A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 3

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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 3

“Eden hyung! Wake up! How can you oversleep even on debut day?”

I slowly lifted my eyelids as I heard the familiar call again.

Blink, after blinking my eyes a couple of times, the ceiling covered with old wallpaper that had now become familiar again and the youngest member’s youthful face came into view.

I’m back again. To debut day.

‘Fuck, life.’

I cursed inwardly and then reflexively flinched at the pain carved into my subconscious. Fortunately, internal cursing didn’t seem to affect my initial intentions level.

“…Jaehee, what do you think initial intentions are?”

At my absent-minded mumbling, Ryu Jaehee, who had been waving his palm in front of my face, narrowed his eyes.

“Well, if we’re talking about this point in time, maybe the resolutions from our trainee days? But why are you already looking for your initial intentions when we’re just debuting?”

I don’t know, they’re telling me to get them back. Even making me regress infinitely.

Since I had quickly made it into debut teams at both my former agency and current agency thanks to my looks and skills, I’d never really been desperate, so recalling resolutions from my trainee days wasn’t particularly helpful.

I let out deep sighs as I sat up.

Anyway, even if I denied reality and lost my mind again, all that lay ahead was a regression ending accompanied by pain I didn’t want to experience again, so the only answer was to keep my wits about me so my initial intentions level wouldn’t drop to 0.

“Status window.”

As soon as the youngest member left the room, I muttered barely moving my lips, and the status window I’d seen in the first round popped up again.

[Initial Intentions Recovery Project for Idols Who Lost Their Way!]

[Subject: Yoon Eden]

[Initial Intentions Level: 100]

[※Your initial intentions level will decrease based on the severity of actions or words unbefitting an idol.]

[※When your initial intentions level reaches 0, you will start over!]

[※Essential conditions must be met to complete the project.]

[Essential Condition – You who disappointed 30,000 fans, make 30 million fans happy! (0/30,000,000)]

It was proven that when my initial intentions level reached 0, I would keep regressing to this point, and the essential condition for completing the project was making 30 million fans happy.

That means I need over 30 million fans. At this level, I’d need to become a global K-pop idol who’s not just domestic first-tier but has climbed the Billboard charts.

The songs and concepts we had performed flashed through my mind.

My eyes grew hot. I really wanted to cry at my life that had become hell mode overnight.

‘They want me to become first-tier with this crap…?’

That’s impossible even with major corporation capital backing. These are songs and concepts that would make even major corporation rookies who debuted with tons of controversy from survival shows crash straight to the bottom.

The fortunate thing was that before my regression, I had consistently produced hit songs through lyric writing, composition, and producing.

But the problem is this damn agency that’s like someone getting scammed by a fake shaman. I didn’t sell songs to other groups for no reason.

Of course I’d want our group to succeed too. But these stubborn people wouldn’t cooperate with me.

As I rubbed my temples from the throbbing headache, the last sentence in the status window started blinking.

[☞Check your Weekly Quest!]

Weekly Quest? I blinked at this sentence I was seeing for the first time despite going through two regressions. Well, I hadn’t thought to open the status window except for the first time in the previous two rounds.

“Eden hyung, let’s practice our formation once at the dormitory before we go.”

“Oh, it was awkward to go to the practice room, so that works! Right, hyung. We kept messing up the movement for ‘The dazzling Milky Way pours down~’ part.”

“This hyung is busy right now, so you guys do it yourselves.”

“What are you busy with, staring into space? Hajun hyung! Yehyeon hyung! You guys come out quickly too!”

“Wow, our youngest member is completely ignoring hyung?”

[Profanity detected.]

[Initial Intentions Level –2]

Just as I was about to check the mission, Doby grabbed my arm and dragged me out, and like him, Jaehee stuck to my side and dragged me along, making that attempt fail.

My initial intentions level got deducted too. Now I should say “cat-noring” instead of “dog-noring.” Surely they won’t count that as profanity too.

After that, we were busy with arriving at the broadcasting station, changing into stage costumes, hair and makeup, greeting seniors, etc., so I couldn’t even check the Quest until our turn approached.

I ended up only being able to check the Weekly Quest after our debut stage ended.

Waiting backstage, I sighed while fluttering the stage costume I still couldn’t get used to no matter how I looked at it.

The damn agency that set our debut album’s worldview as space travel had dressed us in pure white jumpsuits that looked like patient straitjackets, calling them space suits.

Just wrap some straps around this and you’d have a complete White House on the Hill straitjacket.

I should have noticed the agency had no sense from this point and given my opinions enthusiastically from the beginning.

I never knew that being grateful to an agency that accepted someone who quit right before debut and saying “yes yes” even to slightly unreasonable requests would come back to bite me like this.

“We’re really debuting together, just like you said.”

Gyeon Hajun, who was standing next to me, spoke to me as I was checking my in-ear monitor by tapping it.

Gyeon Hajun and I, both the same age, were longtime colleagues and close friends who had been close since our trainee days at our former agency.

Thanks to his actor-like face, Gyeon Hajun would later successfully transition to acting with the title of acting-idol.

I had rushed out of our former agency, a fairly well-known mid-to-large entertainment company that kicked Hajun out to insert a parachute trainee into the debut team right before debut, claiming I was keeping loyalty with this guy, and debuted together at this agency.

