Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 233

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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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233. When a Workaholic Leader Seizes Power (2)
There was nothing particularly special about why I chose “In to It” as my first performance piece.
‘I said it was because I liked the grandeur the song conveyed.’
If you only listened to the lyrics, it was simple content—”forget everything and go crazy tonight”—but I remembered saying I was drawn to the rapid, driving rhythm of the drums and bass.
True to those words, with my light finger snap, the song launched into a speedy rap that didn’t even give me time to catch my breath. In sync with it, I moved intensely beneath the single spotlight.
Su-ho suddenly recalled the behind-the-scenes story of this performance that I had told him directly.
-You’re going to choreograph it yourself? Are you sure about that? You’ll be pressed for time.
-Oh, I’m not creating something new right now. It’s something I did before.
-Before? Which before?
-Um…. A long time ago?
The “long time ago” I spoke of with one eyebrow raised and a smile was clearly referring to my own past that Su-ho himself didn’t know about—that time I sometimes called the “first playthrough.”
-I had prepared it for the end-of-month evaluation…. But I stopped before the monthly assessment, so I never actually performed it anywhere.
-Still, it felt like a waste to let it go unused, so whenever I wanted to loosen up, I’d just practice this song.
On screen, I moved with dynamic energy.
Despite the elaborate movements, everything surrounding me was strikingly minimal.
Darkness, stage, lighting, and a barefoot Kang Ha-jin in black clothing.
That was the entirety of the visual composition.
You know where this rhythm is headed
Move, right now
We’re going to set this month’s stage ablaze tonight
Originally, this video had been planned with a more impressive location and a wider variety of visual effects in mind. Since I was opening the curtain on a long-term project, there had been opinions about investing more budget to make it impactful.
However, when the Staff Members visited the Practice Room and witnessed my performance live for the first time, they unanimously agreed to strip away all the embellishments. Nothing could surpass the energy and pulsating vitality that my movements conveyed.
Su-ho watched as my hair, dyed black specifically for this video, swayed beautifully in rhythm with my movements. The me on screen was completely immersed in the song, dancing with such evident joy that dancing itself seemed to be happiness.
Through the simple black short-sleeved shirt I wore, my body’s silhouette occasionally showed through. My arms bore scars that hadn’t quite healed—all of them raw scrapes and bruises accumulated during practice.
Su-ho didn’t know it, but these were evidence of the daily effort I had poured into training and practice to maintain the physique I had pulled from my military days using Skill.
-After I came back from the Military and started seriously preparing for employment, I actually barely danced at all.
-That’s right. With singing, you can just go to a Karaoke Room, but with dancing, you need to reserve a Practice Room separately….
-So honestly, when I was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, I’d almost forgotten how to dance. I just wasn’t doing it anymore….
Thud—my barefoot self strikes the Stage.
With such natural talent, it was baffling how I had ever considered living as an ordinary person. My movements possessed a radiance incomparable to anyone else’s. The “white light” that Ji Su-ho had initially wanted to cast me for was felt intensely even through the monitor.
Movements so ingrained in my body that they’re as natural as breathing flow seamlessly together.
My gaze locks directly onto the camera as I lightly touch my body with both hands and slide to the left. That smile, without any calculation behind it, was captivating enough to mesmerize anyone.
In Su-ho’s mind, my final words overlapped with the expression I wore now—a stark contrast to this smile.
-But I never forgot this, no matter how many years passed. Every single movement.
-…Was that why you kept it?
As the music grew increasingly intense, my movements too became larger and more powerful. The rapid camera work with its flashy transitions created synergy with my energy.
Su-ho set down the beer in his hand and watched my video performance with genuine focus.
He was completely ignorant about dance, but having worked in this industry for a long time, he could offer some perspective….
My choreography had a distinctly different feel from the work created by Won-ho or Yoo Gun.
‘Won-ho’s style is more… faithful to fundamentals. He seems good at structuring what feels like the most orthodox framework for each song.’
In contrast, Yoo Gun had a knack for conjuring unconventional catch points. Perhaps it was the kind of movement that emerged from not having trained in dance for very long.
