Debut or Die - Chapter 399

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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 399
Of course, both VTIC and Testa weren’t the top tier back then—there were other first-rate idols in those days.
‘And right now, that’s T-Holic.’
I fell silent for a moment, recalling those guys crumbling under the sophistry of “I’d rather be stranded than have a billion won” during our variety show appearance.
Thanks to that, they did a great job pulling aggro with the magical girl theme song as a self-imposed penalty.
Back then, those guys acted like complete fools, but that was all for entertainment—the truth was they enjoyed an absurdly glorious peak.
After them, no male group was properly called “mainstream” until Testa emerged, barely keeping the lineage alive.
“Right now is their peak before military service.”
“With the title track released on March 22nd, they’re projected to hit number 8 on the annual music charts.”
Chung-ryeo prophesied this terrible future without batting an eye. From his expression, it seemed he’d done plenty of resets because of T-Holic.
But here’s the thing.
“Let’s be clear about this.”
We’re not in a situation where we need to consistently clear status abnormalities over several years.
“What we’re doing is a short-term play. We’re not trying to steadily win awards over the long haul.”
“What’s the intent behind saying that?”
“No need to overthink the future.”
Image management, consistency, fanbase retention, sustainable concepts—none of that matters.
We just need to crush T-Holic this year alone.
“Let’s go for a volume war.”
We’re settling this within the year.
Chung-ryeo stared directly at me.
“I didn’t expect a rookie to believe they could succeed just by throwing volume at it.”
“If we can’t handle it, we won’t succeed.”
I grinned widely.
“But every member has already tasted success. Half of them remember how to do it.”
….
These are guys who played first-tier for anywhere from five years to several decades in the entertainment industry. Already-proven products with validated sales.
“We just need the right strategy.”
“Tell me.”
I laid out my planned approach according to the timeline.
Two albums.
And tactics bordering on fraud.
“The structure isn’t bad.”
Chung-ryeo stroked his chin and smiled faintly.
“Assuming we have good songs.”
This came from someone with eight years of compressed song data compressed and accumulated in his head.
I laughed too.

* * *
“This much should be usable.”
The next day. The moment he entered the Recording Studio, he rattled off seven songs from memory and turned them into near-finished tracks in a flash.
It was a feat that made me wonder if he was even human, but I’ve accepted it by now.
I played through the tracks and listened.
Some I knew, some I didn’t.
And what I chose was….
“This one.”
“Ah.”
An R&B track by a certain rapper who had a solid run for a while before it all came crashing down due to drunk driving.
“Good choice.”
He nods in agreement.
Well, even without my original trait of having a ‘discerning ear,’ if the evaluation is decent….
“Actually, he hasn’t even come up with the top note for this yet. He’s planning to think of it three years from now in the fall while drinking.”
“….”
So that’s what he meant by appropriate.
Either way, it doesn’t matter.
“Fine. Then we’ll arrange this.”
And the person to entrust this to….
“Do you compose at all?”
“I understand the theory precisely. But creation is a matter of instinct.”
“Your B-side tracks were decent though.”
“You don’t need me to explain the difference between title tracks and B-sides, do you?”
Right. I’ll just hand it over to the Company and have them make it.
‘Still, it’d be nice to put a member’s name in the composition and lyrics credits….’
And I needed to pick one more track. That’s when my mind was spinning furiously.
“You have a member over there who handles songs.”
Ah.
Anyone could tell he meant Kim Rae-bin.
He grins and speaks.
“Awaken him.”
“It’s not something I can control on my own.”
“Whether to try or not is up to you, Senior.”
This is so annoying. Should I just spin ten times and rattle off the failure list right in this guy’s face?
I pressed the ’10-Draw’ button with a reluctant expression.
“Nothing. It’s not that easy to pull….”
[A Leap Toward Emergency….]
“…??”
[Huh!]
[★★★★★ Kim Rae-bin / Main Rapper]
“….”
“….”
“He got picked.”
“….”
Is this real?
This damn system—is it actually manipulating the odds while I’m watching?
‘Is it because my bluff about my parents got caught?’
If I actually thought something like that would work, I’d be genuinely stupid. Anyway….
‘I’m not refusing.’
I immediately accepted Kim Rae-bin as a colleague. There was no reason to delay.
And shortly after.
Kim Rae-bin, who had planned to return to Gangwon Province tonight and rest for a couple of days before coming back, was still at the company building for a meeting with someone from the agency.
“Hello!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
And when I found him and pressed the awakening button, Kim Rae-bin’s reaction could be summarized like this.
1. Confusion.
“…! So this place is a fake world? Then does that mean my Grandmother, Grandfather, and Sister are also… fake?”
2. Understanding.
“Given that the act of awakening is possible, it’s highly likely that people are real!”
