I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed - Chapter 30

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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 30
I couldn’t even properly remember how the rest of the stage had passed.
“You all prepared really well, didn’t you?”
When I came to my senses, feedback from the Gaehwa Team was already in full swing.
“Especially Go Jae-sung.”
The original artist mimicked the gesture with his hand.
“The way you did this—sweeping your face like that—it looked so good.”
“Thank you!”
Go Jae-sung smiled brightly.
I stared blankly at that smiling face.
The moment that, after broadcast, had catapulted Kang I-yul into the secure ranks of the debut team in an instant.
The scene fans had looped hundreds of times as GIFs, the direct cam footage that had exploded in views.
Even the judges had remarked, “I didn’t know Kang I-yul had such a bold side.”
“We’ve said to each other while promoting that we’d really like just one more Killing Part like that.”
The cheerful conversation didn’t register. My mind was already filled with questions.
Could it be that even something like this was within the realm of the Yama King’s pranks?
[S: The Yama King does not meddle in the affairs of the human realm. Rash speech or conduct regarding the Yama King is cautioned against.]
Great. If I so much as disrespected the Yama King, he’d drag me back to that world again.
[S: It is not impossible.]
My posture straightened reflexively. Right. Even though it takes the form of a system, I mustn’t forget its true nature—the Yama King.
The sovereign of the Underworld who holds human lives in his hands, and the administrator of these Wish Points.
I quickly shook my head.
Right. It’s absurd. The gesture of sweeping your face with your hand is common enough.
‘Kang I-yul’s rise came from making that common gesture something special, didn’t it?’
The song “Gaehwa” might have evoked that kind of movement. Anyone might have produced a similar point, and—
That’s what I tried to tell myself.
‘Right. Go Jae-sung couldn’t possibly be a Regressor—’
Go Jae-sung’s suspicious behavior kept trying to surface in my thoughts, but what mattered right now was the stage in front of me. I drew a deep breath, working to clear the growing chaos in my head.
“Nervous?”
“Ah, yes. A little.”
Calming my racing heart was the priority. If I tense up, my throat locks up.
If the Main Vocalist couldn’t even sing, it would be over.
“Next, let’s have the ‘Shadow Play’ team get ready.”
Oh, please.
I regretted not raising my hand first. But the milk was already spilled.
* * *
Robin moved to center stage.
“I’m looking forward to a great performance.”
He waved with a light smile, and he really did look like the word “idol” was written all over his face.
Having to perform a stage that would definitely tank in front of a pro idol like that. There was only one thing I could do right now.
Dance as hard as I possibly could.
But the two who had taken the hip-hop parts didn’t look thrilled.
Their eyes said it all.
—This guy’s going to evaluate us?
Well, they didn’t voice it. Why the maknae from that team had come out as the representative, I’d find out soon enough anyway.
“We’ve prepared the choreography in two versions. So the atmosphere between verse one and verse two might be a bit different.”
“Oh, that sounds interesting—”
The stage began with Han Sang-yun’s clean explanation.
The first verse was hip-hop-based choreography.
Nam Jun-ho and Jang Hyun-jun came out strong from center stage.
The movements were flashy, but it felt like hip-hop choreography forced in awkwardly. The tempo was subtly off-beat, and the dynamics were out of sync.
Each time, Robin’s expression shifted with striking honesty.
‘His expressions really are varied.’
The second verse began, and positions shifted naturally.
The fast beat and Urban Dance meshed surprisingly well. It was like that unexpected dish that somehow tastes decent despite the odd combination of ingredients.
Robin’s expression loosened a bit.
But the moment he looked at me, it hardened again.
‘…Yeah, that’s right. Tinkering away, aren’t you?’
Still, I gave it everything I had. I just hoped he’d recognize that much.
The roughly two-minute stage came to an end.
My throat tightened as I swallowed hard.
‘I can already guess what’s coming.’
“Well……”
Robin opened his mouth slowly.
“First of all, it’s impressive that you came up with choreography of this level in just one day.”
