Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 200
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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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200. First Live (2)
There were entirely valid reasons why I had brazenly declared that I would breeze through our first live performance.
“Hmm, what’s this…? Slicked back? Superconductor?”
“…Isn’t that the one where they fly around?”
“It’s a bit dated, but some of it’s cute. Look at this.”
“…I don’t find it cute, and I’m not sorry that it’s cute either.”
“I find it cute. The problem is I’m not sorry about it.”
“You should be quiet for a moment.”
“Mmm.”
– Please Run All Mine Run All Mine Run All Mine Run All Mine Run All Mine Run All Mine Run All Mine
– Oppa do the Baby Challenge♡♡♡♡
– Ha-jin’s treatment lololololololol
– Did Ha-jin become baggage in an instant lololololololol
– We want you to “Devil Ride” Challengeeeee plzzzzzzzzzzzz
– First let’s do a relay of our agency seniors’ songs let’s goooooo
First, we needed buzz.
It wasn’t enough for just us and our fans to have a pleasant time together—we needed something that could go viral across the entire platform. In that regard, short-form challenges were quite suitable material.
Short, fast, and plentiful, right?
These two had already gained attention from the Believer “Run All Mine” challenge—the spinoff group that appeared with Seo Tae-hyun and Boy Heaven—so the effect was guaranteed.
“Hmm… There’s a lot of talk about Run All Mine. Should we warm up with this? Yoo Gun, do you remember the choreography?”
“I don’t remember it well. Do you have a video? Give it to me.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t do it. It’s unfair that everyone but me did the challenge.”
“…Grandfather, please be quiet.”
“Whine.”
Whether Seo Tae-hyun was startled by my pathetic aegyo or not, Yoo Gun, who had been rewatching the Believer “Run All Mine” challenge several times, soon lowered his phone to the floor.
“Got it. I remember roughly.”
As Seo Tae-hyun casually turned on the song, Yoo Gun began dancing with smooth control of dynamics. Watching his movements—far lighter and sharper than when he’d done the challenge at the broadcasting station before—I couldn’t help but let out an admiring “Wow…”
If even I, who watched this guy dance every single day, was amazed, there was no need to wonder what the Destiny fans would think.
– Insane
– So good I’m crying
– After watching trot with breakdancing, I can’t adjust to this
– Yoo Gun… you’re unfamiliar…?
Second, we needed to showcase our abilities.
Especially, we needed to push forward the talents of Yoo Gun, who lacked the most initiative and presence among us.
Yoo Gun’s choreography copying ability hadn’t been particularly highlighted in broadcasts until now, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to show fans just how well he danced and how quickly he picked things up.
That way, the Destiny fans could feel proud that Yoo Gun was a member of Kairos.
“At the ‘Run, run, baby’ part here, I think the hand goes out, not in.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. And the head isolation is the key point. You need to focus on that.”
As a bonus, if we could show how detail-oriented the prepared pro idol Seo Tae-hyun was, that would be the cherry on top.
Finally….
“What came next? Was it this?”
“Kick, and two waves. Strike the ground while placing your hands….”
“Ah, ah! This is it, this one. Look at this.”
…Finally, I needed to naturally guide conversation by assigning them a joint task they had to solve together.
I watched with satisfaction as those two moved through each step flawlessly without me needing to intervene at all.
‘Good. Everything’s going according to plan.’
Now, if I just added a touch of entertainment seasoning to this, it would be absolutely perfect.
“Ha-jin, are you listening? You’re keeping up, right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“…?”
I shook my head with innocent, wide eyes.
To the two of them staring at me with expressions that screamed ‘Why is he like this?’, I deliberately spoke in an even more naive voice.
“I didn’t understand any of it!”
“Why is he really like this…?”
“Just leave him be.”
Today, I was planning to sprinkle tension all over these two geniuses’ short-form challenge.
* * *
“If you rotate your arm here….”
“Like this?”
“No, I’m not telling you to just whip your arm around….”
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“I’m doing my best, trust me.”
It’s a complete mess lol
Just a despair challenge compilation lol
Ha-jin is Tae-hyun’s dedicated anger button lolololol
– But teacher, the pace is too fast
– This dance was harder than I thought…
In the end, the “Run All Mine” challenge was performed by just Lee Yu-gun and Seo Tae-hyun, and after that, we’d been exploring short-form challenges of moderate difficulty for already thirty minutes.
After showcasing all sorts of cute, charming, and witty challenges that are essential idol content, we were now stepping up a level to challenge actual, proper dancing.
The beginning was the unwritten rule of rookie idols: ‘Breaking the seal of a senior’s song’.
The song we were challenging now was Turmoil, both Yupia’s debut track and the song I’d auditioned with.
“Let’s try once more, this isn’t that difficult.”
“A talented person’s deceptive remark….”
“No, seriously it’s not that hard? It’s easier than our Daylight.”
“Let’s just match the beat without the song. We seem to have memorized all the moves, but they’re not connecting?”
Lee Yu-gun counted out the beat for us, and the three of us moved in unison with the same choreography.
From here on, my role was extremely important.
I had to show the image of ‘an idol who intellectually understands the movements but whose body hasn’t quite caught up yet, slightly clumsy, yet clearly possessing a dimension of choreography absorption ability far beyond that of ordinary people’.
In other words….
[System Alarm: Scammer?]
[System alarm: ◉ ㅅ ◉ ??]
‘…Control your expression, man.’
Dancing too well only bored people, and looking too stupid to understand killed the vibe.
I continued to walk the precarious line between amateur and professional, steadily absorbing each movement.
