Debut or Die - Chapter 380

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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 380
“….”
I immediately confirmed the addition of a new colleague. Then I swallowed hard and checked the list.
The current status of all the colleagues I’d recruited so far was displayed.
[Colleague List]
Shin Jae-hyun: I’m heading out to look for my colleague.
[Cha Yu-jin: Calmly talking with the production crew (ㅇㅅㅇ)]
Normally it would end here, but one more line had been added.
The one I just recruited.
[Lee Se-jin: Reading the scenario (ˋㅅ´9)]
A scenario.
Anyone could see from this description that this was an actor. So… it had to be Bae Sae-jin.
“Sigh.”
A popup that looked like Big Dal had scribbled it popped up.
[Come on, awaken right now, hyung!]
Right.
[Colleague: Would you like to awaken Lee Sae-jin?]
-Use 1000 Exp
I reached out to press the accept button, but….
I stopped.
[?? Hyung?]
No, this wasn’t right.
Only then did I turn my head, blood finally returning to my thoughts.
‘I’m in the middle of filming right now.’
I’d even submitted my smartphone. If I awakened him now, he’d be unreachable for at least four days anyway.
I couldn’t just leave him confused, regaining his memories alone all that time.
[Ah… I see.]
Let me finish the stage first, then proceed with the awakening.
[Yes! Fighting!]
I closed the colleague list popup. But unlike before, I wasn’t anxious.
Rather, I felt somewhat… motivated.
‘Once it’s over, I’ll awaken him right away and contact him. I should tell Cha Yu-jin too.’
Of course, convincing him didn’t seem like it would be easy… but just thinking about it felt quite good.
My mind becomes clearer.
[Lee Se-jin: Reflecting on the scenario (ˋㅅ//)]
…I’m not sure why the emoticon suddenly has a slash through it, but anyway, this works for now.
I chuckled softly, closed the colleague list, and prepared to return to the Training Room.
That was when it happened.
“Um….”
“…!”
A familiar voice. But….
‘Why am I hearing this here?’
I turned my head, and there he was, exactly as expected.
It was Lee Sae-jin with an awkward expression.
“Excuse me, do you know where the washroom is?”
“….”
Right. Since it’s break time, he can wander around here as he pleases.
I raised my hand.
“It’s over there.”
“Ah~”
Just go already.
But instead of leaving, he started lingering.
“Thank you. Oh, Gun-woo, is it okay if I call you that?”
“Yes.”
“Ooh, you’re so straightforward!”
And he laughed.
“Your stage performance today was amazing, and thanks to that, I really enjoyed myself. Thank you~”
“The pleasure is mine,”
Let me choose my words carefully.
“Thank you for the kind words.”
“No, I’m serious. I saw your first stage too, and everything was really good. I think you’re going to debut for sure!”
Is this guy testing me because he actually remembers?
‘That can’t be it.’
He probably just saw potential and wants to build a connection for networking. How predictable.
‘That hasn’t changed.’
I relaxed my shoulders.
Yeah, anyway, once the survival show ends, I’ll pick you and you’ll awaken too, so do as you like.
Let me give you some credit too.
Not that I’m making things up.
“Thank you. I learned a lot watching your stage performance too. The way you implement every movement and expression to perfectly match the song—I learned so much from that.”
“Ah.”
He suddenly closed his mouth.
‘Didn’t expect that?’
But soon he opened it again as if nothing happened.
“Thank you. That’s encouraging~ Well, since this is fate, should we exchange contact information?”
Just like back at Ajusa.
A strange nostalgia rose up rather than bitterness. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I don’t have my phone right now… but I can give you my number if that’s okay.”
“Yes, yes, that works!”
I entered my number into his smartphone. Something felt strange.
“I’ll text you later, so we can say hello again then~”
“Yes. Then I’ll head in and prepare. Thank you.”
“Mm, okay.”
I turned away, pretending not to notice that he seemed to want to continue the conversation.
‘I need to clear my head.’
He was the type who did all sorts of things normally. If I kept talking now, I felt like I’d make a mistake the moment my guard dropped.
In any case, it was a polite response, so he shouldn’t have felt offended either….
‘Even here, things are developing similarly.’
Networking relationships, in other words, interpersonal connections based on mutual benefit.
I let out a quiet laugh and quickened my pace as I turned the corner of the corridor.
And just before I collided with someone on the other side of the corner, I stopped in my tracks.
It was Chung-ryeo.
“You were here. You came quite far.”
“It just happened.”
“It doesn’t seem like ‘just happened’… Ah, as expected.”
He glanced beyond the corner and caught sight of Lee Sae-jin’s retreating figure. Then he muttered with an indifferent expression.
“She wasn’t at her seat. But just so you know, she’s hard to recruit. She’s a third-year member of an established group.”
Did I not already know that?
“I just got her contact info for networking purposes.”
“Hmm, are you perhaps thinking of explaining the situation and trying to persuade her?”
“….”
“You did that to her before, didn’t you.”
Approaching her out of nowhere?
For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that there was nothing I couldn’t do….
“No, the stage comes first.”
