Debut or Die - Chapter 487

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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 487
TeSTAR, trapped in the Dormitory before the move.
And then… finally reaching the Entrance door after opening the inner gate, a gleaming panel.
-Sacrifice one profession, and open the Entrance door.
The moment I read it, I understood.
Someone was going to be eliminated here.
‘Is this a survival format?’
So we’re supposed to vote among ourselves to choose one profession to eliminate?
My brain tingled with the sheer stimulation of it. I nodded and revised my evaluation of Ryu Seo-rin upward.
‘Wait, but if we’re divided like this and voting….’
We don’t know who has which profession, and we can’t even communicate with the other side.
Without the entertainment value of arguing directly with each other, deceiving, and making each other laugh, they’re just going to have us vote like this out of nowhere?
‘That can’t be….’
Ah!
I spun around and shouted.
“Hyung!”
“…! What?”
“Walkie-talkies!”
And I shouted toward the outside of the Entrance door.
So the other side could hear.
“Did you find walkie-talkies? Walkie-talkies!”
[Walkie-…talkies? …here?!]
[…yes!]
Faint sounds of urgent, frantic movement came from the other side.
“…! You’re using walkie-talkies now? You just press here and talk, right?!”
“Yes, but you can’t hear responses while you’re pressing, so keep it brief!”
“Got it!”
Bae Sae-jin began shouting while holding the walkie-talkie.
‘If we’re lucky, they might hear the transmission on the other side and locate the walkie-talkie….’
So we’re supposed to discuss via walkie-talkie from here on out which profession to sacrifice?
That was the moment I thought that far.
Suddenly, the panel on the Entrance door refreshed.
[☜☞]
[Sacrifice Selection Complete!]
What?
“Huh?”
“Park Moon-dae hyung? D-did you perhaps make a selection?”
“That’s impossible.”
But before I could say anything else… the door opened.
Click.
“…!!”
The entrance door swung open.
And what greeted me was a group of figures who had just come running with walkie-talkies, catching their breath.
The other four members of TeSTAR.
Their eyes went wide.
“You guys!”
“Park Moon-dae! Kim Rae-bin! Hyung!”
“Thank goodness, thank goodness you’re all okay…!”
In that moment, everyone forgot about the game and everything else, clustering together like a penguin colony in sheer relief.
It was absolute chaos—like survivors reuniting with family after a disaster.
“Hyung! We came to rescue you!”
“Yeah.”
I accepted Cha Yu-jin’s embrace perfunctorily while doing a quick headcount.
‘All seven are here.’
Right. Having more people definitely does bring a sense of security.
But here’s the thing.
‘Why did the door open?’
The most likely explanation was probably this.
“Did they perhaps choose a sacrifice from your side?”
“Nope! The door just suddenly opened!”
“…!”
Ryu Chung-woo shook his head firmly.
“I thought you guys chose. Since our team was trapped in the dormitory, I figured we had no choice….”
What?
“What are you talking about? We were the ones trapped in the dormitory!”
“…? Sae-jin, what do you….”
No way.
I pushed through the gap between the four of them, opening my view to what lay beyond the entrance door on the other side.
And I was stunned.
‘This is insane.’
The other side… was also a dormitory!
“Wait, outside the entrance door….”
“This… this is also a dormitory…?”
The ones who caught on began panicking, whipping their heads back and forth across the entrance door.
“Holy moly! There’s a living room!”
“Wow, this is crazy, seriously!”
Before I knew it, Cha Yu-jin and Big Sae-jin had rushed to the living room we’d escaped from, shouting.
And I stepped beyond the inner door on the other side.
“….”
“It’s… it’s really identical….”
Oh.
‘So they were trying to escape too?’
We’d been mistaking each other for outside teams, but the truth was we were each from Dormitory Team A and Dormitory Team B.
‘What exactly is this place?’
A Set?
No, it would be impossible if it weren’t a Set.
It wasn’t just props arranged like the previous Dormitory—the entire house itself was constructed as one.
“Ha.”
I’d been completely blindsided. I chuckled to myself and surveyed the surroundings again.
I knew there would definitely be an escape method revealed at the end. There had to be, for catharsis.
But the Entrance itself was fake, and it was structured like mirrors facing each other. An elegant double Secret Room that deepened the sense of dread and tension.
‘Then where’s the escape route?’
No, before that.
I turned my head. The members flinched.
