Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 219
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
219. KINGMAKER (3)
The moment Ha-jin caught sight of Do-ha’s gaze fixed directly on him, he slammed his desk and shot to his feet, pointing an accusatory finger.
-I object!! That bastard had his mind made up from the start!!! The voter who should be impartial has lost all objectivity! This is electoral fraud!!!!
Si-woo promptly rose to meet him, countering with his own pointed finger.
-Don’t you know elections are about voting your conscience? What’s wrong with exercising my single vote with conviction, regardless of what others say? Now accept the results and gracefully take on the leader position!
Amid the tense standoff, Ha-ru’s shoulders sagged.
-I really wanted to try being leader….
The moment Ha-jin heard Ha-ru’s murmur, he raised his voice triumphantly.
-See? Our kid wanted to try it! We can’t let the youngest’s spirits fall—let’s make him leader…!
-I didn’t raise our youngest to be so fragile over something like this.
-You didn’t raise him at all!
-Neither did you?
-I’ve been feeding this kid three meals a day without fail, so I’d say I have about 0.8% stake in his life!
Yoo Gun sighed as he watched the so-called ‘reliable’ first and third brothers make spectacles of themselves, then appealed to his second brother.
-Do-ha. Why don’t we just make Ha-ru the leader? Or Tae-hyun.
-Wait, why do you keep trying to drag me into this?
-Honestly, you’re the only sane one among us.
-That’s true, but….
-See, even Tae-hyun admitted it
-Alright, Tae-hyun, good luck
-So who’s the leader anyway lololololol we’re not reaching a conclusion
The barely settled result was on the verge of descending into chaos once more as members kept interjecting.
The one who brought order to the entire situation was Ju Eun-chan, who had been watching the brothers’ argument with anxious, darting eyes.
-Everyone!!! Please be quiet!!!!!!
-…!
At Eun-chan’s shout—something he rarely did—all movement in the classroom froze instantly. Ha-jin was so startled he even hiccupped.
As all eyes converged on him, Ju Eun-chan stood from his seat and turned his back to the camera, facing his brothers.
It was a moment where Eun-chan’s handsome face might not have been captured on screen.
But thanks to Ha-jin, who even while hiccupping worried that his younger brother’s good looks wouldn’t be caught on camera, turning the desk-mounted camera toward Eun-chan, the Destiny fans were fortunately able to witness the rare sight of an ‘angry Ju Eun-chan.’
-You guys….
Ju Eun-chan, dressed in the loose white shirt typical of Band Club members with an equally loose necktie, looked at his brothers with an expression of profound disappointment. At that look—as if he might cry any moment—Si-woo flinched.
-You guys… don’t want to be our team’s leader…?
-…!
At Eun-chan’s words that pierced straight through, both Si-woo and Ha-jin’s pupils trembled violently.
It would be hard to claim it was just a concept for entertainment when both had been far too sincere about passing the leader role to each other.
Eun-chan spoke in a voice that sounded like he might bury someone right then and there.
-Is it because Ha-ru and I cause too many accidents…? Then, then I’ll cause fewer from now on!
-He didn’t say he wouldn’t cause any… pretty honest
-Our precious baby king’s heart must be so hurt
-(photo) Ah seeing Ha-ru get all teary-eyed at Eun-chan’s words lololololol the maknae line synchronizing is so cuteeeee
Ju Eun-chan, completely absorbed in the situation, furrowed his brow deeply. As Si-woo and Ha-jin still offered no response, Eun-chan’s lips drooped so far they seemed ready to bore through the basement floor.
-Fine.
In the end, it was Kang Ha-jin who surrendered first.
-I’ll do it, class president.
-…You destroy the entire worldview and now you’re pulling out the class president card?
-Tch. Teacher, please be quiet. I’m making a class president statement.
-What’s this?
As if his desperate resistance just moments ago—swearing he’d rather die than become leader—had all been a dream, Ha-jin paid no mind to Tae-hyun’s jab and simply gestured for silence.
-But I can’t just accept it like this. Tell me why you picked me as leader, Do-ha. If your reasoning is sound, I’ll accept it.
Ha-jin finally turned to face Do-ha, the friend who had made him team leader following last month’s evaluation. Do-ha opened his mouth as if he’d been waiting for this very moment, clasping his hands together.
-…Well, I’ll admit Yoo Gun’s words shook me a bit. Ha-ru is the youngest, but he’s got backbone and is dependable.
-Thank you!
-Yeah. But still, I really think Ha-jin should be the leader. Maybe it’s because I’ve done sports, but in athletic clubs, a captain isn’t just someone who represents the group.
Beside Do-ha, a brief caption of his diverse athletic background scrolled past. As if to prove his athletic club origins, his notably broad and toned shoulders and arm muscles revealed their silhouette with his every movement.
-A captain has to pay more attention than anyone else to the relationships between players, their chemistry, their friction—things coaches and managers might miss. Sometimes you have to give harsh feedback if the team needs it, and you need the dedication to sacrifice part of yourself for the team.
-….
-Si-woo is strict with himself and with others. If Si-woo became leader, our team would never waver and would charge toward our goals without hesitation. But is that really the kind of leadership our team needs most?
At Lee Do-ha’s earnest assessment, the editing shifted to match it, becoming slightly more poignant. Soft background music played as the members’ expressions listening intently to Do-ha were captured.
-I just thought we needed a leadership that could unite everyone as one, even if we stumbled a little along the way. And that’s you, Ha-jin.
Do-ha turned to look at Ha-jin once more as he spoke. Ha-jin seemed embarrassed and averted his gaze.
