Debut or Die-Chapter 378
The university community began posting about Ryu Geon-woo immediately after episode one aired.
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[Just saw an alumnus on TV]
Was there really someone that handsome at our school?
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-? Posts like this legally have to give full names.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-What is it? Show a picture.
-Is he basically a celebrity? Can I post a screenshot?
└Gasp
└Whoa....
At first, people brushed it off, but the moment they saw the screenshot, they changed their tune. The power of high appearance stats and image enhancement.
-Is his name R G W? Damn, I’m shaking...
-It was in the subtitles—why are you hiding the consonants?
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-He’s not on Facebook or Inhaart—guess he lived quietlyㅠ
-Seriously, does nobody know him?
A comment thread that had almost died out on the latest page suddenly exploded, and someone even claimed to know Geon-woo.
-Oh, I worked on a group project with him.
└Quick, tell us the deets.
└How was he?
└He was quiet, worked hard, super smart, wore glasses.
└He has everything, fuck, I’m jealous.
└What department? What department?
└Think it was business admin.
Fortunately, that Ryu Geon-woo sounded much like the guy I remembered in first year, so the chatter remained about the same quality.
“No freeloading nonsense,” I thought.
I wasn’t famous enough for anyone to start faking proof, so it stayed that simple.
Watching arguments flare up in the comments—some digging into my personal life, others telling them to stop—I shook my head.
Unsurprisingly, talk of Ryu Cheong-woo being more famous than me began to appear.
-Are they twins?
...Cheong-woo’s nonsense nearly spread unchecked, but was thankfully corrected.
-?? No, they’re cousins lol, always together.
-What is this, a manga? Gold-medalist and idol are brother and top university student?
└Lol, they could churn out a light novel from this.
These posts were screenshotted and shared to other forums and then to SNS. A perfect viral cycle.
“It’s spread pretty far.”
Whether real or fake, the fact it came from a verified school community gave viewers confidence.
“With so little info released, it’s actually entertaining.”
This trend was double-edged, but since it didn’t pierce me personally, I found it useful.
-He always wore glasses, quiet and diligent teammate nerd energy was off the charts ㅜ
-Wow, he really is Cheong-woo’s cousin.
-They look so alike..? (comparison image)
I did feel uneasy that Cheong-woo got so many mentions.
The national athlete who quit and became a regular university student was suddenly being treated like a celeb.
I asked directly,
“They’re saying we’re cousins online—are you okay with that?”
“Why would I mind? I haven’t done anything weird. Of course I’m fine.”
Cheong-woo said dismissively—it wasn’t the first time his life appeared online.
“Hmm.”
Very well.
I continued scanning online.
First: the audience demographic. Geon-woo, with zero real footage yet, got grouped into a “similar style” niche that fans like—a solid early fan base.
-Anyone who likes Geon-woo, Jae-hyun, Tae-jun, come follow #Wise_friendship
-“Geniuses of Jazz are the best” ㅠㅠ
Second: small but telling mentions beyond his stage.
-He never wavered during the judges’ critiques (video)
-His bed and blanket are perfectly made—true sign of good upbringing...ㅜㅜ (screenshot)
Reading these, I sketched out my own selling points here.
“Genius, calm, smart, pure, elite, silver spoon.”
A model student who never [N O V E L I G H T] got dirty. Catchy keywords, but also very polarizing.
“Preferences will split like crazy....”
I ran a few more searches. No alias yet used for search prevention—it wasn’t AJUSA, after all.
But by mid-season, the haters would come out.
“They’ll mock that first jazz stage—call it ‘that color’ or something.”
For now, searches still yielded plenty of commentary.
For example, clicking “Impressions of trainees so far” under Geon-woo:
-R G W: So intense. Feels perfectly raised with nothing missing, yet trained for only a short time? Once schedules get hard, attitude controversies will blow up.
Yes—that was the vibe.
I chuckled. Having prepared a counterpunch, reading this barely fazed me. I just wanted to check things were running smoothly.
“When’s it my turn?”
I straightened my shoulders. A few days later, the official preview for episode three dropped.
[Elite Class vs. Supplementary Class?]
[An outcome nobody expected]
[??: Aah!]
