Debut or Die-Chapter 347

That was the popup that Park Mun-dae—using Ryu Geon-woo’s body, in other words Keun Dae-ri—was sending...

[“Hyung? Are you okay?”]

“...Huh.”

I understood. I relaxed my shoulders and sighed.

I almost thought it was a ghost speaking out of nowhere... no.

“When did you get this ability?”

He definitely didn’t have this talent before.

[“Uh, I’m not sure. I just thought I might be able to, so I tried... and it worked?”]

“...Right.”

It seems the synchronization with the status window has finally completed. He can use it at will now.

Not exactly a positive sign, but since he’s enjoying himself, I might as well keep quiet.

[“Wow... it’s been so long since I’ve had this shared view. It feels a bit like when we use our bodies together?? Whoa!”]

He sounds way too thrilled.

I fell silent for a moment, staring at the chat that had completely overlaid the normally static status window.

It was disorienting enough to make me nauseous.

[“Can I use these emojis too? Like this >_< Whoa, it works!”]

“You’re right—it’s really amazing.”

He’s showing skills I never could have imagined.

I forced down another sigh and got to my feet. Good thing Ryu Cheong-woo was out on a call with the company—otherwise I’d look ridiculous.

[“Sorry if I did something reckless... gasp, it’s comeback season. Did you hurt yourself or anything?”]

“No.”

I blocked the cascade of popup messages. Who does he take me for, fragile?

“I’m fine, so don’t worry about it. You’re just surprised from focusing on checking stats after so long.”

[“Okay...”]

He seems to have calmed down. Even though it’s just text, these popups manage to convey nuance with uncanny skill—I raised an eyebrow.

But since I might find a use for this someday, I decided to probe.

“Judging from what you’re seeing now, you can view my status window. How much can you see?”

[“Just exactly what you see... yep. It’s the same!”]

“Anything besides vision?”

[“I can hear sounds, though a bit muffled. I don’t feel anything else.”]

Finally, a quick answer.

“Always?”

[“No! I think it only happens when you have your status window open. It’s like... when you turn it on, I get an electronic signal or something!”]

I see.

So whenever I open the status window, he gets called in and syncs up.

‘Could be handy in a pinch.’

Unlikely, but if I ever get stranded on a deserted island again in the next few months, I might use it. I nodded.

“Good. At least we’ve got another way to communicate.”

As long as you’re not going to die anytime soon.

[“Right??”]

The popup window vibrated lightly. Is he this excited?

Then it even shrank a bit before slowly forming a hesitant new message.

[“Um... may I contact you sometimes when you have your status window open?”]

I let out a small laugh.

“Of course.”

[“Thank you!”]

The window expanded again. It must be highly responsive.

Then he began pouring out his impressions in earnest.

[“Ah, hyung, seeing you allocate stats made my heart race! I really wish I could see that first live in person—I’m so bummed I can’t!”]

“So you think it’s worth it too?”

[“Yes! I’m so excited my heart might jump out of my chest!”]

He’s adopted the same fan slang he uses to describe watching TeSTAR, as if idol-watching is his reason for living.

I opened my mouth to reply, but another message shot up first.

[“Keep fighting! Oh, I have to get back to work now! Lunch time is over aaah!”]

“......”

And just like that, the popup glitched and disappeared.

‘He’s actually using it like KakaoTalk.’

...Looks like it’ll take some getting used to. I rubbed my shoulders and closed the remaining status windows.

Anyway, back to reality.

What matters now is the first stage.

“We’re ready.”

We’d covered practice volume, real-world experience, and the secret weapon.

...Sounds like I’m entering a martial arts tournament rather than a performance, but whatever.

I smiled wryly.

‘Not much difference, really.’

We just need solid results without shame, even if we’re weaponless.

‘Let’s go for a real showdown.’

No fill-in special effects or gimmicks were available. The only prop on stage was the fireworks already set up.

All the better. If the audience is moved, they’ll have to credit nothing but TeSTAR.

“Mun-dae. Let’s head to the practice room...!”

“Right.”

I left the room.

The first live reveal was imminent.

News that TeSTAR’s debut performance would premiere early on the U.S. survival audition show You Got a Chance hit the internet like a bomb.

– OMG this is brutal and so much fun, and TeSTAR’s on it? No way haha each ep has two external performers but I never expected a Korean idol haha

– Even VTIC never appeared on this lol

– Can’t wait—what time is it in Korea?

Famous for only bringing in trendy, hot performers, people were hyped, calling it a great opportunity.

Of course, worries about live performance still popped up unprompted.

– I heard the pre-rec is excellent though

└ Fans hype it no matter what ; they know they’ll fix it in post

└ That U.S. audition show barely mics you—live? I know TeSTAR’s strong live but still...

Ise-jin and Park Mun-dae’s loyal twin home-mas (home-based fans who follow them) scrolled through the comments.

‘Soon enough they’ll say “TeSTAR will crush it,” only to go overboard praising if anything fails.’

“Tsk.”

She clicked her tongue, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward.

Because she was the very person who had gone to watch the pre-record.

Something she’d never do—fans get treated like garbage at music-show pre-recs, after all.

‘Was waiting in that crowd at another network worth it?’

It was worth it. In fact, she felt the free viewing almost didn’t justify the effort.

‘Live is even better.’

No post-production, so even better. If they were real pros, they wouldn’t have slacked on performance in this situation.

She nodded and finished her own tweaks calmly.

Yet her hands moved with an almost musical rhythm from excitement.

And time passed to the day of TeSTAR’s U.S. broadcast performance.

