Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 113

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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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113. What’s Going to Burst, Bursts (13)
The production team had even dug up authentication shots circulating on the Internet to ensure I couldn’t escape, displaying them across the massive screen.
‘Please, no.’
There I was in my familiar clothes, striking my familiar pose, clutching my familiar phone, crouching in front of the Subway Station in tears—it was unmistakably Kang Ha-jin. Confronted with this unexpected dark history, I could only cover my mouth in mortification.
Seo Tae-il, watching with an amused smile, nodded as if he’d expected exactly this.
“Ha-jin, you’ve always been quite the crier, haven’t you?”
‘Me?’
But I had no rebuttal. This wasn’t a disaster I’d brought upon myself—it was one the ‘system’ had orchestrated.
During my first audition, when I later encountered the Company, through the first mission, the second mission—hadn’t I sobbed through all of them? Though admittedly, during “Shout at You,” I wasn’t actually crying; that was just a greeting.
Already distressed about how to manage this situation, a traitor appeared beside me, obliviously providing covering fire.
“That’s right, Ha-jin hyung really does cry a lot. He even cried in front of me before…!”
“Be quiet. Quiet. Just be quiet.”
Won-ho had immediately exposed my crying incident. I urgently dragged Won-ho backstage and tried to silence him, but it was too late. The audience was already in chaos.
“Who!!!!! Who’s crying, who!!!!!!!”
At that piercing voice, I returned to the stage and covered my face with my unusually large hands.
‘Fine. Since it’s come to this, I’ll just brazenly own it.’
When I lowered my hands again, my usual shamelessness had returned.
“Actually, I….”
As I lowered my head slightly, my eyes glistened noticeably, nearly level with Seo Tae-hyun’s cheek.
“I’m quite emotionally sensitive.”
“…You are?”
Lee Do-ha, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head in genuine confusion. But there were those who sympathized with my words.
“Ha-jin hyung is actually really kind. Kind of a tsundere?”
“This hyung has a really tender heart.”
It was Eun-chan and Yoo Gun.
I hadn’t asked for their agreement, but now that they were affirming my words, I felt slightly embarrassed.
I cleared my throat softly and picked up the microphone again.
“Anyway…. That’s right. I’m the Subway Station story guy.”
“Oh my. Why? What made you cry like that?”
As I prepared to tell the truth, I felt a mixture of embarrassment and an awkward ticklish sensation.
I scratched my cheek for a moment, then decided that since things had come this far, I should share something I’d truly wanted to convey to Destiny.
“That was around the time the performance video was first released.”
I could already hear sympathetic sounds from the audience. I waved my hand dismissively with a smile, as if to say it was fine. I chose each word carefully. Somehow, I felt more nervous than during my college entrance interview.
“I actually quit being a trainee at a different agency before. Then I came to Miro, and while doing Miro Maze, for the first time in a very long while… I got to perform on stage like this.”
Thinking back to before my regression, it really had been ages.
Perhaps that’s why I was even more nervous? I suddenly understood my own psychological state.
“But, um…. For the first time, showing my stage to all of you Destiny members for the very first time was also quite surreal. And….”
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen Ha-jin hyung stammer.”
“Ha-jin hyung, are you nervous? Oh no, you really are nervous.”
“Quiet, you bastards.”
The trainees were busy whispering among themselves at the sight of me, which they’d never seen before.
After playfully chiding the trainees, I exhaled softly and continued speaking.
“I think I was happy that you all appreciated the stage we worked so hard to prepare. Those were tears of joy. Please don’t worry about it.”
“…sniff….”
“Since I’m already talking about it, I really wanted to tell you this. I’ve come this far because of all of you in Destiny.”
My sincere words filled the venue with a warm, fuzzy atmosphere.
Though I couldn’t tell the entire story, I truly believed that everything I had was because of these people standing right before me. Even though I was still just a trainee who hadn’t even debuted yet, I desperately wanted to convey this feeling.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be able to meet you all like this today.”
A stage I wouldn’t regret even if I lived today a thousand times over.
I wanted to make sure they knew that this stage existed because they had protected it.
“…huh? Ha-jin, are you crying?”
“What? You’re really crying?”
My eyes and voice, which had become genuinely wet rather than just acting, startled the entire Blue Flare Team, and they turned to look at me.
While Seo Tae-il quickly gestured for someone backstage to bring tissues, I laughed sheepishly and covered my eyes. As I kept talking, my emotions suddenly overwhelmed me—my nose turned red and my vision blurred in an instant.
