I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 31

Chapter 31

 

There was one fortunate thing. Whether it was Jang Hyeon-jun or Nam Jun-ho, they might have had plenty of pride, but something bigger than that was their ambition. Once they confirmed that my arrangement was good, they quickly dropped their pointless stubbornness.

From the beginning, the four of them had the same goal. It was only the method of achieving it that differed.

And more than anything…

‘They’re not going to repeat yesterday’s pointless struggle, are they?’

“Then I guess it’s right to abandon the hip-hop feel and go with something that emphasizes the lines.”

“Yeah. Let’s think of it as starting over from the very beginning.”

Han Sang-yoon added calmly.

“Urban didn’t exactly get a good evaluation either.”

“Yep.”

Once the direction was decided, the choreography began taking shape noticeably. The formations were organized, point choreography emerged, and so on. I watched it for a moment.

Whoosh. 

Kang I-yul suddenly turned around.

“……!”

Our eyes almost met. I immediately lowered my head and scribbled random words onto my notepad.

It felt like I had been caught secretly watching him for no reason.

When I cautiously raised my head again, fortunately, all four of them were focused on the choreography.

“Phew…”

I let out a sigh of relief and put my earphones in.

Shadow Play.

Actually, it had been a fairly famous song even before my regression, so I was familiar with it. I just didn’t like it. That bastard Moon-ho had sung it until I was sick of hearing it. Thanks to him, the song was practically engraved in my ears.

“……Ha.”

A laugh escaped me.

‘All sorts of childish memories are coming back to me-’

…But now, all of that was gone.

Although it was four years ago, the circumstances related to me were essentially ten years in the past, so there was no producer ‘SW’ on this timeline. I had searched for him too, but nothing came up.

Honestly, it was a little disappointing. All the work I had accumulated, and all the copyrights, had disappeared.

‘Nothing I can do about it.’

They would have disappeared the moment I died in that accident anyway. Besides, this time, all I had to do was debut, and I would become Kang I-yul’s dedicated producer. It wasn’t exactly a losing deal.

For that to happen…

‘Impactor has to take off.’

Not just moderately, it had to take off decisively.

I took out my earphones and raised my head. The choreography was gradually taking shape, and the sound was coming together.

‘Good.’

The historic first stage with Kang I-yul was taking shape vividly in my mind.

“Huff, huff… I’m done for today.”

After nearly ten hours of practice, Nam Jun-ho was the first to collapse.

“Yeah, it’s already twelve. Let’s do the rest in the morning.”

“Yeeep-”

Although group practice had ended, Kang I-yul didn’t leave the practice room.

His ankle, which he had twisted a few days ago, also seemed to be fine now.

‘At least that’s a relief…’

“Hyung……”

The rest didn’t need to be heard. He was probably wondering why I wasn’t leaving.

I shrugged.

“It’d be shameless of me to rest. If I want to keep up with you guys, I have to work hard.”

I brushed it off with an awkward smile, and Kang I-yul went back to practicing without any particular suspicion.

It wasn’t entirely a lie.

I had to practice, and I also had to keep an eye on him.

…Was calling it keeping an eye on him a little strange?

But even just today, far too many suspicious things had happened to Kang I-yul.

In the morning, he nearly slipped after stepping on water someone had spilled, and at lunch, a flowerpot sitting on a shelf wobbled precariously.

And that wasn’t all. In the evening, he almost got knocked over after colliding with the guys running around like wild colts.

‘That last one was genuinely dangerous.’

Once or twice could be called a coincidence.

But at this point, I couldn’t take my eyes off Kang I-yul until his risk level went down.

 

***

 

Kang I-yul’s reason for helping Yoo Seong-woo was simple. He hated being indebted to others.

While helping him with the signal-song choreography, he had thought he had neatly settled that debt.

But Yoo Seong-woo had incorporated a single remark he had casually made into his arrangement, and had even mentioned him in front of the original artist.

‘This is a little… uncomfortable.’

It didn’t seem like something he could settle simply by teaching him the choreography a few times.

On top of that, strange things had been happening repeatedly lately. He had almost fallen on the bus, nearly slipped on water someone had spilled, and almost been hit in the head by a flowerpot.

What was strange was that Yoo Seong-woo had been nearby every single time.

