I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 58

Chapter 58

 

A cryptic post appeared without any warning.

The comment section was filled with questions from fans.

 

↳ What are we supposed to do if you bait us and then disappear?

↳ If it wasn’t just an injury, then what was it?

↳ The first thing that pisses people off is stopping halfway through what you’re saying.

 

A few hours later, the poster uploaded a follow-up post.

 

[About Yoo Seong-woo Getting Hurt 2]

> This happened because there was an accident while they were dismantling the set after the ranking ceremony. Kang I-yul was underneath the lower part of the set, but Yoo Seong-woo pushed him away and got more badly injured instead. They both went to the hospital immediately, and because of that, the team selection filming was delayed by a dayㅇㅇ

 

The comment section exploded in an instant.

 

↳ Did they seriously just add a 2 because they couldn’t be bothered to come up with another title?

↳ Holy shit, but why wasn’t any of this shown on the broadcast?

 ↳↳ There’s no reason to deliberately include the accident scene;;

↳ I-yul got hurt because he was being saved?

↳ So was Seong-woo the only one who got injured?

 ↳↳ Seems like it? Kang I-yul didn’t have any obvious injuries on the broadcast

 ↳↳ [OP] Nope, Kang I-yul also went to the hospital because of bruises

 

Naturally, there were also people who were suspicious.

 

↳ You guys are really just believing posts without any proof lmaooo

 

But a rebuttal comment appeared immediately.

 

 ↳↳Nope, there was a sighting a few days ago of someone seeing Yoo Seong-woo at a hospital [link]

 ↳↳Holy shit, it’s true

 

Just a few days ago, that post had been getting cursed out.

‘Are you really posting sightings of a trainee’s private life?’, ‘Are you making this up to get sympathy votes?’ and so on…

But the latest comments were all testimonials from fans who had come to pay their respects at the holy site.

 

↳ So it wasn’t fakeㅇㅇ

↳ How badly did he get hurt that he had to go to the hospitalㅠㅠㅠ

↳ But if he came back after just one day, doesn’t that mean it wasn’t that serious of an accident? Why is everyone making such a fuss?

 ↳↳And the bullshit begins, starting fucking huge with a fanfare lmaooo. Did you not watch the broadcast? His arm was wrapped in a bandage and everything

 

Public opinion flipped in an instant.

Soon, the story spread rapidly to general online communities and social media as well.

The most flustered were the Boys Code production staff.

“No, we were planning to reveal this in next week’s episode…”

In the end, the production staff took drastic action.

“Post an official statement first.”

Before long, an official notice was uploaded, and the comments boiled over once again.

 

[The official statement is up]

> It was an unexpected incident that occurred while dismantling the set, and all the trainees received thorough examinations that same dayㅇㅇ They said this content was originally scheduled to be revealed in next week’s broadcast;;

↳ Were they really that short on money;; How did a set problem even happen?

↳ What, then does that mean both of their screen time next week will be reduced?

 ↳↳Now that I think about it, that’s true;; The OP was just a fucking attention seeker

 

Of course, the biggest change was in public opinion toward Yoo Seong-woo.

 

[I don’t know about anything else]

> But this incident completely decided my favoriteㅇㅇ I’m absolutely getting Yoo Seong-woo to debut as Code 1

↳ Same here lmaooo I’d already been worried about it for a while, but this time I’ve made up my mind

↳ I-yul is my favorite, but I’ve been voting for Seong-woo every time, too

 

“…….”

The person at the very center of the topic, Yoo Seong-woo himself, couldn’t put down his phone for a long time.

 

[There is an idol survival show where it’s nothing but competition. But even within that environment, there is a brave trainee who saved another trainee. The identity of this trainee is none other than dancer Yuze’s younger brother, Trainee Yoo Seong-woo. If you were moved by Trainee Yoo Seong-woo’s courageous choice, subscribe and like….]

 

The next video wasn’t much different.

 

[Guys, do you know about an idol survival show called Boys Code? Isn’t the whole point of idol survival shows the fun of keeping each other in check and competing? But apparently, there’s a trainee who got injured instead while saving a fellow trainee….]

[The nineteen-year-old trainee whose body moved before he could think in a moment of crisis]

 

In the end, Yoo Seong-woo flipped his phone face down.

Watching mass-produced Shorts pour out made his face burn.

“Haa…”

“Hyung.”

Kwon Gi-hyeon said while trying to hold back his laughter.

“I think I’ve seen at least ten Shorts featuring you just today.”

“You don’t have to tell me…”

Song Woo-joo chimed in as well.

