Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 167

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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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167. The Butterfly Effect (2)
A weekend morning, about a week after the Finals had concluded.
Won-ho stood before the old building that had become Miro’s former Company Building.
‘It feels strange somehow.’
Having commuted only to the gleaming New Building recently, the old office building felt unfamiliar despite the fact that I’d spent far more time buried in its basement than in those polished new corridors.
‘I should just grab my things and go.’
Won-ho had come here today to retrieve belongings left at the Company. The items I’d left at the New Building had been cleared out the day after the Finals with my parents, but it seemed there were still some things left in the old building’s locker that I hadn’t managed to pack away.
Miro had been conducting a full-scale move for the week since the Finals ended, and during that process, the Rookie Development Team Staff member who had been overseeing Won-ho discovered my belongings and contacted me. I’d initially planned to just ask them to throw everything away, but since some of it was actually important and the staff member insisted on grabbing a meal together, I ended up making the trip here.
“…Ah, yes. It’s Won-ho. The door here is locked….”
-Ah. Yeah, First Floor, right? Wait a sec, I’ll have someone unlock it for you.
“Okay.”
-Yeah, come on up and we’ll figure it out. I’m swamped right now. Just come up!
Won-ho instinctively reached for his access card at the First Floor entrance before belatedly realizing he’d turned in his credentials last week. He ended up calling the staff member instead. Apparently busy with the move, the employee hurriedly told someone to head down to the First Floor before abruptly hanging up.
Not long after, the entrance door slid open with a soft buzz. The person standing inside was someone Won-ho knew well.
“Won-ho.”
“Huh? …Seok-i?”
What was Seok-i doing here?
Won-ho couldn’t hide his surprised expression at the unexpected appearance.
Seok smiled as if he’d anticipated Won-ho’s reaction, gave his shoulder a light tap, and stepped back to gesture for him to come inside.
“Come on. Jin-guk hyung gathered your stuff and left it on his desk. He’s completely swamped organizing the third floor, so I came instead. The security system still hasn’t been deactivated here, so you can’t wander around alone.”
“Wait, what…? What are you doing here? What’s going on?”
Won-ho still looked bewildered as he asked Seok, but Seok simply didn’t bother hiding his smile and led the way forward. After passing through the winding staircase, Seok stood before the Rookie Development Team Staff office door, pulled out his access card from his pocket, and unlocked it.
“Huh? Hyung, that….”
Seeing that the access card wasn’t a temporary trainee pass but an actual employee ID, Won-ho was taken aback once again. Unable to contain his curiosity, he grabbed Seok’s arm and asked.
“Hyung, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean what’s going on? I got hired.”
“Hired?”
“I decided to work here as a vocal trainer while still going to school. It’s a one-year contract, but… since I’ll be teaching the trainees, I’m assigned to the New Artist Development Team.”
“While going to school? Wait… when was this decided?”
“The day we had the company dinner after our Finals. Team Leader Ji Su-ho casually asked if I’d be interested. Jin-guk hyung recommended me.”
Seok explained that he’d made the decision right then and there, and while his official start date was next month, he’d come today to help the staff members.
Hearing this explanation, Won-ho nodded with a somewhat dazed expression, as if understanding now.
“Let me see… Is this it?”
“Ah, yes. That’s it. Thank you, hyung.”
Seok retrieved Won-ho’s belongings from inside the box, which had been carefully stored at Jin-guk’s desk. The moment Won-ho received the box, he checked its contents and neatly packed everything into the bag he’d brought.
“Can I ask what’s in there?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just my practice journal and the sheet music I’d been working with….”
“That’s the thing—it might seem trivial, but it’s too precious to just throw away. I’m glad Jin-guk hyung kept it safe.”
At Seok’s words, spoken with a knowing smile, Won-ho’s expression shifted subtly.
After gathering even the pen he’d used frequently and zipping his bag shut, Won-ho looked at Seok and spoke.
“You seem so much more at ease now, hyung.”
“Huh? Me? Why?”
“You look so much happier now than when you were a trainee. Your mind seems lighter too.”