“…….”

As if he were constantly watching him.

“Would this work?”

That was why he hadn’t even frowned at those peculiar movements.

“Watch carefully. One, two–the arm doesn’t rotate immediately. You wait one beat, then rotate it.”

“Ah, one beat… like this?”

The movement came quickly. The timing was accurate too.

But…

‘His movements are a little… unusual.’

“Did I get it right this time?”

He had gotten it exactly right. Which made it even stranger.

Yoo Seong-woo’s dancing wasn’t connected into one continuous flow. It was like separate pieces moving independently. Each individual movement was there, but none of them connected to the next.

“Put a little more force into it. Like this-”

He even demonstrated it himself, but the result was similar. For the first time, he began questioning his own teaching method.

‘Am I the problem, or is this hyung the problem?’

“Ah….”

Only then did he realize the cause. It wasn’t a problem with his explanation. Yoo Seong-woo’s body simply didn’t match the choreography he had created.

The signal song and the refreshing stage in Round 2 had contained many movements. Choreography where, as long as you memorized the movements accurately and matched the beat, you could make it look decent to some extent.

But this time was different. There were relatively fewer movements, and the connections and lines between each movement were important.

So there was nowhere to hide anything. Every deficiency was exposed exactly as it was.

‘If this is the case…!’

Kang I-yul quietly pressed his temple.

‘I’m going to be twice as indebted.’

What Yoo Seong-woo needed right now was simple.

Fundamentals.

But…

‘There’s no time to teach him that now.’

Where was he supposed to find time to build fundamentals in the middle of a survival show?

‘And it would be ridiculous to start teaching him fundamentals at this point.’

Fortunately, Yoo Seong-woo had a definite weapon that he himself emphasized, and the judges also recognized.

‘Even if his dancing is lacking, he’ll be recognized for his producing.’

Thinking that way seemed to ease his guilt a little. Kang I-yul watched Yoo Seong-woo’s back as he endlessly repeated the movements in front of the mirror.

Awkward and stiff, but he didn’t stop.

“I-yul, look at this.”

Yoo Seong-woo turned around, breathing heavily.

“Doesn’t it look a little more natural this time?”

“…Yes, a little.”

Really, just a very, very little.

Kang I-yul let out a short breath.

“Hyung, you said you had never learned dancing before becoming a trainee, right?”

“Yeah. I never had the chance to learn.”

“…….”

“Ah, sorry. It feels like I’m relying on you again.”

Instead of answering, Kang I-yul walked over beside him.

“This is a really simple fundamental posture. It’s good to know this when you’re dancing in this kind of genre.”

He adjusted the angles starting from his fingertips.

Straighten the body, find the center of balance, and keep the lines from becoming distorted.

Yoo Seong-woo immediately followed along, and Kang I-yul became certain.

‘It really was a lack of fundamentals.’

He was trying to pile things onto a foundation that couldn’t support them.

After thinking for a moment, he demonstrated a wave.

“A wave isn’t just waving your arm around. It has to flow through like this.”

The movement started from his fingertips and naturally flowed through his wrist, arm, and shoulder.

“Wow, I’ll try too.”

Yoo Seong-woo eagerly attempted the wave, his movements bobbing all the way from his fingertips to his shoulders.

“……Ah.”

Kang I-yul was speechless for a moment.

It was definitely the same movement, so how did it end up like that?

It felt like he had discovered an unknown life-form. He had the urge to record every single one of his movements.

“How is it?”

Kang I-yul quietly averted his gaze.

“…I’ll teach you the next movement.”

There was only one conclusion.

Fundamentals, my ass. Right now, the priority was somehow getting him tucked away.

 

***

 

I-yul’s one-on-one choreography lessons were extremely useful. It was a little surprising when he suddenly inserted fundamental exercises in the middle of it, though.

Still, when I showed him the wave I had learned by turning the hourglass a few times, I got a brief expression of admiration in return.

Right. If there was one thing I could do besides producing, I knew how to do a wave.

Anyway, all of his advice was useful, so I was practicing exactly as he told me.

…Of course, practicing didn’t mean I could suddenly do everything.

Once the concept became clear, the choreography, composition, and arrangement all picked up speed.

There was only one problem.

My body.

