Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 101

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

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101. What’s Going to Burst, Bursts (1)
Here, this girl (true account name: Ha-rang, secondary account name: Soda, younger of two sisters) who had caught the live broadcast of episodes 1 and 2 and quickly cleared her entry period.
She too had cancelled all her evening plans and was waiting for Miro Maze episode 3. Her older sister, who had been working frantically for days insisting they absolutely had to watch it together, unfortunately still hadn’t left work.
Unnie♡ ‖ Ha, one of our debut group babies is pulling a runaway ninja act, damn it;
【Sis♡ ‖ asking me to catch them ugh please】
【Sister♡ ‖ If only this ㅅㄲ wasn’t a real mebo;;;;;;;;ㅜㅠ】
“Wow… seriously…?”

The girl casually silenced the notifications from the profanity-laden chat room and headed to the living room with a cup and fork from the kitchen. It seemed she’d be watching the broadcast alone today.
“Ugh, I should’ve asked Bear and Professor Task to come over.”
Bear (secondary: Soft Bear) and Professor Task (secondary: Professor Please Stop With Assignments) were fan friends who had shared her previous bias (that guy who ended up in prison after all that scandal).
After her beloved turned out to be just a weak guy instead of the seemingly fragile person she’d thought, they each went their separate ways, but recently they were coming together again through Miro Maze.
“Well, I’ll just watch alone today.”
The girl took a photo of the TV screen with the Miro Maze logo at the top along with tonight’s late-night snack and uploaded it to her main account.
Ha-rang
@dohajin_luv
With the chicken Ha-jin loves
Watching Miro Maze episode 3 live!
Waiting since 7 to eat while watching
Waiting since 7 o’clock ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
@MM_Official
#MiroMaze #MiroMazeLiveEvent
#KangHajin #LeeDohа #Miro
(photo)
Not long after posting, a Bluebird notification rang. What’s this? When she clicked the notification, it automatically switched to her secondary account instead of her main one.
Professor Please Stop With Assignments🔒
@tlqkfrytn
Miro Maze was used
This woman just wanted to eat chicken
Ha-rang
@dohajin_luv
With the chicken Ha-jin loves
‖
Soda🔒
@soda_lll
Hahahahaha… be quiet…
(you’re not reading the room right now? meme)
Nothing special.
The girl, her expression cynical, set down her phone and focused on the TV with a chicken leg in hand. Episode 3 began with the familiar title sequence.
【On a Fresh Spring Day…】
【Where is this place?】
Episode 3 began with a peaceful BGM and an insert of an unfamiliar outdoor studio.
A wide shot of some Seoul building’s exterior appeared on screen, the peaceful BGM cut off abruptly, and then a voice layered over the audio.
-Come on, come on. Don’t be nervous~!
-Let’s smile brightly! Ah, perfect!
【What on earth is happening to these guys?】
As the screen switched, I could see a well-decorated studio in the middle of filming.
The girl recognized what kind of shoot it was just from the studio props visible in the brief shot.
“Crazy! That’s Do-ha’s profile picture!”
It was the filming location for that very profile photo that now occupied her new phone’s lock screen.
Just from seeing the basketball rolling across the floor, she caught the unmistakable scent of her bias and covered her mouth. At that moment, the screen showed Lee Do-ha in a sporty old-school outfit, lifting his arm behind his head and tilting his neck slightly as if stretching.
“Those muscles are insane?”
The forearm muscles naturally displayed as he posed were pure art.
His moderately tanned skin, broad angular shoulders, and the long, toned calves visible below his baggy shorts.
“I’d believe it if you told me he was an athlete. Seriously, when our Do-ha goes to the stadium for a concert later, what if people think the Olympics are happening?”
Even alone, her fangirl enthusiasm poured out like dialect. Sure, it would’ve been more fun with someone to cheer along with her, but it wasn’t necessary.
Being a fan and expressing enthusiasm was ultimately about my own enjoyment anyway.
【Producer: You handle that basketball really well?】
【Lee Do-ha: Ah…. I used to play a lot before.】
After filming ended, Lee Do-ha naturally bounced the basketball like dribbling as he left the studio—he looked exactly like a well-built physical education student.
When the producer asked him to show off some skills, and he spun the basketball with his unusually thick, prominent-knuckled fingers, the girl’s mind was spinning right along with it.
Ha-rang
@dohajin_luv
Do-ha, is that really a basketball you’re spinning right now?
No? That’s actually the Earth.
Soon I’ll place the whole world
in your hands, so be ready
(Video of Do-ha spinning the basketball)
The girl couldn’t help but leave a mention.
Meanwhile, the other trainees’ profile shoots passed by quickly. Dan Ha-ru finishing his shoot with a marine concept alongside shimmering soap bubbles, and Ju Eun-chan with face paint and wearing a jumpsuit both appeared in this split screen.
“What? Ha-jin isn’t showing up?”
It seemed like Ha-jin’s appearance was notably absent. While all 17 trainees didn’t get equal screen time, everyone else at least appeared once—either watching or monitoring during other trainees’ shoots.
“Could they be conscious of the Ha-jin favoritism controversy….”
But if they cut his screen time this much in just one episode, wouldn’t it be too obvious?
Ha-jin appeared on screen right as I was thinking exactly that.
【Photographer: No, um. That’s not it….】
【Photographer: O-of course! Of course it’s good! It’s great, but!】
【Which trainee made the photographer break into a cold sweat?】
And with such a caption, Ha-jin’s appearance was… how to describe it….
‘I went to the principal’s office to receive the award, but suddenly the cameraman was waiting there, so I ended up looking like a high school student with a sleepy face forcing an awkward smile.’
In short, it meant the whole thing looked unnatural.
