Debut or Die - Chapter 421

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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 421
Park Moon-dae had garnered fervent attention for a week following the broadcast of Episode 4, where he’d inadvertently rehearsed his way through the horror experience.
Since it unfolded as predicted, he accepted his fate as the group’s comedic relief with remarkable composure.
‘Good grief.’
A fan had even thrown a ghost doll at him during the concert.
-That’s hilarious (video)
After becoming quite the topic on social media, such behavior eventually subsided, but it proved his variety show image was unmistakable.
A coward worth teasing.
-Eldest Brother patting Park Moon-dae’s head on the way back from Doll Island (GIF)
The creepy doll got stepped on and the door got stiff like a dog wearing shoes lol (photo)
Of course, that too faded within a week.
‘Naturally.’
Because while he found ghosts unsettling, he didn’t shy away from any other thrilling situations.
The next episode.
[Great White Shark Cage Experience]
Inside the iron cage submerged on the ocean floor.
While Testa members equipped with snorkeling gear screamed and gestured like mimes.
Park Moon-dae stood perfectly still.
Anyone watching would think he was on flat ground.
-What
-Right, Moon-dae was always like this
Composure. And he expressed his interest with his hand supporting his chin.
Trapped in a cage on the ocean floor watching a great white shark, yet he was calmly enjoying himself.
[↑Despite appearances, he’s extremely engaged]
-Wow, Tibet
And just like that, Park Moon-dae had reclaimed his dignity in one fell swoop!
The interesting part was that Park Moon-dae wasn’t the only one fascinated.
After several members made a fuss.
[(Gyaaaack!)]
[Kim Rae-bin : (It’s actually a surprisingly delicate creature!)]
[Bae Sae-jin : (I have no idea what you’re saying)]
[Kim Rae-bin : (You don’t agree! That’s fair!)]
[Bae Sae-jin : (Still don’t get it)]
Surprisingly, the great white shark cage experience received praise from most members despite its ominous name.
It was commercialized enough to be reasonably safe, and their fear threshold had already been raised so high from the horror experience that they simply accepted it as entertainment.
Besides, it was certainly a novel and unique experience.
The 【Do What You Want】 team’s course was essentially a healing success.
Yeah, doing whatever I wanted without worrying about broadcasting or anything was the best, hahaha.
Though this team’s members were selected with extreme consideration for broadcast appeal, the Team Leader found that comment accurate.
[Cha Yu-jin : Cha Yu-jin and Hyung Moon-dae were right!]
In the interview cut, Cha Yu-jin grinned.
…Though behind him, under the name ‘Duet,’ Park Moon-dae’s figure—catching everything Cha Yu-jin threw at him—flashed past, but regardless, the two were still a team.
[Cha Yu-jin : Best teamwork!]
And Park Moon-dae took a photo of Sun Ah-hyun and Shark’s two-shot, thereby easing some of his sense of betrayal.
[Sun Ah-hyun : (Like this?)]
[Park Moon-dae : (Good)]
And then on the jungle speedboat ride, he displayed incredible chemistry with Ryu Chung-woo, dissolving his (personal) lingering resentment.
Finally, the zipline off the cliff.
[Cha Yu-jin : Woo-hoo!!!]
It was extremely exciting, but since everyone enjoyed it without exception, it surprisingly didn’t cross the line into genuine suffering.
And the consecutive full-course segment featuring Kim Rae-bin soothed every regret of viewers who had anticipated healing content.
-The youngest is the best
-Our rabbit, wow, how can he be so good at being filial?
The viewers found the sweet healing more enjoyable after the lengthy killing spree. Kim Rae-bin thus surpassed Mung-ge to become the healing mascot.
[Mung-ge : (Watch me! Hyungs, come back to South Korea soon!)]
With the outdoor cut of the magnificent Testa waving goodbye while video calling Mung-ge, who had returned from Indonesia to South Korea, the healing variety show concluded in a manner befitting its name.
A total of eight episodes. Short and intense original content.
-It was really great!
-It’s perfect because they took care of everything we wanted to see happily at the endㅠㅠ
And the fans in Chile secured an unexpected victory.
-Testa enjoyed the beautiful landscapes and traditional cuisine of Chile! “True satisfaction”
-Only Chile wins (laughing emoji)
Though they were somewhat disappointed.
-*Healing* (bashfully waving at the 3-night, 4-day arduous Torres del Paine trekking course)
And all of this was something that naturally occurred whenever Testa properly handled a variety show.
Happy viewers, fans’ impressions.
Park Moon-dae lowered his smartphone as he lay on the bed.
He had already deleted the clumsily hastily-created horror preparation account made to show on broadcast.
Instead, the regularly rotated monitoring account name shone brightly at the top.
-Ah, this variety show was so good, filled the tour gap well… honestly, it’s amazing and touching that you don’t lose your original intention with every content
-I really want to like you for the rest of my life, Testa, let’s keep going like this♡ㅠㅠ
“….”
