Debut or Die-Chapter 303
“On 〈Teholic’s Show Business〉, the stage or skit given as a punishment is, unsurprisingly, for comedy purposes.
They take a famous meme—either a current trend or a steady seller—then reinterpret it or recreate it exactly.
‘Teholic’s done half of them so far.’
In fact, since they often let guests win, it might even be more than half. And because these guys deliver the funniest bits so well, even when guests get direction or coaching, everyone still thinks of Teholic as the original source.
So what’s the most important thing when planning this stage?
“Next, here’s a draft where we isolate the drum sound and reconstruct the beat.”
Boom!
When that sleek, bassy backing track hit, Cha Yu-jin’s eyes lit up.
“This is awesome! Let’s do this one!”
“Wait.”
I halted Cha Yu-jin.
“Let’s hear the others, too.”
“Got it. Then I’ll play track three.”
The key is—you can’t just do it well and look good.
‘If you do it cleanly, people will say, “They even removed the fun.”’
Viewers expect a hilarious routine. If it’s just polished, they’ll think, “Why even include this?” And there’s only a week to prepare: they don’t care that we poured our hearts into it.
‘If you want a story like that, it needs to be a survival show.’
No chance on a regular variety program.
But aiming solely for laughs isn’t the best plan either.
‘There’s more than one funny guy in this punishment.’
It’d be faster to find the one who can’t make people laugh and look solemn. The producers are crafty enough to script that.
If TeSTAR follows that trend, they’ll just get absorbed into the show’s positive reputation.
“TeShowBiz spares no one—even TeSTAR lol”
“I never thought I’d see TeSTAR doing this—it’s so delightful”
“Bring our kids back on TeShowBiz again, please...^^”
Isn’t that the reaction the show expects?
‘They even gave us a recommended list.’
I scanned the “nostalgic anime theme songs” the producers provided.
Motorcycle racing anime, Greek-Roman mythology anime, detective anime....
‘What we heard a moment ago was the detective anime opening...’
Kim Rae-bin turned it into a hard-boiled, sleek rhythm. In other words, not funny at all—just cool.
The next song was the same.
“This music is great!”
“It really is.”
Then came the Greek-Roman mythology anime theme—arranged so nicely it sounded like an easy-listening indie band.
That’s when I realized my mistake.
Planning to treat this purely as arrangements was the wrong order.
‘I should have given direction from the start.’
Under the instruction to “arrange an anime theme song to fit TeSTAR’s stage,” Kim Rae-bin delivered exactly that.
Not one bit ridiculous—just sophisticated.
‘Hell, I doubt he could even make a low-quality funny arrangement...’
He’s talented, so he could crank out several if he studied references, but it’s not his specialty.
Especially since he produced polished drafts for every candidate song, the odds of him getting discouraged were high.
“How’s this? We haven’t done final tweaks or mixing, so it might sound rough, but the core feel is all there!”
“Yeah. It’s definitely easy on the ears.”
“Thank you!”
Right. He was completely hyped.
‘And time’s running out.’
If I said something useless and Kim Rae-bin got flustered—like “Funny... music?”—it’d be a headache.
I listened to all three of his drafts and thought hard.
The video’s purpose.
‘Why did they only choose anime that went viral on WeTube as candidates?’
I’m tired of talking about generations, but ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) anyway, it targets the Z-gen who saw those memes or the M-gen who watched the shows as kids.
The keyword is... shared nostalgia and buzz-worthiness.
‘Hmm.’
As I rubbed my chin, Cha Yu-jin asked boldly,
“Mundae hyung! Do you not like this one?”
“...!”
Damn.
“...! If you point out the shortcomings, I’ll fix them right away!”
Kim Rae-bin jumped, startled, then snapped to attention like a private.
‘Was I too silent?’
A perceptive guy would’ve noticed I wasn’t entirely satisfied. I’d let my guard down because it was Kim Rae-bin.
Now more than ever, the vibe needs to stay light. I shrugged.
And I had an idea.
“The arrangements are good, but I don’t think these are songs you’d recognize. I’m curious—do you know them?”
“No!”
“I’ve seen ‘Detective Arthur,’ but the others I only know by reputation.”
Cha Yu-jin asked innocently.
“Hyung, have you seen these? Watched them?”
...Right. Mundae’s only two years older than these kids.
I gave a straightforward answer.
“...I saw them on WeTube.”
“Oh.”
“I see. For the stage... your preparation is impressive!”
Let him misunderstand.
“Anyway, the songs from production are fine, but they’re not really connected to us....”
I tossed out a bait.
“If we did a song tied to us, wouldn’t that be more fun?”
“Is there such a song?”
“I like ‘Billy’s Exciting Animal Tale’!”
An American cartoon I’d never heard of popped up.
I shook my head.
“It has to be a late-’90s/early-’00s cartoon that was famous in Korea. That’s the punishment condition.”
“Ugh....”
‘Nostalgic anime theme song,’ so Cha Yu-jin’s sensibility was out.
‘I think that’ll do.’
Instead, I showed them the YouTube clip of the candidate I’d just thought of.
It had become a meme on TikTok thanks to its signature gesture.
“So... how about this?”
“...?”
With that, Kim Rae-bin’s enthusiasm stayed intact, and we wouldn’t have to force a ridiculous arrangement.
‘And we don’t need silly costumes.’
We’d make it funny through context.
Humor created by the situation.
So that even the arranger wouldn’t think, “I’m making something funny”—he could just dive in.
