Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 151

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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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151. Someone’s Period (1)
On a day when the sun hung unusually crimson in the twilight and rain fell in gentle patter.
Dan Ha-ru came to a realization.
“…It’s too heavy.”
Perhaps I had grown weary of living itself.
Bearing the weight of time repeated endlessly proved far more arduous and exhausting than I had imagined.
“….”
How crushing it was to face the countless timelines I had ruined.
“I’m sorry, hyungs.”
Though none of it was truly my fault, Dan Ha-ru felt the weight nonetheless.
“I’m sorry….”
Within eyes completely shattered and hollowed out, not even tears could gather.
Those deep, luminous eyes that someone had once praised for resembling the sunset slowly closed. When they opened again moments later, they gleamed with a vitality and brilliance never seen before, meeting the pale sunlight and shadows cast across my room.
“Ha-ru, let’s go eat with the hyungs.”
“Oh, Eun-chan hyung.”
“What are you doing alone in your room? Are you sick?”
At Eun-chan’s words as he opened the door and entered, Ha-ru shook his head.
“No, I’m fine. I’ve just been a bit spacey lately.”
“You’re not actually sick, are you?”
“Come on, I’m incredibly healthy.”
“Your checkup came back clear?”
“Yes. They said I couldn’t be healthier.”
In Dan Ha-ru’s face, bright with laughter and spirited words, not a shadow could be found anywhere.
As Eun-chan and Ha-ru headed to the restaurant with light banter, the other trainees already seated welcomed them. Ha-ru picked up a tray, received his meal, and naturally blended into their table alongside Eun-chan.
“Jayden hyung, why are you eating so much today?”
“I have to eat a lot. Tomorrow I might not be able to eat this, so it’s a waste.”
“…Seriously, hyung. You’re killing everyone’s appetite.”
At Jayden’s mention of the second elimination round, Shin Kyung-ho, sitting beside him, irritably set down his chopsticks and glared at Jayden. Of course, no one felt threatened by the gesture.
Park Jae-young, sitting across from Jayden, cautiously asked while gauging the mood of the hyungs.
“But…. What if you get eliminated? …What will you hyungs do?”
At Park Jae-young’s question, silence settled over the table.
Among the thirteen trainees present, the first to answer was Yoo Gun, who had been eating rolled egg at the end of the table.
“I’m going to work at a factory.”
“A factory?”
“I need to earn money. The company stipend will stop once I leave.”
Yoo Gun already had several places recommended by his grandfather’s acquaintance, and he chewed his rolled egg with composure. No one asked him if he regretted it or if he was giving up on his dream like that.
Everyone here understood that reality weighed heavier than dreams for Yoo Gun, and that the dream of becoming an idol wasn’t his one and only.
Next to speak was Gong Seok.
“I’m thinking of going back to studying.”
“Ah, university?”
“Yeah. It’s not as prestigious as Si-woo’s school, but there’s still so much to learn there. I’m also considering retaking the entrance exam or transferring.”
“Are you planning to transfer to a different arts university?”
“Hmm… I’m not really sure about that yet.”
Seok’s words—which implied he might pursue something other than music—made Si-woo, sitting beside him, flinch slightly. But Si-woo didn’t add anything, simply continuing to eat in silence.
He understood that he shouldn’t carelessly insert himself into this conversation, not when he’d been consistently ranking at the top, practically guaranteeing his own debut.
“Is Jayden going back to Chicago?”
“May be? I’m not pretty sure.”
“I hate saying goodbye…”
“Yuki, go back to studying Korean.”
“Kyung-ho, don’t talk like that.”
“What did I do?”
Shin Kyung-ho, who had been picking on Yuki for his poor Korean, widened his eyes at Tae-hyun’s rebuke. Ever since the dating scandal broke, he’d become more sensitive, fully aware that his own elimination was practically confirmed.
“Honestly, who benefits from this conversation? ‘If I get eliminated’—what? If we still don’t know who’s going to be eliminated, that’s just stupid.”
“Kyung-ho.”
“No, I’m right! Seriously, who do you think is going to drop out? This isn’t funny, and it’s been like this since earlier…”
“Shin Kyung-ho. That’s enough.”
Shin Kyung-ho, who had been about to kick the table leg in frustration, flinched at the sound of his name and stopped moving.
At that low, frightening voice—one he’d rarely heard before—even Dan Ha-ru tensed and looked toward its source. Kang Ha-jin, sitting at the end of the table, set down his water cup with a sharp clink and fixed his gaze on Kyung-ho.
“You’re the one who got into a relationship, so why are you being so strict and taking it out on everyone?”
“…”
At Ha-jin’s words, Kyung-ho pressed his lips together in displeasure. Ha-jin, as if it were nothing, picked up his spoon again and resumed eating soup, speaking in his usual playful tone.
“Okay, different question then. If you could time travel back to before Miro Maze started, would you all participate again?”
At Ha-jin’s question, everyone murmured as if they had plenty to say. Eun-chan, sitting with Ha-ru, answered without hesitation.
“Absolutely.”
“Even though you can’t sleep like now, people curse at you, and you might not even debut?”
“Absolutely. I’ve gained more here than I’ve lost.”
