Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 141

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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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141
. Destiny, Daisty?
Purple spotlights swirled across the stage in lazy circles.
The Daisty Team trainees stood in ready position, hands clasped before them, heads bowed.
As the refined hip-hop beat flowed out, the trainees snapped their heads up in unison, catching the rhythm.
Zziiiiiing—!
The moment the intense electric guitar sound cut through, Won-ho, the tallest among them, bent low with a sharp motion.
Eun-chan, dressed in a leather rider jacket and ripped black-blue jeans, used Won-ho’s back as a springboard, launching himself across the center of the stage.
With an already fierce expression, Eun-chan’s face was further accentuated by long, dark eyeliner and sharp eye makeup that made him bite his lip slightly as he flashed a knowing smile.
Deep, Crush, Dive.
Eun-chan whispered the words as if counting one, two, three.
The trainees launched into an intense performance, matching the rapid beat.
This pop song, more famous in its short-form challenge remix than the original, had the advantage of rich instrumental layering over a hip-hop bass foundation.
Since all the team members had more confidence in dancing than singing, Tae-hyun’s strategy was to showcase a song familiar to the public, shifting focus from vocals to performance.
“Eun-chan’s rapping? Wasn’t Yuki originally on the rap part?”
“He was, but they switched it after the mid-evaluation.”
“Why?”
“I guess memorizing the lyrics was difficult. It’s an English rap, after all.”
…In truth, he’d been forcibly replaced because of that distinctly Japanese English pronunciation that made it impossible to work.
But I couldn’t say everything honestly in front of the camera.
Fortunately, Jeong Si-u either accepted the explanation or sensed something was off, simply nodding without pressing further.
Jeong Si-u and I continued watching the Daisty Team’s performance through the monitor in silence for a while longer. During that time, Ha-ru and Gong Seok returned to the Waiting Room after finishing their interview shoot.
“Oh, did the hyungs’ performance start?”
“Yeah. Come here quick.”
As Dan Ha-ru and Gong Seok scurried over and took their seats, the Daisty Team’s performance proceeded smoothly.
The choreography was so detailed in its expression of each song that you’d forget the original challenge dance entirely.
The trainees, dressed in what’s commonly called a rock-chic look, freely appealed to their individual charm and dance lines rather than executing sharp synchronized movements.
Ju Eun-chan’s vocal tone, which felt natural even singing pop songs, and Seo Tae-hyun’s stable live vocals that smoothly delivered the chorus both elevated the stage’s quality.
“The choreography is really well-made, right? The composition is so interesting.”
What’s gotten into him?
Jeong Si-u was unusually talkative about other people’s performances today.
And it was praise for the choreography, not the singing.
Jeong Si-u’s dancing ability wasn’t something to dismiss outright, but if someone asked if he danced well, that would be another story. He was at the level where repeated late-night practice sessions allowed him to fulfill his role adequately on stage.
Someone could nitpick his dancing ability, but the person in question was Jeong Si-u.
With visuals so striking that even a single runway walk would significantly boost team recognition, and vocal ability rivaling a main vocalist—Jeong Si-u was practically a national treasure.
Just existing and moving on stage deserved a bow of gratitude, yet he practiced late into the night every day and pulled off his dancing part competently?
‘He’s practically priceless.’
Anyone criticizing his dancing wouldn’t even qualify as attention-seeking.
In any case, Jeong Si-u had excellent self-awareness and knew very well that he was weak at dancing.
That’s why he usually avoided talking about dance when watching performances like this, but today he seemed unusually chatty and kept showing interest, which struck me as odd.
There’s no way this hyung would act like this without reason.
Suspicion filling my eyes, I studied Jeong Si-u carefully, wondering what his intention might be. Sure enough, he posed a pointed question directed at both Dan Ha-ru and me.
“Who choreographed this? Did they come up with it themselves?”
