I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed – Chapter 39

Author: Cireng

Chapter 39

The moment I opened the dormitory door, the trainees gathered in the living room all stopped moving at the same time.

“Huh?”

“Holy crap, what the hell?”

The first one to shout was Choi Su-hyeok.

“Yoo Seong-woo?”

Gazes poured toward me in an instant. I froze while taking off my shoes.

“What’s with this reaction?”

“Didn’t you quit?”

“Exactly!”

“What the hell is this about?”

This was strange. The atmosphere was as if a missing person had just returned alive.

“Everyone thought you quit.”

“No, they probably thought you went and got plastic surgery.”

“What?”

And what was with this ridiculous story?

Ji Dong-seok abruptly sprang to his feet. He strode over and stared intently at my face.

“……”

“What?”

“Did you really get something done?”

“What?”

I was so dumbfounded that I laughed.

At that moment…

“See?!”

Choi Su-hyeok interrupted in an excited voice.

“What did I tell you! I said it was plastic surgery!”

“I told you it wasn’t.”

“Then explain yourself!”

“Explain what?”

“You haven’t shown up at the practice room for two weeks.”

“You haven’t come back to the dorm.”

“You haven’t said a single word in the group chat.”

“You suddenly show up, and your face is different!”

“That’s right. You’ve become completely half the size you used to be. Isn’t this proof enough?”

A trial was convened in an instant.

The defendant was me. The charge was… having a different face?

“Everyone thought you quit.”

Even Han Sang-yoon opened his mouth.

“Where have you been all this time?”

“I went home.”

“……”

“Then where did you practice?”

Ah…

I finally began to understand their reactions.

Since Part 2 would begin accepting audience participation and public votes, the past two weeks had been an adjustment period to synchronize the gap between the upcoming filming and broadcast schedules.

So although they called it free time, it was actually time to prepare for the next round. Since everyone was a trainee under Nix, naturally, they had all stayed in the dorms and practiced as usual.

Except me.

I had suddenly disappeared, changed while I was gone, and when they asked why I had changed, I didn’t give them a straightforward answer.

I could see why they would misunderstand.

“What did you actually do all this time?”

I thought for a moment before brushing it off with a vague smile.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“What?”

“It’s a little iffy whether I’m allowed to talk about it…”

The matter of my sister was something I needed to think over a little more. Maybe it was because I had been so thoroughly brainwashed, but if I brought up my sister, I felt like Yoo Seong-ah would suddenly appear and twist my neck.

That was when…

“Hey!”

Choi Su-hyeok suddenly shouted.

“What? Why?”

“You took out your braces?”

What the hell? Was that what this was about?

Well, these guys had only ever seen me with braces, so I suppose it was understandable that they were surprised.

“Holy crap, that’s amazing.”

“No wonder. I knew something looked different.”

“Did you lose weight, too?”

“Your skin is insane, too…”

On top of that, I had lost a ton of weight from the brutal training, and Yoo Seong-ah had subjected me to every kind of treatment imaginable, from face packs to massages, thanks to her excessive fussing.

No wonder their reactions are so intense.

“Wow, Yoo Seong-woo really came back determined.”

The two-week metamorphosis project had been a tremendous success in more ways than one.

The moment I opened the practice room door, familiar music and the sound of feet striking the floor poured out simultaneously.

“Wow……”

I was finally out of Yoo Seong-ah’s practice room. I was overwhelmed with emotion all over again.

That was when… Our eyes met through the mirror.

“…Seong-woo Hyung?”

Holy crap, I-yul. You’ve gotten even more handsome over the past two weeks.

Perhaps his worries had eased after rejoining the debut group, because the gauntness in his cheeks had filled out a little.

It feels like all my cheek fat went over there…

“It’s been a while.”

“It has. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you for a while.”

His voice was calm, but his expression looked like he was dying of curiosity.

“I was doing some individual practice…”

“Ah.”

He answered briefly before turning his head back. But right before he did, his gaze brushed over me one more time. It lasted for exactly one beat.

I had only ever seen that expression at fan sign events. I never thought I’d see it here again.

