Debut or Die - Chapter 453

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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 453
Everything unfolded far too abruptly for those who hadn’t caught wind of what was coming.
It was unavoidable.
-Well, that’s T1 for you lol
Even when T1 received corrective measures and Tnet got a warning from the Broadcasting Commission, people simply clicked their tongues and moved on—after all, T1 had never been a company with a pristine image to begin with.
It was that period when attempts to drag Testa into the scandal didn’t gain much traction, and people just kept repeating the sentiment of “T1 being T1 again” a bit more frequently.
[T1 Stars Executives Arrested on Stock Manipulation Charges… “T1’s True Colors”]
Then one day, this headline suddenly appeared in the news.
Testa’s parent company executives were caught red-handed.
-????
-T1 you crazy bastards
-Is this connected to Testa?
-Ugh, here we go again with this bullshit
At first, even the fans thought it was just a routine scandal.
The kind where the agency takes some heat, the affiliated artists deal with some backlash—nothing more than that.
‘They’ll probably just swap out the executives and pretend nothing happened like always.’
But then… the articles kept coming.
[Stock Manipulation Controversy: Why Did T1 Create a Major Entertainment Company?]
[T1’s Allegations… Prosecutors: “We’ve Detected Signs of Collusion with Headquarters”]
The agency remained silent.
T1 didn’t even issue a proper response statement.
By this point, even casual fans sensed something was wrong.
…an ominous foreboding.
-They’re not even answering faxes or phones
-What the hell is going on with this situation
-What exactly is T1’s situation right now?
A silence as eerie as the eye of a typhoon, fraught with anxiety.
Testa’s highly anticipated comeback wrapped up after barely completing two weeks of music broadcast appearances.
While they fulfilled all previously scheduled and announced commitments, there were virtually no additional schedules lined up.
There must have been undisclosed schedules as well, but those were all cancelled.
By this point, most hardcore fans had figured it out.
‘The company is in such a crisis that it can’t even properly manage Testa, its flagship group.’
-No special appearances, no comeback shows either
-Ugh this pisses me off, the concept was great this time and the song is actually good without unnecessary fanservice, the digital charts should be doing amazing but they can’t even promote
-All the executives should die
-But Testa isn’t a direct subsidiary, they’re under a label, so shouldn’t it be unrelated? If they just draw a clear line they should be fine, it’s not even the artists’ fault
Various theories circulated, but as the silence stretched on, the possibility that the situation was far more serious only grew.
And then one day.
Out of nowhere, this article dropped.
[Tnet’s 【Be My Girls】 Fairness Controversy: Are the Witness Testimonies True? Prosecutors: “We Have Nothing to Say at This Time”]
It was an article with subtle undertones about Tnet’s latest hit survival show.
-What the hell
-Is this a rigged show by those crazy B-list girls?
-All the cast were pre-recruited, the auditions for regular people were just for show…
-The PD and writers all set their SNS to private lol
People shifted their attention to this fresh new controversy.
Tnet found itself facing mounting suspicions and articles head-on with no way to counter them.
They canceled several programs they’d been planning to launch and quietly scaled back their aggressively expanding ‘Global K-pop’ business.
In the midst of all this, the story about Testa’s agency had already become old news, and fans were beginning to feel somewhat relieved.
Faced with relentless pressure and broadcasting station issues on the verge of exploding, T1 Entertainment finally made a decision.
[T1 Entertainment Subsidiaries Pursue Independence, Entertainment Agencies Begin Standing Alone]
Another announcement came without any warning.
It was the independence of entertainment agencies that were subsidiaries of T1 Entertainment!
T1 Stars, which included Testa, Miry-nay, and Spacer, was no exception.
-Insane, T1 Stars is going independent?
-Guess they all got tired of T1’s nonsense and decided to go independent together
-Wow, the parent company cutting ties first? T1’s reputation is done lol
The article’s tone subtly focused on ‘the subsidiaries’ active initiative,’ and given that T1 Entertainment had been facing constant turmoil, the public interpreted it that way.
Subsidiaries fleeing T1! An exodus!
Of course, some more thoughtful people exchanged the sharp observation that ‘Is T1 just pretending to cut ties to save the subsidiaries?’ but… that was about it.
