Debut or Die-Chapter 292
To my surprise, the moment Chae Seodam brought up “recording,” the mood snapped into cliché.
It was hilarious.
What the hell is she on about?
No matter what she recorded, the standard play would be to shut up until the right moment to use it.
Why on earth is she giving us time to respond by saying it out loud?
Hm. Is she trying to seize the upper hand through blackmail?
Is she banking on us panicking and begging her to produce the recording?
I was curious what her plan was—if she claimed we’d said something incriminating, or denied it, what would she do?
I spoke up at once.
“Chae Seodam, you know it’s illegal to record private conversations without consent, right?”
“Pardon? Oh... I only meant to record my own daily life, and I was worried that if any background audio included something that might trouble you seniors, I should check first.”
Chae Seodam bowed her head.
“I’m truly sorry if it was sensitive.”
Oh.
If she says it was sensitive, that becomes her leverage—if not, she has no grounds to press further.
I crossed my arms and smiled.
So she wants to make me angry.
“Honestly... this happens all the time. It’s unlawful invasion of privacy.”
That was that: I’d called it illegal.
But her next move was unusual.
“Yes! I’m careful not to let that happen. I’ll delete anything you seniors might have said that ended up in there.”
She pulled a button-sized recorder from her back pocket.
Bluetooth model, huh.
She then took out her phone and, right before my eyes, played back the file.
“I’m not sure where this is... My legs hurt...”
Her voice sounded intentionally loud, as though she’d sat in front of the door to record. Faint background noise came through—probably the door edge picking up the waiting-room chatter.
“...aiming for Daesang...”
Ah, it started right there.
I heard Cheong-ryeo’s faint voice talking about viral marketing.
Then she immediately tapped the file again and deleted it completely.
“It’s deleted.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
Should I applaud? I nodded and stared at her.
She looked flustered.
Why so calm?
Did she expect me to panic, replay the conversation, and get anxious? Ambitious plan.
“Anything else to say?”
“No. I’ll be going now. I apologize for troubling you, seniors.”
She bowed and turned away. I checked the other “senior” she’d referred to.
Cheong-ryeo.
...She watched Chae Seodam’s retreating back intently.
What the—
Then Chae Seodam suddenly pivoted, looking back at me.
“But... Senior, do you trust me?”
“...!”
What nonsense is this?
“I’m really sorry, but I don’t know much about these gadgets. I just wondered if any traces remain—if it could be hacked or something.”
Recording, huh.
She’d done the delete-for-show stunt, but was planting doubt that she still had it.
Now I see her—she’s pushing reactions, probing for weaknesses to exploit.
Given the size difference between us, pulling this stunt is foolish... or maybe she figures she has more to lose, so she’ll back down.
“Hmm. Then you might be in trouble, Seodam.”
“...Me?”
“Yes. An idol who secretly records others... you know how that looks.”
I leaned against the doorframe.
“If it ever leaks, I’ll drag you down with me.”
Her head snapped up defiantly for a moment, then she bowed again.
“...Thank you for the advice.”
Quickly, she strode down the corridor until she disappeared.
What a piece of work.
I shrugged, shook my head.
Depending on how well that recorder worked... if I did nothing, what worst-case disadvantages could I stack against her?
Casual speech and viral-marketing frame, both negatives. Keywords: “attitude controversy” and “deceiving the public.”
“Why are you talking down to her like that, even if you’re close?”
“You called her ‘dog’ then ‘dap-yang,’ she’s livid, lol.”
“Honestly gross.”
“So the rain performance was planned from the start? That’s just sinister.”
Something like that.
But would it be fatal? That’s uncertain.
They’d get a lot of hate, sure... but with enough prep time they could defend it. It’s all about framing.
Especially if you prep with the other party, it can blow over as a tempests-in-a-teacup.
“This is amusing.”
...She’s eerily unfazed, as if any fallout would hurt only me.
But from her perspective, if this explodes, it’s a net gain—any negative on TeSTAR is positive for VTIC.
No wonder she stayed silent.
I massaged the back of my neck and reentered the waiting room, planning to take care of things before the others arrived.
Then a voice came from behind.
“I’m curious what you’ll do.”
“Why are you interested, senior?”
“I told you to speak casually—so cooperate. Hmm, what’s her grudge?”
“Grudge?”
I hadn’t given her a reason—just cursed her once. Hard to see why that’d provoke such a stunt.
Is she just out to make everyone miserable now that I’m in trouble?
But Cheong-ryeo cut in clearly.
“She didn’t seem to want any deal with me... this is another unique case.”
“....”
Right—she chose me.
“I’d like you to tell me what you plan to do, then.”
“Well... wait and see.”
I finished typing the message I’d been composing. After Chae Seodam’s first threat, she must’ve known that if she released the recording outright, I’d be ready for it. So she’d refine her tactic first.
She’ll extract every bit of risk.
If anything goes wrong, observations first—until her motive and weakness surface.
A few days later, I got off work early for the first time in ages and was lying on the living-room sofa.
