Debut or Die - Chapter 497

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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 497
“You’re alright?”
I’d kill him… no, I don’t even have the strength to kill.
‘Damn bastard.’
I’m sprawled out in LeTi’s VTIC exclusive Training Room.
Seven hours.
Seven hours of choreography practice with that Chung-ryeo bastard.
‘Is he insane?’
We’re in the final stretch of the comeback with no time to spare, yet he’s draining seven hours for a single performance stage?
The best part is that it doesn’t seem like it’ll end today.
What’s truly artful is how he subtly pushes people to their absolute limit as if conducting some extreme personal training session, then gives just enough breathing room to survive.
‘If this bastard became an instructor, he’d make a fortune.’
Wait, that doesn’t make sense to say to someone who’s already made a fortune.
‘My brain isn’t functioning….’
I exhaled slowly.
Testa isn’t a group that falls behind in practice volume either. It means they frequently employ this kind of quantity-based assault on training hours.
But injecting an entirely unfamiliar choreography style into someone in such a short timeframe is a different beast altogether.
I can’t help but recall Ajusa, where I learned dance properly for the first time at that age.
I lay there silently, staring up at the ceiling in a sprawl.
An unfamiliar fluorescent light was shining above.
‘Hm?’
I opened my mouth absently.
“Did you remodel the lighting?”
“Hm?”
Chung-ryeo, who was operating the music, answered with a puzzled tone.
“We did. Three years ago, though.”
“Ah.”
And then it hit me.
The LeTi Training Room I remember from nearly a year of practice isn’t this place.
‘That wasn’t reality.’
It’s the ceiling I saw when trying to debut with Wishze, that hybrid group mixing VTIC and Testa members.
The experience from when I debuted with the VTIC members in Ryu Gun-woo’s body in the virtual world created by the System.
‘Words just tumbled out without thinking.’
And it seemed Chung-ryeo had caught onto that part too.
“Is it similar to when you debuted with the Junior Member? That could be it. I renovated that one too.”
A ridiculous explanation followed: ‘When you build something multiple times, standard specifications emerge and things become standardized.’
I let out a dry laugh.
“So there’s efficiency even in practice rooms.”
“Of course.”
If this guy has figured out even that much, I can’t imagine how deep his expertise runs.
To be honest, in terms of experience and information gathering, it would be hard to match him no matter who I put up against him.
Yeah, that’s right.
‘I thought VTIC would decline somewhat once their military service gap ended.’
I need to prepare more intensively.
From rookie actors who debuted through capital power by benchmarking us, to VTIC who hasn’t lost their form—even Testa is caught in quite the sandwich.
‘I can’t afford to get complacent just because I’ve secured a target.’
I drank water and quickly organized my thoughts for the next album.
That’s when Chung-ryeo sat down beside me.
“Senior, your dance learning ability is quite good.”
Of course it is.
“If I didn’t have learning ability at this point in my career, I should quit.”
“Ha ha.”
He doesn’t seem to be laughing because it’s funny. He probably has experience using members who lacked learning ability at this career stage.
‘He must have been driven to madness by dissatisfaction.’
I can tell by looking at his stat window.
He’s already ground his talent down to the extreme, to the limit stat, and perfected himself. He must have conviction in his own routine.
So anyone he assigned to his training regimen who couldn’t keep up wouldn’t have been treated as human.
‘…Hmm.’
But here’s the thing.
A sudden question made me summon one person.
This is the only one I can have this conversation with.
‘Big Dal.’
[Yes?]
“….”
Did he pop out that instantly?
I thought his response might be delayed since he was on duty, but I didn’t expect such a sharp reply.
Anyway, after chatting with him about recent happenings for a bit, I broached the subject.
‘…About the latent stats that show up on the stat window.’
[…?? Ah, your infinite potential trait? That wasn’t given by the system—it’s something you originally had….]
No, that’s not what I’m talking about.
[Yes?]
‘I mean what shows up on other people’s stat windows.’
The limit stats marked in parentheses next to the stats.
An indicator that tells you that person’s ceiling.
Let me give you an example.
