Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 209

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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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209. Cute But Shameless (1)
Ji Su-ho nodded in understanding after confirming the members’ gazes.
“Alright, I’ll let Ha-jin know then.”
“Wait, hold on. What about my opinion…?”
As I rose in bewilderment, Lee Yu-gun, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, murmured with his eyes still closed.
“Just let hyung do it.”
“Why? Why me?”
“You said you’re cute but not sorry about it. Shamelessness approved.”
“This bastard?”
As I bristled, Lee Yu-gun cracked open one eye. I looked at him and boldly made my demand.
“Why don’t you approve cuteness? Approve cuteness too!”
“Ugh, I really hate this.”
Lee Yu-gun grimaced at my shamelessness and closed his eyes again. I savored his reaction and gracefully accepted my predetermined fate.
“Well, since everyone is so enthusiastically requesting it, I suppose I have no choice. I shall go forth and proclaim to the world that the very essence of Kairos is cuteness.”
“…I have a bad feeling about letting that hyung loose on the world, Si-woo hyung.”
“Mm, it’s fine. Everyone who needs to know already knows.”
Jeong Si-u casually reassured or dismissed the seriously worried Ju Eun-chan.
With the mindset of enjoying whatever I had to do anyway, I nodded to Ji Su-ho, and right then a new Quest appeared before my eyes.
[System Alert: Sudden Quest!]
Content: ☆Kairos Debut Commemoration☆
The Bonus Time is back again☺
Successfully complete your music broadcast schedule
and raise your recognition!
Deadline: During the 【Over The Night】 music broadcast promotion period
Success Reward: ☆★See More★☆
‘Oh, nice timing.’
This definitely makes me want to work harder.
I smiled and clicked on the “See More” section to check the details.
“So everyone agrees Ha-jin should do it, right? Should I make the confirmation call now?”
“Yes.”
“Yep~”
And so, my first music broadcast MC schedule was decided.
* * *
Windy, known as “That Cat Person,” was fortunate enough to be selected for Kairos’s first music broadcast audience.
She had taken an early morning train to Seoul yesterday and stayed at a nearby dormitory for the night.
Kairos’s pre-recorded broadcast time was 10 AM.
It wasn’t an unreasonably early time for a pre-recorded show, but for someone living in the Provinces, it was impossible to attend without arriving a day early.
‘How much money does one concert outing cost anyway.’
Between transportation to and from Seoul, accommodation, and meals alone, the expenses were substantial.
To attend a music broadcast, she also had to buy albums and purchase digital downloads. Though Kairos hadn’t yet opened official fan club recruitment, she anticipated that once the first-generation fan club launched, she’d need an official light stick as well.
Thinking about the money she’d spent just yesterday and today, Windy let out a sigh.
“The real winner is the one who quits K-pop, seriously.”
For the tenth year running, she was still chanting about quitting K-pop—at least in words.
Truth be told, a few years ago when the idol group she’d loved disbanded due to failed contract negotiations, she had actually succeeded in quitting for a while.
…It was just that all the money and devotion she’d poured into K-pop simply transferred over to foreign actors instead.
“Is it over there?”
Coming alone seemed to have made Windy sentimental for a moment, but when she spotted a long line of people near the park by the Broadcasting Station, she changed direction.
Still uncertain, she double-checked the attendance verification location posted on the official Kairos Bluebird account on her way. Only after confirming that the official account had posted a photo matching where the crowd had gathered did Windy join the line.
“Wouldn’t this work if I bring it?”
“We’re unable to verify identity through a screenshot of an ID.”
“But this really is me. I lost my ID recently and haven’t gotten a replacement yet, so I don’t have the physical copy. What am I supposed to do?”
From the commotion ahead, it seemed someone had brought the wrong verification documents.
People only understood how absurd and ridiculous it was to prove you were yourself once they experienced it, but from the perspective of those checking, there was no way to tell if you were you or someone else—it was an unavoidable situation.
Windy worried whether she might have left something behind at the Dormitory and checked her bag once more.
“Your identity has been verified. Please wait at the designated time for entry.”
“Yes! Thank you so much.”
Fortunately passing through on the first try, Windy received a wristband equivalent to an entry pass for the music video shoot and fan meeting, a stamp card she could collect each time she attended a music broadcast schedule, and an unreleased fan meeting photo card not included in the album.
Windy would have been happy with any of the seven members’ photo cards, but to build up the anticipation of opening a blind box, she deliberately covered the front with the stamp card before stepping out of line.
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: You here yet?】
While organizing the items she’d received, Windy checked a message from her friend—the cat owner and Seo Tae-hyun’s biggest fan—on a bench near the verification list.
【Just got my attendance stamp】
【So nervous about whose photo card I got】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: I should’ve been there…】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: If you get Tae-hyun, please sell it to me】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: Seriously please】

