I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 

Kang I-yul entered the practice room.

At that moment, my feet wouldn’t move, as though they had been glued to the floor.

I had clearly seen it. The hand that had lain limply on the cold asphalt. That pale hand, without a trace of blood in it.

And yet, the Kang I-yul standing before my eyes was alive. He was breathing, moving, and sweating.

“Thank goodness……”

Those words slipped out of my mouth on their own.

Only then did all the tension leave my body.

He was alive… He really was alive.

I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my gaze.

‘Huh?’

His left arm was wrapped in a white cast.

My heart dropped.

My gratitude that he was alive lasted only a moment before my eyes became fixed on that arm.

“I got into a little accident on the way here. I just got some simple treatment and came over.”

The practice room stirred.

“What happened? What kind of accident?”

“Are you okay?”

“You’re not hurt badly, are you?”

But I couldn’t hear a single thing.

‘An accident? He said an accident?’

Kang I-yul had always been in excellent health, with no history of injuries.

He had even said it with a laugh on the radio.

“I’ve never had surgery before.”

……That was the guy I knew.

‘Something’s wrong.’

Not a single word of Song In-hyuk’s explanation about the survival show reached my ears.

It was strange to dismiss it as nothing more than a simple injury.

This had never happened in the past.

My mind began racing like crazy.

What had changed from the past?

There was only one thing.

‘……Danger Level.’

That word flashed through my mind.

‘Could it be–’

He was alive, but perhaps he was still in danger.

 

[※System information unlocked!]

[S: Danger Level indicates the probability of an accident occurring.]

[S: Until the Danger Level reaches 0, an accident may occur at any time.]

 

The status window before my eyes began flashing, as though confirming that was the correct answer.

A curse I hadn’t even uttered when I died slipped out on its own.

The Danger Level was a matter of probability. As long as it wasn’t zero, it could happen at any time. And the target was Kang I-yul.

 

***

 

Song In-hyuk, who had come from a major entertainment agency, frequently tried to imitate things far beyond his aesthetic capabilities.

The colorful star-patterned blinds that filled one wall of the practice room were one such example. He had installed them because he wanted to create an iconic practice room, like the “cloud blinds” of a certain company.

‘His aesthetic sense is seriously…’

That man was definitely the one who had dyed Kang I-yul’s hair like Ppoppi.

But right now, I couldn’t even notice those dazzling stars.

That was because group dance lessons had begun immediately after the survival show announcement.

“Okay, starting with an eight-count–”

At the trainer’s words, everyone moved at the same time.

Everyone except me.

When I raised my hands, my feet got tangled. When I turned my head, I fell behind the beat.

My dancing was worse than a dancing robot.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Among the countless people reflected in the mirror, I alone was completely out of sync.

‘This is pretty bad.’

Knowing the rhythm and having your body actually move to it were completely different things.

“Again.”

I messed up again.

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

“Seong-woo, you’re going to run into someone!”

“Seong-woo, look ahead!”

“Seong-woo, not your left foot, your right!”

My head naturally bowed.

“I’m sorry!”

I had no idea how many times my name had been called.

“Ha, seriously.”

“What does he think he’s doing trying to become an idol with a body like that?”

I heard someone openly mocking me from behind.

“He’s going to get fucking humiliated on TV.”

Well, they weren’t exactly wrong.

‘No, if I had been good at dancing from the beginning, I would’ve become an idol a long time ago.’

That was why, even before my regression, I hadn’t even considered becoming an idol despite receiving countless business cards.

“Let’s start again from the beginning.”

Then…

“……Excuse me.”

I turned my head at the low voice.

It was Kang I-yul.

His expression wasn’t particularly pleasant.

“Don’t try to watch all the movements.”

His tone was colder than I expected.

“Y-yes?”

Kang I-yul pointed behind him with his chin.

“Ha, just come behind me.”

For a moment, I was stunned.

‘Did I-yul originally talk like that?’

Before my regression, I-yul always had a smile on his face, and his manner of speaking was gentle as well.

But now…

“You keep making us stop.”