It’s not crazy because I can’t do it. It’s crazy because I can do it but choose to do something that everyone else avoids.
Until my awakening, I have no intention of saying unnecessary things to him.
“Right. You thought it through well.”
He’s spouting clichés.
I returned to the Training Room. For the completion of the stage.
And several days later.
Finally, the stage recording with an audience—a first for this program—began.

* * *
“I look forward to working with you~”
Lee Sae-jin from Zairop, who had taken a seat again as a special judge, greeted everyone smoothly before sitting down.
They’d called back some of the idols who had attended the mid-term evaluation and were relatively less busy now, and the fact that I’d claimed one of those spots didn’t feel particularly pleasant.
Still, I found myself interested in the Stage.
Monitoring those who were likely to become competitors could only be advantageous. Besides, I’d even developed a connection with someone.
Ryu Gun-woo.
That trainee who’d performed the jazz Stage.
Lee Sae-jin slightly frowned, as if wrinkling my nose.
‘Something felt off about him.’
He’d always been the type who stood out and naturally drew attention. So I figured there was no harm in keeping him in mind.
But when I actually tried talking to him….
‘I guess I’d say I felt like I wanted to get closer to him.’
You know that feeling—like reconnecting with an old friend you’d drifted away from because you hadn’t seen them in a while.
‘Could I have known him before?’
Like maybe a friend I used to play with in the neighborhood as a kid.
Or maybe an older guy I knew from around the area, since he’s my senior?
‘Ah, I have no idea.’
Lee Sae-jin simply dropped the unanswerable question.
‘Anyway, there’s still no reply.’
Once this Stage ended, I could slowly reach out and try to figure it out.
Even if he seemed a bit blunt, I didn’t regret striking up a conversation—he felt like my type. Lee Sae-jin straightened my posture.
The filming would start soon.
“【Wise】 third Stage, beginning now.”
At the CEO’s smoothly delivered words, the set was prepared with perfect coordination.
And what unfolded were Stages befitting a Debut Group from a major Entertainment Agency.
‘…This irritates me.’
Lee Sae-jin suppressed the rising emotions.
Competitive spirit. A sense of crisis.
And I began ranking them.
This group wasn’t as good as Zairop, that one was similar to Zairop’s level….
‘Well, just performing well on Stage doesn’t guarantee success.’
Take Malang Dalcom, the previous female idol from that Agency—despite decent skills, they hadn’t made it big and had to pivot to a gimmicky concept instead.
But considering that roughly half of these groups would be filtered through and still debut….
‘Ah… damn it.’
Lee Sae-jin decided I needed to come up with ways to push my group harder.
Handling people was my strongest area. Though it was somewhat deflating that idols seemed to worry about that more than their Stage performances.
My eyes darkened, but the stage lighting adequately offset it.
“We will now reveal the next battle keyword.”
And time passed until finally the battle I’d been waiting for arrived.
A keyword appears on the display board.
[Sexy]
A sharp gasp escapes the crowd.
Moans and cheers—whether expressions of shock or anticipation—ripple through the audience.
‘Ah, the moment I saw this, I knew it was intentional.’
Lee Sae-jin suppressed a bitter smile, outwardly displaying the appropriately enthusiastic reaction expected of a junior idol.
And then the first team’s performance unfolds.
-Kneel down, yeah!
It was a stage with sharp, angular precision—the autotune and waves practically screaming their lethal appeal.
‘Hmm.’
Well, there’s certainly demand for it.
Lee Sae-jin prepared appropriate commentary in anticipation of the microphone coming to her, casually jotting down refined keywords for display.
And she roughly predicted the reaction to the next and final performance.
‘…That team.’
She’d already familiarized herself with it since the midterm evaluation. The team containing multiple participants with the best output in this survival show program.
The team that Ryu Gun-woo—with whom she’d exchanged numbers—belonged to.
‘They didn’t give them the final slot for nothing.’
Looking around, spoilers were already circulating online, and everyone was anticipating it.
Most of the audience sitting here would be busily speculating about this team’s members on SNS or messaging apps, thinking of the participants ‘not yet revealed.’
And the moment the display board lights up.
[Shin Jae-hyun, Kim Rae-bin, Jung Woo-dan, Cha Yu-jin]
[+Ryu Gun-woo (Exempt)]
Screams and shrieks erupted—wild, uncontrollable cries of excitement!
Tremendous cheers mixed with indescribable shrieks and moans filled the venue.
Fans who were seeing Ryu Gun-woo’s ‘exempt’ status for the first time were bewildered, yet they still held expectations for the team itself.
‘Everyone’s going to lose their minds anyway.’
The formula for success was already visible. The program’s promotional value was so obvious that Lee Sae-jin suppressed a wry smile.
Their song choice was from a top-tier male idol group released two years ago.
Wild and masculine sexiness.
A similar direction to the previous team.
‘They’ll win.’
With similar aesthetics, the better-executed performance wins. The conclusion was already clear from the moment she’d seen the midterm evaluation.
‘…Because they did well.’
Even from just the first verse, she could tell, but she focused her gaze seriously on the stage.
