I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 70

Chapter 70

 

After finishing the midterm evaluation and returning to the practice room, Go Jae-seong felt like his insides were turning upside down.

“Erase you from my memory~eugh!”

Nam Jun-ho’s hoarse voice once again rang through the practice room.

He had gotten it wrong again.

It was already the fifth time today, and Go Jae-seong’s brow twitched.

“Jun-ho, shouldn’t you save your voice?”

“…….”

“Or how about lowering the pitch a little for that part?”

He barely held back the harsh words that had risen to the tip of his tongue and spoke as gently as possible.

“…….”

Nam Jun-ho didn’t answer and simply played the track again.

“Erase! Ah, uh, uh! Erase…eugh!”

‘He’s really trying his fucking best…….’

Ever since Yoo Seong-woo left, the atmosphere in the team had been a complete mess.

‘I never would’ve expected Moonho-nim’s tastes to lean toward My girl.’

Nam Jun-ho was refusing to have any conversation at all, while Jang Hyeon-jun was refusing to talk to him. Only Choi Un-jo was still in a state where he could talk to everyone.

“Jun-ho, drink this while you practice.”

Choi Un-jo held out a drink.

“Thanks.”

The face that had ignored him just moments ago was nowhere to be seen. The corner of Go Jae-seong’s mouth twisted.

“Take care of your throat. Just now, that was completely…”

Choi Un-jo seemed unable to think of an appropriate word, because he shuddered violently.

“…….”

Nam Jun-ho silently downed the entire drink in one go.

“Whoa, that’s cola.”

“Burp!”

‘What a fucking mess this team is.’

Go Jae-seong propped up his chin.

Should he save the team again this time, or use Nam Jun-ho to create a victim narrative?

He calculated for a moment, but the answer came quickly.

This time, he absolutely needed the benefit.

Until the Code Announcement Ceremony aired, the viewers still didn’t know that his ranking had fallen.

‘What if I get spite votes again?’

Without a benefit, he would be pushed down again.

And the same applied to Choi Un-jo.

Then there was only one way: win the benefit with this performance.

Conversely, if My girl failed to get the benefit, Kang I-yul would likely be pushed out of the debut lineup again.

Yoo Seong-woo, on the other hand, was different.

He was the trainee who had climbed all the way to Code 1 through the team benefit alone. Even if My girl collapsed, the damage to Yoo Seong-woo personally wouldn’t be significant.

Rather…

‘We made a good performance, but he ended up on the wrong team.’

That kind of narrative would be complete.

The arrows would naturally be aimed at the My Girl team.

Go Jae-seong slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

They absolutely had to win this stage.

‘Jeez, fuck…… How am I supposed to placate that brat?’

Go Jae-seong waited for an opportunity. He couldn’t create rumors of discord in front of the cameras.

The moment Nam Jun-ho left the practice room, Go Jae-seong naturally followed him.

“Jun-ho, let’s talk.”

“…….”

Nam Jun-ho didn’t even turn around.

“I’m sorry about the team reshuffle. It couldn’t be helped.”

“It couldn’t be hel–”

Nam Jun-ho hurriedly shut his mouth. He had spotted the camera.

Go Jae-seong quietly gestured.

Toward the end of the hallway, where there was an emergency staircase outside the camera’s reach. After hesitating for a moment, Nam Jun-ho eventually followed him.

Click.

Once the stairwell door closed, Go Jae-seong spoke first.

“I know you’re angry.”

“…….”

“I know you’re hurt too.”

“What are you going to do about it if you know?”

“But let’s think about this rationally for a moment.”

Go Jae-seong leaned his back against the wall.

“Someone had to leave.”

“…….”

“Then what do you think the criteria should be? Rank.”

Nam Jun-ho’s lips twisted.

“So that was it? Let’s throw away the guy with the lower rank?”

‘You understand it well enough. If you understand that, why the hell are you making things so difficult?’

Go Jae-seong shook his head.

“That’s not it.”

Then he deliberately let out a long sigh.

“I feel like bringing you here actually did more harm than good.”

Nam Jun-ho’s gaze wavered.

“If we had been on another team, there’s no way your ranking would have been low enough to be pushed out.”

“…….”

“I feel like you ended up having a hard time for no reason because of my own greed.”

