The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 38

—————
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 (38)
[“If vocal and dance skills could be developed through cheering alone, there wouldn’t be a single idol in the world who couldn’t sing or dance.”
“What?”
“I mean, don’t give credit to other people’s help or support. Today’s stage performance was Kim Chowol’s achievement.”
“Oh….”]
Under the barrage of Kim Junwoo’s praise, I felt my expression on screen turn bewildered.
As if on cue, footage of me practicing flashed across the screen in rapid succession.
Staying late into the night for self-directed practice sessions, and in between, teaching Okada Korean—the live chat exploded into flames.
[Wow Kim Chowol’s personality is seriously amazing]
[I thought he just had a good personality, but he really practices hard too]
[He barely has time to practice himself, but teaching Okada Korean is seriously touching]
So you’re saying Yoo Sung bullied the kind Kim Chowol like this? His character is seriously messed up.
The more positive reactions I received, the further Yoo Sung’s image plummeted.
I glanced sideways at Yoo Sung sitting next to me.
Yoo Sung stared blankly at the television screen, his expression unreadable.
I was confident that Jang Hyuk-soo wouldn’t abandon Yoo Sung, but I never expected him to face this level of criticism.
Feeling uncomfortable, I tapped Yoo Sung’s shoulder and spoke to him.
“Hey, Sung.”
“We’re coming up.”
“Huh?”
“You and me.”
Yoo Sung gave a light nod without taking his eyes off the television.
Watching for Yoo Sung’s reaction, I immediately turned my head back to check the broadcast and the live chat.
[“Hey, Kim Chowol.”]
Yoo Sung gently nudged me awake with his foot as I lay on the Practice Room floor.
[“You finally woke up.”
“Yoo Sung…?”
“What, is there a problem?”]
The video quality was poor and the angle was awkward.
The sound wasn’t clear either, cutting out intermittently.
But no one complained about the low video quality.
[Public execution]
[But did Yoo Sung curse at Jang Hyuk-soo or something? I don’t get why he’s going this far]
I just gave Jang Hyuk-soo leverage because his usual conduct was pretty bad lol. It doesn’t matter to Jang Hyuk-soo whether he’s from a major or whatever—if he gets caught, he’s screwed anyway.
Yoo Sung.
He was undeniably perfect—handsome, exceptionally talented, flawless in every way.
And the downfall of a perfect person gives people a base satisfaction and petty pleasure.
[“What are you looking at?”
“Huh? It’s nothing.”]
The live chat reactions grew even more intense.
He was clearly a delinquent in the past, definitely committed school violence, let’s see his school records, he seemed rough from the first moment, I don’t understand how someone who committed school violence thinks they can be an idol.
The live chat exploded with negative opinions about Yoo Sung.
Yoo Sung’s fans fought back with all their might, but the atmosphere had already turned its back on him long ago.
[Wow, there are still people defending Yoo Sung lol lol lol It’s pathetic to stan a school violence delinquent]
Whether Yoo Sung was truly a delinquent or actually committed school violence didn’t matter.
All that remained were people seeking to fill their hollow satisfaction and petty joy by watching Yoo Sung’s downfall.
[“Why did you come here?”]
But the situation unfolded differently than the viewers expected.
[“Huh?”]
Yoo Sung handed Kim Chowol a cold bottle of water.
[“Drink it.”
“Oh… thanks.”]
After giving Kim Chowol the bottle of water, Yoo Sung turned around as if he had nothing more to do here and left the practice room.
[“I’m heading out.”
“Going back to the dormitory?”
“Yeah, you wrap up soon and come up too.”]
With Yoo Sung’s final words, the atmosphere in the chat shifted strangely.
[?]
[?? What’s going on between those two]
[They seem really close]
[Since when does a delinquent look after someone’s water like that]
Fortunately, Jang Hyuk-soo had the sense to edit out Yoo Sung’s actual final words.
What was it again—something like “drain yourself completely today so you don’t drag tomorrow”?
It was clearly a joke, but in this overheated atmosphere, it would only give them more ammunition to attack.
Jang Hyuk-soo, who had instantly reversed the mood, began dropping hints about me and Yoo Sung as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
The scene where I cheered Yoo Sung on during the first main quest theme song evaluation.
The scene where Yoo Sung and I linked arms for a photo at the Production Presentation.
And the scene where Yoo Sung handed me a cold bottle of water during late-night voluntary practice was shown once more.
We seemed awkward at first, but as we became part of the same guild and spent time together, we gradually appeared to grow closer.
Of course, Yoo Sung and I knew that Jang Hyuk-soo had edited the sequence a bit to make us ‘appear closer’.
The viewers still seemed somewhat confused, but fortunately, public opinion about Yoo Sung and me was shifting in a positive direction.
“Ha ha….”
Finally able to let out a breath I’d been holding, I quietly wiped my chest—when Yoo Sung, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly let out a small laugh.
“So that’s what this is.”
I couldn’t understand what Yoo Sung was saying.
But I saw it.
I saw Yoo Sung’s eyes burning quietly.
