Debut or Die
chapter-184

Park Moondae continued to rise into the air. Even as his limbs dropped in the air, his limp body maintained its dramatically graceful lines.

And he kept singing.

– My heart is melting

Until there’s nothing to expect

in desperation

Until it’s over

Just like the eerie lyrics, it was a static yet intense performance.

The homma, who was watching the scene blankly, suddenly realized something.

‘That’s why it’s a head mic!’

From the moment he sat in the chair, he was wearing a head microphone, not a standing microphone or a handheld microphone.

‘I thought it was because it didn’t fit the atmosphere with the tied-up clothes…’

No, it was because of that crazy performance.

And it didn’t end there.

– Still, I’ll wait

The moment the final chorus hit.

The accompaniment suddenly turned into a slow string solo instrument.

In the midst of that mournful sound, the fabric that had been tied around the singer’s body loosened and began to flutter along with the wind.

And the cloudy night sky began to be reflected on the electronic display.

“…!”

Fabric in primary colors swayed against the background of a cloudy dark night where the stars were hard to see.

And a white figure floated in the middle.

Even though all the tied fabric was released as if he had been pulled up, Park Moondae was still floating in the air with only his body.

‘Crazy.’

She didn’t even have time to think about how he did it. Every element of the scene made a dramatic contrast, and it even looked like some kind of modern art.

The white outfit shimmered in the light.

The song flowed beautifully without wavering.

– On the day you finally came

Until the day you think it’s pretty

Unlike the original song, which seemed to be burning, it was a singing method and accompaniment that seemed to resonate with sadness.

– Waiting

The ensemble of the orchestra resounded in the hall. It was the sound that was actually played under the stage.

With that melody, Park Moondae’s body slowly descended from the air.

And the next moment.

As if nothing had happened, Park Moondae was sitting calmly in the chair.

The fabric, untied in all directions, was spread like a pattern on the floor.

Click.

The lights went off without warning, and the stage was over.

* * *

Woooow!!

The screams and exclamations that rang through the concert hall made the backstage tremble.

And the one-day staff members, who glanced at the monitoring screen while packing up their luggage, were all in deep admiration.

Looking directly at the electronic signboard screen from the front, they thought it was a performance worth paying for.

The same was true of the disgruntled part-timer who was fiddling with their smartphone.

‘In real life, it looks even better…’

However, since they were watching indirectly through the monitor, the magic of the performance quickly unraveled.

‘…But isn’t it all because of the equipment anyway?’

All of that was done by the experts who made the stage, honestly, the singers just sang.

‘Maybe it wasn’t live like before.’

The part-timer tried to ignore the excitement and touched the luggage again.

Still, that person seemed to be struggling, they shouldn’t say anything bad. They were a little conflicted.

Just then, they could hear a murmur farther down the aisle.

It was a background noise that they had never heard before during the performance.

“What?”

“Is there an accident?”

In the distance, they could hear a small shout, ‘Hey, oxygen mask!’.

However, soon Lee Sejin’s performance began, and the background noise became almost inaudible.

‘Oh, boy.’

The part-timer licked their lips, listening intently to see if there was anything they could get as an anecdote.

But after a while.

People who were newly assigned to move the luggage whispered around the part-timer about the news they had picked up.

“What, he passed out because they pressed the wrong device?”

“Heol.”

“Is it Park Moondae?”

“Looking at the order, I think so? Then why would they make signals? The staff seemed to be talking about it… I eavesdropped and got kicked out.”

“What a pity.”

“…!”

The part-timer, who had been eavesdropping pretending not to listen, realized it too.

‘The guy who was on the air stage just now collapsed?!’

The part-timer knew his name because he was popular on WeTube these days.

Park Moondae, who debuted at No. 1.

To have collapsed after coming down from the stage, it was a passionate professionalism that they had heard in every good story.

‘…But what are you going to do with the rest of the performance if you collapse like that?’

Isn’t it rather thoughtless? The part-timer thought as sarcastically as possible.

