Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 111
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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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111. What’s Going to Burst Will Burst (11)
The final stage—everyone held their breath in anticipation.
The Blue Flare Team’s stage began in darkness, just like the one before.
【Grab it, pull it】
The moment the final team’s keyword was revealed, the audience erupted in thunderous cheers.
By the time my eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness, I could barely make out the trainees standing on stage.
Biiiiiiii―
A siren wailed like a warning, and the stage flooded with brilliant red laser effects.
Like a prison,
or rather, like chains.
Between the cascading red lines, the trainees stood in formation, binding themselves together as if ensnared.
Dililing―
With an enchanting piano melody, the figure at center slowly lifted their bowed head.
It was Yoo Gun, wrapped in silver chains connected to a thick leather choker around his neck. Silver chains draped across his form-fitting black leather top and bottom, catching the light and gleaming.
“…Insane.”
Thump, thump-thump—with the rapid beat, Yoo Gun burst forward, his body snapping with explosive energy. The other trainees moved in perfect unison to match his gestures, forming their formation.
The formations shifted in an instant.
Jeong Si-u, who had cut his long hair and bleached it silver, began singing with a slightly sharp expression, removing one earpiece.
Easy to play
You’re not easy, nothing is
At the first verse, the audience erupted in cheers once more.
The original song was titled “Set Me Free”—a sultry Latin-influenced track and a B-side from Sphere, a boy group under Rene Entertainment.
The Blue Flare Team kept the piano, the foundational instrument, intact, but injected pop elements into the overall rhythm and atmosphere, stripping away some of the original’s primal stickiness.
Jeong Si-u’s wrist, adorned with a band of similar material to Yoo Gun’s choker, covered Yoo Gun’s eyes. The white shirt Si-u wore was slightly oversized, but the black cummerbund and leather pants hugging his waist accentuated the naturally lean lines of his frame.
With his eyes covered, Yoo Gun moved in sync with Si-u’s breathing, then naturally brushed away Si-u’s wrist. At that moment, Won-ho, standing behind them, quickly joined in.
Locked away Moonlight
Dulled senses,
Fading, perhaps already forgotten
Won-ho’s deep, heavy vocal tone clashed with the high-octave piano melody, creating a dissonance. Over his black turtleneck, a thin harness accentuated Won-ho’s clean, textbook-perfect dance lines. He tensed his body to cut the movement sharply, then relaxed smoothly into a gentle wave.
After his part ended, the three shifted to the side for their formation change. Then I saw Do-ha and Ha-jin kneeling face-to-face with their arms intertwined, and Eun-chan sitting between them, using their legs as a chair.
‘Is this the rap section?’
As if mocking that thought, Eun-chan—the only member with his shirt buttoned all the way to his neck—opened his mouth to sing.
Easy, Easy on me
Please be easy on me
You say it again
Come and Easy, My one
His unique vocal tone—husky yet retaining a youthful sensibility—drew gasps from the Destiny fans. Seeing Eun-chan sing for the first time, his devoted fans could barely contain their screams.
Eun-chan fluidly escaped from between Ha-jin and Do-ha’s arms, shifting to the side. All six members formed a formation for the first time and executed the choreography with sharp precision.
Deeper than breath, your love
Watch me suffocating
The beat accelerated progressively, and the sound erupting in waves heightened the atmosphere.
At the moment when that urgency reached its crescendo, a piercing high note that seemed to tear through the venue cut through all the audio and struck my ears with intense force.
Set, me, free―!
As the choreography pushed Won-ho from the center, I burst onto the stage without the slightest wavering, delivering the high note flawlessly in sync with the movements. With my hands clasped together as if bound by shackles, I turned my head slowly. Red lighting and lasers flooded the stage in response.
Fill my endless thirst with only you
I swallow you, now I can’t escape
Through the leather shirt with my collarbone fully exposed, a body chain in the form of a necklace was visible. The belt wrapped around one thigh and the ear cuffs dangling from one ear were provocative enough. But the reason Destiny screamed in astonishment was something else entirely.
Eternal thirst
Only you can save me
As the trainees turned around for the choreography, the center back of my leather shirt revealed a sheer material with several leather straps tied across it. Moreover, as if knowing the reaction would be intense, I turned my head slightly while delivering the high chorus, flashing a smile toward Destiny!
It was a calculated gesture, but it didn’t feel overtly provocative. This was thanks to the newly created choreography by Yoo Gun and Won-ho.
The two of them removed almost all the hip and waist-focused choreography from the original song, instead emphasizing keywords like ‘knots,’ ‘shackles,’ and ‘restraints.’
-Yoo Gun and Won-ho, and I aren’t exactly skilled either. Unlike Do-ha, our control is lacking, so hip movements would just look ridiculous.
It was an idea Yoo Gun had suggested. I agreed with his opinion and added that we should make the outfit more daring in that case.
The more understated the choreography, the more the sexiness of the outfit would stand out.
I pray and gaze
Set me free
And the two of them’s calculation was hitting exactly right.
Easy Come, Easy Go
Yoo Gun, revealing his three-white eyes as he bent his body dramatically, claimed the center once more. But what he delivered was no longer the ‘adequately filling the part’ kind of singing we’d seen so far.
Trapped within the fantasy of you
How can this be a dream
Lee Yu-gun’s blue hair flowed without pause. With firm breathing that didn’t waver even through intense movements, he rapped with confidence. The voice that had felt colorless and thin when singing found its true color, drawing ears with its unique tone.
