Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 237

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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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237. WHEN A WORKAHOLIC LEADER SEIZES POWER (6)
Kang Ha-jin and Jeong Si-u had fought.
And badly at that.
True to their nature of strictly separating work from personal matters, they showed not the slightest hint of discord in the workplace, but the members who spent all twenty-four hours together could clearly see the fracture that had formed between them.
And naturally, the one who suffered the greatest impact from this fact was Tae-hyun.
“….”
Early morning, after practice had ended and they returned.
Watching Si-woo and Ha-jin retreat to their respective rooms without even making eye contact, Tae-hyun collapsed onto the living room sofa and bit his lip hard. He knew it was a bad habit, yet it remained stubbornly difficult to break.
It was Yoo Gun, arriving late, who stopped Tae-hyun from tearing at his lip as he stared at the firmly closed door.
“Don’t do that.”
“…It’s because of me.”
“Bullshit.”
Tae-hyun, whose eyes had already turned red, glared at Yoo Gun in response to his indifferent remark, his expression crumpling. Yoo Gun, maintaining an expression of ‘what do you want me to do about it’, sighed with his hands still in his pockets.
“You didn’t encourage those hyungs to fight by offering them money, did you?”
“It’s basically the same thing. If I just hadn’t pushed Ha-jin hyung like that….”
“Stop spouting nonsense. Would that hyung be pushed around just because someone pushed him? He’d bounce back if he wanted to.”
“…Are you trying to comfort me or pick a fight?”
“Neither?”
At Yoo Gun’s cheeky response, Tae-hyun’s eyes glistened with tears as his face twisted with frustration. Then, filled with indignation, he lashed out with a kick toward Yoo Gun, but Yoo Gun, anticipating the attack, easily sidestepped and evaded it.
Yoo Gun tossed a soft sofa cushion to the huffing Tae-hyun, then turned on the TV with the remote and spoke matter-of-factly.
“Stop digging yourself into a hole and cool your head. With those two hyungs like this, if your mental state breaks too, our group is finished.”
What he put on was Tae-hyun’s favorite melodrama film—one with such deep and rich emotional layers that he shed tears buckets every time he watched it.
Yoo Gun set up the healing course as naturally as if he were putting on a children’s show for a crying seven-year-old, even switching the living room lights to mood lighting.
Then, whether because of the movie or because of the hyungs, he brought tissues to Tae-hyun, who was already sniffling, and before Tae-hyun could even respond, he retreated into the room he shared with the maknae.
“That bastard….”
Even as he grumbled like this, Tae-hyun obediently hugged the cushion and leaned back against the sofa.
After all, if he went into the room now, he’d have to be alone with Si-woo, and he didn’t have the courage for that.
Tae-hyun recalled that first night when the two of them fought and Si-woo returned to the dormitory.
-Tae-hyun.
-Yes? Did you call me, hyung?
-Does it bother you much that I don’t sleep well at night?
-…What?
-You told Ha-jin. That you were worried about me.
Si-woo and Tae-hyun were fairly compatible roommates.
They hadn’t been particularly close since their Special Class days, but if he had to define what kind of relationship they had, he’d say they were generally favorable toward each other.
-From now on, if something like that happens, I’d prefer if you just told me directly.
But the more he recalled Si-woo’s expression that day….
The more sorrowful Tae-hyun felt.
Because Si-woo’s expression as he looked at him was so unfamiliar and frightening.
-Please.
What could have gone wrong?
He had simply been worried about Si-woo, and upset that Ha-jin found Si-woo difficult to approach.
Growing up as an only child and maintaining his entertainment career from an early age, Tae-hyun had never experienced many ordinary peer relationships, so he didn’t know how to handle a situation like this.
If someone asked him to smile brightly in front of a camera for hours, he could do that without hesitation….
“…Damn it.”
Unable to hold back any longer, tears burst forth, and Tae-hyun buried his face in the cushion. The soft, pliant texture only made his heart ache more. His quiet sobs were swallowed by the deliberately loud movie playing in the background.
And….
“…Okay. Seo Tae-hyun is isolated now. He’s too caught up in crying to pay attention to us anyway.”
At the same moment.
In the largest room adjacent to the living room—the room of Gunjodan (Lee Yu-gun, Ju Eun-chan, and Dan Ha-ru)—another scheme was being hatched.
“Is Tae-hyun crying? Sniff….”
“Hey, hey. Don’t you start crying too, Ha-ru. He’s been crying for days now.”
“We really need to find a way to fix this quickly…. Do-ha, what should we do?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
In the room where the bunk bed had been deemed too impersonal and replaced with three mattresses lined up against one wall, Gunjodan and Do-ha—who had been kidnapped (?) by the younger members—sat in a circle.
In the center lay a white sheet of paper folded crudely into a nameplate that read “【Kairos Third Emergency Meeting: Operation Reconcile the Masterminds】.” It had been hastily made by tearing a page from Do-ha’s practice notebook.
Eun-chan, reading the words, tilted his head in confusion.
“But what does ‘the Masterminds’ mean? Weren’t Si-woo and Ha-jin originally ‘the Strong Pair’?”
“I thought so too! But fans have been calling them ‘the Masterminds’ a lot lately. I’m not really sure what it means either….”
“Yoo Gun, do you know?”
“Do I look like I know?”
“The Masterminds” was a combination name that had recently emerged as fans watched Si-woo and Ha-jin, who had always played the role of jokers orchestrating things from behind the scenes—from the Miro Maze days until now—drawing the bigger picture.
