The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 20

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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 (20)
“…I’m back.”
Yoo Sung returned to the Practice Room while I was resting, drinking water, and chatting about this and that.
I gave Yoo Sung a light wave.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah.”
“Feeling any better?”
“….”
“Guess not.”
I let out a quiet laugh at Yoo Sung’s honest response.
“But you’ll still practice with us, right?”
Yoo Sung looked at me, Okada, and Seo Ijae in turn without saying anything.
Originally, Yoo Sung always practiced alone, whether it was individual or team evaluations.
Was he planning to practice alone again this time?
“…Yeah.”
Yoo Sung nodded, avoiding my gaze as if slightly embarrassed.
I smiled softly to myself and thought.
‘That guy… he’s being considerate.’
I sprang up from my seat and draped an arm across Yoo Sung’s shoulder.
“Before we practice, let’s go to the Vending Machine together.”
“The Vending Machine?”
“We’re out of water. And Ijae needs to rest a bit longer.”
I gestured toward Seo Ijae with a chin flick.
Seo Ijae was still slumped over, apparently not fully recovered yet.
Yoo Sung followed me without resistance.
“Where did you go?”
“Just… in front of the Dormitory.”
“It’s nice for a walk there.”
Thud, thud.
Our footsteps echoed through the empty Hallway with no one around.
In the distance, a deep crimson Vending Machine came into view.
I glanced around, rolling my eyes, and brought up the words I’d been wanting to say since this afternoon.
“You’re the center.”
Yoo Sung’s head snapped toward me.
“What? Out of nowhere?”
Yoo Sung’s brow furrowed.
I paid no attention to his reaction and kept my eyes forward as I spoke.
“You’re the center.”
“So what does that even mean….”
We had arrived at the Vending Machine before I knew it.
I pointed at the camera mounted above the Vending Machine with a subtle chin gesture, and Yoo Sung’s lips pressed firmly shut.
With so many cameras installed throughout the facility, finding a blind spot wasn’t easy.
But after dozens of regressions, I had a rough understanding of where the cameras were and weren’t positioned.
Yoo Sung glanced at me with a dissatisfied expression, clearly having much to say, but I deliberately denied him the opportunity to speak.
“Let’s get to practice now.”
I handed Yoo Sung a cold bottle of water as I spoke.
* * *
We practiced with unwavering dedication.
Aside from Ju Gilhyung, who held the center position, we spent most of our days in the Practice Room, and before we knew it, the midterm evaluation was upon us.
“This Guild is… truly remarkable.”
The Vocal Trainer spoke with a broad smile.
“They’re performing exceptionally well.”
Of course, he wasn’t speaking about us.
He was commenting on the Stage performance of the 2nd Place Trainee and Han Theo, who had just finished their turn.
“The Vocal Trainer is absolutely right! I thought we were watching a debut stage for a rookie male Idol group, not trainees! They’re all genuinely impressive!”
The Dance Trainer spoke with visible excitement.
Kim Junwoo nodded subtly with a faint smile.
“Excellent performance. And… Han Theo?”
“Yes.”
“You suit the center position well.”
The words carried extra weight coming from Kim Junwoo, the center of Starlight.
As the Judging Panel’s praise for Han Theo’s Guild continued unabated, Ju Gilhyung’s expression grew increasingly grim.
The other Guild members seemed somewhat nervous, but their diligent practice had instilled them with confidence.
“Shall we see the next Guild’s performance?”
“Yes.”
We each took our positions on the Stage.
The Judging Panel was visibly startled when they saw Ju Gilhyung standing in the center.
“The center is… Ju Gilhyung?”
“That’s correct.”
“Ah… yes, I see. Please begin the performance.”
The judges exchanged meaningful glances.
Everyone had naturally assumed Yoo Sung would be the center.
So they were surprised to hear that Ju Gilhyung—someone they could barely remember—was taking the center position.
I observed Ju Gilhyung’s reaction carefully.
Ju Gilhyung stood motionless, his fingertips trembling slightly.
I’d thought he had nerve when he spouted words carelessly in front of the camera, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
We arranged ourselves in a circle around Ju Gilhyung.
The intro to Starlight flowed from the speakers.
Starlight is an upbeat, energetic ballad-pop with a fast tempo that blends a cheerful rhythm with emotional melody.
Over the piano-driven intro, the center’s voice emerges delicately, announcing the song’s beginning.
Ju Gilhyung, who had been bowing his head, slowly lifted it and stretched one hand upward.
The rest of us guild members surrounding Ju Gilhyung rose to our feet slowly.
Ju Gilhyung sang the opening verse of the song.
“A single star rising in the night sky.”
His pitch wavered from the very beginning.
As the Judging Panel’s expressions grew serious, the color drained from Ju Gilhyung’s face.
We had anticipated this situation to some degree, so we continued dancing without concern.
“Shining like my heart toward you.”
“Light, light, star light.”
The formation changed.
Seo Ijae stepped forward, and the rest of the guild members retreated into a V-shape behind him.
Seo Ijae, who was handling the sub-vocal part, sang.
“That moment I’ve dreamed of every night is finally approaching me now.”
“I can’t hide this racing heart anymore.”
The part after Seo Ijae was originally the center’s section, but since Okada didn’t have a part either, just like I didn’t, she ended up singing it.
Thanks to my copycat trait, Okada’s pronunciation posed no problems on this stage.
Because we had practiced diligently, both Okada and Seo Ijae were able to complete their parts without mistakes.
Next came the pre-chorus section, which was Yoo Sung’s part.
“One step, two steps toward you, the closer I get, the more I tremble.”
