Debut or Die

Entertainment.

It was a schedule that was inevitable for idols whose activities were on track and produced results.

Recently, the popularity of idols themselves had decreased a lot, so some said that it was difficult to catch a variety show even if you had good grades, but Testar didn’t fall under this category.

Because we were in last year’s number one variety show, <Idol Inc.>.

If you had some interest in the entertainment industry, you would have seen the faces and names of the members who were the top participants of <Idol Inc.> at least once, even if you didn’t know Testar.

Last year’s activities should have proved our performance, and I knew that we had received quite a lot of entertainment offers this comeback.

Thanks to this, I was able to set up the right entertainment schedule that I wanted.

“Are you nervous~?”

“Somewhat.”

Keun Sejin grinned.

“Hey, me too!”

His eyes were burning with too much ambition for someone who was nervous.

‘It’s not surprising.’

The only Testar members heading to the set were me and Keun Sejin.

This was because the variety show’s format didn’t allow the entire group to participate, so the offer came down through several discussions and the two of us won.

It was almost the first time for a member to individually join a variety show like this. And that Keun Sejin would never miss an opportunity to appeal as an individual.

‘Was the unit performance successful?’

Well, it wasn’t a bad thing anyway.

“You know even if I don’t tell you, right? Say hello when you arrive there~”

“Yes!”

“Yes.”

As we nodded obediently to the manager’s words, we first greeted the cast as soon as we arrived.

“Hello!”

Our group had only been around for two years, so I had expected it, but there was really no one younger than us.

But no one ignored us.

“Oh~ Testar!”

Because our popularity and grades were certain.

‘As expected, continuously rising is the answer.’

Still, the fact that Keun Sejin exchanged numbers with three actors in an instant was truly a rare feat.

And, in the waiting room, I found a face that was quite welcome.

“Gasp! Sunbae-nim~!”

“Ah, glad to see you. Both of you.”

It was Youngrin, the female idol who had served as <Idol Inc.>’s representative.

“I’ve been listening to your news. It’s nice to meet you like this. I wish others would have seen it too.”

Youngrin said some words of regard and added jokingly.

“I’m going to release a solo album this year, so let’s not overlap.”

…I was suddenly reminded of the nightmare of having to coincide with VTIC at the beginning of the debut.

“Haha! That’s scary, we have to postpone it, sunbae-nim.”

“I really look forward to the album.”

“Thank you.”

Youngrin smiled slightly and nodded.

And next to her, um… There was someone unexpected.

It was our first time meeting, but as soon as we finished our greetings, she looked at me delightfully.

“Moondae-ssi, right? Wow, you look like this! Let’s do well on today’s shoot.~”

She was… a member of MallangDalkom.

The girl group MallangDalkom was the original singer of <POP☆CON>, which I danced to in the first ranking evaluation, and of <To a New World>, which I changed to a Halloween concept before the first team match.

And the person I met now… Mmm, she was the only member of the MallangDalkom who was active as a popular actor.

In any case, it meant she was a senior in terms of years, so I bowed my head.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation…”

‘Wait a minute.’

Come to think of it, everyone knew that I was a fan of MallangDalkom.

‘Does she think that I’m a fan, too?’

Sure enough, the MallangDalkom member asked with a grin.

“Hey, which of our members are you a fan of? We made a small bet among ourselves.”

There was only one answer to this.

“…Of course, I am a fan of all of you.”

“Hey, you’re not my fan, are you? You’re good at escaping this, Moondae-ssi!”

The MallangDalkom member laughed loudly and hit my thigh.

‘It’s like treating a cousin or a younger brother.’

Maybe I… It seemed I had developed a one-sided friendship because I had danced to popcorn so much.

“Of course, I’m kidding! Thanks to Moondae-ssi, we had a lot of fun for the first time in a while. Thank you. Let’s do well on today’s shoot!”

“…Thank you.”

At this rate, I would get a MallangDalkom signed CD.

Anyway, it was good to see people we had ties with among the cast.

‘It’s good to have the stories edited here and there.’

Rather than having cast members who didn’t know each other at all, it was better to group us together and get more footage.

There was such a big age gap between us, so the probability of getting unnecessary old-fashioned love broadcast editing was low.

‘Still, it’s more comfortable to be of the same gender.’

Unfortunately, among the rest of the cast, I didn’t see anyone else with overlapping activities or acquaintances.

