Debut or Die - Chapter 364

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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 364
I turned my head away.
The guys beside me were all breaking into cold sweat or gaping with their mouths wide open.
I turned back and watched the Television.
On screen, the footage showed people who had each received secret orders moving one by one in rapid succession.
[Am I a phantom thief?]
[Ryu Chung-woo: If we don’t get caught until we leave the village, it’s a success….]
[Lee Sae-jin: Oh, easy. I mean, nobody saw what I stole yesterday anyway, and I didn’t even know myself, right?]
[Sun Ah-hyun: Um, yes. I’ll do my best…!]
Then a black screen appears with text.
[No one]
[ever said you stole the carrot coin….]
The viewers burst into laughter.
Hahahahahaha
-??????
So the real culprit is Kim Rae-bin, and he made everyone think it was them? lololololololololol
“- is seriously a demon lol”
-Professor, you’re moving too fast
The Living Room is silent as a tomb except for the Television sound. Yet the PD’s voice from within the screen is devilishly lively.
[Bae Sae-jin: But I didn’t do anything last night… so I have no idea how the coin was stolen in the first place.]
[PD: If you can deduce how the culprit stole it last night, an even bigger prize awaits~]
[Bae Sae-jin: Ah, of course…!]
[hahahahahahahaha]
The Writer and PDs burying their heads and trembling as quietly as possible is captured perfectly in exaggerated editing.
However, those assigned such grave roles were too busy reading their notes to notice.
[Justice Phantom Spy (Fake)]
[Individual Round Begins!]
Lee Sae-jin winks at the camera.
[Lee Sae-jin: Phew~ Please be understanding with our members, it’s a variety show after all!]
Thud.
The real Lee Sae-jin silently punches her own thigh. Her namesake does the same, clenching his fist. No one stopped them.
[A Suffocating Battle of Wits]
[Sun Ah-hyun: Since there’s thread, maybe I can make something and, well, see if anyone notices?]
[↑ Person Wracked with Guilt]
[Bae Sae-jin: You’re impressive, that’s true… but isn’t catching the culprit the top priority? That’s what the Production Team said too. They’re basically telling us to catch them outright.]
[↑ The Actor Among Them]
[Kim Rae-bin: If I get sabotaged….]
[↑ Currently Imagining Himself Being Sabotaged]
Captions with arrows float around providing additional commentary, and the viewers are convulsing with laughter.
[Ryu Chung-woo: (Quickly) That won’t happen.]
[Sun Ah-hyun: (quickly) Yes. It could be dangerous….]
[Lee Sae-jin: (quickly) Right. It could be dangerous.]
[Opinions that oddly aligned perfectly]
And then I appear on screen, my head inexplicably crowned with a question mark.
[Park Moon-dae: (Is that so…?)]
[↑ The person who has no idea what’s going on]
This….
Hahahaha
-Why don’t you just tell me the door handle, production crew bastards hahahaㅠㅠㅠ
-Oh, I feel sorry for you haha.
“….”
Unlike the live chat viewers convulsing with laughter, not a single sound of amusement echoes from the living room.
I cracked my neck sharply. Everyone around me flinches.
[Ryu Chung-woo: First, let’s help with the work and earn coins. While we’re at it, let’s keep an eye out for who the thief might be. There’s definitely a clue somewhere.]
[Kim Rae-bin: (relieved) A good… wise decision, sir.]
[Each person’s grand scheme]
On screen, they desperately scramble around, trying not to reveal that they’re the culprits.
[Lee Sae-jin: The thief is probably among the houses we worked at on the first day, don’t you think?]
[Kim Rae-bin: …Indeed!]
[Bae Sae-jin: It’s worth considering.]
Lee Sae-jin continues to offer plausible but incorrect theories about the culprit.
Naturally, she receives enthusiastic agreement and the idea passes through.
An interview with the laughing culprit is inserted.
[Lee Sae-jin: I’m quite good at things like this, you see.]
“Ugh.”
Now Big Sae-jin in the living room can’t lift his head.
And next, the camera captures Ryu Chung-woo.
[Park Moon-dae: I was thinking of going to the Village Community Center.]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Ah, of course I should go with you.]
[↑ Planning to keep watch]
“It wasn’t surveillance—I really was trying to help.”
A flustered voice fills the living room, but no one responds to it.
Next, on screen, Sun Ah-hyun is so startled by the culprit theories being thrown around that he sets the meat on fire.
[Fire… the fire catches?]
[???: Ahhhhh!]
They even filmed an interview in the dead of night.
[Q. Did you intend to create chaos?]
[Sun Ah-hyun: No….]
Sun Ah-hyun covers his face with both hands and bows his head deeply. The real Sun Ah-hyun in the room mirrors the same posture.
It was a complete mess.
‘…So that’s it.’
I suppressed my irritation and arrived at the conclusion with difficulty.
‘These bastards all thought they were the only culprit.’
That’s why they can’t lift their heads now, drowning in shame.
But damn it, I’m the most embarrassed one here right now. At least those idiots got to feel like they were being deceived, but me….
