Debut or Die - Chapter 446

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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 446
[But why is he Ju Dan from VTIC?]
Ju Dan from VTIC.
Why did this guy suddenly pop up on my list of people whose brains I could use?
‘Honestly… there aren’t many candidates.’
[…Ah.]
It’s not like I’ve been spreading my situation around everywhere in the first place.
My body switched, I came back to the past, something about the System… I’m not stupid enough to go around spouting this insane nonsense.
There are only a handful of people who got caught up in the incident and ended up sharing some details with me.
‘And among them, he’s the one who seemed least resistant to this sort of thing.’
He’s a bit… unusual, but I figured that might actually help.
With nothing to lose, I decided to reach out to Ju Dan.
First, out of courtesy, I asked how he’d been.
“How’s military service treating you, senior?”
-There’s quite a bit to discuss regarding the efficiency issues of the conscription system, but I’ll spare you the details.
“…Yes, I see.”
I’m getting curious about what kind of treatment he gets at the barracks.
But I decided to focus on my own problem.
Let me think….
‘Since he’s in the barracks, there are probably guys listening in from nearby.’
A celebrity phone call—even if you try to act casual, anyone who hears it will take interest.
I needed to misdirect the topic.
“Actually, I was playing a ‘game’ and had some questions about this ‘System,’ so I reached out.”
I laid down several more hints—’just a light contact because of a hobby, it’s like a hypothetical psychology test’—before bringing up the System issue.
Basically, my body switched due to a mission failure, and these kinds of status messages appeared….
After exchanging a few questions and answers, he finally responded like this.
-Body switching… that’s a romantic comedy cliché. It’s not really my area of expertise.
“….”
Should I hang up?
‘I’ll hold back.’
I need to use this guy’s brain, so I’ll endure it once.
“I was looking for a third party’s unique perspective, so this is actually helpful. What do you think about it?”
A brief silence fell.
And shortly after, Ju Dan suddenly said something.
An idea I’d never even imagined.
-Have you considered the possibility that there was no mission to begin with?
What?

* * *
A few days passed.
Testa’s comeback preparations proceeded smoothly without any major complications.
Originally, since it was our first album in a while, I’d planned to go all-out and aggressive, but considering our previous album was already quite intense with “Savior,” I dialed back the niche factor.
‘We did the Haetae concept before.’
If we were going to pull something like that again, we’d need to adjust the tempo first.
A stylish, accessible track in mini-album volume.
So the concept was….
“American public high school vibes—high teen!”
The textbook idol move.
…Yeah, I won’t lie.
I figured we should do it while we’re still young enough to pull it off without being shameless about it.
“Ah~ we don’t have much time left before we can’t naturally pull off something like this. Sob, so sad. I need to manage myself better~”
“Actors in their thirties play high school students all the time. Don’t think so extremely.”
“Ah… um, yes. You’re right.”
For the record, Sun Ah-hyun smoothed over this awkward back-and-forth.
“E-everyone looked great in the outfits, and you all looked like high schoolers…! The stage will be amazing too.”
“Ah~ that’s right, I can guarantee that!”
Yeah. We’d done it properly.
[Hmm… we didn’t need to be this childish about it.]
We brought in Cha Yu-jin as a consultant for the music video and stage authenticity. He got so excited he even assigned roles.
Everything proceeded on schedule, and it still was.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae, about that switching problem….”
“Don’t worry about it for now. Just wait a bit.”
“…Okay.”
And so the comeback preparations flowed smoothly.
There were no problems whatsoever.
But I hadn’t forgotten about the status window.
And days later, when I saw it.
[Sudden!]
Status Abnormality
Mission Failed: Restoration to Original State (2)
-Everything as if it never happened
: D-? until next start
I understood the information.
‘Big Dal.’
[Yes??]
I took a deep breath.
“I figured out the switching date.”
[…!!]
“Look at your status window. See how ‘D-???’ changed to ‘D-?’?”
I pointed with my finger.
The countdown was ticking down one by one, and the shift from two digits to one digit meant only one thing.
We’d crossed from 10 to 9.
“Nine days left.”
And if the timing is similar to last time….
“Most likely around 11 PM that night.”
The night of January 21st.
Fortunately, it was before our comeback Stage performance—cutting it close. I mentally ran through the day’s schedule.
[So… you’re going to clear my schedule for that time?]
“….”
This was the difficult part.
“No, that won’t work.”
[…!]
“I’ll go in as Ryu Gun-woo, and you’ll handle Park Moon-dae’s schedule.”
