I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 50

Chapter 50

 

“Uh…?”

“Whoa.”

Kang I-yul couldn’t easily leave his spot.

“Trainee Kang I-yul! Please move to your seat!”

Only after hearing the staff urge him did he finally manage to move.

“…I’m sorry.”

And then, slowly, he walked toward me.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face.

I was afraid even to imagine what kind of expression he might be wearing.

I simply turned my gaze toward empty space.

“…”

This wasn’t part of my plan.

No, from the beginning, I had never even imagined an outcome like this.

‘This is impossible.’

Only then did I realize that I had been making the biggest mistake of all.

Kang I-yul had always been the best idol to me.

Someone who shone brighter than anyone else onstage. That was why I had naturally believed he would debut.

It was so obvious that I had never once imagined a future in which he failed to debut.

And even less had I imagined surpassing Kang I-yul.

“Trainee Kang I-yul.”

That blind faith had ultimately blinded me.

“You’ve unfortunately fallen out of the debut lineup. Please give us a few words about your resolve moving forward.”

The camera moved closer to Kang I-yul.

‘Cruel.’

Kang I-yul moved his lips for a moment.

“I’ll… show you stages where I’ve improved further.”

A short statement. His voice sounded especially quiet.

“Yes. We look forward to your next stage as well.”

The ranking announcement continued.

“Now, we’ll announce the new debut lineup.”

Choi Un-jo was the first to be called into the debut lineup, taking fifth place. His confident speech helped offset the atmosphere, but I alone felt as though I were attending a funeral.

It was certainly something to celebrate, but it wasn’t easy.

“Code 4 goes to trainee Han Sang-yoon.”

Han Sang-yoon clasped both hands together and bowed deeply.

“Thank you so much. I’ll never lose this position again. From now on, I’ll continue performing onstage with everything I have!”

The trainees responded to his fierce determination with applause.

And then…

“Code 3.”

My heart pounded hard.

‘I don’t care if I’m in last place. Please…’

“Congratulations. Trainee Yoo Seong-woo.”

“……!”

The world came to a stop.

I could feel someone’s gaze beside me.

I knew it was probably Kang I-yul, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.

“Trainee Yoo Seong-woo, you’ve finally reclaimed your place in the debut lineup. How do you feel right now?”

The hand holding the microphone began trembling like crazy.

“Um…”

Like someone who had forgotten how to make a sound, only a dry voice came out.

“Since this is the first time I’ve reclaimed a spot in the debut lineup since the signal song, I think I’m feeling quite overwhelmed right now.”

Kang Se-jun naturally picked up the conversation.

“Please give him a round of encouraging applause.”

Clap, clap, clap

This was clearly a moment when I should have been happy, but the sound of applause pressed down on my shoulders.

‘Kang I-yul can’t debut because of you.’

‘You’ve forgotten your original goal, haven’t you?’

My thoughts became a complete mess.

Why does everything keep getting so tangled?

The harder I worked to debut alongside Kang I-yul, the more cruelly the situation continued to unfold.

The camera moved closer. I had to change the name tags.

But my trembling hand wouldn’t move at all.

“Trainee Yoo Seong-woo?”

Kang Se-jun urged me on carefully.

“Hyung.”

Kang I-yul spoke first.

“Hurry up and take it.”

His voice was calm. Only then did I move my hand.

That’s right. The longer this situation continues, the one who becomes miserable isn’t me.

I grabbed the name tag with my trembling hand. But it slipped several times.

In the end, Kang I-yul gently wrapped his hand around mine.

Snap.

With a short sound of friction, the name tag came off.

While I stood there dazed, Kang I-yul took my name tag and quietly headed toward his seat.

As I watched his back, it felt as though the ground beneath my feet had vanished.

I didn’t remember how I had climbed onto the platform or what kind of speech I had given. Not a single thing.

Back in the debut lineup position.

There was only one thought in my head.

‘This can’t continue.’

I couldn’t keep repeating this cycle where I fell whenever Kang I-yul rose, and Kang I-yul was pushed out whenever I rose.

‘I’ll check the status window first once this is over.’

There was definitely something I was missing.

“Trainees Joo-han and Go Jae-seong, please come up onto the stage.”

“Yes!”

Now, only one thing remained: Code 1.

Either Joo-han would retain it, or Go Jae-seong would finally rise to the top.

I was overwhelmed by conflicting emotions.

I wanted him not to rise any further. I wanted him to fall from the highest position.

One second passed like an hour, and the electronic display changed.

 

[Code 2 ▶ Code 1]

 

“Congratulations, trainee Go Jae-seong. You have been selected as the new Code 1!”

“Whoa…!”

Cheers shook the studio.

‘…So this is how it ends up.’

Go Jae-seong buried his face in his palms, his shoulders even beginning to tremble.

“Trainee Joo-han will automatically become Code 2.”

Joo-han smiled and patted Go Jae-seong on the shoulder.

“Congratulations, hyung.”

“Thanks.”

“Trainee Go Jae-seong placed first as a team and first individually, and also ranked third in the public vote, making him the new Code 1.”

