A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 612

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

A Regression Guide for Idols Who Lost Their Original Intent Episode 612

After seriously thinking about it, I figured it would be one of two things: either Seo Yehyeon would gain weight or he wouldn’t be able to handle the high-calorie food being shoved into his mouth and quit the team. Personally, I thought the latter would happen faster.

Above all, I couldn’t turn Rev into a four-member group.

“Why are you picking on Yehyeon Hyung again? You just made them get along well.”

I confidently replied to Gyeon Hajun’s scolding as he struggled to pull my hands away from Seo Yehyeon’s shoulders, where I had been shaking him vigorously.

“Since I made them get along well, now I’m trying to make his rap skills good too.”

“Look at how Yehyeon Hyung practices dancing, controls his diet, and manages his appearance. This hyung already has enough fighting spirit.”

At Gyeon Hajun’s words taking his side, Seo Yehyeon nodded enthusiastically with a triumphant expression.

Honestly, that was something I acknowledged too. I had never seen anyone other than Seo Yehyeon choose boiled eggs, which he didn’t even particularly like, just because he didn’t know what dressing might be on the salad.

“Then why can’t he adapt to rap?”

“Why are you suddenly picking on my rap skills again? I follow along well in recording now.”

I shrugged my shoulders while looking at Seo Yehyeon, who was confronting me with an upset face.

“No, I just remembered how you were depressed during our solo activities, saying you wanted to release a solo song too but lacked the skills. I wasn’t picking on you.”

His face, which had been filled with irritation, changed subtly as he couldn’t figure out how to react to this.

“I even asked Choi Hyeongjin how he improved his skills for your sake, but if you react like this, I’m, huh?”

As I was making a big show of my efforts, wondering why he was suddenly dissing me after hearing something, I relayed exactly what Choi Hyeongjin had said in response to Seo Yehyeon’s question.

Seo Yehyeon looked thoughtful. Gyeon Hajun, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“This harsh method might work on G-TE, but it won’t work on Yehyeon Hyung. Yehyeon Hyung doesn’t see you as a competitor in the same field. The point of what G-TE said was also that you can grow if you set your goals high and try to follow them.”

Seo Yehyeon nodded enthusiastically again.

“So instead of trying to draw out fighting spirit that way, why don’t you just make Yehyeon Hyung set his goals higher?”

“It was worth listening to your concerns when you and Yoon Eden were in a cold war before. Now you’re even giving Eden eye-level explanations on my behalf…”

Since Gyeon Hajun had repaid that favor by giving me eye-level explanations instead of Seo Yehyeon, I figured I could repay the favor by improving his rap skills to a level where he could stand on stage alone, if not quite to Choi Hyeongjin’s level.

“Then let’s bring Doby down from the mountain and now make Yehyeon Hyung-“

“No!”

Kim Dobin, who had been leaning against the second-floor railing watching us, urgently cut off my words and desperately objected.

That guy, he secretly wanted to continue the fun composition games with this hyung.

As soon as a pleased smile appeared on my face, Kim Dobin poured cold water on it.

“I can’t let Yehyeon Hyung become your plaything too! I have a duty to protect my student! Just keep playing with me instead!”

At these words, which were filled with sincerity and perfect for misunderstanding, Seo Yehyeon and Gyeon Hajun looked at me with expressions asking what on earth I had been doing to the youngest member. Jun, even you…!

Even Seo Yehyeon, who had been designated as my next target, slowly backed away from me.

To clear up their misunderstanding, I gritted my teeth and forced in the words Kim Dobin had omitted to refute.

“We’re not going to have fun rap games, okay? We’re going to have very intense rap lessons, you punk?”

Even avoiding pronunciation as much as possible, I was reminded of the merciless system that used to chip away at my original intent points, so I hastily switched to polite and proper language.

Just because a person got a bit lax, it’s cracking down like this.

“Ah, fun composition games… so that’s why plaything…”

“Doby, could you consider the synergy that Eden’s face creates when you speak?”

While Gyeon Hajun grabbed Kim Dobin and explained why those words could cause people to misunderstand more seriously when linked with my face, I reflected on the lesson I learned today thanks to Gyeon Hajun.

Whether it’s others’ experiences or my own, don’t try to recreate them exactly as they were to get the same results – just take the main points.

In that case, I thought I should change the reconciliation method I had planned for Cha Yeonho and KJ.

Indeed, Gyeon Hajun’s signpost was still reliable today.

* * *

Perhaps because we had a common enemy in the form of the stage terror threat, the teamwork of DTB Team Yoon Eden & D.I became even stronger.

Choi Hyeongjin had worked with Yongcheol Hyung in Season 4 before, so the collaboration was quite smooth.

And Yupi… I could slightly understand why Jiwon Hyung got annoyed in Season 4. Yupi was the type who was extremely obsessed with stage completion and details.

