Debut or Die

Chapter 91

<Let’s Get Close First>’s preview video began by showing past guests.

After showing the appearances of huge celebrities, it showed the new guest at the climax.

[This guest is…]

[VTIC!]

Behind the caption, VTIC’s numerous records and activities passed. And one of the members was zoomed in. It was a famous scene where they gave a greeting and received an award at an international award ceremony.

[VTIC’s leader]

[Cheongryeo]

[Who does he want to be friends with?]

Soon after, a new screen appeared.

[One day in July 202X]

[Cheongryeo: Hello, I’m VTIC’s Cheongryeo.]

It was a pre-meeting video featuring Cheongryeo in plain clothes.

[Q: What are the criteria for selecting the person you want to be friends with?]

[Cheongryeo: I guess… A fellow singer? (Laugh)]

[Cheongryeo: Actually, I’ve been focusing on my activities, so I’ve rarely met fellow singers.]

A small caption saying ‘A Workaholic’s Lamentation’ appeared and disappeared.

[Q: If you can only ask for one person?]

[Cheongryeo: It’s difficult. (Laugh)]

[Cheongryeo: Actually, there’s someone I’ve been paying attention to lately.]

[Cheongryeo: I think he’s kind of similar to me.]

Cheongryeo’s voice that came out next was covered with a ‘beep-‘ sound.

The shape of his mouth was also obscured, so no clues could be gathered from it.

But the next moment, almost everyone could guess who Cheongryeo was pointing at.

It was because only some part of <Idol Inc.>’s ‘Just Me’ performance was zoomed in and broadcasted in blurry quality.

It meant that since it all was leaked in the article anyway, they were openly giving a hint.

[Who is the ‘similar fellow singer’ pointed out by Cheongryeo?]

[It will be revealed next week in <Let’s Get Close First>!]

And the comments were already occupied with spoilers.

– It’s Park Moondae

– Anyone can see that it’s Park Moondae???

– Wow, Cheongryeo-nim, you rarely show up on variety shows, but finally?? I’m looking forward to your chemistry with your hubae!

– Wow, it’s going to be very fun

The best comments were basically like these.

It was another story if you arranged it by the latest order or went to SNS, but at any rate, the expectations of the general viewers were high.

It was rare for male idols to secure popularity, and among them, those two, who hadn’t made solo appearances in entertainment shows, showed up in a public entertainment show.

And for one of the two, it was his first appearance in a public entertainment show, so the fans were completely excited.

– Gasp, Moon Puppy’s solo entertainment??

– This program is really fun and I’m looking forward to the type of program Moondae will do well

– Finally, my wish is fulfilled… Holding-out wins 1 score. I’m so touched.

– (This soul is already on the defense. Please pass by)

There were definitely lingering conflicts caused by VTIC’s overlapping activities and dissatisfaction from Testar’s individual fans.

But it didn’t blow up. It was because Testar’s individual fans would want anyone to break through the public entertainment programs.

It was the same with the individual anti-fans.

– He was picked out and not randomly put in by the agency, so I am not going to curse… In the first place, it’s uncomfortable to see Gommeo winning first place by storytelling?

– Moondae, don’t mess up. My baby has to come out

– I’m not interested in Gommeo’s f*cking entertainment, so I’ll mute it but they only have a group account, so I have to keep watching

– Huh? Only Park Moondae will appear on a public variety show? T-one guys, please set up more individual schedules for my kid too

Negative public opinion subsided quietly after they only said this much under the surface.

– Ah~ I hope it’s next Friday soon??

Overall, this opinion was the general opinion of the entertainment community.

And now, the subject of this excitement was entering the filming set, filled with distrust.

* * *

‘That bastard is suspicious.’

Suddenly, without discussing it beforehand, he pointed out Park Moondae as a guest on a variety show?

He was the one who blew it up, but in his messages, he didn’t say a word about this variety show. It meant that he didn’t intend to tell me personally in the first place.

‘I think he’s trying to screw me.’

However, there was no way the company would be okay with calling off casting on a public Friday night entertainment show that had good ratings.

Thanks to this, I was currently approaching the filming location after saying hello to the staff.

“…”

I saw a huge wooden building in front of me.

‘It reminds me of bad memories.’

Out of all things, it had to be wood. I held back my sigh and knocked on the door.

“Is there anyone inside?”

Thump thump.

When I knocked hard on the door, the door opened slightly.

“It must be cold, come in quickly.”

“…Thank you.”

Because of this sh*t midwinter setting, I almost died from the heat trying to wear a padded jacket in the summer.

‘Since it’s the person inviting who decides on it, it must be this bastard who decided the setting.’

It didn’t matter to him because he was indoors from the beginning.

I swallowed the curse that rose up to my throat and entered the building.

Inside… It was a typical mountain cabin. It wasn’t like a pension, but it looked like a simple facility for hikers to stay for a while.

‘…Is it the time to say the lines?’

I muttered, taking off my luggage and putting it in the corner.

“I was surprised by the sudden snowstorm, but it’s fortunate that there is a mountain cabin.”

“I see. I also quickly came in after seeing the weather.”

Yes. Currently, the default setting was ‘a state on the verge of distress in a snowy mountain cabin’.

The reason for this absurd setting was obvious.

It was a feature of this program.

