Debut or Die-Chapter 308
The second day of the composition camp.
The arranging session proceeded amid bursts of laughter.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
“You’re complete idiots!”
Because merging nursery rhymes with idol songs was far stupider than expected, producing all sorts of bizarre works. We even drew the pairings by lottery.
“There’s no way we can ever release this.”
The moment anyone discovers we made these mash-ups, there’ll be an uproar about mocking juniors.
I played my own result—a blend of “Dreaming Teddy Bear” and “Hacker”—then mercilessly stopped it.
“Teddy bear — go go go teddy bear!”
It was indescribably awful garbage.
Yet even here, Kim Rae-bin pulled out something genuinely interesting.
“Oh — Rae-bin, that beat is from a Golden Age track, right?”
“Correct. I borrowed the verse’s beat to give it a more extravagant feel.”
“So that’s why ‘Butterfly’ sounds like this?”
Bae Se-jin’s retort made sense — Rae-bin’s mash-up was unique and brilliant.
To make “Butterfly” sound so trendy.
“We did this to all fail together and ease the pressure.”
But instead, it seemed to have fired Rae-bin up even more... which was actually a good thing.
I wandered around the comedy workshop that the camp had become, then stood.
“Mundae Mundae where are you off to — ”
“To see the chicken.”
I planned to check on the slow-cooked chicken stew simmering in the pressure cooker for lunch.
Unexpectedly, someone followed me.
“Me too!”
It was Cha Yoo-jin.
‘I thought he didn’t like chicken stew as much as fried chicken.’
He must be excited for fun. I shrugged and led him to the stove.
When I noticed the ginseng liquor displayed so neatly on the veranda, memories of dawn drinking flooded back.
“So that’s what you used spray deodorant for.”
I’d changed and brushed, even mouth-washed—no one would know. And that tiny bottle couldn’t get anyone tipsy.
“...Wait a second.”
Me, sure. But the others?
“The more I listen, the more I think hyung’s choice to use only the catchiest nursery-rhyme melodies was truly excellent!”
“Ha ha ha! Really? Rae-bin, do you just want to keep listening?”
“Yes, it’s extremely fascinating!”
“....”
Could it be Rae-bin’s talkativeness is due to a bit of alcohol?
“Well... loosening up isn’t a bad thing.”
No one would ever find out. I walked past the ginseng liquor by the glass door.
But then Cha Yoo-jin murmured.
“Hyung, did you drink that?”
“...!!”
How did that brat know... No choice but to deny.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Liar! I don’t believe you.”
Yoo-jin smiled slyly and pointed at the fridge.
[This morning I saw an empty bottle in the fridge — that strange liquor, right?]
“....”
[I found it while looking for soda.]
Of course — the biggest foodie among us found it first.
I half expected him to demand another drumstick, but Yoo-jin just shrugged.
Then he glanced at Kim Rae-bin.
[You drank it while talking with him, right?]
“Yes.”
[See! He seemed more relaxed today. They say alcohol loosens the tongue.]
“Who says that?”
“My maternal grandmother.”
I suddenly understood why Rae-bin and that brat got along since our old agency. I briefly pictured his grandmother praising the ginseng liquor, then dismissed it.
Yoo-jin lowered his voice.
“I like seeing Rae-bin so at ease.”
That was unexpectedly sweet.
“You must have been worried. Why didn’t you just say so?”
Yoo-jin shrugged.
[We’re the same age. It’s a matter of pride.]
He was the one who once cried and sought out Rae-bin during AJUSA — hardly in a position to talk.
‘But that’s another domain entirely.’
I simply nodded and checked the pressure cooker.
Yoo-jin tailed me again, then gave a thumbs-up.
“Hyung, you’re amazing.”
The stew?
[You’ve supported Rae-bin’s composing so much from the start.]
“It’s just that he’s good at it.”
Frankly, that brat could make a living anywhere by turning nursery rhymes into pop songs.
But Yoo-jin crossed his arms.
[No. Our old company wasn’t very smart! Rae-bin clearly had talent, but they rarely entrusted him with composition.]
“Hmm.”
[He always says he’s grateful you believed in him from the beginning.]
I’d thought they only yelled at each other, but they said things like that? It was so heartwarming I felt embarrassed recalling I’d spotted his Maestro trait in the status window.
Yet Yoo-jin’s tale didn’t end there.
[Athletes and artists both hit slumps. You didn’t overburden him—you supported him through it.]
“....”
[He must have wanted to say this himself, so I’m saying it for him. As his BFF!]
...I never expected to be encouraged like that.
And although I don’t know what it has to do with my back, he patted it.
[Also, look at this. Your magical liquor even worked on him. Honestly, I respect that.]
Good grief.
I glanced at the laughing brat, then at Rae-bin, and replied briefly.
“Thanks.”
“Hee hee.”
[But don’t tell anyone about the liquor.]
“Got it! I’ll keep your secret for the friends’ sake.”
Yoo-jin’s eyes sparkled.
“But let me drink it too! That’s the condition.”
Ginseng liquor?
