Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 135

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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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135
. A Small Catalyst (7)
Dan Ha-ru had joined Miro only two years ago.
And Cha Min-seok had transferred to Rene Entertainment three years before that.
“…How did Dan Ha-ru even know Cha Min-seok?”
I traced back through time, recalling a conversation I’d had with Ha-ru and Eun-chan during the “Seo Tae-hyun Escape Incident”—an event that had already faded into history several months ago.
-Remember that place we all went to together? When Min-seok hyung was there too.
-Oh, so maybe…?
-That was your uncle’s pension, right? He definitely went there. Since Tae-hyun hyung is close with your uncle.
When Cha Min-seok was at Miro, Dan Ha-ru wasn’t there.
Yet somehow, those four people shared a memory of traveling together.
“Ugh, what the hell. This is giving me goosebumps.”
[System Alert: Am I… trembling…?]
[System Alert: The system is quivering at this sudden genre shift…]
I brushed away the sudden chill spreading across my forearms. Thirteen’s system window flickered in sync with my unease.
#Regression #Idol #Misunderstanding and now #Horror?
Praying it wasn’t some Lovecraftian nightmare, I steadied my breathing and continued my deduction.
“First, I need to confirm this directly with Seo Tae-hyun and Ju Eun-chan. Cha Min-seok didn’t cut ties with Tae-hyun immediately after moving to Rene, so it’s possible the four of them went on a trip together during that window.”
I forced myself to maintain composure.
But there was more than just this detail gnawing at my nerves.
As one piece fell into place, other memories cascaded into alignment.
“When I first came here, the Executive Director was going to take two trainees with him—Ju Eun-chan and Dan Ha-ru. Eun-chan had clear utility.”
Ju Eun-chan had a background that could be used to frame him as a parachute hire.
But Dan Ha-ru?
Why would the Executive Director choose Dan Ha-ru out of all the trainees?
Someone who’d barely been here long enough to prove anything as a trainee.
[System Alert: Could he have seen potential in him?]
[System Alert: After all, when Dan Ha-ru first joined, he received evaluations praising him as a talent overflowing with promise.]
“Just the Executive Director’s eye for talent… I can’t really argue with that.”
I sank deeper into thought.
There was no concrete evidence that Dan Ha-ru was the Chosen Regressor.
But once suspicion took root, it grew uncontrollably like wildfire.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? How it was all that bastard.”
The person who first told me about the Executive Director incident,
The person who informed me that Seo Tae-hyun had fought with Cha Min-seok at Rene,
The person who created an opportunity for me to talk with Gong Seok after he came looking for me following the Team B conflict,
The person who led me to the Convenience Store where Lee Yu-gun was when he disappeared,
The person who witnessed the incident between Seo Tae-hyun and Believer at A-Countdown,
All of it.
“…It was all Dan Ha-ru.”
Dan Ha-ru was present in every incident.
That wasn’t the only dissonance I felt.
“But why… have I never once found this strange until now?”
The fundamental principle of mystery is suspicion and vigilance, after all.
I’d suspected the name Dan Ha-ru, but I’d never questioned the actions Ha-ru actually took.
“Me? Kang Ha-jin? I missed this?”
Me, who scraped together meager allowance as a kid to buy the complete Sherlock Holmes collection, and read so many boy detective comics that I’d become cautious just looking at coat racks?

[System Alert: Haha, our genre regressor is an otaku….]
Shut up, you bastard.
I closed Thirteen’s window as decisively as hitting Alt+F4.
In that moment, my memories rewound once more.
-My grandmother used to say that when you think too much and get scared, you should just stop thinking.
Who said that?
No, after that.
During the infinite regression incident, how did I know the Candy Crush Team was practicing at that time?
The Candy Crush Team wasn’t practicing at that time in every single loop.
No, even before that.
Throughout all those countless repeated loops, during all that time I spent struggling to prevent regression.
“Where was Dan Ha-ru and what was he doing?”
