Debut or Die - Chapter 402

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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 402
The new song about to be released was already completed during the preparation phase of our debut track.
We prepared it like a double title, strategically omitting one at the last moment through behind-the-scenes maneuvering, but regardless, what mattered was that the performance was already fully completed.
So when was the perfect moment to unleash this Genki Dama?
“Rae-bin’s finals are already this week.”
“That’s right!”
Right after Kim Rae-bin’s School Rapping final stage performance.
When Kim Rae-bin wins and the buzz reaches its absolute peak, announcing our comeback with this track would be perfect.
But wasn’t it premature to be so confident about his victory already?
‘No.’
Unless Kim Rae-bin completely skipped an entire first verse on the finals stage, this was a match he couldn’t lose.
I watched Kim Rae-bin furiously typing away on his laptop in front of the sofa, recalling his entire School Rapping saga.
First, his entrance.
[Uh, uh.]
[A participant with a striking impression enters]
As the pierced, menacing-looking guy walked in, the judges’ eyes filled with caution, admiration, and curiosity.
But the atmosphere shifted with his next words.
[Hello. I’m Kim Rae-bin from Wishze, which debuted 35 days ago. Thank you for having me!]
[!]
According to reports, Kim Rae-bin complied without suspicion with the request to emphasize “rookie” and “idol group.”
Of course, the editing turned out like this.
[Why specifically here?]
[Honestly, you’re from a major agency, so surely there are other ways (to do this).]
[You’re quite handsome. (laughs)]
Predictable. The judges’ tone suggested disapproval.
But like a clichéd trope that’s predictable yet sells well, the evaluation flipped.
[Huh?]
Kim Rae-bin entered with a puzzled expression, as if wondering “Why aren’t they coming in…?” to the awkward beat where all the other participants had already passed, and he absolutely killed his rap.
And he was damn good.
[!!!!]
By the end of School Rapping Episode 1, Kim Rae-bin’s cipher had appeared as an unofficial clip in YouTube’s trending videos.
Of course, there was significant backlash.
-A 17-year-old doing this? Yeah, rigged lol
-The company must’ve tipped him off beforehand lol do you really believe this
-Even if he knew the beat beforehand, shouldn’t we give credit for the punchline? You can’t create something like that just by thinking about it without talent
└That was probably coached too~
But Kim Rae-bin breezed through the next solo round just as effortlessly.
-??
And the team battle after that, and the collaboration battle after that.
When footage of him directly creating a song over four days was broadcast in fast-forward, there was nothing left to discuss.
[This is how we work, but since it’s still difficult to purchase more professional equipment, we frequently rent the company’s studio!]
[Since we have time today, I’m thinking of fleshing out a new beat. And we’ve invited Ryu Gun-woo as our guide vocalist.]
And that song was damn good too.
Every time the program ended, it would suddenly climb the real-time music charts, proving his skill.
-Apparently he was originally a producer trainee, but they convinced him to become an idol after seeing his face
-The world is so damn unfair, it’s ridiculous
-Is the only downside that he’s a 17-year-old high school boy concept?
-Well, from my perspective, he feels like a thoroughly planned product. Like a manufactured item typical of idol agencies—if his repertoire runs out, he’ll collapse.
That never happened.
From episode two through nine, Kim Rae-bin conquered every mission like he was breaking seals, rising to become the overwhelmingly dominant favorite to win.
Moreover, the fact that he was the grandson of a strawberry farming family in Gangwon Province, combined with his naturally polite demeanor, made him quite popular in terms of character appeal.
A stable powerhouse duo.
At this point, some of those who had been viewing things skeptically began to shift their attitudes slightly.
-ㅋㅋㅋ I feel like I want to shoot the bastard who tried to persuade Kim Rap to become an idol. He earned a lot of money from music and lived in a dorm for 7 years like a gunman. Ah, I can’t stand it.
“Worldwide K-pop is getting sweeter profits~ Of course when it comes to money, it’s gotta be Retti idols, you XX gods lolol”
-All the people who see his face are obsessed with him. Kim Rap is the winner anyway, so why are you giving up on being an idol?
It meant they acknowledged his skill, at least.
There was no way around it. Kim Rae-bin was practically wreaking havoc like an invasive species.
Even when the production crew manufactured crisis situations for entertainment, the next episode would reveal it was a hoax, only solidifying the viewers’ perception further.
And now we’re truly down to the finals, with only the ending left.
Ryu Chung-woo sits down casually next to Kim Rae-bin.