“Won-ho hyung did it! The other team members gave ideas, and he apparently put it all together in about three hours. It’s really impressive, right?”
“Won-ho definitely seems to have a knack for that sort of thing. Even back in Team A, the ideas he’d throw out on the spot were pretty unique.”
“That’s right. Won-ho hyung teaches the choreography so easily too…. He seems really skilled. It’s cool.”
Dan Ha-ru, unaware of what had happened to Kim Won-ho earlier during the interview shoot, flashed a bright smile and gave a thumbs up.
I simply nodded enthusiastically as I listened to Dan Ha-ru’s words.
I’d caught on that Jeong Si-u had deliberately brought up Won-ho’s strengths on camera to create a spotlight for him.
Should I add a bit more support?
To help Dan Ha-ru beside me converse more comfortably with Jeong Si-u, I leaned back against the backrest and added my own comment.
“I really like Won-ho’s voice too. If he just gains more confidence, I think his singing will improve a lot.”
“Even during the Cinderella team performance, I was surprised his voice was so soft. It seemed like he didn’t realize that his preferred genre and the genre he’s actually good at were different.”
“With this opportunity to try various stages, it seems like everyone is developing and improving a lot. Our team included.”
“Exactly! It really seems great. We finally got to do the, uh….”
“Dan Ha-ru, no spoilers.”
After the major spoiler incident last time, I clamped down on Dan Ha-ru’s mouth with two fingers in a pinching gesture as he cheerfully tried to spoil our team’s composition again. Realizing what he’d been about to reveal, Dan Ha-ru’s eyes went wide with exclamation marks all over his face.
He nodded vigorously and pressed his own lips shut as if to swear he’d never speak of it again, so I released my grip on his mouth.
After the spoiler incident last time, he’d apparently been scolded in turns by the Production Team, Ji Su-ho, and Seo Tae-hyun, so the lesson had clearly taken hold.
“…Huh?”
While I was playing around with Dan Ha-ru, Gong Seok, who had been sitting quietly beside Jeong Si-u watching the stage, let out a startled sound.
Wondering if something had gone wrong again, everyone’s gaze simultaneously turned toward the monitor.
The performance was winding down with Kim Won-ho at the center, but there didn’t seem to be anything obviously wrong.
Still, there was no way Gong Seok would be surprised for nothing, so I leaned forward slightly to meet his eyes and asked.
“Seok-i hyung, what’s wrong?”
“Ah, well….”
Gong Seok, wearing an uncomfortable expression, glanced back and forth between the camera and us before answering in a hesitant voice.
“It looks like Won-ho isn’t singing….”
“What?”
“That’s his part over there. He asked me to teach him English pronunciation at the Dormitory, so I helped him and I know it. But…. Instead of Won-ho, it looks like Jae-young and Tae-hyun are singing together….”
At those words, I turned my gaze back to the monitor.
After the group formation section passed, a close-up of Kim Won-ho came on again.
Kim Won-ho opened his mouth with a slightly furrowed brow and began to sing, but ultimately couldn’t sustain even one full verse before closing his mouth.
Fortunately, it overlapped almost perfectly with the next part, so Ju Eun-chan, who was the next vocalist, naturally filled the gap and it didn’t result in a stage accident….
But it was clear that something had gone wrong with Kim Won-ho.
“….”
“….”
A strange tension and silence settled over the waiting room, which had been filled with chatter just moments before.
Before taking the stage, he’d been nervously excited about performing in front of people. So if something had gone wrong in the meantime, the cause could only be what had happened earlier.
“Cheongsun Bulpae Team. We’ll be waiting.”
“Ah, yes. Everyone, let’s get ready.”
At the assistant director’s call, Jeong Si-u snapped to attention and gathered us together.
Rising from our seats with shuffling movements, even as the stylists fixed our wrinkled clothes and touched up our hair and makeup, our eyes never left the monitor.
