Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 194

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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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194. MacGuffin
The moment the topic of an experimental camera surfaced, all of Destiny’s fans shared the same doubt.
– But will the members actually fall for it???? Especially Si-woo and Choi Gang-z, they seemed super perceptive
– Nah, the “Kang Ha-jin suspiciously knows broadcast station people” meme didn’t come out of nowhere lol he’d probably catch on just from seeing a camera attached
– Anyway it’s all scripted and setting games so whatever… over-investment is the real problem
Would the members truly fall for this experimental camera ruse?
Particularly Ha-jin, who had already demonstrated numerous moments of broadcast-savviness through Miro Maze, Tae-hyun with his broadcasting experience, and Si-woo, naturally sharp-eyed—these three were flagged as persons of concern.
The production team, already aware of these tendencies, demonstrated their preparedness with advance countermeasures.
-We’ll speak with the Executive Director and ask him to lay some groundwork beforehand….
-From what we saw during Miro Maze, when you give them good food, they tend to overlook other details. What if we set up decent lunch menus and snack catering?
-Our staff members can follow their schedule for a few days and pose as the making team.
Yet despite these various precautions, the production team concluded that deceiving the members remained difficult, prompting them to implement an extraordinary measure.
-This won’t work.
-Let’s recruit one of the members!
They had decided to plant a spy from within…!
After extensive deliberation, the member selected to undertake this critical espionage mission cautiously entered the conference room.
【The door opens… and in comes our light, our hope☆】
-Hello! It’s been a while.
It was Dan Ha-ru, the youngest member of Kairos.
– Ha-ru?
– Ha-ru????????
– lololol not Ha-jin or Tae-hyun????
– Why Ha-ru???
Destiny’s fans reacted with bewilderment upon learning of the spy’s identity.
And the same held true for the Kairos members gathered together in the practice room, watching the footage on a tablet.
“…Dan Ha-ru?”
“H-Ha-ru, why….”
“Ha-ru, you were the spy!?”
Voices of near-shock echoed through the practice room. Dan Ha-ru, receiving the full weight of his hyungs’ gazes, grinned with amusement and nodded.
“Yep.”
“…!?”
At that brazen response, Tae-hyun couldn’t help but cover his mouth in shock.
Soon after, Dan Ha-ru was called by the production team and received various explanations from them.
-Hmm, but… wouldn’t your hyungs be much better at this….
As Dan Ha-ru questioned why he was chosen while listening to the explanation, the production team responded with cheerful clarity.
-Because it’s more fun when those hyungs get fooled!
‘People obsessed with entertainment value….’
Ha-jin thoroughly ignored his past of once working alongside such people and clicked his tongue.
Meanwhile, the footage revealed the exploits of spy Dan Ha-ru unfolding.
-The mission we’ll give to Ha-ru is just one thing.
-Just keep the hyungs distracted, that’s all I need!
【Special Mission: Scatter the hyungs’ attention!】
Having received his mission, Dan Ha-ru threw himself into his role with dedication.
-Hello? Why are you calling all of a sudden…?
-S-Si-woo hyung! I-I went to the restroom and I think I got lost!
-…What do you see in front of you right now?
-A wall!
-Just stay put. I’ll tell Kwon Wook hyung right now.
【Ha-ru’s Performance 1. Getting Lost in the Studio and Finding His Hyung】
-Gasp. A snack.
-Dan Ha-ru, peel that first before you eat it…
-Huh?
-…Just come here and sit. I’ll get it for you.
-Okay.
【Ha-ru’s Performance 2. Getting Caught by Ha-jin Hyung While Eating Snacks】
-Hyung, but why are you putting this pin in?
-Huh? Oh. This is to add volume to the front hair…
-Ah, I see. Wow, what’s this?
-That’s what you wear on your face so makeup doesn’t get on your clothes when you’re getting dressed…
-Gasp! Hyung! I can’t get this out! It’s tangled!
-No, wait…
【Ha-ru’s Performance 3. Completely Distracting Tae-hyun Hyung During Makeup】
Beyond that, the members who witnessed Dan Ha-ru completing word-chain games with Ju Eun-chan, receiving special lessons in footvolley from Lee Do-ha, and listening to recycling tips from Lee Yu-gun all shared the same impression.
“Isn’t he just being normal?”
“He’s acting like he always does.”
“That’s not even acting.”
“I was doing crossword puzzles with Ha-ru earlier too…”
“It’s the same, just the same.”
Only Lee Do-ha offered a different answer.
“Oh, now that you mention it…”
“…?”
“It was a bit strange when he suddenly asked to be carried around. He’s never done that before.”
Then Dan Ha-ru shrugged and replied.
“Ah! That’s because I got excited while playing! But it was really fun!”
Right. That made sense.
Realizing that my precious youngest was truly precious, Kang Ha-jin turned back to the monitor with a bitter expression.
‘I didn’t even notice because he was acting so normal.’
I had been shocked three times over—once for being deceived by the production team, a second time for Dan Ha-ru being a spy, and a third time for not realizing it myself.
On the screen, the members were now helplessly enduring Dan Ha-ru’s Dot Deal and the Photographer’s barrage of attacks.
I picked up my phone to check the live comments.
– Haha, look at the kids losing it!
– They’re getting praised, but why am I the one feeling tortured? It’s like I’m getting mirror therapy from that Photographer right now. Is this what it feels like when I lose my composure and act all flustered?
– I’ve been noticing this for a while now—the Production Team not even putting mics on the kids just to deceive them. That’s genuinely insane.
