I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 37

Chapter 37

 

Throughout the entire time I watched Episode 2 with my older sister, I felt restless.

Watching a broadcast I appeared in together with a blood relative was much more grueling than I had expected.

“Honestly, what terrible stamina.”

Yoo Seong-ah clicked her tongue while watching the screen.

“Did that guy really collapse?”

‘Of course. What else would it be, fake…?’ I almost said.

But the instinct of a lackey knows better. If I talked back, I would ultimately be the one who suffered.

In that moment, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Good health is what lets you endure.”

Yoo Seong-ah was searching for nutritional supplements on her phone.

‘Oh.’

I was a little touched. So she wasn’t just a tyrant after all.

“Hey, but don’t tell people on the show that I’m your sister, okay?”

Touching moment canceled.

“Why?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

Completely canceled. I really shouldn’t expect more than I could get.

Instead of answering, I just drank some water.

……You never know what might happen in life.

Episode 2 progressed quickly. It went straight through to the first mission without any dragged-out segments.

 

[Code 6, who selected producing as their theme.]

 

“Oh~ There are kids who can produce, too?”

“Yeah.”

“Your agency has a surprisingly decent pool of talent, huh?”

I gave a rough answer and checked the message board where viewers had gathered. Before my regression, I had regretted not knowing Kang I-yul since his survival show days. And now, I was actually monitoring the real-time reactions myself.

 

[So does this group also produce their own stuff? I didn’t know they had kids who could produce;;]

↳  Song In-hyuk and Kwon Jae-hyuk said in an interview when they first founded Nix that they wanted to create self-producing idolsㅇㅇ

↳  But doesn’t self-producing also require capital to succeed?

 ↳↳ No, you self-produce because you don’t have capital.

↳ Was his name Go Jae-seong? His skills are decent, his looks aren’t bad, and if he can produce, isn’t he practically guaranteed to make the lineup, too?

 

[Code 6 demonstrated stable skills and producing abilities.]

[The judges’ eyes overflowing with affection.]

 

I watched the broadcast with an unsatisfied expression.

‘As expected.’

My eyes before the regression hadn’t been wrong. Since this was his second time around, Go Jae-seong, unless he was an idiot, must have calculated how he could appear better on screen and how to make a more polished stage.

His skills really had improved.

 

↳ His arranging skills are pretty decent?

↳ Isn’t he perfect for the debut lineup?

↳ Am I the only one who thinks it’s a shame that he ended up as Code 6?

 ↳↳ No, honestly, it makes no sense that he’s ranked lower than the orthodontic braces boy keke.

 

[Code 4 raised his hand next.]

Yoo Seong-ah tilted her head.

“Oh, what’s this? You weren’t nervous?”

“I was confident, too.”

“Huh? Confident about what?”

Then I spoke on the screen.

 

[Code 4: The keyword for the stage I’ve prepared today is ‘original song.’]

 

“What?”

Yoo Seong-ah was genuinely surprised.

Even though it had been four years, information about Yoo Seong-woo was limited to him being nineteen, so even my sister didn’t know about my producing abilities.

‘I didn’t have time to tell her right after regressing, either.’

“You? An original song? You knew how to produce?”

The public’s reaction was just as heated as my sister’s.

I searched my name on the social media platform I used to visit every day when fangirling over Kang I-yul. But all that came up were various kinds of star photos.

“Oh, right.”

‘There probably isn’t a censor name for me yet, and my most prominent characteristic is…’

 

[Orthodontic braces]

 

I suddenly started worrying about how my name would eventually be censored or referred to indirectly.

 

[What the hell is orthodontic braces boy, seriously?]

No prior trainee experience + orthodontic braces + tenacious + puppy-like face + sickly, and now they say he can produce too;; Isn’t he actually the most overpowered character?

↳ I literally screamed when he said, “It’s my original song.” It gave me chills.

↳ He’s an even more capable character than I thought.

↳ No, but does everyone just blindly stan him without even knowing how good his skills are?

 ↳↳ Even if he’s someone with terrible self-awareness, would he come after Go Jae-seong just to stir up attention?

↳ But his guts are insane. If it were me, I wouldn’t go on after that stage.

 

[Code 4: The song title is Yoo Seong-woo.]

 

But for some reason, my midterm evaluation had been edited out.

“Huh?”

“What? Were you completely edited out?”

“No, what is this…?”

The viewers were just as confused.

 

↳ What the heck, give us orthodontic braces boy;;

↳ This is weird?

↳ How absurd.

↳ What did I say? I told you he just did it to attract attention?

