A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 202
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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 202
“Time to get ready to leave, Youngest Member.”
After finishing our performance and coming down from the stage, it was already close to 10 PM. It was time for our team’s only minor, the youngest member, to go home.
“No, isn’t this a bit unfair? I’ll be an adult in just 2 hours!”
Ryu Jaehee grumbled with a sullen expression. Members who were minors from other groups were also getting up one by one.
“If you don’t like it, complain to the higher-ups. What power do we have to let you, who’s legally still a minor until today, stay without going home?”
At my words as I shrugged my shoulders, Kim Dobin stuck his tongue out at Ryu Jaehee teasingly and giggled.
“Ahaha, I get to stay starting this year!”
“Doby, do you want to go with the youngest member? It’s not good to send the youngest member alone…”
When I turned to look at Kim Dobin, he wiped the smile completely off his face and protested with an utterly wronged expression.
“Jaehee is more mature than me though.”
“At least you know that. But still go.”
“Why?”
“The youngest member will be lonely by himself.”
Ryu Jaehee shook his head and got up from his seat.
“It’s okay. I can already predict how much Doby hyung would whine if we went home together. I’ll just go by myself. See you later, hyungs.”
On the way back after seeing off the youngest member who left with the manager, I ran into KICKS sitting in the artist seating area.
Come to think of it, we did a song exchange stage with those guys the year before last. Before the regression, we could barely reach a similar position around this time, but now we’ve gotten way ahead of them.
Choi Hyeonmin was either properly heeding the warning from back then or sulking, as he turned his head away and ignored me.
Just as I was about to ignore them and return to our seats, I stopped at Kwon Yuseong’s heavy voice.
“Gyeon Hajun.”
I reflexively covered my mouth. Wow, crazy, no way.
“…I’m sorry.”
I was more shaken than the person receiving the apology, but the actual recipient was rather calm.
“I see.”
Gyeon Hajun gave a short answer that implied he wouldn’t ignore the apology, but wouldn’t exactly accept it either.
Seeing how his eyes showed no wavering and remained indifferent, it seemed Kwon Yunseong really meant nothing to Gyeon Hajun.
I felt a bit bitter thinking that the past at New Born only had meaning for me.
“And Yoon Eden, I watched your performance well. It was cool.”
That bastard said he wouldn’t apologize, but he’s really not apologizing to me until the end, damn. I replied with a chuckle.
“Of course. Whose performance was it?”
Parachute looked back and forth between me and Kwon Yunseong with a dumbfounded expression. Seeing the anxious look that crossed his face, I thought I should send him a text saying there was no need to mention that he was the whistleblower.
On the way back to our seats, Kim Dobin quietly asked in a lowered voice.
“Hyung, did you make up with them?”
“No, we just went back to being acquaintances who greet each other. It’s too late to make up.”
When Kim Dobin looked at Gyeon Hajun, who had directly received the apology, after hearing my answer, Gyeon Hajun said as usual.
“Take note of this, Doby. Accepting an apology doesn’t necessarily mean reconciliation.”
Our seats were far from KICKS, but very close to Altair.
Since both groups still didn’t know the reaction to their performances, their attitude toward us was still friendly for now.
“Wow, we really didn’t expect you to do . Everyone predicted . Except for Yeonho hyung.”
“Listening from behind, it sounded like you arranged it. Did Eden do the arrangement too? For us, Jeongjun hyung only touched up the key and intro. The dance break part.”
Since there was no reason to hide it, I nodded.
“Yes, I did it.”
Cha Yeonho, who had been looking at us with an assessing gaze, opened his mouth as if asking a casual question.
“No one helped you?”
I glanced at Kim Dobin, whom I had once taught diligently to use as my composition assistant, and shook my head.
“He wasn’t particularly helpful…”
Seeing Cha Yeonho’s lips twitch slightly, I clicked my tongue internally. Why live such a tiresome life trying to catch regressors when you could just work hard and live normally?
***
On January 1st, we had just finished the Music Big Match schedule and were tired, so drinking to celebrate the youngest member finally becoming an adult was postponed to the evening of January 2nd.
Since we had no schedule that day, we bought plenty of soju and beer from the convenience store in front of the dormitory and came home.