“The trainee who saved a person, Yoo Seong-woo is~”

“Stop messing around, will you?”

“Yes, sir.”

Seeing Yoo Seong-woo, whose ears had unusually turned red, the two of them finally burst out laughing.

“Okay, enough now.”

Yoo Seong-woo cleared his throat and waved his hand.

“Let’s go practice. We only have three days left.”

“Yes-”

Only then did the production staff, who had put out the immediate fire, breathe a sigh of relief.

It had been an unexpected accident.

The filming schedule had been delayed, and it could easily have turned into something that caused the entire program to come under criticism.

But looking only at the results, Boys Code’s buzz had become even greater than before.

And the name Yoo Seong-woo was also being etched far more clearly into the minds of many more people than before.

 

***

 

Even after Kwon Gi-hyeon and Song Woo-joo stopped teasing him, his cheeks didn’t cool down easily.

‘I should avoid selling myself based on my good character as much as possible…….’

For an idol, ‘perfection’ is a double-edged sword. When you’re perfect, you’re loved more than anyone. But if you deviate from that image even once, you get twice as much hate as an idol who was constantly getting into trouble.

That was the biggest reason idol fans were wary of selling an idol based on their good character.

‘I-yul went through a lot of that, too.’

In the early days after his debut, Kang I-yul was a member who was frequently promoted through heartwarming stories. Since I had been new to stanning idols back then, I had thought it was nothing but a good thing.

But as time passed, I realized that it had instead become an excuse for Go Jae-seong’s fandom to attack Kang I-yul.

Calling it ‘insubordination’ because he handed Go Jae-seong a snack a little late, calling him ‘rude’ based on the baseless assumption that he hadn’t greeted him properly, and so on.

‘Even thinking about it again makes me sick of it.’

The fandom had already become deeply entrenched. As was typical of a survival-show-born fandom, it also had a strong individual-fan mentality.

Those who failed to get their favorite to debut at the ranking they wanted couldn’t let go of the result even years later. Who should have ranked higher than whom, whose screen time had been stolen, and who had caused their favorite to suffer a disadvantage.

They endlessly picked everything apart, over and over again.

In the end, all that remained was endless fighting between individual fans.

‘Which is why, all the more.’

Go Jae-seong must not debut.

“Hyung, did you see it too?”

I-yul asked with an unusually urgent expression.

“Yeah. Why, are you going to tease me too?”

“Why would I tease you? Who’s teasing you?”

“I’m touched, I-yul.”

No matter how I thought about it, there was nothing wrong with selling Kang I-yul based on his good character.

‘What can I do when it isn’t promotion, but the truth?’

I jokingly glared at Kwon Gi-hyeon and Song Woo-joo, and the two simultaneously avoided my gaze.

Even then, I-yul remained serious.

In fact, I felt sorry for I-yul.

There had been a few posts on the Internet dragging I-yul into it, calling him ‘the trainee who injured Yoo Seong-woo.’

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the production staff intended to leave things that way either.

“Seong-woo.”

The main writer called me from outside the practice room.

“We’d like to ask you for one more individual interview.”

The interview began immediately.

“Didn’t you think it was dangerous?”

“There wasn’t even time to think. My body just moved first.”

“Weren’t you… a little resentful?”

The production staff asked carefully.

“After all, you ended up being injured more seriously, Seong-woo.”

I shook my head without hesitation.

“Not at all.”

After briefly organizing my thoughts, I continued.

“I-yul has helped me so much throughout this survival show. I always felt like I was in his debt, but through this incident, I was able to repay him a little… Though I wouldn’t exactly call it repayment, I feel like I was able to help him somehow, so I don’t regret it.”

And I honestly added:

“More than anything, if I had left him there, I-yul would have been much more seriously injured.”

Remembering the structure falling from above made my expression stiffen on its own.

“If that had happened, we wouldn’t have been able to be on the same team this time, either.”

The production staff slowly nodded.

I looked straight into the camera and continued speaking.

“Actually, it just looks worse because I got injured somewhere that’s visible.”

The bandage and the wrap around my arm. It was enough to make anyone worry.

“I-yul has bruises on his wrist and waist, too, even though you can’t really see them from the outside.”

I paused to catch my breath.

“So when I see posts blaming I-yul, I feel kind of… sorry.”

Kang I-yul hadn’t caused the accident. Just because he had been underneath the set, he was being treated as though he were the reason I got hurt.

“It wasn’t I-yul’s fault.”

This time, I looked toward the production staff.

