Debut or Die - Chapter 508

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

[During ‘preview’]

When the color returned to the status window during the ‘preview’, it was a strange sight.

There were no fonts, and the interface was barely implemented.

It looked like a computer operating system that had been emergency-launched with only a few functions enabled. It was something I’d never seen before.

But I couldn’t afford to pay attention to it right now.

“Kim Raebin! Are you okay?”

“Ugh….”

Because right now, Kim Raebin was staggering backward, having accidentally slammed the back of his head into the hallway wall.

“Lay him down.”

I immediately rushed out of the doorway and helped Kim Raebin to his feet. Cha Eugene helped Kim Raebin lay down on the floor without a word, and Seon Ahyeon ran over to get a pillow.

“Ugh…….”

“Headache?”

“Raebin, are you hurt?”

“…….”

Kim Raebin didn’t answer. But gradually, his breathing became calmer and calmer, as if he was drifting into unconsciousness….

“Gasp!”

“…!”

He jerked up like he was waking up from a nightmare.

And with wide eyes, he opened his mouth.

“Wh-Who are you?”

“…….”

The words I’d heard before came out.

‘Fuck…….’

I pressed one hand to my forehead. Meanwhile, Kim Raebin, still looking around in a dazed daze, finally looked excited to see a familiar face.

“Cha Eugene?”

But then he was stunned again.

“Cha Eugene! How did you join the army? Did you renounce your nationality and volunteer for the army….?”

What are you talking about?

Cha Eugene had a similar thought and opened his mouth in disbelief.

“…?? Kim Raebin, have you lost your mind?!”

“…! Is it possible that you came to visit me, and I fell down and lost consciousness and don’t remember anything?”

No.

Beside him, Keun Sejin spoke up in a shaky voice.

“Joining the army? Raebin, could it be that you….”

Then he said what everyone had been thinking but couldn’t bring themselves to say.

“You went to the army?”

“…? Yes. I’m currently just finishing up boot camp!”

A deathly silence descended between us.

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

‘…Oh god.’

STier Kim Raebin, no… the former STier Kim Raebin, was in the army.

* * *

“Oh, so… the warrant… came out.”

“Yes! I have completed the entire bachelor’s course using the current credit banking system, so the postponement period of my enlistment has ended.”

(Presumably) STier Kim Raebin was… more cheerful than I expected.

Apparently, he completed his bachelor’s degree in music cyber, and then enlisted as soon as his warrant came through.

‘…STier was disbanded, so there was no reason to make up another reason for deferment.’

And in the military, he seemed to fare… better than expected.

Kim Raebin summarized his time as a private as follows.

“There are a few things I don’t understand, but I’m not asking questions because I remember the advice I once received from my sister.”

And that was a good thing….

‘He’s lucky.’

With his personality, there was bound to be some bullying bastard, but I guess there weren’t any twisted minds in the senior ranks. Then again, Kim Raebin had a military constitution that didn’t need correction.

‘He’s the kind of guy who’ll talk back if his superiors run him down.’

But he did have a snarky mouth.

‘Military service at that age.’

Of course, 24 was late if you thought of him as a college student, but too early if you thought of him as an idol.

The norm for any successful idol group was to stay out of the military as long as possible in their 20s.

‘To put it another way, he’s not in a ‘moderately successful idol group’ anymore.’

…STier Kim Raebin, said.

“So… you’re saying that time has gone back in time once, and I, who now debuted with a different group, am still an idol…?”

“That’s right.”

“Then…….”

Hearing the immediate explanation of the situation, STier Kim Raebin was speechless as his eyes glazed over at this supernatural environment.

When his vision finally cleared, he was surprised to see a figure standing at the back of the room.

It was STier Ryu Chungwoo.

“Chungwoo hyung…?”

“You’re here too.”

And Ryu Chungwoo shut his mouth. His expression didn’t change, but strangely, he didn’t seem to be in a very good mood.

‘Why?’

Shouldn’t he be happy to see someone in his situation, someone he’s been with for years?

Kim Raebin wouldn’t be the kind of guy to cause trouble.

“…….”

There was an awkward silence.

Perhaps sensing the tension, Keun Sejin deliberately continued his explanation in a soft, cheerful tone.

