Debut or Die

Think back to AJUSA. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Even though I came out in platinum on the first stage, I didn’t get much early attention—just a few comments.

But now?

Even with only the profiles released, new posts keep popping up.

[There’s that Mallang Dalkom Glasses Guy on LeTi’s Wise survival]

[Looks like LeTi’s got its lineup together right for this survival]

[Where on earth did LeTi find these guys? (Overview)]

Every time someone clicks one of those, I’m always in it.

“......”

I scrolled down, set my phone aside, and stifled a sigh.

So my looks stat... was everything, huh.

Sure, being featured just beforehand as a Mallang Dalkom dancer helped—“He looks natural on stage”—but still....

‘Still, I can’t believe the buzz difference is this big.’

I rubbed my face and went to the sink to look in the mirror.

“Hm.”

I’d thought it from the start, but yeah—seems I look better than the old civil-servant me.

Whether it’s because I naturally leveled up my stats at Park Mundae’s place or because this Ryu Geonwoo’s been eating well, I don’t know.

‘Probably both.’

I figure there’s about a one-letter difference in stat tiers. But still, this much?

—“He’s fuckin’ peak LeTi material, holy shit, purebredㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

—“I’ve already stashed Shin Jaehyun and Ryu Geonwoo in my hype bag, holding out for LeTi No.1! LeTi! LeTi!”

—“So this is what a major boy-group agency looks like”

‘...Must be a matter of taste, too.’

My TeSTAR look was softer, more blended, but Ryu Geonwoo gives off a harsher vibe.

And that seems to be the so-called “LeTi aesthetic.”

Since LeTi’s in-house survival hasn’t aired yet, only those already interested in the agency clicked, adding to that effect.

‘And since all these trainees share that vibe, it amplifies the synergy.’

Fourteen guys, all hand-picked to have that dark-edged look.

Not just me—even four or five others get plenty of buzz from just their profile pics.

‘VTIC guys are getting mentioned quite a bit, too.’

I see mentions of Joodan and Shino as well. One guy’s profile photo was way worse than real life, so he’s at a disadvantage.

Anyway, for an in-house survival, the show was fetching a huge amount of attention and steadily growing its buzz.

Because of that, I got this, too.

[Reputation increasing....]

+Exp 15000

Reputation jumped handsomely again.

‘Fifteen recruitment rounds’ worth, huh.’

I dismissed the popup and checked the status window below.

[Ally List]

Shin Jaehyun: Planning in progress (*^^~♪)

Cha Yoo-jin: Intense training (+ㅅ+=3)

Both of them are pumped.

Cha Yoo-jin’s probably dragging Kim Rae-bin into a special training session. Kim Rae-bin picks up dance quickly, so they’re probably drilling the routine.

“Hm.”

Still, it’d be nice if Kim Rae-bin showed up in this ally list.

I eyed the reputation popup and thought, then made up my mind.

[Hyung, why not recruit an ally?]

Alright.

If Kim Rae-bin pops, that’d be ideal. But since Cha Yoo-jin showed up on the eighth pull, it’s unpredictable. Still, statistically....

‘Cha Yoo-jin came out in eight pulls, too.’

Chances of someone I know appearing still looked decent. Good.

I hit the ten-pull button.

And then reality hit.

[★★ Kang Seong-bin / Sub-Rapper]

[★ Kim Jae-hoon / Sub-Dancer]

[Failure!]

[★★]

[★]

......

Nothing.

Just ten pulls? No chance.

So much for full experience.

“......”

Is this a game?

No, is this even real? I don’t even know the probabilities yet I’m about to blow all my reputation on this?

To make it worse, another notification pops up.

[Ally Connection Storage is full! Would you like to expand?]

Use Exp 2000

“......”

One- and two-star slots already filled? They’re really milking it.

Screw off.

[Released an ally connection.]

Breakup compensation received....

+20G

I decided to save the remaining 5000. This sucks. Geundal cheers with a big popup.

