Debut or Die - Chapter 96

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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 96
Through my blurred vision, I recognized the face of someone I knew.
“…Big Sae-jin?”
“You’re running a pretty high fever, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t be certain, but Big Sae-jin’s expression seemed startled.
I stifled a few coughs before answering.
“…Ahem, yeah. I took some medicine.”
“Medicine alone isn’t going to cut it… Hey, you need to go to the Hospital. Should I call the Company for you?”
“…It’s not like it’s some serious illness… I’m fine. It’s just body aches.”
Big Sae-jin clicked his tongue.
“You could recover quickly, so why suffer through it? Just get an IV drip and come back. Get a strong prescription too.”
“….”
It was a hassle, but honestly, I was tempted.
‘The Company would cover something like that.’
It was a subsidiary of a major conglomerate, so I had faith they’d handle this as a work-related injury.
Then I realized the current situation.
“Ah… the Manager hyung is off today.”
“Just call a taxi. Throw on whatever you have.”
“….”
A taxi was an option, then.
I watched Big Sae-jin finish his phone call, then barely managed to form a rational question.
“But why are you here anyway?”
“I had something to pick up, so I stopped by the Company for a moment. It’s near my place anyway.”
Something to pick up from the Company?
“What are you picking up?”
“Is that important right now? Never mind—let’s just change your clothes. The taxi will be here soon.”
“…Yeah.”
I slowly got up, peeled off my sweat-soaked shirt, and threw on a hoodie. I was chilled, so the warmth felt good.
“Need help?”
“I’m good.”
This should work fine. Just throw on a mask to cover my face….
“Here, put this on.”
“….”
He read my mind like a ghost. I hooked the mask over my ears and conceded without resistance.
“Thanks.”
“Just remember this. Be nice to me.”
Big Sae-jin shook his head side to side, then checked his smartphone.
“Ah, the taxi’s nearby. Let’s head down.”
“Yeah. Should we go through the main entrance?”
“I called it there. Follow me.”
“…?”
From what I could tell, it wasn’t just offering to see me off—it was more like he was insisting on coming along.
“I’ll just go by myself for a bit.”
“Imagine what kind of headline would break if you collapsed while going alone.”
“….”
I conceded defeat.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
I shut my mouth and followed Big Sae-jin downstairs, then hailed a taxi.
Fighting off nausea with my foggy mind, we arrived at the Hospital before long.

* * *
“Much better, right?”
“Yeah, it is.”
I readily agreed. I had no idea what was in those IV bags, but after receiving two packs of different colors, my condition improved dramatically.
‘Just manageable body aches at this point.’
Since it was a major hospital and celebrities apparently frequented it based on its location, everything wrapped up quietly—which was excellent.
“We just need to grab food, take some medicine, and we’re done. Man, there’s no friend quite like you.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“…Don’t mention it.”
Big Sae-jin shrugged and opened the Entrance door to the Dormitory.
Then a mountain of boxes came into view, stacked high before us.
“…!”
These weren’t ordinary delivery boxes. Wrapped in ivory paper with deep green ribbons tied around them, these differently-sized boxes were….
“Ah, they’ve already moved them in.”
“….”
I quietly asked the unfazed Big Sae-jin.
“…Is it your birthday?”
“Huh? Oh, if it’s Moon-dae, you would’ve seen it while searching~”
Big Sae-jin grinned mischievously.
“Yeah. My birthday’s the day after tomorrow. August 1st.”
“….”
So those gift boxes were what he meant by having something to receive from the Company.
‘…I thought he was the type to make a fuss starting a week before his birthday.’
I never expected him to keep quiet about it.
In fact, if I hadn’t remembered catching a glimpse of it on SNS a few days ago, I would’ve just assumed those gift boxes were support for his debut and moved on.
Regardless, the birthday boy remained composed.
“Since my birthday falls in the middle of our vacation, I wanted to take proof photos first. You know, gifts hit different when you see them on the actual day.”
“That’s fair, and… anyway, happy birthday.”
