I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 54

Chapter 54

 

“Next… step?”

The four of them blinked simultaneously. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since they had seen the lyrics, so why was he suggesting they move on to the next step?

“Yeah. We need to decide on the parts.”

Yoo Seong-woo himself didn’t find anything strange about it. He had already envisioned everything from the moment their team was formed.

Not to mention Kang I-yul, he had already organized, to some extent, which parts would suit each person.

The lyrics they had just received were the final pieces needed to complete the puzzle.

“First, here.”

Yoo Seong-woo unfolded the paper.

“I tried putting the lyrics together as a first draft.”

The team members gathered their heads over the paper, half-doubtful.

And before long, their expressions changed.

“…What is this, hyung?”

“D-Did these really connect like this?”

“Wait a second.”

Song Woo-joo alternated between looking at the paper and Yoo Seong-woo as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Hyung, you were this good?”

Yoo Seong-woo chuckled.

“Yep. I’m not going to hide it anymore.”

“You mean you were hiding it until now?”

“But why this time…?”

Yoo Seong-woo shrugged as if it were obvious.

“Because we have to come in first, right?”

He said it like a joke, but the result in his hands was far beyond something they could simply laugh off.

The sentences that had been scattered in all directions connected into a single story. They fit together so naturally that it was difficult to distinguish who had written what.

“This is amazing, seriously……”

Even if things seemed disorganized, once you gathered them together, the connecting points would become visible. This was a method Yoo Seong-woo had often used while working as a producer. Moreover, since they had written about the same topic, it was much simpler.

“Of course, it’s not finished yet.”

Yoo Seong-woo tapped the lyric sheet with the tip of his pen.

“We still need to match the number of syllables to the melody. But this is how the overall flow is going to go. What do you think?”

They could only nod, captivated by the undeniable result. Even the part distribution felt natural.

At that moment, Kang I-yul carefully raised his hand.

“Then, I… get the opening?”

Even though he tried to hide it, the burden in his voice was unmistakable.

“Yep!”

Yoo Seong-woo nodded without hesitation.

“Your lyrics fit the first line the best.”

“But the first line is…”

Kang I-yul’s lips moved hesitantly.

“It’s the most important part.”

“Yep!”

Yoo Seong-woo nodded again.

“That’s why I’m entrusting it to you.”

At those firm words, Kang I-yul could no longer say anything.

“Great. Now let’s start practicing while polishing the lyrics!”

One-on-one revisions began immediately.

“I-yul.”

Yoo Seong-woo pointed directly at a line of lyrics.

“Your voice really comes alive when you pronounce things like this, you know?”

“Is there that much of a difference?”

“Yeah. You didn’t know? Let’s change this part like this.”

Kang I-yul alternated between singing the original lyrics and the revised version.

It was true. Even with the same melody, the sound extended much more naturally.

His eyes widened slightly.

“This is the first time I’ve known that.”

When I-yul looked up at him with surprised eyes, Yoo Seong-woo merely nodded as if it were nothing. Inside, however, he was immensely proud.

“The sound changes a lot depending on the shape of your mouth and the position of your tongue when you sing.”

Kang I-yul nodded, listening intently as if he didn’t want to miss a single thing.

This was different from the lessons he had received until now. This wasn’t a textbook-like explanation. It was an explanation tailored specifically to him.

“When did you observe all of this, hyung?”

Yoo Seong-woo’s expression froze for just a moment.

‘When do you think?’

Because I watched countless stages of yours that even you, right now, don’t know about.

The answer was simple.

‘Because I’m your fan…’

But Yoo Seong-woo swallowed those words.

“I like voices like yours.”

Instead, he pretended to be calm and flipped the lyric sheet over once.

“You like my voice?”

“Yep!”

Kang I-yul didn’t ask anything more.

“Now, let’s try it again from the beginning.”

However, before starting to sing, he smiled very faintly.

Throughout the lyric revisions, the corners of my mouth kept lifting.

‘I’m… really doing this.’

