Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 263

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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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263. The Day of Reckoning (1)
I knew this would happen.
93rd place (
New
) Let you Know
Lanion
“Damn, they’re climbing up so easily.”
Is this what it feels like to be a major corporation?
I’d thought Miro had grown quite large in its own right, but it was frustrating to realize that years of tradition and legacy were forces you simply couldn’t ignore.
Someone else barely scraped into the TOP100 chart with a cable survival show, the prestige of Seo Tae-il’s thirteen-year career, the boost from public broadcast variety shows, and year-end bonuses all stacked together….
“Our song climbed to 31st place, and it still pisses me off.”
Just as I’d witnessed repeatedly in my previous timeline, Lanion had pulled off a successful debut.
The factors behind their success were multifaceted.
The fact that we were still in a dark age for male idols, with no other rookie groups debuting in the past three years showing any real distinction besides our team,
The fact that they’d been eating well in the first division, constantly hearing about being the essence of Rene-style male idols, and now they were the first new Rene-style male idol group to debut in years since Sphere finally went to the military,
Besides Cha Min-seok, whose photos had been quietly leaked before, there were two public trainees that every Rene fan had been chanting the debut date for,
Combined with the promotion and production that seemed to have had capital thrown at it, and an easy-listening track that deliberately courted mass appeal….
“Even knowing all this, I can’t help but be annoyed.”
I irritably closed the music chart I’d been checking on my phone, and when I logged into AiTube to charge up some dopamine, Lanion’s debut music video suddenly dominated my entire timeline.
In the thumbnail, the five Lanion members—already sporting nicknames like “Rene’s male gods” and updating articles daily—were striking ridiculous poses centered around the obnoxious Cha Min-seok, looking down at the camera.
“….”
Right, five members.
That was the problem.
‘Why did the member count get cut in half?’
In my previous timeline, Lanion was definitely Rene’s first large-scale male idol group.
Because of that, before their faces were revealed, Rene got absolutely roasted for gathering every Tom, Dick, and Harry and debuting them as a trainee batch, and even after debut, they were notorious for all sorts of N-member support wars and individual fan politics and petty squabbles….
These crazy bastards suddenly dropped four existing members and debuted with a select few instead!
‘If even one person causes a scandal, they’d be down to four members. What kind of audacity is that? And they even kept the Chinese member?’
As I examined each debut member in the thumbnail and saw the music video auto-play, I immediately shut down the AiTube app and tossed my phone carelessly into the corner of my bed.
Why would I boost their view count?
Grumbling that those male gods should just stay in their own world instead of coming to the human realm and causing trouble, I pulled the fluffy body pillow on my bed into my arms.
Then, a cushion flew from somewhere and smacked me square in the face.
“Ow!”
As I irritably swatted the cushion away, Seo Tae-hyun, who’d been sitting at the desk across from me, turned his chair around and looked at me with an expression of utter exasperation, letting out a sigh.
With eyes that had gone hollow, Seo Tae-hyun gripped his pen backwards and spoke through gritted teeth.
“Get out of my room.”
“Why? No.”
“Why are you making a mess in my room when the living room and your own room are right there! I’m trying to study!”
“There’s nobody at the dormitory, so I’m bored!”
“Then go outside too!”
“I don’t want to!”
“Why!?”
“It’s annoying!”
“…Are you seriously acting like an elementary schooler, hyung?”
“I happen to have a certain innocent charm, you know.”
“You’re insane, seriously….”
I brazenly swept my hair back, and Seo Tae-hyun buried his face in his hands with a groan of frustration.
With the College Entrance Exam just three days away, Seo Tae-hyun’s stress had reached a fever pitch. Under normal circumstances, I would never pull such ridiculous stunts beside him like this, but today I had my reasons.
“Listen. You think I’m doing this because I have nothing better to do? If I leave you alone, you won’t eat or sleep—you’ll just keep digging yourself into a hole. That’s why I’m staying home today as your guardian, making sure you eat, getting you to sleep, and throwing in some stretching breaks between study sessions.”
“Then just watch from outside. Why do you have to come into our room first thing in the morning and keep muttering to yourself? You’re the biggest distraction, hyung.”
“Tae-hyun. I’m saying this after trying everything myself. You think just staring at your textbook is enough? If you get sick on the day of the exam, none of this matters. The three days before the College Entrance Exam are all about managing your condition—that’s the real deal.”
“You didn’t even take the College Entrance Exam.”
“Why didn’t I take the…! …exam? That’s exactly it. I wonder about that too, right? No matter how much I think about it, it feels like the biggest mistake of my life. I was really confident I’d do well.”
You’re seriously saying that to someone who regressed during the English listening section of the College Entrance Exam?
For a moment, memories of my first regression flooded back, and my eyes stung, but I held it together.
Tomorrow, once Dan Ha-ru’s provincial schedule ends and he gets back to the Dormitory, I’m going to grab that bastard’s cheeks and shake him until his teeth rattle.
As I squeezed the innocent body pillow in frustration, reliving my own bitter exam preparation days, Seo Tae-hyun removed his glasses and pulled out artificial tears from the drawer.
“…That’s my birthday gift, you know? From Destiny?”
“…Ugh, that explains it. I knew this cushioning felt special. Geez, my hands are acting up, they really are. You shouldn’t just throw something this precious on your bed like that, okay? You need to treat it properly. Carefully. Make sure it doesn’t get wrinkled. I hope the cushion didn’t get damaged. Ugh….”
“You’re lying.”
“Dammit.”
I jumped up and started smoothing out the body pillow, but at his words, I immediately threw it back down hard.
