Debut or Die - Chapter 403

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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 403
The filming studio of the public broadcast variety show, “Only the Winner Gets Chicken.”
‘Ah, idols again.’
The regular cast members felt little excitement upon receiving the guest lineup in advance.
This program invites guests to participate in physical games and talk segments together—a typical family-oriented weekend variety show with minimal appearance burden.
Moreover, thanks to steady exports overseas, all manner of promotional appearances had become commonplace.
‘Still, this week’s guests have some name recognition at least.’
They were from major entertainment agencies performing the most popular songs lately. It wasn’t that they’d lobbied their way in, but they seemed to be at the level of being actively recruited.
What was surprising was the suddenly announced premium guest.
‘Wow, jackpot.’
The ballerino Sun Ah-hyun!
He’d suddenly entered the country—whether to film an off-season advertisement or otherwise—and the production team had somehow managed to reach out to him.
Normally, he wouldn’t seem out of place even if a solo special aired about him, but due to time constraints and production scheduling issues, he was set to appear as a special guest instead.
Should I try to seize this opportunity?
After accepting the greetings from the Wishes member who came to the waiting room as a newcomer would, the guest stood up casually.
“Hyung?”
“Come on, follow me.”
There was no way Sun Ah-hyun would come greet him, so he decided to go directly and establish a connection himself.
‘If I’m lucky, I could use it as conversation material somewhere….’
But when he arrived at Sun Ah-hyun’s waiting room.
It was empty.
“…??”
A staff member offered a hint.
“He… apparently went to find them.”
“Who?”
“Wishes, Wishes.”
Not the MC, but he’s in the waiting room of those rookies? No matter how extraordinary his presence seemed, they were just newly debuted rookies….
“Apparently, he appeared as a mentor on some survival show they did.”
“Ah.”
That made sense.
‘So they have some connection, that’s it.’
Of course, he wasn’t expecting the filming to go smoothly because of this.
Entertainers of similar age with similar selling points?
‘It’s a battle of presence, a battle of presence.’
The cast member nodded to himself.
Thinking he’d probably have to watch the atmosphere turn awkward again—smiling only when the cameras rolled and falling flat once they stopped.
Sure enough, once filming started and some time had passed, the moment the special guest appeared, everyone was busy evaluating him.
Using the existing guests to elevate the special guest!
“You’re so incredibly handsome, really~”
“Ah-hyun, you’re completely idol material, aren’t you?”
“Looking at it this way… wow, they really do look like they’re from the same group, don’t they?”
It was a typical compliment meant to boost morale, but it happened to be true. The writers themselves were delighted to see three classically handsome men standing in a row.
‘Women are going to absolutely love this.’
The existing cast members watched the predictable scene unfold with indifference, their mouths busy working to deliver the expected reactions.
To anyone watching, it was clear the special guest was benefiting at the expense of the existing guests as sacrificial lambs.
Yet surprisingly, those existing guests accepted the situation smoothly and cheerfully, without a hint of awkward artificiality.
They even shifted their positions to give Sun Ah-hyun the center spot between them.
“Standing like this… ta-da, center position.”
“Hahahaha!”
‘Hmm?’
For rookies, they certainly had some nerve.
Moreover, the more we filmed, the more I discovered something.
These guys had incredible luck—they had endless stories and episodes perfect for talk segments and content.
“You don’t know that one? The escape from the exploded building using just a newspaper! Apparently one of the members taught them that method too. Pretty unique.”
“Shin Jae-hyun, you’re pretty good at rope climbing too~ Are you planning to enlist right after Eugene?”
“By the way! Can you do Rabin’s voice impression?”
Every game session, all the members got mentioned in rotation, to the point where the MC knew everything and was playing along perfectly.
Plus, since each of them had their own character and episodes, the conversation naturally flowed around them.
That’s when the regular cast member caught on sharply.
‘These guys… their setup is way too perfect?’
A feeling crept up that they weren’t just a one-hit wonder with a single successful song.
It was the first group since T-Holic where each member had their own individual recognition. And now they were hitting it this big with a song.
This group, which had emerged perfectly timed during T-Holic’s gap of several months, gave off a scent.
The scent of massive, impending success.
‘Mmm.’
Looking at them with fresh eyes, the cast members on set seemed even better now.
They were all working hard without exception, had plenty of confidence, and their sense of humor was sharp.
‘And their chemistry seems good too.’
