Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 127

—————

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

—————

127. Turning Point
The “first-place acceptance speech” Tae-il had sent to Ha-jin was neither particularly long nor short.
“‘…We’ll always be here. Congratulations on first place, Idea. Your eternal paradise, Upia.’ …That’s the message I’m conveying on their behalf. Congratulations once again on first place!”
It was clear he’d delivered countless first-place acceptance speeches before.
The sentence length was perfectly calibrated—expressing sincerity and gratitude abundantly while ending just before it could feel tedious or drawn out. Even Ha-jin couldn’t help but admire the writing as he read it.
“Yes, that’s truly a touching acceptance speech.”
“Then we’ll say our goodbyes while listening to the encore song!”
As the MCs delivered their closing remarks, the instrumental track for “I’ll Be There” began to play.
They’d actually planned to replace it with the music video, but apparently the music show’s PD had some sudden whim and insisted the MV wouldn’t work, so he’d specifically requested that Miro Maze perform it live.
‘If we have to perform anyway, we’ll do it right.’
While the other artists descended from the stage, Ha-jin gave the trainees a signal with his eyes.
The trainees who received the microphones quickly formed a single-file formation on either side of Ha-jin.
Holding placards in one hand and microphones in the other, the trainees opened their mouths in unison.
I’ll be there
Where your footsteps come to rest
I’ll be there
Where your gaze falls
There was no way they could be presumptuous enough to divide parts in someone else’s precious fan song.
The trainees sang together with reverent postures and expressions, as if they were singing a school anthem—or rather, a hymn.
Jayden and Jae-young, whose vocal skills were still lacking, held back their microphones appropriately while singing, but even so, the sense of a group performance came through clearly.
This paradise you created tonight
We promise eternity
I’ll be there
The melody resonating as one voice was…
truly beautiful.
In the audience seating before them, the glimmering light sticks from various fandoms rippled like waves.
Ha-jin took in that sight for a long time, etching it into his memory.
“….”
“…What are you thinking about?”
After finishing the encore stage and making their way back down.
Tae-hyun approached the quiet Ha-jin and asked.
Ha-jin glanced at the trophy in Tae-hyun’s hands, brushed away a single pollen particle clinging to his shoulder, and answered.
“I’m hoping that next time, it won’t be as a deputy.”
Someday.
Holding a trophy with our names engraved on it, before our fans, with our song.
I want to fill this entire space.
Ha-jin smiled and patted Tae-hyun’s shoulder.
“Let’s work hard, us.”
“…Yeah. Let’s do this.”
I hope we debut together, us.
With Tae-hyun’s quiet wish, the A-Countdown recording came to an end.
* * *
Needless to say, Upia’s first-place win sent shockwaves through the entire online community.
[A 13-year veteran idol’s first-place acceptance speech that flipped the internet yesterday]
[Upia leader confesses his love instead of giving an acceptance speech (feat. Miro Maze)]
[Full text of Seo Tae-il’s first-place acceptance speech at A-Countdown.txt]
[Why am I more moved by Upia’s first-place win at A-Countdown]
[Is it too late to become a fan of Upia now? Please tell me it’s not]
Seo Tae-il’s acceptance speech—which declared he deserved to make a living off songwriting royalties—moved fans across all fandoms to tears and became a hot topic in itself.
The fact that after 13 years since debut, without any separate activities, he claimed first place over rookies was remarkable enough.
The song being a fan song released to commemorate their complete lineup after military service perfectly struck the heartstrings of devoted fans.
As a result, the first-place announcement clip recorded astounding view counts and went viral for quite some time.
What that meant was that the appearance of the Miro Maze trainees who accepted the award on their behalf was also constantly brought back to the spotlight.
– Seriously, these kids are so cute lol
I was so moved because I could feel that you were genuinely congratulating me from the bottom of your heart.
– The friend who read the acceptance speech instead—is that the one Tae-il said looks like him??
└ Yeah exactly lol I saw it yesterday and now I get why he said that
– The way they sang together at the end ㅠㅠㅠ It was like they were replacing us.
The reaction from Idea that Ha-jin had worried about most turned out to be nothing but positive.
With the leader’s intense fan love already pushing them to maximum Upia love, Idea was already in a state where the acceptance speech proxy, or whatever else, didn’t really matter anymore.
