The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 37

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

The Gate Burst Open on My Debut Day (37)
[“The special privilege is… ‘Guild Establishment Rights’!”]
The live chat exploded at the MC’s announcement.
[Guild? What’s a guild, you nerd?]
[Is that the guild from RPG games?]
[How committed are they to this concept lol]
Starlight, a fan of Yoo Sung who posted on SNS and Community Sites, let out a hollow laugh.
“They really do everything.”
Starlight watched Episode 3 on Television while simultaneously monitoring SNS and Community Sites reactions on her phone in real-time.
There was still a peculiar tension between Yoo Sung’s fans and Kim Chowol’s fans.
[I’ll admit the PR video got good reactions. But honestly, was that because of Kim Chowol? It’s all because our Sung-i is handsome. Honestly, even without Kim Chowol, we would’ve gotten this kind of response, right?]
[Ugh… that’s not it;;]
[Student, I’m a Sung-i fan too but delete that… why do you keep trying to start fires;;]
[Even when doing good things, we get hate… I’m seriously going crazy over how unfair our Chowol is being treated because of antis]
[I’m not even a Yoo Sung fan but honestly, that’s not a fact, right? Without Yoo Sung’s face, we wouldn’t have gotten that kind of response]
[Yoo Sung being handsome is true, but without Chowol, the first day wouldn’t have hit 100k—maybe just 30k? Look at Han Theo’s PR video, it’s only at 50k now;;]
[You keep saying facts facts, so let me give you one fact in a single line. Without Kim Chowol, Yoo Sung’s PR video wouldn’t have even hit 50k and would’ve been buried immediately. Why? Because Han Theo is better looking than Yoo Sung. That’s the fact you guys like lol]
Just as the argument was dying down, someone from either Yoo Sung’s or Kim Chowol’s fandom threw more fuel on the fire.
The dying embers reignited and blazed fiercely, and the cycle repeated—arguments flaring up, then dying down, then being reignited again.
“This is exhausting.”
Starlight carelessly tossed her phone onto the sofa and refocused on the broadcast.
Honestly, Starlight wasn’t particularly fond of Kim Chowol either.
Of course, she acknowledged that the PR video’s success was largely thanks to Kim Chowol.
But still, when you look at the two of them together, there’s something oddly…
“They don’t seem very close.”
The relationship between Kim Chowol and Yoo Sung in the PR video seemed awkward.
Of course, they’d been on the same team before and took photos together at the Production Presentation, but there was an unmistakable distance between them.
In any case, they looked like nothing more than business partners—no more, no less.
“They just don’t seem to get along.”
If they were close, there’d be nothing to say about it, but if they weren’t particularly close and just happened to be stuck together, she wished they’d each go their separate ways.
That’s what she’d thought, but then…
[“The trainee I’ve chosen is… Yoo Sung.”]
When Kim Chowol on the broadcast said Yoo Sung’s name, Starlight’s eyes widened in shock.
“What?”
She’d heard something about the Kim Chowol Guild during the first audience viewing, so the fact that they were in the same guild wasn’t particularly surprising.
But she never imagined that the trainee Kim Chowol would choose would be Yoo Sung.
[When I saw them at the Production Presentation, our Sung-i seemed closer to that Okada, the girl from Japan.]
She’d seen them walking around together with bright smiles, and assumed Yoo Sung and Kim Chowol had a purely business relationship while the other girl was the real friend.
[Yoo Sung? Why on earth? Because his face is handsome? But his stage performance was a disaster, so why bother? Or is he just trying to scrape up some scraps since it looks like Yoo Sung will obviously debut? But seriously, why? He might end up losing his own share while trying to scavenge scraps.]
As Starlight was engulfed in shock and confusion, an interview with Kim Chowol and Yoo Sung was inserted, as if on cue.
[“Is there a particular reason you chose trainee Yoo Sung out of eighty trainees?”
“He’s handsome, dances well, and sings well too….”]
Kim Chowol answered the Female PD’s question with a shy smile.
[“How did you feel when you were recruited as a member of Kim Chowol’s Guild?”
“That was….”]
Yoo Sung hesitated for a moment, stammering awkwardly before trailing off with an uncomfortable laugh.
[Still awkward between them]
A subtitle appeared that seemed to speak for Yoo Sung’s true feelings.
Starlight anxiously scratched at the cuticles around her fingernails and muttered.
“What is it? Does he like him or not?”
Kim Chowol clearly seemed to think well of Yoo Sung, but I couldn’t even guess what Yoo Sung was thinking.
However, after the brief interview, there was no further mention of Kim Chowol and Yoo Sung.
When electric kick scooters appeared as transportation to the Dormitory, the comment section exploded, but it didn’t register with me.
“The theme song is definitely difficult though.”
After watching the choreography video for Hunt the Stage, the theme song, I muttered to myself.
“Well, our Sung-i will do well, but….”
After the introduction to Hunt the Stage ended, the broadcast alternated between the MC’s bright expression and the trainees’ dark expressions.
Kim Chowol in particular wore a serious expression that bore no resemblance to his bright demeanor during the stat evaluation stage.
Sure enough, Kim Chowol struggled from the very first lesson.
[His true skills are showing lol]
[Changing the song selection for the stat evaluation stage was probably just going to be a disaster anyway so they changed it;; or maybe it was all planned from the start]
[Still, it seems like he memorized all the choreography? Though that doesn’t mean he’s doing it well…]
The broadcast focused on Kim Chowol’s dejected expression and the Dance Trainer’s troubled expression.
Sure enough, the live chat exploded with negative reactions about Kim Chowol.
Meanwhile, Yoo Sung received nothing but praise during vocal and dance lessons.
It was a situation completely opposite to Kim Chowol’s.
