Debut or Die-Chapter 280

“Alone... in a space where sight and smell are sealed off.”

Thoughts without beginning or end raced through my mind.

‘Alone.’

To be alone means bearing responsibility for everything yourself.

The contracts, the registrations, the payments, even the penalties—every action and every mistake the world requires is my responsibility.

Any danger or pain that comes from my decisions and actions is entirely mine.

I cannot share it with anyone—there is no option for me.

‘I’ll be fine.’

But one grows accustomed to this after a few years.

I’m not the only person who lives like this. Even when something sucks or becomes overwhelming, you figure out how to survive.

‘I’ve managed so far.’

But don’t situations you cannot handle eventually arise in life?

‘I can’t guarantee they never will.’

Just like what happened to my parents... when a sudden disaster strikes, that is...

If a fire breaks out.

And if at that moment I happen to be asleep, injured, or ill... utterly powerless to do anything?

‘There are too many holes.’

If I let my guard down, I die.

Drip.

I felt a cold sweat drop onto my foot... No, it was a single drop on my shoe—and it felt impossibly heavy.

‘Is this real?’

The air smelled acrid.

But even if I wanted to check, I could see nothing...

“Park Mundae!”

Suddenly, a voice cut through the silence.

Something landed on my shoulder. ...It sounded like a hand.

A hand belonging to someone else.

“You okay? Just stop for a moment.”

Had I been walking?

“Yes.”

The word escaped reflexively.

I took a deep breath and stopped moving.

Then I said something unprompted.

“I thought there was a fire...”

“That’s right. The escape timer got close enough to trigger the effect.”

An effect.

‘Of course.’

To heighten the atmosphere at the end, they could simulate a building collapse. I lifted my head.

Light was leaking from the corner of the corridor ahead—emergency exit green.

“Oh.”

I had already walked beyond the darkest blackout zone without realizing it.

I simply hadn’t noticed.

My unblocked ear finally registered the blaring sirens, distant moans of zombies, and staged collapse sounds.

“You must’ve been startled going alone. Good thing you followed me.”

The hand’s owner was Ryu Cheong-woo, smiling sheepishly. The guy with the laser gun must have chased after me in an instant.

I managed a wry smile.

“Yes. It’s reassuring.”

My needless anxieties vanished.

‘What kind of stupid stunt is this in the middle of filming?’

Nothing harmful would actually happen.

And even if it did, I’m not the only one here—I could handle it.

“Right.”

Cheong-woo glanced at my face, then patted my back lightly and nodded.

“If we’re moving, it’s better to have a weapon. Let’s stick together.”

“Absolutely. Thank you.”

There really was no time to waste.

I mentally scolded myself for the moments wasted on needless thoughts.

Then I broke into a run. Cheong-woo followed immediately.

“Where to?”

“The room with the vent.”

“Oh, the room where you found the laser gun. Should we head back there?”

“No.”

I answered quickly.

“I want to use it to return to the starting room.”

“...Why there?”

“Because there were no tricks in the starting room—so it must mean something.”

All we needed was to find the vent and escape.

Even that flimsy setup where the crew had blocked the path—wasn’t part of this institute’s usual curriculum.

‘There must be a trick in that space too, for the setup to make sense.’

Cheong-woo and I passed the actor playing the zombie corpse and took the stairs via the emergency exit.

This level led to that room. Conscious of the camera, I spoke quickly.

“When I saw the word ‘pass’ at the back door, I first thought of an ID.”

“ID?”

“Yes. In a research institute, you’d think of an ID card. But none of the people we met had cards hanging from their necks.”

I recalled the group interview earlier.

Neither on the expert’s neck nor chest was any lanyard.

“So they might have kept them in their clothing pockets.”

“...!”

Then we noticed one piece of clothing very prominently.

I opened the door, passed the mannequin, and climbed into the vent.

Thanks to the cabinet already being moved aside, I only had to carefully step over the actor playing the corpse.

And it clicked.

This was the first signal that the content genre had shifted from a psychology test to a zombie escape.

– Ugh!

“The consultant fell into the corridor, and her white coat got caught in the door.”

Of course, we had witnessed that with intense focus.

“Showing that coat deliberately—because the most important clue was there.”

Almost certain, I reached the vent’s exit and stepped down.

‘There it is.’

Right opposite me, under the first steel door, lay the coat.

I ran over, crouched, and rifled through the white coat.

I felt a square of plastic beneath the front pocket’s fabric.

‘Exactly.’

I smiled.

“The pass has been here all along.”

I pulled out an ID card bearing the person’s photo and position.

On the back, in clear small letters, it even said, “Also serves as pass.”

“See, Mundae, you really are clever.”

I heard Cheong-woo’s voice admiringly.

I pocketed the ID and turned my head.

“It’s not that big of a deal...”

Click.

“......?”

The barrel of the laser gun Cheong-woo still held swung into view.

‘What the—’

I moved only my eyes up to Cheong-woo.

He looked slightly awkward as he spoke.

“I need that ID card, Mundae.”

“.......”

I paused, organized my thoughts, then spoke.

“It’s the same either way—using it will open the back door, right?”

“No, our goals differ.”

Cheong-woo kindly explained.

“You guys want to escape. I want to stop you.”

“...!!”

“Well... you could say I’m the villain. That’s just how it is.”

What nonsense is this?

‘He’s been the one contributing most to our escape?’

Thanks to his marksmanship... Wait.

A rapid review of Cheong-woo’s actions flew through my mind.

– “Hey, can you pull that cabinet slightly? I need my brain.”

He’d wasted two shots of his laser gun on the zombie in the vent.

He volunteered without asking permission and fired arbitrarily.

He always asked whether to fire even when it wasn’t necessary.