Whenever there was a break, the younger one kept smiling and talking to the older one, who reciprocated—there was no sign of dismissal or performance about it.
‘They’re not putting on airs, are they?’
I found myself nodding inwardly, wondering how to build some connection with them, when I felt a similar gaze from somewhere.
I glanced over… and there was Sun Ah-hyun.
Quietly watching the rookies.
“…?”
Huh?
It seemed like Sun Ah-hyun, just like me, was looking over there during every break…?
That gaze disappeared quickly, but I got a sense of something.
‘What’s this.’
Could it be he wants to get closer to them?
But even though someone of his fame could easily strike up another conversation, the two rookies seemed very cautious and didn’t initiate conversation with Sun Ah-hyun first.
And the cast member had a shrewd inkling as to why.
He’d heard the rumors about Sun Ah-hyun too.
‘Still, he’s completely oblivious. Totally oblivious.’
This guy’s going to owe me one.
He clicked his tongue with satisfaction and seized the moment during the data card swap to casually approach the rookie.
More precisely, when the one who was just a year older happened to be alone.
“Oh… how’s it going? The filming treating you okay?”
“I’m grateful for your consideration. I’m doing my best.”
He crafted the atmosphere by making small talk with the deferential newcomer.
Then he casually broached the subject of Sun Ah-hyun….
And went straight for the jugular!
“He’s a bit cold, isn’t he?”
“…?”
Ryu Gun-woo’s eyes widened slightly before returning to normal.
The regular cast member found it amusing how the rookie tried to respond with feigned confusion—so refreshingly naive.
“You know, people in the arts tend to be like that. And since he’s that handsome, it’s probably worse. It’s just a different vibe from us entertainers, you know?”
That was true.
Sun Ah-hyun was quietly known in broadcasting circles as someone who “draws lines.”
He was polite, certainly, but that was all. There were even whispers that he acted as though he inhabited an entirely different world.
‘Some people even sneer that he’s devoted his entire life to some lofty ballet.’
It was an attitude that younger people might find harsh or off-putting. The cast member understood that well enough.
Of course, the person listening to this had a different thought entirely.
‘What the hell is this guy talking about?’
Ryu Gun-woo barely managed a response.
“…Well. He was kind to me.”
“Right. But you got the sense that he doesn’t want to build any deeper connection than that… that’s the feeling, right?”
“….”
“But actually, it seemed like he wanted to get closer to you guys? He kept looking over at us… uh, at Wishes.”
“Ah….”
Ryu Gun-woo trailed off for a moment. The cast member had a subtle smile, ready to continue his advice, but….
“Hello.”
“Oh.”
Shin Jae-hyun, the younger member, returned and addressed the cast member.
“No, I just came to ask if there’s anything uncomfortable about the filming.”
“Of course. I heard that you always look after the rookies at the year-end awards ceremonies….”
“Ah, well, you know about that?”
“Of course. It’s pretty famous, after all.”
By this hour, there wasn’t a single entertainer unaware of those details.
While Shin Jae-hyun swiftly pulled the cast member into his own pace and sent him on his way, Ryu Gun-woo was thinking.
‘Sun Ah-hyun, cutting people off so abruptly…?’
There couldn’t be a stranger proposition than this.
‘What on earth just happened?’
Ryu Gun-woo nearly turned to look at Sun Ah-hyun, but stopped himself.
There was no need to do that.
“Would you like to try?”
At Shin Jae-hyun’s question after dismissing the guest, Ryu Gun-woo exhaled.
“No.”
There was no time to indulge in unnecessary sentimentality, and the target was right before my eyes.
‘Eyes forward, always.’
So I continued filming without wavering.
What followed after the break was an overtly promotional segment for the special guest.
A corner where they learn simple ballet movements.
Of course, the existing guest also gets a promotional opportunity here. Slightly, at the end of the segment.
“We’ve tried ballet, so why don’t we challenge some idol choreography too?”
“Ooh~”
Following the prepared script, Shin Jae-hyun and Ryu Gun-woo stepped forward.
“You just do it like this. Move your shoulders like this.”
“Oho!”
When Shin Jae-hyun demonstrated deliberately kitsch hand movements, the guests followed along with physical comedy.
And they even threw out a subtle prompt.
“Ah~ What about you, Ah-hyun?”
The special guest’s movements.
But what surprised the guests was that Sun Ah-hyun, whom they expected to hesitate, stepped forward immediately.
As if he’d been waiting for it.
