Debut or Die - Chapter 392

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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 392
Ryu Chung-woo handed off the microphone and walked over to sit beside the sofa in the waiting room before speaking.
“That was a great performance.”
“Yeah.”
Then, after a brief pause, he asked quietly.
“You doing okay?”
I let out a short laugh. So he’d noticed too, as expected.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Now that my head was functioning more rationally again, it was almost laughable—how much my nerves had frayed over redoing my first performance.
‘I could’ve just thought it was a bit unsatisfying and used it roughly anyway since I was escaping anyway.’
[No way! That was definitely a shocking situation!]
Was it?
Let’s be honest.
I’m not the type to take damage from petty emotional turmoil. Yet I’m only now starting to understand why I acted so foolishly back then.
[What….]
It’s simple.
‘I felt hurt, that’s all.’
Starting from Home Ma’s first escape, followed by continuous proof like ‘you’re no longer Park Moon-dae of Testa’—my mental state crumbled irrationally.
Which meant… I’d grown quite attached to that reality.
…No, not ‘quite’—’very much’.
I crossed my arms.
‘…It’s the first time.’
[Pardon?]
And I admitted it.
‘It’s the first time my condition has deteriorated over something like this.’
[Gasp!]
It wasn’t like someone had died or a landlord had scammed me out of my deposit—I never thought I’d feel this helpless.
I opened my mouth to add something.
“This won’t happen again from now on.”
My response was inadequate because it was my first time. It won’t happen again. Now I know how to control it.
[Ooh~ What’s the method?]
Why is he writing like Big Sae-jin all of a sudden?
I stated it plainly.
If there’s something I don’t feel like doing emotionally right now, even though there’s no better solution at the moment?
‘Then I just won’t think about it.’
[Ah.]
‘Don’t think—just do what needs to be done given the situation, and if I’m in a bad mood to the point of losing efficiency, I’ll quit.’
This is the fastest way.
I can’t believe I didn’t practice this simple truth. I nodded to myself internally.
[Hyung, is that… is that really a healthy method? In my opinion]
It’s my thought, so I’ll do as I please. Got it?
[Yes….]
The popup trembled. And Ryu Chung-woo’s response came simultaneously.
“You could really do that, but it’s also fine to open up when your heart feels complicated.”
When I turned my head, Ryu Chung-woo made a small hand gesture.
…The Testa logo.
“We can understand each other. You know that, right?”
“….”
[You heard that, right??]
I nodded. Ryu Chung-woo simply smiled without another word.
The feeling wasn’t bad.
After that, we climbed back onto the empty stage where the audience had left and shot the finale cut for this filming.
Judging by the CEO’s expression, he seemed pleased with every aspect of this performance. The participants were equally excited, and the filming ended in a rare moment of good atmosphere.
“Gun-woo hyung! I heard you caught a cold!”
And I found myself preparing to head home while holding a bottle of Grandmother’s special citron tea—supposedly good for colds—from Kim Rae-bin.
“…??”
For reference, I’d tried to refuse since it seemed like he was insisting I eat it, but various misunderstandings he might have made came to mind if I declined.
-Because it looks shabby!
-Because I don’t consume food made by others!
-Because we’re in the latter half of filming and the citron tea might have passed its expiration date!
…I cleanly accepted. To avoid problems with that old lady, I’d have to call her in before the next filming and have her eat it or something.
So that’s why I’m putting this bottle into my bag while packing.
From around me, I hear the excited voices of those sharing the waiting room.
“Hey, are we all debuting together like this?”
“Ah, there are quite a few… I’d rather do this than get eliminated.”
“Oh, someone who knows how to benefit from this.”
For reference, these are guys Chung-ryeo cut ties with, so there’s no reason we’d go together.
‘What did they do after all these years.’
I looked at the two guys who still seemed fine, gathered my luggage, and stepped into the corridor. The others would be waiting in the lobby.
And this was the moment I was about to leave the filming studio.
