The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 51

—————
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 (51)
I stared at the translucent status window, momentarily forgetting I was in the middle of a conversation with Jung Yoo-yeol.
‘Jung Yoo-yeol became my colleague? Since when? Can I cancel this? Cancel, cancel it! Colleague cancellation!’
I continued screaming cancellation in my head, denying reality.
But no matter how much I pleaded for cancellation, the status window remained unresponsive.
‘Becoming colleagues was this easy?’
The condition for becoming colleagues was trust.
But earning the trust of another trainee was never an easy task.
The Survival Competition structure meant you had to drag others down to secure your own debut.
Because of that, becoming colleagues with Okada, Yoo Sung, Seo Ijae… none of them had been smooth processes.
‘But why Jung Yoo-yeol of all people… Ugh, never mind. He’s already my colleague anyway, so what can I do.’
My emotions had progressed past stage one denial and stage two anger, arriving at stage three compromise and stage four depression.
I still needed to reach stage five acceptance, but it was harder than expected.
I stared intently at Jung Yoo-yeol’s name written below Okada, Yoo Sung, and Seo Ijae.
‘Jung Yoo-yeol, Jung Yoo-yeol…’
Rumors about Jung Yoo-yeol were so famous that anyone who’d spent a decent amount of time as a trainee had heard them at least once.
‘There’s a trainee who turned down debut positions at all three Top 3 Entertainment Companies and joined a Small Entertainment Agency instead.’
At first, I thought it was an absurd rumor.
Had all the trainees just gone insane during their training?
What kind of insane trainee would reject debut positions at all three Top 3 Entertainment Companies and join a Small Entertainment Agency?
But through repeated regressions, I came to understand.
The rumors about Jung Yoo-yeol weren’t baseless gossip.
‘Why did you turn down the debut positions at all three Top 3 Entertainment Companies?’
I’d once asked Jung Yoo-yeol out of sheer curiosity.
At the time, I thought he’d been kicked out of the debut lineup but was pretending to have left voluntarily for image management.
But Jung Yoo-yeol was a psychopath beyond my imagination.
‘It’s fun.’
‘Fun…? What do you mean?’
‘Crushing those struggling desperately and taking the debut position for myself.’
Shocked, I was momentarily speechless.
Jung Yoo-yeol chuckled as if amused by my reaction and added,
‘Just kidding.’
It was absolutely not a joke.
When answering my question, Jung Yoo-yeol had been smiling genuinely, truly amused.
Realizing Jung Yoo-yeol’s dangerousness, I never approached him first again.
But his answer remained etched in my mind, surfacing unexpectedly even now.
“Don’t bully Okada.”
Sigh…
I blurted out something without thinking and swallowed a sigh internally.
I’d sworn never to clash with Jung Yoo-yeol, so how did things end up like this?
“Me?”
Jung Yoo-yeol shrugged with an expression that suggested he had no idea what I was talking about.
I rolled my eyes discreetly, scanning the surroundings without making it obvious.
‘No cameras.’
Truth be told, Jung Yoo-yeol was the type who wouldn’t care whether cameras were present or not—he’d do whatever he pleased regardless.
But I was different.
I knew how to distinguish between what I could and couldn’t say depending on whether the cameras were rolling.
“Don’t play innocent.”
In other words, with no cameras around right now, I could afford to be a little reckless.
“You know exactly what I mean.”
I deliberately tilted my chin up, goading Jung Yoo-yeol with my words.
Fine, since we’re already here, I might as well go all in for Okada’s sake and stop worrying about Jung Yoo-yeol.
“Even if you didn’t intend to bully her, you know she’s struggling because of you.”
Okada grabbed my sleeve urgently from behind.
I gently pried her hand away to reassure her there was nothing to worry about.
‘I can roughly guess why Okada’s been having such a hard time.’
Jung Yoo-yeol preferred difficult and interesting things over easy and trivial ones.
He was the type of player who favored hard mode over easy mode when it came to game difficulty.
That’s why every time they did team performances, Jung Yoo-yeol insisted on and pushed for difficult arrangements and choreography.
‘It’s not always like that, but….’
Sometimes he acted like a tyrannical dictator, and other times he behaved like an obedient pet.
There seemed to be some criteria guiding his actions, but I wasn’t particularly curious, nor did I need to know right now.
In any case, Jung Yoo-yeol must have insisted on difficult arrangements and choreography this time too.
He’d probably made subtle comments that scratched at the team members’ nerves, preventing them from backing out by claiming it was too difficult.
‘I can already picture what the team atmosphere must have been like.’
I shook my head internally and looked at Jung Yoo-yeol with a crooked gaze.
Jung Yoo-yeol opened his mouth with an ambiguous expression—somewhere between pleased and displeased.
“Yeah, you’re right. I know.”
It was such a clear and straightforward answer that all my momentum deflated.
“I’m sorry, Okada. I knew you were struggling, but I pretended not to. I didn’t mean to make things hard for you. I just wanted our team to do well… I think I made a mistake.”
Jung Yoo-yeol lowered his eyebrows and apologized.
Okada and I were both taken aback by how swift and sincere the apology was.
“I was too selfish, wasn’t I? Will you forgive me?”
“Uh….”
Jung Yoo-yeol stepped closer to Okada and suddenly grabbed her hand.
Okada, caught off guard, could only flutter her lips without knowing what to do.
‘What in the world….’
What was he scheming?
