Debut or Die - Chapter 80

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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 80
With the entire Production Team crouching in extreme caution, we finally managed to move close enough to the migratory birds to raise the camera.
But this notion of “close” was, of course, entirely relative.
“From here?”
“Yeah~ It’s better not to get any closer.”
The birds weren’t even clearly visible to the naked eye at this distance.
Ryu Chung-woo, who had been holding the camera beside me, muttered in frustration.
“Hmm, I’d rather just shoot and hit it…”
“…?”
Only someone with a gold medal in archery would think like that.
Meanwhile, Cha Yu-jin, who had been fumbling with the camera beside us, was eagerly pressing the shutter.
‘…It doesn’t even look like he’s focused.’
I had no idea. It was already a mess. I sighed and picked up the camera I’d been handed.
‘This brings back old memories.’
Back when I had no money, I used to rent shared club equipment to shoot with. After I made some money, I bought secondhand gear cheap from graduating seniors in the club.
I fiddled with the budget camera and adjusted the exposure.
‘If I just pull it a bit…’
The controls and resolution weren’t terrible. I managed to get a few decent shots.
It was a small dark blue bird with a white belly. It seemed to have a fierce temperament, flinging twigs with its beak.
…But I had no idea what species this bird was.
‘It would be easier to just match the camera model.’
I held back a sigh and approached the Ornithologist, asking quietly.
“I think I got some shots, but I’m not sure what species this is.”
“…?! Oh, ah~ Really?”
The Ornithologist’s eyes widened, and he immediately began muttering praise about how fast I was.
‘…Did he just seem surprised?’
But before I could think about it further, the others butted in.
“Oh~ That’s Park Moon-dae for you!”
“I’d like to see too.”
“Well, how is it?”
When I handed the camera to the group who were supposedly being quiet but were actually crowding around and whispering, they got excited and started marveling at the photos among themselves.
“Look, it came out well. Cute, so cute.”
“Park Moon-dae really does have the golden touch.”
“It’s amazing!”
“Teacher, what kind of bird is this?”
The Ornithologist raised his index finger.
“…That’s what our friends here are supposed to figure out today!”
“Ah!”
“Once we finish photographing the migratory birds, we’ll have time to look at the photos and identify them~ So, shall we move on again~”
“Huh?”
“We don’t have much time, so let’s photograph various migratory birds from different locations!”
“Yes…”
And so the forced march began again.
‘This is going to be hell.’
There wasn’t a shred of fun to be found in this atmosphere. I sighed and brushed myself off, standing up. Sun Ah-hyun, who had still been examining my photos, hastily returned the camera.
“H-here.”
“Mm.”
I took the camera and, without thinking much about it, snapped a shot of Sun Ah-hyun.
“…!”
“It came out well.”
Sun Ah-hyun certainly had good natural light on him. I should grab it later and upload it to SNS.
“M-me too…”
“I appreciate the sentiment. Let’s move on.”
“U-uh…”
I was starting to feel drowsy again. It seemed the meager anticipation I’d had for the shoot had completely vanished.
‘Is this all there is—just walking until it ends?’
…Perhaps that thought was what invited disaster.
“L-look over there. That bird should be approachable. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Five seconds after approaching the large white bird by the water’s edge at the Ornithologist’s direction.
The bird suddenly flapped its wings and charged at us with a horrific screech.
“…!?”
“Ahhhhh!”
“W-wait!”
Everyone scattered in an instant, fleeing from the bird that was chasing us like a madman.
The bird began sprinting after Cha Yu-jin and Kim Rae-bin, who had gotten closest.
‘Damn it.’
What kind of chaos was this?
“Teacher!! What do we do!!”
“HELP!!”
“Well, normally birds are very cautious, so this is quite rare… Fascinating!”
“Ahhhhhhh!!”
Cha Yu-jin rolled away from the bird with a face that looked like he was about to cry. It was absolute pandemonium.
And then I understood the situation.
The bird was… running?
“….”
I approached the Ornithologist and spoke.
