Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 220

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

220. Kick off (1)
Kairos’s first group live broadcast.
The moment the alarm sounded, Destiny rushed into Aibus, greeted by a party room decorated in soft pastel tones and….
-Hello, Destiny!
-Hey!
-Everyone, hi~
-Oh my god, the school uniforms are insane
It was the Kairos members in the school uniforms they’d worn during the concept film!
-Seriously, every time I see it, the uniform concept is so good. Like, who came up with Yoo Gun in that black turtleneck?
-The official delinquent Jeong Si-u… ‘this works’
-Ha, Ha-jin with that infuriating bowl cut wearing the cap again, it’s so funny lololol
Ha-jin maintained his existing nerdy concept with a neat, complete school uniform set,
Si-woo wore an unbuttoned shirt over a white short-sleeved shirt and a uniform jacket,
while Yoo Gun wore a black turtleneck with a loosely draped shirt and uniform jacket, and Eun-chan wore a loosely tied shirt and necktie—some members kept their exact concept film looks, while others had refined the details to focus more on the ‘school uniform’ aesthetic.
-Seo’s uniform king tier is hilarious, the styling is insane
– Doha took off his hoodie ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Since he took it off, it somehow looks like a suit and not a school uniform. It’s because of my mood ㅠㅜㅜㅠㅜ?
-The maknae line looks so good in uniforms, obviously they’re still in high school
Tae-hyun, who wore a yellow gym uniform in the concept film, still wore an oversized yellow jersey, but underneath was a loose uniform shirt and necktie.
Do-ha, who had adopted the risky concept of being a born-and-bred dancer (which Ha-jin had half-jokingly recommended), also changed out of his hoodie into a uniform shirt, necktie, and knit vest. Though it took a moment to realize that was a uniform and not a suit.
Unlike the concept film where Dan Ha-ru had worn something ordinary, he now wore a soft cardigan instead of a uniform jacket, creating a subtle shift in atmosphere.
-Please, just one music show in uniforms, that’s all mom wants
– Please release the next album as a school material ㅠㅜㅠㅜㅜㅠㅜ Rookies are naturally refreshing, but I’m actually not satisfied with Order Me.
-You guys ever thought about re-debuting with this concept…? Your noona’s good at playing dumb
The textbook rookie! The essence of a rookie!
School uniforms—something every rookie must wear, never missing from the top of the essential checklist—were being showcased live after the concept film.
As Destiny expressed their emotion and quickly left comments and reactions, the members, once they confirmed enough viewers had gathered, straightened their positions to greet everyone.
-Alright, let us greet you. Two, three!
-LET’S KICK US OFF! Hello, we’re Kairos!
Watching Ha-jin, now the leader, shout the chant that Si-woo had always called out during music shows, Destiny erupted in the chat once more.
– ㅁㅊ Now that we have a leader tooㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Our wolf doberman… denied it hard, but the leader’s Percocet, right? Fits well, right? With just one glance from the maknae who was doing something else, everything gets sorted instantly, right?
-Jeong Si-u smiling because he’s not shouting the chant is so irresponsible, like a reckless baby uncle
└ How far does Jeong Si-u’s character go?
└ Honestly, Kairos is just collectively going insane across the board
While SNS and various community comments and live chat were ablaze, the broadcast proceeded steadily according to the pre-planned format.
-Destiny, did you all enjoy Today’s Kairos?
-We watched it too while waiting here for the live broadcast, and honestly, it was so fun! Especially the part where Ha-jin and Si-woo were fighting…. Oh, well, they fought for the whole thirty minutes, but um….
-Should we give Ha-ru a muffin? A muffin? There’s one here. The chocolate muffin Ha-ru likes.
-Yay!
-Don’t fall for it, Dan Ha-ru. They’re trying to shut you up with that.
-…!
-Eun-chan. The milk…
-Gasp! Oh, no!
-…I was trying to warn you it would spill.
-Do-ha, you should say things like that sooner.
-Sigh. I want to go home….
Though it was admittedly a bit, just a bit noisy, we were still technically within the bounds of the script.
Lol so damn loud lmaooo
– Is the sound director for Today’s Kairos okay? My ears are literally bleeding just from watching the live stream???
– Tae-hyun, hang in there. I’m sorry that’s all I can say, and uh, thanks for your hard work
Last time at the escape room too, Do-ha always speaks so slowly that things go wrong, and he just blurts it out lol
For a rookie idol group only two weeks into their debut, this level of chaos was acceptable. In fact, there were fans who actually enjoyed this rough, unpolished charm.
It was Ha-jin who brought order to the suddenly chaotic venue—feeding Ha-ru a chocolate muffin, then finding tissues for Eun-chan after he spilled milk.
-Yes, anyway, this is Kairos’s first group live broadcast today. We’re sad that tomorrow’s music show schedule is cancelled, and we came here to celebrate as our debut activities are winding down.
Ha-jin’s remarks were certainly something he’d done before, but now that he wore the armband of leader, each word seemed to carry more weight somehow. Even though the other members didn’t seem particularly moved by it.
Ha-jin, who had entrusted the monitoring tablet to Yoo Gun sitting beside him, clasped his hands lightly while facing the broadcast camera.
-We’ve prepared various content, but beyond that, if you have any questions about us or things you’ve been curious about, please leave them in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer. Let’s chat together.
Kairos’s first communication broadcast officially opened.
* * *
“Oh, I found that question. Why is the high school name Saegim, Tae-hyun?”
“Our group name is Kairos, right? The meaning of Kairos apparently comes from the verb meaning ‘to carve’ or ‘to engrave.’ One of the meanings of our group name is becoming an idol that carves special moments into the K-pop industry…. It kind of became Saegim High School with that feeling….”
“Kairos High School sounded weird.”
“….”