You little brat. You’re making it so obvious how happy you are to see me.

A small laugh escaped me. It felt like I was finally being rewarded for enduring that hellish training.

“Wow, as expected~”

Then an irritating voice came from behind me.

“You went radio silent for two weeks, then came back after fixing everything up, huh?”

When I turned around, the two traffic-light-haired guys were standing there.

Of course, Go Jae-seong was standing behind them.

With Jang Hyeon-jun gone, the color combination had become much simpler, changing from red-yellow-green to red-and-green.

“Whatever you did, your face has become half its original size.”

“Looks like it worked well…”

They deliberately chuckled louder, as if they wanted to make sure I heard them.

I figured it would be those bastards, but of course it was.

The source of the ridiculous rumor was approaching.

I stared at the two of them silently. Then I nodded.

“That’s right.”

“What?”

“I did get something done.”

The two of them froze for a moment.

“Th–”

I smiled casually, showing my teeth.

“I only took out my braces yesterday.”

I lightly tapped my teeth a couple of times with my finger.

“But I’m already hearing people call it plastic surgery over something this minor.”

I rubbed my chin for no particular reason.

“Haah… Seriously, I–”

I even shook my head from side to side.

“What am I going to do about Yoo Seong-woo’s looks? Seriously.”

There was no reason to take guys like them seriously in the first place. Ridiculous nonsense deserved even more ridiculous nonsense in response.

The expressions of the two traffic lights gradually curdled.

“Hmm…”

But I didn’t stop there.

“…But what are you two going to do?”

I tilted my head slightly and looked them up and down.

“What about us?”

“You don’t have any braces left to take out–”

I pointed at the two of them, then opened my hand and waved it in front of my face a couple of times.

“But it looks like your faces are already at their maximum potential.”

I deliberately shrugged exaggeratedly.

“That’s a shame–”

The trainees who had been holding back their laughter, reading the situation, began to snicker one after another.

The two guys could only huff angrily without saying a word. I gave a small laugh and looked away.

This isn’t even childish teasing anymore…

Having been scratched raw and practically torn apart by Yoo Seong-ah, this was no more than a tickle to me.

They had actually tried to get under my skin with something this weak.

Too bad, you picked the wrong time, you idiots.

“All right, all right. You know you can’t neglect your lessons just because this is a survival show, right?”

“Yes!”

The trainer looked around at the trainees as if checking attendance, then turned toward me.

“Seong-woo, you haven’t attended a single class in two weeks. Do you think you can keep up?”

The trainees’ gazes simultaneously locked onto me.

“Yes! I’ll work hard to catch up!”

At my response, signs of disbelief passed across the room.

I was the trainee everyone worried about whenever dancing came up. That was the description attached to my name.

Normally, missing even one lesson would make it difficult to keep up with the choreography. But I had disappeared for two whole weeks.

By anyone’s standards, I was practically guaranteed to struggle.

“All right, we’ll start with this move. One, two–”

The trainer demonstrated, and I followed the movements exactly.

And soon, I realized…

This is manageable?

In the past, I would have been too busy trying to follow along. But not anymore.

The fundamentals Yoo Seong-ah had made me repeat like a madwoman… or rather, like a mad person. Waves, steps, bounces, upper- and lower-body control. Every movement was built upon them.

So this is why fundamentals are important.

I remembered I-yul, who had tried to teach me the basics even with our limited practice time.

‘What a good kid.’

“All right, each of you, continue on your own from the part I just demonstrated.”

“Yes!”

Memorization is my strong suit.

In the first place, memorization wasn’t the issue. I was the kind of person who could memorize everything but couldn’t express it through my body.

The music began playing again.

“One, two–three, four–”

My body moved naturally. My body followed the sequence my mind remembered exactly.

One movement, then the next.

And then…

“Huh?”

Someone let out a small sound.

I raised my head and saw one of the trainees in the front row looking at me. His expression was as if he had witnessed something strange.

“What?”

The trainee beside him also followed his gaze toward me. Then both of them forgot about dancing and began staring only in my direction.

What’s wrong with them?

At that moment…

“Seong-woo!”

My name was suddenly called.

Ah.