“This is... ah.”
Sure enough, Kim Rae-bin’s face brightened.
“Right. Definitely... a meaningful challenge. Please wait a moment!”
He donned his headset and got to work.
‘...Without an original reference?’
In any case, the spark was lit. I nodded.
‘That should work.’
At that moment, the final unit member next to me spoke with a serious expression.
“Hyung.”
Ah, he could be a sticking point.
I bet this isn’t Cha Yu-jin’s taste.
“What is it?”
“Do you and Kim Rae-bin really like this? Really?”
“Uh-huh.”
Cha Yu-jin watched the clip, looked at Kim Rae-bin, then sighed deeply.
“Oh my god!”
Huh?
“This is a comedy stage. It’s meant to be funny. This is fine.”
“I know! Ugh....”
Cha Yu-jin pouted a few times but then shrugged.
He surrendered.
“Hyung. You’re really doing this for the team, right? I never thought I’d do something like this in my life.”
I chuckled. Got it, kid.
“Now, for the pitch—”
Kim Rae-bin tweaked keys and matched the backing track, delivering a 1:24 arrangement in half a day.
Thus, the urgent dawn rehearsal was set.
Cut back to the end of TeSTAR’s absurd debate segment.
Although they actually filmed the punishment a week later, on air it flowed naturally right after TeSTAR’s crazed defeat.
Of course, after the commercial break.
[What punishment stage has TeSTAR prepared?]
[Revealed in 60 seconds]
Viewers, already conditioned by the tactic, filled the break with various guesses and chatter.
“Classic: Dionysus-style wild stage”
└ Teholic already did that...
└ lololololol
└ At this point, I respect them
When you say “nostalgic anime,” multiple funny songs and concepts come to mind.
And given this show’s track record of never missing a beat, they already knew what tone and direction to expect.
“They’ll definitely do that 90s glowing aura effect”
“Please don’t ruin the faces”
└ lolololol
That delightfully cheesy, B-grade aesthetic.
This show never falls apart awkwardly—it nails those funny old-school vibes!
But when the commercial ended and the screen returned...
“?”
“That’s TeSTAR in their normal uniforms, right?”
At that moment, with a bright, cheerful backing track, the song began.
Center Park Mundae turned and made the iconic gesture.
[“Conveying dreams of love through song
Let’s begin now”]
It was the exact transformation theme of the 2001 magical-girl anime 〈Melody Angel〉.
A classic magical-girl show where Melody transforms into a magical hero and purifies foes with her enchanted song.
TeSTAR, wearing realistic school uniforms without exaggerated makeup, grabbed real mics and began a live performance.
“What is this?”
“Live?”
[“Magical lights up!”]
This anime, backed by an ambitious animation network, even had an original theme composed for the Korean adaptation—and that’s the song playing now.
The hero group’s theme.
Now perfectly and cleanly arranged, the nostalgic theme was reborn.
Almost everyone in their twenties and thirties knew the melody—and it played with its original charm intact.
[“Pure song filled with love
Flying magic’s heart bullet!”]
Because of that lyric and gesture, a “destroyed innocence” gag was once viral—kids pretending to be “shot” by the bullet and collapsing. Even teens knew the original clip.
But TeSTAR didn’t use or reference that meme. They simply recreated the anime faithfully.
In the chorus, they even donned capes and gloves as stage props at the exact moment Melody’s cape would appear in the full transformation sequence.
[“Open your heart, LOVE
Tonight I’ll make my wish”]
TeSTAR gave it their all.
In terms of accuracy and spectacle, it surpassed any fan video online. The singing, expressions, choreography—truly professional.
Which made it all the funnier.
“???????”
“lolololol”
“They’re serious about this lol”
“They got so into the debate, now the punishment too lololol”
“The magic-boy vibe never left!”
Overflowing respect for the original composer!
An idol group whose debut was about “magic boys” fully and earnestly covering a “singing magical girl” concept!
Their genuine immersion made it impossible not to laugh.
One Teholic member was even caught in the background, arms crossed, looking at them like, “Seriously...?”
“Damn, Jin-tae’s eyes are trembling lololol”
“Talent wasted—but let’s acknowledge the craftsmanship”
“TeSTAR’s so into it—why are they so into it?”
For viewers, it was the emotional zenith of the sincerity thread running from the debate to the punishment. People laughed helplessly.
[“Draw your splendid dream
The world is beautiful~”]
A single CG sparkle effect appeared—matching the anime exactly—and it made it even more hilarious.
During the brief instrumental break near the end, the usual gratitude subtitles appeared—and they were the climax.
[“To Melody Angel senior Peppertto: Thank you for the great song. I respect you. by Park Mundae”]
[“Feeling the shared goal of ‘saving people through song’ inspired this cover. Cheering for you! by Kim Rae-bin”]
[“This was my first time seeing it, and everyone loves it. by Cha Yu-jin”]
“What exactly are they cheering for?”
“Are they crazy lololol”
“Park Mundae loved Manrang Dalkom, but now Melody Angel is a senior?? lololol”
“I thought Cha Yu-jin was Gen Z, but he’s got a peer’s vibe”
“Cha Yu-jin’s subtitle is like a cartoon review lololol”
The stage was magnificent, the commentary hilarious.
TeSTAR finished with unwavering seriousness.
“What on earth is happening with TeSTAR?”
“Their characters are unmatched lololol”
And, just as Park Mundae intended, their buzz volume began to skyrocket.
