I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 

“Let me ask one last time.”

I lightly clapped my hands.

“Does everyone have a part they want?”

Instead of answering, their eyes darted around.

They were all just watching each other’s reactions. It wasn’t that they had nothing they wanted. They simply didn’t look confident enough to speak first.

‘Their spirits are completely crushed.’

I could see why this team had failed before my regression. They had entered from the start convinced, “We’re a team that won’t make it.”

Fortunately, Ji Dong-seok hesitantly raised his hand.

“I honestly don’t care what I get! But then, are you going to be the leader, Seong-woo?”

“Leader?”

“Dividing the parts is the leader’s job.”

The other three, who had kept their mouths shut the entire time, chimed in with voices as quiet as ants crawling.

“…I think you should do it, hyung.”

“We don’t mind.”

“I-I don’t mind either.”

Had they already given up on everything?

Ironically, the reactions of these three felt rather bold to me.

‘Oh, guys. That’s a death flag in a survival show.’

“Okay. Then I’ll be the leader.”

I had joined this team prepared to become the leader in the first place.

It actually worked out better this way. If they were this passive, they would probably want someone to lead them anyway.

‘As long as they don’t pointlessly object to everything, I’m grateful.’

They were much better than guys who had nothing but pride.

I immediately played the song.

“Everyone knows the song, right?”

All four nodded.

Our mission song, ‘The Road to You Is Always Clear,’ was a hit song by the boy group With Us, one of the representative groups of the refreshing concept.

They were also famous for their refreshing sound and styling that highlighted each member’s individual personality onstage.

“Then, Dong-seok and Ki-hyun, try singing this part together.”

The opening needed to grab listeners’ ears, so vocal tone was important.

The two with distinctive vocal tones were perfect for it. The difference was that Ji Dong-seok had a ‘refreshing’ tone, while Kwon Ki-hyun had an ‘ambiguous’ tone.

An ‘ambiguous’ vocal tone was one that seemed ordinary, yet somehow blended naturally into every song.

“I’ll go first!”

Ji Dong-seok fearlessly sang the opening.

‘Considering his momentum onstage, Dong-seok might actually be better for it.’

It was refreshing, but a little too strong to use as the very first line.

Kwon Ki-hyun, on the other hand, shrank back from the very beginning.

“…But I’m not very good.”

“It’s okay, so just try singing it first.”

After hesitating for a long while, Kwon Ki-hyun finally opened his mouth.

 

♪ Hey you!

♪ What a strange coincidence

♪ On the road to meet you

♪ A blue breeze always blows

 

‘…I should have him do it.’

His vocal tone was far too good to waste.

Clear and light, yet a voice that naturally seeped into the song. It was perfect for establishing the atmosphere of the song from the very beginning.

‘And they only gave him one line and threw him away?’

Before my regression, Kwon Ki-hyun always received only short parts before being done.

‘And eventually, he became the first one eliminated.’

“Ki-hyun should do the opening.”

Kwon Ki-hyun’s eyes widened.

“Hyung, maybe you should think about that again…”

“No? I think you’d be better.”

Fortunately, Ji Dong-seok was the type who could accept the result cleanly.

“Oh, Ki-hyun-ssi~ Congratulations! Your vocal tone is really good, though. Why haven’t you sung until now?”

Kwon Ki-hyun waved his hands, saying it made no sense.

“D-Don’t tease me.”

“Okay… next, I’ll assign the next part.”

I immediately moved on.

If I kept talking, he’d just hide again.

“Let’s have Jun-woo and Woo-joo sing this part.”

“But I’m a rapper.”

“Then you should’ve said you wanted a rap part, Woo-joo.”

“……”

He seemed to have nothing to say, so he merely stuck out his lips slightly.

What were you going to do about the fact that you looked dissatisfied right now?

‘…Wait.’

At that moment, I realized something, and a chill ran down my spine.

‘This is totally Yoo Seong-ah!’

The tyrannical nature of Yoo Seong-ah had naturally become installed in my head.

I pulled myself together and threw out a carrot.

“You know people who are good at rap are often good at singing too, right?”

Song Woo-joo subtly raised his head.

“That’s why there are so many rappers who sing well. With your level, Woo-joo, I think you’d be pretty good at singing too.”

“……”

“Ah, maybe you’re not at that level? Strange. It sounded really good to my ears…”

“…I’ll try.”

Song Woo-joo cleared his throat for no reason.

As expected, I knew that would work. Boys around that age were easy to win over once you poked their competitive spirit.

Seong Jun-woo’s breathing was a little unstable, but his pitch was accurate. If he could remain steady while dancing, that would be an enormous advantage.

When his turn approached, Song Woo-joo warmed up his voice.

‘Guess he does want to do well after all.’

 

♪ Hey you!

♪ Even on cloudy days

♪ With just one smile from you

♪ I fold up

♪ The umbrella I opened

 

“Oh!”

This time, it wasn’t me but Ji Dong-seok who exclaimed first.

“Hey, Woo-joo. Just become a vocalist! You’re good at singing!”

“I still like rap.”

“Ooh. Your preferences are respected.”

Ji Dong-seok played his role perfectly. His over-the-top reactions were ideal for bringing energy into the atmosphere. So the two of us were a combination of tyrant and clown.

Usually, there were two types of rap positions.

Someone who was genuinely good at rapping, or someone who was mediocre at both dancing and singing, so they chose rap for the time being.

Song Woo-joo had probably started as the latter. He probably wanted to stand out in the rap position, where there were fewer competitors, and make it into the debut lineup.

Unfortunately, he had no talent for rap.

‘He’d be better off competing as a vocalist.’

Song Woo-joo’s shoulders were much more relaxed than before.

‘Done.’

As expected, praise could change a person.

