Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 221

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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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221. Kick off (2)
The timeline shifted.
And Thirteen, the Time Management Authority, had no idea it happened.
‘What is this?’
My blood ran cold, but I quickly reminded myself that we were in the middle of a live broadcast.
This was a place where people dissected your character and made judgments based on a mere two-second clip of you standing expressionless and lost in thought.
With my naturally fierce features, one furrowed brow could spawn endless speculation, so I poured all my focus into maintaining a poker face. Then I silently communicated with Thirteen, who still seemed utterly confused.
‘A comment about Dan Ha-ru just appeared in the chat, and the moment he was about to read it, time rewound. If you don’t know what’s happening, who would? You’re the Time Management Authority.’
My tone came out sharper than intended—the sudden regression had left my nerves frayed—but I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that now. Thirteen displayed “Loading….” and vanished briefly, apparently trying to make sense of the situation.
Meanwhile, our live broadcast continued uninterrupted.
“We have a question here for Ha-jin. Someone’s asking, ‘Ha-jin! Did you intentionally scratch your eyebrow?'”
Seo Tae-hyun happened to read a comment directed at me, and suddenly all eyes were on me. I smiled as naturally as I could and touched the scar at the end of my right eyebrow.
“No, it’s an old injury from childhood. My younger sibling and I were play-fighting with a blade, and it tore slightly.”
“Ha-won seems like he’d find sword fighting tedious.”
“Right. So he just stood there while I did my little blade dance, and I tripped and smashed my forehead into the handle.”
“….”
An indescribable emotion flickered across Lee Yu-gun’s eyes for a moment, but I decided to pretend I hadn’t noticed.
I kept my attention on the chat, worried another similar comment might appear. But after staring at it for a while, I detected nothing suspicious, and Dan Ha-ru beside me looked perfectly calm.
“Dan. Give me that.”
“Huh? This?”
Just to be safe, I pulled the monitor tablet from Dan Ha-ru’s hands toward me. He handed it over without hesitation and leaned in close to my shoulder, eager to see the chat himself.
I hesitated for a moment, then opened the Notes app next to the live broadcast application and scribbled a message by hand.
【Did any weird comments come through?】
Dan Ha-ru read my message and, without a moment’s hesitation, shook his head slightly with a small smile. His cheeks were unusually flushed today, round and soft—infuriatingly so.
‘Stay calm, Ha-jin. He doesn’t know anything.’
My top priority right now was getting through this broadcast without incident.
Seo Tae-hyun and Jeong Si-u were managing the flow and keeping tabs on the other members’ audio, but since I was naturally talkative, suddenly going silent would raise suspicion. So I just grabbed a random comment from the visible chat and read it aloud.
“Si-woo, someone wants to see Destiny play the piano.”
“….”
“…?”
Oops. Jeong Si-u flinched and clamped his mouth shut at the comment I’d read without thinking.
Now that I thought about it, he’d reacted the same way to piano-related topics before. So I smoothly steered the conversation back to myself as naturally as possible.
“Actually, I play piano pretty well too. Aren’t you curious about me playing, Destiny?”
“Nah, come to think of it, this guy’s surprisingly good with all kinds of instruments. You can play acoustic guitar too. What else? Drums?”
“I started learning drums but gave up early. Bass guitar I can do—boom boom boom boom, that much. I’m also really good at the recorder. Want me to show you later?”
“Uh, no. Not curious.”
“Why? My music teacher even complimented how beautifully I play Arirang.”
Perceptive Seo Tae-hyun matched my conversational drift perfectly. In the meantime, Jeong Si-u, having regained his composure, continued his answer in a calm voice.
“I haven’t played piano much since I started university, so my hands are pretty stiff. …Someday, if the time comes when I can play again, I’ll practice.”
“Do-ha. Why don’t you pick the next question? You barely said anything today.”
“Well… fine.”
It was an answer laden with subtle nuance, yet none of the members thought to object or continue the conversation further.
Even Lee Yu-gun, who possessed the keen ability to sense others’ attitudes and moods yet rarely cared about them, seemed to notice that Jeong Si-u’s atmosphere was unusual, and for once, he took the initiative to steer the conversation.
But I had no room to appreciate Lee Yu-gun’s change.
‘It’s fine. Nothing’s happened yet. …It’s fine.’
Engaging in this mental control, I clenched my fists tightly to hide my hands, which had grown cold.
I desperately hoped that Thirteen would return with news that it was nothing—merely a trivial system error.
* * *
“Lee Do-ha, I’m going to sleep first.”
“Yeah. I’m going to work a bit more, is that okay?”
“Sure. No problem.”
The moment we arrived at the Dormitory, I immediately prepared for bed and collapsed onto the mattress. Lee Do-ha turned off the lights for me, and I watched as he switched on a mood lamp he’d placed separately on his desk.
I closed my eyes and immediately chanted the keyword to enter the Unconscious Space, experiencing that sensation which never quite became familiar no matter how many times I did it, before opening my eyes again.
“…What?”
