Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 259

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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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259. Daily Life Part. Probably. (2)
I, Kang Ha-jin, actually took time to think for once.
Well, not that I don’t do it all the time, but this time I decided to expand the scale a bit more ambitiously.
‘How can I boost my recognition with an absolutely killer song?’
No matter how much I thought about it, the timing was perfect right now.
My debut performance wasn’t bad,
my own content’s view counts keep climbing day by day,
I’ve already made an impression on overseas fans as a guest at the Upia Concert Venue,
and it’s perfect timing to strike while the iron’s hot with year-end performances coming up soon.
Add to that the broadcast of 【Touch High!】, a weekend primetime variety show, and this comeback is literally the perfect setup—even if you kicked a baseball with your foot, it’d still be a slam dunk.
‘Even if people say nobody watches TV anymore these days, the influence of TV channels still can’t be ignored. With so many people watching through OTT platforms too, the ripple effect is actually even stronger.’
So if Kairos ever gets a single chance to appeal to the public, that moment was right now.
That’s where the planning for this comeback song started.
“Ugh… my eyes hurt…”
Tae-hyun, who had tied back his annoying bangs with a rubber band and even put on round glasses he rarely wore, finally emerged from his room. He was heading to the kitchen to refill the coffee in the cup he was holding.
“…? What are you guys doing over there?”
As Tae-hyun, dressed in a comfortable hoodie and sweatpants, turned his gaze toward the living room while shuffling toward the kitchen, a bizarre sight entered his view.
Ha-jin was pacing frantically around the living room, biting his fingers as if his feet were on fire, while Do-ha sat rigidly on the living room sofa, his hands clasped neatly together and his body bent forward as if in prayer.
“Oh! Tae-hyun hyung. Are you done studying?”
Dan Ha-ru, who had just come out after washing his hands in the restroom, spotted Tae-hyun and rushed over with delighted eyes.
Tae-hyun naturally patted Ha-ru, who clung to him saying he’d missed seeing his face so much, and answered.
“No. Just taking a break. I’m planning to go through social studies one more time today. But why are those hyungs acting like that?”
“Oh. Our song comes out at 6 PM. They’re nervous about it.”
“…Nervous now?”
“It’s the first song we’ve done with just the two of us without Seo Tae-il sunbae’s help. Other people helped us, but… anyway, they’re worried the response might not be good. They’ve been freaking out since this morning. Plus, we’re doing a surprise comeback.”
“But why aren’t they staying in their room? Why are they acting so chaotic in the living room?”
At that, Dan Ha-ru, who was leaning against Seo Tae-hyun, answered with a look that said ‘you don’t know that?’
“Do-ha hyung’s room is right next to your room, so even the slightest movement from them makes you knock on the door saying it’s loud…”
“…No, I mean, those hyungs are just so big that even the smallest movement makes the whole room shake…”
“When does your college entrance exam end, hyung? When it ends, does all of this really end? When are the results announced? You’re not going to keep acting like this until you go for your practical exam, right? I really miss Yoo Gun hyung’s cooking…”
“…I’ll definitely pass the college entrance exam and come back.”
Tae-hyun, who knew himself better than anyone how sensitive he’d become, gently stroked Ha-ru’s head, filled with apology.
Then, a loud crash came from the living room, followed by someone’s short scream.
“Ahhh!”
“What, what is it?”
“What is it, what’s that sound?”
“What happened? Is something wrong?”
Startled by the sound, all the members who had been in their rooms rushed out.
In the living room, the source of the scream, Ha-jin was rolling on the sofa while pulling at his bangs, while Do-ha sat in front of a laptop on the table with a deadly serious expression, his mouth covered.
Eun-chan, who checked the clock hanging in the living room, let out a low sigh of realization.
“It’s six o’clock.”
Do-ha slowly refreshed the laptop screen.
A new thumbnail had been uploaded to the official Kairos YouTube channel.
【K:RUS(Kairos) ‘This Isn’t a Carol’ MV】
“Am I trembling right now…?”
The concept behind Kairos’s bid to enter the music charts’ TOP 100 was the so-called “Year-End Special Coin Boarding Operation.”
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Cafe Owner A, who ran a small cafe in the neighborhood, happened to discover the video quite by chance.
“Huh? A carol in November?”
It was the evening hours when the shop was particularly devoid of customers.
Wanting to change the atmosphere a bit, she had opened AiTube to switch the music playing in the cafe, and there on the trending videos was a word that seemed premature for early November.
The thumbnail featuring seven handsome boys in school uniforms, gathered together with bright smiles beneath colorful lighting, captured her interest immediately. The song title, which she read again to confirm, was rather amusing as well.
“Is ‘This Isn’t a Carol’ really the title of the song?”
With no customers in the shop, Cafe Owner A clicked on the video with a light heart.
If she were being honest, she would have loved to enjoy some leisure time with a warm vanilla latte, but as someone running her own business, even a single coffee bean looked like money to her.
Regrettably, Cafe Owner A settled for a cup of warm water as a substitute for the latte, and an unfamiliar song began to play throughout her cafe.
Ding, ding, diding―♪
“…?”
It wasn’t a carol, they said?
For something that supposedly wasn’t one, the intro was unmistakably carol-like.
The bell-like sound evoking winter atmosphere, the warm and gentle melody, the cozy music video scenes filled with twinkling light bulbs and gifts.
‘Did they upload something that was supposed to come out in December by mistake?’
She discovered that the song hadn’t been uploaded by mistake exactly one second after that thought crossed her mind.