[Dance: C- (B)]
Here, the ‘B’ in parentheses is the limit stat.
It was the biggest reason why only those with talent could make a living in the performing arts. Raw talent.
And what I’m curious about is this.
‘No matter what I do, overcoming that is impossible.’
Is it impossible for a person to grow beyond their stat limit?
“….”
After a brief silence, a timid popup appeared.
[Perhaps…?]
Then came the explanation: ‘Actually, I just converted the System’s judgment so you could see it, brother….’
In other words, it was a value the System had calculated.
‘Hmm.’
I furrowed my brow.
That was the moment.
[Survey Available!]
“…!”
Beside Big Dal’s chat popup.
A status window popup suddenly sprang up.
‘What is this.’
[Help: You can customize the System’s functions through feedback from surveys.]
“….”
So… it popped up to advertise itself because its own topic came up? You’re saying you can tell me if it’s possible?
I stared at the status window popup.
It was shining like an advertisement banner, practically begging me to click it.
But here’s the thing.
‘Would you fall for it?’
Would you really get hooked by something like that?
I dismissed the popup without hesitation.
‘Once I collect the System fragments from that bastard, you’re getting scrapped.’
That’s the right answer.
And as I nodded to myself in agreement.
“You’ve rested enough, haven’t you? Get up.”
“….”
For the record, I’d only been lying down for exactly five minutes.
‘Sigh.’
I swallowed my curses and pushed myself up.
Yeah, stat limits and all that nonsense… my Dance stat is still B+ right now.
Well, fine. I can’t complain that I can’t do it in this situation.
‘Let me push myself as far as I can go.’
Let’s do this.

* * *
That night.
The door to Testa’s new dormitory opened weakly.
Beep—click.
Then a subdued voice was heard.
“…I’m back.”
It was Park Moon-dae, hood pulled over his head.
“Oh, Moon-dae…??”
“….”
Why did he look like that?
Lee Sae-jin, who had been pulling a drink pouch from the refrigerator to greet him warmly, was taken aback.
But Park Moon-dae simply answered.
“I was practicing.”
What kind of practice could leave Park Moon-dae looking like this?
He was the friend who kept up with all-nighters and monitored without sleep.
Seeing him now, limp and drenched like wet laundry, felt unfamiliar and somehow sobering….
‘Wait.’
Lee Sae-jin suddenly realized what Park Moon-dae had been doing.
“It’s the Chung-ryeo featuring practice, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Who asks someone to do a featuring and then treats them like their own company trainee?
‘Do they have no boundaries?’
Recent events had slightly softened his view of Chung-ryeo, but they were still a rival group and a cautionary target. That’s why Lee Sae-jin was even more displeased.
‘I should have objected more actively.’
So he deliberately called out cheerfully to Park Moon-dae, putting an arm around his shoulder.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae~ aren’t you being too nice to others? Why are you helping them so desperately!”
That was when.
“…I agree with that.”
“…!”
Bae Sae-jin, who had been enjoying his solo room life, quietly emerged into the living room and chimed in.
Lee Sae-jin was somewhat taken aback.
What was up with him?
“He doesn’t have to do it, but he’s doing it anyway.”
Bae Sae-jin continued steadily.
That was true.
He found VTIC Chung-ryeo uncomfortable.
The shocking fact that they had suddenly attacked Park Moon-dae early in their debut was a decisive factor, but it wasn’t the only reason.
‘…Something felt off.’
It was the unique atmosphere that Chung-ryeo possessed.
In truth, he had rarely had direct conversations with him. But even just observing, he could sense it.
There were moments when I felt like someone without emotional context—someone devoid of empathy.
Like the psychopaths I myself had portrayed on screen.
Being naturally sensitive and quick to read others’ attitudes, I felt it all the more acutely.
It was an impression that didn’t fade easily, even with the objective fact of receiving help in the System’s virtual world or during the building collapse incident.
Unless one knew this gap stemmed from countless repetitions of restarting over an extraordinarily long time, there was nothing to be done about it.
‘Hmm.’
In any case, Lee Sae-jin watched Bae Sae-jin’s stern expression shift, then changed the mood again.
