A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 398

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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 Original Intent Episode 398

Are the Youngest Member’s family holding his youngest sibling hostage and threatening him? But wouldn’t that also be a reason based on affection in the end?

As I slowly blinked my eyes at the sudden doubt that arose while hearing those words, Ryu Jaehee shook his head briefly.

“I’m worried that using my name to cause problems would harm me and even this group. This is the biggest reason that surpasses affection and lingering feelings.”

Cases of celebrity family money problems that I had seen so far flashed through my mind.

Why hadn’t I thought that Ryu Jaehee, who was closest to me, was standing precariously on that edge, despite having seen countless such cases?

If problems had arisen from using Ryu Jaehee’s name to create debt issues, Ryu Jaehee could have suffered hardships incomparable to the incident where he sold fan support items on Joonggonara.

I only now realized how thoughtless I had been, simply brushing it off as something that didn’t happen before regression, and just thinking about the Joonggonara fan support incident while hoping he would cut ties with his family.

“In a way, it’s natural that hyung couldn’t find an answer. Hyung is sensible and financially comfortable, so you have a family that doesn’t come to you for help.”

Seeing my pale face, Ryu Jaehee let out a chuckle and shrugged his shoulders.

“Hyung will never understand this feeling of family seeming like a time bomb that could explode at any moment.”

Ryu Jaehee was right.

Just vaguely guessing the inner feelings from seeing a few cases could never be the same as understanding those feelings. That’s why it was even harder to add words.

As Ryu Jaehee said, my family environment and Ryu Jaehee’s family environment were completely different.

While I was desperately racking my brain about what to say to continue a proper conversation, Ryu Jaehee’s self-deprecating monologue continued.

“If only I were the pushover bastard who finds joy in devotion and self-sacrifice like hyung and my family think, I would have at least felt happiness from pouring money and supporting this household. But I’m a selfish bastard, so I feel sorry about the money, feel doubt, really…”

No, if you were pouring 1 million won a month into a hopeless bastard like your first brother, of course you’d feel sorry about the money and have doubts. What’s selfish about that? Your standards for selfishness are fucking low.

“Hey, I never once thought you were a pushover! I just thought you were a guy overflowing with family love who loves his family a lot!”

“That’s the same thing.”

When I urgently denied it, Ryu Jaehee responded with a face that showed he hadn’t listened to my words at all.

I need to get my act together. With only five days left until Quest D-Day, if I lower the relationship improvement level here instead of raising it, I’ll have to start again from 【Come to My Universe】 with that damn SXji Experiment Man costume as stage wear.

I need to listen carefully to Ryu Jaehee’s words and figure out the reason for the relationship improvement level decline that might be contained in those words.

I’m doing something now that I never even did when studying Korean in school. Seo Yehyeon or Gyeon Hajun would be much better at this than me.

“Besides, hyung is an only child, so you don’t have siblings who make you feel responsible. See, hyung absolutely can’t understand me.”

Ryu Jaehee let out a deflated laugh.

“You just need to take care of your youngest sibling, so why feel responsible for such an ungrateful bastard?”

“Ryu Jaekyung was also a younger brother who followed me well, calling me hyung hyung when he was little. I thought puberty had come, but I didn’t know that was his rotten nature.”

I secretly swallowed dry saliva at the increasingly heavy atmosphere with every word I uttered. It feels like every word I say is properly hitting Ryu Jaehee’s switches.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have had a one-on-one meeting and should have brought any of the members along.

Kim Dobin would have lightened the mood with silly talk, Gyeon Hajun would have given Ryu Jaehee much better words of comfort than me, and Seo Yehyeon would have immediately found clues for improving the relationship level from Ryu Jaehee’s words.

Looking at it this way, I realized anew how well our group divides work.

Then what the fuck about me? I’m the one who needs to raise the improvement level, so why do I feel like I’m the most unnecessary existence to Ryu Jaehee?

While I was contemplating my reason for existence, Ryu Jaehee’s confession continued.

“Time bomb… I feel guilty wondering if this is the right feeling to have toward family, but when I get mom’s calls or experience things like this time, I get so sick of it that I want to let everything go…”

Ryu Jaehee, who had rubbed his face dry, muttered weakly.

“Do you know what’s even worse, hyung?”

I barely swallowed the sigh that automatically came out at Ryu Jaehee’s question as he looked up. There’s something even worse than this?

“Even though it was a disgusting household, it’s not that my parents didn’t love me. It’s just that now they love the money I send more than me.”

So that’s why there were still some lingering feelings and affection left in the reason.

“If they had openly discriminated between me and my younger siblings, that would be one thing, but actually the younger ones were neglected more than I was. That’s why I took care of my siblings like that.”

“And yet you call yourself some kind of selfish bastard. Selfish people don’t act like that.”

“No, sending money is also a kind of insurance for me.”

Ryu Jaehee shook his head as if he wanted to deny my words and argued back.

