Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 214

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

214. Welcome. Your First Fan Sign Event, Right? (2)
Inside the car heading home after our first fan sign event.
I was scrolling through the SNS timeline, admiring the photos from our fan sign and saving the ones I liked.
LUV S2
@LUV_sty09
Kairos’s first fan sign event situation.
The Destiny fanbase’s unwavering member character chemistry stands out
(Group photo of members in their fan sign outfits)
Shares 723 Likes 1.2K
Jeong Si-u in a race car driver jacket and goggles, Lee Do-ha in special forces gear holding a toy sniper rifle, and Ju Eun-chan in a crown prince’s dragon robe—each member struck natural poses that suited their costumes perfectly.
Beside them, Dan Ha-ru dressed as a wizard from a magical fantasy series was playing with Lee Yu-gun, who had somehow become a bell-adorned fox, and past Seo Tae-hyun sipping an iced coffee in a cafe employee uniform….
“Oh dear….”
The moment I saw myself standing there like a wooden statue in a dress, pointlessly holding a bright red apple, I couldn’t bear the unbearable embarrassment and simply turned off my phone.
[System Alert: Princess, do not eat that apple….]
[System Alert: The System gazes at Snow White with misty, glistening eyes….]
‘Do you want to die?’
[System Alert: Dying is Conductor’s job, isn’t it….]
[System Alert: A…P…P…L…E….]
‘This is my chance,’ I thought, and as Thirteen relentlessly teased me, I glared at him and opened the Quest window.
What I needed after my body and mind were exhausted from these merciless fan sign outfits was financial therapy—in other words, reward therapy.
[System Alert: Sudden Quest!]
Content: ☆Kairos Debut Commemoration☆
The Bonus Time has returned again! ☺
Successfully complete music broadcast schedules
and raise your recognition!
Deadline: Within the 【Over The Night】 music broadcast activity period
Reward upon success: ☆★See More★☆
– Successfully complete music broadcast special MC role (1/1)
– Successfully complete music broadcast stage performances (2/12)
– Secure music broadcast ending fairy and thumbnail spot (0/1)
– Win music broadcast #1 award and conduct encore stage (0/1)
– Complete fan sign event without incidents or controversies (1/8)
– Conduct group member live performance (0/1)
– Conduct 【Over The Night】 challenge with others (excluding members) (2/10)
※ The success of all missions is evaluated based on objective metrics, public response, and fan satisfaction. ※
※ Upon mission success, random rewards that help with ‘Single Quest 03. The Happiness the Boy Desires’ will be granted. ※
‘Ugh, still so far to go.’
Looking at the Quest window, I felt my motivation deflate—there was still a long way to go before earning the reward.
Just as I was closing my eyes thinking I should just sleep, my phone vibrated softly against my stomach.
“…?”
【Number One: Hyung】
【Number One: (photo)】
Number One: lol
Wondering what Kang Ha-won suddenly wanted, I opened the chat room to find freshly taken, high-quality photos and previews from my fan sign event bundled together and sent over.
The moment I saw the ultra-high-definition candid shot of myself sitting carelessly at the table in a Snow White dress, my face devoid of expression as I bit into an apple, I fired back a rapid-fire response to Ha-won.
【Are you insane?】
【You’re supposed to be studying for the college entrance exam, not hunting down high-stimulus memes like this】
【Do you want to walk into that exam hall and spend the whole time thinking about your hyung in a princess dress?】
To my concern disguised as a threat, Ha-won replied coolly.
【Number One: I’m doing early admission, hyung】
【Number One: And this actually helps a lot】
【Number One: It’s like….】
【Number One: It’s like motivation, anyway】
Somehow I doubt that motivation is the positive kind, Ha-won.
But there was no point in nitpicking over details when everything had already happened. I resigned myself and made a request of him.
【Make sure Dad never sees this】
【I’ll buy you something delicious next time】
Then came a devastating response.
【Number One: Dad already set it as his KakaoTalk profile picture】
【? I still have my old one】
【Number One: He must have multi-profiles】
Number One: Anyway, I’m heading back to class now, bye.