[“Next up, a congratulatory performance! Global K-POP act and the “insane band” from Cosmic Gunner, TeSTAR!”]

In the program’s midsection, a brief intro appeared with no fuss or build-up.

They hadn’t had enough time to prepare, plus it was just a try-out-style celebratory performance.

As always, there was a commercial break, then the screen returned.

[...]

On the huge stage where audition contestants had been moments ago, a group stood in formation.

Dancers in red outfits.

And in their midst, seven masked figures in black jumpers.

– TeSTAR!

– OMG they’re here

‘The outfits work.’

Not overly conceptual—clean, modern style that fit the setting.

As the office worker nodded, the black-clad TeSTAR cut through the red dancers with a precise corps line toward the front.

Masked dancers turned their heads in unison, glaring, as the brass trombone blast kicked off the beat.

The song began.

Park Mun-dae casually tossed off his black mask and tore into the vocals.

[“Hear that desperate calling

Feel my rushing footsteps”]

Then the choreography paused in slow motion.

Then sprinted forward.

[“Leading the way, first to appear

The vanguard!”]

The opening high note—pure, unwavering, piercingly clear—sliced through the air.

Thud!

You could hear the hand slam the floor, the foot spring up—total presence.

Not even an AR track to stabilize pitch, just raw, clean sound.

– ?????

– Wow shit Park Mun-dae

– That’s live, right?

‘Yes!’

That same insane steadiness from the pre-rec rumbled in the office worker’s ears again.

‘Are they even human?’

After that almost circus-level feat, Kim Rae-bin’s low, polished rap came in over a meaningful slow-motion move.

His eyes shone beneath the black fringe.

[“Report in!”]

Then exploded back into sunken, bursting choreography.

[“April downpour

Unexpected guest (Hi)

Knocking on hardened hearts, stepping boldly inside”]

Even in the foot-intensive moves, Ryu Cheong-woo’s solid midrange held firm—then the song dropped.

[“Now the rain fell”]

On stage, the dancers and chorus original entered in perfect, fierce unison.

And that relentless devotion carried into the narration and chorus.

[“Whoa uh”]

– He’s singing all that

– They must be crazy;

TeSTAR never lost energy through the entire first verse.

No drifting moments, no pauses—every dynamic shift executed flawlessly, flowing like an explosion.

A perfect hero-movie vibe.

[“That’s ma Savior!”]

Before the second verse started, they turned back, slow-mo arm moves.

The black jumper looked like a college letter jacket, the blue Haetae roaring like a tiger on the back.

– Is this national pride?

– So fucking hype

– When do they even breathe

Stripped-down awe comments updated at a furious pace.

An organism-like cohesion so dense there was no room left for applause—and yet the wow factor and immersion dispelled any sense of burden.

The office worker found himself nodding every time he noticed.

‘Even in the pre-rec, they did this.’

They were always strong, but just as you think they might tire, they bring out something even more powerful.

The massive finale bomb-like choreography even gave the office worker chills.

– Yeah, that’s ma Savior.

Click.

Center Ise-jin grinned.

Thunk!

As the move connected seamlessly, the stage fireworks burst out.

A masterful transition. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Then a flurry of lighter, staccato moves.

A festival-like finale.

– Ring the bell, Ring my bell

I wanna be your Savior

Through the fallen dancers, TeSTAR raised and lowered their arms in formation.

And that was TeSTAR’s first live stage.

The comments and live audience went wild.

– AHHHHHHHH

– They tore it up.

– Haha they really do that live? What did AJUSA even produce?

– Never underestimate TeSTAR again

The office worker barely had time to read comments before ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) exhaling deeply.

‘Fierce, yet so slick and captivating.’

They started raw and weaponless, then ended with raw power and style.

My jaw was on the floor.

‘Are their vocal cords... their lungs even okay?’

The thought flashed by, but if they bailed on domestic broadcast stages or events for the sake of health, I wouldn’t like that either.

‘They’re making money—they’ll manage themselves.’

This stage was worth every penny.

And it wasn’t over yet.

‘In the pre-rec, they even did a glow-in-the-dark intro act on top of that.’

I can’t wait to see how the buzz evolves once that airs.

Thinking of the comeback show on Tnet two days later, she cracked her knuckles.

It’ll be harder to see them live, but what can you do? It was incredible!

She couldn’t help smiling.

‘Still, it is what it is—let’s get them one or two college events, squeeze out more uploads.’

And surprisingly, as she hoped, TeSTAR did book a college event.

Though the official broadcast schedule was far more important for their careers.

At the same time—

“Phew.”

“Wa-ter, please.”

Most of TeSTAR collapsed nearly unconscious after stepping off stage.

Cheers had reached them, but their heads spun more than anything.

‘This was the toughest physically so far.’

‘My lungs... my lungs feel like they’re gonna pop!’

Couldn’t be helped.

Sure, they’d done demanding choreography on previous title and sub-songs, but never a single-song performance requiring total exertion just to hit the energy.

‘That’s why it matters.’

Because it was intense.

Park Mun-dae, still seated and clutching his ribs, eyes shining, felt the same gut instinct that had hit him on stage—if it wasn’t false, the performance was a success.

‘Of course we need to analyze the footage properly....’

Yet over years of experience, his performance sense had become sharply tuned.

He ran through the pre-planned program order in his head and let out a small laugh.

“Cha Yu-jin.”

“Yes!”

“Ready for the next stage?”

Cha Yu-jin, stretching solo from the adrenaline, grinned and shrugged.

[“Always.”]

Park Mun-dae nodded.

‘Good.’

Next was phase two of market entry.

Operation “Close the Distance.”