Debut or Die - Chapter 353

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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 353
“Come in.”
“….”
Park Moon-dae, his black hood pulled low, stumbled slightly as he crossed the threshold into the Entrance. Kongi whined and circled around him.
Inside the spacious, quiet Dormitory, only the sound of the puppy’s cries echoed.
“Kongi, paw.”
Chung-ryeo was about to lift his own dog, already preparing for the end of their walk, when….
‘Hmm.’
He deliberately made a request of his companion.
“Could you help me with this?”
“….”
Park Moon-dae silently wiped Kongi’s four paws, prepared his meal, and even accepted the dog resting its head against his leg.
‘He’s not himself.’
When I thought he’d crossed a line, he showed none of his usual reactions.
Chung-ryeo placed a hot drink across from him and spoke casually.
“Did it fail?”
“….”
The hooded head lifted.
There was no particular resistance.
‘That’s it then.’
Depending on what kind of failure it was, it probably wasn’t work-related.
‘But then I should have known about it.’
I never missed developments involving my competitors.
Perhaps information reached me faster than Park Moon-dae’s own mediocre Entertainment Company could recognize its own problems….
Chung-ryeo watched his competitor, still wearing a mask, and continued.
“If you have something to say, say it. I’m listening.”
“….”
Park Moon-dae looked down at the dog, then spoke in a low, monotone voice.
“You said I’d explained the situation to someone else before.”
“That’s right.”
Ah, so that’s what failed.
It seemed Park Moon-dae had confided in someone again.
Since he’d opened up to one peer, the other remaining peer was likely the one. Relationship pressure usually works that way.
I could have said something like ‘I told you not to recommend that’… but Chung-ryeo skipped it.
It seemed he already understood well enough on his own.
“An excuse… you said you have an excuse you use.”
“I do.”
I glanced over, wondering if this was just a simple request for information rather than some deal or threat, but my junior didn’t seem to be in any state for such calculations right now.
Truly unlike himself.
Chung-ryeo noticed that the reason Park Moon-dae wasn’t reaching for the cup in front of him was because his hands were trembling.
My sleeve fluttered.
“….”
As if barely withstanding an enormous impact with cracks spreading through, I seemed to be in a critical state where only the outer shell remained.
In that appearance, Chung-ryeo found a strangely ancient trace of himself.
Just as it had happened a few times before with Park Moon-dae.
So he spoke readily.
“First, let’s create a storyline similar to my story. Find references from reasonably well-received bestselling novels or movies.”
Chung-ryeo had even organized appropriate examples by year.
He couldn’t accidentally reveal works that would be released in the future beforehand.
“Mention it first in interviews. Focus on the keywords.”
“….”
“Say you’re feeling attracted to it conceptually. Like laying groundwork.”
Then whatever the member who heard his secret said later would just pass off as jokes or obsession.
It was a method of winning over the public while discarding relationships.
“It’s a way to neutralize the other person’s words. It’s effective. You could say it’s like a preventive vaccine.”
But no words came from the masked mouth.
Chung-ryeo guessed somewhat irritably.
‘Does he dislike it?’
Park Moon-dae was occasionally soft-hearted and emotional. Well, it was natural since he’d only just returned once.
While Chung-ryeo disapproved internally, he offered an alternative.
“You don’t like it? Then just tell the other person directly that you made a mistake because activities were difficult.”
“…!”
“At first it was just a fantasy I played around with, but somewhere along the way I ended up truly believing it myself… something like that?”
Park Moon-dae lifted his head.
Since this method focused entirely on putting the other person at ease, in fact Chung-ryeo himself had barely used it except for the first few times.
‘There were variables and efficiency issues.’
Even the slightest lack of sincerity would result in impulsive behavior, which annoyed him.
But to Park Moon-dae, this method seemed to sound reasonable.
Indeed, if he cared that much, there would be no reason to speak insincerely.
Chung-ryeo added the explanation quite kindly.
“Then they’ll believe it even if there are some gaps. It’s not too different from the expected answer they had in mind, and it’s positive.”
Watching Kongi offer his hand to Park Moon-dae without even being called, Chung-ryeo finished speaking slowly.
