Debut or Die - Chapter 73

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

A Fatal Illness if I Don’t Debut – Episode 73
During the tedious waiting period before a music broadcast pre-recording, one of the VTIC members scrolling through their smartphone called out to Chung-ryeo.
What they showed him was the 9th most-watched video on YouTube’s real-time trending list.
[#1 Idol Drenched by Water Bottle at Showcase!]
[On the evening of the 18th, a debut showcase for an idol group took place at Red Square. It was from that audition that set the internet ablaze just a few months ago—Idol Corporation….]
The issue-focused YouTuber was enthusiastically discussing the showcase water bottle incident while adding their own commentary.
“That’s him, right? That Ajusa guy.”
“…Yeah.”
Chung-ryeo watched the screen and recalled that absurd psychological test.
“Park Moon-dae.”
[You’re quick to catch on.]
Just then, the video cut to a low-quality direct cam (due to copyright issues) showing Park Moon-dae smoothly handling the situation.
“This guy’s actually pretty smart, huh?”
“Right?”
“But it’s a shame. Of all times, they debut the same week as us….”
The other members watching from the side chimed in and clicked their tongues.
“Tnet’s been pulling stunts like this for ages.”
“The metrics look decent. Too bad they won’t hit #1.”
Their sympathetic tone was premised on the certainty that they themselves would win in the second week.
In truth, there was no way around it.
[#1 Night Sign / VTIC]
This was the daily ranking on the country’s largest music streaming site.
Ever since the music charts were redesigned to hide real-time rankings, it was nearly impossible to break through existing chart positions and jump straight to #1 unless you were exceptional.
‘Even at the fastest, it takes a week.’
The same applied to Testa’s music releasing at midnight tonight.
For Testa to expect a music broadcast #1, their first-week album sales would need to surpass VTIC’s second week by triple or more—but unfortunately, VTIC and Testa’s initial sales periods overlapped by about a day.
Unless one side pulled off a record-breaking performance beyond expectations, losing was a foregone conclusion.
Of course, even for audition-origin artists, discussing a #1 music chart position for rookie male idols was absurd in itself.
“Alright, enough! If we have time to worry about our juniors, let’s just focus on doing our best!”
“Hear, hear!”
VTIC quickly returned to their individual interests.
And Chung-ryeo rested his chin on his hand, thinking.
‘…We might actually lose.’

* * *
The debut showcase concluded successfully amid enthusiastic fervor.
However, there was no special after-party.
“We just debuted—we can’t go on TV stuffing our faces like we’re eating pastries. That’d be too much~”
“But pastries are delicious!”
“You need a handsome face. If you’re too chubby and appetizing-looking, it ruins the effect.”
“Ah!”
Cha Yu-jin accepted the logic instantly. I paused to admire Big Sae-jin’s remarkable communication skills, then found myself becoming the topic of conversation once more.
“Still, Park Moon-dae’s achievement was definitely worth celebrating.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“It was excellent.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
“Haha, look at him getting all shy!”
“….”
Ever since the showcase ended, I’d been hearing variations of “Park Moon-dae’s reflexes are world-class” on repeat.
At this point, it wasn’t embarrassment anymore—it was more like irritation.
Especially Big Sae-jin seemed to be deliberately trying to make me more flustered, which was honestly getting under my skin.
“Everyone worked hard. Let’s take a brief break.”
“Yay~!”
“Finally.”
In any case, instead of an after-party, we got a short rest period. At Ryu Chung-woo’s words, the members scattered to the Dormitory, displaying reactions ranging from relief to joy.
For the record, I slept. Lee Sae-jin, who shared the Room, also slept, so my sleep quality improved.
‘I miss the trait where I didn’t need to sleep.’
But the reality camera was still rolling. Thanks to that, after spending a brief personal moment, we had to gather in the Living Room again.
“Looks like everyone got good rest.”
“Hehe.”
Cha Yu-jin, whose face clearly showed he’d forgotten to bring snacks, laughed.
And we all huddled together to look at Ryu Chung-woo’s smartphone.
“It’s strange that it’s already being released.”
“I’m… nervous….”
The debut album would be released at midnight.
Watching just one together instead of each watching our own… well, it probably just made for a heartwarming scene.
“Oh! It changed!”
The smartphone’s clock display shifted in an instant.
[00:00]
“Is the music out now?”
“Should we check?”