“If I do it like this….”
“Yes.”
And without realizing it, he executed it flawlessly.
“…!”
It wasn’t just about moving his body similarly—there was that distinctive quality unique to someone trained through repetition.
Shin Jae-hyun’s eyes narrowed.
‘It’s still there.’
Of course, that expression faded in an instant, and the guests marveled.
“You’re really good~ You could’ve been an idol!”
“Right. What do you two think?”
‘Would he really say he couldn’t?’
Ryu Gun-woo nodded while thinking it was an obvious question, following the flow.
“I think so too.”
“Exactly! Ah-hyun, have you ever thought about formally challenging idol choreography?”
Sun Ah-hyun seemed to hesitate for a moment, but that expression vanished instantly.
“I really appreciate the compliment… but I’m a ballet dancer, after all.”
“Ah~ how resolute of you.”
“That’s true craftsmanship right there!”
Sun Ah-hyun simply smiled and nodded. So Ryu Gun-woo asked casually.
“You seem to love ballet tremendously. Is it always the only thing you focus on?”
“….”
Sun Ah-hyun lowered his gaze slightly and spoke plainly.
“It’s my entire world. I’ve never considered anything else.”
“….”
Park Moon-dae found that answer convincing.
‘So that’s why such strange rumors circulated—because of that single-minded attitude.’
And the guest who had been watching shrugged, satisfied that his advice had worked.
‘This is how you build connections. Nice.’
And the filming moved into its final segment—the main event.

* * *
I suppressed a sigh.
‘Almost done.’
By now, I could perform this type of variety show with my eyes closed and still appear sincere.
And the final main event was even easier.
-Treasure hunt, right away~!
You know, the kind where they hide landmines and treasures in an abandoned building, and you fail if you collect too many landmines.
I seem to do this every time I appear on one of these programs.
‘I’ve done it so many times I could do it without thinking.’
Of course, I shouldn’t actually do that.
I shook several gift boxes clutched in my hands in front of the camera.
“Say, are all of these actually treasures? Statistically, they all seem like they’d be landmines….”
“We don’t know either~~”
“…I see.”
Yeah, I know they’re treasures. I calculated all your movements.
I’d even deliberately asked the cameraman to confirm, creating an alibi, so I proceeded with feigned anxiety to the next action.
If I exchange a few and then blow up, only to later discover they were all treasures and act indignant, that would be hilarious.
‘I need to find the MC.’
So I was heading down the stairs, looking for someone who could capture the exchange scene well.
“…Gun-woo?”
“…!”
Just then, someone appeared coming up the stairs.
Sun Ah-hyun, who had been running around.
In his hand was a single burgundy box.
‘…Hmm.’
…It wouldn’t be bad to let him win either. He’s a special guest, after all… and he’s my senior and someone who brings honor to the country.
I rushed over and held out the gift box I was carrying.
“Perfect timing. Would you be willing to exchange with me, hyung? For some reason, I have a feeling what you’re looking for would have better energy….”
“Huh?”
[Ding-dong!]
[10 minutes remaining until the end~]
The timing was perfect for setting the mood too.
I shook the gifts as if in a hurry.
“Um… how about a 2-for-1 exchange? I’ll give you two.”
“….”
“You just need to give me one, hyung….”
Sun Ah-hyun suddenly went silent.
‘What’s this.’
Doesn’t he realize we’re on broadcast?
As I looked at him in confusion, my energy visibly dropping,
he opened his mouth again.
“I… I was already….”
“…?”
“given one.”
He gripped his box so tightly it crumpled, then muttered quietly.
“A golden ball.”
“…!”
“Right before the bell rang… I received it.”
What did he just say.
He spoke as if in some kind of trance, then closed his mouth.
But suddenly he lifted his head.
“…Ah, I’m sorry! Something just came to mind… I said it without thinking.”
“….”
“If you need an exchange, I appreciate the generous offer, but… let’s stick with one-for-one, us.”
[Hyung. Right now…?]
I didn’t need to call out—I’d already caught on.
The golden ball Sun Ah-hyun just mentioned.
‘I… gave that to him back at Ajusa.’
The treasure hunt segment where we searched for balls containing personal broadcast keywords.
Just like now… completely random contents.
I’d exchanged it for his bronze ball that contained ‘frozen food.’
And of course, this ballerino Sun Ah-hyun shouldn’t have any memory of that.
[But you just said it!]
Yeah.
So what exactly is happening here.

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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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