I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed - Chapter 40

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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 40
I headed straight for the table while screams echoed through the corridor. Everyone was too distracted by the No Entry Sign to notice the table beneath it.
And as expected, someone had already beaten me there.
‘Has to be Go Jae-sung.’
Click.
I caught a hand stretching toward the flashlight in the darkness.
“……!”
My opponent thrashed his hand roughly, but I yanked the flashlight away like snatching bait.
Click.
I flicked it on, and there he was—Go Jae-sung, startled. He already had another flashlight in his other hand.
‘I suspected he’d try to grab both, but……’
His shameless cunning never disappointed.
The moment light appeared, the trainees swarmed toward it.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“I can’t see anything!”
“Who’s got the flashlight?”
I simply shone the light at Go Jae-sung—specifically at the hand holding the flashlight.
“There!”
“Jae-sung!”
Thanks to that, the trainees stampeded toward him instead. They’d go for what they could see right in front of them before chasing what they couldn’t locate.
‘Serves him right.’
[The first hint is located in the 2nd Floor New Talent Development Team Office.]
Meanwhile, Choi Un-jo confidently climbed to the second floor without a single flashlight.
‘Same as always—fearless as ever.’
“Um, should we head up too?”
“Jae-sung has a flashlight, so—”
The trainees clustered behind Go Jae-sung.
I turned my gaze in the opposite direction.
‘Where’s he hiding……’
Sure enough, someone was crouching beneath the emergency exit light.
“…….”
Knees drawn up, head buried low. Completely still.
“Kang I-yul.”
I aimed the flashlight at his feet instead of his face. No point startling him worse than he already was.
He flinched.
“……Yu Seong-woo?”
His voice trembled.
“What are you doing here?”
“……I’m scared.”
‘How can he just admit that so honestly?’
I felt bad for the kid being terrified, but honestly, there had to be trucks full of fans thinking he was adorable right now. Thank heavens it was dark—otherwise my expression would’ve given me away completely.
“Come on. Let’s go together.”
Kang I-yul seized my outstretched hand like it was a lifeline.
His hand was cold.
‘He’s really scared out of his mind.’
“……Ah.”
Only then did embarrassment hit him, and he bit his lip.
“What? Neither of you two headed upstairs yet?”
Han Sang-yoon had appeared at our side.
“No.”
“Good. Let’s stick together.”
The three of us started moving.
* * *
The production crew had clearly gone all out.
Even from the broadcast, I’d thought the scale was excessive, but seeing it in person was another level entirely.
Click. A door slamming somewhere.
Thump-thump-thump. Footsteps running overhead.
Screeeech. Eerie static poured from an old speaker.
It was almost impossible to believe this was the familiar Company Building.
‘This would’ve given Kang I-yul nightmares for days.’
It made perfect sense that he’d been unable to move freely around the company for a while after that mission.
“Wow…… That’s not a person, right?”
“……It must be a mannequin.”
A mannequin stood on the landing above.
I stopped in my tracks. A memory from before my Regression flickered across my mind.
“Let’s go the other way.”
I turned my body casually, as if nothing was wrong.
“Suddenly?”
“Just a bad feeling.”
I smoothly steered Kang I-yul toward the opposite direction.
“What, so you’re actually a scaredy-cat, Seong-woo?”
And into that empty space, Han Sang-yoon strode forward.
“That’s the way to the New Talent Development Team.”
“Senior, maybe we should just go somewhere else…….”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll go first, so just follow behind me.”
……I’d warned him.
Han Sang-yoon stepped in front of the mannequin.
“See? It’s nothing.”
The next instant.
Whap-whap-whap!!
The mannequin lurched forward, thrashing its body wildly.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Han Sang-yoon collapsed with a scream so powerful it echoed through the hallway.
‘His projection is impressive, though.’
It was a decibel level I’d never heard from Han Sang-yoon before.
“What! What is this!!”
Life is a comedy from afar, they say, but a tragedy up close.
I hurriedly turned my head away.
I couldn’t laugh. Absolutely not.
“Senior…….”
Kang I-yul gripped my arm with a pale face.
“Thank you…….”
It was such a satisfying moment that I could ignore the prick of conscience.
I helped the shaken Han Sang-yoon to his feet, and we barely managed to move to the next location.
Still, thanks to the mannequin, we naturally ended up heading to the second location—the PR Team Office—instead of the New Talent Development Team.
‘We must have found the first hint by now.’
[Congratulations. Go Jae-sung trainee hint acquired!]
As expected, the announcement came soon after.
[The second location is the PR Team Office.]
“Huh……?”
