Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 19

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

19. The Most Effective Way to Defuse a Bomb (4)
Dan Ha-ru’s large eyes widened as he launched into an impassioned speech.
“Last time when we went to Rene! If hyung beat him down with facts and he got so shocked he went dark, what then! You should feel guilty!”
“You mean guilt. And wait—is this actually my fault?”
At that, Dan Ha-ru answered sullenly, admitting that honestly, he had a point. Ju Eun-chan simply nodded along without hesitation.
These brats?
“Fine, let’s say Seo Tae-hyun went dark because he was shocked by my brutal honesty. Then that’s even more reason I shouldn’t go. He probably can’t stand the sight of my face, right?”
“Only a sincere apology from the perpetrator can heal the wounded heart of the victim.”
“So now I’m the perpetrator? By any measure, the perpetrator in that situation wasn’t me—it was Cha Min-seok, wasn’t it?”
“Then should we bring Min-seok hyung along too?”
“…Forget it. Let’s stop talking about this.”
Despite my logical counterargument, Dan Ha-ru remained resolute. His eyes even sparkled with determination—he looked ready to haul along a Rene statue while he was at it.
Since Dan Ha-ru seemed like a lost cause, I turned my strategy toward Ju Eun-chan. But he’d already been consumed by a sense of debt and responsibility toward Seo Tae-hyun, his face set with grim determination as he solemnly searched for the Pension address.
“Eun-chan. Don’t make that face. That’s the one that scares me the most.”
The guy already looked like a legitimate successor to some noir film crime boss, and now with that serious expression, he was basically a thug incarnate.
Exhausted by these two unreasonable teenagers, I simply collapsed onto the floor. Ju Eun-chan, who’d been intently studying his phone, glanced at me and quietly approached to ask.
“…Why don’t you want to go, hyung?”
“You want the honest truth?”
When I asked if he wanted to hear my genuine thoughts, Ju Eun-chan hesitated for a moment before nodding silently.
“I don’t see what merit there is in going through all that trouble to bring Seo Tae-hyun back.”
….
“You two wanted everyone to have a fair game, so I’ve been making it happen. Seo Tae-hyun—survival show veteran with a thick fanbase? To me, he’s nothing more than a high-ability competitor. I’m sorry, but that’s it.”
These two had known each other for a long time and were still at an age where emotions ran deep, but I wasn’t like that.
In my previous life, I’d felt some sympathy for that guy’s circumstances, but that was all. In this life, I’d only seen him a few times and exchanged words. I felt bad laying such cold truth on such young kids, but the truth was the truth, so there was nothing I could do about it.
Ju Eun-chan’s expression was difficult to read, the atmosphere around him suggesting he was about to issue some kind of directive. He pondered quietly for a moment before asking this.
“If there was merit, would you go with us?”
“Hey, I’m not even that close with Seo Tae-hyun. Why are you trying so hard to convince me? I’m telling you, me going won’t change anything.”
“The investors.”
Just as I was about to say I didn’t understand why he was pushing so hard to include me, Ju Eun-chan casually dropped that bombshell. Confused, I looked at him, and he quickly continued.
“I saw the PPT you were making last time. Tae-hyun hyung was in there too. The frontman to draw all the initial buzz and recognition.”
Interesting.
“Right now, Miro trainees don’t have as much prior information known to the public as you’d think. Of course, since it’s ‘that’ Miro, the survival show will definitely become an issue. But the difference in buzz depending on whether Boy Heaven’s Seo Tae-hyun is there or not? That’s a whole different dimension.”
I won’t deny it. I was almost convinced.
Ju Eun-chan and Dan Ha-ru gazed at me earnestly. Looking into those angelic cat-like eyes, my heart began to waver…
…like hell it did!
“I’m absolutely not going to find that guy, so stop spouting nonsense and just eat some chicken.”
I’m too busy living my own life to go on a three-thousand-ri journey searching for a potential bomb like Seo Tae-hyun. That’s like brushing your teeth with mint chocolate.
* * *
‘…It’s quiet.’
Meanwhile.
The man who had turned Miro upside down, Seo Tae-hyun, lay sprawled across the wooden platform with the cool sea breeze washing over him.
“Tae-hyun. Your sister called again today asking if you’re doing okay. Are you really sure it’s alright for you to be here?”
My Uncle emerged from cleaning a guest’s vacated room, clicking his tongue with concern. Tae-hyun nodded with his eyes half-closed.
“I’ll just stay quiet for a few days and then leave.”
“I don’t mind having you here… but your mother’s been so worried, you know.”
“It’s fine. I’ll contact Mom myself.”
“Sure, well… we have a reservation today, so call me when the guests arrive.”
My Uncle seemed to think further nagging would be a burden, so he refrained from prying. Instead, he simply retrieved some eggs and sikhye for Tae-hyun to eat, placed them on the platform, and quietly withdrew to give him space to be alone.
Tae-hyun slowly opened his eyes.
‘What am I going to tell Mom.’
My parents had supported me for a full seven years. Even after Boy’s Supremacy three years ago, when Father insisted I quit immediately, Mother had persuaded him even more earnestly than I had, securing my trainee position. Now I’d thrown even that away, so my entertainment career was hopeless.
‘…How do I even explain that I’ll never debut.’