Go Jae-seong pressed his fingers against the corners of his eyes, like someone full of regret.

“That’s what I’m most sorry about.”

Nam Jun-ho’s expression softened slightly.

‘Almost there.’

“So I came to apologize.”

Go Jae-seong remained silent for a moment, making Nam Jun-ho even more confused.

“I wanted to send Hyeon-jun instead, honestly.”

“You mean that?”

“Of course.”

Of course, it was a lie.

“But I was the leader.”

He dragged out his words slightly, like someone in pain.

“We all practiced hard together, so who am I to choose who gets kicked out?”

Nam Jun-ho’s expression gradually relaxed.

“So I really had no choice but to ask you.”

“Really……?”

‘You idiot.’

At this point, he had practically fallen for it.

“Ha. I figured this way, when it aired, no one would get blamed.”

He even tried an act where tears welled up in his eyes from frustration.

“Hey, you don’t have to cry over it……”

“I’m really sorry. If I hurt you, I, I sincerely apologize.”

Nam Jun-ho’s gaze began to waver more and more.

Of course, this must have been an exhilarating feeling he had never experienced before.

Go Jae-seong, whom everyone had treated like a leader all this time, was apologizing to him, even with tears glistening in his eyes?

“You grabbed me to tell me this?”

And Go Jae-seong did not miss the moment when his prey let its guard down.

“No, there’s something more important.”

“What?”

“We absolutely have to get first place and get the benefit.”

“…….”

“You can’t handle being the main vocalist by yourself.”

Nam Jun-ho’s gaze turned crooked again.

“Ah… so you’re going to take my parts? Like you did with Hwang Geon-hee?”

Go Jae-seong’s eyes instantly turned cold.

“That hurts to hear.”

“……Sorry.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant.

“I’m not saying I’m going to take your parts. I’m telling you not to ruin the performance.”

Every sentence he uttered carried a chill.

“What do you mean!”

“Am I wrong?”

“…….”

“You know it too, honestly.”

Go Jae-seong’s voice was calm. That was what made it even more frightening.

“If this stage gets ruined, who do you think will be in the most danger?”

“…….”

Nam Jun-ho couldn’t answer.

“Me? Choi Un-jo?”

Go Jae-seong gave a small laugh.

“No.”

One step. He moved closer to Nam Jun-ho.

“You.”

Nam Jun-ho flinched.

“You know how many people make it to the final, right?”

“……Yeah.”

“Ten people. Exactly ten.”

Nam Jun-ho’s face went pale.

Seeing his reaction, Go Jae-seong became certain.

‘Got him.’

An elephant that was raised tied to a short rope from a young age cannot break that rope even after it grows up.

“So let’s not get stubborn over our pride for no reason.”

Nam Jun-ho couldn’t say anything.

“I’m not saying I’m going to take all your parts.”

“…….”

“I’m saying we should share only the parts that are too much for you.”

“O-okay.”

“If we get first place, it’s good for everyone. Right?”

“Yeah.”

Go Jae-seong smiled again. The chill from just moments ago disappeared as if it had never existed.

“Let’s go up, adjust the parts, and start practicing again. Got it?”

Nam Jun-ho could only nod, terrified.

Satisfied, Go Jae-seong grabbed the doorknob.

“Okay.”

Creeeak.

“Now there are cameras.”

“Yeah…”

In an instant, his expression changed. A perfect smile, as if it had been drawn onto his face.

“Let’s smile.”

On the way back to the practice room, Nam Jun-ho and Go Jae-seong chatted with smiles on their faces.

“Thanks for telling me your concerns first, Jun-ho.”

“No, thanks to you, I feel much, much better.”

“I was worried because I felt like you were pushing yourself too hard too.”

‘I hope they definitely use this conversation.’

And just like that, he became the kind leader Go Jae-seong once again.

 

***

 

“That’s why we decided to split Jun-ho’s parts between him and me.”

At Go Jae-seong’s words, Jang Hyeon-jun scoffed inwardly.

So this was how it ended up.

Throughout Go Jae-seong’s explanation, Nam Jun-ho couldn’t lift his head.

‘That frustrating bastard.’

Honestly, it wasn’t surprising.

Go Jae-seong had always been like that.

