Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 120

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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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120. The Reason for Action (7)
The moment Ha-jin arrived at the Broadcasting Station, his first impression was, ‘Wow. It’s been forever.’
‘Maybe because it’s been almost ten years, but this place has changed quite a bit too.’
Of course, the fact that his memory was from ten years in the future made his word choice slightly ambiguous.
Should I call it changed, or should I call it deteriorated…?
“Feeling nostalgic?”
“Huh?”
While the other trainees were absorbed in sightseeing around the Broadcasting Station, Seo Tae-hyun quietly approached and asked Ha-jin in a voice only he could hear. Ha-jin realized he was asking about his ‘past life’ and let out a soft laugh.
“Well, it has been a while since I’ve been to Sangam.”
“Did you work here?”
“Not exactly work, but my first program was with Ntv. I came here pretty often.”
“Ah, right. You said you worked at a Production Company.”
The twenty-nine-year-old Ha-jin wasn’t a public broadcast PD, but a freelance contract PD working for an outside production company.
In an era where AiTube was more familiar than television, being an outside PD rather than a public broadcast one wasn’t a major drawback, but…
Back then, Ha-jin sometimes envied those who confidently wore their employee IDs around their necks as they moved through the Broadcasting Station.
“Back then, I was constantly going to the 8th Floor. Never thought the day would come when I’d visit as an artist.”
“Why the 8th Floor?”
“That’s where the editing room is.”
I spent many all-nighters there.
Ha-jin shuddered briefly at the memory—whether it was nostalgia or a nightmare, he couldn’t quite tell.
“Team Leader, I’ve brought the access passes. Let’s head up.”
“Ah, right. Gather the kids for me.”
A burly manager with a short athletic cut strode over and reported to Seo Tae-hyun.
He was a new recruit from the Management Team who had come to help out today, and he was learning the ropes by assisting wherever hands were needed.
-We need at least two staff members so the Broadcasting Station doesn’t just brush us off.
The entertainment industry was a field where people were valued and assessed more coldly and quickly than anywhere else.
Seo Tae-hyun was being extra cautious to ensure that the trainees, who hadn’t debuted yet, wouldn’t get hurt in any way.
Ha-jin tapped Seo Tae-hyun’s arm, who seemed more nervous than the people directly involved.
“It’s fine. Just in case, we even brought an extra bodyguard.”
“…That’s actually what worries me the most.”
Seo Tae-hyun and Ha-jin’s gazes turned toward the same person simultaneously.
Their eyes passed over Tae-hyun, who was taking photos of Jae-young in one corner of the lobby…
“If you kids wander around and get lost, I’m not coming to find you.”
“Yoo Gun hyung, that’s too much!”
“Yoo Gun, you’re mean!”
“Yeah, I’m terrible.”
…and landed on Lee Yu-gun, who was apprehending Ha-ru and Jayden by the scruff of their necks as they tried to excitedly run around.
Last night, Ha-jin, uneasy about the flag he’d planted, had hastily hired this mercenary for today.
“If you send him along whenever the kids go anywhere, there won’t be any trouble.”
“How on earth did you get Lee Yu-gun to come? He’s not the type to follow us around from morning.”
“….”
“Why won’t you answer?”
“…It’s a trade secret.”
I averted my eyes from Soo-ho’s gaze and let out a nervous cough.
My mind automatically replayed what had happened last night.
-Ah, why did I follow him there!
Last night, after finishing my shower, I’d abruptly kidnapped Yoo Gun just as he was heading back to his room, dragging him into mine instead.
Before Yoo Gun could even blink, he found himself thrown into someone else’s room. He locked the door and flatly refused my (?) command to become Tae-hyun’s bodyguard for the day.
-You’re seriously going to stand by and watch while your close friend Seo Tae-hyun might get harassed by the Shadow Faction?
-The Shadow Faction? What are you talking about… Besides, you said they only target the stage and that’s it! What are the odds we’d even run into them?
-Why wouldn’t we! I ran into you at the convenience store across the village when I went to buy ice cream with Dan Ha-ru, and you were skipping practice!
-…No, wait, why are you bringing that up now—I mean, anyway. What difference does it make if I tag along?
