Debut or Die - Chapter 369

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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 369
After Big Dal performed what he called a ‘reboot,’ he started speaking enthusiastically again.
[Brother, he seems to be doing better now!]
Indeed, the pop-ups Big Dal was displaying were no longer unstable and had stabilized.
However, my head was growing increasingly complicated. I felt like it might explode at any moment.
‘A new game system is appearing here?’
I remained silent for a moment before slowly opening my mouth.
“So… you’re saying this game status window was created by the system itself, not by you.”
[Yes… I only modified it a bit.]
It seemed that just as Big Dal could interfere with the system during the merging process, the system could now also interfere with the status window.
‘Or is it applying something entirely new?’
Either way, it wasn’t welcome news. …However, there was something puzzling about it.
I touched my chin.
“Why does this look like Section 127?”
That’s right. I thought I’d seen this ‘recruiting colleagues’ somewhere before, and the interface and items oddly overlap.
With that game we had collaborated on.
[That was me! I wanted you to at least be familiar with the game format, so I copied it.]
“Really? …Thank you.”
If that’s the case, then the structure and content itself were what the original system intended to give me anyway.
‘Still feels off.’
I furrowed my brow and flipped through the holograms one by one to examine the contents.
First, the status window’s notation was similar to before.
[Player: Ryu Gun-woo (Park Moon-dae)]
Vocals: A+
Dance: B
Appearance: A
Charisma: A-
Trait: Infinite Potential
Until Next Awakening Opportunity / Exp 1000
My traits had completely disappeared and all my stats had dropped in grade, but considering my age, it was still a terrifying report card.
‘An all-rounder with nothing to discard.’
Could this be my original stats without the system corrections I’d received so far? The situation was too garbage to feel proud about, so I’ll skip that.
The problem came after that.
[Recruited Colleague: Shin Jae-hyun]
Until Next Recruitment Opportunity / Exp 1000
Why was this bastard listed here?
Before that, what exactly did ‘recruiting colleagues’ even mean? And what about awakening?
I asked Big Dal a few more questions, but he seemed confused too and didn’t have any real certainty about anything.
‘There’s no helping it.’
I couldn’t even guess what had happened to this guy in reality right now. I couldn’t expect any greater help from him.
What I lack, I’ll compensate for with my mind.
I lay on a bed that was disconcertingly well-made and sank into contemplation.
First, let me piece together the clues I have.
‘…If I think of it in terms of Section 127…’
There, they called leveling up “awakening.”
Next awakening opportunity / Fame Exp 1000
That’s what was displayed beneath my status window.
Each time you awaken, you randomly gain stat points or skills. I’d heard it was based on the accumulated probability of choices and actions I’d made so far.
If Big Dal had properly implemented that mechanism, it would work similarly here.
And the experience currency used for awakening here was… Fame Exp.
‘How predictable.’
Become famous, win awards, perform well—and it would accumulate. It was nothing more than a refined, more intuitive version of the system from when I was Park Moon-dae.
In short, the intention was transparent.
‘It’s telling me to debut.’
What this system wanted was unmistakably my debut in this world.
Debut, steadily accumulate fame, and succeed more easily than last time—that’s what it was saying.
‘As if telling me to just settle down and live here.’
It was an offensively blunt proposition.
‘Have I lost my mind?’
Did you think I wouldn’t know what you’re trying to do, and that I’d just stay here like this? And…
‘…there’s so much waiting for me in reality.’
I couldn’t abandon it all. Never.
I closed my eyes.
I was oddly relieved that tomorrow’s schedule was packed tight. There was no room to waste energy on pointless worries and overthinking.

* * *
The next morning.
I found myself having breakfast with the younger Ryu Chung-woo.
“….”
Well… I mean, eating in the Dormitory without anyone else around was something we did anyway, but it really felt like being back home.
Ryu Chung-woo seemed comfortable with the silence, his expression calm and indifferent.
‘Big Dal said he was resting.’
It seemed like he was sleeping from having exerted such tremendous power. Thanks to that, it was even quieter.
“I’m heading out.”
“Have a good time, hyung. See you tonight.”
Instead of persistently grilling this guy for information, I left the house easily—and this approach had better cost-effectiveness.
My plan was to head to the Service Center on this route and unlock the smartphone.
‘The information should be in there.’
Data doesn’t lie.
And at the Service Center, they disabled the lock pattern in just 15 minutes. Clean.
‘This was the right answer.’
If I were him, I would’ve set a security option where the data evaporates after consecutive pattern failures, so I wouldn’t have risked multiple attempts.
I opened the smartphone with a refreshing sense of satisfaction.
“Hmm.”
First, there wasn’t much in the KakaoTalk history. Mostly traces of group project messages and classmate group chats.
‘…Chung-ryeo is the most recent contact.’
What kind of interpersonal relationships did this guy have anyway? He’d even temporarily quit the Photography Club.
[Yeon-sa Lee Yu-jin : Ryu Gun-woo?? Did you quit the Photography Club? Why haven’t you been coming?]
