A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 172

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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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Regression Manual for an Idol Who Lost Their Original Intentions Chapter 172

“I don’t know about the other members, but I’m good at it, so why?”

“We should also try advancing into America soon. They said the overseas reaction to this time was pretty good too.”

Right, around this time was when the CEO’s America obsession would flare up. It flared up earlier than before my regression.

Before my regression, the reason Rev had no choice but to remain in a precarious second-tier position while being called Seo Yehyeon’s one-man show was partly due to terrible songs and a worldview that kept repeating brain-dead concepts.

But missing the golden time to solidify our domestic fanbase due to that damn American advancement also played a part.

And that American advancement? Of course it failed spectacularly, and to recover those investment costs, we just went on tons of overseas tours.

The overseas reaction actually exploded more in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia rather than North America.

The songs weren’t the style that would appeal to America in the first place. They kept going on about America so much that I thought had charted on Billboard or something.

I never dreamed it was just the CEO’s American Dream.

Around the same time, a senior girl group successfully completed their American advancement by charting on Billboard and became an issue, which must have made him quite envious.

Even in the current situation where we had built up our domestic position considerably, it wasn’t much different. The moment we go to America, we’d be starting from the bottom with no foothold whatsoever.

Is our agency a major one? Or do we have a Billboard chart #1 song?

Those girl group seniors who succeeded in American advancement were at least from a major agency. If a sparrow tries to follow a stork, it’ll only tear its crotch.

“CEO, should I speak honestly, or should I put it a bit indirectly?”

“Let me prepare my heart first, so put it indirectly for now.”

The CEO took a deep breath and gestured.

“Advancing into America without a single song that charted on Billboard seems premature.”

“Hmm, Eden. Do you have any thoughts about writing a song targeting Billboard? You know, with all English lyrics. And put in lots of rap too.”

“If it’s too obvious, we’ll be marked as unlikable. Anyway, our foundation is Korea, so if it looks like we’re too blatantly targeting Billboard from the start, it’s a bit much from the fans’ perspective. It would be different if a hit song naturally climbed up to the Billboard charts.”

When overseas activities increase, Korean activities naturally decrease, so which Korean fans would welcome that? And it’s not easy to establish a foothold just from one breakthrough either.

The CEO closed his mouth tightly, then sighed and asked again.

“If you speak honestly?”

“Right now we have no foothold or reaction, so even if we try advancing into America, we’ll fail.”

I didn’t want to repeat that hellish past.

The experience of building connections and collaborating with American producers and rappers was certainly helpful enough, but I didn’t want to push the other members down a path of hardship just to build my experience and connections.

“Eden, you lack youthful vigor. You should try clashing with things at least once!”

“There are cases where you get stronger from clashing and cases where you get completely destroyed, and this is the latter, CEO.”

Youth is also hard to recover from if it gets completely destroyed.

“Oh right, did you catch the spy?”

“It was someone who was at Shinwol Entertainment. But it seems like it wasn’t something he did alone – there was an accomplice inside. His department was a place that absolutely couldn’t leak music files.”

“Then we need to catch that accomplice too so we don’t get a music leak season 2.”

It seemed like I’d have to utilize that idea Ryu Jaehee came up with. The Quest period was until the next album, so there was still plenty of time.

“Right, I’ll also put all my effort into rooting them out, so don’t worry.”

The CEO showed a reassuring smile. Of course, I didn’t feel reassured at all.

I heard that spy was also caught with the help of a detective agency because they couldn’t come up with any schemes.

As I always feel, our LnL was really a carelessly run agency.

Having successfully crushed the CEO’s American Dream like that, I returned to the dormitory.

The remaining members except Kim Dobin who went to variety show filming and Seo Yehyeon who went to perfume photoshoot filming welcomed me.

During this hiatus period, the busiest person was Seo Yehyeon with his piled-up individual schedules.

He was covering everything from CFs to clothing ambassadorships to photoshoots. As expected of someone whose trait was being a model.

Of course, even though drama offers came in, Seo Yehyeon rejected them all after feeling the limits of his acting skills.

Gyeon Hajun, who was looking through the list of individual schedules that came in for me, asked me as I just returned to the dormitory.

“What did the CEO say?”

“I just barely stopped him from advancing into America.”

“Wow, you did something big.”

Ryu Jaehee clicked his tongue and clapped.

Honestly, American advancement? Just hearing it sounds tempting for an artist.

I could make this judgment because I had directly suffered in America and could face reality, but Ryu Jaehee was a young guy who hadn’t even experienced American activities directly yet calculated the danger right away – that smart guy was really smart.

Of course, Gyeon Hajun was quick-witted so he was an exception.

“Seeing how he asked us if we were good at English, it seems like he’d fly us off to America anytime if we just knew English. Should we all pretend we’re bad at English? Damn, I already confessed honestly that I’m good at it, what should I do?”

“Let’s not even mention the letter ‘A’ of America in front of the CEO for the time being.”

“Right, let’s start by keeping Dobin’s mouth shut first.”

Gyeon Hajun pointed out something I had overlooked.

