Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 238

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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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238. When a Workaholic Leader Takes Power (7)
“We still have to do what needs to be done.”
The optimistic conclusion from Do-ha had created a positive atmosphere, but it was short-lived as Yoo Gun shattered it with his blunt remark.
“We still need to prepare for the Upia Concert, and… how are we supposed to handle that atmosphere right now?”
Yoo Gun had almost said “Upia Concert” plainly, but he hastily appended the honorific at the end.
Tae-hyun, who had maxed out his controversy-prevention stats, had drilled into them so relentlessly—”Keep the honorific on your lips day and night, and if you’re unsure, just address everyone as senior or teacher”—that even his absence from the room couldn’t erase the lessons carved into their bones.
Yoo Gun leaned against the wall and spoke bluntly.
“If Seo Tae-hyun were fine, I wouldn’t worry, but he’s so mentally broken right now he can’t even go into his room.”
“Don’t worry. I just fixed his mental state.”
“…?”
“T-Tae-hyun hyung…?”
At the unexpected answer, everyone turned their heads toward the source of the voice. The one who had opened the door and entered was Tae-hyun, whose eyes were swollen bright red from crying.
Startled by Tae-hyun’s sudden appearance, Eun-chan hurriedly tried to hide the paper nameplate he had made for the meeting, but when his eyes met Tae-hyun’s, he realized it was already too late. Tae-hyun, confirming the nameplate that had slipped from Eun-chan’s hands, laughed as if he couldn’t help it.
“As if this place has soundproofing. Besides, I saw you dragging Do-ha hyung in earlier too.”
“No, we were just… you looked like you were struggling….”
Worried that Tae-hyun might take offense at being excluded from the gathering, Eun-chan trailed off cautiously. Then Tae-hyun quietly closed the door, walked over with long strides, and plopped down beside Eun-chan and Ha-ru, nodding with a smile.
“Yeah, I know. Thanks for worrying about me. But I’m fine now. I feel better after having a good cry.”
Tae-hyun, answering with a smile, cast a glance toward Yoo Gun sitting across from him.
Yoo Gun, understanding that it was roughly a thank-you in his own way as someone of the same age, appropriately avoided eye contact. He wasn’t fond of awkwardness either.
In any case, after crying for quite a while and genuinely organizing his emotions, Tae-hyun had returned to his usual “professional” mode. The first thing he did was make a request to Do-ha sitting across from him.
“Hyung. Could you switch rooms with me?”
…Why does this feel like déjà vu?
At Tae-hyun’s sudden words, Do-ha momentarily felt a sense of déjà vu and flinched.
However, soon remembering that this was the very phrase Eun-chan, who had once suffered as Ha-jin’s roommate, had lived with, Do-ha asked in a puzzled voice.
“Switching isn’t difficult, but… is there a reason?”
“I’m upset with Si-woo hyung.”
“…Huh?”
“Tell Si-woo hyung this: that his younger brother can’t even worry about him. That I’m so hurt I’m going on a roommate strike.”
You’re the one going on strike, so why do I have to move rooms…?
Unable to actually ask that, Do-ha simply nodded silently. He thought Tae-hyun must have some reason for this.
True to form, Tae-hyun added the real reason in a serious voice, as if the previous statement had been a joke.
“It’s just that I think it would be better for you to be with Si-woo hyung right now. And I want you to keep an eye on whether he’s actually sleeping properly or not. No matter how much I think about it, I’m worried about Si-woo hyung.”
“…Alright, if that’s the case.”
Understanding Tae-hyun’s intention, Do-ha nodded once more, giving his affirmative answer.
Then Eun-chan beside him also brightened his eyes and grabbed Tae-hyun’s arm. It was a question of whether there was anything they could do. Tae-hyun gently patted Eun-chan’s hand and smiled kindly.
“For the youngest members, just not causing trouble is already helping your hyungs. Just wake up on time in the morning, attend school properly, and eat your meals well—that’s enough.”
“But still….”
As Eun-chan voiced his regret, Tae-hyun squeezed the hand holding him tightly.
Huh? At the sudden pressure, Eun-chan’s eyes widened, and a subtle glint of madness had already appeared in Tae-hyun’s previously gentle eyes.
