Debut or Die - Chapter 493

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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 493
‘I’ll play both the culprit and the black sheep!’
Once Park Moon-dae had decided on his strategy, he moved forward without hesitation.
After the midpoint check confirmed that he had received the sacrifice marker, his very first action was….
To approach Ryu Chung-woo.
[Park Moon-dae: Hyung, I think I found a gold card.]
Of course, Ryu Chung-woo already knew that Park Moon-dae had received the sacrifice marker from Sun Ah-hyun, the detective.
In other words, deception was impossible!
-Why of all people
-It takes skill to pick someone who knows everything lol
-How did you manage that
Park Moon-dae’s interview was inserted.
[Park Moon-dae: The way he wouldn’t talk about his job made me think he must have some suspicious profession too, so I tried to approach him.]
[Park Moon-dae: But that wasn’t it.]
Following that narration, Ryu Chung-woo’s response came back, answering the proposal with a gentle smile.
[Ryu Chung-woo: Moon-dae. Are you trying to exchange because the sacrifice marker showed up on your card during the midpoint check?]
[Park Moon-dae: Huh? What do you mean….]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Your reaction confirms it.]
-He didn’t react at all
-Yeah, the answer’s already decided, just answer and you’re definitely the sacrifice~lol
The viewers’ snickering comments and Park Moon-dae’s narrowing eyes on screen crossed paths.
[Park Moon-dae: Hyung.]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Yeah?]
[Park Moon-dae: Why are you so certain?]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Just a guess.]
Park Moon-dae caught on by this point.
[Park Moon-dae: Is that your profession ability? No wonder you wouldn’t reveal your job.]
[Ryu Chung-woo: ….]
Another interview was inserted here.
There was no sign of agitation on Park Moon-dae’s face as he nodded.
[Park Moon-dae: That’s when I changed my strategy.]
[Park Moon-dae: What really matters is sincerity. Let me speak with genuine sincerity.]
-Huh?
-What are you talking about
-Since when is deception sincerity
And on the screen that returned, Park Moon-dae truly came at him with ‘sincerity’.
[Park Moon-dae: But hyung, actually I have a proposal that could benefit you whether you win or lose.]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Hmm?]
[Park Moon-dae: Just hear me out.]
Park Moon-dae laid out the overview of his carefully devised plan without reservation.
An explanation of the culprit and the black sheep, along with the benefits when both were the same person!
[Park Moon-dae: After that, it’s easy.]
If Park Moon-dae and Ryu Chung-woo went undetected, the sheer brilliance of their trick would breathe life into the genre entertainment.
And if Park Moon-dae did get caught?
‘We could clear the game with minimal sacrifices.’
Either way, it was refreshing.
[Park Moon-dae: (Ryu Chung-woo hyung) is surprisingly good at pulling off stuff like this.]
After Park Moon-dae’s interview played like a voiceover.
As if Ryu Chung-woo on screen had heard that very narration, he nodded.
[Ryu Chung-woo: The intention is good and it sounds fun. I’m in.]
And just like that, Ryu Chung-woo joined as his accomplice!
-Wait
-These game enthusiasts really
And the two began weaving their movements.
They deliberately made one additional exchange before and after their own swap, each doing it openly.
Ryu Chung-woo exchanged with Bae Sae-jin first, while Park Moon-dae exchanged with Cha Yu-jin right before the end.
And so their own exchange wouldn’t be spotted, the quick-handed Ryu Chung-woo approached the entrance alone.
He opened the door fully, stepped into the outer area beyond the surrounding sightlines, and completed the exchange of two cards and gold in just two or three seconds.
No one saw it.
[Ryu Chung-woo: Well, if Moon-dae had just said he’d die alone, I probably wouldn’t have agreed.]
[Ryu Chung-woo: He wasn’t giving up that easily—he was genuinely determined to pull off a trick. That’s what I liked about it.]
Just as Ryu Chung-woo said, aside from circumstantial suspicion, there wasn’t a single eyewitness account, and anyone could have been a suspect—it was a perfect trick.
-Without Sun Ah-hyun’s deduction and Kim Rae-bin’s quick action, everyone would’ve been wiped out
-How did they even figure this out
-Is this really an idol variety show or a battle of wits lolololol
And with only the faint suspicion Park Moon-dae had leaked behind, Sun Ah-hyun’s deduction and Security Official Kim Rae-bin’s decisiveness meshed together dramatically, ultimately catching him!
[Park Moon-dae: Thanks to (Security Official Rae-bin), Chung-woo hyung survived too.]
[Park Moon-dae: Thanks, man. We really did minimize the casualties.]
Park Moon-dae, grinning through the interview, had a refreshingly confident face that didn’t look like someone who’d been eliminated.