That the Ryu Chungwoo Kim Raebin know now is the Ryu Chungwoo of STier, and that Cha Eugene has his memories.

And finally….

“Umm, so to continue, we, or TeSTAR, the group Raebin is in now, are preparing to appear on the competition program and perform on stage~”

“Is that right….”

“Uhhh, th-this one too… Raebin arranged it!”

Before I could say anything, Seon Ahyeon hastily played the music on his smartphone.

Kim Raebin’s arrangement of <You Don’t Know>, the finished version of the moody song he made for the competition a few days ago.

-Umm, umm….

The music played slowly, accompanied by my humming of the demo recording.

“…….”

STier Kim Raebin listened to the low-pitched, muffled sound emanating from the smartphone with a blank face.

Exquisite, delicate composition and melody.

And Cha Eugene, looking at his phone, seemed uncharacteristically nervous.

‘I guess he knows.’

That Kim Raebin hadn’t been involved in the songwriting process as much during his STier days.

It was just a guess, but even if he did, it would never have been in the direction he had now.

If the higher-ups at the agency pushed a crude direction without any good judgment, wouldn’t they have tried to take advantage of him somehow?

Like the mess that happened with the first arrangement of ‘Blazing Like the Sun’ at <Relisted! Idol Incorporated>’s second round of team competitions.

‘And then… they’d have tried to steal the royalties by inserting relatives.’

In short, exploitation.

So, even if it is necessary, it might be a bit bitter for the person involved to hear the results of TeSTAR Kim Raebin’s talents being fully demonstrated here.

As STier Cha Eugene did before….

“This is amazing, did I really arrange this?”

“…??”

I took back all inferences.

Kim Raebin’s eyes were shining brightly. Although he had a somewhat fierce expression, anyone could tell that he was delighted. He even looked thrilled.

Seon Ahyeon’s face also resembled his.

“Mmm! Do you, like it…?”

“Yes. Indeed……. Yes.”

Kim Raebin even seemed to be struggling to do his specialty, which was to ‘speak excitedly about things he was interested in’.

Genuinely, he seemed to be feeling something like joy or excitement rather than great annoyance at this situation.

‘Ah.’

And then I realized why that was possible.

‘He believed that he had debuted again as TeSTAR.’

He hadn’t separated himself from TeSTAR Kim Raebin.

He saw the present situation as his future self on a continuous timeline.

And it was not something that could be attributed to Kim Raebin’s naivety.

‘It’s our attitude.’

Because we were treating this Kim Raebin the same way we were before. Therefore, Kim Raebin had no problem accepting us as ‘acquaintances he doesn’t remember’.

Moreover, there were already two people who remembered STier, and one of them was a friend from his trainee days.

He couldn’t help but let his guard down.

‘The conditions are right.’

It was a stroke of luck because Kim Raebin was so similar to before, and because it happened so suddenly that I had no time to prepare myself mentally.

‘Phew.’

I slowly became calmer, realizing that I had been quite nervous.

The atmosphere became warmer, and Seon Ahyeon was about to play another song as STier Kim Raebin, who was also impressed, became very excited.

Cha Eugene interrupted.

“So, Kim Raebin, do you want to arrange the next stage?”

“Me?”

“Oh~ Of course. If you’re eager, just say so, Raebin!”

Kim Raebin’s eyes widened, but soon became quite serious.

“I know it’s probably too much to ask, but if I take on the challenge and produce results… would you consider me a candidate?”

Immediately, relief and joy flashed across the members’ faces.

It was clear that they were thinking ‘Kim Raebin is still the same Kim Raebin’.

“Of course!”

“Thank you!”

As the members smiled warmly, Keun Sejin spoke up energetically.

“So, shall we start preparing for the stage?”

“…?”

It was that moment.

“I… have to perform on stage!”

Kim Raebin said that, but his tone was more of astonishment or panic than realization. It was as if he had suddenly been struck by lightning.

In other words, negative.

“Y-You don’t want to do it?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to do it, it’s just that I think it’s better if I don’t.”

“…?”

And Kim Raebin replied as if it was nothing.

“I’ve realized through experience that I’m not cut out for broadcasting, or for being on stage.”

“Wh-What?”

The members stiffened.

I stiffened, too.

‘What does that mean?’

Even during STier, there was no problem with his stage skills.

