I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed

Author: Cireng

Chapter 67

I was beyond flustered, to the point of being utterly bewildered.

It wasn’t until Joo-han pushed me from behind and I stepped onto the Code 1 platform that reality slowly began to sink in.

“Trainee Yoo Seong-woo, you’ve become the new Code 1. Did you expect this?”

As if I could have.

“Something…… isn’t wrong, is it?”

I was being completely serious. I even thought some controversy about Boys Code being rigged that I didn’t know about had broken out.

Kang Se-jun covered his mouth with his cue card. It was painfully obvious he was trying not to laugh.

“That’s a very genuine reaction.”

“I really didn’t expect it. My mind is completely blank.”

This was real.

I had experienced death, regression, and rejuvenation.

And yet, this was the least real of them all.

“Still, could you give us your thoughts?”

“Ah, yes!”

I took a deep breath.

“First of all, I really want to thank all the members of the Adolescence team who worked hard together with me… And, uh, well, noona.”

The venue stirred at the casually blurted-out “noona.”

“I’m saying this because I think it’s okay to act like we know each other at this point…”

I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck.

“Um, thanks for everything.”

“Is that all? I think your sister might feel hurt if she hears that.”

I hurriedly shook my head.

No.

If I said anything more, Yoo Seong-ah would definitely get annoyed, just like she had when the dating rumors came out.

“That’s, that’s enough.”

Even Kang Se-jun eventually burst out laughing.

“Haha, you have quite a shy little brother.”

I laughed along with him before picking up the microphone again.

“While preparing for this stage, I realized how enjoyable it is to devote yourself 100% to something. I sincerely thank everyone who voted for me. I absolutely won’t disappoint you in the remaining stages either. Thank you.”

Once I finished speaking, it sounded excessively solemn.

‘Why am I embarrassed for no reason?’

“Trainee Joo-han, unfortunately, you’ve maintained Code 2 again this time.”

“It was fine once, but twice is a little disappointing.”

Joo-han said it with a smile.

“Still, since Seong-woo hyung got first place, I think I’m less disappointed.”

“Oh?”

“Maybe it’s because someone who deserves it got it.”

At that moment, Go Jae-seong’s expression stiffened ever so slightly.

“We’ll look forward to seeing whether trainee Joo-han can reclaim Code 1 at the next Code Announcement Ceremony.”

“Yes!”

“Then, we’ll proceed with the debut-lineup trainees’ name-tag exchange.”

The PD temporarily stopped filming and explained the order of the name-tag exchange.

“I-yul will first take the Code 3 name tag from Seong-woo, and then Seong-woo and Jae-seong will exchange.”

Kang I-yul approached first.

‘Was exchanging name tags always this exciting an event?’

“I’ll peel it off slowly.”

“Go ahead and try taking it…”

I playfully fluttered my jacket, and I-yul recoiled in disgust.

“Ah, hyung…”

“Okay, okay.”

Pop. With a light sound, the name tag came off.

“Congratulations.”

“You too.”

After lightly bumping fists, I walked over to Go Jae-seong.

‘I really want to rip this thing off properly.’

If I could have done what I wanted, I would have used the name tag as an excuse to punch a hole through his jacket.

The words ‘CODE 1’ were stuck right in the center of his chest.

Go Jae-seong silently looked at me. I carefully grabbed the edge of the name tag.

Rip, riiiip-

The sound of the name tag coming off was louder than expected. I carefully peeled it away so it wouldn’t get crumpled.

“Are you being a little too careful?”

Go Jae-seong’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Yep!”

“……?”

I obediently nodded.

“It’s a difficult position.”

A brief silence followed.

“It’s a position not just anyone can have.”

Go Jae-seong seemed to say something, but I couldn’t hear him.

My eyes remained fixed on the name tag.

It was nothing more than a tiny name tag. But inside it was all the sweat I had shed until now, and everything I had to protect from here on out.

“I’ll take good care of it.”

I slowly attached the name tag to my chest.

