The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 74

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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 (74)
We were granted a brief vacation.
Returning home, I waited for the broadcast with Yoo Sung and Okada, my mind at ease.
The cover stage shoot had gone smoothly, and the mid-evaluation had been positive—there was nothing to worry about.
But the peace didn’t last long.
“Hey, Kim Chowol. Did you see the article?”
“What? What article?”
“The parachute article about Han Theo.”
The very day I received my vacation and returned home.
The first bomb dropped.
I furrowed my brow as I scrolled through the parachute article about Han Theo dominating the Internet, SNS, and Community Sites.
“So it’s finally happening….”
What was bound to burst had burst.
I considered reaching out to Han Theo but ultimately decided against it.
There was nothing I could do to help, and Han Theo would be too preoccupied with damage control anyway.
‘But is Han Theo really a parachute hire? Then again, Han Theo was the Female PD’s pick. If this controversy existed, Jang Hyuk-soo would have released a clarification article immediately….’
Why was everything so quiet?
The clarification article never appeared until the day Episode 7 aired.
Public opinion teetered on a knife’s edge, capable of tipping either way.
And the moment I watched Episode 7.
I finally understood why Jang Hyuk-soo hadn’t released a clarification article until now.
“Brother….”
Okada, watching the broadcast beside me, fidgeted nervously and glanced over at me.
I drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Yeah.”
Jang Hyuk-soo had decided to send Han Theo away.
My suspicion about the editing feeling off in Episodes 5 and 6 hadn’t been a mistake.
[“You’re not going to practice?”]
In the Practice Room without me and Seo Ijae.
Yoo Sung, who had returned after eating and immediately resumed practicing, asked this of Han Theo, who sat there staring blankly.
[“If you have nothing to do, practice with us.”]
Yoo Sung’s tone was blunt, but I knew the truth.
He had spoken out of consideration for Han Theo, who wasn’t fitting in with the other trainees.
[“Why me?”]
Han Theo widened his eyes slightly and tilted his head to the side as he spoke.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Having learned Han Theo’s secret, I had become capable of analyzing his expressions and speech patterns to a certain degree through persistent observation and analysis.
Han Theo’s answer wasn’t ‘Why should I practice with someone like you?’ but rather closer to ‘Is it okay if I practice with you?’
He must have been flustered and misspoken in Korean.
But Yoo Sung, unable to read Han Theo’s true feelings, and Kang Hae-soo beside him both froze in place.
[“What? If you don’t want to do it, don’t.”
“I’m not unwilling.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Kim Chowol isn’t here, and there’s no center either… I was just wondering if we should practice.”
“What?”]
Ah….
So what Han Theo meant was ‘let’s wait until the other members arrive and then practice.’
But it must have sounded different to Yoo Sung’s ears.
[“Are you ignoring me?”
“No.”]
The moment Yoo Sung shot to his feet, Han Theo rose as well.
The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
Of course, Han Theo probably stood up because it felt awkward to remain seated while the other person was speaking….
[“And what does us practicing have to do with Kim Chowol not being here?”]
A moment of tension.
Yoo Sung suddenly lowered his voice.
He’d remembered that the camera was rolling and taken a step back.
‘Good move, well done.’
Raising his voice in front of the camera would only hurt Yoo Sung’s image.
[“…Since I can’t do it, I need to practice harder.”]
Okada drew in a sharp breath.
Then, with a serious expression, she turned to Yoo Sung, who was watching the broadcast, and asked.
“Did you… really say that?”
“No.”
Yoo Sung shook his head firmly.
But then, remembering something, Yoo Sung’s body flinched and he let out a deep sigh.
“Actually, I did. I said it, but….”
“It was edited?”
I muttered while watching the live chat explode with criticism of Han Theo.
“There was something I said before that got cut out. Jang Hyuk-soo deliberately edited it. I’m right, aren’t I?”
Yoo Sung nodded and answered.
“Yeah. At the time I wasn’t sure, but that bastard definitely said ‘since I can’t do it, I need to practice harder.'”
“Only Jang Hyuk-soo, who has the original footage, knows the truth. But….”
I know.
Han Theo was someone who would put himself down, but he wasn’t the type to carelessly insult others.
[Han Theo, isn’t he completely insane?]
[Wow, did Han Theo even curse at Jang Hyuk-soo? This is completely devilish editing.]
[Devilish editing lol anyone defending Han Theo even after today’s broadcast has serious intelligence issues]
The live chat was in chaos.
Even the chat that the trainees managed carefully was this intense, so I could only imagine what was happening on SNS and Community Sites with their more unfiltered comments.
[[HOT] Now that I think about it, Kim Chowol is seriously
That’s pathetic lol
How frustrated and helpless must he have felt being compared to a human garbage like Han Theo
And there was a reason Han Theo was a parachute lol
With that kind of personality, there’s no way he could appear without nepotism
I feel bad for Kim Chowol. Honestly, at the beginning when there was a lot of talk about Kim Chowol and Han Theo, I cursed at Kim Chowol, but I’m reflecting on it now.
└Kim Chowol… you’re the true center of IKE Dol! That’s the vibe, Kim Chowol number one!
└Everyone’s saying this, so Jang Hyuk-soo got addicted to the devil’s editing, sending one person down the drain;;
└There are still people talking about the devil’s editing?
