The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 45

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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 (45)
When I was young, I stumbled upon a music broadcast while flipping through channels.
Dazzling stages and captivating songs.
And idols singing and dancing freely atop those stages and melodies.
Seo Ijae fell in love with K-POP.
Singing and dancing were wonderful, but composing songs was what I loved most.
‘My songs, my members, my stage….’
I dreamed of future members whose faces I didn’t yet know, singing and dancing to the songs I created.
I passed the audition at a Small Entertainment Agency and joined the debut lineup.
The group name and concept were finalized, and my true debut was drawing near.
But I never revealed to anyone that I was composing songs.
‘I lack confidence.’
I stared blankly at my MP3 player.
The device contained hundreds of original compositions I’d created since Elementary School.
Yet I had never let anyone hear a single one of my own songs.
“Hello… oh, only Min Woo is here.”
Arriving at the Practice Room today, I discovered Hwang Min-woo sprawled across the floor.
His eyes were closed—he’d fallen asleep during practice.
I didn’t know much about the seniors I’d be debuting with, but they all seemed like good people.
I carefully entered the Practice Room to avoid waking Hwang Min-woo.
‘I’ll wait until he wakes up.’
I planned to listen to my original compositions on the MP3 player until then.
But when I plugged in the earbuds and pressed play, the song sounded strangely quieter than usual.
‘Huh? Why is this… oh!’
I belatedly realized the earbuds weren’t properly connected to the MP3 player.
“Oh… I’m, I’m sorry. Min Woo….”
I quickly stopped the song, but Hwang Min-woo was already awake, staring at me intently.
“Did I wake you? I’m really sorry….”
“You… what was that just now?”
“Huh?”
“That just now… was that a song? What song was it?”
“Um, uh… this is….”
I couldn’t answer immediately and hesitated awkwardly.
Hwang Min-woo, watching me, curved his lips into a gentle smile.
“I’ve never heard that song before, but it’s amazing.”
“Huh?”
“Can you tell me what song it is? I want to listen to it too.”
“Um….”
It was my first time letting someone else hear my song, and my first time receiving praise for it.
Gathering courage from Hwang Min-woo’s compliment, I overcame my hesitation.
“I composed this song.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes….”
“That’s amazing! The song earlier was really good. Can you play it for me?”
“Yes. Wait, just a moment. Let’s listen together.”
Seo Ijae hastily extended one earbud toward Hwang Min-woo.
Thump, thump, thump.
While Hwang Min-woo listened intently to the song, my heart raced rapidly.
When the three-minute-thirty-second track ended, Hwang Min-woo removed the earbud.
“The song is really good.”
“Really?”
“Why have you been hiding such a great song all this time?”
My expression brightened instantly.
Hwang Min-woo scanned me with a probing gaze, but I didn’t notice.
“We could use this as our debut song.”
“That, that’s….”
“Should I mention it to the manager?”
I pressed my lips firmly shut.
‘My song as our debut track….’
It was an opportunity to fulfill my long-held dream.
But I couldn’t bring myself to nod eagerly.
“I don’t think it’s quite at that level. It still needs a lot of work….”
I lacked confidence.
It’s no exaggeration to say that an idol group’s success is determined by their debut song.
Even debut tracks crafted by dozens of professional specialists fail.
I couldn’t bear the responsibility for the group’s success and my members’ futures.
“Then should I help you?”
“Pardon?”
“Actually, I know a bit about composition and arrangement.”
A blatant lie.
But at that time, I considered my members good people and never suspected a thing.
“Really?”
“Self-produced idols are selling well these days anyway. Let’s give it a shot together.”
Hwang Min-woo extended his hand toward me.
After hesitating, I steeled myself and grasped his hand.
And in that moment of holding Hwang Min-woo’s hand, I would spend the rest of my life regretting it.
* * *
Jiyu reviewed Winter Boys’ debut song, “Winter Boys,” which the engineer had finalized.
“Hmm….”
The melody was genuinely good, but the overall song felt disjointed.
In truth, Jiyu had merely added a spoonful to Winter Boys’ production work.
Since Seo Ijae and Hwang Min-woo, both Winter Boys members, had shouldered nearly all of the work themselves.
Jiyu only helped when Seo Ijae and Hwang Min-woo asked first.
“For a song produced by two amateurs, it’s actually pretty good….”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that the melody was wasted.
With better arrangement alone, it would’ve been far cleaner and more refined.
“Enough. Let’s not dwell on it.”
Mixing and mastering were already complete—there was no turning back now.
I swallowed my regret and began preparing to leave.
―Knock, knock.
Just as I was getting ready to go, someone knocked on my studio door.
“Come in… Oh, Lee Jae?”
“Hello, Jiyu.”
“What brings you here at this hour? Come on, sit down.”
At my gesture, Seo Ijae stepped into the studio.
“Why does your face look like that? Did something happen?”
