Debut or Die-Chapter 251
After the island survival show ended, having guaranteed time off for Chuseok was a good thing. There was somewhere to put it to use.
... I was planning to press “Verify Truth” back then.
Even if I wasn’t in great shape, I could recover over the holiday, and since it was a major holiday, those idiots would all go home to their families.
I could sort things out cleanly on my own.
But now, out of nowhere, what kind of suggestion was this?
“Inviting a coworker over during the holiday?”
Were we deliberately trying to make things awkward?
Especially Ryu Cheong-woo—when he was a kid, he probably... no, never mind.
Stop. Don’t speculate uselessly. It’s pointless.
I trudged along the mountain path and finally asked outright, “Wouldn’t it be a bit... odd for me to come over during the holiday?”
“It’s fine,” Cheong-woo answered lightly. “It’ll be no different than usual. I already talked to my family about just staying home together. Maybe we’ll just make some holiday dishes.”
He gave me a wry smile, as if reading my silence. “Honestly... I’m a bit uncomfortable meeting relatives.”
“...!”
“They contacted Idol Corporation about you,” he continued matter-of-factly. “There was even an article about it... Ever since, my parents said they’re skipping family gatherings this Chuseok.”
I nodded. Right—AJUSA’s writer had used the “relatives” angle. Cheong-woo’s parents were avoiding relatives so they wouldn’t become bait for the tabloids.
I chose my words. “That was wise.”
He chuckled. “Anyway, it’ll just be my parents and me at home. My sister’s off traveling with friends. Oh, and we have our dog too.”
I considered. “Think it over. I doubt you’d want me alone at the lodging this time.”
“Pardon?”
Cheong-woo’s wry smile softened into something playful. “You know? The members and the company always say weird things happen whenever you’re on leave, so they insist you can’t be left alone.”
... Well, that made sense. Remembering all my mishaps on vacation, I had no reply. If I were in their place, I’d keep an eye on the teammate whose vacations always ended in chaos.
I looked for an escape route in my mind, but if none presented itself...
“Then... staying at your place wouldn’t be so bad,” I admitted. We weren’t that close, so getting my own room would be fine. Seeing his parents might not be entirely pleasant, but I could endure it.
And... I inhaled. Maybe there would be family photos. Whenever big families gather, someone always leaves photos or videos behind.
If I could at least glance at a group photo, I could confirm whether my parents were there—even if Ryu Geonwoo wasn’t.
Nonsense. Even if there were records of my parents here, seeing them now wouldn’t help—it would only unsett le me further. Don’t buy into the mind’s nonsense.
I forced myself to shut down the thought. My teeth ground together.
Cheong-woo noticed. “Does that make you uncomfortable?”
“...!!”
“No, I mean... it’s understandable. It could be awkward to spend time with unfamiliar adults.”
That wasn’t what I meant. I realized what he was actually asking. He looked slightly bitter, then relaxed again. “Well, just think about it.”
I considered letting it drop, but I spoke up. “It’s not that you make me uncomfortable. It’s not awkward for me.”
He glanced at me as we descended the trail, then answered easily, “Okay.”
“No, I’m serious.”
“All right, I get it. Thanks.”
He clearly didn’t understand. I kicked a loose stone. “What I mean is, I don’t want you to feel an odd sense of obligation.”
“...!”
Inviting a coworker home for the holidays wasn’t a simple decision. Normally, he’d probably have told me to crash at some other friend’s house—some equally close peer.
Instead, he’d gone out of his way to describe his own home in detail, which meant he was determined to take care of Park Mundae properly. And there was only one reason for that.
“I didn’t get hurt in the accident instead of you. It was just unbelievably bad luck.”
I meant the rebar that hit me in the car crash. Cheong-woo was silent for a moment, then answered firmly, “No.”
“I’m telling you it’s true—”
“I saw it, Mundae. I saw you push me. You nearly [N O V E L I G H T] died because of that. And who knows what long-term effects you’ve got.”
He spoke without hesitation. “I had to quit archery because of accident aftereffects. They said I wasn’t even close to dying.”
I remembered too. I reflexively recalled his crash scene from the “Verify Truth” feature—him screaming as his arm snapped.
... Maybe that affected me somehow. That was the truth. As I blurred the rest of the scene, I listened quietly.
“And you... you’ve already lost stamina from aftereffects. You wouldn’t be this winded on a hike before.”
“...”
He massaged his brow. “Getting seriously injured and being bedridden must have taken a toll on your condition.”
No—it was because I didn’t have Bacchus. I’d be fine once I bulked up a bit. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
But civilian Cheong-woo didn’t know about web novel settings, and he frowned. “It’s as if you were hurt in my place. How could I not feel guilty?”
...
Right. Cheong-woo had felt indebted to me for taking the blow meant for him, which had forced him to quit archery and go through a tough time.