【Ha-won】
【Won】
【What am I supposed to do if you leave like this】
【Ha-won?】
【Younger Sibling】
【Hey, Kang Ha-won】
What would be the appropriate reaction upon learning that your personal business had been discovered not just by your Younger Sibling but by your father as well, and was now immortalized as his profile picture?
“Ugh… ugh… kgh….”
As I groaned and banged my head against the window in unbearable mortification and anguish, Lee Do-ha, sitting beside me, handed me a water bottle with a bewildered expression.
“Want some water?”
Was he suggesting I cool off with cold water?
But I felt like I needed it anyway, so I nodded gratefully and downed the bottle he’d opened for me in one go.
My throat was parched, that’s for sure.
‘Come to think of it, did this bear do well at the fan sign?’
He has such a blunt way of speaking, but he’s actually good with words, so I’m sure he did fine….
Seized by sudden curiosity, I crushed the empty water bottle and asked Do-ha.
“Did you think the fan sign went well? It was your first time, after all.”
“Oh, well. It was fun.”
“…Really?”
That was an unexpectedly positive response.
Considering that when it came to Do-ha and “meeting fans,” the first thing that came to mind was “that incident” from the Miro Maze’s fourth competition, where rudeness and disrespect had reached their peak, it was all the more surprising.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I picked up my phone again and immediately searched “Do-ha fan sign review” on Bluebird.
Rossy Day
@rossy_1017
Kairos Wakeline fan sign review
#Do-ha
Went to a fan sign to meet my favorite in person
And he just went off on a whole Disney movie critique session
(edited video of Do-ha having a serious debate with a fan)
…I should stop searching.
‘So basically he had some deep fandom discussions with the fans, right?’
Still plagued by curiosity, I scrolled down my phone’s timeline again to find another review.
JungShuCream
@ice_ciu
I asked Do-ha about the perilla leaf debate
Can friendship exist between men and women
What is the definition of a friend
How do we define the relationship between
a fan and an idol
and we discussed all of it….
(fan sign authentication photo)
(photo of post-it with perilla leaf debate question)
‖
JungShuCream
@ice_ciu
Since many people are asking, I’ll answer
Do-ha says that someone who can
remove their own perilla leaf skillfully
with chopsticks is attractive
If someone were to skillfully remove it for him,
he said he’d feel attracted to that person
Suddenly my imaginary boyfriend is being stolen by Do-ha
Guys, the perilla leaf isn’t the problem here
…I really need to stop looking into this.
Aside from discovering this new TMI about my friend’s ideal type being someone with good chopstick skills, the search yielded no significant findings.
‘Still, it seems like everyone’s adapting well enough, so that’s a relief?’
Over the two weeks of music broadcast activities, there were at least seven more fan signs remaining.
Considering video call fan signs and additional ones scheduled after the activity period ended, there would be at least ten more similar events ahead.
Truth be told, one-on-one fan sign sessions were easier said than done—spending several days smiling brightly at over a hundred people while conjuring up fresh conversation topics each time was no trivial feat.
‘We still have quite a few individual fans, so I was a bit worried….’
I wondered how the other members were managing.
Though my mental stamina seemed woefully inadequate, I picked up my phone, reminding myself that this was a necessary task for a successful fan sign completion.
Just then, a brief vibration—uu-ung—and a messenger notification arrived from Seo Tae-hyun.
【Miro_Kairos_Seo Tae-hyun ‖ URGENT】
‘Urgent?’
When I opened the messenger, it was a group chat with the members.
My heart sank, wondering what had happened now, but looking closer, the group chat only included three people—myself included.
【Miro_Kairos_Jeong Si-u ‖ What’s going on?】
Jeong Si-u, the remaining member besides Seo Tae-hyun and me, replied.
Jeong Si-u, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head to meet my eyes with a shrug as if asking what was wrong. When I shook my head to indicate I didn’t know either, Seo Tae-hyun, wedged between Dan Ha-ru and Ju Eun-chan in the back seat and serving as a pillow, let out a whine and sent a reply.
【Miro_Kairos_Seo Tae-hyun ‖ Eun-chan’s crying】
【Miro_Kairos_Seo Tae-hyun ‖ He’s sleeping now, but he was crying alone earlier】
【Why is Ju Eun-chan crying?】
【Did something happen?】
【Miro_Kairos_Jeong Si-u ‖ There was nothing unusual during the fan sign】
Instead of answering, Seo Tae-hyun sent me an anonymous post.
