The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut - Chapter 9

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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 (9)
“Ch, Chowol… um….”
The Dance Trainer watching my performance faltered, unable to find words.
It was the reaction I’d anticipated.
I had confidence.
Not confidence that I’d tear up the Stage with outstanding performance and dance skill.
‘I had confidence I couldn’t.’
I’d memorized all the choreography.
To the point where someone could wake me from sleep and tell me to dance, and I could do it immediately.
But memorizing choreography and executing it flawlessly are two entirely different matters.
‘Hmm….’
Dancing to Hunt the Stage, I couldn’t help but squeeze my eyes shut.
Because my reflection in the mirror was absolutely horrifying.
I understood intellectually that it was unavoidable given my stats, but it was still unbearable to witness.
The song that seemed endless finally finished, and the Dance Trainer, snapping out of shock, finally opened his mouth.
“Th, that…! But you memorized all the choreography!”
“Yes.”
“W, well done! Impressive! You picked up the choreography quickly. Since you’ve got it all down, you just need to practice, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good work. Um… would you mind sitting over there? You can practice separately if you’d like.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I deliberately put on a dejected expression and bowed my head slightly.
I could feel the other trainees staring and whispering about me.
Go ahead, gossip all you want.
“Hmm… who has a Dance stat of C+? Oh, right. Would you come up front?”
Until the previous session, the trainer had evaluated trainees in order of ranking, but apparently my skill had shocked him so much that he began evaluating trainees in order of Dance stat instead.
‘Well. I knew this would happen.’
I’d ranked 20th simply by receiving high marks in Appearance and Charm stats.
My Dance stat from the stat evaluation Stage was D, and according to my status window it was D-, making it particularly low even among the Intermediate Class where C and D converged.
After evaluating the C+ Dance stat trainees in order, the trainer looked around the Practice Room and spoke.
“Are there any more C+ trainees? Then we’ll move on to C….”
“W, wait a moment!”
It sounded less like “wait a moment” and more like “tandiman yo.”
A trainee with fluffy brown hair raised one hand high.
A Dance C+ sticker was affixed to her chest.
“I, I’m also… C+.”
“Oh, I see. Sorry about that. I almost skipped over you! So your name is….”
“O, Okada Hiro.”
“Ah, you’re from Japan! Your Korean is quite good!”
Her pronunciation was slightly awkward, but fortunately communication was still possible.
The Dance Trainer heaved a sigh of relief and praised Okada Hiro, whose cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.
“Thank you….”
“Good, want to go next?”
“Yes…!”
As Okada Hiro took her position before the mirror, the Dance Trainer started the music as he had done countless times before.
[Boom, boom, boom….]
The intro to Hunt the Stage—repeated over ten times today alone—flowed through the Practice Room.
As the intro ended, a hybrid orchestral sound using electronic instruments exploded forth, and the full performance began.
Okada Hiro moved her hands, which had been covering her eyes, as if prying open a door.
The Dance Trainer let out a small gasp of admiration at the sharp, rhythmically precise movements.
“Oh….”
Okada Hiro glared at herself in the mirror with such intensity it seemed she might tear herself apart, and that fierce gaze and expression harmonized perfectly with the song’s atmosphere.
The other trainees practicing in the back gradually began to watch Okada Hiro.
[“In pitch-black darkness. A single ray of light illuminating my path.”]
After a 360-degree rotation came choreography requiring the upper body to move like waves.
It was intricate choreography that even trainees with a C+ Dance stat would hesitate at, but Okada Hiro spun around once as easily as breathing, then moved her upper body in time with the beat.
[“Break the stage, win the stage!”]
The dazzling dance break that followed, a 180-degree spin with a jump, advanced breaking steps, and another dance break.
There were a few moments where she stumbled slightly, but considering the song’s difficulty and practice time, it was excellent.
[Bang, crack!]
The song ended with an intense gunshot sound, and Okada Hiro breathed heavily.
By now, everyone in the Practice Room was watching Okada Hiro.
“Uh… so, Okada?”
“Yes!”
“Why are you here?”
Okada opened her already large eyes even wider, looking at the Dance Trainer.
The Dance Trainer realized his mistake too late and added to his words.
“Ah, sorry. You’re a foreign friend… did I speak too harshly? What I meant was… why are you in the Intermediate Class? You have more than enough skill for the Advanced Class. At the stat evaluation Stage, you clearly….”
The Dance Trainer’s expression darkened as he recalled Okada’s stat evaluation performance.
I understood the Dance Trainer’s reaction because I knew about Okada’s performance.
Okada had failed her stat evaluation Stage.
She had prepared a K-POP Idol song, but her pronunciation was poor enough that the lyrics kept getting slurred.
Focusing on the lyrics, she couldn’t dance properly—her specialty—and while she managed to finish without major mistakes, it still wasn’t a stellar performance.
‘Neither the singing nor the dancing was particularly impressive.’
The Dance Trainer patted the shoulders of the serious-looking Okada and spoke.
“No, it’s fine. You’ll do well going forward. You did well, Okada. Good, good!”
“Yes, thank you.”
“But your steps got a bit tangled at the start of the dance break. This part. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“And in the step section too….”