The things I had always wanted to try if I ever got the chance to produce Impactor. I was doing them one by one right now.

Before my regression, I had always felt frustrated.

‘Why are they making Kang I-yul sing songs like this?’

Kang I-yul’s strengths were far too obvious.

His rounded pronunciation, the breath slightly mixed into his voice, even the subtle difference between his usual way of speaking and the way he sang.

There was so much that could be utilized, yet the company couldn’t make proper use of any of it.

‘A rotten system. Absolutely rotten.’

But things were different now.

“Should I sing it like this?”

Our I-yul was a genius who could do ten things when taught one.

Watching him accomplish everything exactly as requested, I couldn’t have been prouder!

“Wait a second.”

Without realizing it, I placed a hand against my forehead.

Kang I-yul asked with a nervous expression.

“Should I try singing it differently?”

“No!”

I hurriedly waved my hand.

“It’s too perfect.”

“…Pardon?”

“You’re a genius, aren’t you?”

A moment of silence passed.

Kang I-yul only blinked.

“I… just finished the first line.”

‘I’m screwed.’

My thoughts had come spilling straight out of my mouth.

“…I tend to give a lot of praise when I’m producing.”

It was an utterly ridiculous lie. I had never once given superficial praise while working. Thanks to that, rumors had even spread that I was a producer who engaged in power struggles with singers.

But…

‘If everyone had worked like Kang I-yul, I would have praised them too.’

So this wasn’t my fault.

“Hyung.”

Kang I-yul cautiously opened his mouth.

“What if I sing this part like this?”

My eyes widened.

“You…”

I looked down at the lyric sheet again.

The flow of the melody remained the same, but changing where a single word was cut off made the emotion much clearer.

“Are you really a genius?”

“Ah, please. Don’t tease me.”

His expression was stern, but his fingers were fidgeting pointlessly with the edge of the lyric sheet.

“You really seem like a genius… I-yul, this isn’t easy.”

I spoke while desperately suppressing the emotion welling up inside me.

“You found a better way.”

There was a term producers often used: an “ideal child.”

Someone who brought back ten things after being taught one.

Kang I-yul was exactly that.

No, rather than ten, he was the type to bring back about twelve.

“Is it really that much?”

He still looked unconvinced.

“Absolutely.”

“……Then, how about this?”

Praise makes whales sing. Or rather, it makes Kang I-yul sing.

Another idea came out.

In the end, I covered my mouth.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

I could barely keep myself from acting like an overenthusiastic fan while doing this amateurish producing. What would happen if I actually got to take charge of an Impactor album later?

Could this be how parents feel when they clap just because their newborn rolls over? No, how is this any different from a baby who had only just started babbling suddenly standing up and walking?

‘Ha… he’ll be running soon. He really will.’

“How did I not think of this?”

I said with a smile.

“I-yul, you must have gotten a Level 1 in Korean!”

“……I dropped out, so I don’t know.”

“Ah…”

‘How could I forget something like that!’

At his second company, Kang I-yul had risked everything to join the debut lineup. Dropping out of school had naturally followed.

I hurriedly continued.

“Then I guess it’s because you read a lot of books.”

“……?”

I felt as if cold sweat were pouring down my body.

“You have a really good sense for choosing words.”

“You immediately find expressions that fit the melody better, even when they mean the same thing.”

After pausing for a beat, I added seriously,

“You’re good at writing lyrics.”

Kang I-yul instinctively began to bow, then stopped.

He seemed to have remembered what I had said earlier.

“Hyung, thank you.”

For some reason, a smile spread across my face at the sight.

“Hyung!”

At that moment, Kwon Gi-hyeon shot his hand into the air.

“When are you going to look at ours?”

“Oh, oh. Right. I’m coming!”

Thanks to that, the atmosphere naturally moved on.

I-yul returned to his seat with a lyric sheet filled with dense notes.

I began going over the other team members’ lyrics one by one.

“There’s too much vibrato there. Try singing it a little more plainly.”

“Yes!”

