Debut or Die - Chapter 436

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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 436
The stage collapsed during a pre-recorded charity concert for VTIC.
And a successful junior idol nearly got hit by it.
Looking at just these facts lined up, there seemed no way to escape the barrage of people gleefully finding reasons to criticize VTIC.
‘But we did escape it.’
No, not escaped—it transcended into a viral moment.
[Uh… yes.]
I immediately started searching on my smartphone.
Setting the timeframe from the accident date to now, scrolling back from the latest public sentiment….
“….”
[Oh, oh….]
Even the one sharing my vision was amazed. I touched my chin.
‘They shifted the frame.’
They’d established a public enemy.
The Broadcasting Station itself.
========================
[Is the Broadcasting Station Really Allowed to Do That? -Kim Se-hwa’s Talk]
‘The stage collapsed. But no one was injured, so there’s no problem.’
If I were to summarize SBC’s statement regarding the collapse accident that occurred at SBC’s stage set on October 9th in two sentences, it would come down to this.
The behavior of public broadcast music shows—where you can’t leave until you greet the PD, prioritizing hierarchy over substance—remained unchanged even in the moment of crisis.
….
=======================
This was possible because what fell wasn’t the stage set installed by VTIC’s concert staff, but rather the lighting equipment that the Broadcasting Station itself managed as standard infrastructure.
This operation proceeded with exquisite timing—after the shock of the stage accident had swept through once, just as responsibility began surfacing and VTIC was about to face backlash.
-Seriously gives me chills, the pre-recording schedule was packed tight for three days, anyone could’ve been hit by that steel
-They keep saying they don’t know the cause and are still investigating, expressing regret, but it seems like they’re just waiting for this to get buried lol
-There’s a rumor that right before Testa they suddenly stopped the stage because the stage manager said the equipment looked wrong
└Wait, did they come out to check and almost get hit?
-This is literally 9 o’clock news material… ugh, I’m so angry I could lose it
It’s just a matter of timing—if that stage had collapsed just a few hours later, it would’ve been VTIC getting hit by the steel!
Whether as organizers or performers, anyone could have been injured, and they narrowly avoided the accident—this becomes publicly acknowledged.
And the narrative becomes crystal clear.
-The real problem is the Broadcasting Station’s abuse of power!
When you neatly divide victim and perpetrator in an incident, only the perpetrator bears responsibility.
And because the Broadcasting Station has such a glorious track record of abusing power in the music industry, this framing worked perfectly.
-It’s standard practice in this industry to lowball appearance fees lol
-How many times have stage equipment problems or slips caused injuries to the kids or staff?
Another annual incident… At this rate, someone’s really going to have to die before people wake up.
They gained sympathy through the Broadcasting Station’s historical abuse of power and indifference, the outsourcing of stage maintenance personnel, and safety negligence—even touching on social issues slightly.
Then people who wanted to chime in would whisper stories that had no real basis but looked like evidence, as if authenticating their own voices.
I went to the studio that day and there was seriously no one checking the stage.
-There was a Maximite rehearsal on the same stage the day before and Letso said something about the lighting, could it be…? (leaked blurry screenshot)
Thanks to this, something rare even for the internet happened.
-Let’s make a joint statement from the cast members’ fans
-We can’t do this if we miss the timing, we need to speak up properly now and get an apology and compensation
-Made a link for collecting opinions on the statement (link)
Some fan communities of VTIC and Testa even planned a joint statement to increase their influence.
‘Some of the VTIC fans deliberately got more upset.’
Knowing that the arrows could turn back on them, they became more actively friendly toward other cast members’ fans while tearing into the broadcasting station.
Combined with the anger over rushing through what was almost their last event before enlisting and the panic that VTIC might have been in an accident, they had more than enough justification.
-Joint statement from cast members regarding the SBC stage broadcast accident (photo)
And so VTIC was completely removed from responsibility and became the victim.
‘Clean.’
The way they skillfully and swiftly steered public opinion without leaving a trace of instigation was the work of someone truly seasoned in these matters.
But this was a problem.
-So what about the charity concert?
‘The broadcast network became reluctant to continue with this concert.’
Since they’d framed the narrative so heavily as “the problem was the broadcasting station’s upper management’s attitude from the start,” it became impossible to just cut off the responsible person, so the station’s higher-ups must have been quite upset.
As a result, they earned their resentment while also making the charity concert’s continuation uncertain.
If things went wrong, the entire roster of artists under that agency could have difficulty appearing on the station.
