Debut or Die - Chapter 502

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So here was an old public television program.

 

A program that had already passed its peak and was barely remembered before ending in obscurity.

 

‘But the name is still well-known thanks to its heyday.’

 

In other words, the majority of the population knew about the program, but they didn’t care to watch it anymore.

 

A show that milked the viewer’s ratings and the entertainment lion’s share for all it was worth and then ended up fading away.

 

If this show was given a second chance to become a household name through connections, and it barely made it through the renewal season… what were the expectations?

 

Could it live up to the name recognition it had earned in its long-gone heyday?

 

The answer was obvious.

 

‘No.’

 

Celebrities and agencies weren’t stupid, and the best people were going to be on the best shows these days. They’d get booked anyway.

 

‘Why would they risk it?’

 

At the point where there was a better alternative, it was out.

 

‘And… considering the nature of the show, it’s not a good idea.’

 

This was because the show was a ranked competition program.

 

<A True Showdown>.

 

I didn’t know if anyone remembered this name.

 

On the day of the first meeting, Kim Raebin, who had finished reading the documents, raised his hand and exclaimed.

 

“This is the same program that we were in when we debuted as Wishze!”

 

“That’s right.”

 

This was a program that the joint group of TeSTAR and VTIC, who debuted under LeTi, went through in a virtual world created by the system.

 

“Oh, I remember that program, it was famous, but why is it failing now?”

 

“That was several years ago.”

 

“Oh….”

 

There, it was a successful and thriving show that lasted until season 7, but here, more time had passed and a different reality had set in.

 

As time went on, and the show became less and less talked about as it moved into its season 15 and 16, with the original PD leaving again, it was doomed.

 

I bluntly, solemnly declared the obvious.

 

“And this renewal is probably going to be a flop, too… that’s the industry consensus.”

 

“…….”

 

‘It can’t be helped.’

 

With such low expectations, it was hard to get a big name cast.

 

But the program’s name value was high, so if they didn’t get a famous cast, it was a backlash, a flop, and they had no hope of success.

 

It was simply… not getting attention and going downhill.

 

In short, a failed program that was destined to fail.

 

Even Keun Sejin, who was looking at the documents, clicked his tongue.

 

“Wow~ They even included survival rules.”

 

“Well, it must be hard to recruit.”

 

In the meantime, they decided to go beyond a competition and adopt a survival format to make it a bit more stimulating, but that would make it harder for them to recruit named talent.

 

“There is a higher chance of losing if you appear on the show, so why would someone who has already won want to appear?

 

There was a reason why existing survival programs usually brought in amateurs who had never made their debut, or people who had made their debut but were not publicly known.

 

You had to have more to gain than to lose to risk being eliminated and laughed at.

 

‘The PD must be having a hard time too.’

 

So, realistically, there was only one way out of this situation.

 

-Get at least one big-name talent confirmed for the show.

 

From there, they could start to build up the cast.

 

The moment they could build that, and even if you lost, you could be recognized by the public as ‘you fought well’ or ‘there’s nothing you can do about it’.

 

Depending on the situation of each individual, there might be enough potential names that wanted to appear on the program.

 

However, they were (understandably) unable to get such a big star cast until they were very close to the program’s production…….

 

“…But we’re going to do it anyway.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Bae Sejin narrowed his eyes as if he had a lot to say. Ryu Chungwoo laughed awkwardly.

 

“The production crew’s response was not bad.”

 

“Of course!”

 

Indeed.

 

As expected, when TeSTAR dangled the bait, the program producers took it.

 

-I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen at any other broadcasting station…. They’re very proactive.

 

Even our agency staff said that they had never received such a polite and eager request for a meeting from a TV production team.

 

That was right. Those guys, they were desperate for one celebrity totem.

 

And what if TeSTAR was that totem?

 

“Well, I think if the difficulties in securing talent for the program are resolved, they’ll edit our scenes nicely. And….”

 

“And?“

 

“And, with this program, I think we can make a good impression on MBS.”

 

“…!”

 

We’d be a contributor to the opening of the renewal version.

 

The same position was available as in the case of <Relisted! Idol Incorporated>

 

Although OTT programs were now losing out in terms of topic coverage, there were still many corners to cover, from year-end music festivals to music broadcasts and weekend entertainment.

 

‘And they can’t treat us like we owe them for debuting us.’

 

We could build a cooperative relationship on an equal footing.

 

A son of the public television in name only, an ally in practice.

 

And there was another plus.

 

“And PD-nim’s of a higher authority, so I think the effect will be better.”

 

“Oh… I see.”

 

Obviously, a person who had been promoted because of his seniority and good connections would have more influence in the company than a newcomer who just started.

 

But Keun Sejin cut straight to the point.

 

“But isn’t influence more important than seniority? Since he’s in charge of this program, I wonder if he’s the type of person who works according to his personality rather~ than his position.”

 

Judging by the fact that he was in charge of a ruined program, that meant he was an insignificant, dead-end position in office politics.

 

I smirked.

 

“I’m sure there’s a specific reason why he took the program.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. I heard he started his career as a PD at the broadcasting station with season 3 of this show.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Perhaps it was because of that sentimentality that he took on the show for renewal, but even at his level, he didn’t bring in a lot of budget, which meant the station didn’t have much hope for the show.

 

This was despite the fact that the PD’s previous shows had a pretty good entertainment record.

 

“Well, if it works out this time… Oh, it’ll be a big surprise for the station, and that PD-nim will get recognized.”

 

“Yeah, that’s a good result for everyone…!”

 

Keun Sejin probably meant that it would all work in synergy and we’d have plenty to eat, but in any case, Seon Ahyeon seemed a little happy that it would be a big help not only to us but also to the production crew.

