The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 87

—————
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 (87)
Eight o’clock the next morning.
I forced my drowsy eyes open and stared intently at the translucent window hovering before me.
[Name: Yoo Sung
Age: 20]
[Basic Stats
Vocal: A+
Dance: S
Appearance: A+
Charm: A-]
The translucent window was none other than Yoo Sung’s stat window.
“Hmm….”
After staring at Yoo Sung’s stat window for a long moment, I closed it and pulled up another.
[Name: Kim Chowol
Age: 20]
[Basic Stats
Vocal: B
Dance: B-
Appearance: A-
Charm: A-]
This stat window was my own.
My Vocal stat had risen from B- to B, and my Dance stat had climbed from C+ to B-.
Considering both stats had been D-grade just a month ago, this represented remarkable progress.
‘But Yoo Sung’s Vocal and Dance stats are A+ and S.’
Our Appearance and Charm stats are comparable, though….
Looking purely at stats, I’m essentially a downgraded version of Yoo Sung.
It’s impossible to elevate my Vocal and Dance to Yoo Sung’s level in just two hours.
The only stat where I might have a fighting chance….
‘It has to be Charm, doesn’t it?’
Charm is the most critical stat for a center, after all.
‘But how do I raise my Charm stat in just two hours?’
I tilted my head to the side, lost in thought.
Charm was the most difficult of the four basic stats to improve.
‘I don’t even know how to raise it in the first place.’
Vocal and Dance improve through practice. Appearance improves through diet and grooming. But Charm?
How could I possibly cultivate Charm?
Or rather… is Charm even something that can be cultivated?
“It all comes down to items, then.”
Tick, tick.
Time continued its relentless march while I wrestled with the problem.
In the end, I had no choice but to take another gamble.
[Hidden Quest cleared.]
[Hidden Quest: Have your name mentioned by people over 5 million times.
*Nicknames and aliases are included.
*Online mentions on SNS and Community Sites are also counted.
Reward: Item Draw Ticket (A) x1]
I still had the reward from a Hidden Quest I’d cleared back when I was too busy dealing with the Han Theo situation.
An A-grade Item Draw Ticket!
‘Use Item Draw Ticket.’
The moment I used the ticket, a spinning wheel appeared before my eyes.
True to its A-grade status, it displayed rainbow and gold sections that hadn’t appeared on the B-grade wheel.
―Whirrrr
The wheel began to spin.
‘Please, rainbow, or at least gold….’
The frantically spinning wheel gradually slowed, coming to rest between the silver and gold sections.
The wheel vanished instantly, and the drawn item materialized before me.
“This is….”
It was an item with a familiar name.
[Charm Potion+]
Charm Potion…!
It was definitely a B+-grade item that boosted Charm stats to EX-grade.
‘I got some good use out of this item during the Production Presentation.’
But… wasn’t the effect supposed to last only around a dozen hours?
If I used the item, securing the center position wouldn’t be difficult.
But if I performed significantly worse than Yoo Sung on the actual stage, I might face serious backlash instead.
People would say some incompetent guy took the center spot.
“What should I do…. Wait, hold on.”
Then I suddenly felt something off.
I furrowed my brow and examined my status window.
“It’s not Charm Potion… it’s Charm Potion Plus?”
I belatedly noticed the ‘+’ symbol attached next to Charm Potion.
I steadied my racing heart and calmly read through the item’s grade and description.
“This is….”
* * *
“Ugh… I’m absolutely exhausted.”
The Vocal Trainer, looking worn out, let out a heavy sigh as he entered the Filming Set.
The familiar faces of the judges were already gathered at the Filming Set.
“I thought there was no filming today and kept drinking until yesterday morning… what kind of sudden disaster is this.”
The Vocal Trainer grumbled as he flopped into a chair.
A faint smell of alcohol wafted from the Vocal Trainer, suggesting his claim about drinking until yesterday morning wasn’t an exaggeration.
“It was decided on such short notice, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”
The Dance Trainer tried to placate the Vocal Trainer as he spoke.
The Vocal Trainer ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and shot back.
“So… you’re saying the center will be decided by vote?”
Yesterday afternoon, the judges received an urgent call from the EX-Grade K-POP Idol Production Team.
Apparently, the trainees had decided to vote on who would be center, and they wanted to capture the judges’ reactions as well.
“Wasn’t the center supposed to be decided among the trainees themselves? Whether they vote or not, what does it have to do with us?”
“Well… it seems like it’s a more formal voting process than expected. One of the trainees suggested it.”
“A trainee?”
“Yes. They want everyone—whether they want to do it or not—to perform the center part once, and then vote on who suits the center position best.”
“Hmm….”
The Vocal Trainer’s expression, which had been grumbling and irritated, went blank.
“I naturally assumed Jang Hyuk-soo suggested this. Once that guy gets fixated on something, he bulldozes it through. But a trainee came up with this….”
The Vocal Trainer paused for a moment before continuing.
“That kid’s got something special.”
