I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 22
ilisam_yul @123yul 2 minutes ago
guys is it true that i-yul joined a new company??? heard the rumor ㅠㅠㅠㅠ please let him debut this time
-wait i thought he quit being an idol after he left the personal entertainment company??
└that’s why i got depressed but then he made a new account lol
Oh Gyeong-jin. She was a fan who had witnessed Kang I-yul change agencies three times and watch his Debut Team collapse twice.
After Kang I-yul’s personal entertainment account disappeared, only occasional sightings of him popped up in the trainee fan community.
Then one day, a photo of him entering Nyx Entertainment, a startup company, appeared online. But since it was so new, searching for information turned up almost nothing.
And finally, today, news broke of Nyx Entertainment’s internal Survival Show, “Boys Code.”
[Changing the game of boy group survival shows…… Nyx Entertainment’s internal Survival Show “Boys Code” trainee profiles revealed for the first time]
[Survival Show “Boys Code” trainee profiles and signal song videos unveiled simultaneously…… making a bold statement]
Gyeong-jin immediately logged into the Boys Code homepage. Tears of joy began to flow.
“This is insane.”
Kang I-yul was there. And in a styling she’d never seen before.
“Who recommended such an amazing styling?”
In the last recent photo, Kang I-yul had brown hair. But now he had black hair, and moreover—a mussel-shell haircut that most faces couldn’t pull off!
“That’s it. He’s definitely debuting this time. If he can’t debut with that face, it’s a travesty.”
She quickly scanned through twenty profiles. The strange thing was that all of them were listed by nicknames or keywords instead of real names.
“Wow, Joo Han is here too? Han Sang-yun as well?”
For a startup company, the trainee roster was unusually impressive. The trainee community was already in uproar.
[oh so that’s where everyone went]
i always wondered why that guy trained so long at his old company and then showed up here;; guess they recruited him on the condition of an immediate debut and now they’re putting him in a survival show lol
-hang-yun please debut this time ㅠㅠ you’ve been a trainee for almost 7 years
-wasn’t joo-han from a major company too? he could’ve debuted by now if he’d waited but here he is
It had been two years since the last season of the famous idol survival show ended.
K-pop fans starved for dopamine turned their attention here.
[honestly i was bored anyway]
this is perfect lol but part 1 is internal company judging and voting starts from part 2? hope my picks survive
-wait really?? so i should just watch part 2 and relax
-i need to lock in the top-ranked ones to feel safe watching
-stop acting like you don’t choose minors on purpose? what am i supposed to do when my heart only beats for that guy
Interest grew rapidly when it was revealed that the MC was Kang Se-jun.
[what do you think about the survival show?]
first of all that guy and that guy were famous, and 2-yul? he’s pretty good? mussel-shell hair is hard to pull off but it fits him perfectly lolol and he has a chic vibe that’s great
-heard 2-yul was good at dancing and great with fan service from trainee showcase reviews
-i thought that castle-faced guy was decent
└that’s a face that appeals to people who like yang-a-mi type visuals
-aren’t han and joo basically locked in and the rest are just fighting for the other spots lolol
“Fighting for spots? That’s not how this works.”
Gyeong-jin let out a dry laugh.
“My I-yul is going to take first place.”
As she scrolled idly, her finger stopped.
“……What?”
Among trainees with flashy rainbow hair, a trainee with natural black hair caught her eye.
[Code: Braces]
A trainee smiling innocently at the camera while surrounded by others with fierce, determined gazes.
And he was even wearing braces.
“Why do braces…… suit him so well?”
Among the twenty trainees, only two had black hair. Kang I-yul and this one.
She became curious about this unusual trainee.
But no matter how much she searched, there was no information about the trainee anywhere.
“What should I even search for?”
[Braces]
[Guy with braces]
[Braces guy]
Searching turned up several people who looked similar.
[Guy with braces, anyone know him?]
tried to find info but nothing comes up;; but it’s rare to see idols with metal braces these days and his smile is too cute lolol he’s got puppy vibes
-i made all my original survival show picks debut but this guy feels like he’s gonna debut too
-right lolol all the other guys have crazy colorful hair and are giving intense stares but this guy is just so bright and pure lolol
-Braces coming out alongside him seems like a god-tier move lol solid fan knowledge
-But he looks like a total rookie;; nobody in the trainee fan communities knows him either
-He seems young? Probably around sophomore or junior year of high school
-Good eye lol I think this guy’s gonna rake in the devoted fans later
“……Something’s off.”
Oh Gyeong-jin clicked on Braces’ profile again.
Once.
And then once more.
She didn’t know why, but she kept finding herself clicking through.
“……He’s cute.”
She played the Signal Song video next.
“Whoa, they really went all-out with the production.”
The lavish set grabbed her attention first.
Thump-thump-thump—
Like display figures in a showroom, twenty boys in identical outfits stood in their own designated spaces.
Moments later, the lights on the outermost sections dimmed.
“What’s happening?”
Then new lights illuminated only the five center positions.
She’d watched enough idol survival shows to catch on immediately.
“So these guys are the Debut Team.”
Oh Gyeong-jin found only one person who mattered.
And there was Kang I-yul, occupying one of those five coveted spots.
“Done and done!”
After watching his individual fancam, she was certain: I-yul, your life has seen its last failed debut!
