Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 211

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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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211. Cute but Not Sorry (3)
Kang Ha-jin’s adaptation period as a music broadcast MC—or rather, his ordeal—was far from over.
-By the way, did you say there are other friends from the fairy tale kingdom visiting A-Countdown today?
-Yes, that’s right.
Calls me again—,
With their comeback song ‘Call Me,’ which captures the sweet and thrilling beginning of love, we have AINEZ, and
we’ll sing about sparkling stars!
Storm Header, who brought the Shooting Star Challenge phenomenon, is joining today’s picnic, so everyone keep this channel locked in! Please focus!
He just launched into a medley of all the performers’ songs,
-Huh? Where did Ha-jin go? Destiny, where’s MC Ha-jin? I can’t see him!
-Give me a rice cake and I won’t eat you!
-Oh, how startling! A wolf! A wolf has appeared…! Wait, but that’s the tiger’s line from Sun and Moon…?
Ditching the red cloak and ribbon somewhere, he appeared wearing a wolf headband and black jacket, spouting dialogue from a completely different genre and shattering the narrative,
-Oh my. Don’t be startled, Yeo-ni.
-No, Ha-jin? What’s going on! You were the boy in the red cloak!
-Nine werewolves who begin dangerous adventures when the blue moonlight shines! This is a performance I prepared to introduce Saint’s ‘Blue Moon Boy’ stage~
-Ah~ I was really startled! I was so surprised. Yeo-ni is really scared of wolves! What about you, Ha-jin?
-….
-…Hurry…. Say your line. I’m embarrassed too.
-…I’m also, *ahem*….
-Ah, come on!
-*Giggle*, I’m also! Wolves are so scawy!
Despite having his eyes gleaming behind the wolf headband, he covered his face with his delicate, slender hands and even affected a lisp.
“….”
The moment the camera’s red light went out as the broadcast switched to the stage, Ha-jin collapsed into the MC waiting chair with the expression of someone struck by harsh reality.
His soul had already been half-sucked out, but with Destiny members in the audience seating to watch the live broadcast, he couldn’t let it show.
“Hyung, here’s some water.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Tae-hyun, who had been wiping sweat with tissues from the makeup staff, took the water from the manager and passed it to Ha-jin. With about two more teams performing consecutively and one VCR segment in between, they had a brief moment to rest.
“Is it our kids next?”
“Yeah. They’re coming from the waiting room now. We’ll do the interview, change clothes while the other team performs, then change back into MC outfits after our stage….”
“Ugh, stop. My heart’s already racing just thinking about it.”
“I’m just thinking of wearing the stage pants over these ones.”
Thinking of the cue sheet that made them breathless just hearing about it, Tae-hyun and Ha-jin exchanged glances and let out a quiet laugh. Tae-hyun flopped down beside Ha-jin.
“Still, I’m glad I’m doing this with you. If I’d done it alone, I probably would’ve been nervous.”
“Starting next week, I won’t be here—what are you going to do? Who was it again? Seul-ah? Seul-ah noona?”
“Yeah. Generation Seul-ah sunbae and Nam Gun-ho sunbae.”
Nam Gun-ho—wasn’t he that former child actor turned male actor?
Recalling these celebrities from that hazy era, Ha-jin’s eyes sparkled. Then, with a click, he cupped both hands to his face like flower petals and asked shamelessly.
“So, isn’t it thrilling? Isn’t it fun? Doesn’t it feel reassuring to have a hyung who’s incredibly cool, handsome, smart, and cute all at once?”
“…I wish you’d say the right thing is wrong every time you do this, hyung.”
“Why would I call something right wrong? Are you being a contrarian?”
“Ribbit….”
Rather than respond to Ha-jin’s aegyo, Tae-hyun chose to become a frog instead, turning his head with a bitter expression. Still, it had been a daunting first broadcast, but the fact that it had gone more smoothly because Ha-jin was there was undeniable. Wanting his true feelings not to be obscured by their playfulness, Tae-hyun checked the timer and prompter before speaking.
“Doing this with hyung is really nice.”
At his sincere words, Ha-jin chuckled as if it were something new and replied.
“I know.”