“Finally our youngest member is an adult! How long I’ve waited for this day…!”
“Why were you waiting for the day I become an adult, hyung?”
“Because until you became an adult, even I was under a drinking ban. Finally I can drink too!”
It wasn’t even funny watching someone whose alcohol tolerance is half a bottle act like that.
Thinking of the hardships Gyeon Hajun and I went through before the regression still made my teeth chatter and grind automatically. If he confirms his drinking habits today, he won’t drink more than his limit when he’s out, right?
If he knows his drinking habits and still gets wasted outside, that’s not human behavior.
“Doby, you go over there, close to the bathroom. That way I can immediately drag you and throw you in the bathroom.”
“Come on, would I really drink until I throw up? I’ll stop just before that, you know?”
Yeah right. I dragged the protesting guy to the spot with the shortest route to the bathroom and lightly raised the drink in front of me.
“Give us a toast to celebrate the youngest member becoming an adult.”
“Hyung, you just sounded exactly like the CEO at a company dinner.”
I immediately protested, feeling hurt by Ryu Jaehee’s serious comment.
“Hey, how can you say something so harsh…!”
“Don’t make the youngest member do it, let the leader give a congratulatory speech as our representative.”
Pushed by Gyeon Hajun, I stood up while holding my drink.
“Thank you all for working hard and following along until now when our entire group has become adults, and let’s fight on for this year too.”
“Booo, too short!”
“Too cliché!”
“Damn brats.”
What more is there to say to people you see every day?
“Cheers!”
Five glasses clinked together lightly without anyone taking the lead. Until last year, two of them were filled with soft drinks, but now all five glasses were filled with soju, making me realize the passage of time.
“Ah, this is the taste of adulthood!”
“Ugh, it tastes bad…”
Unlike Kim Dobin who was showing off after emptying one glass, Ryu Jaehee, who had downed the soju in his glass in one shot, grimaced and gave his honest review.
“What do people drink this for? It tastes exactly like an alcohol lamp.”
“It’s good that you think alcohol tastes bad. Our youngest member won’t cause trouble while drinking.”
Even before the regression, unlike someone who passed out spectacularly at bars, Ryu Jaehee had never caused trouble while drunk, so I could feel relieved.
I immediately caught that Kim Dobin’s condition after emptying four glasses in a row was not normal. It was fortunate I had been keeping a close eye on him.
“Urp!”
I dragged the retching Kim Dobin and threw him in front of the toilet. Fortunately, the timing wasn’t too late.
“Wow, half a bottle of soju. Doby hyung absolutely cannot go around drinking anywhere. It was a stroke of genius for Eden hyung to prevent Doby hyung from drinking.”
After throwing Kim Dobin, who had retired by falling asleep like he’d fainted, onto the bed in the room, I asked Ryu Jaehee.
“Youngest member, do you want to stop drinking too?”
Ryu Jaehee shook his head and refilled his empty glass with alcohol.
“Rather than showing such a pathetic state like Doby hyung when I’m out, it’s better to accurately check my alcohol tolerance in front of you hyungs and know what my drinking habits are. But what are your drinking habits, hyungs?”
Seo Yehyeon answered first with confidence.
“I just collapse and sleep right there.”
I don’t have any memory of drinking with Seo Yehyeon until we got drunk, so I don’t know if this is true or not either.
“I’ve never really drunk until I got drunk, so I don’t know. Shouldn’t a person drink only to the extent that they can still control their body?”
Even before the regression, when Gyeon Hajun and I drank together, he not only controlled himself but also stopped me from getting drunk, so I had never seen Gyeon Hajun’s drinking habits or drunk appearance even once.
“I don’t know, my friends say that when I black out, I always somehow make it home no matter what, but like Jun, I’ve rarely blacked out.”
I remember my friends clicking their tongues saying I was a stubborn bastard, but I rarely got drunk enough to black out, so I couldn’t remember well.
“Then Eden hyung doesn’t have to worry even if you black out today. Since we’re drinking at home.”
“I guess so.”
Surprisingly, the system didn’t impose any particular sanctions even though I had exceeded my drinking limit. Does this mean it’s okay to drink as much as I want as long as I only drink at the dormitory where there’s no chance of causing trouble?
