Debut or Die - Chapter 97

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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 97
Chung-ryeo on screen smiled and began unfolding a ghost story.
[Do you happen to know any idol urban legends? I heard one recently myself.]
[…Urban legends?]
-Here we go.
Finally lol
-Is Park Moon-dae gonna throw an Americano this time
True to the audience’s expectations, the moment Park Moon-dae heard the opening of the “urban legend,” he went rigid.
-Are you even afraid of the ghost story at Mundae? LOL
-His whole face froze but he’s pretending it didn’t, so cute
I’m not even a fan, but I don’t know why watching them be scared is so entertaining…lol
└You’re very welcome at the Park Moon-dae forums
In reality, he was tense because of the ominous implications, but on broadcast it looked as though the ghost story itself had gotten to him.
[There’s a ghost that wanders the Recording Studio, and when an idol who seems like they’ll succeed is recording, it joins in and records alongside them.]
[I could have done it too….]
[…while saying that.]
The ghost’s dialogue was rendered in crimson subtitles, amplifying the atmosphere.
[Inside the Mountain Lodge, silence descends]
And finally, a slightly chilling mood settled in.
-Huh?
-Yo, Park Moon-dae’s immersed
-I finally got out of the corner haha.
-Chung-ryeo, nice shot
[Haha, don’t worry. Actually, I just made it up. I reworked the Recording Studio urban legend a bit.]
[…Ah, I see.]
[But you do know the Recording Studio urban legend is real, right?]
[!!]
Lol, it was actually just a phone urban legend.
-But that phone urban legend was also a phone-phone urban legend
-Chung-ryeo rarely jokes around… but with a junior here, a whole new character comes out. This is fun
This is just the right balance between comedy and immersion lol
After that, the broadcast gradually found its rhythm and began building the atmosphere properly.
[The heater seems to be broken.]
[…The back room door appears to be locked.]
A sense of isolation slowly intensified. And in the increasingly serious atmosphere, Chung-ryeo and Park Moon-dae sat facing each other in the Living Room and began a heartfelt conversation.
[Um… Senior, would it be alright if I asked for some advice?]
The hottest rookie’s concerns about the formation process leading up to debut and teamwork.
[Since this is the first time I’ve talked about these things in a setting like this, I’m not sure how it went.]
And while he expressed embarrassment at having never done it before, the image of the senior answering the junior’s words sincerely was quite compelling.
Regardless of the truth, there was a subtle composition to it—strangers opening their hearts in an extraordinary situation—that carried the kind of touching emotional code prime-time variety shows aim for.
It’s a bit cringey, but that’s what makes it so good.
-It really makes you realize how hard idols work from such a young age.
-I hope all of our K-pop idols do their best ㅠㅠ Oh, of course, this excludes the ones who are on the social media news.
Looks like talking to you made me hungry, so I’m having a snack haha
-I only had an impression of Moon-dae from his first evaluation at Ajusa. But he spoke so eloquently that it was unexpected and nice.
The broadcast seemed to be wrapping up warmly, but then it threw out a small teaser and connected into the next week.
[-Next Story-]
[It sounds like a radio is turning on…?]
[Crackle crackle- Breaking news. A violent criminal suspect has escaped from a detention center near Jowon Mountain….]
[…!]
-Ooooh
-This is getting serious
-Do they have to escape the mountain lodge together? Or defend it?
Since everyone knew this program’s nature meant it wouldn’t get too serious and would wrap up with comedy at the crucial moment, viewers were freely intrigued.
And the next week.
Most viewers were shocked.
-What is this even what is this
Hahahahaha lol hahahaha
-How does it connect like this
At first, it seemed to progress as viewers expected.
Early in the broadcast, Chung-ryeo and Park Moon-dae spent a leisurely time waiting for the police.
But soon they realized their phone batteries had completely drained, and they wandered around the mountain lodge looking for something to send an SOS signal out the window.
However, instead of a flashlight or flare, they found a single radio.
[Should we at least listen to this? It seems to be working.]
[Crackle crackle….]
And they heard a broadcast about some murder suspect escaping from prison.
The moment both of them froze at the sudden news.
[Bang bang bang!]
[!!!!]
Someone started knocking on the door.
And a dull voice came from beyond the door.
[Police! Open the door!]
[….]
Timing-wise, it was obviously the escaped murder suspect lying.
[The two exchange glances]
-Wow this is more tense than I thought
“Guys, you’re all so dumb – let’s not open the door carelessly.”
-Bring back last week’s conference room vibes!
Fortunately, the two simply approached the door cautiously.
And Park Moon-dae spoke first.
[Please state your position, name, and affiliation first.]
[….]
Suddenly, the area outside the door fell silent.
And moments later.
[BANG BANG BANG BANG!]
[Hey, open the door!]
[!!!!]
-Seriously, that’s terrifying
-This feels like a full-on genre variety show
-Haven’t they ever done something this serious before?
The viewers were taken aback. And then something even more shocking happened.
[CRACK!]
The Entrance door had been split open.
[????]
A massive barrage of question mark captions flooded the screen, but only briefly.
[Run for it]
Before the door could be completely destroyed, the two of them frantically scrambled backward in retreat.
-Whoa
-This is way more intense than expected;;
-Wasn’t this show supposed to just hint at sketches? Why did it suddenly get so serious…?
The comments began to shift beyond mere shock, expressing unease and a sense of deflated tension, but that didn’t last long.
The two of them abruptly tore open the window and escaped.
[This way!]
[Yes!]
As the green screen affixed to the window ripped away, the CG began to glitch.
The captions were equally chaotic.