If it were a group planning active promotions, this would be a choice they couldn’t easily make.
‘But these guys are going to the military.’
With eighteen months of leeway, there was definitely a calculation that they could quietly make peace with the broadcasting station within that time.
And as for the charity concert itself… they handled it like this.
-VTIC charity concert SBC broadcast cancelled
└Seriously?
They boldly cancelled the broadcast airing.
They cited “schedule delays due to the accident” as the reason, but it was essentially a preemptive strike—a boycott thrown down first.
You guys made a big mistake.
‘Strengthening the frame.’
The frustrated cast members’ fans responded positively, feeling satisfied. Actually, not just the fans—everyone interested in the situation loved it.
Hahaha, that’s spicy/hot!
-So they really are one of the big three agencies
Well, an Entertainment Agency with an idol on the American Billboard wouldn’t waste SBC music broadcasts, ah, I guess they picked the wrong target for their abuse of power lol.
In an internet ecosystem where people advise cutting off friends after a single fight, a refreshing move like this was bound to work.
And here came another build-up.
-VTIC’s charity concert is here! (link) An infinite audience participation platform you can watch without even signing up… (more)
The charity concert broadcast wasn’t cancelled entirely—it continued exclusively on internet platforms, complete with flashy advertising through YouTube and various SNS.
At first glance it seemed like a loss since the target viewer base shrank, but by making such a big splash, they actually drew more viewer attention.
Specifically, YouTube traffic.
[K-pop Elite Agency’s Broadcasting Station Lesson!]
[Leti Class Certified~ From Stage Collapse to Now in 1 Minute]
[So Where Can You Watch the VTIC Charity Concert? Right Here!│Issue Talk]
Once videos like these trended, the donation box and preview videos appeared on that platform immediately.
The attention drawn by the stage collapse naturally led to the charity concert itself becoming a hot keyword, and the donation amount kept climbing steadily.
‘And they’ll use that donation amount for more publicity.’
A virtuous cycle. I nodded after scanning through several of the latest press play articles.
They had plenty of experience with this.
[Wow, I didn’t know the concert proceeded safely with this method. That’s impressive!]
Big Dal, who had been following my search path and commentary, expressed admiration through a popup.
But here’s the thing.
“It’s not just that.”
[Huh?]
The math checks out? They survived safely? This wasn’t that level at all.
I smiled bitterly and tapped my smartphone screen.
‘These guys made an insane profit.’
[????]
Do you know what platform this is?
‘It’s their own platform.’
Theirs.
[!]
A live streaming platform where Leti holds fifty percent of the shares.
They hooked an enormous number of new users to this platform through this controversy. Even the kind of people who wouldn’t normally be drawn in through regular promotion.
Plus, the platform’s awareness naturally increased as a bonus.
‘Leti made an absolutely massive profit.’
As a platform operator, no less.
[B-but just because the agency profits doesn’t mean the group profits, right…? Right? Your agency is the same way….]
Oh. You’ve already deduced that much.
‘That’s right.’
I readily agreed.
You probably said that recalling when T1 Stars was doing pointless things while aiming for revenue diversification.
But unfortunately, this situation is different.
[W-wait, in what way…?]
‘Because Leti isn’t T1 Stars.’
Their position is completely different from Testa’s.
Both in seniority and nature.
I muttered expressionlessly.
“VTIC has practically swallowed Leti.”
[Eek?]
VTIC holds a substantial amount of Leti’s stock after renegotiating their contract.
To use a medieval fantasy analogy—if Testa is an adopted heir hastily taken in, then those guys are the legitimate firstborn of their agency.
Though it was fake, based on my experience debuting at LeTi, I understand it more clearly now. That CEO views the group as nothing more than a money-making machine.
‘He was completely absorbed in it, the way a gamer becomes emotionally invested in their game avatar.’
VTIC was built in an environment where it wouldn’t be strange to prioritize the brand’s value over the company’s immediate profits.
As a result, there’s now a direct junior male idol waiting in the wings for generational succession who hasn’t even debuted yet. It was an absurd level of influence.
Just look at how T1 Stars tried to induce transfers between Testa and Spacer. There must be plenty of people above who want to pull that off, yet he shut it down?
It means one person is implicitly holding absolute decision-making power.
…Chung-ryeo.
‘As long as that bastard is blocking it, I won’t see a male idol on a similar trajectory to VTIC debut from LeTi.’
Unless he becomes an executive and builds one himself, that is.
Either way, it was a move that only someone who could use an agency like their own limbs could pull off… and it was brilliant.
