Debut or Die - Chapter 467

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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 467
In truth, it’s natural for members of an Idol Group past its prime to pursue individual activities.
Once a group’s golden age fades, profitability plummets. So shouldn’t each member explore ways to sustain themselves beforehand?
Of course, there are many exceptions these days, and Testa was one of them.
“We’ve barely done any proper individual activities so far.”
“That’s correct.”
The group had simply continued to thrive so consistently….
‘Individual activities amounted to little more than variety shows or photo shoots.’
Coming from a survival show background, we refrained from individual activities for years to unify the fanbase, and now here we were.
I opened my mouth.
“But don’t you think it might be time to start now?”
“Hmm.”
Bae Sae-jin’s shoulders flinched. The members’ gazes reflexively snapped toward him.
Cha Yu-jin raised his hand.
“So that’s why we’re having this meeting? Sae-jin hyung is acting?”
Sharp instincts on that one.
“…I did receive a proposal, but…”
“…! So that’s what happened!”
“C-Congratulations…!”
Among the well-meaning but oblivious members offering their congratulations, Bae Sae-jin’s face flushed red and pale alternately.
“No, I’m not going to do it…!”
“…!?”
“I told Park Moon-dae earlier too, but that’s why… we just made a comeback, and if I step away to act, I can’t be there!”
“Ah…!”
Exclamation marks appeared on Sun Ah-hyun and Kim Rae-bin’s faces.
But soon Kim Rae-bin asked carefully.
“Is it… structurally impossible to manage both schedules?”
I see! Then you could just do both!
A question befitting someone with that insane efficiency trait—composition speed increasing more than twofold.
But Bae Sae-jin clenched both fists.
“…What if I make a mistake?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll be honest. I’m the slowest at learning choreography here. I started late, and there might be talent issues too.”
“…Well, depending on what benchmark you use, the assessment is subjective…,”
“But if I simultaneously juggle a completely different type of work—a role in a production—while performing on stage, there’s no way I won’t make a single mistake…?”
“…!!”
Bae Sae-jin lifted his head.
His face was pale.
“Think about what people would say if that happened.”
Bae Sae-jin, making his first move into individual activities, would take concentrated criticism.
However, surprisingly, that guy wasn’t bringing up that particular point.
“Something’s wrong. Bae Sae-jin wouldn’t normally push himself like this to juggle group activities and acting unless there was talk circulating within the group… that’s what you’d think!”
“….”
“I’m not completely clueless about idol activities like I was right after my debut. I have a sense of… how things work now.”
Yeah. I watch those patriotic YouTube videos.
‘So usually K-pop reaction videos and public response channels, even fan cam compilations, show up in the recommended feed.’
Just by reading the titles, even this guy would catch on to that much.
About secondary rumors spawned from rumors.
And which rumors become hot topics and create waves.
“Right now, when we’ve just switched companies and had our first comeback… we can’t afford it.”
Bae Sae-jin finished speaking with a fairly resolute expression.
“That’s my judgment.”
“….”
Oh.
I rested my chin on my hand.
Setting aside the validity of his conclusion for now.
‘He laid out the process to his conclusion quite logically and thoughtfully.’
It wasn’t an attempt to dodge—rather, he’d dove headfirst into the situation and arrived at this conclusion through careful analysis.
‘He’s grown quite a bit.’
Since that was an attitude worth respecting, I was planning to start with light partial agreement, but….
“Why?”
“…?!”
This guy’s asking the question mark first?
Ryu Chung-woo stared at Bae Sae-jin among the wide-eyed members and spoke calmly.
“Sae-jin. Why do you think that if you act, it’ll definitely interfere with your stage activities?”
“Who said definitely?”
Bae Sae-jin seemed to bristle, but quickly composed himself.
“…It’s just that there’s a high possibility. I can imagine it right now. That situation…!”
“Imagination doesn’t always become reality.”
“…!”
“Sae-jin.”
Ryu Chung-woo spoke gently.
Yet there was something somewhat stern in his tone.
“Like I’ve said before… when you imagine future events, you tend to weight the possibility of things going wrong more heavily than things going right.”
“….”
“But that doesn’t have to be accurate.”
Bae Sae-jin’s expression went blank.
“When we talked about this kind of thing before, things didn’t go the way you worried—they worked out fine. Remember?”
“….”
Silent affirmation.
And though Ryu Chung-woo had deliberately kept his phrasing vague, I understood exactly what situation he was referring to when he said “the last time this came up.”
Bae Sae-jin’s eyes had flickered toward Big Sae-jin for just a moment.