…I thought so up until this point.

Perhaps because they had quite busy schedules, some of them barely managed to arrive right before the shooting.

“Hello~”

They were two VTIC members.

‘F*ck.’

Why are these bastards here?

If they appeared in a group, it was at the level of organizing a special feature even if it meant changing the variety show’s format, but why did they have to show up when they weren’t even if the middle of an activity?

At that moment, Keun Sejin, who had come wearing a microphone, poked me in the back and whispered.

“Hey, Leti is doing a good job.”

“Leti?”

LeTi Entertainment. VTIC and MallangDalkom’s agency.

Keun Sejin gestured with his eyes. He was pointing to the actors whose numbers he had gotten.

“There’s a group of actors, MallangDalkom… It’s Soohyun sunbae-nim’s first movie team.”

“…!”

“They’re in the same agency. They must have agreed to appear as a group by inserting VTIC.”

…Did the cast come out as a group to promote the movie?

Thanks to that, it seemed the two VTIC members who were on break personally came out.

They also owned the company stocks, so it was only natural that they would be generous with promoting celebrities belonging to the same company.

Keun Sejin smiled slightly.

“But are you fine with it, Moondae?”

“With what?”

“I don’t see the sunbae-nim who’s in charge of Moondae’s social life~”

“…”

It seemed he had noticed that I was uncomfortable with Cheongryeo.

Well, he was probably just guessing, ‘I guess he’s more of a bastard than I thought’.

I smiled and shook my head.

“No, that doesn’t really matter.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Right.

Cheongryeo wouldn’t smash my head with a hammer right away on this crowded set.

It was just… Meeting such a crazy person would be tiring and annoying.

‘It doesn’t matter whether he’s here or not.’

The problem was… The fact that VTIC itself showed up. We had the same boy idol position, but there was a difference in level.

I spoke frankly.

“I’m worried about the amount of footage.”

“Huh?”

Keun Sejin burst into laughter.

“Hey, Moondae is worrying about the amount of footage of entertainment shows! But don’t worry too much~”

“…?”

Keun Sejin lowered his voice and whispered.

“Those two sunbae-nims don’t really talk on entertainment shows.”

“…!!”

“They must have been sent in a hurry. Hm, don’t you think they’ll just do it in moderation and then leave?”

That meant they were members who didn’t have much interest in entertainment, so they wouldn’t be so motivated.

To be honest, I was a little impressed.

‘This bastard’s brain works really well.’

He was a real one for collecting information and figuring it out.

I nodded.

“I have to work harder.”

“I will do my best.”

We exchanged rare unnecessary fistbumps.

The mic was turned on, and the filming soon began.

* * *

“Sensational Saturday! We invite you to the joy of weekend nights, <Saturday Party>!”

“Woow!”

<Saturday Party> was a full-fledged variety show hosted by a national MC.

As you could guess from the name, it was a very boring program, but it ended in the late 2000s and was revived a few years ago due to the retro craze.

A program with high ratings that started on Saturday at 8:50 p.m. on public TV.

In short, it was an extremely popular entertainment show.

There were no unnecessary family guests and they could show the characters in a fun and impactful way with just a few scenes.

It had all the elements I was looking for.

But… It was necessary to let go of my self-confidence.

Because the concept required resistance.

Dudumts, dudumts!

Right now, the MC was DJing in the 80’s style DJ booth, shaking his bob hair.

He seemed really into it. His professionalism was great.

“Today’s party concept? <One heart two bodies>!”

Words that were notified in advance came out.

“Exclusively~ Today’s stage where only similar-looking people, similar party people, can enter! Our party people, please appear now!”

Thanks to this, I matched my hair and my clothes with Keun Sejin.

By the way, perhaps aware of this concept, one of the member combinations that the company thought of for this variety show was ‘Keun Sejin and Bae Sejin’ pair.

Of course, thanks to Bae Sejin’s aggressive mortification, the idea fell through even before they could discuss it.

“Our turn.”

“Yeah.”

It was time for me and Keun Sejin to appear on the set.

[The party people who are going to enter this time are… Oh~ So young! So handsome!]

With the MC’s amazing introduction, we were going to go up to the stage and performed a dance we had prepared.

This was because the MC… Throughout the performers’ dance, he reproduced cheesy entertainment captions that were popular as memes in the past.