“If, really if I ever cause problems in the future and get cut off, the money I sent would be proof that I did what I could. They couldn’t frame me as an unfilial son who abandoned his family after becoming successful. Parents’ debts are the parents’ responsibility, so children have no legal obligation to pay those debts instead. That’s what Korean law says. Not to mention siblings.”

After hearing those words, I became convinced that Ryu Jaehee would choose the right direction no matter what happened.

“You should be our family’s son and grandson.”

I patted his back with an exclamation of admiration. He knows the law better than a lawyer’s son.

Though to be honest, I don’t know anything for a lawyer’s son.

Wouldn’t everyone have been happy if Ryu Jaehee had been our family’s youngest member?

I’d be happy to have a shield to block Grandfather’s nagging, Grandfather would be happy to have the smart grandson he wanted in his second son’s house, my parents would be happy to have an affectionate youngest son, and Ryu Jaehee would be happy to have me, whom he admires, as his real hyung.

I thought about it for a moment, then immediately erased the scenario from my head since Reve probably wouldn’t have been formed.

Would Grandfather let Ryu Jaehee become an idol too? He’d make a fuss about sending him to law school. We couldn’t lose our main vocalist.

Ryu Jaehee scratched his cheek awkwardly and added.

“I found it on the internet, so it might not be accurate.”

“Should I ask our father? He can provide legal help anytime, so tell me right away if you need it.”

Unlike what I had vaguely thought, Ryu Jaehee was looking at the situation quite coolly. Though he wasn’t entirely free from being swayed by his family, that was probably because Ryu Jaehee was still young.

That much was within the range I could supplement for him.

I faced Ryu Jaehee with what I hoped was a trustworthy smile, then slightly lowered the corners of my mouth.

I hadn’t hoped for a story where Ryu Jaehee would be moved by that one comment and tear up, with our relationship improvement reaching that final 1%, but I hadn’t particularly wanted to face such a serious expression either.

That brat, putting on a serious face in front of his hyung who’s racking his brains to comfort him.

With a coldly hardened face, Ryu Jaehee deliberately replied stiffly.

“I don’t need your pity, hyung.”

“I’m not pitying you though?”

“Offering to help with something you don’t even understand is just pity.”

Toward Ryu Jaehee who was drawing a clear line saying there was no need to cross over, I chuckled and threw out a question.

“Then when I was going through that terrible slump, was it also pity when you stepped up to help me?”

It was directly contrary to what Ryu Jaehee had just said. Realizing the contradiction in his words, Ryu Jaehee opened his mouth slightly with a dumbfounded expression, then hastily argued back.

“That’s different. As someone who’s also involved in music like you, hyung, I know how hard slumps can be…”

“No, you didn’t understand me back then. If you had fully understood me, you wouldn’t have been able to suggest using an outsourced song as our title track.”

Ryu Jaehee’s eyes became hazy for a moment as if tracing through the past. Finally remembering, Ryu Jaehee covered his mouth.

Noticing the guilt quietly rising in his eyes, I immediately got to the main point. I’m not telling you to feel sorry for me, dude.

“Even though you didn’t understand my anxiety back then, how much meaning my music had as Reve’s title track, you still stepped up to help me and stayed by my side.”

[Yoon Eden +1: Still managed to overcome the slump thanks to being together in the end]

I recalled the relationship improvement reason that was so embarrassingly cringeworthy it gave me goosebumps on my arms. I hoped this reason could apply to Ryu Jaehee as well, not just me.

“And the result is what you see now. Do I still look like I’m suffering from a slump?”

Ryu Jaehee shook his head slightly.

“So since I’ve experienced this once, even if I can’t understand it completely like it’s my own situation, that’s why I’m stepping up to help you.”

I placed my chin and hand on top of Ryu Jaehee’s head. As soon as my touch reached him, Ryu Jaehee familiarly lowered his head slightly.

“Even if it’s not just that… I’m your hyung, aren’t I? And you’re my younger brother.”

I interpreted Ryu Jaehee’s hesitation in my own way and continued speaking.

“I know, you punk. I’m always outsourcing my thinking to you and dumping all the troublesome mental work on you, so I must seem unreliable. But while I alone might be unreliable, we have the other guys too.”

I lightly ruffled his hair and deliberately let out a light laugh.

“Right, let me correct what I just said. We are your hyungs, and you are our younger brother.”

The thigh area of Ryu Jaehee’s jeans was becoming deeply stained. His head nodded faintly a couple of times. I continued to gently pat Ryu Jaehee’s head until his sniffling subsided and the studio became quiet.

“That’s right, Youngest. Since we’re having this face-to-face time anyway, let me ask you something too.”

Ryu Jaehee, who had calmed down a bit, sniffled and nodded his still deeply bowed head.

“Don’t you remember what you said to me when you were drunk during New Year?”

“What did I say…?”

“You said you were glad I wasn’t a perfect person.”

“I said that?”

With a jolt, Ryu Jaehee’s face shot up, turning bright red as if some big secret had been discovered.

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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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