Giggling at her friend’s desperation, Windy opened her photo card with slight trembling.
On the small rectangular paper was Lee Do-ha, dressed in the outfit from the music video’s Ruins scene.
【(photo)】
【Do-ha’s so handsome】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: Wow seriously】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: Do-ha takes good selfies?】
【It’s obvious you’re disappointed it’s not Tae-hyun】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: Obvious?】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: Yeah honestly I was kinda hoping】
【Lifelong Fan Hwang Ye-in: Do-ha I’m sorry but the photo card really turned out great】
“Ah, this is hilarious.”
After checking the reply, Windy put her phone down and pulled out an OPP sleeve from her bag for storing photo cards. As she carefully slipped the card in, worried it might get scratched, a group that looked noticeably young approached her.
“Um….”
“…? Yes?”
“Did you get a photocard of anyone in particular?”
Ah, a trade request?
Unlike Windy herself, who cycled through all seven members equally, people with a bias like her friend often requested exchanges or transfers to obtain their favorite’s photocard.
Since Windy genuinely didn’t care whose photocard she received, she casually flipped over the one she was about to slip into her holder and showed it.
“It’s Do-ha.”
“…Oh.”
“…?”
What was that reaction?
The moment the group confirmed that Windy’s photocard was Do-ha, they turned away with a response far more awkward than mere disappointment could express. Windy, with her years of K-pop fandom experience, immediately recognized the vibe and felt her mood plummet.
‘That’s member discrimination, isn’t it? Ugh, my morning’s ruined.’
Windy scanned the group as they walked away. Judging by the cherry-shaped merchandise hanging from one girl’s bag, she was almost certainly a devoted Tae-hyun fan.
‘I guess it’s inevitable that Tae-hyun has the highest recognition since we just debuted, but if those kinds of fans become entrenched and poison the fandom atmosphere, that’s a real problem.’
In just a brief moment, Windy recalled the negative influence hardcore fans wielded in the rookie boy group scene, the toxic fan culture that emerged, and the countless issues stemming from member discrimination. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
She’d only received one photocard trade request—there was no need to borrow trouble.
‘Besides, somehow… I’m not too worried about Kairos.’
Deciding to focus on positive thoughts, Windy returned to organizing her goods when someone approached her again.
“Um….”
“Yes?”
“Do you happen to have a Do-ha photocard?”
“Oh… Yes, yes. I do have a Do-ha photocard.”
This time it was a younger student who looked around the same age as the previous group. Apparently having come alone like Windy, the girl’s ears were flushed red as she clenched her fists and made her request.
“I’m really sorry… but would you be willing to trade photocards with me? I’m really a fan of Do-ha oppa, and I mean, the other oppas’ photocards are really nice too, but I really, really want to get Do-ha oppa’s photocard. This is actually my first time coming to something like this… and I’m not sure if I can come again next time, but when I tried to get one through resale, it was just so expensive, and….”
Oh my, how adorable. The future of K-pop is bright indeed.
Watching the student explain with trembling hands as if this were her first time doing something like this, Windy found herself briefly recalling her own early days as a fan.
On a bitterly cold winter day, skipping school to attend a fan meeting.
The older fans she’d lined up with had bought her fish cakes and hot chocolate and meals, sharing photocards and merchandise—memories that still remained precious to her.
Though those older fans had all since married, gotten jobs, and now went to see musicals, they still occasionally kept in touch when good things happened.
Windy smiled and handed Do-ha’s photocard to the student.
“Here you go. I’m happy to trade.”
“Wow, thank you so much. Um, but… who’s your bias, if you don’t mind me asking? Your photocard might not be my bias….”
“I like all the members equally, so it doesn’t matter to me. Whose photocard is it?”
“Oh, it’s Ha-jin oppa….”
“Oh, perfect. Let’s trade, let’s trade.”
“Thank you so much!”
Windy smiled and accepted Ha-jin’s photocard from the student.
Before even looking at it, a wave of anxiety washed over her: ‘Wait. Our Ha-jin takes terrible photos. Did he even survive the selfie version?’ But….
Thinking that his striking red hair must have saved him somehow, Windy slowly flipped over the photocard.
“Whoa, no way.”
“Ha-jin oppa’s selfie turned out really well, didn’t it? Honestly, when I saw this, I really did hesitate… but I wanted Do-ha oppa’s photocard so badly….”
Kang Ha-jin, what is this? Why did you take such a good photo? How are you so good at selfies?
Like Do-ha, Ha-jin was dressed in the formal uniform style of “Ruins,” and just as he had done on the final stage sometime ago, he was playfully holding his necktie between his teeth and winking. Yet his dignified visage was so commanding that Windy forgot she was meeting the Young Fan for the first time and let out an excited squeal.
“No way. Kang Ha-jin is insane. I mean, he’s so terrible at taking photos of himself that I was genuinely worried his selfie would be a disaster too.”
“Oh, that’s right. I was too… but the photo turned out so beautiful.”
“Insane… Thank you for trading with me. But Do-ha’s photo card came out amazingly well too.”
“Oh no. I’m the one who should be grateful…! Yes, yes. It’s so pretty… Ah, thank you so much.”
Windy bounced excitedly on her feet and made a friendly suggestion to the Young Fan, who was bowing gratefully.
“Did you come alone by any chance? I came alone too, so if you don’t have a group, would you like to spend the day together? This is fate, after all.”
“Huh…? Is that… really okay?”
“Of course. That’s what makes off-meets fun. How old are you?”
Windy carefully placed Ha-jin’s photo card in a plastic sleeve and slipped it into her newly purchased photo card holder before standing up. As she thought about seeing Kang Ha-jin’s face in person in about two hours, every bit of effort, dedication, and money she’d spent from last night through today felt completely worth it.
* * *
And then there was the very person who had made someone spend hundreds of thousands of won just to see him in person—Kang Ha-jin.
“…Is this really happening?”
“Hyung, it suits you well.”
“Ugh, this might actually cause some controversy.”
“Yoo Gun hyung! You need to keep quiet about that! Ha-jin hyung will hear you!”
“…I can hear everything, you bastards.”
He was currently facing a very serious crisis…!

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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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