Debut or Die-Chapter 424
“Is it okay if I land here when I spin?”
“Yeah. But let’s be careful with our arms.”
Mirinae, TeSTAR’s junior from the very next season after AJUSA, was busily preparing for a broadcast stage.
Even if it was just a side stage for her seniors’ TeSTAR concert.
Of course, it felt awkward.
‘Wasn’t our chance to be in this over already?’
Not trying to be arrogant—just common sense.
We weren’t a rookie idol group with no foothold, and jumping on a senior act of the opposite gender looked, frankly, counterproductive.
‘Still, Spacer might benefit from this.’
We weren’t idiots—every idol knew roughly what the agency was plotting.
Feeling a bit conflicted, the members of Mirinae performed their solo dance.
“Phew!”
Even if she wasn’t as popular or visually central as Yulgi, as the main dancer she had to deliver on her allotted screen time.
And right beside her, a member with quite a lot of screen time herself was staring seriously at her pad.
That was Park Minha, who debuted second in AJUSA. In their leaderless group she’d taken on almost all leadership duties—both appreciated and a little pitiable.
But lately she’d been acting strange.
‘...Minha, are you dating someone?’
A few days ago she’d seen her fiddling with her phone anxiously or sneaking off with a determined look.
Then, definitively, she’d overheard Minha in the dorm bathroom, secretly on the manager’s phone.
“Um, senpai.”
And echoing off the tiled walls was unmistakably... a pleasantly calm male voice.
“It’s okay.”
She knew whose voice it was.
‘Park Mundae...’
TeSTAR’s main vocalist, aka Mundangdang.
“Okay!”
The member stopped and wiped her brow. Honestly, she could understand a crush at that age.
‘He really is handsome.’
TeSTAR’s overall averages were ridiculously high.
‘It’s a scam.’
More than heartthrobs, her survival-show instincts rang alarms.
This could be trouble... not ruinous, but I hope we shine more. With that gloomy thought, Mirinae’s ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) member finished practice.
“Do you want water, Minha?”
“Oh, I’m fine, unnie.”
Listening to Jeong Yulgi and Park Minha’s chatter, she slipped in her earphones and leaned against the mirror wall.
“Hey, Harin.”
“Huh?”
Park Minha, sitting beside her, spoke up.
But her expression was odd.
Like she’d made up her mind about something.
“Even if it might be a bit dangerous... no, never mind.”
“...??”
“No, it’s nothing. I must have been imagining things!”
A bit dangerous... what?
‘You’re not about to introduce someone who’s worth risking something, are you?’
Unease crept in, but she ignored it.
The Minha she’d known would worry about a member causing trouble, not plot to set her up.
‘Still, I’ll probe a little.’
Rolling her eyes, she spoke.
“Minha, I’m just asking... are you and that senpai kind of vibing?”
“Huh? Who?”
She whispered: ‘Park Mundae.’
A bona fide A-list male idol!
And Park Minha...
“No.”
She straightened.
“Don’t ever talk like that. Absolutely not. Impossible.”
She sounded like she’d heard a ghost story.
“Right, okay...”
Seeing Minha react like someone just suggested dating a demon from hell, the member grudgingly accepted it.
‘Then what was that call about?’
It had seemed upbeat—like they were enjoying themselves. Shrugging, Seong Harin continued practice.
‘...Shouldn’t we be rehearsing the new song?’
With the title choreography for the new album indefinitely postponed, it barely even came up anymore.
A few days later.
At last they had a non-practice, non-event schedule.
“What is this?”
“Oh, it’s for a photo shoot and ad.”
Probably for a fashion magazine.
‘Still, it feels kind of off for that.’
Mirinae’s member examined her outfit’s fabric and cut with a critical eye, but work was work.
I’ll just take another shot for the spread.
Thinking that, she entered the studio and spotted...
“Oh, it’s Senpai from TeSTAR.”
“...!”
TeSTAR was wrapping up their shoot and preparing to leave—must’ve had a slot right before them.
“Good day.”
“Hi!”
‘Oh.’
Her outfit was odd too, but good styling and a good face carried it off.
‘I wonder how they manage it.’
She snapped a sharp salute and passed Kim Raebin, realizing he wore a similar outfit.
And sighed.
‘Could it be another joint ad shoot?’
She almost lost her composure remembering the ridicule from that early smart-device commercial, but years of experience kept her steady.
I just have to do well!
“Please wait here a moment.”
“Okay~”
Without complaint, Mirinae moved to the waiting area.
“I’ll adjust the fit one more time~”
“Sure!”
But the moment Jeong Yulgi—the first in line—got up and headed off cheerfully...
Park Minha sneaked out the back door.
Like she was meeting someone in secret.
“...?”
Wait, the only person or group she’d clandestinely meet here would be...