Like a signal that everything was returning to normalcy.
Watching the flood of comments, Park Moon-dae finally felt it again, properly this time.
The certainty and reality of having returned.
“…Sigh.”
He lowered his smartphone.
The final stretch of the tour.
For the first time in a long while, he was able to sleep deeply without the nightmare of opening his eyes in that ambiguous skeletal space of the System.
A complete return to the orbit of Testa.
And the next day, Park Moon-dae made a decision.
I agreed with the company and my members about preparing an album, but before that, something else had become my priority.
“Big Dal.”
[Oh, hyung! You’re available right now? What’s going on?]
“…There’s somewhere I’d like you to take me.”
[Yes?]
Ryu Gun-woo inside Park Moon-dae closed his eyes and spoke.
“…I want to visit my parents.”

* * *
The entry into the country was quite eventful.
Since I’d been filming variety shows during the tour, it had been a while since my last return to South Korea.
But my movements after arrival proceeded quietly.
After spending several days handling a few private schedules, today had finally arrived.
I dressed and left the room.
“You’re going today?”
“Yeah.”
“Have a safe trip.”
Tap. I didn’t resist as Big Sae-jin gave my back a light pat. Instead, I bumped my closed fist against his and continued walking.
I couldn’t involve company staff in this, and public transportation was absolutely out of the question.
Since Park Moon-dae’s body didn’t have a license and couldn’t drive, I’d enlisted one more person.
“We’re heading to that officetel first, right?”
“Yeah.”
Ryu Chung-woo, who had both a license and a car.
The SUV he’d purchased just before the tour had proven useful during camping as well.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Ryu Chung-woo, who’d readily given up his day off, took the wheel.
“Let’s head out.”
And after picking up Big Dal from the officetel.
We arrived at our destination after spending quite a long time on the road.
“…Hello.”
It had been a very long time since my last visit to the grave.
I approached the glass cabinet that filled an entire wall and saw a single white ceramic urn beyond one compartment.
A cremains urn.
With only a simple inscription of a name, a few photographs were all that surrounded it.
“….”
A proper burial would have required money I didn’t have, and being a minor at the time, there was nothing I could properly arrange.
So by the time I came to my senses, it had ended with cremation and placement in the columbarium.
I hadn’t even chosen the location myself—the sight line had been too high then… but now it felt right.
I wiped the glass panel lightly.
“Hello.”
Big Dal—now Ryu Gun-woo—opened his mouth and bowed deeply toward the columbarium.
It was something I was grateful for.
I raised my hand to open the glass and placed the bouquet I’d brought inside.
The space was cramped. Cramped enough to crumple the flowers.
“If it’s alright, I’d like to move it to a wider location.”
“…Yes, yes?”
Right, that was meant for you.
I smiled faintly.
“The urn placement. Since I can’t do it myself, I’m asking you to sign off on it. Of course, I’ll cover the costs.”
“…! Of course I will… No, you don’t need to pay for it.”
“No, I should.”
If I didn’t, wouldn’t that be taking advantage of you?
And if I didn’t at least cover the costs, it wouldn’t really feel like I’d done it myself.
I pulled my hat down lower.
It was a weekday, not a holiday, so there were barely any people around. Still, if we were spotted, it would cause a commotion.
‘There are already three of us.’
The rumor that I’d visited a friend’s parents’ columbarium felt somewhat… strange.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
I lifted my head and took out the bouquet, then disassembled it. It was treated with preservatives and had barely deteriorated.
I placed just a few stems inside the glass case and closed it.
Click.
The arrangement looked good.
I was about to tell him I’d stay a bit longer when I turned to Ryu Chung-woo.
“…!”
Was that… you?
“Brother.”
“Ah… sorry, it’s just…”
“….”
Right.
He’s family too, after all. Our parents, that is.
I gazed thoughtlessly at the white urn and reflected.
‘…That’s how it turned out.’
I don’t really think my parents are here.
But since I can see it with my own eyes.
‘I’m living well, so please don’t worry. …I’m sorry the body you gave me changed. But he’s living well too on his end.’
Whether it’s the essence or the exterior, I hoped bringing back a perfectly fine Ryu Gun-woo would count as mitigating circumstances. I smiled faintly.
After wiping the moisture from his face, Ryu Chung-woo seemed to stand composedly again.
Sunlight streamed through the indoor space.
In the quiet morning, I stood before the Columbarium for quite a long time.

* * *
After relocating the urn to a better spot, the drive back was quiet, though not uncomfortable.
Still, there was one question I couldn’t avoid asking.
“What about your parents?”
Big Dal’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“Ah, well… they’re at the Beach. They said they wanted that for a long time….”
“…I see.”
Considering this kid’s circumstances, I felt a flicker of suspicion that perhaps he couldn’t afford the Columbarium fees and it had been arranged by the staff, but I stopped myself.
There was no point wasting time on such useless thoughts.
“How about we go together when you have time.”
