A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 276

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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 276

Damn, who the hell is Obey?

This post was accusing me of plagiarizing lyrics from some rapper I’d never heard of in my cipher.

Looking at the upload date, it was posted today, but with DTB 4’s incredible firepower, the views and comments were already about to explode.

A track from an album released 4 years ago, and a cipher that aired just a few days ago despite being filmed weeks earlier.

It was obvious who people would throw stones at.

-Hmm… everything else is identical down to the last syllable, but the profanity level is different, so I’ll stay neutral for now

-What kind of world do we live in where you plagiarize on broadcast and think you won’t get caught, Eden

-That’s what all idol rappers are like, just reading lyrics written by lyricists, then when they actually have to write lyrics their heads explode

– Thanks to this I found a rapper with decent rap lyrics, writes well, I understand why Yoon Eden took it, though that doesn’t make it right

-The lyrics are good but I can see why they got buried, the skills are shit… lol

└Can’t he just transfer the lyrics to Yoon Eden and call it done? Honestly the lyrics are too good to waste, I didn’t even realize they were the same lyrics while listening

-Beating down the victim while defending the plagiarist, get some decency

-Need to check if he plagiarized other lyrics too

After reading the last comment that probably thought it delivered a sharp rebuke to me, I exited the post.

I quickly cleared the pile of missed call notifications and entered the message window that was overflowing.

[DTB Production Crew- Can you clarify the cipher lyrics plagiarism controversy before episode 5 airs?]

[DTB Production Crew- If you can’t clarify this, you’ll have to voluntarily withdraw]

The DTB production crew kindly informing me of the clarification D-day.

[Jiwon Hyung- Hey what’s this about?]

[Jiwon Hyung- It’s not real plagiarism, right?]

Unlike those comments cursing me out, Jiwon hyung stayed neutral for now.

[Yongcheol Hyung- Those lyrics, that’s the thing]

[Yongcheol Hyung- I told you not to do that because someday you’d get grabbed by the collar by whoever those lyrics were about]

[Yongcheol Hyung- That was 6 or 5 years ago, so why are those lyrics in a song from 4 years ago?]

[Yongcheol Hyung- Hyung will somehow clarify this for you, so don’t worry and just stay put]

Yongcheol hyung telling me about a past I couldn’t even remember while reassuring me.

After checking all the messages from various acquaintances carelessly asking if the plagiarism incident was real and those who left encouraging words hoping it would be resolved well, I felt somewhat energized despite having lost strength from the absurdity of it all.

“Whoa, hyung-nim. Did you see this? I just got word too, but they’re saying if this becomes a bigger issue, you might have to withdraw?”

Nijeous suddenly shoved his phone in front of my face. Both Ryu Jaehee and this guy – do they at least turn on blue light filters when doing this?

Since it was a temporary team, I couldn’t bring myself to punch him, so I just firmly pushed the phone away from my eyes.

“But did you really plagiarize the lyrics? They’re totally fire though.”

Nijeous, who had even less tact than Kim Dobin, asked a question that grated on my nerves.

At least Kim Dobin would have asked carefully while reading my mood, which would have reduced my anger level by about 1%.

Thanks to Nijeous, Kim Dobin was constantly being reevaluated in my mind.

Without getting heated over that question that seemed 100% convinced I was a plagiarist, I replied indifferently.

“If we’re being precise, that side plagiarized my stuff.”

“Huh, but this is from a song 4 years ago, how is that possible?”

“It’s possible, otherwise I wouldn’t be telling you. I started music 8 years ago.”

After lightly scolding Nijeous, I searched for Obey on the music site.

Oh my, he’s released up to a 2nd album? The release date of the 1st album containing the track that I supposedly plagiarized was 4 years ago, as written in that post.

4 years ago on that date, I was 19, busy with trainee life at New Born and didn’t even have the luxury to release a 1st album. That was probably after or before the debut group was formed.

I had never released a solo 1st album in the underground either.

And most importantly, these lyrics that were dying to diss the hip-hop scene were borrowed from a lyrics notebook I wrote during my school days. That notebook I brought from my family home.

Since I had to prepare for the revival round too, time was tight, so I was flipping through my lyrics notebook wondering if there were any usable lyrics when I found this fragment.

The lyrics were a bit embarrassing since they contained all the recklessness of my teens, but they were talking about respect alone, so they fit the theme.

So unless I shared a brain with this Obey or whatever guy, I had just caught a plagiarizing bastard who brazenly plagiarized my lyrics and even released them as a track, without any effort on my part.

Should I call this a jackpot?

That bastard who said “What kind of world do we live in where you plagiarize and think you won’t get caught” – get ready to change the name from mine to Obey.

