Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 232

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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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232. When a Workaholic Leader Takes Power (1)
Time flows backward once more….
The evening of the day right after Kang Ha-jin’s album leak and Dan Ha-ru’s massive spoiler that turned the Dormitory upside down—6 PM sharp.
With just one remark from Ha-ru about “next week,” the entire Destiny finally discovered the true identity of that long-awaited “spoiler”—officially revealed at last.
【Kairos launches one-week special activities with B-side track ‘KICK OFF’…’A-Countdown’ makes appearance】
【Kairos ‘KICK OFF’ public broadcast participation announcement】
【Kairos Kang Ha-jin to appear as special MC on ‘A-Countdown’…chemistry comeback with Jini and Yeni?】
【Kairos launches monthly project for fans…’LET US’ teaser released】
– Are these guys insane?
– Does Kairos have like 2 bodies each, 14 people total?
– Thank you for your hard workㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
It was the opening salvo of what could only be called the operation.
* * *
The day of filming for “Today’s Kairos: Saegim High School Edition,” where Kang Ha-jin had been officially decided as Kairos’s leader.
After finishing the shoot late into the evening in high spirits, Ha-jin summoned all the members to the Living Room the moment we returned to the Dormitory.
-I’m going to ask this once and only once, and I won’t ask again after today.
-….
-Do you guys really not regret picking me as leader?
Ha-jin asking this seemed quite serious. It was hard to imagine this was the same person who’d been unbuttoning his shirt and pointing fingers at Jeong Si-u just moments ago.
However, compared to the weight Ha-jin put into his question, the members’ responses came back swift and light.
-Yes.
-Yes!
-Honestly, I wanted you to do it from the start, so it doesn’t matter to me.
-I trust my choice.
-Why are you stating the obvious?
-I’m still a bit anxious, actually… Ow! That hurts, Seo Tae-hyun!
-Be quiet, can’t you read the room!?
-You asked for my opinion, what does the room have to do with it?
-Hey now, the grandfather’s speaking and you grandkids keep fighting like brats!? If you keep this up, I’ll force you all to make up right now!??
Having asked gravely only to get nowhere, Kang Ha-jin slammed the table with a sharp thwack toward the rowdy high schoolers bickering away. Of course, he carefully controlled the force—if he’d really brought it down hard, Jeong Si-u would have scolded him—just enough to command attention.
In any case, once Kang Ha-jin had refocused the members’ attention on him, he made this declaration that day.
-Very well. Then, as your leader, I have something to tell you all.
-What is it? Why are you being so serious?
-My goal for this year is a rookie award. I will definitely win it.
A voice brimming with conviction, eyes gleaming with determination.
With just those two things, every member in that room understood this was Ha-jin’s “true heart” and an “objective” he would absolutely achieve. Sensing that, the playfulness vanished from the members’ expressions, and in an instant, a somewhat serious atmosphere flowed between them.
Unlike his usual playful demeanor, everyone here had experienced just how much powerful energy Ha-jin possessed in moments like these.
Ha-jin made eye contact with each member one by one as he spoke.
-To achieve that, I need the members’ agreement.
-Agreement…? Everyone dreams of winning a rookie award….
—An agreement to grind through the remaining months of this year to obtain what everyone dreams of.
I pulled out the practice notebook that Do-ha always carried with him from his bag, secured his agreement, and tore out a blank sheet of paper with a crisp sound. Then I wrote down the names of all the year-end award ceremonies currently in existence on the paper.
—Recently, award ceremonies have definitely increased, but there still aren’t that many with the scale to recognize “Rookie of the Year” on Stone Board.
I crossed out all the award ceremonies with pen—those that were only names or held year-end performances but didn’t actually give out awards.
—When we said we’d make a comeback once more at year-end, the places with criteria that can reflect those results are about this many.
Lines were crossed out on the paper once again.
Now only the names of fairly prestigious award ceremonies remained—the kind that anyone who’d set foot in the idol industry would have heard of at least once.
I pointed to one of them with my finger.
—By the way, you should consider that one as something you might not win if you’re unlucky.
Tae-hyun, confirming that name, let out a hollow laugh and agreed with my words.
—Right. They’ll definitely give it to Rene’s next group.
—Huh, why…? They haven’t even debuted yet, have they?
It was Si-woo, leaning against the sofa and quietly observing the list, who answered Eun-chan’s puzzled question.
—This award ceremony is famous for being close with Rene. Most of the Grand Prize winners have been Rene artists.
—But… shouldn’t award ceremonies be fair? It doesn’t make sense to give awards just because you’re close.
—Yeah. There are a lot of things in this world that don’t make sense, aren’t there?
Si-woo answered with a shrug, and Eun-chan’s face took on a slightly shocked expression. I waved my hand in front of Eun-chan’s eyes and pulled the conversation back to the original topic.
—Anyway, so. When you exclude that one too, there aren’t as many left as you’d think. And we can’t be certain those award ceremonies will definitely give it to us either.
I stopped crossing out the award ceremony names with my pen and made the number three with my hand.
—From what I can see, this year’s male Rookie of the Year will be a three-way battle unless some sudden dark horse emerges out of nowhere. Believer, us, and Rene’s next group. But honestly, Believer… I think we can beat them if we just maintain our current form, and the variable is Rene’s next group.
I vaguely remember the path that Lanion, Rene’s next group, took in the previous timeline, but that memory existed only in my mind.
There was no certainty whether Lanion would make a comeback with the same concept and same song in this timeline, whether the member composition would be identical, or whether they’d gain the same popularity.
Moreover, because Lanion’s debut was significantly delayed, there was a possibility that their Rookie of the Year award itself might be pushed to next year rather than this year…
—So I want to do everything we can first.