“It was Kim Chowol’s idea.”
“Kim Chowol? I didn’t know he had this kind of cunning. Either way, impressive. He’s got the ability to escalate things.”
As the Vocal Trainer’s irritation subsided, the Dance Trainer changed the subject.
“Did you hear about the team composition? Who do you think will be center?”
“Obviously Sung-i and Han Theo, right?”
The Vocal Trainer crunched on a peppermint candy for his hangover as he spoke.
“Whether it’s visuals or skill, there’s no trainee who can match these two. If Sung-i and Han Theo were on the same team, things might be different….”
The other judges nodded at the Vocal Trainer’s words.
Honestly, it was a problem with far too obvious an answer.
Unless it was a special circumstance like resolving a commission, it wouldn’t be easy for anyone to take the center position away from Yoo Sung and Han Theo.
“I think Kim Chowol will be center.”
That’s when Kim Junwoo, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
Not just the Vocal Trainer, but all the other judges’ eyes widened in surprise.
“What, Kim Chowol?”
“Well, Kim Chowol has improved a lot, but comparing him to Yoo Sung and Han Theo is still….”
“Right, right. Junwoo, you can’t show favoritism just because you did a cover stage together. Judges must always be fair.”
Despite the Vocal Trainer’s point, Kim Junwoo simply shrugged indifferently.
“When did I ever show favoritism? I’m just sharing my opinion.”
“No… we’re not ignorant of Kim Chowol’s abilities either.”
“And what’s wrong with showing a little favoritism?”
“What?”
At Kim Junwoo’s brazen declaration of favoritism, the judges’ eyes widened as far as they possibly could.
“We can’t even vote anyway. We’re just here today to get your reactions.”
“Well, that’s true….”
The decision of center rested entirely on the trainees’ votes.
“And ultimately, the public decides who debuts and who gets eliminated.”
Unlike the production team, which manipulated public opinion through editing and direction, the judges had far fewer tools at their disposal.
At best, they could offer a bit more praise to a trainee they liked, or watch an extra lesson or two.
Besides, with filming nearly complete at this point, how much could really change even if a judge showed favoritism toward one trainee?
“You’ve had your eye on Kim Chowol since the early stages of filming, after all.”
The Dance Trainer tried to ease the awkward atmosphere.
But contrary to his expectations, Kim Junwoo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Me?”
“Yes… or am I wrong? I thought you were paying close attention starting from the Stats Evaluation Stage.”
The other judges nodded in agreement.
Kim Junwoo fell silent for a long moment, lost in thought.
“Well, now that you mention it, I suppose that might be true.”
If I hadn’t liked Kim Chowol from the start, I wouldn’t have given him composer Jiyu’s contact information.
I wouldn’t have arranged that special cover stage either.
“Anyway, no matter how stubborn you are, my opinion won’t change. The center is Sung-i and Han Theo!”
“When did I ever insist on anything?”
Kim Junwoo shook his head with a bewildered expression.
“I don’t think Kim Chowol is lacking either, but if he’s competing against Yoo Sung and Han Theo, the center position would be quite difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“I agree. If Kim Chowol had been on a different team than Yoo Sung, there might have been a chance.”
Kim Junwoo stared blankly at the judges chattering excitedly among themselves before suddenly blurting out:
“Want to make a bet?”
“Pardon? A bet…?”
“Yes. A bet.”
Kim Junwoo ignored the flustered judges and continued calmly.
“Let’s see if we can guess who the center will be.”
“Now that’s a good idea!”
Among the hesitant judges, the Vocal Trainer suddenly jumped to his feet and exclaimed.
“But if we’re going to bet, we need stakes. What should we put up?”
“S-Senior!”
“Well, as long as it’s nothing illegal, I don’t mind.”
“No, you too, Junwoo!”
The other judges tried to stop the Vocal Trainer.
But Kim Junwoo laughed and egged him on.
“Alright then. If I win, get my artists some featuring next time.”
“Sure.”
“For free.”
“Were you planning to pay me?”
“Ha! You really are something special sometimes, Junwoo.”
The Vocal Trainer burst into delighted laughter.
He seemed confident in his own victory.
“But if I win instead….”
However, Kim Junwoo harbored not the slightest intention of losing.
If he’d thought defeat was inevitable from the start, he wouldn’t have proposed a wager in the first place.
“Vote for me.”
“Huh? Vote?”
“Yes. During the live broadcast stage, for Kim Chowol.”
The other judges were taken aback by this unexpected condition.
“Don’t just vote yourself—contact everyone from your close acquaintances to distant relatives and get them all to vote for me.”
“Hey, I have my pride too!”
“If I win, there’s no problem, right?”
Kim Junwoo shrugged as he spoke.
His expression and gesture were so infuriating that the Vocal Trainer found himself bursting out without thinking.
“Just vote then! Besides, obviously I’m going to win anyway….”
“Great. You promised?”
At that moment, a Staff Member hurried into the Filming Set.
“Oh, sorry for the wait! We’re ready to film!”

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