Since fans were calling them that, they’d written it down as “the Masterminds,” but seeing Gunjodan wondering what it actually meant, Do-ha’s lips twitched slightly before he let out a small cough. Then, belatedly coming to his senses, Yoo Gun waved his hand to redirect Eun-chan and Ha-ru’s attention.
“Anyway. That’s not what’s important right now.”
“Oh, right! Hyungs! What should we do about them?”
“Si-woo and Ha-jin won’t even talk to each other…. They won’t tell us exactly what happened….”
“From what Tae-hyun said, it seems to be related to Jeong Si-u’s insomnia. Does that hyung have trouble sleeping?”
“…Si-woo has always been the type to go without sleep, even back when he was a trainee. But honestly, he spent more time in his studio apartment than in the trainee dormitory, so it’s hard to say exactly how it is.”
At Do-ha’s words, Ha-ru and Eun-chan simultaneously sighed with a “Hmm….”
Especially Dan Ha-ru, who had first called this meeting, looked uncharacteristically dejected, as if carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. If Kang Ha-jin had seen him, he would certainly have added some description like “a novice baby rabbit warrior confused by the first schism of his sworn brotherhood,” or something like that.
Yoo Gun, who had been thinking with his arms crossed, shook his head in frustration.
“I mean, these twenty-year-olds have a little fight and suddenly they’re shutting themselves in their rooms, not talking to each other…. Even our tigers wouldn’t do that. Just shake it off and make up already.”
At those words, carelessly spoken without a moment’s reflection, everyone except Yoo Gun stared at him in silence.
Though no one said anything, Yoo Gun read the message in the three pairs of eyes: “You of all people know that…?” and “You’re saying that…?” Quietly closing his mouth, he looked away.
“But…. It’s a bit shocking that the hyungs won’t talk to each other.”
It was Eun-chan who broke the silence.
Eun-chan, with his knees drawn together, rested his chin on them and murmured softly.
“Both Si-woo and Ha-jin…. Maybe it’s because they’re always the ones who act first whenever a problem arises…. Honestly, I thought they’d make up quickly after a few days, just like that. Coolly.”
In truth, Eun-chan found it somewhat shocking that the cold war between the two had lasted this long.
He naturally understood that conflicts could arise when completely different people lived together under one roof, spending twenty-four hours side by side. However, Eun-chan had never once worried about that “conflict.”
As long as Si-woo and Ha-jin remained at Kairos, I had no doubt that any conflict between them would always be resolved in a mature and affectionate manner.
“But it’s not reconciliation, and it’s not like how Tae-hyun or Yoo Gun keep clashing either…. The fact that they’re not even hiding that they fought and are just completely ignoring each other…. What if the hyungs really lose all intention of reconciling? What if they just stay like that, as nothing more than professional colleagues….”
If it were like Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun, I could at least use work disruptions as an excuse to bring it up, but the two of them acted as if nothing was wrong whenever they worked together.
Of course, that was just their individual attitudes, and in reality, the frequency of them actually conversing or facing each other had decreased significantly compared to before. However, since both of them were skilled at hiding such things, it showed no signs to the outside world.
Eun-chan found that unsettling.
Worried that the hyungs might truly remain as strangers to each other, he’d even been having nightmares lately. With Tae-hyun and Yoo Gun, there was an inexplicable certainty that they would eventually reconcile, but somehow, that same certainty didn’t come easily when it came to Si-woo and Ha-jin.
At Eun-chan’s words, a solemn atmosphere settled over the room. Yoo Gun also seemed lost in thought, and Ha-ru appeared to be contemplating something deeply.
In that heavy silence, Do-ha, who had been quiet all along, finally spoke.
“I think.”
“…?”
“The fact that the two of them aren’t talking to each other is actually a good thing.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Do-ha at his unexpected words.
Do-ha continued speaking calmly, sitting in perfect posture without the slightest wavering.
“They don’t want to let it slide easily. They don’t want to reconcile in some half-hearted way either.”
“….”
“At least, that’s the Si-woo I know. If he really didn’t want to reconcile with Ha-jin, he might be treating him even more casually with a smile by now. Or he might have apologized first. He’s the type who needs to clear away anything that bothers him.”
“….”
“As for Ha-jin…. I’m not entirely sure, but it seems like he’s thinking things through. It seems like he believes that dealing with someone while emotions are running high isn’t a good idea. But Ha-jin fundamentally dislikes ‘conflict.’ The fact that he’s not moving despite enduring this discomfort must have its own reasons.”
Do-ha was the member of Kairos who had known Si-woo the longest and most intimately.
At the same time, he was also the only member the same age as Ha-jin and the one spending the most time with him as his roommate.
Do-ha’s words, spoken from the closest vantage point with the most rational judgment, carried a power beyond mere logic.
“So right now, it might actually be better to let the two of them distance themselves a bit, cool their emotions, and have time to think. If they really decide they never want to see each other again, then we might need to step in….”
Do-ha trailed off and frowned slightly.
It seemed he was contemplating what to do in that case.
However, the furrowed brow didn’t take long to smooth out again.
“It’ll probably be fine.”
Do-ha offered a reassuring smile that was comforting just to see, putting his younger members at ease.
“Because it’s Si-woo and Ha-jin.”
Not mere hope, nor unconditional faith,
but a rational judgment drawn from synthesizing information built upon facts.
At Do-ha’s words, smiles finally returned to the faces of the younger members who had been frozen with worry.

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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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