Debut or Die - Chapter 503

Reed chapter first at Utoon.net

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

System automatic re-update? 

 

The moment I saw the popup saying something crazy, my head was spinning furiously.

 

Considering the incident that happened during the last update, my immediate priority was….

 

‘Stop!’

 

[Force stopping automatic updates may result in an error.]

 

What the fuck.

 

I couldn’t just stop it arbitrarily because I didn’t know what kind of mess would happen.

 

I had to wait and see what was going on.

 

‘And… the last update awakened STier Cha Eugene.’

 

If so.

 

I immediately jumped to my feet and started looking around the room.

 

“M-Moondae?”

 

“Moondae, why are you running around like that… Eh?”

 

“Hyung, are you working out?”

 

And then I found the answer.

 

One of the guys had fainted and hit his head while working on his laptop.

 

One was reading an ebook in bed and passed out.

 

And… one who was reading a program introduction in front of his desk, his head resting on the bookshelf and his eyes closed.

 

“…….”

 

Kim Raebin, Bae Sejin, and Ryu Chungwoo.

 

The three of them.

 

I almost bit my tongue.

 

Let’s use common sense.

 

‘Can three people suddenly fall asleep at the same time?’

 

And only the ones who said ‘I felt dizzy for a moment’ during the last system update?

 

And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had similar thoughts.

 

As soon as I briefed them on the situation, the faces of the still awake ones changed.

 

“Wait, this can’t be….”

 

“Seriously? Not again?”

 

I rolled my eyes at the guys who had just started an urgent discussion about ‘should we go to the emergency room’.

 

What could have caused this?

 

And then I remembered what the pop-up had said earlier.

 

‘Detecting owner dissatisfaction… Re-updating?’

 

At that moment, an idea hit me like a ton of bricks.

 

No way.

 

…I had been ignoring the damn survey without even touching the system, and it was doing this because it thought I was ‘dissatisfied’?

 

‘Fuck you.’

 

In other words, it sounded like it was going to keep tweaking the system until I used it.

 

‘What kind of customer satisfaction code segment is this?’

 

It was creepy.

 

I kept the company system alive for the life of the VTIC leader, who would have to face mission failure without a status window, but there were too many variables.

 

‘…It’s like it has an ego, you know.’

 

I remembered the human form of the system I’d been able to talk to before I smashed it, and a chill ran down my spine.

 

But it wasn’t like we weren’t prepared for this.

 

‘I’ve certainly considered the possibility of another update.’

 

As someone who had been through it.

 

“…….”

 

I made eye contact with Cha Eugene. He nodded slightly.

 

‘Someone already has memories of STier.’

 

If all three of them get sent back to that time at once… Damn it, one public television survival show and we’ll be more stable than we were before.

 

‘No, actually, from their perspective, this might be better than being alone.’

 

Because when this happens to a group of people, one problem is definitely avoided.

 

Isolation.

 

It’s a situation where you suddenly find yourself in an unfamiliar environment and question your sanity.

 

That was the case with Cha Eugene, and it could take its toll.

 

‘But the side effect is….’

 

“…At this point, almost half of our members might forget what they were doing, right?”

 

“…….”

 

I clench and unclench my teeth.

 

No more group activities for us until we got this straightened out.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“…!”

 

Keun Sejin’s face changed in an instant, and he smiled faintly and punched me on the shoulder.

 

“Moondae, why are you taking on responsibilities that don’t exist? I’m just organizing the situation~”

 

No, I am responsible.

 

But pointing out that it was my responsibility to the guy who was trying to lighten the mood would only make the mood worse, so I decided that I wasn’t going to do that just to make it easier.

 

So instead, we came up with a plan.

 

“I’m against the hospital. [Wake up in a hospital bed with your memory lost? That’s so typical. People will mistake it for a joke.]”

 

“Still… I think we should contact him, just in case.”

 

“Right. Oh, and we’d better be ready to make a good explanation when they wake up, right?”

 

The conclusion was this.

 

First, wait at the accommodation.

 

However, for the sake of a quick explanation, I decided to organize the story by gathering evidence from the accommodation, photos, data, WeTube, and portal sites.

 

“I’ve contacted the manager… so if anything goes wrong, we can go straight to the emergency room!”

 

“Okay.”

 

Finally, a dramatic agreement was reached that if these guys didn’t wake up in 30 minutes, we’d try to wake them up, and if that didn’t work, we’d go to the hospital.

 

And so we sat in camp, each of us monitoring a room.