↳ How bad must it have been for them to cut the whole thing?

 

“This makes no sense.”

I jumped up from the sofa.

The judges’ evaluations had clearly been good, and the reaction had exploded. There was no reason for that scene to be completely edited out.

“So the strategy was, ‘Let’s create screen time first, whatever it takes’?”

Yoo Seong-ah snickered beside me.

“No, this is malicious editing!”

“Come on, looks like you completely screwed up.”

“I said that’s not it!”

My stomach churned with frustration. How could they edit out something like that?

“This is seriously slander.”

“Seong-woo, who do you think you are?”

For a moment, I was rendered speechless.

“That’s not exactly it, but……”

“Then shut up and watch.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After the midterm evaluations ended, the broadcast continued straight into the actual stages.

“Wow, the lower-ranked kids really only get five-second cuts.”

The production team’s determination to pack only the highlights into a short amount of time was evident.

‘That’s why it managed to gain some popularity, at least.’

And finally, it was my turn.

 

↳ The styling is cute.

↳ It’s amazing how he knows what style suits him so well.

↳ But isn’t this kind of not an idol-style outfit?

 ↳↳ Yeah, it gives off a solo singer-songwriter vibe.

↳ The glasses are freaking cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

> [Finally, orthodontic braces boy.]

They’re revealing his name, right? I’m so curious because literally nothing about him has been revealed.

↳ He must have been super quiet at school, tooㅇㅇ How has not even one verification post come up?

↳ But isn’t this separate from whether he was quiet at school? Isn’t it just because the program isn’t famous?

↳ It’s cute how surprised he is that the stage is bigger than expected.

 

[The trainee’s name is finally revealed.]

[Yoo Seong-woo]

 

“Oh.”

Yoo Seong-ah, who had been watching beside me, let out a brief exclamation.

“They put quite a bit of thought into the direction, huh?”

 

↳ Wasn’t the song title also Yoo Seong-woo? This is why you have to choose your name well.

↳ So that’s why the judges flinched

↳ His guts are insane, making an original song with his own name.

 

“Hey, why were you shaking like that? You looked exactly like a dog that desperately needs to take a dump.”

My appearance captured on camera was even more serious than I had expected.

 

↳ Oh dear, he’s shaking so much;;

↳ Is he actually capable of performing on stage?

↳ Oh man, that’s why you should’ve just done something safeㅠㅠ

↳ Since it’s not even a mission where you can be eliminated, I guess he went for an unnecessary gamble.

 

Countless doubts about the upcoming performance.

 

[The judges watch trainee Yoo Seong-woo with concerned eyes.]

[JackP: It would be nice if he could perform at least as well as he did during the midterm evaluation.]

[So what exactly happened on the day of the midterm evaluation…?]

 

“……Ah, so that’s why they did it on purpose?”

I was almost embarrassed that I had worried about the scene being completely edited out.

 

[Three days earlier, midterm evaluation.]

 

The screen returned to the time of the midterm evaluation.

 

[The practice room atmosphere freezes after trainee Yoo Seong-woo makes a bombshell announcement.]

[Code 16: I naturally thought Jae-seong was the only one who could produce. When I first asked him, I think he said he did rap? I was completely fooled.]

[Code 4: The MR isn’t finished yet, so today I’ll be performing with just a guitar.]

 

Although the segment was short, the song’s quality, which exceeded expectations, and the judge’s praise caused the message board to be briefly flooded with my name.

 

↳ Holy crap, where have you been hiding until now?

↳ Did he attend an arts high school?

↳ Did the songwriting world have its talent stolen by the idol industry?

↳ Now I understand why they told him to perform only as well as he did in the midterm evaluation. Isn’t he basically getting a free pass into the debut lineup?

 

[Production Team: Didn’t you run out of time while preparing?]

[Code 4: It was a simple song, so it was fine.]

[Production Team: That’s a simple song?]

[Production Team: You’re a genius, a genius.]

 

‘They’re editing it this generously?’

Even I hadn’t heard that final compliment.

‘Did they record that separately afterward?’

 

↳ But they’re being so blatantly repetitive with the “genius, genius” thing;;

↳ Isn’t there someone on the production team whose favorite is Yoo Seong-woo?

 

As expected, Yoo Seong-ah alternated between looking at me and the TV screen with displeasure.

“This guy… a genius?”

“……”

“Ugh…….”

I was already embarrassed, but Yoo Seong-ah’s reaction made the tips of my ears burn.

“Hey, I guess you really did well on stage? Seeing how they’re already hyping you up like this.”

“I-I got praised.”