The Daisty Team’s stage was now rushing toward its end, but Kim Won-ho ultimately couldn’t finish his part all the way through.
“We’ll be moving now. The path is quite dark, so I’ll watch carefully and guide you along~”
“Got it. Ha-jin, look after Ha-ru. Seok, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Leaving the waiting tent in the Parking Lot, we headed toward the Stage.
As the thumping music and the energy of the crowd drew closer, my steps somehow grew heavier.
My mind was consumed entirely with worry about Kim Won-ho.
The fact that one of the many causes behind his current state was that he was my fan—someone who loved me—made me feel a certain weight of debt.
Then, someone approached my side and tapped my shoulder.
“….”
“I know you’re worried, but let’s focus on our stage for now.”
“…Yes.”
“Won-ho himself will regret this enough on his own. If you show it too obviously, it might upset him even more, so manage your expression.”
“Yes.”
“Right. The path is dark, so stay sharp and watch your step. Don’t get hurt.”
Jeong Si-u deliberately fluttered the fabric of his microphone-equipped clothes slightly to keep the audio from picking up his voice, quietly offering me advice before quickening his pace and moving ahead of me.
He’d been in front of me since we first left the tent, so it seemed he’d deliberately come back to speak to me after noticing I’d become lost in thought. Since Jeong Si-u didn’t know that the person who’d said those things to Kim Won-ho was my fan, it would only appear to him that I was worried about Kim Won-ho because we were close.
But I wasn’t simply worried because Kim Won-ho had botched the stage.
What frightened me was that Kim Won-ho was hearing things he should never have to hear in his lifetime—all because of me—and his mental state had become so unstable that he was now failing on stage.
‘…Once we finish filming today, I need to talk to Won-ho. For now, I’ll just focus on our stage.’
Though my mind remained turbulent, if we were to ruin our own stage because of this, that would be unforgivable in its own way, so I forced myself to gather my thoughts.
When we arrived at the Backstage tent behind the Stage, the Daisty Team was just finishing up and coming down.
All the team members returning their in-ears and microphones had an atmosphere that wasn’t particularly good.
Despite performing such a magnificent show in front of such a large crowd, no one was laughing or making a fuss about how well we’d done. Not even the younger Park Jae-young and Yuki.
Rather than an atmosphere of having botched the stage, it seemed everyone was too concerned and preoccupied with Won-ho to react easily.
“….”
Kim Won-ho, the source of all this atmosphere, sat alone in the corner of the tent, quietly removing his in-ear pack, his head bowed low as if he were a criminal.
Beside him, the leader Seo Tae-hyun was subtly shaking his head at the PD who was filming, asking him not to record, while turning the angle to keep Won-ho’s face out of the camera as he comforted him.
“Alright, Cheongsun Bulpae Team. We’ll get your in-ears set.”
“These are all hand mics, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Everyone, let’s run through a greeting before we go up.”
I wanted to approach Kim Won-ho and say something to him, but I couldn’t.
We were pressed for time preparing for our stage, and even if I made time to go to Kim Won-ho, I couldn’t decide what to say to him… or rather, whether I even had the right to say anything at all.
“Ha-jin hyung. Your in-ear.”
“…Yeah.”
The Daisty Team members, finished with their preparations, rushed over to Kim Won-ho, and even from a distance, I could see him breaking down in tears among them.
My eyes met Seo Tae-hyun’s as he held and comforted Kim Won-ho, who was taller and larger than himself, unable to hold back his tears.
Seo Tae-hyun winked at me, mouthing the words “do well on stage” as encouragement.
Unable to offer a proper response, I simply nodded and gave him a meaningful glance, silently urging him to keep Kim Won-ho calm before turning away.
“Yes. Cheongsun Bulpae Team! We’re heading up now!”
I ascended the stage with heavy steps.
Cheering for someone, hating someone, loving someone, despising someone.
Countless nameless faces awaited us on that stage,
their expectations hanging in the air.

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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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