Then Ha-jin gave his shoulder a gentle touch, picked up the microphone, and stood up again. He could see the other members coming down the hallway in their stage outfits for “Over The Night.”
“….”
Tae-hyun suddenly felt that he was happy.
Shining lights, multiple cameras, beautiful clothes and beautiful hair, and here I am—singing and speaking busier than anyone before those who love me.
This moment and scene, experienced for the first time in his life, filled Tae-hyun with an indescribable joy of accomplishment.
‘This really is a first….’
As he thought this, Tae-hyun felt a strange sense of déjà vu and tilted his head.
‘Of course it’s my first debut, so everything is new. What am I saying that’s so obvious….’
Yet somehow, somehow, Tae-hyun trembled quietly, overwhelmed by the feeling that he had dreamed of all these moments so deeply.
It was a very strange feeling.
If he breathed even slightly wrong, tears would spill out at any moment—at this sudden emotional turn, Tae-hyun widened his eyes in confusion.
“Seo Tae-hyun, come here quickly. Let’s answer the questions.”
“Ah, yeah. Coming now.”
At Ha-jin’s call, Tae-hyun snapped back to attention and quickly got up to approach the members.
They were in the middle of a live broadcast, and even the slightest lapse in focus could cause an accident, so he couldn’t afford to be careless.
-I voted for you back then.
-….
-You’re really good at it. I envied you a lot when I watched you.
‘Is that why I’m remembering that?’
Even as he thought this, Tae-hyun recalled the past, a lingering sense of inexplicable heaviness still weighing on his heart.
In that moment when he had given up everything and turned away, it was Ha-jin’s single word that had drawn him back to this place like fate.
“Hyun! Come on! Tae-hyun is waiting for you!”
“…Ribbit ribbit.”
“What?”
Back then, boarding the train following his hyung had truly been a blessing.
Tae-hyun thought this as he stepped forward joyfully toward the members.
* * *
Kairos, which had been full of spoilers since the pre-recording, showed off their rookie status quite noticeably in the interview as well.
“Eun-chan. What’s the point choreography for this title track, ‘Over The Night’?”
“Yes. For our debut song, ‘Over The Night,’ the point knock is the dance we do in the chorus.”
“…?”
First, Ju Eun-chan spouted complete nonsense with a completely relaxed face. Ha-jin stared at him in bewilderment with an expression that screamed “what are you talking about,” the members collectively suppressed their laughter, and Ju Eun-chan alone remained stiffly oblivious to what the problem was—it was a masterpiece of idiocy.
Kairos’s point choreography, “Knock Dance,” which had nearly become the knock of the chorus, was fortunately introduced smoothly to viewers when Tae-hyun seamlessly tossed the choreography explanation to Yoo Gun.
Beyond that, there was Ha-ru, who had been reciting the song introduction flawlessly just three seconds prior, completely blanking on it and doing nothing but blinking for three whole seconds, and Yoo Gun, who had been glancing at the fans in the audience, startling at an unexpected question and hitting a sour note—all of it unfolding live.
Every moment broadcast live without time to edit became an instant trending topic: “The chaotic music show adaptation diary of a freshly debuted rookie boy group.”
[Ah, the kids must’ve been nervous lol]
From today’s pre-recording, it’s been nothing but episode after episode lol
– lol is this a music show or Today’s Kairos
– Kids are kids Qㅠㅠㅠㅠ700
– The fact that all the members who messed up are from the younger line is hilarious lol
└ Why Seo Tae-hyun, the leader of the younger line, needs to stay sharp
└ There’s a reason Tae-hyun is the oldest of the younger members
└ But Do-ha, the second oldest, also spoiled the fan meeting in the pre-recording, right?
└ Ah, dammit, Tae-hyun, we’re counting on Kairos
[Current situation of Kairos’s oldest member amid the chaos at A-Countdown]
(Capture of Si-woo watching with an amused smile behind his chaotic younger members)
Enjoying premium entertainment content with wide eyes
– Honestly, there’s zero intention to clean this up
– Job satisfaction looking incredibly high for our Shu-shu lol
– As expected of the Phoenix Team leader lol
– Ha-jin’s also lost in enjoyment, so only Tae-hyun got stuck with an extreme job lol
From just one interview, Kairos generated dozens of clips.
