Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 199

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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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199. The First Live (1)
The next day.
After finishing a brief shoot that morning, I entered the Company as the group representative and had a meeting with Ji Su-ho.
“A unit live?”
“Yes. We also brainstormed some content ideas with the members yesterday.”
Since time was tight, I’d borrowed Lee Do-ha’s laptop last night and hastily created a single-page paper, which I handed to Ji Su-ho. It contained the units we’d organized and content references for each unit.
After reviewing the paper, Ji Su-ho looked at me and spoke seriously.
“Ha-jin.”
“Yes?”
“Even if I tell you there’s no need to go this far, you’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?”
“…It just puts my mind at ease this way.”
I quietly averted my gaze, implying what could I do about this damned occupational habit, and Ji Su-ho gave up, pressing his forehead repeatedly before nodding. But then, as if he still didn’t understand, he leaned forward, clasped his hands together, and asked me again in a voice full of doubt.
“What exactly did you do with Eun-chan and how did you handle it…?”
“…S-suddenly?”
“I had a meeting regarding the PPL deal, and he asked if I was planning to have you retire early. I’ve lived long enough to almost lose an idol I couldn’t even debut to a furniture company.”
“…”
“Kwon PD was the same way too, right? Asking if you’d be interested in learning work if you fell out of the Survival Program.”
Hmm. Had I accumulated that many unintended debts?
As I played dumb while Ji Su-ho poured out his concerns, apparently he hadn’t been expecting an answer anyway, so he relaxed his posture and asked again with considerably earnest eyes.
“You’re going to keep being an idol, right…?”
“…That’s… unnecessary talk. If I don’t become an idol, I’ll be stuck in infinite resets, you know. You’ve already collected all the contract signatures.”
“Right. All I can trust is the contract signature.”
Ji Su-ho finally seemed reassured, nodding and tapping the paper I’d created.
“This looks good. We can finalize the schedule soon and proceed. You’ve already discussed everything with Yoo Gun and Tae-hyun, right?”
“Yes. When I saw them this morning, they seemed awkward with each other, but they were talking.”
“Good. I figured you and Si-woo would handle that well, so I deliberately didn’t interfere from the Company’s side.”
Should I thank him for trusting me?
Caught off guard by his unexpected response, I just laughed and scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. Ji Su-ho smoothly brushed past my reaction and brought up something that concerned him.
“Still, the live performance won’t be easy to pull off. Will you be okay? Tae-hyun has a lot of experience, so I’m sure he’ll do well… but with just him and Yoo Gun, the vibe will be different. The moment the atmosphere feels awkward, it’ll backfire.”
“Ah, that’s fine.”
I shook my head lightly and offered a confident smile.
I knew the cheat code that would let these two nineteen-year-olds—similar yet different in every way—bond perfectly as one.
“They won’t have time to fight with each other.”
“…?”
“Because they’ll be fighting with me.”
“Huh…?”
* * *
An ordinary afternoon.
A boring day with no debut teasers, no Kiss Day, no Today’s Kairos—the Destiny fans received a new notification.
The Destiny fans, who thought it was a Blue Bird or official Cafe notification, couldn’t help but be startled when they checked it.
【First Live Test Broadcast V_V】
It was because this was Kairos’s very first live notification!
‘What? What? They’re going live all of a sudden?’
Startled Destiny fans hurried into the live broadcast. Upon entering, Ha-jin appeared sitting in the Practice Room, dressed in a generously-cut black short-sleeved shirt and khaki training pants known as Hoxlux.
– First live eeeeee
– Whoa
– Crazy crazy crazy crazy
– Ha-jin hey
– Baby hi
– Let’s see… does it look good?
Ha-jin alternated his gaze between the camera broadcasting and something right beside him, tidying his bangs. It seemed he’d set up a separate phone for monitoring purposes.
– Ah, ah. Can you hear my voice clearly? If you can hear me well, type 1.
– 1111111111111111
– I can hear it!!!
