The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 76

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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 (76)
“Hmm, hmm-hmm.”
The office stood empty after everyone had clocked out.
Jang Hyuk-soo, left alone, hummed tunelessly while scrolling his mouse downward.
Real-time updates from SNS and Community Sites reflected in Jang Hyuk-soo’s eyes.
“PD? What are you doing here alone?”
The Female PD, who had returned to the office, was startled to find Jang Hyuk-soo sitting there by himself and asked in surprise.
Jang Hyuk-soo answered casually, taking a sip of his iced Americano.
“I’m monitoring. What about you? I gave you early leave today—why did you come back?”
“I forgot something. But what kind of monitoring?”
“You’re not seriously asking because you don’t know, are you?”
Jang Hyuk-soo looked at the Female PD with a pitying expression.
The Female PD laughed sheepishly and approached where Jang Hyuk-soo sat.
“Of course I know. So… monitoring Episode 7’s broadcast!”
The Female PD pretended to understand after stealing a glance at the monitor.
Jang Hyuk-soo clicked his tongue and turned his gaze back to the monitor.
“The effect is excellent. Really excellent, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, it is. It looks like Han Theo won’t be able to make a comeback from this.”
“I didn’t intend to go this far. But then the school violence scandal erupted, and well….”
Jang Hyuk-soo stared at the post exposing Han Theo’s school violence allegations that had been uploaded to the Community Site, his expression complicated.
The Female PD, who had been watching his reaction carefully, asked cautiously.
“But… is it real?”
“What?”
“The school violence. She didn’t seem like such a bad person….”
“Why does that matter?”
Jang Hyuk-soo gestured toward the Female PD.
The Female PD, quick to read the room, sat in the chair beside Jang Hyuk-soo.
“Whether Han Theo committed school violence or not—that’s not what’s important.”
“Then what is?”
“What matters is that we chose to abandon Han Theo, and the public wants to see her destroyed.”
“Hmm….”
The Female PD fell silent, her expression uncomfortable.
“But PD, aren’t you going home? You can monitor from home, can’t you?”
“Ah, well, you see….”
Jang Hyuk-soo pretended not to notice the Female PD changing the subject.
Eventually, after working in this industry for a while, she would naturally come to understand.
That morality and conscience were luxuries compared to a program’s success.
“I was just deliberating whether to cut off Han Theo’s lifeline entirely or extend it a bit longer.”
Jang Hyuk-soo played a video on his monitor.
It was a video of Kim Chowol and Han Theo that was setting SNS and Community Sites ablaze.
Behind Han Theo, the familiar Vending Machine came into view.
[“Are we… friends?”
“Huh?”
“Are we friends.”
“What….”]
The Female PD swallowed hard without realizing it.
“This is….”
“Incredible, right?”
Jang Hyuk-soo let out a villainous chuckle and played the video again.
“You know that camera we installed an extra month ago? We struck gold with that one.”
After looping a specific section, Jang Hyuk-soo fast-forwarded through the footage this time.
Then Kim Chowol and Han Theo, who had briefly disappeared, appeared on screen again.
[“Did I say something weird again?”
“Huh?”
“Sorry. I’m just… not good at it.”
“Not good at… what?”
“…Korean.”]
Upon learning that Han Theo couldn’t speak Korean, the Female PD’s jaw dropped in shock.
She then looked at Jang Hyuk-soo while pointing at the monitor, her lips trembling.
“This, this, this….”
“What? If you have something to say, spit it out.”
“Really? Han Theo can’t speak Korean?”
The Female PD looked ready to grab Jang Hyuk-soo by the shoulders and shake him as she asked.
But Jang Hyuk-soo answered calmly, resting his chin on his hand.
“Ah… you didn’t know?”
“Did you know, sir?”
“I only found out recently myself.”
Jang Hyuk-soo took a long sip of his iced Americano and continued.
“There’s Sung-sik, you know. You know about him, right?”
“Oh, yes. The person who quit six months ago, right? Since I was brought in urgently after he left, I don’t know much about him….”
“So you were Sung-sik’s replacement? Anyway, he’s the one.”
“He’s the one…?”
“The guy who took bribes from Han Theo’s Agency’s CEO.”
“Ah…!”
Finally grasping the full picture, the Female PD clapped her hands together lightly.
“An article’s about to break, and if he opens his mouth in the meantime, things get messy. So I contacted him to keep him quiet and sweeten the deal.”
“Will he stay quiet though? No matter how much they messed up first, I don’t think he’d just follow your lead so easily.”
“I promised him a good position, and it worked out smoothly. Seems like after he quit, he couldn’t find anywhere to hire him, so he’s been unemployed this whole time.”
Why couldn’t he find work for six months….
The Female PD looked at Jang Hyuk-soo with a slightly exasperated expression.
He was pretending not to know anything, but Jang Hyuk-soo had clearly pulled strings behind the scenes.
