A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 585

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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 585

This time, just like the previous bug, the text was corrupted and quite difficult to interpret.

But honestly, I didn’t really try to interpret it last time either. I just roughly guessed based on seeing ‘numbers in parentheses and exactly five characters.’

“Let’s skip today’s fun composing game. I have work to do today, so go back to the dorm first.”

I expected him to get excited as usual and immediately run toward the studio door, but Kim Dobin didn’t leave and stubbornly held his ground.

“Now that you have an official student, are playthings pushed to the back burner?”

“Please, can’t you stop with that damn plaything talk?”

When the bug was flickering as if urging me and I heard such words, would I get heated or not?

When I waved my hands urgently, Kim Dobin finally reluctantly left the studio.

I focused on the bug status window that appeared before my eyes again. This time too, there were parentheses and five characters.

‘Third-generation (3rd gen) 🚫 approach prohibited’

The peculiarity of this bug was that the age of the memory fragment wasn’t revealed.

3rd? No, 3rd round?

Since Seo Yehyeon, who seemed to have shared memories with me last time, was on his 5th round, it made sense if Kim Dobin’s memory-bearing round was earlier than that.

I had accessed Seo Yehyeon’s related memories that opened during the audition keyword without much hesitation, but thinking of Kim Dobin who had looked weathered and worn as if he’d faced all the world’s hardships alone at my funeral, my hand unconsciously hesitated.

A calm and dark Kim Dobin? What kind of Seo Yehyeon-having-a-fast-food-food-fight nonsense is this?

…But I should face it.

If only to get even the tiniest hint about what happened in the past.

[This appears to be corrupted Korean text that cannot be properly translated due to encoding issues.]

The nauseating feeling of my vision shaking wildly and my stomach turning upside down wasn’t something I got used to even after experiencing it twice.

Light spread through the darkened vision, and scenery from somewhere other than my studio filled the space like paint spreading in water.

That place was the damn familiar and well-known semi-basement dorm from Rev’s early debut days.

Four days since suddenly returning to early debut once again.

Even the third encounter with the damn early debut scenery held no emotion now.

When I first returned, there was at least the touching feeling of getting a chance to turn things around. But struggling alone with memories while being unable to change anything was quite shitty.

Except for Ryu Jaehee who had consistently kept in touch, having to face the members again with whom no good feelings remained was also an ordeal.

…Well, I had no good feelings toward Seo Yehyeon and Kim Dobin even during our Rev activities.

What good would it do to have lingering attachment to group activities? Nothing had changed from those detestable times.

‘Was the most important memory of reconciling with Seo Yehyeon erased? Well, even Cha Yeonho who currently possesses the danger system said there was memory manipulation. This confirms that this danger system didn’t want my success.

In the 2nd round, my attempt to expose the trainee exploitation issue by making Shinwol Entertainment’s problems public ended in failure.

Shinwol Entertainment once again used KJ as a scapegoat and slipped away smoothly. A fight between corporation and individual was like hitting rocks with eggs.

I had experienced it in the 1st round too. Pressure and exclusion using industry connections, disadvantages toward those associated with me, continuous lawsuits from Shinwol Entertainment and the bereaved families.

After turning my parents’ world upside down claiming to do music and facing such results, I was too embarrassed and sorry to ask Father for help.

And the 2nd round, when I was still part of the group, wasn’t much different from that time.

A one-hit wonder group from a small agency, where most people didn’t even know the other members’ names except for the most famous one – such groups were easy targets for major agencies to crush through media manipulation, public opinion formation, joint appearance refusals and other appearance pressures, and pushing down casting priorities through broadcasting connections.

Even with the 2nd round’s recognition level, if Shinwol tried to crush Rev and LnL, we had woefully insufficient methods to defend ourselves.

So the 2nd round me abandoned my resolve to stay with Rev until the end and left the group. I alone was enough to bear that fucking retaliation.

And a month after leaving, I returned again. To early debut.

Whether it was another chance to change things or the same wheel of fate, I didn’t know, but anyway, it was the start of the 3rd round.

The start, but…

It was the same.

Yes, tediously the same.

Seo Yehyeon glaring with fierce eyes and charging when I scolded him, Gyeon Hajun trying to stop us with a helpless expression, Ryu Jaehee just watching the mood in the icy atmosphere.

‘Damn it, if only they had left me the memory of reconciling with Seo Yehyeon while drinking beer with him and the audition, the dorm atmosphere would have become fucking harmonious like a flower garden and I wouldn’t have had to go through 7 rounds.’

But-

One thing was different.

Kim Dobin, who should have been cowering and watching the mood with Ryu Jaehee, was strange.

His sunken expression occasionally letting out bitter laughs or sighs, and his current attitude of looking me straight in the eyes, was completely different from the Kim Dobin in my memory who would watch my mood like a scared puppy, rolling his eyes, then gradually creep closer.