The saving grace was that Kim Chowol wasn’t the only trainee struggling with the difficult choreography and vocals.
Trainees like Yoo Sung and Han Theo, who handled the choreography and vocals skillfully, were shown only in passing, while trainees like Kim Chowol who gritted their teeth through practice and eventually shed tears were given focused coverage.
“I suppose there’s no helping it….”
Starlight, a devoted fan of the Idol Survival Audition Program, let out a deep sigh.
I knew all too well that survival programs needed hardship and adversity, and that Jang Hyuk-soo preferred giving more screen time to the struggling ones rather than the talented ones.
Episode 3 ended with the trainees diligently practicing.
And immediately, the preview for Episode 4 began.
“Well, he performed so poorly it seemed hopeless, but through tremendous effort his skills have improved this much~ That’s the narrative we’ll go with.”
It’s predictable without even watching.
But knowing that such predictable narratives still touched people’s hearts and worked well, I had nothing to say.
I was just a little disappointed that Yoo Sung didn’t have much screen time.
But as I watched the Episode 4 preview with resignation, a familiar face and voice caught my attention.
[“Hey.”]
Huh?
The video was blurry and the angle was off, so I couldn’t be certain at first, but it was Yoo Sung.
Yoo Sung was lying on the Practice Room floor, gently poking a trainee awake with his foot.
[“Hey, Kim Chowol.”]
The trainee lying down was none other than Kim Chowol.
Once Kim Chowol opened his eyes, Yoo Sung stopped kicking him and stood with a crooked posture as he spoke.
[“Finally woke up.
“Yoo Sung…?”
“What, got a problem with that?”]
Someone might say the two of them looked close.
But anyone with a normal perspective would probably think differently.
The dynamic between them was less like ordinary friends and more like….
“A delinquent and his errand boy…?”
* * *
[[HOT] Now I understand why he didn’t debut at LMH
I can’t tell you the name because I might get sued, but I was genuinely shocked after seeing the trailer lol
KCW is seriously such a saint—even got him in his own PR video, gave him incredible makeup, created meme content for him….
Wait, could he be getting gaslit? I feel bad for him so I’m voting for KCW]
I might get sued lol
Why are you so good at suing LMH lol
“Like, would I seriously sue over that lol. I just trash-talked a trainee who hasn’t even debuted yet.”
└Losers crawling out of their basements again having a meltdown. How can you even think like that? Anyone can see they’re just friends, they’re even the same age
“Welcome Yoo Sung fan lol. You’re the one without eyes. How are you even seeing them as just friends? They’re obviously a delinquent and their errand boy.”
Honestly, he seemed pretty intense from the first time I saw him.
His face just… you know what I mean?
RT37 ♥252]
└Know what? He’s just handsome so it rubbed people the wrong way;; I’m so tired of these face readers
└Excuse me? Who are you to reply to my post;;>
You started the argument first, so why are you replying? This is ridiculous lol
└Wait, there wasn’t even a mention—how did you even find this? That’s weird
Look, just admit it… honestly, you were acting like a total punk back then. There’s no way to argue against that.
Once the preview for Episode 4 dropped, SNS and Community Sites erupted with theories about Yoo Sung being a delinquent.
Surprisingly worried about Yoo Sung’s softer side, I casually brought it up with him, but his reaction was unexpected.
“You.”
“What?”
“What do you think about it?”
Seeing Yoo Sung ask with that sullen expression, I found myself at a loss for words.
What was he asking me to think about?
“It’s all just a misunderstanding anyway, so won’t it clear itself up naturally?”
“Fine then.”
Since Jang Hyuk-soo didn’t seem like he’d let Yoo Sung go just like that, I gave a vague answer, and Yoo Sung simply nodded as if he believed me—or perhaps he didn’t—and said nothing more.
I had no idea what Yoo Sung was thinking as Episode 4 began.
A simultaneous evaluation of one hundred trainees.
The evaluation started immediately amid the viewers’ shock and astonishment.
And well, as you’d expect from the results….
[“I… I made it to the very end!”]
Only a handful of us, including myself and Okada, survived until the end.
What was surprising was that even trainees who barely made mistakes during practice seemed to make far more errors than expected, likely due to nerves.
[Kim Chowol survived lol]
How the hell did you even survive that lol
[Looks like he dropped all the choreography details and focused on not making mistakes… smart guy]
He just played it smart lol, he’s cunning, real cunning.
With the Episode 4 preview giving me a victim image, the negative reactions decreased considerably.
But this was far from a good development.
If the victim image solidified, there would be people nitpicking everything I did going forward.
‘Come on, show it, show it, show it….’
With my fists clenched, I stared intently at the television screen with wide eyes.
They wouldn’t have edited it out entirely.
The picture was simply too good to cut.
A trainee with high rankings but desperate skill levels clearing the main Quest through tremendous effort—it was far too appetizing a scene to discard.
[“Hiro… I mean, Okada really helped me a lot. She dances so well.”]
The moment I mentioned Okada, as if on cue, they showed me speaking to her in Japanese as she huddled during the dance lesson.
Positive reactions about me poured in.
Yes, good. It’s good, but… wasn’t there something else they needed to show?
‘Could it be… they kept only Okada and completely edited out Yoo Sung?’
That couldn’t be.
The PR video had good reactions too—there’s no way they’d cut Yoo Sung here.
[“Yoo Sung, who shares a room with me, also cheered me on. Thanks to him, I was able to find strength.”
“I don’t think that’s true?”]
A sting.
The hangnail beside my nail, which I’d been nervously picking at, tore away, and a drop of blood fell.

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