Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 156

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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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156. Three Days Before the Finals
Kang Ha-di
@kang_HD
K-pop is genuinely hilarious
The trainees are the ones debuting
So why have I been fasting
and getting gastritis for a week straight?
Their permanent positions don’t affect
my life in any meaningful way
Shares 3,093 Retweets 1,004 Likes 4,832
The finals broadcast was just around the corner.
The voting system changed from two-pick to one-pick, and announcements about final audience seating and related articles flooded the internet.
Episodes 8 and 9, along with various official content including goodbye stages from the second round of eliminated trainees, were uploaded in rapid succession as if someone were uploading them frantically.
[Looking for a Companion]
Tomorrow at Hongdae Entrance Station, looking for someone to join me for Ha-jin’s support ad + cafe!
Planning to start the open run from 10 AM…
Adult stickers are even better!
Cherry Blossom
@ch_blossom
Together with Tae Day (@tae_day) and Foxxy (@foxxy1),
we’ve posted a notice about Tae-hyun’s support exhibition
and merchandise giveaway guide for the finals!
This time, we really want to
make our Tae-hyun debut
Everyone, let’s push just a little harder!
The fans mobilized all their resources to secure voting power.
Support advertisements for the trainees, cafes, merchandise giveaways, along with various voting verification events and hashtag campaigns followed one after another.
– Oh, the new song credits dropped
The finals would feature an original song exclusive to Miro Maze rather than a cover.
Miro was known for producing exceptional songs above all else, so many people’s attention was focused on this new track.
[Check out the lineup for the new song participants]
Seo Tae-il from Upia and Park Woong from Endway are from the same company so I expected that, but Sarin on lyrics, Yoon Hee-jae, and producer Ronde… wow
– ? Is this possibly the debut song?
└ Nah, just for the finals
└ If Han Se-won fails this time, does the company go bankrupt?
– The lineup is insane
– Lolol I’ll trust the song and listen, the Miro kids sing well anyway
– As someone from Idea, this combination is too familiar to me, so it doesn’t feel that impressive
└ Oh, it’s me hahahaha I thought it was just me who felt this way hahahaha
└ ㄴㄷ It’s just that our Taeil called again…
└ Those people are all drinking pots in Seo Tae-il’s neighborhoodㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Has anyone revealed what song they’re performing yet?
└ Yeah, it’ll be revealed during the live broadcast, that’s why I’m even more nervous
Everyone was waiting eagerly for the finals day, hoping that their favorite trainee would debut.
Then, sightings of the trainees emerged from a completely unexpected place.
[Hey guys, I came to pick up my photo booth pictures]
(Group photo of Miro Maze trainees at the photo booth)
What is this, I’m losing my mind right now
– ?
– ????
– ??????????????
Starting with the group photo of trainees displayed at the photo booth shop supporting Miro Maze trainees, traces of the trainees were discovered everywhere.
Jerry
@MrJerry
OMG
guys I went to Ha-jin’s event restaurant
and there’s a photocards of young Kang Ha-jin here
Ha-jin came before opening and gave them out
oh my god
(Photocards made from Ha-jin’s childhood photos)
Milky Road
@milkywayboy
On the support advertisement for Seo Ju-dan at Hongdae Entrance Station
Eunchan’s post-it note ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Tae-hyun and Ha-ru’s are there too!!!
It looks like all the kids came together.
[I’m so grateful to you all…]
Even though they’re busy preparing for the finals
and probably can’t even sleep right now
When did you prepare for an event like this again?
Comment 1: Like they would do it lol, it was probably the Entertainment Company that did it
└ Comment 2: How would the company take photo booth pictures? Do they wear masks and take them?
└ Comment 3: Seeing kids like this, it’s just sad now… how unloved must they have been growing up
└ Comment 1: I was telling the truth, but why?? LOL And I received a lot of love???
└ Comment 3: Yeah… I understand… they must feel good getting attention like this…
– Comment 4: The above comment is pathetic, has the community really gone to hell?
The Destiny fans were purely delighted by the unexpected surprise event.
The official Miro Maze account posted a notice that they would randomly select and send out photo booth pictures taken by the trainees as part of a finals broadcast viewing and voting verification event.
