Debut or Die - Chapter 354

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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 354
A member who’d vanished since dawn without a smartphone during our active period, unreachable for hours.
And if schedules had been suspended for four days because of that bastard right before this?
‘I’ve lost it.’
There was no excuse for such madness. I clenched my teeth.
‘At least Cha Yu-jin left a note.’
Without even seeing it, I knew the Dormitory would be in chaos. In the worst case, the Company might have gotten wind of it too….
‘…Damn it.’
So I’m a walking time bomb.
I could already imagine what expression Sun Ah-hyun would have.
I clenched my teeth and looked at the intercom again.
Ding.
And Sun Ah-hyun wasn’t standing in front of the First Floor entrance—he was right here at the Entrance door. I couldn’t even fathom how that was possible.
Which made it all the more confusing….
“Should I open the door for the Junior Member?”
“…Wait.”
I looked at the Entrance, then took a slow, deep breath.
“I want to open it.”
“Huh? Okay.”
I left the guy openly displaying ‘Really?’ on his face and headed to the Entrance.
Then I pulled the door open.
The figure on the intercom screen began to come into view through the widening gap.
“…!”
Sun Ah-hyun’s face, visible straight ahead despite the mask, was ashen.
But the moment the door opened, his expression shifted.
…It was relief.
Sun Ah-hyun hung his head low.
“You… you were here….”
This is driving me insane.
I barely managed to open my mouth.
“I didn’t realize I’d left my smartphone. I’m sorry. Since this morning.”
“…! No, I….”
Sun Ah-hyun took a breath, then spoke without lifting his head.
“I’m sorry….”
“….”
From the look of him, he’d been running around since dawn—so what was he apologizing for?
“I… I caused such a commotion… and Moon-dae might need some time alone… for yourself… I didn’t know….”
“No.”
I wanted to stop hearing this pathetic apology.
I suppressed that bitter sentiment and tried to respond as calmly as possible.
And it all fell apart.
“Let’s just drop it—it’s the fault of someone who disappeared without a word.”
“….”
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun’s mouth snapped shut immediately. I wanted to bite my own tongue.
‘Stupid bastard.’
Why answer like that? Was he sucking on medicine instead of spitting?
The silence was absolutely unbearable.
In that moment, an emotionless voice cut through.
“Kongi might misunderstand this as a walk, so I’d appreciate it if you’d either come in or go out—just make a decision.”
Woof!
A dog’s bark echoed down the Corridor. Sun Ah-hyun’s head snapped up.
“…! S-sorry. Um, th-then… P-Park Moon-dae.”
His eyes don’t meet mine. Something like a smile appears on his face, hidden behind the mask.
“If, if you feel b-better… c-come in comfortably…. H-here.”
“….”
And then a smartphone carefully extends toward my hand. As if telling me to take it.
“I, I thought… y-you might need your p-phone….”
I stared at that dented apple logo and clenched my fist.
Then I took the smartphone.
“…I was about to head out anyway.”
“….”
“I’m leaving.”
“O-okay…!”
I took the smartphone and left the room. Sun Ah-hyun hurriedly moved to press the Elevator button.
“Woof woof!”
And the dog bolted out excitedly with the harness in its mouth… why are you—
“Kongi’s already misunderstood now. Thanks to you, Junior Member, the walk ended up being short anyway.”
“….”
“Kong, wait. Let’s do this.”
I barely managed to open my mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“Understood.”
No, that was directed at the dog.
With only one dog happily wearing the harness, the Elevator descended in silence with three men inside.
I spoke first.
“How did you know I was here…”
Sun Ah-hyun flinched slightly.
“I, I checked the C-CCTV.”
“…!”
CCTV?
An extreme measure I hadn’t even considered suddenly surfaced.
Normally this would be something requiring a police report or going through the Company itself… but the fact that Sun Ah-hyun hadn’t mentioned anything else meant something was off.
‘Could it be…?’
