Debut or Die-Chapter 402
The new single we’re about to announce was already completed alongside our debut track preparations.
We had to pull some backstage maneuvering—preparing it as a double title and then dropping one at the last minute—but the important thing is that the performance is fully ready.
So when is the perfect moment to unleash this energy bomb?
“Raebin’s finals are this week already.”
“That’s right!”
Right after Kim Rae-bin’s School Rapping final stage.
When he wins and buzz is at its peak, announcing our comeback with this song will be ideal.
But is it too hasty to assume he’ll win already?
‘No.’
Unless Rae-bin skips the entire first verse or totally flubs it on the finals stage, there’s no way he can lose.
I watched Rae-bin typing furiously on his laptop from the sofa and recalled his School Rapping journey.
First, his introduction.
[Uh-oh.]
[A contestant with a striking presence appears]
When the heavily pierced, fierce-looking guy stepped up, eyes narrowed in wariness and admiration.
Then his next words flipped the mood.
“Hello... I’m Kim Rae-bin of the rookie group WISHUS that debuted 35 days ago. Please take care of me!”
[!]
He’d been told to emphasize “rookie” and “idol group,” and he delivered it without suspicion.
Of course, the edit was this:
[Why here, of all places?]
[Honestly, you’re from a major agency—you must have other options.]
[You’re handsome, though. (laughs)]
Predictable, right? Way too on the nose.
But just like a cliché that sells, opinions flipped.
[Huh?]
Rae-bin stepped up to the ambiguous beat that everyone else had passed on, looking puzzled as if asking, “Why isn’t anyone jumping in...?”—and then he ripped his verse.
And he was ridiculously good.
[!!!]
By the end of episode one, an unofficial clip of Rae-bin’s cypher was climbing YouTube’s trending chart.
Naturally, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» there was backlash.
A 17-year-old doing this? Yeah, staged lol.
The company must’ve tipped him off. Do you really believe this?
Even if he knew the beat in advance, those punchlines deserve credit—no one can fake that on the fly.
└ Even that was coached, huh~
But Rae-bin breezed through the next solo round as easily as breathing.
??
And the next team battle, then the next collaboration challenge.
They’d recorded his entire songwriting process over three days; when they sped it up and aired it, there was nothing left to comment on.
“This is how I work, but since professional gear is still hard to come by, I often rent the company studio!”
“Today, I have extra time, so I’ll flesh out a new beat. And as a guide vocalist, we have Moon... I mean, hyung Ryu Geon-woo.”
And that track was insanely good, too.
Each episode’s end saw him popping onto real-time music charts—proof of his skill.
Originally a producer, failed miserably, but they begged him to be an idol after seeing his face.
This is so unfair and bullshit.
In my view, he’s a thoroughly manufactured product—idol factory quality. If they run out of repertoire, they’ll collapse.
None of that happened.
From episodes two through nine, Rae-bin steamrolled every mission, rising as the undisputed frontrunner for victory.
Plus, revealing he was the grandson of a Gangwon-do strawberry-farming family and his naturally polite demeanor made him a beloved character. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
A solid powerhouse duo.
By then, even some skeptics softened.
lol that jerk who tricked him into idol life must want to shoot himself—splitting streaming revenue N ways plus seven years of dorm life, haha can’t stand it.
Worldwide K-pop pays sweeter—of course it’s LeTi idols if it’s about money, you XXX gods lol.
All the fangirls chasing faces switched to him—since Rae-bin will win anyway, why give up idol life? They’ll exploit everything lol.
They had to admit his talent.
How could they not? Rae-bin was practically an ecological disruptor in that competition.
Even when the producers staged crises for drama, each time it turned out to be a farce next episode, solidifying viewer trust.
And now, only the finale remains.
Ryu Cheong-woo sat beside Kim Rae-bin comfortably.
“How’s your relationship with the contestants? Still treating you well?”
“Yes. I think they’re even more considerate, knowing I’m younger.”
Understanding his nervous deference to a 17-year-old as courtesy, Cheong-woo nodded.
But Rae-bin had a concern.
“I... Was just wondering, would it be okay to have someone else feature on the final stage? Given the ratings, it could boost promotion...”
He was asking why the final track’s feature wasn’t chosen from within WISHUS.
Because the feature role went to the popular lead vocalist of MallangDalkom.
I let out a quiet chuckle.
“Features are meant to be collaborations. Having someone outside the group gives that stage more meaning than keeping it in-house.”
“Indeed...! That makes sense.”
Though that wasn’t the real reason.
It was to control how people perceived it.
‘It can’t feel like we’re forcing the group’s fame.’
Too blatant cross-promotion would backfire.
To prevent the current buzz from fizzling or turning into resentment, we needed delicate balance.
Of course, we weren’t cutting ties completely.
“I’m planning to come watch the final—hope that’s okay.”
A little group support is heartwarming.
“...! I’d be honored!”
“I’ll cheer as hard as I can!”
“Thank you, seniors!”
“Ha, Rae-bin, we debuted together—call me hyung!”
“Oh!”
I tore my gaze from Rae-bin and Oh Yoon-shin’s banter and rechecked the schedule.
Three days later.
On the School Rapping set where all members had cleared their schedules, confetti exploded above the center stage.
Boom.
[School Rapping Season 2, and the champion is... Kim Rae-bin!]
Woooaaaah!!!
There were no twists or surprises.
Rae-bin claimed victory with a finale performance driven by sheer skill and technique.
‘My advice to stick to this approach really paid off.’
And the only one pushing power to a violent level was Rae-bin himself.
MallangDalkom’s feature provided the perfect lift—injecting vocal color and audience engagement to refresh the atmosphere and polish the track.
Attempts to discredit Rae-bin would fail.
