I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 72

Chapter 72

 

It had already been an hour since the sixth-round competition began.

Ga-yoon was waiting for the second stage, feeling the kind of tension she had never experienced in her life.

There was only one goal. To capture Yoo Seong-woo’s Amnesia stage perfectly on camera.

She had long since forgotten the spoiler about him doing My girl.

“The second stage is the team ‘Your Boy,’ who chose My girl!”

‘Please, don’t come out.’

Ga-yoon prayed until the very end.

“Amnesia, please……”

The spoiler she had desperately tried to push out of her mind kept flickering through her thoughts.

“Sang-yoon!!”

“Ji Dong-seok!”

“I-yulll–”

The moment the final member walked onto the stage.

“Huh??”

“Ah, fucking hell.”

The trainee was still outside Ga-yoon’s field of vision. But thanks to the transparent reactions from the audience, she already knew.

“This fucking–”

“Ah.”

As if delivering the final confirmation, his name began being called from all around.

“Yoo Seong-woo?”

“Seong-woo!!”

“Ha, what the hell is with that gloomy styling……”

The spoiler had become reality.

Yoo Seong-woo appeared wearing a cloak that covered his entire body.

“What could he possibly be wearing underneath for them to go that far?”

“How did this happen?”

“It seriously feels like a lie.”

Of all things, the order was right in the middle, making it even more ambiguous.

An ambiguous song, an ambiguous concept, an ambiguous position in the lineup.

No matter how hard she tried to imagine a good picture, the ominous feeling only grew stronger.

“Looks like everyone is hiding something huge?”

Ji Dong-seok fluttered the hem of his cloak.

“There’s a surprise hidden inside!”

Laughter erupted from the audience.

“Trainee Seong-woo joined the team due to the team reshuffle. How do you feel about it?”

Everyone had the same question: What on earth was the reason he had moved teams?

“……Huh?”

Yoo Seong-woo suddenly spun around once in place.

The hem of his cloak flared outward.

“I’m already excited at the thought of becoming your boyfriend.”

“……?”

Ga-yoon and her friend looked at each other simultaneously.

‘What…… did he just say?’

Kang Se-jun continued with the next question without showing even the slightest sign of surprise.

“Did you see how Kang Se-jun didn’t even react?”

“Why is everyone acting so normal? Even after seeing that?”

“What did the other team members think? There was a sudden team reshuffle.”

This time, Han Sang-yoon answered.

“We were really worried because we didn’t have a main vocalist, but Seong-woo joining us was a huge help.”

“Then the team atmosphere must have been really good.”

“Yes!”

All four shouted at the same time.

“Above all, trainee Seong-woo voluntarily moved teams, didn’t he?”

“Huh??”

“What?”

Only then did Ga-yoon realize why everyone had said the team reshuffle was even more shocking.

She had thought the unusually strict phone restrictions today were annoying, but right now, she was almost grateful that she couldn’t use her phone.

If she could have, her SNS would have been on fire with posts like, ‘Yoo Seong-woo chose My girl,’ and ‘Yoo Seong-woo played himself.’

“No, why……”

But Yoo Seong-woo, of course, had no idea what was going on inside her head and answered brightly.

“Yes, I wanted to show everyone a new side of myself with My girl.”

Ga-yoon and her friend covered their faces at the same time.

“He’s already perfect!”

“Why does he need a new side at all…”

“I’m really looking forward to it. Then, please prepare for the Your Boy team’s stage.”

“Yes!”

Ga-yoon had now gone beyond resignation and entered the stage of enlightenment.

“We’ll take a look at the Your Boy team’s stage. Code– On!”

The stage went dark.

In the silence, only the murmuring of the audience gradually grew louder.

Bbeebee—beep

As 8-bit game sound effects rang out, lights began turning on one by one from the left side of the stage.

The first person to appear was Han Sang-yoon.

“Holy shit, Han Sang-yoon!!”

“Euaaaaah!!”

Behind him, dressed in a baseball uniform, a dialogue box appeared alongside a pixel-game-style character.

[Senior Sang-yoon from the Baseball Club: If you have time, today…… (Gasp, it’s Senior Sang-yoon……!)]

Even the audience members cringing at the cheesy line had to admit it because of Han Sang-yoon’s face.

“He’s cute, though?”

“Wow, the line is seriously awful, but I’m still getting butterflies.”

“If that face were in front of me, I’d probably be like that too.”

Beep—beep beep!

This time, Ji Dong-seok appeared. The unexpected sight of him wearing a clown nose caused the entire audience to stir at once.

