The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 3

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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 (3)
“You want to change your song selection?”
The flustered staff member asked in disbelief.
Was this really going to be difficult?
No—difficult or not, I had to change it.
It was my only hope of clearing the main Quest.
The title track from the Top-tier Male Idol Group that I’d originally prepared was absolutely beyond my current stats.
During the first round, I’d chosen it out of obsession with proving my abilities, but that wasn’t the case anymore.
“Wouldn’t that be rather difficult? You’re supposed to go on stage right now….”
“Is there really no way?”
I deliberately asked in a pitiful tone.
The junior staff member without authority stood there helplessly, caught between a rock and a hard place.
“Why are you dragging your feet?”
Just then, a man approached the staff member with irritation written all over his face.
The moment I confirmed the man’s identity, my eyes sparkled.
“Ah, Producer. It’s just that….”
It was Jang Hyuk-soo, the main producer of the EX-Grade K-POP Idol.
Jang Hyuk-soo was a master of the Idol Survival Audition Program, and he understood better than anyone that compelling narratives and characters required hardship, adversity, and villains.
With a click of Jang Hyuk-soo’s mouse, one of a hundred trainees would become a hero while another became a villain.
Having experienced his methods firsthand, I was certain of one thing.
‘Jang Hyuk-soo will grant my request.’
After hearing the situation from the staff member, Jang Hyuk-soo glanced at me, then quickly scanned the surroundings.
‘He’s looking for the cameras.’
I noticed the camera installed for the Backstage feed.
Jang Hyuk-soo seemed to think for a moment, then spoke to the staff member.
“If a performer wants to change their song, you change it. What’s so difficult about that?”
I smiled inwardly.
‘Just as I thought.’
Jang Hyuk-soo readily granted my request.
Not for my sake, but for the broadcast.
Such unexpected requests were excellent for crafting narrative and character development, regardless of the outcome.
Jang Hyuk-soo looked me over carefully and asked.
“So what song do you want to change it to?”
He was assessing whether I had the makings of a hero.
I smiled brightly and answered with deliberate clarity.
“Girl Story senior’s ‘Look at me now.'”
“What?”
Jang Hyuk-soo seemed slightly taken aback by my song choice and asked again.
He looked me over once more, then tapped my shoulder lightly and said.
“This should be interesting. Give it your all.”
Half expectation, half dismissal.
Watching Jang Hyuk-soo’s words and actions, I could roughly discern what he was thinking.
“Yes!”
As I answered brightly, Jang Hyuk-soo turned without hesitation and disappeared.
A brief window of time opened until the preparations for the changed song were complete.
‘Status window.’
As I muttered inwardly, a translucent status window materialized before my eyes.
[Name: Kim Chowol
Age: 20]
[Basic Stats
Vocal: D+
Dance: D-
Appearance: B+
Charm: C+]
I fell into thought while studying the status window.
The most stable choice would be to raise Vocal or Dance to secure a ‘Vocal Position’ or ‘Dance Position’.
However, if I raised Vocal or Dance, I could manage a ranking around 30th on this stage, but breaking into the top 20 would be difficult.
My goal is top 20.
More precisely, I needed the ‘special privilege’ granted only to trainees ranked 1st through 20th.
With that privilege, I could take the initiative in creating the stage in subsequent competitions rather than being dragged along by others.
What I needed wasn’t to safely secure 30th place—I needed to gamble and secure top 20.
I had only one choice remaining.
‘Use Stat Growth Token.’
[Stat Growth Token is being used.]
[You can raise one stat by 2 levels.]
[Select the stat to develop.]
‘Select Charm stat.’
[Charm stat has been selected.]
[Charm stat is increasing.]
[Charm: C+ 〉 B]
“Trainee Kim Chowol, heading up!”
“Understood.”
I took my first step toward a successful debut.
* * *
A rhythmic bass line flowed from the speakers.
‘Girl Story’s Look at Me Now? Did they play the wrong song?’
Realizing what song’s intro was currently playing, Kim Junwoo turned his head to find the main PD.
Main PD Jang Hyuk-soo stood in the Backstage with his arms crossed, watching the Stage.
Kim Chowol, holding the microphone, was preparing for the Stage without a hint of confusion.
‘Seriously? He’s really going to perform Look at Me Now?’
Of course, that didn’t mean the original song choice was bad.
It was possible he’d submitted the song and changed it after practice, thinking it wasn’t right.
‘But Look at me now? That’s not it….’
Kim Junwoo stared at Kim Chowol with eyes full of disbelief.
Girl Story’s Look at me now was the third title track of Girl Story, a third-generation female idol group.
Girl Story’s songs didn’t have high difficulty in vocals or dance, but they gained fans’ love through their unique concept, addictive melodies, and choreography.
However, lacking mainstream appeal, they hadn’t achieved major popularity until their second comeback.
Starting with their third title track, Girl Story abandoned the unique concept that the general public found difficult to understand.
A mainstream concept.
Refined sound and addictive melody.
Easy-to-follow point choreography.
All three played important roles in their success, but the final puzzle piece of success—the “kick”—was something else.
‘Yoon Mir played a huge role.’
Yoon Mir, Girl Story’s center, was evaluated as one of the top three “centers” across not just the third generation, but all generations of K-pop.
