The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 72

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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 (72)
“Phew….”
The mid-evaluation had ended.
Our Team received high praise from the judges.
“Wow, what is this team? The quality is on a completely different level.”
“They could debut with this performance right now.”
“There are no weak points. The overall balance is excellent. I think they’ll do well as is.”
My teammates and I suppressed our laughter and bowed respectfully.
“Thank you so much!”
The judges gazed at us with satisfied expressions.
And finally, the last one.
Only Kim Junwoo’s evaluation remained.
“Good.”
For some reason, Kim Junwoo’s praise resonated far more deeply than the other judges’ compliments.
“There’s nothing particular that needs fixing. If you practice diligently during the remaining time and just polish the completeness, I think you’ll be fine.”
Kim Junwoo spoke while looking at me.
Ugh….
I know, I know.
Thanks to my EX-grade trait, my stats were growing rapidly, but not enough to fully master FALLEN GLORY.
Oh, by the way, FALLEN GLORY is the name of the song we created.
“Kim Chowol.”
Kim Junwoo called my name.
What was he going to say now?
I looked at Kim Junwoo with a slightly nervous expression.
Kim Junwoo and I set aside two hours each day to practice separately for the special cover Stage.
‘The nagging demon king….’
Somewhere along the way, my image of Kim Junwoo had shifted from a respected senior to a talkative nag.
‘Your hands are moving independently right now. For PUPPET, the fingertips are everything.’
‘Don’t belt on the high notes with force. Drop your jaw and open your throat.’
‘You’ve been half a beat late this whole time. Your body is too stiff. Use your joints, use them.’
None of it was wrong, so I couldn’t even complain.
Expecting another round of nagging from Kim Junwoo, I lowered my eyes.
“You did well.”
But what came from Kim Junwoo’s lips was not nagging, but simple, genuine praise.
Startled, I opened my eyes wide and responded.
“Yes…!”
I was quite surprised that he would praise me even though I made mistakes.
But there was nothing better than receiving praise for hard work.
Kim Junwoo smiled meaningfully and said.
“You can look forward to our Stage performance, right?”
You really do have a terrible personality.
After seeing my full abilities in this morning’s practice.
But still… somehow, my mood felt refreshed.
I answered with confident laughter.
“Of course.”
* * *
Eun Ha-su, once a fan of Kim Junwoo and now a fan of Kim Chowol, had been experiencing dopamine-fueled days lately.
At first, Eun Ha-su uploaded Kim Chowol’s photos to her account.
Until then, Eun Ha-su had no idea the response would be this good.
But one day, Eun Ha-su realized something.
Unlike Kim Junwoo’s photos, which she was grateful for whenever retweets hit three digits, Kim Chowol’s photos consistently broke three digits the moment she posted them, and occasionally even surpassed four digits.
The difference in engagement between posting Kim Junwoo’s photos and Kim Chowol’s photos was stark, so Eun Ha-su had no choice but to separate her accounts.
And now she was diligently uploading Kim Chowol’s photos, enjoying a happy fan life for the first time in ages.
She had guarded her feelings for Kim Junwoo for over a decade, but Eun Ha-su was still human after all.
A ordinary person who felt good when her photos received attention, and put more effort into photos that got good responses.
“Eight thousand followers already.”
Eun Ha-su clicked her tongue as she checked her dedicated Kim Chowol account, Beyond Focus.
Her Kim Junwoo account, created ten years ago, had barely surpassed ten thousand followers.
Though back then, she had been active on a dedicated fan site rather than SNS….
Regardless, there was no doubt that an EX-Grade K-POP Idol’s popularity was at an unprecedented level.
“Should I do some searching for a change?”
Between watching broadcasts, following schedules to take photos, and constantly checking for new developments, she barely had time to leisurely enjoy being a fan.
Eun Ha-su sprawled across her bed and searched for Kim Chowol’s name on the Community Website.
Along with his stage name, of course.
“I still have a mountain of photos to edit, but future me will handle that.”
Eun Ha-su scrolled through posts and comments about Kim Chowol.
[[NEW] Honest Opinion: KCW’s Popularity is Honestly Too Much
I think his popularity far exceeds his actual skill
└OMG I thought I was the only one thinking this lol
└Even if Hanteo and Yoosung are in first and second place, that doesn’t mean ㄱㅊㅇ is in fourth place ㅠㅠ
└I saw the leaked rankings and he was 3rd though?
└That’s just a joke written to attract aggro ㅠ Why is Hanteo in second place?]
[[NEW] KCW Skill Controversy is Hilarious lol
How many of KCW’s fans actually like him for his singing and dancing lol
No matter how much you brag about your skills, nobody’s getting scratched.
└Wait? Then why do Kim Chowol fans like Kim Chowol?
└His face.
└Face ㅅㅂ LOL Honestly, if I’m going to like people just by looking at their faces, I like Hanteo and Yoosung ㅠ
└Do you need a reason to like someone… But if I had to pick one, maybe his narrative? It’s endearing how hard he works, and his skills are improving too
And just has that charm that naturally draws people’s attention.