The moment I-yul lifted his head, he spotted the “PR Team” sign and immediately opened the door.
I could hear the footsteps of other trainees approaching.
“Ah!”
I grabbed the desk where the hint sat, pretending to have caught my foot on the wiring.
“Oh, this?”
I handed over the paper naturally, and I-yul nodded with a startled expression.
“Wow, how’d you find it so fast?”
“My foot caught on something and I grabbed the desk, then—anyway, let’s get out of here.”
Screech-bang-!
Where the flashlight beam pointed, Go Jae-sung stood. He quietly raised the hint paper and waved it.
“…….”
Bang!
With that loud sound, he rushed away. The third hint must be wherever he was heading.
But if he had any sense, he wouldn’t head straight to where the hint was.
Soon the announcement came through.
[Congratulations, Yu Seong-woo trainee hint acquired!]
From then on, it became a race against time.
There were seven hidden hints total. If I went in order, I’d overlap with Go Jae-sung, so I searched in reverse.
It felt like we were playing tag, deliberately avoiding each other.
“What, you found another one?”
“What’s your secret, really?”
With each hint we found, Kang I-yul’s eyes grew wider and wider.
I shrugged.
“Must be in a good mood today.”
The truth was, it wasn’t intuition at all—it was the shameless cheat code of someone who’d lived through this before.
After finding two more hints, we finally had only the last one left. Han Sang-yoon was exhausted, leaning against the wall.
“I need to rest now.”
“Yes, you worked hard.”
And I stopped walking at the entrance to the final location.
‘I don’t think we’re supposed to go in here.’
A sinister chill seeped through the gap in the door—the most notorious place even before my Regression.
“I-yul, hold the flashlight here. I’ll be back in a second.”
“……Let me come with you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m really not scared of this stuff.”
“…….”
Kang I-yul’s expression said it all: the thing that frightened him most was that I wasn’t frightened at all.
“Then at least take the flashlight with you.”
His outstretched hand trembled pitifully. A short laugh escaped his breath.
‘Come on, this is no time for you to worry about me.’
Watching him hold out the flashlight despite his obvious terror moved me in a strange way.
“Alright, let’s go in together.”
Creak—
The moment the door opened, a wave of icy air rushed out.
It was on a completely different level from anywhere else we’d been.
The ceiling was pitch black, and strips of hanging fabric swayed in the breeze.
Screech— somewhere, the sound of metal scraping rang out.
The floor was marked with unidentifiable red streaks, and the walls were plastered with what looked like handprints.
This was clearly the final stage.
Kang I-yul had already grabbed hold of my shirt.
‘You’re going to rip it, I-yul.’
Click. A cabinet door swung open, and something crawled out.
Movement so jerky it barely seemed human. Arms twisted at unnatural angles, neck stretched thin.
“KEEEEEEEE!!”
At this zombie-movie entrance, Kang I-yul nearly jumped out of his skin.
Rip— my t-shirt had officially given up the ghost.
As for me—
“Wow—”
I was genuinely impressed.
‘That’s some serious acting.’
Even by my zombie-film enthusiast standards, the movements were flawless.
‘No wonder the company’s broke.’
For a single mission hint, they went this far? This company was truly beyond understanding.
The zombie kept the performance going. Crawling across the floor, smashing their head against the wall. Suddenly they arched backward and let out a scream.
“Uh… hello there?”
“…….”
I seized a moment when they’d straightened up and offered a respectful greeting.
“You’re hands down the best zombie I’ve ever seen.”
“…….”
I gave them a thumbs up.
“……Thank you?”
The zombie, having unconsciously offered thanks in return, seemed even more startled and resumed their act.
“Hyung…….”
Kang I-yul was practically on the verge of tears.
“Please don’t talk to them…….”
“Why?”
“It makes it scarier…….”
Ah, I hadn’t thought of that.
Just then, a mask fell from the ceiling.
Thud—!
“……Eek!”
I nearly burst out laughing at my reflection in the mirror.
‘As if hiding behind me would conceal a frame like that…….’
I opened the mask’s mouth right away.
“How did you even…….”
His eyes were wide with fear.
“They always hide them in places like this. You see it in movies and dramas all the time.”
“Wow…….”
“I’m actually a horror film fanatic.”
Sure enough, there was a Hint Paper inside.
“I-yul, why don’t you pull it out this time.”
“I—I can’t look.”
“Then just hold out your hand.”
Kang I-yul squeezed his eyes shut and stretched his arm out straight.
[Congratulations. Kang I-yul, trainee—final Hint Paper acquired!]
“We’re done!”
“We are.”
