Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 144

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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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144
. Cheongchun Bulpae (3)
“….”
“Won-ho, here’s some water.”
“…Oh. Thanks.”
Inside the waiting room tent.
Won-ho responded a beat too late to Tae-hyun’s words as he handed over the water bottle.
Tae-hyun wondered if Won-ho’s delayed reaction might be an aftereffect of what had happened on stage earlier, and quickly examined his complexion.
But contrary to his concerns, Won-ho’s face wasn’t pale like before, nor was he sweating coldly. However, even after accepting the water bottle, his gaze remained fixed on something distant.
“…?”
Following Won-ho’s line of sight, Tae-hyun found a monitor broadcasting the stage in real time.
Tae-hyun stood in place, watching the monitor alongside him.
On the LED screen behind the stage, photographs of the Cheongchun Bulpae Team from childhood to the present were slowly sliding past.
The camera, which had been showing all four members in a wide shot, switched to a close-up of Ha-ru.
Ha-ru, dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and blue shorts, white socks and beige canvas sneakers, made eye contact with each of his older teammates on stage.
Little butterfly, fly far and wide
Stay where you wish
Go toward what you desire
In every place you are
Flowers bloom in their own way
“…Ah.”
Had Ha-ru’s pure words of encouragement touched his heart?
The moment Tae-hyun heard those lyrics, he felt his eyes grow hot without realizing it.
He had thought the lyrics were warm when he first heard them through Ha-jin, but hearing them here, in this moment, each line seemed to caress him even more deeply.
Now the camera captured Seok on the left side of the frame. And overlapping above him, Si-woo’s image appeared on the right.
Ha-jin’s piano sound, Si-woo’s guitar, and the percussion in the backing track gradually intensified as both opened their mouths simultaneously.
Where am I?
(Even in rough waves, seedlings sprout)
I must have been running breathlessly
(Even in bitter cold, sunlight breaks through)
Not knowing where I would arrive
(So child, sometimes it’s okay to fall)
I alone stood frozen here
(You already know how to rise again)
The two voices crossed and intertwined with each other.
Like a dialogue, the lyrics they exchanged didn’t harmonize perfectly, being separate songs as they were.
Yet the message and emotion revealed within were clearer than any song.
Si-woo and Seok faced each other. Only then could they smile at ease, gazing into one another’s eyes.
Where are we, now?
(Child, butterfly, fly far and wide)
Is it already too late to turn back?
(Your wings are beautiful just as they are)
On a night where stars refuse to rise, even in dreams
(But child, it’s alright to simply drift away)
Will I disappear like this?
(Life sometimes asks only that we endure)
This time, Ha-ru and Ha-jin’s voices wove together in harmony.
The starkly contrasting vocal colors of the two felt like a conversation between a boy and a young man.
After the relentless surge of melody came the instrumental interlude.
Over the rich accompaniment of Si-woo and Ha-jin’s guitar and piano, Seok’s sorrowful violin solo soared. Ha-ru swayed slowly with the rhythm, and when his turn came, he played the top line of “Where am I” cleanly on the xylophone, note by note.
“…That’s incredible.”
“Yeah. They prepared well. It’s going to make you cry, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Reassured by Won-ho’s quiet agreement, Tae-hyun smiled softly and settled into the chair beside him.
The four musicians’ performance was rushing toward its conclusion.
Seok’s violin, as if painting the restless and wandering depths of their hearts, climbed higher and higher through the scale.
And then, in an instant, all the instruments fell silent.
On those days when I couldn’t love myself
A single beautiful flower bloomed nonetheless
In those hours when I ached for not loving myself
That small breath that wove happiness
Only the four voices of the Cheongchun Bulpae Team filled the space.
The acapella they created with their individual harmonies was more beautiful and powerful than any instrument.
And then all the instruments crashed together again, driving the song toward its climax.
Child, butterfly, fly far and wide
Stay where you wish
Go where you desire
In every place you inhabit
A flower will bloom in its own way
Kim Won-ho lingered over those lyrics for a long, long time.
He tried hard to hold the harmony of the four in his memory forever.
Countless waves were breaking and breaking the sandcastle within his heart.
Only after everything shattered could Won-ho understand.
That he hadn’t even tried to protect that sandcastle.
‘…I can’t even love myself.’
How could I ask others to love me?
When I myself find this place where I stand so overwhelming and burdensome.
When I myself doubt my own abilities and worth every single day.
How could I ask people to love and support me?
‘Even I… don’t believe I can bloom into a flower.’
The moment Won-ho realized that the largest snow-white wave crashing toward him was himself,
a new question surged up into Won-ho’s sea of consciousness.
‘Did I truly give my absolute best?’
Had I sweated as much as those I envied?
Had I yearned as desperately as those who surged ahead of me?
Even when everything ends, to the point where I could say I’ve done everything I could and harbor no regrets,
was I truly giving my absolute best?
“Kim Won-ho.”
“…Huh?”
Won-ho, lost in thought searching for another answer within these new questions, lifted his head at the sound of his name.
Before him stood Yoo Gun, his blue-black hair swept back cleanly, wearing a black turtleneck with a gray hoodie and a striking blue scarf embroidered with ornate beadwork, leaning casually to one side. He appeared to be preparing to head out for stage setup soon.
“Here.”
“…?”
Won-ho looked at Yoo Gun questioningly, and Yoo Gun flicked his chin before extending his fist forward. Confused about what this meant, Won-ho stared blankly, but Yoo Gun simply shrugged his shoulders and thrust his fist toward Won-ho once more.