“B-because it was urgent, I b-begged them so earnestly… they, they filled out a c-consent form and sh-showed me….”
The subject wasn’t plural.
Did this bastard go all the way to the management office by himself and beg like that?
I checked his feet. He was wearing slip-ons crumpled haphazardly over bare feet.
“….”
This wasn’t exactly a pleasant situation.
Yet despite that… even though it bothered me, I felt something strange stirring inside.
‘At least it doesn’t seem like everything’s completely fallen apart.’
The tension that had risen to the top of my head began to ease.
I answered quietly.
“So that’s how I knew you were following me, Senior.”
“…u-uh, y-yes.”
Sun Ah-hyun nodded earnestly.
Just when the atmosphere seemed to soften a bit.
“That’s strange…. Did I ever mention a lake?”
“…!”
“Even so, I don’t think I would’ve shown you the interior of a building in a complex where I don’t even live…. That wouldn’t be enough anyway, right?”
The person in question struck a nerve.
But Sun Ah-hyun wasn’t surprised.
“Y-yes, yes…. I, I asked VTIC Senior over the phone and, h-heard it from them….”
“….”
“Who?”
“Ch-Chae Yul Senior. Th-thankfully he told me right away….”
“Ah.”
I witnessed yet another disaster about to befall the man facing military enlistment.
‘Poor bastard.’
Bad luck always comes all at once. Hang in there.
Chung-ryeo parted ways at the First Floor after that conversation.
Since he was the type who knew how to look after his own dog regardless of his mood, he’d probably take good care of the walk.
Though he did leave one parting remark.
“Hmm, now I understand why you were troubled. That type… has quite volatile fluctuations.”
“…!”
“Haha. So it was an activity issue. Then it’s definitely worth worrying about.”
‘This bastard….’
He’d immediately grasped the risk of Sun Ah-hyun’s stats declining.
‘…that trait wasn’t attached for nothing.’
I recognized Chung-ryeo’s trait once more.
[Emotion (A)]
: Valuable things are rare; garbage is everywhere.
-Human Resource Judgment +150%
‘…I need to be careful.’
Watching someone whose appearance stat had even increased, it was clear this bastard would keep pushing harder in the future.
Chung-ryeo stopped lowering his voice.
“I won’t change my advice.”
“Yes.”
So be it.
“Have a good one.”
I hesitated, then finally answered.
“…Thank you for the tea.”
“Haha.”
Chung-ryeo walked off in the opposite direction with the dog.
And silence returned once more.
Sun Ah-hyun didn’t ask why I’d followed Chung-ryeo, nor did he press me about why I’d suddenly gone outside that dawn.
We walked quietly along the opposite side of the walking trail, our mouths shut.
“….”
And surprisingly, Sun Ah-hyun spoke first about a different topic.
“…Um, M-Moon-dae was found… w-would it be okay to c-contact him.”
“…If we go back to the dormitory right now, everyone should be there anyway.”
Could some of them have gone to the Police Station?
For a moment, my future seemed to darken, but fortunately the topic of a report didn’t come up.
“Ah, th-they’re probably there… I, I came out alone, and I w-was just w-worried….”
“….”
This guy also went off on his own without paying attention to his surroundings. But now he seems to have come to his senses.
Sun Ah-hyun lowered his head, embarrassed by his own thoughts.
I hesitated before speaking.
“Thank you. For worrying about me.”
“…! Oh, n-no….”
Sun Ah-hyun suddenly stopped walking.
From the way he was making muffled sounds… could he be crying?
“Sun Ah-hyun.”
But he didn’t cry.
Instead, he continued speaking with a trembling voice.
“M-Moon-dae. I, I know this must be tiresome, but… c-could I just s-say one thing.”
“….”
I nodded silently.
As if he’d rehearsed and prepared it many times, the words followed immediately.
“You’re… truly an amazing person, and your activities… whatever you do, you always do it so well, so brilliantly. Always… there’s never been a time when you didn’t. I really mean it….”