 

‘Well, they’re both right.’

 

But for all of this to happen, there was a catch.

 

“For that to happen, we have to win.”

 

An overwhelming victory, recognized by the overwhelming majority of viewers.

 

The stage.

 

Without it, all of this was a minus.

 

The slightest slip-up meant it was a madness that will destroy everything TeSTAR had built up as a first-tier group.

 

But then again.

 

“As long as we win, it’s the best.”

 

Once the public television was clear, it was easy to negotiate with other platforms. The hurdle went down.

 

If we did well, T1 might even get an affiliate show….

 

‘If it works out.’

 

The worry about domestic promotion was no longer a concern.

 

“Well… we need to maintain our popularity and trending topics in Korea, so people will still listen to our music even if we target overseas.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Bae Sejin interrupted.

 

“Isn’t that a little reckless? There’s no guarantee that those producers will do that, and even if we do well, other factors could… ruin it.”

 

“…….”

 

“…I don’t mean to ruin the mood, I just…… thought I should say it once.”

 

I knew.

 

“Yes. You’re right.”

 

“…!”

 

“And actually, it’s not like we’re going to go out of business if we don’t appear on this show.”

 

If TeSTAR was happy with where they were at and wanted to take a slow, steady decline, they didn’t have to do any of this.

 

They had won the Grand Prize, they had done the World Tour, and their name would still be recognizable for at least another couple years.

 

But.

 

“But if you want to keep moving up as the years go by, you have to somehow secure a platform.”

 

Like VTIC was now.

 

Now was the time, the most important time.

 

“…….”

 

Bae Sejin nodded with a slightly heavy expression. The other guys’ faces also showed a little bit of determination.

 

“OK, I’m totally ready for that! Let’s get out there quickly!”

 

Except for him.

 

The others nodded, ignoring Cha Eugene’s shouts as if they had made a promise.

 

“Let’s do it by majority vote.”

 

“Okay.”

 

And the vote began.

 

Kim Raebin took his laptop and ran an anonymous voting program.

 

The results were….

 

“Unanimous.”

 

All in favor.

 

“Gee, that doesn’t sound like anonymous to me at all?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

We looked at each other and smiled sheepishly.

 

And so we decided to take the risk and make the seemingly reckless leap.

 

The news was soon followed by the release of the embargo at MBS’s active initiative.

 

[‘Return of the Legend’ <Genuine Match> to feature national idol TeSTAR].

 

And the fans’ reactions exploded.

 

* * *

 

At first, no one believed it.

 

-???

 

-Why is TeSTAR here?

 

-Really?; I don’t think so, they’re not stupid

 

The odds of a first-tier idol appearing on a survival program that was being renewed out of nowhere.

 

In fact, they should have considered it non-existent. If they were not careful, they would have suffered a huge loss, so why risk it when they could have just gone on a tour at that time?

 

However, the article appeared again and was confirmed by reporters who finally called TeSTAR’s company.

 

[TeSTAR confirms appearance on MBS <Genuine Match>… “We will show an intense stage”]

 

The fan reaction at that moment… First of all, let me give you an example of what happened when something was done in secret with a large number of ruthless individual fans.

 

-Are you kidding me?

 

-Is it true that this little bastard NoDaeng said he was going to compete with other groups and dragged all the kids to the show?

 

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

└MoonDog, I’m sorry, I won’t stop you from socializing with trashy shit. Fuck, save me

 

……I felt like I was giving people stomachaches again after the stage I featured that guy, Cheongryeo.

 

‘I’ll pay them back by winning.’

 

If TeSTAR made a spectacular win with that program in this situation, it was going to make people high as if on drugs. They wouldn’t expect it.

 

And to lose on stage as a member of this group?

 

‘I’m not confident in losing.’

 

Regardless of how high people’s expectations were, I didn’t think we were going to lose even if we were just putting on a show.

 

In fact, even now, if we only did information warfare, our weakness was….

 

[Surveys available!]

 

[Help: You can customize the features with feedback from the survey.]

 

Nope, I wouldn’t use it.

 

Did this seem like such an urgent need for information? I didn’t know how many times this had happened.

 

‘Crafty bastard.’

 

It wasn’t giving up.

 

Well, whatever.

 

I smirked inwardly at the pop-up.

 

‘Spacer’s comeback has been successful, and we’re about to release a drama starring Bae Sejin.’

 

Now, what if we did well in this program and made a comeback?

 

It was almost a given that the company’s popularity would increase.

 

And judging from Kwon Heeseung’s case last time, if we raised the company status, we’d be able to absorb more of his ‘■■■ fragments’.

 

‘That means I can absorb what Cheongryeo has as well.’

 

The internal algorithm of this ‘Company System’ was also something Big Moon was working hard to crack.

 

Hopefully, it could be done before Cheongryeo went into military service.

 

In other words.

 

‘I don’t need you.’

 

I dismissed the pop-up without even flinching. Then, I turned my attention back to the stage plan.

 

“…?”

 

Suddenly, my vision was tinted a translucent blue.

 

Like I was wearing sunglasses.

 

‘What?’

 

I didn’t recognize what it was for a moment, but the moment my eyes focused on the blue color, I knew what it was.

 

It was….

 

It was a giant pop-up.

 

Right in front of my nose.

 

[Owner dissatisfaction detected!]

 

“…!”

 

As if in protest.

 

And….

 

[‘Company Use’ auto re-update starts]

 

Wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

these Chs are commissioned if you want your series to be translated you can contact us at discord for your favorite series.

Reed chapter first at Utoon.net