I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed - Chapter 43

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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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Chapter 43
Under normal circumstances, Go Jae Sung would have watched the other team’s stage with keen intensity, ready to exploit any opening.
But now Go Jae Sung was the picture of ease—as though monitoring competitors had become utterly pointless.
“Next up… the baseball uniform team, please come out.”
‘Kang Yi Yul’s team.’
Ju Han and Kang Yi Yul, both immovable at the top. In terms of pure talent alone, they were arguably the strongest of this round.
I checked Kang Yi Yul’s Danger Level out of habit. Thankfully, nothing had changed.
“The song is ‘Ode to Youth’? That’ll pair nicely with the baseball uniforms.”
“With Ju Han and Kang Yi Yul, there’s nothing to worry about.”
The judges’ reactions were different from before.
And so the performance began.
[I call you Youth
If we are together
Forever young!]
“Wow…….”
In that instant, my gaze was stolen by Ju Han. I wasn’t the only one.
Beyond jealousy, beyond rivalry—something entirely out of the ordinary.
I steadied myself and refocused on Kang Yi Yul. And then, belatedly, I understood.
‘……The choreography has changed.’
Before the Regression, it had been a textbook Synchronized Swordsmanship Dance.
But now the choreography had shifted to emphasize line and flow, letting Kang Yi Yul’s distinctive dance lines shine through far more clearly.
‘Impressive kid.’
He’d put in more effort this time than before the Regression. A smile rose unbidden as I recognized that courage and growth that only I knew about.
“But all I see is Ju Han, isn’t it?”
“Kang Yi Yul’s doing well too, but definitely…….”
So I tried to brush off the murmuring coming from behind me.
‘It’s not that bad—overstating things, maybe… wait.’
A strange feeling crept over me.
Even though the situation favored Kang Yi Yul more, the audience’s gaze still clung to Ju Han.
That was when Kang Yi Yul’s Danger Level began to flicker faintly.
‘Hold on…….’
A chill ran down my spine.
Soon their performance ended and the judges began their commentary.
To be honest, most of it didn’t register. Except when Kang Yi Yul’s name was mentioned.
“Who choreographed this?”
“Kang Yi Yul put in a lot of effort this time!”
The judges’ eyes turned to Kang Yi Yul for a moment. But they quickly drifted back to Ju Han.
“Wow, and yet you still pull this off so well, Ju Han?”
“Thank you!”
“Ju Han really is something else.”
Kang Yi Yul’s expression, which had been shining with anticipation, gradually hardened.
His hidden fingers twitched irregularly behind his back—a nervous habit.
“The choreography suited you really well, and you did great.”
At those words, his face brightened briefly.
“But Ju Han, you’re honestly…… you could debut right now as is.”
‘If that’s what you’re going to say, why mention it at all…….’
But every compliment directed at Kang Yi Yul was nothing but a seasoning meant to make Ju Han shine brighter.
And the thing I’d feared most came to pass.
The Danger Level that had been flickering with increasing speed…….
[Danger Level: 85% (▲3%)]
‘It went up 3%?’
My breath caught.
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
He’d done far better than before the Regression—
Then it hit me. What I’d missed.
I was a fan of Kang Yi Yul’s. So I could see his growth—how hard he’d worked, how much he’d changed.
But he couldn’t.
What Kang Yi Yul saw wasn’t his own growth.
It was Ju Han, standing right beside him.
The one he was always compared to, the one he could never seem to beat.
And today, despite giving his all with the choreography he was most confident in, the conclusion remained unchanged.
Ju Han’s overwhelming victory.
This was exactly why he’d hoped those two would never end up on the same team.
Both were from the maknae line, yet their personalities and inclinations couldn’t have been more different.
It would’ve been easier if Kang Yi Yul simply lacked talent altogether. Then there’d be no basis for comparison at all.
But the two of them had always been objects of comparison among the public and fans, even after their debut.
And the conclusion was always the same.
[Kang Yi Yul does well, right? But doesn’t Ju Han, who’s the same age, do much better?]
Hearing such criticism, I could guess what he must be feeling without needing to be told.
He’d summoned his courage and grown—he must have thought he’d improved.
