Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 132

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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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132
. A Small Catalyst (4)
The first elimination results for Miro Maze had been officially announced.
All idol fans focused their attention on the ranking announcement broadcast through Episode 7 of Miro Maze.
[Miro Maze First Elimination Results]
Listed in order of ranking
+Wings Rank (Debut Rights, Ranks 1-7)
Seo Tae-hyun
Jeong Si-u
Ju Eun-chan
Lee Yu-gun
Dan Ha-ru
Lee Do-ha
Kim Won-ho
+Feather Rank (Debut Rights X Survival O, Ranks 8-13)
Yuki
Kang Ha-jin
Park Jae-young
Jayden
Gong Seok
Shin Kyung-ho
+First Elimination
Lee Pa-rang, Kim Min-uk, Kim Hee-gun, Yun Tae-won
+All scores reset from this point and starting fresh
+Voting for the next 10 days, then 3 more eliminations in Episode 9
+Final 10 contestants for live finale broadcast
– Kang Ha-jin isn’t in Wings Rank?????
└ 22 Shocking, I thought he’d definitely be in the top ranks
└ 33333333333 How is he 9th right now???????
└ Ha, so I told you not to let down your guard ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
“Wow, Lee Yu-gun’s stock skyrocketed lolol. Sympathy picks are really the scariest after all.”
└ If you don’t know, shut up. Lee Yu-gun had the most votes in Round 3 individually
So that’s why they call it a pity vote lol honestly since he had to be the breadwinner without parents, people felt bad for him and gave him votes out of sympathy, right?
└ This bastard doesn’t know how scary lawsuits are and keeps spouting nonsense. Yeah, you’re a PDF file and enjoy your prison meals~
“Yeah, and anyway, there’s no way I’m getting sued here~ lol. I didn’t even make anything up, but Yoongun’s fans are seriously overreacting, it’s legendary.”
“Did you not see that kid crying and posting about how a complaint was filed against them yesterday? Go cry at the police station instead lol”
– Blue was eliminated in the endㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– It’s really the end of Tumi… Everyone was so attached, but it’s a shame… You guys worked hard ㅜㅜㅜㅠ I hope they can debut in another place with a good opportunity ㅠㅜㅜ
– The debut lineup looks decent though? If we just add him to it, wouldn’t it be survival show hope material?
└ 222 Actually, I thought a lot about it, but it seems to be okay. The problem is who should I include and who will I leave out? Let’s just assume that all 16 people debut.
└ If you remove ㄱㅇㅎ and add ㄱㅇㅈ, it’s perfect ㅇㅇ
└ Honestly, I’ve been thinking the same thing
└ Lee Do-ha…ugh
└ There are Lee Pa-rang fans here too? That’s pretty rude
As the debut lineup gradually took shape, everyone began chiming in with their own opinions one by one.
The first elimination had finally arrived after seven episodes.
Rankings that rose and fell without a moment’s notice, impossible to predict even one step ahead.
Three additional eliminations that would occur ten days later.
And finally, the seven members of the final debut lineup to be decided in the finals after that.
Perhaps because Miro Maze had shone such a warm light on all the trainees up until now,
many Destinies felt as though they were awakening from a happy dream into this cold reality.
Amid such loss and emptiness, worry and anxiety,
the Miro Maze production team orchestrated even the farewells with the eliminated trainees with a tenderness that was almost cruel.
【MIRO MAZE ║ Lee Pa-rang Trainee ♬’My Confession’ / Good bye Stage】
【MIRO MAZE ║ Kim Hee-gun Trainee ♬’Where are you’ / Good bye Stage】
【MIRO MAZE ║ Kim Min-uk Trainee ♬’The Night I Count You’ / Good bye Stage】
【MIRO MAZE ║ Yun Tae-won Trainee ♬’Take a shot’ / Good bye Stage】
The official Miro Maze AiTube channel uploaded final solo performance videos of the eliminated trainees.
Starting with interviews containing the trainees’ thoughts and stories, each video featured just one song—the most confident piece they wanted to show the Destinies.
