Debut or Die - Chapter 404

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 404
…Sun Ah-hyun remembered an event from his time at Ajusa.
After he dropped that bombshell and disappeared, I went through my status window again, examining it meticulously.
But nowhere in it was Sun Ah-hyun mentioned.
Not in colleague recruitment, not in mail.
‘Is this not the system’s doing?’
[Could it be that a similar experience actually happened in this world too…?]
I hadn’t dismissed that possibility either, but…
‘The timing is just too perfect for that to be it.’
A random box exchange request at a 1:2 ratio right before the event ended—wasn’t that too similar a situation?
And here, this ballerino Sun Ah-hyun deliberately recalled such a unique experience of ‘receiving something before the golden bell rings’ with such meaningful weight?
‘…No matter how I think about it, that’s the less likely scenario.’
[So after all, it was Sun Ah-hyun…?]
Yes.
Right after filming ended that day, I posted a message in Testa’s group chat.
-Did anyone experience something like a lingering impression of reality before recovering their memories?
Responses poured in, pushing aside my previous records of joking around with the newly arrived Kim Rae-bin.
-Cha Yu-jin: That’s not me!
-Ryu Chung-woo hyung: Nothing particularly like that, but I did feel a sense of incongruity
Big Sae-jin: Haha, I just felt so close seeing our members, does that count too?
And then came a delayed response, as if he’d given it considerable thought.
-Kim Rae-bin: Now that you mention it, when I first met you in front of Strawberry House, I thought you looked familiar! However, I didn’t recall any specific images, so I don’t think it applies.
In conclusion, while someone felt a vague sense of familiarity, no one recalled any specific scenes or information.
‘Hmm.’
I pressed my chin thoughtfully.
That’s when a call suddenly came through.
[Bae Sae-jin hyung]
The one who hadn’t responded in the chat.
“…?”
Was there something so significant he needed to call about?
I pressed the answer button.
But the moment I picked up, instead of launching into his experience, he cut straight to the point.
-It’s about Sun Ah-hyun, right?
“…!”
-Since he’s the only one left among us, it has to be him. …Isn’t it?
He’s always had his nose in a book, so he must’ve been reading some detective novels lately.
‘Heh.’
“You’re right, actually.”
-…!!
There was no point in denying it. At that, I heard a slight intake of breath from the speaker.
-What did Sun Ah-hyun remember?
“Nothing major, really.”
I gave him a rough explanation of the situation at the time. Bae Sae-jin listened fairly well, but ultimately responded like this.
-…Right. But I don’t see why this matters. You can just ask him directly once you give his memory back anyway.
“It doesn’t work just because I want it to.”
-You’ve made all the other kids snap out of it so far. There’s a chance with Sun Ah-hyun too, isn’t there?
He continued speaking in a rather composed, low voice.
-From what I can see, you’re giving up without even trying.
“….”
When did this bastard suddenly become so sharp?
I reluctantly answered.
“It’s not so much giving up as it is unnecessary. Sun Ah-hyun seems to be living well even now. He succeeded as a ballet dancer.”
-What? Just because someone’s successful socially doesn’t mean they’re necessarily living well.
He spoke firmly, but hesitated slightly in his next sentence.
-…If it’s because he doesn’t seem to have trauma or anything like that… I can understand that much.
But his voice became firm again.
-Still, just because things look that way on the surface doesn’t mean the inside is the same.
“….”
-…I also didn’t go around talking about it when I was going through a hard time.
I recalled what he was like at Ajusa.
He was aggressive and uncooperative to a degree incomparable to now.
So I’d thought he was just someone with an unusable personality, but living together showed he had his own circumstances and strengths.
‘Damn.’
I held back a sigh.
“…You’re right about that. Then I’ll retract what I said before… Let’s just say I’m skeptical whether this guy even has the memory.”
-Ahem, alright.
He seemed oddly pleased and fell silent for a moment, then suddenly brightened up.
What now.
-…! Then how about we try probing Sun Ah-hyun once more? I can arrange it!
“…??”
How exactly?
“You, hyung?”
-Yeah. Then you just need to make some time.
“What kind of time?”
-Practice time.

* * *
A few weeks later.
Wishze’s latest track, ‘Timer’, had achieved complete dominance at the top of the charts.
The insane staying power that kept it stubbornly in the top three of the daily charts was even stronger than the original by that drunk driver.
Kim Rae-bin’s arrangement and the perfect exposure strategy created perfect synergy, achieving balance.
‘Good.’
And as time passed, October arrived before I knew it.
Now people were starting to buzz about Wishze’s chances of winning an award.
Their fame and popularity still couldn’t compare to T-Holic.
But if you looked coldly at just the music chart performance, and considered the agency’s reputation, these people were starting to look competitive.
[Could Wishze actually win the Grand Prize?]
