Debut or Die-Chapter 230

There are several reasons to conclude this situation is me slipping into a coma after the car accident.

The first is the severity of my injury.

‘That shard went at least five centimeters [N O V E L I G H T] into my chest.’

I saw it with my own eyes and replayed it in my head multiple times to be sure I wasn’t exaggerating. It had to be fatal.

I remember the bleeding was severe, too. They didn’t remove the fragment when it struck me—that kind of wound doesn’t bode well for recovery. But I shouldn’t have died instantly.

‘It didn’t pierce my heart directly.’

And this was a midnight road in central Seoul. If Bae Sejin called the police and they’d checked on us, an ambulance would have arrived. At least I would have been clinging to life.

‘There’s no way I’d die outright and then start over....’

No way that could happen.

The second reason is seeing my own face in the mirror.

“...I’m not twenty-nine.”

I was too startled at first to register why it looked unfamiliar, but when I looked again, it made sense. I looked much younger.

‘This has to be at least several years before I would have graduated college.’

Yet this was the same motel where I first woke as Park Mundae, and the calendar still read:

[December, 202×]

The timeline didn’t match.

I even checked the wallet on the vanity. The resident registration number matched “Ryu Geonwoo,” starting with a 3.

A chill ran down my spine.

[Ryu Geonwoo 0X1208 – 3XXXXXX]

Twenty-year-old Ryu Geonwoo.

“What....”

Still, there was no poison or suicide note on the bed. It was as if they’d simply taken Park Mundae’s situation and slapped it onto Ryu Geonwoo.

‘This makes no coherent sense whatsoever....’

It didn’t add up.

At this point I reconsidered the exact wording from the status screen.

[Name: Ryu Geonwoo (Park Mundae)]

–Enjoy your daydream : )–

‘Daydream’ means a waking fantasy or illusion. And the fact that “Park Mundae” was in parentheses suggested something:

‘Could it be because I’m still in Park Mundae’s body?’

It hinted that I might be in a coma, dreaming an impossible dream. And that coin system somehow intervened.

...That coin.

If what I saw unconsciously was indeed the coin I received after clearing the previous status ailment, then this whole scenario was triggered by that coin.

At first I’d assumed it was for spending in a shop, but now I wondered:

‘...Could it be extra lives, like in an arcade game?’

It would fit a game system. I shook my head at myself.

“Hah.”

Anyway, putting it all together....

I clenched both fists.

“There has to be a way back.”

If this situation was a means to wake from a coma, then I just needed to wake up. And the best way to wake from a dream is—

“Maybe I should jump.”

This motel wasn’t very high. Even falling from here probably wouldn’t kill me. But would it be enough? And it might kill the real Park Mundae, so that was out.

Next: a massive shock to jolt me awake—but honestly, nothing else felt shocking enough now. Too many shocks had already piled up.

‘What else could there be?’

I tapped my knee thoughtfully. One orthodox method remained:

‘...Wait for the body to heal.’

External recovery. But how long would that take? And would I even recover?

“.......”

So I chose the most conservative path first.

‘Find a hint.’

If this was a system intervention, there might be clues to wake me while I examined this dream.

‘The status screen might react again.’

I staggered out from under the bed, grabbed my wallet, and left the motel room.

First, I needed to find out what situation “Ryu Geonwoo” was actually in inside this coma.

“.......”

Clenching my teeth, I stepped outside holding the newly activated phone.

‘It’s identical.’

My finances were exactly the same as my twenty-year-old self’s—except I hadn’t gone to college, unlike Park Mundae. And no relatives responded to calls.

‘They arranged everything to avoid contradictions....’

Then I noticed something crucial.

‘This body can sing well.’

It had all of Park Mundae’s stats. Just like when I first woke as him, I realized it after singing one song at a noraebang. Every stage sensation I’d felt as Park was still intact here.

‘They’re tempting me.’

As if telling me to follow the exact same path Park Mundae took, and make it genuinely mine.

“.......”

I pushed aside pointless thoughts. Then I decided to proceed with this dream.

‘Next, I had participated in AJUSA.’

Meaning I would have been holed up in a nearby noraebang waiting for Ryu Seorin to recruit me.

‘It’s not impossible.’

If I did get on the show, what to do afterward would be tricky—but entering wasn’t hard. My face wasn’t bad, and with A-rank singing I had a chance.

With no other options, I headed straight for a noraebang to try again.

But I failed.

“.......”

Maybe the dates had shifted, or perhaps dreams don’t allow the same events. After several nights, Ryu Seorin never showed up.

‘Damn it.’

And I realized:

‘The auditions were already over.’

There was no way for me to wedge in—nothing realistic I could do.

“......Hah.”

I was back at square one, with no new hints.

‘What the hell am I supposed to do?’

Should I pretend to be insane and climb to a rooftop? But my body probably wasn’t stable enough for that risk.

‘Then all I can do is....’

What possible path to debut still existed...? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

There was one.