– But wait, doesn’t anyone think it’s weird that those trainees accepted the award on their behalf?
└ Is that really what matters right now?
└ Our oppa just said he loves me!
└ Sometimes hearing a confession of love through someone else hits differently
Right now, they were in an invincible state where they could deflect every bit of negativity and mistake except for Upia’s disbandment.
Moreover, these kids were quite sincere too!
Towol
@u_top_world
Oh man, that banner from yesterday
The kids apparently made it themselves
Tal sent me the photo
Who wrote the text?
Can I get some ideas too;;>
(Pop-pop message from Tae-il)
(Photo of trainees making the banner)
Shares 1,099 Likes 2,000
[The way those kids memorized all the lyrics and sang along was so touching]
Is this… what it’s like being a direct senior’s fan when you have a junior coming up…?
Could this… someday lead to a M.I.R.O. C.O.N.C.E.R.T…?
Maybe it’s possible… ☆
– What concept are they even going for?
└ Leave them be… they’re too excited to listen to anyone right now
– A Miro concert? I’m literally trembling just thinking about it
– Curious what kind of trembling that comment means
└ Honestly, I think I might be a little scared
└ My hands are shaking just thinking about ticket sales
└ Come on, they just mean it’s good, you people
In this favorable atmosphere, mentions of Miro Maze and the trainees began to proliferate in earnest.
【Shouting at You】 Stage clips and broadcast reviews started pouring in.
The Destiny fans seized the opportunity and relentlessly promoted their own.
[Is that Seo Tae-hyun from Boy’s Supremacy yesterday??]
Wait, did Tae-hyun debut???
– Yes, it’s Tae-hyun! He’s currently on Miro Survival, and yesterday he performed a special stage after placing first in the survival competition!!
└ Ah, thank you so much! I was so happy thinking you debuted… You did great, Tae-hyun!
Kang Ha-di
@kang_HD
How is it possible
to have a delinquent high schooler with a band
a three-piece suit guy in full gear
…all on the same stage?
(Ha-jin smiling in school uniform)
(Ha-jin adjusting his necktie after changing into a suit)
Retweets 1,045 Quotes 213 Likes 1,773
∥
Kang Ha-di
@kang_HD
I woke up and
the retweets exploded so I’m terrified
Anyway
promoting the actual person in the photo
Miro Maze hexagon leader
Kang Ha-jin vote right now
(Kang Ha-jin wearing Miro Maze glasses edited photo)
(Kang Ha-jin jumping over a wall edited photo)
[Among those who gave acceptance speeches for Upia’s first place award yesterday]
(Photo of Jae-young and Ha-ru laughing while waving a placard)
Can someone tell me their names ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
I’ve been hit so hard right now, you little bastardsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜㅠㅠ
Ha-ru and Jae-young! The maknae’s are so cute!
└ So cute I’m about to lose it, I want to swallow these little angels whole and roll them around in my mouth
Interest in Miro Maze, which I had already considered sufficiently successful, grew with each passing day.
The official account’s follower count skyrocketed, and the view counts for videos uploaded to AiTube had already broken through the ceiling.
And at the center of all this buzz was Kang Ha-jin.
But that wasn’t entirely a good thing.
“Sigh.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you sighing like that?”
Soda and Mal-lang-gom, who had gathered in the hotel room to watch Miro Maze Episode 5 together, both turned to look at Professor Task.
If you had to pick the most talked-about member among the three’s favorites—the one whose debut seemed virtually certain—it would undoubtedly be Ha-jin, Professor Task’s bias.
Here I was, thinking we should throw a celebration just because Ha-jin’s path to debut had finally opened up, yet what was with this sigh?
“Another post trashing Ha-jin just went up on Pentok.”
“Again?”
At Professor Task’s words, Soda and Mal-lang-gom both frowned.
Recently, posts systematically undermining or criticizing Ha-jin had been uploaded to a certain online community.
“Those people are seriously disgusting. Unnie, don’t pay too much attention to that. That place is a real cesspool of crazy people.”
“I know, I usually don’t pay attention. But lately it’s gotten really bad. Last time, someone even posted that Ha-jin was a school bully, but when it turned out to be fabricated, they deleted it and ran away.”
“Why do they even do that? Does someone pay them to write that stuff? No, if they get sued, they’d have to pay money instead, right?”
“That’s how losers get their kicks—it’s their idea of fun. Using celebrity criticism to boost their own self-esteem is a real mental illness.”
“Remember what happened with Yoo Gun? That was a total loss of humanity. After that, they started probing Tae-hyun a bit, but when there was no response, they switched their target to Ha-jin.”