– 1
– 11111
– 111
– Is Ha-jin alone? I want to see Tae-hyun
– Oppa, it’s my birthday today. I’m so touched that you came on my birthday…
– ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
– Okay, I can hear and see well. Can you hear the song right now? If you can hear it clearly too, type the song title. Try to guess what song it is.
Watching the comments scroll by at rapid speed, Ha-jin grinned and turned up the volume on the speaker beside him. Piano notes accompanied someone singing a gentle ballad, layering in as background music.
– ???
– I don’t know
– HJ Would you marry me?
– I don’t know ㅠㅠ
– Comment blocked due to profanity
– What song is this?
No way, debut spoiler????
– Wait wait wait, isn’t that Daisy’s song
After reading through the comments filled with “I don’t know” responses, Ha-jin nodded with satisfaction and turned off the song.
– It’s right that you don’t know. It’s a song Si-woo sang randomly by himself in the Recording Studio. But it came through clearly, right? Okay, test over.
Once the viewers realized the voice they’d just heard belonged to Jeong Si-u, the comment section erupted. Ha-jin glanced at reactions like “please play it again” or “is this a debut song spoiler?” and shook his head as if dismissing them, habitually tapping his leg with his fingers.
– I came to do a test before turning on the first live. The real first broadcast will start at the exact time later. I won’t be doing it alone…
Squinting slightly as if pondering something, Ha-jin soon broke into a delighted grin and waved toward the screen.
– Anyway, it’ll be fun. See you at 7 o’clock later.
With those words, Ha-jin cleanly ended the broadcast. Though it was barely five minutes of live streaming, the Destiny fans were already excited about having something to look forward to.
Kang Ha-di
@kang_HD
There was a live broadcast.
There wasn’t one.
(Live notification screenshot)
(Live ended screen capture)
‖
Kang Ha-di
@kang_HD
There was no live broadcast.
He’s coming again.
Long live Ha-jin.
(Clip of Ha-jin announcing the 7 PM live broadcast)
[The kids announced the broadcast with a selfie]
Kairos
@Daily_KIRUS
※Kairos Relay Live Announcement※
TODAY : Ha-jin, Tae-hyun, Yoo Gun
See you on Aibus at 7 PM tonight♡
(Mirror selfie of Ha-jin, Yoo Gun, and Tae-hyun each wearing different training clothes)
Looks like only three are coming out??
Just by looking at the feel, it looks like a dance room, but I’m really looking forward to it ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Ugh, seriously? These guys are hilarious lol
Grandfather and grandsons lololololololololol
– Can’t wait
– With him between the two, Tae-hyun really looks small and precious
Though there had been some negative reactions to Ha-jin’s test broadcasts and the relay live members, the Destiny fans didn’t want to ruin their anticipation for the first broadcast, so they decided to turn a blind eye for today at least.
How could anyone worry and criticize everything every single time? Sometimes you just need to overlook things and enjoy them.
As time passed, at exactly 7 PM, Kairos’s first official live broadcast began as previously announced.
【Why do we look like we’re doing special training for a debut challenge?】
…The Destiny fans, startled by the unusual broadcast title, hurried into the live stream.
In the same empty practice room as before, Ha-jin, Tae-hyun, and Yoo Gun were now sitting. Ha-jin, seated in the center, was holding a tablet for monitoring comments, while Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun on either side leaned toward Ha-jin and glanced over at the screen.
-Is it on? Is it working?
-Yeah. It’s showing now.
-…Shouldn’t we greet them first?
-Let’s do it once more people join.
The three waited for enough Destiny fans to access the broadcast, and once the numbers filled up, they straightened their posture for greetings. Their brisk movements clearly showed the nervousness of a first broadcast.
-Should, should we greet them now?
-I think we can start soon.
-Yeah. Let’s begin.
-Yeah, but….
-…?
Just before greeting, Tae-hyun glanced at the comment section, then leaned toward Ha-jin and Yoo Gun and whispered something.
The trap was that the microphone function on the phone being broadcast was so good that every whispered word came through crystal clear.