“......!”

I thought of a surefire method. It was dangerous.

‘...I could die inside this too.’

But if nothing else was possible, there was no downside to trying.

‘Compared to jumping off the roof... this is nothing.’

I took out my phone and typed a familiar contact I’d only seen in messages. Some digits might be off, but I’d just send to everyone.

[You always changed dog breeds, but this time you don’t keep one. Did the schizo rumor last time ruin you?]

Only one person would react to this exact phrase. Only the real recipient couldn’t dismiss it as spam.

No futuristic mumbo-jumbo or talk of restarting—too obvious to rattle him. This level of detail would.

“.......”

After sending the messages, I waited to see the read receipts. Shortly after:

Dr-r-r-ink.

—What the hell are you?

He called immediately. I responded calmly.

—I’m someone like you.

That was enough to get his attention.

After a terse, lethal call, I found myself in LeTi Entertainment’s conference room.

“.......”

“You came.”

He must have been on break—yet he found time despite it not being midnight. If he was smart, he’d have already checked my background from the number.

I nodded to the man wearing a cap.

“As I said... I’m restarting.”

“.......”

He stared at me blankly, then spoke:

“How many times?”

“Three.”

His expression changed.

“You didn’t last long, did you?”

Cheongryeo replied gently, leaning his arms on the table.

‘He’s done his math.’

He thought he could squeeze me for intel since I hadn’t done this many times. And since it was my third restart and he didn’t recognize me, I couldn’t join him in the past.

‘I’ll let him misunderstand.’

No need to mention coma or system spoilers. Whether he was a memory-reconstruction or a true person, he was a crazed “reset syndrome” case.

I spoke calmly.

“First, I apologize for the rude message. You said mild words wouldn’t work, so I obeyed.”

“Oh, you called me that?”

“Yes. It just happened.”

Of course that was a lie.

“Hmm... What year did you come from?”

“Three years ahead.”

“Ah, three years.... How am I doing?”

“You’re doing well. VTIC was widely seen as winning the Daesang again this year.”

“I see.”

Three years isn’t nothing—big enough to be impressive.

‘...Let’s not mention a solo career.’

That wasn’t his concern now. If he wondered too much, we’d never finish.

Cheongryeo smiled.

“I guess we’ve done pretty well.”

“Even after you realized you couldn’t return, you carried on.”

“That’s plausible.”

He nodded, still smiling, then asked:

“So why contact me?”

“To make you an offer.”

I spoke as naturally as I could.

“I want to debut here. As soon as possible.”

“Ah, so that’s your mission.”

“.......”

He kept that same smile.

“And you... should I call you junior?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. So you’ll provide me future information?”

“Yes.”

I expected no immediate trust issues. He had me at his mercy now.

But he didn’t agree right away.

“But... how will you debut?”

“......!”

“LeTi doesn’t support solo debuts. There are no trainees set to debut.”

“.......”

“Oh, you already know. You said you came from the future.”

So I laid out my plan.

“I have some members in mind. We debuted together last time.”

“Oh. Who?”

“There’s an audition program starting soon, and I’d like to recruit from its lineup.”

I paused, thinking of the candidates.

“On the show there’s an official scouting opportunity with another agency.... I want to bring them here.”

Referring to Casting Call. No matter which path, if I debuted with those people... it worked.

I swallowed.

“So that’s why you need my help.”

And that bastard in front of me was bound to try to knock me out at some point—so I needed to wake up before then.

“.......”

The first thing Ryu Cheong-woo heard was a beeping alarm from a monitor. When he opened his eyes, he saw the hospital ceiling.

“......!”

He sat up immediately, but hands reached to lay him back down.

“You’ve regained consciousness again!”

“Don’t move. Lie back down.”

Having trusted medical staff during his long athlete days, he reflexively relaxed.

Lying back, he assessed himself.

His leg was secured—probably a crack or fracture, but not broken.

‘...Not my arm, so that’s a relief.’

Actually, he no longer needed to worry about his arm as his top priority. Just that his injuries weren’t too severe was something to be thankful for.

“......Phew.”

He sighed, striving to clear his mind. The surroundings were noisy; his mind pieced together what happened.

‘...There was an accident.’

The former manager. All the passengers seemed to have been taken safely to the ER.

They’d preserved some privacy since they were famous, but he could hear enough.

“...I’m okay....”

“Guardian, over here....”

Everyone must have been terrified. Still, it was a relief.

‘...I was the last in the car, so I must have been the worst off.’

He’d come to before his parents arrived; the others probably were in better shape....

Then a flash of what had happened before losing consciousness lit up his mind.

The shoulder that shoved him, and the massive shard piercing flesh beneath it....

“Doctor!”

“Yes?”

“How is... Mundae? Park Mundae? You know him?”

“......I’ll need to confirm that. For now, please rest assured and relax.”

Ryu Cheong-woo understood.

...That was a lie.

Clack. The door closed.

An indescribable wave of emotion washed over him.