He must have mistaken its color for dessert wine.
“When?”
“NOW! No—at night!”
I sighed and smiled.
“Fine. Drink it then.”
Yoo-jin grinned and extended a fist.
At that moment, a gloomy voice interjected.
“What are you drinking.”
“...!”
Why do you keep popping up?
It was Bae Se-jin.
He eyeing Yoo-jin’s fist suspiciously, then realization struck—his face went pale.
“You...! You drank the ginseng liquor!”
Damn.
“Well, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) it’s just....”
“Rae-bin! Did you drink that with Mundae??”
“Ah, yes! In the morning... oh.”
Rae-bin blushed, recalling I’d told him, “Don’t mention it so other members don’t feel left out.” 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
“I’m sorry. I should’ve waited until evening... I’ll replenish it by dinner!”
“Ah...!!”
Se-jin’s face flushed, but he held back.
Impressive.
“...Alright.”
“I understand!”
“What’s going on~?”
“We discussed the matter of drinking ginseng liquor before dinner!”
“T-the gin...?”
“Oh, that.”
The members looked puzzled but didn’t press it. I’d been sober for a while, and they likely didn’t want to reprimand Rae-bin.
So it passed.
Se-jin too seemed to sense there were extenuating circumstances. And I no longer felt any thrill about drinking, so it was fine.
‘Maybe we’ll naturally have another one at dinner...’
Then Se-jin grabbed my shoulder.
“You can’t.”
“....”
Hey.
“Look, hyung! It’s fine now. A bit of wine won’t hurt!”
“That’s not wine, it’s distilled liquor!”
Yoo-jin pouted and murmured.
“Sorry, hyung.”
All right...
I didn’t touch another drop of alcohol until we left the lodge.
Still... overall, it was a decent camp.
When we departed, Rae-bin was holding his laptop, not me.
After returning from the three-day, two-night off-the-grid composition camp, we’ve thrown ourselves fully into concert prep.
Of course, there are small pockets of free time.
I’ve been sneakily monitoring responses to the 127 Section arrangements that Big Se-jin even generated background images for and uploaded.
In short, the reactions are better than expected.
What is this person
OK I'm not lying This is SOO000 interesting
Blew my mind.
If stuff like this popped up in the boss room I’d throw money at it right now
Because the game has so many global maniacs, people regularly searching for covers trickle in, generating word-of-mouth buzz.
‘I knew with quality like this, it would surface. We even used smart keywords so it’s easy to find.’
Unsurprisingly, Rae-bin’s arranged theme tracks got the best reactions.
Even though he re-crafted ours at a reproducible level, his wholly original work was higher quality.
And the feedback... mostly hailed him as a genius.
I thought it was a professional composer
└ For a non-expert to be so confident—industry people could price you. He seems like a kid with untapped talent not yet in the pro scene
└ What a bullshit commenter lol I see a seasoned arranger with talent
I deliberately let Rae-bin read these himself. Well, we even checked them together.
“They say so.”
“Yes, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I appreciate it...!”
I wanted him to reclaim his confidence after that slump. These comments, though similar to the public over-praise that triggered his slump, differ crucially.
‘They’re from new faces.’
They lack high benchmarks or background knowledge. It’s pure, unconditional praise of his arrangements, and he can transform it into fuel.
And this time, even if he gets flak, he won’t be scared of the fallout—comments are anonymous anyway.
Plus, we have the excuse we’re all beginners together.
‘Whether it bombs or succeeds, it’s fair game.’
Moreover, it encourages others to keep composing.
I saw Se-jin checking feedback on his own arrangement a few times.
“...W-why!”
“No.”
Well, I check for my mash-ups too, so I’m no better.
Anyway, between concert rehearsals, it was fun to see light-hearted feedback.
Perhaps because of that, Rae-bin focused well on his first concert without composing duties, free of intrusive thoughts.
And someone even leveraged this.
“Mundae Mundae.”
“...?”
Just as rehearsal ended and we were heading home, Big Se-jin approached with his tablet.
“Hm... since Rae-bin hardly touched the audio side this concert because of his work...”
“Right.”
“The arrangements will come out faster, so... how about we devote extra time to other elements?”
Oh.
“In what way?”
“Like this~”
Se-jin powered on his screen and showed me a setlist.
Not the original, but his own marked-up version.
“...!”
“What do you think?”
I responded without hesitation.
“I like it. I’ll bring it up at tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Okay~”
Se-jin grinned.
‘Productive.’
I sipped water and received the shared file.
But that day’s agenda didn’t end there.
“Um... there’s a comment.”
On our way home from practice, Se-jin showed me a screen.
It was the comment section of our anonymous arrangement channel, getting familiar.
One comment, rising to the top with many likes, was...
An official invitation.
Hello. This is T1 Plays. Since you didn’t provide contact info, we’re reaching out via this comment.
“...??”
Below that lengthy comment was the email of T1 Plays’ representative.
I recognized it.
“...Isn’t that the person who contacted us for the game collab?”
“Indeed.”
And just like that, we found ourselves hooked into a massive hook.