[If you go by the numbers, Wishze deserves it]
[Is T-Holic really falling behind like this? That’s unfortunate, the fans must be worried]
[Wishze’s next album really needs to be good, the cracks are showing…]
That was the level of competitive banter in the moderate circles.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m addicted to it. Well, there are young and kind Godgis, so why are you sucking it up?
-Who doesn’t know that it was uploaded as a main feature of Wezoz’s tuning fork? Letido is the 1st place music hoarder.
Getting jealous of a rookie and spreading rumors, what a pathetic life lol
“Wizards fans will definitely get sick in just a little while. Honestly, the team is great at dividing fans into groups. Right now it’s barely holding together with crazy performance.”
└It’s all the Supplementary Class’s fault
“That boring Oyun guy can’t even get a decent meal, right? I know, I know.”
Beneath the surface, this kind of chaos was slowly building up during this month.
Park Moon-dae thought that with such rapid rise, these kinds of noisy controversies naturally followed a step behind.
And while it had little to do with the music industry itself, the entertainment world had one noteworthy event this month.
An awards ceremony.
The Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards.
A considerably prestigious awards ceremony hosted by the government, honoring artists.
This event, broadcast live on both the Internet and Television, attracted a decent number of viewers.
haha
Has Lee Sae-jin come out yet?
-☆☆☆Lee Sae-jin occasionally gets reaction shots on camera, please stop asking☆☆☆
Haha, Mr. Choi Gu has great reactions!
The news of actress Lee Sae-jin’s appearance, whose stock was rising, only drew a few more curious onlookers.
The lineup was modest—a few famous actors among older, established artists rather than trendy young celebrities—so it wasn’t particularly bustling.
Not until the first half ended and a special segment came up.
[Celebratory Performance]
-Oh, a commemorative performance
-Ooh who is it
-It’s supposed to be Whaler! 🙂
When viewers, thinking it was just a typical performance at an awards ceremony, imagined a suitably prestigious lineup.
The camera cuts to a close-up of the performers on the Stage.
The comment section erupts with screams.
-????
-What
-What what what
-Is this real
-Did I really just see that?????
Three tall men stood on the Stage.
However, their combination was completely unexpected.
Rookie Idol Ryu Gun-woo, ballet dancer Sun Ah-hyun.
And… actor Lee Sae-jin.
-??? Why is Lee Sae-jin there
-Who’s next to Lee Sae-jin, Sun Ah-hyun
-Crazy Ryu Gun-woo lololol
-But why not Wishes??
-Wow what is this lololol
-What are you three doing
‘Hah.’
Standing on the Stage, Ryu Gun-woo recalled Bae Sae-jin’s slightly excited voice.
It was from a few months ago when he was talking about this plan.
-I’m going to this awards ceremony too, you know? From what I hear, Sun Ah-hyun is coming to receive a special award.
-Yes.
-Then let’s perform here together.
-…??
-Let’s do a commemorative performance with Sun Ah-hyun! And observe things a bit!
…Well, let me think about this from the beginning.
The possibility of it actually happening was… surprisingly real.
In fact, this awards ceremony had many veteran recipients who were icons of the era in terms of age and status.
‘No matter how renowned a nationally-acclaimed ballet dancer is, they’d still be outmatched.’
Even if the special stage went to Sun Ah-hyun, it wouldn’t be that unreasonable.
‘The real issue was persuasion.’
After all, there was no reason for an award recipient to necessarily perform on stage. They could simply call a sufficiently prestigious performance team instead.
Park Moon-dae thought that would be the key hurdle, but apparently he didn’t need to do anything—Sun Ah-hyun agreed surprisingly easily.
-Sun Ah-hyun… apparently became interested in pop song performances like this.
…It was rare.
‘Why would a nationally-acclaimed figure from another field agree without hesitation to cover a pop song stage?’
But that rare occurrence proceeded smoothly, and in the end, people got to see these three people on the Stage.
“….”
As I took the opening position, I turned my head to find Sun Ah-hyun standing there.
And Ryu Gun-woo recalled the final reminder.
-But his Entertainment Agency asked him to avoid overly direct idol Stage performances.
That was actually a relief.
Because I immediately thought of the perfect Stage.
‘With this lineup.’
This was it.
[Mm~!]
Moments later, bright guitar acoustics and classical drum sounds filled the Stage.
A familiar, comforting melody.
Ryu Gun-woo and Park Moon-dae standing on the Stage knew.
‘Sun Ah-hyun had experienced situations that oddly overlapped with reality several times before.’
Like covering Malang Dalcom songs in a vampire version, or things like swapping random boxes.
And this time, Park Moon-dae had intentionally given him a similar experience.
Music filled the Stage, and spotlights illuminated three figures in jeans and white t-shirts.
-Wow
-Absolutely incredible
Captions appeared.
