Debut or Die - Chapter 481

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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 481
This is the Dormitory.
Survivors are… virtually nonexistent.
“Ugh.”
“Hah….”
It’s not like some kind of disease apocalypse.
The New Dormitory was already so hectic that I hadn’t even properly unpacked, and with no one walking around in decent condition, the place felt eerily empty.
‘Everyone’s just groaning and complaining.’
And here’s the thing.
“Ha, body aches… I can’t remember the last time I had one.”
“….”
Ryu Chung-woo was down for the count too.
I turned to look at the guy on the adjacent Bed, laughing while taking fever medicine.
‘He got drenched pretty persistently by that water.’
Of course, that alone wouldn’t have knocked him out. This guy had powered through three consecutive Concerts without showing a trace of fatigue.
It was probably the accumulated stress and pressure from the Company collapsing, combined with the reckless push during album preparation and the Cha Yu-jin incident all converging at once.
‘Being the leader probably made it worse.’
But what’s remarkable is that despite all this, he’s in the best condition of everyone.
And that’s the problem—he knows it.
“Well, once the medicine kicks in, I’ll swing by the Company for a bit….”
Seriously.
“Just rest. It’s not like we have any schedules anyway.”
“…!”
“The Company will reach out when they need to. There’s nothing urgent.”
“…Okay. Got it.”
Ryu Chung-woo lay back down on the Bed with a slightly embarrassed smile.
I just… lay back down under the blanket myself.
‘Well… there are days when you get to rest like this.’
At this point, the important things were wrapped up.
A single day wouldn’t hurt, or so I thought.
Whirrrr.
A breeze blew along with the sound of the fan spinning. That was enough.
It’s actually funny that no one’s complaining about the heat on this summer day, even though we haven’t turned on the air conditioning.
‘Hmm.’
But there’s one exception.
[…It’s hot.]
“Turn on the air conditioning.”
“That’s not garbage.”
Standing at the doorway with a sullen expression is… the sole survivor.
Cha Yu-jin.
“Why is everyone sick?”
Remarkably spry, this guy had wandered into the living room early this morning and has been pacing ever since.
It seems he can’t bring himself to enter his own room because Bae Sae-jin is groaning in there.
What’s most hilarious is that SNS has painted the situation in the complete opposite light.
-Ah, Eugene said he would go out somehow, so he appeared, but he seems to be taking a break because his health is getting worse.ㅠㅠ
└His professionalism is insane…
That’s right.
Everyone firmly believes that Cha Yu-jin performed while sick, flying across the stage with fighting spirit and creating a legend.
But officially, he’s the only one who’s sick—when in reality, he’s the only one here who’s perfectly fine.
“By evening, I’ll shake it off and be back to normal, so don’t worry about it.”
“….”
So STier’s Cha Yu-jin pretends otherwise, but he’s clearly quite flustered. He’s been unable to sit still since earlier.
‘…I can’t exactly go out and expose this either.’
Still, I don’t think this guy will pull another escape act complaining about control or whatever.
In fact, STier’s Cha Yu-jin became oddly quiet right after yesterday’s stage, but he seemed lost in thought in a good way.
It means he’s changed quite noticeably for the better.
‘Good.’
Then.
I pressed the back of my hand against my throbbing forehead and spoke calmly.
“Close the door, and we can probably just turn on the air conditioning in the living room.”
“….”
“No. Actually, let’s just—swap rooms with Lee Sae-jin. I’ll do it right now.”
Yeah, I should’ve done this from the start. If I’d given this guy a solo room and guaranteed his privacy, he probably would’ve settled down.
‘I was too obsessed with eliminating variables.’
Once I relax a bit, I can actually see it. Being sick can even work in his favor? I looked at STier’s Cha Yu-jin.
‘Now that we performed together on stage, the tension between us seems to have eased quite a bit.’
It’s similar to how when a group project ends with an A grade, any ill feelings toward group members who participated properly disappear, even if the process was messy.
‘This guy did well.’
Cha Yu-jin.
Without him, a significant portion of this buzz probably would’ve been cut.
First, the fact that someone who seemed unlikely to appear suddenly showed up mid-performance drew attention, and with his charisma stat at EX, he dominated all the trending videos, generating solid buzz.
‘…The reaction when this Cha Yu-jin comes back is going to be a problem though.’
I really hope he remembers.
Anyway, this means that when building a friendly relationship like this, proposals tend to go through with high probability.
‘I think it’ll work this time.’
I looked at him with considerable confidence.
However.
“I’m not taking the sick person’s room.”
“…!”
[I told you. I’m not that much of a trash person.]
And with that, he left the room, his t-shirt collar fluttering behind him.
“….”
No, wait….
‘Then what am I supposed to do?’
Even when I offer a solution, he just spits it back out.
