A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 576

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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 576

The voice that had been speaking in a gentle, ingratiating tone was now sharp and cutting – quite unfamiliar. But it didn’t feel completely foreign either, probably because of past memories.

-Why are you curious about that?

-Fuck, hey! Kwon Jeongjun! Won’t you put down the phone? Is this really the time to be taking calls?

Behind the voice demanding an answer again, I could hear Cha Yeonho’s exasperated voice.

So… if we were to substitute our situation for theirs, it would be like Jung Iseo getting a phone call while Gyeon Hajun and I were exchanging punches?

Am I… a parachute…? Am I… Pomesurin…?

While I was thinking to myself and dealing with the self-inflicted damage alone, suddenly a blue status window appeared before my eyes.

[‘Memory Fragment (28)’ has been granted.]

Oh?

One memory fragment from a single phone call with KJ. It wasn’t a losing deal. Thanks to the unexpected memory fragment appearing in this unforeseen situation, my displeasure at suddenly being interrogated also eased considerably.

So instead of charging in like my usual personality, I asked back unusually gently, unlike my usual self.

“Why are you asking why I’m curious? Now I’m curious about that reason too. Why are you curious about that?”

KJ on the other end of the phone fell silent. Are you trying to ask me when you don’t even know the reason yourself?

“Come to think of it, since you’re from the same Shinwol agency, Senior KJ would know well too. Since you’ve already answered the phone for him, you could answer for him too. Does your agency recruit trainees based on composition ability alone? Senior KJ would know better than Senior Cha Yeonho.”

I was momentarily flustered since I wasn’t the one who made the call, but wouldn’t it be much more credible if the beneficiary himself spoke?

KJ let out a hollow laugh at my shameless question asked with a straight face, then sharply questioned Cha Yeonho, which I could hear clearly.

-See? Are you still going to deny it?

-Hah… Hang up. Just hang up first and let’s talk. Didn’t you hear what that guy just said? If you keep this call going, it’ll only irritate you more.

As expected, Cha Yeonho, like someone who had been through this many times, knew my patterns very well.

KJ on the other end of the phone threw me a warning in a flat tone.

-Don’t be curious about that. It’s nothing for us to look into you and your agency.

Suddenly making threats? What are you supposed to be? The words rose to my throat, but I swallowed them when I saw the status window that appeared before my eyes.

[Condition has been achieved!]

[‘Memory Fragment (28)’ has been unlocked.]

Excluding the audio bug, this was the fastest memory fragment unlock.

“Yes yes, thank you for the advice. Go ahead and look into it thoroughly.”

Beep-

Before I could hang up, the other side coldly ended the call first.

I couldn’t even hear a response and just got some random threat about looking into things, so my mood should have been quite bad, but I decided to let it slide since I got a memory fragment.

And it was a memory fragment from when I was twenty-eight, when quite a lot had happened.

And seeing how Cha Yeonho tried to respond by phone rather than text which would leave a record, and KJ’s reaction being so sharp, the answer was already clear.

Just as I was about to hum and view the memory fragment, Cha Yeonho called.

I thought the fight would continue for at least 10 more minutes, so it was unexpected that he called so soon.

Without me even asking, Cha Yeonho explained the entire situation over the phone like someone whose secrets had been exposed.

They had been clashing over composition issues since Hawaii, and this incident made KJ start being wary of Cha Yeonho.

And when the spark of suspicion was already igniting, he happened to see my text, deepening his suspicion that Cha Yeonho and I were conspiring to send him to hell.

Unfortunately, I had previously inquired about his plagiarism issue with the agency and got my name listed as co-composer, so he was already wary of me, and in that state he saw a text that would amplify his suspicions.

-What’s the point of deleting texts and text records every time. Because of the other party who sends them at terribly bad timing, it gets discovered like this anyway. You should have sent it just 10 minutes later.

“Uh-huh, I see.”

-Does Jeongjun think I’m joining hands with you to keep him in check? There’s no other reason for him to react so sensitively.

“Uh-huh, I see.”

-How much effort have I put in to save that bastard Kwon Jeongjun all this time. How much have I taken that bastard’s side. What am I supposed to do if he comes at me like this.

“Uh-huh, I see.”

But you’ll still continue being friends with KJ and trying to save KJ, right?

I responded half-heartedly to his laments and let them slide.

I think “uh-huh, I see” was also designated as a forbidden phrase, but seeing that my original intent level isn’t decreasing, Cha Yeonho must not be my fan.

It felt strange to have it confirmed that Cha Yeonho wasn’t my fan.

But that wasn’t what was important right now. To make him completely forget the purpose of the call

“So, does your agency recruit trainees based on composition ability alone?”

-Our agency is one of the big 3. So we consider various factors when recruiting.

This bastard, so this is why he wanted to do it over the phone. It was quite a skill to beat around the bush like that for something that could end with a simple yes/no.

The meaning of that answer was even closer to “no.”

Are you holding a ritual for KJ to die, or is Shinwol really not doing anything shady? Gritting my teeth at the annoying way of speaking, I asked again.

“Do you recruit people who are outstanding in just one area?”

-Well… but kids like that do come often.

It was a disgustingly clever answer that implied there were practical standards while not officially admitting they recruited based on composition ability alone.