‘Wait.’
Now that I look at it, there’s one guy whose face is completely intact.
‘Cha Yu-jin.’
Right on cue, the screen displays an explanation.
[And this person….]
[The American Grandson]
On screen, Cha Yu-jin stands beside the Production Team with the camera, his face as blank and sullen as it is in the living room.
And then he speaks up abruptly.
[Cha Yu-jin : Hey, I know.]
[PD : Yes?]
[Cha Yu-jin : There are many culprits besides me! I’m not the culprit. The PD and Writer lied to me.]
[!!!!]
This bastard….
“Don’t you all know? I figured it out.”
“…!!”
“How, how did you??”
“Everyone didn’t want to find the culprit. And you all worked very hard at it. That’s because of your conscience!”
This guy didn’t get caught… I didn’t know.
[The Production Team in Desperate Mode]
[PD : If you don’t tell us, meat!]
[PD : Pretend it’s a prize! I’ll give you Korean beef, Korean beef!]
Within the frame, slow-motion effects kick in.
Cha Yu-jin slowly opens his mouth.
[Cha Yu-jin : Okay!]
[Easy…!]
“Hey!!”
Chaos erupted from both sides.
“You sold us out for meat!”
“I didn’t sell you! We ate it together!”
“I could’ve bought that meat with my own money…!”
It was the moment Bae Sae-jin erupted from the other end of the sofa.
[MVP Selected by the Production Team]
[Bae Sae-jin]
[↑ Premium Actor]
“Cough.”
Bae Sae-jin choked.
[Q. What’s your resolve as a spy?]
[Bae Sae-jin: …First, I’ll construct my character carefully… and act out how I would have behaved if this incident never happened.]
A subtitle plastered itself across Bae Sae-jin’s serious face like a scab.
[Acting as myself…!]
“Snort.”
And Bae Sae-jin’s exquisite pacing and immersive performance aired with equal parts admiration and mockery in the editing.
[Bae Sae-jin: I need to catch the culprit first… but of course, eating is important too!]
[Bae Sae-jin: If you have a conscience, you should turn yourself in right now!]
[Is this person… really acting?]
[And the approaching first crisis]
…Crisis?
In that moment, the screen switched again.
The camera footage was slightly shaky, the horizon tilted, and the quality was poor. It looked like it had been barely captured on a smartphone from somewhere.
What appeared on screen was… Bae Sae-jin, and a pale back of a head…
“…”
No way.
[Bae Sae-jin: So in the end, who was the culprit who took the carrot coin? That’s what started all of this in the first place.]
The pale-haired head shown only in profile could be seen opening its mouth wide.
That’s me, damn it.
[Park Moon-dae: It’s obvious. It must have been an insider.]
The subtitle made a fuss.
[!!!!]
[No way…?]
My mouth went dry.
-Huge hit
-Did Park Moon-dae really figure it out??
Stop speculating, seriously…
[Bae Sae-jin: Y-you’re saying… one of us?]
[Nervous]
[Park Moon-dae: Yes.]
And the pale-haired head on screen spouted some plausible words before Bae Sae-jin asked ‘that’ question.
[Bae Sae-jin: …Are you saying it’s me? Because, acting ability would be needed.]
[Self-sabotage…?]
Damn it, damn it!
I lowered my head. But the bastard on TV kept running his mouth.
[Park Moon-dae: No. It doesn’t seem like it was you, hyung.]
Shut up, you idiot!
[Park Moon-dae: (confidently) You were too composed.]
[hahahahahahahaha]
-Dog barking 1st place lol
-Dog nose malfunction
-Bae Sae-jin looking relieved is hilarious lmao
-Park Moon-dae probably has his blanket pulled up
The captions explode. The viewers are having the time of their lives.
Meanwhile, the guy on screen won’t shut his mouth.
[Park Moon-dae: Actually, there is someone suspicious.]
Don’t do it!
[!Lee Sae-jin pointed out!]
[Congratulations! 【1/6 correct answer】!]
“….”
“P-Park Moon-dae….”
…More captions scroll across the screen as fireworks burst.
[Park Moon-dae: It’s just a suspicion. Let’s keep it between us.]
[Incredibly smart]
You bastards.
-Lololololololol
-Variety show fairy Park Moon-dae! Variety show fairy Park Moon-dae! Variety show fairy Park Moon-dae! Variety show fairy Park Moon-dae! Variety show fairy Park Moon-dae! Variety show fairy Park Moon-dae!
“No, I was just worried I’d get caught too….”
“….”
“I’m sorry! I mean, it’s broadcast… but I didn’t think that would be filmed! I really didn’t know!”
“….”
“And it wasn’t even that fun for me, okay…!”
But on screen, after I left, Bae Sae-jin stands up and does a little celebratory bounce.
[Perfect crime celebration]
“….”
Bae Sae-jin’s voice disappears. When I turn my head, I see him with his face buried in the floor.
More captions appear on the darkened screen.
