Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 100

—————

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

—————

100. Beautifully, As It Was Beautiful
“Ugh… I can’t get this right.”
The rhythmic squeaking of shoe soles against the floor ceased abruptly.
Won-ho, who had been choreographing alone in the empty Practice Room, irritably pulled his headset down around his neck—a gesture unlike his usual composure.
“I feel like I need to add more of a focal point here….”
His hand swept roughly through his hair as the movements refused to cooperate. Sweat drenched his skin so thoroughly that his eyes stung, yet there was no time to collapse and rest.
“….”
No, truthfully, it wasn’t a matter of time—it was a matter of heart.
Won-ho’s movements stilled. In the terrifyingly silent space, only the sound of his breathing remained.
As silence descended, darkness arrived as if it had been waiting all along.
‘Can I really do this?’
Lately, Won-ho had been afraid.
What frightened him was looking down at his own feet.
‘Can I… really do this?’
Kim Won-ho was someone who understood his own limitations well.
Or rather, he didn’t understand them at first—but he learned after coming to Miro.
The world was vast, and there were so many brilliant people.
And unfortunately, his own light wasn’t particularly bright.
Yet at some point, Won-ho realized I was climbing higher than I had ever imagined. The moment I thought, ‘This is far enough, I can stop here,’ someone pushed my back, urging me to climb further.
-Hyung, you know? Why did you give this choreography to me?
Won-ho still hadn’t forgotten Ha-jin’s answer back then.
-Because you looked capable of it.
-I watched all your practice videos. You looked like you could do it.
-I don’t bet on things I can’t do.
“…Ah. I don’t have time for this.”
Won-ho’s gaze turned toward another version of himself in the mirror.
In the large mirror stood Kim Won-ho, looking foolishly vacant.
Kim Won-ho.
Ordinary Kim Won-ho.
Before meeting Ha-jin, I had never once stepped out of the General Class.
My physique fell short compared to Do-ha,
My face was plain next to Si-woo,
My voice wasn’t as beautiful as Eun-chan’s,
I didn’t overflow with talent like Yoo Gun,
And I didn’t have the confidence to excel at everything like Ha-jin.
Just Kim Won-ho.
Won-ho knew the hidden word buried within the question that continued to torment me.
Can I… really do it as well as they can?
Becoming a team with those I had admired, performing on stage with my own choreography—it was both an honor and a burden. Sometimes I felt strangely unfamiliar with myself for thinking such things.
It felt as though the reality I had desperately avoided was surging forward like a wave, crashing before my eyes.
“Huh? What? You were here?”
“…Oh. Yeah, I was working on the choreography.”
“Ah, I see.”
It was Yoo Gun in casual clothes who broke the silence that had settled over the Practice Room. He entered with his notebook and phone in hand, spotted Won-ho standing in front of the mirror, and without much thought, stepped inside and found a spot in one corner.
“You practicing rap?”
“Yeah. I can stay here for a bit, right? If I go to the Private Practice Room, I feel like Do-ha will corner me again. Ugh.”
“Do-ha? Why?”
“I don’t know, that guy kind of scares me. I just want to practice comfortably, but he keeps staring at me. And he’s always pointing things out.”
It seemed he’d escaped from a one-on-one lesson with Do-ha.
Yoo Gun, who was receiving coaching, seemed dissatisfied with how tight Do-ha’s methods were, but Won-ho’s thoughts were a bit different.
“You haven’t actually received real criticism from him yet.”
“What? Hey, he’s saying stuff about everything from my pronunciation to the angle of my head?”
“…Still, he doesn’t tell you to stop like he does with others.”
Do-ha was someone whose feedback was more reliable than anyone else’s. When he saw areas where someone could improve, he gave advice without hesitation, and for people who seemed hopeless, he’d cleanly tell them to quit.
‘He told me not to say my breathing was getting crushed.’
According to Ha-jin’s account, Do-ha had spent the entire evening holding Yoo Gun and recommending various hip-hop songs, “like a university professor who’d discovered a desirable student.” I didn’t know much, but it seemed Do-ha had seen potential as a rapper in Yoo Gun.
“When Do-ha keeps making you do something, it means he thinks you have talent.”