“And the production staff have also worked really hard for the sake of the program.”

When I sighed, the main writer’s eyebrows drooped.

“I don’t feel comfortable seeing anyone get cursed out because of me.”

Beyond the camera, the PD gave a small OK sign.

‘Right, this was probably what the production staff wanted to hear, too.’

“Neither I nor I-yul have any serious injuries, so you don’t have to worry too much. We’ll prepare even harder and show you such an amazing stage that you won’t even remember this accident happened!”

I finished the interview energetically, even clenching my fist.

“…Okay! We’ll stop filming here.”

“Thank you-”

‘I talked this much, so they’ll give us some killer editing, right?’

“Seong-woo, you must have been really flustered too. Did you worry about us as well?”

“Of course.”

I smiled casually.

Maybe it was because I cursed at the production staff every time I watched Boys Code. Whenever I tried to say something complimentary, my throat tickled like I was having an allergic reaction.

But what could I do? You have to maintain social relationships.

“They’re the people who worked the hardest, after all.”

The main writer pressed her lips together, apparently moved.

‘Besides……’

It wasn’t a bad deal for me, either.

I could prevent the responsibility for the accident from falling on Kang I-yul and leave a good impression on the production staff.

And more than anything, I had the chance to create a storyline together with my favorite. It was an opportunity I could never easily obtain, even if I died and came back to life.

‘Although I really did die and come back to life to get it!’

I was already looking forward to Episode 7. If I could pull off the Round 5 stage perfectly as well, I-yul and I rising together was as good as guaranteed.

“Hyung, you’re here?”

“Yep.”

The moment I opened the practice room door, I spoke.

“Let’s start practicing quickly.”

Now I had become more obsessed with reaching my 100% than I-yul was. The other team members told me to take it easy and rest a little, but that wasn’t something I could do.

“How about this time?”

I asked after finishing the song.

“I was at 100% the whole way through, right?”

Kang I-yul nodded with a small smile.

“Because you’re always at 100%……”

I-yul paused to choose his words before smiling.

“It makes me want to do even better for no reason.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe that’s why.”

Kang I-yul lowered his gaze, looking a little embarrassed.

“It feels a little embarrassing to say it myself, but I think I’m… better than before.”

“You think you’ve gotten better?”

After hesitating for a moment, he eventually nodded.

“Yes.”

The moment I heard those words, the corners of my mouth rose without me realizing it.

As expected, you can’t ignore the influence of your surroundings.

‘When I show 100%, the people around me grow along with me, too.’

“Wait a second.”

Suddenly, an item came to mind.

 

***

 

Someone’s room was dark, with only the light from a monitor faintly illuminating his face.

Click.

Click.

The sound of his teeth worrying at his fingernails scratched at the silence.

His leg trembled violently.

The desk was a mess. Cans and snack wrappers scattered haphazardly, medicine packets and cigarette packs rustled in rhythm with the trembling.

The man couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.

Bloodshot eyes, greasy hair, clothes he couldn’t remember the last time he had changed.

He looked like someone who hadn’t been able to sleep properly for days.

He picked up a bottle of alcohol rolling beside the desk.

He downed what little remained in one gulp and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“It’s all over now.”

A hoarse voice slipped out.

“You fucking XX……”

His tongue twisted from the alcohol as he continued muttering to himself.

“I told you.”

Heh.

The corners of his mouth rose grotesquely.

“Hic-! I told you I’d X up your life……”

Tap, tap tap!

He placed his hands on the keyboard and began typing without hesitation, like someone possessed.

There was no hesitation at his fingertips.

[I am exposing the past of a Boys Code trainee.]

“So you should’ve apologized when I warned you, you son of a bitch…”

Tap tap, tap tap.

He wrote without stopping for even a single second.

The previously blank screen was rapidly filled with text.

“Haha…… hahahaha…”

The man’s laughter gradually became more grotesque, as though he were half out of his mind.

Tap, tap tap, tap!

[Does someone who trampled on someone else’s dream really deserve to become an idol?]

The man stared at the final sentence for a long while.

A rough sound escaped him, impossible to distinguish whether it was laughter or crying.

“I’m not even a fucking idol, and I’m living like this……”

[Would you like to post the written content?]

The cursor stopped over ‘Yes.’

For a moment, just a very brief moment, he seemed to hesitate.

“Yes. A fucking ‘yes’……”

Click

The sound of the click echoed through the room.

The man collapsed limply onto the desk.

A satisfied smile, one he hadn’t worn in a very long time, appeared at the corner of his mouth.