Debut or Die - Chapter 50

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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 50
“Yes. Participant Park Moon-dae, I’ll be cheering for you.”
“Thank you.”
Chung-ryeo accepted the rejection cleanly without adding anything more.
I wanted to proceed with my plan to draw out more conversation and capture a desperate moment, but he didn’t seem like the type of person that strategy would work on.
‘His reputation is just too big.’
As last year’s Grand Prize winner, the gap in status was enormous. If anything, there was a high probability that only ‘Park Moon-dae’ would look pathetic.
“Then I’ll void this contract.”
Chung-ryeo picked up the contract and tore it in two, making sure the camera caught it clearly.
‘A performance.’
It seemed like a pre-arranged act.
“Thank you for making such a difficult decision. I hope your future activities go well.”
“Thank you. I hope your activities wrap up healthily as well, senior.”
I shook his hand and bowed in a manner befitting the somber atmosphere.
“Oh, did you see our recent activities?”
“Pardon? Yes.”
Wasn’t the filming supposed to end here?
I’m not sure why, but he’s continuing the conversation. I should respond sincerely.
“I’ve been really enjoying this album.”
“Wow~ Do you have a favorite track?”
Is this guy doing this on purpose? He’s not trying to hold it against me for refusing, is he?
“Well, I especially like ‘Star Gaze.'”
I picked a decent B-side. Honestly, I haven’t had time to listen to it, and I’d seen the track mentioned in a fan post shared on SNS while searching for ‘Park Moon-dae.’
“Oh, I wrote the lyrics for that one.”
Chung-ryeo pointed to himself cheerfully.
‘He’s even handling his own promotion carefully.’
And this is while he’s already doing so well he couldn’t possibly do better. He really was an idol with experience.
“Ah, so you mentioned it on purpose since I came.”
I just laughed. It would be strange to deny it here, and it would be equally strange to confirm it, so there was nothing I could do.
Chung-ryeo laughed back, then suddenly left the room as if he’d remembered something.
‘What’s this?’
When Chung-ryeo returned, he was holding an envelope.
“It’s nothing special, just red ginseng. I brought it so you could eat it and gain strength.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Judging by the clear brand logo in gold lettering on the red envelope, it was definitely product placement.
‘Either way, red ginseng is always welcome.’
I accepted it quickly, and Chung-ryeo gave one final greeting.
“Then fighting!”
“Yes, fighting.”
The filming ended with us smiling at each other.
Staff members quickly entered and began attending to Chung-ryeo.
Some adjusted cameras and touched tablet PCs, but it was clear that most were focused on Chung-ryeo. They seemed to be from VTIC.
‘Such meticulous care.’
Well, given his market value, I’d do the same.
After Chung-ryeo confirmed that a staff member had collected the microphone attached to his clothes, he spoke quietly.
“Park Moon-dae.”
“Yes.”
Unlike before, my face was devoid of much smile.
Not that my expression was rigid—it was simply the natural face of someone making conversation.
“It’s awkward for me to say, but LeTi Entertainment is a solid agency. The settlement terms are good too. If circumstances allow after the program ends, get in touch.”
“…!”
He meant to contact me if I was eliminated.
‘Is he serious?’
Wait, he’s not even an executive—why is he recruiting trainees here?
‘Ah, maybe he holds company stock.’
That would make sense.
Still, I’m not sure why he’d specifically do this for Park Moon-dae, but… perhaps the debut group lacks a suitable main vocalist.
I simply nodded without saying much.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The conversation ended there. I naturally exited the room under a staff member’s guidance and moved to the Waiting Room.
Apparently, to prevent spoilers from leaking, they had isolated participants who hadn’t yet undergone this surprise psychology test.
“Hyung!”
As soon as I entered, Kim Rae-bin, who was already seated, spoke to me.
“Did you get an offer from somewhere?”
“LeTi Entertainment.”
“I got LeTi too!”
So more VTIC members had come after all.
Kim Rae-bin, unusually excited, launched into his story about meeting VTIC. As I nodded along listening, Ryu Chung-woo entered with a tired expression and acknowledged us.
“Ah, you two finished first.”
From Ryu Chung-woo’s expression alone, it was clear he was emotionally conflicted.
‘Could it be VTIC here too?’
Three out of ten was too generous a probability.
A participant with whom I had only a passing acquaintance interjected.
“Hyung! Which agency gave you a casting call!”
“I got… Wonderhole.”
The agency under T-Holic. A major entertainment company famous for selecting idols well over many years.
‘That’s a solid choice too.’
I heard the guy who asked let out an impressed sound. But Ryu Chung-woo sat down with a deflated expression, managing only a smile with his mouth.
‘Strange.’
It was somewhat curious that he seemed to be showing signs of wanting to flee despite being almost certain to debut, but I suppose he had his reasons.
Participants gradually returned to the Waiting Room. Soon all ten from the first group had gathered.
‘At least they all rejected the offers in the first round.’
Honestly, I thought one or two from the lower ranks might defect, but it was unexpected. The Agency’s lineup was simply better than I’d anticipated.
In the second round, everyone returned to the Waiting Room as well. By this point, some strange sense of camaraderie seemed to emerge, and those satisfied with themselves began appearing left and right.
“Th-they seemed like good people.”
Sun Ah-hyun, who returned a bit late, murmured with a bright face. It seemed a solo artist had been remarkably kind and offered words of encouragement.
“Still rejected them, though.”
“Huh? W-what?”
At my teasing remark, Sun Ah-hyun jumped up. He muttered with a shocked expression.
“O-of course I have to see this through to the end…! If I g-go there… we won’t be able to debut together…”
“…”
Sun Ah-hyun seemed to be extremely over-invested in this first positive peer relationship he’d ever experienced.
‘If the deal had been just a bit better, all the others would’ve bailed.’
I looked at him with slight pity, then simply nodded.