[Kim Tae-in, CEO: I will judge you impartially regardless of affiliation.]
Clips of each stage switched between close-up and full cam—no total spoilers.
[Supplementary Class’s skilled members]
[Trainer: If we go like this, (bleep) will win, got it?]
Kim Rae-bin got a brief shot, and Cha Yoo-jin a decent amount—highlights of his stage with Cheong-ryeo made the edit.
“He’s just showing who he faces first,” I thought.
A striking move snapped on screen then cut.
[Unexpected struggle]
[Shin Jae-hyun: But that doesn’t mean we can lose.]
Cheong-ryeo’s wry smile flickered across the screen.
A montage of stiff faces as trainees were called out—then a close-up of heavy breathing and tense expression.
It was me.
[Kim Tae-in, CEO: Why don’t I see any desperation?]
[Ryu Geon-woo: .......]
With that inhale, the title logo rose and the preview ended.
They even gave the scoreboard a tease:
[Supplementary Class ■■■ – Win!]
[Shocking results revealed this week.]
Someone from the supplementary class had won. I nodded in satisfaction.
“Nice.”
They revealed it but didn’t overdo the screen time—no premature insider controversy.
“Editing is obviously not friendly to me, though.”
It looked like I’d flubbed the stage, a tasty bit of troll feed. No one expected I’d be in danger; SNS, which had waited cheerfully for the preview, flipped out again.
It went like this:
-What’s with Geon-woo’s marine look??? ㅠㅠㅠ crazy
-Damn boss
Same person posting every two seconds.
Of course, they weren’t just talking about me. Viewers were startled by the preview showing the supplementary class winning.
They all realized that in episode two’s teaser, “supplementary class” was assumed to be just an obstacle.
-That’s just bait from CEO Kim; it’s for show lol
But here it was in black and white—they’d really won.
By now, even the agency’s diehard fans were stunned.
-Is this just a teaser trick??
-Ugh, supplementary class—what ridiculous rule is this?
-Whoa, isn’t he handsome...? (screenshot)
It’d gotten so wild that entertainment forums began posting:
[LeTi survival show teaser causing an uproar (contestants changed)]
Brilliant.
For an in-house survival show, this was more than “spicy”—it was straight fire.
Leaving the internet’s gathering buzz behind, I headed back to the set.
“Whew.”
One Wise contestant exhaled heavily.
He knew the cameras were rolling, but couldn’t help it—it felt suffocating and cruel.
That’s how new treatment in this shoot went.
“From now on, you are ‘excluded.’”
If anyone in the supplementary class lost the first one-on-one death match, they were immediately eliminated.
But existing contestants?
They were literally “excluded.”
They were removed from all main events.
In panic over elimination risk, they had to pack their bags and leave the dorm bedroom quietly.
Then watch a supplementary-class contestant take their spot and unpack.
That was what happened to the contestant who lost to Kim Rae-bin.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful. Sorry!”
He had to swallow the urge to gloat at the genuinely apologetic supplementary trainee—cameras were rolling.
“This is unnecessary....”
It was all show business, but to someone young with little trainee time, it stung.
He trudged off under the production team’s directions, ignoring that he’d barely considered the supplementary trainees until a few days ago.
Then reality hit.
“Ugh.”
The “excluded” area had no beds. The space he’d thought was a storage closet was where he had to stay.
Treated like a servant living quarters.
It felt humiliating.
“This sucks, damn it.”
But he wasn’t alone. Ryu Geon-woo—fresh trainee-turned-praised veteran—was right next to him.
Part of him felt a bit vindicated, part relieved. Even after nailing the first stage so brilliantly, he too faced elimination risk—luck must play a part.
“Hyung....”
“Don’t overthink it. See you later.”
Although he told the supplementary trainee taking his spot that he’d see him soon, it still seemed he had some composure left.
“We’ll see each other again soon, hyung.”
“...Thanks.”
I’d also seen him shake Shin Jae-hyun’s hand before leaving. Still, I thought, wouldn’t he at least look a bit downcast now?
I glanced up to read Geon-woo’s expression.
“...??”
He looked remarkably calm.
I couldn’t help blurting out,
“Are you... okay?”