“What the?”

A game window appeared the moment he entered.

[Senior Dong-seok from the Comedy Club: I’m confident I can make you laugh! (By the way, there’s a comedy club at school too…….)]

“A guy who can make you laugh really is the best.”

“No, more importantly, aren’t you all accepting the existence of a comedy club way too naturally?”

Beep-beep—beep!

The third light came on.

In an instant, the entire stage was bathed in a soft cherry-blossom glow.

A pixel character rested his chin against the window, his hair gently swaying in the breeze.

And the words appeared on the screen.

[Senior I-yul from the Book Club: Want to go to the library together?]

Then Kang I-yul appeared, as if the exact same composition had been brought into reality.

Natural black hair reminiscent of a profile picture.

The moment he casually brushed his hair back and looked at the camera.

“Holy shit…”

“He’s so innocent-looking.”

Just as people said that the end of tuning was a return to the original, Kang I-yul, who wasn’t flashy at all, was somehow even more stimulating.

There was nothing actually floating down onstage, yet it felt as though a shower of flower petals were falling.

“Why…… does it feel like I-yul has different lighting?”

“Oh my gosh, I thought the same thing.”

“Then what is Seong-woo?”

“Amnesia is out of the question, but… a sexy concept?”

At the moment, anticipation reached its peak.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep–.

The final light came on.

This time, it was unexpected. Unlike the flashy concepts of the three members before him, Yoo Seong-woo was dressed in the simplest outfit of all.

[Senior Seong-woo from the Music Club: Whenever I see you, I keep smiling.]

He pushed back the hood of the zip-up hoodie he had been wearing and tidied his slightly tousled hair.

“Ah, fucking hell……”

Grin. Yoo Seong-woo’s smile filled the entire screen.

His eyes crinkled until they were barely visible, his mouth opened into a refreshing smile, and distinct dimples appeared on both cheeks.

That single smile alone made even the people watching instinctively smile along with him.

The atmosphere of the venue, which had been heated by intense lighting and flashy special effects until then, changed in an instant.

Like the cool breeze that hits you after sweating profusely in the middle of summer, the entire stage suddenly became refreshing.

Beep beep beep.

Beep beep.

Beep…

The final phrase appeared on the screen.

[Choose your boy!]

“Waaaaah!!”

An intro that looked exactly like the starting screen of a dating simulation game.

That alone completely won over the atmosphere of the audience.

The four stood with their backs turned as they took their opening poses.

At first, the audience wondered why they were standing with their backs to them, but the moment the first line flowed out.

They immediately understood the intention behind the staging.

 

♪ I’ll be Your boy

♪ Will you be? My girl

 

The four partially turned their bodies toward the audience and reached out their hands. Then they slowly pulled them toward themselves.

“Waaaaaaaah!!”

As soon as the intro ended, the stage began to unfold in an entirely different way.

“Huh?”

Confused exclamations erupted from all around the audience.

 

♪ Look closely, what else

♪ Are you worrying about?

♪ From A to Z

♪ It’s all prepared for you, you know?

 

The screen suddenly shook dramatically.

Because Han Sang-yoon had picked up the camera.

“Oh my god.”

It felt less like watching the stage and more like making eye contact with Han Sang-yoon.

He playfully winked at the camera, waved his hand, and skillfully changed his expressions.

In just a few short seconds, he poured out every bit of fan service imaginable.

“Han Sang-yoon is fucking insane.”

At that moment.

Tap.

Kang I-yul tapped Han Sang-yoon on the shoulder.

The screen naturally turned toward Kang I-yul.

“Holy shit!!”

Kang I-yul only mouthed the word softly.

‘Hi.’

That one word sent screams erupting from the audience.

 

♪ You can fool everyone

♪ But you can’t fool my eyes

 

Tap. He lightly touched the lens with his fingertip.

As if teasing the person directly on the other side of the screen.

 

♪ How much more obvious

♪ Do I have to be before you tell me

♪ That you like me too?

 

He pouted his lips and made a sulky expression.

The audience had already lost their minds.

“Wow, fuck……”

“Not knowing how scary women are……”

This time, it was Ji Dong-seok.

The moment he took the camera, the screen became noticeably chaotic.

 

♪ When I see you, my heart goes

♪ Pump it up!

♪ All I can make are awkward jokes

♪ I’m actually a funny guy

 

He lightly bonked himself on the head with his fist, followed by an embarrassed expression and an awkward smile.

The sight of him pouring out his entire clumsy charm made the audience burst into laughter as well.