Won-ho knew Seok better than anyone—especially how he’d always seemed to be running from something during his time at Miro Maze. He’d been the same way himself, after all.
One week had passed since the Finals ended.
Won-ho, still unaccustomed to weekends without practice, found himself envying Seok just a little.
“I’m still lost, honestly. I wanted to study, but I’m already a senior in high school, so school is basically all self-directed learning now.”
As Won-ho hesitantly confessed this, Seok paused to think, then retrieved two chairs he’d set aside. He sat down first, then offered Won-ho a seat. After a moment of hesitation, Won-ho took it.
Seok spoke first.
“Won-ho, I’m getting a salary now. It’s not much since I’m new, but still.”
“Seriously? That’s pretty cool.”
“Right? It’s my first time too. Earning money under my own name. They asked me to bring my ID and a bank statement copy, so I prepared that, and I’m signing a new contract… It felt really strange. Like, I’m not a trainee anymore—I’m actually an employee here now.”
Seok slowly ran his hand over the employee ID hanging around his neck and smiled.
“But the night I signed that contract, I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited.”
“Excited?”
“Yeah. I was thrilled. I’m not just doing vocal training here anymore—I’m helping other staff members manage trainees, organizing lessons, learning all sorts of things. And that just made me so excited.”
“….”
Rather than the burden of receiving a fixed salary, clocking in and out at set times, and being evaluated by others, Seok felt a sense of mission—to guide others toward becoming better versions of themselves. That’s what thrilled him.
He’d thought everything he’d accomplished so far had been spent and exhausted, but now that he’d stepped into this new position, he realized that every experience he’d had until now remained as nourishment he could actually use.
With his heart leading the way, his motivation overflowed, and with that overflow came growing ambition.
In just these past few days, Seok had discovered something new about himself—that he could be this proactive.
“…You still get more excited about the stage, don’t you?”
Now that he stood firmly on solid ground, he could clearly sense where others’ gazes were shining their light.
Seok asked as if he already knew that Won-ho still harbored lingering attachments to being an idol. Won-ho quietly lowered his gaze, then nodded silently.
“But I’m not sure. If I want to debut with the next group at Miro, I’d have to wait at least three more years, and by then I’d already be twenty-two… and I can’t just jump into another company right away either.”
“Why don’t you look into auditions? Want me to dig up some information? I heard Pa-rang and Hee-gun have been going to auditions lately.”
“They’re younger than me. I’m thinking maybe I should just go to the military early next year and get it over with.”
Watching Won-ho laugh with a hollow sound, Seok felt sorry that he couldn’t offer adequate help. Won-ho sensed this and quickly changed the subject with an “Oh,” not wanting to seem pathetic after coming all this way.
“Hyung, do you know what happened with Jae-young? He was torn between staying at Miro or leaving back then.”
“Oh, Jae-young decided to stay. The company seemed to see high growth potential in him too. He improved so much during Miro Maze. Jayden posted on OneStarr yesterday that he left the country.”
“Wow, Park Jae-young is amazing. How can he commit to three more years? He’ll have to practice completely alone for a while.”
“Actually, he’s not alone. There’s one more trainee with him.”
One more trainee?
As far as Won-ho knew, there was no other trainee besides Jae-young who’d decided to stay at the company after failing Miro Maze.
Who could it be? Did they recruit someone new in the meantime?
The name Seok told the confused Won-ho was, once again, an unexpected person.
“…Tae-hee? Yun Tae-hee?”
“Yeah. The company couldn’t just have Jae-young training alone, so they asked if he wanted to train with a friend. Sometimes they do auditions through friends like that.”
“And Jae-young was the one who mentioned Tae-hee?”
“He even went to Tae-hee’s house directly and asked him to train together. I heard about it from Jin-guk hyung. Originally, it was supposed to be Tae-hee participating in Miro Maze, not Jae-young, right? The company seemed to regret losing Tae-hee. His reactions weren’t bad in your end-of-month evaluation video either.”
“Ah, the end-of-month evaluation….”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but… all the kids who were in our group back then got great results. Apparently that had some influence too. Anyway, Tae-hee agreed to it, so we took a new audition, and we got the passing results a while ago. Starting next week, Jae-young and I are going back to work together.”
