I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 44

Chapter 44

 

[Trainee Nam Jun-ho: I was really surprised back then. The atmosphere was so scary, and then he suddenly raised his hand and interrupted. I wondered if he had eaten something strange.]

 

The fact that unfiltered remarks come out more often than on ordinary idol survival shows… that, too, is part of the charm of an in-house survival show.

 

[Trainee Yoo Seong-woo: I was thinking, what if we designed the stage with a slight sense of obsession toward a lover?]

 

“Huh?”

The other team members’ reactions were exactly the same as Gyeong-jin’s at that moment. Obsession, all of a sudden, in a song whose key points were its lively, bouncy melody and choreography?

“Ah, that’s too much of a stretch.”

“Oh, Seong-woo……”

 

↳ Oh dear, his ambition got ahead of him

↳ There are always people who think a song is only good if they make it completely different from the original ;;

↳ That’s so out of nowhere. What is he thinking?

↳ Legendary attention-seeking;;

 

But Robin’s reaction was unexpected.

 

[Robin: What? Have you perhaps heard our guide version?]

 

“Huh?”

“What?”

Gyeong-jin set down the glass of beer she had been drinking. The trainees’ bewildered faces were shown on camera one after another.

 

↳ What kind of development is this now?

 

[Robin: Actually, the guide version of this song was completely eerie.]

[Behind the scenes of Shadow Play, revealed for the first time on the broadcast.]

 

“Wow, I never would have thought of that when listening to the song……”

 

[Robin: That’s interesting. How did you figure that out from the lyrics?]

[Trainee Yoo Seong-woo: Actually, trainee Kang I-yul said at the beginning that the lyrics sounded a little frightening.]

 

The camera captured Kang I-yul’s surprised expression.

Gyeong-jin instinctively covered her mouth.

“Holy shit?”

“Seong-woo!!”

 

[Production Staff: Was there a particular reason you mentioned trainee Kang I-yul? You could have just said it was all thanks to you, and no one would have known.]

 

“Why is the question phrased like that?”

“Have they never watched a survival show before…”

Yoo Seong-woo answered with a look that seemed to ask, Why would you ask something like that?

Gyeong-jin laughed at the strange sense of solidarity she felt.

 

[Trainee Yoo Seong-woo: Because I can’t live with owing someone.]

 

“Holy shit.”

“That’s amazing.”

 

↳ The manly-man vibes are coming out

↳ Why do I like the way he says he can’t live with owing someone so much LOL

↳ But if you think about it the other way around, if Yoo Seong-woo hadn’t said that, they could have taken the part 2-yul mentioned and used it for malicious editing LOL

 ↳↳ If that’s the reason, he’s pretty shrewd ;;

↳ 2-yul is my favorite, but I just naturally like Seong-woo. Even when he’s doing nothing

↳ Just like during the signal song, I love how he consistently gives I-yul a shout-out

 

[After the concept is finalized, the Black and White team moves forward quickly.]

[The Black and White team trainees are amazed by the song arranged by trainee Yoo Seong-woo.]

 

With the addition of string instrument sounds, the song was completely transformed into a stately and eerie track.

Gyeong-jin was genuinely impressed, just like the trainees on the TV screen.

 

“Wow……”

 

[What is up with Braces Guy?]

He seems like a genius at times like this, but when you see him dance, he’s a squid…

↳ Honestly, I’m starting to think being a producer might suit him better

 ↳↳ But his face is such a waste ;;

↳ I couldn’t really picture the image when I only heard about it, but now that I’ve listened to it, I can clearly see it

↳ I’m really looking forward to the stage

↳ I guess when God made him, they put all his dancing talent into producing

 

[Trainees Kang I-yul and Yoo Seong-woo stay in the practice room until dawn.]

[Production Staff: Don’t you feel like you’re running out of time just practicing your own parts?]

[Trainee Kang I-yul: Um…… I feel at ease only when I repay a debt.]

 

“What the hell? I don’t have any more brain cells to lose. What is he saying?”

“Isn’t our I-yul an angel?”

 

[Production Staff: A debt?]

[Trainee Kang I-yul: Because Seong-woo hyung said that he came up with the arrangement idea thanks to me.]

 

↳ I’m going all-in on these two

↳ Do they have a ship name? If not, how about Debt Collectors?

 ↳↳ An idol duo being called Debt Collectors, seriously LOL

 ↳↳ He said he hates owing people LOL

 

[Trainee Kang I-yul: ……Hyung, do you have some time?]

 

↳ Who edited this?

↳ Wait, if you just change hyung to nuna in the part before that, you could instantly make a lookalike meme?