But eight minutes later.

At last, it was the moment when Ryu Chungwoo’s solo song ended and the group song started again.

[Speading Midnight

The distorted focus

Shaking, worrying about the time]

The Park Moondae that was caught on the monitoring screen…was performing his part with a normal face.

“…!”

There were no signs of collapse anywhere.

And witnessing that gap somewhat directly… Something about it struck a person’s heart.

‘…It’s amazing.’

As if their energy was released all at once, the part-timer felt relieved.

Seeing him gritting his teeth and working hard like that, their inferiority complex subsided.

“Let’s go back!”

“Yes~”

Even after organizing all the spilled luggage and returning to the background, the part-timer was lost in thought for a while.

“…”

And with the noisy concert hall in the background, they took out his smartphone and wrote a post.

[A interlude review of male idol concert staff]

There are a lot of fangirls yelling sh*t, but there are no times to try

But still, the floating-in-the-air performance, he’s working so f*cking hard by himself

There was a problem, so as soon as the song was over he put on an oxygen mask and collapsed, but honestly, this bastard is so determined

It was written without malice.

However, the comments were appalling.

– ㅌㅅㅌIs it a part-time job?

– Fangirl, your efforts are so touching

– Not interesting

– Even in the ’80s, they wouldn’t have done this, show your next manipulationㅋ

“These bastards…!”

The angry part-timer took a picture of their vest visible in the aisle, then they posted the proof shot triumphantly.

‘They can’t say that anymore!’

And 30 minutes later.

“Who posted this here?”

‘Gosh.’

The part-timer, who was immediately found out, was dragged away by security guards for violating confidentiality.

It wasn’t a skit.

However, apart from this happening outside, the concert went on and finally reached the mid-break time.

Right away, it was time for the talk show.

* * *

[It’s Testar’s second concert!]

[Thank you once again for coming to <Enchanted ME>.]

[Wow~]

Members clapped and laughed at Ryu Chungwoo’s hosting.

Most of them were still sweating, gasping for breath, and drinking water due to the performance just before this, but it was also attractive in its own way.

As Lee Sejin and Park Moondae who happened to be sitting side by side were zoomed in, the office worker holding the camera thought indifferently.

‘If it’s already like that, you should make Lee Sejin the MC.’

She was the homma that started operating the twin fansite of those two, ‘Puppy Bear‘.

‘Looking at the leaked set list, I heard there’s no unit performance.’

It was a bummer. She wanted to film the performance of those two soon… No, she just missed them.

After making a quick estimate, the office worker still felt good.

‘The number of followers is different.’

The number of followers exceeded the fan account of a male idol from a small agency she originally operated for within six weeks.

Thanks to that, she closed her old account and moved on without looking further.

‘It’s for this taste.’

After all, it was right to catch popular guys, and the office worker thought calculatingly.

‘In particular, Lee Sejin is the type to have a long run.’

Just in time, the person in question opened his mouth.

[Ah! While watching today’s concert… Ah! Our area is so alienated! I didn’t even make eye contact! Is there anyone who did?]

Me! Me!!

Here!

A booming sound echoed through the concert hall.

Lee Sejin smiled and picked up the points with his finger, asking back, “Here? Here?” wherever he heard the sound.

Park Moondae suggested with a slight smile.

[Then, shall we start with a greeting first?]

[Ah, that’s a great idea~ Stand up!]

[Hello!]

[Let’s have fun.]

Testar got up and went around the end of the stage, greeting up and down.

Laughter and cheers warmed up the hall.

The office worker relentlessly followed them with her camera and licked her lips.

‘I wish you could show off your abs.’

Even if he only showed it for a moment, she was confident she could capture it neatly.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but the talk continued naturally.

[Did you enjoy the performance?]

“Yes!”

The office worker responded reflexively along with people shouting from all sides, and she got a little embarrassed.

But she couldn’t help it.

‘It was really fun.’

