Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 197

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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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197. The Happiness a Boy Desires (2)
Ha-jin confirmed the news about Lanion properly while riding in the car back to the Dormitory after finishing his schedule.
‘Lanion is already being talked about?’
He had entered a community to monitor reactions to the concept photos, and there he found the words “Rene Entertainment’s next group” plastered everywhere instead of mentions of his own group. Without realizing it, his brows furrowed and his expression hardened.
They had said November for their debut, so he had expected them to start dropping hints soon, but….
‘The timing is really terrible.’
Ha-jin’s long, slender fingers swiped across his phone screen. Then the very first post mentioning “Rene Entertainment’s next group” came into view. While one entire page was filled with posts about Today’s Kairos, a single post stood out incongruously among them.
[If anyone can find just one picture ㅠㅠㅠㅠPlease really (++I found it!! Correct comment!]
I saw it on a friend’s phone and I want to find it so badly I can’t sleep…
It was a guy’s mirror selfie, and it looked like it was taken in a Practice Room?
I don’t remember anything other than that his hair was black and he was wearing a hoodie. But really, he was really handsome…a bit of a spear? It seemed like he looked like him!!!!
This is driving me crazy you guys please help me
(A roughly drawn stick figure pose)
In this desperate post, the only connection to Rene Entertainment was a mention of Seo-on, a member of Sphere, who was signed to Rene Entertainment.
But how had this post somehow connected to Rene Entertainment’s next group?
As Ha-jin pondered various routes that could have led here, he slowly scrolled through the comments. People had posted photos from their own collections that matched the description, but the correct answer didn’t come easily.
– Why don’t you just ask your friend?
└ (Writer) My friend said he didn’t know because he was just searching ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Oh, I really want to find it.
– Could it be this?? (A similar-looking photo of a B-liver member)
└ (Author) Aaaah, it looks similar, but it’s not ㅠㅠㅠㅠ More deer? It felt really pretty and handsome…
– Wait, based on the comments alone, isn’t this basically a 2D human? If someone who looks like Seo-on from Sphere but is more pure and gentle, looks like a deer, and is insanely handsome debuted, we’d definitely know about it;
– I thought it might be our statue before debut, but our group’s statue doesn’t take mirror selfies…
└ Could that statue’s name be Jeong Si-u?
Haha, oops, caught!
└ Even the lack of selfies is so Jeong Si-u
‘Has the “statue” nickname pretty much settled on Si-u now?’
That used to be Cha Min-seok’s nickname.
As Ha-jin scrolled down and spotted Si-u’s name in the comments, his eyebrows twitched slightly. However, he didn’t feel any sense of guilt about stealing someone else’s nickname. There was a peculiar certainty that in the previous timeline, Cha Min-seok had earned the title of Rene Entertainment’s statue precisely because Jeong Si-u hadn’t debuted.
Ha-jin scrolled faster. After turning past one page of comments, the owner of the photo was finally revealed.
– Hey could it be this? (A mirror selfie Cha Min-seok took in Rene Entertainment’s Practice Room)
└ (OP) Huh?
└ (OP) Huh huh huh??? Wow no way
└ (Author) I think this is correct. Thank you!!!!
└ Wow
└ He’s really handsome
└ So that explanation was accurate. Sorry about that
“Ugh! My eyes!”
“…? Why suddenly? That scared me.”
“I saw something I shouldn’t have.”
The moment Ha-jin saw the photo of Cha Min-seok—who had tried so hard to look handsome (and succeeded, though he hated to admit it)—he lowered his phone and covered his eyes. Startled by this, Yoo Gun sitting beside him flinched and stared at Ha-jin, but Ha-jin simply waved his hand dismissively and let out a sigh as if it were nothing.
‘No matter how many times I look at it, it’s still annoying.’
The comment flow after Cha Min-seok’s photo surfaced unfolded exactly as I’d anticipated. The person who shared the photo naturally revealed his name was Cha Min-seok, a trainee being speculated as part of Rene Entertainment’s next debut group.
People who came looking for the answer but got hooked by Cha Min-seok’s face created derivative posts, and through those posts, information about Rene Entertainment’s next group and Cha Min-seok spread further. In the process, the keyword “Rene Entertainment’s second-half debut” naturally mixed in, its source unknown.
By the time I finished reading a comment that said “Wow, so this year’s rookie awards might be a three-way battle between Rene’s next group, B-liver, and Kairos?”, I closed the app and turned off my phone. I’d grasped the situation well enough.
‘Rene Entertainment released this.’
The timing was too perfect to suggest otherwise. Just as we’d once created a competitive dynamic with B-liver through shorts to gain momentum, it seemed Rene Entertainment was positioning Lanion as Kairos’s rival in much the same way.
[System Alert: The idol world is truly terrifying….]
[System Alert: 〣( ºΔº )〣]
‘Whatever. It’s all just a survival strategy.’
It’s just more blatantly exposed in the entertainment industry, but this level of maneuvering exists in every field, I thought, clicking my tongue briefly.
I’d anticipated that mentioning Lanion would draw some attention, but not like this. Even now, Kairos’s second concept photo set, “THE NIGHT” version, had been released, but the buzz was visibly cut in half because of all the talk about Rene Entertainment’s next group.
‘They’re doing nothing themselves and just trying to ride on our recognition.’
What bothered me even more was that Cha Min-seok was at the forefront of the promotion.
From what I remembered, it was already publicly known among fans that Cha Min-seok had been a trainee from Miro before his debut. Back then, Miro’s next group had fallen through because of the former Executive Director, so he’d built a close friendship narrative with Endway, but this time was different.