– No, the picture comes out so well hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
There. They’re enjoying themselves. That’s all that matters.
While I was indulging in this psychological victory, Phase 1 had already ended and Phase 2 had begun.
The infamous animal pajamas had made their entrance.
The moment the members emerged looking bewildered in their animal pajamas, the comment section’s firepower doubled instantly.
– You wicked, merciless Production Team members (thank you thank you thank you)
– Please, just put the kids in clothes that actually fit their sizes hahaha. The tall guys’ outfits are about to burst at the seams hahaha
└ That’s actually better
└ Yeah, that’s why it’s good~
└ Those straining shoulders are what complete Do-ha’s true “wild charm”
– Siwoo, why is he a puppy? Isn’t the puppy Moehwa Hajin’s…ㅠ?
└ You can’t just pour plaster and make a statue out of him
└ Please retract that statement. Ha-jin is a wolf. “Wolf” is “official”.
– Ha-ru’s just enjoying it whether he’s a spy or not
└ The maknae’s having fun…
After that, everything unfolded exactly as I’d anticipated.
The members, who had attempted every possible pose seven men could manage, eventually became animal warrior Kairos, and upon discovering it was all an experimental camera, they were engulfed in shock and horror—a tragic ending… except…
My gaze shifted to Ha-ru on the monitor. Dan Ha-ru, standing beside me, wore an expression of genuine betrayal despite having played the spy all day.
“But why does your expression look like that? You said you knew everything.”
“Ah, well…”
At my question, Ha-ru scratched his cheek with a slightly embarrassed look.
“Actually, I was having so much fun playing around with the hyungs all day that I completely forgot about the whole spy thing…”
“….”
“I only remembered when the PD mentioned it. That I was the spy.”
A hollow silence descended over the Practice Room at Ha-ru’s words.
Seo Tae-hyun, who had been consumed by a sense of betrayal since Ha-ru’s spy role was revealed, let out an exasperated laugh.
“So in the end, there’s no one who tricked anyone—just a filthy world stained with lies and—!”
“…Let’s just practice.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
“Should we?”
At Tae-hyun’s sudden outburst, I quickly covered his mouth with my hand to end the situation. Si-woo and Do-ha responded to my words and got to their feet.
“Come on, come on. We only have a month left now. Let’s forget about the dark history that’s already passed and focus!”
“Yes!”
“Fighting!”
With the maknae’s spirited cheers, practice resumed once more. The lights in the Practice Room showed no signs of going out anytime soon today either.
* * *
While the Kairos members were absorbed in practice, Destiny was equally busy with their own schedule.
Kang Ha-di
@kang_HD
Today’s Kairos Kang Ha-jin cut
Thank you, Photographer…
You made it happen…
Kang Ha-jin’s successful male photoshoot…☆
(Ha-jin video cut)
Cherry Blossom
@ch_blossom
Tae-hyun’s live broadcast Kairos went up!!
But he got embarrassed at his own live broadcast
and kept trying to hide in the corner from the middle on
Ha-ru chased after him with the camera lolololol
(Kairos EP.2 Tae-hyun’s Birthday Party Link)
[Wait, what else came out for us]
It seems like Kiss Day is where the kids just film short daily logs like a diary and upload them, and now Ha-ru’s is up everyone check it out
We were too busy frantically consuming the cascading waterfall of breadcrumbs.
When you added the occasional photos and news the members posted on the official SNS, there was so much content that we’d end up skipping some breadcrumbs simply due to lack of time.
And amidst all this, someone was discovering hidden Easter eggs buried within this overflow of content.
JuJuKick
@juju_kick
Look at this
Miro really is a crazy pervert
Okay there’s a cipher in Episode 0’s outro too
In the background passing by
If you look closely it’s English words
Diamond Jack? I think??
(Today’s Kairos Episode 0 outro background capture)
Shares 999 Quotes 34 Likes 1,100
[What’s our debut concept really about]
Okay so organizing all the Easter eggs we’ve found so far
Kairos Episode 1 Friendship Tournament
> Solving the keyboard cipher in the ending takes you to an AiTube video
A grandfather clock and Ace of Spades card appear
Today’s Kairos Episode 0 Praise Prison
> Diamond Jack words in the outro background
Tae-hyun’s birthday tribute
> A photo of Tae-hyun holding a red rose and
“I’ll run with all my might without rest.” text
Was this Alice in Wonderland or something from there
It’s similar to a line the Red Queen said.
Red Queen symbolism = Heart Queen, red roses
Ha-ru Kiss Day
> Ha-ru suddenly bragging about finding a four-leaf clover
But since it’s Ha-ru, it could just be genuine excitement…
And then there’s a decorative sword hanging randomly behind the Studio wall?
Doesn’t that remind you a bit of the Clover King?
That’s all we’ve found so far, but it seems like everything is definitely connected to playing cards
Miro is a company that really commits to group colors and worldbuilding, but I was a bit worried this time since the preparation period was shorter
But looking at what’s come out so far, it seems like they’re doing a lot, so I’m excited but also wondering if it’s too difficult? I’m kind of skeptical right now… what about you guys?
– This is fun, keep going
– Are you all geniuses? I just went “wow, this is fun” and left it at that
– I think it’s true that it’s related to Trump… but there isn’t a single concept or worldview that comes to mind, so all I can think of is card slushie or something like that.
Various theories and speculations about Kairos’s worldbuilding and concept continued.
However, as nothing official had been released yet, everyone was reaching vague conclusions.
Finally, a teaser was uploaded to Kairos’s official account.
【K:RUS ∥ MacGuffin :)】

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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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