“No, why? But Kiss High, Karo High, Kai High—they’re all awkward and we got rejected for all of them…. Okay, okay. Relax your eyes, Tae-hyun. Whoa. Your gaze is pretty intense right now.”
Geez.
I almost experienced the miracle of laser beams shooting from a member’s eyes because I misspoke.
‘I need to be careful about saying stupid things in front of Seo Tae-hyun.’
Along with a vow I wouldn’t keep for even three hours, let alone three days, I patted my chest and refocused on the live chat comments.
Most of my bodily functions were working properly, but unfortunately, my tracking vision wasn’t sharp enough to keep up with the chat scrolling at supersonic speed. Still, whenever I caught sight of questions, I tried to read them, and my eyes were straining so much they were starting to sting.
‘Thirteen. What’s so “me” about me that you can’t bring back eyesight from childhood as a skill? I really need a digital detox, but this industry won’t let me.’
[System Notification: But according to records, Kang Ha-jin has been wearing glasses since elementary school? How far back in your childhood are you trying to go…?]
Thirteen’s words brought back the memory that my elementary school entrance gift was a pair of glasses.
Well, I guess it’s easier to just accept that I had bad eyesight from birth.
‘Then forget the skill—can’t you just do a side job for me? Slow down the chat for me.’
[System Notification: Are you treating me like some kind of AI assistant system now….]
‘Weren’t you?’
[System Notification: The System is frustrated that it can’t refute this.]
[System Notification: s(・｀ヘ´・；)]
Even as Thirteen displayed a puffing effect, he reluctantly opened an empty system window and displayed the comments more slowly.
I adjusted the system window’s position next to the monitoring tablet so it wouldn’t look like I was staring into empty space, and slowly read through the comments. With the slower speed, I could now see the posts I’d missed before, appearing one after another.
Yoo Gun, say something, lol. Just sitting there making money so easily, that’s crazy.
– Oh, please be quiet… Let’s listen to other kids’ voices, please.
– ♥♥♥♥♥Read it, read it, read it, read it, read it, read it, are you in contact with Won-ho and Jae-young?? Please read this ♥♥♥♥♥♥
I broke up with my boyfriend today, please comfort me. I had to cancel fan signs and music show appearances, and I got dumped by my boyfriend too, so I’m really depressed and upset right now. Hyerin, if you just tell me you love me, I think I’ll feel better? If you don’t read this, I know you’re being insensitive, haha.
‘…This isn’t easy.’
In truth, this level of comments was ambiguous—hard to call it hate speech or attention-seeking.
More explicit and vicious remarks were probably flooding SNS and anonymous communities, and even without going that far, the worst of it was already happening.
“….”
Our phones, which I’d deliberately collected and left with Ji Su-ho before the broadcast, were all powered off. Apparently, our personal information had leaked from somewhere, and stalkers who’d gotten hold of a few members’ numbers had been calling constantly.
‘If I turn it back on right after ending the live stream, they’ll be certain it’s our number, so I need to tell them to power up again in the early morning.’
When I decided to debut as an idol, I wasn’t ignorant of problems like these.
But there was a vast difference between knowing something intellectually and actually facing the situation.
“Hmm. People keep asking if our fan name will continue to be Destiny. Do-ha, want to answer this one? You had a lot of input on it anyway.”
“…I thought about coming up with a new fan name, but I felt like Destiny has a nice ring to it and carries deep meaning. The meaning of ‘Destiny’ is good too.”
“We had lots of other ideas. We thought about adding the meaning of Eternity to create E.nity, or Mysty—meaning ‘My’ Destiny—or maybe even picking a completely different name. But in the end, Destiny just felt the most natural rolling off the tongue, you know?”
I glanced at the members answering the fans’ comments sincerely while checking their condition.
Though they seemed fine enough, speaking calmly and naturally, the truth was we hadn’t slept properly in days and were exhausted to the bone. We still had a long way to go before adjusting to this irregular lifestyle.
‘…That’s why I wanted to do the live stream after finishing all the music show appearances.’
In times like these, I had to be careful about mental damage.
Without proper sleep, with our bodies worn out and our minds scattered from all the activities, one careless scratch from a hateful comment could cost us even more sleep we couldn’t afford to lose.
I was thinking about what was left to do when I looked at the comment section again, and suddenly a strange comment caught my eye.
– Lying orphan Dan Ha-ru, are you having fun stealing other people’s lives?
‘…What?’
What is this?
Before I could hide my shock, I instinctively turned my head to check if Dan Ha-ru had seen this comment. Dan Ha-ru was on the other side, chuckling as he watched Lee Yu-gun and Seo Tae-hyun bickering again.
The moment Dan Ha-ru turned his gaze to the tablet as if to check the comments again—,
“…?”
“Hmm. People keep asking if our fan name will continue to be Destiny. Do-ha, want to answer this one? You had a lot of input on it anyway.”
I was back to just a few minutes ago—before that problematic comment had appeared.
In other words….
Time had rewound again.
‘What is this? What’s happening?’
I scanned the chat with hawk eyes just in case, but the problematic comment never appeared.
As if a game bug had been patched and erased.
‘Hey, Thirteen. What is this? What’s going on right now? What kind of situation is this?’
I checked on Dan Ha-ru with my eyes while urgently searching for Thirteen.
But the answer Thirteen gave in response to my call exceeded my imagination.
[System Alert: Yes?]
[System Alert: What are you talking about?]
[System Alert: （ •́ㅿ•̀ ）?]
‘What? You’re the one talking nonsense right now. We just regressed again. Strange comments are popping up….’
[System Notification: …Huh?]
‘…?’
Only then did I realize that something was going terribly wrong.

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