“How are things with the other cast members? Are they still treating you well?”
“Yes. I think they’re being more considerate because they see me as younger.”
I nodded, understanding how people who felt pressured by a seventeen-year-old and retreated into the background could have that interpreted as a display of consideration.
But this guy seemed to have something on his mind too.
“Um… would it really be okay if someone else handled the final featuring? I thought there would be promotional benefits given the decent viewership ratings….”
He was asking why they didn’t pick someone from within Wishze for the final stage’s featuring.
Kim Rae-bin’s final song featuring had been decided on Malang Dalcom’s popular member, the lead vocalist.
I laughed softly.
“Featuring is originally a collaboration with outsiders anyway. It makes more sense to do it with someone else rather than us—that way the stage has more meaning.”
“Indeed…! That’s true.”
Of course, that wasn’t the real reason.
It was about controlling the level of acceptance people had.
‘It shouldn’t feel like forced group awareness.’
Such blatant product placement only breeds backlash instead.
To keep the swelling buzz from fading or turning into resentment, delicate control was necessary.
Of course, it wasn’t about cutting ties completely so people wouldn’t even think of the connection.
“Still, I’m planning to go watch the finals—is that okay?”
A group cheer or two would feel heartwarming.
“…! Of course, I’m just grateful!”
“I’ll go and cheer you on with all my heart!”
“Thank you so much, senior!”
“Haha, Rae-bin, we debuted together, so call me hyung!”
“Oh.”
I turned my gaze away from Kim Rae-bin, who was exchanging banter with Oh Yoon-shin, and reviewed the schedule once more.
And four days later.
All members cleared their schedules to attend the set of 【School Rapping】, where flower petals burst above the stage in the center.
Boom.
[【School Rapping】 Season 2, the long-awaited champion is… Kim Rae-bin!]
Ahhhhhhh!!!
There were no plot twists or unexpected developments.
Kim Rae-bin won with an overwhelming, technique-driven performance that dominated the final stage.
‘The advice I gave him in that direction paid off, ensuring no one could dispute the result.’
Moreover, only he pushed forward with such violently overwhelming skill.
Malang Dalcom, the featured artist, was the perfect choice—using vocal tone and audience engagement to subtly refresh the atmosphere and elevate the track’s completeness.
Any attempt to diminish Kim Rae-bin’s victory would fall flat.
‘Good.’
[Th-thank you so much! I’ll repay your support with even greater growth!]
I applauded Kim Rae-bin as he received congratulations from the cast and almost unconsciously hoisted the grand golden ID card into the air.
The preparation was complete.
A few days later.
[School Rapping champion revealed]
[Kim Rae-bin, an idol from beginning to end]
[Honestly, Kim Rae-bin is such a waste]
With Kim Rae-bin’s victory, after four days of articles and reactions flooding in as befitted a popular survival show, the weekend arrived.
Articles began to quietly surface.
[LeTi’s Monster Rookie Wishze, “Self-Produced Album Coming Soon”]
It was news of Wishze’s self-composed title track comeback. We had already announced it during pre-orders, but deliberately stirred up the press once more.
By framing the keyword as ‘self-produced’.
The article headline naturally evoked Kim Rae-bin, and people gravitated toward the still-fresh buzz.
-I gotta listen to this
-Is Kim Rae-bin in this group? The song sounds amazing
└Not just Kim Rae-bin, but Eugene and Ryu Gun-woo are in this group too
└?
└Chung-woo and the other members are in this group too~
└Even those hilarious kids from Escape King who worshipped newspaper are in this group
└What on earth is happening
This comment was screenshotted and circulated across the internet. I gave it a silent applause—a desirable phenomenon.
There was no need to build more anticipation.
“I think it’s better not to split up the teasers and release them separately. We don’t need to burn through this buzz with teasers.”
“Yes.”
So they filled expectations with just a teaser featuring the bridge’s addictive whistle, then released the full song and music video the very next week.

* * *
“….”
Inside an international flight.
The man seated in first class connected to the internet using the in-flight WiFi service that had recently launched.
It was unusual for someone with his preference for reading books instead, but right now he wanted to see something specific.
‘Ah, it’s out.’
Without needing to search, the video he was looking for appeared the moment he accessed YouTube.
[Wishze – ‘Timer’ Official Music Video]
It was the new song from the rookie group Wishze.
Perhaps thanks to their impressive debut activities, the view count was already impressive.
The man paused for a moment, recalling their debut, then nodded inwardly.