If Ha-jin had actually done something wrong, at least it wouldn’t feel so unfair.
Most of the posts on Pentok were crude insults without logic or evidence.
Occasionally, some people would write lengthy posts trying to sound sophisticated, but no matter how long you read, the conclusion was always just “Kang Ha-jin is so obnoxious and annoying.”
Professor Task, clearly upset, gulped down the beverage she had prepared in advance.
“It was better when they said Ha-jin was a push-pick, that the debut team was already decided. Now it’s just… completely baseless hate. Are these people insane?”
“Well, that’s just what happens when someone becomes popular…”
“You know what? Ha-jin’s actual one-pick fans from Destiny aren’t even that many.”
“What?”
“That’s why the Ha-jin fans are going even crazier right now.”
At this unexpected revelation, Soda and Mal-lang-gom couldn’t hide their surprised expressions.
Professor Task sighed heavily while chewing on snacks.
“I picked up Ha-jin from the very beginning, right? But Ha-jin’s core fanbase isn’t as strong as I thought. Actually, the ones with really solid cores are Tae-hyun, Si-woo, and Eun-chan. Ha-jin has more of a universal second-pick vibe, you know what I mean?”
Soda nodded at Professor Task’s words.
Even I had Do-ha as my one-pick and Ha-jin as my second-pick, didn’t I?
“Because Ha-jin is a public pick, he gets mentioned everywhere, which means he also faces a ton of backlash, right? Since he’s being attacked from all sides, a lot of fans have gotten tired and dropped out. The famous fans are also getting cursed out through DMs and anonymous accounts, so they’re under a lot of stress.”
“Wow, I didn’t know it was like that.”
“It’s really serious. But from the outside, Ha-jin looks super popular, right? Even people who aren’t his one-pick mention him and fawn over him. So whenever Ha-jin fans try to say something about this, people just call them ungrateful.”
Professor Task pressed her forehead as if she had a headache.
Professor Task herself had experienced a sudden surge in followers on her home account not long ago, and had been hit with an overwhelming barrage of DMs—so much so that she had blocked DMs entirely now.
“So lately I’m just… getting reality-checked about fandom. Of course, I’m going to keep doing K-pop with my teeth gritted until Kang Ha-jin hits number one on the Billboard Hot 100.”
“But it’s kind of shocking. I naturally assumed Ha-jin would be the most popular.”
“Honestly, these are kids who haven’t even debuted yet. It’s all new influx, people switching from other fandoms, and casual fans, so the atmosphere is just… If we just encourage voting a bit, it’s obvious Ha-jin will debut anyway, so why are they demanding it like this? Aren’t they crazy? Even for an entertainment agency survival show, that’s too much.”
When Professor Task’s face fell with disappointment, Mal-lang-gom patted his shoulder reassuringly.
“Ha-jin is just too good at this. There’s nothing to criticize. That’s why the rivalry is so intense.”
“But you know what else? Honestly, when you look at the trainees people like, most of them are charming because they’re fresh and clumsy, right? But Ha-jin doesn’t have those kinds of openings, I guess you could say…. Of course, that’s exactly why I like him.”
“Ha-jin is way too polished for someone who’s only twenty…. It’s the same feeling Chanpro—Eun-chan’s devoted fans—have about Eun-chan. It’s because of how he looks and his personality.”
Eun-chan was receiving powerful support from teenage fans precisely because of his gap moe—his appearance and personality that contradicted expectations.
Comparing them that way, Soda was beginning to understand what it meant for Ha-jin to be everyone’s second-favorite pick.
“Ugh, whatever. I should just cheer hard for Ha-jin anyway.”
“Right, right. Hey, our Do-ha doesn’t even get mentioned. The crime of not being able to dance. But that’s better than nothing, right?”
“Ugh, it’s so sad…. No wait, but who would do the rap without our Do-ha? Kyung-ho can’t.”
“Tell Kyung-ho to just play rock-paper-scissors with his girlfriend.”
“But Do-ha will blow up when he appears in the third round, I’m telling you, unnie? I’m dead serious. Do-ha absolutely killed it on that stage.”
“Is he performing in the third round today?”
“No, from the preview it looked like…. Some kind of sports day? Something like that.”
“Insane, do athletic department idiots actually exist?”
As they spoke, the title sequence for Miro Maze played on the TV along with the signal song.
The three of them huddled together on the couch, their anticipation overflowing.
And then, Miro Maze Episode 5 began.
【★Miro Maze Cup★ One Heart Sports Day】
They had no idea.
…That what awaited them was a grand parade of rogue chicks gone wild.
Not in their wildest dreams.

—————

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

—————