The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut – Chapter 10

Author: rolypoly

I wasn’t particularly good at studying.

I had no interest in it, and I had no time for it either.

I thought it was much better to practice for even a single minute more during the time I would spend studying.

However, even someone like me studied foreign languages diligently.

The reason was simple.

‘To succeed as an idol.’

The globalization of K-POP had reached a mature stage, to the point where it was rare for a newly debuting idol group to have all Korean members.

Agencies were now scrambling to find outstanding K-POP talent not just nationwide, but worldwide, and they paid a lot of attention to the foreign language education of Korean members for overseas expansion.

The agency where I spent my 5 years as a trainee was no different.

The agency hadn’t produced many major idols, but their foreign language education was so good that all K-POP fans acknowledged it.

In order to debut, and to succeed as a global K-POP idol after debuting, I attended foreign language classes without fail.

Of course, taking classes diligently and conversing well with foreigners are two different things.

There was another reason I became proficient in foreign language conversation.

“えっ、なんでわかったんだよ？ (Uh, how did you know?)”

“顔見たらすぐわかるって。 (I can tell just by looking at your face.)”

To Okada, who asked in bewilderment, I lied through my teeth without a second thought.

How would I know just by looking?

The reason I could converse fluently in Japanese, and the reason I knew Okada’s circumstances, were entirely thanks to the experiences of my previous regressions.

By the time the regression had repeated about twenty times, my sanity began to break down.

The early regressions were bearable.

Because it was fun to see the reactions of people around me and the situations change as my singing and dancing skills improved.

However, that was only for a short while.

Endlessly repeating regressions.

The same faces, the same words, the same days…

Honestly, it would be strange not to go crazy.

But I couldn’t go crazy.

Because I couldn’t go crazy, I constantly found ways to keep myself from going crazy, and one of them was studying foreign languages.

I needed a change.

And studying foreign languages was the means to create that change.

‘こんにちは。 (Hello.)’

‘あれ、日本語話せる？ (Oh, you can speak Japanese?)’

‘ちょっとね。勉強中だよ。 (A little bit. I’m learning.)’

Okada Hiro was one of the trainees I approached to learn a foreign language.

To summarize about Okada in one sentence, he was an ‘unremarkable trainee with decent skill and a kind personality.’

He had placed 65th because he ruined the stat evaluation stage, but if he displayed 100% of his original skill, he could sufficiently aim for 30th place.

His personality was timid, but he was deeply considerate and hated becoming a burden or causing trouble for others, so he worked hard at everything.

His skills weren’t bad, and his personality was good.

And his final ranking was 65th, making him eligible to be recruited as a guild member.

One might wonder why I didn’t recruit such a fine trainee as a guild member.

However, there was a fatal problem with recruiting Okada as a guild member.

‘Out of the dozens of regressions I went through, Okada dropped out in the middle except for a few times.’

Recruiting a trainee who could drop out at any moment as a guild member carried too much risk.

But even without recruiting him as a guild member, I could still use him.

‘Let’s see, the closest camera is… perfect.’

Confirming the camera’s location, I grinned inwardly.

An idol’s main job is singing and dancing, but they must never show their foolishness.

Because a foolish idol becomes the target of mockery and criticism.

On the contrary, a smart idol gains the favor of fans and the public.

By showing myself conversing with a foreign trainee, I could instill the image of a smart trainee in the public, and buzz would naturally follow.

If there was a way to raise my rank even a little, I had to use it, whatever it was.

Even if that was a method of utilizing an innocent foreign trainee.

“さっきダンス先生が言ってたこと教えようか？ (Want me to tell you what the dance teacher said earlier?)”

“本当に？ (Really?)”

When I nodded, Okada jumped up with his eyes sparkling.

“ダンスブレイクが始まる時のステップの部分なんだけど…。 (About the step part when the dance break starts…)”

I explained the trainer teacher’s words along with clumsy gestures.

Honestly, even though we could communicate, my dance stat was so abysmal that I wasn’t sure if he would understand it well or not.

But Okada nodded his head vigorously up and down, listening intently to my explanation.

“どう？全部理解できた？理解できないところがあれば、もう一度教えてあげるよ。 (How is it? Did you understand everything? If there’s any part you don’t understand, I’ll explain it again.)”

“いいえ。全部理解できました。ありがとうございます。 (No. I understood everything. Thank you.)”

When I asked back, panting slightly, Okada smiled brightly and said.

Before I talked to him, his face looked as if he was carrying all the depression in the world.

I approached him to use him, but seeing him so happy pricked my conscience a bit.

“Then I’m going to practice…”

Building a connection is good, but forming cliques should be avoided.

Just as I was about to leave after finishing my business.

“Hyung.”

Okada called out, stopping me.

Because of his pronunciation, it sounded more like ‘hyong’ than ‘hyung’.

“What…?”

“あ、私、何か変なこと言っちゃいましたか？合ってないですか？ (Uh, did I say something wrong? Is it incorrect?)”