It wasn’t that I appeared unmotivated, but the harder I tried, the stranger everything became!
-Hey, how exactly are you supposed to handle the stage?
At Seo Tae-hyun’s bewildered voice from beside me as he adjusted the fixed pin, my head nodded involuntarily.
‘No wonder the profile photo turned out so badly…. Can’t take photos well? But looking at how the Professor Task turned out, it wasn’t this bad.’
Curious about people’s reactions, I logged into Bluebird, and it seemed everyone felt similarly.
Kang HD
@kang_HD
Hey guys, it’s me
Sigh…
Kang HD
@kang_HD
But why does our Kang’s profile picture look like this?
Who approved this???
Writer, was this really your best?
Shares 43 Likes 67
‖
Kang HD
@kang_HD
I sincerely apologize to the Writer.
You were the greatest photographer.
‘This person’s comments are seriously funny.’
Though their favorite members differed, the Do-ha and Ha-jin combination, which had been intertwined through various events from the monthly evaluation to the team battle, had surprisingly good chemistry among fans.
Resolving to become close friends if Miro Friends (the Miro Maze friend introduction segment—abbreviated as such) ever aired, the girl gave a heart to Kang HD’s post.
After Ha-jin, the other trainees’ performances passed quickly. For the girl whose favorite had already been eliminated, only visually famous trainees like Seo Tae-hyun and Jeong Si-u caught her eye.
‘Kim Won-ho… he’s not bad either, but he lacks a bit of impact.’
Won-ho, who formed various combination names with Do-ha and Ha-jin like Monthly Evaluation Couple, Just Kim Couple, and Team Battle Couple, wasn’t really her style.
If anything, based purely on preference, Yoo Gun—blowing bubble gum while wearing his hat backwards and skateboarding—was more….
“Ah, what am I thinking. No way, absolutely not. He’s completely off-limits.”
Since the controversy over Yoo Gun’s poor attitude, the girl had completely crossed him off her mental list of debut group candidates.
It was one thing to be captivated by the image of a delinquent playboy, but it wasn’t that long ago that she’d actually caught a real delinquent and separately disposed of all the albums and merchandise she’d collected, even spending extra money on it!
“I can’t plant such a bomb in Do-ha’s path.”
Though many said Do-ha and Yoo Gun resembled each other, to the girl who was Do-ha’s ultimate fan, the two were completely different types. While the aura they gave off might be somewhat similar, there was a clear distinction between #dependable-alpha-male energy and #delinquent-punk energy.
‘If Yoo Gun were to do it, Kim Won-ho would be better. He’s kind of… called a downgraded version, but whatever. I’ve only seen one stage from him anyway.’
Given the nature of the survival program, no one could ever predict who would show their potential and when. The girl rather hoped Won-ho would unleash his potential in this mission and check Yoo Gun.
Meanwhile, the broadcast was finally moving into the introduction of the second mission.
-Welcome to the second gate of Miro Maze.
-Your second mission is a cover song.
The scene passed where Seo Tae-il skillfully explained the mission details and team selection method. The moment I saw that Yoo Gun would get the first pick opportunity as a battle benefit, I set down the chicken I was holding and clasped my hands together.
“Please, just don’t let my kid get tangled up with Lee Yu-gun…. If he gets friendly with someone like that and some scandal about Lee Yu-gun’s character breaks out later, we’ll all get dragged down with him.”
How was I supposed to know if that would happen or not? I didn’t want to know either!
The girl swallowed her accumulated frustration and chugged the cola straight from the bottle. Unfortunately, her wishes shattered in less than five minutes.
“No, why does it happen the moment I say it?”
When Do-ha selected his team and chose ‘Blue Scandal’, he ended up on the same team as Lee Yu-gun! On top of that, he was separated from Si-woo and Kang Ha-jin, the people he had secretly hoped to be with!
“Lee Yu-gun’s going to be rude again this time, I can feel it. Ah, Do-ha, please don’t get caught up with him. Ugh…. And Kang Ha-jin with those glasses is insane. What is that, if the correction shows up, it’s instantly saveable.”
The girl spat out her worries about Do-ha and her admiration for Ha-jin in one breath. Ha-jin in glasses was simply too beautiful to overlook!
Sitting right next to him were Si-woo with chocolate-brown long hair swept back gracefully, and Lee Yu-gun in bleached hair and completely ripped street fashion, which made Ha-jin stand out even more.
“Black hair is so pure and innocent, seriously…. He definitely knew he became famous as ‘Hood Oppa’ and dressed like that on purpose, right?”
At the appearance of a naturally pure and handsome man who bore no resemblance to the person who had been tinkering during the profile photo shoot, the girl inhaled her cola once more.
Ha-jin was wearing a slightly oversized black hoodie, and it appeared to be the exact same hoodie he had worn when the ‘Hood Oppa’ sighting was reported.
The girl suddenly became intensely curious about the information on that hoodie Ha-jin was wearing. Since he was still a trainee, it didn’t seem like he’d be wearing luxury brands, and if she searched and it wasn’t too expensive, should she get one as a Min-su item?
“Did the info come out? I feel like it might show up if I search Kang Ha-jin’s bird.”
The broadcast was still ongoing, but the girl brought her phone back to check people’s reactions too.
Would it come up if I searched for Kang Ha-jin hoodie?
The girl tapped the search bar on Bluebird while thinking of a few search keywords.
“…What? What is this?”
Trends For You
Music·Real-time Trends
Lee Yu-gun Dropout
2,309
Real-time Trends
Survival Program Deception
1,512
Trending in South Korea
Yoo_Gun_Is_This_Fun?
1,931
At the ominous state of the real-time trends, the girl’s expression hardened.
It seemed like the trouble she had anticipated had erupted far too soon.

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

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