Ah.

“……I’m sorry.”

My head bowed reflexively.

‘As expected of our I-yul. He’s only saying things that are true.’

……Things that hit me right where it hurt.

His voice was frightening.

But strangely…

‘I like it.’

……?

‘No, wait.’

An emergency brake slammed on inside my head.

‘Get a grip, Yoo Seong-woo.’

But this was a tone I had never heard from him on broadcasts or at fansigns.

Low and dry.

This was truly a rare, precious glimpse of his genuine voice.

“Just watch my legs from behind.”

“Yes!”

“Forget about your upper body and get your steps right first.”

The music started again.

This time, just as I-yul had told me, I watched only his legs.

One, two–

“Oh…”

For the first time, I was on beat.

I-yul had probably just tossed out the advice because he was frustrated, but this was truly a solution perfectly tailored to Yoo Seong-woo.

‘When it comes to observing Kang I-yul, I’m confident.’

Watching I-yul move once was more effective for me than listening to the trainer’s instructions ten times.

“Seong-woo is finally starting to follow along. Then we’ll move on to the next move!”

“Yes!”

It wasn’t perfect, but at least I was no longer a burden to everyone else.

“That’s how you do it.”

His tone was still dry, but it was the first compliment I had ever received from him.

‘I’m absolutely writing this in my diary tonight.’

“Yes! Thank you!”

“You don’t have to speak formally to me……”

I nodded vigorously, trying to hide the thoughts in my head, which were so overwhelmed with emotion that I felt like I was going insane.

At my enthusiastic movement, Kang I-yul gave a small laugh.

And in that moment, this place transformed into the place where I had first seen Kang I-yul.

Before my regression, one day, I suddenly became unable to write songs.

No, it wasn’t simply that I couldn’t write them.

No matter how hard I squeezed my brain, it was completely empty.

It happened just as my name was beginning to become known as a producer.

Requests were pouring in, but I couldn’t create even a single line of melody.

It was a terrible slump.

I tried bungee jumping.

I drank like a madman.

I ran through rainy streets without an umbrella.

I tried all sorts of things.

Nothing changed.

Because he was the first thing in my life that I had ever truly wanted, the loss that came without warning was even more painful.

That day, too, I had been wandering the streets under the excuse that I was looking for inspiration.

And then, by coincidence, I saw IMPACTOR’s performance.

There were almost no audience members. Nine out of ten people walked past without even looking. It was a stage small enough that it couldn’t have been otherwise.

I was the same.

‘What is this chaotic song?’

Just as I was about to turn my head away, that hideous fluorescent hair caught my eye.

My first impression was simple.

Ping-pong ball.

‘Because his fluttering hair was exactly the color of a ping-pong ball.’

It was an outdoor stage beneath the scorching midsummer sun, with the heat of the asphalt rising directly from the ground.

And yet, that kid danced while smiling.

Sweat streamed down his face, and his hair was completely soaked, but every single movement was alive.

At that moment…

Tap, tap-tap

Something burst inside my head.

A melody.

A new melody.

I pulled out my phone and frantically wrote down the notes.

My hands were trembling from how desperate I was.

For the first time in half a year, I had written a song.

That day, I returned to my studio and completed a song.

I thought that meant my terrible slump was finally over.

……But it wasn’t.

I knew instinctively.

If I wanted to write another song, I had to see his performance again.

From then on, I desperately searched for him.

It wasn’t easy.

First, I had to find out the name of that ping-pong ball.

Then I had to track down the schedules of IMPACTOR, which was already a failed idol group.

I never even considered going to fansigns in the first place.

‘What could two men possibly have to talk about?’

I just needed to watch the performances.

Then I would get another melody.

But ironically, the only schedule where I could see Kang I-yul’s performances happened to be fansigns.

I somehow figured out how to enter, applied, and arrived at my first fansign.

I could never forget the existential crisis I felt when I got there.

I asked the staff if, please, I could just watch the stage without getting an autograph, and received a look that clearly said, “What the hell is this crazy guy?”

