Debut or Die - Chapter 472

Cha Eugene, who had collapsed in the conference room, was quickly transported to the emergency room.

“Cha Eugene? Eugene!”

“Can you hear me?”

“…”

Throughout the ride in the car, Cha Eugene didn’t move an inch. There was no reaction from his body, which was usually brimming with energy and vitality. He seemed like an object.

It was strange.

“How did this happen?!”

“…He just suddenly collapsed… There were no other symptoms. None at all.”

Is it that all the sh*tty things in my life happen suddenly? What kind of analysis and response is this nonsense? No matter how much you prepare, when the situation hits, it turns out to be useless.

No.

I pressed my thigh. I haven’t even properly examined it yet, and I’m already jumping to conclusions. Damn it.

Let’s do something productive. Start with the symptoms.  I reached out to Cha Eugene’s face and checked his breathing and heartbeat.

“…”

“Park Moondae?”

I exhaled.

“…His breathing seems stable.”

“Ah…!”

I’m not an expert, but at least he wasn’t gasping or having an irregular or shallow heartbeat.

At that moment, Keun Sejin also started checking his limbs immediately. “His complexion doesn’t seem too bad. He’s a bit pale, but his body temperature seems okay, right?”

“Yeah.”

His body temperature wasn’t noticeably low either. At least, that’s how it felt to me.

Hearing our conversation, the manager, who was driving, mumbled frantically. “Then it could be that, um, vaso… what was it, anyway, syncope?”

Ah.

“Vasovagal syncope.”

“Ah! Yes, that…”

“…”

That’s mostly caused by extreme stress or tension. And the reason I know this… is the same reason this company employee knows it.

“There are quite a few idols who experience it. Since it’s the active period, the TeSTAR members could experience it too. We’ve just moved to a new company, and the environment has changed…”

“…”

Yeah. It’s true that we’re in a complicated situation in many ways, but…

That Cha Eugene? The one who laughed it off during the minus voting in the ‘Idol inc.’ when everyone else was grim, and managed his own mental state even when he was criticized due to the camera violence rumors?

That Cha Eugene felt such ‘extreme stress and tension’ to the point of losing consciousness over something like this… No, is this even the face of someone who has fainted?

It looks like… he’s just sleeping. I looked again at Cha Eugene’s peaceful, expressionless face, breathing lightly. No matter how I think about it, it seems unnatural.

“…! We’ve arrived at the hospital, so let’s move quickly….”

“Yes!”

The car, which had been speeding like crazy, soon arrived secretly at the emergency room near the company, and Cha Eugene was immediately transferred to the hospital.

As I rushed into the hospital with the staff who had followed in the company vehicle, Keun Sejin muttered quietly. “Let’s contact the others… a little later.”

“…”

It meant waiting until the examination results came out.

“It might be nothing serious. No, it seems like it will be.”

“Yeah.”

However, it was impossible to predict what the results would be. Cha Eugene had collapsed without any warning. And I still don’t know what’s strange about it!

Damn it…

I leaned against the wall and started to chew over this damn unnatural situation. However, an even more unnatural event was waiting next.

* * *

“The results are out, and it seems to be a temporary loss of consciousness…”

“What?”

“In such cases, it’s usually just stress-related, but they said they could check the brain more thoroughly if needed… For now, the tests they did showed no other abnormalities.”

“…”

Though it was said in a roundabout way, the meaning was clear. The cause is unknown for now.

“Anyway, they said he should regain consciousness soon!”

“Phew.”

“I see, thank you.”

At least it wasn’t the worst-case scenario, which was a relief.

Up to this point, it was fine. We could do more tests if needed. The problem was what came next.

“Now, we need to contact the members.”

“…Yeah.”

Sejin and I decided to split up and inform the members about Eugene’s current condition. It seemed better than hearing it from the company. But during that process, we found out something.

“…You experienced it too?”

Most of the other members we contacted had similar, albeit mild, symptoms.

-No, I didn’t completely collapse, but I felt dizzy… We had to stop filming for a bit. But how’s Cha Eugene!?