“Thanks~ Just send me a heartfelt birthday message and a gift card. Chicken will make me happy.”
I let out a small chuckle.
“…Well, you’ve at least earned yourself some chicken today.”
“…! Moon-dae, if you hear this too, I could probably negotiate for two whole birds?”
“What?”
Big Sae-jin grinned and walked into the Kitchen, pulling out a pot from somewhere.
“This is braised short ribs?”
“…Short ribs?”
Where on earth did that suddenly come from?
“I was worried about my friend being alone at the Dormitory~ so I brought it from my birthday spread, you know!”
“…!!”
“Come on… isn’t this touching? Big Sae-jin, bringing short ribs for his teammate during vacation… tsk, you should tell people about this heartwarming story.”
“….”
“Lost for words out of gratitude? That’s fine. It happens.”
Big Sae-jin waved his hand and headed back toward the Entrance door.
“I’ll get going then, so take care of yourself during your vacation. Make sure you heat up the braised short ribs and eat them.”
“…Will you take a photo of the gift for proof?”
“Ha, no need. What’s a sick guy doing asking for that? I already took one at the Company.”
Big Sae-jin left behind some parting advice about going back to the Hospital if I got worse, then disappeared down the hallway.
“…”
‘So this is what it’s like to experience something like this.’
I’d rarely had anyone around when I was sick, and it usually just meant more annoying things piling up, so this was quite novel.
‘It’s nice having someone who helps.’
…When Big Sae-jin’s birthday comes around, I really should send him chicken. That much is worth my day off.
‘Alright, let me take my medicine and get back to monitoring….’
Buzz.
A message arrived on my smartphone.
[Sun Ah-hyun: Moon-dae, are you having a good vacation? I just finished my first consultation. They seem like a good person, so I’m really going to give it my all this time. I felt like I had to reach out and thank you, so I’m texting… (See more)]
“….”
This is… unchanged. Still, I’m grateful he didn’t post it in the group chat.
I tapped to see more.
In summary, he was thanking me and asking if I had any plans to visit during vacation.
‘No.’
I sent back a message saying I was congratulating him on the consultation going well, but that I wasn’t feeling good and wanted to rest.
After I put my phone on the sofa and took my medicine, five long messages had multiplied.
Plus, the group chat had an obnoxiously high number of notifications.
Checking it, Big Sae-jin had apparently already spilled everything that happened today in the group chat.
[Cha Yu-jin: Get well soon, hyung! (crying emoji)]
[Ryu Chung-woo: Maybe it was because you were working and then rested. Let me know if it gets too hard.]
[Kim Rae-bin: My grandfather gave me red ginseng—should I bring it when I return to the Dormitory? (blurry photo of a container)]
[Big Sae-jin: Give me some too (laughing hysterically emoji)]
…And dozens of conversations like this had piled up.
“…Sigh.”
At this point, it didn’t feel like I was alone—it felt like these guys were hanging around in the adjacent room or something.
‘Still, I’m grateful though.’
They could’ve complained about the bothersome contact while they were supposed to be resting.
Even Lee Sae-jin had sent me a message. Though it wasn’t in the group chat, of course.
[Lee Sae-jin A: You feeling okay?]
I replied to each one in the order they’d arrived.
First, I sent Sun Ah-hyun a message saying my body was recovering well and that I didn’t think he was being insensitive by suggesting we play, so not to worry. I sent Lee Sae-jin a similarly reassuring response.
Finally, I posted the same message in the group chat.
[Just got back from the hospital and I’m doing better. Everyone enjoy your vacation.]
The screen immediately filled with okay emojis from everyone who saw it. Well… the feedback was quick and positive, so it felt pretty pleasant.
‘Now let me grab some food.’
I shrugged and heated up some braised short ribs and instant rice.
The braised short ribs were quite delicious.

* * *
While Park Moon-dae quietly recovered his condition and wrapped up his vacation, Testa’s fans were enjoying posts about Testa’s vacation time on SNS.
