Debut or Die-Chapter 293
“The recently formed debut group from Season 5—whose official name hasn’t been decided yet—had a pretty packed schedule.
They were handling debut preparations while also doing ads, interviews, and everything expected of an audition–show winner.
Although their buzz couldn’t compare to that of TeSTAR from the previous male season, it was still enough to get their hearts racing.
And one member felt a different kind of triumph.
‘Can’t even respond to my messages? How hilarious.’
Chae Seodam stared at the one contact in her smartphone showing no reaction.
[Senior Mundae]
She’d sweet-talked the former TeSTAR manager into giving her his number. It was easy to get a pathetic fanboy idol to gush.
‘Acttough all you want, but your nature’s the same.’
She figured Park Mundae belonged to that same crowd.
The maladjusted loner who couldn’t speak to anyone in school—now drunk on his own idol fame and lording it over someone like her was humiliating.
‘“Lucky bastard,” huh? He sounded so big-shot, but in the end he was all show and no substance.
Even now, she’d casually name-dropped him in interviews and shoots—and he couldn’t even be bothered to reply.
He must have chickened out in advance.
‘Thought he’d explode in rage, but he was too scared to act.’
She imagined him flattering himself as some cartoon protagonist—one of those clueless goofs in every class.
‘Lucky? He’s the one giving his self-introduction right now.’
She had trained her feet to dust, outsmarted every obstacle, and worked tirelessly—and yet this success-born guy thought he could boss her around.
She couldn’t help admiring herself. He’d slipped up once, but she wouldn’t let him off that easy.
‘Not anymore.’
She planned to ride his name recognition, squeeze every last benefit from it, and then unleash a thrill-ride of a finale.
The moment they met again, she’d push him to snap—and that would be perfect bait, since he worshipped others’ reactions.
‘Might as well tattle to the company, too.’
If they tried to cover for him, she could twist that into blackmail.
‘If needed, I’ll claim I was the one being bullied—double win.’
‘Idol terrorizes junior using deleted recording!’
She smiled at the thought.
Then she remembered another party to that recording—Cheong-ryeo—whom she’d overlooked in her excitement.
Of course, she’d rationalize it all as part of her plan.
He wouldn’t show any gesture of panic.
‘They’re all alike.’
Since her recording had hurt no one, she was sure Mundae would secretly be pleased to see him in trouble—despite the holier-than-thou veneer.
She’d heard he’d had instant success upon debut—she guessed his childishness ran deep.
‘He might even beg me to play nice.’
She’d been polite enough so far; she wasn’t the emotional type.
Perhaps he’d been waiting for her to slip up.
‘Hmmm...’
Pleased with her rolling logic, Chae Seodam shook off the last days of anxiety.
‘Bold moves.’
Her lifelong arrogance crept back.
That optimism shattered a few days later in the company hallway.
She ran into her senior from school days—Seon Ah-hyun.
“Hello, Senior!”
“Hello...!”
Ah-hyun approached with her chin high—nothing like the timid girl she’d once known. Chae Seodam felt a pang of disgust.
‘If hadn’t gone well for her, she’d still be clueless in society.’
It always rankled her to hear that human act like she’d succeeded more than Chae Seodam.
‘What can you do besides flex your seniority?’
And honestly, Ah-hyun’s flex didn’t faze her.
“I have something to say to you, Seodam—do you have a moment?”
“Ah, sure, Senior Ah-hyun!”
Her effort not to stammer drove Chae Seodam nuts, but she inwardly snorted at Ah-hyun’s grandstanding in summoning her.
The recorder was still running.
‘Another weapon unlocked.’
Yet the moment they entered the small conference room, Seon Ah-hyun struck.
“I’m really torn... Should I tell the truth that you bullied me?”
“...!”
Telling what?
Chae Seodam blinked, wondering if she’d gone mad.
But Ah-hyun wasn’t done.
“I recorded, you know.”
“...!”
“I was so scared... I didn’t know if I was overreacting, so I played it back and tried to understand... for a while.”
“....”
“And...it’s still there.”
Chae Seodam felt a chill down her spine.
Her survival instinct screamed.
‘No—that can’t be true.’
She denied reality, then rationalized like she always did:
‘She couldn’t possibly release it.’
If she did, she’d hurt herself too—she was on a hot streak as an idol, after all.
And what had been recorded? She’d never screamed insults or laid a hand on anyone.
This was just intimidation.
‘But...’
Still, just in case.
Switching to a pitying tone, Chae Seodam spoke.
“Ah-hyun... do you really hate me that much?”
“....”
“We had our clashes in school, but not to this level... Did you just resent me for outranking you? It’s humiliating.”
She’d expected a flustered defense—and she got one.
“My own image’s so bad, I thought you were mocking me—made me feel worthless...”
She drew attention to her recorder, the proof.
“Seodam.”
But Ah-hyun did not flinch.
“That won’t work anymore.”
“...!!”
“I’m seriously considering making this public. I thought I’d warn you—this is my final word.”
“....”
“I’ll be going now.”
Ah-hyun dipped her head, expression set, then left the room.
Chae Seodam’s mind went blank.
‘She won’t release it.’
Chae Seodam lay on {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} her dorm bed, repeating it.
She’d just been testing her resolve with threats, she was sure of it.
‘She must have heard something somewhere.’
Yet she kept imagining the fallout if Ah-hyun did release it.
Over days of torment, a thought crept in:
‘...Should I apologize?’
No—apologizing felt like admitting guilt! She’d done nothing wrong.
The idea of the weaker party collapsing under stress disgusted her.
“Fuck...”
Everything was uncertain. Any move could backfire.
‘Should I just ignore her?’ 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
But the doubt circled back endlessly.
Then, after agonizing days, things shifted.
“Seodam... the head of management wants to see you.”
“...Yes.”
Fuck! Fuck!
Chae Seodam’s gut twisted. Seeing the manager’s face, she knew it wasn’t good—and that meant Ah-hyun had followed through.
‘Of course.’
A brilliant idea struck her.
If she grabbed proof that Mundae had bullied her, she could negotiate with the company even if Ah-hyun exposed her.
As the manager guided her to the office at the end of the corridor, she calculated every angle.
‘If I text him now, I might provoke something...’
Click.
But after confirming whether the recorder was with her, the conference-room door swung open.
“Here you are.”
Sitting in the manager’s seat—whom she’d least expected—was Park Mundae.
“...!”
What the hell was happening?
Mundae looked her over indifferently, then gestured to the chair.
“Please sit.”
“....”
“I’m the assistant to the director here.”
He spoke nonsense as casually as breathing, then watched the manager close the door behind her.
And he chuckled.
“Let’s talk.”
In that moment, Chae Seodam remembered why she’d spied on him.
Revenge.
‘Lucky bastard.’
Had all the chaos and leaks she’d endured secretly come from Mundae’s actions?
