Chapter 063: If I don't debut, I'll get a fatal disease

"…We will recruit a new team member."

"Ah!! The choice of the Park Moondae participant has been made!"

At the MC's shout, the prize items on the screen disappeared, and the words "Recruit a new member!" were magnified to fill the screen.

The audience's cheers and the judges' clapping in delight were shown on other screens.

I almost clenched my teeth.

'Thirty-nine million won…'

It flew away into thin air.

Still, in the long run, it was an inevitable choice.

Having one more participant means more fans who like the group, and this usually multiplies rather than adds, changing the scale of money that can be earned.

In the long term, it was an investment that could earn more than 50 million.

The problem was what came next.

"Then, who is the last member chosen by the Park Moondae participant?"

The tension of the remaining participants was reflected on the screen.

"The participant I have chosen is…"

This is the perfect time to incur the resentment of the fans of the participants who narrowly missed out.

So, I avoid it.

"The 7th place participant chosen by the shareholders."

"Ah!"

The murmur of the crowd grew louder. Most seemed to be convinced or relieved.

'…The production team is also enjoying this.'

That's a bit frustrating.

"The Park Moondae participant who left the choice to the shareholders!"

The MC, glancing at the prompter, enthusiastically continued the show, and soon the 7th place candidate appeared on the screen.

And the one who made it…

"Congratulations! Participant Lee Sejin!"

I almost gasped.

'How did he skyrocket?'

It seemed he benefited from people who text-voted for the last episode due to his high public recognition from his acting career.

'…There's nothing I can do.'

The water was already spilled. I stepped aside as Lee Sejin, staggering, climbed up to the stage.

"…Thank you."

Lee Sejin managed to squeeze out a few words and bowed deeply. His fans covered for him, saying he was so surprised he couldn't even think.

The MC guided Lee Sejin to join the other qualifiers. As he passed by me, Lee Sejin muttered softly.

"…Thanks."

I just nodded. He must have really wanted it.

'I want to join too.'

My legs were starting to cramp.

How long do they plan to keep me standing?

However, the MC continued the show with me still standing beside him.

"Now, only one thing remains! The group name for the participants who will debut with 〈Re-Listing! Idol Corporation〉!"

The obvious explanation followed that they had collected opinions from shareholders online.

Then, a dazzling logo appeared on the screen.

A capital 'T' and a triangle with an open top were cleverly combined, with flashy spark effects shooting from the sides and top, settling into a small diamond mark.

- Verified Your Investment.

- Your Idol, Your Star

- TEST + STAR

- 〈TeSTAR〉

"The group name chosen by the shareholders is… TeSTAR (TeSTAR)!"

"……"

The name changed.

As far as I know, the original name for the male idol group debuting through this program was 'STier', pronounced 'Stier'.

I saw it listed on the homepage with 'Star + Tier' as the explanation, so I thought that would be it.

But the members changed quite a bit, including me, so a different name came out.

It seems the name was decided by a narrow margin last time.

'…Wasn't Stier better?'

I didn't expect the group name to have 'star' taking up more than half of it.

It was a bit surreal, but… well, as long as the group name isn't too weird, it's fine.

"The seven members of TeSTAR will be awarded trophies with the group logo!"

Then, Young-rin came up and handed me a trophy. The trophy, shaped like a graph soaring into the sky, was the only one.

'They made me stand here for this.'

I guess I just have to deliver this to the kids.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

I shook hands lightly with Young-rin and received the trophy with the cushion.

Young-rin looked at me with calm eyes and smiled.

"I hope you have a good career ahead."

"Yes, thank you."

I mumbled my thanks repeatedly.

Then, I quickly walked towards where the qualifiers were standing.

They were already standing up, seemingly caught up in the atmosphere.

"Wow!"

"They're giving us trophies too?!"

I handed the trophy to the first person I saw without hesitation.

Then, they started making a fuss, hugging each other around the trophy.

'My shoulder hurts.'

I was sore from the hits I took from Cha Yujin and Lee Sejin.

From my shoulder to my feet, there wasn't a single part that didn't hurt, but my brain was still sharp from the adrenaline.

I heard the MC's voice from a distance.

"Congratulations on the debut of TeSTAR!"

Stage fireworks exploded spectacularly. I heard the cheers of the crowd while being sandwiched between the trophy and the qualifiers.

And at that moment.

A status window popped up.

[Successful Debut!]

You have successfully debuted through a famous audition program!

!Time Limit: Met (Great Success) ! Abnormal Status: 'If I don't debut, I'll die' removed!

: Verify Truth ☜ Click!]

'…Really?'

I opened the status window. The abnormal status was gone. It was over.

It didn't feel real.