“I’ll take the high-note part here.”

“……”

“Does anyone want it?”

All four shook their heads simultaneously.

And very vigorously, too.

That sight reminded me of myself instinctively answering Yoo Seong-ah whenever she offered an opinion.

‘Noona, you doing okay? I ended up becoming a tyrant too.’

At that moment, Seong Jun-woo was carefully watching my expression.

He was probably wondering what would happen to his part.

“Jun-woo, try rapping here.”

“What?”

His voice suddenly shot up, and Ji Dong-seok covered his ears.

“Wow, I thought my ears were going to explode.”

Seong Jun-woo pressed his lips together before asking again.

“Not me, Woo-joo?”

“No? Your names are kind of similar, but yes, I was calling you.”

“But I’ve never rapped before…”

Song Woo-joo’s expression also became subtly stiff.

“Woo-joo hyung can do the rap.”

“Just try it once.”

Sorry, but this was a done-deal situation.

So whose fault was it that he had kept his mouth shut for an entire hour?

This was the karma of someone who had voluntarily surrendered their freedom.

“Yeah, Jun-woo. Give it a try~ You only found out today that Woo-joo can sing well, right?”

‘What a good kid.’

From now on, I’d have to forgive Ji Dong-seok for being dirty at least twice.

Seong Jun-woo hesitated, then eventually surrendered. But even after that, it took him a long time to actually open his mouth.

If I had acted like that in front of Yoo Seong-ah, she would have kicked me sideways on the spot.

‘I really am different from Yoo Seong-ah. At least I don’t use violence, right?’

“Seup–”

Perhaps he had finally finished preparing himself mentally. After spending a long while merely inhaling, Seong Jun-woo finally began rapping.

 

♪ Follow the One Two step

♪ Want to be your lover

 

I knew immediately.

‘His tone is good.’

His pronunciation was clean, and he had a sense of rhythm.

This was a case I had seen countless times during my days as a producer. Someone trapped in the position assigned by their agency, unable to make use of their own talent.

Seong Jun-woo could definitely sing as well. But that voice shone more brightly in rap.

Not rapping with that vocal tone?

That would be a waste of talent.

Rap skills could be improved through practice, but tone was something you were born with.

I immediately came to a conclusion.

“Perfect. Since Woo-joo and Jun-woo have different rap tones, I think it’d sound really good if the two of you did the rap parts together.”

Song Woo-joo’s eyes widened.

“M-My part too?”

“Of course.”

His part was shorter compared to Seong Jun-woo’s, but Song Woo-joo accepted it more readily than I expected.

He seemed satisfied simply with the fact that he got to rap rather than caring about the amount of screen time.

The atmosphere gradually began to loosen.

Just a moment ago, everyone had looked like they wanted to ‘just do this and get it over with,’ but now they were looking at their own lyrics.

I didn’t miss that momentum.

I marked each person’s part on the lyric sheet with a pen.

“Then let’s organize the parts like this and start practicing.”

Kwon Ki-hyun, who had been quietly looking at the lyric sheet, cautiously opened his mouth.

“…Hyung, are you okay?”

“What?”

I didn’t know what he meant, so I asked again.

His voice grew a little louder as he answered.

“It seems like you don’t have much of a part…”

When I looked at the lyric sheet after hearing that, he was right.

I had the least amount of lines. Almost all of it was concentrated into the high note in the chorus.

Ji Dong-seok also asked with exaggerated concern.

“Right! You’re basically a high-note shuttle! Are you okay with that?”

Yeah, Dong-seok.

You said that well.

Thanks to you, I was reassured that I had distributed the parts properly.

My role in this stage was the ‘high-note shuttle.’

Actually, the highlight of this song was the ten seconds of high notes that exploded during the climax.

So I planned to compete with quality rather than quantity. Besides, with my current skill level, it would be more dangerous to carry a long mid-to-low vocal section. My breathing was still unstable, and there was a high chance I would waver if I danced at the same time.

High notes, on the other hand, were different.

Short and powerful.

With minimal movement, I could still draw everyone’s attention.

‘A decisive one-shot.’

That was the most efficient strategy for me right now.

“Does having a lot of parts really matter?”

I shrugged.

“First, the team has to win.”

If I had said that earlier, they probably would have brushed it off. But this time, everyone’s expressions were different.

Kwon Ki-hyun looked at me nervously, while Seong Jun-woo opened and closed his lips without saying anything.

They looked apologetic.

‘Good.’

It was exactly the reaction I wanted.

Now there would be no complaints about the parts.

“Everyone’s okay with this, right?”

All four nodded simultaneously.

The atmosphere had completely changed.

Song Woo-joo still had a puzzled expression, but there was nothing I could do about that.

I wasn’t a mind reader.

How was I supposed to know what he thought if he didn’t say anything?

If you have an opinion, you need to know how to speak up.

‘…That sounded exactly like Yoo Seong-ah just now.’

Now that the part distribution was finished, it was time to step down from the tyrant’s position.

“Shall we start practicing the choreography now?”

Fortunately, everyone became a little more proactive once choreography came up.

They each began trying to piece together the original choreography from memory.

The problem was…

‘It’s bland.’

There was no stage more boring than one that simply did the familiar choreography exactly as it was.

I remembered my own arrogance when I thought, ‘It’s frustrating, so I’ll just do it myself.’

I felt the need to reflect on that again.

Choreography, at least, was not my territory.

“How about trying some different choreography?”

All four looked at me simultaneously.

“I’ll rearrange the song and completely change it. In exchange, you guys come up with some new choreography.”

Seong Jun-woo cautiously asked,

“Hyung, will you be able to keep up with that?”

What was he talking about?

While I’m belting out the high notes, you guys are supposed to tear the stage apart.