↳ Jealous of and envious of Yoo Seong-woo…

 

[The two consider gestures for their solo parts.]

[Trainee Yoo Seong-woo’s soul-crushing demonstration.]

[Trainee Yoo Seong-woo: And then you turn your head like… whoosh.]

[Trainee Kang I-yul: You could just explain it… with words.]

 

↳ Ah, I’m getting embarrassed for him LOL

↳ But 2-yul is right. Showing it like that just makes it more confusing LOL

↳ Why is it so funny but also sad how Seong-woo immediately stands up straight LOL

 

Whenever Yoo Seong-woo flailed around while demonstrating a movement, Kang I-yul reproduced it perfectly.

“How does that turn into that?”

It was like watching an illustrator produce a high-quality result from a cover design proposal that looked as though it had been drawn by a kindergartener.

 

↳ The most ridiculous part is how I-yul does everything perfectly while looking completely dumbfounded LOL

↳ At this point, is he a translation machine?

 

But there was something even funnier.

“But why does it suit him so well?”

Not only was it more memorable than the movement Kang I-yul had shown earlier, but it suited him better, too.

 

[Production Staff: How was the gesture trainee Yoo Seong-woo taught you?]

[Trainee Kang I-yul: It was a little…… difficult to understand, but I trusted hyung’s sense.]

[Production Staff: How was his dancing?]

[Trainee Kang I-yul: …….]

 

There was no need for him to answer. His expression said everything.

 

↳ Why would you even ask something like that LOL

↳ I-yul is so nice. If it were me, I would’ve said, “His squid-like movements were amazing,” and caused a personality controversy

 

[Trainee Kang I-yul: Thank you. I had been thinking a lot about how to make this part stand out, but thanks to you, I solved it.]

 

“Ha…… I-yul has become even more mature while I wasn’t looking……”

This wasn’t particularly welcome news for Gyeong-jin. Because she could guess how much time I-yul must have endured to become this mature.

Repeated failed attempts at debuting and transfers between agencies. Throughout that process, I-yul must have had no choice but to become more mature than other kids his age.

And then, she suddenly had a thought.

If he debuts, I hope he’ll be the youngest member who gets lots of love from the team. Someone who can act spoiled, too.

 

[Trainee Kang I-yul: I think I’ll be able to show you an even better side of myself.]

 

“…Like Joo-han.”

At last, the Black and White team’s stage began.

Even the brief glimpse of it during practice had been captivating, but hearing the completed track was even more astonishing.

 

↳ Isn’t Braces Guy definitely going to make the debut lineup?

↳ It’d be ridiculous if he didn’t make the debut lineup after carrying this hard ;;

↳ His vocals have improved, too

↳ He’s practiced his expressions a lot in the meantime. They’ve become much more natural LOL

 

“Ah, I guess it’s coming up.”

I-yul’s solo gesture, reborn through Seong-woo’s idea.

 

♪ Hold me tight~

 

He embraced himself with delicate finger movements.

At that moment, Gyeong-jin had the illusion that wings were sprouting from behind I-yul.

Jisu couldn’t hold herself back and cursed.

“Fuck……”

Even the moment he turned his head seemed to unfold in slow motion, slower than usual.

With his gaze slightly lowered, Gyeong-jin muttered as if she were spellbound.

“Holy shit, he’s literally an angel……”

“If I die, tell them the cause of death was Kang I-yul’s Shadow Play solo part…”

 

↳ Holy shit, it’s divine

↳ Are they insane;;; When do public votes start?

↳ Yes, yes, I’ll vote. Open the voting window. I said I’m going to vote!!!

↳ Holy shit, I can’t remember a single thing from the stage before this

↳ So angels have black hair…

 

As the performance continued, Yoo Seong-woo’s clumsy movements became increasingly noticeable, but everyone felt the same way.

 

↳ Honestly, if he worked this hard on the arrangement and planning, shouldn’t we overlook that level of clumsiness?

 

But the unexpected evaluation from the judges caused a major backlash.

 

[Robin: Practice your dancing like your life depends on it. That way, you won’t regret it later.]

[Robin: You can’t always be kept in the background even after debuting, can you?]

 

↳ Mr. Robin is making it sound scary

↳ Was it really that bad? I mean, the choreography itself was originally something only people who already knew how to dance could pull off well

↳ What can you do? It’s advice from a professional, so he should take it to heart, yeah

↳ It’s cruel, but he’s right. Don’t you know that if you’re still clumsy after debuting, it becomes a label you carry for life?

 

“Still, won’t he make it into the debut lineup?”