I spoke slowly.
“That’s what we need to do that day.”
[Why, why?]
“Because that seems like the way to end the mission failure effect.”
I recalled a conversation I’d had with Ju Dan a few days ago.
That random statement.
-…There’s no mission?
-Yes. We tried to eliminate the root cause, but it turned out there was no root cause to begin with—a hollow narrative, you could say. It’s become such a cliché now that subverting the cliché has become a cliché itself.
Honestly, that… bizarre logic didn’t sit right with me.
But that sentence itself, the moment I heard it, suddenly sparked a thought.
“You changed my abnormal condition failure into a mission failure. So the System never considered ‘mission’ in the first place. It was originally just an abnormal condition.”
And.
“Originally, a ‘mission’ is a goal I set arbitrarily through my status window to earn rewards.”
Through the trait this bastard gave me—’Mission Constitution’.
“But you can’t create that in the first place.”
The popup paused briefly.
“You don’t have a status window.”
So for Big Dal, the concept of a mission simply doesn’t exist.
[So… missions… don’t exist.]
Right.
‘A mission that didn’t exist becomes retroactively real the moment a mission failure appears.’
By carelessly substituting, the algorithm got twisted.
So.
“From now on, mission failures will inevitably occur.”
Instead of resolving a non-existent mission.
“When a failure effect occurs, you need to approach it by releasing the target.”
-…Based on your theory, senior, it seems like what we did during the building escape game was the correct strategy.
Like how I escaped the collapsing building, and the System’s ‘target’ was lost.
Rather than guessing at a mission that never existed in the first place, you focus on what happened after the mission failed.
‘Then the circumstances became incredibly obvious.’
I let out a quiet laugh.
“Do you remember what we did after our bodies swapped?”
[Well, I lived as Testa, and you came along as a road manager….]
“Exactly.”
So, to explain this again.
“You properly lived Park Moon-dae’s original daily life, while I escaped from Ryu Gun-woo’s original daily life.”
[…!]
“That’s why it seems only Park Moon-dae was released from the target.”
Like this.
[Target
‘Park Moon-dae (1 / 2)’
Lost]
[Release in Progress]
[Remaining Target: Ryu Gun-woo (2 / 2)]
So now the objective is clear.
“We make them think we haven’t swapped and are each living our lives properly. That way, we can make them lose the target.”
Big Dal didn’t respond for a moment.
Then a popup appeared shortly after.
[So I should live as Testa’s Park Moon-dae one more time, and you as civil servant Ryu Gun-woo…!]
That’s right.
I nodded.
‘This is correct.’
A perfect conclusion emerged, and I felt relieved. The timing was perfect too.
‘Now I just need to execute it properly….’
[Wow, it really seems like a wise decision for you to contact Ju Dan, hyung! He seems like a good person!]
“….”
Hmm.
That’s… a bit.
After hearing a decent response from that guy, I asked him quite favorably about which girl groups were popular in the military these days.
And I got this answer.
-I’m not sure. After work, everyone can access modern civilization through their own smartphones, so there’s no reason for us all to focus on mass media like television.
-….
-Of course, for security reasons, the range we can use is restricted.
-Yes.
There’s actually a guy who explains how girl groups themselves aren’t trendy on television anymore the way they used to be, saying it’s because smartphones are so convenient.
-Oh, pass along my regards to Jae-hyun hyung.
Besides, I’m not sure why you’re telling me this. Aren’t you the leader of your group?
Anyway, well… Chung-ryeo will show up somewhere eventually without needing to contact him. It’s awards season, after all.
I ended my recollection of what I’d discussed with Ju Dan and held back a sigh.
“…It helped. Yeah. So when we swap on the 21st at night, I should probably talk about what I need to do when I come in on the 22nd.”
[Ah, I’m not coming in that day!]
“…? Oh, right.”
Since the 21st is a Saturday… the next day would be Sunday. I nodded.
That would make things much easier?
“Then I’ll just continue with whatever you were planning to do that day, so tell me what it was.”
[Hmm… I was planning to just rest on Sunday without anything else!]
I had a feeling that would be the case.
But the next thing he said was unexpected.
[But on Saturday night… I think I’ll probably be out then.]
This guy at 11 PM at night?
“Yeah. What’s going on?”
And a completely unexpected answer came back.
[Actually… I’m going to a fan signing event for you, hyung!]
“….”
Why would you go there…?
‘Wait, hold on.’