The choreography was far too good for my dancing ability. To think the day would come when I would resent I-yul’s incredible talent. I guess you really do have to live a long life to see everything.

Still, thanks to the formations that tucked me away perfectly, I made it through the midpoint evaluation without any major problems.

Three days remained.

There was only one final task left for me.

A move that could replace Kang I-yul’s stolen killing part.

Of course, we were already doing well enough. But compared to the impact of the Blooming stage from before my regression, there was still something lacking.

Above all, Go Jae-seong, that sly bastard, had received praise using the gesture he had stolen, which made it even more frustrating.

“……Hmm.”

I racked my brain.

Every one of Kang I-yul’s stages, fancams, and broadcasts.

‘Something that got the best reaction out of all of them and also fits the current concept well….’

Wow, there was nothing. Seriously, nothing.

I tried running my brain at full capacity, but I just couldn’t find it. The things that had gotten good reactions didn’t fit the concept, while the things that fit the concept lacked impact.

Then, one stage suddenly flashed through my mind.

The cable English program Today’s K-pop Star, which he had appeared on after Go Jae-seong’s first major blunder. Choi Un-jo had been flying all over the place throughout the filming and had even managed to secure the next MC position.

‘That wonderfully grateful program that even bestowed a solo fancam upon a flop idol……’

There was one stage Kang I-yul had shown then.

He had combined contemporary dance with a pop song that had a somewhat frightening atmosphere, creating choreography that was bizarre yet impossible to stop watching.

For a while, fans had enthusiastically promoted that fancam to show that “Impactor isn’t finished yet.” The reaction had been pretty good too.

…Though all the people who had dipped their toes into the fandom eventually left after Go Jae-seong’s center incident.

‘It was Impactor’s last spark.’

At that moment, a shadow fell over me.

“Who…… Ah, it’s I-yul?”

“…Hyung, do you have some time?”

My heart suddenly sank.

Holy shit, Kang I-yul had spoken to me first.

“I do!”

‘Even if I didn’t, I’d make some. And you’re asking me that right now?’ almost burst out of my mouth, but I managed to hold it back.

Then I-yul hesitated for a moment before asking me a question.

“Um, which of these two do you think is better?”

“Which one?”

“The gestures.”

There it was.

The opportunity had walked straight to me on its own two feet.

I didn’t even need to think about how to recommend a killing part.

“Ah-”

I acted as calmly as possible. Inside, though, fireworks were going off… no, bombs were exploding.

‘He asked for my opinion!’

Until now, I had always been the one to approach him first. Recommendations about style, conversations, practice.

But Kang I-yul had come to me first! and asked for my opinion!

This was a historic event.

“This is the first one.”

Kang I-yul took his position.

 

♪ Hold me tight-

 

He forcefully extended his left hand in time with the lyrics, then turned his palm and clenched it tightly.

Clean and good.

“And this is the second.”

This time, he lifted his head and used his hand to raise his chin. Even his eye line was good.

Neither movement was bad.

But I already knew the answer.

“Um, can I recommend one other thing?”

“Yes.”

Had his wariness toward me loosened a lot? He gave permission far too easily.

‘Yes!’

“I thought of this while watching from behind.-”

I abruptly stood up.

“You flutter your fingers like this-”

Flutter-flutter.

“Then cross both arms.”

Swish.

“As if you’re embracing someone.”

I wrapped my arms around empty air.

“And then you sharply turn your head once like this-”

Whoosh.

Wow.

So you could turn your head back and forth like that without making a crack sound.

Youth really was something.

“What do you think?”

“…….”

“…….”

I got so excited that my demonstration ended up being longer than my explanation.

That was how serious I was.

The problem was……

My body had far too many defects to perfectly imitate the Kang I-yul movement in my head.

“…….”

“…….”

The practice room fell silent.

I forced a smile and asked again.

“What do you think?”

Kang I-yul thought for a moment.

Then, being extremely cautious and very careful, he chose his words, and chose them again before finally speaking.

“You could just… explain it with words.”

“Oh, oh, right.”

I quickly straightened my posture, pretending nothing had happened.

‘I’m screwed.’

“The m-movement is good!”

I-yul’s desperate attempt to reassure me only made me even more embarrassed.

Apparently, my dancing was far too terrible to serve as a textbook example.