It was fuel for the final push in voting.
And at that same moment.
Amid the hectic days of final preparations, the ten trainees who had successfully completed a surprise event for Destiny were now…
“….”
“….”
“….”
“…bang.”
“Ugh!”
“…Argh!”
“Oh! Jayden got caught!”
…gathered in the practice room playing an intense game of 007.
“It’s so biased. I’m a foreigner. Cut me some slack.”
“007 is originally American anyway.”
“That guy always claims American citizenship whenever it benefits him.”
“Alright then, let’s add one penalty point to Jayden’s tally~”
With every single trainee gathered in a circle, smiles bloomed on their faces for the first time in a while.
Jayden spouted strange Konglish like “I’m very wronged, Man. I was so close. We must play one more round.”
Eun-chan, who had been quietly observing, casually spoke to Ha-jin sitting beside him.
“But… are we really allowed to play like this?”
As Jayden made a fuss insisting on just one more round, Jae-young firmly warned him to stop pretending he couldn’t speak Korean when he actually could. Ha-jin, who had been watching their bickering with a subtle smile, shrugged at Eun-chan’s question and answered.
“Well, what can we do? The Team Leader said no practice today.”
Three days before the finals.
Ji Su-ho had granted the trainees a day of free time.
In reality, they had practiced until late dawn yesterday and would have rehearsals and countless preparations starting early tomorrow morning, so it couldn’t truly be called a full day off….
Regardless, Ji Su-ho’s instruction was to focus solely on enjoying this time without thinking about practice or the finals.
“Thanks to that, we got to visit the ads and cafes today. Isn’t that nice?”
“I guess, but… it feels a bit odd somehow. I’m wondering if this is really okay.”
“There’s actually a saying that the day before the college entrance exam, you should only focus on conditioning, not studying. Think of it like that. Anyway, it was fun, wasn’t it? When we’re having fun and enjoying ourselves, the people watching us will enjoy it too.”
At Ha-jin’s relaxed words, Eun-chan nodded as if he was beginning to understand.
They had certainly done a lot throughout the day.
After touring numerous cafes and advertisements supporting them from morning, they all grilled meat together at the Company Cafeteria.
After eating their fill, they went to a nearby Sports Ground to play a soccer match under the pretext of burning calories.
Though they quickly gave up after losing to Lee Do-ha’s dominance and Kang Ha-jin’s trolling.
They installed a karaoke app on the practice room monitor and belted out Miro Maze songs for a solid hour, and now they were going through various games under the leadership of Jeong Si-u, who had conquered college drinking games, and Kang Ha-jin, who had played around quite a bit back in the day.
For the trainees who had spent anywhere from one to over three years in Miro’s Underground Practice Room dreaming only of debut, it was certainly a refreshing day.
Eun-chan slowly retraced the events of the day in his mind and nodded quietly.
“…It was fun.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Satisfied with Eun-chan’s answer, Ha-jin turned his head again and stood up from his seat to stop the increasingly heated scuffle between Jayden and Jae-young.
Watching Ha-jin separate the two, who were tangled together like dogs and cats bickering with each other, with a single tickle, Eun-chan suddenly had a thought.
‘So this is possible too.’
There had been a time when simply stepping into this practice room was painful for Eun-chan.
Eyes fixed on me, whispered voices.
For Eun-chan back then, the practice room was a space that held no warmth or welcome, yet simultaneously a space from which he could never escape, must never escape.
But in just a few months, Eun-chan had even forgotten the fact that he’d been afraid of this place.
“Eun-chan. Did you hear?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t.”
“We’re dividing into teams by dormitory, and apparently we’re doing grocery shopping and dishes later this evening, then playing games. They’re deciding what game to play right now.”
At Tae-hyun’s explanation, who had approached my side at some point, Eun-chan nodded.
Ha-jin, who had clearly been stopping Jayden and Jae-young up front, was now being pinned down by the two of them and subjected to punishment.
“Why is Ha-jin like that?”
“Ah. He was protesting—no, objecting—that dividing into teams by dormitory completely breaks the balance….”
The punishment that had started as tickling gradually transformed into wrestling, which Si-woo cut off at an appropriate moment.