But what greeted me was not my ‘Studio’—meticulously customized through sheer effort—but rather an unfamiliar Beach where crimson twilight rippled across a pale purple sky.
“Thirteen. Hey, Thirteen! Where are you?”
The strange space itself was disorienting, but what truly unsettled me was that Thirteen, who would normally greet me here with all manner of fanfare, was nowhere to be found.
Panicking at the thought that perhaps the Returner had pulled some trick, I turned to look behind me.
That’s when a very familiar ‘resonance’ echoed.
[I didn’t think my bet was wrong.]
“…?”
[Still, how should I put it… You really are an unpredictable child.]
And I had encountered this resonance before.
“You…! You bastard…!”
The Entity that had first given me the ‘System’, and likely something akin to Thirteen’s superior.
I pointed accusingly at that voice, though I had no idea where it was coming from. I did it anyway.
“What are you? Where’s Thirteen? Where am I? Give me back my Studio, you bastard!”
[Ha ha. First, calm yourself. I’ll explain everything one step at a time.]
“Are you joking? Do I look calm right now?”
[Still, you need to settle down. You don’t yet know what you’ve done.]
“…What?”
At the implication that I’d caused some accident, I furrowed my brow. The Entity, as if suggesting I sit, created a fabric sofa on the sand—utterly out of place. I reluctantly approached and sat on it. I found its unnecessary plushness deeply irritating.
[First, the ‘System’ you’re looking for is here.]
With those words, something like a hologram crackled into existence before my eyes. Through it, I could see the silhouette of someone in a very dark, cramped space.
Nothing was visible with clarity, yet it was unmistakably the shape of a person.
“…Is that Thirteen? But Thirteen should be…”
[All Time Management Authority members cannot possess any form of biological body. Do you know why?]
“…”
[Because we are not alive. The moment a Time Management Authority member covets life, they lose their identity as a Time Management Authority and become nothing but a fragment of light, vanishing away.]
“Explain it in simpler terms. Don’t you know the Bible gets retranslated into easier versions these days?”
[If the god you believe in were the same as humans, could you trust that god?]
“….”
[If a being that must manage human time and lives were the same as humans, could you trust that being?]
The reason humans believe in gods.
It is because humans can become like gods, but can never become gods themselves.
The Entity spoke with a low, self-deprecating voice.
[I thought you would be able to find the Chosen Regressor and stop the One Who Returns. And indeed, you found the Chosen Regressor and discovered the One Who Returns’ plan.]
[You were performing your assigned duties remarkably well. However….]
“However…?”
After a brief pause, the Entity resonated with an emotionless voice.
[…I doubt you realized that you would humanize your own ‘system’ to such a degree.]
[Didn’t you find it strange? At some point, your system began to enjoy conversations with you more than fulfilling its role as a Time Management Authority.]
I gazed at the shadow of Thirteen within the hologram before my eyes.
Looking at that silhouette—drawn with only the form of a human, devoid of eyes, nose, or mouth—memories from all this time flickered through my mind.
[Normally, one wouldn’t think of becoming this intimate with a ‘system’, would they?]
[At least not in those stories you used to read.]
“So… Thirteen became humanized because of me, and that’s why it couldn’t detect the regression that happened earlier? Then what happens to him going forward?”
[I’m still thinking about it. In any case, I can’t leave things as they are. You know well what kind of ‘choice’ a Time Management Authority who has tasted human life might make.]
I didn’t need him to spell out that the ‘choice’ he was referring to meant the Returner.
I clenched my fists and then released them, steadying my breathing.
“…At least that’s a relief.”
[A relief?]
“It means he could become like the Returner, not that Thirteen is the Returner. This kind of development is common in this industry. I sent Thirteen to stop the Returner, but it turns out Thirteen became humanized because of me and might become the Returner himself—it’s like some kind of time paradox.”
As I exhaled a genuinely relieved sigh, the Entity’s laughter echoed so loudly that the heavens and earth seemed to tremble.
This bastard.
Here I am, suddenly living in a modern fantasy world because of him, and he’s laughing?
[…Yes. Perhaps all of this was only possible because you are the way you are.]
“Hey. Stop pretending to sound profound and get to the point. So what now? What are you going to do? Wait, what’s actually happening here? What was that comment in the live broadcast earlier, and what am I supposed to do going forward?”
As I pressed forward with my frustration, the Entity stirred the sea as if telling me not to rush, creating a massive wave.
[Before I explain everything, I have just one question for you.]
As I looked at the damp sand swept by the receding wave, the Entity’s resonance continued.
[If you were to stop being aware of regressions, would you still help Dan Ha-ru?]
“…What do you mean?”
[The One Who Returns has begun to move. It seems he’s trying to separate the timeline of the ‘Chosen Regressor’ who is entangled with you. If that happens, you will no longer be aware of regressions and can live an ordinary life. Like before.]
“….”
In a space where not even a breeze stirred, the Entity posed the question to me.
[I ask again.]
[Even so, would you continue to help Dan Ha-ru?]
And my answer was already decided.

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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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