“Should we try it with the song now? You ready, hyung?”
“I’ve got the basic marks down. The details aren’t there yet.”
“Then let’s play the song. Honestly, learning with the music is faster anyway.”
“Hmm…. Should I start it?”
Seo Tae-hyun seemed to think we’d gotten far enough, so he played the audio on his phone.
Before entering the chorus, I looked at the broadcast camera on my phone and laid down some setup dialogue.
“Destiny fans. This is my first time doing this choreography. You’ll have to understand if it’s a bit rough, seriously.”
Then the problematic chorus section began.
Can’t you see it?
The reversed moon and sun
A new universe awakens
The first step I’ve already taken will soon become history
And I dropped the act and poured my heart into the choreography.
With everything I had.
– Kyaaaaaaaaaaa
Are you crazy? lol
– Heart racing so fast
– What did Han Se-won do in his past life, was he King Sejong?
– All three of them danced differently ㅠㅠㅜㅜㅜㅠ
– OMG OMG OMG OMG
Practice as entertainment, results as documentary.
It was a bit sly, but this level of production was necessary to give fans something worth watching live.
“Can’t you make it? Can you come up to here―”
As I danced, the energy naturally flowed, so I sang along and lifted the atmosphere. Seo Tae-hyun and Lee Yu-gun, energized by my momentum, were gradually becoming more genuine themselves.
“Last part, legs! Spin your arms while stepping!”
“Aaaah!”
After executing even the most difficult choreography, my breathing grew ragged and my movements started to blur. Using advanced peripheral vision to cheat off the two guys in front of me, I managed to finish the routine safely, but my legs gave out and I had to collapse on the practice room floor.
“Okay! Done! We did it! I did it!”
I shouted proudly, and Seo Tae-hyun, who’d also collapsed beside me, laughed and slapped my leg. Lee Yu-gun, still standing, chuckled at the sight.
I took a moment to catch my breath, rolled slightly, rested my head on Seo Tae-hyun’s leg, and started some small talk.
“This was actually my audition song when I joined Miro.”
“Really? You sang this, hyung? Not Lia’s song?”
“That’s Rene. I sang this one for Miro. Seo Tae-il was even one of the judges.”
– Wow audition story
– Sing it for us (clap) sing it for us (clap)
– I’m glad Hajin came to Miroㅠㅠㅠ♡
– I’m curious about how the other members joined too
– Do you know Morocco? Sing Morocco’s song
– Tell us about Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun too!!!
– Devil Ride Challenge Devil Ride Challenge Devil Ride Challenge Devil Ride Challenge
I couldn’t even say how many months ago that was.
Realizing just how much time had slipped away, I threw out a conversation topic to let Yoo Gun and Seo Tae-hyun join in on this nostalgic talk as well.
“Do you guys remember your first impressions of each other? Honestly, I still don’t really know how you two became close.”
“Us?”
At my question, Seo Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun’s gazes collided in mid-air. Whether they were recalling old memories or deliberating how honest to be, Seo Tae-hyun made a small sound. “Hmm….” Then Yoo Gun, sitting a little distance away, spoke up first.
“I don’t remember the first impression… but we became close because of him.”
“Me? Because of me?”
Seo Tae-hyun pointed at himself with a bewildered expression, and Yoo Gun nodded as if asking if he didn’t remember, continuing.
“Back then, after practice ended, I was working at a meat restaurant, and you came by with your family and we ran into each other.”
“Oh, right. I remember that. I was so shocked my pupils dilated completely.”
“What? So you pretended to know me?”
“No. Back then we’d never really talked to each other… but when you’re working and you run into someone as a customer, it’s awkward, you know? Since we were both trainees. So I just pretended not to recognize you.”
“So, so. You pretended not to recognize him, but how did you two become close?”
– An immature older brother listening to his younger members’ friendship story like he’s hearing a student teacher’s first love tale
– You worked part-time while working as a trainee at Yooguni… ㅠㅠㅠ
– So G3Z were originally close?? I had no idea
– Right right, when your acquaintance is a customer at your part-time job there’s definitely something awkward about it
“Then a little while later, we were preparing for the first weekly evaluation, and because of my part-time job I couldn’t practice much. So it was hard to team up with anyone, and I didn’t know many people… but then he was the first to ask me to do it together, and we became close while working on that.”
“Ooh, Seo Tae-hyun~”
“…No, it’s not really like that. Ah, don’t tease me!”
“I didn’t say anything?”
“Your eyes are totally full of teasing thoughts right now!”
“No way. I absolutely wasn’t going to tease you about our shy Tae-hyun’s incredible choice of action… …ah!”
[System Alert: The System shakes its head, noting that the fixed regressor is the type to beat himself up….]
After fooling around, I ended up getting hit on the back by Seo Tae-hyun. Watching me wince in pain, Seo Tae-hyun simply clicked his tongue coolly.
After that, stories poured out—how the diet ice cream Seo Tae-hyun loves was first bought for him by Yoo Gun while working at the Convenience Store, how they happened to meet Yoo Gun’s younger siblings and got introduced to them, how when Seo Tae-hyun grew depressed from exhaustion during practice, Yoo Gun took him out and played with him to cheer him up.
‘…There are more episodes than I expected?’
Surprised by their unexpected closeness, Destiny and I all formed a warm atmosphere for the first time in a while.
This should be enough by now, right?
Watching Seo Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun, glistening with nostalgia, I dropped another bomb.
“But why did you two fight?”
“…Huh?”
“…What?”
“You guys fought, didn’t you? This time. Why did you fight?”
[System Alert: Are you crazy…? (Are you crazy…?)]
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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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