‘It sounds like he’s talking about when those two fought like dogs.’
Back then, I’d handled the conversation with Big Sae-jin, while Ryu Chung-woo had dealt with Bae Sae-jin.
It seemed the two of them must have had that exact conversation at the time.
‘Bae Sae-jin probably said that Big Sae-jin hated him so much he’d never apologize first… and that even if he apologized first, they’d never make up.’
And Ryu Chung-woo had apparently coaxed him out of that mindset.
Well, the two namesakes had reconciled and were getting along well enough despite the occasional friction.
In short, Bae Sae-jin’s overly pessimistic thinking back then was justified.
But I understood why he’d reached that conclusion.
They clashed constantly, resentment had accumulated between them, and then they’d suddenly exploded into a massive fight—that was certainly part of it.
But I suspected there was an experiential reason rooted in Bae Sae-jin’s very way of thinking.
‘…It must stem from his experiences since his child actor days.’
He’d failed once with a terrible agency. And we’d even watched live as he nearly went down because of his biological father’s mess.
The way that guy always factored in the worst-case scenario at critical decision points felt like a natural instinct born from those experiences.
The problem was….
‘And me too….’
That I could understand it.
When it came to terrible experiences from childhood, I had a few that came to mind just as readily.
Worst-case scenarios I’d thought impossible actually becoming reality.
Once you’ve lived through that, you always factor in the “worst-case scenario” when planning your future.
‘You prepare for it.’
I didn’t think I’d ever lost out because of it, so I had no real complaints about my thought patterns… but Ryu Chung-woo seemed genuinely sorry for Bae Sae-jin.
“You’ve barely made mistakes on stage this whole time we’ve been active. Even when you couldn’t sleep properly, you didn’t. So why would you suddenly mess up just this once?”
“….”
“I don’t think you will. And even if you did, there’s a good chance it would pass without any real problem… But to give up for a reason like that? Wouldn’t that be such a waste?”
Bae Sae-jin’s eyes grew cloudy.
And I felt something close to astonishment toward Ryu Chung-woo.
‘How can he think like that?’
How could someone who’d retired from the National Team right before his prime because of lingering trauma from a childhood accident he barely even remembered live with such a mindset?
Even though we’d lived together for years and I knew everything about his situation… or maybe precisely because of that, it was harder to understand.
‘Well, not everyone thinks the same way.’
You need all types for a team to function.
As proof, Bae Sae-jin seemed emotionally shaken by that firm declaration.
And riding that momentum, Ryu Chung-woo turned to speak.
Not to Bae Sae-jin, but to me.
“What do you think?”
“….”
Really?
‘He called this meeting thinking I’d back him up, huh.’
I answered reluctantly.
“Well, hyung’s point makes sense too. Actually, I think Sae-jin hyung’s argument is valid as well. There’s definitely a possibility.”
“…!”
“…Really?”
Why did Ryu Chung-woo have to look so dejected too?
In any case, I shrugged my shoulders.
“And even if we convince him like this, I think Sae-jin hyung will keep worrying. I don’t think he needs to do solo activities at all.”
“….”
“So I’d like to actually refute Sae-jin hyung’s reasoning.”
“…??”
“R-refute… what do you mean?”
That’s right.
“It seems like there’s a fundamental cause behind hyung’s worry about making mistakes.”
“…A fundamental cause?”
His expression screamed confusion.
Listen up.
“The schedule during our active period is packed.”
Because the schedule is so tight, there’s no time to prepare mentally and physically for the Stage.
His concern was that in such an environment, with his current skills, mistakes would inevitably follow.
“If the schedule had been a bit more relaxed from the start, wouldn’t you have said it was fine? There would be time to practice even while doing both.”
Bae Sae-jin answered with a blank expression.
“Well… that’s true.”
I nodded.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“…?? Why…?”
“Our schedule is more relaxed than before.”
“Why?!”
I interlaced my fingers.
“Because all the T1 Network schedules got blocked….”
“….”
“….”
That’s right.
Bae Sae-jin, who had casually anticipated a schedule intensity similar to our previous albums, had overlooked this loophole.
‘We… don’t have many broadcasts to appear on.’
We do a couple of public broadcast variety shows and a few YouTube appearances, and that’s it.
The rest we can’t do because they don’t match our group’s name value, despite our intentions.
‘But the game covered the buzz for us….’
In the end, while we were preparing the album during those insane 60 days, we also pulled forward our activities for album promotion—it was essentially the same thing.