* * *
[[HOT] Kim Chowol and Yoo Sung’s Real Friendship Moments Compilation
Kim Chowol and Yoo Sung’s real friendship moments I compiled for myself to watch
(Video of Kim Chowol designating Yoo Sung as a Guild member)
(Interview video of Kim Chowol and Yoo Sung)
(Animated gif of Kim Chowol cheering Yoo Sung on)
(Animated gif of Kim Chowol taking a photo with his arm around Yoo Sung’s shoulder)
(Animated gif of Yoo Sung bringing bottled water to Kim Chowol during late-night self-directed practice)
Anyone who watches all this and still claims Yoo Sung is a bully and Kim Chowol is his lackey just wants to believe that
Or they’ve lived their whole lives as an outcast and have never had a real friend
If you disagree, I’m right
No trolling allowed]
└We all got played by Jang Hyuk-soo. That’s seriously terrifying
└Is this what they call devilish editing?? I genuinely thought Jang Hyuk-soo was deliberately trying to destroy someone
└But it’s also a fact that Yoo Sung doesn’t seem to have the best personality. Kim Chowol is just kind
└Wait, wasn’t Yoo Sung incredibly respectful to the judges?? He’s polite to the other trainees too—he’s just close with Kim Chowol
└What trainee isn’t respectful to the judges? And other trainees? He doesn’t seem to get along well with the other LMH trainees
└It’s natural to feel awkward with LMH trainees after messing up the stage like that… but Yoo Sung was the only one who actually performed well
Lol right, who told them to go on Survival Competition with skills like that
[From now on, I’m withdrawing my support for Kim Chowol
Starting today, I’m stepping back from that support relationship
Kim Chowol and I are now one body, united as one
Any attack on Kim Chowol is considered an attack on me
RT872 ♥1.3K]
└Wait, I thought you were a Kim Chowol fan—are you actually a Yoo Sung fan?
└Yoo Sung fans definitely hated Kim Chowol just a few days ago
└How rude, using his name so casually without the proper title—you should call him Kim Chowol
Aren’t Yoo Sung’s fans crazy? That’s hilarious lol
└When you see him boosting the PR video’s buzz and staying friendly despite the character controversy, you can’t help but acknowledge it
└Yoo Sung’s fans really switched up their stance lol. Honestly, isn’t it all because of Kim Chowol? If Kim Chowol hadn’t nominated Yoo Sung as a Guild member, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
└You’re not a Yoo Sung fan, are you?
└Han Theo fan caught red-handed
I scrolled through the Community Website and SNS, checking the reactions.
Han Theo’s fans kept stirring up trouble, but my fans and Yoo Sung’s fans had already joined hands long ago.
The overall sentiment had already shifted in our favor.
‘Jang Hyuk-soo really does have a gift for editing.’
After confirming all the reactions, I submitted my phone.
―Ding.
And as if on cue, the familiar notification sound rang in my ears.
[You have cleared a Hidden Quest.]
[Hidden Quest: Be mentioned by people over 1 million times.
*Nicknames and aliases are all included.
*Online mentions from SNS, Community Websites, and similar platforms are counted.
Reward: Trait Draw Ticket (B) x1]
One million views?
I thought it was 100,000 views before.
Part of it was thanks to my PR video and Yoo Sung’s going viral after properly hitting the algorithm, but more than anything, it seemed to be due to the community and SNS ablaze with controversy over Yoo Sung’s character.
‘The reward trait draw ticket… I’ll use that later.’
What matters now is the filming. The filming.
“Thank you for your patience!”
The MC, dressed in a proper suit rather than casual clothes, stepped onto the Stage.
Along with 100 other trainees including myself, we had returned to the Filming Set where we’d done the stat evaluation performance.
However, our seating positions were slightly different.
I, who had been ranked 20th, was now seated at the 13th position, Yoo Sung, who had been 22nd, was at the 17th position, and finally Okada, who had been 65th, was seated at the 32nd position.
“Today is the long-awaited… day we announce the first ranking!”
I wiped my cold, clammy palms against my pants as I thought.
The first ranking was second only to the final ranking that determined debut.
Our current ranking was determined purely by stats.
However, starting from the ranking announcement ceremony, stats would no longer have a major impact on the rankings.
The rankings would be determined by viewer votes—in other words, by the number of help calls.
‘Theoretically, someone ranked 1st could drop to 100th, and someone at 100th could rise to 1st.’
Where would my ranking fall?
Still, I needed to be in the top 10 to have a shot at 1st place.
In the previous round, I’d been 1st consistently, except for just one time.
“Before we announce the rankings! There’s something we skipped over.”
Something we skipped? What could that be?
The MC smiled brightly at the confused trainees, then made a V-sign with his index and middle fingers.
“It’s the reward for the second main Quest—the Guild War!”
The expressions of the trainees who’d won the Guild War brightened.
‘Ah… I’d completely forgotten about that.’
Recalling the reward and my guild members, I scratched my chin with a troubled expression.
“The reward for winning the Guild War is….”
The MC continued slowly, observing the eager gleam in the trainees’ eyes.
“A trait removal potion!”
A trait removal potion…?
The trainees who didn’t immediately understand the MC’s words tilted their heads in confusion.
“As you clear various Quests going forward, you’ll obtain traits. This potion can remove those traits. Some of you might need it right now, others might not. However! Since we don’t know what situations might arise ahead, I recommend keeping it safe even if you don’t need it immediately!”
The trainee from LMH who currently needed a trait removal potion was the one who’d received the ‘Worst Teamwork’ trait from Kim Junwoo.
Our guild had won the Guild War, so we could receive the potion.
But there was one problem….
“The trait removal potion, the reward for winning the Guild War, will be distributed one per winning guild!”
Yoo Sung and Ju Gilhyung almost instinctively turned their heads to face each other.
Two people needed it, but there was only one potion.
The sound of cameras whirring intensely filled the air as they captured every fascinating moment unfolding before them.

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