‘Though he was the kind of guy who couldn’t understand when such a longtime friend wanted to pursue his desired path and gave me the cold shoulder because he was sulking.’

Nine years of friendship, really meaningless. Gyeon Hajun chuckled at my displeased expression and asked.

“Why, don’t you like it?”

“No, as long as a certain someone doesn’t sulk later and pretend not to know me, this touching moment will last a lifetime.”

“No way. How could that happen?”

When I shrugged and made a pointed remark, Gyeon Hajun patted my back.

Juna, you did exactly that, you did.

I looked around at the members who were stiff with tension and spoke like a leader with three debut stage experiences.

“Anyone who messes up the choreography pays 100,000 won, deal?”

I grinned wickedly as I heard the members’ jeers. You brats, generous me will let it slide that you gave me the cold shoulder at the end without even talking to me.

As we went up on stage and got into formation, the intro of our debut song “Come to My Universe” started playing.

I don’t know if the composer composed it with their feet or their butt, but no matter how many times I heard it, it was really terrible.

Listening to main vocalist Ryu Jaehee’s refreshingly clear vocals that were too good for such a terrible song, I made a resolution.

As expected, from the next album onwards, we need to promote with my songs. If the agency doesn’t cooperate like before my regression, I’ll have a damn fight with them, whatever.

* * *

After finishing our debut stage without mistakes, we could only return to the dormitory after the closing greetings ended.

I let out a hollow laugh looking at the three members who had opened Gyeon Hajun’s laptop in the living room and were sitting together with expectant eyes.

Guys, our music show views barely exceeded 1,000 after a week.

I clearly remembered the comments on that video too.

There was a time like that. And now I’m back to that damn ‘time like that’, haha.

“What, are the view counts real? Isn’t it just not reflected yet because of the surge?”

“For that to be the case, there’s not much change in the music video views either.”

“Then the music charts, the music charts are…”

At the youngest member’s absent-minded mumbling, still unable to believe the failed idol path spread before us and grasping at even the tiniest hope, I accessed the music app and quickly scrolled down the TOP100 chart.

As expected, the miracle of making it onto the TOP100 chart didn’t happen just because I had regressed a few times.

‘I haven’t done anything different anyway, so hoping for change is greedy thinking in itself.’

Ryu Jaehee, who had similarly checked the music charts, grabbed Kim Dobin and Gyeon Hajun’s arms with a tearful face and shook them.

“Hyungs, hurry up and stream too! My mom said if we fail, I have to prepare for civil service exams!”

At those words, Kim Dobin immediately pulled up the largest Civil Service Exam Prep Cafe on his browser and pointed at the screen while teasing Ryu Jaehee.

“Yeah, hurry up and join the Civil Service Exam Prep Cafe first.”

“Hyung, it’d be much easier for us to make it big than for me to prep for civil service exams. It takes years just to pass those exams.”

“Wow, Ryu Jaehee, that’s some decent self-awareness?”

Ryu Jaehee grabbed a cushion rolling around the living room and threw it at the giggling Kim Dobin. Of course, Dobin dodged it nimbly like the main dancer he was.

‘Oh right, he really couldn’t pass even after studying for 3 years.’

From what I remembered, Ryu Jaehee really did start studying for civil service exams after our second album flopped too.

In his third year of being stuck on civil service exams, Reve suddenly blew up thanks to our oldest member’s fancam, and the youngest member abandoned his exam prep without any regrets.

Seo Yehyeon came out of the bathroom with a face pack on, bent down to scan the view count on the laptop screen, then clicked his tongue.

“How is it possible for the view count to be this low when my face is in it?”

“Hyung, what if you get shocked now? If we’re unlucky, we’ll be buried for another 3 years.”

[Words that incite discord among members have been detected.]

[Initial Intentions –1]

As soon as I replied indifferently, I frowned at the status window that appeared before my eyes along with a sharp, stabbing pain.

Seo Yehyeon sighed while looking at me, muttered that stress damages his skin, then went into his room.

That hyung was cast purely for his looks and had skills in singing, rap, and dance that were all lacking for an idol, so he’d been obsessed with managing his appearance since our trainee days.

During our trainee period, when we couldn’t stand the harsh diet before debut and secretly ordered chicken and pizza for late-night snacks, he was the ruthless type who would starve alone, chewing on protein bars.

‘But where exactly in what I said were there words that incite discord?’

I was just stating facts, wasn’t I?

As I fell into thought while looking at the room Seo Yehyeon had entered, Gyeon Hajun closed the laptop and quietly asked.

“Eden, are you okay?”

Uh, I’m totally fine.

At first, I was so shocked that I didn’t know we’d fail this spectacularly, so I couldn’t eat properly for several days, but experiencing it for the third time, I really didn’t care at all. Is this what enlightenment feels like?

“What did you expect? We’re not even from a major entertainment agency. The song sucks, the hair and makeup sucks, the music video is a low-budget bargain music video—wouldn’t making it big here be a lottery-level miracle?”

The three remaining in the living room all looked at me simultaneously.

[Words that incite discord among members have been detected.]

[Initial Intentions –1]

Huh, again?

Feeling the stabbing pain, I scratched my head awkwardly and casually asked.

“Did I say something wrong?”

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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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