And realizing this, Bae Sae-jin’s eyes went wide as saucers.
He looked flustered.
“I… need to think about it for a moment.”
“Of course. And while you’re considering, I’ve brought up another agenda item to discuss.”
“What, what is it?”
Right. This meeting wasn’t just about Bae Sae-jin’s acting career.
“Actually, I was thinking it might be good if not just Bae Sae-jin, but all of us could spread out a bit during this activity period and each do a few individual appearances.”
“Pardon?”
“Us… all of us?”
“Well, the album just came out, so having all members do individual activities at once is… people who want to can of course, but I’m fine waiting until next time.”
Ryu Chung-woo’s cautious response was welcome, but that was precisely the trap.
“No, actually it’s because of the album.”
“Hmm?”
“Since there are only limited programs and events where the group can appear together, I thought it would be better to split up individually and get our faces out there a few more times.”
“I see.”
That way, we could at least partially compensate for the schedules that got cut due to the T1 Network affiliation.
We needed to let people who don’t use SNS, online communities, or YouTube much know that the Testa album had come out.
And… there was one more advantage, which Sun Ah-hyun seemed to have caught onto.
“Ah…! So, so if Bae Sae-jin’s acting is also seen as part of these individual appearances… it’ll look like we’re all doing it together!”
Exactly.
Bae Sae-jin’s work is distinctly different and more serious, but if we downplay the circumstances a bit, he won’t face the kind of concentrated backlash he might otherwise.
“…! Indeed, that’s true! I hadn’t reasoned that far!”
“Then I’ll get started right away!”
The conference room grew lively with Kim Rae-bin beginning to admire Sun Ah-hyun and Cha Yu-jin launching into an active program search.
Bae Sae-jin lowered his head deeply.
“…Thank you. Really.”
“…!”
“No, not at all! I was impressed by your willingness to even consider sacrificing for the album! I’ll support your acting…!”
“Yeah. I’ll support you too.”
“F, fighting…!”
Should I add something as well.
“And if it’s a villain role again, ask them to change it.”
“…Got it.”
There was a hint of laughter in Bae Sae-jin’s voice.
And as Bae Sae-jin lifted his head again, his fists were clenched and his eyes shone brightly.
“I’ll do well.”
That’s right.
“I’ll keep practicing the stage too…”
Good.
“I’ll… uh, work hard to promote the album during filming…!”
“That’s not necessary.”
That’s not it.
That side’s situation is too cutthroat—you’ll end up X’d if you’re not careful. Just focus on your work and come back.
“Hmm, ah, but still….”
Bae Sae-jin seemed to want to say something more, but suddenly locked eyes with someone and closed his mouth.
It was someone who hadn’t spoken a single word throughout the entire meeting until now.
“….”
Big Sae-jin.
He was looking at Bae Sae-jin with an expression that revealed little emotion.
Bae Sae-jin seemed to reflexively want to avert his gaze, but that impulse quickly faded.
Instead, he asked Big Sae-jin seriously.
“What do you… think?”
“….”
“About me acting while we’re active.”
Big Sae-jin glanced at the table for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“Well, in a situation like this, wouldn’t it be fine?”
“…!”
His tone was relaxed.
And it was a subtle affirmation.
Bae Sae-jin seemed to jump out of his chair in surprise, but soon cleared his throat.
“Ah, well, since you weren’t saying anything… I thought you disapproved but were holding back!”
“Yeah, well…. Yes. I figured that no matter how I reacted, you’d interpret it in a bad way~”
“….”
‘He hit the mark.’
Big Sae-jin deliberately raised his tone as if joking, but it was clearly sincere.
And Bae Sae-jin seemed to be struck by it too.
Probably, even if he’d said individual activities were a good idea, he would have suspected sarcasm, and if he’d opposed it, he would have nodded in agreement.
Big Sae-jin rubbed the back of his neck.
“We’ve been around for a while now… and it’s about time we all did individual activities~ And since hyung said he was going to refuse anyway.”
“….”
“It’d be nice if we all did well.”
Big Sae-jin ended his words there.
Really, it didn’t sound like empty talk.
“…Yeah.”
And this time, Bae Sae-jin seemed able to accept those words as they were.
“Good. Then… I’ll organize this and contact the Director!”
“Great!”
Thus, Testa completed their preparations to officially enter their album activity period.
In a slightly unique way, different from before.

* * *
“Well… but if all affiliates and partnerships related to T1 become impossible, does that mean we won’t be able to produce the group reality program this time either?!”
“Wait.”

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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
—————