Debut or Die - Chapter 506
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.
There was a short, heavy silence in the practice room after STier Ryu Chungwoo’s remarks.
‘Does he need to recover his memory?’
The members slowly realized what this meant.
That was, that he was saying that he would continue to be here instead of the original TeSTAR Ryu Chungwoo.
Meanwhile, STier Ryu Chungwoo was silently waiting for our answer without saying anything else.
As if waiting for a verdict.
“…….”
And after a moment.
“Hyung-nim, what are you talking about~? I’m sure you’ll be able to remember, aye, don’t worry!”
Keun Sejin was the first to respond, laughing. He seemed to think that saying it as if it was nothing would give Ryu Chungwoo a chance to smooth things over or take it back now.
But Ryu Chungwoo didn’t take it back.
“Well, I didn’t mean to imply that I was worried about that. Sejin, does that mean you’re worried? Are you anxious because I don’t remember?”
“……!”
Yup.
‘If he was going to take back what he said because he was shaken by that, he wouldn’t have said it at all.’
But I didn’t expect him to be so blunt.
He asked whether Keun Sejin was worried because he was less capable than the original TeSTAR Ryu Chungwoo in such a casual manner.
“If you’re worried about something, tell me. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Ugh, no, I’m still so grateful! But as it is, I feel so unfamiliar and uncomfortable with you.”
“It’s not that uncomfortable.”
STier Ryu Chungwoo smiled faintly.
“I’m having fun. The stage is great, there’s lots of new things to learn, and it’s nice because it’s unfamiliar.”
“…….”
“I’m afraid I won’t feel like this when I get my memories back.”
“Aye, it’ll be better.”
Keun Sejin said softly, his voice quite warm.
However.
“How can you be sure?”
“What?”
Ryu Chungwoo said, unmoved.
“What just happened isn’t an ordinary enough situation to be easily confirmed, and I think I know best how I feel.”
“……Hmm,”
Even Keun Sejin looked momentarily speechless.
He paused for a moment, wondering what he should say in retort, but afraid he might offend him and set off a bomb in the process.
You say you think so, but doesn’t that mean you’re wrong the moment you refute it head-on?
‘Fuck.’
We were stuck, and I needed to defuse the situation immediately.
I quickly decided what I was going to say and was about to interject.
“Practice!”
“…!”
Someone shouted out of nowhere.
To my surprise, it was Bae Sejin, who was huddled in the corner, reading an ebook.
“We only have a week! Break is over, so whatever you do, practice first and talk later!”
“Ah.”
He looked so desperate as he shouted with a lump in his throat.
And in that moment, as if a thunderbolt had struck, the mood shifted. The immediate priorities were brought back into focus.
It wasn’t the way I wanted to do it, but it was very effective.
Bae Sejin continued to shout.
“If we delay, Kim Raebin won’t have time to work on the arrangement!”
Right.
“If he stays up all night again to meet the deadline, his roommate will beat him up. His roommate is Park Moondae!”
“Ouch.”
Dude, that was a bit.
“…! No! I’ll make the deadline even without those all-nighters, trust me!”
“Mmm, I believe you…!”
“Of course you can, Rabin!”
The casual conversation broke the tension for a moment.
“Okay. Let’s do our best.”
“Yes, f-fighting…!”
And just like that, the topic shifted smoothly.
Ryu Chungwoo, as if his earlier remarks were an illusion, resumed his usual mild and cooperative demeanor and actively participated in the practice.
After a while, the tension from earlier could be seen as natural in this particular situation.
‘He must be confused, and rightly so, Cha Eugene has even run away.’
That sort of thing.
But I didn’t forget STier Ryu Chungwoo’s attitude earlier.
‘He’s not confused.’
It was conviction.
He had already made a conclusion in his head.
To stay here as STier Ryu Chungwoo.
Then everything he had done up to this point fit together like a puzzle.
By asking as much as he was told, and even more, he’d mastered the performances of TeSTAR’s most famous and latest songs, as well as the history of TeSTAR as a group and the story of Ryu Chungwoo as an individual.
