Debut or Die - Chapter 84

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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 84
“Hm….”
The Dormitory’s Living Room had grown quiet at some point.
We’d placed first, and once alcohol entered the mix, the tension dissolved—accumulated fatigue came crashing down all at once, leaving most of them sprawled out and sleeping.
The two minors dozed off as well before drifting into sleep. Lee Sae-jin had already retreated to her Room partway through, probably asleep by now too.
Which meant those remaining in the Living Room were….
“You doing okay, Moon-dae?”
Just me and Ryu Chung-woo.
He had a strong tolerance for alcohol, and I was still sharp thanks to the “Bacchus 500” trait, so we were the only ones coherent enough to stay awake.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good to hear.”
Ryu Chung-woo smiled faintly, then drained the beer in his hand in one long gulp.
‘How many cans has he had anyway?’
He didn’t seem particularly drunk, so it didn’t matter much, but he’d definitely consumed at least six cans or more.
His drinking capacity was clearly extraordinary.
“So, how’s the actual activity going for you?”
“Well, I’m managing fine.”
“Ha, you’re always so composed, Moon-dae.”
Ryu Chung-woo neatly folded the empty beer can and set it down. His expression looked decidedly bitter.
‘What’s wrong now?’
We’d placed first, yet his face looked troubled—like some new worry had surfaced.
“I wish I had your kind of composure.”
“…But hyung, you seem composed enough to me?”
Thinking back on how he’d acted during the nearly two months since Ajusa ended, this comment came out of nowhere. Still, Ryu Chung-woo shook his head.
“No, I think my judgment fails me at critical moments. Like today—I couldn’t even express my feelings properly when we took first. It’s a broader pattern.”
“…?”
This was even more unexpected.
‘His first-place remarks were already a mess, so what’s he talking about?’
“But hyung, you led well from the Audition Program onwards. I don’t think you had that kind of problem.”
“I took the leader role because I was older, not because I was good at it. Our team never really ran smoothly… except for that second round we did together, it never did.”
That wasn’t really his fault though, was it?
‘You just had terrible team luck.’
I cracked open another beer, feeling somewhat unsettled.
“During Ajusa, well, it was short-term and a survival show, so teams that ran smoothly were actually rare. And anyway, Testa seems to be running well right now.”
“…I’m worried that my mistakes might cause problems for this team.”
Ryu Chung-woo gave a bitter smile.
“Honestly, the only position I can really contribute to this team with is as a leader, so I took it on… but it feels like I’m hitting my limits. I’m not really the type to hold back this much normally.”
“Hmm.”
Now that I thought about it, Ryu Chung-woo’s attitude had become more conservative and measured since Testa was formed—he’d been suppressing his true nature all along.
‘Thinking back to the second round, he was originally more daring and upbeat.’
My conflicts at Ajusa seemed to have given me some strange learning effect.
Even so, Ryu Chung-woo continued speaking. He must have had quite a lot on his mind.
“I did wonder about it back at Ajusa too. Whether coming here was really the right choice…”
“….”
Now that I thought about it, if he’d won a gold medal in archery, there was no reason for him to quit and appear on a failed Audition Program.
“How did you end up coming on the show?”
“Ah, I guess nobody knew this. There was a relative among the Ajusa writers.”
“…!”
Wait.
“Don’t tell me it’s Writer Ryu Seo-rin?”
“That’s right. You figured it out right away because we share the same surname?”
Ryu Chung-woo laughed, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh.
“….”
“My older sister kept asking me to do it… and since I’d already decided to pursue this path anyway, I just went for it.”
Cold sweat broke out on my skin.
‘If this gets exposed now, isn’t this a scandal…?’
It wouldn’t have mattered when the Audition Program failed, but now Ajusa Season 3 had become a massively successful program.
And one of the debuted members was a writer’s relative?
‘On top of that, Ryu Chung-woo only received favorable edits.’
This was completely… a scandal.
