I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed - Chapter 56

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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 56
After the mid-term evaluation ended, the team’s euphoria didn’t fade easily.
The performance had gone far better than expected. The judges’ lavish praise made it only natural.
‘Fair enough.’
But I couldn’t smile with an easy heart.
Song In-hyuk’s final critique kept circling through my mind. The similar feedback Go Jae-sung had received didn’t sit well with me either.
‘Shouldn’t you be reaching a little higher?’
At first, I’d thought he was simply talking about volume.
But the more I turned it over in my head, the more it felt like something else entirely.
I walked through the performance again, piece by piece. The team members’ parts had been balanced, the harmony flawless. Even the arrangement had earned praise from both judges and trainees alike.
And then there was…….
“Seong-woo.”
……
“Seong-woo?”
“Oh, yeah. I-yul.”
I made a show of having nothing on my mind.
“Could you help me work on something?”
“Work on what?”
“The part where we trade lines.”
It was the section where he and I exchanged phrases, one line at a time, and then finished with harmony.
“Sure.”
The minus-one track began to play.
[My childhood wishes]
The moment I-yul’s voice ended.
[Snow that’s piled up all winter long]
My part flowed in naturally.
We traded lines like that several more times.
Just as we were about to enter the final harmony, I-yul suddenly stopped singing.
“What is it?”
“Could we try it again?”
“Sure.”
But I-yul stopped in the middle again this time.
‘What’s going on?’
I wished he’d just tell me straight if something bothered him.
“Is there something you don’t like?”
After hesitating for a long moment, I-yul spoke as if he’d made up his mind.
“Why aren’t you showing me your full capacity?”
“Full capacity?”
“Yeah.”
It felt like I’d taken a blow to the head.
Only then did I understand what Song In-hyuk’s critique had meant.
I had been unconsciously holding back.
To make Kang I-yul stand out more. So his voice wouldn’t be buried under mine.
I’d thought that if I eased off a little, the whole team would look more stable.
Like someone who’d set their ceiling at ninety-nine percent instead of a hundred.
I hadn’t realized I-yul could feel it too.
“It’s for the sake of harmony—”
The excuse came out, and I-yul’s expression hardened ever so slightly.
“Are you saying you think I can’t handle your full capacity?”
That struck me again, hard across the head.
‘I-yul, how do you keep hitting me with the truth……’
To be precise.
‘My truth, hitting me right in the skull.’
* * *
The moment Song In-hyuk delivered his critique, Kang I-yul was certain.
It wasn’t just his own sense of something missing.
There were certainly no problems with their breath and timing.
But he, who had seen Yu Seong-woo’s solo performance firsthand, could tell the difference.
This wasn’t Yu Seong-woo’s full capacity.
From start to finish, Yu Seong-woo had been matching himself to I-yul—pulling back his rhythm so I-yul could sing comfortably, stepping back when their voices overlapped.
At first, he was grateful.
But the more they practiced, the more uneasy he felt. He’d begun to wish Yu Seong-woo would show him everything he had, just once.
That’s why he kept asking to go through the same part over and over.
But this time, too, Yu Seong-woo didn’t show his full capacity.
A twisted suspicion began to take root in his heart.
‘Someone who needs looking after.’
Was that all Yu Seong-woo saw him as?
Not as an equal to sing with, but as someone he’d always have to match and lift up?
His pride stung.
He owed him a debt, true—but on stage, he wanted to stand as equals.
“Seong-woo.”
Kang I-yul met his gaze directly.
“Show me your full capacity.”
“Then I’ll push myself to one hundred twenty, one hundred thirty percent to keep up.”
……
“Stop holding back for me.”
Yu Seong-woo said nothing for a long moment.
Kang I-yul bit his lip, wondering if he’d overstepped—but he didn’t look away.
Then, after a breath.
Yu Seong-woo nodded slowly.
“All right.”
Kang I-yul’s eyes widened.
The change was immediate.
“Let’s try again.”
The song restarted.
[My childhood wish…]
This time, it was different from the first note.
Yu Seong-woo took the melody without flinching, his gaze steady.
[Snow that piled through winter…]
‘This is it…!’
The emotion, the energy—everything shifted.