“Chan, Ha-ru. Do you really want to help your hyungs?”
“…Of course. We’re all members of the same group…!”
As Ha-ru and Eun-chan nodded, Tae-hyun—who had shed his gentle, affectionate Yupia persona and donned the cold, ruthless identity of a professional idol—gripped both their hands tightly. Even Yoo Gun and Do-ha, who had been watching from the sidelines, flinched and instinctively stepped back at the sheer intensity radiating from him.
“Then get to work.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m serious. Work. Because of those hyungs causing all that chaos, we can’t upload anything to Kairos or Kiss Day right now. Thank goodness we’re not in an active promotion period, or if they’d attached behind-the-scenes footage to this, what would we have done? Really…! Sigh, what’s the point of saying this anyway. Still, it seems like those hyungs are at least exercising some restraint when we’re filming Today’s Kairos, so how about the rest of you maknaes step up for the remaining content, hm? Upload lots of photos to SNS, access the official community frequently.”
“….”
“Chan, Ha-ru. Answer me?”
At his question, delivered with a firm squeeze of their hands, the maknaes nodded their heads in rapid succession like a waterfall. Satisfied with their response, Tae-hyun released their hands and crossed his arms.
“Alright then, let’s wrap up today’s emergency meeting here. Everyone, go get ready quickly now. What time is it anyway?”
“Ah, um…. Tae-hyun hyung.”
“Hm? Ha-ru, what is it?”
Ha-ru stopped Tae-hyun just as he was about to conclude the meeting. Since Ha-ru had called the meeting but had mostly listened to what his hyungs had to say, the other members’ attention naturally shifted toward him.
After a moment of deliberation, Ha-ru seemed to have made a decision and made a request of Tae-hyun.
“While you’re on strike, hyung… could I stay in Ha-jin hyung’s room?”
“You want to swap rooms with me again?”
“Just… I want to talk with Ha-jin hyung too. But when we’re at the dormitory, there’s rarely an opportunity….”
Tae-hyun’s expression grew bewildered at this unexpected request.
But after a moment’s thought, he realized it wasn’t an unreasonable request, and moreover, since he himself had been the trigger for the conflict between Ha-jin and Si-woo, it might actually be better if Ha-ru spent time with Ha-jin instead. At least Ha-ru could help ease the tension.
‘Ha-ru always seems to stand a few steps removed from these kinds of conflict issues….’
It was similar to how he himself had just taken a healing break by watching a melodrama film completely unrelated to the situation—a brief respite from the turmoil.
If Ha-jin could receive some therapeutic comfort from the soft, fluffy maknae who existed entirely outside the conflict, perhaps his hyung’s mind would cool down a bit.
Having reached that conclusion, Tae-hyun readily nodded his head.
“Fine. Then for now, you’ll share a room with Ha-jin hyung. I’ll stay here.”
“Don’t you think you should ask the other roommates’ opinions too?”
“If you’re upset about it, Yoo Gun, you can sleep in the living room. Eun-chan’s fine with it, right?”
“Yes, I’m good with it.”
With Eun-chan’s agreement backing him up, Tae-hyun looked triumphantly at Yoo Gun. Once the conversation seemed sufficiently settled, it was Do-ha who brought things to a close once more.
“Alright then, let’s go with what Tae-hyun said. For now, those two are probably still asleep anyway, and we all need to get some rest, so let’s switch rooms starting tomorrow. You two have school tomorrow too.”
“Ah, school….”
At the mention of school, the maknaes’ faces turned pale.
Above all, it was always Si-woo who woke them up in the morning if they didn’t get up on time. With things as they were, they’d only be a burden to Si-woo hyung again—and with that thought, the third emergency Kairos meeting came to an end.
Ha-ru lay on the mattresses lined up against the wall, flanked by Eun-chan and Yoo Gun, blinking his round eyes.
“…Hyung.”
“Hm?”
“Why.”
Without needing to specify who he was addressing, responses came from both sides—from Yoo Gun and Eun-chan.
Ha-ru felt a fresh wave of gratitude at their reaction, and as he thought of his other hyungs, Ha-jin and Si-woo, he asked his question.
“Will it all… work out? Everything?”
Ha-ru reflected that if this had happened a few months ago, he probably would have been very anxious and worried in such a situation.