“合ってるけど…。 (It’s correct, but…)”

I’m twenty, and he’s nineteen, so it wasn’t weird for him to call me hyung.

The reason I was flustered was that I thought Okada was calling me hyung too fast.

I became close with Okada about five times across all regressions.

Like a Japanese person sensitive to titles, at first he called me ‘Kim-san,’ and then once we got a little close, he called me ‘Hyung’ with clumsy pronunciation.

And it wasn’t like that in every regression we got close in.

In some regressions, he called me ‘Kim-san’ until the very end.

“いいえ。好きに呼んでいいよ。それで… 岡田? (No. Call me whatever you like. So… Okada?)”

“ヒロと呼んでください！ (Please call me Hiro!)”

Even dropping honorifics this quickly?

Dropping honorifics, or ‘yobisute’, is a Japanese cultural custom where one calls someone by their first name without adding honorific suffixes like ‘-san’, and is not allowed unless they are very close.

In all the regressions where I got close to Okada, I called him by his surname, Okada.

Did I ever call him Hiro…? I couldn’t remember well.

Anyway, what’s important right now is the reason Okada is acting friendly toward me.

I thought about it carefully, but I couldn’t understand why Okada was being so friendly.

‘Building a connection is good, but forming cliques should be avoided…’

Being mindful of the camera’s direction, I answered.

“そうか… わかった。ヒロ。 (Riiiight… I get it. Hiro.)”

If I refused yobisute here, I could become a racist who discriminates against foreign trainees.

Are you thinking I’m being too extreme?

Jang Hyuksoo is the main PD; this level of thinking isn’t even that extreme.

In one regression, I even became a psychopathic serial killer.

“Yes, Hyung!”

Whether he knew I had reluctantly accepted yobisute or not, Okada smiled brightly and answered in Korean.

“今日は本当にありがとうございます。この恩は必ず返します。 (Thank you so much for today. I will definitely repay this favor.)”

“いや、気にしなくていいよ。 (No, you don’t need to worry about it.)”

Despite my refusal, Okada didn’t give up.

Okada took a step closer to me and said.

“いいえ！絶対に、絶対に！恩返しします！ (No! Definitely, definitely! I will repay you!)”

I said it’s really fine…

Through his long, fluffy hair, I saw Okada’s sparkling eyes.

Am I being punished for thinking of using Okada?

The winner and loser of this battle had already been decided.

“じゃあ、期待しているよ。 (Then I’ll look forward to it.)”

“Yes!”

Satisfied with my answer, Okada nodded his head.

‘It’s really hard to take 1st place…’

I sighed inwardly.

* * *

Both the dance and vocal lessons were finished.

After eating dinner and returning to the practice room, I checked the clock and it was 10 PM.

PD Jang Hyuksoo opened up the practice rooms saying we could practice freely from now until morning, but most of the trainees, exhausted from the filming and lessons that continued since morning, returned to the dorms.

However, I remained alone in the spacious practice room and continued practicing.

“Let’s sleep when we’re dead, when we’re dead….”

Because seeing the abysmal stats on my status window chased away any sleep that was coming.

In order to become a producer’s pick, the most important things are the narrative and the character, but if the basic skill doesn’t back it up, no matter how attractive the narrative and character are, you cannot debut.

And the ‘hardworking trainee’ character I established wasn’t a character that could gain favor simply by working hard.

Hard work must unconditionally be followed by results.

If there are no results, people feel frustrated and eventually inwardly think pathetic of a trainee who yields no results despite their efforts.

I remained alone in the practice room and kept practicing.

One hour, two hours, three hours…

“Hah, haah…”

I lay on the practice room floor and exhaled.

I simply rolled my eyes to check the clock hanging on the wall.

[2:31 A.M]

‘Status window’

As I recalled the status window in my mind, it appeared before my eyes.

[Basic Stats

Vocal: D+

Dance: D-

Appearance: B+

Charm: B]

‘F*ck…’

It really won’t go up.

Checking the stats that hadn’t changed a bit, I chewed out a curse inwardly.

‘I didn’t think it would go up easily, but to think it wouldn’t go up this much…’

The stats I barely managed to achieve through dozens of regressions were Vocal S, Dance A+, Appearance A, and Charm S-, so expecting them to go up after practicing for just a few hours was nonsense in itself.

‘Isn’t there any way?’

Blankly staring at the ceiling, I rolled my brain hard, but nothing came to mind.

My body felt sluggish, and with my mind in a complex state, sleep began to creep in.

‘Ah, I shouldn’t sleep… Sleep when I’m dead… sleep when I’m…’

My consciousness snapped.

A floating sensation, as if drifting in mid-air, dominated my entire body.

How much time had passed.

Just as I was enjoying my own quiet and peaceful world.

“Hey.”

I heard a voice calling me.

“Hey, Kim Chowol.”

Who is it?