I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 26

Chapter 26

 

Perhaps because of the aftermath of the previous Code ranking ceremony, the trainees were unable to leave even after the judging was over.

Sure enough, the staff’s shout soon rang out.

“Trainees, we’ll change costumes and gather again!”

When we returned after changing into our group outfits, Kang Se-jun had also changed into a new outfit.

‘This time it’s a sailor uniform.’

He had even had his hair completely redone in that short amount of time.

Meanwhile, all we had managed to do was tidy up our hair, which was soaked with sweat, and change our clothes.

“The results of this Round 2 team mission are extremely important.”

The trainees swallowed nervously.

“The five people belonging to the first-place team will automatically become members of the debut lineup.”

“…Holy crap.”

“Not even a benefit, but straight into the debut lineup?”

The unprecedented selection method caused a commotion to spread through the trainees in an instant.

“Which team do you think will get first?”

“It’ll be the team with Joo-han.”

“But didn’t Seong-woo’s team get a good response too?”

At that, the team members glanced at me.

‘I’m touched. They’re already keeping an eye on us…’

“Then, we’ll announce the fourth-place team first.”

Dun dun dun

Background music that unnecessarily squeezed at people’s hearts began to play.

The camera frantically swept across the trainees’ faces.

“The fourth-place team is… ‘Dreaming,’ the Fantasy Concept Team.”

“Ah……”

As if it were the result they had expected, the members of Dreaming smiled bitterly.

It was a team that had continued to stumble from the very beginning of the practice process.

“And third place is… ‘Buzzer Beater,’ the Sporty Concept Team.”

Thump.

It felt like my heart had fallen straight to the floor.

“…What?”

The words escaped me without realizing it.

“Wow–”

“Seriously?”

Surprised voices erupted around me. But I couldn’t properly hear them.

‘They were originally second place…’

It had changed.

I had changed it.

“Hey, Yoo Seong-woo. We’re at least second place!”

“Hyung, this is totally amazing!”

“Uh, yeah. Right.”

I forced up the corners of my mouth among the team members who didn’t know what to do with their happiness.

But in the end, I couldn’t look toward the Buzzer Beater team.

“Trainee Kang I-yul and trainee Han Sang-yoon have been eliminated from the debut lineup for the first time.”

The one thing that was fortunate was that I-yul had maintained first place within his team.

‘Of course.’

But Kang I-yul’s face reflected on the electronic display looked anything but unsurprised.

“Then, we’ll announce the second-place team.”

The excited team members held onto one another’s shoulders as they waited for the result.

“The second-place team is…… the Refreshing Concept–”

“Waaaah!!”

Ji Dong-seok’s scream made Kang Se-jun stop speaking for a moment.

“Ah, trainee Dong-seok must be really happy.”

Laughter spread throughout the studio.

“Congratulations. Shall we shout your team chants as a celebration?”

“Yes!!”

And at the same time, everyone’s eyes turned toward me.

‘Ha… seriously.’

But I couldn’t pretend not to notice the team members who were completely overjoyed.

“…When Yoo Seong-woo does it!”

“We do it too!!”

The team members erupted in cheers.

At that moment, as I turned my head, my eyes met Kang I-yul’s.

His face was expressionless. When he immediately turned his gaze away, my heart sank.

It felt as if I really were the person who had pushed Kang I-yul out.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

It was something that should have made me happy, but I wasn’t happy at all.

I made a vow to myself.

Next round, I’ll definitely be on the same team as Kang I-yul.

It was fine if Kang I-yul beat me.

‘Because that’s only natural.’

But I could never stand being the one who pushed Kang I-yul out again.

“Trainee Yoo Seong-woo, how do you feel right now?”

I froze at the unexpected question, but soon picked up the microphone.

“To be honest, I thought our team was the weakest.”

The team members quietly nodded.

“Especially me. I was the worst at dancing among them, so I had a really hard time.”

The nodding became even more emphatic.

“So even if we couldn’t be the best, we prepared with the mindset that we should at least work the hardest.”

Even as I continued speaking, I kept being conscious of the Buzzer Beater team.

More precisely, Kang I-yul.

“I’m really grateful that all that effort seems to have led to a good result.”

After a brief statement of his thoughts, Kang Se-jun announced the final result.

“Then, automatically taking first place is the Sexy Concept Team.”