[Went to my favorite’s fan sign for the first time today and got hit with reality…]
I already knew he wasn’t the talkative type lol
But today when I saw his face for the first time in person,
he wouldn’t even make proper eye contact with me
and barely answered my questions
I jokingly asked if he’d come sing at my sister’s wedding next week
and he just got serious and said that wouldn’t be possible
Like, did I really ask him to come? lol…
All I needed was some back-and-forth banter, but the conversation was seriously boring…
I could feel how immature he seemed, and my feelings just cooled off lol
Honestly, it was just so boring
One thing annoyed me, so everything annoyed me
I bought new clothes and everything for this fan sign, spent so much money
I should’ve just used that money to buy myself something delicious…
Reality check hits hard. Guess being a fan from home eating up his face is the most fun after all
On fan community boards, a ‘post-fan sign reality check lament from a disappointed fan’ was fairly common. Cross a certain line, and it became an unfan post—or in other words, a consumer’s product dissatisfaction review.
【Miro_Kairos_Seo Tae-hyun ‖ I think this is about Eun-chan】
【Miro_Kairos_Seo Tae-hyun ‖ His fan sign is tomorrow, and if he stays like this, he’ll be even more discouraged and won’t be able to say anything】
【Miro_Kairos_Seo Tae-hyun ‖ What should we do?】
…So not everyone was adapting smoothly after all.
How do I do this?
Not everyone was adapting so easily, it seems.
I smacked my lips audibly and typed into the chat.
【What else can we do?】
【We have to fix this.】
And so, the “Emergency Meeting for Ju Eun-chan’s Mental Recovery” was officially established.
* * *
Seo Tae-hyun, Jeong Si-u, and I decided to meet secretly in Si-u and Tae-hyun’s room at the Dormitory once all the other members had fallen asleep.
Since we had a Music Broadcast Studio schedule starting the next morning, there was no point in waking everyone up and making a big fuss out of it.
However, when that late night finally arrived, the three of us weren’t the only ones gathered in Tae-hyun and Si-u’s room.
“…Didn’t we agree it would be just the three of us?”
Jeong Si-u crossed his arms and fixed us with a look that demanded explanation.
Cramped as the room was for six men, I’d ended up sitting on Seo Tae-hyun’s bed with my legs folded awkwardly, and now I turned my head with an embarrassed voice, pointing to Lee Do-ha sitting beside me.
“Well, we share a room, so it felt unnatural to sneak out and leave him behind. He goes to bed late anyway and wakes up easily, so I figured it was better to bring him along than risk waking him when I came back in….”
Then Seo Tae-hyun, who’d given up his bed to Do-ha and me and was now sitting on the floor, glanced meaningfully across the room at Dan Ha-ru and spoke up.
“Well, actually, it was Ha-ru who told me that Eun-chan was crying earlier…. I contacted the hyungs without realizing Ha-ru was still awake, but it seems he saw everything. He said he wanted to help too, so….”
The perceptive, sharp-eared, clear-eyed baby rabbit warrior Dan Ha-ru beamed and nodded enthusiastically.
“I want to help Eun-chan hyung too!”
“…Okay, I get that….”
Jeong Si-u rested his chin on his hand and let out a heavy sigh. Then Lee Yu-gun, who’d been blinking sleepily beside Ha-ru, let out a loud yawn and made his appearance.
“Ha-ru just dragged me along.”
“Ah, I see.”
Jeong Si-u glanced at Ha-ru, who was beaming with satisfaction, nodded as if he understood well enough, and moved on.
Then all our gazes turned to the last person standing in the middle of the room.
Jeong Si-u’s voice took on a rare note of deflation.
“So then, who on earth brought Eun-chan…?”
Who was the madman who’d brought Ju Eun-chan to the Ju Eun-chan Mental Recovery Emergency Squad?
Then Ju Eun-chan, who’d been standing blankly in the middle of the room the whole time, fidgeting with his ear, answered.
“I just followed everyone else when they all started coming into this room.”
Ah, I see….
Thus, Kairos’s second emergency meeting, the “Ju Eun-chan Fan Sign Adaptation Project”….
All Kairos members in attendance, complete.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————