And then feedback comes back as questions, and this cycle repeats eternally….
“Exactly what starting point caused this phenomenon to occur?”
“…?? If you were aboard a private jet over the Pacific Ocean, whose private jet was it?”
He asks without hesitation.
Before I knew it, I’d already revealed to him that I could communicate with the “real Park Moon-dae” through a kind of telepathy for the first time.
‘Is this real?’
I don’t believe it myself either, but I even relayed a popup message that Big Dal sent.
And then he asks again.
“Then between Ryu Gun-woo and Park Moon-dae, which form of address do you think would be more appropriate?”
“…Use whichever feels comfortable for you.”
“…! As expected, even though the period was short, you prefer the form of address from when you had relationships with multiple people.”
Yeah, think of it however you want.
After quite some time had passed, Kim Rae-bin, having adapted to the situation in his own way, seemed to be constructing complex theories, deductions, and formulas in his head.
And after going through the process of understanding again, the conclusion he reached was….
“If my biased abilities are needed at all, I’ll do my best to work!”
Fortunately, it’s productive.
Of course, I should verify once.
I grabbed his shoulder.
“Even if you feel like you’re infringing on others’ rights a little?”
“…Yes, I’ll trust your explanation that everyone implicitly understands this part for the sake of restoring reality….”
“Yeah.”
That was a good call.
There were plenty of questions, but starting with a clear framework from the beginning made things much smoother.
I patted his shoulder.
“I’m counting on you.”
“The pleasure is mine!”
With him properly motivated, I returned to the Officetel.
Though there were some complications, naturally.
“Cha Yu-jin! You!”
“I told you to speak casually to Kim Rae-bin! It’s Kim Rae-bin’s fault for registering late!”
“You can’t excuse the fact that you questioned whether, despite being registered late, he’s actually older than me in substance, and whether that matters in South Korea!”
“….”
What was supposed to be a touching reunion with Cha Yu-jin in my Officetel had somehow devolved into this by the end.
I could tell Cha Yu-jin had thoroughly teased the seventeen-year-old Kim Rae-bin, who had no memory of it.
In any case, Kim Rae-bin soon regained his composure through Ryu Chung-woo and accepted the melody I offered him.
It was from that drunk-driving rapper’s track.
“I’d like you to arrange it while preserving just the melody. The melody is so kitschy, after all.”
“Yes, matching those top notes and riffs… what direction are you considering for the genre?”
“I’d prefer house.”
At the mention of work, Kim Rae-bin nodded seriously, listening intently as he always did.
That’s when I dangled another hook.
“Rae-bin. And I’m sorry, but I need you to do one more thing.”
“Yes?”
I skipped to the next file.
“This one. I’d like both tracks to use similar instrumentation and have a connected series feel.”
As the second melody I’d selected played, Kim Rae-bin’s face brightened.
Right—I’d been suffering pangs of conscience over arranging an existing track as if it were his own, but this wasn’t like that.
‘…Though technically, this one also is.’
-After adjusting the VTIC comeback schedule, the butterfly effect meant this one didn’t come out this time. I guess the composer gave up.
That’s what it meant.
“Understood.”
Unaware that this was also a hit melody another person would conceive in the future, Kim Rae-bin simply nodded enthusiastically.
“Should we work quickly?”
“If anything, start with the second one.”
I smiled faintly.
“That’s the one we’re releasing first.”
The beginning of the connected release scenario.

* * *
A rookie boy group from LeTi Entertainment, debuting anew after going through an in-house Survival Show Program.
[Wishze Debut Countdown… Will the K-pop Industry Landscape Shift?]
It didn’t take long for debut articles to surface once they announced the group name, cleverly derived from the spelling of their program 【Wise】.
-The CEO was so thrilled he liked it with a heart X on SNS
-He’s bringing out something dark, so that’s what he means by liking it
-I’m really excited, the kids have been wearing hats pulled down lately, are they dyeing their hair?
After the Survival Show ended, public interest waned temporarily, but even as nearly two months passed, the fanbase that had formed barely scattered.
Two seasoned veterans hadn’t missed their timing.
“We can let the general public rest a bit, but we need to keep the fanbase engaged.”
“Live interactions and practice footage should do it.”
In an instant, a behind-the-scenes YouTube series for Wishze was launched.
They even planned to treat it as a prequel to their reality content after debut, maintaining continuity.
That part was fine, but the problem came next.
The concept of the debut track.
“The afterlife concept is too niche.”
“YES! It’s way too depressing!”
“Isn’t that the atmosphere the existing fanbase of this agency expects? And the magical academy… well, that would be hard to get past the CEO.”
Even though VTIC was outnumbered in terms of Awakened members, seniority held weight, creating a tense standoff.