Ryu Chung-woo seemed to sense the gravity of the situation too, and added with a smile.
“It won’t cause any harm to you guys. We’re distant relatives anyway, and we barely knew each other. She suddenly contacted me one day… so it was basically a casting offer.”
Technically speaking, it was no different from what Park Moon-dae had received.
But when articles broke, they wouldn’t be so considerate as to explain those details.
The headlines would be something like ‘Testa Member Was Actually a Relative of Ajusa Writer’, ‘A Recruited Relative Debuted… The Shadow of Ajusa’.
I barely managed to open my mouth.
“…Don’t tell anyone about this.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about that. You’re the first person I’ve told.”
Writer Ryu Seo-rin had apparently called right after the first episode aired and checked the reactions, giving him strict instructions about it.
‘…I just need to get through this period.’
By the time Ajusa’s season after next airs—so after two or three years—if it comes out then, it’ll probably blow over without much fuss.
And if it hasn’t come out during all the broadcasts and still hasn’t now, then everyone probably still doesn’t know.
Just to be safe, I asked Ryu Chung-woo one more time.
“How distant of a relative is the writer?”
“Well… other than sharing the same Pungsan Ryu clan name… I don’t even know how many degrees of relation we are. That much.”
“….”
At that distance, if push came to shove, we could even claim they weren’t really relatives—just that they shared the same main family line, which made casting easier.
My tension eased a bit.
I wasn’t sure what other abnormal situation would pop up next, but since it was clear that bad news for the team wouldn’t be good, I must have been tensing up more than I realized.
And other thoughts were starting to creep in.
‘Now that I think about it, I was from the Pungsan Ryu clan too.’
My parents passed away long ago, and I never paid much attention to it, so I can’t say for certain, but I think that was the case.
If so, then I probably shared a similar generational rank with Ryu Chung-woo. Ryu Gun-woo, Ryu Chung-woo. Hmm.
‘So we share the same character in our names—the “woo” character.’
Well, what does it matter anyway? I just shrugged my shoulders.
“It’s strange that I’m telling you this… I usually don’t talk about this kind of thing with my younger members. Ha ha.”
“….”
He must have instinctively sensed that I was older.
I changed the subject.
“So… the fact that you received an offer means you were already preparing to be a singer.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t continue with archery.”
Ryu Chung-woo made a slight gesture of rotating his shoulder.
“I had a pretty serious traffic accident when I was young… and I’m not sure what I injured, but the aftereffects only showed up after I grew up. My hands shake when I put strength into them.”
“….”
“So I quit the year before last, I think… and I explored what I was actually good at, charting a new path. Ha ha.”
His attitude carried the ease unique to someone who had already overcome such hardship.
‘It’s something he’s already put behind him.’
I just nodded along.
Then, I heard someone stirring beside my feet.
“…Sniff.”
“…??”
“I’m sorry. I heard everything….”
Cha Yu-jin, who had been lying face-down next to me, sat up with tears streaming down his face. And Kim Rae-bin, who had been lying behind him, also sniffled and shifted his body.
“I happened to come to my senses… I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop….”
“It’s fine. Sniff.”
“….”
The two of them, who hadn’t consumed any alcohol, seemed to have regained consciousness quickly from the sound.
Ryu Chung-woo looked momentarily flustered but soon laughed it off.
“It’s my fault for talking in the middle of the living room. Don’t worry about it and go back to sleep.”
But the two of them lingered, saying more.
“Hyung. I’ll do better….”
“Chung-woo hyung, you’re so cool. You did great as an idol!”
“…Mm.”
Ryu Chung-woo nodded with a complicated expression. I tossed out a comment.
“It seems like they’ll listen well now, so maybe you don’t have to hold back anymore and can just be more comfortable. Leader.”
“…You’re not thinking of doing it yourself?”
“What? Of course I’d quit halfway and fail.”
“….”
Me as a leader? I’d definitely get fed up and cut ties with one or two of them.