Still, I wanted to make full use of this opportunity I’d barely managed to grasp.
Winning Rookie of the Year depends on performance and judging, but the fan voting percentage was also significant. Among all the Stone Board grinding, the most tedious and exhausting voting grind was directly proportional to the fandom’s loyalty.
Even I had public recognition as high as Tae-hyun’s throughout the debut survival show, but didn’t I struggle in the lower ranks because I lacked a core fanbase?
‘Without public appeal, the path narrows, but without a core, you can’t survive.’
That simple principle applied not only to the survival show but also to the male idol scene.
Currently, Destiny was building a fairly solid fanbase through various rising artist suppression, anti-fans, and the members’ skills and chemistry in response, plus abundant plot threads…
But I thought that wasn’t enough.
—The most important period is October and November, when our activities end and Lanion begins their debut promotion.
Kairos’s next digital single comeback is scheduled for early to mid-November.
After that, we’ll be busy preparing for year-end performances, so we only have two months to determine the outcome.
Those two months were the deciding factor.
—During those two months, let’s pour out as much content as possible. If we start grandly but end poorly, it’ll be embarrassing, so let’s do it at a sustainable intensity.
I didn’t stop there and began explaining the content I’d been planning to the members in detail. I almost recalled that time when I was told resentfully, “Why are you the only one who’s so great?” but I trusted my members and continued my explanation to the end.
And as if repaying that trust, the members listened intently to everything I said with serious expressions. They occasionally added their own thoughts and actively offered opinions on parts that needed revision.
—…So, should we wrap up our discussion here?
—Sounds good!
-That’s right. You’ve worked hard, Ha-jin.
After a long discussion, the final consensus from all seven members was delivered to the company during that week’s meeting through Ha-jin’s voice.
Su-ho, who had been promoted to Executive Director and now oversaw Kairos exclusively, listened to the members’ input and found a compromise between them and the company by reflecting realistic factors such as budget, personnel, and the company’s plans.
In that process, some opinions were discarded and certain ideas were completely transformed, but Ha-jin was largely satisfied.
Actually, to be honest….
-Thank you, Executive Director.
-…? What’s that about? Sounds awkward.
-Just… it reminded me of the old company.
The truth was, I loved it.
This entire flow.
All the passion, all the attitude, all the process.
Ha-jin felt an exhilarating thrill he couldn’t contain.
-After living this long, I finally get to work with people like this.
-Are you going to keep saying funny things like that? You sound like an old soul.
-Well, I am old. In terms of time lived, I might be similar to you, Executive Director.
-We’re practically the same age, practically.
-Ah, I’m joking! Just joking! Yikes! Su-ho!
The twenty-nine-year-old Kang Ha-jin who had been suffering from burnout no longer existed.
Recharged through good people, good times, and good experiences, Ha-jin seemed to have quietly prepared himself to run again.
Watching Ha-jin, whose eyes now gleamed even brighter than during the Miro Maze days, Su-ho spoke with an affectionate smile.
-So…. The first performer for Monthly Kairos is you, right?
-Yes. I wanted to give the others more time to prepare.
In other words, it meant that I was confident enough to create a work worthy of showcasing to everyone even without sufficient preparation time.
Su-ho liked this instinctive confidence that occasionally showed through in Ha-jin. The “I can do this” confidence Ha-jin possessed was never born from arrogance or carelessness.
It was, rather, an ‘instinct’.
A natural attitude that only someone who understands their own capabilities and has learned through long experience what can be achieved with those capabilities can possess.
-Sometimes…. I understand why people say you resemble Tae-il.
-…I’ve never understood that comparison. Me, resembling Seo Tae-il Senior? I can’t even reach his heels.
Yet Ha-jin occasionally displayed such boundlessly low self-esteem.
Kang Ha-jin seemed to clearly understand the limits of his achievable abilities and the stages beyond those limits, yet he never valued his peak highly.
Like a young lion bound since infancy, unable to even uproot a small stake.
-Well, think about it. He’s Seo and you’re Kang—how could you resemble each other? He’s him, and you’re you.
-How did you switch gears in less than three seconds?
However, instead of pointing this out, Su-ho simply resolved to provide Ha-jin with everything necessary to properly prepare for ‘Monthly Kairos’.
-Prepare well. I’m looking forward to it. Kairos’s first solo performance.
And soon, the results of that encouragement were about to be revealed to the entire world.
【[LET US DANCE] K:RUS HAJIN│Performance Video│’In to It’ by Jack Swing】
“…Ah. This is more nerve-wracking than the kids’ debut stage.”
Even though he’d already confirmed the video and watched it over a hundred times more, Su-ho couldn’t hide his trembling heart and exhaled deeply.
But he couldn’t be foolish enough to miss the premiere while trembling. Su-ho cracked open a refreshing canned beer to celebrate clocking out and checked the thumbnail of Ha-jin’s ‘LET US’ video.
Within a space where blue lighting shattered, the image of Ha-jin with black hair, bathed in a spotlight and dressed only in a black short-sleeved shirt and black pants, dancing barefoot on the stage was beautiful even to my eyes.
When Su-ho clicked the video, the premiere countdown was nearly finished.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1….
After those five very long seconds passed.
All that was visible was darkness on the stage.
Then, with a sharp bang, the spotlight dropped, and Ha-jin’s silhouette appeared on the stage, turned away from the camera.
From far away, the beat of the song echoed as if the sound itself were returning.
The camera work smoothly zoomed in on Ha-jin’s face—he turned his head slowly, a languid and sensual smile playing at his lips, and met the camera’s gaze.
Then, white text contrasting with the video filled the screen, bursting forth.
【IN TO IT by Jack Swing】
【CHOREO BY HAJIN】

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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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