[P-Phang, fighting! You’ll get them next time! (ง •_•)ง]

Where did he even find that emoji.

“...Alright.”

I rubbed my face, snapped back, and asked the question I’d been meaning to.

Maybe his answer would hint at the situation.

“So, exactly what state are you in right now?”

Referring to Geundal’s current condition.

We’re talking, but he’s just text. No body—what’s going on? I needed to know.

[Hmm... I’m not sure. I definitely have consciousness....]

A vague answer.

I followed up with several questions:

Is the system trying to interfere? Anything uneasy or suspicious? Any changes to abilities?

Mostly ambiguous “no” answers.

‘Vague but not bad. That’s sorted.’

The final question yielded the same.

“You can’t access your body or anything, right?”

[Noㅜㅜ]

I’d expected that. The next one, though—

“...Do you feel like your body’s disappeared?”

[Not exactly. More like something’s blocking me! Like no Wi-Fi and disconnected from the internet.]

A unique analogy, but I understood. And it was reassuring.

[Well, I mean, how is that comforting...?]

I cracked a faint smile.

“It means your world as a civil servant and mine in TeSTAR didn’t vanish. If it’s blocked, it’s on the other side.”

[Ahhh!]

The popup expanded hopefully. I nodded.

“If that state gets too uncomfortable, let me know. I can still do something about it.”

Being linked to someone with only a psyche and no body can’t feel pleasant.

[Ah, I’m not in pain or anything! It’s more... like surfing the internet in a dream? That’s the feeling!]

“Alright.”

For now, he seemed fairly calm. Good.

I nodded, stepped away from the sink, and got dressed.

[Where are you going?]

“To check on the others.”

Since my pulls failed, I needed to see if our plan was going smoothly.

I settled my churning stomach and joined Cha Yoo-jin and Kim Rae-bin for a half-day of routine practice.

“Kim Rae-bin, nice! One more time!”

“Ah, got it!”

It was rare to see two guys practicing without calling each other idiots, but by that night, their dynamic was the same as in TeSTAR.

And seventeen-year-old Kim Rae-bin looked a bit flustered.

“I’m not usually so rude to people I just met, but this situation...!”

“If it makes you comfortable, that’s good. We’ll keep seeing each other.”

“Yes....”

“Right, Kim Rae-bin, feel free!”

“You’re too free...!”

Kim Rae-bin started to retort, then realized and froze.

Consistent in any situation, even if he forgot everything. I smirked.

“Let’s do well.”

“Yes!”

Thanks to Ryu Cheong-woo being away on MT, Kim Rae-bin could stay at the officetel.

And the next day, the new shoot began.

The second survival shoot started innocently enough.

“Welcome to your dorm!”

“Whoa!”

Dorm entry.

Of course, in survival-show style, it was sadistically divided.

What do you think? Honor class and lower class got the good and bad rooms.

“Oh, here’s honor class....

“But their names are on the lower-class side, too?”

“You have to be in honor class to use it. That’s it!”

Both zones, divided around the living room, had all 14 nameplates duplicated.

‘Well, lower class isn’t that bad.’

It looked better than my college apartment—more like a motel. Only honor class had real hotel rooms.

“......”

But making lower class look at the honor-class rooms, then shoving them off to another dorm—that’s classic network.

Watching them trudging off, honor-class guys can’t be too happy, either.

– Editing for character emphasis, right?

– If the company doesn’t favor a trainee...

I recalled my Q&A with Cheongryeo and managed my expression.

He happened to be next to me.

“Nice to work with you, hyung.”

“You too.”

In case of emergency, I’d pick the same room as Cheongryeo. Our nameplates were side by side as planned.

‘Good.’

Neat. I intentionally didn’t mingle much with the honor-class guys who’d float away anyway.

‘He’ll use every trick to push them out.’

Even if they stick to talent-based cuts, they won’t keep guys who flopped within three years.

He’ll get rid of them anyway. No need for late-stage cliques.

