The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut Chapter 28

It wasn’t surprising that I recognized the face of the Winter Boys fansite master.

 

‘Because it’s a familiar face.’ 

 

The Winter Boys fansite master had come to see Seo Yijae from the production presentation to the 1st evaluation, the 2nd evaluation, the 3rd evaluation… all the way to the final live broadcast.

 

“She must be your fan, Yijae Hyung.” 

 

“….”

 

At my question, Seo Yijae nodded with a complex expression.

 

‘How can an idol wear that kind of face in front of a fan?’ 

 

Seeing Seo Yijae’s expression, I swallowed a sigh.

 

“Then greet her. Say hello.”

 

“No, I….”

 

“Come on, smile, smile. How about a cheek heart? I’m sure she’ll love it.”

 

I grabbed the arm of the awkwardly standing Seo Yijae and lifted it.

 

Coming to his senses a bit, Seo Yijae worked hard to make hearts as I instructed.

 

The Winter Boys fansite master snapped photos of me and Seo Yijae with her telephoto camera.

 

“Let’s go now.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Thinking we had taken enough photos, I pointed toward where Yoo Sung and Okada Hiro were.

 

Seo Yijae followed quietly behind me like a baby bird following its mother, then suddenly spoke up.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Don’t mention it.”

 

I replied with a playful smile.

 

Seo Yijae also seemed to feel a bit more at ease, as he gave a small smile.

 

*    *    *

 

The production presentation ended.

 

One by one, reviews of the production presentation began to appear on SNS and community sites.

 

[[HOT] EKI Production Presentation Review 

Kim Chowol’s face. 

The end.] 

└? 

└What is this? 

└Who the hell is Kim Chowol, you nerd? 

└Isn’t that the trainee whose preview was posted by Kim Junwoo’s fansite master during the 1st evaluation? 

└I get Han Theo and Yoo Sung, but Kim Chowol’s face? He’s handsome, but is it enough for a review like this to be posted? 

└It’s obviously bait lol. 

└Still, the preview posted by Milky Way was pretty decent? 

└That’s just the power of editing. Next.

 

[I came to the ICD production presentation, and who is this guy? 

He’s literally glowing by himself. I’m asking because I don’t know anyone besides Han Theo and Yoo Sung.

Can someone tell me? 

(Photo) 

RT 321 ♥ 589] 

└Isn’t that Kim Chowol? 

└Kim Chowol? Who’s that? 

└You know that team that beat Han Teo in the 1st evaluation. I think that team was Kim Chowol’s guild. 

└But he’s handsome lol. What’s his name? Kim Chowol?

 

Kim Chowol became famous once for being the guild that beat Han Theo, and twice for the preview posted by Milky Way.

 

Even if it wasn’t to the extent of Han Theo and Yoo Sung, seven out of ten people would nod their heads if you mentioned “the team that beat Han Theo” or “the Kim Junwoo fansite master’s preview.”

 

Among those interested in EX-class K-POP Idol, of course.

 

[[NEW] Honestly, in person, 

Kim Chowol was insane lol. 

If you disagree, you’re wrong.] 

└If you went to the production presentation, you can’t disagree lol. Kim Chowol’s real-life visuals are incredible. Photos don’t do him justice;; 

└Agreed. Han Theo and Yoo Sung are handsome too, but Kim Chowol is just…. It’s not just his face, it’s his vibe? He has a charm that draws you in the more you look at him. 

└God, I’m sick of hearing about Kim Chowol;; Looking at the photos, he’s not even that handsome. Stop the hype. 

└Can’t you read? I said “in person”;; If you’re so salty, you should’ve gone to the production presentation yourself.

 

Following the production presentation, SNS and communities were buzzing because of Kim Chowol.

 

Most reactions were positive, but there were many negative ones as well.

 

[Honestly, no matter how much of a visual king Kim Chowol is in person, how can he even be compared to Han Theo?] 

 

[Han Theo is the EKI center lol. He’s the face of the program. How can you compare him to some random trainee who has nothing special about him;;] 

 

[I’ll acknowledge Yoo Sung, but Kim Chowol is a no lol.]

 

Sensing a threat, Han Theo’s fans began to target Kim Chowol.