It was like training.
So that he could remain as STier Ryu Chungwoo without regaining his memory as TeSTAR Ryu Chungwoo.
‘That was his aim.’
And when it was time for a break.
I turned to see Bae Sejin standing in the corner of the practice room, sighing softly.
“Hyung.”
“…Park Moondae.”
Bae Sejin glanced at me, then looked away again.
Where his gaze landed was none other than Ryu Chungwoo, who was listening to Kim Raebin and Seon Ahyeon explain the song.
“…I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”
Bae Sejin muttered softly.
“He was uncomfortable with me, too, just like Cha Eugene before.”
“…….”
“But… he’s trying so hard not to look like that. I don’t know why.”
He had noticed.
Apparently, his delight at STier Ryu Chungwoo accepting the water bottle a few days ago wasn’t just because the goodwill was accepted.
‘He took that as a sign that said, ‘I’ll try to get along with you.’
As he said, he didn’t know why, but he saw hope in that.
And Bae Sejin wasn’t finished.
“…And I don’t know why they’re both uncomfortable with me, or why.”
Damn it.
“That’s,”
“Never mind.”
Bae Sejin sighed.
“It’s obvious, I’m an embarrassment to the group, and I’ll probably get dragged back to my old agency.”
“…….”
“If I show him that I’ve changed a lot since then, it will be fine.”
He put on a pretty stern face, but his complexion soon sank.
“More than that, I don’t know what to do now… I don’t know.”
“…….”
We stared at STier Ryu Chungwoo side by side.
The way he spoke to the members was so friendly that it was almost confusing with the original TeSTAR Ryu Chungwoo.
But.
“If he doesn’t regain his memories, what will happen to the Chungwoo we once knew…?”
I couldn’t answer.
* * *
A week later.
The day of the first competition stage of <Genuine Match> came.
[Let’s see TeSTAR’s stage now].
As the 6th performer, I walked onto the stage after the MC’s introduction, fixing my in-ears.
No matter how confident I was, this was a survival show. If I made a mistake and slipped up, I could destroy my career and reputation.
But I wasn’t nervous.
Normally, it would be because of my preparation, but it wasn’t about that.
‘I don’t care about that.’
Because I had other things to worry about.
“…….”
Waaaaaah!
Cheers and applause.
In the midst of it, TeSTAR began to move.
-The sound of falling raindrops
Pounding on the windowsill
Pouring into my hair Blue
The hit song we chose was a ballad called <You Don’t Know> by Mewdy.
With its wistful early morning feel, it became famous as a ‘popular pick’ on social media at the time. The repetition of the chorus made it very addictive and popular, but….
Kim Raebin arranged it into a much more melancholic and heavy arrangement.
-Tired of Love and Sick
Still waiting for the alarm to ring
The intro was just like the original, calmly flowing as it should be, but then the parts changed drastically.
A slow, low bass pounded through the speakers.
-You don’t know, but
And then the full weight of the performance took over.
The concept was inner melancholy.
The song had classical elements, making it more and more elegant and grand as it progressed, and then there was a very artistic performance on top of it.
And then there was Seon Ahhyeon’s solo dance at the bridge part.
We took a break from the KPOP signature in the opening performance, and this time, we tried to pick out a performance that suited our sophisticated tastes as much as possible.
And finally.
-I can’t sleep.
Let me tell you once
Goodbye, goodbye
This part, with no accompaniment and only the voice… was evaluated by Kim Raebin based solely on tone without any selfish motives and the right person was chosen.
Ryu Chungwoo.
-You don’t know, but
He executed it neatly.
Then the accompaniment returned with the sound of the bass.
-Umm… umm.
Until the ending, amidst the sound of the performance that seemed to have subsided and faded away.
…….
I chose a dark, somber, atmospheric concept that could not be accomplished with a modest stage presence.
It was meant to be cathartic and mesmerizing, with the right impact at the right time.
And the strategy worked.