Kim Rae-bin stated it decisively.
“It takes over an hour of aggregation time before it shows up on the 24Hits chart.”
“An hour….”
Lee Sae-jin let out a sigh and disappeared into the Kitchen. She seemed to be fetching some water.
‘…The odds of it charting within an hour are pretty slim.’
We’d be competing with a one-hour performance record against songs that had accumulated twenty-four hours of data.
Even VTIC had only managed 87th place on the twenty-four-hour chart after one hour.
Kim Rae-bin seemed about to explain that fact further, but when our eyes met, he quietly closed his mouth.
“…?”
It would’ve been fine to explain this time.
Big Sae-jin, as if to dispel the tense atmosphere, spoke with a smile.
“So… how about we watch the ‘Magical Boy’ music video first?”
“Ah.”
Right. I hadn’t seen that yet either.
I’d only just returned to the Dormitory and gotten a brief rest—there hadn’t been time to think about that.
‘The reality Production Team had asked me to film a reaction segment for this too.’
“That’s a good idea.”
“On the big screen!”
Cha Yu-jin quickly grabbed the remote and switched the TV to YouTube.
Without needing to search, the music video was already displayed at number one in real-time.
[TeSTAR ‘Magical Boy’ Official MV]
“Yay!”
“Wow, amazing.”
The members stared at the screen as if unable to believe it, then finally snapped back to reality.
“Oh. Park Moon-dae’s in the thumbnail.”
“Yeah, he looks great.”
The thumbnail showed Park Moon-dae turning back to look at the camera from in front of a classroom window.
Behind the white curtains, the sky tinted in crimson and violet blazed with backlighting.
‘First-place treatment, huh.’
I stared at the thumbnail with a hint of reluctance, then took the remote from Cha Yu-jin and pressed play.
“Huh?”
Against the backdrop of Cha Yu-jin’s startled voice, the ‘Magical Boy’ music video began to play.
The video started with the thumbnail frame.
[….]
In one corner of an empty Classroom, Park Moon-dae gazed out the window at the setting sun.
The moment he turned around and made eye contact with the camera.
The song began.
-I think of you
All day long, the one I’ll meet tomorrow
I dream a dream as blue as daylight
The screen shifted.
The worn and crumbling School Grounds became starkly visible beneath the midday sun, then suddenly flooded with violet light as a cascade of shimmering soap bubbles poured down.
♬♪♩♪- ♬♪♬♪- ♪♩-
And across the ordinary spaces of the High School, members performing extraordinary actions appeared in their respective parts.
-Even when the world grows cold
Dreams remain sweet
Even when reality crumbles
Dreams stay vivid
Cha Yu-jin sat alone on an intact teacher’s desk in a completely destroyed Classroom.
He lined up animal-shaped wind-up toys in a corner and turned their mechanisms. Thanks to the shadows and lighting, the toys looked like living creatures.
-I don’t want to be locked away
I want to fall asleep,
Dreaming dreams
But reality is breathing
All the time…
Sun Ah-hyun, sitting on a bed in the Infirmary, tore open a pillowcase. Instead of cotton, shimmering dandelion fluff burst out, sparkling through the air around the bed.
-All that time,
Maybe what I needed
Was magic to reach the future
So I
Ryu Chung-woo fired a toy gun at the flowers in the flowerbed. Instead of pellets or water, beams of light burst forth, scattering blue petals.
And on the Rooftop where a violet sunset unfolds, a dance takes shape.
-Cast a spell
Make a wish come
true true true
-Slip into the future, quietly
-Cast a spell
Make a dream come
true true true
-Fall asleep in dreams, in blue
After the chorus ends, the interlude that follows features a more subdivided beat and a brilliant dance break.
The midday Rooftop is cross-cut with the violet-hued sunset scenes, deepening the mystique of the background.
“They must have worked hard redoing the makeup for that too.”
“That’s right! Everyone, if you look carefully… there’s a difference between what was shot during the day and what was shot at sunset, in both costumes and makeup!”
Big Sae-jin explained to the camera. It was true.
The daytime background showed more bare faces, while the sunset background had some kind of glitter and even a blush-like tint under the eyes.
They’d also added more accessories to the costumes when shooting against the sunset background.
‘All that effort compressed into a single day must have been exhausting.’
Fortunately, the hard work paid off—the cuts turned out beautifully.