Right over my heart, ‘CODE 1.’

Only then did it truly sink in.

‘Ah, I absolutely don’t want to let this be taken away from me.’

Truly.

If someone could take this position away from me, there was only one person who could do it.

***

After the Code Announcement Ceremony ended, the break given to the trainees was only an hour.

The eliminated trainees were one thing, but the production staff still had more important filming to do. Even during that short break, Kang Se-jun changed his clothes and appeared again.

‘This is fucking brutal…….’

“Three trainees have left, so there are teams that are now short on members, right?”

Kang Se-jun smiled.

“Ah, of course.”

Then he looked toward us.

“There’s also a team where all five members survived.”

As expected, Amnesia was the only team where everyone survived.

Two people were eliminated from My Girl, leaving three, while one person was eliminated from Turn Over, leaving four.

“Unfortunately, one member of the Amnesia team will have to move to My girl.”

The atmosphere in the filming set instantly grew heavy.

Nobody said anything, but the battle of nerves had already begun.

“We’ll give you plenty of time to decide.”

‘He’ll probably give us about ten minutes.’

“Then, after we finish filming the Amnesia team, we’ll gather again–”

We immediately moved to the meeting room next door.

Just then…

“We’re going to the bathroom for a moment!”

Jang Hyeon-jun, Nam Jun-ho, and Go Jae-seong all stood up at the same time.

“All three of you?”

When the head writer looked suspicious, Go Jae-seong gave her a friendly smile.

“Yes, yes. I guess we’re all just really nervous.”

As the three of them filed out together, the production staff chuckled quietly.

“Were those three always that close?”

“Yeah, they haven’t been hanging around Hyeon-jun for a while.”

“Maybe they became close again because they can see a path to debuting.”

The whispered conversation was surprisingly easy to hear.

‘Did my hearing rejuvenate along with my body?’

Choi Un-jo, who had been closely watching them, spoke up.

“They went to form a team, didn’t they?”

“Probably?”

“Hmm, what about you?”

“I’m going to do what I originally planned.”

“Originally planned……”

Choi Un-jo’s eyes widened.

“Wow, really?”

I said as I closed the door.

“So let’s team up too.”

Choi Un-jo smiled.

“Sounds good.”

While the staff prepared for filming, I asked Choi Un-jo,

“Do you want to stay in Amnesia?”

Choi Un-jo glanced behind me.

“The cameras aren’t on yet.”

Did he really think I wouldn’t have checked that?

“Yeah. I like Amnesia.”

“Really?”

“And we practiced a lot. Wouldn’t it be a waste to leave?”

I nodded.

“One question.”

“Yeah.”

“If two people choose Seong-woo…”

“Then?”

“Is it okay if I choose someone else?”

A chuckle escaped me.

“Sure.”

If the majority had already chosen me, he meant that he wouldn’t unnecessarily force himself into the group.

‘As expected, he’s smart.’

There was a reason the guy who couldn’t speak a word of Korean had managed to endure life as a trainee in a foreign country.

“However, if it’s two against two, you know, right?”

“But those three are a team. Wouldn’t it be over immediately?”

“You know what? When three people get together, there’s always bound to be a traitor.”

“Oh~ Is that a Korean proverb?”

At that moment, the door opened again. It was Go Jae-seong and the others.

“Sorry, we were nervous…”

“It’s okay.”

Nam Jun-ho’s expression, sour all by himself, was already saying everything.

‘As expected, they came here with a plan.’

Filming began immediately.

“Honestly, I think the five of us are the best combination.”

As expected, Go Jae-seong spoke first.

His voice was serious.

“So it’s really difficult to send any one person away…”

His expression was even more serious.

“But I think this is a time when reason has to come before emotion.”

‘I’ve never met someone who talks about putting “reason before emotion” who wasn’t emotional themselves.’

“I’m really sorry, but.”

Go Jae-seong looked at Nam Jun-ho.

“I think Jun-ho would suit My Girl better.”

