The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut – Chapter 50

Author: rolypoly

Seo Yijae returned to the dorm first.

Left by myself, I sprawled flat on the cold wooden floor of the practice room.

The chill rising from the practice room floor cooled my head.

“I’m sleepy….”

Perhaps because the tension had drained away, drowsiness gently began to creep in.

Should I sleep for just a little bit before heading back to the dorm?

Yoo Sung might worry, so just a very brief nap….

“Kim Chowol.”

Just as I closed my eyes and was about to surrender to the encroaching wave of sleep.

Someone called my name.

I opened my fluttering eyes and bolted upright.

“Who… Theo?”

The person who had called my name was Han Theo.

Han Theo was standing awkwardly, clutching the practice room door.

“Weren’t you going to the dorm to rest?”

“Mm.”

“Did you leave something behind? Or….”

I gestured for Han Theo to come inside first.

Han Theo hesitated slightly before stepping into the practice room.

Watching Han Theo awkwardly avoid my gaze, I finished my interrupted thought.

“…Do you have something to say to me?”

Han Theo looked at me with a complicated expression.

‘I just tossed it out casually, but does he really have something to tell me?’

For now, sitting on the floor, I patted the space in front of me with my hand.

“Sit here.”

Han Theo sat plop down right in front of me like a well-trained dog.

Han Theo’s grayish blonde hair caught the light of the practice room, shimmering bright.

I always thought it, but looking at it continuously, it was an incredibly mysterious yet charming color.

‘What do they call this again? Ash blond? Dirty blond? Han Theo’s fans used to praise it until their lips wore out….’

I fell into thought while staring at Han Theo’s hair.

“Is there something on it?”

“Huh?”

“On my head.”

“Ah, no.”

“Really?”

He must have felt self-conscious because I kept staring.

Han Theo fiddled with his hair using his long, pale fingers.

‘He really is ridiculously handsome.’

Honestly, throughout dozens of regressions, I had never once had a long conversation with Han Theo.

We hadn’t been on the same team very often, either.

Even when we were teammates, Han Theo tended to follow others’ opinions rather than voicing his own.

‘He is a man of few words. It’s just that his face and skills give him such an overwhelming presence.’

Come to think of it, I had almost never seen Han Theo initiate a conversation with another trainee.

Preparing for this stage together made me realize it once again.

Han Theo never spoke first unless someone asked for his opinion or talked to him first.

‘Isn’t that… a bit strange?’

Even for someone quiet, there’s a limit.

Does it even make sense that across dozens of regressions, I had almost never seen Han Theo speak first?

At this point, there had to be some circumstance preventing him from speaking.

And I vaguely surmised that the reason Han Theo sought me out today was precisely because of that circumstance.

I had no concrete evidence, but my intuition told me so.

“So, what do you want to say?”

“Mm….”

Han Theo furrowed his brows and began to ponder.

Am I finally going to see the real Han Theo hidden beneath the veil?

After deliberating for a long time with that handsome face, Han Theo finally opened his mouth.

“Do you remember?”

“Remember what?”

“The center speech….”

“Center speech?”

Why has this guy been speaking in such choppy fragments since earlier?

When I tilted my head and asked back, the furrow between Han Theo’s brows deepened even further.

“The… after the HUNT THE STAGE evaluation ended.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I understand what Han Theo was talking about.

After the evaluation of the theme song, HUNT THE STAGE, Han Theo took 1st place and became the center.

Then he stepped up onto the podium and gave his speech about becoming center.

What had Han Theo said back then?

“I do remember… mm, I remember, but….”

I trailed off, trying to recall Han Theo’s speech.

Truthfully, my memory was hazy.

But I couldn’t bring myself to say I didn’t remember.

Because Han Theo was looking at me with an expectant gaze.

‘Come to think of it, his eyes are gray too. Ah, now isn’t the time for such pointless thoughts.’

I racked my brain again, trying hard to remember Han Theo’s speech.

—Knock, knock.

Just as I was diligently trying to recall Han Theo’s speech,

Someone knocked on the practice room door where we were.

Both Han Theo’s head and mine whipped toward the door.

“Um… Chowol Hyung.”

“Hiro?”

The person who had knocked on the door was none other than Okada.

Perhaps thinking I was alone in the practice room, Okada flinched and hitched his shoulders upon seeing Han Theo.

“Um, I have something to tell you, Hyung.”

“Ah, sorry. Right now might be a bit difficul—…”

I gestured toward Han Theo, asking for Okada’s understanding.

Even though I was closer to Okada, I had been talking with Han Theo first, after all.

But I couldn’t bring myself to finish my sentence.

Because I caught sight of Okada’s face through the gap in the practice room door.

“Hiro, you….”

His face was noticeably more haggard than when I had seen him a few days ago.

But there was something that stood out far more than his gaunt face.

Puffy, swollen eyes with his double eyelids undone, and the flushed red rims around his eyes and tip of his nose.

“…Have you been crying?”

At my words, Okada awkwardly averted his gaze and hung his head low.

Just what on earth was going on in Okada’s team?

* * *

Left with no choice, I sent Han Theo back to the dorm first.

I apologized repeatedly, promising that we would definitely talk next time and that I was truly sorry.