“People of that type rarely change their already-decided thoughts.”
And he smiled.
“They don’t want to be the one who’s wrong, right?”
“….”
“Give them the answer they want to hear. Then it’ll be resolved.”
In front of Chung-ryeo, steam still rose from the drink Park Moon-dae hadn’t even touched.
And finally, Park Moon-dae, whose eyes met his….
Was certain.
“No.”
Damn it.

* * *
My mind was a swamp of mud.
Because of that, I’d planted myself in someone else’s dormitory at this ungodly hour—one that just happened to share the same layout as the Testa Dormitory. I knew the situation wasn’t even remotely funny.
Yet despite being utterly lost on what to do, my mind a bewildering warren of tunnels that had gone haywire, one function remained intact.
Denial.
“No.”
Chung-ryeo, sitting across from me, tilted his head to the side.
Cold water poured into the muddy swamp of my thoughts, and clarity returned.
“Hmm?”
“He’s… not that kind of person.”
That much I could refute with certainty.
‘Sun Ah-hyun is someone who acknowledges when he’s wrong.’
Brutally so.
He’d lived that way all this time. Constantly aware of his own traumas and flaws.
[!Abnormal Status: Self-Esteem Deficiency]
Bearing that status, he continuously identified his own shortcomings and admitted to them.
Excessively so.
And he tried to overcome them.
[Trait: Grit]
His trait seemed to reflect that very nature.
The determination to persevere. And the drive to make the right judgment with all his might.
‘He’s not the type to accept things comfortably just because he heard what he wanted to hear.’
That’s precisely why the problem arose.
I remember the words Sun Ah-hyun had cried out.
-S-sorry… C-couldn’t trust… C-couldn’t help either…
“…He wanted to believe.”
“I suppose so.”
“But he decided not believing was the right choice.”
“…”
“He didn’t reach his conclusion the easy way—he sought the uncomfortable truth and ended up like this.”
Because I failed to explain it properly, he mistook the mental illness angle for the correct answer.
‘…My track record was actually quite spectacular, wasn’t it.’
I laughed bitterly, recalling all the chaos I’d caused—seizures, alcoholism, you name it.
I had no idea why I’d thought Sun Ah-hyun would believe me.
“So… I have no intention of using that method. It won’t work. The situation is the complete opposite.”
If it were Sun Ah-hyun, he might ruminate on those words again and realize they were merely a convenient excuse.
And if that happened, there would truly be no turning back.
“I see. Understood.”
Chung-ryeo nodded as if he had no regrets.
“But… didn’t it seem like a rather presumptuous judgment on your part?”
What?
“I mean….”
“No, not you, Junior Member. That person.”
“…!”
“He mistook a wrong answer for the right one and put you in a difficult position, didn’t he? I don’t understand why you’re being so considerate….”
“….”
“Doesn’t it feel unfair?”
I clenched my fists.
But soon I released the tension with a sigh.
“I’m the one who said it, and ultimately I’m the one who has to accept the response.”
The words came out more calmly than I expected.
“No one forced me to say it, so if I’ve already said it, I have to take responsibility for it.”
“Mm.”
The guy across from me didn’t seem particularly convinced, but he didn’t argue back this time either.
“Right. Cheer up. You can always give up if you want to.”
“….”
“Even if you quit Testa, your life won’t end, will it? Right?”
This bastard does seem to be thinking more healthily than before, but….
‘Why does it sound so irritating?’
It’s getting under my skin, honestly.
And besides, my current situation is not one where I can afford to think about just that.
‘Someone else is going to revert to a status window, you idiot.’
I gritted my teeth.
But if I said anything, it would probably just be something infuriating like “Well, you’re not going to die anyway… yeah, I get it,” so I just kept my mouth shut.
And I looked at him anew.
‘This guy with zero empathy is actually giving me counseling.’
I’d been sitting on the bench to cool my head just in case, but I never expected to be treated to tea once he came into the Dormitory.
‘…It’s a bit of a contrast.’
I recalled the time when Chung-ryeo had come by because of Kongi’s hospitalization and I’d shut the door on him, and I fell silent for a moment.
No, even so, there’s a difference between showing up at someone’s door out of the blue and this.