[Dancing magic! Soaring Stock! Testar’s two shining stars have come down to Earth!]

It seemed the funny point was that the cast members collapsed because they couldn’t stand the words that echoed through the microphone into the venue.

But I didn’t think me or Keun Sejin collapsing would be entertaining. It probably would be different if Ryu Chungwoo and Seon Ahyeon were the ones who show up.

So I decided to do it in reverse.

Keun Sejin and I stealthily surrounded the DJ booth while dancing.

“…?!”

The MC was a little flustered.

“Wow, the best national MC!”

“I will show you what hosting is! It’s the host!”

“A presence that even a booth cannot confine! A light that rings the whole country!”

“Ruling over Saturday evening. This is the statement of a great man!”

“The only person who can capture the excitement and the laughter at the same time is the person in the DJ seat!”

[No…!]

It was the MC who collapsed instead.

At first, he looked really embarrassed, but it seemed he was also matching our tunes a bit.

‘Thank goodness.’

I was relieved that I didn’t have to say anything worse.

However, next to me, Keun Sejin laughed and sprouted all the remaining comments.

“Korean entertainment history is divided into before and after Choi Hosoo. He is the standard of entertainment!”

“…”

That was how the dance stage ended.

The MC, who had come back to his sense, held back his laughter and left a great ending comment.

“Taking over the stage as soon as they entered! This is entertainment! Passion, spirit, love, and peace!”

“Thank you!”

Me and Keun Sejin came down the stage.

‘…Sigh.’

First of all… I had done everything I had aimed for in this part. Even the staff was laughing, so the impact was good.

However, as soon as I sat in the chair provided for the cast, the agony came.

I was also determined to prepare for the broadcast before appearing, but it was amazing how entertainment shows could test a person’s resistance.

‘People who aimed this format… There are so many.’

I couldn’t believe it. But ratings didn’t lie.

‘Let’s just make a reaction.’

I gave a big round of applause to the VTIC guys who took the stage last.

As Keun Sejin said, it seemed they didn’t have particular intentions in this variety show and hadn’t prepared anything big.

“Heavenly good looks!”

After all 12 cast members appeared, the program began in earnest.

“Actually, the reason we had this party today is… To find a fake!”

“No, isn’t it strange that we have people with similar looks? One must be a doppelganger! There’s a fake!”

…With this concept, all I heard was that the co-stars had to split up and had a 6:6 team match.

“The decisive person who made the team lose! That person… will be penalized!”

When the person who got the penalty was selected in the first game, his real intention was revealed.

“Huh? Why doesn’t our Zuho-ssi, who entered with us, come out?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Since you have the same body, you should be punished together~ You’re a doppelganger! That’s why it’s called <One heart two bodies>!”

“…!!”

Right.

When a penalty was issued, the doppelganger of that person on the opposing team was also punished.

“No, oh, my God!”

“Then I shouldn’t aim for that side?”

“No, the team winning is important! Let’s just get the punishment~”

Surprisingly, no one was notified, so the cast was really surprised.

In the gap between all the whisperings, I made eye contact with Keun Sejin.

‘Let’s get a penalty.’

‘Okay.’

In a critical situation like getting a penalty, our reaction would be good to pick out our characters. I had to take the penalty no matter what.

“The penalty for this team match is… Water balloon bomb!”

“Gasp!”

Hmmm, getting that much was fine.

But when the opportunity came, an interruption entered.

There was a one-on-one situation left in this team match, the mirror ball dodgeball.

The lineup consisted of me and the VTIC members.

And right at that moment, the only remaining VTIC member on the opponent’s side caught the ball.

‘The last person to be eliminated will get the penalty.’

Due to the nature of this program, I would have done that 100% to make it funny.

‘Ah, it’s because you couldn’t win even though you stayed until the end, so that’s the cause of the defeat~’

They probably would say something like that. There were a lot of records.

‘It’ll be fine to get hit here.’

I was ready to get hit by the ball.

“It’s over!”

“Hit him!”

But the VTIC member on the opponent’s side started to do something crazy.

He looked at me with ambiguous eyes, and while pretending to throw a ball, he stepped on the gold and was eliminated.

“…??”

“Oops! I made a mistake!”

‘What’s this?’

What the hell is that bastard doing?

He even winked and signaled when our eyes met.

He looked like a senior in high school who covered for the freshman in a presentation.

‘What the hell?’