“First of all… so neither team touched or activated anything on that panel.”
“Right.”
I reached out and pointed at the panel. Toward the sentence still glowing clearly.
[Sacrifice Selection Complete!]
“Then why does it say ‘Selection Complete’?”
“….”
Big Sae-jin furrowed his brow in thought, then crossed his arms.
“Could this be part of an occupation mission?”
“…!!”
“Why not? There could be a role in one of the occupations that involves choosing a sacrifice. Think of it like a board game?”
That made sense.
It was sharp thinking.
“Then should we ask everyone about their occupations?”
“Ah~ about that….”
That was when Big Sae-jin was about to answer.
[Participants.]
“Ugh!”
“What the….”
A distorted mechanical voice echoed.
The Entrance door panel had begun to emit sound.
‘They really packed a lot of features into this.’
We immediately rushed over and stood before the panel.
Then the panel screen changed, and a new message was transmitted.
[The Sacrifice’s occupation has been determined.]
[Now, the mark of fate has descended.]
Black screen, white text flickered ominously.
“Already… it’s over…?”
“What’s happening here?”
Confusion and tension chilled the air.
But I was tense for a different reason.
Wait, didn’t they say the game had a 3-hour time limit?
‘So what am I supposed to do with the remaining three hours?’
Wasn’t this destroying the tension?
That’s when it happened.
Click.
The wall beside the entrance opened. And something spilled out.
“…!”
“Whoa!”
Among the few making a fuss, I examined the objects.
‘Cards?’
At first glance, they looked like poker cards—seven of them in total.
And each one had a name written on the back.
“What is this?”
“Is this a QR code?”
“Hold on.”
I tapped the others to get their attention.
The panel’s message wasn’t finished yet.
[Among the seven cards, one belongs to the participant with the profession chosen as the sacrifice.]
Seven cards flipped across the screen in a dramatic sequence, then one enlarged and a crimson mark appeared on it.
A ram’s skull.
[That is the sacrifice marker.]
“….”
This is getting serious.
[You may exchange this ‘marker card’ among yourselves for three hours.]
[And at the end of the game, whichever character holds the ‘sacrifice’ marker card becomes the final sacrifice.]
The cards spun on the screen like a shell game, then turned over one by one to reveal their backs.
And the card bearing the crimson ram skull mark flickered, then….
[Boom!]
It exploded.
[02:59:59]
All that remained was a black screen. Below it, only a white countdown blinking.
“….”
I immediately examined my card again.
Similarly, one side had a poker pattern and a name, while the other bore a QR code.
I tapped the frozen panel and asked.
“How do we exchange them?”
There was no other narration.
Only new text appeared on the black screen.
[Please show the QR code.]
Hmm.
I turned the card to show the QR code and examined the panel beside the entrance door.
‘Should I scan it here?’
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae?”
“Hold on a second.”
I stopped the startled members from grabbing my shoulders and scanned the QR code on the card.
‘Like this?’
The screen changed again.
[Required Currency: 1 Gold]
“….”
Gold?
“This… doesn’t seem like something we can just exchange freely, does it?”
“That’s right.”
It seemed there was a cost involved.
‘Of course—endlessly exchanging things would be ridiculous anyway.’
And at that moment, Cha Yu-jin suddenly raised his hand.
“I know!”
“…!”
“Wait a second!”
He bolted away and in an instant kicked open the bathroom door on his side, returning with something in hand.
“This is gold!”
It was gold with a QR code attached to it.
“…!!”
“Wow~ where did you find it?”
“It was under the shelf.”
“Eugene, you’re really amazing…!”
The members crowded around Cha Yu-jin, showering him with praise. This guy’s grinning so wide his face might split.
And then came the decisive remark.
“Hmm~ there must be more things hidden like this in both dormitories, right?”
“Probably.”
If that was the case.
I immediately removed the QR card I’d been scanning.
“Then let’s start by searching for gold.”
And so the treasure hunt began.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae~ didn’t you miss our members so much?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Big Sae-jin, who was making a fuss about how glad he was, eagerly told me about everything they’d experienced.
I was methodically tearing through the living room where these guys had made their escape(?).
“Ah~ but I’m not sure if there’s more here. We really went through everything.”
Yeah, seeing the sofa cushions torn up from underneath, it was clear they’d searched every inch.
I brushed off my hands and stood up.