“Anyway, I figured I’d ask Han Theo a few questions while I was at it—you know, to keep things quiet. Why did the Loud Sound CEO slip you money under the table? Han Theo’s talent alone would’ve guaranteed a pass, and I would’ve pushed for him myself without needing to resort to that.”
Jang Hyuk-soo tossed his empty iced Americano into the trash and continued.
“So he spilled everything. Apparently Han Theo can’t speak Korean, so he couldn’t sign with other agencies. His parents were against it too, or something like that. I guess he saw Our Program as his last chance. When you’re desperate like that, you’ll do anything.”
Jang Hyuk-soo shrugged dismissively.
The Female PD, who had been listening with a serious expression, carefully opened her mouth.
“Isn’t that actually good?”
“Huh?”
“You always said Han Theo lacked narrative and character depth. But from what you’re describing… even if the character is questionable, doesn’t he have plenty of narrative?”
“Well….”
Jang Hyuk-soo gazed at Han Theo on the monitor with a troubled expression.
He exhaled a long sigh before continuing.
“It’s not that simple in practice.”
“Sir?”
“Episode 7 already aired, and the public has started attacking Han Theo. At this point, we can either destroy this footage to give Han Theo a lifeline….”
Jang Hyuk-soo played the video again.
[“Are we really close enough to say something like that to each other?”]
Jang Hyuk-soo made a cutting motion with his fingers.
“…or use this footage to completely finish Han Theo off.”
He then pulled up the school violence exposé about Han Theo that had been posted on the Community Site.
“If that exposé hadn’t surfaced, I wouldn’t be considering something this extreme. But… right now, the public wants to see Han Theo destroyed beyond recovery.”
Han Theo was standing at the edge of a cliff.
And Jang Hyuk-soo was staring at the precariously balanced Han Theo, wrestling with the decision.
‘Should I push him? Or should I hold back?’
If it had been anyone else, he would’ve pushed without hesitation.
But Han Theo was the trainee who had held the center position in the program’s theme song—a deeply symbolic figure.
So while Jang Hyuk-soo was enjoying the situation, he couldn’t easily shake off a nagging sense of unease.
‘Well, the answer’s already decided anyway….’
Giving the public what they want is how you make a program succeed.
Jang Hyuk-soo began editing the footage rapidly.
He planned to finish editing as quickly as possible and insert it before Episode 8 aired.
“Um, sir.”
Just as he was picking up the pace of his editing.
The Female PD, who had been keeping quiet until now, called out to Jang Hyuk-soo.
“What? If you’re leaving for the day, don’t bother me and just go. I’m busy.”
Jang Hyuk-soo furrowed his brow and spoke curtly.
But the Female PD paid no attention and thrust her phone toward him.
“Take a look at this.”
“What is it?”
Jang Hyuk-soo raised his eyebrows and took the phone.
On the phone screen was a photo of a young child with bright blonde hair mixed with deep brown tones.
“What is this….”
Jang Hyuk-soo narrowed his eyes and examined the photo slowly.
Against the backdrop of an orchard bathed in crimson light, a boy who appeared to be around six years old held an apple as large as his own face and beamed with joy.
With one front tooth missing, he looked even more endearing.
As he swiped to the side, the next photo appeared.
The next photo was taken on the living room sofa.
The same boy from before was perched halfway on his grandfather’s lap, gazing up at the old man’s face.
Whatever amusing thing the grandfather had said, the child’s eyes—clear to the point of transparency—sparkled as he laughed.
‘How cute… wait, that’s not the point. Who is this child anyway? A child actor or a kid model?’
Jang Hyuk-soo tilted his head in confusion but couldn’t tear his eyes from the phone screen.
The background of the next photo was a school.
The boy, now noticeably taller, wore a hoodie and was chattering with a friend in the school hallway.
The boy’s expression was quite serious, while his friend beside him was laughing with his hand on his stomach.
‘Han Theo…?’
Jang Hyuk-soo finally realized who the boy in the photo was.
His hand flipping through the photos accelerated.
The next photo was a group shot taken while eating lunch with friends.
Everyone was smiling at the camera, but Han Theo was captured with his mouth full of food.
His friends were pointing at Han Theo and laughing, while Han Theo, his eyes wide open, looked at the camera with a bewildered expression.
The friend on Han Theo’s right was Latino, and the friend on his left was Black.
“Hmm….”
Recalling the school violence exposé post, Jang Hyuk-soo pressed his lips firmly together.
Just as the exposé had claimed, there didn’t appear to be many Asian students, but there was no atmosphere of exclusion or distance based on race.
“Who uploaded these photos….”
After reviewing all the photos, Jang Hyuk-soo asked the Female PD.
The Female PD showed him the post that had been uploaded along with the photos before he could even finish speaking.
[My friend and I are not racists. You are the racist.
My friend and I are not racists. You are the racist.]
Han Theo’s high school classmate had come forward with a direct rebuttal.

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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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