‘So he wasted time even when he didn’t need to.’

This lab’s escape route was designed for stealth movement without using weapons....

Meaning having him hold a gun did nothing but waste time and create a false sense of security.

‘Wow...’

I’d been completely duped.

I looked at Cheong-woo with disgust at the crew.

‘When will I get to hear why they chose you, and your backstory?’

There was no time. That stuff can go in the interview.

I cut to the chase.

“That only works on zombies.”

Cheong-woo replied nonchalantly.

“No, the manual said it’s dual-purpose.”

“Oh.”

Whether it was true didn’t matter—the mere possibility made the gun powerful.

If it hits, you’re out, and we can’t escape.

If Cheong-woo ran off with the ID, it’d be over.

‘Brutal.’

How many minutes left?

A countdown displayed on a large screen here.

[00:05:19]

...Nicely choreographed for maximum immersion at the end.

‘Five minutes.’

It’s tight.

I sighed and raised my hand.

“...Hold on. I’ll take out the card.”

“Fine.”

I slipped my hand into the largest coat pocket.

The moment I gripped something, I snatched it out and trained it on Cheong-woo.

“Good thing. It works on people too.”

It was the very laser gun I’d taken from the security guard whose life ended with the zombie.

Cheong-woo looked at me in astonishment and confusion.

“The battery...?”

“It’s loaded.”

Everyone assumed that since Cheong-woo had a laser gun with a 12-shot magazine, I wouldn’t have one.

But I had checked.

“There’s only one left.”

The gauge showed exactly one shot remaining.

He’d done his civic duty, but I thought someone with military training would be more reliable—so I took charge of it.

Now holding it, it hardly mattered how realistic it looked.

‘No need for two guns mid-escape anyway.’

Cheong-woo gave a pained half-smile, realizing he’d been outplayed.

But then he nodded, as if he’d had an epiphany.

“Mundae. Even if we just stand like this, you can’t use the ID—you can’t take it to the back door.”

“...!”

“Then it’s pointless...”

He was right.

‘I should’ve shot as soon as I pulled it out.’

I’d hesitated, worrying it’d turn into a mess unfit for an idol show if I lied—forgotten that Cheong-woo wouldn’t lie about something like that.

‘Should I shoot now?’

Could I pull the trigger faster than him? And he’s got two shots left.

A critical moment.

Thud!

“Mundae hyung! Cheong-woo hyung!”

“...!”

The opposite vent burst open with a crash.

And cheerful voices echoed.

“It was me! It’s here!”

“Oh~ really!”

“We—we’re here....”

The guys climbing out of the vent froze at the sight.

“Uh-oh.”

Two members aimed their laser guns at each other.

“What’s going on here!”

I blurted without thinking.

“Why did you come all the way here....”

“I mean, it was obvious you’d run off alone, so we followed!”

“That’s right!”

“Yeah, we were worried...”

I looked at them as if punched in the gut.

‘I ran off alone because there was no time to explain...’

If I’d just said “run without explanation,” would they still have followed?

‘Right. And that would’ve made better footage.’

My inner voice answered for me. I found myself laughing.

‘It’ll take more time to break this habit.’

But someone was truly sincere: Kim Rae-bin stared at Cheong-woo and me in shock.

“We’re gonna be a team of fate until we escape—internal betrayal....”

“.......”

I needed to clear up the misunderstanding at once.

I opened my mouth.

“I just found the pass in that coat and Cheong-woo hyung tried to take it. He’s actually a spy.” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Then I pulled the ID from my pocket and waved it.

“Incredible!”

“Whoah! Cheong-woo hyung!”

“See? It was in the coat... no, we need to subdue him now!”

The mood flipped again in an instant.

And since we outnumbered him, we’d win.

‘Four minutes left—enough time to get out.’

But at that moment, I had a nagging thought.

Do they have to believe me? We’re aiming guns at each other.

And the fact that I—usually not the one stepping up—am holding a gun, isn’t that odd?

‘If Cheong-woo claimed I was going to stab him in the back and he was just stopping me....’

“Haha.”

...That scenario seemed unlikely. His expression said, “I’ve been found out.”

True—I’d rather lose than resort to that.

“Okay. This won’t do. I surrender.”

Cheong-woo lowered the laser gun with a somewhat proud smile and raised his hands.

“Yessss!”

The members rushed over, grabbed Cheong-woo’s gun, cheering and screaming. The final twist was exhilarating.

“We’re escaping!”

“No, we have to run first!”

“That’s right!”

They playfully menaced Cheong-woo and dashed toward the back door.

As for the ID card...

—Click.

“It’s opening!”

“Nice...!”

It worked. I stepped outside into the fading light, arm in arm with the others.

The sun was setting.

A gust of wind rushed across our faces.

“Escaped with 29 seconds to spare!”

“We’re insane!”

I joined their celebration. Honestly, it felt great.

After a while of chatting about the behind-the-scenes and what we’d experienced,

“Ah~ great job, everyone!”

“Ugh! Really!”

The crew reappeared, grinning.

And apparently trying to capture our exasperation, the cameras were still rolling. Unbelievable.

“Who was it that betrayed Cheong-woo hyung? Isn’t it too harsh on our leader~?”

“No, Cheong-woo seemed to enjoy it??”

“Haha, no!”

“Cheong-woo, how could you betray us!”

Minutes of playful, funny protest ensued, then we got down to business.

“So who’s our roommate??”

“Hmm, yeah. I’m curious how it’s decided.”

Right—that was the real purpose of all this chaos. We looked at the crew, waiting for an answer.

“Well....”

The PD beamed.

“Watch Episode 1 of Season 4 to find out~”

“Really!!”

And TeSTAR played right into the crew’s hands until the very end.

...It was fun, so I’ll let it slide.