Debut or Die - Chapter 494

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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 494
While Park Moon-dae was suffering in the Afterlife(?) Dormitory stained with blood.
Above, the game was in full swing once more.
[A sacrifice marker has descended upon one of the participants’ cards.]
However, the atmosphere had shifted somewhat this time.
‘If we do the same thing again, viewers will get bored.’
But if we change the format, won’t viewers have to understand it from scratch all over again?!
So what the Writer, Ryu Seo-rin, changed was the tempo.
A speedrun, to be precise.
[Time limit: 30 minutes]
[Any participant who does not exchange cards at least once will be immediately burned as an offering.]
“Wow.”
If you don’t participate in the sacrifice bomb game, you’re automatically eliminated!
As a result, unlike the first game where everyone nervously exchanged cards in secret like a covert operation, this time they all openly and aggressively employed cunning tactics.
Moreover, once they scanned their card on the Entrance door machine, they could immediately choose which profession to exchange it for, so they no longer needed the other person’s consent.
The result.
[The profession currently holding the sacrifice marker is….]
[‘Lawyer’.]
[!!!!]
The two namesakes who had been tearing their hair out arguing that they were the lawyer caught each other red-handed.
And the comedy exploded during the deduction phase.
[Bae Sae-jin : Yeah, actually I was the clown….]
[Lee Sae-jin : Hyung, you seemed way too upset when people called you a clown to say that so casually.]
[Bae Sae-jin : …?]
[Lee Sae-jin : Yes, actually I was the clown, everyone!]
[Bae Sae-jin : Hey!]
The moment the lawyer was revealed as the sacrifice, both of them switched tactics and started claiming they were the clown!
And this time, they instead fought with each other claiming the other was the lawyer, then self-destructed.
[Bae Sae-jin : So I’m telling you, I chose lawyer in the card exchange! My third record should show up. If I was the lawyer to begin with, I wouldn’t have chosen myself….]
[Sun Ah-hyun : Oh.]
[Bae Sae-jin : What?!]
[Ryu Chung-woo : Sae-jin, I think you just confessed that you exchanged with the lawyer….]
[Bae Sae-jin : …!?]
[Lee Sae-jin : That was perfect.]
And so the lawyer and the clown happily entered the casket together.
[Lee Sae-jin : Hyung, when you get upset, you really say too much.]
[Bae Sae-jin : Shut up.]
-So this is what troll flavor tastes like
That’s hilarious lol
-Moon-dae : You came to rescue me!
Lee Sae-jin’s group: No, we fought among ourselves.
hahahahahahahahahaha
And thanks to Lee Sae-jin’s efforts, who didn’t forget the walkie-talkie’s advice, they pressed the button at the head of the casket and plummeted directly into the afterlife(?)
[Park Moon-dae: ….]
When the casket descended, Park Moon-dae came running over eagerly, and having received the full account of this absurd entertainment situation, he….
[Park Moon-dae: (Tibet expression)]
[Park Moon-dae: So which one of you two was the jester? You’re dead anyway, so feel free to speak comfortably.]
He finally posed the question that would satisfy everyone’s curiosity.
And the two of them finally opened their mouths with serious expressions.
[Bae Sae-jin: I was the jester, but….]
[Lee Sae-jin: I was the jester….]
[Bae Sae-jin: ?]
[Lee Sae-jin: ??]
[Park Moon-dae: ???]
-What
-What are you guys talking about
-Two jesters?
Even the viewers were confused as one.
Even the subtitles were.
[What is this situation…?]
[◀◀◀]
So to explain, Lee Sae-jin’s flashback came up.
Early in the game.
[Bae Sae-jin: I know this because I’m a lawyer….]
[Lee Sae-jin: (pretending not to listen)]
In fact, Lee Sae-jin had already eavesdropped and fully grasped everything back when Bae Sae-jin was eagerly going around talking about his role ability.
And this is what he thought!
[Lee Sae-jin: No wonder the profile document said not to carelessly go around saying I’m a lawyer! So I was the jester! I’m the fake one~]
[↑ Self-proclaimed jester (2)]
-????
-Sae-jin…
That’s right.
The two of them each thought they themselves were the jester, while accusing the other of being the jester…!
[Lee Sae-jin: Wow~ hyung, you’re really good at acting! (※Acting confirmed)]
[Bae Sae-jin: What? Anyone can see you’re the suspicious one! (※Suspicious confirmed)]
It was entertainment acting with soul on the line.