‘Isn’t this a huge signal?’
No way, she thought, and trailed after Minha to prevent any disaster.
And she saw it.
Park Minha and Park Mundae standing in the hallway!
“...!”
These two... aren’t they same family clan by name? No, no. Calm down. The member turned her shocked gaze and assessed the situation.
They were close, but not touching. Yet the tension was palpable.
Listening in...
“Senpai, could this be what you mentioned last time...?”
“Yes. But I didn’t expect it to be like this.”
“...Understood!”
By sound alone it was more like a secret agent conspiracy than a fling.
Seong Harin’s pupils dilated, then she sighed and stepped away.
‘Forget it.’
Minha wasn’t the type to do something reckless, so it was best she stop now. It already felt a bit over the line.
‘And prying on Minha isn’t great either.’
I’ll just focus on idol life. With that, she returned to the waiting room and completed the shoot safely.
Checking the monitor occasionally, she was relieved the photos looked great.
‘On days like this!’
She naturally logged into SNS.
Today’s Harin delivery! 🔥
They’d already approved posting the shoot’s tops cropped just above the waist... wait, clothes?
‘Hold on!’
With a bad feeling, she paused the upload.
She searched an account and sorted by latest... of course!
It’s hot but I’m bearing it 😵💫🔥
(photo)
‘Ugh!’
It was TeSTAR’s SNS.
A playful shot of Lee Sejin and Cha Yoo-jin laughing, and Park Mundae looking bewildered, all arranged with humor and vibrant colors.
‘They shot first and posted first!’
Even the framing was almost identical.
Same outfits, accessories, background, same emoji? That was begging for controversy.
Even if the schedules overlapped and it’d be cleared up later, she couldn’t risk any dating rumors or being labeled a show-off.
‘So annoying!’
Recalling the endless rumor-spreading reset cars on W Live, Mirinae’s member ground her teeth and deleted her planned post.
‘I’ll make it big...!’
She’d become a better-charting idol than TeSTAR, so if any dating rumours surfaced, people would say she was the one wasted. It felt impossible, but ambition was meant to burn.
Then she thought of her juniors.
‘...Will they shoot this too?’
That new girl group that’d poached all her senpais.
Seong Harin hesitated, then decided not to overthink it.
‘I’ll just practice.’
She couldn’t control that anyhow. Better to pour effort into what she could.
A few days later, an article confirmed her gloomy suspicion.
[T1 Stars × Tussle A Joint Line Launch]
[Survival Show Powerhouse Tnet Idols Reborn as Fashion Brand... ‘Tussle A’s’ Revolutionary Attempt]
With all the florid press hype.
In short:
– T1 Stars is launching a collab clothing line! Considering having their idols as exclusive models and even collaborating on designs.
‘Ah, of course.’
Their agency did it solo, and it was tacky.
Seong Harin nodded, ending her thoughts there. She wouldn’t click their rookie group’s spreads or scan the comments—no point.
So she didn’t notice.
[“Did you see this? T1 idol clothes (12)”]
[“I knew they were money-obsessed but this is next level... (7)”]
[“Let’s get Kim Raebin to design stuff (8)”]
[“I kinda like it, I’m down for merch lol (3)”]
Such lukewarm but mixed reactions...
[“This article sounds fishy (534)”]
That post marked a turning point.
Then on the day of the TeSTAR concert broadcast.
[“Clothes only idols can wear—this blatant fashion hierarchy”]
Articles poured in.
[“Platinum tier isn’t for you kids”... How Tnet’s survival show shaped us]
[T1 Stars fans launch boycott... ‘Tussle A’s’ blunder?]
Backstage before the live show, Mirinae’s member was slightly rattled by the commotion.
‘Wow, it’s chaos.’
Even managers were on calls and rushing around.
She knew boycotts were par for the course, but the mood felt unusually tense.
‘What’s going on?’
These articles hadn’t just appeared suddenly.
An uproar had been building across SNS and W Live, boiling like lava—she hadn’t known, having been offline for days.
“Um... something’s trending, I think.”
At Keun Sejin’s remark, Kim Raebin raised his hand.
“Should we prepare to alter the stage numbers or something?”
A vital question. Then.
“No.”
Ryu Cheong-woo answered crisply.
“Just perform as planned.”
A ripple of smiles spread among them.
“Sounds good.”
“Understood!”
When the standby sign lit up:
“Hyung, kill it out there!”
Cha Yoo-jin patted Seon Ah-hyun on the back. The startled boy soon nodded firmly.
“Got it.”
That blasted VR system was exhausting, but returning to reality had its perks.
‘For example.’
For example, the years of professional ballet experience he’d acquired.
“Viewers are really going to be surprised.”
And regardless of the agency’s fallout, twelve minutes later they were on air.
Seon Ah-hyun began his intro solo dance.