Kang I-yul’s face brightened noticeably.
I bowed to the zombie as we left.
“Thank you for your performance—”
“……Yes.”
The zombie paused for a moment before speaking.
“That was a first.”
“What?”
“Being thanked.”
I felt a little awkward.
“Your acting was really excellent.”
His expression became strange at that.
He looked uncertain—not sure whether to feel pleased or bewildered.
“Hyung!”
Kang I-yul, who had already hurried out through the door, was calling me.
“Hurry up!”
I stifled a laugh and moved forward.
He really couldn’t wait to escape that room.
I-yul, who had been holding onto my sleeve, let go the moment we reached the studio entrance, as if nothing had happened.
“Man, I thought I was going to die…….”
“See? Wasn’t that fun?”
“Ahhhhh…….”
Kang Se-jun, who had appeared in full Dracula makeup, spoke with an easy smile.
“Now, shall we piece together all the Hint Papers you’ve collected?”
When the trainees arranged the letters they’d gathered on the No Entry Sign, a single word came together.
[FANTASY]
“That’s right—Fantasy.”
The studio door opened. The first thing that caught my eye was the costumes hanging on the rack.
[Suit, school uniform, streetwear, baseball uniform.]
“What do all these outfits have in common?”
“……Huh?”
“They’re the costumes of male idols that fulfill the fantasies people hold.”
Along with his words, the mission for this round was unveiled.
[CODE MISSION 4: What Is Your FANTASY?]
-The boys face their fourth trial.
There is only one way to crack the code:
Realize the fantasy.
“Fantasy?”
“This mission is about choosing a freestyle song that matches the costume and building a stage performance around it.”
Freestyle. The trainees’ eyes lit up all at once.
“We’ll do team selection shortly. For now, let’s take a break.”
The filming paused, and relieved sighs erupted from all around.
“Why’d they have to put us through something so terrifying just to find this anyway.”
“Right—”
I crouched down in a corner against the wall. Dragging two cowards through all this was harder than I’d expected.
In that brief moment of catching my breath.
“You seem to enjoy scary things.”
It was Go Jae-sung, alive and well.
‘I was just trying to rest for a moment…….’
This guy had a gift for showing up exactly when I least wanted to see him.
I smiled casually and shrugged.
“Yeah! You were finding things pretty well too, weren’t you?”
Go Jae-sung plopped down beside me.
That’s when a thought flashed through my mind.
‘Now’s the time.’
A way to confirm Go Jae-sung’s Regression without revealing my own identity.
I began humming a tune, as if nothing was on my mind.
[Closer and closer
Oh I see you now
Shine like a-]
Suddenly, my shoulder was grabbed.
“Hey, what’s that?”
When I turned, Go Jae-sung’s expression was as if he’d seen a ghost.
“What?”
“T-that song you just sang.”
‘Caught him.’
That reaction was definitely not someone hearing it for the first time.
Now I was certain.
‘He’s definitely undergone Regression.’
I answered with an unbothered expression.
“It’s an original composition of mine.”
“What? An original?”
At first, his pupils wavered with disbelief.
“Yeah. I made it recently, so it’s stuck in my head.”
…….
Next, his eyes narrowed. The look of someone calculating whether to believe or doubt.
“Why? Don’t you like it?”
So I decided to press further.
“No, that’s not it…….”
His words trailed off.
“It just sounds familiar somehow.”
Of course it would. This song doesn’t exist in this world yet.
“What? Where have you heard it?”
I fired back immediately.
…….
Go Jae-sung’s lips sealed. I didn’t miss the hesitation in his eyes.
“Come on, you have to tell me. What if I accidentally plagiarized something without knowing?”
I deliberately overreacted.
His flustered expression. The sharp edge in his eyes from moments ago slowly softened.
His suspicion wavered.
“No, it’s not that.”
A brief denial.
“Just…….”
He paused to collect himself.
“I think I was just confused because I liked it so much.”
“Ah, thank goodness. I was terrified I’d accidentally plagiarized something.”
I finally laughed with relief.
“But I’m getting all the compliments from you.”
“Well, you’ve always been good at this anyway.”
Words tossed out casually.
But the emotion beneath them was not light. There was a subtle excitement in his voice, a carefully guarded composure.
“We’re resuming filming. All trainees, please gather!”
The timing was perfect.
“I should get going.”
I turned to leave first.
Go Jae-sung’s demeanor spoke volumes. He was on the verge of taking the bait I’d cast.
I Killed My Favorite and Made My Debut (Serialized)
Author │ Yu 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 8th)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Yu Sseu 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder, and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
Violation of this 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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