“Ah….”
“Is it far?”
“Ah, well. It’s on Ganghwa Island….”
I figured as much.
“Then you’re free on weekends, so—”
“Whoa! That’s okay. You’re going to be busy again….”
“Then want to go today?”
“…!”
That wasn’t something I said.
“You’ve got time today anyway. Let’s go. I’ll drive.”
It was Ryu Chung-woo from the driver’s seat who spoke.
And after several rounds of persuasion, the destination was finally decided.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. I haven’t seen the Beach in a while anyway.”
The guy who saw it just a month ago while filming the variety show sure knew how to talk.
So we made a quick stop at Ganghwa Island on the way.
Whoooosh—
It was late summer, almost autumn.
The Beach wasn’t completely empty, but it was quiet.
Thanks to that, Big Dal could sit on a Beach bench for as long as he wanted, gazing out at the Ocean.
“….”
I sat silently on the bench beside him, a distance apart. I understood there was no need to say anything.
And Ryu Chung-woo spoke in a measured, quiet voice.
“Just a moment. I’ll go grab something.”
And here I thought he was done after driving.
But he didn’t wait for a response, simply turned around and headed toward the shops with his back to the Beach.
‘This guy.’
In every sense, he was remarkably consistent.
That was when it happened.
The ocean breeze swept behind him….
For some reason, this particular frame in my field of vision felt like a scene I already knew.
And I realized it immediately.
‘Ah.’
That guy… he came to Ganghwa Island during a variety show when he was with STier.
A brand-new variety show that had just started on broadcast television—it didn’t do particularly well.
-Oh~ As expected of a National Team member!
‘It’s coming back to me so vividly.’
The memories I reclaimed by destroying the System had settled into my mind as naturally as if they’d always been there.
So they didn’t pop up abruptly and awkwardly like they usually did, but they did surface naturally like this from time to time.
‘Come to think of it, this is an even stranger situation.’
I’m on the same team as an idol I used to know, and we’re even relatives.
Since I’d spent such a long time with Testa, I hadn’t been conscious of it at first, but this… feels oddly strange.
Becoming involved with someone I’d only known one-sidedly, and having spent quite a long time together with them.
Ryu Chung-woo was like that too, and so were the others.
“….”
I rested my head against the bench.
That was when it happened.
“Park Moon-dae…?”
“…!”
“Wow, it really is Park Moon-dae.”
Finally, this moment has come. I’ve been caught.
Two high school students, whether they’d come to play or had rushed to the beach, pulled out their smartphones with excited faces.
“Can we get a photo with you?”
“Me too, please!”
“Sure. Just a moment.”
Well, this much is nothing.
I lowered my mask and alternated my gaze between the two smartphones’ lenses.
Then Park Moon-dae’s face appeared on the screen.
My parents and… well, there’s no way I’d look like them.
“….”
“Thank you so much!”
“No, thank you.”
That’s enough.
Don’t get unnecessarily sentimental after all these years.
‘That damn System is useless.’
Because that bastard had mimicked someone else’s parents as Antarctica researchers, my head had gotten filled with nonsense.
‘If they knew how much I’d earned, they’d be giving me a thumbs up even from an urn, so what’s the point.’
I nodded inwardly and smiled steadily at the camera.
“Ugh, have a safe trip home!!”
“Yes.”
I bowed my head to the departing high school students, then turned away while inwardly clicking my tongue.
…Then.
It appeared.
[Sudden Event!]
Abnormal Status: ‘■■ or ■■’ triggered!
“…!!”
A hologram.
What is this right now…, wait.
“Ah.”
But when I turned my head again, the holographic window that seemed like an afterimage vanished.
I took a breath.
What was that?
‘…Status window.’
Even when I pulled up the status window and examined it thoroughly, it was the same.
There was no emergency popup.
“….”
“Hyung?”
“No.”
As soon as the high school students left, Big Dal spoke to me from the bench beside us.
I asked urgently.
“Did you happen to see anything?”
“…?? Those people from earlier? The ones who took photos?”
I studied his face. He looked bewildered and slightly tense, but there was no sign of deception.
The truth.
I slowly opened my mouth again.
“…Yeah. We took photos for them.”
“Yes…. That’s right?”
I relaxed my shoulders.
If the one who detects status window anomalies best doesn’t know about it, there’s no way something like that would suddenly appear to me.
‘I must be losing it too.’
I’ve been so worn out that I’m even seeing hallucinations now.
I clicked my tongue and adjusted my posture.
“I brought ice cream. Want to have some?”
“Oh, thank you!”
Not long after, Ryu Chung-woo returned, and I decided to cool my head with some ice cream. I was starting to wonder if I’d been affected by the heat.
But the shocking news wasn’t over yet.
“And, the company just contacted us.”
“The company?”
“Yeah. He said there’s something urgent he needs to talk about.”
Ryu Chung-woo continued, his tone confused.
“…He’s asking to push back the album release?”
What?

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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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