Debut or Die - Chapter 365

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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 365
First and foremost, Miry-nay’s comeback was tremendously successful.
That is to say, in terms of generating buzz.
-Honestly, they seem conscious of Fouty. The song vibe feels similar too
└What? It’s the opposite. Fouty fans are being shameless lolol
└lol Miry-nay had a trendy and intense concept from their debut, so cut the bullshit
-Ah, but it really can’t be compared to the talents of idols from Serba, Jiri’s Pouti haha.
As expected, with a comparison group present, public opinion heated up.
People naturally find it more entertaining when there’s a hierarchy they can measure on the same scale.
Moreover, even though each group occupies similar positions, their strengths differ, so evaluations inevitably vary from viewer to viewer.
In conclusion, there was plenty of talk.
‘Quite the commotion.’
What was certain was that Miry-nay’s comeback news had firmly imprinted itself on the public consciousness, and the dying embers of interest had been reignited.
‘Noise marketing executed perfectly.’
Thanks to this, Miry-nay was climbing the music charts with impressive momentum after a long while.
The song targeting America wasn’t particularly different from before, but it seemed to have been received like a pop song, benefiting from the similar ‘global-friendly’ positioning as Fouty, who had achieved success in America.
‘The song itself is good too.’
I watched the heated debate between the two groups for a while before shrugging my shoulders.
‘Testa has completely dropped out of the conversation.’
With both being from the same survival show and sharing the same gender, naturally the space for us to be mentioned had vanished.
And that variety show… damn it, anyway, thanks to that show establishing itself properly, Testa’s buzz was burning brightly in a different direction.
-Jade stone plate sold out idols (from the buyer’s perspective)
hahahahahahahaha
…The process turned out somewhat differently than expected, but we hit close to the target anyway. That’s how I had to think about it.
Besides, the response from overseas was quietly decent.
Since we had agreed on a global strategy from the start, T1 handed this variety show over to Netplus rather than their own OTT service.
And the results were good. The production team even dared to send a direct message, which says everything.
-Netplus World TV Show ranking 6th place! It’s all thanks to you Testa members doing so well. Congratulations! (laughing emoticon)
-Mr. Moon Dae? Next time, I’ll go to a real hot spring. Please accept our apology and loveㅠㅠ (Check the gift)
A hot spring? I don’t believe it. This fool act is being officially recognized even overseas, I won’t let this slide… Anyway, so the board is balancing out exactly as I drew it.
‘And the media play just kicked in.’
Before even the final episode aired, I’d already coordinated with the company and finished timing everything.
[Testa, from Billboard double entry to variety shows… where does their domestic and international prowess come from?]
[From Dotify to Billboard. How did ‘Target Idol’ Testa’s two songs become hits?]
Our promotional period was winding down now.
With Billboard rankings maintaining decent staying power as they declined, this level would settle naturally without any backlash.
‘The fans would be happy too.’
Thanks to the favorable image gained from the explosive variety show, now was the best time to spread the news smoothly.
‘Good.’
And a few days later.
A status window appeared.
[Mission Clear!]
[Processing rewards….]
I let out a quiet laugh. There was always something satisfying about predictions aligning perfectly with reality.
This was how it should have gone, but that blasted variety show….
“Sigh.”
I finished my short sigh and looked at the status window again.
The sentence I’d anticipated popped up.
[Hyung!]
Yeah, I knew you’d appear when I called up the status window.
Big Dal.
“How have you been?”
We’d kept in touch occasionally, but the District Office where Big Dal had been assigned was swamped with work, and with me traveling overseas, it had been ages since we’d had a proper conversation.
[Of course! Congratulations on clearing the mission!]
Still the same. I nodded as I watched the text multiply rapidly with excitement.
That’s the kind of guy who’d congratulate first.
[And I really enjoyed watching the variety show. Mung-ge was so cute… and the plot twist was hilarious! I was so amazed at how you came up with such a story!]
“….”
I closed my mouth.
The status window popup vibrated.
[Wasn’t it all planned out together?]
“No.”
[I’m sorry….]
There’s nothing for him to apologize for. It was now confirmed that I’d have to deal with people laughing at me every time I met someone for a while. I ran one hand across my face, then looked beside the popup.
The settlement was complete.
The reward text I’d written out was recorded exactly as is.
[Reward Complete!]
Reward: Enhanced Interference Power of Status Window
I was quite satisfied with this, at least.
The status window popup shook up and down, as if examining it more closely or in bewilderment.
[Hyung, but why did you want this reward exactly…? Enhancement? Did you want something like subdividing the items I display? I could have done that anyway!]
“No.”
Would I accept such a difficult mission like breaking a record for something like that?
I raised my finger.
“Look carefully. The subject isn’t me.”
[Huh?]
“It’s the status window itself.”
That’s right. I’d set the status window strengthening its own interference power as the reward.
[Gasp]
“In other words, I’ve strengthened your abilities as a status window. In the broader sense.”
To avoid triggering the system by any chance, I deliberately refrained from giving him the answer directly, even using the vague phrase “interference power” instead.
[Why, why?]
“Because there’s a use for it.”
To prevent this bastard from returning to the status window, I ultimately had to eliminate the system itself.
I called Kwon Hee-seung, Gold 2.
The current system holder.