“…This is a joke, right?”
“Pardon?”
“That’s not a bird.”
In that instant, a massive bird descended upon Cha Yu-jin and shrieked.
“Gotcha!”
“…!!”
Suddenly, the bird’s neck snapped, and a human face burst out from inside.
“Kyaaahhh!!”
The costume was so realistic it was genuinely unsettling. I completely understood Cha Yu-jin’s reaction.
“Ta-da! This was Kwak Jung-won’s Prank Show on 【Working Human】!”
“Uuuhhhhh….”
Cha Yu-jin melted into the pavement.
The woman wearing the decapitated bird costume gasped in alarm.
“Oh my goodness, what do I do!”

* * *
Moments later, guided by the snickering Production Team, we relocated to a café near the Reservoir.
The MC apologized the moment he sat down at the prepared table.
‘That’s the standard protocol for these shows.’
“I mean, you two looked the least fearful, so I chased after you… but you both seemed so terrified that I’m sorry.”
“…It’s fine….”
“I’m scared.”
Kim Rae-bin accepted the apology with a vacant expression, but Cha Yu-jin remained huddled behind the other members, sitting as far from the MC as possible.
Though I wished he’d stop tugging on my clothes. My neck was getting strangled.
‘He watches horror movies just fine.’
Experiencing it firsthand was apparently a different story altogether.
In any case, the MC seemed to think the situation had settled enough and moved the filming forward.
“Now that you’ve all figured it out, our 【Working Human】 was actually a full-fledged hidden camera broadcast~”
“Ahhhhh….”
The MC chuckled as Testa applauded along with their groans.
“S-so the original first episode was…?”
“We got the viewers with that pre-release! Actually, 【Working Human】 is just an abbreviation anyway. The real title is… 【Only Singing the First Verse】!”
“…?!”
Sun Ah-hyun’s jaw dropped. I nearly bit my tongue too.
‘That name sounds familiar.’
To think I’d be the first guest to fall for a prank that even changed the title.
“So, how does it feel experiencing the true title of 【Working Human】, 【Only Singing the First Verse】, for the first time?”
Words burst out like a dam breaking.
“That banner! You intentionally made it that way, didn’t you!”
“I kept wondering why it looked so off!”
“Did we not even need the duck walk?”
“Aha! That’s all correct~ all correct~”
The MC laughed cheerfully and took a sip of coffee. I held back a sigh and added my own comment.
“So the ornithologist was also an actor?”
“Of course! Our wonderful actor~”
“I thought something was off! He kept talking about sparrows the whole time!”
At Big Sae-jin’s words, even the Production Team burst into laughter.
“No, this place films winter migratory birds in the first place~ You wouldn’t come all the way out here to film summer migratory birds. They’re spread out everywhere. There are some in Gyeonggi Province too!”
“Ah….”
This was the first time I’d seen Ryu Chung-woo so openly suffering from embarrassment.
I quietly sipped my drink. Because I had a feeling I’d be in the same position otherwise.
Fortunately, the Agency wasn’t foolish—the MC kept up quite a lengthy conversation about Testa’s album and activities afterward.
Ryu Chung-woo answered faithfully despite his distress, fulfilling his promotional duties.
‘I’m glad I’m not the leader.’
Positions with only obligations were something to avoid.
In any case, after that conversation, we were able to film one of the title tracks.
Performing at the Rural Aesthetic Cafe and receiving applause from the staff was a uniquely memorable experience.
“Wow, that was so cool! You’re definitely audition passers!”
“Phew, thank you!”
The MC smiled brightly as Testa bowed repeatedly in all directions.
“Thanks for making today’s program start so entertaining!”
“We’re the ones who should thank you!”
“It was fun!”
The ending was heartwarming. It’s a variety show—you can’t end it any other way.
By the final stretch, even Cha Yu-jin snapped back to attention and bowed politely.
“I’m scared of birds.”
“Hahaha!”
The MC probably thought it was a joke, but Cha Yu-jin was being completely sincere.