One that wouldn’t particularly damage Shinwol Entertainment even if the recording was released.

-Actually, I don’t know that well either. How much attention would I pay to trainees. Even this happened because I asked an agency official about it, and somehow it reached Jeongjun’s ears, causing this disaster. Your text properly ignited it.

Cha Yeonho let out a short sigh and confessed honestly.

-I don’t know… I definitely thought he was a friend I knew better than anyone, but maybe there were more sides I didn’t know about.

Yeah, that’s a stage of friendship you face once after regressing and the rose-colored glasses come off. But sir, you’re fucking late. To only realize that now.

“Uh-huh, I see. If you have nothing more to say, I’m hanging up.”

Save your self-pity for your members or your Jeongjun, not me. When have I ever vented my laments to you? I declined the role of emotional trash can.

-…Anyway, it’ll be hard for me to answer your calls from now on.

“Then what about texts?”

-Don’t do that either. I’ll block your number for a while until Jeongjun’s suspicions die down, so don’t bother contacting me. I’ll text you when I unblock you.

Anyone listening would think this was about getting caught cheating. A love triangle between Cha Yeonho-me-KJ, just imagining it made me nauseous. Ugh, it’s the first time I’ve wanted to wash my brain.

Before I could hang up, Cha Yeonho’s side hung up first. Thinking that the friends were exactly alike in this aspect, I opened the system window.

[‘Memory Fragment (28)’ will be viewed.]

* * *

Twenty-eight-year-old me was surprisingly intact without a single tattoo.

There was a cigarette I was habitually twirling while answering the phone, but the butts weren’t forming a tree in the ashtray, and beer cans weren’t scattered everywhere like I’d seen in previous memories.

This meant that at this time, I wasn’t yet living a life covered in tattoos and steeped in alcohol and cigarettes.

Seeing that the month on the desk calendar was December, it seemed to be after my complete estrangement from Gyeon Hajun. That was in spring or summer.

After exhaling cigarette smoke, I spoke sarcastically to the person on the phone.

“How did you even get my number to call me? Are you calling now to beg me to put out a clarification article saying it was all lies?”

-Does it matter? That’s what’s going to happen soon anyway.

The voice coming through the receiver was KJ’s voice.

So this memory was… from a time when KJ hadn’t died yet.

And judging by the way I was talking, it seemed to be after I exposed the Shinwol trainee suicide case.

“Oh, you can’t even beg properly but you’re making threats?”

Despite my sarcastic words, KJ’s voice maintained the same calm composure.

-I guess karma really does exist.

It was quite an unexpected response.

-It was exactly the same back then too. After that hyung who was a trainee with me died, I was guaranteed a debut in exchange for keeping quiet. And after debuting, they made me exploit others the same way so I couldn’t expose it, holding it as leverage over me.

“…What?”

Shinwol Entertainment’s dark past poured out of KJ’s mouth. It was frustrating that I couldn’t record the call since it was an iPhone.

-Isn’t it strange? Even though trainee song exploitation was likely led by the agency rather than individuals, the media is making this whole situation seem like it’s entirely my fault alone?

Come to think of it, the media was leaving out Shinwol Entertainment’s involvement in trainee exploitation and focusing only on KJ, who exploited trainees and drove them to suicide. Yes, as if it were entirely KJ’s individual transgression and fault.

-This time I was abandoned as both a shield and a tail to be cut off. I guess this is the karma for keeping quiet back then.

KJ spoke with self-deprecation.

-Well, this time I won’t let it get buried like that… People listen more to the words of the dead than the living. How ironic.

“Hey, hey! Fuck, don’t think weird thoughts! If you want to pay for karma or sins, pay while you’re alive, don’t be a damn fool!”

-Don’t worry. I won’t write that it’s your fault. Like you said, it’s my karma.

“Who do you think is trying to stop you because they’re scared of that!”

-Well… I never thought I’d confess this to the guy who pushed me to the edge. But you and Shinwol are the only ones I can trust since we’re at odds. Right now I can’t even trust Yeonho.

Despite my urgent words, KJ’s voice didn’t waver at all.

-So, you be careful too. From what I can see, you’re next after me.

“….”

-Don’t end up like me.

KJ hung up after leaving that final warning. I kept trying to call back, but whether he blocked my number or not, the calls kept ending without even one ring.

* * *

As soon as I emerged from the Memory Fragment, I gasped for breath. The tangled truth was heavier than I thought.

There was KJ’s suicide note.

And the reason I had been living with the false accusation of being the guy who drove his senior to suicide until I was thirty… was most likely because that suicide note was never made public.

If that suicide note had been released, the arrow would have pointed toward Shinwol, who repeated the same cycle and produced even more victims.

First, I had to ask Cha Yeonho if he knew about the existence of the suicide note.

But this bastard had actually blocked my number so I couldn’t contact him. The only way was to meet him in person.

“CEO! Can’t you find out Altair’s comeback date this year? Even if you have to plant an industrial spy or something…!”

“Eden, industrial espionage is illegal.”

Looking at his chuckling face, I pounded my chest in frustration. Why does the CEO only have flexibility for weird worldviews and concepts but no flexibility for things like this!

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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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