It seemed he didn’t even have the concept of “creating choreography” in the first place. Just an instinctive sense—’this part would look cooler if we went this way.’
‘Well… that’s what talent is, I suppose.’
So what about Ha-jin?
Su-ho watched Ha-jin again, now rushing toward the climax in the song’s second half.
The camera work moving in sync with Ha-jin’s gestures,
The abrupt shift from an extreme close-up to a long shot timed with the music,
Ha-jin’s choreographic composition, delivering variations at unpredictable moments.
Watching the footage where not a single frame escaped Ha-jin’s touch, Su-ho found a word that could encompass Ha-jin’s talent.
‘Ha-jin really does have a gift for direction.’
He knew exactly how to captivate the audience’s interest, precisely which moments would draw gasps of admiration. Ha-jin understood it all.
And that was a completely different kind of talent from Yoo Gun’s—drawing fresh sensations through instinctive intuition.
‘Probably, he cultivated this sense because he spent such a long time in the audience’s position, and in the director’s position.’
It was a sensibility born from all those years he spent, even after leaving the stage, desperately wanting to remain near it.
Yet still, even so, Kang Ha-jin doesn’t fully trust himself.
Compared to before, when I turned away without even wanting to harbor regrets about this life, I’ve improved tremendously….
Don’t be boring
Show me your passion,
Feel the exhilaration in your impulsive movements
Dive in, don’t hesitate
The final scene of the song.
Everything that had been building to a crescendo came to a complete halt, and as a single spotlight had filled the stage, countless lights suddenly burst forth in a brilliant flash.
As the stage filled with colors as vivid and radiant as if it were truly burning red, Ha-jin, dressed entirely in black, consumed every ounce of that brilliant light.
Today, we’re going to set this dream stage ablaze
Ha-jin, who had filled the entire stage alone, caught his breath roughly and lifted his gaze.
Elegant cursive lettering appeared in the empty space beside Ha-jin’s face, positioned on the right side of the screen.
【LET US DANCE ‖ K:RUS HAJIN】
Until the video ended completely, Ha-jin smiled, steadied his breathing, and held the camera’s gaze.
Watching Ha-jin like that, Su-ho made a resolution.
“If he can’t believe in his own talent… then I’ll make him believe.”
That’s what a manager does.
Ji Su-ho closed the tablet with a faint smile.
* * *
Kairos’s monthly project ‘LET US’ was a long-running content series where Kairos members released their own musical works—either as solos or units—typically once a month, sometimes twice.
Regular variety shows and plot hooks were nice, but nothing was more effective than the keyword ‘excellence in one’s primary craft’ when it came to extending longevity as an idol ‘singer’ and solidifying fan loyalty and core support.
As proof, the video Ha-jin released first was garnering considerable response not just from Destiny, but from other fandoms as well.
Kang Dae-jang
@strongjin
guys ha-jin’s LU already at 870k omg
just a bit more and we hit a million
Let’s just watch it ten times a day, everyone.
(Kang Ha-jin’s LET US DANCE video view count capture)
[Kang Ha-jin Dismantling the Nerd Cliché—Absolutely Delicious]
(Today’s Kairos Nerd Ha-jin Cross-Edit GIF Transitioning to LET US DANCE Ha-jin)
So the cliché about personality changing when you take off glasses was actually real, wow
And he’s making it official!!!!! Oh!!!!!!!!!!!! You perverts at Miro!!!!!!!1
– This is insane
– Dude, I’m drooling
– Kang Ha-jin was definitely an aspiring nerd just a while ago…but honestly, that level of nerd was the real Ha-jin all along
– This is seriously amazing, the black hair looks so good
– The clothes and concept were all planned by Jjiniㅠㅠㅠ Our baby princess fairy is amazingㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜㅠㅠ
– Already looking forward to the year-end stage…
[A male idol solo performance video currently showing legendary view count trends]
[Monthly Kairos Does this come out only once a month?]
[Stis, everyone write down one LET US item you’d like the kids to do for us]
And normally, Kairos’s official aspiring nerd, Kang Ha-jin, would have been smiling contentedly while watching these reactions for quite some time.