Whoa!!
The lights went down.
The audience erupted in cheers and applause, a stunning contrast to the darkened stage.
Chwiing-
The bright lights came back on, and the members, sweaty and breathing heavily, greeted the audience with excitement before leaving the stage.
“Thank you~”
“Thank you.”
And it was the same for STier Ryu Chungwoo.
“Thank you!”
Ryu Chungwoo did well.
And he looked happy.
‘Damn it.’
I stifled a sigh, because that just made things more complicated.
But I couldn’t put it off any longer.
‘That’s escapism.’
Before the update was over, I had to talk to him.
A few moments later.
It was waiting time to clear the stage before the final cut of the <Genuine Match> first match.
“I have something to tell you.”
“…….”
I called STier Ryu Chungwoo into a small sleeping room in the back of the waiting room.
He followed without much resistance, and then he asked.
“Is this because of what I said a few days ago?”
I nodded, not surprised.
If I waited when we went back to the accommodations, we’d have to work again and things would get messy, so it was better now.
‘And this… it’s better to approach him as a relative rather than a dongsaeng in the team.’
That way we’d be more comfortable with each other. So I sat down next to him and said.
“May I ask why?”
“…….”
“I’m not trying to criticize you. I’m just asking because I didn’t really hear what you said during that practice that made you think ‘I don’t think it would be good if I got my memory back’.
STier Ryu Chungwoo didn’t come off as uncooperative this time.
Rather, he paused, as if thinking, or choosing his words.
Then, slowly, he answered.
“I don’t think that person is me.”
“…….”
“Cha Eugene, umm, I thought about it when I saw Eugene.”
He continued calmly.
“That’s not the Cha Eugene I knew.”
“…….”
“Even though I’m pretty sure I remember seeing him as the Cha Eugene I knew.”
‘That was it.’
That was right.
Even though Cha Eugene had regained his memories of being a STier member, he is now more focused on his memories of being a TeSTAR member.
No wonder. STier was long gone.
There was no way this guy, who was in the same group as STier Cha Eugene, couldn’t have felt that awkwardness.
In other words… it was natural for him to think that if he regained his memories, he wouldn’t remain the same person he was now.
‘Damn.’
“If I get my memories back, I’m going to be like a different person, and I don’t want that.”
STier Ryu Chungwoo said it outright. I gritted my teeth.
His words didn’t even end there.
“I know, but, um, I suppose you think of us as the same person.”
“…….”
“Then, I, who has no memories, am also the same member. Right?”
Wait.
‘That sounds… prepared.’
It was strangely smooth.
‘Same member?’
No, he wasn’t.
‘We didn’t treat him like that.’
At that moment, I realized the contradiction in our attitude towards STier Ryu Chungwoo.
Even if a person has lost their memory, people around them usually unconsciously treat them the way they used to. It’s a habit.
As I had done many times before with STier Cha Eugene.
‘But are we treating him as the same person as… TeSTAR Ryu Chungwoo?’
STier Cha Eugene got into a big fight and ran away because we treated him as the same person as the TeSTAR Cha Eugene we knew.
‘I’m not the same person you know’, he heatedly insisted.
As a result, we were now treating the ‘original Ryu Chungwoo’ and this ‘STier Ryu Chungwoo’ as if they were different people.
In other words, what he was saying now was that he had only lost his memory.
‘Damn it.’
We screwed up.
There was no way this guy wouldn’t notice the discrepancy.
But instead of pointing it out, he talked calmly, like he was trying to convince me with his logic.
As if it didn’t matter either way.
“And in the next month or two, or even weeks, I’ll be able to do my part without your help.”
But at the end, his calm voice faltered.
“So, I just… want you to leave it like this.”
That day.
TeSTAR’s performance was overwhelmingly well-received, winning first place in the on-site audience vote.
The internet was flooded with early audience reviews, raising expectations for the program and bringing relief and excitement to fans.
It was the plan.
But there was only one thing that didn’t go according to plan.
…I got the update complete popup.
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