Debut or Die - Chapter 448

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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 448
Once I get through Cha Yu-jin, this sweat-inducing fan sign event will finally be over. I sat down in the chair immediately.
‘Let’s wrap this up quickly.’
Whether it was my imagination or not, my back felt hot.
It might not have been my imagination. By sheer bad luck, Ryu Gun-woo was the very last in line, so right now I’m the only one sitting among seven chairs.
How did this particular order even happen?
[죄송합니다ㅠㅠ]
If you didn’t manipulate the order, you don’t need to apologize.
I held back a sigh and bowed my head slightly.
“Hello.”
Cha Yu-jin grinned and handed over the sign sheet, searching for his photo.
“Welcome! What’s your name?”
“…Um, I’ll take it as Ryu Gun-woo.”
Then Cha Yu-jin pouts.
“You’re not using BM? You don’t like my nickname for you?”
‘What?’
Wait, BM?
Isn’t that the nickname that bastard gave to Big Dal last time when my body was swapped?
‘Does this guy… not realize the swap happened?’
I glanced back at Kim Rae-bin. Kim Rae-bin had an expression that said ‘I have no idea why hyung is looking at me.’
It seems there was a communication error somewhere in the process of passing information along.
‘Actually, this works out better.’
If he doesn’t know it’s me, I can just pretend to be Big Dal, get the autograph, and be done with it.
I switched gears.
[Ugh, I can’t watch this…!]
Why are you watching this place?
‘Just blow hearts at the camera.’
[Yes….]
I frantically waved my hand at Cha Yu-jin.
“Oh, no! It was fine. Um, it just felt like I should use my real name in a place like this… but of course I’m happy if you sign it as BM too!”
“Got it.”
Cha Yu-jin hummed a tune as he moved his pen across the sign sheet. And he kept throwing endless questions.
“Have you eaten? Did you come from far away?”
Really?
No, actually, I should probably appreciate how he treats everyone equally with that investigative attitude, whether he knows them or not.
Anyway, I answered as best I could.
“Yes, I ate well. And um… I didn’t come from far away. My place is nearby!”
“Oh! I live nearby too! We might have run into each other by chance.”
Yeah, that would make sense. We live together, after all.
Cha Yu-jin grinned.
“But why are you speaking so formally? You’re younger than me.”
“Oh.”
Now that he mentioned it, we had dropped the formalities earlier.
I waved my hand dismissively.
“It’s just… given the circumstances, it didn’t feel right! Let me drop it from now on!”
“OK~ I like that! Let’s keep it comfortable.”
Cha Yu-jin even extended his hand for a high-five, as if we’d just won a basketball game.
And throughout it all, his mouth never stopped moving.
“Is there anything else you want to do? Let’s do it all before I go. You don’t want to regret it later!”
Perfect timing.
“Ah, just a moment…!”
I rummaged through the shopping bag and pulled out the item labeled with Cha Yu-jin’s name.
But… hmm, I hadn’t expected it to come with these sparkling beads attached.
‘A face chain, then.’
It’s an accessory you wear on your face—strictly speaking, it’s meant for the stage.
Wearing it anywhere else would be so flashy that unless it were Halloween, it’d be practically begging for attention.
Which meant…
‘This probably ranks in the top ten items Cha Yu-jin would absolutely never wear outside of a performance.’
In that sense, it might actually be a clever choice.
Well, whatever. I’m just here to give it to him.
I quickly held out the face chain.
Cha Yu-jin accepted the bag with curious eyes, then squinted as he pulled out the chain.
“Do you want to see me wear this?”
“Yes.”
Not me—your fans.
“Got it.”
Cha Yu-jin put on the accessory. I could almost hear the delighted screams of the Home Ma fans from here.
“Kyaaaah!”
Actually, I could hear them for real.
‘At least everyone’s happy.’
The fan sign event was serving its purpose… I angled my body slightly to put Cha Yu-jin more in view.
Cha Yu-jin tilted his head slightly.