I guess I still had a long way to go. I looked at the trainer nervously.

But…

“No, no. Keep going.”

He actually moved to stand beside me.

“That’s right! Add one pop there, and immediately–”

He’s way too kind…

To someone like me, who had grown accustomed to Yoo Seong-ah’s training, his voice sounded like the voice of an exceedingly kind angel.

“Five, six, seven, eight!”

Wow, he’s counting every single number for me.

For reference, Yoo Seong-ah only counted up to one and two because her throat hurt.

And this was training where not a single kick, or even a single shout, was exchanged!

“One, two–okay!”

When the music ended, I was almost disappointed.

“Wow…”

The trainer blinked.

“Seong-woo, what are you?”

This time, his expression was genuinely shocked. Murmurs began spreading around me, too.

“What did you do for two weeks? You’ve become a completely different person!”

“Thank you!”

“Today’s MVP is Seong-woo!”

It was the first time I hadn’t been criticized during dance training.

But there was an even bigger change.

The sharp looks that said, Can’t you see how you’re slowing everyone else’s progress down? This time, there wasn’t a single one.

Instead, those looks had changed into expressions of shock, as if they had witnessed an impossible miracle.

“If you can dance well now, the other kids are going to have to feel really nervous, huh?”

“…Yes.”

The responses that followed were rather lukewarm.

“But seriously, where on earth did you go, and what did you do?”

“I practiced the fundamentals from the beginning!”

After answering energetically, I felt as if I had enlisted in the military all over again.

“Who did you learn from? I’d really like to see the instructor’s face…”

I forced the corners of my mouth upward.

Please don’t say such frightening things…

This trainer was probably acquainted with Yoo Seong-ah through one connection or another. There was no way he didn’t know Yoo Seong-ah, who was famous for knowing everyone.

And even he didn’t know that I was Yoo Seong-ah’s younger brother, so if the truth came out…

I don’t even want to imagine it.

“I’m looking forward to this round. Work hard!”

“Thank you!”

I remained trapped in that prison of praise for only a short while before a familiar announcement echoed throughout the entire building.

[Hello, trainees. This is MC Kang Se-jun! All trainees, please gather in the first-floor studio immediately. The trainee who arrives first will receive… a small benefit!]

“What?”

“…Do we have to run again?”

Groans erupted from all over the place.

The practice room emptied in an instant. The sound of running feet filled the hallway. No one knew what kind of benefit they would receive, but they probably didn’t want to let another trainee take it from them.

I watched them and let out a small laugh.

It’s started. A secret mission to determine the teams for Round 4. It had been quite a hot topic even before my regression.

In front of the first-floor studio, the trainees who had arrived first gathered at the door, panting heavily.

“Huh?”

“…What is this?”

They had clearly been told to come to the studio, but a large sign had been placed at the studio entrance.

[NO ENTRY]

“Isn’t this the studio?”

“Isn’t it?”

“No, they told us to come here…”

Of course they were dumbfounded. They had been made to run for their lives, only to receive a response that said, No entry.

Just as Kang Se-jun had said, the benefit given to the first trainee to arrive really was quite small. They could find out about the mission a little earlier, that was all.

Then the broadcast came on again.

[Now, hidden throughout Nix Entertainment are hints to the code that can open the studio door!]

“Holy crap.”

“What? Is this like a treasure hunt?”

A treasure hunt… Something like that. But it wasn’t an ordinary treasure hunt. Soon, this building would be filled with the trainees’ screams.

[All right, then. We’ll begin now!]

Flicker

The lights above our heads shook for a moment. Then they flickered again. The hallway fell silent in an instant.

I quietly rolled up my sleeves and rotated my neck once.

I should start preparing.

The reason this mission had dominated the real-time search rankings immediately after it aired before my regression. And the reason countless trainees had cursed the production crew.

Thud.

The light at the end of the hallway went out.

Thud.

The next light went out.

Thud.

Then another.

As if someone were dragging darkness along with them, the lights in the hallway began to be swallowed one by one.

“…Huh?”

Someone muttered in a trembling voice.

And then…

Thud.

The moment the final light went out…