The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Gate Burst Open on My Debut Day (105)
Each mission awarded points in a tiered system, ranking participants from 1st to 4th place.
We claimed 1st place in the physical ability mission and earned 10 points.
Next came the intellectual ability mission.
Okada represented our team.
I’d assumed it would be some kind of quiz challenge to test intellect, but it turned out to be another mission that favored those with superior physical coordination.
“Climbing?”
“More like… something similar to climbing?”
I gazed up at the steeply inclined Climbing Wall before us.
An angle like that… had to be around 70 degrees?
The wall was fitted with climbing holds—handholds and footholds positioned at various points.
Participants simply needed to use these holds to reach the top and touch the red square.
“Okada, do you think you can manage this?”
I looked at her with concern.
Okada wore gloves on both hands and socks on both feet.
“I’m confident with physical challenges.”
Okada spoke with quiet assurance.
“The Entertainment Team goes first! Give it everything you’ve got—begin!”
The participants struggled far more than expected.
The gloves and socks proved surprisingly effective obstacles.
The Entertainment Team participant slipped on the very first hold.
The Actor Team didn’t even make it halfway before losing their footing and tumbling down.
Watching the filming unfold, I found myself appreciating the concept.
There was something genuinely amusing about watching them thrash desperately to avoid falling, only to eventually slide down in defeat.
“No, I can’t… ugh, argh, ack!”
The Athlete Team participant reached for the final hold before plummeting downward.
The Veteran Athlete laughed heartily watching his teammate slip.
That man clearly lived for the joy of teasing his juniors.
Still, he’d climbed higher than the other three.
At this rate, the Athlete Team would win.
But I had faith in Okada.
“Go show them what you can do.”
“Yes!”
Climbing demanded not just physical prowess but intense concentration and problem-solving ability.
This climbing-like challenge resembled bouldering most closely—the discipline that demanded the most mental acuity among all climbing variants.
Okada rubbed her gloved hands together several times, then placed her socked foot on the lowest hold.
She extended her arm toward the first hold where the Entertainment Team participant had slipped.
‘She’s moving up so effortlessly.’
Having secured the first hold without difficulty, Okada ascended smoothly, her movements economical and controlled.
If I hadn’t witnessed those three participants slip and fall before her, I might have questioned the difficulty level—wondering if this was actually supposed to be easy.
In the blink of an eye, Okada found herself facing the final hold.
All we needed was for her to grasp that hold and touch the red square at the top—victory would be ours.
‘But that’s far easier said than done.’
The final hold was a perfectly smooth hemisphere with no finger grips whatsoever.
Even the Athlete Team participant had slipped trying to grab it.
Okada paused, studying the final hold with visible deliberation.
And then….
“Huh, what? What’s happening?”
“Did she just jump?”
She launched herself upward without even touching the final hold.
Okada’s gloved hand grazed the red square, and she landed smoothly on the ground below.
“That counts…right?”
When both the MC and other participants stood slack-jawed in silence, Okada asked cautiously.
“Success! The Idol Team succeeds!”
“Wow, I never expected her to jump from there. Guess that saying about good athleticism making life easier really holds true.”
“Wait, isn’t the saying that poor athleticism makes life harder?”
The MC and participants showered Okada with cheers and praise.
Unaccustomed to such reactions, Okada scratched the back of her neck and laughed bashfully.
I silently extended my fist toward the returning Okada.
She broke into a radiant smile and bumped it against mine.
“Let’s take a quick break!”
We exchanged a wordless glance of understanding.
One step closer to the Korean beef.
* * *
The final mission.
In other words… the mission testing our luck was rock-paper-scissors.
“Rock-paper-scissors?”
Perhaps because the first and second missions had been more entertaining than expected, this felt somewhat anticlimactic.
“Before we proceed with the final mission, I’ll announce the current standings.”
A Staff Member wheeled over a panel on casters.
The panel displayed each team’s accumulated points and current rankings.
[1st Place. Idol Team, 20 points
2nd Place. Athlete Team, 16 points
3rd Place. Actor Team, 10 points
3rd Place. Entertainment Team, 10 points]
I ran the numbers in my head.
If I finished last… I’d earn 4 points, bringing our total to 24.
Even if the Actor Team or Entertainment Team took first, they couldn’t surpass our score.
In other words, second place was already secured.
‘The real concern is the Athlete Team.’
If I place third and the Athlete Team places first, we’d be tied at 26 points for first place.
In other words, I need to place at least second to secure the beef.
But rock-paper-scissors isn’t something you can master through effort alone.
“Before we begin the final mission, I’d like to introduce a special rule!”
“A special rule?”
“It’s a double points event! All points earned in this mission will be doubled!”
What…?
My mind, which had been frantically tapping away at the calculator, came to a halt.
So that means if I place first, I’d earn 20 points, and if I place fourth, I’d earn 16 points?
“Hmm….”
With this rule, I absolutely have to place first to guarantee the beef.
The Production Team really thought this through well.