“No, talent or whatever. I’m telling you, I’m doing rap for the first time in my life. I haven’t even memorized the lyrics yet, and he keeps going on about rhyme schemes and flow. I don’t even know what that stuff is.”
“Just do well when he tells you to. Some people want to try but can’t.”
Oops, the sharp feeling hidden inside had spilled out of my mouth.
The moment the words left my lips, I checked Yoo Gun’s reaction, but he didn’t seem particularly offended. Rather, he just rolled his eyes around as if wondering about it, then simply flopped down on the Practice Room floor.
“Ah, whatever. It’ll work out somehow. What were you doing?”
“…I told you, I was working on the choreography.”
“Right, so. How far did you get? Show me once.”
Yoo Gun, who had completely tossed his notebook aside, pestered Won-ho. His natural hair, dyed blue-black—apparently he’d dyed it again at some point—was tousled messily. There was nothing complicated in his gaze as he looked up at Won-ho with a mischievous smile.
Won-ho found some comfort in that simple attitude.
“Then…. let me show you up to this part first.”
Won-ho turned off the Bluetooth connected to his headset and played the audio file on his phone. It was a sketch track that Do-ha had created in just one night, saying to get a feel for it first.
“….”
Squeak, squeak.
The sound of shoe soles echoed through the Practice Room again. Aware that Yoo Gun was watching, Won-ho’s movements somehow became a bit more tense.
“Ha, phew…. How was it?”
Won-ho stopped moving after completing the first verse chorus and about four more measures. The movements were quite fast and sharp, leaving him slightly breathless.
As Won-ho caught his breath and turned to look at Yoo Gun, Yoo Gun was sitting up straight as if he’d never been lying down. And when Won-ho asked for his opinion, Yoo Gun stood up without hesitation and moved to Won-ho’s side.
“It’s good, right? I’ve felt it since last time, but you really make great choreography.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. I’d say it’s worth learning.”
“Well…. thanks.”
“But what if you changed this move in the verse section? Do-ha or Si-u wouldn’t be able to follow such a difficult step, right?”
Yoo Gun easily replicated the moves Won-ho had created over several hours after seeing them just once. He even came up with better movement ideas.
Yoo Gun’s appearance simultaneously delivered an inescapable sense of defeat to Won-ho, while crystallizing those vague impressions that had been drifting through his mind into a vivid catharsis.
“And this part here… I think I’d be okay with feeling a bit more constrained?”
“Yeah, right? That’s why I was wondering if I should revise it. But it’s the section where Eun-chan is center.”
“What if you switched up the formation? Pull Ju Eun-chan to the side entirely.”
Yoo Gun’s ideas were far more instinctive and sensory. Rather than calculating with his head, he reflected whatever came to mind with intuitive directness. Sensing that even Yoo Gun himself wasn’t consciously aware of this about himself, Won-ho realized that by a certain point in their conversation, even jealousy felt like a luxury he couldn’t afford.
‘So these are the kinds of people who debut, the kinds who survive in places where only people like this gather?’
With that thought, even competitive spirit had drained away entirely.
Only seven people would debut through this program.
Won-ho mentally pictured the people who would fit that image, one by one. And he tried to imagine himself squeezed in among them, but it wouldn’t come into focus.
“Man, this is fun. I really am more comfortable using my body. Dancing is so much more enjoyable.”
“…You really don’t want to debut?”
“I said I don’t. If you debut, I’ll buy one of your albums for you.”
“Do you think I have a shot at debuting?”
“Yeah. You dance well. You sing better than me too. You choreograph well, you’ve got a good personality. Kang Ha-jin and Jeong Si-u both seem really comfortable around you, don’t they? Isn’t that enough to debut? Even my younger sibling said they like you.”
There was sincerity in Yoo Gun’s words as he grinned widely. Without any calculation, inferiority, anxiety, or worry, those words somehow reassured Won-ho.
“If you’re not going to practice rap, want to work on choreography with me? It’s tough figuring out the structure when I’m doing it alone.”
“Me? I’m in. That sounds fun.”
Could I maybe shine like him too?
Won-ho, deliberately turning away from the darkness still lingering in one corner of his heart, smiled back at Yoo Gun.
* * *