 

Tension filled the accommodation like a cold sweat.

 

Then, minutes passed.

 

The signal came.

 

“…! O-Over here…!”

 

“…!!”

 

The one who shouted was Seon Ahyeon.

 

We immediately ran to the place where he was standing guard.

 

The place where Seon Ahyun was guarding was….

 

‘Bae Sejin.’

 

It was his room.

 

Seon Ahyeon, who had already entered the room and was standing next to the bed, turned his head and shouted.

 

“He’s going to wake up, I think…!”

 

Sure enough, Bae Sejin’s facial muscles were twitching.

 

‘Phew.’

 

A tense moment.

 

“Mmm….”

 

“…….”

 

Bae Sejin frowned, pressing his eyes together.

 

And I clenched my fists even harder.

 

STier Bae Sejin?

 

That’s the guy who got kicked out of the group for drugs at the beginning of his debut, and then went to jail, probably.

 

‘Whether he’s an idol or whatever, there’s a high possibility that he’s just fed up with the entertainment industry.’

 

In severe cases, the probability of distrust in humans was also quite high.

 

After leaving, his uncooperative behavior during <Idol Incorporated> probably got worse, not better.

 

So let’s be more cautious… I thought to myself.

 

Bae Sejin opened his mouth tentatively.

 

Wait, …tentatively?

 

“…What are you guys doing?”

 

“…??”

 

“…?!”

 

He was fine.

 

Bae Sejin was horrified to see a bunch of tall men staring down at him as he slept in his room.

 

“Oh!! Hyung, are you in your right mind?!”

 

“Of course I am! I just fell asleep while reading a book and now you’re telling me….”

 

Then, he looked around and realized that they were all carrying photo albums, and panicked.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“…Well.”

 

Alright.

 

I guess… it wasn’t this guy.

 

After a quick summary of the situation.

 

Soon, Bae Sejin joined in.

 

Stepping out into the hallway, he looked back and forth between Kim Raebin’s room and Ryu Chungwoo’s room, muttering to himself.

 

“……So, you mean I could have ended up like Cha Eugene last time?”

 

“You’re being mean, Hyung.”

 

“Is that what you’re saying?”

 

Bae Sejin, whose aggression grew after hearing the joke ‘Are you in your right mind?’, growled at Cha Eugene. It was a very peaceful picture for something that was supposed to be so fucked up.

 

However, I realized what I needed to do.

 

I know that Bae Sejin hasn’t gotten his memories of STier back, but… what about the other two?

 

In other words.

 

‘I have to tell him.’

 

I heard heard he was in quite a bit of trouble in his previous life.

 

‘Maybe a little forewarning might help him prepare his mind.’

 

Eventually, I called out to Bae Sejin, who was clutching his ebook reader and looking impatient.

 

“Hyung, wait….”

 

“Huh?”

 

It was then.

 

“Wah!”

 

A shout came from the outer room.

 

It was Kim Raebin’s room.

 

“Raebin!”

 

We all rushed down the hallway and into the room, all of us scrambling.

 

And, this time, we were faced with….

 

“I think it’s an energy drink side effect! I sampled Company P’s new product this month….”

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Hey.

 

“Raebin, what’s your condition?”

 

Kim Raebin’s eyes widened and he answered innocently.

 

“…? I’m feeling refreshed thanks to a nap…?”

 

“…….”

 

He was fine.

 

The members fell down after two consecutive safe strikes.

 

“Phew.”

 

“Oh, isn’t this just a coincidence that everyone fell asleep?”

 

“…They’ve been pushing themselves too hard lately.”

 

“Yeah, well, speaking of appearing on the program, we all had a late meeting yesterday too….”

 

“I was right about not going to the hospital. I’m smart.”

 

Now they were all wondering if it was just a coincidence.

 

‘… Indeed.’

 

I asked Kim Raebin, who was dumbfounded.

 

“Don’t you suddenly remember something that wasn’t there?”

 

“Not particularly, but… Oh, is there a memory that I must recall?”

 

“No.”

 

That was good.

 

I patted him on the head and walked out of the room. The others seemed to have caught up with Kim Raebin and explained the situation.

 

‘So that leaves only Ryu Chungwoo.

 

Things might be fine with him too, but let’s keep our guard up.

 

Even if it was not a case of the STier ego coming back to life, something weird could happen.

 

“Now let’s wait in front of this.”

 

“Mmm.”

 

That’s how the members ended up waiting in Ryu Chungwoo’s room.

 

However….