“Wow!!”

Cheers poured out.

‘Ha…’

It was the result I had expected.

And first place within the Sexy Team also went to Joo-han, without any surprises.

“Next, we’ll begin the Code ranking ceremony.”

Since two members of the debut lineup had already changed, major fluctuations in the rankings were expected.

Everyone was especially watching to see how far Han Sang-yoon’s Code would fall.

Each time the name tags were replaced one by one, some trainees, already on edge from the long hours of filming, couldn’t hide their grim expressions.

This time, it seemed as though they had deliberately mixed up the order.

Trainees with extreme rises and falls were placed alternately, creating provocative scenes.

‘Han Sang-yoon is probably going to be last…’

But this wasn’t the time to worry about someone else.

“Trainee Yoo Seong-woo, Code 6, please come to the front of the stage.”

My heart pounded at the earlier-than-expected call.

I slowly climbed onto the stage.

‘Just don’t fall…’

“Oh……”

“Wow, at least he maintained it.”

“……?”

I immediately turned around and checked the electronic display.

 

[Code 6 ▶ Code 6]

 

“Haa…”

I had avoided the worst.

But soon, a chill ran down my spine.

‘Wait.’

Kang I-yul hadn’t been called yet.

All five spots in the debut lineup had already been filled.

That meant that no matter how high he ranked, he could only be in seventh place.

Without realizing it, I grabbed my head.

“Trainee Yoo Seong-woo? Are you happy that you maintained your rank?”

“……Ah, yes? Yes…”

I hurriedly lowered my arms.

“Next is trainee Go Jae-seong, Code 4.”

Without realizing it, I clenched my fist tightly.

The number on the electronic display slowly changed.

At the same time, the risk level fluctuated unstably.

 

[Risk Level: 83%]

[Risk Level: 85% (▲2%)]

[Risk Level: 84% (▼1%)]

 

‘Please…’

 

[Code 4 ▶ Code 3]

 

“……Ah.”

I closed my eyes.

Of all the possible outcomes, this was the worst one.

“Congratulations. Trainee Go Jae-seong, please exchange name tags with trainee Kang I-yul, Code 3.”

“Yes!”

Go Jae-seong walked forward with a wide smile, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Unable to bear watching the scene to the end, I turned my head away.

Tear, rip

The sound of name tags being ripped off seemed unusually loud.

The moment Kang I-yul moved seats, the risk level changed.

[Risk Level: 87% (▲4%)]

‘Ha…’

My breath caught in my throat.

This was the risk level I had worked myself to death to lower.

But the fact that I had done well had instead resulted in pushing Kang I-yul out.

I couldn’t believe it.

Until now, my goal had been simple.

‘I just need to survive.’

If I pushed Go Jae-seong out and entered the debut lineup, then naturally, I would debut alongside Kang I-yul.

But I had never imagined that I could actually affect Kang I-yul’s ranking.

 

[Code 3 ▶ Code 7]

 

The number on the electronic display changed.

Fortunately, the trainee who had originally been Code 7 rose to Code 5, and Kang I-yul stopped just below the debut lineup.

Kang I-yul walked over to the seat beside me.

I couldn’t bring myself to raise my head. Because if our eyes met, I didn’t know what kind of expression I was supposed to make.

The new Code 2 was Choi Un-jo, while Code 1 was, as expected, Joo-han.

Han Sang-yoon fell from Code 2 to Code 8.

It was the biggest upset of the entire ranking ceremony.

Han Sang-yoon lightly brushed past the hand I held out to him.

He was forcing a smile. For a moment, I felt like an unwelcome intruder who had barged into this survival show.

I bit down firmly on the inside of my mouth.

The faces of the five new members of the debut lineup appeared on the electronic display. And at the center of them was Go Jae-seong.

I silently stared at that face.

Then I slowly clenched my fist.

If there was only one variable in this survival show, it would be you.

 

***

 

A few months ago, Baek Ga-yoon went through the sudden departure of her favorite idol.

The official statement said it was for health reasons, but she didn’t believe it for a second.

Right after the departure, eyewitness reports of him drinking started pouring out as if people had been waiting for the announcement.

She might have at least understood if they had said his liver had been destroyed from drinking.

“This fucking bullshit. Can they just decide everything among themselves and call it done? What about me?”