Chung-ryeo will make excellent use of this platform going forward. For a long time.
[…hyung, couldn’t Testa just go independent and start his own agency?]
Don’t talk nonsense.
[Yes.]
Unless you can manipulate things from behind the scenes like this, the moment an idol puts their group name on a company, it’s a path of hardship and adversity.
Testa needs more time and experience.
Not yet.
‘Hmm.’
I scrolled down the screen and shrugged.
Anyway, public opinion on the charity concert is good enough. Next, I need to check public opinion about me.
[Ah, that’s already been reported—that you’re taking a break!]
After reviewing everything, while there’s some concern, most people are inferring from articles saying I wasn’t seriously injured that the reason for not posting on SNS is just a matter of atmosphere.
-Typical bear behavior
-Everyone’s not posting together. Don’t even think about fighting with the broadcasting station. We’re with you.
-Our cash cow, I believe in you. You’ll show up soon with a selfie bomb
“….”
Yeah, well… I’ll try to take plenty of photos.
Now let’s move to the next stage. The true function of a smartphone—communication.
-Missed Calls (64)
Mirinai Park Min-ha Junior
Golden Age Ha Il-jun hyung
Spacer Kwon Hee-seung
….
‘Quite a lot.’
When my phone was initially off, missed calls from various people piled up, but after several days, there were almost none. It seems word that I’m taking a break has spread quietly.
However, there was one person who kept contacting me consistently.
-(Photo)
Stacked messages, to be precise.
‘I’m not even surprised anymore.’
What is this… some kind of survival proof?
I was scrolling through several days’ worth of dog-walking photos when I called the person who’d sent them.
– —-.
After a brief dial tone, a voice suddenly came through.
-Your phone is on.
“Yeah.”
I adjusted my smartphone and replied casually.
“The doctor told me not to use it much, so I’ve been living without it for a few days.”
-Mm.
“How about you?”
First, a check-in.
“Do you remember the building collapse?”
I’d actually speculated that if that collapse had never happened, everyone except me might lose their memories of it.
But Testa remembered it all.
It was a unique situation to attribute solely to the fact that they’d escaped with me, so I wondered how other groups were handling it….
Well, this guy naturally gave me an immediate answer.
-Yes.
“Ju Dan too?”
-I wish he hadn’t remembered?
That meant he did remember. I understood perfectly.
“I was asking because I wanted to theorize about how you’re remembering it.”
-I’m not sure.
Chung-ryeo answered with a rather intrigued tone.
-What theory did you come up with?
“I was thinking it might be because everyone was infected with errors in the fake world before.”
That power created by Sun Ah-hyun’s trait—the one that ignores the System’s rules.
If that still remained, then being treated as an exception makes sense.
-Like how I still have GM privileges.
“Right.”
-That could be it.
He agreed readily.
The conversation flowed without much tension. It was rare for him not to get on my nerves… hmm.
‘…Could this also be the internet detox effect?’
Contributing to my mental state loosening up… no, that couldn’t be it. It was probably just because I owed him my life.
While I was thinking about it, I opened my mouth.
“And.”
This was something I should have said that day.
“Thank you.”
-….
“For finding the key back then. I’m alive because of you.”
Yet the person on the other end of the call remained silent, as if their words had gotten stuck.
It had been a long time since this guy showed any sign of agitation.
-Yes.
And the response that came a beat too late was equally brief. It sounded like he didn’t quite know how to answer.
Hmm.
‘Perhaps it’s overlapping in his mind.’
If this guy had died multiple times trying to navigate through that chaotic mess, then his feelings about this crisis being resolved cleanly would have felt fresh indeed.
After all, this would be his first time resolving an abnormal status failure incident through his own actions.
If he’d harbored long-held resignation, it would have been somewhat dispelled.
‘Hmm.’
I nodded.
“So here’s the thing.”
In any case, I couldn’t deny that this bastard, along with Ju Dan, had helped with the escape.
Normally we would’ve kept score and drawn lines between us, but since these guys were heading to the military anyway and would have gaps in their careers, I figured this much was worth doing.
‘I have no intention of owing them.’
And I wasn’t about to let them handle everything among themselves either.
We should extract our share of what we’d prepared, shouldn’t we?
“The charity concert broadcast hasn’t aired yet.”
I continued with a slight smirk.
“I have a proposal.”
While stuck at this Pension surrounded by people obsessively monitoring whether I was properly ‘resting’, I’d thought of something I could actually do.
And a few days later.
An announcement appeared on VTIC’s official account.

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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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