It made sense that he wouldn’t match with Jiwon Hyung, who valued the big picture like overall harmony and mood rather than details, and preferred to push forward with live energy rather than clean stage completion.

Well, from what I saw, the main culprit of Jiwon Hyung’s annoyance was probably that despite having other participants, they insisted on a stage combining two songs, making him create two beats even with that tight schedule, then whining that he didn’t pay attention to them.

Since my working style was somewhere between Jiwon Hyung’s and Yupi’s, Yupi was much more comfortable sharing his song concepts with me.

Since we had to face HYEQ, a first-generation legend who had been considered a championship candidate along with Yupi from the beginning, I had no choice but to pay more attention to Yupi than to Choi Hyeongjin.

On the day we designated our opponents, I twirled the pen I was holding while recalling the darkened faces of Moltic and T:ZE, wondering if our choice had properly deviated from predictions, then spoke up.

“HYEQ’s style is to push with off-beats then suddenly switch to on-beat and overwhelm with flow, right?”

Yupi nodded with a face that said he had already completed this level of analysis.

“So we’ll go in on-beat, but we’ll split the rhythm. But we’ll lay the base with off-beats. Let’s try to induce a kind of optical illusion. We can put in blocks for sure without too obviously copying HYEQ. Then, starting with Yongcheol Hyung’s featuring part entering the pre-chorus, we’ll end that illusion right there.”

I scribbled on paper while explaining my plan to Yupi in detail.

“So we’ll block like this at first, then go with your specialty of intense rap in the latter part, and we should be able to step on HYEQ’s stage impact and start from there.”

“Put the producer’s featuring in the bridge.”

“My part in the bridge instead of verse 2? Hmm, that could work too. Considering even the terror threat, it would be better for me to appear in the latter half.”

We smoothly finished our work, coordinating even the detailed parts with each other. It went more cleanly than expected, making our mutual wariness during Season 4 feel like a past life.

“Did you analyze opponents like this during the Season 4 semifinals too?”

“Back then I was busy completing the 【Graffiti】 narrative, so not really… I just did what I wanted.”

Yupi’s expression became gloomy at my answer.

For reference, my opponent in the Season 4 semifinals was Yupi. Losing to a casual player must be sad from a hardcore player’s perspective.

Still, even the me back then went pretty hard in the second round of the main competition. Because this beautiful narrative could only be completed by featuring Yongcheol Hyung.

I still don’t know why this was yandere.

* * *

The day of the second main competition stage, which we prepared for by sharpening our knives for everyone to advance to the semifinals.

The PD approached our team as we waited for our turn at the final rehearsal.

“We banned all liquids, even bottled water, from being brought in. We also assigned more security personnel today, so don’t worry about it and just do well on stage. I’ll worry instead of Eden.”

The PD laughed heartily and lightly patted my back. I bowed my head in gratitude.

The pre-rehearsal sound check for our stage was twice as thorough as usual. Thanks to minimizing stage equipment to reduce risk, it became a stage where we had to compete purely with rap.

And finally, the second main competition stage began.

We went first, and HYEQ went second. Since we were going first, we absolutely couldn’t let our stage be ruined by external factors.

The audience would only remember our stage ending anticlimactically, naturally comparing it with HYEQ’s high-completion stage and rating us below expectations.

I clenched my fists while watching Yupi and Yongcheol Hyung dominate the stage from backstage. Whether I should call it fortunate, nothing had happened yet even as we approached the latter half.

When the concert’s excitement reached its peak, I headed onto the stage while spitting out rap refreshingly.

As soon as I appeared, explosive cheers erupted from the audience. I responded to the even more intense cheers while stirring up the stage, then walked boldly toward the extended stage.

Standing at the edge of the extended stage, I played with the rhythm while encouraging audience participation as the bridge part’s ending approached.

I leaned slightly toward the standing audience enthusiastically waving DTB slogans and hands, pouring out rap like a machine gun.

At that moment.

A strange trajectory entered my left field of vision. At first I thought it was the afterglow of lighting that had been hidden by slogans then revealed. But the wariness I hadn’t let go of even once since stepping on stage instinctively reacted that this wasn’t a simple mistake.

And my intuition was right. It wasn’t afterglow, but really an object flying toward me.

I kept my left hand holding the microphone near my mouth as it was, and reflexively raised and extended my right hand. It was fortunate that I had been holding the microphone with my left hand.

“-!”

Smack-

Something with a smooth texture touched my palm. And the sensation of a shell that seemed solid at first glance but would shatter immediately with just a little force.

I instantly lowered my palm and embraced it supportively from below.

The shell cracked as I unconsciously put force into my fingertips during the catching motion, but fortunately it didn’t burst in my hand.

It was an egg.

To be precise, a raw egg.

Wow, I actually caught this.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————