Debut or Die - Chapter 386

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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 386
Ryu Chung-woo appeared in the draw at this timing?
Actually, this colleague draw system might also have some will like the characteristic draw system Big Dal used to operate, spitting out whatever I need at any given moment.
‘…Now that I think about it, I spun after seeing Lee Sae-jin and Lee Sae-jin actually came out.’
Of course, it was a different person with just the same name.
I opened my mouth just in case.
‘Could you exert influence here too?’
[Ah, no. It seems I can’t do that anymore now… Actually, I tried a few times.]
A small popup appears, looking deflated.
‘No, that’s good. It’s cleaner than getting tangled up with the system and causing problems.’
[]
I understood.
[Ah, yes, yes…!]
Right.
In any case, I have only one choice to consider right now.
[Colleague: Will you awaken Ryu Chung-woo?]
-Use 1000 Exp
Ryu Chung-woo’s awakening.
I lifted my head. I could see the person in question, their eyes gleaming with immersion and fulfillment I hadn’t felt in a long time.
‘Hmm.’
I opened my mouth, looking at Ryu Chung-woo waiting for my answer.
“No, it’s good to prepare a statement of feelings beforehand.”
This kind of thing tastes best when you don’t know about it and just enjoy it, so I’ll press the awakening button a bit later.
After the elimination announcement.
“A statement of feelings?”
“The moment you pass, the Production Team will definitely ask for your thoughts.”
Embarrassment flickered across Ryu Chung-woo’s face. He must have thought he’d received encouragement that he would naturally win.
But it was genuine advice.
“Hmm… Then wouldn’t it be enough to just say I’m grateful?”
“Rather than that, it would be better to express your emotion more honestly. Make it dramatic.”
“…?”
If the Production Team has any sense, they’ll definitely treat this as a major plot twist.
And shortly after.
When the audience had all left the Stage and finally the eliminated participants were revealed one by one.
“Now, we announce!”
[【Supplementary Class】 Ryu Chung-woo]
[Participant Confirmed!]
Ryu Chung-woo had truly become the final victor of this entire game.
And the only remaining member from the Supplementary Class.
He became the sole exception in the Production Team’s calculation that they would pick a familiar participant over an unfamiliar face, even if their skills were similar.
“Thank you, um….”
The one who finally grasped the microphone seemed to be striving for composure despite his trembling voice.
This level of agitation was the first time since passing the Ajusa audition.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve thrown myself into something with this much passion… I feel a bit overwhelmed, honestly. Thank you for giving me another chance. I won’t waste it—I’ll show you an even better version of myself. Thank you!”
Simple yet genuine, the nuance that he was genuinely invested in this came through perfectly. Excellent.
Moreover, anyone listening would likely misunderstand it as him having quit archery for a reason. No, I hoped that was the case. A good narrative always helps.
“This concludes the announcement of eliminations.”
And the club’s main vocalist disappeared among the nine eliminated, including two more personally selected by the CEO.
Twelve remained.
-Do you know how many people were in your original group?
-Nine.
We were drawing closer to that number. Though I couldn’t predict how many would remain when this round concluded.
I wondered how many Chung-ryeo thought was appropriate for this short-term project group, rather than his own agency’s roster.
‘Maybe I should discuss this with him once.’
Anyway.
Time to do what needed doing.
“Thanks, hyung.”
“You did it yourself—what am I thanking you for?”
The moment the camera cut and I descended from the stage, Ryu Chung-woo offered his thanks, then spoke with more intensity in his tone.
“I need to practice harder. To keep up.”
“Mm.”
Judging by his demeanor, it seemed he’d already made his decision from reading the atmosphere—he’d probably lock himself in the training room and practice through the night until the next shoot.
Even for someone like him, his stamina would be destroyed. That would actually be counterproductive.
“When you first said you’d do it, I wish I’d joined you too. It’s a shame.”
“Why? Worried about not having enough time?”
“….”
Ryu Chung-woo, uncharacteristically, gave a slight nod, regretting that time was too tight to build his skills.
‘He won’t need to regret that anymore.’
Because I could give him back his practice time.
“Here.”
“Huh?”
Take it. I pressed Ryu Chung-woo’s awakening button.
[A leap toward emergency….]
And for the first time, I directly witnessed a ‘comrade’s’ awakening.
Ryu Chung-woo immediately staggered. Harder than I expected.
“What… oh.”
“…!”
Was the reaction always this intense?
“Are you alright over there?”
“Who is it?”
Even the staff had reacted. But Ryu Chung-woo remained silent, his body leaning against the wall.
‘Damn it.’
Was this the right reaction?
Just as I was about to check my status window or call 119, fortunately he lifted his head soon after.
His voice was composed.
“…Ah, um, I’m fine.”