[Please, Tumi, stop making me cry]
They actually rented out studios and prepared props for each eliminated trainee to create a goodbye stage—what kind of insane survival show is this even possible?
[Apparently the goodbye stage idea came from Seo Tae-il]
He directly requested Miro to create one final stage for each of them, even offering to cover the production costs himself. Is this guy actually a god??????? Miro approved it, so the production team rushed to prepare everything…
– Seo Tae-il, please just found a country
– But honestly, Miro and the production team are amazing for approving this too
– Agency Seobara… I guess all the trainees have been in the maze for a long time… ㅠㅜ Ah, I hope it’s nonsense that 6 more people are eliminated now.
The goodbye stages of the eliminated trainees set the flames even higher.
And that burning heat naturally transferred to the surviving trainees.
Who would be eliminated, and who would advance?
Even the scores had been completely reset—now there was nothing to rely on, nothing that could be predicted with certainty.
[But then what’s in Episode 8?]
We already saw all the third competition audience footage in Episode 6
and there’s still no announcement about the next audience viewing
Episode 9 is supposed to be the second elimination ceremony…
What’s Episode 8 about? Has any spoiler leaked?
What would the fourth competition be, the one that would ultimately determine the votes?
As everyone held their breath in anticipation, the fourth competition was announced through Miro Maze’s official channels.
【Miro Maze 4th Competition – Guerrilla Concert (Including Online Live Stream) Announcement】
The next competition for Miro Maze would be
an offline guerrilla concert broadcast live online.
* * *
“….”
“….”
“…What’s wrong with everyone? Why is the atmosphere like this?”
In a practice room of the Miro New Building, gathered to prepare for the fourth competition—a guerrilla concert.
I broke the unusually gloomy and sharp atmosphere of the practice room, forcing myself to speak.
But even I, a master of ice-breakers, couldn’t figure out how to handle this mood.
Dan Ha-ru, whose eyes were puffy from crying all last night, sniffled as he searched for tissues—I simply pushed the tissue box that had been behind me toward him.
“…The dormitory feels so empty.”
Dan Ha-ru pulled tissues from the box I’d handed him, blew his nose with a soft sound, and whimpered.
Remembering that Ha-ru’s roommate was Lee Pa-rang, who had been eliminated this time, I patted his back and scratched my head.
Just last night, the eliminated trainees had packed their things and left the dormitory.
Since none of the four had decided to stay with the company, it was a complete departure from Miro—contracts terminated and all.
The eliminated trainees understood what that meant, and so did the surviving trainees, so last night the dormitory had erupted into tears.
‘I understand how everyone feels, so I don’t know what to say.’
The regret of parting ways.
The anxiety that next time, it could be me.
Bodies and hearts slowly wearing down in this competition with no right answer.
All of it crashing down at once, right now.
I didn’t have the confidence to tell my fourth competition teammates, who were sniffling with tears, to find their composure.
‘And of all things, the team composition is like this too….’
I handed the tissue box that Ha-ru had finished using and set on the floor to another teammate sitting across from me.
“Seok-i, you use it too.”
“…Yeah. Thanks, Ha-jin.”
A timid guy and a dispirited one.
I glanced at the fixed cameras scattered throughout the practice room and let out a small sigh.
Where on earth was I supposed to start comforting them?
“What’s this? Why is everyone like that?”
I had raised both hands, thinking I’d at least pat some backs, but froze in that position.
Someone in neat practice clothes walked in, holding a stack of sheet music in one hand.
It was Jeong Si-u, the final member of this fourth competition team and the leader.
“Did you all come up with references and concept ideas? You were supposed to do that first while I went to get the sheet music.”
“Ah. Well, hyung. We, we were going to….”
At Si-u’s cynical question, I trailed off, tapping my fingers on my thigh as if at a loss.
Even without me finishing, Si-u seemed to grasp the entire situation at a glance when he saw Ha-ru and Gong Seok with puffy eyes and red noses.
Thinking Si-u could probably comfort the two of them adequately, I looked at him desperately, as if asking for help.
