The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut Chapter 43

At Seo Yijae’s question, none of us could say a word.

 

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

 

“Uh… no, not necessarily bad….”

 

“I know it’s bad. You don’t have to try and sugarcoat it.”

 

Seo Yijae smiled bitterly and continued.

 

“It’s just… at some point, it became like this.”

 

“What do you mean, like this?”

 

“I became someone who can’t compose or arrange anymore.”

 

At Seo Yijae’s shocking confession, the entire team, myself included, froze.

 

I carefully asked Seo Yijae.

 

“Did something… happen?”

 

“….”

 

At my question, Seo Yijae gave a bitter smile and slowly shook his head.

 

It meant he couldn’t tell me.

 

But I could roughly guess what had happened to Seo Yijae.

 

‘Winter Boys is… a song Minwoo Hyung ruined.’

 

Seo Yijae’s voice from his call with the Winter Boys member echoed in my ears.

 

‘So if I roughly piece the situation together….’

 

Hwang Minwoo ruined Winter Boys, the debut song of Winter Boys that Seo Yijae composed.

 

From that shock, Seo Yijae became unable to compose or arrange.

 

‘…Is that it?’

 

Now I understood why I couldn’t find Seo Yijae’s name in the credits of their other songs.

 

Because after Winter Boys was ruined, he couldn’t even arrange, let alone compose.

 

‘Still, it’s a bit hard to understand.’

 

Having a fellow group member ruin your song is an immensely shocking thing.

 

But it was hard to grasp how shock alone would suddenly render someone unable to compose or arrange.

 

It wasn’t as if the ability to compose and arrange grew legs and walked away.

 

Once time passed and the wounds healed, shouldn’t he be able to do it again?

 

“The yips….”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Yijae Hyungnim, you’ve developed the yips.” 

 

Kang Haesoo, who had been listening quietly, nodded as he spoke.

 

“What are the yips?”

 

“It refers to a phenomenon where people with skilled techniques, like athletes, suddenly become unable to perform movements they usually do well.”

 

Kang Haesoo, a former athlete, began to explain the yips.

 

The yips.

 

A psychological symptom where one suddenly becomes incapable of performing a specific action they normally do well.

 

It arises from psychological factors that are difficult to explain clearly, such as pressure or fear of failure.

 

“Can it be treated?”

 

“Treated….”

 

At my question, Kang Haesoo trailed off, checking Seo Yijae’s reaction.

 

“There’s no clear method of treatment.”

 

“Ah….”

 

“Because it’s fundamentally a psychological issue. Psychotherapy or imagery training can help, but they aren’t fundamental solutions.”

 

It seems treatment isn’t easy. 

 

I researched a bit more about the yips on the tablet. 

 

‘There are even professional athletes who retire without ever overcoming the yips.’

 

If Seo Yijae’s condition really was the yips….

 

‘What should we do?’

 

This didn’t just end with whether Seo Yijae could arrange Winter Boys or not.

 

Seo Yijae was our center.

 

Even if the arrangement was somehow finished, if Seo Yijae stayed in that state, we would never be able to create a good stage.

 

“It’d be better to change the center even now.” 

 

Seo Yijae said, looking at me.

 

“I’ll only be a burden on this stage.” 

 

“No.”

 

I shook my head firmly.

 

“We found out the cause of the problem, didn’t we?” 

 

“….”

 

“Now that we know the cause, all that’s left is to solve it.”

 

If it were as easy as it sounds, it would have been solved long ago.

 

Seo Yijae looked at me with eyes that said as much, but I raised my chin proudly.

 

“Hyung, just trust me.”

 

“What…?”

 

“I’ll solve it for you.”

 

“How could you….”

 

“For now, don’t worry about the arrangement and just practice! Ah, and Sung and Theo, don’t go fighting again just because I’m not here. Got it?”

 

Before Seo Yijae could hold me back, I grabbed the tablet and dashed out of the practice room.