[Found something I want to do]
Yeon-sa Lee Yu-jin: ??? OK lol lol
Based on the conversation with the guy who introduced me to the data-selling work, what this version of me wanted to do was probably becoming an idol.
And most likely… the method was street casting during proxy fancam filming.
[LeTi 16th Generation Shin Jae-hyun : I’m Shin Jae-hyun who went to the Dream Concert with Manager Lee Yong-jae. Do you remember? Looking forward to working with you, hyung ^^]
The first message from Chung-ryeo. This must’ve been when it started.
‘…Just three months ago.’
So they really threw him into the Debut Group right after picking him up, but honestly, looking at his stats, it made sense.
‘Finding a usable vocalist is difficult.’
Even Chung-ryeo had to compromise from being the main vocalist—didn’t that guy cause an incident?
‘Roughly, I understand the causal relationship. Next.’
…Ryu Chung-woo.
I scrolled through the messages I’d exchanged with him.
[Ryu Chung-woo : Engineering Building sundubu jjigae?]
[Yeah]
He wasn’t 20 years old—he was 21.
‘Of course he was.’
Ryu Gun-woo had spent a year at University, so this same-aged bastard would have done the same.
And just like in reality, this version of Ryu Chung-woo had also quit archery.
However, there were no aftereffects from an injury—it was simply a case where he’d chosen to attend university of his own volition.
‘I won the gold medal.’
[Ryu Chung-woo: I thought it might be fun to research it more academically.]
Ryu Chung-woo had simply chosen what he wanted to do from the open options available to him.
‘If that’s the case.’
…Wasn’t this world happier for him?
I held my smartphone and stood still for a moment.
I seemed to be bewildered.
It was far too… a good choice for everyone.
‘No.’
It’s because it’s a dream.
Every time I open the status window, the English sentence displayed at the top keeps insisting this is reality, but I can’t believe that.
‘Still, it’s better than a shitty situation.’
During my daydreams, wasn’t every person I met mentally falling apart?
I abandoned my thoughts and looked at the messages again.
And as I scrolled down.
Scrolled… down.
I saw it.
[Our Family]
“Ah.”
…A family group chat.
I couldn’t delete my parents’ contact information from my phone until I graduated from university.
I only deleted it after confirming that the number had been transferred to someone else later.
And by this point… I seemed to be doing something meaningless, digging through this kind of message room and writing in it.
‘Damn it.’
But somewhere in the corner of my head, someone was muttering.
If everything turned out well in this world, then maybe, just maybe….
“….”
I entered the room where the last message “I understand” was displayed.
And I saw it.
[Mother: Don’t skip meals. Make sure you eat properly. Okay?]
The message exchanged just last month….
“…!”
I frantically clicked on the profile. A flower photo with a bio that read “I’m overseas, so replies are very slow”….
And the number displayed below it.
I pressed the call button.
Beep beep beep.
As the unfamiliar default ringtone connected, time passed and no logic formed in my mind.
And the moment the call connected.
-Gun-woo?
My throat tightened.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it started, but a familiar voice flowed gently through the phone speaker.
-Gun-woo, is something wrong?
“I…”
I swallowed hard.
The smartphone trembled in my grip, pressing against my ear.
“I just… wanted to hear your voice.”
-What’s gotten into our son!
Her voice grew louder, lifting with joy at the end.
And then, belatedly, the memory returned.
She always spoke in that tone.
-I’m so glad we could connect right now. I’m usually stuck with the radio at the Antarctic Research Station, so the timing worked out perfectly.
This time her voice dropped again.
-I’m sorry. Your father and I miss you so much, Gun-woo.
Damn it. Damn it.
“Yes… me too.”
What was I even saying right now?
-Oh my, what’s this about? You’ve grown out of your rebellious phase! Our son. I have to go now, though.
My eyes stung.
-Let’s make sure to see each other this Christmas, okay?
“Yes…”
The call ended like a mirage. Yet the call log was unmistakable.
[01:04]
As if to prove it was real.
“…”
My hands trembled uncontrollably.
My thoughts spiraled wildly.
Where did she say? Antarctica?
I scrolled back through the message thread. There were traces of my parents’ steady contact over the past year—they were going to the Antarctic Research Station for two years for research purposes.
And even the message about how frequent contact would be difficult now that they’d become winter-over members.
“…”
Antarctica.
The idea pierced my brain like an awl.
‘Could I go?’
There was no more compulsion like an abnormal condition. I didn’t need to debut here.
I could submit a leave of absence, fabricate some excuse, and go find them… if I could just get to that region, surely they would come out to see my face—
“…”
I turned off my smartphone.
And I took a deep breath.
‘No.’
My head felt like it was about to explode….
But reason had to come first. This was a setup.
No matter how much of a researcher he was, why would my parents suddenly go all the way to Antarctica? It was all fabricated.
“It’s a dream. It’s a dream….”
So then, since it’s a dream, I can do whatever I want, right? So I can just abandon everything and do as I please….