‘Goodness, Moon-dae getting serious here won’t make him listen any better anyway.’
Keep it lighter.
“That’s right. Save your energy for our album, Moon-dae~”
“I will.”
That’s it!
Lee Sae-jin beamed as she watched Park Moon-dae nod readily.
But Park Moon-dae’s words weren’t finished.
“Do what needs to be done properly.”
“….”
‘Hey, then what’s the difference between you and Kim Rae-bin pulling all-nighters working?’
Before I could say anything to my roommate Kim Rae-bin, the words rose to my throat telling him to look at himself first.
Fortunately, standing next to Lee Sae-jin was Bae Sae-jin, who could get angry instead.
“So don’t overdo it, okay?!”
“Yes. Well… I’ve been practicing within limits that don’t affect my health.”
Park Moon-dae answered flatly.
And muttered quietly.
“That’s what’s irritating though.”
“…?”
“It’s nothing.”
Park Moon-dae fell silent, reflecting on his own body’s precarious state of exhaustion.
But soon he shrugged.
“And it is helpful. This genre of choreography is new to me. Plus… there’s something to gain when it’s done.”
“Gain?”
“Yes. There’s something I want to get out of it.”
Park Moon-dae nodded and smiled with a smirk.
It was a surprisingly rewarding-looking smile.
“Our own content this time seems to be turning out well, but I think it’ll be less mainstream than before.”
“Hmm?”
Ryu Seo-rin would balance it provocatively and interestingly, but Park Moon-dae concluded this was for the hardcore fans.
‘Mystery requires thinking, so it’s hard to watch casually.’
But to connect with the next album’s setup, it had to be somewhat symbolic and even meaningful to some extent, which only pushed it further from a light feel.
‘At least I leveraged the horror element to balance mainstream appeal.’
That was only possible because it was late summer, early autumn.
So here’s the thing.
“We need to secure mainstream appeal in the next album too.”
I’ll capture both national pride and mass appeal!
Park Moon-dae laughed with satisfaction.
“I’ll secure something that will help with that.”
A grand vision was taking shape in his mind.
Soon enough, his namesake scolded him with “Now that you understand, just get some rest,” dragging him into the bedroom—but that was beside the point.
Several days passed like that.
And finally, after Testa’s own content, 【LAMB】, was unveiled in spectacular fashion.
The first filming day of the stage competition featuring Chung-ryeo with Park Moon-dae’s participation was drawing near.

* * *
The fan community for VTIC, particularly for Chung-ryeo, was brimming with vitality during his solo album promotion period.
Especially since Chung-ryeo had booked quite a few broadcast appearances for this album’s promotion, the buzz was even more abundant.
-Jae-hyun your schedule is insane thanks
-ㅠㅠㅠChaeyul said she was watching Jaehyun’s performance. V-Tik is really the foundation of K-pop relationships…
-Working like an ox at this career stage but updating career highs, how can you not love god idol Shin Chung-ryeo?
-Shin Jae-hyun fan sign response was crazy (video)
And in this atmosphere, the news of Chung-ryeo’s appearance on 【First Meeting】 was initially just one of the album promotion activities.
There was even a somewhat cold assessment that said “Since it’s dropping in ratings, he doesn’t even need to appear.”
Still, most were grateful for the schedule itself and happy that there would be more time to see Chung-ryeo’s stage.
They were delighted when articles reported that 【First Meeting】’s audience application numbers had reached record highs.
And naturally, there were winners among the community users too.
I’m seeing this for the first time… I’ll bring back a review after going there with Mother lolol
haha
└So jealous
└How did you even get in
But that afternoon.
-Huh
-Yo Shin Jae-hyun
haha
-Wow
The people who had planned to post their audience reviews began leaving only single-word impressions in real time.
All the fans who had been lurking in the community at that hour waiting to see audience reviews were confused.
‘Jae-hyun??’
-????
-What
-What’s with the reaction right now
A few minutes later.
Finally, a proper review from an audience member was posted.
And then.
-Insane!!
It didn’t take long for Chung-ryeo’s fan site to fill with screams and chaos.

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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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