“Does it suit me well?”
“Yeah, it really suits you!”
“Umm… I know.”
Then why ask?
Cha Yu-jin answered with a slightly indifferent tone, then leaned in and whispered as if sharing a secret.
“I don’t usually do this kind of thing. But since Reviewer gave it to me, I’m wearing it. You understand, right?”
“…”
“Just remember it was me!”
‘Wow.’
He’s really something else. Once he hooks a fan, he never lets them go.
“Got it. I’ll definitely remember!”
“Yeah~!”
Cha Yu-jin lifted his pen from the autograph sheet with a smile and handed it to me.
The fan sign event was finally over.
‘Done.’
I’d made it through this damn ordeal…!
“Thanks!”
“Thank you so much!”
I stood up with a relieved smile.
That’s when it happened.
[That was fun! We could do this again sometime at the Dormitory, right?]
“…!”
“Take care! See you later.”
I reflexively looked down at the autograph sheet in my hand.
At Cha Yu-jin’s signature.
On both sides of his face… two identical signatures were written side by side.
Only the recipients were different.
-To. BM
-To. Ryu Gun-woo
I lifted my head.
Cha Yu-jin mouthed something and waved his hand.
‘Moon-dae hyung!’
The timing was perfectly calculated so the cameras behind wouldn’t catch it.
Whether he planned it that way or simply didn’t care, I couldn’t tell.
“….”
I stumbled back to my seat in the audience and sat down.
The high school student who’d gotten an autograph earlier was sitting right next to me. He asked me a question.
“So, what did you think?”
“…It was surprising.”
“Right?!”
“Yes.”
Should I make him act his way out of this?
I was amazed that Cha Yu-jin had figured everything out yet came across as completely natural.
Or maybe I should be embarrassed that I’d fallen for his act.
‘I’m going crazy….’
Damn it.
I resisted the urge to squeeze my eyes shut and tried to adjust my posture in my seat.
That’s when something in the shopping bag bumped against me, sending a vibration through my body.
‘Huh?’
All that should be left is Bae Sae-jin’s hamster headband.
I peered back inside the bag.
Surprisingly, there was still another item remaining in the shopping bag besides the hamster headband.
When I pulled it out… it was a bear paw pad with pink jelly attached.
“….”
There’s a name tag on it, but I already know whose it is without looking.
[Lee Sae-jin]
And then it hit me.
I’d forgotten to give out the item while arguing with Big Sae-jin.
“….”
“Oh, you didn’t give this one out?”
“…Right.”
…Let me think about this.
My first fan sign event.
I was nervous and skipped giving out one gift…. Yeah.
‘That’s definitely something that could happen.’
It felt natural.
“I was nervous.”
“Aah~ that must be such a shame for you.”
“Yeah, it is a bit.”
Not that I really minded, but anyway, I promised to deliver it later. I put the shopping bag away again.
“Everyone, it’s getting late, so please be careful heading home!”
“See you next time~ love you!”
And watching those guys giving their all with fan service right to the end, the crazy stunt from that day seemed to be wrapping up without incident.
I naturally waved my hand like everyone else.
Then my eyes met with Testa’s Manager in the back row.
“….”
“….”
He looked like he was doubting his own eyes.
I quietly averted my gaze.
‘Family members can be fans too, right?’
And so the eventful fan sign event came to an end.
“Phew.”
Right after I blended into the crowd and naturally left the fan sign venue.
[Hyung?! Where are you going?]
A panicked popup arrived.
‘Where else? Heading back to the Officetel.’
Since we’ve switched, we have to live each other’s daily lives as they are.
[Ah, yeah… I see.]
I wrapped up a brief conversation asking them to relay the message to the others, then walked over and called a taxi.
It was only after checking the status window again that I realized something.
Wait.
‘The body swap isn’t lasting just one day anymore—it’s two days now.’
And if it’s 48 hours… that means this extends through Monday. I grasped the precise implication of those words once more.
‘…Ryu Gun-woo has to go to work.’
