Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 240

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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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240. WHEN A WORKAHOLIC LEADER SEIZES POWER (9)
To summarize Dan Ha-ru’s shift in perspective, it went something like this.
【I wish Si-woo and Ha-jin would reconcile】
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【Based on what I’ve seen and learned so far, it seems like ‘conversation’ is the starting point of reconciliation】
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【Considering their personalities, Ha-jin usually initiates the ‘start’ of conversations】
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【But Ha-jin hasn’t said anything to Si-woo?】
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【Well, Si-woo is kind of scary when he’s angry. Since Si-woo is Ha-jin’s senior, Ha-jin might find it uncomfortable or intimidating too】
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【So wouldn’t they both feel braver together than alone?】
Though it took a complicated chain of reasoning, the conclusion was simple.
【So I need to take Ha-jin’s side!】
Starting a fight to make them reconcile.
It might seem like an extreme thought, but Dan Ha-ru was dead serious.
How serious? He’d lost sleep agonizing over this and overslept, missing breakfast for the past few days—something that had never happened in his seventeen years of life.
In any case, Dan Ha-ru chose his words very carefully, deliberating over each one, trying his best to convey his sincere feelings to Ha-jin.
“…I think you and the others must have your own reasons for acting this way. I don’t know what they are, but um…. What I’m trying to say is…. I want to be helpful to you too.”
“….”
“We’re one group, and I’m a member too. Tae-hyun said I just need to focus on school, but still. You’ve always helped us….”
The reason he couldn’t easily say ‘I’ll help you this time’ was that even as he spoke, he hadn’t actually thought through what or how he could specifically help.
Ha-ru glanced nervously at Ha-jin’s stoic expression as he listened quietly, his words trailing off. The next moment, Ha-jin leaned forward, meeting Ha-ru’s eyes as he asked.
“You’re really going to take my side?”
“Huh? …Yes!”
“Even if Si-woo and I fight more and completely destroy the dormitory atmosphere?”
“Um…. Actually, I think it’s already pretty destroyed.”
“…Ah, I see.”
At Ha-ru’s straightforward answer, Ha-jin clicked his tongue and nodded.
Still contemplating something, Ha-jin received Ha-ru’s final thought like a nail being driven home.
“Honestly, if this were before, I would’ve been really scared…. But not now.”
“….”
“Fighting isn’t always bad, right? It was the same with Yoo Gun and Tae-hyun, but I think the worst thing is when you don’t talk and just turn away from each other. So even if it takes time, I really hope you and the others talk it out and reconcile properly.”
Dan Ha-ru recalled what Lee Do-ha had said about the two of them.
That they didn’t want to let things go easily.
Lee Do-ha’s words that it would probably be fine because they were the two of them—though they were a rational judgment rooted in fact rather than belief or expectation—gave Dan Ha-ru confidence.
Confidence that Kang Ha-jin could wisely resolve all of this.
“I trust you both, so it’s okay. If this conflict is something we need, I can wait.”
And though Dan Ha-ru didn’t know it now, that trust was exactly what Kang Ha-jin needed most at this moment.
Ha-jin’s eyes lit up at Dan Ha-ru’s words.
“Really? So you’re saying you can still handle the current situation, Ha-ru?”
“Huh? No, no… Of course I hate that the hyungs are fighting….”
“Then it’s okay if we have an even bigger blowout fight…?”
“…Yes?”
…No, that wasn’t a gleam in his eyes—it was madness, Ha-ru would later recall.
A chill ran down his spine as if he’d just done something irreversible, but Ha-ru nodded anyway. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
Seeing that nod, Ha-jin laughed with unmistakable cunning and stood up. Then he picked up his phone and called someone.
“Ah, Executive Director. It’s me. Ha-jin. …Yes. No, it’s not like that. You know what you mentioned before? About having the members participate in LET US content planning? Yes, yes. Ah, I’m thinking of giving it a try. No? Not the next guys—I was thinking of starting with Jeong Si-u hyung’s content.”
Ha-jin, apparently calling Ji Su-ho, spoke with remarkable fluency. Ha-ru, wondering what on earth was happening, could only blink rapidly, and as Ha-jin continued, his jaw dropped further and further.