-Anyway I won lololol
-Win or lose, I’m coming out ahead!
-Yeah I don’t know about walkie-talkies~ I don’t know about bathroom ghosts~ caught the culprit and cleared it thanks for your hard work production crew lol
-You guys I’m clocking out~ ah we got all the footage we needed lololol
The page kept refreshing with comments immersed in that thrill.
And on screen too, though strange BGM flowed from the speakers and chants of sacrifice echoed, Park Moon-dae bid farewell in a much more cheerful atmosphere than before.
And he entered the coffin-shaped altar lightly, as if clocking out refreshed.
The moment the other members raised seven candles above it according to bizarre patterns.
[Whoooosh-]
A violent rushing sound erupted, followed by a deafening boom!
-What
-?
-That’s terrifying
-What’s the effect;;;?
Inside a dark and eerie room.
Real flames erupted above the horrifying blood-stained casket that Park Moon-dae had entered…!
[Bae Sae-jin: Park Moon-dae!]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Moon-dae, are you okay?!]
No one could see that it was merely a low-temperature magic flame with flashy effects. Fans covered their mouths as they watched the violent and shocking scene.
And after the flames died down.
When the members hastily opened the casket on the altar….
-Whoa…
The casket was empty.
All that remained were five or six gold coins, resembling burial money.
I’m crying / Sob sob sob
-Ah, this is way too realistic.
-I’m scared
In an instant, the atmosphere turned chilling once more.
The members seemed shocked, but the game wasn’t over.
A dark, low bell tolled slowly, and a narration echoed.
[Undertaker’s Pyre]
[Undertaker’s Pyre]
And it continued.
[A new sacrifice marker has been issued.]
[You can change the sacrifice’s fate through card exchanges.]
[Additionally, starting this game, exchanges are possible even without the opponent’s card. You can select a profession on the screen and pass it.]
With new rules designed to incite conflict, a new game had begun.
-Wait, do they have to keep playing until a set number of people die…?
-Whoa, this is so scary
-All the members’ expressions are frozen;;>
Thus, inducing deep immersion, episodes 1 and 2 aired simultaneously came to an end.
‘This is insane, really….’
The Graduate Student, who had finished her binge-watch without catching her breath, swallowed hard and reflected on Moon-dae’s performance.
The reason Park Moon-dae left the strongest impression in this episode wasn’t just because I was a fan!
‘Ah, but it’s a shame Moon-dae was eliminated so quickly.’
What if he doesn’t appear anymore?
Since I originally had little interest in this genre of variety shows, if Moon-dae—the reason I was watching—didn’t appear, the fun would be cut in half.
As the Graduate Student felt slightly disappointed and watched the credits roll mindlessly….
[???: Someone just die already.]
A preview suddenly appeared.
“…?”
A walkie-talkie.
From the blood-stained walkie-talkie that had served no purpose until now, a cut showing static and sound crackling to life!
[Kim Rae-bin : Aaaahhh!]
[Bae Sae-jin : What?!]
-Oh my god oh my god oh my god
-A ghost finally?
People erupted in chaos.
And on screen, a pale, skeletal hand appeared holding the walkie-talkie….
And.
[Sun Ah-hyun : Park Moon-dae…?]
Speculating on the identity of the voice from the walkie-talkie, the preview ended!
-??
-No way
-Park Moon-dae?
-Not a ghost?
“….”
The Graduate Student immediately rewound the video to listen to the preview once more with careful attention.
And right away, she entered her subscription SNS account.
‘It really does sound like Park Moon-dae!’
With firm confidence that someone must have corrected the audio quality!
A few minutes later, she was rewarded for her belief through a single post that had been shared over ten thousand times.
-This is definitely Park Moon-dae (audio corrected)
And episode 3, which aired days later.
People who had settled in with curiosity about the walkie-talkie’s purpose, eager to see what would unfold….
-???
-This is the casket Park Moon-dae went into
-No way
They witnessed the infrared camera’s view of Park Moon-dae inside the casket laid bare before them.
-Park Moon-dae seems scared
-Oh, this makes me a bit nervousㅠㅠ
People’s palms grew sweaty as they watched Park Moon-dae listen intently to the sound and press the button above his head.
And when the casket itself began descending, comments flooded in.
-No way
-It’s going down
-What
-Where is he being taken?
The place Park Moon-dae arrived at, being dragged downward.
That place was….
[Park Moon-dae : ….]
[Park Moon-dae : The Dormitory?]
It was Testa’s former dormitory.
In other words, it had the same structure as the floor above, but instead of a room that resembled a cult’s altar, a casket-like altar suddenly rose from the center of Lee Sae-jin’s Room.
Moreover, the room was as dark as the inside of a coffin….
He could have overlooked it up to that point, but there was a decisive difference.