“Phew, that’s a relief. I was feeling suffocated thinking we’d get completely edited out and the group composition would change.”

Raizo let out a deep sigh of relief. Yeah, that is the biggest problem right now.

If I, the group leader, withdrew, they’d have to completely redo everything from the hook I was handling to my parts and re-record.

While preventing myself from withdrawing dishonorably was the biggest reason, I had to somehow escape this damn plagiarism suspicion for the team members’ sake too.

“There’s a way to prove it, right?”

Toohyeok, with a headache expression, asked me.

‘Come to think of it, how do I prove this…?’

Even if I took a photo of the lyrics notebook and uploaded it, there’s no clear evidence that I wrote this in middle school.

I could pour cold water on the heated atmosphere, but it wouldn’t be a decisive blow to completely turn things around. You can’t tell the age by handwriting.

Yongcheol hyung’s testimony would just be dismissed as favoritism, so I’ll hold off on that for now.

Jaehee, Ryu Jaehee!

I habitually looked for Rev’s problem solver but stopped. This is entirely my matter, so shouldn’t I solve it myself?

How would Ryu Jaehee know about my underground days? Just as I thought that and let go, Ryu Jaehee called like a ghost.

[✆Ryu Jaehee]

Our youngest member called right away to give me a solution again. There’s no way Ryu Jaehee, who monitors much more thoroughly than I do, wouldn’t have seen this.

-Eden hyung!

As soon as I answered the phone, Ryu Jaehee called me urgently.

“Yeah, youngest. What.”

-First, before you do anything, at least tell me! Don’t just post anything! Got it? No, absolutely don’t think about responding recklessly right now, just come to the dormitory first. Come and let’s talk about it, let’s all come up with a plan together before doing anything. Got it?

Listening to Ryu Jaehee’s urgent restraint fired like a machine gun without even breathing, I had the random thought that Ryu Jaehee might have potential as a sub rapper.

“Youngest, it hurts my feelings when you say that. When have I ever caused trouble by doing things my own way?”

-Don’t you remember the Slander War? Don’t you remember me stopping you from downloading Slander Beat?

Mm, I’m grateful for that. But ultimately, wasn’t it me who decided to release the diss track? And…

“Hey, would I really release a diss track against a guy like this? Worrying is also a luxury.”

-That’s not what I mean! Anyway, come quickly! These kinds of rumors need to be caught early!

The call ended abruptly.

Thanks to Ryu Jaehee’s voice that would have been clearly heard through the speaker, I looked around at the DTB team members and said.

“As you heard, I think I need to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t the leader? You’re totally whipped.”

“I’m only like this at times like these. It’s a special situation.”

* * *

When I arrived at the dormitory, everyone was gathered around my laptop with serious faces.

“So to summarize, you recycled lyrics you wrote long ago and got caught by a guy who plagiarized those lyrics of yours, is that it?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Gyeon Hajun neatly summarized the current situation.

First, I had to find out where this Obey guy might have seen these lyrics.

‘As expected, it has to be the music site.’

Where would that bastard have seen the lyrics in this notebook that I never even showed to my school friends? And the circles next to these lyrics were definitely marks indicating lyrics I’d used in songs.

And I had completely deleted my middle school mixtape that I uploaded to Music Cloud after deciding to pursue an idol career when I was 17.

Then the timing roughly matches. He uploaded it after I deleted mine, with enough gap to avoid plagiarism disputes.

I deleted it from Music Cloud, but I still had the original files of those songs. Audio files that even showed the production date.

I opened the folder on the USB containing the forty-six mixtapes I had worked on back then.

Since only that fragment of lyrics was there, I couldn’t tell which mixtape it was from.

If it had been a memorable song like , I would have recognized it immediately upon seeing the lyrics.

That rotten bastard deliberately chose to plagiarize only the shittiest songs that I’d never re-upload even if I got cocky.

All forty-six songs played. Now I just needed to find the song with those lyrics and upload it as evidence.

However, since these were early works, listening to songs with terrible rap skills and lyric writing was torture in itself.

Rather than the lyrics, all I could hear was what needed to be fixed, which was absolutely killing me.

Finally, the last song finished playing.

“I didn’t miss it, right…? That, what… respect? I heard that word but there wasn’t any identical sentence?”

Seo Yehyeon scratched his cheek and spoke first.

“It wasn’t just me who missed it then.”

Kim Dobin also nodded his head, agreeing with Seo Yehyeon’s words.

“Hyung, is this everything? Don’t you have anything saved elsewhere?”

At Ryu Jaehee’s question, something suddenly came to mind.

The memory of deleting some practice songs in the past because the USB was running out of space…

‘Fuck.’

How could I have deleted exactly the song that got plagiarized?

The world is fucking with me, damn it.

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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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