‘Well… it’s not something that would be criticized, so it doesn’t matter.’
Besides, he wasn’t the type to read the room anyway.
Then the MC received a signal from the Production Team, clapped his hands, and continued.
“Now, everyone! We’re giving you the daily rate we promised~”
“Huh?”
“Expensive lunch! We brought plenty to match your daily rates~”
“…Whoa!!”
“Seriously!!”
A grill and Korean beef appeared.
And all the bad feelings were completely washed away. It was the power of beef.
“Please, eat plenty!”
“Th-thank you!”
The members sat down in front of the beef with bewildered expressions. There was still a lingering suspicion that this might be another trap.
But nothing happened, and the Korean beef sirloin was the most delicious thing we’d eaten in the past six months.
‘…Not bad.’
Considering I even received appearance fees, it was a well-packed schedule.
‘Though Cha Yu-jin, who experienced it firsthand, might feel differently.’
But not long after, Cha Yu-jin whispered.
“He’s a good person.”
“…Yeah, he is.”
Agreeing with Cha Yu-jin’s earnest words despite his satisfied expression, I couldn’t quite grasp what kind of variety show all this farce would become…
‘…I have no idea.’
As long as we didn’t get criticized, it was fine. I brought another piece of meat to my mouth.
The Manager was signaling the members to stop eating, but no one except Sun Ah-hyun paid attention.

* * *
And as time passed, Sunday afternoon arrived.
Testa’s second week on music broadcasts had ended.
Fans were delighted watching outfits that didn’t appear in the MV show up on music shows and at various events.
-The Music Bomb pink summer uniform is legendary… (screenshot)
-Look at the impact of the black baseball uniform breaking through the pale color palette and join Testa now! If you stan them now, you won’t need to invest in stocks (video)
-Testa Park Moon-dae 2X0630 Osung corporate event (photo)
I wore the Ohseong Bears baseball uniformㅠㅠ I also wore the uniform number 11!
While complaints about the incompetent Agency occasionally erupted, the overall atmosphere was joyful, enjoying content-rich activities without major incidents.
However, many people were hungry for variety shows.
-The reality content is good, but I wish they’d appear on some major variety shows too
-I want to see them on talk shows getting praised for being cute…
-Ah, all of our kids have characters so it would be great if they showed up, but why is there no news?
In this situation, an unknown variety show released an article about Testa’s appearance.
[National Stock Testa, First Variety Show is TVC’s New Series 【Working Human】]
[Who’s the First Guest on 【Working Human】? Testa from Ajusa]
-??
-What kind of variety show is this?
-Is this a mistake?
-New series?
But soon, SNS was flooded with anger from people who watched the first episode pre-released on YouTube.
-LOL T1 These bastards are trying to use our kids to promote their program.
-The first episode was so boring, are they insane?
-It has already gone viral among entertainment viewers as a failure.ㅠㅠ
-They really can’t do their jobs… sigh…
Of course, it didn’t last long. Publicly lamenting would only give trolls unnecessary ammunition.
So complaints that couldn’t be searched for filled the depths of the internet, and this kind of reaction became the mainstream in article comments.
-Wow! With Testa on it, this program will be a hit too!
-Testa finally appearing on something other than reality content!
-I’m watching it live~
Of course, this resentment accumulated steadily, and if the moment came, it would erupt like an active volcano.
But before the fans’ anger could subside, that night, a preview of Episode 2 of “Working Human” dropped.
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[Preview of “Working Human” Episode 2 featuring Testa]
: It’s here (link)
========================
-Already?
-Isn’t this supposed to air on Thursday?
When confused viewers clicked the link, this title appeared.
[Sorry! The name and Episode 1 were actually bait! | A PRANK show that’s serious about pranking “Only One Verse” | Our first guest is Testa! | Episode 2 Preview]
The thumbnail showed the members of Testa, their expressions frozen stiff as they stared at a banner with otherworldly aesthetic sensibilities.
-???
-What is this
Haha, what?
People clicked play in bewildered haste.

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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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