Even compared to the first concert, the device was more spectacular and there were many configurations that showed off their individual capabilities, so it was nice to get into it more.

In particular, the solo stage leading to Park Moondae–Lee Sejin was very good.

When Lee Sejin’s splendid and active stage was put after Park Moondae’s extremely static and artistic stage, her satisfaction doubled.

‘It’s not because I’m their homma, but objectively, those two did the best performance…!’

The office worker calmly fangirled.

[Ah, I worked hard on preparing it, so I’m really glad!]

[Thank you.]

[Actually, we’ve prepared an improvised performance!]

Huh?

There was a murmur here and there.

‘Please don’t screw around.’

Having seen several idol concerts that became solemn when doing things like ‘improvised stage’, the office worker clenched her teeth.

But the members continued to talk excitedly.

[Before that, everyone, there will be a sentence on the electronic display! If it’s YES, can you turn on the light stick, and if it’s NO, can you turn it off?]

[Shall we try it? Now, turn it off!]

Some audience were puzzled, but in an instant, the hall suddenly became dark.

[Wow, this is scary??]

[There are over 20,000 people in the audience, so I thought it would definitely have a big impact.]

[That’s true.]

[Actually, I’m scared, too, so can you turn it back on quickly? …Haha, thank you, thank you!]

The explanation that followed was simple.

After hearing an explanation about a member, if you think it would be right, turn it on, and if you think it would be wrong, turn off the light.

[Okay, here’s the question… Oh, ‘Seon Ahyeon likes dogs more than cats!’ What do you think?]

Twinkle twinkle.

Most of the lightsticks didn’t turn off and swayed.

[Oh! There’s no need to use central control! Everyone said YES!]

When Lee Sejin made a fuss, Ryu Chungwoo smiled and announced the correct answer.

[The answer is… YES, it’s true!]

[No, how can you guess it so well, everyone!]

Seon Ahyeon nodded shyly. The members clapped and laughter and cheers rang out from the audience.

In the same way, questions about each of the seven members continued. Audiences succeeded in more than half of them, but of course, they also got it wrong.

[Oh, dear. All three are emoticons that Raebin uses in the group message room, it’s true! Everyone, Raebin is such a mature friend.]

[I’m good at swimming! Loviewer, do you perhaps think Lee Sejin can’t swim?]

As the laughter continued, it came to the last turn.

It was Park Moondae.

Park Moondae was rather quiet throughout the talk, but when he was given the timing, he read the message on the electronic display in a soft voice.

[Hmm, ‘The largest amount of dishes Park Moondae has ever cooked is for 7 people.’ What do you think?]

Twinkle.

Quite a few lightsticks were turned off, but the majority of them had turned the lights on.

‘Since there are seven members, there’s a high possibility that it’s seven servings.’

The office worker also turned it on.

[The answer is… Ah! It’s NO.]

Heol.

After the members commented one by one, saying that it was such a pity, Park Moondae took the microphone again.

[It doesn’t end with one serving each, I usually made enough for 12 people.]

Ah~

The audience was quickly convinced.

‘This is our fault.’

‘It didn’t cross my mind.’

After that half-playful understanding, the question and answer were finally over.

[Now, then… The members you didn’t guess right are Kim Raebin, Lee Sejin, and Park Moondae!]

[Nice combination!]

When Lee Sejin self-destructed, the members laughed.

[These members will get a punishment now!]

“…??”

“Punishment?!”

She thought they were just filling the time for the talk show before the stage, but it seemed they had prepared more.

[Yes, everyone. Please wait a moment~]

At the same time as the members stood up, the stage equipment moved and huge boxes began to enter from the right and left.

[See you later~]

And the members who were guessed correctly by the audience ran to the right, and the three members who weren’t guessed correctly ran to the left.

The box on the right had a nice castle printed on it.

And on the left… It had a picture of a tissue box with a doll on it.

“…??”

Around the time when the audience was bursting into laughter at the unexpected momentum, the accompaniment suddenly began to play out.

It was an ominously fresh and lively intro.