-It makes a difference. Put your hand on your conscience and think about it. Is it safer for Seo Tae-hyun—who looks like a gentle lamb—to walk around alone, or to have you by his side?
-Sure, he looks a bit dim-witted, but that doesn’t mean he’s the type to get harassed wherever he goes.
-…Hey, I’m listening to this.
Tae-hyun, who had already been dragged into my room before Yoo Gun arrived, quietly asserted his presence, but neither Yoo Gun nor I paid him any attention.
-Anyway! You look just as intimidating as I do!
-I have a weak heart. I can’t do it.
-That’s hilarious!!!!
Yoo Gun reacted with shock, refuting my shameless claim about having a weak heart.
-Why me specifically? There’s Do-ha and Ju Eun-chan too!
-They both have separate schedules tomorrow.
-What about Shin Kyung-ho? He looks just as rough around the edges as I do!
-Would he even look at Seo Tae-hyun if he goes to the broadcasting station? We’d be lucky if he doesn’t flip out over seeing celebrities.
-Then what about me?
-You don’t care about female idols even if they walk right past you—unless they’re customers at your convenience store.
“….”
Yoo Gun couldn’t bring himself to refute that.
Even he had to admit that among the seventeen trainees, no one was as indifferent to the broadcasting station as he was.
As the gap in our positions (if it could even be called that, given how one-sided the argument was) showed no signs of narrowing,
a third party made an entrance.
-Yoo Gun hyung.
-…?
It was Eun-chan, my roommate, who had been listening to the entire conversation from the start.
Eun-chan held up his phone with a money transfer screen open and offered Yoo Gun a deal, his eyes gleaming.
-100,000 won per day.
-…!?
-I’ll transfer it right now if you accept.
-Deal.
And that deal proved to be remarkably effective!
—That capitalist slave bastard…!
—Seo Tae-hyun, wait! Control yourself!
The typical INFP that Seo Tae-hyun was, he’d genuinely taken offense that Lee Yu-gun had chosen money over their friendship, but well.
‘At least I brought him here.’
Now that I’d actually brought him, Lee Yu-gun was proving genuinely helpful.
Tae-hyun, who’d been sulking until this morning, seemed to settle down once we arrived at the Broadcast Station—having a same-aged friend here clearly stabilized him, and I could see his rigid expression gradually soften.
I headed toward the elevator with the group, confirming today’s schedule with Soo-ho once more.
“We’re only doing the pre-recorded segment and leaving, right?”
“Yeah. Since we’re a special stage, there’s no interview, and we decided not to participate in the live broadcast either. We just go to the waiting room, rest for a bit, record our stage, and we’re done.”
If I could just survive these next three to four hours without incident, I could clock out.
I prayed for peace throughout today as I stepped into the elevator.
* * *
After arriving at the waiting room, the Sad Ending Team changed into their stage outfits and touched up their ruined makeup.
“Noona, do you have any skin-tone tape or something? The kind you use to cover tattoos?”
“Oh, yeah. I do have some, but why? Do you need it?”
“Could you lend me just one?”
I took the taping band from the stylist and headed to the corner of the waiting room.
The palm I’d injured last time still hadn’t fully healed, so I’d put a regular bandage on it—I was thinking of adding another layer of tape to make sure it didn’t come loose.
“…Damn, this isn’t working.”
I’d applied the tape fine, but trying to keep it inconspicuous meant it wouldn’t stick properly. Since it was on my palm and not the back of my hand, even a little sweat made the edges keep peeling off, which was incredibly annoying.
I was staring down at my hand, wondering how to fix this, when someone took the taping band from my fingers.
“…?”
“Will that even hide anything? Fans will just wonder what that band is doing on Ha-jin’s hand.”
Tae-hyun, who’d finished his makeup touch-up and costume change, sat down beside me with a habitual sigh.
When I had no answer, embarrassed, Tae-hyun hummed quietly to himself.
“You gave me grief about cutting my lip, saying you’d just Photoshop it out, but here you are with a scrape on your palm.”
“That’s completely different, man. Yours was intentional—mine was an accident.”
“You never lose an argument, do you?”
Tae-hyun shook his head and peeled off all the taping band from my hand. In the process, the original bandage came off too, revealing the wound that still hadn’t fully healed.