Could it be because of that 100% trust rating?
Though he doesn’t seem to trust me very much at all….
“I’m fine. Please take good care of me.”
“Sure!”
Jung Yoo-yeol nodded brightly with a radiant smile.
“But I have something I want to say too.”
“Yes…?”
“Why does Okada pretend she can’t do it?”
Pretend she can’t do it? What on earth was he talking about?
Okada’s lips pressed shut as if struck by an arrow, and she awkwardly averted her gaze.
“Honestly, it’s not difficult for Okada at all. Her Korean has improved so much that singing is no problem, and dancing is… well, there’s no point even mentioning it.”
He actually understood his teammate’s abilities quite well?
As Jung Yoo-yeol continued praising Okada, I found myself nodding along.
Wait, that’s not right!
What mattered now was why Okada was pretending to struggle.
“If I do well, the other team members will resent me….”
Everyone was complaining that the arrangement and choreography were too difficult, so if only I could pull it off smoothly, of course I’d be self-conscious.
I understood Okada.
She’d already been ostracized for not speaking Korean well—what was wrong with being mindful of others’ feelings?
Okada had simply read the room.
But Jung Yoo-yeol didn’t seem satisfied with her answer.
“Just for that reason?”
His eyes were completely different from when he’d looked at me—a complete 180-degree shift.
His mouth curved upward in a smile, but his eyes were colder than a winter blizzard.
“Well… I suppose that’s possible.”
Fortunately, Jung Yoo-yeol didn’t press Okada further.
Whether his interest had faded or he’d never cared much to begin with….
Jung Yoo-yeol withdrew his gaze from Okada and tapped my shoulder lightly as he spoke.
“Let’s definitely be on the same team next time.”
With that meaningful parting remark, Jung Yoo-yeol turned and retraced his steps before I could even respond.
I watched his receding figure blankly before belatedly thinking of Okada.
“Are you okay?”
Jung Yoo-yeol’s blatant hostility must have been burdensome for someone like Okada, who was always conscious of others’ feelings.
Slightly worried she might have been deeply hurt, I checked on her condition.
‘Huh…?’
But contrary to my concern, Okada seemed surprisingly fine.
Okada stared down the Hallway where Jung Yoo-yeol had walked, her expression utterly unreadable.
“Hiro?”
“Yes?”
“Are you really okay?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
Okada nodded with a bitter smile.
“Thank you, hyung.”
“Don’t pretend you can’t do it. Actually, you can—just make sure it’s genuine on stage.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Okada answered with a bright smile at my advice.
She had finally returned to the Okada I knew.
“Your teammates are waiting. Go practice quickly.”
“…I really wanted to be on the same team as you, hyung.”
“Go on. We can be on the same team next time.”
“Really?”
“Well… if possible.”
At my vague answer, Okada’s shoulders drooped.
I chuckled and gave her back a light push.
As I watched Okada shuffle back toward the Practice Room, I fell into thought for a moment.
‘But why does Jung Yoo-yeol trust me so much?’
Why, exactly?
Why me of all people…?
* * *
The day of the second audience recording for EX-Grade K-POP Idol.
A single Homma, skillfully wielding a massive professional camera, took a slow, deep breath.
“Phew…”
Thump-thump.
It wasn’t easy to calm down.
For a fan like Homma, every single schedule mattered.
Homma was none other than Seo Ijae’s devoted fan—the eternal maknae of Winter Boys.
‘How did I end up getting dragged into this idol world…?’
Originally, Homma had little interest in idols.
While her friends chattered endlessly about who was handsome and who sang well, she stubbornly walked her own path.
But when she happened to see Winter Boys’ Debut Showcase and met Seo Ijae, her life took a completely unexpected turn.
‘He’s handsome, dances well, sings well—so why doesn’t he have a proper part?’
A part that lasted less than twenty seconds.
Yet Seo Ijae sang and danced with all his heart, giving everything to every note and every movement.
‘Hang in there, Lee Jae. Don’t give up. I’ll support you all the way.’
What began as simple curiosity gradually accumulated, growing into something she could no longer contain.
Homma bought a camera.
She wanted to stand beside Seo Ijae as he pursued his dreams and capture those moments.
But as time passed, Winter Boys’ fanbase only dwindled, and Seo Ijae grew increasingly withdrawn.
There was nothing Homma could do as Seo Ijae spiraled downward.
‘When I heard Seo Ijae was appearing on EX-Grade K-POP Idol, worry overwhelmed my support.’
Afraid he’d be criticized again.
Afraid he’d face accusations of being a washed-up idol with nothing but age, squeezing in among younger trainees and desperately flailing.
As expected, Seo Ijae didn’t mesh well with the younger trainees.
‘Why did I even come?’
After much deliberation, Seo Ijae had decided to attend the Production Presentation, only to freeze upon spotting Homma there.
Homma knew exactly what was running through Seo Ijae’s mind.
He didn’t want to show her his pathetic self—not when she’d always been so supportive of him.
I knew it. I knew it, but….
‘The idol I love looking at me with that expression… I really didn’t want to see that.’
Seo Ijae and Homma awkwardly avoided each other’s gaze.
He definitely shouldn’t have come.
He should have just stayed home and quietly cheered from his room instead.
Just as Seo Ijae and Homma were about to dig themselves into an endless tunnel of discomfort.
“You’re a fan of Lee Jae, aren’t you?”
Kim Chowol spoke up to Seo Ijae.

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