The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 49

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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 (49)
It was exhilarating.
No, “exhilarating” doesn’t even begin to capture it.
It felt as though a weight had lifted from my chest—utterly refreshing and satisfying.
“Gasp… huff…!”
As I stepped off the Stage, I broke into a wide grin.
The rest of the team looked equally satisfied.
“…That concludes the performance we prepared.”
When my eyes met Hwang Min-woo’s expression—which looked like he’d just bitten into something foul—I couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.
Truth be told, I’d been so focused on watching Hwang Min-woo’s face that I hadn’t given the Stage my complete attention.
If I hadn’t maxed out the Universal Scheduler’s proficiency, I would have definitely made mistakes.
[Current Objective: Master Diamond Dust’s choreography and vocals
Current Proficiency: 100%]
[To do list
―Accumulated 1 hour of choreography practice (Proficiency +3%) (Complete)
―Accumulated 1 hour of vocal practice (Proficiency +3%) (Complete)
.
.
.
―Accumulated 37 hours of choreography practice (Proficiency +1%) (Complete)
―Accumulated 37 hours of vocal practice (Proficiency +1%) (Complete)]
Two days after drawing the Universal Scheduler from the item gacha, this morning had arrived.
I had achieved the 100% proficiency I’d targeted.
Thanks to that, I was able to execute the mid-term evaluation Stage flawlessly while watching Hwang Min-woo’s expression.
“Wow, what would you call a team like this? An Avengers team?”
The judges began their evaluation.
The first to take the microphone was the Dance Trainer.
The Dance Trainer seemed genuinely astonished by our performance.
“Honestly, since you’re all top-tier trainees, we had high expectations… but you exceeded them. Especially you, Kim Chowol.”
“Thank you.”
“Your dancing has improved tremendously.”
“I appreciate it.”
The Dance Trainer gave me a thumbs up.
Following the Dance Trainer, praise poured in from the other judges.
‘Even if they wanted to critique, there’s nothing to critique.’
Seo Ijae had regained his confidence, and I had used the item to master the choreography and vocals perfectly.
Even by my own assessment, it was a flawless performance.
“Despite the tight schedule, the Stage felt polished. The arrangement was excellent too.”
Kim Junwoo took the microphone.
“You rewrote all the lyrics. Was that you, Seo Ijae?”
“Yes, Lee Jae handled everything from composition to arrangement all by himself.”
I straightened my shoulders and spoke with confidence.
Seo Ijae blushed slightly and tugged at my sleeve.
“…The team members helped a lot.”
It was a blatant lie, but I didn’t bother to deny it.
Kim Junwoo, who had been quietly observing Seo Ijae and me, smiled warmly.
“The arrangement and composition were both excellent. It looks like we just need to do the mixing and mastering to wrap things up.”
“Thank you!”
“I’m looking forward to seeing the actual performance.”
I bowed with a bright smile, and the other team members followed suit.
All the judges had finished their evaluations.
All except one.
“Min Woo?”
Kim Junwoo, having finished his evaluation, looked toward Hwang Min-woo.
Hwang Min-woo, who had been staring blankly at the table with his head bowed, suddenly looked up in surprise.
“Oh, yes!”
“Aren’t you going to evaluate? You’re the only one left. We’re all done.”
“Ah….”
Hwang Min-woo slowly reached for the microphone in front of him.
But with a conflicted expression, Hwang Min-woo remained silent for a long moment.
“Min Woo?”
“I….”
I desperately suppressed the laughter threatening to burst out.
Everyone would think I was nervous, seeing me bite my lower lip so hard.
‘That’s right, he must be conflicted.’
Right now, Hwang Min-woo wanted to criticize and tear down our performance.
Because praising our stage would prove that his past actions were wrong.
‘My advice wasn’t wrong. My arrangement wasn’t wrong. My composition wasn’t wrong!’
Diamond Dust, which Hwang Min-woo had ruined with his advice, arrangement, and composition.
I never thought I’d hear that song again, yet here it was in an unexpected situation.
Hwang Min-woo couldn’t ignore or evade his past mistakes.
‘But he can’t criticize or tear down our song either.’
Because doing so carelessly would prove he had no eye for performances.
If he fell out of favor with Jang Hyuk-soo, the situation would become even more serious.
Jang Hyuk-soo would cross-edit the evaluations of the other judges with Hwang Min-woo’s evaluation, branding him with an image of “incompetence.”
On the Community Site and SNS, people would tear him apart, saying things like “No wonder he’s a has-been, he has no eye for talent,” “That’s why he failed lol,” “Does he not even understand how to judge works? Or is he just bad at acting?” and reduce him to dust.
A dilemma with no way out.
‘What choice will Hwang Min-woo make?’
I watched him with keen interest.
“The center….”
Hwang Min-woo glanced at Seo Ijae and continued speaking.
“The center seemed a bit… inconspicuous to me.”
The warm atmosphere of the Practice Room froze in an instant.
Seeing Seo Ijae’s wavering eyes, Hwang Min-woo seemed to gain a bit more confidence.
“I think it’s because the other trainees stood out too much. Han Theo and Yoo Sung are both exceptionally handsome and skilled.”
