The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 83

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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 (83)
The third ranking announcement ceremony—and the final ranking announcement for the EX-Grade K-POP Idol program—was drawing near.
At the second ranking announcement, forty out of a hundred trainees had been eliminated.
Now, at this ceremony, another forty out of sixty would fall away, leaving only twenty to stand on the final live broadcast Stage.
“I’m definitely getting cut this time, aren’t I…?”
A trainee shuffled toward the Filming Set, their fingertips trembling as they spoke.
Looking at their face, I recognized them as someone who’d barely survived the last ranking announcement with a precarious position.
“Hey, you don’t know yet. You have to wait and see. Besides, you got decent editing in the last broadcast.”
Another trainee beside them offered encouragement with a smile.
But their voice was also quivering slightly.
“If I get cut this time, I’m just going to enroll in a cram school and focus on studying. I can’t keep doing this trainee thing.”
“What? Give it a little more time. We’re still young.”
“Time flies when you’re back at the agency training. And even if I go back, there’s no guarantee I’ll ever debut.”
“I guess that’s true, but….”
The trainees spoke about their futures in hollow voices.
I understood their hearts more deeply than anyone else here—bone-deep understanding.
Because I’d once wrestled with those exact same doubts.
‘Should I focus on studying? Or learn a trade? Maybe my trainee experience could help me get hired in entertainment….’
There was a time when I believed my efforts had gone unrewarded and my dreams had crumbled.
Yet despite that, I couldn’t abandon the dream of becoming an Idol.
“Thank you for your patience!”
As I sat quietly, lost in memories of the past, the MC in formal attire flashed a bright smile toward the trainees.
“We’ll now announce the rankings!”
The atmosphere on the Filming Set was terrible.
But the MC spoke with the same bright, high-pitched tone as always.
This ranking announcement would count down from 19th place to 1st place, then finally announce the 20th place trainee.
“We’ll start with the 19th Ranked Trainee. The 19th Ranked Trainee is….”
The MC began announcing the rankings from 19th place onward.
I mentally recalled the rankings of trainees I’d grown particularly close to this round.
‘Seo Ijae was 18th at the last announcement, and Okada was 9th. And then….’
If names weren’t called relatively quickly, quite a few trainees were in danger.
Honestly, with my own fate hanging in the balance, I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about others.
But still, I couldn’t help wanting my fellow trainees—those who’d sweated through practice with me—to succeed.
“Next, we’ll announce the 12th place trainee. The 12th place trainee is… Congratulations! Seo Ijae!”
Seo Ijae’s name was called.
Seo Ijae stood up in shock, legs trembling.
The other trainees patted Seo Ijae’s back and shoulders, offering congratulations.
‘From 18th to 14th….’
There was no dramatic reversal, but the ranking was steadily climbing.
“Next, we’ll announce the 12th place trainee. The 12th place trainee is… Congratulations! Kang Hae-soo!”
Kang Hae-soo’s name was called as well.
At the second ranking announcement, I think he was ranked 22nd or 23rd.
‘It seems like it’s thanks to the Sub Quest, doesn’t it?’
When the response to the first Sub Quest, which was released over episodes 6 and 7, wasn’t bad, Jang Hyuk-soo decided to release the second Sub Quest on the Official YouTube.
At any other time, Han Theo, who was dressed formally and even took the MVP, would have monopolized the screen time, but as Jang Hyuk-soo decided to give up on Han Theo, almost all the editing focused on us.
[What? Kang Hae-soo’s fans are totally legit?]
[No, Kang Hae-soo seems like he should be a pro, not an idol. Please don’t stay here and go to the rookie draft]
[Kang Hae-soo played baseball until his first year of high school. He was apparently quite famous]
Inevitably, Kang Hae-soo’s past was revealed, but the reaction wasn’t bad.
Everyone just thought, ‘He must have had his reasons for quitting,’ or ‘It’s nice to see him working hard even after quitting baseball,’ and moved on.
After all, it wasn’t uncommon for players to have a brief moment of glory in high school and then disappear.
But at the same time, Kang Hae-soo’s and my skills became quite a topic of discussion.
[But even if Kang Hae-soo is like that, what’s the deal with Kim Chowol? His fastball is just okay, but his control is seriously insane;;]
[Kang Hae-soo, Kim Chowol! Korea’s finest baseball organization, the Busan Marines, welcomes you with open arms!]
[But seriously, not joking, why can’t we recruit you guys? Even if the rookie draft is difficult, there are tryouts too]
There were many baseball fans joking about recruiting Kang Hae-soo and me.
[Sir, just let Kang Hae-soo and Kim Chowol be idols and develop the rookies you drafted last year.]
[There are no rookies to develop, that’s why. If you draft them, they just wander around in the minor leagues for ages before retiring. What are the scouts doing?]
I swallowed hard, thinking of the baseball fans arguing on the EX-Class K-POP Idol Forum.
A joke… right?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if what baseball fans say is serious or just joking.