But right now, he was in a car heading to a music broadcast schedule, hearing an unexpected proposal from Ji Su-ho.
“…You want me to oversee it? Me?”
“Not oversee exactly. I just think it’d be good if you participated once in the planning stage for the members’ content.”
Su-ho was proposing that Ha-jin help plan the other members’ ‘LET US’ content.
Since this was content meant to showcase each member’s individual capabilities, the opinions of the members who would be the stars of that content would naturally be most important.
But since some members were still young and inexperienced, and everyone was doing content composition for the first time, Su-ho wanted Ha-jin—who was more skilled than the other members—to contribute his ideas.
“As you know, this LET US has been getting decent reactions overseas too. I think we’re getting better feedback partly because it’s become known that you participated actively not just in the choreography, but in the concept and directing aspects as well.”
“Well… they do tend to like that ‘artist’ image over there.”
“But that’s not the only reason we’re aiming for overseas. Our Miro artists’ greatest weapon is the keyword ‘self-produced’ content. This is a chance to maximize that aspect even more. And honestly, you seemed to really enjoy preparing this LET US.”
Unable to find a good counterargument to Su-ho’s words, Ha-jin just scratched his chin with his finger.
He’d been actively pushing Do-ha’s composing and producing activities to shake off the image of receiving production from Seo Tae-il. But he certainly felt that much alone wasn’t enough.
Ha-jin had thought this month’s Kairos would be a sufficient medium to fill that gap, but it seemed Su-ho saw this as a timing to go even further.
“Do it, hyung. Do it. I think it’s a good idea?”
It was Tae-hyun, sitting next to Ha-jin and reviewing today’s music broadcast script, who gave Ha-jin’s back a gentle push.
Since today’s Kairos 【Kick Off】 would proceed with only live broadcast without pre-recording, only MC Tae-hyun and special MC Ha-jin were heading to the broadcast station ahead of the other members.
“Do it?”
“Hyung, you like this kind of thing. You’re good at it. Later, once the members get used to it, you can hand it over to them, but at first, it’ll definitely help if you set the guidelines and provide ideas, right?”
“Well, I’m not asking you to decide right now. The next project is already all prepared by Si-woo anyway, so it’s fine? So take your time thinking about it.”
While Su-ho and Tae-hyun conspired to persuade Ha-jin, the car arrived at the broadcast station parking lot. Fans waiting for Tae-hyun and Ha-jin’s arrival could be seen cheering around them.
“Everyone, hold on a second. Let me organize things and open the door for you.”
“Ah, Executive Director. Can I just talk to Ha-jin hyung for a moment before we head up?”
“With me?”
As Su-ho was about to get out to organize the surroundings, Tae-hyun grabbed him and requested a private moment with Ha-jin. Both Su-ho and Ha-jin’s gazes turned toward Tae-hyun at once, wondering what this was about. Then Tae-hyun smiled reassuringly, putting Su-ho at ease.
“I just want to go over today’s script with him before we head up. It’ll be awkward with too many staff members in the waiting room….”
“Right, okay. Since we still have time, I’ll go get my access pass issued first and check out the Waiting Room. Call me once you’re done talking. There will be guards up front, so don’t worry.”
“Yes. Thank you so much!”
The moment Su-ho stepped out of the car with a smile, Tae-hyun’s polite expression vanished entirely. His face turned serious as he settled back into his seat. I watched him with a look that said, “What’s with him now?” amid my own turbulent thoughts, and finally spoke up.
“Embarrassed? You handle it fine even when a hundred people walk by. What’s this? Why are you looking so grim?”
“It’s just… there’s something I need to say, but it feels weird if someone else hears it.”
Tae-hyun stared at me with an intentionally grave expression, laying bare his concern.
“It’s about Si-woo.”
“Si-woo? What about him?”
“He doesn’t sleep.”
“…What did you just say?”
I furrowed my brow, confused by what he meant. Tae-hyun pressed his lips together once more before repeating himself.
“He doesn’t sleep. I’ve never once seen Si-woo sleeping.”

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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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