Filming went smoothly after that.

“One more take!”

“Yes!”

Honor class did a special stage together; lower class likewise.

They shot the theme song.

—Yes I am

Too many things you can do

Pull the gear up high

(Who can be a star?)

Yes I am

〈Yes I am〉

It sounds like a middle-school English textbook title, but it worked like a reality-show opener.

And unlike AJUSA’s “Here’s the song—memorize it!” they’d all practiced this, so one run-through was enough.

‘Peaceful.’

It seemed less ruthless than years-ago in-house survivals—until that evening, anyway.

When the stage ended and the trainees rallied their spirits, the real capsaicin poured on.

“Great job, everyone!”

“Waaa!”

As they finished the # Nоvеlight # theme-song shoot, pin lights and confetti burst.

A new episode began.

“You did well. Let’s keep it up.”

“Yes!”

The president, seated front-row, nodded and grabbed the mic.

“In this program, you’ll face constant challenges.”

A writer held up a sketchpad reading “Positioning.” The trainees, catching on, edged into place in line.

Just the ominous BGM was missing.

“Even if you debut and stay loved for years, new rookies will keep emerging, so the competition never ends.”

He watched them nod grimly.

Time for the main event.

“Wise is your final gateway to debut—a microcosm of the industry—so we’ll apply real-world evaluation methods.”

He raised his hand.

“And so, we present your first competitors.”

Pop!

Surprised trainees flinched as a huge dry-ice stage prop opened, revealing seven people.

“Your roster is seven for honor class and seven for lower class—a total of 14.”

He struck a dramatic pose.

“These are, outside that roster, the Supplement Class.”

“...!”

“If a Supplement Class member challenges and beats one of you, they join Wise’s contestants.”

Gasps echoed. No trainee had known this beforehand.

“And anyone who fails to beat a Supplement Class member risks elimination.”

The dry ice cleared, showing seven new faces.

And there I saw familiar ones.

Cha Yoo-jin, grinning confidently.

And Kim Rae-bin, whose expression looked like an intermediate boss’s.

Right.

Those two hadn’t been among the 14 contestants before—because they weren’t LeTi trainees.

Their timing to join was just now.

In this shoot that turned into chaos with Supplement Class entry.

“Win to survive.”

The Supplement Class aligned opposite the stage.

Shaking eyes and strained faces—contestants faced off. Tension mounted.

And I thought coolly,

‘Most of them are cannon fodder for tension-building.’

The fiercer the fight, the better the ratings. They’re mostly unsuitable long-term, so they make good fodder.

Thus, aside from Cha Yoo-jin and Kim Rae-bin, the rest must be unknown to me.... Wait.

[Whoa whoa whoa! That person!]

One more familiar face emerged.

“...!”

[That’s VTIC, right?]

Cha-yul.

A VTIC member who hadn’t appeared till now.

A brown-haired kid in his late teens, eyes shining, stood at the far end.

“......”

That’s the one they’re throwing in now?

So Cheongryeo didn’t search for him earlier. Because he appears around now? Or only injected this time?

No matter how I strategize, filming continued steadily.

“Supplement Class, choose your opponent and step forward.”

Cha Yoo-jin and Kim Rae-bin moved to their picks—they’d already discussed whom to target....

Why is that bastard heading there?

Cha Yoo-jin stopped in front of... Cheongryeo.

“Oh.”

“Please take care of me!”

[Kyaaaaa!!]

“......”

This crazy bastard...!

I bit my tongue to stop my expression from changing.

But the surprise didn’t end there.

[W-Wait, why’s that person coming here?]

...One of the Supplement Class walked over to me, too.

He approached with a flush of nerves, then stood before me with an excited face and bowed.

“Please take care of me!”

“...Yes.”

Cha-yul.

He chose me as his opponent.

“......”

I glanced sideways. Cheongryeo, standing before Cha Yoo-jin, was smiling.

[Shin Jaehyun: Planning in progress (*^^~♪)]