-Ah-hyun started making dishcloths lolol so cute…so cute…! (photo of half-finished dishcloth)
-Today’s Rae-bin: had sweet corn with grandfather…
I want to sit him under the AC and feed him mystery peaches and sweet corn until his belly’s full, seriously
-Does anyone know where Chung-woo took that photo? It looks like a mountain, but you climbed a mountain in this heat, Chung-woo…? And during vacation at that…?
In particular, Big Sae-jin was releasing all sorts of photos and videos around his birthday, creating an overflow of content.
Most popular was a short video of Testa lip-syncing to the sound of their Hi-five music show stage playing from the TV.
As Testa passed through the living room doing everyday activities like drinking water or reading books, they’d casually get into the groove and mimic someone else’s part, and the video went viral with tens of thousands of shares.
-Why does it look like they’re closer here than in the reality show lolol
-I honestly didn’t know Actor Sae-jin could keep rhythm too… and to Cha Yu-jin’s rap part at that…lol
-They seem so much more comfortable with each other now… my heart feels warm… sniff… please renew Testa… do it for 100 years…
And as the final episode of the reality travel show aired, fans were experiencing that bittersweet lingering feeling of Testa’s debut activities wrapping up nicely.
However, for one member’s fans, that lingering feeling wasn’t quite ready to be savored yet.
Specifically, the fans of Park Moon-dae, whose appearance on 【Let’s Get Acquainted】 was just around the corner.
-Finally, the day has come.
-Mundaeㅠㅠ Entertainmentㅠㅠ Too much volumeㅠㅠ
-I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so nervous about this…
-The preview showed an escaped murderer and ghost stories, and just thinking about how our Moon-dae probably pretended not to be scared and followed the senior around like a puppy makes me already find it cute and hilarious, and I took a day off today to watch this scene with a clear mind, so I’m the winner
└lolol how much are you anticipating this lol
Amid the nervous anticipation of fans, this week’s 【Let’s Get Acquainted】 began airing.
The first thing that appeared was… a skit of two people meeting in a mountain lodge halfway up a snowy mountain.
[I was startled by the sudden blizzard, but fortunately there was a mountain lodge.]
[I see. I also came inside quickly after checking the weather situation.]
The problem, if there was one, was that neither of us had any talent for acting.
We’d inadvertently created an excellent comedy sketch.
Every comment flooding the Online Community during the live broadcast erupted in laughter.
Hahahahaha
-Wait, you two don’t look like you’re stranded—you look like you’re having a business meeting
-The mysterious conference room vibes
-Where did our leader Chung-ryeo go and where did Jae-hyun pop out from, oh no Jae-hyun anyone watching would think you two met at a seminar
“Moon-dae, it’s supposed to be winter, but you just hesitated while trying to take off your padding because you’re hot lol”
Sharing a steaming americano and dividing instant heat packs clumsily pulled from a backpack—these moments drew quiet chuckles from viewers.
Mundae just pretended not to see the chicken feet lunchbox lolol
-Wait, you brought it yourself as part of the scenario but you’re rummaging through your backpack like you’re seeing it for the first time!
-Chung-ryeo, you only drink hot water even in midsummer, and now you’re making your junior drink boiling americano in this heat… (unfinished
-The lunch box must not have been tasty so we both became speechless while eating it haha.
The awkward snowstorm CG outside the window made the dissonance even more hilarious.
[At that moment,]
[A sudden, deafening sound echoed…?]
With the addition of minor captions, the atmosphere became even stranger.
[A tremendous roar shaking the Mountain Lodge]
[Stranded Person 1: Thunder? (calmly)]
[Stranded Person 2: I’ll contact the police immediately. (calmly)]
-Isolated in the Mountain Lodge by a landslide, yet we feel no tension. We have a PPL product that generates infinite hot americano.
Haha, this is driving me crazy.
The two of them are totally a mess lolol
└They probably think they’re being really immersive right now… probably…
This endless comedy sketch finally broke when Chung-ryeo brought up a ghost story.

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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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