His expression was gentle.
“Sorry. I think the tension just released.”
“Ah~”
The staff members retreated after seeing Ryu Chung-woo smiling perfectly fine.
And even after all the staff had disappeared, Ryu Chung-woo still hadn’t lost his smile.
Only his face slowly turned red.
“….”
“….”
“…Is it you, Moon-dae?”
“Yes.”
And after a brief, heavy silence.
“Sigh….”
Ryu Chung-woo lowered his head again and let out a long groan.
[Oh man, this guy….]
Right.
Before embarrassment, panic, fear, confusion, or relief…
‘Embarrassment came first.’
I quietly pretended not to notice as the leader recalled all the twenty-one-year-old childish sides he’d displayed.
“So… well, it’s a kind of accident situation.”
“Yes.”
After a while, I finished giving Ryu Chung-woo a quick briefing on the current situation as he organized his belongings and came to his senses.
There was no need to worry—if anyone else heard it, they’d think it was a movie or game story, it was so unrealistic.
And true to form for someone who already knew my body had switched, he grasped the situation quickly.
“Something did feel off. Now that I think about it, I get it. The parts that differed from reality felt strange.”
Instead of talking about parallel dimensions or whatever, Ryu Chung-woo seemed to have cleanly interpreted this situation as a lucid dream or fantasy.
“I should say I made a different choice at a point where it seemed unlikely I would.”
It seemed a few other examples besides archery came to mind, but Ryu Chung-woo didn’t bother spelling them all out.
Though he did say this.
“So the timing worked out perfectly, and I got a way to come to my senses.”
“Yes.”
“Then you deliberately waited until after the elimination announcement. So I could feel the satisfaction of winning the audience vote in my first performance as it was.”
“….”
“Thank you.”
“…It’s only because we’re filming, so you don’t need to thank me.”
“Haha!”
Ryu Chung-woo laughed and added more.
“Speak comfortably. You really are my hyung anyway.”
“…!”
“Come to think of it, even though we’re the same age, it felt like I should call you hyung.”
Ryu Chung-woo laughed sheepishly, noting how strange that was.
“When we go back, it’s fine to drop the formality too. We’ve been seeing each other’s faces for over five years—it’s time to speak casually.”
“…Sure, whatever.”
Ryu Chung-woo laughed it off easily.
‘I knew he was this kind of guy, but….’
It’s incredibly awkward. I found myself waiting for the others to arrive.
Fortunately, as I’d hinted, the Honor Class members who’d finished changing in the other waiting room soon burst out toward the back of the lobby.
“Park Moon-dae hyung! Chung-woo hyung, you remember now?”
“Eugene.”
“Wooow!”
Cha Yu-jin rushed over and threw a high-five.
He calls me Park Moon-dae so casually even with Kim Rae-bin around.
But Kim Rae-bin seemed to have automatically processed ‘Park Moon-dae = Gun-woo hyung’s nickname’ in his mind, showing no particular reaction.
He just focused on greeting them earnestly.
“Hello, hyungs! Today’s stage was truly impressive.”
“Ah, Rae-bin right now….”
“Mm.”
Noticing from my response that Kim Rae-bin had no memory of this, Ryu Chung-woo changed his tone.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I spoke too casually, didn’t I?”
“No! As an elder and fellow participant, you naturally have every right to do so.”
Ryu Chung-woo burst out laughing.
“He’s exactly the same, exactly the same.”
“…?”
“Right. Kim Rae-bin is exactly the same person.”
“…! Surely you don’t mean there’s been no progress compared to how he was on the previous program….”
“No, you idiot!”
“…?!”
I let the three of them chatter and watched the one coming after them.
He was slowly joining after receiving farewells from the others.
“Congratulations. I’ll see you in the Honor Class next time.”
Chung-ryeo.
“With fewer people, who knows.”
“Hm? If you can’t make it up even now, that would be troublesome. You really think that?”
“….”
“Just kidding. I believe in you.”
A chill runs down my spine.
“You beat the main vocalist who had a solid position in the Debut Group. Of course you’ll be moving to the Honor Class starting the next filming.”
“….”
I waited until the other participants left the Lobby and the other three were absorbed in conversation before lowering my voice to ask.
“How the hell did that bastard last seven years?”
“He was easy to handle.”
He twisted his lips slightly.
“But people change, don’t they? Self-awareness grows, and sometimes they show different patterns based on baseless confidence in themselves.”
“….”
“Hmm… I missed that because of my own mistake, so I won’t make excuses.”
I recalled the aftermath of VTIC’s former main vocalist—the club scandal and his withdrawal.
It was simple.
There was nothing.
Not a single SNS account opened, no recent news articles or sightings. Just silence.
Who would have?