Maybe because I didn't understand the purpose of the status window, or because I was plagued by the ominous prediction that the abnormal status might somehow be extended.

'How could it disappear so cleanly?'

I blankly closed the status window. Then, I noticed the bottom text of the remaining popup.

Where the reward should have been written.

'…Wait a minute.'

What is this?

[Verify Truth ☜ Click!]

Truth?

I reflexively clicked the text.

"Park Moondae?"

Suddenly, my vision distorted.

And the screen went black.

* * *

A skinny high school student was lying on a mattress, holding an old smartphone.

The mattress creaked every time he moved.

The broken screen of the smartphone was playing a VTube video. The quality was poor due to the barely connected public Wi-Fi.

However, the charm of the singer on the screen, captured skillfully by the person holding the camera, was still captivating.

'It was fun.'

The high school student, Park Moondae, looked at the finished video screen with regret.

The latest straight camera videos on this account ended with the '2X0412 Re-Reden Han River Festival'.

This account, 'Gun1234', mainly uploaded straight camera videos of singers and idols.

It focused on those with low recognition, but even they looked cool.

'It feels like they're being recognized.'

It felt good to cheer for someone who seemed to have no future.

'I hope they upload more often.'

There weren't many things left that could make him happy without spending money.

Even on VTube, where you could watch with just ads, there weren't many videos that could make his heart race, even with the poor quality and frequently disconnecting Wi-Fi.

He heard that the ad revenue from straight camera videos mostly went to the original singer, so there was almost no profit, but he was grateful for the consistent uploads.

After pondering, Park Moondae scrolled down and wrote a comment.

-Big Moon: Mr. Gun1234, I always enjoy your straight camera videos. Thank you for uploading them.

He knew this account had never given special feedback to viewers.

Even when Young-rin's straight camera video went viral, there was no comment.

But in case they were watching, Park Moondae checked for typos and pressed the post button.

-This person always shows up lol

-Seems like a real fan

A few replies made him feel a bit embarrassed.

He considered replying but suddenly lost the urge.

'Even if I reply, I don't have much to say…'

He couldn't find the words to talk about himself.

The room, which he couldn't even call a home, was silent.

There was no real daily routine.

When he tried to recall the last time he did anything with enthusiasm, he remembered when everything was normal.

When his parents were around.

It felt like yesterday, but it had been years.

And he felt like he had been stuck somewhere for years, or maybe he was just dreaming.

That's why he might be focusing on the videos this account uploads, the boy thought.

Even though there was no sign of things getting better, watching people passionately sing and dance gave him a sense of vicarious satisfaction.

'…Come on.'

Tomorrow would probably be Monday.

Park Moondae fidgeted and closed his eyes on the mattress.

Time passed, but unlike the world around him, he felt like he hadn't changed.

A terrible incident happened at school. He quit, but nothing changed.

Well, if living can be stopped, can it also not be stopped?

'Yeah, that's right.'

But he didn't really want to die.

Park Moondae found a part-time job, but soon lost it.

And the video uploads from 'gun1234' also stopped.

'Why…?'

After pondering, Park Moondae finally sent a message through the account information. It was the day he failed to find a new part-time job. As expected, there was no reply.

And after a while, all the videos from the account disappeared.

The empty page had only a short message left.

=========================

[Quitting due to gaming. SG]

=========================

Gaming.

Park Moondae tried a mobile game. He didn't have the money for a desktop or a gaming console.

But his old smartphone couldn't run the mobile game properly, and after terrible overheating, it broke.

Park Moondae felt extremely tired, even though he hadn't done anything.

'I'm tired.'

Life was tiring.

Park Moondae canceled his broken smartphone and didn't renew the lease on the old single room.

He had just enough money left after eating a proper meal for the first time in a while.

It meant he could book a motel and buy sleeping pills.

'They say a lot of people die in motels.'

It was too cold to jump into the water or climb a mountain. He might give up halfway.

If he died in his room, he would be left to rot for over a month.

'Sorry.'

While booking the room, Park Moondae repeatedly apologized in his mind to the gruff owner.

After entering the room, he lay on the bed and swallowed the sleeping pills.

Death-like sleep came over him.

A moment later.

Breathing in on a dirty motel bed, the one who opened his eyes was…

Me.

* * *

"Huff."

I exhaled.

"Are, are you okay?"

Someone patted my back. I turned my head to see Seo Na-hyun's worried face.

"…Just a bit tired."

I barely managed to cover it up and stretched my body.

It seemed almost no time had passed. I must have looked like I was swaying for a moment.

The atmosphere remained unchanged, as the other people didn't even notice, surrounded by the qualifiers.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. My mind was a mess.

The owner of the video account that Park Moondae used to like, 'gun1234'.

'It's me.'

It was the account I deleted when I started my public life.