Why did he even say it was hot in the first place? Was that just some pretext to build up to getting ice cream or something?
I turned to look at Ryu Chung-woo for objective confirmation, only to discover he was already fast asleep.
“….”
Let it go.
‘…I have no idea.’
Fine. Do whatever you want.
In the end, I decided to at least guarantee Cha Yu-jin some reasonable autonomy.
Which is why I actually crawled out of bed to say this.
“The Manager’s number is in my phone… it should be in yours too. If you need anything, just ask and grab some ice cream or whatever.”
“….”
“Don’t go spreading details about who’s sick or how—stuff like that.”
Since word had already leaked to another agency, I figured I should be careful until he learned to keep his mouth shut properly.
It’s not like I could expect that much from this Cha Yu-jin anyway.
‘This should be enough.’
But then… STier’s Cha Yu-jin let out a sigh.
What?
“OK. I get it now.”
“What do you—”
“Go to bed, now.”
And I was pushed back into the room.
“…?”
Looking back, Cha Yu-jin was sitting on the couch, phone in hand.
‘What’s he doing?’
And this question would gradually be answered.

* * *
Within less than an hour, a box arrived at the Dormitory.
Ding-dong.
‘Ice cream and… ice packs?’
Along with various essentials and groceries.
From the circumstances, I’d assumed Cha Yu-jin had contacted the Manager?
No. It wasn’t arranged by the Company staff.
“You did this?”
“Yeah.”
He’d personally ordered a delivery from the Supermarket.
“You didn’t want me contacting the Company, right?”
“….”
“And any adult living in South Korea can use this method.”
No, that’s not what I meant—I didn’t think you couldn’t place a delivery order.
‘I just figured you wouldn’t do something like that yourself. It seemed too proactive a gesture toward my life.’
“I should organize this….”
“Nope.”
But Cha Yu-jin simply kicked Kim Rae-bin’s stumbling rear end back toward the Room, then personally organized the box he’d ordered.
And surprisingly, Cha Yu-jin’s commitment to “doing it himself” was only beginning.
First, he distributed warm and cold water in tumblers to everyone.
“Well, it’s fine….”
“Your face doesn’t look fine.”
Then he handed out ice packs wrapped in towels.
“Huh? We had towels like this….”
“I bought them.”
Eventually, he even checked our temperatures and confirmed the timing for taking medicine.
“Your fever hasn’t broken yet. Use the ice pack.”
“….”
I watched him leave the thermometer behind, then stifled a laugh in bed.
At this point, I was confused.
Was I… being nursed by Cha Yu-jin?
By him, of all people?
‘Is this real?’
I turned my head. Seeing Ryu Chung-woo’s bewildered expression as he unwrapped the towel from the ice pack confirmed that reality was indeed unfolding.
But we didn’t yet know that the final touch hadn’t even arrived.
An hour later.
“…hyung.”
“What.”
“What’s this smell?”
“…!”
I lifted my head and looked outside.
Through the open door, I could see a pot simmering in the Kitchen.
From it wafted the distinctive aroma of a savory broth.
“…??”
And standing in front of that pot was… Cha Yu-jin.
“…?!”
Cha Yu-jin was cooking?
I was genuinely curious about what he’d made, or rather, why he was bothering to prepare his own meal….
Surprisingly, cooking wasn’t for self-sufficiency.
“Come eat.”
“….”
He summoned the complaining members to the Dining Table.
The hastily assembled members gathered around the table and could finally identify what he’d prepared.
It was….
“Uh.”
“This.”
It looked familiar.
-Chicken Soup for the Soul!
It was a recipe Cha Yu-jin had attempted several times before.
‘He said his mother taught him that, didn’t he?’
It seemed to carry some nostalgic weight. But every time he’d attempted this dish….
Once he’d added honey.
-Nooo!
Once it nearly caught fire.
-Ahhhhh!
In short, it had been a complete disaster.
No one here would have forgotten.
“….”
“….”
Bae Sae-jin’s trembling voice reached us.
“…You’re choosing this over the option of killing us?”
I couldn’t argue with that.
Yet… I lifted my head and watched Cha Yu-jin still cleaning up in the Kitchen.
More precisely, the movements of his hands.
‘Hmm.’
Those were the movements of someone with experience.
This wasn’t a reckless attempt. He’d been cooking regularly before this.
If that were the case….
‘…Was there a period when the Agency didn’t take good care of him?’
In other words, he’d simply grown more skilled through practice.
I hesitated for a moment before giving a brief answer. There was no way I could explain all of this anyway.
“…I am grateful, though.”
“…Yes.”
At those words, everyone straightened up as if they’d made some solemn vow all at once. It was the attitude of people ready to eat anything that came their way.
Soon, Cha Yu-jin brought something resembling soft white porridge—apparently a side dish he’d prepared—and sat at the Dining Table.