“Shut up.”
Whether it’s my mouth or my brain, just shut up.
‘I have to go back.’
I staggered.
This… won’t do. I need to get out of here as fast as possible.
I can’t hold on.
I turned off my smartphone. Then I put it in my pocket and moved forward again.
LeTi Entertainment. To Ryu Gun-woo’s agency.
“….”
My palms were damp with sweat.

* * *
“Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“I’m fine.”
I answered curtly. Chung-ryeo shrugged his shoulders.
LeTi’s training lived up to its reputation for being grueling, but today there was barely any structured training—instead, everyone was scattered around doing independent practice.
“You came back at just the right time. Your team isn’t practicing right now, is it?”
“…Yeah.”
I needed to have a productive conversation.
And while it’s true this guy isn’t in his right mind… somehow, his natural, effortless simplicity had a peculiar way of calming people down even in this insane situation.
‘Let’s work.’
I focused only on work. Nothing else would do.
I pulled myself together.
“There wasn’t anything particularly unusual at my place, but how about you, Junior Member?”
“A new status window appeared.”
“Hmm.”
I explained the current situation in as much detail as possible. There was nothing here that this bastard could use to stab me in the back anyway.
And I was even thinking of giving examples to help him understand.
“Have you ever played Section 127?”
“I’m not particularly interested in games.”
I figured as much.
Either way, whether he grasped the context or not, Chung-ryeo nodded along fairly readily.
“So basically, to completely restore your vocal ability stats, you need to gain fame. Hmm.”
“….”
So that’s what matters most to you. Got it.
And this guy even accelerates things rapidly.
“Do you want to debut right away?”
Are you the CEO? What kind of trainee asks something like that so naturally?
‘Is this what they call being a stagnant pool?’
As long as our destinations aligned, there was no efficiency quite like this.
But I had no intention of carelessly treading the exact path this system wanted, step by step.
“Wait.”
I pulled up the Quest tab.
[Quest : Ally Awakening 1/?]
-Recruit and awaken allies
Awakening-capable allies : ?
Required Fame Points : 1000 Exp
The ally awakening quest.
And I recalled the conversation I’d had with Big Dal just before falling asleep yesterday.
-What does “awakening-capable ally” even mean?
-I’m not entirely sure either… but maybe it’s related to stats, like you deduced? That’s how it worked in Section 127….
-That makes sense.
I’d thought it meant the system was generously leveling up my allies en masse to help me adapt to this world more easily.
And without any coercion, at that.
‘If that’s the case, there might be a small opening to exploit.’
Where there’s generosity, there’s a gap.
-So then, could I possibly add just a little text here? Just one line of explanation that fits the context.
-…! Hey, just a little?
So I added this description.
[Awakened allies remember all previous timelines and grow stronger.]
It was content from Section 127.
In that game, whenever you awakened an ally, there was a setting where they’d grow stronger by remembering the previous cycle’s events.
“….”
I clenched my fist.
‘I need to test this.’
I’d just slightly increase the fame points and check if it actually works.
I explained the details to Chung-ryeo.
And his response was this.
“Is that so? Understood.”
“….”
He agreed just like that?
“Hmm, your reaction seems lukewarm. Was I just throwing it out there?”
“That can’t be it.”
I decided to squeeze everything I could out of this guy while he was being cooperative. I crossed my arms.
“Well… I’ve heard that major entertainment agencies tend to leak information about a few first-tier trainees before debut.”
“That’s true. Sometimes they release it intentionally.”
I’d done a search before coming here. For instance, Shin Jae-hyun’s name was already circulating quietly among idol fans within LeTi Entertainment’s sphere of influence.
At least I could gain that level of recognition.
“I’d like similar information to leak about me as well.”
“Ah, should I post something directly on the Internet?”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“That’s not all there is to it.”
“Haha!”
This bastard knew that perfectly well but was playing dumb. Getting attention through Internet posts required controversy, which made it difficult to control.
An official route would be better.
“This company gives work to trainees too, doesn’t it?”
There’s something major entertainment agencies frequently do with trainees who haven’t debuted yet.
They either position them as dancers for senior idols to gain stage experience, or cast them in music videos to build recognition.
Typically with senior idols of a different gender so their fan bases don’t overlap.
And from what I know, LeTi did quite a bit of that too, before VTIC debuted with their mysterious image concept and they changed their strategy.
‘The awards season is coming up right now.’
At this point in time, who would be LeTi’s most successful direct female idol?
‘Malang Dalcom.’
The group behind the hit song 【POP☆CON】.
So, Ryu Gun-woo from the debut group would dance as a backup dancer for Malang Dalcom.
“I’d like you to push for that.”
I turned to look at Shin Jae-hyun, someone who seemed to have mastered everything about this agency.
He nodded calmly with a fairly reassuring demeanor.
“Hmm, the main vocal position wouldn’t really need that kind of experience… but sure. If you want to go that far.”
“….”
Damn, this guy really doesn’t fit.

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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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