“Next, we’ll announce the 10th ranked trainee. The 10th ranked trainee is… Congratulations! Jung Yoo-yeol!”
I turned my head in surprise.
Jung Yoo-yeol was definitely ranked 22nd at the second ranking announcement.
Jung Yoo-yeol also hadn’t expected it, his eyes wide open.
‘The Guerrilla Stage must have gotten a good response.’
Jung Yoo-yeol had been consistently mentioned as a visual main vocalist on SNS and Community Sites, but since he didn’t seem particularly interested in debuting, his ranking was lower than expected.
However, through this Guerrilla Stage, he not only proved his skills but also skillfully secured both buzz and recognition.
“Next, we’ll announce the 7th ranked trainee. The 7th ranked trainee is… Congratulations! Han Theo!”
Gasp…!
I could hear trainees throughout the Filming Set catching their breath in surprise.
Han Theo, with an expression that revealed nothing of what he was thinking, slowly rose from his seat.
“Now, Han Theo. Please give a word of thanks to all the fans supporting you.”
The MC said, handing the microphone to Han Theo.
Han Theo, who had received the microphone, moved his lips and took a long time choosing his words.
“Is he… crying?”
One of the trainees watching Han Theo was the first to notice something odd.
Sure enough, there were tears forming at the corners of Han Theo’s eyes.
“Wow, no way. He’s really crying.”
“Is he seriously crying because he ranked 7th?”
“It’s a bit unfortunate that someone’s dropping out today.”
Everyone assumed Han Theo was crying because his ranking had fallen.
But that wasn’t it.
The Han Theo I know isn’t that kind of person….
“Th-thank you.”
Han Theo wiped his tears with his sleeve and continued speaking.
“Really, thank you so much…. I was only able to come this far thanks to all the fans who have always supported me.”
Han Theo uttered the words he must have practiced dozens—no, hundreds—of times, his voice trembling.
His hand gripping the microphone was shaking visibly.
“Thank you so much….”
After finishing his remarks, Han Theo bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
Even the trainees who had been belittling Han Theo with irritation and jealousy applauded silently with their mouths firmly closed.
As Han Theo stumbled back to his seat, the MC spoke again.
“Next, I’ll announce the 6th place trainee. The 6th place trainee is… Congratulations! Trainee Okada!”
Okada, taken aback, sprang to her feet as if launched from her chair.
She had been ranked 9th at the last ranking announcement.
Like Seo Ijae, Okada’s ranking had been steadily climbing.
This EX-Grade K-POP Idol program had experienced larger ranking fluctuations than expected.
As the program’s buzz skyrocketed, the number of votes was increasing exponentially.
At this rate, no one could predict until the very end who would make up the debut lineup.
“Now only the announcements of 1st and 2nd place remain—the top two trainees!”
The MC pointed to the display screen behind the stage.
My face and Yoo Sung’s appeared on the split screen.
I unconsciously turned my head toward where Yoo Sung was standing.
Yoo Sung was looking at me at that very moment.
We exchanged a brief, wordless glance before turning our attention back to the display screen.
“The 2nd place trainee is….”
My palms were damp with cold sweat.
The MC looked back and forth between me and Yoo Sung with a meaningful expression.
After drawing out the suspense, the name that finally escaped the MC’s lips was….
* * *
“Kim Chowol, congratulations on 2nd place!”
Okada, who had been waiting for me in front of the Dormitory, bounced over and approached me.
“Thanks. Congratulations on 6th place too.”
Okada grinned like an idiot, clearly in high spirits.
I felt somewhat conflicted.
‘It would be a lie to say I didn’t hope for 1st place….’
I recalled the vote counts between me and Yoo Sung. Fortunately, the gap was gradually narrowing.
Whether I could claim 1st place depended on the remaining broadcasts and the final live stage.
“Let’s go rest quickly.”
With the live broadcast stage looming ahead, we were granted one final break.
As I always had, I headed home with Yoo Sung and Okada.
Upon arriving, we unpacked our things, rested individually, and gathered in the living room as evening fell.
Today was the day the ninth episode of EX-Grade K-POP Idol would air.
“Hey, Kim Chowol.”
I was setting dishes on the living room table to eat dinner while watching the broadcast when Yoo Sung emerged from the kitchen with the appetizer plates and suddenly called out to me.
“What?”
“First place is your goal, right?”
“Huh?”
“Not just debuting—first place is your goal.”
“Ah… well, isn’t that everyone’s dream? First place would be nice.”
I deliberately deflected, brushing off the question vaguely.
Yoo Sung chuckled softly at my response and spoke.
“Yeah, first place would be nice.”
“Right?”
“At first, I thought if we could just debut, the ranking didn’t really matter.”
Yoo Sung continued casually, arranging three appetizer plates on the table.
“But now I’m getting a little greedy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s do our best all the way to the end.”
Yoo Sung grinned and gave my shoulder a light tap.
Without thinking, I rubbed my shoulder while staring at Yoo Sung, then replied flatly.
“Yeah.”

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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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