I must’ve lost my mind lol
-Two lawyers who thought they were the jester’s self-strengthening
hahahahahahahaha
-A day in the life of a bewildered jester spinning round and round
And so, the black sheep and the sacrificial offering burned together in harmony.
After conversing in the Afterlife, the parties who reached this conclusion were….
[Park Moon-dae : ….]
[Bae Sae-jin : ….]
[Lee Sae-jin : ….]
[Park Moon-dae : Should we move?]
[Lee Sae-jin : Yes.]
[Hahahahahaha]
After a dizzying silence, they grew solemn and began moving in Park Moon-dae’s wake….
What do I do lol
-My stomach hurts from laughing so much
-Even Testa laughed watching the live broadcast
Clown party lol
But the atmosphere that had sparked this laughter didn’t last long.
Because the true nature of this place was about to be revealed.
[Lee Sae-jin : Moon-dae, Moon-dae~ About that walkie-talkie, did you happen to contact us from here?]
[Park Moon-dae : Yeah.]
[Lee Sae-jin : Ooh.]
[Bae Sae-jin : …But hey, you told us not to go into the bathroom back then. Why did you say something like that?]
Park Moon-dae shone his flashlight beyond the door.
The bathroom across from the living room.
[Park Moon-dae : The bathroom is in that state.]
[Bae Sae-jin : Gasp.]
Crash!
An image of lightning striking flashed across the screen in editing.
The bathroom door, drenched in blood, was zoomed in repeatedly. The members screamed.
[Bae Sae-jin : Blood, blood?!]
[Lee Sae-jin : Aaaah what is that? What is that, Moon-dae?!]
[Park Moon-dae : (His expression says: if I knew, would I be doing this here?)]
-After 30 minutes he’s built up immunity, pretending to be a seasoned veteran scaredy-cat Moon-dae
Haha, that’s so cute lol
-Finding just one flashlight in the corner of the living room and acting like he’s not trembling!
And sure enough, a jab came.
[Lee Sae-jin : Wait, we played the game for over 30 minutes up there~ and you didn’t even open that? Moon-dae really is the most… among us.]
[Park Moon-dae : Then you open it alone.]
[Lee Sae-jin : My apologies.]
hahaha
-These cute scaredy-cats
It was even funnier because none of the members who happened to have nerves of steel or acted before thinking had been eliminated.
That’s why the eldest stepped forward here!
[Bae Sae-jin: …Let’s go. I’ll open it.]
[Lee Sae-jin: …!!]
[Park Moon-dae: Thank you.]
[Lee Sae-jin: …?!]
-Haha, so quick about it
-A rare sight of Sae-jin being at a loss for words
-The former shaman enters with vigor~
And so the three of them huddled together, each bringing a flashlight, a walkie-talkie, and their bodies (?) as they approached the bathroom.
Tall Lee Sae-jin operated the flashlight, Park Moon-dae handled the walkie-talkie after testing it, and Bae Sae-jin, who took on the role of action leader, lightened his load as a courtesy.
And then…
Creeeeak.
Bae Sae-jin opened the bathroom door handle, rubber gloves from the kitchen already on his hands.
In that moment, it appeared.
-Gasp
Thump.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom,
Thump!!
With tense, eerie background music, the interior of the bathroom revealed itself.
A blood-soaked floor, and upon it, something sitting.
[Victim]
In front of the bathroom cabinet.
A corpse lay slumped in a sitting position.
-Ahhhhhhh
-Oh my god
-??
-What the hell
All the members froze.
[Park Moon-dae: …It’s not moving. Yes. I think it should be fine to examine it.]
-Yet he couldn’t bring himself to approach
-Understandable this time
-I wouldn’t have moved either lol
The dormitory fell silent as a mouse.
And in the darkness, a corpse-shaped dummy.
The members cautiously drew closer.
Lee Sae-jin moved the flashlight slowly.
[Lee Sae-jin: …First of all, it looks like a man. The clothing is… quite unusual.]
The dummy lay slumped with a knife clutched in its hand.
Moreover, true to the cult concept, it was draped in something like a black robe, and its face was even covered.
‘A mask?’
The grotesque symbol of two lamb skulls was now a familiar sight to all the members.
[Park Moon-dae: That looks like the thing that was by the door earlier.]
[Lee Sae-jin: Yeah. And that… the sacrifice card? That symbol matches too.]
-Creepy
I’m crying / Boo hoo / Wah wah wah
Confirming it was a mannequin rather than a costumed actor, the members slowly reached out and flipped it over to examine it.
And in that moment, Bae Sae-jin noticed something decisive.
[Bae Sae-jin: …There are no wounds here.]
