Debut or Die-Chapter 346

“...A massive success, isn’t it?”

“I know, right.”

We fell silent for a moment after checking the freshly released hot music video’s comments and SNS feeds.

No... the response was way better than we’d expected.

Honestly, on comeback day you usually get everything from soul-shredding hate to curses, so we were planning to avoid monitoring if possible...

“No need for that.”

– godstar godconcept godmv just god

– TeSTAR!! TeSTAR!! TeSTAR!! TeSTAR!¹ TeSTAR!! TeSTAR!! TeSTAR!!

– Ah haha TeSTAR really cares about Korea~~~~ Have you seen that badass Haetae hero~~~

It’s to the point that English comments completely cover the section, and the few Korean comments popping up in the video’s comment section feel like bamboo shoots breaking through the ground.

And these aren’t just the usual fan cheers, but netizen comments storming in like it’s a sports match.

“Uh... I guess we really made something amazing.”

“Seriously.”

Ryu Cheong-woo has become the “Seriously” reaction bot.

“This is the first time this has happened...? Everyone’s saying only good things!?”

“Indeed.”

That last line was me—before Ryu Cheong-woo could open his mouth. Bae Se-jin’s nose was nearly buried in his smartphone.

I swiped through my own phone screen.

I couldn’t believe it, but even the harshest corners of the internet were overwhelmingly positive.

– Fuck, this is fucking great. I stayed up studying, worried you idiots would cock it up after winning the Daesang, but this was worth losing deep sleep over.

– Our bodies are still teenage buds; watch that performance—only living cartilage can pull that off.

└ hahahahaha

– They really milk that movie cameo’s hype—this is why I can’t quit you. Keep riding that meta spitefully.

“...”

Well... that place was half-anti at best, and I never expected them to be this blunt...

Anyway, those folks prefer “drill-level” bone-grinding performances—but after our last title hit Daesang by targeting broad appeal, they must have been ready to curse us in advance if we kept going that route.

“I don’t know why they’d waste energy there.”

But when they popped the hood, it really was a “Drill”-level bone-grinding performance infused with the nostalgia of the march they loved most—so they broke into applause instead.

In other words, there’s no risk of unnecessary discord within the fandom.

“Hmm.”

“Whoa, he said he wouldn’t monitor that crap anymore~ and now he’s weirdly monitoring again....”

“I’m turning it off now.”

He’s the guy whose mental health was wrecked by digging into those toxic personal-fan pits back at debut, yet he still loves to give advice.

In any case, this isn’t the AJUSA days, and for eye-health reasons he just closed the page.

Still, he seemed uneasy.

“Honestly, I thought opinions would be pretty split.”

No matter how good the CG and editing are, it’s an idol MV stuffed with sci-fi, a modern dance hall, Haetae, and plague imagery. I figured some of the general public might get indigestion, but we went ahead anyway.

Yet it seems that quality outweighs preferences, and reputation sits atop quality.

[TeSTAR’s Haetae Slays the Plague in America, Global Reactions Speechless!]

[Korea’s Flavor? It’s TeSTAR! The Shocking Secret Behind TeSTAR’s New Song “Savior”!]

Look at how YouTube channels, foaming at the mouth since the cameo, are titling their videos.

I realized again.

“National pride, huh.”

If you don’t let national pride meta go overboard, it’s unbeatable. It really pays off.

“Glad I insisted at the last minute.”

– If we lean too heavily on American references, domestic opinion might get upset.

– The “Spring Out” side got good overseas response, so let’s just sprinkle a bit of that steampunk Joseon worldbuilding as a side dish.

Of course, the more you repeat it, the harder it is to draw the line before it goes overboard—but that’s exactly what precise references and structure achieve.

“Seon Ah-hyun really pulled triple duty.”

That guy rewound the MV reaction so many times he was monitoring it himself. He must be proud. That’s it.

“Nothing I say will register right now.”

He might as well dive into the MV himself.

Then again, none of us aren’t hyped.

“The MV views are skyrocketing. The movie cameo was the smartest move possible!”

“Right... and Se-jin and Ah-hyun invoking Edgar Allan Poe... they did big things. Plus Mun-dae’s Haetae concept fit perfectly.”