[You Are Wonderful
by Sun Ah-hyun, Lee Sae-jin, Ryu Gun-woo (Wishes)]
Testa’s first Concert. A recreation of the unit Stage that had been full of playfulness.
More formal than before to suit the awards ceremony, with an arrangement similar to the original flowing across the Stage with a touch of stability.
[I hear your heart
The trembling of a shy chest]
The parts were divided exactly the same as before.
The difference was that Ryu Gun-woo was no longer Park Moon-dae’s body, and….
People’s expectations.
-Insane
-Why are they so good??
-What’s going on with Lee Sae-jin’s dance lines
Why is an actor performing on Stage so well…?
People were overwhelmed with utter confusion watching actor Lee Sae-jin naturally handle the choreography, vocals, and facial expressions on Stage.
And soon they began becoming extremely delighted.
Lee Sae-jin definitely said she’d do this lol
-Sejin Oppa, what’s going on with Deokup Match? Jinjjangㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠ
-After being used for Wishes fandom love, he finally joined
-Please give us a real review of your house’s Welsh Corgi
Bae Sae-jin’s active promotional behavior for Park Moon-dae’s target had become a kind of fandom meme.
People enthusiastically watched the three people joyfully performing a female vocalist’s classic song, and the reactions of artists smiling and applauding.
Thinking of it as a very pleasant twist.
[Ooo you are wonderful!
Everything about you]
-Sun Ah-hyun is insane, he’s seriously so handsome
-Take away his passport, hurry
-Vocals, dance, visuals—why is the balance of all three so perfect like a professional stage…? I’m not joking, he needs to debut;
And I missed one thing, overshadowed by the impact of actor Lee Sae-jin’s remarkable talent for performance.
[My heart races every day!
I can’t fall asleep tonight]
No matter how much a ballet dancer performs on stage, it’s an entirely different kind of performance from pop songs or idol stages.
Yet he melded into it so naturally, delivering a stage with perfectly timed rhythm that felt seamless in every way.
[You are truly amazing]
Sun Ah-hyun smiled and executed a turn.

* * *
After the eventful special performance.
“I think we pulled it off pretty well…!”
“Yes.”
Even as Bae Sae-jin jumped down from the stage, he couldn’t hide his smile.
Over the past few weeks, he’d managed to coordinate their movements by sacrificing sleep and even doing video calls, and he seemed proud of how well it came together.
And taking a deep breath, he said this much:
“…This is fun. This is it!”
“….”
I think this is the first time I’ve seen someone so intoxicated by the stage high. Maybe giving and taking away really is the most tantalizing thing.
Bae Sae-jin even asked Sun Ah-hyun directly.
“Ahem, so, you think it was fun too??”
“…! Oh.”
He nodded slightly, looking a bit dazed.
“Yes. …It felt new. So… the feeling, you know.”
“Right. It hits different when you do it after so long!”
Just then, a staff member who’d been shifting nervously beside us spoke up.
“Um… Sae-jin, we’re running out of time.”
“…! Oh, yes.”
Bae Sae-jin quickly composed himself, his flushed face returning to normal, and moved to get back to his position. There were still nominations left to go through.
But something he’d said seemed to linger, and I heard him muttering from beside me.
“After so long…?”
“….”
Unintentionally, it was a moment of choice.
I reflected on the past few months of practice.
Sun Ah-hyun participated faithfully except for the occasional absences due to scheduling, showing no unusual behavior.
So really, both Bae Sae-jin and I had almost given up on testing him, just observing instead….
‘…The stage definitely was fun for him.’
I confirmed that he too had come down with his face flushed red, just like Bae Sae-jin.
He says he’s devoted his entire life to ballet, but it seems he doesn’t find fulfillment in ballet alone.
‘If that’s the case.’
…At this level, it might work.
I took my smartphone back from the staff member and waited briefly until he was out of earshot.
Then, confirming the empty Corridor and that no one was paying attention to us, I opened my mouth.
“We did this on the Concert stage.”
“…What?”
“We performed this stage at the Concert.”
I continued to meet his gaze and murmur as if speaking to the Sun Ah-hyun I once knew.
“Our first unit performance. The response was decent. You enjoyed it too.”
“….”
After the silence.
A trembling voice emerges.
“C-Concert?”
“Yeah.”
I waited a few seconds. Sun Ah-hyun lowered his head, and there was no other reaction.
‘…Did I mess up.’
There was no explanation for it other than him being flustered by my sudden informal tone and nonsense.
I grimaced and turned my body away.
Already thinking of an excuse like ‘Sorry, I was trying to joke around but failed.’
That was the moment.
“…Back then,”
He grabbed my arm.
“You were holding a balloon….”
I turned my head.
“…Moon-dae.”
He smiled.
I dropped the smartphone I was holding.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————