Now that I think about it, there was something I wanted to ask him.
“About what you were trying to say earlier.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you guys talk about your occupations?”
I was talking about these guys’ occupations.
‘It never came up even while they were recounting what happened.’
Then Big Sae-jin shrugged.
“Mm~ actually, that’s what I was trying to say earlier. We were so busy searching that we never got around to talking about our jobs at all.”
“….”
Hmm, you?
‘It wasn’t intentional?’
The guy best at variety shows skipped the introduction segment that even the Writer had specifically asked for.
But as if reading my mind, Big Sae-jin shrugged again.
“I thought it would look better if we all did it together like this… well, now that I think about it, someone’s probably going to lie?”
“Probably.”
Anyone with an awkward occupation will lie on their own. I nodded in agreement.
‘…that’s pretty typical of him though.’
With this type of game, it’s hard to trust anyone completely. I just shrugged internally and ended the conversation with him.
Then I was heading toward the Kitchen.
“…Park Moon-dae.”
Bae Sae-jin suddenly approached and spoke in a very quiet voice.
“You didn’t really get a weird occupation, right? You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Something’s off.
But here’s the thing.
“Wouldn’t someone with a weird occupation answer the same way?”
“That’s true, but… you scanned your card right there earlier. I don’t think someone trying to hide their occupation could have done it so calmly.”
“….”
Sharp observation.
“And since you’re good at this kind of thing, I’m going to test it on you first.”
Bae Sae-jin swallowed hard as he spoke.
“My occupation—that ‘lawyer’ thing.”
Yeah.
“It has a special ability.”
“…What kind?”
“…’I can learn about other people’s occupations.'”
“…!”
“That’s what was written… and so I knew what occupation it was.”
Bae Sae-jin lowered his voice further.
“Rae-bin said he was a journalist, right?”
“Yes.”
He swallowed hard.
“There is no journalist…!”
“…!”
“There’s no such occupation as a journalist in this game!”
It was a completely unexpected blow.
I immediately replayed Kim Rae-bin’s behavior up to this point. But there wasn’t any particular awkwardness typical of someone with a guilty conscience.
‘Kim Rae-bin is that good at lying?’
Even with all the training from past variety shows, was that possible?
‘I’m starting to have doubts about Bae Sae-jin too.’
But without showing it, I widened my eyes as if startled, then quickly adopted a solemn expression. As if my ears had perked up with interest.
Bae Sae-jin’s expression turned solemn as well.
“Hyung, could you tell me what occupations you know about first? I want to narrow down Rae-bin’s actual job possibilities.”
“Sure. But before that… I’d like to hear about your ability.”
He knew how to negotiate.
I nodded immediately. As Bae Sae-jin swallowed, what I revealed was….
“My ability was a question mark.”
“…?”
No, I wasn’t joking.
[Special Ability]
-?? (To be revealed during gameplay)
That’s what was written on my profile.
“I think they didn’t reveal it because it would be a spoiler for the game’s progression.”
“Ah.”
Of course, if I ended it here, I wouldn’t gain his trust.
I added my own speculation.
“If this is a Mafia-type game, the doctor role usually defends the victim.”
“…!”
“So I’m guessing they’ll tell us when someone becomes a sacrifice.”
“…That makes sense.”
Right.
Either way, I hadn’t lost his trust, so I was able to get the list of occupations that Bae Sae-jin explained.
‘Doctor, Sheriff, Detective, Scholar, Undertaker, Lawyer… and Jester, I think.’
Modern occupations, then.
Either way, it was very plausible and useful information.
‘This is beneficial.’
If that were true, I would have gladly bowed my head in gratitude, and Bae Sae-jin’s expression brightened slightly.
“But if we do this, it’s actually insufficient for you to say you trust me… Should I try recruiting one more trustworthy person?”
“Huh? Who…?”
I raised my hand and pointed at someone.
The guy who was intently searching through the kitchen of our Dormitory.
Ryu Chung-woo, to be exact.
Bae Sae-jin became flustered.
“…Wait, this has nothing to do with his usual personality, right? His profession is what matters. It’s a variety show, after all.”
“That’s right.”
No, that’s exactly why I’m saying this.
I nodded in agreement readily.
“Think about it, hyung.”
“Huh?”
“Last time in our own content, Chung-woo hyung was the traitor. That zombie.”
“R-right.”
“So by cooldown theory, this time Chung-woo hyung wouldn’t be it.”
