Debut or Die - Chapter 456

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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 456
“Min-ha!”
“…Oh, oh, Ha-rin.”
Park Min-ha of Miry-nay had been drifting through recent days as if her soul might slip away at any moment.
With the company in turmoil and group schedules falling apart, everyone was spending more time at the Dormitory, each member throwing themselves into hobbies or practice to shake off the anxiety.
But Park Min-ha alone was acting particularly strange.
‘Is she under too much stress?’
The weight of being leader was pressing down again. Sung Ha-rin of Miry-nay crossed her arms seriously.
Then Park Min-ha suddenly spoke up.
“Ha-rin, if we could go to a different company… would we?”
“…?!”
“Ah, no. Forget you heard that.”
If there was anyone who could forget hearing that, they wouldn’t be an idol!
‘A different company? A different company?’
Had some signal come through?
Ha-rin understood it too. That the company was in disarray.
But deserting an entertainment company with remaining contract time was nearly impossible.
Then if they seized that gap, if something even remotely realistic happened… could it be?!
“Are we going to Testa Label??”
“Shh, shh!”
Park Min-ha was alarmed.
She quickly turned her head left and right as if someone might hear, then hastily brought her hand to her mouth.
“Is it true?”
“No, no, it’s not that!”
But she hesitated before adding:
“…It seems like there might be a possibility though.”
What?!
Park Min-ha was absolutely not the type of member to spout meaningless boasts.
So if she was saying this, she must have heard something.
In that moment, a forgotten suspicion struck Ha-rin’s mind like lightning. Those two had been having such a meaningful conversation.
“….”
Could Min-ha’s information source be….
“Could it be… Park Moon-dae told you?”
“…?!”
Park Min-ha froze.
At her reaction, as if struck at the heart of the matter, Ha-rin felt the suspicion she’d buried beginning to creep back up.
‘Are they dating….’
“Ha-rin, surely rumors aren’t circulating secretly about us being close? With company staff, or other idols, or—heaven forbid—even with fans? Some terrifying situation like that….”
It seemed that wasn’t it after all.
“Oh, no! I was just deducing it myself, I was!”
“Sigh.”
Park Min-ha exhaled a long breath.
And she slumped into her chair with an expression as if she’d been burned white-hot.
“Your deduction was right….”
“…Yeah.”
It seemed that way.
But I decided not to dwell on that final suspicion anymore.
‘Right, there’s no way someone as genuinely devoted to idols as Min-ha would let it show so obviously!’
Which meant our entire exchange with Park Moon-dae had been purely business.
“So what exactly is going on?”
“…Just wait a little bit.”
Park Min-ha was staring at her smartphone with a melancholic expression.
“…?”
Sung Ha-rin was left with nothing but question marks in the face of such an incomprehensible situation, but Park Min-ha offered no further explanation.
And a few days later, a cautious call came from the company.
News that the group could own its own name directly, rather than the company holding it!
“Why would they do that?”
“Probably going for a mood reversal. Image rehabilitation or something?”
“Ah, I see.”
The members exchanged such remarks, but regardless, the ability to purchase the group name was an incredibly attractive offer!
They could take the group name with them even if they switched companies!
‘That’s huge.’
Ha-rin covered her mouth, then quickly faced reality.
‘…We don’t have nearly enough settlement money to easily afford this.’
Wait a second.
So by using this as a pretext, they’re pretending to be generous while disguising it as debt, then deducting it from our settlement to squeeze us even more, aren’t they?
If they never intended to nurture the group long-term and were just looking for a quick profit, the trademark rights would be meaningless to them anyway!
‘They’re doing this because they have no intention of developing Miry-nay for the long haul!’
However, the company quoted a surprisingly reasonable price.
“…?”
Of course, the numbers were in the hundreds of millions, but it wasn’t the kind of insane figure in the tens of billions.
“I really hope we buy it! Yes!”
“If that’s what Min-ha wants, then I’m all for it!”
And with Park Min-ha’s enthusiastic initiative and Yul-gi’s cheerful words, the members readily pooled their money and purchased the trademark rights under joint ownership.
“What about the other groups?”
“Looks like they’re buying too.”
Of course. Except for rookies from the survival show 【Be My Girls】 who were caught up in scandal and on the verge of sinking, there was no way anyone would miss this opportunity.
…Though it was galling how the company sold it off yet played it in the media as if they’d simply transferred it graciously, the atmosphere was good nonetheless.
‘We’re on a completely different trajectory from T1, which treats artists as disposable commodities,’ and people’s reactions were positive, so despite the bitterness, it was a good development in the long run.
‘We still have years before contract renewal anyway.’
With Testa, the contract period had been five years, but after that Ajusa season became a massive hit, it was extended to seven years.
‘Good. I’ll make the next album a blockbuster! Even if I go to Testa Label, that’s fine!’
Sung Ha-rin decided to think as positively as possible!
…That is, until this article dropped.
[Testa Contract Renewal Falls Through… Where Will This K-pop Star Land Next?]
“….”
Testa wasn’t renewing contracts.
‘Oh, no.’
Testa Label was about to disband?!
‘They’re bailing out!’
They’re running away from each other!
Then what was Park Min-ha saying earlier? Sung Ha-rin’s head snapped away from the YouTube screen so sharply it nearly broke as she stared at Park Min-ha, but….
“Min-ha?”
“Heh heh heh… heh heh.”
Park Min-ha watched the YouTube screen, laughing with a hollow, deflated sound.
There was no shock in her eyes.
It was simply the atmosphere of someone who had made an irreversible decision. Like scratching out an exorbitantly expensive item on a 24-month installment plan.
“…??”
Park Min-ha let Jung Yul-gi poke her repeatedly while she reflected on her past choice.
‘This… I did make the right call, didn’t I??’
Since she’d never been wrong so far, she absolutely had to pull through this time without getting abandoned.
‘Please, just this once!’
Park Min-ha picked up her smartphone, moving like a deflated grand opening balloon.