 

Reaching a camera blind spot with hurried steps, I caught my breath and thought.

 

‘I have to solve this no matter what.’

 

Seo Yijae was one thing, but to successfully finish the stage, this issue had to be resolved.

 

Because the picture Jang Hyuksoo wanted was ‘a grown Seo Yijae showing a flawless performance of Winter Boys.’

 

‘But… how?’

 

Though I had bolted out claiming I would solve it, I was just as clueless.

 

‘First, I need to know exactly what happened.’

 

Seo Yijae seemed to have no intention of opening his mouth. 

 

Inevitably, I had to find someone else who could explain the situation.

 

‘Someone who knows the circumstances between the two, while also willing to explain it to a third party like me… hm?’

 

At that moment, someone’s name flashed through my mind.

 

‘Wasn’t there one more person in the song credits for Winter Boys besides Seo Yijae and Hwang Minwoo?’

 

There definitely was.

 

What was it again… some English letters.

 

I checked the song info for Winter Boys on the tablet I’d brought.

 

[Winter Boys

 

Lyrics: Hwang Minwoo (Winter Boys)

 

Composition: Seo Yijae (Winter Boys), Hwang Minwoo (Winter Boys), JiU

 

Arrangement: Hwang Minwoo (Winter Boys), JiU]

 

JiU… Jiwoo? Or Jiyu?

 

I immediately searched JiU on a portal site.

 

A stream of information about composer JiU popped up.

 

‘She’s a pretty famous composer?’

 

While she didn’t have many massive hits, she had worked on plenty of tracks that made you think, ‘Wait, haven’t I heard this somewhere before?’

 

‘So it’s Jiyu, not Jiwoo. This person ought to know what happened between Seo Yijae and Hwang Minwoo.’

 

How do I ask her?

 

I didn’t have a phone since I had turned it in, and even if I had a phone, I didn’t have her contact info. 

 

“It’s one obstacle after another…. Wait.” 

 

It was while I was skimming through the info about composer Jiyu on the tablet.

 

A familiar name caught my eye in an online news article.

 

[Nexus releases new song… Reunites with JiU in ‘fantastic synergy’]

 

Nexus?

 

Someone’s face flashed through my mind.

 

*    *    *

 

A self-producing idol group where the members handle most of the track work, including composing and songwriting, themselves.

 

But even for self-producing idols, they can’t do every step of the song-making process solely with the members’ power.

 

While the members might lead the overall process, the help of specialized professionals is an absolute necessity.

 

Jiyu was a composer who had collaborated for a long time with the self-producing idol group, Nexus.

 

So, I sought out Nexus.

 

“Hello, Judge Kim Junwoo.”

 

To be precise, I sought out Kim Junwoo, who belonged to Nexus.

 

‘I got lucky.’

 

Judges don’t come to the filming set unless they have lessons or evaluations.

 

But fortunately, I had overheard trainees chattering today that they saw Kim Junwoo in front of the dorm building.

 

‘I’ve really lost my mind.’

 

Seeing Kim Junwoo’s face, the thought suddenly struck me: I’m really committing an act of madness.

 

But there was no other way.

 

I needed Jiyu’s contact information, and the only way to get it right now was to ask Kim Junwoo.

 

“Trainee Kim Chowol? What brings you here?” 

 

Kim Junwoo looked a bit surprised.

 

It was understandable that he was surprised. 

 

Because the place where Kim Junwoo and I were standing was the judges’ private lounge.

 

Fortunately, there were no other judges.

 

And, of course, no cameras either.

 

“I have something I wanted to ask Judge Kim Junwoo, so I took the liberty of coming to find you despite the intrusion.”

 

I continued politely and cautiously.

 

“Judge, by any chance, do you know the composer Jiyu?”

 

“Jiyu? Ah, Jiyu Noona?”

 

Fortunately, Kim Junwoo knew Jiyu.

 

Seeing him refer to her familiarly as “Jiyu Noona,” they seemed to be quite close.