‘This time he’s definitely going to get tangled up with us. If we’re unlucky, people will even find out he was close with Seo Tae-hyun.’
No matter how much of a social butterfly Seo Tae-hyun acted like when the camera was rolling, smiling brightly and overflowing with sociability, there was no way he’d be okay with being linked as best friends with someone who was basically his sworn enemy.
I poked my head forward to confirm Tae-hyun’s round back of the head sitting in the front seat.
A system window with a red “1” notification appeared above Tae-hyun’s head with a ding—something I’d grown so accustomed to seeing that it barely registered anymore.
[System Alert: Your colleague ‘Seo Tae-hyun’s’ current status is… ‘slightly sensitive’]
There’s no way that guy, who’s good at searching, missed the news about Cha Min-seok.
With the thought that I should probably avoid needling Tae-hyun for a while since he’d have a lot on his mind, my gaze shifted to Ha-ru, who was sitting next to Tae-hyun.
‘Wait. If I recruit Dan Ha-ru as a colleague, would his emotional state show up like this too?’
Since the most crucial criterion for regression was “Dan Ha-ru’s emotions,” understanding his state was the most important thing for me. Especially when he was the kind of gentle guy who smiled all day long, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Was there any way to recruit Dan Ha-ru as a colleague?
‘Ugh, I have so much to do.’
I’d thought being an idol just meant working hard at dancing and singing, but this was a world of competition and hunting scarier than the jungle itself.
Feeling a headache from the pressure that made me feel like even two bodies wouldn’t be enough, I slowly closed and opened my eyes.
How could I redirect the attention drawn to Cha Min-seok while simultaneously keeping the relationship between Seo Tae-hyun and Cha Min-seok as hidden as possible?
[System Alert: The system expresses bewilderment at this difficult situation….]
[System Alert: (;´・`)>]
[System Alert: What should we do in a situation like this?]
‘…Actually, I do have something in mind.’
My gaze turned to Yoo Gun, sitting next to me. Yoo Gun, who’d been watching a performance video of an overseas dance team on his phone, lifted his head as he felt my stare.
“…? What?”
Toward Yoo Gun, who asked why with that expression, I smiled as innocently as possible.
“Yoo Gun.”
“What…. Why, why?”
“Let’s do one live stream together with me.”
“…What do you mean?”
“A live stream. Dancing.”
At the mention of a live broadcast, Yoo Gun looked bewildered, as if asking what Ha-jin was talking about. When Ha-ru, who had been sitting in front, heard the word “live,” he perked up his ears and turned around.
“Huh? Are you guys going live?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to do a dance broadcast with Yoo Gun.”
“Wait, I never said I’d—”
“You’re doing it with him. No question about it. That’s just how it’s going to be.”
“Do I not get a choice?”
As Ha-jin spoke without room for argument, Yoo Gun’s voice grew louder, prompting the other members to turn around and wonder what was happening. Ha-ru, whose eyes sparkled with excitement at the mention of the group’s first live broadcast, tapped Tae-hyun’s shoulder next to him.
“Hey, hey. Yoo Gun and Ha-jin are doing a dance broadcast. Live.”
“…Whatever, sure.”
Tae-hyun glanced back upon hearing this, responded half-heartedly, and turned forward again. Ha-jin reached out and tapped Tae-hyun’s shoulder once more.
“Tae-hyun.”
“…? What.”
“You’re doing it too.”
“…What?”
“You’re going live with me. All three of us.”
…
“The three of us—you, me, and Yoo Gun—are doing a unit live broadcast together. Just keep that in mind.”
“…Are you insane?”
“Yeah. I lost my mind back when I went to Gangwon Province to get you.”
Looking into Ha-jin’s eyes, where madness crystallized into nothing but the will to push out Cha Min-seok, Tae-hyun couldn’t help but hiccup.
* * *
The moment they arrived at the Dormitory, the members gathered in the Living Room without even properly unpacking or washing up.
It was because Ha-jin had announced he had something to discuss.
“A unit live broadcast?”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I wanted to confirm everyone’s opinion first. If you all agree, I’ll bring it up to the Executive Director.”
“So you’re saying we should do our first live broadcast as a relay by units?”
“Right. And by the time all the units have performed, we’ll have debuted, so I was thinking we could do our first group live broadcast as a debut commemoration live.”
The proposal Ha-jin brought was about Kairos’s first live broadcast.
Since the Entertainment Company had already been discussing how to approach the first live broadcast, all the members showed interest and offered their opinions.
“But why units? Wouldn’t a group live be more symbolic for a first broadcast?”
“That’s true, but we’re already putting out group content through Today’s Kairos. We’re consistently uploading individual content through Kiss Day too. When I thought about it, there’s nothing showing the different member combinations.”
At Ha-jin’s words, the members nodded in agreement. Even Tae-hyun, who had asked the question, seemed to think similarly and didn’t object further.
Then Yoo Gun, sitting on the opposite side, raised his hand.
“Yes. Trainee Lee Yu-gun, you may speak.”
“But why is that unit me, him, and you?”
At Yoo Gun’s question, all the members looked at Ha-jin with genuinely curious expressions. Even Jeong Si-u, who usually got along well with everyone, had eyes that seemed to ask what on earth he was thinking.
Ha-jin glanced at the members and spoke very matter-of-factly.
“Want the honest answer?”
“…Yes.”
“Because you need the title of being Seo Tae-hyun’s best friend.”
“…What?”
You two should probably stop bickering like a married couple now.
Ha-jin shrugged his shoulders with a deranged grin spreading across his face.

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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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