♬♪♩♪- ♬♪♬♪- ♪♩-
And then the second verse begins.
After an enigmatic finger gesture that seemed almost hypnotic, Kim Rae-bin emerged from behind.
And he delivered a melodic rap in a slow, complex, utterly mysterious rhythm.
What intersected was Kim Rae-bin, who sat atop the pile of broken cabinets stacked in layers along the corridor, catching the awl I’d thrown.
“Oh!”
“You’ve got a nice voice.”
“…Thank you.”
Kim Rae-bin answered with a hint of embarrassment, though he couldn’t hide his pride.
“But how did you end up choosing something as vicious as an awl, Kim Rae-bin?”
“…Because it’s cute…?”
“…?”
Big Sae-jin’s mouth fell silent at the answer beyond imagination. I answered cheerfully instead.
“Let’s go with that.”
“Yeah. You’re cute, Rae-bin.”
Once we confirmed the music video looked decent, everyone seemed to relax, and the reactions became more natural.
On the next screen, Lee Sae-jin appeared as the final performer.
Lee Sae-jin stood inside the school building, gazing out at the main entrance. Beyond the glass doors, the school grounds were visible.
And then came the bridge before the final chorus that flowed out.
The music box melody, a riff, lowered in pitch, and the vocal melody followed identically above it.
-What can’t be hidden even if concealed
Is probably magic
A dream that leaves me breathless
and trembling.
Lee Sae-jin shattered the glass door.
In that instant, with the sound of film rolling, the cuts shifted rapidly.
A strange whisper like rewinding tape passed through, and a cut was inserted without music.
Park Moon-dae walked into the school grounds from outside the school.
[….]
Soon, Park Moon-dae stopped in front of the entrance, extending both hands to grasp the handles. And then.
Click.
He locked it.
…Click.
The film rolled, and the final chorus burst forth with choreography.
-Cast a spell
Make a wish come
true true true
-Sleep into the future, quietly
-Cast a spell
Make a dream come
true true true
-Fall into dreams, turning blue
Before long, the rooftop area where the choreography unfolded had transformed into an even more surreal space.
The railings surrounding the rooftop shattered, and transparent crystals formed. They refracted light like prisms.
Like light scattering across the background, the choreography grew more intricate and its curves more pronounced.
♬♪♩♪- ♬♪♬♪- ♪♩-
The final sequence of the choreography. The members naturally shifted their formation into a circle, and as they lay down on the rooftop with their heads touching in a perfect ring, the song ended.
Pop.
A violet soap bubble burst into the air.
[….]
Then came the black screen.
As a slow, rearranged instrumental version of “Magic Boy” played, classic end credits rolled like a short film.
Only then did the members’ voices break free again.
“Wow!!”
“It turned out so well, didn’t it?”
“Thank you, director.”
“I-it came out really cool….”
With everyone speaking at once, an odd situation emerged where no one could respond to anyone else.
Yet no one minded, chattering away excitedly.
“It came out really, um, meaningful, so it’s fun.”
“I think the fans will enjoy finding various details in it.”
“We loved it, and I hope the fans do too~”
The atmosphere had become as warm as it possibly could.
‘We made a strong start, so it’s natural to be excited.’
Because of that, when checking the music charts, the tension wasn’t uncomfortably high.
And the results.
“…!”
“Wow! We charted~”
We’d entered at 85th and 88th place.
‘…One song is even slightly higher than VTIC.’
The opening performance, backed by the popularity of the nationally hyped audition, had performed better than expected.
‘Insane.’
But perhaps because more people were accustomed to phrases like “number one on real-time charts,” the members seemed merely pleased.
Intellectually they understood, but what they saw right now was the 80s ranking.
That’s why the bigger reaction came next.
“A-all our songs….”
“Gasp.”
On other music sites where real-time charts were still active, Testa’s title tracks occupied 1st and 2nd place simultaneously—a remarkable feat.
[1st Hi-five / Testa] new!
[2nd Magic Boy / Testa] new!
[3rd Night Sign / VTIC] ▼2
[….]
All four songs released from this album had even made it into the top seven.
Of course, VTIC would overtake us in moments. Still, it was an insane momentum.
Only then did the reality sink in, and the members stared at their smartphone screens in shock, unable to look away.
“C-capture it.”
“That’s a good idea.”
It was a signal flare that had erupted from the very beginning of our activities, before we’d even appeared on a music broadcast.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————