-Don’t we need to do a group greeting? The one we decided on this time.
-…But can we do it among ourselves first? You said you wanted us to do it during the last group live.
-Oh, right. Yeah…. So should we just say hello?
-I don’t know since it’s my first time either. Seo Tae-hyun, you’ve been on broadcasts the longest among us.
-This is my first time as an idol though?
-Hey, hey. You guys. Everyone can hear you talking.
I waved my hand between Lee Yu-gun and Seo Tae-hyun, who were whispering back and forth with me in the middle. Tae-hyun checked the comment section in surprise at the revelation that everything had been heard, while Yu-gun—whether from shyness or something else—seemed awkward, both of them radiating the fresh, youthful charm typical of rookie idols their age.
– Hahahahaha Go3z is so cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ
I can hear everything you’re saying… hahahaha
– Not easy from the start of a live, huh?
-Alright, I’ll go ahead and greet everyone. Hello, Destiny. I’m Kang Ha-jin from Kairos. Welcome to our first live broadcast!
-Welcome! I’m Tae-hyun!
-…I’m Lee Yu-gun.
Tae-hyun joined in with my natural introduction, raising the energy. Even Yu-gun, who wasn’t particularly comfortable with this sort of thing, seemed to pick up on the cue and clapped along, making sure the atmosphere didn’t die.
After finishing the greeting without incident, I quickly continued with my next comment so the mood wouldn’t drop and become awkward.
-We’re planning to do unit-based lives like this every Thursday for the next three weeks. As the first unit, we’re the ones visiting you first.
As I rattled off the prepared script like a seasoned pro, I pulled out a small note from my pocket and held it up in front of the phone camera that was recording.
-Ah. And before we start the broadcast, I wrote down some simple announcements. It would be good for those joining late to see and take note of them.
I fixed the white paper densely covered in writing at the very bottom of the screen so it wouldn’t obscure our bodies or faces. The paper, which slightly covered the practice room floor, had the following information written in bold letters.
【Live broadcasts scheduled for 7 PM every Thursday for 3 weeks by unit. Today it’s just the three of us. The other members are in practice, recording, and working out.】
【Happy birthday to everyone celebrating today, and we’re working hard on English, so if a good opportunity comes up someday, we’ll try to communicate in English.】
【There’s only us in our practice room, and if you see something reflected behind us, it’s either a shadow or a ghost, so please screenshot it right away and own a one-of-a-kind spirit photograph☆】
Nah lol
What is that lolol
– Pre-emptive troll blocking skill on display
Hahahahahaha
After properly securing the paper, I continued with the next segment without missing a beat.
-So. What are we doing today, Tae-hyun?
-…? You didn’t tell me. You just said to bring my body.
-Right. I intentionally didn’t tell Yu-gun and Tae-hyun what we’re doing today. These two don’t even know what the room title is. I kept it a secret on purpose.
-What are you trying to do…. Isn’t it just dancing?
-There’s a reason I didn’t tell you beforehand. This loses its fun if you practice it ahead of time. There’s a certain charm to picking up the choreography on the spot.
The Destiny members, already spoiled by the room title, were already flooding the comments with various short-form challenges they wanted the three of us to do. I quickly scanned through those comments and revealed today’s content.
-Today, we’re going to do challenge training to prepare for our debut. We’re going to master every popular short-form challenge that exists right now.
-Challenges? Wow, that sounds fun.
-Debut, preparation…. Is that Lime?
Yu-gun and Tae-hyun responded smoothly to the difficulty level, which was easier than expected. I added one more mission for the two of them.
-But just so you know, I’m not going to watch the original challenge videos.
-…?
—So all you need to do is learn the choreography and teach it to me.
—Us?
—Yeah, you guys. I’ll just dance however you teach me.
Come on, teach me then, you so-called masters.
Ha-jin had brazenly declared his intention to coast through the content with minimal effort, and Yoo Gun and Tae-hyun exchanged a silent glance at each other.

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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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