Besides, the expression he made during the final section was getting great reactions.
[Who’s Code3?]
That ending-part acting, what was that? For a second I thought I was watching some post-apocalyptic film lol but he really stands out next to Joo Han
Oh Gyeong-jin wasted no time posting a reply.
-He’s Kang 2-yul and trained for quite a while, I’ve been following him since his trainee days at his previous company and he’s even more handsome in person lolol and he’s good at both dancing and singing ㅠㅠㅠ he treats fans well too so if you stan him you won’t regret it
“Pfft, am I being way too obvious with the promotion?”
She hesitated for a moment, but other fans were already promoting their own biases too.
“Joo Han? I’m curious about him too. Gotta rewatch the video.”
While rewatching, Oh Gyeong-jin’s finger froze on the screen.
“……Braces?”
The Debut Team—and right next to Kang I-yul at that.
The response to Braces making the Debut Team was already chaotic.
[Who’s Braces?]
Didn’t they say he never trained? Is he from some tiny nothing company that nobody heard of?
-Nah that place is where even trainees from shoestring agencies know each other;;
-Wait this is his first company and he’s going straight into the Debut Team?
-Braces looks like some dwarf schnauzer mixed breed but he must have serious hidden strength
[But Braces]
With makeup on his face he’s not exactly just cute, is he?
-Really? He just looks like a scrappy little dog to me;;
└Oh no you’re already falling for him aren’t you?
-Yeah I noticed everyone had slightly different accessories—did he request his? That’d be impressive
Of course, there was considerable pushback.
[Who’s Braces?]
Honestly other kids dance better, don’t they? He’s got this weird clunky vibe;; what was the criteria
-I’m glad someone else sees it too ㅠㅠ I thought I was going crazy when I read the board reactions;; he’s obviously clumsy
-Yeah the guys above him seem to have better actual technique?
-He does work hard, his movements and timing are accurate. But it feels like he’s never gotten proper dance training?
-I don’t get why my guy didn’t rank higher than him lol…
-I understand why the other four made the Debut Team but Braces seems off somehow
[Gotta watch the broadcast]
I need to see with my own eyes how that clumsy guy made it into the Debut Team
-Lolol I’m dying to know what hidden talents he’s got
-Seeing people openly picking fights with him from the start—this guy’s Star Quality is insane lol
└Star Quality with zero skill lol who even made up that word for real
└Why’s he already building both anti-fans and fans at the same time haha
A name and age. A trainee whose information remains completely undisclosed.
But one thing is certain: public interest in this boy is swelling by the day.
Gyeong-jin’s instinct—the same instinct that had debuted every top pick from past idol survival shows—was speaking.
“I think he’s going to debut.”
At that very moment.
Yu Seong-woo, monitoring public reaction from the Dormitory, grinned ear to ear. Ever since his profile and signal song had been released, his SP was climbing in real time like a broken slot machine spinning wildly.
[SP 1,272]
It didn’t seem like each person’s interest was counting as a single point the way it did when meeting someone directly, but the speed was incomparable to before.
Both positive attention and negative criticism—slurs that cut like spite—were all being counted.
“I’ve got to drive both the anti-fans and the fans absolutely crazy.”
This, too, was identical to the idol world.
* * *
The preparation time given was one week. And today was the midway evaluation—halfway through.
Tension hung thick in the Practice Room from morning on, and our team had already completed the final checks.
Creak—
The door opened, and all the judges took their seats, Kang Se-jun leading the way.
“Have you all prepared well?”
“Yes!”
“…Yes.”
Except for the Illusion team, whose atmosphere had been somber throughout rehearsal, everyone was brimming with energy.
“Then we’ll now begin the midway evaluation for the Round 2 team missions.”
Kang Se-jun flipped through his cue cards.
“Is there a team ready to be evaluated first?”
I raised my hand immediately.
“Code 6, Trainee Yu Seong-woo.”
Kang Se-jun smiled warmly.
“Going first again this time?”
Of course. We’d already settled this with the team last night.
“Phew…”
I turned to look at my teammates, all tense and rigid.
“You know what’s good about going first?”
Four heads shook in unison.
“You’re guaranteed to place first at least once.”
“…Ah.”
Ji Dong-seok laughed first. The others’ mouths curved up.
“Right. Let’s go get that first place.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s give it everything we’ve got—”
Then Park Jae-hun asked a question.
“Did Trainee Yu Seong-woo do the Arrangement this time too?”
“Yes.”
“And the part distribution?”
Just as I was about to answer.
“Trainee Yu Seong-woo decided everything for us!”
Ji Dong-seok spoke up enthusiastically first.
“Arrangement, parts, he even chose to be leader!”
In that instant, all the judges’ eyes fixed on me.
“You did it all by yourself?”
I laughed awkwardly.
“My teammates helped me a lot.”
“Anyway.”
Jack P folded his arms. His eyes showed no hint of anticipation.
“Let’s see the performance first.”
“Yes!”
We clustered together and shouted a small fighting chant.
Now, it was time to show what we had.
I Debut With My Dead Favorite (Serialization)
Author │ Yu Ssu
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 401, Ace Techno Tower 8th, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
© U.S 2026
This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
Violation of this prohibition may result in criminal and civil liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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