‘Inside information.’

I glanced over at Cha Eugene, who might remember being a member of the same group. He had a slightly sour look on his face.

“…….”

I had a bad feeling about this.

Luckily, there was someone here who could jump in first, but… No, this guy wouldn’t do.

But Bae Sejin had already opened his mouth.

“What are you talking about?! You’re good on stage!”

“What?”

Kim Raebin was taken aback by Bae Sejin’s exclamation, but soon became even more confused when he saw Bae Sejin’s face.

‘…Did he realize that now?’

Kim Raebin realized that this was the face of Lee Sejin (A), who had been involved in a drug case at the beginning of STier’s history.

As expected, Kim Raebin asked… politely with a determined look on his face.

‘…?’

“I’m sorry, but what is your name by any chance?”

“Bae… Bae Sejin.”

“…! Are you familiar with the child actor Lee Sejin?”

“…….”

It’s me. Bae Sejin’s face, which looked like he wanted to answer like that, was filled with bewilderment.

And he answered with his expression.

“It’s me!”

“…?!”

Kim Raebin was stunned. I raised my eyebrows.

But at the same time, I thought to myself.

‘Maybe it’s better to blow it up in a less serious atmosphere like this.’

Whether it was drugs or whatever.

‘Maybe I can label it as a misunderstanding, and maybe I can curse at Bae Sejin’s biological father if it’s appropriate.’

Given the circumstances, the drug-transporting problem must be his fault.

But Kim Raebin opened his mouth to say something, then glanced away, then turned to check on someone.

‘…?’

STier Ryu Chungwoo.

“B-But.”

“Raebin, you must be very confused and tired right now, so get some rest.”

Ryu Chungwoo replied at once.

He looked back in our direction and smiled bitterly.

“Is that okay?”

“Ah… yes, of course!”

“Kim Raebin’s room is here!”

“Th-Thanks….”

At Ryu Chungwoo’s reasonable words, everyone hurriedly helped Kim Raebin up and led him to the bed, and the boy lay down on the bed, bewildered but unable to resist.

“…….”

And I was conscious of STier Ryu Chungwoo.

The awkwardness I felt earlier.

‘I think he just interrupted Kim Raebin.’

I decided to remember that.

Of course, now I have to dig a little deeper into Kim Raebin’s stage avoidance remarks.

* * *

“This is amazing….”

This was STier Kim Raebin’s reaction to seeing his fancam racked up millions of views and enthusiastic comments from fans.

And the members who came and watched the video were a little hopeful.

“Yeah, it’s amazing, isn’t it?

“I don’t think I’ll be able to get on stage after all.”

“Huh…?”

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to perform at this level.”

The members were puzzled.

Meanwhile, Seon Ahyeon said with a determined face.

“B-But… when we were a group… you were really, really good on stage!”

“…? I guess there was some kind of trigger or painstaking effort.”

Kim Raebin replied nonchalantly.

“I’m sorry, but it wasn’t me.”

It was an almost eerie assertion.

And everyone at TeSTAR was momentarily at a loss for words.

‘Shit.’

I resisted the urge to squeeze my eyes shut.

‘This guy had some problems too.’

This was definitely… an aversion to idol activities.

It wasn’t normal.

But that wasn’t the end of the day’s ridiculous events.

As Kim Raebin watched the stage video, I turned my head absentmindedly, and something finally caught my eye.

A pop-up window appeared in the status window where the ‘preview’ was in effect.

[New feature preview (extra)]

-View Fragment Records

“Fragment records?

At the sight of the word that caused this mess, my attention span was instantly activated.

I reflexively speed-read the next line.

[Help: ‘View Fragment Records’ allows you to recreate the mission failure scenario at the time of the System Owner’s fragment absorption].

What?

Wait, if this was the mission failure scenario I’d been through….

‘No way.’

I reflexively checked the function.

[View Fragment Records]

-Mission Failed: Building Collapsed

-Mission Failed: Return to Original State

The first one was a disaster where the building literally collapsed. Unless I was crazy, I wouldn’t recreate it and split my skull.

But here it was.

‘…The second one.’

-Mission Failure: Return to Original State

Returning to Ryu Gunwoo’s body.

At this moment, the ability to switch bodies with Keundal was unlocked.

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