At Eun-chan’s answer, those around him responded with approving murmurs. Eun-chan, uncomfortable with the attention, passed the baton to Lee Do-ha, who was sitting beside him.
“What about you, Do-ha? You’d do Miro Maze again if you went back, right?”
Do-ha, who had been quietly eating his second bowl of rice without saying a word, nodded without the slightest hesitation at Eun-chan’s question.
“Yeah. I would.”
“Wow. That’s unexpected from Do-ha.”
“Shouldn’t you have auditioned for SPR-it out instead of this?”
“Why? I’m an aspiring idol.”
“That’s the most unexpected part.”
Do-ha offered no particular response to the trainees’ remarks, simply finishing his meal. After neatly placing his chopsticks across his empty tray, Do-ha turned his gaze to Won-ho, who was sitting across from him.
“What about you, Won-ho?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”
“I asked if you’d participate in Miro Maze again if you could go back in time.”
At Do-ha’s question, Yoo Gun, Ha-jin, and Tae-hyun all looked at Won-ho simultaneously. Won-ho, who had been half-distracted from the conversation, seemed uncomfortable with their gazes and scratched his head, leaning back slightly. After a moment of deliberation, he slowly shook his head.
“…I’m not sure. Fifty-fifty?”
Won-ho chuckled and buried his face back into his rice bowl, continuing to eat. The trainees understood the complexity of his emotions well enough, so they offered appropriate responses and tactfully wove him back into the conversation.
“What about Ha-ru?”
After hearing Won-ho’s answer, Ha-jin—who had seemed equally lost in thought—lifted his head and directed the question toward Ha-ru, who sat at the opposite end of the table.
“Ha-ru, if you could turn back time, what would you want to do?”
The question had shifted subtly, but no one noticed anything amiss.
From one end of the table to the other.
Ha-ru’s clear, luminous eyes turned toward Ha-jin across from him.
“Hmm, well….”
Ha-ru pondered the question.
If he could turn back time, what would he want to do?
If he could rewind time, there was so much he’d want to change.
He’d want to stop Tae-hyun from being tormented by that awful Executive Director.
He’d want to go back to when Eun-chan was struggling because of Sung-woo and give him a chance to strike back.
He’d want to erase Yoo Gun’s suffering from malicious comments and Ha-jin’s humiliation from all those false controversies.
Beyond that, he wished he could have prevented the unfortunate incident that happened at the guerrilla concert.
And though not now… perhaps someday, if the elimination results didn’t satisfy him, he might want to challenge again?
“Well, you see….”
But all of that had already passed, and Dan Ha-ru, unable to turn back time, thought without hesitation.
“Even if I could turn back time, I’d want to perform on stage with my hyungs. No matter what form it takes. That’s all I need.”
Whatever happened, wouldn’t he be able to overcome it as long as he was with hyungs like these?
This was what he had learned from them.
Like a sky that clears beautifully after the rain.
“…Really? That’s touching.”
Hearing that answer, Ha-jin smiled and bowed his head.
The clinking of dishes echoed unusually loudly through the restaurant.
As their last dinner together as thirteen people drew to a close, the rain falling outside gradually began to stop.
* * *
After an unusually long night, morning broke.
The boys, carrying their respective dreams and realities in their hearts, stepped into the familiar studio.
“Ha-jin, hi.”
“Hello, noona.”
As Ha-jin entered the Hair & Makeup Room that had been hastily set up in one of the studio’s waiting areas, he greeted the makeup staff—people he had grown so accustomed to that they had become friends. Once he sat in his prepared seat, the Manager who always handled Ha-jin’s hair approached and began combing it while asking a question.
“How do you want your hair today? Since there’s no stage today, I can do whatever you’d like.”
“Hmm….”
Ha-jin, who had been reviewing hair design options on the tablet handed to him by an assistant, pointed to one particular hairstyle that people called the “semicolon hair.”
“I’m thinking of trying something like this. Since I’m wearing a shirt today anyway.”
“Sure, let’s do it.”
After handing the tablet back to the assistant, he felt skilled hands expertly styling his hair. Tae-hyun was getting his makeup done beside him, and behind them, Yoo Gun—who had recently bleached his hair again—was being scolded by the hair staff.
“But Ha-jin, you’re really keeping your hair like this all the way to the end?”
“Huh?”
“After today, we’re onto the finals. I thought it might be nice if you tried something like an image transformation, you know?”
The Manager, who had been trimming my hair, asked as I observed the other trainees around me through the mirror. My gaze returned to my reflection in the glass.
Now that I thought about it, I’d been keeping a pretty similar hairstyle each time. I’d stuck with natural black hair to minimize image consumption, but… it was probably time for something fresh.
I touched my hair lightly and smiled.
“If I pass, maybe I’ll try dyeing it?”
“Do it while you can. This company doesn’t seem to interfere too much anyway. Next time, contact my salon and come by. I’ll make you look beautiful.”
“If I pass today, I’ll think about it and let you know.”
“Ugh, I really hope you all pass at least in spirit. I’ve been on several Survival Program trips, but I still can’t get used to seeing people eliminated like this.”
Three more trainees would be eliminated at this very place today.
“…You’re right.”
The weight of those words felt heavier than ever to me today.

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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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