“…?!”
“What do you think?”
If the same person got caught again, wouldn’t it be stale?
No matter how much it’s supposed to be a random draw, the production crew would have manipulated it to avoid that outcome.
‘They would’ve made us redraw, claiming there was some error or something.’
And since my theory sounded plausible enough, Bae Sae-jin eventually clenched his fist and agreed.
“…Hmm, fine. Let’s try it.”
That’s right.
I immediately sidled over to Ryu Chung-woo and whispered.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Come over here for a moment.”
And without drawing the others’ attention, the three of us began talking as if we were each searching similar areas.
“Sae-jin hyung wants to form an alliance, but he says we need to reveal our professions for it to work.”
“Ah.”
“We’ve already introduced ourselves to each other.”
If you speak now, we’ll wrap up the party as is.
But Ryu Chung-woo, who was looking under the Dining Table, smiled faintly with an awkward expression.
“Hmm… I can’t tell you. Sorry.”
“…!”
Bae Sae-jin’s expression changed.
“You don’t mean…?”
“Wait a moment, hyung.”
I quickly interjected before he could jump to conclusions.
“It’s not that you don’t want to tell us—you can’t tell us, right?”
“….”
Chung-woo offered an ambiguous smile.
‘As I thought.’
I nodded and whispered to Bae Sae-jin.
“It seems like Chung-woo has a profession where he can’t directly reveal what he does.”
“…Oh!”
“If he were a mafia member, he’d try to deceive us instead. He wouldn’t refuse to answer so honestly.”
“Ugh….”
Bae Sae-jin groaned, but soon nodded in agreement.
“Then… he could be a detective. In mystery novels, detectives usually make their big move at the end, right?”
Oh. That was a reasonably sound deduction from a content perspective.
“So?”
“…Fine! Let’s talk about it.”
Bae Sae-jin nodded. I gave Chung-woo a moment to listen to Bae Sae-jin’s explanation.
And Chung-woo marveled.
“You have an ability like that? That’s impressive, Sae-jin.”
“Hmm, it’s nothing.”
“By your logic, Rae-bin does seem suspicious… but the urgent matter right now is that there’s someone who could become a sacrifice. I’d like to discuss that point more.”
Hm?
“…That’s right.”
“Let’s say someone among us could directly choose a profession to become a sacrifice. What profession do you think they’d pick?”
That’s an easy one.
I answered without hesitation.
“A detective or a clown.”

* * *
At the same moment. On the Internet.
=====================
[What are you all voting for in the Orbit poll?]
There are 7 options, so a lot of people are guessing it’s a TeSTAR content with 7 members lolol I’m curious
=====================
Across idol communities, chatter was suddenly flourishing in the Orbit poll threads.
First, the very word “sacrifice” was provocative, and the fact that you could vote made it entertaining.
And opinions seemed surprisingly unified.
-Obviously you gotta vote for the clown, right?
└lololol fr just the job title alone gives troll vibes
A clown.
Wasn’t that the kind of profession that gave off criminal or mastermind energy?
But precisely because of that, there were strong voices saying not to vote for it.
-You guys don’t get it, this kind of thing is only funny when the voting side trolls, obviously it’s like a variety show concept
-Oh this is definitely the doctor lolol
-Kill the detective please that’s the only way it’ll be funny when they have a mental breakdown
As rumors spread, more and more people were calling for the detective and the doctor.
And shortly after.
A new post was uploaded to Orbit Stars’ account.
[Voting is complete. ->View Results]
And the moment people filled with curiosity and anticipation clicked view results, that link connected to a video.
[【LAMB】 The game begins now – TeSTAR (TeSTAR) coming soon]
It was a preview for TeSTAR’s variety show.
-I’m freaking out
-TeSTAR variety show!!!
-Wow as expected
-Already can’t wait what do I do
The reactions of people delighted—saying it was a variety show after so long, saying they were excited.
And on the other hand, one fan’s comment passed through, one who had grasped reality.
-Wait… so the member we just voted for got eliminated?
└Oh no
└Wait
└No wayㅠㅠ
Fan sites and communities ignited again with speculation and excitement.
And at that moment.
TeSTAR’s peculiar filming studio was burning hot in a different sense.
“Park Moon-dae.”
“Hm?”
“Do you… want to trade cards with me?”
“…!”
The first trait request had begun.

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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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