 

No matter how famous Kim Chowol had become, it wasn’t to the level of Han Theo, the center of HUNT THE STAGE.

 

Kim Chowol’s fans couldn’t say a word and were being one-sidedly pummeled by Han Teo’s fans.

 

Just as public opinion on Kim Chowol was starting to sour due to the attacks from Han Teo’s fans, Milky Way posted a preview.

 

[Milky Way @milkyway_KJW 

XX.XX.XX Production Presentation Preview 

#EXclassKPOPIdol #KimChowol #KIMCHOWOL] 

└? Why is he so handsome? 

└Is that really Kim Chowol? He’s seriously good-looking. 

└Han Theo, Yoo Sung, Kim Chowol. Let’s go.

 

Along with the 1st evaluation preview, which was still being consistently retweeted, the production presentation preview began to be shared as well.

 

[[HOT] I wasn’t interested in EKI,

but Kim Chowol? 

I saw the production presentation preview on SNS and he seems pretty good ㅎㅎㅎ 

He’s my type.] 

└I looked him up after seeing the preview, and there are so many people trashing him. 

└Eh, really? Why? Did he cause some scandal? 

└Don’t you know? Han Theo’s fans were bashing him like crazy. 

└That’s just them trying to sabotage a rival lol. Han Theo’s fans swarm and harass any trainee who looks even slightly better than Han Theo lol. 

└The 1st episode hasn’t even aired yet and the over-investment is insane lol. If you’ve got nothing better to do, just wash your feet and go to sleep.

 

Fans who became interested in EX-class K-POP Idol after seeing Kim Chowol’s preview began to strike back at Han Theo’s fans.

 

However, Han Theo’s fans, who were numerous and strongly united, were by no means an easy opponent.

 

[When did we ever swarm and harass anyone? We only said something because Kim Chowol’s fans started it by saying Kim Chowol is better than Han Theo lol.] 

 

[Don’t you know that if a hundred people say one word, it becomes a hundred words? Besides, we never said Kim Chowol was better than Han Theo, okay?] 

 

[Wow, the gaslighting is legendary lol. Then what was that I saw? If you’re going to do comparisons, do it on a private account so it doesn’t show up in searches. Posting with Han Theo’s full name on a public account is just asking us to see it, isn’t it?] 

 

[You really have to hand it to Han Theo’s fans for their double standards. Han Theo’s fans were the ones cursing out Kim Chowol without search-prevention, but they’re telling us to use it lol.]

 

Kim Chowol’s fans fought back desperately against Han Theo’s fans.

 

Public opinion kept shifting, tilting toward Kim Chowol one moment and Han Teo the next.

 

People who were fans of neither watched the fight with excitement, adding a word or two depending on which way the wind blew.

 

In the midst of this fierce battle that seemed like it would never end, a new post appeared on a community site.

 

[[NEW] Sharing a wholesome story about trainee Kim Chowol] 

 

The fight began to flow in a new direction because of that single post.

 

*    *    *

 

After the production presentation ended, I kept checking SNS and community sites.

 

The impact of Appearance A+ and Charm EX was beyond imagination.

 

My recognition soared in an instant, and my buzz volume was nearly on par with Han Teo’s.

 

However, becoming famous all of a sudden usually causes trouble; I had been firmly marked by Han Theo’s fans.

 

‘Honestly, this isn’t bad.’

 

It would have been a problem if I were a bad person who deserved to be stoned by the entire nation.

 

But my “crimes” were things like “the crime of getting more attention than Han Theo,” “the crime of threatening Han Theo’s position,” and “the crime of upsetting Han Teo’s fans,” so no one besides Han Theo’s fans really cared.

 

‘It’s good that recognition and buzz volume are going up, anyway.’

 

There’s a saying that watching a fight is the most fun thing in the world.

 

The more my fans and Han Teo’s fans fought, the more onlookers gathered, and along with them, my and Han Teo’s recognition and buzz volume were skyrocketing like crazy.

 

‘I do feel a bit sorry that the fans seem to be suffering, though.’

 

I thought while watching the fans who fought night and day to protect me. 

 

However, once Episode 1 airs, content will pour out in heaps and there won’t even be time to fight. 

 

I just had to endure a little longer until then.

 

“By the way… what’s this wholesome story?” 