Seo Yehyeon wasn’t a worry since his brain works, but Kim Dobin was a person to watch out for since he had a high probability of reigniting the CEO’s American Dream by showing enthusiastic positive opinions with sparkling eyes upon hearing about ‘American advancement.’

“Then are we staying in Korea for the second half of the year too?”

“We’ll probably do Japanese activities this year? Or maybe Thailand. In the second half, we probably can’t do an album comeback and will just release a digital single or something. We can’t let the hiatus get too long. I don’t know about music shows though.”

For now, we just need to not go to America in the current situation, just not America!

* * *

When I hurried out after receiving Yongcheol Hyung’s contact saying he’d buy me drinks, Yongcheol Hyung, who was armed with a hat and mask like me, waved his hand.

“What, did you already become a celebrity, Hyung?”

When I burst out laughing and asked while patting his back, Yongcheol Hyung pulled down his mask and replied.

“There were a few people who recognized me from DTB.”

“Wow, Mr. Popular. You’re this popular when only 2 episodes have aired. See, I told you to cut your hair before going to the audition. If you had that mop hair, you wouldn’t have been popular, Hyung.”

“Yeah, thanks so much.”

Yongcheol Hyung lightly hit the back of my head while grumbling. Sitting across from me and pouring alcohol into my glass, Yongcheol Hyung opened his mouth.

“There’s a semi-final stage in a month.”

“Oh, has it already been that long?”

I could guess what Hyung was going to say. I forced up my gradually drooping mouth corners.

“Eden, you take care of it, the featuring.”

Yongcheol Hyung made the same proposal with the same expression as before my regression.

I couldn’t forget it. It was a moment that sometimes appeared even in dreams after I barely fell asleep, having stayed up all night rummaging through the contact list and message box I had deleted in anger after our relationship was cut off like that.

If I had accepted the semi-final stage featuring back then.

If I had asked even once whether that backstabbing was real.

If I had apologized right the next day after unleashing my inferiority complex disguised as anger.

I recalled the moments when I closed my eyes, making countless assumptions and then being self-deprecating about what good regret would do.

“Why me? When there are so many other notable rappers who would line up if Hyung asked for featuring, why are you trying to use an idol rapper for featuring?”

I asked the same question as back then with a deliberately light voice.

And this person smiled and answered without a moment’s hesitation, just like back then.

“Because you’re the person who would suit this song and this stage I planned the best.”

The words that Sangyeol Hyung had conveyed to me before my regression overlapped.

‘Oh right, Lee Yongcheol told me to definitely tell you this. The reason he asked you to feature in the DTB semi-final stage was really just because you were the person who would suit that song and stage the best.’

Why was I so desperate to attach reasons to that sincerity back then?

‘It wasn’t pity, or goodwill extended like showing mercy, or any of the reasons you assumed on your own – it was only that. He asked why you had to interpret and mess it up. Thanks to that, he said he’d have lifelong regrets about that stage.’

What am I worth? What is this stupid bastard worth that he’d leave that as a lifelong regret?

He should have been able to brush it off as fortunate that the public didn’t bury an idol rapper they didn’t even know the name of who was showing off with superficial skills.

Back then, I would have still had all those shitty habits since it was before G1 pointed out my skills.

I still clearly remember what Sangyeol Hyung said when he saw me distorting my expression.

‘Sigh, you idiot. Apologize and make up before it’s too late.’

What did I answer to that advice back then?

‘It’s too late, already.’

My dry, harsh response echoed in my ears like a hallucination.

Right, it was too late. Way too late. Until the point where my falling out with Hyung became undone and I was offered the featuring again, I had kept turning away.

“…Hyung.”

I called Yongcheol Hyung in a sunken voice. I swallowed dry saliva several times at the words that wouldn’t easily come out of my mouth.

“Sorry.”

I finally spat out that single word that had been kept too long, chewed over and swallowed until it was tattered. My voice trembled slightly at the end from the terrible sense of liberation.

That bastard fool who pushed away the hand first and just waited for the other person to reach out. The one who should apologize first wasn’t Hyung, but me.

Yongcheol Hyung, receiving the sudden apology, seemed to take it as a refusal of the featuring and asked while awkwardly scratching his head.

“Can’t do it?”

“No, I’ll do it. I said I’ll do it.”

“Then why are you sorry? Are you laying groundwork in advance in case you mess up on stage?”

“No, there’s no way I’d mess up. Especially not on Hyung’s semifinal stage. Just, just….”

I couldn’t continue speaking and bit my lips.

“Right, it’s not like there’s just one or two things you’re sorry to me about.”

Yongcheol Hyung deliberately didn’t ask and grinned as he lifted his glass and spoke.

“Write some lyrics for the featuring part. Make it really fucking cool. Got it?”

The glasses clinked lightly together.

“To Yongcheol Hyung’s stage with no regrets!”

“Hey, do it again. Again. ‘To D.I’s best stage!'”

“Who do you think I am. Since I’m standing as the featuring, I’ll naturally create the best stage. Just, this time don’t leave any regrets on this stage.”

“Seriously, Yoon Eden’s confidence is really something.”

Following Yongcheol Hyung who chuckled and emptied his glass, I also emptied mine. Pouring both my past regrets and Hyung’s regrets into the drink glass.

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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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