Along with it came a brutal truth wrapped in shards of glass: ‘Getting injured while training is already frustrating, but if you get hurt playing around and can’t properly compete in the finals, who are you going to blame for the rest of your life?’
Eun-chan accepted the lively atmosphere of the practice room with genuine pleasure.
Unlike when he’d arrived, Ha-jin came walking over this way with his hair and clothes disheveled. Tae-hyun laughed at the sight of Ha-jin and tossed out a joke.
“My goodness, Grandfather. You must be working hard entertaining your grandchildren.”
“My body isn’t what it used to be….”
“What was it like back then?”
“Back in my day, I got all sorts of commendations in the military, and I could entertain kids for three nights straight without breaking a sweat.”
“Yes, yes. That’s impressive.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Come on, I believe you. Our grandfather is the best.”
Tae-hyun, who couldn’t possibly know that what Ha-jin was saying was true, brushed off his words as familiar nonsense. Ha-jin then questioned him back with a slightly wounded expression, but since there was no way to prove it was true, he simply closed his mouth and took a seat next to Tae-hyun.
‘Wait. But going to the military and the training camp volunteer work—those are things that happen later than now. So should I call this the past or the future?’
About how my twenty-nine-year-old self is the past compared to my twenty-year-old self.
Ha-jin, once again reminded of how difficult a regressor’s life truly was, glanced briefly at Ha-ru, who was busy deciding on games with Si-woo, then quickly looked away.
Ha-jin, naturally resting his head on Tae-hyun’s leg, looked up at him and asked in a casual, passing tone.
“How’s the new song coming along?”
“Why are you suddenly checking up on me like that?”
“Not checking—worrying. Concern and anticipation for my younger sibling preparing for another challenge.”
“You’re really something. Even if you fell in the Han River, your mouth would float to the surface.”
“Right. Actually, it’s not a mouth—it’s a life raft. Perfect for surviving in an era of rising sea levels due to global warming….”
“I’m doing well with the new song, so don’t worry, Grandfather.”
“Mm. Good. That’s admirable.”
Tae-hyun, who had by now mastered the technique of cutting off Ha-jin’s nonsense at just the right moment, watched as Ha-jin pressed his lips together as if he’d applied honey to them.
But Eun-chan understood better than anyone why Ha-jin had asked that question. After all, he too had been surprised when Tae-hyun chose this song over the two new compositions.
“Tae-hyun is really good. He’s our team’s ace.”
At the casually added remark, both Ha-jin and Tae-hyun looked at Eun-chan with slight surprise.
Eun-chan felt awkward and embarrassed by their gaze, so he quickly avoided it and covered his face with his hand.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Tae-hyun… our Eun-chan has really grown up….”
“I feel so good when Eun-chan compliments me.”
“Chan. What about me? Don’t you think I’m doing well too?”
“You’re not even on our team!”
“What kind of nonsense is that? You think someone outside Team A would feel hurt?”
“Ah, grandfather, please go away. I’m the maknae of our team’s pride.”
“Aaah! Stop teasing me!”
Bombarded by a torrent of attention masquerading as mockery, Eun-chan’s ears flushed crimson. He bolted from his seat, seeking refuge with Do-ha—the one person who would never tease him. Watching Eun-chan flee, Ha-jin rose with a wistful laugh.
“Ah, if we get eliminated from the finals, I’ll lose the fun of teasing Eun-chan.”
“…Why are you planting such a flag so carelessly, hyung?”
“What are you talking about? That’s my own vow and determination—that we absolutely cannot be eliminated from the finals.”
At Ha-jin’s startled retreat, Tae-hyun’s laughter erupted.
Yes, we could never be eliminated.
That was true not just for Ha-jin, but for Tae-hyun as well.
“…I have to do well. This opportunity is too precious.”
Tae-hyun spoke in a low voice, as if swearing an oath, his fist clenching tight.
I couldn’t afford to squander this golden opportunity that had come again through the same mistake.
Ha-jin fell silent beside the resolute Tae-hyun, lost in thought.
What result would we face three days from now?
Over that weighty question, the trainees’ bright laughter accumulated like sand.

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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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