Ah.
I recalled what he’d shouted yesterday.
-Right now, you, you shouldn’t be doing activities… It’s getting worse and worse….
He was crushing every negative implication those words could carry.
“I, I… I misspoke carelessly, so… Park Moon-dae has always done well….”
Standing still on the empty road in front of the Dormitory, with no one around.
I listened blankly to what he was saying.
Sun Ah-hyun’s words weren’t finished.
“The, the problem is me.”
“…!”
“I, I know too… I’m the one who wavers alone, who becomes unstable. Every, every time… it’s been like that.”
What.
As if he’d overheard Chung-ryeo’s words, Sun Ah-hyun slowly delivered his verdict.
It was cruelly objective.
“It, it happened before too….”
As if already sensing a similar feeling, he looked down at his own feet.
“Right now… I, I might be more awkward than usual, and if, if that’s the case, it would be a burden to the team….”
Sun Ah-hyun finished speaking in the calm tone unique to someone whose conclusion was already decided.
“So, so if I announce that I’m sick, that would work.”
“…!!”
“It’s my problem, so. Other, other explanations… won’t be necessary.”
Sun Ah-hyun swallowed.
“And for the missed schedule… I’ll practice, I’ll practice hard.”
His voice grew increasingly desperate.
“Then, to some degree, on the Stage, it should be fine. The team won’t have any problems…. My problem doesn’t need Park Moon-dae to solve it… it’s okay.”
“….”
“You’re the one who said you should go to the Hospital, so don’t worry about what you heard yesterday either… f, forget it….”
“That’s—”
Don’t say it like that.
But before I could say those words, Sun Ah-hyun hurriedly continued.
“But, but Park Moon-dae. It must feel bad, it must…. Just, just once.”
A trembling voice attached itself to his words.
“Could you… get counseling?”
I turned my head away.
Sun Ah-hyun flinched.
“S, sorry. For bringing this up again….”
“….”
“And next time, I’ll definitely listen properly. I really will…. I’ll listen well to anything you want to say….”
Sun Ah-hyun’s shoulders trembled, but he never cried or raised his voice.
Sun Ah-hyun’s words may have stumbled, but his conclusion had already crystallized deep within.
-All conflict stems from my own failings, and I will handle it myself.
His request was for Park Moon-dae to set his mind at ease and simply re-examine his own state once more.
“….”
I cycled through several responses before discarding each one.
The logic was a complete mess.
But I understood what conclusion I was trying to reach.
“I’m ready to listen to whatever you have to say.”
Sun Ah-hyun nodded rapidly.
Then he spoke again, his voice strained.
“I, I asked you to tell me….”
“No, that’s my fault.”
I continued without hesitation.
Your conclusion is yours, and I have mine.
“It wasn’t a story anyone could believe. Now that I think about it, it sounded completely insane.”
“M, Moon-dae….”
Sun Ah-hyun seemed to be holding back tears.
I nodded seriously. My thoughts crystallized naturally.
That’s it.
That was the root of my mistake.
“I should have explained it properly so it would be impossible not to believe.”
“…w, what?”
Think about it.
Sun Ah-hyun isn’t the type to spark ideas intuitively or make logical leaps.
He filters everything through a sieve, removes all impurities and contradictions, keeps only the answer that best fits the conditions, and then accepts it.
‘He produced results that way with this album too.’
I know it all.
So I should have explained it that way from the start.
Now it’s finally clear.
‘This isn’t… a matter of trust or intimacy.’
It was a matter of timing.
And if I’d been myself, I would have controlled the situation by accounting for all such factors, but I misunderstood his immediate trust and loosened my grip—that was the problem.
“You said you’d listen. Fine. I’ll explain again, so pay attention.”
“…!! Y, yes….”
This time I pack it tight with witnesses and concrete examples so there’s no way out.
Then, whether it becomes gruel or rice, he’ll reach a conclusion without regret.

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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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