A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 158

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Regression Guide for Idols Who Lost Their Initial Intentions Episode 158

 

 

 

 

 

Cha Yeonho’s blunder was very much appreciated from my perspective since it meant he wouldn’t bother me anymore, but on the other hand, it also left me feeling uneasy.

 

Is the fact that there’s a regressor in Rev really that important? Why is he so desperate to find out about other teams’ regressors?

 

I thought he was trying to get revenge on me for something from before the regression.

 

I let out a bitter laugh as I recalled the eyes of Cha Yeonho from before the regression, filled with malice as he glared at me.

 

‘He definitely told me not to trust all of my memories.’

 

I spread out my clean hands without a single tattoo and recalled Cha Yeonho’s words.

 

My last memory was the first day I had just moved into the Cheongdam-dong house. The last night as an idol, when I was excited about pursuing my dreams as a producer.

 

And from the hallucination I saw, the Cheongdam-dong house that couldn’t be called a new house.

 

And the text in the status window that appeared before that hallucination.

 

 

 

[Past Fra⑇⑆▚⑉]

 

 

 

It was heavily corrupted and hard to read, but I could make out the first characters. The status window called that hallucination the past.

 

The Cheongdam-dong house was the future from the current point in time, but it was also a past I had lived through. So that means…

 

‘That fucked-up life crazy bastard was me…?’

 

But I never lived like that.

 

The cigarette butts piled up in the ashtray like a Christmas tree, the countless beer cans rolling around on the floor, those hideous tattoos aside.

 

No matter how resentful I was that Gyeon Hajun from before the regression had cut me off, I never hated and resented him enough to throw my phone on the floor while watching drama videos he appeared in.

 

Unless it was Seo Yehyeon in the video, that is.

 

I quickly looked around and confirmed no one was there before opening my mouth.

 

“Can you replay that scene I saw back then? I feel like I didn’t see it all.”

 

I felt like I needed to see that scene again, the one that was cut off when Ryu Jaehee pulled me back to reality, and confirm with my own eyes the face of that crazy bastard who was ruining his own life, only then would I feel at ease.

 

 

 

[It was an abnormal phenomenon due to an error, so the Project Subject need not worry about it.]

 

 

 

I thought it would gladly comply, but the system’s response was colder than expected.

 

“If it’s an error, then give me compensation. I was seriously about to book a psychiatric consultation thinking I was having stress-induced hallucinations.”

 

 

 

[A random ticket has been issued as error compensation!]

 

 

 

You’re trying to brush this off by just throwing me this? And if I hadn’t said anything, you weren’t even going to give compensation. I’d bet Seo Yehyeon’s rap skills on it, damn it.

 

“Is there really no way to see it?”

 

 

 

[It’s possible if you meet the hidden conditions.]

 

 

 

“What are the hidden conditions? I need to know to decide whether to meet them or not.”

 

When I grumbled, the status window displayed text again. I read it seriously and barely swallowed the curse that rose to my throat.

 

 

 

[We recommend looking up the meaning of the English word ‘hidden’.]

 

 

 

Fucking annoying.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Today again, I was called by Jiwon Hyung and became a beat-making machine.

 

Jiwon Hyung was once again serving as a DTB judge and producer this year.

 

“I’m filming DTB right now. You kept going on about Yongcheol, Yongcheol, so I didn’t recognize him at first, but D.I is Yongcheol, right? That kid’s pretty good.”

 

I replied to Jiwon Hyung’s words with a proud smile, as if I had received the compliment myself.

 

“I told you so. I said that hyung was good.”

 

“If you’re close, do a stage together, even as a featuring. Are you satisfied with that less-than-a-minute rap snippet in your songs?”

 

Some of our fans say my 40-second part is so fucking long it’s annoying to listen to. Though my individual part is just over 30 seconds.

 

DTB filming started in May, but the first broadcast was scheduled for July. The semi-final stage filming date when Yongcheol Hyung asked me to feature would probably be at the end of August.

 

I didn’t know if Yongcheol Hyung would ask me to feature in the semi-final stage the same way as before the regression, but I was still considering it.

 

“Is it okay for an idol rapper to do a featuring stage? I’m worried that I might get Yongcheol Hyung criticized for drawing aggro as an idol.”

 

“What does it matter? You just need to rap well. Do you think idol popularity works in the hip hop scene? Chart rankings aside, the immediate stage evaluation won’t give a damn about your popularity.”

 

Jiwon Hyung threw me what felt like scolding disguised as comfort.

 

Well, the proportion of hip hop fans was still overwhelmingly male rather than female. Though there were some male voices mixed in with Daydream’s voices calling us on the way to work, DTB would be a different crowd.

 

“To put it bluntly, if hip hop was about looks, Rizery would have the highest reputation, wouldn’t he?”

 

“Since I left the underground, Jerry Hyung-nim has been the most handsome among underground and overground rappers combined.”

 

“So when you were in the underground, you were the most handsome? This guy is really subtly funny, I tell you.”

 

Jiwon Hyung burst out laughing and kept patting my back.

 

Honestly, wasn’t that true? That’s why when I was in the underground, those damn bastards kept chanting like a mantra that I should just be an idol whenever they saw my face.