When Gong Seok added the explanation that he himself would be taking charge of both Jae-young and Tae-hee, Won-ho was now smiling with such a satisfied expression that he couldn’t even remember what his worries had been.
“Wow, that’s really great. That’s really wonderful. I was sorry to see Tae-hee quit like that too.”
“Right. Tae-hee is tall and dances well, so…. I’m going to work hard at teaching him vocals.”
“You really do teach well, hyung. During our monthly evaluation, you taught us everything.”
Before long, their conversation had shifted into reminiscing.
From what happened during the end-of-month evaluation to the mishaps that occurred while doing Miro Maze. The topics of conversation continued endlessly.
The two of them were chattering away without noticing time fly by, until a call came through to Won-ho.
“Oh, it’s Jin-guk hyung. We were supposed to eat together today. …Yes, hyung. I’m at the office right now.”
-Ah, Won-ho. You’re still at the office? Phew, that’s a relief.
“…? Why is that, hyung?”
After getting Seok’s permission and taking the call from Jin-guk, a Rookie Development Team Staff member, Won-ho’s face filled with question marks at Jin-guk’s reaction. Jin-guk’s words continued from the other end of the line.
-Won-ho. Do you have any schedules after today? Besides eating with me.
“Um, well…. Nothing really today…. But why, hyung? Is something wrong? If you’re busy, I don’t have to eat today.”
-No, no. It’s not that. It’s just… the Executive Director wants to see you.
“…The Executive Director?”
-Ah, Team Leader Ji Su-ho. He got promoted and became the Executive Director now.
Team Leader Ji Su-ho…. No, the Executive Director wants to see me?
More question marks multiplied on Won-ho’s face at those words, but he missed his chance to ask as Jin-guk continued with an excited voice.
-He said he’d explain the details when you meet him directly…. He’s coming to the front of the company now, right? He said he’d buy you delicious food, so eat with me next time and meet the Executive Director first today.
“No, well. That’s not the issue…. Anyway, I understand.”
-Yeah, yeah. Call me when you get back. He’s coming now, so go down to the First Floor early! You’re with Seok-i, right? Tell Seok-i to see you off and come back up.
“Ah, yes. Then I’ll see you next time, hyung. Thank you for taking care of my things.”
-Yeah, you worked hard. Call me right after you meet the Executive Director!
The call cut off abruptly, apparently because he was quite busy.
Won-ho stood up from his seat, not knowing what this was all about even though he’d come to pick up his belongings, but thinking he needed to go down to the First Floor and meet Su-ho. Seok, who had been listening to the conversation beside him, also stood up with a slightly excited expression.
“Team Leader Su-ho asked to see you?”
“Yes…. But why? I’m a minor, so I can’t even get employed.”
“I hope it’s something good. Go down and check it out.”
“Yes, hyung. I’ll see Jin-guk hyung next time. Or I could see Jae-young or Tae-hee instead.”
“Let’s all get together from our monthly evaluation group and have a meal! I’ll call Ha-jin and Do-ha too.”
“That sounds good too. Then I’ll head out. Jin-guk hyung said to come back up quickly.”
“Yeah, I need to get going too. Take care, Won-ho!”
Won-ho greeted Seok, who was smiling much brighter than before, and hurried down to the First Floor.
In front of the company, a familiar black luxury sedan was already parked, apparently having arrived.
As Won-ho approached, the window rolled down smoothly and Su-ho’s welcoming face came into view.
“Hey, Won-ho.”
“Hello, Team…. No, Executive Director.”
“Ha ha, what’s that. It feels awkward. Just get in. I’ll explain on the way.”
Where? Where are we going? What are you talking about?
Despite Su-ho’s explanation, Won-ho remained thoroughly bewildered, his face a mask of confusion as he climbed into the car anyway.
In the meantime, he hastily sent text messages to his parents and close acquaintances explaining his situation, just in case. (He wondered if Ji Su-ho might actually kidnap him… but in this day and age, it never hurt to be careful.)
‘I’m… going to be okay, right?’
Click.
As the car door locked automatically, Won-ho involuntarily hiccupped.

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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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