Right, I do have a fan signing event scheduled for Saturday. More precisely, Testa does.
-O-Sung AI Assistant ‘Curious Vega’ Model Testa Fan Signing Event Raffle!
It’s a fan signing event hosted by a corporation for their advertising model.
‘But why would a civil servant go there….’
[Because I won the raffle…?]
Ah, to get an autograph….
“….”
Sigh. I lowered my head.
[Sorry! I thought I should surprise you on the day, but I guess I was short-thinking. Hyung, should I cancel?]
“No.”
As much as possible… let’s not affect anything before or after. We need to live as we are. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks.
‘Actually, this is good.’
Then I get to see his face comfortably right before we swap.
Since the fan signing starts in the evening, isn’t it perfect for checking any unusual circumstances just in case?
“Good. Then I’ll ask you to take a taxi on the way home that night.”
[Yes!]
My conversation with Big Dal wrapped up cleanly like that.
But as time passed, on the day of the fan signing event.
An incident that was far from clean… occurred.

* * *
“So you’re saying you’ll change back to Big Dal once we return to the Dormitory? Around eleven to midnight.”
“Yes.”
“Got it. Just wanted to double-check to be safe.”
Ryu Chung-woo whispered and gave my shoulder a light pat before moving on. I drank water in the Waiting Room and changed into my stage outfit.
‘Nothing unusual.’
But immediately after, that “unusual” thing happened.
“Um, it looks like there’s going to be about an hour and a half delay due to an issue on the organizer’s end….”
“….”
“We don’t have any schedules after this. How about we just rest for a bit and adjust our condition….”
The Manager trailed off. In reality, calling it “adjusting our condition” was just a nice way of saying we’d be leaving late, and there was nothing we could do about it.
‘Since the advertiser is O-Sung, it seems like we can’t push back too hard,’
O-Sung being such a massive corporation and all. Anyway….
I pressed my temples.
‘Would it be risky if I just declined and left claiming I wasn’t feeling well?’
Let me think—if I were my usual self….
‘I’d obviously wait and finish the schedule.’
Damn. With no schedule after this and it being a fan signing event, it’s basically set in stone. Canceling would have massive repercussions.
‘…I have to push through.’
Or maybe I should try something unexpected.
I clenched both my fists. That’s when it happened.
“M, Moon-dae…!”
“…!”
Sun Ah-hyun sat down beside me.
“It’s okay. Usually… when we think about the signing event time, it’ll… end before then. Don’t worry too much, and I hope you do whatever feels comfortable for you, Moon-dae….”
“That’s right. Statistically speaking… it’ll probably be either in the Car or in the Waiting Room after the event ends!”
“….”
I looked at the people surrounding me, then nodded.
Surprisingly, I felt a bit more at ease.
“Okay.”
But I would soon regret this judgment as well….
I never expected that there would be another delay during the signing event due to equipment issues in a brief talk segment.
And on top of that, this damned System fragment moved slightly faster than I anticipated.
…So when I came to my senses, I was already in this state.
Blink.
Somehow, I was standing behind a high school student, holding a signed album.
A hamster headband dangled from the high school student’s short hair.
“….”
Beyond that high school student, I could see Ryu Chung-woo with a smiling face, finishing up signing an album.
Our eyes met. I immediately looked away.
“…?”
Ryu Chung-woo seemed confused. But gradually, as if grasping the situation, his expression shifted.
And right next to him sat a familiar face adorned with all manner of outlandish fan-sign merchandise on his head.
…It was me. Park Moon-dae.
[Hyung…!]
‘Maybe I should just collapse and get loaded into an ambulance instead.’
At this point, I could have considered ways to smooth over the event and get through this turn somehow.
But… now that I’ve seen this, there’s no way I can.
[Sudden Event!]
Abnormal Status
Mission Failed: Return to Original State (2)
-Everything as if it never happened
: 47:59:59 until completion
Until completion, 48 hours.
The time had doubled.
It was a bad sign.
‘If I leave things as they are… by the next turn or the one after, it might become permanent.’
I turned to look behind the line. Still no one there.
In other words, all I needed was for the person in front of me and myself to get Park Moon-dae’s autograph and move on.
“….”
[I… I think I might actually be able to collapse properly this time….]
‘…Listen carefully.’
I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘You are Testa’s Park Moon-dae.’
[….]
And I am….
‘…a casual fan getting autographs from the members.’
I began approaching Ryu Chung-woo, careful not to stumble….
And so the worst roleplay on earth began.

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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
—————