“Thank you.”
“But, this is choreography for our song, right?”
The air in the room went still.
“To be honest,”
his voice remained gentle.
“It feels like you just threw together whatever dance moves look flashy.”
But the substance of his words was razor-sharp.
“Especially the first verse — you built that with a hip-hop vibe, right?”
“……Yes, that’s correct.”
“The choreography is intense, but why does it need to be?”
The two hip-hop dancers’ expressions hardened.
“There’s no reason for it to be intense.”
“If you performed this choreography as-is to the BornToBe song, it would actually fit better.”
It was an accurate assessment. Jang Hyun-jun’s choreography looked impressive, sure, but honestly it had nothing to do with shadow play.
“The second verse is at least a little better. It matched the song, at least.”
His tone softened slightly.
“But it lacks impact.”
Han Sang-yun’s mouth started to curve upward, then froze.
“The formations and structure are fine, but there’s no choreography that stands out in your memory.”
The practice room fell completely silent.
“More than anything—”
Robin tapped the back of his hand with his fingertips.
“You need to think again about what the theme is. It’s supposed to be a reinterpretation of the original song, a reinterpretation.”
“……”
“I honestly can’t tell what’s been reinterpreted here.”
He’d hit the mark. Both the hip-hop and urban dancers’ approaches were different, but they both had the same fundamental problem.
They hadn’t interpreted the song at all.
They’d simply dressed up the choreography they were already good at.
“I think you need to reconsider the stage concept from the ground up.”
Even the original composers of the other songs seemed to sense the knife-edge atmosphere in the room.
‘Is he really being this direct?’
But for me, this was an opportunity.
I’d originally planned to suggest this after all the feedback was done, but now that he’d laid the groundwork so thoroughly, it was worth throwing out there.
I quietly raised my hand.
“Um, what if—”
All my teammates’ eyes locked onto me at once.
‘Now?’
That was exactly the look they gave me.
I pretended not to notice and spoke up.
“What if we built the stage around a concept like being slightly obsessed with a lover?”
“Obsessed?”
Robin tilted his head slightly.
“I was thinking it might work if we structured the performance with that kind of undertone.”
“Obsession?”
At the completely unexpected keyword, I heard Jang Hyun-jun exhale sharply.
‘I hope the cameras caught that—’
“The song sounds bright and cute, but the lyrics actually sound pretty scary when you really listen.”
In that moment, Robin’s eyes widened.
“What? Did you listen to our guide?”
“Pardon?”
“Or did someone tell you about it?”
Now I was the one caught off guard.
Guide? Did he somehow know I used to be the producer?
All these absurd things kept happening that I wondered for a moment if I should be suspecting him instead of Go Jae-sung. Maybe Robin was the one who’d regressed.
“No, what guide?”
I composed myself, smoothing away any trace of surprise from my face.
“Actually, the guide version of this song is incredibly dark.”
“Really?”
“Robin, this is something you haven’t even mentioned on other broadcasts.”
The Practice Room stirred with unexpected murmurs. Even sifting through my memories from before the Regression, I’d never heard this mentioned before.
‘This never came up on air.’
The main PD’s eyes sparkled beyond the camera. Of course—this was a broadcast exclusive premiere, so the buzz factor was already climbing visibly.
“Fascinating.”
Robin turned his gaze toward me.
“How did you pick up on that from the lyrics?”
“Actually, trainee Kang I-yul mentioned at first that the lyrics sounded a bit frightening to him.”
Kang I-yul’s eyes widened instantly. His expression made clear he’d never expected to hear his own name invoked here.
“Oh, you both have good instincts.”
“After hearing that, I went back over the lyrics more carefully, and the whole feeling became completely different.”
Robin’s expression shifted, genuine intrigue lighting his features.
“Exactly. The Original Song originally had a much heavier tone, but when it came to our team, we brightened it up like this.”
He glanced at me and added,
“But if we went in the direction you just described, sticking with the guide version would’ve worked perfectly too.”
