Debut or Die - Chapter 91

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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 91
The preview for 【Let’s Get Close】 began by rolling through previous guests in rapid succession.
After showcasing the appearances of luminaries and celebrities, it presented the new guest who would be the pinnacle of that excitement.
[This episode’s guest is….]
[VTIC!]
Behind the caption, numerous records and activities of VTIC flashed across the screen. Then one member was zoomed in on—a famous scene of him accepting an award at an international awards ceremony.
[VTIC’s Leader]
[Chung-ryeo]
[Who does he want to get close to?]
Immediately after, a new scene appeared.
[July 202X, A Certain Day]
[Chung-ryeo: Hello. I’m Chung-ryeo from VTIC.]
It was a pre-meeting video featuring Chung-ryeo in casual clothes.
[Q: What are your criteria for choosing someone you want to get close to?]
[Chung-ryeo: Well… probably a fellow singer? (laughs)]
[Chung-ryeo: To be honest, I’ve been so focused on my activities that I’ve barely met other singers.]
A small caption reading “The sorrow of a workaholic” appeared and then disappeared.
[Q: If you had to pick just one person?]
[Chung-ryeo: That’s difficult. (laughs)]
[Chung-ryeo: Actually, there is someone I’ve been paying attention to recently.]
[Chung-ryeo: I think they’re quite similar to me.]
Chung-ryeo’s next words were censored with a “beep” sound.
With his mouth obscured as well, there was no way to glean any clues from that moment.
But in the very next instant, almost everyone could guess who Chung-ryeo had singled out.
Because a portion of Ajusa’s “It’s Me” stage performance was zoomed in and broadcast in blurry quality.
Since it had all leaked through articles anyway, they might as well give an obvious hint.
[Who is the “similar fellow singer” that Chung-ryeo pointed out?]
[It will be revealed next week on 【Let’s Get Close】!]
And the comments were already flooded with spoilers.
-It’s Park Moon-dae
-Obviously Park Moon-dae lol
-Wow, Cheongryeo, you rarely appear on variety shows, but finallyㅠㅠ I’m looking forward to your chemistry with your junior!
-Omg this is gonna be so fun
Most of the top comments had this tone.
If you sorted by latest or went on SNS, you could see a different story, but in any case, the general viewers’ anticipation was considerable.
Male idols who had secured mainstream popularity were rare, and among them, these two had never done solo variety show appearances, so they were appearing on a public broadcast variety program.
Moreover, since one of them was making his first public broadcast variety appearance, fans were completely excited.
-Wow, Mundaengdaeng’s exclusive entertainment showㅠㅠㅠ
-This show is really fun and Moon-dae seems like the type who’d be good at this kind of program looking forward to it
-Finally success in mainstream appeal… adding one more win to the wait… I’m deeply moved…
-(Already a soul guarding the broadcast. Move along.)
There were lingering tensions from the overlapping activity periods with VTIC, and certainly some disgruntled voices from individual fans within Testa.
But they didn’t sway the general sentiment. Even individual fans of Testa members wanted someone to break through to public broadcasting.
The malicious individual fans felt the same way.
It’s not like the agency arbitrarily pushed it, and since it was nominated, I’m not going to curse them out… but honestly, it feels off that Gom got first place by selling a sob story and benefited from it lol
-Moon-dae, just don’t mess this up. Our kid needs to appear too
-Huh? Gom-mer’s variety show? I don’t care anyway, I’ll mute it. It’s annoying that we only have the group account so I have to keep watching it
-What? Park Moon-dae is the only one appearing on public broadcasting? Give our kid more individual schedules, you T1 bastards
The negative sentiment remained beneath the surface, exchanged only to this extent, then quietly subsided.
-Ah~ I hope it’s next Friday soonㅠㅠ
Overall, this was the prevailing opinion across entertainment-related online communities.
And the subject of this excitement had just entered the Filming Studio filled with suspicion.

