Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 201
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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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201. FIRST LIVE (3)
It was Seo Tae-hyun, equipped with his idol persona, who finally managed to open his mouth.
“…No, we didn’t fight! When did we ever!”
“That’s funny. You two fought and didn’t even talk to each other.”
“We didn’t!”
“Geez, seriously. Look at you lying right in front of Destiny! Destiny! These guys fought! But they won’t even tell me why, and it’s just so childish… Ugh! Argh! Ouch! You little brats, treating your hyung like this!”
The moment I started loudly tattling on them to Destiny, a flustered Lee Yu-gun folded me up (and I mean literally folded me!) and rolled me backward. In that moment, Seo Tae-hyun quickly moved in front of the phone and covered the screen, salvaging the situation.
“Ah, everyone. We just had a small broadcast accident. Lee Yu-gun and I didn’t fight, and… well, actually we did bicker a little bit. But it wasn’t a huge fight or anything. We’ve made up now and everything’s fine, so please don’t worry. Really.”
“Argh! Destiny! Help me, ugh!”
“Pardon? Oh, why did we fight…? It was nothing serious. We were just talking about debuting together and kind of misunderstood each other’s words. Anyway, um, next, what should we do for the next challenge? Should we show you the Endway seniors’ mood night?”
“Fine! Fine! I’ll stop! I won’t say anything! I’ll stop! Enough! You guys, you… such unfilial sons!”
While Seo Tae-hyun was damage control, I was completely pinned down behind the Practice Room by Lee Yu-gun, forced to endure his gaze that screamed, ‘What the hell are you thinking, hyung?’ Since he’d folded my body in half and locked my arms and legs with his strength, I couldn’t even resist.
…Though I wasn’t really planning to resist anyway.
‘This much mention should be enough.’
Only after I pinky-promised Lee Yu-gun that I wouldn’t act up anymore was I finally released and could return in front of the camera. As a bonus, my clothes and hair were completely disheveled from the unexpected wrestling match, earning a huge laugh from the Destiny viewers.
“Let’s try singing one of the Endway seniors’ songs. Hyung, get up.”
“Yes.”
– A 20-year-old getting disciplined by a 19-year-old lolololololololol
– Kang Ha-jin really looks like some pathetic unemployed uncle
– Isn’t it just uncle-nephew instead of nephew-uncle lolololol
– Uncle-nephew ver. is legendary
– So why did Tae-hyun and Yoo-gun actually fight???
– Come on lolololololol
Seeing the comments section lighten up, I found myself smiling with satisfaction.
After that, we powered through all sorts of idol songs, shared stories in between, and wrapped up the broadcast with a runtime of 2 hours and 30 minutes.
And this chaotic first live delivered exactly the effect I’d been hoping for.
* * *
Lee Yoo-gun
@2uuu_gunn2
Anyone who hasn’t seen the uncle-nephew ver. choreography can’t eat with us on Tamla
Must see Kairos covering the senior’s song at the year-end awards ceremony with my own two eyes
(Ha-jin, Tae-hyun, Yoo-gun’s choreography video)
Shares 2,630 Likes 3,233
[Kairos Gangwon Province chase story vol. for those who want to see it]
Tae Day
@tae_day
Crazy, before Miro Maze
Tae-hyun was thinking of quitting the industry
And ran away to his hometown
But Ha-jin chased him all the way to Gangwon Province
I persuaded them and took them back ㅠㅠㅠ
(Live cut of Ha-jin and Tae-hyun spilling the Gangwon Province retrieval story)
What’s even more insane is that Ha-jin hadn’t even been at Miro for a month at that time…
But while watching Boy World, I supported Taehyun so much that I voted for him, and I wanted to debut with Taehyun, so I chased him down to Gangwon-do and persuaded him… And 6 months later, they debuted in 1st and 2nd place in the finals at Maze Maze. Isn’t the narrative crazy?
– This is crazy…
– Yesterday’s live was really meaningful and goodㅠㅜㅜ
– Wow both Seo Tae-hyun and Kang Ha-jin had favorable impressions while watching Boy’s Supremacy…it’s like a complete shounen manga development
– And the fact that they kept fighting each other during yesterday’s live broadcast too lol
Kim Leto
@letter_kx
Ha-jin is too funny
So you’re saying this is actually a guy group that got awkward after fighting with each other, right? lololol
(Screenshot from Today’s Kairos of Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun not making eye contact)
Shared 732 Quoted 32 Liked 109
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Kim Leto
@letter_kx
My head’s about to explode
But actually
Until Lee Yu-gun’s appearance on Boy’s Supremacy,
the only close senior he had at the Company was Seo Tae-hyun
Ha-jin almost fainted when he found out how close the two were
Ha-jin but me too
Shared 34 Liked 17
Don’t I have a narrative?
