The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut – Chapter 5

Author: rolypoly

The stage of the LMH trainees could be evaluated in a single word.

‘A mess.’

It was hard to find a part that wasn’t a mess from start to finish.

First of all, the difference in skill level among the trainees was severe.

The other three couldn’t keep up with the skills of Yoo Sung and the two trainees who took the sub-rapper positions.

The trainee who took the sub-rapper position at least tried to sync up with the others, but perhaps due to his short time as a trainee, he couldn’t hide his skills that kept popping out.

As for Yoo Sung, well, he danced and sang desperately as if he were anxious about not being able to show off his skills.

If they had given the intro to the trainee playing the sub-rapper and placed Yoo Sung in the center instead, it wouldn’t have been this much of a mess.

Still, perhaps because they were from LMH, they somehow managed to keep the performance going by syncing up as best as they could.

‘It would have been fine if they just didn’t make a mistake.’

Falling during a performance is a mistake even active idols make occasionally, but there is usually a plausible reason, like uncomfortable shoes or a slippery floor.

As for the LMH trainees, well…

‘It’s just a lack of practice.’

When Yoo Sung and the trainee got tangled and fell, the other trainees froze on the spot.

Even though it was a scene I had viewed dozens of times, I frowned against my will.

Even the trainee who was supposed to push forward during the chorus hesitated, completely cutting off the flow of the song.

“Burn up, burn everything down. Burn Burn Burn up!”

Yoo Sung, having found his spot before anyone realized, grabbed his microphone and sang, even though it wasn’t his part.

The trainee in charge of the chorus hurriedly grabbed his microphone and continued singing.

‘It’s already too late.’

The performance that followed was too embarrassing to watch with open eyes.

Due to nervousness, they kept messing up the choreography, and the pitch went awry every time a part transitioned.

Yoo Sung tried to make up for it somehow, but with four out of five people losing their minds, there was no way it was possible.

The performance, which felt like it would never end, finally finished, and silence fell over the set.

The sound of the cameras fiercely rolling to capture the expressions of the judges and trainees could be heard.

‘Only the PD must be thrilled.’

The LMH trainees’ stat evaluation stage was provocatively edited and broadcasted in every regression.

It became a hot topic on social media as the epitome of a despairing team project, and its YouTube views reached millions each time.

Kim Junwoo, who had been looking at the application documents with a serious expression, picked up his microphone.

“I believe everyone knows what the problem is.”

The five trainees could not say anything.

“If you don’t know, you don’t deserve to be an idol…”

Whew.

Letting out a sigh, Kim Junwoo continued.

“From the song selection to the part distribution… there are many things to point out, but I won’t do it now. No more, no less, I will only talk about the skills shown on the stage just now.”

Kim Junwoo lowered his microphone.

The other judges took turns picking up their microphones to evaluate the LMH trainees’ performance.

“Uh… you made a lot of mistakes, but it didn’t seem like you lacked skills. It would have been great if you just hadn’t made mistakes… Well, since you have the basic skills, I think you’ll do better next time. We enjoyed the performance.”

“You can make mistakes. No matter how hard you practice, because you’re human, you can naturally make mistakes. However, the public does not know how hard you practiced. They don’t care either. It means that the excuse, ‘I made a mistake but please look kindly upon it because I practiced hard,’ does not work.”

The criticism regarding their mistakes was sharp, but there was almost no criticism regarding their skills.

It was thanks to their solid fundamentals, as expected of LMH trainees.

Kim Junwoo tapped the application documents with his pen, tap, tap, and picked up his microphone again when the other judges’ evaluations were wrapping up.

“We will begin the stat evaluation immediately.”

The stat window appeared on the giant screen next to the judges’ seats.

The evaluation began with the trainee who took the chorus part.

The trainee who took the chorus part received Vocal C, Dance D+, Appearance B-, and Charm C+.

His final ranking was 24th.

The second and third trainees received similar stats.

Their rankings were also similar, at 27th and 31st.

The trainee who took the sub-rapper role received Vocal C+, Dance B-, Appearance A-, and Charm B.

His final ranking was 17th.

It was a good result considering the performance was a mess.

Yoo Sung, who showed superior skills in every aspect compared to the other four, would receive the highest ranking.

‘My current ranking is 19th… if two people rank higher than me, I’ll be pushed out of the top 20.’

But there was no need to worry.

“We will begin Trainee Yoo Sung’s stat evaluation. Trainee Yoo Sung’s vocal stat is A+.”

Yoo Sung is a well-rounded hexagon trainee.

He pulls his weight whether placed in the vocal or dance position.

“Trainee Yoo Sung’s dance stat is B-.”

He would have received an A for his dance stat if it weren’t for the mistake of falling.

In the ensuing appearance and charm stat evaluations, Yoo Sung received S and A-.

“We will announce Trainee Yoo Sung’s ranking. Trainee Yoo Sung’s ranking is… 12th place.”

“Thank you…”

Yoo Sung bowed his head with a relieved face.

I looked at that and thought to myself.

‘It’ll be too early to relax already.’

Just as the LMH trainees were about to head to their seats, Kim Junwoo picked up his microphone.

“Hold on. The evaluation isn’t over yet.”

The five flustered trainees stopped awkwardly.

Kim Junwoo opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“I just need to do well.”