[Th, that…?]
[A situation where nothing is visible]
Throughout it all, one of them manipulated the lock while the other gripped the window frame—their movements were perfectly synchronized.
Only then did the audience finally burst into genuine laughter.
Aren’t you both way too obsessed with this? lol
-Where’d those businessmen from last week go?
-Can you guys really break the fourth wall like that on broadcast…?
└Breaking the fourth wall (literally)
hahahahahaha
After the two of them rushed out, the camera hurriedly followed and captured them outside.
A hastily rendered cheap CG appeared to obscure the filming equipment.
[The snow has all melted, hasn’t it.]
[It seems to be thanks to how much warmer it’s gotten. …I think we could even take off our coats.]
[It still seems quite cold for that.]
Haha, these people are pretty shameless.
The weather got warm so the snow melted lol crazy lol
They drew snow around it, but roughly covered up the staff and filming equipment with CG lolol
In the meantime, Mun-dae was subtly trying to take off his padding, but Chung-ryeo blocked him with a sword lolololol
I guess I can’t break my immersion up to that point lol
└But I can’t understand the criteria…!
Contrary to the viewers’ buzzing reactions, the two continued their conversation with natural ease.
[Let’s hurry down before that strange person notices and chases after us.]
[Yes. Then I’ll see you next time.]
[…Shouldn’t we go down together?]
[In case something happens, it’s better if at least one of us survives. What do you think about splitting up?]
[Ah, that makes sense. Then I’ll see you next time.]
[Yes. Please go in safely, senior.]
hahahahaha
-Otherworldly wisdom
-So cool, this must be what winter is
Is it really okay for this conversation to flow this naturally? lol
-I’m not even a fan, I just knew that both of them got the same answers on the idol psychology test… but I didn’t expect it to be like this…
Hahahaha
While viewers burst into laughter, Chung-ryeo and Park Moon-dae exchanged polite farewells and parted ways.
The camera briefly followed Chung-ryeo descending the mountain, then quickly turned to chase Park Moon-dae. Park Moon-dae watched Chung-ryeo go down for a moment, then turned around.
And headed toward the Entrance door of the Mountain Lodge he’d just escaped from.
-???
-What
-Why is Park Moon-dae going there
Standing in front of the entrance, Park Moon-dae removed his outer coat. Beneath the long padding, the clothes he was wearing became visible.
It was an ochre-colored Detention Center uniform.
[!!!!]
Park Moon-dae muttered flatly.
[Ah, senior, you’re lucky.]
People who grasped the situation began to scream.
-?????
-Insane what is this
-Ahhhhhhh
-Wow a prisoner uniform
-I’m losing my mind
-Is Park Moon-dae the escaped ninja from the radio? Ahhhhh
Park Moon-dae whistled as he entered through the Entrance door. As if on cue, brief exclamations of surprise from the audience were inserted into the scene.
And the scene cut.
This time it was Chung-ryeo descending the mountain.
-Going down
-Chung-ryeo, run faster!
-Gapbun It’s a thriller drama, why are you like this MBSㅠㅠ
But Chung-ryeo, whose pace had already been sluggish, came to a halt.
And he muttered.
[I couldn’t bring them along this time either….]
-??
-What’s he doing now
Chung-ryeo sighed and began walking again. As a massive tree brushed past and the camera’s view momentarily went blank.
Chung-ryeo vanished.
And beside the tree where he disappeared, a flyer was zoomed in on.
[We are searching for a missing person]
[Missing during a landslide caused by heavy snow]
On that list was… a printed ID photo of Chung-ryeo.
-Ahhhhhhh
-Is he a ghost?
-What kind of production is this in the world
Oh my god, haha
Tense background music played.
[If we meet again, then….]
With that caption, the broadcast ended.
-My goodness
-What did I just watch
Because the development was so outrageous, the comments were flooded with shocked people rather than scared ones.
-I want to make a joke about an unimaginable plot twist, but it feels like even that’s not enough
-MBS really thought of doing something like that with those two terrible actors
-Whoa, could it be that they weren’t bad at acting but were aiming for a composition where they pretended to be bad?!
└? What are you talking about
If they’re both a ghost and an escaped convict, they wouldn’t both be in distress, so weren’t they both totally composed when we met last week? lol
└Whoa
People were initially flustered by the suddenly completed big picture, but soon began finding it entertaining.
Thinking about it again, it was funny up to that point.
-Everything comes together with the final skit
Haha, they got it right like that.
-Suddenly becomes the production team’s grand design
Haha, this is so fun. I gotta go grab last week’s and do it again lol
Though outrageous, it certainly delivered on engagement and entertainment, so people were forgiving.
Besides, both had fairly large fanbases, making it easy to push the public opinion as well.
-Today’s 【Just Get Along】 was really fun~ I’d like to see VTIC Chung-ryeo often on variety shows from now on.^^ Testa Park Moon-dae, fighting!
-Park Moon-dae did surprisingly well for his first solo variety appearance. The chemistry with Chung-ryeo was great too. Recommended!
“Both Chung-ryeo and Park Moon-dae were truly outstanding casting choices. I’d love to see them invited again next time. (smiling emoticon)”
With entertainment news comments gone, the viewer forum experienced an unexpected boom.
Since general viewers unfamiliar with Chung-ryeo or Park Moon-dae found the bold and hilarious format entertaining, fans enjoyed the variety show teasers without worry, laughing freely.
And a few days later.
A new teaser emerged.
[I’m Testa’s Moon-dae (puppy emoticon) This is W Live]
It was Park Moon-dae’s first personal W Live broadcast.

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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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