The participants who entered formed a large formation, gathering in a bud-like shape. Achromatic lighting flickered across the stage.
-Cut off
And the moment a low voice and elegant accompaniment fill the space.
“…!”
The lighting shifts to purple, and the members move their bodies smoothly.
A formation connected to waves that use the upper body expansively.
Lee Sae-jin immediately understood.
‘They’ve altered the arrangement slightly.’
Several instrumental elements were missing. The electric sound had been stripped away, while the bass and string instruments were amplified instead.
And the movements.
Instead of forceful, explosive energy, they exuded a languid, unhurried grace. The velvet shirt and black pants clung to every motion.
-Cut it off and leave it behind
That’s your way
(So sick)
As Kim Rae-bin finished the intro with a sweep of his hair, Shin Jae-hyun seamlessly took over, delivering his part with gestures and presence alone.
No group choreography. Only expression and movement.
Yet the audience was riveted, unable to look away.
‘That’s difficult.’
A stage without predetermined choreography. Empty spaces.
Making the stage feel full while doing something like that—it’s a challenge even for professional performances.
And that wasn’t all they relied on.
-Don’t look back
It only brings pain, it’s meaningless
You lost your game just stop
Leave it all behind
The interlude began, and the group choreography unfolded.
The intricate movements they displayed interlocked like gears, creating perfect synergy.
Whoosh.
Arms and legs around the center member moved like effects, becoming supports and anchors.
The members interacted like props, elevating the center.
They fluidly transitioned between tight choreography and loose sections, maximizing the impact of each moment.
-A story already finished
Midway through the second verse, Lee Sae-jin reached a conclusion.
‘Clever.’
The stage came alive with impossible quality.
It was a choice only possible with genuine skill, but given these team conditions, I would have gladly accepted it myself.
“….”
He dismissed his thoughts and watched the stage again with full concentration, noticing how completely different it was from the mid-evaluation.
Then another question surfaced.
Was it really just the arrangement change?
“…!”
And then I understood.
Cha Yu-jin.
Until the mid-evaluation, he had been the key factor making that stage appear wilder, more like the original. The relentless energy and explosive thrill.
But here, it felt like he had deliberately dampened that brilliant saturation and brightness.
‘It’s not that he’s invisible.’
For instance, the very end of the second verse chorus playing right now.
-Love is a kind of disease
A belated realization arrives
So-
Cha Yu-jin’s gaze, throat seized as he looks toward the camera, is half-lidded.
He’d extinguished the light in his eyes while amplifying the atmosphere.
A shadowed allure.
He’d melted into the performance so convincingly that one could believe he was genuinely a trainee from this agency originally.
It was astounding that he could control it like that, and simultaneously a highly strategic choice.
Surely the viewers would have found it equally captivating in a different way. Even the LeTi CEO, who held the deciding vote, was visibly in the midst of reassessing him.
Moreover, this stage had solid backing in its structure.
-So, oh, oh, oh-
It was Ryu Gun-woo.
At each appropriate moment, he was inserting difficult high-note sections live.
‘I can occasionally feel the audience being startled.’
However, if it had ended there, he might have thought it was merely being utilized as a component on stage—hollow and insubstantial.
But he broke through in exactly one moment.
‘Right there.’
The so-called saint’s part.
Standing and singing, that section which suddenly captures a serene atmosphere and draws in focus.
Not an ultra-high note. A moderately elevated vocal range.
In other words, that passage which is damnably difficult for anyone to sing with stability.
-It’s done
It’s over
Cut it off
Ryu Gun-woo delivered it in a dreamlike tone, as if reciting it with breath woven through.
Pristine breathing—unbelievable from someone who’d been frantically layering ad-libs and harmonies in high notes all this while.
It would have been easier to simply belt out the high notes.
To sing that long breath smoothly without swallowing once in between? Without AR?
-Cut it off and leave it at that
That’s your way
(So sick)
Ryu Gun-woo had brought out that single killing point moment brilliantly.
And he was the force that elevated the stage’s quality by several degrees with that vocal.
An existence that seemed to cry out that a group doesn’t need a main vocalist for no reason.
“….”
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
‘Why.’
But the stage merely rushed toward its conclusion as the bridge ended.
Every member performed their assigned role flawlessly from their position. And appealed to the audience as much as possible.
And then the ending.
-Cut off
Aaaaaaahhhhh!!
A deafening roar and applause that threatened to burst eardrums, the glittering sway of light sticks.
Lee Sae-jin watched the stage with undivided attention until the very last moment, offering her full appreciation.
What still churned within her was competitive spirit, but the sense of crisis had vanished entirely.
What took its place was….
‘…Ah.’
A loss she hadn’t even noticed herself feeling.
That strange sensation of having her own position helplessly switched out from under her….
‘What is this.’
What did I eat wrong today? Lee Sae-jin bit the inside of her mouth and managed her expression.
And when the judges’ commentary round came to her, she opened her mouth with a smile.
“It was really good, truly!”
That very day, Episode 3 of 【Wise】 aired. Without the audience members spoiling anything about the eliminated contestants to the Supplementary Class.
And then, at last, viewer voting opened.

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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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