Idol civil servant one-day experience—jackpot.

* * *
A bright Monday morning.
I scrolled through SNS.
-2X0121 Testa O-Sung Curious Fan Sign Event Park Moon-dae (photo)
-O-Sung really can’t run events properly, they’re a major corporation? The fan sign was delayed 2 hours and I almost missed the last bus, so pissed
-What’s going on with this fan sign merchandise, it’s chaos
I’m so grateful to whoever you are, Face Chain. I feel like I want to bow down to you.
At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual.
But once you ventured into private accounts or anonymous sites….
‘As expected.’
-The last male fan brought all the fan sign merchandise here, right? (photo)
-Is he maybe staff? There were some rumors about a sasaeng
└There’s still someone who believes those sasaeng rumors lolol
└I don’t know, I think it’s cool, but did anyone take a picture? ㅠㅠ I’m curiousㅅㅂ It’s anonymous anyway, so please solve it.
Some talk had started circulating.
‘This much… I was prepared for.’
It would’ve been the same even if Big Dal had shown up. I shrugged it off.
Rumors would mix in and people would talk for a bit, but it would die down once Testa’s full comeback happened.
Though… this person was a bit different.
This person was sitting next to me, and they seemed like a real die-hard fan. They brought stuff for all the other members too, but there were some members who were too nervous to accept it lol. They were so cute.
And they posted it publicly, of all things.
It looked like it was starting to circulate on SNS.
‘…Just don’t let their personal information get exposed.’
It probably wouldn’t escalate to that point. Let’s trust in SNS users’ aggression toward such moral issues.
I shook my head and scrolled past.
Then several messages appeared.
-Gun-woo hyung, are you doing well? Sob sob, I absolutely have to see you tonight
-I’m hungry 🙁
-We got word that you made it home safely. I hope you won’t push yourself too hard and we can stay in touch like this occasionally until we can see each other… (see more)
Messages from the members, subtly reworded as if Ryu Gun-woo would receive them. Though I couldn’t tell what one of them had changed.
And then there was Ryu Chung-woo’s message.
-Don’t forget today’s schedule
Right.
-Of course.
With that reply sent, I tucked my smartphone into my coat pocket.
Ah, you might wonder why I’m wearing a coat… it’s because I’m currently on the commute bus.
That’s right. I’m finally commuting as Ryu Gun-woo.
[You could take a taxi if you’d like…]
No way. I’m planning to recreate your day as faithfully as possible.
Actually, more pressing than what transportation to take… is whether I can actually handle this civil servant job properly.
[Don’t worry! I’ll explain things well this time!]
Right. The situation’s reversed now.
Today during the day, he needs to guide me through this.
‘Thank goodness Testa has no external schedules during the day.’
Still, after just one day of trying, Big Dal seems to have adapted fairly well to Park Moon-dae’s practice schedule.
Of course…
[…I’m a bit worried about what might happen this evening. That… plan.]
“…”
Let’s cross that bridge when we get there.
[Yes…]
What’s urgent right now is your commute.
I got off the bus at my stop and headed toward my destination. The District Office.
Ryu Gun-woo worked in the Traffic Administration Division.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, Assistant Manager Ryu’s here~”
“Good morning, sir!”
The atmosphere wasn’t bad at all.
‘Doesn’t seem like it’s a busy period.’
I nodded politely here and there, followed Big Dal’s guidance, found my desk, and sat down.
‘Here goes nothing.’
[Yes!]
And so the work began.
Before long, I realized Big Dal was quite skilled at document work.
‘Oh.’
The organization was clean, the content wasn’t padded with meaningless filler, and there seemed to be no unnecessary expressions. The readability of the written documents and materials was excellent.
‘I don’t know much about civil service culture anyway.’
I’d studied hard because I couldn’t afford to fail, but it was reassuring that it seemed to suit his aptitude fairly well.
[Next, first log into that bookmarked site!]
Got it.