Countless images of Ha-ru flickered through my mind, appearing and disappearing.
Yet I couldn’t recall any memories of Ha-ru.
As if someone had cut them out.
* * *
After dinner ended, a late-night meeting about the fourth competition began.
Four trainees, including myself, sat gathered on the practice room floor.
Si-woo led the conversation this time as well.
“I heard while we were eating earlier that Do-ha’s team decided to go completely hip-hop. I think our choice to focus on vocals was a good one.”
“Oh, I heard something too. Tae-hyun’s team is doing ‘Deep into you.’ Looks like they’re going dance-focused.”
“Yeah? Then that works out even better.”
“Y-yeah. Looks like we chose well.”
Si-woo and Seok-i nodded in response to Ha-ru’s words.
Though unintentional, each team had divided their focus—rap, dance, and vocals respectively.
“Since it means we really have to compete with just our voices, song selection is the most important thing for this stage too. First, let’s review the songs we narrowed down earlier.”
Jeong Si-u’s meeting style was clean and efficient.
Even Ha-ru and Gong Seok, who couldn’t compose themselves emotionally earlier, showed a willingness to concentrate and contribute ideas.
Si-woo accessed AiTube on the tablet PC the production team had prepared, playing candidate songs one by one.
“Hmm, I think this song is a bit difficult.”
“This one feels awkward to arrange as an acoustic version, so I’ll pass too.”
“Ah… um, then what about this song? It’s one I found while eating earlier….”
Gong Seok fumbled through his search for the song he’d found.
His shoulders were tense, and the typos kept slipping through—he seemed more nervous than usual.
Watching Seok break into a sweat just to find and play a single song, Si-woo gently tapped his shoulder.
“Seok. Take your time. We’re not in any rush right now.”
“Y-yeah, okay. Ah, my hands keep slipping….”
At Si-woo’s words, Seok managed an awkward smile and finally located a song to play.
It was the OST from a campus romance drama that had recently wrapped—a piece with lyrics that captured the worries of wandering youth in a way that left an impression.
“Since we’re going for a lyrical atmosphere anyway, I wanted the lyrics to carry some real meaning….”
At Gong Seok’s explanation, Si-woo listened quietly to the song, lost in thought.
Si-woo’s gaze drifted from the lyrics on the tablet screen to Seok, whose hands were clasped tightly together and wringing nervously—like someone bearing guilt that wasn’t theirs.
Si-woo’s lips trembled as if he were debating whether to speak, but ultimately fell silent.
Si-woo didn’t open his mouth again until Seok’s song had finished playing.
“…The song itself is good, but for a competition, it feels too subdued and dark to me. I’m a bit worried. There aren’t many variations either, so there’s not much room for arrangement.”
“Ah, I… I see? Haha, I guess I only catered to my own taste. Sorry.”
At Si-woo’s assessment, Seok’s shoulders sagged again in disappointment. As Seok rushed to apologize, one of Si-woo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. While Si-woo quickly composed himself, Ha-ru deliberately injected a brighter note into the deflating atmosphere.
“Hyung, what if you structured the harmonies more dynamically? Since the melody is simple, adding something like an acapella arrangement might really change the whole feel.”
“Well, that’s not wrong, but… the song’s message is pretty melancholic overall. It feels like a gamble.”
“Hmm, y-yeah, then….”
“Ah, Ha-ru, I don’t have to do this song. …It’s fine. I can just look for another one.”
Realizing that Ha-ru was offering his opinion because of him, Seok waved his hand dismissively, insisting it was okay.
But Ha-ru, having already read the shadow that had fallen over Seok’s face and the discomfort that seemed to color Si-woo’s expression, began scheming for a way to break this suffocating mood.
“W-wait… what about Hyung Ha-jin!?”
“…Huh?”
Ha-ru quickly scanned the surroundings and seized upon the one lifeline he’d managed to find.