└Just give up ㅠ I was filmed by Jang Hyuk-soo in a program he made. What should I do? ㅠ]
[[NEW] Han Theo’s fans
It’s honestly a bit funny that Jang Hyuk-soo keeps his mouth shut when he sends Joo Gil-hyung away, but then throws a fit when Han-teo touches him.
The devil’s editing that Han Theo’s fans are claiming?
Well… it could actually be devil’s editing
But does the public care?
That’s the original flavor of watching Jang Hyuk-soo’s Program, you know lol
It’s not really like a devil’s editing or anything.
└I just felt sorry for the trainees who suffered because of Hanteo… Especially Kim Chowol ㅠㅠ
Kim Chowol’s fans can’t possibly like Han Theo lol. Han Theo was going around talking shit about him behind his back like that.
[[NEW] Regarding Han Theo
There’s still no statement article, right? So is it confirmed nepotism then?
The clarification article hasn’t come out yet.
└Even if we let the Entertainment Agency and Jang Hyuk-soo slide, is Han Theo himself keeping his mouth shut? He could open a live stream or post a story to clarify
└He’s not saying anything because there’s nothing to clarify]
Jang Hyuk-soo’s victim-perpetrator dynamic was so effective it was almost too effective.
People sympathized with and cheered for me as much as they cursed Han Theo.
‘This isn’t really welcome attention….’
If it were about narrative or character, that would be one thing, but this kind of buzz accumulating like this was nothing short of a time bomb waiting to explode.
I anxiously alternated between SNS and Community Sites, constantly checking people’s reactions.
But I could only watch helplessly as the buzz exploded.
―Ding!
Then, with a familiar notification sound, a translucent status window appeared before my eyes.
[You have cleared a Hidden Quest.]
[Hidden Quest: Get your name mentioned by people 5 million times or more.
*Nicknames and aliases are all included.
*Online mentions on SNS, Community Sites, etc. are all counted.
Reward: Item Draw Ticket (A) x1]
I had cleared a Hidden Quest.
I even received an A-rank Item Draw Ticket.
But strangely… I didn’t feel happy at all.
“Hey, Kim Chowol. Did you see this?”
Yoo Sung, who had been peering at his phone beside me, tapped my shoulder and spoke.
“See what?”
I tilted my head in confusion, and Yoo Sung silently turned his phone screen toward me.
It was a post from the Community Website he’d been looking at just moments before.
“This is….”
Upon reading the post’s title, I found myself momentarily at a loss for words.
[[HOT] Exposing Han Theo’s School Violence]
School violence? Han Theo?
I was certain I’d heard he graduated High School in America?
I immediately accessed the Community Website to read the full post.
[I don’t want to write this emotionally, so I’ll stick to the facts as much as possible.
I attended the same High School as the participant in question.
It was a school near Willamette Valley, Oregon, with fewer than 300 students in the entire student body.
Asian students were rare enough to count on one hand, including myself, and the participant’s family was quite well-known in that area.
From my first day of transfer, several students told me they were a self-made Korean-American family running an orchard.
The participant had grown up in that region from childhood, so they had a wide circle of friends and were known among teachers as a well-liked student.
The problem began with how the participant treated me right after I transferred.
On the fourth day after my transfer, during lunch when I was looking for an empty seat, the participant placed their bag on one and said, “This seat’s taken.” The other students laughed, and I ate alone in a corner. After that, I was continuously excluded from group projects and team assignments during PE.
What I remember most is something else. When the participant passed by in the hallway with friends and saw me, they said clearly: “Go back to where you came from.” A few students nearby laughed along.
That day, I couldn’t finish my classes and left early. The next day, I went to the school counselor and reported what happened. The counselor said it “might be a misunderstanding.” That was all.
.
.
.
I endured it for a long time. I tried to forget.
But watching this person achieve their dreams, I’m no longer sure if silence is the right thing to do, so I’m gathering the courage to write this.
There may be other victims.
If you attended the same school or have similar experiences, please send me a message.]
Is this… real?
There was no definitive evidence.
But the specific descriptions and explanations—details only the person involved would know—troubled me.
At this point, I couldn’t tell what kind of person Han Theo really was.
―Zzzt, zzzzt.
Just then, my phone began to ring.
I checked the caller ID and saw a familiar name.
“Hello?”
[“I’m sorry.”]
The moment I answered, the person on the other end apologized immediately.
The caller was Han Theo.
The person who made the call was Han Theo.
[“Because of me… you’ve gotten caught up in this too.”]
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Damn it… why is he so hopelessly kind? Now of all times, calling me like this.
[“I thought I could debut this time.”]
“This time?”
[“It’s not easy. Either way, I’m sorry. I’ll handle it. Even if it means dropping out of the Program.”]
“Wait, hold on.”
I stopped Han Theo, who was about to hang up immediately.
‘Dropping out is not an option.’
The midterm evaluation was already over—where would the center position go?
After returning from vacation, there’s barely a day before we’re back on the Stage.
Who could possibly replace Han Theo’s position perfectly in such a short span of time?
‘Sigh….’
I swallowed the sigh threatening to burst out.
I really hadn’t wanted to get involved.
With my eyes still squeezed shut, I pressed my throbbing brow and opened my mouth.
“Tell me everything. What happened at your Entertainment Agency, Round Sound? And….”
Your family situation and school life too.
Not a single detail left out.

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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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