 

“Of course I know her. She worked with Nexus often. But why Jiyu Noona?”

 

“If it’s not a breach of etiquette, could I get her contact information?” 

 

“Her contact info? Jiyu Noona’s?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why?”

 

Kim Junwoo didn’t look particularly displeased.

 

But he seemed curious as to why I was suddenly asking for Jiyu’s contact information.

 

I had to answer carefully from here on.

 

“The song I was assigned this time happens to be a track Composer Jiyu participated in.”

 

“Oh, are you doing a Nexus song again?”

 

“No, Winter Boys’ Winter Boys.”

 

“Winter Boys…. Aha.”

 

Kim Junwoo seemed to be thinking, Did Jiyu Noona work on a song like that too?, but soon nodded.

 

“What about it?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“What does that have to do with anything? Are you planning to ask Jiyu Noona for advice or something?”

 

“Ah, yes….”

 

“Winter Boys… isn’t there one among the trainees too? Why didn’t you ask that guy? Does he say he doesn’t know Jiyu Noona’s contact info?”

 

Ugh.

 

Hit right where it hurt by Kim Junwoo’s words, I squeezed my eyes shut.

 

Steadying my composure and opening my eyes slowly, I saw Kim Junwoo smiling playfully.

 

‘He’s testing me.’

 

He didn’t even seem genuinely curious, just enjoying seeing me in a flustered state.

 

He really has a nasty streak deep down.

 

“Because Yijae hyung doesn’t have her contact information.” 

 

“Is that so? Well, then it can’t be helped.”

 

Kim Junwoo surprisingly let my flimsy excuse pass without fuss.

 

He didn’t seem to have any intention of interrogating me further.

 

“Still, it’s a bit much to just hand it over.”

 

“Mm….”

 

It probably would be.

 

Handing out someone’s contact info recklessly isn’t polite to Jiyu.

 

Furthermore, if word got out that Kim Junwoo gave me her contact info, it could spark a fairness controversy.

 

But Kim Junwoo didn’t seem to care much about loyalty to Jiyu or fairness toward the other trainees.

 

“It feels like I’m the only one losing out here.”

 

“What?”

 

“What is Trainee Kim Chowol going to do for me?”

 

Leaning back against the lounge sofa, Kim Junwoo asked with a grin.

 

“Is there… something I can do for you?” 

 

“Well, wouldn’t Trainee Kim Chowol have to think about that?”

 

“I mean….”

 

What could I possibly do for Kim Junwoo, who already had everything?

 

I looked Kim Junwoo up and down, from head to toe.

 

Skin so good you’d believe him if he said he was in his early twenties.

 

Tall stature and long legs that would put models to shame, boasting perfect proportions.

 

Though this was his fifteenth year since debut, his fandom was so solid that he still crisscrossed the globe on world tours.

 

Truly young and rich, tall and handsome.

 

When I couldn’t continue my words for a while, Kim Junwoo let out a soft laugh and opened his mouth first. 

 

“Are you the center this time?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“You told me during the last Guild Match. That if you got the chance, you’d definitely be center.”

 

“No. The center is Yijae Hyung.”

 

“Hmm….”

 

Kim Junwoo looked at me with probing eyes.

 

“What if.”

 

Having finished his probe, Kim Junwoo rubbed his lips with his long fingers.

 

“On the condition that I give you Jiyu Noona’s contact info….”

 

Having risen from the sofa before I knew it, Kim Junwoo walked slowly toward me.

 

Kim Junwoo pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled all the way down.

 

“I say Trainee Kim Chowol has to be the center.”

 

Kim Junwoo stopped scrolling and tapped on a contact.

 

And he showed that contact to me.

 

[Composer_Kim Jiyu (JiU)]

 

I tried to check the number, but Kim Junwoo was a bit faster.

 

He slipped the phone smoothly into his pocket as he continued.

 

“What are you going to do?”