“…What, what am I supposed to do?”
“Cheer me on a bit.”
“Huh?”
“I ended up rapping because of you. I’m so nervous I feel like I’m dying—hurry up and cheer me on.”
“Why is that my fault…? No, you chose to do it yourself.”
“You told me after Blue Flare ended that I was better at rapping than vocals. I’ve been getting special training from Lee Do-ha hyung because of you every single day, you know.”
“No, what kind of ridiculous….”
At Yoo Gun’s shameless blame-shifting, Won-ho looked at him with an exasperated expression.
But Yoo Gun paid no mind to that gaze and simply waved his large fist in front of Won-ho’s face, urging him to hurry because he had to go.
Eventually, Won-ho lightly bumped his fist against Yoo Gun’s, and Yoo Gun withdrew with a satisfied expression.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“I’m gonna kill it out there.”
“….”
“And I’ll give you a shout-out in the interview.”
“…You’re really something else.”
At Yoo Gun’s relentless shamelessness, Won-ho finally burst out laughing.
He’d realized this was simply Yoo Gun’s own way of offering comfort.
“Don’t mess up the lyrics.”
“Absolutely not. I could rap it in my sleep now.”
“Good, I’ll be watching.”
At Won-ho’s tone, which had returned somewhat to normal, Yoo Gun seemed reassured and, shoving his hands into his pockets, turned toward where his team was waiting.
And just as he was about to take a step, he noticed Tae-hyun watching him with an oddly proud expression.
The way he was looking at him—like a seven-year-old being praised for successfully completing an errand—somehow irritated Yoo Gun. So he pulled one hand from his pocket and flicked Tae-hyun on the forehead when he wasn’t paying attention.
“Ow! Hey!”
“Cheer hard, hyung~”
“…What are you two doing, seriously?”
The moment Tae-hyun reacted with a lunge, Yoo Gun quickly shifted his feet and bolted away.
Won-ho watched the two of them and burst into laughter once more.
And the song of the Cheongchun Bulpae Team, which had served as the background music for all these moments, was now drawing to its close.
Won-ho glanced once at Tae-hyun, who was snickering softly in a way the camera wouldn’t catch,
then once at Yoo Gun’s team taking the stage to perform,
and finally at the Cheongchun Bulpae Team’s stage, which had now transcended the crimson twilight and touched the blue expanse of the night sky.
“….”
…I envy them. For being able to carry such confidence.
Kim Won-ho still envied them.
But it was no longer the same as before.
‘I want to become like that too.’
In Won-ho’s heart, this was the moment when the cornerstone for a new fortress was being laid.
* * *
On the stage, only the sound of Jeong Si-u’s acoustic guitar remained.
When even that sound ceased, Jeong Si-u finally delivered the final verse from his lips.
It was the same delicate and meticulous breathing as always.
Where am I?
After all this wandering, what comes next?
A night without stars, where I cannot find the answer
Si-u slowly lifted his head and gazed at the night sky.
Just like the lyrics of the song, the dark and distant sky without a single star felt unusually close tonight.
Even so, we—
Shall we try to soar once more?
Ha-jin had suggested changing the final lyrics by referencing Si-woo’s Father’s song.
In Miro Maze, the very word “soar” carried a certain symbolic weight,
and Si-woo’s Father’s song—where flowers bloom where I stand—felt like a far more satisfying ending than the expression “Where am I,” which speaks of footprints left on shifting sand.
“….”
The song had ended completely.
Like a midsummer dream, it didn’t take long for the countless members of Destiny who had been entranced by the song to awaken and offer their applause.
“Encore! Encore! Encore!”
The weather, the song, the lyrics.
Everything had aligned perfectly, and the audience responded with the most magnificent reaction they could muster for this beautiful stage.
Members of Destiny began wiping away tears from all corners of the venue. Of course, the situation was not much different for the members of the Cheongchun Bulpae Team who had performed the song.
“Ah~ Seok, don’t cry! You did so well! You did so well!!”
“Si-u, your father’s song was amazing!”
Gong Seok, who had already been crying since the final chorus,
and Jeong Si-u, who couldn’t hold back the overwhelming emotions once the song ended and tears finally spilled over, were both captured on the large screen.
Ha-jin and Ha-ru comforted their older members, patting them gently, then stepped forward to the front of the stage to greet the audience and take their positions.
“Hey, aren’t you going?”
“…Ah.”
And somewhere in the corner of the plaza, The Voice watched the scene unfold, lost in yet another sea of thought.
“What, let’s just watch for a bit and go.”
“…Hey, sorry. You guys go first. I’m just going to skip it today.”
“What? All of a sudden? You’re not going?”
“Just go on ahead. I want to watch this a bit longer.”
His companions questioned why, but the boy in the black baseball cap simply waved them forward.
“Come on, let’s just go ourselves. Tae-hee wants to watch this more anyway.”
“But still. We waited all this time because of him….”
“Yun Tae-hee hasn’t seen his hyungs in a while, so he might want to watch a bit more. Hey, Tae-hee. Should we head out? We’ll see you next time.”
“Yeah. Go on in.”
One perceptive friend seemed to read the boy’s true feelings, and while casually managing the other friends’ protests, offered his farewell.
Yun Tae-hee, the boy in the black baseball cap, quickly waved goodbye to his friends, then turned his gaze back to the stage.
“…They’re amazing, all of them.”
Within someone’s heart,
another wave was crashing.

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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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