So he had decided to kick out Nam Jun-ho, who was ranked lower. Well, there would probably be less backlash against Code 9 than Code 8.

Nam Jun-ho lowered his head. He had the expression of someone who already knew.

“Sorry, Jun-ho.”

“……It’s okay.”

“Still, all your fans are always saying they want to make you their boyfriend and stuff.”

‘That’s a dangerous thing to say.’

Nam Jun-ho’s fandom took great pride in saying, ‘Our kid does real hip-hop.’ They were famous for giving people the stink eye whenever even the slightest hint of pseudo-romantic fanservice appeared within the fandom.

Knowing that, it was probably why that guy’s face had gone ashen too.

“Seong-woo, what do you think?”

My turn had finally come.

Go Jae-seong, Jang Hyeon-jun, Nam Jun-ho… in fact, even the staff were all looking at me with absolute certainty that I would naturally say Nam Jun-ho’s name.

I tapped my finger against the table.

Tap.

Then I said,

“I’ll leave.”

“Sure, Seong-woo will lea–what??”

Go Jae-seong stopped speaking. Only then did he understand what I had said.

“I said I’ll leave.”

Screeech.

The sound of a chair being pushed back echoed through the room.

The person most shocked wasn’t Go Jae-seong.

It was Nam Jun-ho.

“Really??”

He practically jumped to his feet, as if he had just opened a surprise box.

“Yeah. I’ll leave.”

I nodded with a smile.

***

“What do you mean, Seong-woo?”

The first person to react was Go Jae-seong.

His expression was closer to bewilderment than mere surprise.

He looked like he couldn’t even imagine Yoo Seong-woo volunteering to leave on his own.

In fact, the production staff was the same.

Main PD Seon Do-hun unconsciously stood up while staring at the monitor.

‘What the hell is he talking about all of a sudden?’

Amnesia was the only team without an eliminated member, and the picture would change completely depending on who moved.

A crisis where the fallen-ranking Choi Un-jo gets pushed out, or an underdog narrative where the lowest-ranked Nam Jun-ho moves and gets a new opportunity.

At the very least, that was the picture the production staff had envisioned.

In none of the possible scenarios had they imagined Yoo Seong-woo voluntarily saying he would leave.

There was no reason for him to do so in the first place.

It was the most popular song, and he even had the stable position of main vocalist. He had practiced more diligently than anyone else all this time.

And yet, suddenly, My girl?

It was perfectly normal that they couldn’t understand it.

While everyone was flustered, the only person who remained calm was Yoo Seong-woo, the one who had thrown the bomb.

“You can’t.”

Go Jae-seong said firmly.

“How are we supposed to perform without the main vocalist?”

“I, I can do it.”

Nam Jun-ho hurriedly cut in.

“Main vocalist!”

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

‘Nam Jun-ho as the vocalist?’

He must have really wanted to stay on this team.

Normally, it would have been something to laugh off, but the situation was a little different now.

What if Yoo Seong-woo left and Nam Jun-ho became the main vocalist? It was certain to make an interesting picture.

If he did well, he would suddenly rise as the hero who saved the team in Yoo Seong-woo’s place. It could also become an opportunity for him to show an unexpected talent for vocals.

But if he messed it up, the finals would be out of reach because he had burdened the team with his own stubbornness.

Either way, the broadcast wins.

‘No need to drag this out any longer.’

Yoo Seong-woo and Go Jae-seong were going to debut anyway. To the PD, the entertainment value of the broadcast was more important than the debut lineup.

“Have you finished discussing?”

Go Jae-seong quickly stepped in.

“If you could just give us a little more time–”

“That’ll be difficult.”

PD Seon cut him off with a smile.

“If the team changes, you’ll need more time to practice, won’t you?”

The head writer, who had been watching the situation, joined in.

“That’s right.”

“Then, we’ll vote right away.”

“Tell us which trainee you want to move to My girl.”

Starting with Yoo Seong-woo, the voting proceeded clockwise.

“I’ll vote for myself.”