Tae-hyun’s expression twisted, and he called over to Lee Yu-gun, who’d been playing games in a chair outside the waiting room.
“Hey, Lee Yu-gun. You’ve got bandages and ointment in your bag, right? Hand them over.”
“Why? Did you get hurt?”
“No, not me—this elder here.”
“Elder?”
Though slightly bewildered by the term “elder,” Lee Yu-gun naturally pulled out ointment and a fresh bandage from his bag and handed them to Tae-hyun. Curious despite himself, he walked right over to where Tae-hyun and I were sitting.
“What’s this? Did you get hurt, hyung?”
—Don’t go spreading rumors all over town, Seo Tae-hyun.
It wasn’t even a serious wound, but now that Lee Yu-gun knew, I felt embarrassed and tried to hide my hand.
Well, I tried to. If only Seo Tae-hyun hadn’t smacked the back of my hand so loudly.
“Ow!”
“This is payback for kicking my shins back then.”
“When the hell are you settling that score? And I let you win against Cha Min-seok back then, didn’t I? You’re repaying kindness with enmity?”
“That’s why I hit the back of your hand, not your palm.”
“Ha… The world’s coming to an end. A grandson beating up his grandfather.”
“Our grandfather is living just fine in Gangwon Province, so stop spouting nonsense and hold out your palm.”
“Ugh. Tae-hyun’s being such a brat today.”
“…Give me your hand. Before your Team Leader sees the wound.”
“Yes, sir.”
Why am I always weak to types like Jeong Si-u and Seo Tae-hyun?
As I reflected on myself, I obediently extended my injured hand. Tae-hyun then squeezed out the ointment he’d received from Yoo Gun and carefully began applying it over my wound.
Watching this unfold, Yoo Gun asked Tae-hyun cautiously.
“…Seo Tae-hyun, do you happen to have any ill feelings toward this hyung?”
“…Be quiet.”
All he needed to do was squeeze out the ointment and apply it, but Tae-hyun’s hand movements were clumsy beyond measure.
Since I was terrified of seeing wounds in the first place, my body flinched three times per second before the medicine even touched the injury.
Then, whether from poor control or whatever, the ointment came out in dribbles before suddenly gushing out, leaving more medicine on Tae-hyun’s hand than on my palm.
Eventually, unable to watch any longer, Yoo Gun snatched the ointment from Tae-hyun.
“Hey, get out of here. Go wash your hands. Miss, could I borrow just one cotton swab?”
“Here you go~”
“Thank you.”
Yoo Gun pushed aside Tae-hyun, who was insisting he could do it. Then he promptly borrowed a cotton swab from the makeup staff member, squeezed out an appropriate amount of ointment with practiced ease, and applied it to my palm.
“Ah, the touch of a professional.”
“Even a seven-year-old can apply ointment and stick on a bandage.”
“My, our grandson hasn’t even turned seven yet.”
“…Ah, but it looks so painful! It actually hurts me more—what do I do?”
While Tae-hyun protested indignantly, Yoo Gun neatly applied a bandage over the wound he’d finished treating. Then he gestured with his chin toward the taping bandage Tae-hyun was holding.
“Should we put that on too?”
“No. Instead of that, let’s put a few more bandages on this hyung’s face.”
“My face?”
At Tae-hyun’s unexpected suggestion, I widened my eyes. Then Tae-hyun pulled out a fresh bandage from the box and handed it to Yoo Gun.
“Taping bandages look too suspicious. It’d be better to make your concept more like a troublemaker or delinquent or something, so the bandages look like styling instead.”
While Yoo Gun and I nodded in agreement, Tae-hyun stood up from his seat.
“I’ll go check if there are any useful items to adjust your school uniform styling too. Yoo Gun, you make this hyung look like a problem student.”
“Should I ask for makeup that looks like actual wounds?”
“That’d look too much like a gangster. Just a few more bandages should be enough.”
Anyway, fans will only see it through the broadcast, so at least no one will worry that hyung got hurt.
At Tae-hyun’s final words, I was genuinely convinced.
‘That’s right. Experienced people are different.’
Why couldn’t he debut? Or rather, why didn’t he blow up when he did debut?
I tilted my head at this unsolved mystery once again.

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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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