After all, even when Eun-chan had been ostracized, when Tae-hyun had disappeared, and through so many other circumstances, Ha-ru had always felt loneliness and pain.
At times, it seemed as though some inexplicable voice from within whispered to me.
‘Are you struggling? If you can’t bear it, tell me anytime.’
Whenever I heard that, Ha-ru felt the urge to run away.
I wished this moment would disappear entirely, or that we could return to a time before any of this had happened.
If Ha-jin and Si-woo never reconciled with each other,
if we could never return to being the intimate, precious bond we once were.
Whenever such thoughts crossed my mind, a paralyzing fear would grip me.
But….
“Stop dwelling on useless thoughts. And if you’re late to school tomorrow, no breakfast for either of you.”
“It’ll work out. Trust your hyungs.”
Somehow, it felt like everything would be alright.
Dan Ha-ru already understood that a ‘quarrel’ didn’t necessarily mean the ‘severing of a relationship’.
‘Tomorrow, I should talk with Ha-jin hyung while we eat something delicious.’
I wished I could be of some help to my hyung too.
With that thought, Dan Ha-ru smiled and drifted off to sleep.
* * *
But several days later.
The members of the ‘Operation: Reconcile the Dark Shadows’ task force found themselves bewildered by how strangely things were unfolding.
“What in the world are you doing!”
“What? I have no idea what you’re talking about~?”
“You cancelled my lesson. You changed the date of my photoshoot too!”
“As the leader of this group, I’m just trying to manage the main vocalist’s condition. What’s wrong with that? You said it yourself, didn’t you? That all you need is main vocalist Jeong Si-u? So I’m managing it. What’s your problem? If you don’t like it, why don’t you take a swing at me~?”
Jeong Si-u grabbed Kang Ha-jin by the collar.
Normally, Kang Ha-jin would have been terrified, but it seemed his screws had come completely loose—his eyes gleamed with utter madness as he mocked Jeong Si-u relentlessly. Si-woo, who would ordinarily have shown restraint or responded with clever deflection, had also lost his mind, his eyes wild from severe sleep deprivation and stress.
Lee Yu-gun and Do-ha rushed in to stop him as he genuinely tried to throw a punch at Ha-jin.
“Are these hyungs seriously insane! Have they lost it!? I knew they were workaholics, but this is—!”
“Hyung, Si-u hyung. Please calm down.”
“I-I’ll call the Executive Director…!”
Even as Lee Yu-gun and Do-ha tried to restrain them, the two continued to act as though they were about to draw blood. Eun-chan jolted up in alarm. But Tae-hyun stopped him.
“No, just leave them. The Executive Director knows how those two are.”
“But….”
“I already mentioned it to him, and he said to just let them fight it out.”
At Tae-hyun’s words, Eun-chan hesitated and stopped moving.
After the two hyungs had bickered so intensely, Lee Yu-gun and Do-ha finally separated them into different private practice rooms.
As the four suddenly vanished, silence fell over the Kairos practice room.
Tae-hyun’s gaze turned toward Dan Ha-ru, who had been avoiding eye contact and keeping his mouth shut like someone guilty of a crime.
“Ha-ru.”
“…Y-yes?”
“I think ever since you started sharing a room with Ha-jin hyung, Kang Ha-jin has become a complete mess….”
“…W-what do you mean, I don’t really…. Oh, I’m so thirsty….”
Dan Ha-ru tried to slip away toward the water cooler, but Eun-chan and Tae-hyun simultaneously grabbed his shoulders.
Forced back down onto the practice room floor, Ha-ru’s pupils trembled as he sensed the weight of their stares.
Tae-hyun gripped Ha-ru’s hand firmly and demanded answers.
“What on earth did you two talk about in that room that made our hyung’s eyes go completely wild like that…?”
Hiccup.
As Dan Ha-ru hiccupped, fragments of last night’s conversation flickered through his mind.
-So? You’re saying you can still endure this situation, Ha-ru? Right now?
-Huh? No, I mean, of course I hate it when you all fight….
-Then it’s okay if we fight even more intensely…?
-…Yes?
That day when Ha-jin heard my honest confession and turned to look at me with those wild, crazed eyes.

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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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