Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 251

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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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251. Touch High! (3)
Before the new No-Answer Trio charged forward, I seated them in the car and spoke in hushed tones.
“So. What’s our goal for today?”
“Win first place!”
“No, Dan Ha-ru. I told you that winning in a variety show like this is basically the boring route.”
At my firm words, Dan Ha-ru grumbled with a dissatisfied expression. When I casually ignored him, Lee Do-ha beside him tilted his head and answered.
“Injury prevention?”
“…Let’s save that for when the Idol Athletic Games comes back.”
Watching the guys blink their eyes as if asking what else there could be, I explained our objective once more.
“Our goal is to have our names called out more than anyone else today. We need to create situations where people are constantly calling our names. Today, forget about being hyungs, members, or dongsaengs—none of that matters. We don’t need first place. It’s all about the names. As long as our names get called, that’s all that matters. Everything is permitted for that.”
Fortunately, neither of them were the type to back down out of embarrassment, so they’d figure it out with just this much explanation.
Thinking that, I lowered my voice even further.
“Today, there are two other teams besides us. They’ll probably push us into a ‘favorable’ position relatively speaking, and drive the other two teams hard. The other teams will probably use us the same way.”
The worst concept to fall into was the “boring pretty boy who can’t let go of his looks and shyness, just enjoys the idol treatment, and leaves without making an impact” type.
And to avoid that, above all else, it was crucial to seize the initiative from the very beginning.
“So here’s the thing….”
I laid out the first initiative-seizing strategy I’d been thinking about all along.
“Let’s throw away the opening.”
* * *
Sanchez Park, the main MC of Touch High! and a professional broadcaster.
He, who had been known by the name Sanchez far longer than his real name Park Young-ho, was conducting a script reading with Touch High!’s main writer.
“So today…. There are 9 guests? Three teams total?”
“Yes. And one of today’s regular panelists, Han-ji, can’t make it.”
“Why not Han-ji?”
“Her schedule got a bit tangled. Ugh. Today’s shoot is really eventful, oppa.”
“You all must be working hard….”
Six regular panelists and nine guests.
Today, a total of fifteen people would be divided into three teams of five each, competing in missions with three different themes.
After skimming through the simple planning, Sanchez quickly checked the problem guests.
Even though he thought he’d been in this industry for quite a while, new idols debuting every single day weren’t easy for him to recognize.
Eventually, Sanchez set down his cue cards and shrugged at the main writer.
“I’ll just introduce them roughly, show off whatever new song or stage they’ve prepared, and that should do it, right? They’ll all introduce themselves later anyway.”
“Yes, yes. You can do it however you’re comfortable with, oppa. You’re so good at this kind of thing anyway….”
“Still, nine guests is too many. I’ll spend the whole shoot trying to memorize their names.”
“…Let’s talk about it over drinks next time. There really were a lot of twists and turns with this shoot.”
“Yeah, let’s talk it over with a drink. You did well today.”
The writer and Sanchez exchanged a knowing glance and laughed.
‘Idols…. Well, these days there are plenty of idols who are good at broadcasting.’
But if they weren’t that kind of idols, today’s recording might be a bit rough, Sanchez thought as he moved toward the opening set with heavy steps.
“Alright! Today on Touch High! we have three teams of idol guests joining us!”
“Three teams? Why so many today?”
“Good, good. Fresh blood is always welcome.”
“You just like idols in general, don’t you?”
“Keep it down. Can’t you read the room?”
“Our guests, please come out!”
The recording of Touch High began.
With appropriate reactions from the fixed panelists, nine young men walked out slowly across the pre-arranged red carpet. They all seemed cautious, still gauging each other’s reactions.
While I was mentally mapping out how to structure today’s flow, the Male Comedian with a high school daughter let out a shout as he spotted the last team.
“Whoa!? It’s Kairos, Kairos!”
Kairos?
Sanchez Park quickly recalled the information the Writer had provided beforehand.
A junior group under Upia and Endway. Recently debuted through the Entertainment Agency’s Survival Program. Currently the most popular of the three teams.
‘Should I push them a bit, maybe needle them for some reactions?’
While I was briefly considering this, the black-haired young man standing at the front asked with a surprised expression.
“You know about us…?”
“My daughter drained the whole family’s phones to get you guys debuted. That’s our Jiyu. Des, Desti….”
“Destiny? Ah, your daughter is Destiny?”
“That’s right, Destiny! That’s what your fan name is, right?”
The Male Comedian clapped as if he’d just remembered.
Then the young man whose cue card read ‘Kang Ha-jin’ suddenly threw a deep bow at the comedian!
“Oh my, so you’re my father-in-law.”
“What, what…?”
What do you mean, father-in-law?
Whether the flustered comedian blinked or not, the member named Kang Ha-jin smashed his forehead onto the red carpet while spouting things like “Father, please accept my bow!” The other two members, seeing this, quickly followed suit with their own bows.
The quick-witted comedian shifted his voice into a comedic tone and played along.
“I’ve never had a son-in-law like you!”
“We’re just so close with Destiny, you see.”
“My daughter is only eighteen, you thieves!”
“Ah, even for Destiny, that’s a bit….”
Even as he spoke, Kang Ha-jin grabbed the nape of the member next to him named Lee Do-ha, as if to say minors were off-limits, and quickly got to his feet.
The unexpected skit drew light laughter from the panelists, but the blonde-haired member who looked the youngest was still maintaining his deep bow on the red carpet.
‘Is he too young to know when to end the roleplay?’
Just as Sanchez was about to step in with that thought, the member with the name tag reading ‘Dan Ha-ru’ suddenly lifted his head and his eyes gleamed.