A voice I’d heard from beyond the corridor rang out.
“Ah-hyun, wait a moment, please wait a moment!”
“Yes.”
…It was Sun Ah-hyun and a staff member.
The sound of the staff member running off somewhere was heard, and Sun Ah-hyun turned the corner and came out.
‘Hmm.’
And the moment our eyes met, he walked straight toward me.
“I was about to greet you anyway, and here we are!”
“Ah, yes.”
I bowed my head like a participant who’d just finished a performance well under a mentor’s guidance.
Incidentally, I thought this guy would hand out generous scores to other teams’ performances, but surprisingly, he graded coldly and fairly, which meant maintaining Superior Section status looked promising.
He was top-tier as a mentor.
“Thank you. I was able to finish the stage well because of you.”
“No, no! I had a really fun performance thanks to you.”
Sun Ah-hyun waved his hand slightly, his face flushing red.
“It’s rare to do a stage using songs in this way…. It felt fresh. Thank you.”
“….”
Alright, stop thinking. Let me just finish the greeting and part ways. Let’s go with that.
But Sun Ah-hyun speaks again.
“And… I really wanted to tell you this, but the revised draft you gave was better than before.”
“….”
“I think you found a better answer. And,”
Sun Ah-hyun added the next words softly and carefully.
“The counselor you introduced me to… it’s still working out well.”
Ah.
I need to ask about this.
Why is this guy seeing a counselor in this world anyway?
“May I ask how you met your counselor?”
This should come across as appropriate curiosity mixed with a credibility check.
I had already planned to withdraw the question if he hesitated.
But Sun Ah-hyun answered readily.
“They were listed in my agency contract terms.”
Hm?
“Performing arts is always a battle with yourself, after all. Counseling is included as part of the basic curriculum.”
“…Ah.”
So it was artist welfare.
‘Then what context was that comment about him suffering in?’
I examined him to see if he was lying. In reality, he was the type who showed tells too easily, but here he could hide things fairly well.
But there was no sign of deception.
‘It’s not a lie.’
And thinking I was troubled, Sun Ah-hyun added to his words.
“A performer has to manage not just their body but their mental condition too, right?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“So, if you’d like, I can contact them for you in advance. You should be able to get about five sessions for free.”
“….”
Only then, looking at Sun Ah-hyun’s smiling face, did I realize.
So that’s what it was.
‘He deliberately said those painful things.’
Lowering the hurdle through empathy, so the depressed guy would openly share his difficulties and feel relieved.
‘I didn’t catch on to this.’
I regarded him with a somewhat lukewarm gaze.
Wait, if that’s the case… doesn’t that simply mean he’s in exceptionally good health?
It means he’s building his career while receiving proper care wherever possible.
[Y-yes, that’s right?]
That’s correct.
He has enough composure to strike up conversations with complete strangers who look mentally exhausted and extend kindness to them.
My tension dissolves completely.
‘Good grief.’
“…It’s fine, actually. A friend recommended someone to me beforehand.”
“Ah… I see.”
I’d made unfounded assumptions without any real basis. My own deteriorating condition must have sent my thoughts spiraling in that direction. I clicked my tongue and retracted my entire speculation.
Sun Ah-hyun asked again, smiling.
“Then… shall we exchange updates occasionally?”
“Sure.”
I entered my number into his smartphone without hesitation. Refusing here would be equally absurd. It’s not like I’m throwing down a gauntlet.
‘Besides, once I leave the country for ballet, there’s no reason we’d meet in person here again.’
I can deal with that when I return to reality. …Though honestly, I’m not sure if he living here would welcome that anymore.
‘I’ll worry about that if I actually draw him.’
There’s no point speculating when I haven’t even drawn him yet. I stopped thinking immediately.
‘This is what controlling it means.’
It’s working well.
I shook hands with him out of habit, just as I did with industry contacts after exchanging numbers, then nodded.