“Mundae, Mundae—what’s this?”
“Hmm?”
Big Sejin was holding my phone over my head.
It was the interview script.
The question: “Famous industry friends you’re close with.”
The subject: this “AJUSA” debut group.
Chae Seodam: I recently received guidance from Senior Park Mundae of TeSTAR. He was incredibly kind, and it made me want to work even harder.
...
A typical rookie interview, name-dropping a successful senior to grab attention.
Except the senior and the rookie in question are me and Chae Seodam.
“I asked Heeseung, and she’s giving that same answer.”
“....”
“See?”
Big Sejin flipped the screen.
[Heeseung: Mundae hyung, are you really close with her? Unthinkable turn of events ]
...Heeseung’s gone full meme mode after two survival shows.
Anyway, I understood the situation.
“She’s trying to use my name.”
Chae Seodam’s mind seemed sharp enough for that.
She was spinning this negative press into a positive. Even my fans, though uneasy, were treating it as a sweet story.
She’s pushing to the very brink.
She’s testing how far she can scrape before I respond. And if I personally confronted her or reacted badly, she’d capture that, too.
Cunning devil.
Maybe she’s done this long enough to be good at it.
...But no matter my analysis, the immediate issue is real.
Big Sejin lowered the phone and asked,
“So, Mundae. Why would she suddenly think to use your name?”
“....”
“Did something happen?”
That question.
Even if I guard and prevent it, there’s risk for the team here.
I decided to lay it all out.
“Could everyone gather in the living room for a moment?”
It was time for my confession.
Shortly after, everyone had assembled.
“So... you—and you spoke casually to Senior Cheong-ryeo?”
“...Yes.”
“....”
I thought they’d glare at me, but instead both Cheong-ryeo and Sejin just looked understanding. What?
“Well... the sequence happened to put the two of us together.”
“Good move!”
Ah—they knew that guy had once bullied me during vacation. They figured I didn’t owe him formal speech.
But the others looked puzzled. Geonwoo muttered,
“Good move...?”
“Uh, well, he once gave me a hard time at the station!”
“...!!”
“...Really? When?”
Now is not the time for that story.
I cut in between Geonwoo and Bae Sejin’s chatter. Rae-bin’s eyes were about to pop.
“That was a long time ago, but sorry for not being careful with the network. And that guy claimed our success was all planned—he never denied it.”
“I apologize for that too.”
“No!! The person who recorded it is in the wrong! Mundae hyung did nothing wrong!”
“Exactly. Who would do something so rude and malicious?...”
We’d barely lifted our song, and here come the abuse. I forced a bitter smile.
“Thanks, but a mistake is a mistake. It’s on me. I must’ve let my guard down.”
“Mundae, Mundae—how can a person live always on edge?”
Big Sejin threw an arm around me and murmured cheerfully,
“It’s fine! A rookie recording you? Just talk it out with her—then...”
“That—then I’ll... handle it!”
What?
Suddenly, Seon Ah-hyun, who’d been silently watching, clenched his fist.
“She... treated me badly. If you tell everyone she’s bullying, then...”
“Ah-hyun??”
“No, Ah-hyun, that’s not it!”
The living room erupted. And I agreed with their reaction.
Without solid evidence, dragging up something like school bullying turns it into a mud fight with no benefit.
“I think it’s best if I just explain that I used casual speech and /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ target Chae Seodam as the recorder.”
Bae Sejin chimed in,
“Yeah! Just say Mundae used casual speech!”
Hey.
“We can make her defend that. Then...”
“Defend?”
“...Anyway, get her to firmly admit that casual speech was fine.”
Not knowing full context, Geonwoo hesitated—he thought only the parties involved should speak.
Maybe he was thinking of reporting her or something else.
Then Geonwoo began to calm the room.
“Alright. If Mundae’s been stressed this whole time without speaking up, don’t worry too much...”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
“Taken care of?”
“I recorded it too.”
“...??”
I lifted my phone to show them the file.
“I felt something was off when she made me use casual speech, so I recorded it.”
If nothing problematic exists, you delete it—and there’s no harm in having a backup.
And everyone reacted with “Of course you did”... as if they expected it.
“As expected of Mundae.”
“Wow....”
Fine—good.
“I’ve told the company everything, so there’s no need to worry about misrepresentation.”
Just then, Seon Ah-hyun raised his hand again.
“I... have something too.”
“...!!”
“A recording?”
“No, not that.”
He looked up, voice trembling but firm.
“I have the counseling records from that time, Mundae.”
“...!”
“Of course I quit soon after, but there must be records if you look.”
He finished clearly:
“If it helps you, I want to use them.”
...With that, two paths opened for handling this:
One, quietly eliminate Chae Seodam’s career in the industry. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Or two, make her suffer true heartache.
Let’s go with the latter.
Yes.
That balanced the scales.
After the meeting ended in the early hours, I called my final collaborator.
– Have you decided what to do?
“Yes.”
“Then cooperate.”