“There’s still some time before the shoot, right? If we cancel, we lose a lot of money, don’t we? We’d lose quite a bit, wouldn’t we? So could we postpone it a bit? …No, it’s nothing major. Just lately that hyung’s health hasn’t been great, and he seems to be taking medicine… Yes, that’s right. Thank you~ Oh, no. Work is work, even if we fought. Surely you don’t think I’m the type to let personal feelings mess up professional matters? Yes, yes. Of course, I’m doing this to make up with him. I’ve come to my senses. Yes, please go ahead~”
With a single phone call, Ha-jin had postponed Jeong Si-u’s LET US shoot. He hung up looking utterly satisfied and casually tossed his phone onto the bed.
As Ha-ru blinked, realizing something enormous had just happened, Ha-jin slowly approached him and gently gripped his shoulder with his large hand.
“Our wonderful little sparkle.”
“…Yes, yes?”
“You trust hyung, right?”
“Um….”
“If you want to see hyung make up with Si-u hyung, what you just heard is a secret, okay?”
“…But still…. Si-u hyung said he’s been pulling all-nighters lately preparing for LET US….”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I cancelled it first. To make that hyung frustrated.”
“…Huh?”
Watching the baby rabbit warrior whose reactions had completely broken down, Ha-jin smiled broadly.
“To fix the stable, you have to destroy it first.”
…Does it work that way?
Dan Ha-ru’s pupils trembled helplessly as he lost his bearings.
* * *
Ha-jin, who had giggled about “properly demonstrating a leader’s abuse of power,” began his full-scale operation after that day. It seemed as though all the quiet cold war up until now had been nothing but a buildup for this.
It started simply—with cancelling Jeong Si-u’s schedule.
-…The radio schedule changed?
-Yeah. It was supposed to be you and Tae-hyun, right? Now Yoo Gun and Tae-hyun are going instead.
-Why all of a sudden?
-You seemed to have a cold coming on. You should rest your voice—you’ve got LET US recordings lined up soon anyway…. You don’t need to go to the hospital, do you? Should I buy you some porridge?
-…I have a cold?
-That’s what Ha-jin said.
Kang Ha-jin deliberately cancelled or postponed all of Jeong Si-u’s personal schedules.
Exploiting the fact that Miro was particularly sensitive to artists’ “health” issues, he made the company itself overprotect Jeong Si-u.
Though Ji Su-ho initially heard Ha-jin’s claims with suspicion, he completely fell for it when Ha-jin appealed with sincere eyes, saying, “That hyung’s only sleeping two hours these days. Lee Do-ha, who shares a room with him now, saw it all. We have to prepare for our year-end stage too, and if that hyung collapses before then, it’ll be a disaster!”
Having successfully blocked all of Jeong Si-u’s lessons and schedules, and even temporarily banned him from entering the practice room, Kang Ha-jin moved to the next step.
-…? Kang Ha-jin, what are you doing right now?
-What do you mean? I’m taking a selfie.
-Why are you filming that right next to me?
-You know the rumors are starting to spread about how things aren’t good between you and him lately, right? Did you plan to create a discord scandal, or are you asking for my cooperation?
I had begun to deliberately provoke Jeong Si-u.
As if determined to air all the grievances I’d been holding back, I acted like a fearless pup, brazenly pushing his buttons.
-Hyung. I’ve been thinking about your LET US item.
-….
-What about singing while playing the piano? That’s what the fans seem to want to see most.
The way I grinned shamelessly while making the suggestion, fully aware that Si-woo was deliberately avoiding the piano, was nothing short of psychopathic.
Since the comment came up during a rare meal together at the Dormitory, everyone except Eun-chan—who wasn’t aware of Si-woo’s piano avoidance—froze mid-bite.
-….
In the chilling silence, Si-woo’s chosen response was to ignore me.
Without a word, Si-woo gathered his bowl and utensils, went to the sink to rinse them, and retreated to his room. The other members’ gazes shifted back to me, but I simply leaned back in my chair, watching Si-woo leave with complete composure.
-Damn. He didn’t bite. That was supposed to be the finishing blow.
-…Are you seriously trying to fight? What’s gotten into you lately?
