Debut or Die - Chapter 58

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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 58
On the Internet, rumors about Park Moon-dae were being rapidly corrected.
Thanks to him stepping forward to clarify things himself, there were hardly any people nitpicking unnecessarily.
All that remained was the persistent snide remarks from trolls who could no longer vent their frustrations on “Park Moon-dae, who deserves to be cursed.”
-His expression changed, but aside from that, he definitely got plastic surgery lol such a delusional loser got surgery and acts like he’s something now, what a tryhard lmaooo his fantasies are shattered hehe
-He acted all tough and independent on broadcast but he was just a loser the whole time, so isn’t this all deception? The sanitary pad theft and everything?
-Yeah Park Moon-dae dropped out, that hasn’t changed. I don’t support adults who didn’t even finish high school
With the finals just around the corner, fans swallowed their anger watching people desperately trying to tarnish his image in any way possible.
-This destroys my faith in humanity…
-Moon-dae hasn’t done anything wrong, so why do these psychos keep coming after him?
-He absolutely has to debut… if Moon-dae doesn’t, I’ll feel so wronged I won’t be able to live.
-We’re all saving PDFs and just waiting for Moon-dae’s agency to be announced
It was at that moment that Gold 1, Ha Il-jun, posted something.
Ha Il-jun had opened an SNS account right after his elimination and was posting his reflections on the program and practice logs.
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[The finals are coming up soon! I’ll be watching the broadcast!]
+) I’m rooting for the October 31 hyung and his teammates. Especially #Moon-dae! During the rating evaluation, he became a legend among us for practicing without sleeping for a whole week
Fighting!
#Ajusa #WatchingLive #HaIljun #Traveler
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Ha Il-jun had mentioned it half out of sympathy seeing Moon-dae get beaten up and recover, and half for the publicity value, but the content was problematic.
No one had known that Park Moon-dae had stayed up all night during the rating evaluation.
Since Park Moon-dae’s mentions were already exploding on the Internet, this SNS post became excellent bait for attention.
-A true sleep martyr;;;
-He must be insane, a whole week…
-That’s probably exaggerated
-Yeah like he just didn’t sleep properly and worked hard~ something like that?
-He said he became a legend among the trainees lol why would he exaggerate that much?
Eventually, Ha Il-jun answered several questions posted in the SNS comments.
-I’m always rooting for you, Ha Il-jun! By the way, about the Park Moon-dae participant you mentioned, did he really not sleep for a whole week?
└Ha Il-jun: Yes! We shared a room. Moon-dae would come in briefly at night, just eat some snacks, and leave~ He only started sleeping around the time of the rating evaluation? He said he was managing his condition lol
And Park Moon-dae’s fans fell into a pit of shock.
-Our boy is so sincere?
I thought I was a natural genius at this… I didn’t know you were doing it without sleeping? Why haven’t you ever shown up on broadcast…
-Whenever Moon-dae had screen time, they only gave him the character of ‘I just came for fun, so why am I doing so well’ lolol ugh…
-When you think about it, someone without passion couldn’t come up with ideas every time and grow every time like that
-I would have done it with my teeth clenched, but ahㅠㅠ I’m really glad you figured it out now. Thank you, Iljun.ㅠㅠ
After the shock wore off, a sense of mission to make Park Moon-dae debut at all costs ignited across every community. Many fans posted promotional content and intensified their stock promotion efforts.
And some fans began looking into third-party reports against trolls through lawyers on their own initiative.
-I can’t take this anymore.
-Let’s post a report and at least set the tone!
Originally, no matter how quickly things progressed, there was no way results would come before the finals, so the agency had planned to start once they were established. But a few passionate fans could no longer tolerate the nonsense being spread about Park Moon-dae.
So this effort, which began with the intention of warning the malicious commenters, uncovered something unexpected.
-What is this?
While identifying the malicious commenters, they discovered a group messenger chat among them.
And it was revealed that some of them had broken into Park Moon-dae’s apartment without permission.
They were taken into police custody without accomplishing anything significant and were soon released with a warning, but there was one thing they managed to take during the process.
It was Park Moon-dae’s resident registration certificate.
Of course, Park Moon-dae had already cut up that certificate and placed it in a recycling bin long ago.
I never imagined that these lunatics would break into my home just to retrieve those torn pieces from the trash.
Based on that certificate, they dug up the fact that I had dropped out of school and my original high school, then posted it online.
They didn’t reveal that I was an orphan because there was “room to gain sympathy,” but their messenger chat was filled with countless insults mocking this fact.
-These crazy bastards, seriously…
-How do people live like this?
The fans proceeding with the report were angry, but naturally they didn’t publicize this fact and tried to handle things quietly.
However, as always happens when multiple people deal with such matters together, it leaked.
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[(#1) Park Moon-dae is an orphan (1373)]
: A sasaeng broke into Park Moon-dae’s one-room apartment and found his resident registration certificate. Both parents deceased. No siblings. [Group messenger chat screenshot] [Photo of certificate with tape]
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Naturally, many people criticized the post and demanded it be taken down, but the view count didn’t lie.
Soon, articles began appearing.
[【Idol Stock Company】 Participant Park Moon-dae Challenges Audition, Overcoming the Sorrow of Lost Family.]
This too faced enormous criticism and was taken down a few hours later, but the information that had already spread couldn’t be undone.
However, this brought about an unexpected positive effect.
Anyone who insulted Park Moon-dae immediately became trash.
Moreover, for those susceptible to emotional appeals, a tragic past became a natural selling point for an audition participant.
-How could it not be difficult for such a young person to lose their parents and challenge themselves like this? Park Moon-dae, stay strong and I hope you win.
-It’s truly moving how composed he appears on the broadcast. Your parents in heaven must be so proud.
-Participant Park Moon-dae, stay strong~ㅠㅠ Good luck with your singing!
Of course, like all information, once this atmosphere died down, the fact that Park Moon-dae was an orphan could be weaponized as a tool for ridicule.
But that wasn’t the case now.
Thanks to this, Park Moon-dae faced the finals amid overwhelming support and sympathy. I had inadvertently acquired the “desperate image and narrative” I had wanted.