The important thing was that most people who heard this news judged that the subsidiaries would be pleased about it.
-Testa is basically a label and such a top-tier group anyway, so it’s fine since they do their own producing and quality won’t drop lol
-Actually this is good
Maybe it’s for the best that the entire executive team got replaced anyway? The artists under the company will probably be able to work more comfortably now.
The fandom atmosphere was generally inclined to view it positively. Especially for Testa’s side.
They’d already risen to prominence, hadn’t they?
If they were a group that hadn’t properly established itself, I’d be worried, but now Testa didn’t need T1’s halo.
Rather, T1 constantly pushing to bundle them together for sales was just tiresome.
It might have been the right time to separate before getting more entangled and hearing more ridiculous accusations that Ajusa was rigged or whatever.
Yeah, we have nothing to lose!
-Orbit Label independence let’s go~
It was inevitable anyway. There was nothing we could do about it. So let’s at least manage the atmosphere.
Fans quickly silenced dissenting opinions and deliberately steered public sentiment in a positive direction.
Dreaming of Testa’s hopeful activities!

* * *
‘It’s done for.’
I clenched my teeth.
Big Sae-jin was flipping through the article beside me with an expressionless face.
“They dumped it, right?”
“They did.”
T1 had severed ties with the Entertainment Company subsidiary.
A signal sent to the political sphere: ‘I’ve suffered this much damage because of you, so please show mercy.’
A gesture of surrender and negotiation.
And what that meant was… this subsidiary had now become a kite with its string cut.
‘Once they’ve cut ties, they won’t push us forward.’
Even if only out of spite at seeing the company do better after being abandoned, they wouldn’t. Now this company would no longer benefit from T1’s platforms.
Ryu Chung-woo furrowed his brows in discomfort and rubbed his chin.
“We’re entering contract renegotiation talks next week.”
“A few months ago, the conversations were positive, but….”
“It won’t work.”
“It won’t work!”
The two people with the same name, who normally clashed terribly, spoke simultaneously and then looked at each other.
For what it’s worth, I completely agreed.
‘We need to jump ship.’
If we stayed on this sinking ship, there was no telling what would happen to us.
We already had the stigma of being a T1-line label, making it difficult to switch to another faction, and now we’d be an agency abandoned by T1?
‘It’s finished.’
No matter how prestigious our name was, if we couldn’t properly promote, we wouldn’t last long.
“You absolutely cannot renegotiate with them.”
“…!”
If anyone even mentioned renegotiating, I was prepared to go without sleep for three days straight to convince them otherwise. Actually, I had plenty of time for that right now.
‘All our schedules are already falling apart anyway.’
The label staff and managers—nobody could reach the company properly, damn it.
I gripped the smartphone in my hand as if I were about to crush it. A couple of softhearted guys flinched in alarm, hesitated, then nodded.
“U-uh, yeah….”
“But… if that’s the case, shouldn’t we all contract with a different agency? Should we start looking for an appropriate agency right now?”
Right. That was the problem.
Time was tight, and it was questionable whether there was even an agency capable of coordinating Testa’s activities the way they’d been conducted before.
‘I need to find a place that won’t turn us into cash cows running endless tours.’
We’d carefully selected good people and barely managed to create a label, and now we were about to lose this entire workforce—there was plenty to complain about….
But the biggest issue was this.
“And… there’s a pretty high chance we won’t be able to use the name Testa.”
“…!”
“Ah, ah… I see, I see.”
Testa is a group name created by Idol Corporation, and this agency firmly controls all related trademark rights.
‘The company bastards know this is their lifeline.’
Whether by convention, economics, or emotion, they would never let it go easily.
“….”
Naturally, the atmosphere darkened slightly in the silence.
After using this group name for a full five years, it was impossible not to develop attachment to it.
Yet even so, Cha Yu-jin shrugged his shoulders.
“Even if we change the name, Testa is still Testa, you know? I’m fine with it. We can totally come up with a cool new name! A fresh new start!”
“Ooh.”
Several members nodded at his audacious words. Kim Rae-bin agreed as well.