 

While checking community sites, I discovered a post titled ‘Sharing a wholesome story about trainee Kim Chowol’. 

 

Just a moment ago there were only four comments, but when I refreshed, it had jumped to fifteen.

 

I checked the post immediately.

 

[[HOT] Sharing a wholesome story about trainee Kim Chowol 

 

Hello, I am a Winter Boys fansite master. 

Some of you might know Winter Boys, but I think most of you won’t. 

Because Winter Boys were a flop group. 

The group disbanded a long time ago, and most of the members have left the entertainment industry. 

However, our youngest… Seo Yijae decided to appear on EX-class K-POP Idol to achieve the idol dream he couldn’t finish. 

Honestly, my worry outweighed my support. 

Because I know that while my presence could be a strength for Yijae, it could also be a burden. 

Nevertheless, I couldn’t suppress my desire to see him, so I went to this production presentation. 

Sure enough, Yijae was so startled to see me he could barely breathe. 

Just as I was thinking I shouldn’t have come and should have just supported him from home… Trainee Kim Chowol appeared. 

Even though it must have been uncomfortable to take care of our Yijae, who is older and a far senior, Trainee Kim Chowol took great care of him without showing any sign of it. 

Thanks to him, I saw my favorite idol’s smiling face for the first time in a long while. 

I’m writing this out of a feeling of pity because it seems Trainee Kim Chowol is being bashed for ridiculous reasons. 

It was only for a brief moment, but the Trainee Kim Chowol I saw was a truly kind and good trainee. Please don’t hate him too much, and I’d be grateful if you could support him.] 

└Holy crap ㅠㅠ I cry when I see stuff like this ㅠㅠ I’m hearing of Winter Boys for the first time but I really support them! 

└I didn’t understand why Kim Chowol was being bashed in the first place. 

└Why are Han Theo’s fans playing the victim already? The 1st episode hasn’t even aired, so I hope they tone it down. 

└Winter Boys? The Winter Boys I know? 

└Winter Boys? Are they famous? 

└Wasn’t that actor, Hwang Minwoo, from Winter Boys? 

└Ah, I remember. Isn’t that the idol group that failed because their agency CEO was a crazy concept-maniac who only let them make comebacks in the winter? 

└Holy crap… what a throwback lol. He’s such a distant senior, seeing him take care of him, Kim Chowol must really have a good personality. 

└He was sticking close to Yoo Sung a lot, too. 

└Yoo Sung? Isn’t he sticking to him because Yoo Sung is popular? 

└If he was thinking about popularity, would he have taken care of a flop group? 

└I think he’s just close with Yoo Sung because they were on the same team? And he’s not only with Yoo Sung. He was also with that foreigner, who is he? He was with him constantly. 

└Foreigner? Ah… you mean that cute-looking Japanese guy? 

└Yeah, seems like Kim Chowol speaks some Japanese. 

└He’s talented ㄷㄷ

 

Oh…?

 

Checking the post, I quickly scanned the comments that were increasing in real-time.

 

[[NEW] Seriously, stop the forced hatred against Kim Cho-wol 

I’m not a Kim Chowol fan, but what did he do wrong that you’re so desperate to tear him down? How bad must the forced-hate be for a fan of another trainee to step up and defend Kim Chowol lol. 

Keep it in moderation, seriously, it’ll all come back to you guys] 

└Agreed. I feel so bad for Kim Chowol… his only crime was being a visual king in person. 

└Han Theo’s fans are seriously over the top ㄷㄷ;; I liked Han Teo a little but I’ve turned against him because of his fans lol. 

└Seeing Kim Chowol take care of his teammates, you can tell he has a good personality. Don’t bash a kid who’s working hard for no reason, seriously.

 

As people began to take my side one by one, Han Teo’s fans began to lay low.

 

They belatedly realized that their actions might have a negative impact on Han Teo.

 

—Ding.

 

The familiar notification sound rang in my ears, and the status window appeared before my eyes.

 

[You have cleared a Hidden Quest.] 

 

[Hidden Quest: Be mentioned more than 100,000 times by people. 

*Includes pet names and nicknames. 

*Online mentions on SNS, community sites, etc., are also tallied. 

Reward: 1 Trait Selection Ticket]

 

I had emerged victorious in the first fandom war.