This wasn’t because of the system, or a penalty, or any mental care system malfunction.
“…sniff…. Don’t cry….”
“Ah, I’m weak to this kind of thing….”
“No, you guys. Why are you crying again?”
Won-ho and Eun-chan, who were particularly susceptible to tears, began to sniffle as they watched me. When Eun-chan suddenly threw his arms around me, I accepted the tissues from Seo Tae-il and wiped my eyes with a playful laugh, finding the whole situation amusing.
“No, I’m not even crying—why is everyone like this?”
At Yoo Gun’s bewildered comment, the audience let out a small laugh. Then suddenly, murmuring erupted again. It was because as I turned halfway to comfort Eun-chan, my breathtaking back came into view once more.
“Alright, that’s enough now. Everyone stop crying—not on such a beautiful day like this.”
“Right. The Destiny members are confused about whether they should comfort Ha-jin or admire his back right now.”
Eventually, Si-woo and Yoo Gun, who had been quietly observing, stepped in at just the right moment to settle the situation. They seemed to have surprisingly good chemistry in moments like this, enough that Destiny members momentarily forgot about the discord rumors between the two from Episode 2.
“Then, shall we quickly draw the next question? Ju Eun-chan?”
At Seo Tae-il’s words, Eun-chan, who had been in my arms, sniffled and pulled away.
While Destiny found the trainees adorable, they began to resent the fact that this was a survival program where not everyone could debut together.
‘How did my feet get tied to Han Se-won’s mess….’
These children absolutely had to be introduced to the world.
An inexplicable sense of determination was blooming among the Destiny members.
* * *
The Destiny members online had finally found peace.
They were spending a leisurely evening waiting for Episode 4, which would air at 9 PM today.
[You guys see this?]
(Si-woo’s past piano competition video)
Si-woo’s piano—he must have learned from his mother, right?
When our mother-in-law does her recital, we should definitely send her a flower basket
– You want to get buried?
– Final warning
[Has anyone posted reviews from the kids yet today?]
Oh, I’m so curiousㅠㅜㅜㅠㅠI’m also listeningㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– A few people showed up on the commute!
My friend went to watch the game, but they said it’s not finished yet. Once it ends, should we start heading out soon?
– Usually when they film once, it takes all day so stuff probably uploads one by one starting tomorrow
Wow, senior mentioned our kids on [show name]!
(A post on Sarin’s newly created OneStagram account)
ㅁㅊ ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
They all must have done well and praised me so muchㅠㅠㅠ I’m so proudㅠㅠㅠ
– Wow but is Sarin really their mom?
Sad Ending team, but I’m really curious lol, I’m shouting this at you – it’s a song I really love
There weren’t many reblogs, and the Bluebird accounts that had been active all seemed quiet—probably because they’d all gone to the recording. The online Destiny fans exchanged small talk while waiting for the broadcast and audience reviews to drop soon.
And then, one hour before the broadcast began.
Finally, the first audience review appeared.
[Attended the recording]
KHJ’s back see-through
LDH’s abs insane
That’s it.
Very brief, but the impact of such provocative content was tremendous.
“Teacher, what am I supposed to do if you just throw this at me and leave?”
– Ha-jin’s back see-through???? See-through???????????
– Do-ha’s built like that so K-pop’s easy for him, keep going let’s see where this goes
Faced with news of my boys’ exposed skin, the Destiny fans couldn’t hide their excitement. As people were just getting home, short spoilers and audience reviews began popping up here and there.
Cherry Blossom
@ch_blossom
(Photo preview of Seo Tae-hyun holding out a bouquet of pink roses)
(Photo preview of Seo Tae-hyun wearing cat ear headbands and tilting his head)
2X0524 Miro Maze 3rd Competition
Seo Tae-hyun Preview
#MiroMaze #SeotTae-hyun #CherryBoy
Piipo
@piipo
#AudienceReview
I’m writing this now because I’ll forget if I don’t. KDKRST team’s freshness and refreshing vibe was insane, and SBCJ team’s song was really good. And BLPRJ team’s stage 1 performance was crazy good.