The Dance Trainer demonstrated a simple example for Okada and pointed out the parts that needed correction.
Okada stood beside the Dance Trainer, nodding repeatedly with affirmations.
“Good. That should do it. If you just fix the parts I showed you, the choreography will be fine. You can do it, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the spirit. Fighting! If anything is difficult or you don’t understand, come find me! Oh, but I can’t teach singing, so even if you come to me, I won’t be able to help with that!”
The Dance Trainer laughed heartily, and Okada’s lips curved upward in a subtle smile.
“Alright, next trainee….”
Okada bowed respectfully to the Dance Trainer before leaning against the wall of the Practice Room and sitting down.
Despite receiving praise, her expression remained troubled.
Okada exhaled a deep sigh and buried her face against her knees.
‘Okada Hiro….’
I watched her silently, lost in thought.
* * *
Okada Hiro had turned eighteen this year.
By Korean age, she was nineteen.
Though she should still be attending high school, she had dropped out last year.
With her face buried in her knees, Okada lifted her head slightly and glanced around the Practice Room.
The Dance Trainer was working with the trainees one by one, while the others diligently learned the choreography.
Okada swallowed the sigh threatening to burst out and buried her face against her knees again.
‘Korean is so difficult….’
In truth, Okada understood only about twenty percent of what the Dance Trainer said.
She could only grasp the nuance of whether something was affirmative or negative, but she couldn’t understand what was actually being discussed.
‘I want to go home….’
Okada had become interested in K-POP Idols after watching one perform on the Kohaku Uta Gassen when she was younger.
K-POP had a different charm than J-POP, and the dance performances—especially those rarely seen in Japan—were incredibly impressive.
Okada, who had always loved dancing, became captivated by the brilliant and sophisticated performances of K-POP Idols and dreamed of becoming one herself.
After pestering her parents to let her take dance lessons, auditioning at an Entertainment Agency, and finally passing, Okada began her trainee life in Korea during her first year of high school.
However, the Korean trainee life she had dreamed of unfolded differently than she had expected.
‘Ah, hello. I’m Okada Hiro from Japan.’
Okada, who had started attending Korean High School from the second semester of her first year, greeted her classmates.
Though she had prepared the greeting carefully, her unfamiliarity with Korean made her pronunciation completely slurred.
Her classmates, who had been watching her with curious eyes, exchanged glances and burst into snickers.
‘What did she just say?’
‘Was that supposed to be a greeting? The pronunciation was so weird I couldn’t understand a thing.’
‘Hey, let’s make her say that soy sauce factory manager tongue twister. It’ll be hilarious.’
Okada’s face flushed red as she became the object of ridicule.
The students’ laughter grew louder at her transparent reaction.
The trainees at her Entertainment Agency reacted no better—if anything, they were worse than her classmates.
‘How does she expect to become a K-POP Idol when she can’t even speak Korean properly….’
‘It’s because of people like this that K-POP is declining. Do you think people will like a foreigner who can’t even speak Korean?’
‘Don’t steal our opportunity. Just go back to Japan. You can be an Idol there too, right?’
Okada had been isolated at school and at her Entertainment Agency, and ultimately, her vocal skills fell short, causing her to be cut from the debut lineup.
‘Hiro. Come home now.’
‘Mom….’
Okada fell into deep contemplation.
It seemed no one in Korea wanted Okada.
Yet the words to turn back did not come easily.
‘I’ll try just a little longer.’
‘Hiro….’
‘I’m sorry, Mom.’
Okada squeezed her eyes shut and ended the call.
She had abandoned everything and come to Korea because she wanted to become a K-POP Idol.
Even after being cut from the debut lineup, as long as opportunity remained, she wanted to push forward as far as she could.
Okada decided to appear on EX-Grade K-POP Idol, thinking of it as her final chance.
But from the first day of filming, regret began to writhe in her chest.
She had botched her first Stage—the Stat Evaluation Stage—couldn’t understand a single word the MC and Judging Panel said, and even when she tried to focus hard in class, she couldn’t comprehend anything the Dance Trainer said, which crushed her motivation.
‘Should I drop out?’
Three years since Okada came to Korea.
If she had even one friend to open her heart to, it wouldn’t have been this difficult.
Okada grew increasingly exhausted, and the accumulated fatigue and stress reached their limit.
In this state, she didn’t think she could debut, and she felt she would only become a laughingstock to those watching the broadcast.
“Sigh….”
As Okada exhaled a sigh and hung her head, a trainee approached her.
‘Who is that….’
It was Kim Chowol, who had received the highest rank among the Intermediate Class dance trainees.
Because of his high rank, the Intermediate Class dance trainees viewed Kim Chowol with disfavor.
Okada felt a strange kinship with Kim Chowol, who was being ostracized, but she was in no position to concern herself with others and couldn’t step forward.
Okada stared blankly at Kim Chowol, having no idea why he was approaching her.
Kim Chowol walked up to Okada with heavy steps, stopped before her, and spoke.
“Hey. You didn’t understand anything earlier, did you?”
In this foreign land, she heard the longed-for language of her homeland.

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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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