<Let’s Get Close First> was a program that cast a celebrity and let them spend time with the celebrity they pointed out.

However, since healing content like this was common, they added fresh elements.

An extreme situation.

The setting where the two guests were isolated to take care of their body’s safety in some extreme situations was unconditionally the default.

Of course, it wasn’t real, it was just some kind of skit. To the point that it went back and forth between gag and immersion.

For reference, the situation with the apartment where the zombie apocalypse broke out was a big hit during the pilot.

Youngrin picked out an actor from MallangDalkom and the two of them appeared together; it was quite interesting when I looked at some clips.

‘The problem is that I’m on the show.’

With a 1.8 million copies idol who I couldn’t figure out.

‘Let’s not show weakness.’

The goal was to finish filming safely and leave, as if dealing with a bad-tempered senior.

“It’s rare to go hiking in this weather, so an encounter like this is amazing. Ah, would you like some coffee?”

Cheongryeo smiled and lifted a thermos bottle. His other hand was holding an old and tacky coffee cup, perhaps the setting was he found it in the cabin.

“Thank you.”

I accepted the coffee cup offered by Cheongryeo with both hands. Americano was boiling inside.

I was about to die from the heat but I had an Americano boiling hot in my arms…

“…”

I pretended to drink it and put it down.

Fortunately, the air conditioner was tight on the inside, so it was gradually bearable even with winter clothes.

‘It’s my turn to offer something.’

I opened my mouth.

“I’ve received the coffee, so if you don’t mind, can I treat you to dinner? I brought some canned food.”

“That’s great. Um… The snowstorm is still strong. It looks like we will have to wait a long time, so we should eat well.”

“Yes.”

I wondered what this was all about as he pretended to peek out at the window that was blocked by the green screen.

‘…What’s going on?’

I did this job for the money. Let’s not think about useless things.

I approached the bag I had thrown in the corner and took out the canned food.

I didn’t pack this up, it was prepared by the production team…

A trademark caught my eye.

[Convenient Boneless Chicken Feet Rice Bowl]

“…”

Let’s pick another one. As for the chicken feet… This gag was overused.

“Thank you for the food.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The meal time just passed by with a light skit about why I started hiking.

“I’ll clean it up.”

“…No! We have to do this together.”

Are you making your hubae play in order to send someone away?

As I organized the remaining plastic and containers, I heard a loud noise from outside.

‘Clangclangbang!!’

The sound was real. I was honestly surprised.

“…!!”

“Is it thunder?”

Cheongryeo frowned and went to the cabin door to open the door slightly.

But the door didn’t open.

“…I guess that sound earlier was a landslide. It looks like it’s snowing outside.”

“I’ll call the police for now.”

I took out an old phone. And I pretended to be ‘the person who called the police, but heard that they couldn’t come today because the snow was too piled up’.

“It ends up like this. Then let’s hold out in this cabin today for now.”

“Yes, I look forward to your kind cooperation..”

“Likewise, I look forward to your kind cooperation as well.”

With this, the notified default setting was over.

From now on, we could set up the situation freely with one or two character settings in mind…was the prior explanation of the production team.

So I did some gag pretending to find the stove and crack down on the windows and sat down in the living room again.

“The stove is not working well. I don’t know what’s going to happen, so I’m going to stay up all night today.”

It was the production team’s wish to have us say absurd lies all night for the broadcast image.

‘…What should I do?’

Given the format of this program, I supposed it was time to have an honest chat ‘with a stranger.’

‘If it starts with a subordinate asking for advice, will it be suitable for the broadcast image?’

After pondering about it, I tried my luck.

“Come to think of it, how did you end up hiking today?”

“I wanted to organize my thoughts, but I only had the time today, so it ended up like this. Haha. Um, actually, I am a singer.”

“Yes?”

As if embarrassed, Cheongryeo cleared his throat and continued.

“I am from an idol group called VTIC, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

Look at this hideous setting.

I gave a reaction like, ‘Of course, I’ve heard it, I’m a fan.’ and told my story.

“Me too… I debuted recently.”

“Really? You’re my junior. What a coincidence.”

“I think so too.”

It was really a situation setting where the reality was as small as a hole made by a needle.

I was about to start a serious conversation, but Cheongryeo, who was rubbing his chin, suddenly said.

“Um… We happen to have the same job, and we’re not supposed to sleep… It reminds me of a story.”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to hear it?”

Is there anyone here who would say no?

“Yes, I will listen.”

“Haha, it’s not something to listen to… It’s just small talk.”

Cheongryeo lightly tapped the wooden floor.

“Do you know an idol ghost story? I heard of this recently.”

“…A ghost story? An Idol ghost story?”

“Yes.”

…I didn’t know what kind of skit he was going for, but let’s just accept it.

“What is it about?”

“Um, as for what it is about…”

Cheongryeo chuckled lightly.

“There was an idol, but one day when they opened their eyes, they went back to the past.”

“…”

“The idol was surprised, but this time they tried hard to become a successful idol without controversy… But, what’s this? They kept dying in accidents and going back to the past!”

“…”

“So, the idol who was trapped in the past had unknowingly become a ghost. They wandered around the recording studio, and when an idol who was likely to succeed was recording, they interrupted and recorded together. ‘I could have done this…’ they said.”

Cheongryeo crossed his arms.

“What do you think?”