As Yoo Sung sang the lyrics, he stepped forward one step, then two.
The moment Yoo Sung began singing, the Judging Panel’s expressions brightened.
A tone that resonated perfectly with the ear, stable vocal technique, and even impressive facial expressions.
“I’ll show you everything I have.”
Yoo Sung sang while gazing toward the Judging Panel.
The corners of the Vocal Trainer’s mouth, who particularly favored Yoo Sung, twitched slightly.
‘It’s the kind of skill that makes you smile involuntarily.’
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t envious.
But right now, pride outweighed envy.
Finally, the chorus—the highlight of the song—was Ju Gilhyung’s part as the center.
Somewhere along the way, Ju Gilhyung’s face had turned ashen.
It seemed he had lost his nerve, intimidated by Yoo Sung’s flawless performance.
‘Why didn’t he just yield the center position to Yoo Sung from the start?’
I let out a silent scoff.
In the chorus, we had to release all the energy we’d built up in one explosive burst.
Yoo Sung stepped back, and Ju Gilhyung came forward while singing.
“Light, light, star… uh, uh!”
As Ju Gilhyung stepped forward, his foot twisted and he stumbled over the lyrics.
The rest of us guild members, including myself, thought ‘Here it comes’ and tried to continue the stage.
But we could no longer continue the stage.
“Trainee Ju Gilhyung? Please continue.”
“Ah, I….”
“Don’t you see your teammates waiting?”
Ju Gilhyung, who had made the mistake, stood rigidly in place and stared blankly at the Judging Panel.
Eventually, the song flowing from the speakers came to a halt.
“This is… what is this?”
The Vocal Trainer pressed his forehead, finding the situation absurd.
“Will you perform like this in front of fans after your debut?”
“I’m… I’m sorry….”
“Trainee Ju Gilhyung, you didn’t make any mistakes during the stat evaluation stage, right? And I believe you were eliminated in the first wave of the theme song evaluation—is that correct?”
Ju Gilhyung couldn’t answer the Vocal Trainer’s rebuke and hung his head low.
“If you make mistakes on every important stage, how do you expect to become an Idol?”
“That is….”
“Center.”
Ju Gilhyung opened his mouth to say something, but Kim Junwoo cut him off.
“You’re the center. Trainee Ju Gilhyung.”
“Yes….”
“The center position is clearly something trainee Ju Gilhyung wanted to do….”
“That, that’s—!”
Ju Gilhyung turned to look at Yoo Sung with an aggrieved expression.
But there was nothing Ju Gilhyung could say here.
Both Yoo Sung and Ju Gilhyung had wanted to be center, and Yoo Sung had yielded the position to Ju Gilhyung.
It was an undeniable fact captured on camera.
“Isn’t that right?”
“No… yes, that’s correct.”
“The center position in Starlight is a bit different from the center in other songs.”
Tap, tap….
Kim Junwoo tapped the application documents with his pen and continued.
“It means you need to take more responsibility and perform better than the center in other songs.”
“….”
“But trainee Ju Gilhyung… well, do you think you can handle being center?”
“Y-yes, I can!”
“I don’t think I can.”
Kim Junwoo’s lips curved slightly upward.
His mouth appeared to be smiling, but his eyes were not.
“I think it would be good for trainee Ju Gilhyung to reconsider taking the center position in Starlight. This is my opinion as Starlight’s center.”
Ju Gilhyung hung his head low once more.
Though it was phrased as a suggestion, there was essentially no other choice.
With the Judging Panel member and original artist speaking so firmly, Ju Gilhyung couldn’t possibly insist otherwise.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Ju Gilhyung’s skills weren’t poor, but he grew nervous easily and made frequent mistakes during crucial moments.
Since I had been practicing half-heartedly, I expected to make mistakes during the mid-term evaluation and receive criticism from the Judging Panel.
Kim Junwoo doesn’t overlook mistakes.
He’s strict about errors, and since Starlight holds special meaning for him, he wouldn’t simply let this slide.
“You’re changing the center position, right?”
At the Vocal Trainer’s question, Ju Gilhyung nodded reluctantly, as if swallowing bitter medicine.
“Yes….”
Following Kim Junwoo’s harsh words, the Vocal Trainer drove the point home.
Everything was proceeding exactly according to my plan.
“So… who wants to take the center position?”
At the Vocal Trainer’s question, my gaze, Okada’s, and Seo Ijae’s all turned toward Yoo Sung.
“Uh….”
Yoo Sung seemed a bit nervous and couldn’t say anything.
The Judging Panel members, understanding the situation, smiled and spoke.
“Trainee Yoo Sung? Trainee Yoo Sung, you’ll be fine. You can do well, right?”
“Ah, yes!”
“Even with the position change, trainee Yoo Sung will do great. He learns choreography incredibly quickly.”
The Vocal Trainer and Dance Trainer took turns praising Yoo Sung.
Unaccustomed to such an outpouring of compliments, Yoo Sung laughed awkwardly.
While the other Judging Panel members showered him with praise, only Kim Junwoo remained silent, studying me intently.
‘Huh? Why is he looking at me?’
At Kim Junwoo’s meaningful gaze, unease began to seep up from the depths of my chest.
That look in Kim Junwoo’s eyes seemed familiar somehow… where had I seen it before?
“Trainee Kim Chowol.”
“Yes?”
Ah.
I belatedly recalled where I had seen that look in Kim Junwoo’s eyes.
“Trainee Kim Chowol, aren’t you interested in the center position?”
Kim Junwoo’s gaze was identical to Okada’s when she had insisted on wanting the center position.

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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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