 

“…It’s too narrow.”

 

“…….”

 

With seven adults crammed into the room, it was quite cramped.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

It might be a bit much to just sit still like this. The first two times were fine, so now it was time to try something a little more daring.

 

I sit up tentatively and call out to Ryu Chungwoo, who was leaning against the bookshelf.

 

If he was really asleep, maybe I could wake him up with this.

 

“Hyung.”

 

“…….”

 

There was no response.

 

‘I guess not.’

 

I changed the way I called him, further discouraging expectations.

 

To refer to exactly this guy.

 

“Ryu Chungwoo.”

 

It was the moment.

 

“…!”

 

Ryu Chungwoo’s eyes widened.

 

“Mommy!”

 

“Did he always wake up like this?”

 

“It’s like a cult movie.”

 

As they all chimed in, I suppressed a sigh of relief.

 

If he woke up because I called his name, well, that was obvious.

 

‘He just fell asleep.’

 

Well, I suppose it was possible, considering he was leaning against the bookcase, not collapsed. If I’d known this was coming, I wouldn’t have waited so carefully and just woken everyone up.

 

‘I guess I should explain that I got a little carried away….’

 

“…Who are you?”

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

Wait.

 

I checked Ryu Chungwoo’s face.

 

Instead of gentleness, his face showed a faint hint of wariness and puzzlement.

 

And it intensified when he looked behind me.

 

“Cha Eugene? And Kim Raebin…….”

 

“…….”

 

This guy didn’t know Park Moondae.

 

But the fact that he recognized those two and called them out… Right.

 

I opened my mouth to say something that wouldn’t come out.

 

“By any chance, is your group name STier?”

 

“What? Yes, that’s right, but what the hell is going on right now….”

 

“…….”

 

We were doomed….

 

* * *

 

Ryu Chungwoo was back to his old STier days.

 

“Thank you.”

 

I handed him an unopened bottle of water, just in case he was wary, but he held it without drinking it and smiled.

 

At least there was some of his usual gentleness in his expression.

 

“But first, I’d like to hear an explanation of the situation.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

He must be wondering what the hell this was all about.

 

I quickly reviewed my conversation with Cha Eugene.

 

Although he’d forgotten a lot of the details from his STier days, he hadn’t completely forgotten.

 

So we were able to hear Cha Eugene’s impression of Ryu Chungwoo at the time.

 

-He was a little scary back then. We should all be careful.

 

-In a sense.

 

-[I mean, um… typical burnout, and a particularly twisted tenacity?]

 

‘What does he mean?’

 

Cha Eugene himself couldn’t give a good example.

 

But I understood very well that he had to be handled delicately, like a bomb.

 

‘Maybe even more than Cha Eugene.’

 

Remember, the last time STier Cha Eugene ran away from home and destroyed their relationship?

 

Taking that as a lesson, we began to explain to Ryu Chungwoo in a very serious and almost grave manner.

 

“…So, right now, we’re a group called TeSTAR.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

There was no shortage of visual evidence, internet access, and witnesses. There was no shortage of material.

 

But even after all the explanations, Ryu Chungwoo remained silent for a while, just checking the materials provided over and over again.

 

“…….”

 

‘Did I fail again this time?’

 

Again, it was hard to believe.

 

After all, he was never interested in such unrealistic things….

 

“I see.”

 

“…….”

 

Hmm?

 

Suddenly, a clean affirmation came out.

 

Even Cha Eugene was confused and asked back.

 

“Hyung, do you believe us?”

 

“Hmm… It’s hard to believe, but it’s also hard not to believe. The portal site can’t be manipulated.”

 

Ryu Chungwoo touched the back of his head and smiled bitterly as he looked at the screen of the portal site that several members had accessed several times with their smartphones.

 

He then turned his attention to the albums I’d offered and looked back at me with an expression I couldn’t tell if he was smiling or frowning.

 

“You can’t manipulate all of this, I suppose.”

 

“…….”

 

“So, speaking of which, we’re on a schedule, right? I’d like you to share that with me ASAP.”

 

Um?

 

“Yes?”

 

Ryu Chungwoo replied casually.

 

“Well, it’s better for me to digest it to some extent than to suddenly take a break from group activities.”

 

“…!”

 

Ryu Chungwoo looked back at the unfamiliar members and laughed slightly embarrassedly.

 

“First of all, I’m confident in my skills and persistence.”

 

Wait a minute.

 

‘We weren’t… doomed?’

 

And then things began to take an unexpected turn.

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