 

“I’ll think about the DTB featuring for now. I don’t know about my own stage, but it’s someone else’s stage. If I mess it up somehow…”

 

“You brat, then you should appear on DTB too. You must appear in season 4.”

 

Jiwon Hyung put me in a headlock and giggled.

 

“Ah, I said I’d think about it.”

 

“This kid is being difficult.”

 

Jiwon Hyung released the headlock and lightly hit the back of my head.

 

“You miss the stage too.”

 

“I’m on stage all the time, what’s there to miss?”

 

“No, not that stage. A stage where you stand completely alone as a rapper.”

 

Jiwon Hyung held up one finger and spoke seriously.

 

“I don’t have enough experience for that kind of stage, I’ve never stood on one. I just squeezed in a few verses between the crew hyungs. It’s not for nothing that I switched to being an idol.”

 

I answered indifferently, then paused.

 

That’s right, even before the regression, I had never stood completely alone on stage. The only solo songs I had were B-side tracks.

 

I realized that what I had experienced and achieved before the regression wasn’t actually that much.

 

I suddenly realized.

 

What I had been clinging to wasn’t my life before the regression, but the rewards of my messed-up life that I had left behind.

 

Things I could buy anytime now, or in a few years if I just got through without any major issues.

 

And… no, let’s not think about this. It’s something that became impossible forever now that I’ve regressed.

 

I smiled bitterly and tried to erase it from my mind.

 

“Ah, now that I’m talking about it, I miss it too. The stage. When I was on stage, those reactions were so thrilling.”

 

Jiwon Hyung leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head and muttered with a face lost in memories.

 

Before the regression, I never even thought about participating in DTB.

 

After things went so wrong with the underground hyungs, I didn’t want to even look in that direction, and after I found out it was a misunderstanding caused by manipulation, I couldn’t turn back. Neither the relationship nor my gaze.

 

But now I was tempted by a world I hadn’t experienced before the regression. My original dream that I had to bury when I chose this path.

 

‘But is it okay for me to do that?’

 

What if trying to grab both rapper and idol ends up making me neither?

 

What if I neglect one side?

 

And I know that given my personality, the side that gets neglected would likely be the idol side.

 

Being an idol was a dream I chose as a second option, and being an overground rapper was a dream I couldn’t achieve.

 

Then I’d probably regress again 100%, so wouldn’t it be better to just be satisfied with now and live contentedly by releasing solo albums?

 

It was still a problem I needed to think about more. Especially with this damn infinite regression hanging over me.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

[1st Place – ‘Reve – Reverse’ ♥154,025]

 

 

 

finally settled at number 1 on the charts, and mini album 3 [Other Side] safely surpassed its break-even point.

 

Considering that had its reverse run on the charts two months after release, this reverse run was quite fast.

 

I felt proud to beat even with something like this.

 

“I was so worried this would flop and, sniff, the CEO would force another bizarre song like My Universe on us again, sob, I was so anxious…”

 

Kim Dobin sniffled. That damn had only 2 weeks of actual promotions, yet it continued to be mentioned like a lingering ghost until now.

 

“What are you, some kind of faucet?”

 

I clicked my tongue and threw a tissue box at Kim Dobin. Gyeon Hajun scolded me not to throw things at people and to hand it over directly.

 

“No, Hajun hyung. I’m very moved that Eden hyung gave me tissues without yelling at me to stop crying.”

 

Kim Dobin, who had been streaming tears, sniffled and pulled out tissues to wipe around his eyes.

 

When did I ever yell at him? I just told the guy not to cry at every little thing.

 

“The initial momentum died because of the leak, but the song was so good it wouldn’t have flopped. It would have hit big eventually.”

 

Ryu Jaehee said while pulling out a few more tissues for Kim Dobin. Seo Yehyeon, who was munching on salad, asked me.

 

“But what about our music leak culprit? Did they catch them?”

 

“They’re setting traps to catch them. But they need bait so it’ll take a while.”

 

Seo Yehyeon pretended to cover his mouth and asked.

 

“Wow, the company still hasn’t made you that banner?”

 

“I’m not putting up a banner.”

 

I replied through gritted teeth. They keep bringing up something I just said offhandedly.

 

Of course I was a bit tempted when I said it, but anyway, it wasn’t a serious suggestion.

 

There was still one week left of promotions, and since Altair, our biggest competitor, had finished their activities, Rev could safely finish promotions at number 1 as long as there were no major issues.

 

Should I do today’s weekly search quest then? Today as always, I left a post starting with “The aircraft’s future fragrance was strong today” on the FROM board and familiarly searched my name.

 

Normally I would have scrolled past indifferently, but what appeared at the top was something I couldn’t ignore.

 

‘Fuck, what is this…’

 

My brain briefly refused to process the absurd combination of words.

 

“Eden hyung! Did you see what’s trending right now? Are you monitoring? Try not to read the comments if possible, and just read the post first since we need to put out a rebuttal. Actually, should I screenshot the main parts and send them to you?”

 

Ryu Jaehee rushed over clutching his phone tightly. His face was pale.

 

“I’m looking at it now too.”

 

I replied, trying to stay calm, and looked down again. The text displayed on my phone screen was clearly visible.

 

 

 

[Yoon Eden School Violence]

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