But the moment Yoo Seong-woo was called as Code 6, Gyeong-jin instinctively cursed.

“Holy shit, what is this? Why? Because of his dancing?”

 

↳ What the hell?

↳ The standards are fucking strict ;; It’s not even dancing that’s impossible to watch. Honestly, wouldn’t the entire Black and White team have been screwed if it weren’t for Yoo Seong-woo?

↳ I’d be less annoyed if the better-performing trainees had moved up and he had fallen. But that didn’t happen, and there was no change in the rankings. Isn’t that too much?

↳ Seong-woo, did you piss off someone higher up?ㅠㅠ

↳ No, if he still doesn’t make the debut lineup after this, what more does Yoo Seong-woo have to do?

↳ Why can’t Braces Guy fans objectively assess their own pick? Putting it bluntly, what is Yoo Seong-woo better at than the five people in the debut lineup? LOL

 ↳↳ Are you serious? He’s already surpassed Go in vocals and producing.

 ↳↳ Seriously, the way they keep targeting Go is insane.

 

[Code 3 is trainee Kang I-yul!]

 

“Holy shit!! Hey, did you see that? I-yul made it back into the debut lineup!!”

“Huh? Oh…”

Jisu raised her glass to Gyeong-jin’s, but she couldn’t easily shake off the unpleasant feeling. Because even at the moment her favorite had returned to the debut lineup, she was still worried about Yoo Seong-woo.

 

***

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

[SP 1,400]

“It suddenly went up this much?”

The SP, which had been 500 just yesterday, had risen to an absurdly high number.

The fact that interest in me was increasing was a good thing.

But……

[SP 1,450]

[SP 1,500]

“……This is strange.”

The SP was increasing at an abnormal rate.

I instinctively knew that this wasn’t something I could simply be happy about.

And soon, I found the reason.

 

[Head of the Rookie Development Team]

Seven missed calls.

If the Tiger Team Leader himself had contacted me directly, it couldn’t possibly be for a good reason.

…Something seems to have gone really fucking wrong.

I immediately called him back.

[Seong-woo, I think you should come to the Rookie Development Team’s conference room for a moment.]

“Yes, I’ll be there right away.”

[Okay. Something…… came up, but don’t worry too much.]

“Yes.”

That was the scariest thing he could have said.

Because I had never once seen a situation where someone told me not to worry, and there was actually nothing to worry about.

All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind as I headed to the conference room.

Could it be school violence?

No.

Smoking?

I hadn’t smoked even before my regression.

An ex-girlfriend exposing him?

I hadn’t even had a girlfriend in the first place.

More importantly… I really did nothing but study until I went to university and started making music.

When I arrived in front of the conference room, I took a deep breath.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

The atmosphere was ominous the moment I opened the door.

“Sit here.”

“Ah, yes.”

“The reason I suddenly called you here is that a post has been uploaded online.”

At this point, I’m even more curious about what exactly happened.

“You know how dangerous it is for something like this to come up during a survival show, right?”

It was unfair to be getting scolded without even knowing what was going on.

So what happened?

“Well, if it’s a past wrongdoing, you would either settle with the victim or upload an apology……”

“What kind of post is it?”

“Do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know?”

His gaze sharpened.

I hurriedly shook my head.

“I really don’t know. I need to know what happened before I can explain anything, too.”

The team leader looked at me for a moment before holding out his phone.

“Fine. Then see for yourself.”

On the screen was a photograph of me walking alongside some woman.

And it had been taken at the dead of night.

 

[Braces Guy Exposé @fxxxysw · 4 hours ago]

He’s still a minor, but he’s already going to and from a woman’s house. Impressive LOL

#BoysCode #BracesGuy #YooSeongWoo #YooSeongWooGirlfriend #YooSeongWooScandal

Quotes 3,928 · Likes 4,938 · Retweets 20,394

 

“Wow.”

The reaction was much bigger than I had expected.

The post had been uploaded at four in the morning, and it already had this much engagement?

I examined the photograph closely.

Then I spotted the familiar bag the woman was carrying…

“What is this…… No, wait a second.”

At that moment, goosebumps rose from the tip of my big toe all the way to the top of my head.

The emotions that surged over me were a mixture of fear and absurdity.

“Seong-woo.”

I heard the team leader’s sighing voice.

“What are we going to do if a woman-related scandal breaks out already?”

“No, Team Leader. This……”

With trembling hands, I pointed at the screen.

“Hm?”

“This……”

I couldn’t speak.

No, to be precise, I didn’t want to say it out loud.

“What about it?”

That’s Yoo Seong-ah… Which means I’m dead.