“Wait. We’re not the only members here, so we should hear what the others think too.”
So at Ryu Chung-woo’s mediation, they even asked for objective evaluations from the two non-Awakened members.
Chae Yul and Shin O.
The reaction from those two, whom Park Moon-dae called yes-men, was this:
“Wow… couldn’t we do both?”
“Right!”
“….”
They were wrong to expect anything from rookies who hadn’t even debuted yet.
Park Moon-dae suppressed a sigh, but Ju Dan rested his chin on his hand.
“Indeed. Both the magical academy and afterlife concepts have their demand as settings. Plus, if you use symbolism well, the more you interpret it, the deeper the work becomes.”
“…??”
“Moon-dae, or rather, Gun-woo hyung. Have you ever considered an approach like this?”
And Park Moon-dae came to understand the usefulness of Ju Dan’s ideas—the ones Chung-ryeo had mentioned as ‘occasionally hitting the jackpot.’
Fifty days after this meeting.
-Is it out?
-It’s out omg
-Play it right now
As domestic and international fans formed through 【Wise】 waited eagerly, finally time passed and the music video was released.
-Whoa
What people saw was a camera work being pulled into a dark school with meteors pouring down, and members standing on various facilities inside the school.
Choreography and close-up scenes unfolding against a strangely eerie backdrop within that space.
[One
Two
Three
Now grant my wish]
That’s right.
VTIC and Testa had woven together their debut song concepts to create a new keyword.
【School Urban Legend】.
The theme of their debut song ‘Wish’.
Lol, Retti really packed in all the stuff they’re good at.
I didn’t expect it to be this good, but I’m pleasantly surprised.
-so handsome so handsome
-I thought the worldbuilding would be ridiculous but it’s surprisingly not that bad, kinda feels like a game
By weaving hints of thrill and terror, mystery and hunt into the intense dance track and camera work, the overall tone became far more powerful.
And the setting was a school.
Whether it would divide opinion or not, one thing was certain—there was clear demand from those seeking an intense debut.
It wasn’t a choice overflowing with mass appeal, but that wasn’t the target for this album anyway.
“What we’re aiming for is overseas.”
The existing K-pop listener base, precisely.
When the sharp choreography, intense music, and powerful concept all clicked into place perfectly, the demand was satisfied, and naturally the fanbase swelled.
Combined with the advantage of being a major agency, the overseas momentum grew at a frightening pace.
“The company seems to be planning the schedule around that direction too—that’s what you wanted, right?”
“Yeah. It’s good.”
Thanks to that, they structured their debut activities to thoroughly appeal to the fanbase.
Some fans slightly lamented the public awareness built through the survival show, but regardless, the fanbase grew steadily both domestically and internationally.
Besides, it was still late May, far from the oppressive summer heat, but global warming made it sufficiently warm.
As a result, the urban legend concept didn’t stand out too much and received the effect of being naturally buried as a seasonal element.
‘Just right.’
The initial album sales stopped around 100,000 copies, but considering that record inflation hadn’t occurred yet, it was quite respectable.
Even more so considering it was a debut album.
‘The overseas fanbase drawn in here will seriously start buying albums from the next one.’
I’d made a grand appeal with songs and concepts that could appeal madly to the global fanbase.
Now it was time to move to the next step.
Park Moon-dae—or rather, Ryu Gun-woo—came down from the stage after finishing the final performance of the debut song activity and made a declaration to Chung-ryeo.
“As planned, don’t drag out the gap for the next activity. Do a repackage-level release within a month or two. Don’t say anything else.”
“And?”
Even as I glared at him for asking when he already knew, Ryu Gun-woo answered.
A strategy bordering on fraud.
“And… we flip the direction completely. Go with a totally mainstream song.”
In crude terms, a stab in the back.
After giving overseas fans the impression that the next album would similarly feature deep worldbuilding and intense dance vibes, pulling in pre-order sales….
‘Just release a commercially appealing domestic track that’ll perform well on the charts.’
That way, I could maximize album sales while simultaneously securing strong positions on the music charts.
Of course, I’d planned to minimize disappointment through B-side tracks, but if this were an established group, it would be a one-shot opportunistic maneuver I’d never attempt with rookies.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
“Before that, let’s stagger the individual activities as well.”
What’s the best way to get the public to actually listen to a song at least once?
It’s making an impression on programs the public watches. That’s precisely why groups appear on variety shows during comeback season.
Promotion.
But here’s the thing.
‘What if I build up about ten promotional activities per member and drop them all simultaneously like a coordinated bombardment?’
If each member showcased an impressive side through their individual activities while promoting the new song there…
“The buzz would be guaranteed.”
Park Moon-dae understood precisely how to leverage the advantage of having eight first-tier idol members in one group, each knowing exactly how to appeal to the audience.

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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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