[A question viewers must have wondered at this point]
[Why was Park Moon-dae excluded.]
Stop this already.
[The full story of the incident 3]
The production team’s meeting appears again. I want to destroy something.
[Writer Park: I’m actually a bit worried about this.]
[PD: About what?]
[Writer Park: Moon-dae.]
The masked writer speaks seriously.
[Writer Park: If we give him the criminal hint, wouldn’t we just be giving him more clues? Then he’d catch on. That would ruin it.]
[….]
[….]
[What is the countermeasure for a six-star dangerous participant?]
After a moment of pregnant silence, the PD speaks decisively.
[PD: Then… let’s cut him out!]
[Writer Lee: Pardon…?]
[PD: Just remove him! We’ll have Park Moon-dae serve as a special citizen instead!]
[Hahahahahahahaha]
[CORRECT ANSWER / EXEMPTION]
“….”
In stark contrast to the silent living room, the television erupts with the production team’s laughter.
[Writer Lee: That works, that actually works!]
[PD: Let’s really pull off a proper deception!]
[Writer Park: Yesssss!]
The screen floods with laughing emoticons before fireworks burst across it.
[And so it came to pass.^^]
[☺Only Park Moon-dae is not a phantom thief☺]
[Congratulations on becoming a lone virtuous citizen, Park Moon-dae~]
Then a rapid montage shows me—bewildered and alone—being swept up among those who received phantom thief orders.
“….”
“Moon-dae, breathe… just breathe….”
They packed in five episodes’ worth of content, and it doesn’t end. Instead, they inserted the popcorn dance I performed at the Village Community Center right there.
[Citizen Certification Dance]
As that fades, enormous text appears above it.
[★☆Park Moon-dae’s Truman Show Grand Success☆★]
[Production Support: All of Testa, Mung-ge]
“….”
“Moon-dae? Moon-dae?”
“Park Moon-dae’s lost consciousness?!”
These… bastards.
***
After the final episode of Big Blue.
The variety show 【That House’s Grandson】 became a hot topic in several… ways.
-An unimaginable spy (everyone)
└You missed this one (except Park Moon-dae)
Haha, that’s killing me twice
The Production Team really has devilish star quality lol
-You must see the Testa reaction cam. It’s so funny. Park Moon-dae’s facial expression is real. Hahaha.
-All the kids are saying to each other, ‘Now we’re getting caught,’ but Kim Rae-bin went crazy from the moment the sole culprit came out. All 20 minutes were highlighted haha.
And Testa became a level of suckers that would never happen again in idol history…
Especially me.
Me!
‘Damn it!’
On top of that, these cunning bastards even sent gifts timed for the day after the final episode, creating an atmosphere of reconciliation.
[It’s a family photo of Testa taken at the Town Photography Studio (+ Mung-ge)! *^^*]
I won’t forget the sense of defeat when posting this as a verification post on SNS.
After four days, Big Sae-jin, who permitted conversation, hesitantly asks.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae, are you okay? That was pretty harsh this time, right? Next time we could do it with other people…”
“No, we’re doing it together again.”
“Ooh~ As expected of Moon-dae…”
“Next time, I’m definitely going to grab the production budget and make you cry your eyes out.”
“….”
I’m going to destroy you.
“Th…that’s right! I’ll absolutely cooperate, absolutely~!”
“Yeah.”
I looked at the group photo placed in the living room and my eyebrows twitched.
It irritates me every time I see it, but the photo itself isn’t guilty.
One innocent one got captured too.
…A dog.
I turned my gaze to the white furry lump.
By the way, there were quite a few opinions among the members about bringing that one along.
-Ah~ if we just leave our Mung-ge here, someone’s gonna come steal him, right, seriously?
-Well, since it aired on broadcast, there’s a possibility of that…
-Sigh.
But keeping him at the dormitory is also awkward.
‘There’s a tour coming up too… and we leave here too often.’
I have no idea how Chung-ryeo manages to keep a dog.
Fortunately, a solution came quickly.
-Um, our mother said she wants to keep him…
-…!
It seemed Bae Sae-jin’s mother had been looking into getting a dog, and after seeing Bae Sae-jin’s photos and messages, and the first episode of the variety show, she made her decision.
-That’s nice. We could visit sometimes~
-…Yeah, sure. That works.
-….
Bae Sae-jin looked like he might burst out with “Lee Sae-jin, you’re coming to our house…?” right then and there, but in any case, he seemed to welcome the visit wholeheartedly.
‘When I get time off, maybe I should mention taking a day trip.’
Since he occasionally brought people to the Dormitory anyway, that wasn’t a bad idea.
“….”
In any case, setting that aside.
Evaluating things coldly and objectively, I had indeed accomplished everything I’d set out to achieve with this variety show.
The buzz was undeniable, and the viewership ratings were quite solid too.
‘The final episode hit 7.1%.’
For cable, that was genuinely impressive.
In other words, it was time to open the lid and see what was happening.
‘Let me check how things are progressing.’
I opened the status window while checking on Miry-nay’s situation.

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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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