Thanks to that, my alcohol tolerance was gradually and precariously racing toward the blackout threshold.
“Why do chopsticks come in pairs of two?”
I clicked my tongue watching Seo Yehyeon suddenly stop drinking and stare down at his chopsticks with serious eyes, contemplating deeply.
“What kind of nonsense is that again?”
I heard his drinking habit was just falling asleep sprawled out, but talking nonsense is his drinking habit.
Meanwhile, his pronunciation wasn’t slurred at all and remained clear, making me wonder if he was actually drunk. Looking at his flushed face, he definitely seemed to have alcohol in his system.
“You know, you really don’t look like our Caesar at all. But why do I sometimes think of our Caesar when I look at you?”
“Maybe we look alike in your subconscious, hyung.”
“Do you enjoy being compared to a cat?”
“Stop talking nonsense and just drink.”
I swatted away Seo Yehyeon’s hand that was trying to poke my tear mole and filled his glass to the brim with alcohol.
I let out an exclamation of admiration watching Ryu Jaehee empty his third bottle of soju while complaining that it tasted bad and bitter.
“Wow, you can really hold your liquor.”
As soon as those words left my mouth, Ryu Jaehee started shedding tears. This is driving me crazy – is crying his drinking habit? Still, it’s better than vomiting like Kim Dobin.
Seeing Ryu Jaehee crying silently while clutching his drink glass, Seo Yehyeon gave up trying to eat soup with his chopsticks and pointed those chopsticks at me, shouting.
“Hey, Yoon Eden made the youngest cry!”
As expected, talking nonsense really is that guy’s drinking habit. Ignoring my glare, Seo Yehyeon emptied another glass, started nodding off, then smoothly collapsed sideways.
That guy had emptied two bottles of soju.
“…Give me…”
“What did you say, youngest?”
“Tell me about… everyone’s alcohol tolerance and drinking habits… remember and tell me tomorrow…”
Ryu Jaehee, who was still shedding tears, also collapsed with a thud after finishing those words.
The fact that I didn’t know the members’ alcohol tolerance or drinking habits even after spending seven years together before regression hit me as bitterly as the taste of alcohol.
I tilted my glass again to cover the bitter taste in my mouth with alcohol.
But how many bottles have I drunk now…? Three bottles? Four bottles? I’m pretty sure I’ve definitely exceeded four bottles now?
Gyeon Hajun, who had first helped Ryu Jaehee up from beside him, said something to me, but his voice was so blurry I couldn’t hear it clearly.
And in that state, my memory just snapped off.
***
I had a dream.
A dream where Baduki, who appeared in my dreams after a long time, was alive like before and rushed at me, licking my face frantically.
The wetness touching my face and the sensation of a tongue felt so vivid that I slowly opened my eyes. A ceiling that was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar came into my gradually focusing vision.
“What? This isn’t the dormitory…?”
The moment I tried to sit up urgently in confusion, I felt that wet sensation on my face once again.
When I quickly turned my head toward the panting sound in my ear, I met eyes with a fluffy white furball.
“…Podo?”
Then this place is…
I remembered – the reason why even before regression I didn’t pour alcohol down my throat until I blacked out, but somehow held onto my fading consciousness.
Cold sweat started running down my back.
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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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Radicaler rigatoni
Everytime i feel a little sliver of feeling like dropping this I immediately get intrigued. Huh? What does that mean???
Also emphasis on sliver, this is the only piece of media i read, that’s still updating, that remains light-hearted and fun to read. Happy late or early birthday ryu jaehee!!
I’m going to comment what i wanted to comment last chapter as well because it takes forever to load when ur logged in. So i’ve just given up on commenting but this chapter made me come up like a meerkat.
I was so wondering where the other regressor was. It’s been radio silent from such an important character who STILL doesn’t know the true person that did a reset like him. Also it intrigues me how unhelpful his system seems “oh yeah, danger is coming you just don’t know from where. So you constantly seem super paranoid and on edge even though for everyone else everything is fine and will be fine.”
Thank u loads translator, doing amazing work❤️❤️