The beautiful scene from the music video shifted to a poster, the song stopped, and the sound of an empty wind filled the space.
A boy with black hair and sharp, piercing eyes stared intently at the poster. Though his bangs were neatly arranged, the scratch visible across one eyebrow was distinctly prominent in his styling.
The expressionless boy tore down the poster.
And immediately the scene shifted again.
An empty classroom had been decorated with brilliant light bulbs, garlands, and fabric, with various band instruments and musicians set up in the background. Before them stood the seven boys she had seen in the thumbnail, gazing at the camera in a deliberately casual stance.
First, the scratch-browed boy who had torn down the poster picked up a wired microphone and began to sing.
This isn’t a ca—rol
Unlike the first intro, the upbeat and cheerful rock sound was striking.
Following the distortion-heavy electric guitar, the boy sang while looking at the camera.
Jingle bell sounds, White Christmas
Just thinking about it would make you excited,
Uh, um— absolutely not
The music video continued with scenes from the boys’ daily lives.
Another boy attending class in the classroom was shown alongside a couple sitting in the front row, marking down the Christmas date in a diary with a countdown and acting affectionate.
The boy wearing a name tag that read ‘Lee Yu-gun’ showed his displeasure by resting his chin on his hand and twitching his eyebrows.
Autumn passes in the blink of an eye,
And before you know it, winter will be here.
I don’t expect anything at all
This year’s Christmas
Because too much anticipation sometimes becomes loneliness
The refreshing band sound and song progression were quite pleasant to listen to.
Actually, the singers’ voices were unnecessarily sweet, giving off that vibe of a “masterpiece that sounds genuinely good when you don’t know the lyrics”—the kind that used to trend on the internet.
If you only listened to the melody, it was just a somewhat upbeat winter carol, but every time the lyrics reached my ears, I couldn’t help but think, “What did they just say?”
Snow will naturally fall
The streets will be full of lights
Everyone holds hands and sings about love with laughter
Why are you holding hands on someone else’s birthday?
But anyway
This isn’t a carol
“What’s this? Aren’t they the ones most excited about it?”
No matter how I listened, the narrator of the song seemed to be the one most anticipating the year-end holidays.
Cafe Owner A, who had become absorbed in the narrator’s perspective, turned up the song’s volume a bit more.
On the screen, seven boys passed through scenes of each pouting adorably.
Exhausted by the anticipation spreading across the world, the boys soon gathered in a circle in their Club Room and made a resolution.
Don’t do it
Don’t do it
Don’t wait for that day
Don’t let that day’s end make you sad
As if preparing for a year-end party, the boys began beautifully and brightly decorating the empty Auditorium amid the November landscape where autumn leaves were falling.
They hung lights, brought gifts, set out delicious food, and prepared sweet cakes.
Scenes of the boys rolling up their school uniform sleeves and decorating the Auditorium while desperately trying not to get caught by other teachers or students passed by comically.
Cafe Owner A felt as if she had stepped into that warm and brilliant street of December lights.
I want to be filled with anticipation and hope
Today and tomorrow as well
After decorating the entire Auditorium, the boys used the school broadcast system to call students to the Auditorium.
The scene where a boy who seemed to have taken on the role of student council president naturally acted in front of the teachers and invaded the broadcast room was also quite entertainingly directed.
Cafe Owner A decided she absolutely had to find the name of the student council president boy with sculpture-like beauty.
And soon, after all the students, teachers, and staff gathered in the Auditorium, the bright lights in the Auditorium began to turn on one by one, looking impressive.
Balloons spread everywhere, colorful lights, bulbs, stacked gifts, and garlands.
On the stage of that Auditorium with a proper party atmosphere, seven boys now began their performance, each taking charge of their own instrument.
My Day is Everyday Christmas
I want to live with anticipation every day
There’s no such thing as a special day
I just want to wait for tomorrow
The bursting sound made my body sway involuntarily.
Yet as I listened with a familiar feeling, I could distinctly hear classic carol melodies we all know woven throughout with slight variations.
Despite saying it wasn’t a carol, a song so saturated with carol clichés was easy enough to sing along with.
My Day is Everyday Holiday
I’ll simply remember it, every single day
Someone was born today too
I’ll celebrate instead, Blessing
The sole blonde-haired boy sang with a radiant smile.
The swift, seamless camera movements and scene transitions amplified the rhythmic pulse of the song.
Now the music video illuminated the various people celebrating inside the Auditorium, one by one.
This isn’t a carol (seriously)
Really not a carol (for real)
The playful hook melody continued to the very end.
That eyebrow-scratching boy from earlier launched a whipped cream war with another boy who looked mischievously like a white cream cake. Soon whipped cream flew everywhere, and foam spray scattered through the air.
Outside, autumn leaves still fell, but inside the Auditorium, it looked as though snow were gently descending.
So you can listen anytime you want
I’ll brighten your exhausting today
Our Day is Everyday Christmas!
Finally, the music video and song ended with seven boys lying sprawled in a circle on the Auditorium floor, scattered with colorful confetti.
Watching them giggle and play around with each other, so full of joy, a smile naturally bloomed across Cafe Owner A’s face.
“…That’s a good song.”
Cafe Owner A stared blankly at the finished video for a moment, then raised her hand and pressed play once more.
And she quietly rose from her seat.
“I should listen to this while sipping a vanilla latte.”
Cafe Owner A decided to use this song as her cafe’s opening track for the time being.
As the start of each day, she thought it was quite a fitting song.

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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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