Not just the first time, but even in the 2nd round he had shown behavior not much different from my memory, so I absolutely couldn’t develop any affection for Kim Dobin.

This was the first crack I encountered.

While I was gauging Kim Dobin, he too occasionally observed me quietly with eyes that seemed to be gauging me.

It was definitely a different kind of gaze from the previous mood-watching.

What solidified my suspicion of ‘could it be’ into fact was a sheet of music Kim Dobin suddenly presented one day.

As I slowly scanned the music sheet I received, I paused.

First was confusion about Kim Dobin knowing this song at this time, second was certainty that this bastard had also regressed, and third was…

Ha-

A short bitter laugh escaped involuntarily.

“Are you mocking me right now?”

Anger toward him presenting me with 【Temptation】 of all songs.

It was Rev’s biggest hit and the song that changed Rev members’ lives, but it was also a song of love and hate that had essentially stolen all my opportunities, and Kim Dobin had presented it to me.

As if telling me to change Rev’s fate once again with this song.

Even as I glared at him with murderous eyes, Kim Dobin didn’t cower but faced me with an indifferent gaze.

“So you did regress too, hyung. You seemed unchanged so I couldn’t be certain until now.”

“So you presented this kind of song to me to test if I had also regressed?”

Crumple-

Barely restraining my desire to tear it to shreds and throw it on the floor, I gripped the sheet music tightly and the paper crumpled miserably in my grasp.

Kim Dobin watched the 【Temptation】 sheet music hanging precariously in my hand as if about to be thrown to the floor any moment, then shrugged his shoulders.

“If it was just to test you, I wouldn’t have put this much effort into drawing the sheet music.”

Honestly, it didn’t really look like he had put much effort into it.

‘Ah, I’ll give him that. I really raised him well.’

“Living while watching the mood in an icy atmosphere, the only thing that grows daily is mood-reading skills.”

Kim Dobin chuckled and looked me straight in the eyes. With an unfamiliar eighteen-year-old face and familiar twenty-five-year-old eyes.

“Hyung always cursed 【Temptation】 as a fucking song, but when asked about our representative song, you always mentioned that one. With that stubborn trailing off that meant you didn’t want to admit it but had no choice.”

Surprisingly, Kim Dobin had very accurately seen through that 【Temptation】 was a song of love and hate for me.

Including my characteristic grudging acknowledgment with wounded pride.

“So I’m saying make 【Temptation】 hyung’s song instead.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s a song that was precious to everyone. Don’t wander alone between love and hate, hyung.”

It might have been a suggestion made with me in mind, but the problem was that as someone whose songs were my pride and identity, Kim Dobin’s feelings didn’t fully reach me.

“And if hyung composes that song this time, it would be possible to fulfill your wish of making Rev successful with your own song.”

With that one statement from Kim Dobin, I had an intuition.

Even if he shared memories with me, Kim Dobin could never become my ally or supporter in this round.

I roughly swept up my bangs and growled as if chewing.

“What meaning would that have? Just changing the composer’s name doesn’t make it truly my song.”

If I stole someone else’s work like that, how would I be different from those Shinwol Entertainment bastards?

“Do you think I’d be satisfied with that kind of thing? What would I gain from such an act?”

“Sorry, but rather than realizing hyung’s ideals, I want to change my own life first.”

Kim Dobin said with a face that wasn’t sorry at all.

“Right now, the most important thing for me is for Rev to succeed so we can escape our unknown status as quickly as possible.”

Those words sounded exactly like my pride or artistic soul weren’t important to him right now.

“To me, 【Temptation】 is ‘guaranteed success.’ It’s the only successful song I can trust in an uncertain future.”

‘That thoughtless otaku fake youngest member bastard thought like that even when he had no ulterior motives toward me? He’s not doing this on purpose just to get under my skin?’

“How can you tell me to give up my wishes, my beliefs, just to achieve what’s important to you when we finally got this opportunity? What the hell have you even lost!”

When I grabbed Kim Dobin by the collar and shouted at him in frustration, Kim Dobin squeezed his eyes shut then slowly looked at me.

“Hyung always puts your own misfortune first, and you never even notice other people’s misfortune.”

Before continuing, Kim Dobin let out a faintly trembling breath. He seemed emotional, but his tone was strangely calm.

“You think only you had it hard, only you had a lot to give up, only you were trapped in Rev and LnL unable to display your talent, right? But do you know what, Hyung?”

Kim Dobin, who had been looking down for a moment, finally raised his head. The corners of his mouth, trembling slightly around his reddened eyes, twisted upward.

Kim Dobin spat out the words he had been holding back all this time.

“I’m Rev’s main dancer. A main dancer who has never once stood out for dancing.”

With terribly cynical eyes.

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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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