See what you do
Waves deeper than darkness
Crash into me
Kill me slowly,
Along with the final lyric, I roughly grabbed the chain connected to Yoo Gun’s choker. As if dying, Yoo Gun gave his body a violent recoil and knelt down with his eyes closed.
Then from the side, Do-ha’s low, heavy voice changed the atmosphere once more, like a drum bass.
“Lee Do-ha, thank you for being shameless!!!!!!”
Do-ha wore the most exposed fashion among all the trainees—distressed black jeans and a black sleeveless top. His toned abs were visible between the collar reminiscent of traditional Korean clothing and the slightly open side.
Take it easy,
Take it easy, Bae
You always say
Don’t be serious, Bae
Following Do-ha’s movement toward the center, the remaining trainees executed choreography that could be considered a dance break in difficulty. It was possible because, except for Si-woo, they were all among the top dancers in Miro Maze.
‘Lee Do-ha is a god.’
For once not worrying about dancing, Do-ha was absolutely insane, unleashing his rap skills relentlessly. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast-paced, he pushed and pulled the beat, delivering his own verse. Jeong Si-u added ad-libs and interjections between the lines while executing the choreography.
The beat rushed forward rapidly, then suddenly released, and a beautiful piano melody filled the silence.
Easy, Easy on me
Please be easy on me
You say it again
Come and Easy, My one
Won-ho and Eun-chan harmonized their voices. Following that came a pair choreography where they held each other, moving as if whispering secrets. Eun-chan’s deep, decadent gaze and Won-ho’s powerful movements infused with spirit created yet another chemistry between them. Kang Ha-jin brushed his hair back lightly and turned to the side. The earpiece clipped to one ear, the scratch at the end of his right eyebrow, the sharp eyes with burgundy shadow subtly layered beneath, and the teardrop mole like a star embedded below—it was the perfect angle for the camera to capture.
Your love deeper than darkness
Do you see me now, growing weary?
Sexy or whatever—his vocal ability conveyed that such things weren’t what mattered right now.
With the final lyric “Do you see me,” Ha-jin held a high note long and sustained.
The highlight rushed forward once more.
Set, me, free!
Si-woo took it an entire octave higher, picking up Ha-jin’s ad-lib. With breathing and technique slightly more stable than Ha-jin’s, he gradually transformed the melody of the chorus.
Praying and hoping
Set me free!
Before long, the song hurtled toward its end. Beyond the bridge section where Won-ho and Eun-chan had firmly established their presence came a brief dance break.
“Yoo Gun, what’s with Yoo Gun, why is he like that, what is this.”
“Did he really bring his A-game today?”
Just as I’d said to “expect something,” Yoo Gun’s presence on stage was overwhelming. I’d always thought he danced well, but today was different somehow.
“Stop smiling, you crazy bastard!”
As if he were truly feeling this entire stage with his whole body,
as if there were no calculation whatsoever in everything happening on this stage right now.
He pulled the audience in powerfully, commanding the atmosphere of the stage with absolute control.
With the center of the performance anchored, the other members naturally found their ease.
Do-ha’s somewhat clumsy dancing went unnoticed by the audience. Within precise and certain performances, free and instinctive gestures burst forth. As if refusing to be outdone by Yoo Gun’s uninhibited sensibility, the other members too grew increasingly absorbed in the stage.
For a brief moment, Ha-jin’s eyes met Yoo Gun’s as he effortlessly completed an acrobatic-like b-boying move and rose to his feet. Catching Yoo Gun’s gaze, fully immersed in the stage, I offered a subtle smile, and a similar expression returned. The two of them passed each other for the next move.
Ha-jin and Si-woo pulled to either side, and with four members forming a large formation at center, the final highlight erupted as they leaped lightly.
Set, me, free!
Ha-jin and Si-woo’s ad-libs rushed forward. For the final highlight, Won-ho and Eun-chan supported with backing vocals like a group chant.
Fill my endless thirst with you
I swallow you, now I cannot even escape
(Easy Come, Easy Go)
(Within your suffocating obsession)
(At last I feel my freedom)
The center of the final chorus was Won-ho. The decision was that his powerful dance lines, utilizing his long arms and long legs, would drive the song to the end with thrilling momentum. Within the rushing dance and ad-libs, Yoo Gun and Do-ha’s rap wove together to create harmony.
A gamble that, if even the slightest teamwork faltered among them, would become nothing but noisy pollution.
“Wow….”
Yet everything was perfect.
If even one of them had been missing,
if even one of them had switched parts,
if even one element of the composition had been different,
everything was so complete that such thoughts never even arose.
The storm had passed.
As if everything had ended, only the piano melody resumed, flowing slowly through the air once more.
The one I prayed for,
The only One at the end of your gaze.
Let me be.
Eun-chan whispered the final verse, singing softly as he took slow steps backward.
Oh, baby
Set me free
Just as they had bound each other at the very beginning like a large formation, Eun-chan confined himself within their circle. As he stepped into their embrace, the members’ arms entwined around him with serpentine grace, holding one another.
A paradoxical ending—imprisoning oneself to be free.
The six trainees slowly closed their eyes and lowered their heads.
“….”
The song had ended.
Destiny was now in turmoil.
‘Who on earth am I supposed to pick!?’
It was clear the mentors couldn’t decide themselves, so they’d definitely dumped the choice on us…!
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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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