The members flinched, but STier’s Cha Yu-jin opened his mouth without much reaction.
“It might seem unfamiliar, but… I can only make the kind of food you eat when you’re sick.”
“….”
Instead of saying ‘then make porridge’, Sun Ah-hyun’s cheerful voice led the way.
“Well, let’s eat well…!”
“Thank you.”
And shortly after he picked up his spoon with considerable solemnity.
“…!”
“It’s delicious…?”
“It has a unique flavor!”
Surprisingly, Cha Yu-jin’s chicken soup tasted quite good.
‘No, it’s actually really good.’
If it appealed to a sick foreigner’s palate, it truly was delicious.
STier’s Cha Yu-jin smiled faintly.
“Good.”
The atmosphere relaxed considerably as the meal began in earnest.
And as the sick ones’ stomachs filled, they seemed to regain their energy and gradually started chattering away.
“Yesterday’s Water Bomb… was fun, right.”
“Ah~ really. We all ended up like this because we enjoyed it so much!”
“That’s true. But Eugene had the best reaction, yet he’s the healthiest.”
Ryu Chung-woo probably intended to gently steer the conversation toward ‘and thank you so much for taking care of us like this’.
However, Cha Yu-jin responded with a slight frown-like smile.
“That’s also a reaction to ‘this’ Testa Cha Yu-jin.”
“…!”
I didn’t step in.
‘It doesn’t seem like he’s picking a fight?’
Rather, it felt like respect.
And now there were others besides me who countered.
“Still… the Main Stage that people saw yesterday was something you did, right.”
“Right~ there were probably way more event attendees than our fans?”
“….”
“Um, ahem, our Cha Yu-jin is really good too… you were really good too. That’s why people liked you because you were good.”
Cha Yu-jin fell silent briefly. Then he answered readily.
“I know.”
“…!”
He straightened his posture at the Dining Table with a composed demeanor. His attitude was somewhat formal.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity. And I apologize for my rudeness when we first met. I’m truly sorry.”
STier’s Cha Yu-jin bowed his head respectfully, and several flustered members began burying their faces in the Dining Table, swaying slightly.
A soft sigh escaped.
“Ah, no. Um, it was nice performing together…! I, I should apologize too, for not understanding things better….”
“Yeah, that’s right….”
The atmosphere grew even lighter.
It was a clear mood of reconciliation.
“Right~ we just need to get along well from now on!”
Well, he seemed to think his apology was deserved.
In any case, the atmosphere where we’d built basic trust in each other… was really not bad at all.
“You did well.”
“I know.”
I heard the brief exchange between Kim Rae-bin and Cha Yu-jin, let out a quiet laugh, and continued eating.
And whether it was truly thanks to Cha Yu-jin’s care or not, a few hours later, evening arrived.
Testa had all managed to recover their strength reasonably well.
“Go!”
“Lee Sae-jin’s being stubborn.”
So now, we were all gathered in the Living Room, sniffling and playing games.
Ding-ding-ding, ding-ding-ding!
I sat behind Bae Sae-jin, who was turning the controller roughly, and the cautious Ryu Chung-woo, watching the screen move mindlessly.
‘My head is still spinning.’
Cha Yu-jin unexpectedly hadn’t gone to his Room and was sitting beside the sofa.
“Are you feeling better?”
[I’m doing fairly well. Thanks to my friends and fans.]
Right, Kim Rae-bin and… no, I’m not a fan, I told you.
Well, setting that aside.
I asked casually.
“What about Chung-woo?”
Bae Sae-jin’s situation was understandable given the drug issue, but wasn’t Ryu Chung-woo fine? He should have been able to continue his activities without problems until the end.
But Cha Yu-jin suddenly closed his mouth and looked me over.
What?
[Sometimes protecting a fan’s dreams is also an artist’s responsibility.]
“…?”
What are you talking about?
[Nothing at all.]
Cha Yu-jin dodged the question, but I caught the atmosphere in his tone.
‘Nothing my ass.’
STier’s Ryu Chung-woo had definitely experienced a mental breakdown. He seemed like a different person from now.
‘Well, it doesn’t really matter anyway.’
In any case, STier’s Cha Yu-jin seemed to have adapted quite well here, and unlike before, he didn’t appear uncomfortable or on edge.
Even now, Sun Ah-hyun, who brought peaches, was conversing with him just fine.
“Well, still… I hope we can get along well during the time we have left. Um, if there’s anything you’d like to try, we could do it together.”
“Yeah. Feel free to speak up!”
STier’s Cha Yu-jin fell silent for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders.
“OK.”
“Ooh!”
A welcoming cheer erupted from the Living Room. It felt like we were welcoming a new member to the team.
‘Hmm.’
Not bad at all.
I let out a quiet laugh.
That was when it happened.
[Update Complete!]
-Early Achievement
…What?

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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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