Yoon Mir was the protagonist and the driving force behind the success of Look at me now.
‘What on earth was Kim Chowol thinking choosing this song?’
If he performed even slightly poorly, fans would beat him up for mocking female idols.
“Watching you pass by the Campus so indifferently once more.”
That’s when Kim Chowol delivered the first verse.
‘He didn’t lower the key?’
That’s a good choice.
Look at me now is a female idol song, but the key isn’t high.
The song was composed to highlight vocal color since the members’ live performances were unstable.
If he’d lowered the key out of lack of confidence in his live performance, the song would definitely have sounded strange.
“Today too, I wonder if you’ll finally look at me this time.”
Refined synth sound layered over the bass line, followed by a bright yet somehow dreamlike melody.
Kim Chowol placed one hand behind his back and moved his feet diagonally.
As he tilted his head slightly, his hair fell to one side.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the pale forehead visible between his jet-black hair.
Staring blankly at his forehead, I shifted my gaze slightly lower and saw Kim Chowol’s deep, clear eyes.
‘Wait, when did he start looking at me?’
Kim Chowol flashed a slight smile at Kim Junwoo, whose mouth hung open in surprise, then looked away.
“Watching you pass by, I turn away without a care and wipe away my tears. You’ll never know for your whole life. That I love you.”
Kim Chowol, his eyebrows drooping, spun around once.
The expression on Kim Chowol’s face as he passed was so sorrowful that Kim Junwoo couldn’t look away.
‘Now that I think about it, Yoon Mir was famous for her facial expressions.’
Kim Junwoo calmly evaluated Kim Chowol’s performance.
His pitch wavered slightly here and there—not quite off-key, but it showed his vocals weren’t exceptional.
His dance had no major mistakes, but compared to male idols where professional-level dancers stood out, it was fairly ordinary.
“Find your courage. You can do this. Gather your heart and tell him.”
The chorus and killing part of “Look at Me Now”—the song that made Yoon Mir an instant global star.
“Look at me now. Right now.”
Kim Chowol raised his right hand, extending his index finger.
Then, dragging that finger beneath his eye, he swept his gaze across the entire Judging Panel.
“Today I’ll tell you. Right now.”
This time, Kim Chowol lifted his left hand and traced beneath his eye before winking directly at the camera.
‘A trainee who hasn’t even debuted is showing off?’
Kim Junwoo barely managed to suppress the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.
Glancing sideways, he noticed the other judges were completely absorbed in Kim Chowol’s performance.
“So today, give me an answer. I’ll be waiting for you here, always watching.”
Beneath the shy expression lay a faint glimmer of hope.
It was a stage with a clear narrative arc—as if they’d just watched a complete film.
“Hah, huff… Thank you.”
The judges, snapping back to attention, picked up their microphones.
“That was an excellent performance. Trainee Kim Chowol.”
“Yes.”
Kim Chowol responded with a bright smile.
Perhaps it was the lingering resonance of the stage.
Seeing Kim Chowol’s radiant smile, my heart inexplicably raced.
“First of all… was there a reason you changed your song selection?”
“I wanted to show you 100% of my abilities, so I made the change. The original song didn’t seem to suit me well….”
The judges could have picked at him—suggesting he wanted to debut as a female idol instead of a male idol—but they said nothing.
Because, true to his word, Kim Chowol had demonstrated not 100%, but 120% of his abilities through the “Look at Me Now” stage.
“You noticed your pitch wavered in the middle, right?”
“Yes.”
“And your dancing… while there were no major mistakes, you did lose the beat in certain sections.”
“Yes. I’m aware. I’ll practice harder.”
“It didn’t look like the stage of someone who’s been a trainee for five years. There were many fundamental errors. You know that yourself, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“But….”
Kim Junwoo paused for a moment before continuing.
“How should I put this… should I say the stage was entertaining? I was so absorbed that I surprised myself. It was an incredibly captivating performance.”
Kim Chowol seemed taken aback, his eyes widening, before breaking into a pristine, radiant smile.
“Thank you!”
Watching Kim Chowol’s smile, Kim Junwoo felt genuine admiration.
It wasn’t that he sang exceptionally well or danced exceptionally well.
‘Vocals and dance alone? Maybe rank 60? If I’m generous, 50? But….’
Idols who captivate the public possess something beyond vocal and dance ability—something difficult to articulate in words.
We call it charm, or by another name, star quality.
An idol who overflows with charm and star quality, as if born to be an idol.
‘A born idol.’
Kim Junwoo shook his head slowly.
That was going too far.
Kim Chowol was nothing more than a greenhorn who hadn’t even debuted yet.
An idol’s charm and star quality were difficult to evaluate, so the Idol Survival Audition Program rarely included them as assessment criteria.
‘But EX-Grade K-POP Idols are different.’
The judge holding the microphone spoke.
“Then we’ll begin the stat evaluation.”
The large screen beside the judging panel changed.
In the EX-Grade K-POP Idol’s first stage, the stat evaluation stage, four core competencies necessary for an idol—vocal, dance, and others—are assessed.
[Name: Kim Chowol
Age: 20]
[Basic Stats
Vocal: ―
Dance: ―
Appearance: ―
Charm: ―]
A screen displaying Kim Chowol’s status window filled the massive display.

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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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