[Spoiler Alert: Mamamoo 3rd Competition Performance]
(Photo of audience verification bracelet)
I’m exhausted right now
So I’m just listing what was crazy by team
Candy Crush Team
Seo Tae-hyun Dan Ha-ru Yuki Lee Pa-rang Park Jae-young
Skitters – “I’ll Tell You”
– Dan Ha-ru was the MC. Her voice is so pretty, clear, and refreshing—basically human lemonade lol
– Seo Tae-hyun is a natural boy idol and he even did the cat part too. If he doesn’t debut this time???? Then K-pop should just collapse that day. Seriously, it’s cursed
Silver Chain Team
Gong Seok, Shin Kyung-ho, Yun Tae-won, Kim Hee-gun, Kim Min-uk, Jayden
Go Won-sung – Happily Ever After
– Wore goggles and ski jump-style outfits
– Gong Seok’s singing was good… honestly don’t remember much lol sorry
Blue Flare Team
Kang Ha-jin, Jeong Si-u, Lee Do-ha, Ju Eun-chan, Lee Yu-gun, Kim Won-ho
Sphere – Set Me Free
– Ju Eun-chan sang and Lee Yu-gun rapped
– Kang Ha-jin and Lee Do-ha’s outfits got spoiled but honestly the other members were insane too. Especially Lee Yu-gun—I’m watching again. Honestly, this team’s Lee Yu-gun ate the entire performance. Seriously so good
– And the guy with the Subway Line story was confirmed to be Kang Ha-jin (he cried seeing the audience’s reaction… got emotional talking about it… then Ju Eun-chan and Kim Won-ho started crying too and it was chaos)
– Personally, this team was the best… their skills, their balance—nothing was lacking. They had it all
Aside from the stage, just about the audience experience overall, I thought it was great
For voting, we picked based on whether we liked the stage and chose our favorite trainee, and they told us to pick the stage order lol. The options they showed us were really nerve-wracking. Not sure how it’ll air though
I’m going to watch the broadcast now… if there are issues, please keep it civil
– (Anonymous1) Wow the team balance is insane lolololol
– (Anonymous2) Yeah I went too and I think the same way lol. Team 3 was my favorite, then Team 1, then Team 2. Team 2 was a bit disappointing
└ (Anonymous 3) Ik-ah, I’m sorry, but can I ask you something?ㅠㅠㅠ
└ (Anonymous2) Yeah ask away!! I’m on the Subway right now so I can answer
└ (Anonymous 3) By any chance, what happened to Yooㅠ? I’m a Gunf and I was so worried that I couldn’t look for reviews ㅠㅜ But when I looked at the text here, it said that Yugeon did well ㅜㅜㅜㅠㅠ
└ (Anonymous2) If you’re asking about the stage, he did great!!!! Seriously everyone around me only talked about Yoo Gun lol. It was my first time seeing him rap and his chemistry with Do-ha was great, and his dancing was literally divine. And he wore this choker with a chain?? attached to it and it was seriously… so sexy… I loved the outfits on Do-ha, Ha-jin, and Yoo Gun the most!!!
└ (Anonymous 3) Wow, thank you ㅠㅠㅠㅜㅜㅜ By any chance, Yoo Geon seems to be in a good mood ㅠㅠ I’m really, really worried ㅠㅜㅜ
└ (Anonymous 2) No need to worry!!! Yoo Geon smiled brightly and said he was fine!!! Just because Ha-jin and Eun-chan are crying, why are you crying when he isn’t?? If you look at it that way, it seems okay!! Don’t worry too much ㅠㅠㅠ
└ (Anonymous 3) Hueng ㅜㅜㅠㅠㅠ I feel relieved to hear those words… Thank you so much.
– (Anonymous4) Wait the Subway story guy was really Kang Ha-jin??????????Really? lololol?????lololololol
– (Anonymous5) I went from a red mask after hearing about Ha-jin’s back being exposed to suddenly becoming a crying mess after seeing the Subway story. I’m insane. My baby cries easily…
Destinies who couldn’t attend the audience recording wailed as they read the reviews.
They immediately wanted more detailed descriptions and previews from the skilled fans, but unfortunately no more audience reviews were posted. The Destinies who attended had either rushed home, were waiting for their commute, or had disappeared to secure Episode 4’s broadcast.
‘Right. For Episode 4’s buzz, it’s better if audience reviews come out later anyway.’
Even thinking that way, Destinies kept searching SNS for other reviews. As a result, ‘Miro Maze,’ ‘audience review,’ ‘Ha-jin’s back,’ and ‘Tae-hyun should debut’ trended.
And then, finally.
– Guys Episode 4 is starting
Miro Maze Episode 4 aired.

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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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