Tears had gathered in the corners of Go Jae-seong’s eyes as he repeatedly rubbed his face with both hands.

Almost every camera at the venue captured Go Jae-seong’s face. The PD couldn’t stop smiling, either.

Of course.

A new powerhouse rising after pushing aside the strongest person who had always held the top position.

It was the scene everyone waited for most in a survival show.

“Trainee Joo-han, this is the first time you’ve stepped down from the Code 1 position…”

Joo-han smiled leisurely.

“You can’t always come in first!”

Then he playfully pointed a finger at Go Jae-seong.

“But hyung, you’d better watch out–”

The two exchanged name tags, and Go Jae-seong’s acceptance speech followed.

“I’ll never let anyone take this position away from me again. I’m really grateful to our team for working so hard together.”

Go Jae-seong caught his breath.

“Especially you, Seong-woo.”

Suddenly, his gaze turned toward me.

“I really want to debut together with you.”

In an instant, the trainees, the judges, and the cameras… All of them turned toward me.

“…?”

They say that when you’re too flustered, you let out a hollow laugh. I couldn’t even close my mouth.

The PD excitedly gestured.

A signal telling him to keep going, to say more.

“Isn’t this the first time the two trainees have been on the same team? I guess you two must have had really good chemistry–”

Go Jae-seong smiled shyly.

“Yes, I’m really happy that we’ve become part of the debut lineup together. I think he’s a friend the team absolutely needs.”

‘Fuck.’

A curse naturally escaped me internally.

“Trainee Seong-woo, what do you think?”

What do you think? What the fuck do you think? I feel fucking terrible.

“It was so sudden…”

I barely managed to lift the corners of my mouth.

“But thank you, Jae-seong.”

This was completely like putting foreign subtitles on something I had said that meant something entirely different.

“I hope the friendship between these two trainees lasts a long time.”

‘As if it will.’

There would never be a day, even if that bastard died and came back to life, when the word friendship would be associated with him and me.

“With this, we’ll conclude the Code announcement ceremony.”

After the final sixteenth-place trainee was announced, the last farewells with the eliminated trainees followed. There were particularly many people crying this time.

The weight of the time they had endured together for several months was greater than expected.

Especially since both eliminated trainees had been on Han Sang-yoon’s team, he silently patted the eliminated trainees on the back.

After the eliminated trainees left first, Kang Se-jun announced the new debut lineup amid the gloomy atmosphere.

“Now, then. Let me introduce the newly formed debut lineup!”

A light shone on the floor beneath my feet.

It was a light I had reclaimed only after going through three Code announcement ceremonies.

Applause poured down. Envious gazes filled with admiration were directed at me.

I had climbed to the place I had always looked up to, but it wasn’t the scene I had dreamed of.

“Okay–That concludes the filming!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

As soon as filming ended, I left the debut lineup position. Simply standing in the spot that had belonged to Kang I-yul was agonizing.

“Alright, let’s start clearing the set…”

The trainees gradually left one by one, but Kang I-yul was still sitting in the Code 6 position. It seemed he couldn’t bring himself to move.

“Why haven’t you left yet…”

I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether I should comfort him or casually strike up a conversation.

“Move the microphone over here…”

“All remaining trainees, return to the buses!”

Only after hearing the staff shout several more times did Kang I-yul rise from his seat.

“Be careful when dismantling that set over there!”

“Yes–”

Kang I-yul walked through the staff members bustling around.

His steps were slower than usual, his shoulders drooped, and his gaze fell weakly toward the ground.

For a moment, one side of my chest felt tight.

Should I ask him to go together? Should I at least ask if he’s okay?

I slowed my pace.

I intended to leave together with him naturally.

That was when it happened.

Creaaak

It was a small sound.

Yet, for some reason, it was incredibly clear.

‘What was that?’

My head turned on its own.

The set was being dismantled.

The enormous structure was tilting forward.

“Wait!”

“…?”

One of the staff members shouted.

“Grab that!”

But it was already too late.

Screeeech

A long metallic sound rang out.

And beneath it… Kang I-yul was standing there.

“Th-there! Be careful!”

It happened in an instant.

My body moved before I could think.

“I-yul!”

I sprinted with all my strength.

I shoved Kang I-yul out of the way.

Ruuuuumble!

At the same time, the enormous set collapsed completely.

BANG!

My entire body shook from the impact, accompanied by an immense crashing sound.

“What happened? What’s going on?”

“He suddenly ran over…”

“Call 119!”

“Quickly!”

Screams erupted from all directions. The frantic voices buzzed in my ears like tinnitus.

I felt a burning pain, but I forced my eyes open.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh my, blood… You’re bleeding!”

“Who is it? Who got hurt?”

The danger level was still the same. That was why I struggled desperately not to close my eyes.

And in the place I had laboriously looked up toward…

“…Hyung, hyung? Seong-woo hyung, are you okay?”

Kang I-yul was there.

Kang I-yul, alive and unharmed.

In an instant, all the tension drained from my body. A laugh escaped me.

“Th… that’s… good.”

With those final words, my vision went black.