-…Just now, I thought I dozed off in the car, but maybe that wasn’t it. Now that I think about it, I wasn’t really sleepy.

– I thought it was a side effect from excessive caffeine intake recently… I don’t know. I’ll head to the hospital right away!

What is this?

Seon Ahyeon, who was still filming on a boat, hadn’t checked the message yet, but that made three members already.

I looked at Sejin, who had a serious expression. “You…”

“I’m fine. What about you, Moondae?”

“Me too.”

But if it reached this point, it could be another issue.

“They’re suggesting we get tested for food poisoning or some kind of infection.”

We decided to get a comprehensive check-up before the other members arrived.

“Hyungs!”

“Raebin.”

Even Kim Raebin, who rushed in looking like he was about to cry, got tested.

But all our results came back clean.

“…No need to call the members who are currently on schedule.”

“…”

There was no leak to the media either. After all, Eugene hadn’t had an accident or fallen ill. It was literally a moment of ‘losing consciousness’ out of the blue.

“…”

“Uh, Hyung. Here.”

I looked up at the voice calling me. Somehow, Kim Raebin had returned, holding a black bag. He pulled out a drink from it and handed it to me. It was a common golden ginseng drink you often see in convenience store warmers.

“You might think it’s odd to have a hot drink in the summer, but since you’ve been sitting in a heavily air-conditioned room for a long time, I thought this would be better…”

“…Thanks.”

I quietly took the ginseng honey tea he offered and drank it.

Then, a firm voice spoke up. “Cha Eugene will be fine. We talked about family health history during our trainee days, and he once boasted about not having any illnesses…”

“…”

It seemed like he was trying to comfort me. How touching.

I smiled faintly. “Yeah. Like I said earlier, the doctor also thinks Cha Eugene will wake up soon. So don’t worry too much. He’s a really healthy guy.”

“…! Yes…” Kim Raebin barely nodded and then quietly sat next to me, sipping his own drink.

I could see Keun Sejin patting his back gently.

“…”

I leaned against the wall and thought.

Right. Cha Eugene is a healthy guy. Physically and mentally, he’s in the top 1% in both aspects, but he suddenly collapsed without any warning signs… And to think that more than half of our group almost fainted around the same time.

But everyone says there’s no health issue. Even Cha Eugene’s tests so far have shown that. So, among the remaining possibilities… what’s the most suspicious?

Supernatural intervention.

I tilted my head into the air.

[Updating ‘Company’]

“…”

Come to think of it, did this happen right after I absorbed the ‘■■■ Fragment’ from Kwon HeeSeong? And losing consciousness like this… It feels similar to the symptoms I experienced when I entered the virtual world created by the system.

I still remember it well. That damned status window popup that appeared back then.

-Enjoy your daydream

-Enjoy your reality

A daydream made with coins and the world of the system. Of course, the one above was more like an opportunity created by Keundal to save me, but…

Wait a minute.

At that moment, I realized there was someone I could ask about this situation.

Keundal.  The very person who created the daydream status window.

And shortly after.

[Yes, Hyung! What’s up?]

Fortunately, the response came back without much delay.

Phew.

[Hyung, you’re not in the hospital right now, are you? Nothing’s wrong, right? ㅠㅠ]

Nothing’s wrong with me, but something happened to the others.

[What?!]

I briefly explained the situation. Skipping over the panicked and worried reactions in the popup, I got to the main point…

So, do you think Cha Eugene’s consciousness might be trapped in the system?

That’s it. I don’t know the exact mechanism, but the timing is too perfect. And recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the popup responded quickly.

[First, I’ll check your status window right away, Hyung!]

Alright.

I nodded eagerly.

But shortly after.

[Uh, Hyung. The status window and the system itself aren’t responding at all right now….]

The guy brought unexpected news.

It’s not working?

[Yes! It seems like it has completely stopped functioning….]

[It’s showing as updating right now, right? It seems like it’s undergoing a complete reconfiguration. You know, like how we can’t use an app when it’s updating. It’s in that kind of state.]