Reading my gaze, Si-u also let out a small sigh and placed his hand on his waist.
But what came from Si-u’s mouth next was something slightly different from what I expected.
“Dan Ha-ru and Gong Seok. Both of you, get out.”
“…? W-what, hyung?”
“Go wash your face with cold water, and come back once you’ve stopped crying.”
What’s with this guy again?
At Jeong Si-u’s words—sharp and cutting rather than merely cold—the eyes of three trainees, including myself, went wide.
Yet Jeong Si-u continued speaking with glacial composure, his expression unmoved.
“Save your tears and sadness for outside the camera. We’re not done with the survival program yet. We don’t even have enough time to prepare, so how long are you planning to cry?”
“…No, hyung. I, uh…”
“How desperately do you think the eliminated trainees would have wanted this single minute, this single second? Are you really going to waste that precious time crying and ruin the fourth performance?”
“….”
I was about to stop Si-u, worried that Gong Seok and Dan Ha-ru might actually break down, but his next words made me close my mouth quietly.
I felt an instinctive dread that opening my mouth carelessly right now could spell disaster.
I hadn’t known Si-u for very long, but…
I’d learned enough from experience that you don’t interrupt him when he speaks with such gravity.
‘Besides, he’s not wrong.’
I understood Gong Seok and Dan Ha-ru’s disappointment, which was why I couldn’t speak up either.
I agreed that we needed to start the meeting and prepare the performance as soon as possible.
And that we weren’t in a position to indulge in sorrow like this.
“….”
Silence descended with Si-u’s cold final words.
I watched Si-u and the other two trainees without speaking.
How many minutes passed?
Dan Ha-ru, who had been biting his lips and holding back the tears that threatened to spill, suddenly stood up.
“…I’m sorry. I’ll… I’ll wash up and come right back….”
His pronunciation was mangled from the effort of holding back his sobs, but Ha-ru didn’t cry after all.
He simply bowed his head once and rushed out of the Practice Room.
Gong Seok, who had been sitting hesitantly, followed after him a moment later.
“….”
“….”
Left alone with Si-u in the Practice Room, I stared at him.
Ignoring my gaze, Si-u sat on the floor and neatly organized the sheet music he’d printed out.
As I helped Si-u arrange the sheets, I thought to myself.
‘This guy really is… impossible to figure out.’
Si-u was undoubtedly a Chosen Regressor candidate, yet I still found it difficult to define what kind of person he was.
We’d grown closer after experiencing infinite regression with the Blue Flare Team last time, but if you asked whether I truly understood Jeong Si-u?
‘The answer would be no.’
Si-u was the type who didn’t reveal much about himself, but I just found him…
Difficult. Jeong Si-u was difficult.
‘Still, since he’s a Chosen Regressor candidate, I should try to get closer….’
“…Do you have something to say?”
“Huh? Y-yes?”
“You’ve been staring.”
Si-woo asked without even looking at me, and I found myself flustered in an uncharacteristic way.
This was always how it went between us.
Every time I conversed with Si-woo, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was always several moves behind.
The silver-bleached hair from the third performance had faded considerably, and now covered again with a soft brown, the strands fell gently across my forehead.
‘…Such fine hair.’
I recalled the physical features I’d observed from the Chosen Regressor’s past, studying Si-woo slowly as he remained absorbed in organizing the sheet music.
Soft facial lines without a single sharp angle, moderately thick eyebrows and large, deep eyes.
A sculpted bridge of the nose and thin, translucent lips—truly the kind of breathtakingly beautiful visage that Rene Entertainment would covet…
“Am I really that handsome?”
“Yes…. Hyung, you’re really handsome… Huh?”
Caught off guard by words that seemed to peer into my very thoughts, I snapped back to reality, having been nodding along in a daze.
Si-woo, who had finished organizing the sheet music, rested his chin in his hand and gazed at me intently, breaking into a slight smile.
“Yeah? Thanks for saying that.”
“…I really can’t figure you out, hyung.”
“I know. Same with you.”
…What exactly is this guy?
Faced with this incomprehensible exchange, I blinked stupidly.

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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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