Han Theo smiled with his usual handsome face, saying it was fine, and returned to the dorm.

“First… shall we move somewhere else?”

Okada nodded his head without a word.

I brought Okada to a blind spot out of camera range.

Because both trainees and staff were occupied with the interim evaluation, there was hardly anyone in the hallway.

“Is the interim evaluation over?”

“Yes….”

“Did you get scolded a lot…?”

“Yes….”

Okada hung his head low and answered despondently.

Hmm, let me think.

Who were the members of Okada’s team again?

“Is Joo Gilhyung picking on you by any chance?”

Okada and Joo Gilhyung were definitely on the same team.

I thought there wouldn’t be any issues since I had disciplined him properly.

‘Could he be taking out his grudge against me on Okada?’

If so, he’s truly an irredeemable piece of trash.

Not that I ever thought he could be rehabilitated in the first place.

I had simply thought there was no need to take further action since he was going to be eliminated anyway.

‘But if he really is venting his frustration on Okada, that’s a different story.’

To get an accurate grasp of the situation, I asked Okada.

“How is Joo Gilhyung tormenting you?”

“Hyung….”

“Daijoubu da yo. Watashi ga zenbu kaiketsu shite ageru. Nani ga atta ka hanashite. (It’s alright. I’ll resolve everything for you. Just tell me what happened.)”

“That’s not it.”

“Huh?”

“It’s not Gilhyung Hyung….”

“Is that so?”

Then what on earth is going on?

I waited until Okada calmed down and could explain the situation step by step.

Having calmed down a little, Okada finally spoke up.

“It’s not Gilhyung Hyung, but….”

“Hey, Okada!”

But before Okada could say anything more, someone called his name.

From afar, a man exuding an unmistakable model-like aura was approaching, waving cheerfully.

Okada clamped his mouth shut like a herbivore catching sight of a predator.

‘Aha.’

Recognizing the man, I immediately pieced together what had happened.

“What are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you for ages.”

He was tall with long limbs, so from afar he looked like a model, but his face was… well, how should I put that?

‘Delinquent look?’

He radiated a punkish aura, looking plainly like someone who used to chew gum back in the day.

Of course, unlike his appearance, his speech and behavior were gentle.

His fans went crazy over it, calling it a contrast charm or whatever.

“What if you just disappear without a word?”

The man said, naturally draping his arm over Okada’s shoulders in a friendly manner.

Okada answered with an awkward smile.

“…I’m sorry.”

One of my eyebrows twitched finely.

Naturally peeling the man’s arm off Okada’s shoulder, I spoke.

“It’s because I called Hiro out, asking if he had a moment.”

“Hm?”

“If anyone should apologize, it’s me.”

The man stared blankly at me with slightly surprised eyes.

Smiling smoothly as if wondering what the problem was, I spoke.

“My apologies, Yooyeol Hyung.”

“Uh… you know my name?”

“Of course. How long has it been since filming started?”

Jung Yooyeol.

Twenty-two years old.

Over dozens of regressions, I had heard Jung Yooyeol’s name to the point of utter exhaustion.

“Impressive. I haven’t even memorized all the trainees’ names yet. Ah, I do know yours. Kim Chowol, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Jung Yooyeol grinned brightly, acting friendly.

The sharp corners of his eyes crinkled.

It was the exact smile Jung Yooyeol’s fans went wild for.

But I knew the real Jung Yooyeol hidden beneath that mask.

“Actually, I knew about you even before filming started, Hyung.”

“Hm?”

“You’re famous, Hyung.”

I pulled the sleeve of Okada, who was standing next to me, bringing him behind my back.

Jung Yooyeol was about five centimeters taller than me, so I had to tilt my head up slightly to meet his eyes.

Lifting my chin, I spoke with a menacing expression.

“The legendary trainee… who kicked away his debut spot in a Big 3 agency and moved to another company.”

Startled, Jung Yooyeol widened his eyes and slightly parted his mouth.

A crack formed on Jung Yooyeol’s flawless mask.

Honestly, I was a little intimidated.

Across dozens of regressions, I had defined Jung Yooyeol with a single term:

‘Casual gamer.’

He was the person who best embodied the phrase: ‘You only live once, so just enjoy it.’

He wasn’t afraid of being targeted by Jang Hyeoksu, and occasionally committed crazy acts to the point where even I, having regressed dozens of times, winced in disgust.

Yet even when he became Jang Hyuksoo’s sacrificial lamb and was cursed out by the entire nation, Jung Yooyeol didn’t care in the slightest.

Jung Yooyeol genuinely enjoyed the EX-grade K-POP idol program itself.

“Hahaha!”

Jung Yooyeol, who had been acting like a kind and polite person until a second ago, suddenly burst into convulsive laughter.

I was a little flustered.

‘Why is he laughing?’

Jung Yooyeol was a human being who was completely useless to have around.

There was a high chance that Jung Yooyeol was the reason Okada’s team got reprimanded in the first place.

“Hahaha….”

Having laughed for a long time, Jung Yooyeol wiped away the tear that had gathered at the corner of his eye.

I glared at Jung Yooyeol as a warning, blocking Okada protectively.

But Jung Yooyeol seemed to have very little interest in Okada.