He exhaled. “Well.”
I hesitated before answering. “All right. Let’s say I saved your life instead.”
“...!”
“You can thank me a lot from now on. And if you need anything, call me without hesitation—make sure you repay me then.”
It would be more awkward to tell him not to thank me. Better to use his guilt until he feels less apologetic.
“Oh, I’ll cover my stamina with exercise, so don’t worry about that.”
“...”
Cheong-woo stopped walking, his expression startled. He probably hadn’t expected me to flip so fast. Then he burst out laughing.
“...Haha!”
Don’t laugh—this is getting endearing. I heard him say cheerfully, “All right, I’ll repay you.”
“Okay.”
The air lightened. I shrugged and kept descending, then added, “Still, I won’t be going to your parents’ home for the holiday. I’ll go somewhere they’re least interested in me.”
“Sure. Rest well.”
Seeing how neatly he answered, I shrugged again. If I had to pick someone else’s house, it might as well be the quietest.
Meanwhile, everything outside—the frenzy that followed the airing of our show—was unfolding in the exact opposite way I’d hoped for a peaceful holiday break.
“That island show was a total hit!! TeSTAR is the best!”
“...Thank you.”
I answered the enthusiastic call from the producers and finally understood why they were so thrilled. Episode 3’s ratings had reached 6.1%.
For a cable idol show, that was off the charts—rivaling CVN’s flagship variety programs. Even the frozen chicken PPL from the island spiked in sales, so the response was obviously incredible.
The producers sounded overjoyed. “We really want to do Season 2!”
“Absolutely,” I said. Everyone at the station must be grinning ear to ear. I’d heard they were planning to bump out some filler pilot and slot in a behind-the-scenes special for us.
... Well, luck had played a big part in capturing so many incidents. It would be hard to recreate that unpredictable excitement next season.
But maybe I should compliment them on keeping their promises. As soon as the survival segment ended, they blew the rest of the budget on a luxury vacation. Those king crabs we ate—I’m pretty sure I had three each, and Cha Yoo-jin had five.
“We’d love to appear again if our schedules allow. We really had fun,” I heard.
“Aw, thanks, Mundae!”
That was enough. I ended the call and passed the phone around to the members. Then...
“Producer?”
“Yes?”
“You keep calling, huh.”
Bae Sejin muttered. I shrugged.
“They must be happy the show did well.”
“Yeah... I guess.”
He muttered gloomily, “...though they showed our ridiculous antics.”
We sat in silence for a moment, recalling all the foolish bits from episodes 2 and 3 that had made the final cut.
“I’m scared of the fan sign event...”
That stillness was broken by the driver’s voice. “Sejin, this is your place, right?”
“Oh, yes! This apartment.”
Sejin perked up in an instant. Mortgage-free apartment power, huh.
“It’s on the top floor!”
He brightened further. “My mom’s home.”
Right. I’d decided to spend the holiday at Bae Sejin’s house. He planned to stay quietly with his mother, so it was a fitting pretext.
“Think of it as a housewarming party!”
“Sure.”
“...?!”
“Thanks for the invite.”
So Sejin was offloading his home base on me. I’d bought some nice fruit and meat just in case. If it got awkward, I could always make a show of it and leave after a day or two.
“Welcome~ You’re Mundae, right?”
“Hello.”
“Come in, come in~”
Sejin’s mother was bright and warm. “I just watched your show again. Oh dear, you kids worked so hard...”
Yeah, Sejin was an only child, so seeing his child struggle on that island must have been tough.
“But it was so entertaining!”
“...Um, yes.”
At least I’d provided some fun. As expected, Sejin and his mother were on very good terms.
“Mundae, you’re taller in person. My son talked about you a lot when he joined the show.”
“W-when did I—”
“They said you sing incredibly well~”
“Ugh!”
Sejin sank in shame as his mother laughed and hugged him.
...
A wholesome mother-son sight. After recovering from the shock, Sejin patted his mother’s back, then staggered to his feet.
“I’ll show you the room.”
“Thank you.”
Let’s not tease him. I followed to my room and got a look around the apartment.
“I picked the wallpaper—sky blue.”
“Looks nice. Simple.”
Sejin clearly felt proud of his home. He even pointed out how he’d organized the chest of drawers.
“Oh.”
After snacking on the fruit I’d brought, evening arrived.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“It’s not much, but eat up~”
Dinner was mung bean pancakes and bulgogi japchae. Worried his mother might be overworked, Sejin had ordered delivery from a specialty restaurant.
“This feels festive.”
It really was a pleasant time. I finished my bowl clean, then commandeered the dishes from Sejin.
Moments later, I returned to my room.
Thud.
“Sigh.”
Sitting on the bed, I crossed my arms. I had messages to send out and plenty of time alone until nighttime.
“Stat Screen.”
The moment had come. It was time to press “Verify Truth.”