“In that case, it does seem like a definite advantage. Indeed, Cha Yu-jin’s words are actually right sometimes, and it seems like now is one of those times!”
“My words are always right! Kim Rae-bin is the one who mistakenly thinks I’m wrong. That’s why Kim Rae-bin is the one who’s wrong.”
“…?? …! I withdraw my statement! Cha Yu-jin’s words are only right this time!”
“Haha!”
Thanks to these two consistent idiots, the mood lightened a bit.
Like guys who’d experienced every kind of situation before debut, they were managing their mental state remarkably well this time too.
I let out a quiet laugh. Big Sae-jin clapped his hands.
“That’s right~ If our Eugene comes up with a cool English acronym, that’ll do it!”
“Yeap~ I’ve got lots of ideas!”
“Ooh~”
Big Sae-jin responded with a laugh.
But truthfully, I saw him force a smile when talking about the group name earlier too.
That’s unavoidable.
‘Yeah. If possible….’
If possible, I want to keep this group name.
It’s already become a symbol. Brand value isn’t something you can rebuild easily, and it’s far from rare for the entire feeling to change the moment a name changes.
‘In a business built on image, that’s quite a significant risk.’
…I need to think harder about this.
I rubbed my hands together, calculating the possibilities.
“First, let’s avoid raising the company’s suspicions.”
And then each person was assigned their tasks.
First, Ryu Chung-woo, as the group representative, spoke the planned words at an appropriate level during the contract renegotiation meeting the company barely managed to secure.
“Um, would it be okay if we discussed things a bit more before rewriting the contract? Things are so chaotic right now anyway.”
He deliberately expressed his intentions vaguely, buying us some time.
Making them think we were scared because the headquarters was in such turmoil.
-We will renegotiate, but just give us a little time.
Let’s go with this approach.
Since Ryu Chung-woo has such a trustworthy image, it worked well.
With the breathing room we created, Bae Sae-jin did a pretty good job of hiring a lawyer just in case.
Now I need to seriously start checking other companies that might contact us….
This is the thing.
‘…Ideally, the other party should come to us directly.’
Have you ever seen a hot FA prospect do their own pitching when they hit the market?
The moment we bow and go to them, it’s a shortcut to worse contract terms.
Plus, if we’re caught by our current agency after going around looking for other companies, it could create unnecessary controversy.
But… even though Testa is in their renegotiation season, hardly anyone’s coming to us.
‘There are no contacts from other companies.’
The problem is that word about Testa’s renegotiation has already spread throughout the industry.
Since it’s been treated as almost a done deal from the moment we started creating the label, there’s barely any company willing to approach Testa.
‘Even if there are, they’re all small-timers.’
Just the types who think one hit will be the jackpot.
But no matter how desperate we are, we can’t go to a Dream K-level agency like where Bae Sae-jin used to be.
I remember seeing Bae Sae-jin delete that KakaoTalk message where he’d made contact, looking like he was about to breathe fire.
In the end, we were at the point where even the guys sprawled out in the living room were saying things like this.
“Ah~ should we just start our own company?”
“That might… actually… not be a bad idea….”
Sun Ah-hyun sighed. It was a rare sight.
“Is it really impossible to just go independent with the people at the label? I’m getting the urge to try it with just a name change.”
“It seems impossible….”
“Yeah….”
At Kim Rae-bin’s words, Ryu Chung-woo fell silent. That was also a rare sight.
‘Everyone’s exhausted.’
I picked up my smartphone, suppressing a sigh.
Right, if there really are no contacts, there’s nothing we can do. Since things have come to this, I should prepare to quietly probe some decent places and gauge their reactions….
‘Hmm.’
But then, a text message came in on my smartphone.
It wasn’t an advertisement, a greeting, or a stalker message.
It was… a congratulations message.
-VTIC Senior Shin Chung-ryeo : Congratulations on your independence ^^
This is absurd.
‘This bastard… how long have you known?’
But the moment I read the next message, I paused for a moment.
-VTIC Senior Shin Chung-ryeo : It looks like you’ll need a new home.
-VTIC Senior Shin Chung-ryeo : How about it?
“….”
…A new home?
‘Could it be… Leti?’
It was the first scouting offer.

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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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