The studio had been dark, so I hadn’t noticed, but up close, Seo Ijae’s condition was dire.
Puffy, swollen eyes and a nose flushed red.
Dark circles had descended almost to his cheekbones.
“This is….”
Seo Ijae held out a USB drive toward me.
“What is this?”
“Would you mind listening to it?”
“Sure, no problem.”
I turned my laptop back on and connected the USB drive.
The USB contained a single MP3 file.
[Winter Boys_DD.mp3]
Winter Boys?
It was Winter Boys’ debut track—already through mixing and mastering.
I tilted my head curiously and pressed play.
“Huh?”
Is this really Winter Boys?
No, it’s definitely Winter Boys. It’s definitely Winter Boys, but….
Something’s different.
The melody was similar to the current Winter Boys track, but everything else—absolutely everything else—was different.
“What do you think?”
Seo Ijae asked with eyes as lifeless as a dead fish.
“It’s good?”
“Compared to the current Winter Boys?”
“What are you asking—obviously this one is better….”
Oh no.
Jiyu realized her mistake too late and hastily covered her mouth.
But it was already too late.
“I see….”
Seo Ijae laughed hollowly.
Jiyu, completely lost about what was happening, asked Seo Ijae carefully.
“What is this?”
“….”
“Why did you hide something this good?”
“….”
“Was there… some reason?”
But Seo Ijae didn’t answer Jiyu’s questions and slowly extended his hand.
He was asking for the USB back.
“Tell me what happened. If you tell me, I’ll give the USB back.”
“…That’s fine.”
I tried to threaten him, but it didn’t work on Seo Ijae.
He turned without hesitation and left the Studio.
“No, Lee Jae! Wait, just wait a moment! I’m sorry, I’ll give this back. I’ll return it, so… can’t you just tell me what happened?”
Jiyu hurried after Seo Ijae and barely managed to catch him.
Seo Ijae looked at Jiyu quietly, then extended his hand again.
Jiyu obediently placed the USB in Seo Ijae’s palm.
“What on earth happened?”
“…Nothing happened.”
“Don’t lie. Then why did you hide this?”
“I didn’t hide it.”
“What?”
“This is… the original.”
When Jiyu first heard Seo Ijae’s Winter Boys arrangement, she assumed he had hidden a personally arranged song.
But her guess was completely wrong.
Seo Ijae stared at the USB in his palm with a complicated expression, then clenched his fist.
“I composed it… I alone, just me… It’s my song.”
A single tear streaked down Seo Ijae’s cheek.
* * *
[“When I asked Han Ul about it later, apparently Min Woo completely reworked Lee Jae’s composition, keeping only the melody.”]
“Ah….”
After hearing the details from Jiyu, I couldn’t say anything.
I wanted to punch my past self for taking Seo Ijae’s situation lightly.
This wasn’t a problem I could solve.
‘A cherished original composition—something he treasured like a child—had been torn apart by a member he trusted.’
Unless you’ve experienced it, you can’t know how devastating that must have been.
“Thank you for telling me.”
I had finally heard the story about Seo Ijae and Hwang Min-woo that I’d been so desperate to know, yet my mind had only grown more tangled.
I had come to realize that I couldn’t solve Seo Ijae’s input block.
‘What should I do?’
I was standing in a dead end with no way forward or backward.
Well, it wasn’t that there was no path at all.
The problem was that the only path available was a cliff—one misstep meant certain death.
[“You’re doing a mission, right?”]
“Pardon?”
[“Aren’t you filming for Jang Hyuk-soo’s program? What was the name again… EX-Grade K-POP Idol?”]
I was somewhat surprised.
I thought I’d hidden the circumstances well enough, but it seemed they already knew.
“That’s right. You knew?”
[“I’ve been keeping tabs on Lee Jae’s news from time to time. The mission song is Winter Boys, isn’t it?”]
They really did know everything.
After chatting a bit, it didn’t seem like they were the type to go around spreading our situation to others.
So I just spoke honestly.
“Yes. I need to remake Winter Boys. Actually, Lee Jae is the one handling the arrangement….”
[“Ah, so that’s why you contacted me.”]
I had explained the situation quite simply, yet Jiyu seemed to have grasped the entire picture.
Their intuition was really sharp.
[“Lee Jae still can’t compose or arrange?”]
“That’s right.”
[“That’s rough. It’s not easy… overcoming trauma.”]
My head was pounding too.
Did Quest rewards include an input block cure or a trauma-overcoming potion or something?
[“Winter Boys, Winter Boys… hm?”]
“What is it?”
[“Well, I was just thinking—do you really need to remake it?”]
“Huh?”
The mission was to remake it, but they were saying there was no need to remake it?
What on earth were they talking about?
[“You don’t need to arrange it at all. You could just use the original version.”]
“The original? What original… Oh!”
I realized a beat too late what Jiyu was suggesting.
[“The original that Lee Jae played for me back then. I’ll send it to you.”]

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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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