* * *
“Man, my bones are killing me.”
“Do we really have to do our broadcast today? Can’t we do it tomorrow?”
At the tail end of the Japan tour, Spacer—the group Kwon Hee-seung belonged to—was groaning under the aftereffects of their first tour.
Of course, one particular person who saw this as a chance to start anew remained sharp and focused.
“Hey, that lazy mindset is what brings the downward spiral.”
“Ugh…”
At Kwon Hee-seung’s words, Spacer grumbled but complied and got moving.
‘Our team doesn’t have anyone with bad character anymore.’
Kwon Hee-seung shook his head inwardly.
‘It’s just that there are kids who don’t mesh well at all!’
Spacer had more members than Testa. That remained true even after Chae Seo-dam’s departure, who had been a nightmare during Sun Ah-hyun’s school days.
And when a team has many members, conflicts multiply exponentially if not properly managed.
It was… exhausting.
‘But we’ve made it this far!’
While Spacer’s mainstream appeal was somewhat weaker than Testa during the hugely successful Ajusa relisting season, they had a solid fanbase befitting their survival show origins.
And Kwon Hee-seung was confident he was performing excellently as a self-proclaimed mental leader!
“Alright, hyung and dongsaengs, let’s make today count!”
“Okay…”
Everyone was exhausted with the comeback looming, but they pulled through the personal broadcast with professionalism.
“See you again~”
“I’ll be back soon!”
After a simple mukbang, the members scattered to their respective hotel rooms.
“Phew.”
And just as Kwon Hee-seung was congratulating himself on a successful day, patting his shoulders and about to drift off to sleep—
A call came through.
[Testa’s Moon-dae Hyung

]
“What?”
So suddenly?
Of course, some people preferred to call first, but this hyung was definitely not one of them.
‘He’s always been remarkably composed, cool, and methodical.’
That said, Kwon Hee-seung didn’t dislike Park Moon-dae.
Though he could be intimidating at times, he was a good senior.
-It’s better not to fight there and just back out.
-Don’t say anything like that, even by accident.
-Maybe we should just put them in separate rooms.
Park Moon-dae occasionally asked about Kwon Hee-seung’s concerns and recent happenings, and when he sought advice, the senior responded with genuine sincerity.
To those within his circle, he seemed genuinely kind. Kwon Hee-seung rubbed the area under his nose.
‘Though honestly, he’s been like that since Ajusa.’
He recalled the ordinary contestant Park Moon-dae from back then—someone who casually brushed off Choi Won-gil’s schemes while still looking after those around him—and clicked his tongue.
Recently, he’d even received an apology from Choi Won-gil through Park Moon-dae, so the guy definitely had impressive composure.
‘…He was pretty generous when I almost said something stupid on the radio and he found out.’
-When a problem arises, you handle it. The issue is you might not be able to handle it.
…That one fact had been so brutally true it made cold sweat run down his spine.
‘So I never expected him to reveal his circumstances to people around him….’
Wait, now that I think about it—could he have made that decision with me in mind, since I almost publicly talked about our organization(?) on the radio!
Or maybe he was trying to show me by example: ‘This is how you should reveal it.’
The timing was perfect.
‘Wow, he’s so cool.’
Kwon Hee-seung, blinded by the dignity of a first-tier idol who had returned from the future, completed his entirely unfounded deduction.
In fact, Park Moon-dae had practically become his role model!
And not just because of the ‘idol group that knows the future.’
‘He’s genuinely someone worthy of respect as an idol.’
Just the way he’d thrown the match in this variety show spoke volumes. It couldn’t have been easy for someone so cool to do that.
-Dang dang dance~ Mung-ge Moon-dae dance~ (video)
-Park Mung-dae and the Six Phantom Thieves lololol (screenshot)
‘Yeah, idols really need to be good at variety shows to make first-tier. He’s living proof!’
Recalling those humorous, cute posts that had filtered into his fan accounts, Kwon Hee-seung nearly laughed.
Beep beep.
“Oh no.”
The doorbell had rung while he was lost in thought.
Kwon Hee-seung quickly touched his smartphone screen before it was too late.
“Hello, hyung!”
-Yeah.
His calm voice came through the phone.
“What’s going on?”
-I need to check something real quick.
“Sure~”
He seemed ready to get straight to business without any fuss. It must be urgent!
And then Park Moon-dae asked an unexpected question.
-What exactly did you say your mission was this time?
The mission he had to complete in exchange for gaining a new life from Mi-rae. Park Moon-dae said he’d already finished his.
And the one still remaining for Kwon Hee-seung.
‘Why is he bringing this up now?’
Still, Kwon Hee-seung answered immediately. Though even he wasn’t satisfied with his own answer.
“…Um, a self-produced album.”
*gulp*
I couldn’t understand why this of all things was so appealing. Or rather, it wasn’t that I found it appealing—it just felt that way because it was given as a ‘mission’?
‘Either way, it’s not great….’
An album with the entire team’s participation… typically something like this requires more years of experience.
We’d managed to contribute bit by bit and put it together, but honestly, with the release date right around the corner, I was worried.
“Actually….”
So Kwon Hee-seung laid out his concerns honestly. He trusted the counseling experience he’d had with Park Moon-dae so far.
-Yeah. That’s right.
Park Moon-dae answered in a calm tone.
But… there was a hint of laughter mixed in.
‘…Laughter?’
Why?
And then his words continued slowly.
-I think I can help you with that.
“Huh?”
Kwon Hee-seung blinked.
And after a few seconds passed in silence.
“Gaaaaaah!”
Something appeared before his eyes.
[!Abnormal Status: Make It Work]
-For idols, is teamwork really the answer?
: If the team fails to release a collaborative work within the time limit, it’s a ‘failure’.
Semi-transparent gray text with sparks crackling around it.
It disappeared with a fizzing sound shortly after, but I saw it clearly.
“W-wait, just now that was…!”
-I showed it to you for a moment.
The voice from the phone spoke calmly.
-Your ‘mission’.
Kwon Hee-seung covered his own mouth.
Gaaaaah!

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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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