A trainee representing Nix alongside Han Sang-yoon, Kang I-yul, and Joo-han. There wasn’t a trainee who didn’t know that the in-house survival show was essentially a stage designed to add a narrative to their debut.

On top of that, Go Jae-seong was well-regarded by the company executives thanks to his characteristic skill at navigating relationships.

That was why Jang Hyeon-jun had once declared himself one of Go Jae-seong’s people. He believed that if he wanted to take the final remaining spot in the debut lineup, he ultimately had to stand on that side.

But after Yoo Seong-woo appeared, everything started going wrong.

He seemed like a human being with an ego of his own who had somehow wandered into a perfectly written script. He kept making unexpected moves and shaking up Go Jae-seong’s carefully laid plans.

That was why Jang Hyeon-jun eventually turned his back on Go Jae-seong too.

‘Even after all this, Go Jae-seong will probably debut.’

That wouldn’t change. No matter how much he hated him or couldn’t stand looking at him, in the end, people like that were the ones who survived.

That was simply how the world worked.

He looked at Nam Jun-ho practicing his changed parts and thought deeply.

‘Do we really have to go this far?’

It was the first time since becoming an idol trainee that he had felt this disillusioned.

To be honest, he almost wanted to ruin the performance. At this point, he could only think that even if he got eliminated, he wouldn’t feel wronged if they all went down together.

“We don’t have much time left, but I’ll work hard to prepare.”

Go Jae-seong took the lead in settling the atmosphere.

“Let’s definitely get first place.”

There was only a day and a half left.

Jang Hyeon-jun chuckled inwardly.

‘Struggle.’

Just once.

But Go Jae-seong had been stable from the beginning.

‘Do I have to admit what deserves to be admitted…….’

Whether it was dancing or singing, despite barely practicing the choreography together a few times, the movements were already ingrained in his body.

‘……What?’

Jang Hyeon-jun found himself staring intently.

How did he learn it so quickly?

“Erase you from my memory—uh—”

Honestly, it couldn’t even be compared to what Nam Jun-ho had been singing. He clicked his tongue as Nam Jun-ho stared at him in a daze.

Now that things had turned out this way, it would be better to ride along with him.

Trainees could transfer agencies at any time.

‘Whether by their own choice or someone else’s.’

Getting eliminated here didn’t mean it was the end. But the image they left behind on the broadcast would follow them for the rest of their lives. There was no need to stir up trouble for no reason.

That was the reality he had learned so far.

Jang Hyeon-jun washed his face with cold water and steeled himself.

When he returned to the practice room, he handed Go Jae-seong a drink.

“Drink this while you practice.”

Go Jae-seong looked at him with slight surprise before soon smiling brightly.

“Thanks, Hyeon-jun.”

Jang Hyeon-jun smiled too.

There had been a crisis where a team member might be kicked out and a crisis of discord, but they had dramatically reconciled for the sake of winning the team competition.

‘We’ll get some hate, but they’ll probably wrap it up with a warm, heartwarming ending.’

In reality, things like villains getting punished and cathartic justice exploding, like in a comic, couldn’t happen… Jang Hyeon-jun already knew that all too well.

Or at least, he thought he did.

At least until that moment.

On the day of the semifinals. The waiting room was chaotic with trainees frantically doing their final practice.

“Where did Jae-seong go?”

“I don’t know. He went somewhere with the production staff a little while ago.”

“Isn’t filming about to start?”

“What’s going on?”

Jang Hyeon-jun raised his head.

Something was strange.

He couldn’t explain it, but the moment he heard those words, he got a bad feeling.

He secretly took out his phone and opened the message board he habitually visited.

“Ah.”

A short exclamation escaped him.

He scrolled down.

Once, twice, three times.

The corners of his mouth gradually rose.

And then…

“Puhahahahaha!!”

He finally burst out laughing, unable to hold it back.

Everyone in the waiting room looked at him. But he didn’t care. It had been a very long time since he had felt this relieved, as if something had finally burst open inside him.

It was exhilarating. Satisfying.

More than anything, he couldn’t believe it.

The guy he thought would never fall, the guy he thought would survive no matter what he did.

That all-powerful Go Jae-seong might, for the first time, actually be screwed.

Jang Hyeon-jun looked down at his phone screen again.

The title of the post stood out clearly.

 

[Is this about Go Jae-seong actually true?]