“I’m not okay... but it can’t be helped.”
Ryu Geon-woo answered evenly.
“I lost because I wasn’t good enough—there’s nothing unfair about it.”
“......”
I felt irritated—how could he stay calm here?
“He has somewhere to go. That’s it,” I realized. He was a top university student. Rage rose in me; I nearly glared defiantly at him.
But Geon-woo didn’t stop there.
“But I’m not eliminated like this.”
“!”
“I’ll climb back up any way I can—even crawling.”
Then I understood.
He looked calm because he was steeling himself.
“...Me too.”
“Exactly. Let’s keep our heads up.”
I bumped fists with him willingly, then closed my mouth in thought.
Now I saw it—he was holding back many thoughts, as if reaching a revelation.
“Ah.”
He had to appear that way—he meant to.
“Good. I will come back for sure.”
After these weighty words to the eliminated trainees, Ryu Geon-woo quietly celebrated inside as he folded his blanket.
“Two trainees in elimination danger both vow to return. Two shots of perfect screen time.”
By the time I’d tossed my meager belongings in the dorm-storage closet and was finishing up, the real shooting schedule resumed.
Of course, the excluded had no schedule.
“During the main event, you will clean the dorm.”
“Uh...?”
“Yes.”
Just like that.
“Actually, this is better.”
The main event was some public-service campaign song—no regret missing that. No chance to shine.
Even if it aired, it’d be a twenty-minute cut before more sensational team battleground content.
“Fourteen people singing one campaign song? Better I stay here.”
People would find it fun watching dorm chores. So, I set to tidying and cooking.
It was crucial to work diligently yet not appear theatrically pitiful.
“It’s much nicer now that it’s clean.”
“Yes....”
My partner was less cooperative, but I’d manage him with a bit of sweet-talking.
“The more I do, the better it looks for me.”
I resolved, grabbing rubber gloves.
“I’ll clean the bathroom next.”
And so I spent the daylight hours proving I wasn’t a sheltered silver spoon—before the event ended and the real deal arrived.
Time for the third performance prep.
“Before announcing this theme, the excluded will move separately.”
Excluded trainees were now outside the roster again.
Isolated in another practice room, they waited an hour or two for the trainer to explain the next steps.
“You don’t get to pick your team.”
No further info—just wait for a team to choose you.
If no one came...
“You’re automatically eliminated.”
But if someone did...
“You’re accepted as a floater.”
“I see.”
Considering lost parts, a strong team wouldn’t pick me.
Of course it wouldn’t work that way—this was an in-house survival show.
I stood quietly with a serious expression.
Sure enough, about ten minutes after the announcement, the practice-room door opened gently.
In came...
“Excuse us.” 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Cheong-ryeo and Shin Jae-hyun.
They stepped inside, stood before the camera, next to the trainer.
I said nothing, lips sealed.
“Has your team chosen an excluded contestant?”
“Yes.”
Without hesitation, Jae-hyun looked at me and said,
“The contestant we’d like to join our team is Ryu Geon-woo.”
Of course. I’d known if they persuaded teammates, they’d come.
Then—knock, knock.
The door opened more urgently.
“Um....”
It was Jin Chae-yul.
The supplementary trainee who’d lost to me and originally the VTIC member in the real world.
“Your team also chose an excluded contestant?”
“Yes.”
She seemed startled at the other person’s arrival, but answered promptly.
“Ryu Geon-woo, contestant.”
Naturally. I’d expected her if they convinced team members.
So what did the trainer decide?
“If both teams nominate the excluded contestant, that contestant may choose directly.”
Oh—that was unexpected.
“I thought they’d be first-come-first-served or rock-paper-scissors.”
But actually, I wasn’t thrilled. I couldn’t let my rank appear too high here.
Remaining firmly on the rise from below worked in my favor.
“Hmm.”
I blinked a few times as if surprised, then quickly assessed them.
Without knowing each team’s details, it was a matter of choosing based on who looked better on camera.
From what was visible, it wasn’t even certain whether Cha Yoo-jin or Kim Rae-bin were on those two teams.
“I see.”
I looked down for a moment, finished my calculation, then decided.
“I’d like to join the team of...”
