The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut Chapter 39

After a long time, all the trainees belonging to the Kim Chowol Guild gathered together.

 

Me, Yoo Sung, Okada Hiro, Seo Yijae, and finally, Joo Gilhyung.

 

“What should we do?”

 

At my question, everyone’s eyes turned toward Yoo Sung and Joo Gilhyung.

 

When their eyes met, the two of them snapped their heads away as if they couldn’t stand the sight of each other.

 

“Let’s give it to whoever needs it.”

 

Seo Yijae, who had been quietly observing the situation, answered instead of Yoo Sung and Joo Gilhyung.

 

“I—I think that’s a good idea too.”

 

“But… there isn’t just one person who needs it. And there’s only one potion.”

 

I lightly shook the Trait Removal Potion I had received from the MC.

 

The red liquid inside the crystal bottle sloshed with a gentle sound.

 

“Should we decide fairly with a game of rock-paper-scissors?”

 

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

 

Seo Yijae and Okada nodded vigorously, looking as though they wanted to escape this uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible.

 

“The opinions of the people involved are the most important, after all.”

 

I stared intently at Yoo Sung and Joo Gilhyung.

 

However, the two of them remained as silent as a stone, as if they were both at a loss for words.

 

“How do you want to handle it?”

 

“….”

 

“Hmm? Sung-ah, Gilhyung-ah. Say something.”

 

When I called their names in turn, Joo Gilhyung flinched as if he had seen a ghost.

 

What is with him, seriously?

 

“One of you could yield, like we did when choosing the center.”

 

I continued, looking back and forth between Yoo Sung and Joo Gilhyung.

 

“Sung-ah, if you want to yield again….”

 

“R-Rock-paper-scissors!”

 

I was about to ask Yoo Sung if he wanted to yield, but Joo Gilhyung suddenly cut me off.

 

“What?”

 

“Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors.”

 

“Well… if you say so. Sung-ah, what about you?”

 

“Rock-paper-scissors for me too.”

 

Yoo Sung nodded, seemingly having no other opinion.

 

Watching Yoo Sung and Joo Gilhyung prepare for rock-paper-scissors, I smacked my lips inwardly.

 

‘That’s a shame.’

 

Joo Gilhyung was one of the villain character types that Jang Hyuksoo liked best.

 

A trainee who was selfish but lacked the skills to back it up.

 

If Joo Gilhyung had greedily snatched the potion the moment Yoo Sung offered to yield, his image would have been ruined beyond repair.

 

Well, there was no need to be too impatient.

 

Because the narrative about Joo Gilhyung would likely start unfolding around Episode 6 of the broadcast. 

 

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

 

Rock-paper-scissors was Yoo Sung’s victory.

 

Yoo Sung immediately drank the Trait Removal Potion, and the ‘Worst Teamwork’ trait, which dropped his ranking by ten tiers, was successfully removed.

 

“We will now announce the rankings!”

 

The ranking announcement ceremony resumed.

 

Due to time constraints, the MC announced the rankings from 1st to 25th in reverse order.

 

“Next, we will announce the 21st place trainee. The 21st place trainee is… congratulations! Trainee Seo Yijae!”

 

Seo Yijae stood up and wobbled toward the stage.

 

In the Stat Evaluation, Seo Yijae had been around 13th place, I think.

 

During the theme song evaluation, he had survived until the second wave and maintained his stats.

 

Perhaps because he was an experienced veteran, while he didn’t stand out much, his overall skills weren’t bad.

 

‘What was his rank after the theme song evaluation… 17th? It dropped a bit, but Seo Yijae should be satisfied.’

 

In fact, he looked stunned, as if he couldn’t believe his current position.

 

“Now, Trainee Seo Yijae. Please share a word of gratitude with the fans who support you.”

 

“Ah….”

 

Taking the microphone from the MC, Seo Yijae’s lips quivered a few times before he finally managed to speak.

 

“Th-thank you…. To be honest, I never dreamed my name would be called today.”

 

Seo Yijae continued, his fingers fidgeting restlessly.

 

“I thought… I didn’t have any fans left to support me. Thank you so, so much…. I will work even harder from now on.”

 

After finishing his speech, Seo Yijae bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.

 

It was a short but heartfelt greeting.

 

I smiled warmly and sent a round of supportive applause toward Seo Yijae.

 

21st, 20th, 19th… as the rankings got higher, my heart began to beat faster.

 

“Next, we will announce the 12th place trainee. The 12th place trainee is… congratulations! Trainee Okada Hiro!”

 

Okada Hiro, who had been sitting in his seat, widened his eyes.

 

With an expression of pure disbelief, he pointed at himself and looked around frantically.

 

The trainees sitting around him smiled broadly and pushed him forward, practically thumping his back.

 

“え、私？マジで？ (Eh, me? Really?)”

 

Okada seemed so genuinely flustered that he didn’t even have the presence of mind to speak Korean.

 

The MC handed the microphone to Okada, who had been practically shoved onto the stage.

 

A panicked Okada fumbled with his hands a few times before finally managing to take the mic.

 

“I, I….”

 

“It’s alright, Trainee Okada Hiro. Take a deep breath… and you can speak slowly!”

 

“…Yes, thank you.”

 

In time with the MC’s hand gesture, Okada took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. 

 

‘Jang Hyuksoo is going to love both Yijae Hyung and Hiro.’

 

Jang Hyuksoo loved honest and pure reactions like those of Seo Yijae and Okada Hiro.

 

Their speeches would definitely not be edited out.

 

“I didn’t expect to receive such a h-high ranking. Thank y-you so much.”