└With that much charm, why has he never been center? lol
└It’s not that he can’t be center, it’s that he chooses not to]
[[HOT] A Flower Without Fragrance
That’s not something said without reason
For idols, charm is ultimately the most important thing
That’s why entertainment agencies these days prioritize charm and visuals over vocal or dance skills ✓
Skills can be developed even after debut
└True… no matter how pretty or skilled, if there’s no charm, they don’t stand out
└That’s why there are so many groups without a main vocalist or main dancer these days
└Ah, I really hate the absence of singers and singers. Without singers and singers, the quality of the song and stage is so low.
└These days they call everyone a “all-rounder” but they’re just lumping together people who can’t do anything as all-rounders, it’s so shameless lol
└But isn’t Han Theo and Yoo Sung from IKE Dol worthy of being called all-rounders?]
[[NEW] IKE Dol Debut Lineup I Made for Fun
Main Vocalist > Jung Yoo-yeol
His ranking isn’t that high so many people don’t know him, but just listen to him sing once
Jung Yoo-yeol’s vocals are seriously insane…
Having even one main vocalist like this is reassuring
An essential member for the sake of vocal quality
Lead Vocalist > Seo Ijae
Don’t complain about why an experienced member shows up here…
He definitely has solid fundamentals like vocal tone and breathing befitting his experience
If there’s a member like Jung Yoo-yeol who’s clearly the main vocalist, there also needs to be a member like Seo Ijae who quietly does their job in the background…
Main Dancer/Lead Dancer > Kang Hae-soo, Okada
I thought Kang Hae-soo couldn’t dance because of his size, but I was shocked at how well he dances
Okada doesn’t even need mentioning
It’s so surprising that both of them look like they can’t dance but dance so well lol
They’re the same age so it’ll be fun once they get closer
Visuals > Han Theo, Yoo Sung
Honestly, both could be main vocalist or main dancer lol
But I felt like no matter which position I put them in, there’d definitely be people complaining, so I just put them as visuals
Having even one all-rounder like this on a team would be reassuring, but having two is insane.
All-rounder double event JBZG
Thanks for following along this far. Now let me show you what a K-pop veteran finds entertaining.
Center > Kim Chowol
First, let me make it clear I’m not a Kim Chowol fan
Center requires skill and visuals, but the presence and charm that captivate the eye are most important
And from what I’ve seen as someone steeped in K-pop, Kim Chowol is the only top trainee truly suited for center
From what I’ve seen, Kim Chowol looks like he’s going to debut in first place.
└What kind of fresh bait is this?
└Kim Chowol at rank 1 lol Is this a dream after taking melatonin?
└This post will become a sacred site soon…
“If I get even half of this right, I’m going to their debut showcase in just my underwear lol”
└What did those kids do to deserve seeing you in just underwear…?
“But except for Kim Chowol, most of it seems plausible lol. If we just swap the positions of Han Theo and Kim Chowol, it would be perfect?”
Hmm….
Eun Ha-su swallowed hard after reviewing all the recent posts about Kim Chowol.
The buzz was overwhelmingly massive, but public opinion was split down the middle.
‘Honestly, the comments pointing out skill issues… I can’t really argue with them.’
Eun Ha-su had a reputation as someone with pure devotion—once she gave her heart to an idol, she’d support them for an incredibly long time.
But that didn’t mean she was so blind as to ignore the flaws of someone she liked.
‘Kim Chowol definitely does lack skill.’
Of course, considering the average ability of rookie idols who debuted in recent years, it wasn’t that far behind.
The problem was that the comparison was against Han Theo and Yoo Sung….
‘It would be great if he showed an incredible stage performance that could completely turn public opinion around.’
Unfortunately, Eun Ha-su had already seen Kim Chowol’s stage that would air tomorrow through an advance screening.
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good enough to completely reverse public opinion either.
I can’t translate this as it’s not a meaningful Korean word or phrase – it appears to be random consonants repeated without vowels, which doesn’t form valid Korean text.
Chowol unnie, what are you doing right now?
@beyond_focus]
While scrolling through the community site, a close younger sibling tagged Eun Ha-su on SNS.
Eun Ha-su replied immediately.
[└Why? I’m just lying down right now
You can’t be lying in bed right now! Watch YouTube right now!
└YouTube?]
Eun Ha-su tilted her head in confusion but followed her close younger sibling’s instructions anyway.
The close younger sibling seemed very excited and kept sending messages to Eun Ha-su.
[This is seriously insane]
[I think I’m going to cry because I love it so much]
[Oh, by the way, you said your all-time favorite was Kim Junwoo, right?]
Eun Ha-su, who was logging into YouTube, went back to SNS and replied.
[└Yeah. But it’s not an all-time favorite, it’s my current favorite. Why are you suddenly asking about Junwoo?
└Why aren’t you watching YouTube yet? Never mind my rambling, just watch YouTube right now!
└Okay, fine;;]
Kids these days are scary….
Eun Ha-su obediently went into the official account of the EX-Grade K-POP Idol as instructed.
[Anyway, this is seriously amazing]
[Unnie, you’re really going to love this?]
Huh…?
Eun Ha-su’s finger stopped as she scrolled down, skimming through the latest videos.
[A special cover stage by my favorite and my favorite?!]
W-what is this?
Eun Ha-su touched the most recently uploaded video as if entranced.
[EX-Grade K-POP Idol [Special Cover Stage with Judge♬] Kim Chowol x Kim Junwoo | Nexus – PUPPET]
Why are Kim Chowol and Kim Junwoo’s faces both in the thumbnail at the same time?

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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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