‘Yeah, it was good.’
Wishze’s debut mini album drew on the urban legends of modern European boarding schools, meeting K-pop fandom’s demands with a niche yet artistic sensibility.
The stage was excellent too. The dance performance using long props that seemed borrowed from a conductor’s baton was quite unique and captivating.
I almost accidentally sent them a lengthy appreciation letter.
‘Good thing I didn’t send it.’
The man let out a small sigh of relief.
Such raw, relentless emotional intensity wasn’t something he was usually accustomed to… yet somehow, he kept replaying it.
“….”
The man brushed away the inexplicable sinking feeling.
It wasn’t an emotion that helped with work anyway. Instead, he clicked on the video he wanted to watch.
Wishze’s new song.
‘Will it give a similar feeling this time?’
In fact, Wishze’s fans had similar expectations. An intense, provocative dance track.
But the new title track he clicked on was… different.
[Um, h-hm~]
Band sounds were layered in like before, but with restraint.
[Should we turn back the timer and go to the past,
To when we were still together?]
The sound became noticeably lighter.
And the vocal delivery was groovy and understated.
[A smile on your shy face,
The shooting star falling above us,
I still remember it, even today,
Thinking about U]
Quality instrument sounds met two types of melodies that caught the ear, and the song unfolded.
The music video contained no avant-garde storytelling or grandiose narrative.
Just alternating between the choreography cut on the school rooftop on that beautiful night with meteors pouring down, and personal cuts equally filled with striking visuals.
A song sung from within youth, reminiscing about childhood memories long past.
A song anyone could listen to without burden, regardless of who the vocalist was.
In other words, there was nothing cringeworthy about it. So there wasn’t really any room for divided opinions.
Simply an extremely mainstream and refined song that everyone could enjoy listening to.
The melody had already attached itself to the man’s ears right now.
[Move the timer
Your image captured on cam
When the photo sparkles
It sparkles and comes to mind]
‘This is good too.’
It wasn’t quite the same feeling as before, but this effortless, mainstream song somehow tugged at my heartstrings.
[Sparkle!]
He watched all the way to the ending of the music video where the members turned around smiling.
It was good, but… strangely, something felt unsettled.
“….”
Still, he deliberated before opening the messaging app.
‘…It seems like he doesn’t really like me that much.’
But he still wanted to reach out.
So with slightly trembling hands, he typed out a message.
[The song is really good.]
[I’m heading to South Korea right now, and I think I’ll hear it a lot on the streets.]
The recipient was Ryu Gun-woo.
And just as Sun Ah-hyun had thought, when he arrived and was carrying out his schedule, the streets were filled with Wishze’s music.

* * *
“…and what’s the ranking?”
Chung-ryeo smiled at the tense question and lifted his smartphone.
The screen displayed the daily music chart.
“Number one.”
“…!!”
“Massive hit!!”
Among those shrieking and collapsing, even the veterans grinned with amusement.
No matter how you looked at it, you couldn’t achieve a number-one song without doing something this insane, so it would be a lie to say it wasn’t impressive.
‘This is actually our first time too.’
VTIC probably hadn’t experienced this often either. I gazed anew at the song that had claimed the daily number-one spot.
“Thanks, Rae-bin!”
“Really, thank you!”
“W-well, this is an achievement we all accomplished together, so I don’t deserve such excessive gratitude….”
“Kim Rae-bin, you did great!”
“Ugh.”
I chuckled watching Kim Rae-bin collapse under an avalanche of embraces.
Chung-ryeo approached with a quiet smile and spoke softly.
“The hardest part is left now. Longevity.”
“Yeah.”
That’s right.
If we aimed for the charts, maintaining the position was essential.
‘We need to solidify the ranking and sustain it for a long run to really rack up the points.’
Since both the song and strategy were solid, I wasn’t lacking confidence in defending the position, but that didn’t mean I could afford to slack off now.
So we had to keep the song playing consistently across variety shows and internet content.
“We can’t lose to T-Holic.”
“Things are about to get busy.”
All the global-focused tours and overseas activities were put on hold this time.
Every resource was poured into promotional appearances.
…And that’s how situations like this arose.
“…! Hello.”
…Appearing on the same variety show with Sun Ah-hyun while Chung-ryeo was with us.
I managed to respond barely.
“…Yes.”
“I never expected to meet like this.”
Yeah, me neither.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Why the famous ballet nationalist wasn’t appearing as a special feature but instead was showing up with us.

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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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