Just one percent of difference, yet it made him sound like a completely different person.
For the first time, Kang I-yul faced his own ability as it truly was.
‘I’m still far off.’
It frustrated him. And so it spurred him on. He wanted to close that gap, even by inches.
[Melting without a trace—]
Just a bit more. Just a bit more.
He poured one hundred five percent of himself into reaching Yu Seong-woo’s hundred.
[We become the most beautiful tomorrow…]
Yu Seong-woo’s voice stopped. He seemed to know why.
“Sorry. That wasn’t quite full capacity.”
“I could tell.”
“Let’s—”
“Yes.”
“A few more times.”
Kang I-yul didn’t realize those “few times” would stretch into hours.
He was beginning to regret it, honestly.
He’d had no idea Yu Seong-woo could be this relentless, this driven.
“Ugh, I didn’t quite hit it that time either.”
“It sounded fine to me.”
“Fine and full capacity aren’t the same thing.”
The moment anything fell short, Yu Seong-woo stopped the song.
Kang I-yul found himself worrying about the strain on Yu Seong-woo’s voice.
“Seong-woo, shouldn’t you be careful with your voice?”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Of course.”
Kang I-yul spoke with complete sincerity.
“If your voice isn’t in good shape, you won’t reach full capacity no matter what.”
Yu Seong-woo laughed aloud.
“That’s what you meant?”
“Then what did you think I meant?”
“I thought your heart was aching because you were worried about me.”
“……Do you want to practice more?”
“No. Let’s rest.”
He forced Yu Seong-woo to stop. He knew that only if Seong-woo stopped could he stop as well.
“Have some of this too.”
In the end, Kang I-yul handed over the Bellflower Root Juice he carried with him every day.
“Oh — drinking this makes you 120%, right?”
Mischief sparkled in his narrowed eyes.
Kang I-yul sighed.
“……That’s not quite it.”
Yet a smile was already spreading across his lips.
* * *
Friday evening arrived right on schedule.
Hyo-young had been sitting in front of the TV ten minutes before the broadcast started.
From the moment the teaser dropped until now, she had only one favorite.
Go Jae-sung, that is.
And today her instincts were unusually sharp. She had a premonition that this broadcast would be a historic moment for Go Jae-sung’s fanbase and her own.
[Code 1 absolutely]
It’s gotta be Jae-sung, right? Otherwise something’s wrong
-of course, otherwise the manipulation accusations start flying
-based on the leaked spoilers ㅇㅇ
-omg I’m not even nervous I’m just INSANELY HYPED lolol
-if we lose Code 1 I’m already dying to see how those other fandoms melt down^^
Hyo-young barely managed to calm her wildly racing heart.
[Last week’s highly discussed Boys Code Round 4 on-site evaluation]
[Entertainment buzz #1, C-Net variety ratings #1.]
[So who will claim the new Debut Group?]
“Oh, it’s starting.”
[Fifth Code ranking announcement. Two trainees will be eliminated.]
[Rankings will be announced in descending order from 15, and the five Debut Group members will only exchange name tags if there are replacements.]
The announcements proceeded without major upsets through Code 7. Now only the trainees who had been climbing on and off the Debut Group rankings remained.
When Kang I-yul was called for Code 6, Hyo-young clenched her fists.
Meanwhile, posts from shocked I-yul fans were flooding the bulletin board.
[This is driving me crazy]
why is I-yul at stable rank everyone PLEASE VOTE… if he can’t debut this time he’s seriously gonna end up as a permanent trainee
-forget about your second favorite, just save your bias first
-his team’s other Debut Group member is just ridiculously overpowered this time ㅠㅠ
[wtf]
Choi is in the Debut Group but I-yul isn’t?
-why’s everyone suddenly coming after Seong-woo? they had team synergy and the stage was amazing;;
-dance-wise it’s borderline but he did well on Round 4, what’s the problem
“Tsk, this is exactly why your bias has to be talented. Good rankings keep you out of permanent trainee hell, that’s the real move.”
[Code 5 is trainee Choi Un-jo.]
“Huh, that’s unexpected.”
-???
-lolol did everyone think Choi was at least Code 4?
-why are you guys like this? Choi was Code 4 on the signal song too
-but why’s everyone calling him Choi now that he’s out? lol
But something even more shocking was about to happen.