But Kang Yi Yul was collapsing now, more severely than before the Regression.
I didn’t take in the rest of the evaluations properly. Only one thing circled through my mind.
Kang Yi Yul’s Danger Level.
“This concludes our mid-evaluation assessment. Everyone, fighting for the remaining period!”
“Yes!”
The judges and Kang Se Jun left, but the Practice Room buzzed with energy.
Of course, Go Jae Sung was at the center of it.
“We’re actually going to take first place this time, aren’t we?”
“Definitely.”
“Ju Han, you’d better be on your guard too, right?”
Ju Han simply laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
It was the kind of composed confidence only someone with overwhelming skill could possess.
Kang Yi Yul had already moved to the mirror. And he started practicing again.
While the other trainees went out to eat and took brief breaks, Kang Yi Yul didn’t stop.
I thought about approaching him, but quickly shook my head.
Not now.
‘It might feel like deception.’
Still, I didn’t look away. I continued monitoring his Danger Level as well.
‘Please, just don’t exceed 90%.’
There had been only one moment when Kang Yi Yul’s Danger Level was critical.
Right after the Regression, the day he had his arm in a cast.
Fortunately, since then it hadn’t exceeded 90%. Kang Yi Yul hadn’t faced any life-threatening situations either.
But I still know very little about the Status Window.
At what percentage does it become truly dangerous, and exactly how much risk does it represent.
Even 90% was merely an educated guess.
All I could do right now was watch.
‘I need to do well first.’
I reviewed the mid-evaluation feedback. Most of it was praise for Go Jae Sung, but I did glean something.
[Sung Woo’s dancing skills have improved tremendously. Now it’s just a matter of developing his Live Performance abilities further.]
The need to improve my Live Performance abilities—that was a concern I’d carried since my extreme training with Yoo Sung Ah.
Now public voting was beginning. That meant I had to survive in the raw, unfiltered acoustics of a live venue.
Dancing while maintaining stable Live Performance would likely be the primary evaluation criterion.
‘If it’s now…….’
I quietly slipped out of the Practice Room and began Item Creation.
In fact, during my extreme training with Yoo Sung Ah, this item couldn’t be created.
The reason was insufficient Special Points.
But in the meantime, broadcasts aired, continuous public interest accumulated, and my Special Points had climbed to 1,000.
“……Gill Breathing Technique.”
When performers execute intense choreography while maintaining unwavering Live Performance, people often joke about the “fish-gill theory”—that they must have gills instead of lungs to be that stable.
There was no more intuitive name than this.
[※Item Creation Successful]
▶Item Name: Gill Breathing Technique
▶Effect: An item that allows you to master a breathing method that doesn’t waver during Live Performances.
“Done……!”
As expected, my Special Points dropped to 100. It was a shame to spend a week’s worth of accumulation, but this item would allow me to gather far more.
Yet even after waiting, nothing seemed to change.
“What’s this?”
Just as I was doubting whether it had been applied, I caught sight of myself in the mirror and froze.
What I could faintly see beneath my ears—those were gills.
‘This is insane.’
Anyway, these underworld types—they’re bizarrely faithful to detail.
I bolted straight for the Practice Room and turned on the music.
The moment I started singing with the intense choreography, I felt it immediately.
‘It actually works.’
There was no need to worry about when to breathe.
Overwhelmed by a freedom I’d never known, I laughed without meaning to.
* * *
A Party Room somewhere in Seoul.
Oh Gyeong Jin was watching Episode 4 live with Ji Soo, a fellow fan she’d been fanning with since Kang Yi Yul’s first agency days.
“Who did you say your bias was again?”
“Mine’s Braces. Sung Woo. You said yours was Unjo, right?”
“Yeah. Isn’t Unjo so cute?”
[Trainee Kang Yi Yul heading out to select his position.]
“Shadow Play or Blossoming would be nice—”
[Trainee Kang Yi Yul selecting Sub-Vocal 1 for Shadow Play.]
Gyeong Jin sprang to her feet.
“Are you kidding me?”
“What? Didn’t you just say that?”
“They’re on the same team? This is a stock I’m going all-in on.”