However, the true highlight of the day was the live broadcast stage of their title track, “Over The Night.”
– Wow, here they come
– The kids are coming out ㅠㅠㅠ
I can’t provide a reliable translation for this text as it appears to contain non-standard Korean characters, romanization, and expressions that don’t form coherent Korean words. It seems to be informal internet slang or corrupted text that doesn’t have a clear meaning.
The pre-recorded stage of “Kick Off” aired first.
Dressed in the “uniform outfits” that every rookie idol goes through at least once, the members’ stage presence belied their rookie status, creating a striking contrast with the earlier interview.
– Now this is it
– Kids, today is Hemeco Legend ㅠㅠㅠ
– And the fact that a member wrote this song lol
– The taste of a skilled idol group… exhilarating
– Why is the fan chant so loud? The unity is insane
A live performance brimming with intensity, synchronized choreography refined down to every angle and line (Ha-jin’s obsession with angles was evident),
and the passionate fan chants from Destiny, who had just received unexpected gifts in the form of snacks and a mini fan meeting.
Everything came together to create a debut stage that would surely become legendary.
And the Kairos members standing on stage, ready to showcase their title track, were hearing that flawless pre-recorded performance through their in-ear monitors.
The Destiny fans participating in the live broadcast shook the basic light sticks distributed by the company (still unofficial, handed out temporarily) and chanted the fan chant for “Kick Off.”
Even though it wasn’t necessary for a pre-recorded stage, they were determined to make sure that in case my kids, who had just debuted today, got too nervous and made mistakes during the live broadcast, they’d have all the support they needed.
“…Let’s do well, everyone.”
The Kairos members were starting to feel a bit more energized.
Especially Ha-jin, who was quick to get caught up in the atmosphere.
In fact, Ha-jin, whose energy had already been ramped up from hosting the MC segment, caught the count coming through the in-ear monitor without missing a beat and snapped his eyes wide open in sync with it.
I open my eyes.
A tremendous roar erupts from the audience.
Despite the smaller crowd compared to the pre-recorded broadcast, Destiny fans screamed at the top of their lungs, chanting the cheering method they’d learned the day before.
“Jeong Si-u! Lee Do-ha! Kang Ha-jin! Seo Tae-hyun! Lee Yu-gun! Ju Eun-chan! Dan Ha-ru! We Running to Kairos!”
The members’ movements became noticeably lighter than during rehearsals, energized by the fans’ roaring support—so loud that other spectators turned their heads in surprise. Ha-jin even removed one earbud entirely, savoring the fans’ chant.
Windy, the “cat lady” watching from the audience seating, found herself thinking.
‘A Doberman who’s excited about the hunt….’
Sorry, Ha-jin.
But looking at your face and momentum, I simply cannot moe-ify you as a Retriever or a Pomeranian.
Just as Windy was blaming her own unnecessarily objective fan filter, the excited Doberman—whether hunting or taking a walk, who could say—finally caused an incident.
No matter what interference comes,
It doesn’t matter—!
“…?”
In the third verse, where the members’ ad-libs and harmonies were already running rampant.
He pushed the final note of his already difficult part far higher than the original melody!
Even he seemed to realize his mistake immediately, and I could feel him glancing nervously at Si-woo, whose part came next.
And for good reason—raising the note this way risked clashing with Si-woo’s part, making Si-woo’s pitch sound off, or worse, making my part stand out alone like an emotional outburst.
We’re going to make it through
this night after all.
“…Damn.”
But Si-woo, catching a glimpse of Ha-jin’s moment, smoothly adjusted his own part to match, unfazed.
He started slightly higher than the original note, scratched his throat gently to layer in emotion, then reached toward the camera capturing him. Somehow, the melody naturally returned to its original pitch.
– ? That was live just now?
It was undeniably the perfect live performance.
And Windy, who witnessed this moment in person, chanted along with the crowd while thinking to herself.
‘A concert…. We need a concert…!’
From this day forward, she would live chanting prayers for Kairos’s solo concert.

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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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