Tae-hyun recalled the Executive Director—the decisive reason he’d come here and the very person blocking his path to debut—and exhaled deeply.
How had things come to this?
Tae-hyun remembered the day it all began.
-If you come with me, you’ll definitely debut. Let’s debut together, Tae-hyun. Yeah?
There were many reasons I’d agreed to Cha Min-seok’s proposal, but the loneliness I’d felt when Boy’s Supremacy ended had been a major factor.
I’d had to survive alone without an agency, surrounded by much older members. What mattered more than the promise of immediate debut or the staggering contract amount was a friend to navigate this uncertainty with.
-Executive Director, what is this…?
-You know Ocean Blue, right? They think very highly of you. If you sign now, they’ll debut you as a solo artist right away and give you plenty of activities. Sign here.
The incident began with a single contract the Executive Director handed me one day.
-I was originally going to say no, but I’m giving you this chance because I’m thinking of you.
-…Sir, solo debut still feels burdensome. I’d like to train more at Miro.
-What? This is a really good opportunity, I’m telling you?
A prestigious agency with foreign capital. A contract amount a teenage boy could never dream of. A guaranteed debut. It was an irresistible sweet offer to trainees exhausted by uncertain training life. But Tae-hyun knew.
There was always a trap hidden in places that seemed too sweet.
-You’re really going to ignore this? Right now you’re Seo Tae-hyun from Boy’s Supremacy, but wait a few months. You’ll be forgotten by the public in an instant. Me not debuting you is nothing to me.
When things didn’t go his way, the Executive Director began to retaliate. Though Tae-hyun was in the elite class, he was excluded from all the benefits that came with it. I tried to find another agency, but somehow doors had been closed to me.
Days accumulated where I didn’t know what to aim for or run toward.
-Cha Min-seok said he’d take care of it?
-I commute from home rather than living in the Dormitory, so I’m safer. I’ll keep it until you meet with the journalist.
Thinking I couldn’t just endure this, Tae-hyun began collecting evidence piece by piece from that day on. From the double contract the Executive Director had shown me to the abuses he was inflicting on other trainees. It was frightening, but I believed evidence was my only way out.
And until my friend Cha Min-seok said he’d take care of it, Tae-hyun had no idea.
-What if you lose it!
-I’m sorry. I’m still looking for it….
-The journalist said she needs that to write the article, so please take good care of it….
-I’m sorry, Tae-hyun. I’m really sorry.
I never truly understood what that apology was for.
-You really didn’t know? Cha Min-seok sold you out and went to Rene Entertainment. He knew about the offer from Rene and asked the Executive Director directly—to send him instead of you.
What Cha Min-seok had traded with the evidence I’d trusted him with, why he’d moved to Rene Entertainment without a word and never contacted me—Tae-hyun truly had no idea.
“…That bastard.”
Seo Tae-hyun was sick of it. What kind of debut was worth selling out a friend for? The long-cherished dream stirred deep within my chest, crying out that this was unfair, but I was too exhausted to even feel that movement.
-I gave you my chance once too.
-…What?
-Boy Heaven—I was supposed to go originally, but you went instead. Think of this as you yielding your turn.
-Are you seriously saying that right now?
-Damn it. What’s the problem! You can debut without doing something like this!
The conversation from the day I went to meet Cha Min-seok came flooding back, and my head throbbed again. Seo Tae-hyun squeezed my eyes shut. It was pathetic and shameful to realize only now that the friend I thought was closest to me had been nurturing inferiority, not friendship, while looking at me.
“This is the worst. Really.”
My Uncle’s Pension located by the seaside was truly the perfect place to organize my thoughts and spend time alone. I used to come here often with Cha Min-seok too. Useless memories surfaced, and my mood sank again.
“Ah. Dan Ha-ru.”
And the faces of the others who had been with me in those memories also came to mind.
-I want to debut with someone like you, hyung.
“We couldn’t even eat tteokbokki together….”
I was also worried that Ju Eun-chan might think this situation was because of me. I didn’t even explain things properly before leaving.
…Should I at least contact him? As the faces that kept nagging at me continued to linger, Seo Tae-hyun finally rose from the lounger.
“…?”
“You, you bastard.”
Someone stood before me, casting a shadow. When I lifted my head at the sound of a voice that seemed familiar—one that was clearly furious—Seo Tae-hyun gasped without making a sound.
“Found you.”
There stood Kang Ha-jin. Looking like the grim reaper himself.
* * *
“Huh―!”
“Where do you think you’re going.”
The moment our eyes met, Seo Tae-hyun instinctively moved to flee from me. But I’d anticipated as much. I grabbed Seo Tae-hyun’s hoodie and sat him back down on the lounger.
“Hyung, why are you even here!?”
“‘Why are you here’—that’s casual speech. Tae-hyun.”
“How are you even here!”
I glared at the culprit who had driven me all the way to this Gangwon Coastal Area and gritted my teeth.
“This damn…”
Sparkle! A familiar notification window appeared above Seo Tae-hyun’s head.
[System Alarm: ‘Seo Tae-hyun’ is responding to you. Your ability to recruit allies will be determined by ‘Seo Tae-hyun’s response rate’ in future conversations.]
[Ally Recruitment Status 1/??]
Damn this Quest!

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————