“Oooo!”

At Ryu Cheong-woo’s surprisingly composed praise, Bae Se-jin spoke up calmly.

“...I just gave the idea! Actually, Ah-hyun did all the work.”

“......”

And in the middle of this, if Seon Ah-hyun hadn’t heard and was still monitoring, that would say it all.

What’s tragic is that Bae Se-jin, flushed red, tried again.

“...Um, Ah-hyun did all th—”

“Hyung, drop the fixation on others’ reactions. Let’s just move on as if it never happened.”

“Hey!”

“And me? My acting was great!”

“Oh~ Yujun’s presence was amazing, too!”

“Yeah, that was definitely... solid. Your expressions were so good.”

“Hehe.”

At this point, praising someone for painting their face gold feels like a drunken toast. It wouldn’t be weird if someone mixed soju and beer, toasted, and gave a speech.

Then praise poured onto Kim Rae-bin, who reworked the arrangement in three days, and the main dancers who ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) combined the new choreography draft. Soon it’d be aimed at me.

“Hmm.”

Maybe I should plant these guys’ feet firmly on the ground.

“And Mun-dae-mun-dae~ Mun-dae really built this whole camp. He’s the MVP of this album~”

“Right. The real leader of the camp wasn’t me, but Mun-dae. You did a lot of hard work.”

“Hyung, you were amazing! I admit it!”

“Ye—yeah...!”

When did Seon Ah-hyun even realize he’d been included here?

Anyway, I let out a quiet laugh.

“Thank you. But public opinion changes quickly, so weird talk might pop up again. Don’t worry—it’ll calm down over time.”

They all cracked grins. These guys?

“Mun-dae, you’re embarrassed?”

“No.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll let you have this one~”

Should I sock him in the face?

But someone quickly shifted the topic. Sharp as ever.

“Public opinion is fickle, but maybe because we prepared so hard, I want to get on stage ASAP.”

“I heard the pre-record is the day after tomorrow. Can’t wait!”

These guys are so confident, even after how rough the preparations were. No wonder—they’ve been on a forced march.

– Your timing’s off~ again! Don’t gasp so much!

– One more five-minute break....

– Then we finish ten minutes late~

“......”

They squeezed every last drop of stamina out of themselves... I almost empathized too deeply, then snapped back to thinking about upcoming schedules.

“Let’s cover a domestic music show, then head to the U.S.”

Going all-in on America looks like a blunder. How could we know what’d happen next?

So originally the plan was: domestic first, then a few U.S. talk-show spots.

But that evening, things changed.

“They want us there?”

“The company says so.”

Suddenly a major U.S. prime-time variety show reached out.

“If we accept...”

“It’s live performance... next Tuesday.”

“......”

And everyone grasped the situation.

“It’s a fill-in slot.”

“Uh, yeah.”

If it were a regular booking, they wouldn’t call that suddenly. Someone must’ve screwed up.

Big Se-jin shrugged.

“Well~ a slot’s a slot.”

True. Even though it’s just a performance with no talk, ratings will be better than most talk shows we booked.

“There can’t be many artists called to a country that size on such short notice. Us being contacted means we’re next in line.”

“......”

Even if the movie cameo’s spark of interest was fleeting, it still meant something.

“So, shall we do it?”

“I don’t think we need to refuse. If circumstances allow.”

Ryu Cheong-woo’s quiet words won unanimous agreement.

Luckily, circumstances did allow.

The moment we signaled acceptance, the company quickly rearranged schedules.

“It’s fixed.”

“Ooo~”

It was the expected outcome.

‘Good thing our first domestic comeback stage was on Tnet.’

It would’ve been infuriating to lose it, but we conceded—same T1 sibling company.

‘That’s why Tnet got the exclusive comeback show in the first place, so they gave it back.’

Affiliation is power. Without it, the offer would’ve flown out the window.

“Hmm.”

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad move for us. We can do this one stage and return straight home—fans won’t feel too let down.

‘The gap from MV release to first stage was too long anyway.’

Dropping the album on Friday for Billboard meant the first domestic music-show slot was next Thursday.

‘Almost a week floating.’

A long stretch to maintain momentum.