-All-in on this stock
-Feels like a feast for the eyes having them both in one frame
-Second Rate screaming when he goes to Shadow Play lmaooo
-Wait but did you see Braces’s expression when Second Rate was going to Blossoming?
└lmaooo like he’d seen a ghost
“Aw, so cute.”
“Yi Yul’s going to get plenty of screen time this time—”
But contrary to the two of them’s expectations, their screen time was on the verge of vanishing.
[Han Sang Yoon’s team, whose opinions rarely align.]
Instead, the clash of opinions between Han Sang Yoon, Jang Hyun Jun, and Nam Jun Ho took center stage.
“No, we’re swamped—how can we still not decide?”
“I think Yi Yul would suit urban better than hip-hop—”
-Even Sang Yoon’s tense face looks good though?
└Doesn’t seem like the right time to compliment his face though
-Neither hip-hop nor urban really suits him tho;;
-But isn’t Braces and Second Rate being way too passive?
└So what is Braces supposed to do in choreography creation
└Leave him be, he didn’t even watch Episode 3
[Producer: Honestly, which concept did you prefer?]
[Trainee Yoo Sung Woo: Actually, I had a different concept in mind…… but either way is fine. I can adjust the arrangement to fit whichever one they choose.]
[Trainee Kang Yi Yul: I think urban seems a little better.]
“At least they went with Han Sang Yoon’s side… I guess that’s a relief.”
[A surprise visit from the original artists, special guests!]
Kang Yi Yul’s team was the only one whose concept remained undecided. Gyeong Jin found herself muttering without thinking.
“Damn, what are they going to do?”
“They’re screwed, aren’t they?”
-Yeah they’re doomed
-This is rough when they’re already stressed from missing Debut Team
-So this is the team getting the short end of the stick this week;;
In the midst of all the scrolling, Yoo Sung Woo’s dancing caught her eye—steady, mechanical.
“Sigh…… the guy’s really a hard worker.”
But she couldn’t in good conscience call it talent, even with empty words.
“Hey, but are you going to be okay with Braces? You literally gag when you see people who can’t dance.”
To Gyeong Jin, whose all-time biases had been lead dancers or higher, his skill level was far short of the mark.
“I mean, it is a bit…”
-Nah he’s genuinely pretty bad at dancing
-But he’s trying so hard we can’t even trash him
-Don’t be like that, at least he’s putting in the effort lmaooo
└Is there anyone here not putting in effort?
-Fundamentally the skill just isn’t there
[Robin’s expression growing harder by the moment]
Sure enough, the atmosphere grew steadily more hostile. The other judges’ reactions alone had been cutting, but this was only the beginning.
The real moment came when Robin opened his mouth.
[It just feels like you threw in cool-looking choreography without any regard for the song.]
[Honestly, I can’t even tell what was reinterpreted here.]
Oh Gyeong Jin quietly grabbed her head in her hands.
-The vibe just completely died;;​
-First time I’ve ever seen Robin that angry
In the suffocating silence that followed, an unexpected scene unfolded.
[Trainee Yoo Sung Woo quietly raises his hand]
“……What?”
-???
-Sung Woo’s already gonna catch heat just for sitting there
[All eyes turn to trainee Yoo Sung Woo]
Slow motion kicks in, ratcheting up the suspense, then……
[We’ll reveal it in 30 seconds!]
“Ugh, come on…….”
-Ugh my pride hurts but I’m lowkey hyped
-Looks like idol survival show production experience doesn’t go anywhere
-What did he say omg;;;;
“Wait, why do they always cut right at Sung Woo’s part like that? Is the kid just naturally camera-smart or something?”
Watching Oh Gyeong Jin work herself up, Ji Soo let out a scoff.
“Hey, anyone watching this would think Sung Woo’s your favorite.”
“What are you even saying??”
She denied it louder, as if that would settle it. But the more vehemently Oh Gyeong Jin protested, the more Ji Soo simply nodded knowingly.
As if to say: I know everything.
I Killed My Favorite and We’re Debuting Together (Ongoing Serialization)
Author │ U.S.
Publisher │ Kim Ju 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]
Homepage │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ U.S. 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder, and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and 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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