As Hwang Min-woo spoke confidently, the other judges tilted their heads with uncertain expressions.
To be honest, Hwang Min-woo’s words weren’t entirely wrong.
Yoo Sung and Han Theo were the types who radiated an overwhelming presence just by standing still.
But Seo Ijae was no longer the Seo Ijae of the past.
‘No one understands Diamond Dust’s concept and the story within it better than Seo Ijae.’
Seo Ijae leveraged his strengths and demonstrated a clear presence on stage today.
Hwang Min-woo was simply finding fault because he didn’t like Seo Ijae.
“Seo Ijae.”
Kim Junwoo, who had been watching Hwang Min-woo with an air of curiosity about what he would say next, opened his mouth.
“What do you think? About Judge Hwang Min-woo’s opinion?”
Kim Junwoo held the microphone and gestured with his chin toward Hwang Min-woo, who was smiling confidently, as he continued.
“I personally think Seo Ijae as center is the best choice, but I don’t think we can ignore Judge Hwang Min-woo’s opinion either.”
Seo Ijae, whose lips had been trembling the whole time, drooped his shoulders with a dejected expression.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Kim Junwoo.
When he should be encouraging him, why is he going out of his way to crush his motivation?
“So Seo Ijae, you decide.”
Kim Junwoo asked Seo Ijae with an expectant expression.
“Will you be center? Or do you want to be center?”
“I…”
Seo Ijae, as if having made a decision, clenched both fists tightly and spoke slowly.
* * *
After the mid-term evaluation ended, I returned to the Practice Room.
“Phew…”
I collapsed onto the empty Practice Room floor and exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
Since I’d barely slept for two days straight while practicing, the other team members had already returned to the Dormitory.
I leaned against the Practice Room wall and closed my eyes.
‘The Practice Room feels more comfortable than the Dormitory.’
Probably because I’d spent most of my time here since the theme song evaluation until now.
The hard, cold Practice Room floor was no different from my bed.
“Are you going to practice again?”
Someone called my name while I had my eyes closed, planning to rest for just an hour before heading to the Dormitory.
It was Seo Ijae, whom I thought had already gone back to the Dormitory.
“Lee Jae?”
“Go back to the Dormitory and rest. Aren’t you tired?”
“Well, I’m not that tired. I just don’t think I’ll be able to sleep yet. What about you?”
If I said the Practice Room was more comfortable than the Dormitory, people would definitely think I was crazy.
I’d just barely achieved 100% trust, and I wasn’t about to be treated like some weirdo.
“I left something behind in the Practice Room.”
Seo Ijae said this as he picked up an outer jacket from the corner of the Practice Room.
Ah, so that was Lee Jae’s.
I nodded and leaned my back against the Practice Room wall again.
“Lee Jae.”
I watched Seo Ijae gather his jacket and organize his tablet before speaking to him.
“Hmm?”
“I was really happy when you said you wanted to be center.”
“Hmm? Oh….”
Seo Ijae seemed to belatedly remember what he’d said during the mid-term evaluation, his words trailing off.
‘Are you going to be center? Or do you want to be center?’
When Kim Junwoo asked Seo Ijae whether he would be center, whether he wanted to be center, I didn’t believe in him.
It’s embarrassing to admit, but I thought Seo Ijae would say he didn’t need to be center.
But Seo Ijae said it.
‘I’ll be center. I… want to be center.’
Seo Ijae’s firm voice still echoed in my ears.
Self-reproach for not believing in Seo Ijae, and gratitude toward him that was far greater than that.
I laughed softly, feeling the tangle of emotions.
“If you’d said you didn’t want to be center back then, I would never have looked at your face again.”
“…Really?”
“Well, maybe not forever. How about a week?”
“That’s way too short….”
“Anyway, since you said you wanted to be center, it doesn’t matter now.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
After finishing organizing his tablet, Seo Ijae didn’t return to the Dormitory but instead sat down on the Practice Room floor beside me.
He seemed to have something he wanted to say.
After staring at his organized tablet and USB for a long while, Seo Ijae finally opened his mouth.
“Because you believed in me.”
A comfortable silence settled over the Practice Room.
Seo Ijae’s calm, unwavering voice resonated through the space.
“What?”
When I didn’t understand right away and asked again, Seo Ijae quickly averted his gaze.
He didn’t even look at me, mumbling quietly with slurred pronunciation.
“Because you said… you wanted me to be center.”
“Oh….”
When I realized what Seo Ijae was saying, I was taken aback.
‘Was Seo Ijae really the type to say such embarrassing things?’
Sure enough, as if he realized he’d said something embarrassing, the tips of his ears had turned bright red.
Watching Seo Ijae’s ears flush crimson as he avoided my gaze, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ha ha… Yes, that’s right. I did say that. I wanted to see you as the new center of Winter Boys.”
Though it was Diamond Dust now, not Winter Boys anymore.
“Let’s see this through to the end together.”
“Yeah.”
“You can do it, hyung.”
“So can you.”
We exchanged words of encouragement and smiled at each other.
I would absolutely make the Diamond Dust performance a success.
And I would make the public say “Seo Ijae’s rediscovery” without fail.

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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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