“Well then, I’ll head back inside. Take care, mentor.”
“I’m not your mentor anymore, so feel free to call me more casually.”
Persistent fellow. I never expected I’d have to call him by this title too.
“…Then, hyung, take care.”
Sun Ah-hyun nods brightly with a smile.
“Yes. …If you ever have concerns, feel free to contact me anytime.”
“That’s quite generous for someone who just became an acquaintance.”
Sun Ah-hyun’s expression goes blank for a moment, then he laughs softly.
“I just… wanted to.”
Yeah, he’s still a pushover—that much hasn’t changed.
And so, I obtained contact information with the ballet dancer Sun Ah-hyun without needing a 【Colleague Draw】, enabling direct communication.
[Sun Ah-hyun hyung]
…Though that’s how I saved his name.
[Ah, hyung! The lobby!]
“Right.”
Of course.
I left Sun Ah-hyun and headed straight to the lobby.
And before I could even reach the main entrance, I was stopped once more.
“Gun-woo! You heading in?”
The two people who had been my teammates in this very competition.
Ju Dan and Chae Yul.
“Yeah, I’m just about to.”
I’d talked to so many people today that exhaustion was creeping in. But I couldn’t brush off the ones who’d just performed with me, so I stopped.
‘Probably want to talk about the stage.’
Then both of them bowed deeply.
And Jin Chae-yul spoke up.
“Thank you so much for leading us so well even though you weren’t feeling well! Next time, I promise to be a more reliable teammate.”
Ju Dan added his words.
“Even more so when we debut.”
“Right, even more when we debut!”
“….”
My condition clearly hadn’t been ideal, yet here they were thanking me instead.
Moreover, the arrangement I’d revised and demanded required expressiveness that would challenge even those already debuted.
It must have been difficult for them to keep up when their stats hadn’t fully risen yet, but they just kept quiet and followed diligently.
‘…These guys have decent grit.’
I opened my mouth.
“…You worked hard. I’ll make sure to take better care of myself and come back healthy next time.”
“…! Yes!”
I’ll admit it. They were worth working with.
I looked at Jin Chae-yul, whose face was about to split from smiling.
Maybe Home Ma will watch this stage because of him too… but honestly, isn’t it better to have someone on my team who likes what I do?
Better than them not watching my stage at all.
“The stage was really great too. Thanks to you, I had fun. I appreciate it.”
“Haha….”
“Me too.”
Even without consciously stopping my thoughts, my heart felt unexpectedly at ease.
“I hope our stage airs soon! Oh, should we watch it together?”
“No, that’s not really…”
“Ah… I’m sorry, sorry.”
“It’s not that. Our filming starts after this airs.”
“Oh.”
I just laughed it off.
Anyway, I had to debut with these guys eventually, and… it didn’t seem like it would be that brutally difficult.
And finally, when I started heading home, Wise’s guerrilla concert episode had already completely aired outside.
‘I should check the public reaction.’
Since I’d been away from my smartphone for so long, a check was essential. I immediately connected to the Internet.
And I was taken aback.
-The Ryu brothers are insane? The Ryu brothers are insane? The Ryu brothers are insane? The Ryu brothers are insane? The Ryu brothers are insane? The Ryu brothers are insane? The Ryu brothers are insane?
-Found the perfect combination right away: Ryu Gun-woo and Jung Woo-dan. Once I added Jung Woo-dan, the visuals just clicked.
-Wolf Ryu Chung-woo, husky Ryu Gun-woo, arctic fox Chae Yul… we decided to call this the canine spectrum.
-Thank you for being an idol… truly. I love you.
“….”
I thought Club Main Vocal would get torn apart for nepotism and bloodline corruption, but the atmosphere’s already shifted to cutting losses on the eliminated contestants.
Every participant with a profile picture as their account avatar has already shown up.
The viewers are all ready to wave placards for Ryu Chung-woo without exception.
‘What is this.’
I immediately accessed the search engine.

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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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