Even as Tae-hyun stared in shock, I merely shrugged.
-Look. I’m not doing this because I want to.
And so, back to the present.
Inside the Practice Room where Jeong Si-u had finally exploded and grabbed me by the collar.
After Yoo Gun and Do-ha had separated us into the Private Practice Room, Tae-hyun and Eun-chan had caught Ha-ru, who’d been trying to slip away, and were now hearing the full story of what had happened from him in bewilderment.
“…So, the reason Kang Ha-jin is acting like this is to actually fight with Si-woo?”
“Yes. I… I don’t know all the details either. But he said they needed to have a proper fight.”
“And Si-woo’s LET US was cancelled by Ha-jin, not by the Company, right?”
“It wasn’t cancelled exactly, just postponed….”
“And just now, when Si-woo found out and completely lost it and grabbed Ha-jin by the collar, the one who told Si-woo that ‘Kang Ha-jin cancelled the LET US’….”
Tae-hyun looked at Ha-ru sitting in front of him with disbelief in his eyes.
Ha-ru broke into a bright, innocent smile at that gaze.
“…It was you?”
“H-Ha-jin hyung told me to….”
“Why? To piss Si-woo off?”
“Yeah…. Since nothing I tried was working, he said it wouldn’t do. He told me to pretend I was worried about Si-woo and slip it in casually….”
“So you actually did what he told you to do?”
At Tae-hyun’s interrogation, Ha-ru silently looked away. At that, Tae-hyun pressed his palm to his forehead and leaned his head against the wall. I’d switched rooms to give the soft, fluffy maknae some therapeutic care, and this youngest member was now siding with Kang Ha-jin, pouring oil on a burning house.
Just then, the firmly closed door to the Private Practice Room burst open.
Out came Si-woo, his face flushed red with anger all the way up to his neck, followed calmly by Do-ha.
Si-woo stormed forward and irritably yanked open the door to the Private Practice Room where Ha-jin was, then pulled Yoo Gun out of the way and stood before Ha-jin.
“Kang Ha-jin.”
“Yes.”
“What are you trying to do with me?”
At the ominous tone, all the members crowded toward the Private Practice Room entrance.
However, Do-ha, standing guard at the Practice Room door, stopped them. With a look that said to just let them fight, the members had no choice but to watch the tense exchange between the two.
Si-woo took a step closer to Ha-jin, his insides roiling, and asked again.
“What are you trying to do right now? Are you seriously trying to fight?”
“….”
“I’m asking what the hell you’re doing!”
Si-woo’s angry voice cracked pathetically at the end.
Ha-jin, who had been lounging casually in the studio chair, rose to his feet at the sound, his brow furrowing slightly. With his hands shoved into his pockets and an expression dripping with delinquency, he answered in the most insufferable tone he could muster.
“I told you. The leader is managing the main vocalist.”
“….”
“This is how I am at work. Since we’re all getting paid and working together anyway, I think excessive consideration is inefficient. Annoying, right? Sorry you’re shocked. This is just who I am.”
Why do you think they called me a tyrant at my previous company?
At his mocking words, Si-woo let out a breathless laugh of disbelief. But Ha-jin wasn’t finished.
“If I’d really thought of you as a business partner in the same group, I would’ve been like this from the start.”
At those words, Si-woo’s expression hardened imperceptibly. He was remembering the mistake he’d made with Ha-jin.
Ha-jin continued without hesitation.
“The reason I haven’t been this way until now is because you weren’t someone I disliked, even if you were inconvenient. It means I admired you, respected you, and showed you consideration. Regardless of how you took it.”
“….”
“…But now I’m thinking that consideration was really stupid of me.”
Ha-jin took another step toward Si-woo, who still had nothing to say.
“After all, you’re only twenty-two yourself.”
“What?”
Ha-jin’s hand touched Si-woo’s forehead.
Only after feeling how ice-cold that hand was did Si-woo realize his own body was burning hot. Ha-jin spoke to him in a calm voice.
“You have a fever.”
“….”
“You worry so much about other people’s health, yet you don’t even notice your own body is sick. That’s what makes you an idiot and a kid.”
Ha-jin exhaled softly and laughed with a hollow resignation.

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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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