* * *
Ding.
-Park Min-ha from Miry-nay: I heard you’re not renewing your contract, senior… I really want to congratulate you on going to a new place.
Right. It’s about time the articles start coming out.
I deleted the messages coming from here and there, then replied to that text.
-Thank you
Of course, this guy wasn’t sending this out of genuine congratulations either.
‘He’s just testing the waters.’
I added the next line.
-You don’t need to worry
The reply came back a few dozen seconds later.
-Park Min-ha from Miry-nay: Yes…
-Park Min-ha from Miry-nay: Of course. You even invited me to the group chat, so I trust you, senior.
Hmm.
So if things go south, I can also set up a group chat—basically a warning not to stab me in the back.
‘He’s gotten sharper.’
I chuckled and sent “Understood,” then turned off my smartphone.
And I wasn’t the only one checking messages.
“Wow, the messages are coming in like crazy.”
“Yeah, seriously….”
Messages about the articles were pouring in to the members from all directions.
And I reflected on the news I’d heard yesterday.
‘The Director quit.’
Without missing the timing, he made his escape.
And on top of that, the news that Testa wasn’t renewing their contract had already been published.
Of course, it wasn’t an article released by the company itself.
‘We leaked it.’
Not directly, of course—we made it look like an accident by having an insider slip the information, but either way.
1. T1’s severance.
2. The Director’s severance.
3. Testa’s severance.
In the end, this company experienced these insane severances in a short span of time at a timing they never anticipated.
Right now, when the company was shaking the most.
“Should we proceed with the next plan now~?”
That’s right.
I turned my head to look at the person in charge.
The one in this group who was the most reliable and carried the most stable image.
“I’m counting on you, hyung.”
“I should be the one asking for your help, hyung.”
Ryu Chung-woo, who had already finished his preparations, smiled and left the Dormitory.
The destination was the Conference Room.
But not T1 Stars—rather, the Conference Room of Testa Label, its subsidiary.