Yoo Sung’s shoulders twitched.

Kim Junwoo glanced at Yoo Sung’s reaction and continued.

“You definitely thought that, right? Since it’s an individual evaluation anyway. That you just need to do well.”

No one could say anything.

Yoo Sung was frowning deeply with his eyes lowered.

“Can we call the performance you showed today an idol ‘group’ performance? You guys know what the problem is yourselves, right? Or do you not know? I suppose if you knew, you wouldn’t have put on a performance like that. What do you think? Do you all have any intention of debuting as an idol ‘group’?”

Kim Junwoo said, staring intently at Yoo Sung.

Yoo Sung listened to Kim Junwoo’s words with his head bowed deeply.

Kim Junwoo looked at the five trainees one by one with a sharp gaze and spoke.

“I will grant a ‘trait’ to the five of you.”

As soon as Kim Junwoo finished speaking, Yoo Sung’s stats appeared on the giant screen next to the judges’ seats.

[Name: Yoo Sung

Age: 20]

[Basic Stats

Vocal: A+

Dance: B-

Appearance: S

Charm: A-]

[Trait: ―]

A new ‘Trait’ category that hadn’t existed for other trainees appeared.

“The trait to be granted to you is ‘Worst Teamwork.’”

The phrase ‘Worst Teamwork’ appeared next to the trait category.

[Trait: Worst Teamwork

Effect: Ranking drops by 10 tiers]

Confirming the effect of the trait that popped up on the screen, Yoo Sung’s expression went blank.

“Trainee Yoo Sung’s final ranking is 22nd place.”

See.

I told you there was nothing to worry about.

In dozens of stat evaluation stages, not once had an LMH trainee made it into the top 20.

* * *

“…I will work hard. Thank you.”

Yoo Sung, who bowed his head toward Kim Junwoo, quickly walked over to find his seat the moment he raised his head.

However, no matter how much he hurried, the camera did not miss Yoo Sung’s expression.

His reddened eyes, looking as if they would spill tears at any moment, and his lower lip bleeding from being bitten too hard, were captured exactly by the camera.

I turned my gaze and observed the other trainees’ reactions.

Forgetting that the cameras were rolling, the LMH trainees, excluding the sub-rapper, glared at Yoo Sung.

‘They probably think he ruined the performance.’

Snorting inwardly, I turned my attention back to the stage.

The stat evaluation stage wrapped up quickly.

There were no unexpected twists.

There was one trainee who received a higher ranking than me in the ensuing performances.

My ranking was finalized as 20th.

“With this, all stat evaluation stages have concluded! Is everyone satisfied with their ranking?”

The MC, who came up to the center of the stage, asked in a high-pitched voice.

“Don’t worry. You won’t be debuting based on these rankings. There are still many stages left. If you showed a disappointing performance today, you just need to show a good performance on the next stage!”

The atmosphere among the trainees brightened a little.

The MC was right.

They had only just finished the first stage.

However, the ranking of the stat evaluation stage should not be taken lightly.

“Still, if today’s ranking meant nothing, the trainees who prepared hard for the stage and received good marks would find it very disappointing, right?”

The MC said meaningfully.

He was a man who had mastered the art of playing with people’s hearts with the tip of his tongue.

“Therefore, we have prepared a ‘benefit’ for the top 20 trainees!”

The trainees began to murmur at the MC’s words.

Benefit.

Could there be sweeter words for trainees desperate to debut?

Joy and sorrow intertwined among the trainees.

“The benefit is none other than… the ‘Guild Creation Ticket’!”

The trainees who were happy upon hearing about the benefit, and those who were gloomy, all looked at the MC in bewilderment.

“Hmm. It seems there are many of you who still haven’t adapted to our program’s concept yet. Then I should explain in detail.”

A trainee who possesses the Guild Creation Ticket can form a guild by obtaining the consent of at least one trainee.

Here, a guild is a concept similar to a guild in RPG games or genre novels, and a trainee belonging to a guild holds various privileges, such as forming a team together with trainees belonging to the same guild.

“Is it difficult to form a guild because you still don’t know each other well? It’s fine! Because a guild can be created with just two people. As long as you have exactly one like-minded person, you can create a guild! Wait, is it hard to find even one like-minded person? Oh dear… I suppose it can’t be helped.”

To be precise, what I was aiming for was not the ‘Guild Creation Ticket.’

“Along with the ‘Guild Creation Ticket,’ we will give a ‘Guild Member Recruitment Ticket’ to the top 20 trainees!”

A top 20 trainee who wishes to create a guild can use the Guild Member Recruitment Ticket to forcefully recruit one of the 80 trainees without a Guild Creation Ticket into their guild.

The reason I aimed for the top 20 wasn’t that I coveted the Guild Creation Ticket, but to avoid being forced to join another trainee’s guild.

‘Should I make a guild?’

My primary goal was achieved.

Whether to create a guild or not was a matter of choice.

—Ding!

The notification sound, which I had now grown accustomed to, rang in my ears.

I looked at the translucent status window that popped up before my eyes.

[Sub-quest arrived! Please check the sub-quest.]

‘Check sub-quest.’

[Sub-quest: Recruit Companions

Description: Recruit companions for a successful debut.

Companion Recruitment Status (0/6)