Acknowledging yourself and hearing someone else acknowledge you to your face carried a weight that was worlds apart.
-No… why are you taking it like some documentary, you?
-Huh? Ha-jin’s ears are turning red!
-Shut up, you bastard.
-Aaaah! Stop it! (Stop it!)
For the first time, Ha-jin displayed a demeanor befitting his concept, stretching the innocent Dan Ha-ru’s cheeks mercilessly.
Tae-hyun, instinctively sensing it was time to rein in this chaos, clapped twice.
-Alright. All those in favor of Ha-jin becoming our class president, raise your hands.
Starting with Dan Ha-ru, who rubbed his sore cheek with one hand while raising the other, the other members raised their hands in turn.
Even Yoo Gun, who had been casting suspicious glances and tilting his head in doubt until the very end, reluctantly raised his hand when Tae-hyun jabbed him in the ribs.
-With the approval of more than half the members, Kairos’s official leader is decided to be Ha-jin!
-Yaaay! The leader!!
With the enthusiastic support of the younger members and Jeong Si-u, Kairos’s leader was decided.
Ha-jin stood up and nodded appropriately, offering his greetings.
Standing before the teacher’s desk to deliver his acceptance speech, Ha-jin gripped the desk with both hands.
-Yes, everyone. Well, regardless… thank you for choosing me.
Ha-jin loosened the necktie that had been choking him uncomfortably. He undid a couple of shirt buttons that had been fastened all this time.
-That….
-…?
As Ha-jin trailed off, he removed the round glasses that had softened his sharp impression, setting them down on the desk. The slight squinting of his eyes as he removed them was genuinely intimidating.
Ha-jin blinked several times to focus, then smiled softly.
-You won’t regret this, right? There’s no turning back now.
-…!
-I’ll do my best. Leader.
And immediately following was Ha-jin’s interview.
The nerd concept had been abandoned entirely—he wore nothing but a black short-sleeved shirt and school uniform pants.
【Q. How does it feel to become class president?】
【Ha-jin: Well… honestly, I always thought it would be either Si-woo or me. From my perspective, no matter how many times I think about it, Si-woo leading makes more sense… but the members want me like this, so what can I do? I have to do it.】
【Q. Your attitude seems to have changed a bit right after becoming class president…?】
【Ha-jin: That’s right. Until now, Si-woo was here too, so I just stayed quiet and went along… but now I’m the team’s leader. I can’t be the same as before.】
【Ha-jin: I’ll try my best to live a life of serious abuse of power… no, I mean, dedicated service.】
Ha-jin in the interview smiled with a chilling gleam in his eyes.
* * *
【Kairos Leader Election: Everything Thrown In】 concluded with Ha-jin’s victory.
True to the Production Team’s word about mixing everything together to fill the runtime, there was still plenty of script remaining.
However, with just the opening and class president election already filling nearly thirty minutes of the episode, the Production Team boldly decided to push all remaining content to the next episode.
In short, after the live broadcast ended, Destiny fans enjoyed the aftermath in their own spaces, in their own ways.
Ah, today’s Orca was packed lol
Looking at the Arts High School preview, it seems like next week Ha-jin’s going to be leading things and everyone’s getting assigned their own roles, and it’s already so ridiculously funny lolololololololololololol
– Imagining Jeong Si-u running away from power like that and then getting elected vice president
└ Dog’s a total mess lolololol
– I saw someone capture the whiteboard—it had dance duty, cleaning duty, stuff like that, so when does next week come
JeongSuCream
@ice_ciu
I can’t breathe from Kang Si-u’s character design
Jeong Si-u looking like that, dropped out of high school
Kang Ha-jin looking like that, perfect attendance at a regular high school
The school uniform concept didn’t just come out of nowhere, you know
(Si-woo and Ha-jin in school uniforms, captured)
Kang Dae-jang
@strongjin
Coming to our place
To celebrate
becoming class president
I’m giving out hamburgers to Destiny
Starting at 9 PM~ drawing 10 winners total
(hamburger gift certificate with barcode covered)
(Ha-jin’s captured selfie)
The school concept and uniform styling—the very definition of idol content—combined with solid comedy and substance.
This episode of 【Today’s Kairos】 was receiving considerable praise among Destiny fans.
The members, fully aware of their fans’ reactions, released their school uniform selfies and unreleased photos on Kairos’s official SNS not long after the fan signing ended.
[Kairos arrived in school uniforms, group shot]
(Photo of members playing freely in school uniforms)
The youngest ones scribbling on the blackboard is cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Wow, now that I see it, Ha-jin really looks like an older brother and Do-ha really looks like a younger brother…
– Taehyun is wearing a yellow gym uniform by himself hahaha Please give us a selfie of Taehyun in school uniform tooㅠㅠㅠ
└ Tae-hyun has a school uniform photo too!!!
– Today’s school fan signing was so happy, really…the best part is that there’s a next episode
Kang Ha-di
@kang_HD
The first thing Ha-jin did after becoming Kairos’s leader
: Took Tae-hyun’s school uniform and
wearing a yellow gym uniform that’s way too small for him
sleeping in the back of the classroom and getting photographed…
The overflowing dignity of Kairos’s leader leaves us speechless
(Photo of sleeping Ha-jin taken by Ha-ru)
Just as everyone was still immersed in the lingering warmth of the fan signing.
Another notification rang out to delight the Destiny members.
【We’ve come to greet Destiny, everyone. Kairos’s first group live broadcast, come on in come on in ദ്ദി˙∇˙)ว】
It was Kairos’s first group live broadcast since their debut.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————