With the anticipation and attention of many people, the broadcast date for Miro Maze Episode 3 drew near.
The Destiny fans were thrilled at the prospect of finally seeing a new stage. And soon, as previews, clips, and articles about Episode 3 began to circulate, not just Destiny fans but many more people started looking forward to this episode.
Gwam Boss
@Boss_rin
?
Why is she showing up there
Entertainment News
@NEWS_STAR
“OST Empress Sarin Makes Surprise Return”….
Ntv ‘Miro Maze’ Special Guest Appearance
m.nst.co.kr/…
Shares 548 Quotes 2,001 Likes 712
[[Information/News] They appear on the server for the fourth time]
【Upia’s Chung Han-sol Joins ‘Miro Maze’ as Special Mentor…. Launches support for junior artists】
Article came out saying they’re doing the mission with our song
– Holy moly gotta watch this
– Curious about one thing. Did Seo Tae-il really do ‘that’ introduction…
└ Since it’s Chung Han-sol, he definitely did it. If he didn’t, he’d be sulking for a week
└ Would he do the self-proclaimed genius intro in front of such junior artists? That would be a legendary moment of cringe for real
Endway
@NTW_budzz
[Yeon-woo] Hey everyone!
Came to give you a gift~🎁
(Selfie taken at the Miro Maze Recording Studio)
(Group photo taken at the Miro Maze Recording Studio)
Shares 17K Retweets 1,301 Likes 32K
∥
Blue Lotus
@blue_lotusx
We are rooting for our juniors and wow. I am so proud, this baby lotus fox. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Choi Yeon-Lock🔒
@bb_bb_bb_b
Yeonwoo Choi Button it up, no, don’t fasten it. Button it up, no, loosen it more. No, fasten it, no, tear it all off ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
∥
ProfessorPleaseNoMoreAssignments🔒
@tlqkfrytn
?? Why is this unnie like this
∥
SoftBear🔒
@malang2
Leave it be, Choi Yeon-woo’s on broadcast today
The outfit is crazy so that’s why
∥
ProfessorPleaseNoMoreAssignments🔒
@tlqkfrytn
Oh that’s today?
What is Choi Yeon-woo wearing????
∥
SoftBear🔒
@malang2
White shirt and it’s immaculate
∥
ProfessorPleaseNoMoreAssignments🔒
@tlqkfrytn
Ah okay
The unwritten rule of the Survival Program: senior idols making guest appearances. And on top of that, Sarin’s return to broadcasting after two years of silence since giving birth.
Since Themis’s Lia had also become a major hot topic in the previous episode, the number of viewers paying attention to this third episode continued to grow.
While Destiny fans rejoiced at this buzz and interest, they remained vigilant, worried that malicious comments about the trainees might appear again, just like in the previous episode.
[Guys can you report this post]
m.penn.cate.com/talk/40091…
【Seo Tae-hyun was cut from Endway’s debut lineup…】
I actually didn’t drag the pen and looked up and saw this, but I was so angry that I wrote itㅠㅠ
Everyone, please go in one by one and report this. Since last time, they’ve been building up the narrative that TH was dropped from ODO, and now that ODO is doing a song, they’re trying to frame him as a poor castaway again…
– Reported!
– Reported. That place has been opening shop accounts lately, so we’ll need to report regularly
– Is it true that ㅌㅎ is joining the agency as part of the debut group ㅇㄷㅇㅇ? I’m asking because I feel like I need to check the facts properly when explaining things and then post a comment.
└ No, it’s not like that. The timing of his joining was a bit delayed, but he was hired after the debut lineup was already confirmed. Someone organized the timeline before
Kang Ha-jin
@kang_HD
While waiting for the broadcast
Let’s purify together
Only see and hear beautiful things ♥
Love Kang Ha-jin
Kang Ha-jin is handsome
Kang Ha-jin leader
Kang Ha-jin puppy
Kang Ha-jin dance
Kang Ha-jin vocals
…
[Ah, but I’m worried about the song selection]
It’s not that I’m worried about the kids… it’s just that I know their skills aren’t that good.
But originally, ㅅㄹ’s song is famous for being too difficult to coverㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ It also seems like people will look at the songs by senior idols more strictly because they are direct juniors… Also, if you think they will be attracted to Aggro, Jo Myuㅠㅠ
– I think we’ll have to do the senior’s song eventually, but the artist’s song… I am worried
– We haven’t even taken the stage yet, so let’s not worry about this beforehand
With the expectations and concerns of Destiny fans and viewers swirling chaotically together, the problematic episode 3 of Miro Maze finally aired.

—————

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

—————