* * *
‘This bastard’s suspicious.’
They suddenly nominated Park Moon-dae as a variety show guest without any prior discussion?
And they sent messages about other things while saying absolutely nothing about this variety show. It meant they never intended to give me a heads-up in the first place.
‘Looks like they’re trying to mess with me.’
But there was no way the Company would approve of turning down a public broadcasting variety show offer, especially a Friday night slot with good ratings.
As a result, I was currently approaching the filming location after greeting the staff.
“….”
A massive wooden structure loomed before my eyes.
‘Unpleasant memories are surfacing.’
Why wood of all things? I suppressed a sigh and knocked on the door.
“Is anyone inside?”
Knock, knock, knock.
As I knocked rather forcefully, the door soon cracked open slightly.
“You must be cold. Please come in quickly.”
“…Thank you.”
Because of this damn setup with a midwinter aesthetic, I was stuffed into padding even in summer and nearly suffocated.
‘They definitely said the one inviting gets to decide, so this bastard must have decided.’
As if it doesn’t matter since he was indoors from the start.
I swallowed the curses rising to my throat and entered the building.
Inside was… a typical Mountain Lodge. Not quite Pension-level, but it had the distinct feel of a simple facility where hikers would pass through and stay briefly.
‘…Is this the timing for my lines?’
I set down my luggage in a corner and muttered.
“I was startled by the sudden blizzard, but I’m grateful there was a Mountain Lodge.”
“I see. I also came inside quickly after checking the weather situation.”
Right. The current baseline setting is ‘in a snowed-in Mountain Lodge, on the verge of being stranded.’
The reason for this absurd setup was obvious.
That’s the signature feature of this program.
【Get Close First】 was a show where they’d recruit a celebrity, and that person would nominate another celebrity to spend time with.
But since healing content like this was so common, they’d inserted one moderately fresh element.
Extreme situations.
The basic premise was that the two people were always isolated in some kind of extreme situation to protect their physical safety.
Of course, they didn’t take it too seriously—it was more of a comedy sketch, oscillating between humor and immersion.
For reference, the pilot episode that became a massive hit featured an apartment where a zombie apocalypse had broken out.
Young-rin had nominated an actor from Malang Dalcom, and the two appeared together—from the clips I’d watched, it seemed quite entertaining.
‘The problem is that I’m the one appearing.’
And with an idol who’d sold 1.8 million copies in their initial release—someone whose thoughts were completely unfathomable.
‘Just don’t give them any ammunition.’
My goal was to treat them like a senior with a terrible personality and get through the shoot safely.
“Mountain hiking is rare in weather like this, but it’s interesting that we’re meeting this way. Oh, would you like some coffee?”
Chung-ryeo smiled and lifted a thermos. In his other hand was a worn, tacky-looking coffee cup—supposedly found at the Mountain Lodge.
“Thank you.”
I accepted the coffee cup Chung-ryeo offered with both hands. Inside, an Americano was steaming hot.
“….”
I was dying of heat, and here was a long-sleeved shirt with a piping hot Americano….
I pretended to take a sip and set it down. Fortunately, the air conditioning inside was running strong enough that I could manage in winter clothes.
‘It was my turn to suggest something now.’
I opened my mouth.
“I’ve already enjoyed your coffee, so if you don’t mind, would you let me treat you to dinner? I brought plenty of preserved food.”
“Sounds good. Hmm… the blizzard is still pretty fierce. Since we’ll probably have to wait a while, we should eat well to stay strong.”
“Yes.”
As I glanced at the window glass blocked by a green partition, I wondered what on earth I was doing here.
‘…What am I doing, indeed.’
I’m getting paid for this. I shouldn’t waste time on pointless thoughts.
I went over to the bag I’d tossed in the corner and pulled out some preserved food.
I hadn’t packed it myself—the Production Team had prepared it beforehand….
One label caught my eye.
[Easy Boneless Chicken Feet Rice Bowl]
“….”
Let me get something else. Chicken feet are… a mental breakdown at this point.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Dinner passed with some light comedy sketches about why we’d gone hiking in the first place.
“I’ll clean up.”
“…No! We should do this together.”
Why would I make my junior sit idle while I work?
As I was organizing the remaining plastic bags and containers, a loud noise came from outside.
‘Crash!!’
They’d actually added real sound effects. I was genuinely startled.
“…!!”
“Thunder?”
Chung-ryeo squinted, then moved toward the Mountain Lodge door and tried to crack it open slightly.
But the door wouldn’t budge.
“…It seems that sound from earlier was an avalanche. There’s snow piled up outside.”
“I’ll call the police to report it.”
I picked up an old flip phone. And I pantomimed being someone who’d called the police but heard they couldn’t come today because too much snow had accumulated.
“Well then, let’s hold out here at the Mountain Lodge for now.”
“Yes. Thank you for your help.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
With that, the basic setup we’d been briefed on was complete.
From here on, I just needed to keep a couple of comedic character traits in mind and freely develop the situation—that’s what the Production Team had explained beforehand.
So I found the heater, did some funny bits about securing the windows, and sat back down in the Living Room.
“The heater isn’t working properly. Since we don’t know what might go wrong, we should stay awake tonight.”
The Production Team’s way of saying they wanted us to chat and joke around all night for good footage.
‘…What should I do.’
Based on this program’s structure, it seemed like it was time for us—as people who were essentially strangers—to share genuine stories.
‘Maybe it’ll work better if I start by asking for advice like a junior would.’
I thought it over, then broached the subject casually.
“By the way, what brought you to climb the mountain today?”
“I wanted to clear my head a bit, but today was the only time I had free, so here we are. Haha. Well, actually, I’m a singer.”
“Really?”
Chung-ryeo continued, clearing his throat as if embarrassed.
“I’m in an Idol Group called VTIC. You might have heard of us.”
Look at this ridiculous setup.
I gave him the expected response—that of course I’d heard of them and was a fan—then brought up my own story.
“I… also debuted recently.”
“Really? So you’re my junior. What a coincidence.”
“Indeed it is.”
A situation with virtually zero realism, honestly.
I thought we were about to move into serious conversation, but Chung-ryeo, who’d been rubbing his chin, suddenly said something completely unexpected.
“Hmm… Since we’re in the same line of work and can’t sleep anyway… I just remembered a story.”
“Really?”
“Want to hear it?”
Who would say no at this point?
“Yes. I’m listening.”
“Haha, it’s not really worth such serious attention… just casual talk.”
Chung-ryeo lightly tapped the wooden floor a few times.
“Have you heard of the idol ghost story? I heard about it recently too.”
“…A ghost story? An idol ghost story?”
“Yes.”
I wasn’t sure what sketch ambitions he harbored, but I decided to play along for now.
“What’s the story about?”
“Well, let me see….”
Chung-ryeo smiled with a slight grin.
“There was an idol who one day opened their eyes and found themselves back in the past.”
“….”
“The idol was shocked, but thought, ‘This time, let me become a successful idol without any scandals,’ and tried their hardest. But here’s the thing—they kept dying in accidents and returning to the past!”
“….”
“So the idol trapped in the past eventually became a ghost. They say it wanders the Recording Studio, and whenever an idol who seems destined to succeed starts recording, it joins in and records alongside them. ‘I could have done it too….’ it says.”
Chung-ryeo crossed his arms.
“What do you think?”

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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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