“But people with clear weaknesses are easy to handle. Aren’t you disappointed? This time we could have managed without major variables.”
“Then run a loser’s bracket or something.”
“Haha!”
He chuckled softly.
“It’s fine. I’m not disappointed.”
“….”
“I was just asking in case you were disappointed, hyung.”
I noticed the change in how he addressed me and turned my head. The other three had already finished their conversation and were looking over at us.
And Chung-ryeo was looking that way too.
More precisely, at Ryu Chung-woo.
“This one too?”
That must mean his memories had returned.
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.”
He scanned Ryu Chung-woo briefly, as if assessing him.
No, not “as if”—
[Trait: Assessment (A)]
-Valuable things are rare; garbage is everywhere.
: Human Resource Judgment +150%
He was exercising his trait.
Then he smiled and extended his hand.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
They shook hands.
At least he wasn’t making a fuss like when Chung-ryeo first met Cha Yu-jin.
‘As long as we don’t fight, that’s all that matters.’
Since nothing seemed about to explode immediately, I seized the moment to check my status window first.
The main Quest had just been completed.
[Quest: Ally Awakening] → Complete!
I had awakened Cha Yu-jin, Bae Sae-jin, and Ryu Chung-woo so far.
So the condition was to awaken a total of three people.
‘Then Chung-ryeo is an exception.’
Why was someone like that treated as a starter?
Regardless, if I’d successfully gathered enough allies, what came next?
‘What else—Stage progression, obviously.’
The main content.
[Quest: Fame Collection Activity 1/N]
-Collect fame
Required cumulative fame: 1,000,000 Exp
The unit was insane, but that’s how fame works—it breeds more fame—so no need to adjust the timeline. Moving on.
I pulled up the popup at the very bottom. The ally status window.
[Ally List]
[Shin Jae-hyun: Calculating newly acquired resources (*^-^)]
[Cha Yu-jin: Recalling happy memories (+ㅅ+~♬)]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Checking his physical condition (•ᴗ•])]
Including the newly added Ryu Chung-woo, everyone showed no abnormalities—just doing their own thing as expected.
Except for one bastard who wasn’t here.
[Bae Se-jin: Receiving the president’s plaster crime (ˋㅅ´=3)]
“….”
What the hell was he doing?
I picked up my smartphone, intending to contact him right away.
And then I saw the message at the very top.
-Lee Sae-jin Senior: Hello Gun-woo! I watched episode 5. (laughing emoji) The stage is going to be really cool, isn’t it??
It was a message Lee Sae-jin had sent two days ago.

* * *
Zairop Dormitory.
A soft chime.
“Mm.”
For the first time in ages, I was about to fall asleep before midnight, but Lee Sae-jin instinctively reached for my smartphone.
And I saw a belated reply.
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: I just got home, so I’m sorry for the late response.
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: Thank you for the compliment. I really hope the stage turned out well.
“Ah.”
So filming finally wrapped.
I’d only sent the message on a whim while doing routine networking, but somehow I felt delighted and quickly typed back.
-Don’t apologize! It’s my fault for texting during filming (crying emoji)
-Ah, please speak comfortably! I’m not some great senior, and it feels awkward hearing formal speech from you!
Not long after, the notification disappeared, and a new reply came through.
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: Thanks
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: You be comfortable too.
“That’s right~”
Of course—before debut, the barriers are lower. This time, Lee Sae-jin replied even faster.
Haha, I’m not being modest! Thanks, bro!
Change my nickname too, make me a cool Sejin’s younger sibling lol
And only after sending did I realize.
‘…What am I doing?’
Anyone watching would think I was either a con artist or someone with no friends who couldn’t read the room.
‘Ugh, why am I like this!’
Just as I was trying to recover, a reply came instantly.
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: Got it
“…??”
That actually worked?
‘Is he just humoring me as a senior?’
Even though I’d made a mistake, somehow I didn’t feel bad about it.
But the replies didn’t stop there.
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: This is my first time having a dongsaeng named Sae-jin. I do have a hyung named Sae-jin though
What’s this random comment about? Small talk?
Oh yeah, you’re right! I do have quite a few namesakes!
Lee Sae-jin quickly thought of an appropriate response and sent it. The urge to wrap up and sleep had already vanished.
And the reply that came was… unexpected.
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: I think you might know this person too. Same last name and everything
“….”
I know them too?
‘Wait.’
A namesake that Lee Sae-jin knew.
Older than Ryu Gun-woo, and there was only one person who came to mind as someone both would know.
And then Ryu Gun-woo’s reply arrived in quick succession.
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: He’s an actor, and we decided to meet up and hang out within the next few days
-Wise Ryu Gun-woo: I think you’d find it fun to see him too, what do you say
Lee Sae-jin sat up on the bed.

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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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