“Eun-gyu, can you try changing it so that you inhale right before going into the high note?”

“It won’t be easy… but I’ll try.”

“Woo-joo, you have good power, but it sounds too solemn. It doesn’t fit the mood of the song, so try singing with just a little less force.”

After making several adjustments, Song Woo-joo pouted.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Can’t you praise me a little, too?”

Knowing that he wasn’t usually the type to complain, I felt a little sorry.

It wasn’t easy to throw away a habit ingrained in your body in an instant.

“Fine. Try it again.”

Song Woo-joo sang again with an expectant expression.

I listened until the very end and nodded.

“Good.”

Song Woo-joo’s eyes briefly lit up as he waited.

And then.

“…Is that it?”

“Yeah.”

“What about the praise?”

“‘Good’ is praise.”

Song Woo-joo sighed with a dejected expression.

‘Persistent.’

That was the look in his eyes, but I couldn’t help it.

This was my usual way of working.

On the way back to the dorm after practice, the early morning air was quite cold.

When the survival show had begun, it had been the sweltering summer, but before we knew it, the season had reached the end of autumn.

However, there was something else that made the passage of time feel even more real.

“Hyung, you must be happy.”

“Hm?”

“You have something you’re really good at.”

The unexpected compliment caused my brain to malfunction.

‘Why is he envious of me?’

“Me?”

“Producing.”

Kang I-yul spoke calmly.

“There’s no one who’s as good as you, hyung.”

“Come on.”

I waved my hand.

“I’m a mess at everything else.”

“You’re good at dancing now, too, hyung.”

“Are you making fun of me now?”

I lightly tapped his shoulder playfully, and I-yul let out a small laugh.

“It was amazing today, too.”

“What was?”

“I never thought my story could… become lyrics.”

I-yul stopped walking for a moment and looked up at the sky.

“I didn’t think it was a story worth telling.”

Seriously, he was particularly harsh on himself.

I quietly played a song on a streaming platform.

 

♪  I hate mosquitoes—buzz

♪  Let’s catch and kill the mosquitoes—buzz

♪  Let’s get a mosquito swatter—zzzt

 

A sorrowful melody rang out through the empty dawn streets.

“…Pardon?”

That short utterance was filled with bewilderment.

I waved my phone.

“See? Even mosquitoes can become lyrics.”

“…….”

“There’s no story that can’t become lyrics.”

It was quite a convincing statement to make while playing a song about mosquitoes buzzing.

“So.”

I put my phone away and smiled.

“Don’t envy me.”

“…….”

“If someone heard that, they’d call it rubbing it in their face, you know?”

“But it’s true.”

Kang I-yul lowered his gaze.

“I don’t even have a position that no one else can replace…”

I stopped walking.

‘What is this nonsense?’

I looked at Kang I-yul in disbelief.

“Why wouldn’t you?”

I-yul asked in return.

“What do you think it is, hyung?”

I answered as if it were obvious.

“Your voice. The details in your choreography. Your dance lines. The way you convey emotions when singing. Your face.”

With each thing I counted, Kang I-yul’s eyes grew slightly wider.

“And.”

I chuckled.

“You’re Kang I-yul.”

“Pardon?”

A brief silence passed. Kang I-yul’s face showed that he didn’t understand at all.

“There are lots of good vocalists. There are lots of people who dance well, too. But…”

I smiled faintly.

“There’s no one else like Kang I-yul.”

The early morning wind brushed past us.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I turned my gaze away.

‘Because you’re the one and only singer I chose.’

Instead, I smiled lightly and walked ahead.

“You’ll find out someday.”

“Find out what?”

“That people will start looking for you after hearing your voice. That they’ll run for hours just to see one of your stages.”

No answer came from behind me.

We walked for a little while.

Then the sound of footsteps drew close again.

Kang I-yul, who had begun walking beside me, muttered very quietly.

“…I hope that happens.”

‘It’s not a matter of hoping.’

It will happen without fail. Because I already knew that future.