“Tut, tut, I don’t think so. Sounds like you probably heard something disappointing, too.”

Sometimes, her intuition sent chills down my spine.

 

[Production Team: If you could say one word about your determination before the stage?]

[Code 4: I will show you that I’m someone the team absolutely needs!]

 

‘I said something that solemnly?’

Watching my own appearance captured on camera after so much time had passed was more awkward than I could have imagined. I had tensed my body so much that my shoulders were practically touching my ears.

Finally, the stage began.

As expected, the footage of me trembling at the beginning was shown in full, without any editing.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the embarrassing memories resurfacing. That didn’t stop my trembling voice from reaching my ears, though.

 

↳ What?

↳ Oh dear, he was really nervousㅠㅠㅠ

↳ But look at how his pitch doesn’t waver even while he’s shaking;;

↳ All the hype is gone now.

↳ Is it just me? I think he looks even more desperate, and I like it?

 

But the atmosphere gradually began to change.

 

♪ Watch me

♪ Watch my song

 

My trembling voice.

 

♪ Look forward to

♪ My tomorrow

 

Gradually grew steadier.

 

↳ He’s so good once he relaxes?

↳ I actually like it because it feels more natural.

 

♪ ome with me

♪ On my journey

 

The camera didn’t miss that change, either.

At first, I had my hands clenched tightly. But gradually, I began making eye contact with the judges more naturally… And at some point, I was smiling.

 

↳ The song is good.

If this is an original song, shouldn’t he be a composer instead of doing idols right now?

 

[Applause fills the judges’ seats.]

[JackP: Both the producing and singing were good, but it was especially interesting to watch the changes in trainee Yoo Seong-woo.]

 

Yoo Seong-ah was also watching the screen without a trace of playfulness by this point.

“You did better than I expected.”

“Better than you expected?”

“Don’t get cocky.”

…I was immediately scolded.

 

[The judges’ continued high praise.]

[CEO Song In-hyuk’s distinctly different expression.]

 

“Why does that guy look bad-tempered all by himself? He looks like he’s about to pick a fight.”

There’s a reason his nickname is Sseommelier.

As the evaluation began with praise, Yoo Seong-ah tilted her head.

 

[Song In-hyuk: However.]

 

“I knew this was coming. What is he trying to say?”

‘She’s really enjoying watching this…….’

 

[Song In-hyuk: Starting with the next mission, you’ll have to dance and sing. At that point, the clumsy appearance of a novice trainee like you now will be a poison.]

 

“That’s true.”

 

↳ He was told to do what he’s good at, so why are they criticizing him for not dancing?

↳ But isn’t he right? If you’re an idol, you need to be good at everything.

↳ No, if that’s the case, they should’ve said dancing and singing were both mandatory

 ↳↳ Tsk, tsk. The only one here who didn’t dance was the orthodontic braces boy, so what are you talking about?

 

The subsequent ranking announcement ceremony showed me dropping to sixth place, as well as the scene where I took the name tag from Go Jae-seong.

 

[MC Kang Se-jun: There were the following reasons for your rise from Code 6 to Code 4. Expectations for your future growth in producing abilities, and the harmony of your singing and dancing balance.]

[The name tag refuses to come off as easily as expected.]

 

Yoo Seong-ah had gone completely silent. I awkwardly shifted in my seat because of the tension.

 

↳ The power struggle is insane;;

↳ How the hell did they attach it for it to be so difficult to remove?

↳ This ranking replacement system is freaking cruel.

↳ Jae-seong must be surprisingly sensitiveㅠㅠ He can’t even pull that off easily.

 

[The name tag is finally removed.]

 

The camera caught the moment my gaze met Go Jae-seong’s.

 

[Yoo Seong-woo: I’ll take good care of the name tag, too.]

 

Snap-!

The sound was clearer than it had been at the actual scene. At that moment, I saw it.

Yoo Seong-ah was clenching her fist tightly.

This was bad. That was a danger signal, and a very powerful one at that.

 

↳ What the heck? It comes off just fine.

↳ Is orthodontic braces boy secretly strong, or is Mr. Go just weak?

↳ I like how orthodontic braces boy is surprisingly strong-willed

 

Once the entire ranking announcement ceremony had ended, Yoo Seong-ah stood up abruptly, even before the preview aired.

“……”

“Noona?”

“……”

“……Noona?”

Swish

Yoo Seong-ah turned around. Her eyes were burning fiercely.

“Let’s go.”

“……Huh?”

“Let’s go practice.”

Apparently, there was no chance I was going to make it home today.