Ryu Chung-woo’s expression became speechless, as if he sensed my sincerity. He looked somewhat dumbfounded.
“…Sigh.”
But soon, I answered with a much lighter tone.
“…Yeah. Got it. I’ll keep trying as leader.”
“Yes!”
“In return, you guys stop me if I try to do something pointless. I can’t just keep hitting the brakes unconditionally anymore.”
“Of course.”
Ryu Chung-woo muttered something like “seriously,” then stretched and headed into his room. His footsteps seemed noticeably lighter now that he’d unburdened himself.
And in the living room, only food scraps and collapsed human bodies remained.
“….”
“…Should we go in?”
“Yes.”
They’ll figure it out and head in on their own when they wake up. Let’s leave them.

* * *
Shortly after Testa finished celebrating their first-place finish and unwinding.
The fans held back until Testa’s first number one appeared in articles and real-time search rankings. They didn’t want to overshadow Testa’s good news.
-Let’s keep submitting inquiries anyway
-If they’re paying attention, they’ll prepare on their own
The fans quietly continued submitting feedback requests through calls and emails.
However, even after several days passed, they received no feedback whatsoever.
-Is this agency seriously out of their minds?
The simmering discontent finally erupted, and the fans released an official statement directed at the agency.
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[Statement Requesting Artist Activity Support]
[On July 10, 202X, the Testa fan coalition condemns T1 Stars Entertainment’s irrational management and demands respect for the legitimate rights of artists and consumers (fans). Before debut…]
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Since it wasn’t tied to any single member, fan communities from all members united together, and the scale grew exponentially.
Fortunately, before the fans could proceed to their next measures—faxes and post-it protests—the agency finally responded.
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[Hello. This is T1 Stars Entertainment.]
[We are doing our utmost to support Testa’s activities, and the concerns you fans have raised recently will be implemented without delay…]
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It was a surrender declaration.
Some fans felt irritated by the subtle implication of “we were already preparing this, you guys are overreacting,” but the atmosphere calmed down somewhat at the promise to do something soon.
-See, you gotta hit X Entertainment to make them listen…
-Honestly, you guys are saying that if you hadn’t made this mess right now, your fandom name would have come out only with your 2nd album, right? Haha.
Honestly, I think the same way.
-Light sticks are one thing, but please, for the love of god, stop scheduling their comebacks like garbage. No matter how much money you make, stop squeezing the kids dry.
If another article comes out about a comeback within a month, I’m sending a protest truck, so keep that in mind lol
The agency later floated a trial balloon through articles about an “Ajusa-style event where fans directly choose the fandom name,” but it was drowned out by the fans’ backlash.
Please! Stop! Just do it! We’re so sick of voting on stocks—just let Testa do what it wants!
-Ajusa’s ghost, enough already…
-Why do you keep asking fans to decide when you have these genius idols who can whip up a concept for the #1 song in no time? We just want to watch what the kids do and enjoy it
-Right, we’d rather just spend money. Hurry up and release some merchandise
Fortunately, the Agency didn’t push any further and diligently prepared the schedule.
So that Friday of the week.
[Happy to see our national stock!]
[Testa’s First W Live]
[The Story of Fan Names That Testa Will Give!]
[7/15 (SUN) 3:00 PM]
An event banner suddenly popped up.
-Wow, finally
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠOur kids are also doing dub live now!!
-Holding out paid off!
– Big Sejin speaking crazy live ahhhhhㅠㅠ
-Please, even if it’s boring, just make it long
-Those T1 guys still don’t think they can work for a large company ㅠㅠ
Fans who had only barely caught glimpses of Testa moving in real time on music shows were bursting with excitement.
With just a single teaser video uploaded so far, Testa’s W app channel was already seeing subscriptions pour in rapidly.
And at exactly 3 PM on the day of the event.
[Ah!]
[Hello~]
Testa turned on the W Live.

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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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