While the amount of fansign time that other people thought was far too short felt like an eternity to me, there were several times when I ended up repeatedly saying, “Ah, really?” before finally being moved along.

But Kang I-yul was exactly the same even offstage.

He constantly asked what he could do to improve, what had been lacking in that day’s performance, and genuinely improved with every stage.

And he was always kind. On days when I had stayed up all night working and came to the fansign, he worried about my bloodshot eyes first. When I caught a cold, he noticed that my voice sounded different before anything else.

As those moments accumulated, at some point, Kang I-yul became more than simply a source of inspiration.

He became someone I wanted to cheer for.

“Seong-woo, next move!”

At the sound of the voice striking my ear, I suddenly snapped back to reality.

“……Yes!”

Before my eyes wasn’t the past.

It was the Kang I-yul of the present.

The face stepping through the movements while catching his breath, his sweat-soaked hair, and those focused eyes.

The moment I saw it, I realized.

‘So that was why.’

The reason I became your fan.

It wasn’t because you were successful. It wasn’t because you were flashy. You were someone who always did your best, no matter the circumstances. Someone who never gave up until the very end. And because of that, simply watching you gave me inspiration.

I clenched my teeth.

‘I’ll definitely turn IMPACTOR into a top-tier idol group.’

Instead of that fucking Go Jae-seong, I would take his place and use the producing skills I had honed over the years to make sure we never became a failed idol group.

And whenever necessary, I would spend a lot of money to make sure we only dyed his hair in ways that protected that precious scalp.

From the ping-pong-ball hair all the way to the final moment that I never wanted to remember again, this time, it was my turn to change Kang I-yul’s life.

 

***

 

“Turn off the lights properly before you leave. I’m heading out first.”

After Han Sang-yoon, IMPACTOR’s leader, was the last to leave, there were now only two people left in the practice room.

The third day since my regression.

Nothing had changed.

Kang I-yul was the one who stayed behind to practice until the very end.

And since Kang I-yul was staying, naturally, there was no way I could leave either.

Kang I-yul didn’t leave the mirror.

He repeated the same movements over and over, clinging to the choreography that already looked perfect until the very end.

‘Was he really this dedicated……?’

I thought I knew everything.

How many times he had been pushed back at the threshold of debut, and therefore how desperately he wanted this.

But seeing it with my own eyes was another matter.

Seeing him continue even with his arm in a cast made my chest feel tight.

An injury that hadn’t existed before my regression.

A variable that could only put him at a disadvantage.

‘It’s because of me.’

Guilt tightened around my throat again.

I didn’t know how much time had passed.

It had been well past 1 a.m. for a long while.

My eyelids grew heavy.

Kang I-yul’s movements gradually became blurry.

Thud!

But it wasn’t a problem with my eyes.

“……!”

Kang I-yul had collided with the wall.

It seemed his steps had gotten tangled.

I instantly snapped awake.

I remembered the day Kang I-yul had fallen in the past.

The stage had been slippery because of the torrential rain, and every time he fell, I had wanted to run onto the stage immediately.

Back then, I had only imagined doing it. Now, I could actually do it myself.

But I couldn’t move.

Because Kang I-yul had an expression on his face that I had never seen before in the mirror.

His face twisted in pain.

He grabbed at his hair in frustration.

“…….”

My eyes stung.

I hurriedly turned my head away.

The music started again.

Kang I-yul danced again as though nothing had happened.

“……Ha.”

With a sigh, the emotions I had been holding back collapsed.

Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop.

They streamed down before I even had a chance to wipe them away.

I couldn’t bear the fact that I was ultimately the person who had killed Kang I-yul.

Unable to endure it any longer, I stood up.

I wanted to get out of this place immediately.

Click.

The moment I opened the door…

“Uh……?”

Our eyes met.

A staff member was holding a phone.

She had been recording Kang I-yul.

Without opening the door or making a sound, she had been waiting to capture an unfiltered moment.

A brief silence.

I hurriedly wiped the corners of my eyes, but it was already too late.

Her camera was already pointed at me.