‘Good.’
“Th... thank you! I’ll repay you with even better performances!”
I applauded as Rae-bin, caught off-guard, hoisted the giant golden ID card amid the cast’s congratulations.
We were ready.
A few days later.
[Slap winner is out]
[A Rae-bin who was an idol from start to finish]
[Honestly, Rae-bin’s too good for this]
After three days of flurry of articles and reactions to his win on a hit survival show, the weekend arrived.
Quietly, headlines began to appear.
[LeTi’s monstrous rookie WISHUS to release “self-produced album” soon]
News of WISHUS’s comeback with a self-composed title track. Though announced during preorders, we deliberately stoked the press once more—emphasizing “self-produced.”
The headline practically screamed “Kim Rae-bin,” and the still-hot buzz drew people in.
I have to listen to this.
Rae-bin’s in this group? The track must be great.
└ Not just Rae-bin—Yoo-jin, Cha, and Ryu Geon-woo are in this group too.
└ ?
└ The four-legged friends Jae-hyun and Cheong-woo are in the group~
└ And those three who worshipped newspaper on Escape King are here.
└ What on earth is happening?
These comments were screenshotted and spread online. I applauded this desirable outcome.
No need for further delay.
“We shouldn’t split the teaser release. No need to burn this buzz on teaser drops.”
“Agreed.”
So we released a teaser featuring only the bridge’s addictive whistle, building anticipation, then dropped the song and MV the following week.
“......”
On an international flight.
A man in first class connected to the newly launched in-flight Wi-Fi to go online.
Despite preferring to read books, he now had something he wanted to see.
‘Ah, it’s out.’
No search needed—opening YouTube brought up the exact video.
[WISHUS ‘Timer’ Official Music Video]
The rookie group WISHUS’s new single.
Perhaps because their debut was stellar, the view count was already impressive.
He briefly recalled their debut, then nodded inwardly.
‘Yeah, it’s good.’
WISHUS’s debut mini-album, with its minor-key, artful vibe inspired by modern European boarding-school ghost stories, perfectly met K-pop fandom’s demand.
The stage was excellent, too—using a long baton-like prop for dance moves in a unique, captivating way.
He almost sent a long review by mistake.
‘Glad I didn’t.’
He exhaled in relief.
That wildly commercial, hard-driving aesthetic wasn’t his usual taste... yet he kept replaying it.
“......”
Shaking off the inexplicable tug at his heart—it wasn’t helpful for work—he clicked the new video.
WISHUS’s latest title.
‘Will it feel similar this time?’
Fans expected another intense dance track.
But when he clicked, their new title wasn’t that.
[Um, h-hm~]
Still with band elements, but more relaxed.
[Let’s turn back the timer
To when we were still together]
The sound felt noticeably lighter.
And the vocals were groovy and understated.
[A shy smile on your face
Meteor showers falling above us
Still in my memory today
Thinking about U]
High-quality instrumentation met two intertwined melodies as the song progressed.
The MV had no avant-garde story or grand narrative.
Just choreography on a sleek rooftop under shooting stars, intercut with cool individual shots against trendy objects.
A song about youthful memories in the passage of youth.
A track anyone can enjoy without hesitation.
No cringe factor at all—so no polarizing elements.
Simply ultra-mainstream and sophisticated.
A song everyone will love.
Even through his headphones, the melody stuck instantly.
[Turning the timer
Capturing you on camera
A photo sparkles
And you light up my mind]
This was great, too.
Though not the same vibe as before, this easy-going pop song somehow struck him deeply.
[Sparkle!]
He watched through to the MV’s end, where the members turn and smile.
It was good, but... his chest fluttered oddly.
“......”
After a moment’s thought, he opened his messaging app.
‘...She doesn’t really like me, I guess.’
But he wanted to reach out anyway. With slightly trembling fingers, he typed.
[I really love this song.]
[I’m headed to Korea, and I bet I’ll hear it everywhere on the streets.]
The recipient was “Ryu Geon-woo.” And, just as Seon Ah-hyun had imagined, by the time he arrived and began his schedule, the streets were filled with WISHUS’s music.
“So... what’s our rank?”
At the tense question, Cheong-ryeo smiled and lifted her smartphone, showing the daily streaming chart.
“Number one.”
“...!!”
“Unbelievable!!”
Amid screams and collapsing members, the seasoned pros cracked grins.
No matter what, hitting number one on the streaming chart without something this insane is unheard of—so to say it wasn’t impressive would be a lie.
‘It’s our first time too.’
VTIC probably hadn’t often experienced this. I looked at our number-one track anew.
“Thank you, Rae-bin!”
“Thank you so much!”
“For me to receive such excessive gratitude for something we all achieved together...”
“Kim Rae-bin, great job!”
“Ahh.”
I chuckled watching Rae-bin buried under a pile of hugs.
Cheong-ryeo strolled over, still smiling, and quietly said:
“The hardest part remains: sustaining it.”
“Yeah.”
Exactly.
If we targeted streams, longevity is essential.
‘We have to lock in our rank and stay long-running to really capitalize.’
The song and strategy were strong, so I wasn’t unconfident about defending the top—but that didn’t mean we could relax now.
We needed the track to keep appearing on variety shows and online content steadily.
“We can’t let TIholic outshine us.”
“We’ll be busy.”
All global tours and overseas activities were put on hold this time.
We poured every resource into promotional appearances.
...And so things like this happen:
“...! Hello.”
...Appearing on the same variety show as Seon Ah-hyun, with Cheong-ryeo in tow.
I managed to respond.
“...Yes.”
“I didn’t expect this.”
Me neither.
‘I’m going crazy.’
Why wasn’t the proud nationalist ballerino on a special episode, yet here they are with us?