[Code 4 is trainee Han Sang-yun.]
“Huh?”
[So this means]
Yu Seong-woo’s about to get Code 1 lolololol
-honestly that’d be the funniest outcome
-Jae-sung and Ju Han fans fighting while Yu Seong-woo sweeps Code 1
-everybody gets a happy ending lol
-not impossible though, Yu Seong-woo’s got the highest public recognition? plus his sister’s been such a boost
“What is this?”
‘Yu Seong-woo getting Code 1?’
It had never crossed her mind before. The troublemakers threatening Code 1 had always been, at most, Ju Han and Han Sang-yun.
[All eyes converge on the trainee Yu Seong-woo, whose name has yet to be called.]
Tension hung thick in the air with the background music, and Hyo-young found herself gnawing at her fingernails along with it.
“Ugh, seriously, stop messing with me.”
[Code 3, we will now announce.]
The camera cut between the faces of Yu Seong-woo, Go Jae-sung, and Ju Han in rapid succession.
And then came the line that made her blood boil.
[Reveal in 60 seconds!]
“Oh, come on.”
Sixty seconds stretched like an hour, and finally Code 3 was unveiled.
[Congratulations, trainee Yu Seong-woo.]
“Yes!!”
-This is wild
-My heart was actually pounding, genuinely thought he’d be Code 1
-It never made sense anyway, everyone’s overreacting lolol
-Congrats to Jae-sung for Code 1 in advance
-With Ju Han there, expecting Code 1 is kind of funny
But Yu Seong-woo, now in Code 3, looked completely dazed throughout. When he exchanged name tags with Kang I-yul, he could barely lift his head.
[Trainee Yu Seong-woo struggles to remove his name tag with trembling hands]
[Trainee Kang I-yul helps and hands over the name tag to trainee Yu Seong-woo]
“What’s with him?”
She cared far more about Go Jae-sung’s ranking than the touching story of two uninteresting trainees.
-I-yul is too kind
Who takes off a name tag for someone like that… the kid’s got to be torn up inside
-I always think this format is way too cruel lol at least make the tags come off smoothly if you’re gonna do it
-Maybe because they’re close lol
└Not sure they’re that close though
└Did you miss the horror challenge content? Kang I-yul was literally Yu Seong-woo’s emotional support
-I’m an I-yul fan and this is killing me, my pick’s rank dropped and now I have to feel bad for the other guy?
As she watched the comment section devolve into a mud fight, Hyo-young hummed contentedly to herself.
[Code 2, trainee Go Jae-sung, please come up to the Stage.]
“Please……”
She clasped her hands together.
[Code 2 ▶ Code 1]
“Yes!!”
[Congratulations, trainee Go Jae-sung. You have been selected as the new Code 1!]
-Let’s goooo
-The world is finally turning right
-This is justice
-He’s definitely the best fit for 1
-The voting benefits were huge huh;; probably wouldn’t have made Code 1 without it?
└Stop whining and just admit it lol
Hyo-young paced through the living room like a fan who’d witnessed a last-minute World Cup goal.
Go Jae-sung had finally claimed the throne.
It was complete vindication—erasing the shame of starting in Code 6 because of some unknown trainee in the first ranking.
Ju Han delivered his thoughts easily, but she barely heard him.
It wasn’t until Go Jae-sung’s comments began that she focused again.
[Trainee Go Jae-sung: From now on, I won’t ever lose this position. I’m really grateful to our team for all the hard work. Especially to Yu Seong-woo.]
“Huh?”
Hyo-young thought she’d misheard and checked the comment thread.
But most of them felt the same way she did.
-Out of nowhere, Yu Seong-woo?
-Pretty sure I misheard lol
-That came from left field
[Trainee Go Jae-sung: I really hope we can debut together.]
The comment section exploded.
-What is this?
-Dopamine rush from the start of the broadcast today lmao
-Are they that close?
-Boys Code, release behind-the-scenes footage right now
“What??”
A statement no one had anticipated.
Hyo-young froze completely.
I Killed My Favorite and Debuted Together (Serialized)
Author │ Yu-ss
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, Acetech Tower 8th)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Yu-ss 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from our 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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