“Right.”
“Y-yeah!”
Sun Ah-hyun affirmed energetically. Kim Rae-bin was watching Sun Ah-hyun from the side with an expression of curiosity.
As that subtle scene unfolded, the third group began returning gradually.
“What a shame about LeTi~ Such a waste!”
Big Sae-jin, who returned first, sat down and said this with a grinning smile.
So this guy had also received an offer from LeTi Entertainment.
‘Kim Rae-bin, Big Sae-jin, and me.’
It could’ve been coincidence, but the pattern in Agency preferences was quite interesting.
And what Big Sae-jin said was even funnier. A waste, he said.
‘He doesn’t mean a word of it.’
His goal seemed to be debuting as quickly as possible, so there was no way someone this pragmatic would go to LeTi Entertainment.
However, Big Sae-jin checked that there was no microphone and no camera rolling, then muttered quietly.
“Ah~ I wonder if I should’ve switched. I’m a bit regretful.”
“…”
It seemed he’d actually given it more thought than expected.
The words seemed to have slipped out naturally because his current Agency didn’t seem very trustworthy.
It was actually a rare opportunity. Switching to a better Agency without completing your contract period was essentially impossible given the industry environment.
The fact that 【Ajusa】 transferred ownership of trainees who debuted in the final lineup was essentially no different from the tyranny of a major broadcasting station.
In crude terms, it was gangster-like behavior.
The Agencies had to grin and bear it, but since these were trainees who’d failed to make the debut group anyway, it seemed they were being recycled by putting them on broadcast.
‘It’s a lubricant for the relationship with the Broadcasting Station.’
But since this season was going so well, there seemed to be subtle pressure.
Pressure hoping they’d voluntarily drop out and remain with their Agency.
I recalled something I’d heard in passing from Big Sae-jin during a break in filming.
“—honestly, I’ve been hearing stuff like that these days. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to debut with the juniors you’ve been practicing with all this time?’… People are really something, aren’t they?”
It’s not like they’re dangling any benefits or trying to sweet-talk him—but with that kind of pressure, there’s no way anyone’s heart would be in it.
“Just kidding. I’m debuting here~”
Big Sae-jin laughed and played it off, but it was clear he’d genuinely been wrestling with the decision.
‘Surprisingly, a lot of the higher-ranked guys were wavering.’
I shrugged. Wouldn’t anyone want to drop out and reduce the competition a bit?
But unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Only one person from the lower ranks actually left.
“Participant Choi Won-gil has responded to Traveler’s casting call and will be departing from Idol Corporation starting today.”
I had to admire it.
‘He read the room well.’
He’d definitely cut his losses quickly after seeing how this episode’s public opinion was going.
He seemed emotionally unstable for his age, but he clearly had some sense—there was no way he’d left with a goofy grin on his face.
“W-wait, our agency?”
I heard Gold 1 muttering in confusion from behind.
‘Right, he was with Traveler.’
I’d heard he’d turned down T-Holic’s offer with difficulty. He must have had some attachment to his original agency.
‘And he had the guts to keep going.’
Anyway, that wrapped up the Casting Call event.
I felt a bit bitter about not achieving the intended goal, but we’d secured the content.
‘They won’t cut the VTIC footage.’
There was no way they’d waste it after going through the trouble of booking them.
The Production Team captured a few shots of the trainees’ reactions to Choi Won-gil’s departure, then immediately began preparing for the ranking announcement.
As a result, the participants remained seated where they’d been before the Casting Call event started, enduring the tedious waiting time.
But this time, the conversation topics were so exciting that everyone seemed too busy chattering to notice the boredom.
“No way, that agency?”
“Insane.”
“Wow… what’s Chung-ryeo like in person?”
Even the tension right before the ranking announcement had diminished.
“Phew~ that lineup was no joke. It made sense that so many people were conflicted.”
Big Sae-jin whistled and listed off the agency names one by one. Then, glancing around slightly, he leaned in with a strange smile.
“Hey, you know what?”
“What?”
“That guy sitting over there—my namesake hyung—apparently he was really conflicted too.”
He seemed to be referring to Lee Sae-jin, the former child actor.
‘Now that I think about it, he joined pretty late.’
Lee Sae-jin had arrived almost simultaneously with the news of Choi Won-gil’s departure.
I hadn’t paid much attention since I didn’t care, and honestly… I still don’t care much now.
Big Sae-jin had never had particularly good feelings toward Lee Sae-jin, but apparently “Park Moon-dae” had become comfortable enough that he was gradually letting his true thoughts slip out with a smile.
“He was originally with an acting agency, right? Did he really want to switch to being an idol?”
“That’s possible.”
If an idol wanted to continue despite facing elimination, switching agencies was worth considering.
Though given his age, aiming for the next team seemed difficult unless he debuted immediately.
‘It’s not my concern anyway.’
Realizing I had little interest in the matter, Big Sae-jin shrugged his shoulders.
“I see.”
That brief exchange ended there.
Then the actual ranking announcement filming began.

* * *
Around the time the participants were preparing for the ranking announcement.
The agency celebrities who had made surprise appearances through the 【Casting Call】 event had already left for other schedules.
VTIC, whose schedule was booked down to the minute once activities began, was no exception.
The two people in the van scrolled through their smartphones, and only when ordering lunch did they finally start talking.
“How was it, hyung?”
“Just work.”
Chung-ryeo answered matter-of-factly.
“Did you see three people too? Wasn’t there anyone who stood out? The kids I met seemed decent.”
“I’m not sure.”

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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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