Like a baby rabbit warrior discovering an absolutely irreplaceable carrot, Ha-ru’s eyes sparkled brilliantly as he grabbed Ha-jin’s arm.
“Hyung, what do you think of this song? Or… do you have a different opinion?”
Kang Ha-jin, the man in crisis, found himself face-to-face with Ha-ru’s desperate, glittering SOS to somehow salvage this brutal atmosphere.
Ha-jin looked around awkwardly. His teammates, and even the camera director and Production Director watching from afar, were all staring at him, waiting for his answer.
Under that oppressive spotlight, the man in crisis, Kang Ha-jin, thought to himself.
‘Damn it. I wasn’t even listening.’
I’d gotten distracted searching for that Chosen Regressor, and apparently something had gone wrong in the meantime.
Ha-jin, who’d been thinking for a moment, looked down at Ha-ru, who was still clinging to his forearm.
“Ow! Hyung! Why are you doing this!?”
“Your cheeks look so round and pinchable.”
“Ow! That hurts!”
And with that, he pinched Ha-ru’s cheek without hesitation.
‘Because of this sparkly bastard, I couldn’t concentrate. And of course he has to look so harmless that I can’t even stay mad at him.’
[System Alert: …? You’re pinching his cheek right now, though?]
‘Want me to pinch yours instead?’
[System Alert: No, thank you.]
[System Alert: (Alt+F4)]
Terrified that this madman might actually be able to pinch the system window itself, Thirteen hastily closed it on his own.
In that moment, Ha-jin—who had finally released Ha-ru’s cheek—now properly surveyed the atmosphere of the practice room.
“Well, my opinion is….”
Sparkle, who had suddenly emerged as the prime suspect, clutched the ball and made whimpering sounds—or didn’t.
Si-woo and Seok waited in silence for Ha-jin’s response.
The problem was that Kang Ha-jin hadn’t heard a single word of the meeting so far.
How could I answer a question I didn’t even hear?
Of course, if I told Jeong Si-u—who was wearing that expression sharp as a honed blade—the truth, I’d be picked clean without even a bone left. So I kept my mouth shut for now.
“Ha ha, goodness. So Miro’s Zhuge Liang is needed again, it seems. Being an idea bank is getting a bit exhausting.”
‘Hey, hey, hey. Thirteen. Come on out. Give me a three-line summary of what’s going on.’
[System Alert: Now you’re using the system as a cheat sheet…?]
‘At least I’m not using it as a rolling paper, right?’
[System Alert: You’re seriously insane….]
[System Alert: ヽ(●ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ●)ﾉﾟ]
Thirteen, who no longer seemed interested in hiding his true feelings, reluctantly summarized the situation for me.
So basically, the current situation was roughly this:
Gong Seok was depressed,
Jeong Si-u was depressed because Gong Seok was depressed,
and Dan Ha-ru was depressed because his hyungs were depressed, all while
wondering how to perform this depressing song without it being depressing,
or rather, how to escape this depressing atmosphere altogether—
Understanding this belt of melancholic blues, Ha-jin smacked his lips.
“Um, so here’s what I think. This song is really depressing, right? It’s depressing. But then again, the song itself has certain decent elements to it, you know? So, that’s why….”
“If you haven’t thought of anything, just say so.”
“No? I have? I do. I really thought hard about this, hyung.”
This was a trap question.
If I answered something like, “Yes! I haven’t thought of anything! I was thinking about something else during the meeting! Actually, I didn’t even listen to the whole song. What do you mean depressing? Ha ha, I have no idea!” then Si-u would look at me the way he looked at Han Sung-woo who hadn’t practiced.
‘…Wait? For some reason that really pisses me off?’
Ha-jin’s mood soured as he recalled Si-woo’s gaze. For some reason, he couldn’t accept that.
“So, my opinion is… what I mean is!”
Come on, brain. Work.
If I can’t find an answer that satisfies both hyungs here, this team project has no future…!

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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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