“The final mission will be conducted as a tournament. The Idol Team will face the Actor Team, and the Athlete Team will face the Entertainment Team in the first round. Please prepare immediately!”
I found myself standing across from an Actor Participant.
The Actor Participant seemed quite anxious, having underperformed compared to the Idol Team, which had two high school students.
‘Future Foresight isn’t responding.’
When I heard the final mission was rock-paper-scissors, I wondered if I might receive some assistance.
‘It’s an incredibly unstable ability.’
I recalled the moment Future Foresight first activated.
It didn’t respond while I was reviewing variety shows I could appear in solo.
But the moment I was about to voice my opinion when the members gathered, Future Foresight activated.
As if saying, ‘If you pick that, you’re screwed.’
“Rock-paper-scissors!”
I threw paper while the Actor Participant threw rock.
“Ugh…!”
The Actor Participant gritted his teeth and stepped back.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, lost in thought.
“Yeah, that’s it!”
“As expected, hyung!”
The match between the Athlete Team and Entertainment Team ended quickly as well.
Victory for the Athlete Team, with the Veteran Athlete leading the charge.
In the end, first and second place were meeting at the cliff’s edge.
“I appreciate this, senior,” I said politely, facing the Veteran Athlete.
I bowed respectfully.
“Sorry, but we’re taking the beef. I’ve got a lot of juniors I need to feed.”
“Even if you win here, we’d still be tied in points.”
“Then we’ll settle it with another game to find the true winner. The important thing is that a new opportunity has emerged.”
The Veteran Athlete laughed confidently, clenching his fist tightly.
I alternated my gaze between his annoying face and his thick, sturdy fist, contemplating.
‘Should I take a gamble?’
I extended my fist and spoke.
“Senior.”
“Huh?”
“I’m going to throw scissors.”
“What?”
The Veteran Athlete’s eyes went wide.
Not just the Veteran Athlete—everyone at the Filming Set stared at me in shock.
“Ha… are you trying to play mind games with me right now?”
The Veteran Athlete let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.
I nodded with a serious expression.
“Wow… Kim Chowol, right? That guy’s got guts.”
“He’s a rookie who hasn’t even debuted yet? He’d be great in entertainment too.”
The MC and other participants looked delighted.
Of course they were delighted.
With just one statement, I’d turned a simple rock-paper-scissors game into something thrilling.
“Do as you wish.”
The Veteran Athlete seemed to want to say something but held back.
Probably because it was being broadcast and cameras were rolling.
Regardless, what mattered now wasn’t the Veteran Athlete’s feelings.
‘I really am throwing scissors, okay? Not mind games—for real!’
I bit my lower lip hard as I thought.
‘Damn it, is this gamble going to fail?’
My fingernails dug into my palm from clenching my fist so tightly.
That’s when it happened.
Suddenly my vision blurred, and noise scattered across my field of sight.
‘Got it…!’
I cheered internally.
‘Rock-paper-scissors!’
The Veteran Athlete and I are playing rock-paper-scissors.
The result is….
‘Haha! See? I told you I’d win!’
‘Hyung, did you really want to steal the kids’ meat that badly?’
‘Hey, do you know how many mouths I have to feed under me? Once I buy them meat, we go through hundreds just like that!’
The Veteran Athlete’s victory.
I threw scissors honestly, and the Veteran Athlete threw rock.
Which meant I….
“Rock-paper-scissors!”
I heard gasps from around me.
I threw paper, and the Veteran Athlete threw rock.
My victory.
“Hey!”
The Veteran Athlete’s eyes widened as his entire body trembled with rage.
“You said you were throwing scissors!”
The Veteran Athlete stomped toward me, his feet thundering against the ground.
A frame at least 1.5 times larger than mine, a threatening tone and expression, massive fists that looked ready to swing at me at any moment.
Yet I felt no fear whatsoever.
Did he really think he’d throw a punch in front of the cameras?
“I was going to throw scissors, but I changed my mind at the last second.”
“Wow… this bastard… he spits out lies like they’re nothing, doesn’t he?”
The cheerful, lively atmosphere evaporated in an instant.
“Come on, just… it’s only a broadcast. Please calm down.”
The MC, exchanging glances with the Production Team, tried to restrain the Veteran Athlete.
But once the floodgates of his emotions had burst open, he showed no signs of stopping.
“Just like before. I offered you some senior advice, and you made it crystal clear you were offended. You looked at me with disgust… like your senior is beneath you?”
Wait… is he genuinely angry?
If I want to keep appearing on entertainment shows, I’ll need to manage that personality of his better.
Ah, whatever. It’s just a mood.
I decided to share one fact the Veteran Athlete still didn’t know.
I bent my waist at a ninety-degree angle and bowed my head deeply.
“If that’s how you felt, I’m truly sorry. It’s all my fault. I just wanted to make the broadcast more entertaining….”
And I offered him a sincere apology.
You know what?
People who genuinely lose their temper in front of cameras don’t last long in this industry.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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