Still, I should say what needs to be said.
“Anyway… thanks for the advice.”
“Though you won’t actually follow it, right? Haha.”
That’s my choice, you bastard.
In any case, I started wrestling with my thoughts again with a clearer mind than the night before.
‘First, the restrictions on Testa activities….’
…I absolutely can’t let this bastard catch on. He’d love that way too much.
“Want a snack, Kongi?”
“Woof!”
I watched him handle his dog with practiced ease, then quietly closed my mouth.
In the end, there was only one way forward.
‘I need to reactivate Sun Ah-hyun’s trait.’
Grit.
Reactivating it to counteract the status abnormality was the most certain method.
But… thinking about it again, I didn’t think my words would get through to him.
‘…I’m not even sure he’d be willing to have a conversation.’
Who knows, maybe he’d already compiled a list of recommended hospitals.
‘Stop.’
I cut off my wandering thoughts.
Toward something productive.
‘So it can’t be me—it has to be someone else.’
It meant the other members would need to perform similar work to what I’d done at Ajusa using my trait.
“…”
Mobilizing allies, then.
I considered a few ideas and stood up from my seat.
Or rather, I tried to.
“Squeak.”
If only the dog hadn’t grabbed me.
Chung-ryeo’s eyes narrowed.
“Kongi’s going to miss you. Since you’re here, you could stay a bit longer if you’d like.”
At the Dormitory?
“What about your other members?”
I’d heard they were supposed to release an album before his enlistment, so why wasn’t anyone around?
“Personal schedules. Or they’re on leave.”
I see.
So it wasn’t for nothing that the dog had latched onto me.
I glanced around the space anew.
Not that I wanted to scrutinize someone else’s home, but certain details caught my eye.
Like photo frames and commemorative items from early in their debut still arranged in the living room.
“…”
Wait, I think those are ones I shot and sold… never mind. Surely not.
I turned my gaze back to the guy across the road and his dog.
And impulsively asked:
“You’re not planning to tell the members about this at all?”
“No.”
Not a trace of hesitation.
“I’m curious why you told me in the first place. Wasn’t there no need to let us know?”
“….”
That was a mystery to me as well.
Damn it, I had no idea why I’d even said it in the first place….
“I don’t know. I just… wanted to say it.”
“….”
Whether he mocked me or not, I answered with half my resolve already abandoned.
But Chung-ryeo simply stroked the dog’s head and replied like this.
“That could be the case.”
“…!”
“It must be frustrating.”
Surprisingly, a faint sense of understanding emerged from his tone.
“Aren’t you frustrated?”
“Not particularly. Hmm… well, I think I used to be. But people get used to things, you know.”
Chung-ryeo withdrew his hand from the dog and smiled softly.
“They say humans are creatures of adaptation, right? You’ll be fine soon enough, Junior Member.”
“….”
My head told me it was nonsense.
Yet somehow, this strange emotional comfort was oddly amusing.
I finally answered with a sigh.
“…Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Since he was occupied with his own dog, I should take this chance to get up.
I downed the cold tea in one gulp and rose from my seat.
‘I didn’t even suspect if something was mixed in it.’
It seemed I still wasn’t in my right mind.
Shaking my head, I stepped away from the dining table.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
I glanced at the intercom without thinking, wondering if I should hide in case it was someone from the Company.
But the tall figure in the camera, dressed casually and wearing a mask, was….
Sun Ah-hyun.
“…!!”
I reflexively stepped back.
Why… was he here?
‘He came looking for me….’
No, that couldn’t be it. How would he even know I was here?
And there was no reason for him to come find me in person anyway.
‘I haven’t received any calls from the Company or the members.’
My phone wasn’t on silent, so I would’ve felt the vibration….
“….”
Wait.
I checked my pockets, which felt oddly light, then lifted my eyes to the intercom screen again.
One of the two smartphones in Sun Ah-hyun’s hands.
‘That apple case.’
It was my smartphone.
“Ah.”
And I understood the situation.
Right now, I was standing outside in the early morning after making a complete mess of things last night and cutting off all contact….
“You have a visitor this early in the morning.”
…About three hours had passed.
Damn it.

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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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