 

Okada spoke slowly but clearly in his still awkward Korean.

 

Before I knew it, even the MC was smiling warmly at Okada.

 

After Okada took his seat, the ranking ceremony continued.

 

11th, 10th, 9th….

 

the expressions of the trainees whose names hadn’t been called began to darken.

 

‘It should be about time for me to be called….’

 

Feeling a bit anxious, I fiddled with a hangnail on my finger and stared intently at the MC.

 

“Now, only the announcement of the top four trainees remains!”

 

I tried to guess who the top four would be.

 

‘First, Han Theo and Yoo Sung are almost guaranteed. Those two are perfect in dance, song, and visuals. That leaves two spots….’

 

Could I be one of the remaining two?

 

Han Theo, Yoo Sung, Kim Chowol.

 

Didn’t there exist one person who looked blatantly out of place to anyone’s eyes? 

 

I was confident in my ability to generate buzz, but for an idol, dancing, singing, and visuals were ultimately the priority….

 

My mind was a mess.

 

“We will reveal the four trainees right now!”

 

As the MC pointed to the screen behind the stage, the display, which had been off until a moment ago, flickered to life.

 

The screen was divided into four sections.

 

And above those four divided screens, the faces of the top four trainees appeared.

 

*    *    *

 

4th place. 

 

That was the rank I recorded in the first ranking announcement ceremony.

 

‘Is it a bit ambiguous?’

 

Any other trainee would have made a huge fuss, asking how 4th place could be ambiguous and saying it was an incredibly high rank, but my goal was 1st.

 

On EX-Class K-POP Idol, a total of six trainees would debut. 

 

For me, 4th was a somewhat ambiguous rank that could mean I might not even make the debut lineup depending on what happened next.

 

‘Let’s think positively. Positively.’

 

Still, one hopeful point was that the difference in the number of Help Calls between 1st place Han Theo and 4th place me wasn’t that large.

 

It was a gap that could be overturned at any time—and conversely, one that I could overturn at any time.

 

“Good afternoon, trainees!”

 

After the ranking announcement ceremony, we had a late lunch.

 

Then, we gathered not on the stage where the ceremony was held, but in the familiar auditorium.

 

“It’s finally time to reveal the third main quest!”

 

The trainees swallowed hard and stared at the MC on the platform.

 

“But before we introduce the third main quest! There is something we must do first!”

 

Something to do?

 

The trainees, who knew nothing, tilted their heads.

 

“That is, leaving your guilds!”

 

“Ah…!”

 

The trainees belatedly recalled the explanation the MC had given when the guilds were first established.

 

‘Ah, as a side note, once the Guild Match is over, you can freely leave your guild, or even dissolve it! However, please keep in mind that if you leave or dissolve the guild, you will lose all benefits received so far and any benefits you could have received in the future!’

 

An uncomfortable tension flowed among the trainees.

 

The trainees who had formed guilds to get through the Guild Match must have been thinking the same thing.

 

‘This isn’t easy.’

 

Even if it was a trainee they were normally close to, preparing a stage together was a different matter.

 

And if they had been strangers to begin with, adjusting to each other one by one from start to finish was no easy feat.

 

The MC gave the guild members a moment to discuss.

 

I stood up and silently gestured to Yoo Sung.

 

“Are you going to leave?”

 

Settling into a corner of the auditorium, I asked Yoo Sung bluntly.

 

“You can leave if you want. I don’t mind.”

 

While some trainees were intimidated by the MC’s exaggeration, the benefits given to guild members were actually so trivial it was embarrassing to even call them benefits.

 

‘Being able to use the same dorm… and being on the same team during team matches?’

 

What else was there besides those two?

 

As I was trying to recall what else existed as guild benefits, Yoo Sung, who had been quietly looking at me from across, blurted out as if tossing the words away.

 

“Why, do you want me to leave?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I asked if you want me to leave.”

 

No, why are you asking me that?

 

Ever since reaching 100% Trust, Yoo Sung had developed a slightly strange habit of asking for my opinion first whenever anything came up. 

 

“Was I a headache?” 

 

“What?”

 

“I asked if I was a headache. I was a bit… annoying, wasn’t I?”

 

What on earth is he talking about?

 

When I tilted my head, failing to understand his words, Yoo Sung let out a heavy sigh.

 

“Haaa….”

 

“Why the sudden sigh?”

 

“You… never mind, forget it.”

 

I slowly retraced the flow of the conversation to try and understand what Yoo Sung meant.

 

“I’ve never been annoyed.”

 

“What?”

 

“You said you were annoying, but I’ve never particularly felt that way. Well, at least during the Guild Match.”

 

Yoo Sung’s eyes widened at my words.

 

“The reason I asked if you were going to leave the guild is… just because.”

 

“Just because?”

 

“You could want to leave. There are friends you like but don’t want to do group projects with, after all. I thought you might think of me that way too.”

 

“Haaa….”

 

Yoo Sung let out another deep sigh.

 

“Your luck will fly away if you keep sighing like that.”

 

“Do you think I’m in a state where I can stop myself from sighing right now?”

 

I’m the one who wants to sigh.

 

I couldn’t begin to guess why Yoo Sung was feeling so frustrated.

 

“So, are you going to leave?”

 

“I’m not, I’m not! I’m seriously going to lose my mind.”

 

“You shouldn’t swear. The cameras are here.” 

 

“Argh!”

 

In any case, thanks to Yoo Sung not leaving, the Kim Chowol Guild was able to stay together.

 

That’s good, then. That’s good.