Then I’ll create one.
Through Ha-jin’s live broadcasts, he mined hidden narratives between the members like excavating ore, and the Destiny fans polished those gems themselves, making them shine like diamonds.
The quarrel between Yoo Gun and Tae-hyun that Ha-jin mentioned playfully and jokingly had already been beautifully packaged into a heartwarming incident that made their friendship even more genuine.
‘That worked well.’
After confirming that new mentions pairing Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun together on Blue Bird were rapidly increasing, Ha-jin closed the app.
[System Alert: Huh? You’re not going to keep looking?]
[System Alert: The system is disappointed that it was fun watching your reactions….]
‘I’ve seen all I need to. You can look at the rest yourself.’
Kang Ha-jin had his own philosophy about being a fan,
-Humans originally can’t refrain from saying anything on private accounts,
-Even if all hell breaks loose on private accounts, if public account regeneration is active, it’s positive,
-If it reaches the point where private account talk gets dragged to public accounts, it’s somewhat serious,
-If a situation comes where nothing is said even on public accounts, that’s already a catastrophe so give up.
…was what it was.
Judging by that philosophy, the “Lee Yu-gun discord rumor” had probably already caused quite a stir beneath the surface. And this current flow where refuting mentions were continuing on public accounts was a sufficiently satisfying situation.
[System Alert: Hooh… That’s difficult. The idol world is quite something….]
‘There’s one more thing.’
[System Alert: Another one?]
[System Alert: (‘◇’)?]
‘Earth’s population is 7 billion.’
[System Alert: Pardon?]
‘The Blue Bird timeline and the algorithm don’t represent half the population’s opinion, so just take it as a reference and nothing more.’
If I dug into the private communities that the named users had set up—mostly focused on gossip and information—I could probably get a more honest read on what the Destiny users actually thought…
But Ha-jin didn’t particularly want to do that. There was no real need to go that far.
“I’m back!”
I’d finished everything I needed to do. I was lying on the Living Room couch, about to take a nap, when the door suddenly burst open and Dan Ha-ru’s bright voice echoed from the Entrance.
At that voice, I cracked open just one eye and gave a lazy wave to greet him.
“You’re here.”
“Yes! Hyung, are you already sleeping?”
“Yeah. Hyung’s already half asleep.”
“I came up with live broadcast content with Do-ha hyung today!”
“Mm. I see.”
After watching the live broadcast of JSS (a combination name that had been dramatically compromised after controversy erupted over whether Ha-jin, Yoo Gun, and Tae-hyun were a “three-person unit” or a “three-person duo”), he’d apparently decided to come up with new content. It looked like he’d just finished that meeting.
Whether I actually closed my eyes or not, Dan Ha-ru—now visibly excited—leaned his back against the couch where I was lying and sat down. With the momentum of someone about to launch into a full conversation, I instinctively raised my guard.
“Alright. Good work. Now go brag about it to Seo Tae-hyun….”
“So here’s what we’re going to do! First, I’m going to learn rap from Do-ha hyung!”
“Ah. So my condition wasn’t important after all.”
Faced with Dan Ha-ru’s relentless momentum, I quickly gave up and closed my mouth obediently.
Dan Ha-ru, who’d ended up doing a live broadcast with Do-ha after winning that intense ladder-drawing game, explained in detail to me the plan he and Do-ha had come up with today.
“…So, Do-ha hyung is going to rate the sandwich I made!”
“…? Didn’t you just say you were learning rap?”
“That’s part one! This is part two.”
…Yeah. That’s impressive.
How exactly did ‘Lee Do-ha’s Rap Class’ turn into ‘Dan Ha-ru’s Sandwich-Making Tutorial’? Having only half-listened while drowsy, I was a bit confused about the middle part.
‘Well, the combination of the two of them is fresh enough that whatever they do should be entertaining….’
But the person in question was Dan Ha-ru, the youngest of the Seo Ju-dan trio—the same guy who’d once thrown a frying pan handle while grilling meat.