* * *
What in the world was happening?
When I checked the Internet for the first time in a while, one absurd situation after another was unfolding.
‘Everything’s been exposed.’
Those four intruders seemed out of their minds, but I never expected them to dig through the trash and piece together torn papers.
And that leaked information—my being an orphan—became known to the entire nation.
I was curious how things had spiraled this far, but honestly, there was something oddly refreshing about it.
‘Well… it doesn’t matter if people know I have no family.’
I’d already mentioned it when I was cast for the Audition Program, so it was only because the Production Team hadn’t brought it up that the news came so late.
The real problem was the timing of this revelation—it was converging with other factors in an ominous way.
‘I could debut…?’
No, it wasn’t just about debuting… I could actually place first?
“….”
This… wasn’t good. Debuting was fine, but first place was not.
‘There’s a minefield there.’
I felt cold sweat threatening to break out, so I stepped away from the computer.
I’d borrowed it under the pretense of revising Stage lyrics and did a quick search, but I never expected to uncover so much.
“Hyung, are you alright?”
Kim Rae-bin, who’d been searching alongside me, picked up on the situation and asked. He probably meant whether I was okay about being revealed as an orphan.
“Yeah. I already mentioned it during the interview, but it didn’t make the cut.”
I nodded. Kim Rae-bin’s expression relaxed considerably, and then his eyes suddenly lit up as if an idea had struck him.
“Hyung, what if you rode this momentum and revealed your amnesia too?”
“What?”
He’d learned about the situation the morning after things settled down, so he roughly knew about the amnesia. But what was he suddenly talking about?
“I think if you reveal it now, the malicious comments about you would be completely blocked! And votes would definitely increase….”
“No.”
“Huh?”
If I got more votes and placed first, I’d receive a minefield as my prize.
I couldn’t say that, so I just made an excuse.
“No evidence. It’d just make things weird.”
“Ah, if you upload a medical certificate….”
“I don’t have one.”
“…Your memory disappeared, but you didn’t go to the hospital…?”
“My body’s fine anyway, and I didn’t have the money.”
Thud. Kim Rae-bin’s expression went blank as if he’d been hit, and he murmured quietly.
“I see….”
That was enough.
Kim Rae-bin and I left the room with the computer. The camera immediately followed us.
“Did you find the word okay?”
“Yeah. That meaning was right.”
At the news that there were no corrections needed, light applause erupted from the Training Room. Everyone knew full well I’d only gone to sneak a peek at the Internet, yet we all played along for the cameras.
“So, the finals are tomorrow… Leader, would you say a few words for us?”
“Ooh!”
“Let’s go around the circle.”
I quickly cut them off. My teammates, giggling at my haste, cleared their throats and began sharing their thoughts one by one.
They looked genuinely excited.
Even Gold 2, whose elimination was practically certain, didn’t seem to have given up. Perhaps the fact that the final debut count still hadn’t been announced was keeping hope alive.
There was only one person on the team who seemed truly dead inside.
‘Lee Sae-jin.’
That former child actress.
She managed to keep up with the training somehow, but her reactions and on-camera presence felt lackluster at best.
Still, she hadn’t actively resisted during this team training. It was more that she had terrible social skills and simply didn’t seem interested in any of this.
‘I wish it had been someone else instead of her.’
Now that it looked like I’d debut, I was already evaluating who I’d be debuting with. I sighed and pushed the thought away.
‘Focus on myself.’
“Alright! Finally, Park Moon-dae, our leader—could we get a word from you?”
“…Let’s show everything we’ve prepared without any regrets.”
“Ooh~”
Even my generic closing remarks got a good reaction since it was supposedly the final moment. I shrugged and sat down on the Training Room floor.
Tension surged through me unexpectedly.
‘Tomorrow, it all ends.’
An almost certain opportunity to erase my status abnormality.
“Alright, let’s run through it again!”
The finals were right around the corner.

* * *
The final filming of 【Idol Stock Company】 took place in the performance hall of a prestigious university.
Since it was being broadcast live, the venue—which accommodated nearly 3,000 audience members to amplify the excitement—was already thick with palpable heat.
Thousands of people stood holding banners and slogans supporting their favorite contestants, waiting for the broadcast to begin.
The MC and judges filed in one by one and took their seats. Several judges responded to the cheers from the audience with light waves of acknowledgment.
And right on broadcast time.
The show started without delay.
“【Idol Stock Company】! Thank you all for joining us on this twelve-episode journey!”
In the darkened concert hall, Young-rin’s voice echoed from all directions.
“Now comes the final decision—the formation of the group! Shareholders, have you made up your minds?”
Screams of “Yes!” erupted from various corners. Mixed in were also anguished “No!”s.
“Then allow me to introduce the contestants. …Do you have stocks in them?”
Kyaaaaaaah!!!
Aaaah!!!
Overwhelming cheers and screams erupted as the stage lights blazed to life.
Amid the dazzling lights shooting up from all directions, the contestants climbed the stage apparatus and ascended onto the stage.
“Invest in us now!”
Episode 13 began that way.

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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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