“Hey.”

Ga-yoon muttered blankly.

“Dong-seok looks handsome to me.”

At last, the camera passed into Yoo Seong-woo’s hands.

Ga-yoon stared at the screen without even being able to breathe properly.

Even blinking once felt like a waste.

 

♪ Push and pull

♪ I don’t know anything about that

♪ I’m going straight to you

♪ Running at full speed

♪ Straight into your heart!

 

Because he was out of breath, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

Even that sight suited the lyrics perfectly.

‘……Why?’

It wasn’t a flashy outfit.

It wasn’t an intense concept.

If anything, he was the most ordinary-looking of the four.

And yet, her heart was beating the fastest.

Ga-yoon thought for a moment before realizing why.

The first three looked like characters from a game, so the feeling stopped at admiration. But Yoo Seong-woo felt like someone who could actually exist in reality, which made him even more exciting.

‘Of course, there’s absolutely no way I could find someone like him in real life?’

To Ga-yoon, an idol was someone who possessed an appeal that was both unreal and realistic. An idol who was too perfect, without even a single flaw, only made you admire them.

But the moment even the tiniest bit of realism was added, you fell in love.

Like suddenly catching the scent of fabric softener from someone who always wears perfume.

That was exactly the kind of atmosphere Yoo Seong-woo was giving off onstage.

 

♪ The choice is yours

♪ But there’s

♪ Only one option

 

Holding the selfie camera, he freely moved around the stage.

He filmed himself, then the other three, then returned to himself again.

 

♪ It’s Me!

 

As if none of them could stand to lose to one another, the four competitively reached their hands toward the audience.

Asking them to choose.

“Ah, they’re so cute!”

“Isn’t Seong-woo way too shamelessly good at this?”

“Seriously. I-yul’s ears are about to burst?”

The moment he lowered the selfie camera, the dance break began.

All four had different dance styles, so there was definitely something fun to watch.

And the moment Yoo Seong-woo came to the center, the cheers from the venue grew even louder.

“Seong-woo, be the main dancer!”

He didn’t have a style as powerful as Kang I-yul or Han Sang-yoon.

But perhaps that was exactly why it suited him even better.

Clap!

Clap clap!

He clapped above his head, encouraging the audience to respond.

The audience matched the beat as if they had been waiting for it.

Clap clap clap!

The louder the response became, the brighter the expressions of the four grew.

The sight of them all dashing toward the center of the stage together made them look just like boyfriends from a game bursting out into reality.

“Holy shit!!”

Bang!

With fireworks, confetti covered the stage.

 

♪ I’ll be Your boy

♪ I don’t want to be friends anymore

♪ Will you allow me?

♪ Your boyfriend

 

The four freely moved around the stage.

It felt less like watching a survival competition stage and more like watching a concert by a group that had already debuted.

An ending that mirrored the opening choreography.

Ding!

A game window appeared on the screen.

[MISSION CLEAR: We are not FRIENDS anymore!]

The stage ended as they grabbed a mysterious hand whose owner could not be identified.

“Kyahhhhh!!”

Amnesia had been erased from Ga-yoon’s mind long ago.

“Wow, the cheers are huge, aren’t they?”

Kang Se-jun raised his hand toward the audience.

That single gesture caused the cheers to explode once again.

“Waaaaah!!”

“Seong-woo!!”

“I-yul, I love you!!”

Perhaps because he was shy, Kang I-yul, who had been hiding behind Yoo Seong-woo, peeked out and made a tiny heart with his fingers.

“Ah, he’s so cute!!”

“Isn’t I-yul more on the cute side than the innocent side?”

“By the way, why is my data not working?”

She wanted to convey this feeling exactly as it was to her timeline, but perhaps because of the huge crowd, her data had completely stopped working.

“Hey, hide your phone.”

Her friend hurriedly grabbed her arm.

“They’re dragging people out over there.”

“Ah, fuck.”

Ga-yoon swallowed her disappointment.

Right. She couldn’t risk losing the precious data she had taken today just because of a momentary urge for attention.

“But it’s weird. They’re stopping phones more than the big cameras.”

“Yeah. Is it because of the spoilers?”

“They’re going to upload it as soon as it’s over anyway. They’re seriously overdoing it.”

“That’s just how broadcasting stations are.”

Ga-yoon desperately calmed her racing heart and picked up her camera again.

The stage was over, but the most important moment was still left.

“Then.”

Kang Se-jun said with a smile.

“Let’s hear the judges’ comments.”