Unable to bear the thought of similar destructive incidents happening in my friend’s Studio, I finally forced myself to sit up.
“But do you really have to make a sandwich? Why not just order a few of your favorite sandwiches and do an eating broadcast review instead? It’ll save on ingredients too.”
“Wow. That’s such a great idea too! But I have so many favorite sandwiches….”
“…Just ask Eun-chan to buy them for you.”
As I averted my gaze and spouted whatever came to mind, Eun-chan—who’d just come out of his room for water—reacted at hearing his name.
“Me?”
“Sorry, Eun-chan. It’s for the sake of Earth.”
“…Huh?”
I let out a cough and quickly changed the subject.
“Eun-chan, what did you two decide to do? A live stream?”
“Oh.”
With Lee Do-ha and Dan Ha-ru pairing up, Eun-chan naturally became partners with Si-woo.
Our original plan here was modest enough—just learn some guitar and singing. But once Ha-ru and Do-ha announced they’d create new content, we couldn’t back down either, so we declared we’d come up with something fresh.
‘Both of them have this reckless streak that makes them completely unpredictable.’
I couldn’t begin to guess what would happen when Jeong Si-u’s intermittent wild side collided with Ju Eun-chan’s inherent competitive nature.
I waited for Eun-chan’s answer, my anxiety hovering just beneath the surface. Then, from the kitchen, Eun-chan filled a cup with water and answered with innocent cheerfulness.
“Oh. I’m learning a game from Si-woo hyung.”
“A game? What kind of game?”
“A drinking game.”
…What kind of game?
“He said he couldn’t stand watching a member of the same group lose at a game somewhere. So I’m getting special training from him.”
“…That hyung really isn’t normal either.”
Are we really going to be okay like this…?
My eye twitched slightly.
* * *
Contrary to my worries, the live streams from the remaining two units proceeded successfully, showcasing their own charm and chemistry.
-The A sandwich had tougher bread than expected. They probably wanted to toast it longer to get that crispy texture, but honestly, toasting just one side would’ve been better.
-This C sandwich was delicious, but…I have to eliminate it.
-Why?
-There’s no egg mayo in it.
-Ha-ru, you like egg mayo?
-No, that’s not it. C was supposed to be an egg mayo sandwich…!
-(Shock)
Lee Do-ha, who took even this seriously, and Dan Ha-ru, who was nothing but sincere about food, had already surpassed an hour in their live stream.
‘I was ready to jump in if things got boring, but looks like that won’t be necessary.’
I stood up from where I’d been waiting near the Practice Room and left. I’d considered waiting for them to finish and heading out together, but….
-Do you eat all the way to the crust when you have pizza, hyung?
-I think I eat most of it.
-Then when you eat tteokbokki, do you eat the rice cakes or the fish cakes?
-I just eat whatever’s given to me.
-Sweet and sour pork—do you dip it or coat it?
-…I don’t think I’ve ever really paid attention to that.
-Whoa! No way! Me too!
Those two were going to keep chatting longer than expected.
I deliberately took the long way around to the elevator, worried that showing my face might draw attention to their live stream. In front of the gleaming LED elevator, someone was already standing there ahead of me.
As I drew closer, a familiar blue head of hair greeted me.
“Lee Yu-gun?”
“…Yeah.”
“What’s up. Heading back to the Dormitory now?”
“Yeah. How about you?”
“Mm.”
As I nodded, Lee Yu-gun visibly hesitated and averted his gaze.
Just until the last live broadcast, he’d kept me firmly compressed and folded away, and now suddenly this coy act?
-People like you don’t understand. How much being a minus makes people want to run away.
Then, suddenly recalling what he’d said to me before, I realized there was still one knot between us that needed untying.
Just then, the elevator arrived and the doors slid open. I stepped closer to Lee Yu-gun’s side, squinting slightly against the bright light.
“Yu-gun.”
“W-what?”
As I casually draped an arm around Lee Yu-gun’s shoulder—a mere centimeter taller than me—he turned to me in surprise.
“Want to walk back to the Dormitory with me? I’ll buy you ice cream from the Convenience Store.”
“Am I Dan Ha-ru?”
“Then a popsicle?”
I got my allowance today. Just say the word. I’ll buy anything.
As I gave a playful wink, the sight of Lee Yu-gun’s expression crumbling was worth seeing.
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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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