And anyone in this industry knows that.

‘They must have planned it.’

Sure enough, two days later the buzz about “TeSTAR meeting expectations” settled, and tentative jabs began.

---------------------==

[Personal Thoughts on TeSTAR’s New Song]

The track is cool but honestly feels over the top. Listening to it, I wonder how they’ll pull it off live...

Same with the MV performance—doing both at once? Hm....

They’ll probably pre-record, which feels pushy. Live is TeSTAR’s biggest strength, so it feels like they’re kicking themselves.

I get the big picture of aiming for the U.S., but I hope they don’t lose their roots. Bit bittersweet.

+Not an anti or a fan, just a listener. Proof attached (screenshot from music streaming site).

---------------------==

– Wow, I’m not the only one thinking this? It’s like criticism’s forbiddenㅠㅠ people are just shaping the vibe, but worrying about live isn’t asking too much...

– TeSTAR is known for live, so if it flops it’ll be even more ridiculed. That’s awkward.

– They’ll probably tone down choreography when it’s their turn. They overthink everything...

The top three “best” comments were like this.

“Hmm.”

There are grumbles, but it’s mostly about live concerns.

Perfect.

‘Guess there’s nothing real to nitpick.’

They must’ve wanted to stress people out more than “it’s not my style.” It’s gratifying.

Meanwhile, English-speakers who know a bit of K-pop are even chiming in:

– They really dance this and hit those high notes? Losing it

└ Truth is, most of them dance to pre-recorded vocals :( don’t get your hopes up

└ Fuck off, you K-pop hater! They’ve done live on almost every stage. Just wait and you’ll see a great performance!

What a commotion.

Cosmic Gunner newcomers, existing fans, and folks who like Cosmic Gunner but hate K-pop are all here with every kind of opinion.

The consensus is: “The MV is insane—do they really do it like this live?”

That’s good too.

‘Great buzz level.’

These sorts of side noises become hot topic fodder after one stage, right?

‘Of course, only if we do well.’

I figured the moment the stage talk came up, judging by the members’ reactions, the conclusion of whether we’d nail it was already drawn.

I let out a grin and cracked my neck.

‘Let’s check objective metrics.’

I summoned the hologram after a long time.

It’s been so long that it’s been almost half a year since I checked my stats properly.

‘Since there’s nothing to do besides checking stats and sometimes leveling up, I don’t look often.’

Still, the stats dashboard hasn’t disappeared, so I dug in.

‘Should be the same as before.’

I recalled moments when I’d smartly allocated points before and, with fresh eyes, checked the display.

‘Let’s see...!’

And I was shocked. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

[Name: Park Mun-dae (Ryu Geon-woo)]

Level: (–)

Title: The Successful One (Idol)

Vocals: S

Dance: B+

Looks: A

Charisma: S–

Traits: Infinite Potential, Time of Obsession (S), Mission-Oriented (S), Keen Ear (A)

Remaining Points: 1

‘Why are there two S’s?’

How did I earn those without even allocating?

‘Why is Charisma S now?’

I have no idea what I did to bump it to S. Stage experience boost?

Plus, my Looks went up a notch.

Now it’s a solid A, not a barely A–.

What the... could it be the power of workout and hair dye?

‘Natural growth is amazing.’

I tossed my white hair aside and folded my arms. Apparently I’ve been living more earnestly than I thought.

“Hmm.”

Somehow it lifted my spirits.

‘With these stats, it’d be hard to mess up a performance....’

Hmm. Maybe I should give them a little shock.

I allocated my last point without hesitation.

“Let’s see what happens.”

I chuckled, arms crossed. A few days later when I revisit the internet...

[Wow... hyung really has pro-idol stats......]

“...!”

I nearly fell over.

I reflexively tried to swipe away the ugly little popup next to the status window with trembling hands.

But before I could, another popup appeared right in front of me.

[Whoa, this actually gets delivered? No way! Sorry, hyung, you startled me?? I didn’t think it’d work!]

Wait a second.

That tone...

“...Park Mun-dae?”

[Yes! It’s me, Keun Dae-ri!]

What is this?

[Hyung, have you eaten? I had mackerel rice set!]

I stared blankly into space.