The day Baek Ga-yoon tearfully posted ‘CLOSE’ on her fan-site master account, she declared that K-pop was over for her for the rest of her life.

Of course, none of her friends believed her.

“I’ll bet my camera that you’re a hundred percent going to find a new rookie.”

“Shut up.”

But contrary to their expectations, Ga-yoon really did live the life of an ordinary person for several months.

Even when she watched performances, her heart didn’t race.

Even when she watched videos of handsome male idols, it ended with nothing more than, ‘He’s handsome.’

She felt nothing.

Then one day.

A friend she had been scheduling with for a long time contacted her.

 

[Soo-jung: Hey, I’m going to Sangam tomorrow to see the Boys Code kids. Can you be my mercenary photographer?]

[What? You quit stanning too? Did something happen with Garam?]

[Soo-jung: I didn’t quit stanning; I’m just going to sample them? Looking at their profiles, there are some pretty decent-looking kidsㅇㅇ]

[But what’s BoCo?]

[Soo-jung: A new male idol survival show kekek. You should watch it too (link)]

 

She clicked the link without much interest.

What caught her eye was the very last profile.

 

[Code 20: Braces]

 

“Huh?”

Her gaze was drawn first to the ridiculous keyword, Braces.

Among all the boys who had dressed themselves up to the nines, there was one face smiling brightly by himself. And visible through that smile were silver braces.

For some reason, she couldn’t get that image out of her head.

He had a completely different atmosphere from her former favorite.

A puppy-like face and an air that somehow made him look a little clumsy.

And yet, she couldn’t look away.

She was curious.

About this trainee who had entered a survival show wearing braces.

And on the day of the event, Baek Ga-yoon remembered a famous saying from the idol fandom world.

 

[There is no such thing as quitting K-pop. There is only taking a break from stanning.]

 

“Holy crap…”

For the first time in a long while, her heart started beating.

After the stage ended, she checked her camera screen, and before she knew it, she was grinning.

The braces that showed whenever he smiled. The way his eyes avoided the camera whenever he actually met its gaze, even though he diligently searched for the camera. And the heart he threw with such a solemn expression.

Every single one of those things drove her crazy.

“I’ll make sure you debut.”

The moment she got home, she skipped dinner and started editing the footage.

“Natural light really is the best–”

This was the moment her many years of experience as a fan-site master shone.

Of course, Code 20’s ‘Braces’ face, which had not the slightest artificial quality to it, played a part as well.

Color correction, selecting the BGM, editing the thumbnail, and so on…

“……Done.”

She had created the masterpiece of her life.

Ga-yoon created a new account with a satisfied expression.

“Ah, what should I name the account?”

 

WhoAreYou @Mysteriousboy — 2 minutes ago

0814 Boys Code

Mysterious Boy

#BoysCode #Code20 #Braces

 

Reactions started appearing immediately after the upload.

“Oh.”

It was faster than she had expected.

Even though she had been practically the only person taking photos at the venue, the number of shares continued to climb.

Then, about an hour later, the notification window began exploding.

“What? The shares have already passed 3,000?”

The quote posts were overflowing with testimonials from people who had been struck by a sudden stan attraction.

 

↳ Ah, looks like I’m going to watch another survival show;;

↳ Showing off his braces is such a fresh idea kekek. Ah, but he’s kinda cute

↳ But does he not have a name? Why is everyone calling him Braces Braces?

↳ Now they don’t even tell us their names and just call them by their Codes;; But why is he 20? Is he a clumsy dancer?

↳ Even if he’s a clumsy dancer, with that face I could probably forgive him kekek. He’s cute.

↳ I’ve never seen a trainee flirt with his braces before in my life.

↳ Motherfu- Why is his smile so pretty? What is this adorable puppy?

 

A day later, the video had spread across all kinds of online communities.

 

[Have you seen this video?]

Code 20 already has a fan-site master kekek Looks like he got a talented one.

 

↳ What kind of survival show is this where someone already has a fan-site master;; Seriously, everyone’s so diligent about trying to become a big name.

↳ I think this person’s video-editing style is the same as the fan-site master of the group I used to stan.

 ↳↳ Double-dipping?

 ↳↳ Nope, her favorite left the group, so she closed the account.

↳ The atmosphere is insane. He’s literally youth itself.

 

It was Yoo Seong-woo’s first fancam ever.