[Lee Sae-jin: Huh?]
[Bae Sae-jin: Look, there’s this much blood, but no wounds. The clothes aren’t torn anywhere either. …And actually, this corpse is holding a knife.]
The atmosphere grew chillingly tense.
[Then what’s the identity of this blood…?]
-Help me
-This is so terrifying
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ They said the undertaker was the culprit, but is it true that the undertaker killed him? What is it?
That was when it happened.
Park Moon-dae, who had been silently turning his head to follow the flashlight beam, suddenly rose to his feet.
Holding a walkie-talkie in his hand.
‘Huh?’
Park Moon-dae turned the walkie-talkie and asked.
[Park Moon-dae: Before you entered the casket earlier. When the walkie-talkie connected, who was holding it and where were they?]
[Bae Sae-jin: Huh? That was…]
[Lee Sae-jin: The living room! It went off in the living room and Ravin was the first to check it.]
[Park Moon-dae: …]
[Lee Sae-jin: Why?]
Park Moon-dae fell silent for a moment.
But soon he asked again.
[Park Moon-dae: After that, Ravin grabbed the walkie-talkie and ran toward where the others were.]
[Bae Sae-jin: …! That’s right! Toward the kitchen.]
At that answer, Park Moon-dae nodded.
As if he had realized something.
-??
-What is it?
-How did he figure it out
[Park Moon-dae: Wait a moment.]
Park Moon-dae bolted out of the bathroom, then began running around with the walkie-talkie, shouting.
[Park Moon-dae: Can you hear me?]
[Park Moon-dae: Can you hear?]
As if he had forgotten all fear, Park Moon-dae opened doors and began speaking into every room in the dormitory.
And after repeating this process, when he returned to that place where the casket was installed and moved up and down.
Crackle.
“Whoa!”
The walkie-talkie crackled to life, and a response came back.
[Walkie-talkie: Moon-dae? Moon-dae?!]
[!!]
The members rushed out of the bathroom.
[Bae Sae-jin: How did you do that?]
[Park Moon-dae: I found the location.]
[Bae Sae-jin: Huh?]
[Park Moon-dae: It seems like this walkie-talkie only works when it’s in the same place as the walkie-talkies of people who haven’t been eliminated—like the Dormitory.]
The Graduate Student, who had been watching the broadcast in hushed anticipation, slapped her thigh.
“Aaah!”
The walkie-talkie only activates when the living upstairs and the dead below—who descended in the casket—are in the same room together.
‘Incredible!!’
It created an eerie sensation, as if the two were physically in the same space but divided by time or dimension.
Was that why they expressed it this way, since that place was the Afterlife?
‘What happens now?’
The Graduate Student watched the screen with keen interest.
Probably Park Moon-dae would mention the corpse in the bathroom and advise them to be careful once more.
Just then, Park Moon-dae opened his mouth.
[Park Moon-dae: I told you not to go into the bathroom earlier, but I’m changing my advice.]
[Park Moon-dae: Please go in and check. There will be a ghost or someone there.]
“…??”
And Park Moon-dae said something even more shocking.
[Park Moon-dae: That ghost was apparently killed by the ‘Mortician’… and it seems like killing it was the right call.]
“…?!”
Park Moon-dae on screen spoke matter-of-factly.
[Park Moon-dae: Lure the ghost into the casket and burn it like we were eliminated.]
[Park Moon-dae: That’s how you’ll survive.]
At that moment, the BGM on screen shifted.

* * *
[Park Moon-dae: That ghost seems like a cult leader.]
A pristine, monochromatic living room.
The only signs of habitation were a few pet supplies, and a massive television for monitoring was installed there.
[Ryu Chung-woo: Wait!]
And now on that screen, Testa was being broadcast, currently communicating via walkie-talkie in front of the casket.
During his self-assigned break time, the idol monitoring his competitors tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“That was an interesting attempt.”
Woof!
A soft bark sounded near his thigh.
The man gently stroked the dog’s head as it responded to his murmur, then picked up his smartphone.
“Good boy.”
Woof.
Chung-ryeo’s pet dog, Kongi, let out a pleased whine before burying itself in its comfort blanket.
And similarly, Chung-ryeo’s smartphone buzzed.
-Manager Jang: Yes, the PD replied. Of course, he said Testa is available to appear!
It was only natural.
“Mm.”
Chung-ryeo smiled as he watched ‘Testa’ in the TV screen sending passionate messages over the walkie-talkie.
It was seven days before the collaboration with Park Moon-dae.

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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
—————