“…”

So, does that mean there’s no chance that Eugene’s mind is trapped somewhere due to the system’s manipulation? Because the system has completely stopped?

[Yes!]

And the guy added his own hypothesis.

[If it’s really related, maybe some kind of error occurred during the update process.]

But that would mean that this ‘Company’ update is affecting TeSTAR. In other words, it could be interpreted in a very negative way.

Is it treating TeSTAR as a part of this ‘Company’ system?

[Well, rather than that… it’s just that this system has only dealt with TeSTAR’s album so far, so maybe it’s giving it undue significance…]

“…”

Somehow… It feels a bit petty.

[Anyway, I didn’t find any particularly strange tricks, Hyung!]

Got it.

If that’s the case… It’s a relief if it’s really nothing serious.

Thanks anyway. I’ll contact you if anything happens.

[Yep! Don’t worry too muchㅠㅠ.]

After ending the conversation with Keundal, I looked at the still-popping update notification. And I asked, holding back a sigh. Just in case, there might be an answer.

How long will it take?

Surprisingly, something did pop up.

[※Usage is restricted during the update.]

Damn it. I knew that too.

So, you’re just telling me to wait without any explanation?

Suppose it really is related, and Eugene has been unconscious throughout the entire update. In that case, I was thinking of pulling out this damn system as soon as the update ends.

“Guys, Chungwoo hyung just finished his schedule and is on his way, and…”

“…Ugh,”

Keun Sejin’s words stopped. And the sound that stopped him didn’t come from me or Kim Raebin. It came from the hospital bed.

“…!!”

“Cha Eugene…!”

We immediately jumped up.

“Call the company, no, the doctor…!”

“Wait!”

Keun Sejin, who was standing near the door, quickly ran out to call someone. Kim Raebin and I headed straight to the bed.

There was… Eugene, frowning, twisting his body to the side. He had woken up.

“Cha Eugene!”

Eugene, who was writhing, rubbed his face with his hand as if to wipe it away and mumbled.

“(Damned headache…)”

“…”

“Are you in a lot of pain?”

At that moment, Eugene stopped moving. And when he lowered his hand, his bare eyes without lenses were revealed. Our eyes met piercingly.

“(Korean? I don’t remember calling 911. Who the hell are you and why am I here…?)”

…What?

But Eugene turned his gaze away and recognized someone else. “Raebin?”

“Ch-Cha Eugene! Are you okay?”

However, he still seemed flustered. “Kim Raebin, why are you in America?”

“…”

“What are you talking about! This is Korea!”

“Korea? (Do you think I got kidnapped internationally or something…) Wait a minute, Kim Raebin, did someone give you something like a brownie? Or a chocolate chip cookie?”

“What are you talking about?!” Kim Raebin was confused.

And at that moment, Cha Eugene muttered a few colorful English curses under his breath and sighed. Then he started muttering to himself again. “Ah… never mind. (If it’s just once. It’ll be fine as long as the effects wear off before returning to Korea. Anyway, we’re not a KPOP boy group anymore.)”

By this point, Kim Raebin was terrified. He grabbed my arm and shouted. “M-Moondae Hyung, Cha Eugene is acting strange!”

I know.

“You’re the strange one, Kim Raebin.” But Cha Eugene responded firmly as if dealing with someone who was actually on drugs.

Then he turned to me and ruffled the back of his hair. “(Moondae… ‘Moondae Hyung? Did you unknowingly bring Kim Raebin, who ate marijuana, and me to the hospital?) And then Cha Eugene laughed. “Thank you.”

“…”

“Um, you won’t tell anyone in Korea, right? (Anyway, STier is over.)”

At that moment, I realized who this ‘Cha Eugene’ sitting here was.

-STier.

Not TeSTAR, but STier. It was the name of the group that originally debuted before I participated with Park Moondae’s body.

Damn it…

And next to ‘STier Cha Eugene’s’ face in the air, a popup was updated.

[Updating ‘Company’]

-D-30 until completion