The faces of the two hip-hop guys went completely rigid.
“It’d be worth trying, don’t you think?”
That single remark sealed the verdict.
* * *
When the evaluation ended, nobody rushed to speak first.
‘Finally, some peace and quiet.’
After carrying themselves with such swagger up until now, they looked completely shell-shocked from Robin’s direct hit.
Even before the Regression, Robin’s blunt assessments had stirred quite a bit of buzz. If anything, he’d been even harsher back then.
‘This is actually tame for him—’
But for kids who didn’t know that, the impact must’ve been severe.
“Hah…….”
Nam Jun-ho exhaled a long, heavy sigh.
“I think we should build on the Point Choreography using Sang-yun’s arrangement as the base.”
Taking that as my cue, I opened my mouth.
“Since Robin said it looked interesting, I was thinking about emphasizing an obsessive feel in the Arrangement—what do you think?”
“But what kind of feeling is that exactly?”
Nam Jun-ho furrowed his brow.
“Right. Honestly, I’m not sure either. It’s a bright song—what’s there to be afraid of—”
Jang Hyun-jun nodded in agreement.
Instead of answering, I opened my Laptop.
No point in lengthy explanations. It’d be faster to just play it.
Click. The first note dropped.
The texture was different from the Original Song right from the start.
A dark, quiet sound. Then, half a beat late, a low chord layers over it.
I’d deliberately left space.
Suffocating space. Deafening silence.
“Huh?”
I let the bass-grounded chord repeat once more, then layered the melody on top.
I’d twisted the Original Song’s line ever so slightly—just lowered one bright passage by a semitone and let it drag a little—but it felt completely transformed.
Like something smiling, yet somehow raising your skin in goosebumps. That eerie threshold.
“What… what is that.”
Nam Jun-ho leaned forward in his seat.
The second section I’d prepared was the highlight passage itself.
I’d carried the melody to its peak, then—bang—cut it short with the force of breaking glass. When the Point Choreography kicked in here, every eye would snap to this moment without fail.
I’d deliberately played only the intro and the highlight first—the two most powerful sections.
“……Wow.”
And the result was unmistakable.
Pure, unfiltered amazement pouring out.
Only then did I stop.
Just a few bars.
I’d only hinted at the atmosphere, yet already their faces showed they were confronting an entirely new world.
“……It can become this?”
Han Sang-yun let out a hollow laugh.
“Wait, let me—”
“Play that again—”
Their words overlapped. For the first time, the team members—who had never agreed on anything for even a moment—spoke in unison.
I chuckled and pressed play on the arrangement program again.
This time, I’d woven in a bit more craft.
Chords that trembled with unease, a melody that repeated breathlessly.
Bright, yet strangely cold in its atmosphere.
The intent emerged far more vividly than before.
“This is insane…….”
Even amid the rush of exclamations, Kang I-yul’s voice cut through with particular clarity.
“That’s incredible.”
Han Sang-yun lifted his head. His eyes had changed.
“We have to go with this. We absolutely have to.”
Jang Hyun-jun nodded blankly along. This time, there wasn’t a shred of objection from him.
For the first time, all their scattered gazes aligned toward a single point.
“Sung-u.”
Han Sang-yun called out quietly.
“Finish this arrangement as soon as you can.”
“Right. We’ll rework the choreography.”
Nam Jun-ho picked up at once.
“Yeah.”
Jang Hyun-jun grinned.
“Come on, play the next one.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
Just hours ago, these guys had been bickering about who was right. Now they hung on my every note.
A strange thrill rippled down my spine.
‘That’s it. This is the power of music.’
The stage for “Shadow Play”—utterly different from what it had been before the Regression—came into sharp focus in my mind.
If Go Jae-sung stole the future from me, then I would create it.
A new future.
I Killed My Favorite Idol and We’re Debuting (Serialized)
Author │ U-Sseu
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Published by │ J-Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ U-Sseu 2026
※This work is published by J-Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher and author.
Violations of this prohibition may result in criminal and civil legal 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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