“I’m only seventeen, senior!”
“What?”
“If it’s Destiny, I’m fine with her being my older sister!”
“That’s not happening, no way!”
“Actually, I think Jiyu would be okay with it—it’s the dad who’s freaking out.”
“Oh no, that hyung is going to get scolded by Jiyu when he gets home.”
Faced with this relentless age-based attack, the comedian let out another anguished cry in comedic tone.
As the panelists offered their brief comments, Kang Ha-jin helped Dan Ha-ru to his feet. The male comedian wrapped up the situation with a remark about wanting to see how they’d perform today.
‘These kids aren’t completely without sense, at least.’
Sanchez Park observed the Kairos members, who had already captured the broadcast’s attention from the start, and smoothly proceeded with the introductions.
“First, our Storm Header. Speaking of Storm Header—oh! This! This challenge! You all know it, right? The Sparkling Challenge. Aren’t they the ones who started it?”
“I’ve seen this challenge too. It’s all over short-form videos every single day.”
“Oh, so these are those guys?”
This was the so-called “guest introduction segment.”
It was an essential opening requirement to introduce the guests to viewers unfamiliar with them, showcasing who they were and their latest releases or special talents.
In truth, guests appeared on the show primarily for this very moment.
“We can’t skip over our predecessors, so let’s see the performance you’ve prepared.”
“Yes! Then we’ll show you a short version of our last comeback song, Shooting Star.”
The members of Storm Header, who had debuted about a year before Kairos, stepped forward.
As a familiar-sounding song played, the members danced with full passion. Since the panelists had little to do but applaud at moments like this, Sanchez Park kept the energy high while scanning the next teams.
Then, the main writer sitting in the center showed something written on a sketchpad.
【Kairos Ha-jin, has done this challenge as a music broadcast MC. Challenge with Storm Header members ✓】
Sure enough, when I glanced sideways, I could see Ha-jin—the member who had bowed deeply earlier—lightly tapping the rhythm and following the choreography with ease.
Since having the song play one more time would benefit Storm Header anyway, Sanchez Park nodded as if he’d accepted the idea. The moment Storm Header’s performance ended, he naturally seized the opportunity.
“But I just noticed something. Ha-jin, have you done this challenge before?”
“Ah, when they had their comeback, I was a music broadcast MC, so I remember matching the choreography with them briefly.”
“Then we absolutely can’t miss Ha-jin’s version of the challenge. Come on, come on up~”
At Sanchez Park’s prompting, Ha-jin was pulled to the center with a slightly embarrassed expression. The Storm Header members also responded with awkward laughter. As Ha-jin took the center position alongside Storm Header’s main dancer, the song played once more.
I’ll sing of sparkling stars!
Despite his initial shyness, Ha-jin executed the challenge with remarkable natural ease, singing along with the lyrics. His expression changes were even more charming than the original, drawing the spotlight entirely to him.
After perfectly nailing the final ending pose and instinctively finding the perfect camera angle, Ha-jin caught his breath and turned his gaze toward that father-in-law(?) comedian from earlier.
“Do I pass at this level?”
“You fail on age alone!”
“Ah, right.”
Ha-jin nodded carelessly and slipped back among his members.
Sanchez Park felt that Ha-jin understood the timing of how to secure airtime in any situation, and introduced the next team’s performance.
“Next, we have Winter Tail!”
“Hello, we’re Winter Tail~”
“You’re the most senior idols here today, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Watching Winter Tail’s members, who were in their third year and appeared noticeably more composed than the previous team, Sanchez Park gave them the stage to showcase their prepared performance.
It was a fresh new song they had just released, literally days before the filming date.
‘Should I give them a chance…?’
After Winter Tail’s performance ended, Sanchez Park called Ha-jin with a hint of gamble in his tone.
“Ha-jin.”
“Yes?”
“Can you do this one too?”
“…Huh?”
Ha-jin blinked in bewilderment, and when his eyes met the Male Comedian’s beside him, he deliberately rolled his eyes and nodded.
“Yes, I can do it.”
“Oh, you can? But this is the first time I’m seeing this song today?”
“Rookies can do anything.”
“So you can do this without even watching the Winter Tail members?”
“…Ah, yes. I can do it?”
“Hey, hey. Don’t just blurt things out like that. You don’t need to.”
“The kid’s a rookie, so he’s just accepting everything, all the ad-libs.”
The panelists laughed at his obviously uncertain yet brazenly confident demeanor and stopped Ha-jin.
But Ha-jin used the excuse that “my father-in-law is watching, so I can’t fall apart” and came back out to the Stage.
“Play the music, please.”
And as the music began, Ha-jin followed Winter Tail’s new song “convincingly,” as if he’d never hesitated. In truth, he’d abandoned all the details and merely mimicked the broad movements, but that alone was enough to be effective.
“Wow, what is this. He’s really good.”
“He’s an idol, after all.”
“It’s the power of love.”
“That won’t work, you bastard!”
“Even if my father-in-law says that, you can’t tear Destiny and us apart!”
The brief skit that unfolded once more warmed the atmosphere instantly.
Now it was time to introduce the final team of this guest promotion segment.
Sanchez Park gazed at Ha-jin with a satisfied expression and spoke.
“Well then, finally, our Kairos! We should listen to Kairos’s new song too.”
All the panelists looked at Kairos with faces full of anticipation.
Then Lee Do-ha, who had been standing quietly throughout the opening, spoke up.
“Ah. We won’t be doing that.”
Huh?
“We can’t show our new song to the outside world before showing it to Destiny.”
In other words, a “rookie idol mad with love.”

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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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