* * *
‘Sigh….’
Kwon Hee-seung, the idol still called “Gold 2” by Park Moon-dae, was scrolling through the chat history of their group message.
It was the group chat that Park Moon-dae had created—the “Company Escape” chat.
‘I thought he’d help if I brought up the wish tokens.’
Company problems like this were exhausting enough. So Kwon Hee-seung had been prepared to use the wish tokens he’d earned from that bizarre virtual world if things came to that. But Park Moon-dae had extended his hand first, before it ever came to that.
There was just one condition.
-Stay still no matter what happens.
That was it.
So even as executives were arrested, trademarks were sold, the Department Head left, and Testa departed in this complete mess, Kwon Hee-seung remained steadfast and still.
‘He must be drawing up something bigger.’
Though Park Moon-dae’s methods were aggressive, Kwon Hee-seung knew. Park Moon-dae was definitely the type with loyalty and compassion!
…Though Testa really leaving without renegotiating did make his heart feel like it was dropping.
‘It’s fine. It’s not a loss!’
But the next news nearly made even his optimistic heart truly sink.
“Dude, you crazy? Everyone at that label quit.”
“…!? What what?”
“That Testa Label, Orbit? People are quitting left and right!”
Good grief.
And through word of mouth, Kwon Hee-seung soon learned that it wasn’t an exaggeration—nearly everyone had actually quit.
Naturally, the existing company fell into chaos.
-This isn’t normal…
-Oh no, is something else about to blow up…?
Gradually, anyone who could transfer jobs started leaving the company like they were in a relay race.
With nearly half the company’s workforce defecting in this major incident, and most of the executives already gone, the company seemed completely paralyzed.
“….”
Kwon Hee-seung grew even more anxious, but decided to trust Park Moon-dae.
After all, a second-tier entertainer couldn’t do anything about this anyway, so thinking positively was better for his mental health!
Of course, he sent a text.
-Hyung… the company people are disappearing
Hyung… the people from the Entertainment Company are disappearing.
And where is Testa going?
The reply came almost immediately.
-Not disappearing
-Wait a little longer
“…?”
“…?”
And that very evening, a splendid article blazed across the entertainment news headlines.
[Testa’s Extraordinary Loyalty… Not a New Nest, but the “Label CEO’s” Entertainment Agency]
[Testa Signs with Newly Established Agency… Turns Out to Be the Resigned “CEO”]
“…!”
That was it.
Testa hadn’t openly established their own agency.
Nor had they gone to an existing one.
Instead, they transferred to a newly founded agency created by their former Label CEO upon his resignation.
In that moment, Kwon Hee-seung understood.
‘…Could it be that all the Label staff members had resigned?’
That was exactly it.
If Park Moon-dae had taken charge of the Department Head position, then Ryu Chung-woo had orchestrated the Label staff—molded them like clay.
Amid the company’s precarious outlook, the scandals erupting, that creeping anxiety that even I would need to “cut my losses”… he had triggered a kind of herd mentality.
-We really think… if we could work with all of you, we’d seriously reconsider renewing our contracts.
The Label CEO eagerly grasped the lifeline.
And when word spread that Testa was following suit, most of the Label staff—after glancing around nervously—all jumped ship from the sinking vessel together.
And so this situation had come to pass.
The Label couldn’t declare independence as a whole.
But scattered and dispersed, they had regrouped and been reborn as a brand-new agency!
‘Incredible—so that’s why hyung said it wasn’t a disappearance.’
Kwon Hee-seung marveled, but soon the reality of his own position struck him.
‘Wait, but what happens to us?’
Spacer.
Us… could we really be abandoned like this…?
-Hyung??
“Hyung…?? T_T”
The reply came quickly.
-Just a bit longer
‘How much longer exactly?!’
Kwon Hee-seung wanted to cry out, so he sent the message exactly as he felt it.
After sending it, he worried slightly that it might have seemed angry, but Park Moon-dae wasn’t upset.
He simply replied like this.
-Until people are more anxious than you are

* * *
“…What?”
And shortly after.
News I could never have imagined arrived.
“The company… was acquired.”
“…??”
“Testa New Agency bought T1 Stars….”
What??
Kwon Hee-seung nearly dropped his smartphone at the Manager’s words.
Then he spotted a freshly arrived message from Park Moon-dae, still warm off the press.
-Looks like your contract might be voidable
-Should we break it now?
“….”
‘Unbelievable.’
After maximizing the psychological conviction that this company would collapse.
After depressing its market value and future prospects as much as possible.
At the most opportune moment, at the lowest possible price.
Testa New Agency had devoured T1 Stars.
“….”
So that’s why… they told me to stay put.
Kwon Hee-seung realized it reflexively.
If I’d shown any sign of having something to rely on, or if I’d acted too proactively… this atmosphere could have been disrupted, which is why they’d issued that command to remain still.
‘Wow.’
It was truly… a jackpot.
An escape from the company I never could have imagined.

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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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