It felt a bit awkward, but as I continued working smoothly with Big Dal’s guidance, that’s when it happened.
“Hey!”
A middle-aged looking man came over and leaned against my cubicle divider.
“Assistant Manager Ryu. Did you finish drafting that directional signage?”
Hmm, it’s an odd thing to hear right after coming in on a Monday.
But as if they weren’t expecting an answer, the person tapped Ryu Gun-woo on the back and left.
Leaving behind these words.
“This time, do it right! Please~”
“….”
Hmm.
That just now… felt like a jab.
I sensed malice in it.
I summoned Big Dal and described the person, then asked.
‘Is he a superior?’
[Ah… he’s similar, but we’re the same rank….]
The popup hesitated slightly, then answered clearly.
[Anyway, he does this often, so you don’t need to worry about it!]
“…?”
Often… he does this?
‘That’s not something to say so matter-of-factly.’
I pondered for a moment, then entered the document folder. And I searched through all the documents this guy had drafted.
I could see rejection marks on every other document or so.
But no matter how much I looked at the documents, Big Dal’s approval rate for drafted documents shouldn’t have been this low.
“….”
Hmm.
[Ah, after hearing your explanation, it seems there’s nothing major today! I think it’ll be fine if we just handle a few urgent things!]
…Okay.
I started drafting documents as he said and began processing the civil complaints that had come in over the weekend.
For now, I wanted to observe the situation.
And a few hours later.
“We’re heading out for fieldwork. A meeting. Can you mark me as present~”
That guy from earlier started making noise from one corner of the office.
“Um, but originally Assistant Manager Ryu was supposed to go….”
“Yeah, but that… the Police Chief, that Choi guy is coming. So I’m going with this Assistant Manager instead.”
Oh.
I turned my head from my seat. When our eyes met, he waved his hand dismissively.
“Hey~ Assistant Manager Ryu, rest up. You don’t know this stuff anyway. I’ll just go with this Assistant Manager this time too.”
“Assistant Manager….”
The guy called ‘this Assistant Manager,’ who had been looking back and forth between Ryu Gun-woo and me as if gauging the situation, finally closed his mouth.
He was choosing to follow the more senior person’s word.
“….”
“And while you’re resting, take a look at our proposal over there. Don’t submit it for approval though. Got it?”
Interesting.
I watched him leave without a word of protest.
Then I called Big Dal, explained the situation, and asked him point-blank.
‘What the hell is this guy?’
The popup appeared like a sigh.
[Ah… so you figured it out. Well, I’m still young, and I don’t really know many people in this area, so…]
So this grade-7 official, instead of Ryu Gun-woo who was supposed to attend the meeting, brings along a grade-9 who has connections all over the place thanks to being blood relatives with local figures.
And in return, he’s dumping all the annoying or mentally taxing work on Ryu Gun-woo ‘fairly.’
‘….’
I asked.
‘Is he the one who kept rejecting the proposals too?’
[Ah, yes! He checks them first before they go up to the Team Leader level.]
There’s some venting mixed in there.
So it’s not that he’s using Ryu Gun-woo at all.
‘He’s just screwing with him.’
I folded my arms and stared at the computer.
“….”
Now that I think about it, Ryu Gun-woo seems to be the only young grade-7 official in this District Office.
‘Is he standing out too much and causing problems?’
I can clearly see the attempts to continuously grind him down.
[But honestly, I’m actually fine with it. I don’t run into many uncomfortable people. And I can leave right on time!]
He seems genuinely sincere about this.
After such a rough school life, he’d naturally just do his job without batting an eye at something like this.
‘Guess that’s what he wants to do~’ kind of attitude.
But.
“….”
[Hyung?]
‘Being comfortable is nice.’
[Right??]
‘But wouldn’t it be even more comfortable if the guy causing trouble just disappeared?’
[…?!]
I spent a pleasant lunch with the Team Leader while waiting for the ‘Assistant Manager’ to return.
[Hyung, hyung?!]
I’m really looking forward to the afternoon.

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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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