Namely.
[Park Moon-dae : Blood….]
Thick, massive bloodstains that appeared to have been dragged from the casket connected all the way to the door.
-Mom
-Ahhhhhhhhh
And the blood smears extended to the door, completing a vivid crimson skull motif.
[Park Moon-dae : ….]
Several seconds of silence passed.
It was only then that Park Moon-dae cautiously stepped toward the door.
Boom-!
[Park Moon-dae : !!]
The casket in the center of the room rose again, and with a thunderous sound, the lights flickered momentarily.
And the door opened automatically.
Creeeeak-
-Save me
-No, what should I do with the door ㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠ
-This was real omg
As the door opened, the bloodstains that appeared to have been dragged across the living room floor continued unbroken.
Park Moon-dae, who had reached his hand toward the door, froze in that exact position.
[Park Moon-dae : ….]
[↑Seemed to have fainted standing up….]
It was supposed to be a funny caption, but the fans laughed while screaming.
They even began pleading with the Security Official.
-Rae-bin let’s not save Chung-woo cancel it let’s burn it together
-The walkie-talkie was right please someone die quickly either Ah-hyun or Chung-woo just sacrifice one of them
-Oh shit, what should I do, is this like the afterlife? What is it??ㅠㅠㅠ
-Why is everyone making such a fuss
└He is the scariest among the testersㅠㅠ
The fans who already knew Park Moon-dae was weak to horror were restless, but still, Park Moon-dae on screen steadily moved forward.
And in the living room corridor, right beside the floor where the bloodstains were smeared, he discovered an object.
[Park Moon-dae : …A walkie-talkie?]
-No way
-Whoa
-Are they using it here?
Park Moon-dae slowly reached out and picked up the walkie-talkie.
And for the first time as an official profile rather than a verbal mention, his ability was broadcast.
[Undertaker Profession Ability: Can enable communication between the living and the dead.]
Park Moon-dae pressed the walkie-talkie.
Static crackled. The moment Park Moon-dae brought the device to his lips….
[Park Moon-dae: If anyone can hear me out there]
[Park Moon-dae: Could someone please die quickly?]
-?????
-?
Hahahahaha
The earnest sincerity shattered the tension in an instant.
Park Moon-dae would have made excuses—’the situation changed, I needed to expedite the investigation’—but his already-established image as a nervous wreck only made his blunt honesty seem genuine.
[Park Moon-dae: I was joking, of course.]
That wasn’t a joke, was it? lol
-Anyone can tell that was serious
The viewers erupted in laughter.
But in that moment, the atmosphere shifted entirely.
[Park Moon-dae: …Remember.]
The comedic sound effects and captions vanished without a trace.
Park Moon-dae gripped the walkie-talkie tightly, his voice low and monotone, delivering the message with rapid urgency.
[Park Moon-dae: The bathroom with the locked door. Don’t go in.]
A desolate violin wail and eerie drum beats layered into the background music like wind howling through darkness.
The music crescendoed.
-Huh
-Wait a second
Park Moon-dae lifted his head.
The camera panned with his movement, the scene shifting in tandem.
Blood trails on the floor.
Growing darker and deeper, they transformed into a crimson smear leading toward the bathroom.
And it covered the bathroom door.
-Ahhhhhhh
-Don’t open it Moon-dae don’t open it
-Oh crazyㅠㅠㅠ
Open it quick, haha.
This is definitely a ghost angle.
The live chat exploded—a chaotic blend of curiosity, terror, and concern, all feeding into desperate anticipation.
On screen, the camera returned to Park Moon-dae.
[Park Moon-dae: And the button on the casket….]
[Park Moon-dae: …the signal cut out.]
He slowly lowered the walkie-talkie, its signal dead despite his attempts.
Then, taking a deep breath and lifting his head once more, his scene ended.
[LAMB]
The program’s opening began with an intense musical performance, yet viewers remained reeling from the shock.
-What do we do about our kid
I probably had a nightmare that day because of Moontan.
-He broke through the non-lethal route and died alone, so he’s getting paid to experience this terrifying ordeal lol
Lol so funny haha
-Recruiting party members for Park Moon-dae. Requirements: must die
Shocked by the existence of an afterlife(?), viewers became fully immersed and resumed watching the program.
‘Did the other members properly receive Park Moon-dae’s radio transmission?’
And fortunately, salvation’s hand arrived sooner than expected.
Thirty minutes into the program.
[A sound…?]
The casket moved once more. And….
[Lee Sae-jin : Moon-dae?]
[Bae Sae-jin : Hey Park Moon-dae!]
The next ones to descend from the altar were… the two Sae-jins with the same name!
[Park Moon-dae : …!!]
It was the moment the signal flare announcing the program’s climax ignited.

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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
—————