’s the film’s appeal or whatever, having a high-quality performance video’s view count climbing steadily is never a bad thing.
Explaining that it’s not a band will take some time, but I can always turn it into an episode for some talk show later.
‘It’s honey for recognition.’
I was turning over ideas on how to maximize this when Big Sae-jin, sitting beside me and already having watched the entire video while monitoring reactions, suddenly jabbed my shoulder.
What?
“Park Moon-dae.”
“What.”
“Look at this.”
I checked the smartphone he was holding out.
[Testa OST Plagiarism Controversy Comparison]
“…!!”
Plagiarism?
I immediately checked Kim Rae-bin’s face in the seat ahead. Big Sae-jin shook his head and pulled my neck back.
“Keep reading.”
“….”
I turned my eyes away and read the content of the post….
========================
Testa’s Cosmic Gunner OST Black Hole Bridge (from 1:30)
Arrangement by YouTuber ‘Star of Stars Song’ Channel 【127 Section】 Time Running Arrangement (from 2:56)
Judge for yourselves.
+By the way, Star of Stars Song is a student who studies, but not an amateur and has participated in official game theme songs before
========================
“…??”
What is this?
Why is our arrangement account showing up?
I immediately called Kim Rae-bin over and showed him the post.
“…??”
He wore the same dumbfounded expression I had two minutes ago.
I waited patiently for a better reaction. Fortunately, Kim Rae-bin soon cried out as if he understood.
“…! Ah, I see. It seems some of the samples I’d prepared earlier overlapped due to the rushed work!”
“I see.”
“I apologize. Since it’s the same world setting, I must have inadvertently used them during the urgent work….”
And summarizing his explanation that followed, it was like this.
‘I worked on the OST by frantically selecting from pre-made beats and samples, and since it’s the same world setting, they must have overlapped. It’s my oversight! I’ll reflect deeply and establish countermeasures!’
“Wait, hold on.”
I calmed Kim Rae-bin down.
“….”
“Moon-dae, moon-dae?”
I gestured for Big Sae-jin to pause as well, then first accessed the Star of Stars Song account.
The comments on that video were already exploding.
And the main tone was this.
-Definitely not plagiarism
-Star of Stars Song, hang in there. I’m rooting for you, hyung
-I’m hearing this for the first time and it’s such a great song. Really, there’s no comparison to that plagiarism track. Fighting!
“Oh.”
Everyone’s excited.
I rubbed my chin.
This… I could actually use this if I play my cards right.

—————

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

—————