Yeah, I figured. I saw you searching for body pillows by popularity on that shopping site and reading reviews.
Feeling annoyed at being tricked, I pressed down on the innocent pillow repeatedly, and Seo Tae-hyun seemed to decide studying was a lost cause for the day. He closed his workbook and continued speaking.
“Hyung, are you doing this because of me?”
“…? What are you talking about?”
“Are you worried I’m stressed because of Cha Min-seok?”
It had been a long time since that bastard’s name came out of Seo Tae-hyun’s mouth.
Truth be told, that wasn’t really the reason, but I was curious about Seo Tae-hyun’s reaction to Cha Min-seok’s debut, so I answered with silence instead.
Seo Tae-hyun set his pen down on the desk with a tap and turned his chair completely toward me.
“I don’t care about him.”
“…Seriously?”
“I decided to. It seemed like it would put my mind at ease.”
Seo Tae-hyun tapped the armrest of his chair, his gaze distant as if lost in old memories, and spoke in a calm voice.
“I really hated him, you know? I mean, I only joined Miro because of him, the Executive Director sold me out because of him, I almost couldn’t debut because of him—everything was his fault.”
“….”
“But now that I look back, I wonder if everything was supposed to happen this way. Either way, I’ve debuted now, and even though it’s only a three-month difference, I debuted first, and we’re both doing well in our own ways.”
“That’s only because you met this hyung and everything worked out. If it hadn’t, you’d be in Gangwon Province right now.”
“Exactly.”
“…?”
“But I’m not in Gangwon Province right now—I’m in Seoul. And not just anywhere, but at the Kairos Dormitory, ranked in the top 30 on the charts, as a member of Kairos.”
Tae-hyun nodded as if he understood everything, his gaze fixed on me.
The cherry hair clip he’d carelessly pinned in front while claiming he’d focus on his studies was the only blemish on this serious atmosphere.
“You said it yourself. Instead of wasting time hating them, be grateful to me.”
“…Did I really say something that ridiculous?”
“…Honestly, even if I wanted to compliment you, it’s just—”
“Alright, alright. I won’t complain. Keep going, keep going.”
“Anyway, what I’m saying is, if you’re only concerned about their group because of me, please don’t be. It’s uncomfortable to see, sure, but I’m not angry enough to throw a punch the moment I see them anymore.”
…So before, I really was angry enough to throw a punch on sight.
Thinking back on it, stepping in as a substitute MC for this music show was definitely the right call.
I had to prevent Tae-hyun’s violent incident from becoming Kairos’s first scandal right after debut.
“Well, if you’re okay with it, that’s a relief.”
“So now get out. I need to study.”
“Study? Who’s stopping you?”
“You’ve been making so much noise in the background that I can’t concentrate.”
“Hey, you think the college entrance exam is a joke? The exam hall is surrounded by soundproof walls like Do-ha’s room—once you’re in there, you can’t get out. Everything’s loud in there. The sound of flipping test papers bothers you, the proctor’s gait bothers you, even a single ant flying by bothers you. If your composure gets shaken by my little rustling sounds now, what are you going to do when you get there? I’m doing all this to help you, you know?”
“But you didn’t take the college entrance exam.”
“I did take—! …Well, I heard from friends who did, and I asked them carefully, so these are secondhand experiences I learned about, you brat!”
Out of sheer spite, I’ll take the college entrance exam next year and claim the test-taker discount.
“Oh, but what about your exam day? Your lunch box and stuff like that?”
“Si-woo said he’d pack mine and Yoo Gun’s in the morning. If I go when there are lots of people, it just draws attention and gets messy, so I’m thinking of going early. Kwon Wook said he’d drive me. After it’s over, I’ll slip out through the back entrance quickly.”
“Still, it’s fortunate there are quite a few students from the same school taking the exam. The Arts High School kids won’t suddenly have their hearts racing just because you’re an idol.”
“Yeah. And there are quite a few other debuted idols taking the exam besides me. I just hope there aren’t any reporters.”
“That’s practically impossible. They’ll be staking out from early morning to film you guys. Think about what you’re going to wear.”
“I’ve already picked it out, even Yoo Gun’s outfit.”
“….”
“Going to a salon on exam day seemed excessive, so I got some makeup products from Hye-kyung. I’m just planning to do my eyebrows and tint.”
This ruthless guy….
I couldn’t help but admire Tae-hyun’s relentless determination to unleash his ☆Professional Idol☆ abilities even on exam day.
“What’s he making for the lunch box?”
“I don’t know. Something about tteokgalbi and other stuff, keeping it simple with home cooking?”
“How is tteokgalbi home cooking?”
“Anyway, Si-woo said he’d make it. So on that day, just make sure you do a good job as MC instead of me.”
“Alright then.”
I nodded and got up from the bed.
At this point, I’d teased him enough and had my fun, so it was time to gracefully bow out.
“I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner. I’ll make that salad pasta you like.”
“Awesome, thanks.”
“Hang in there, test-taker.”
It felt a bit sorry that all I could offer was salad pasta and filling in as MC.
With that thought, I quietly closed the door so Seo Tae-hyun could concentrate on his studies.
* * *
“Ha ha ha.”
And two days later. The day before the College Entrance Exam.
I pressed my forehead in admiration at my own terrifying flag-retrieval abilities.
“So you’re saying the plane can’t take off because of the weather, and no one can depart? And the exam is in 12 hours?”
-Ha-jin, what do we do? You need to look after the kids… There’s no one available right now. What are we supposed to do?
What am I supposed to do if you’re asking me that…?
The thunder and lightning crashing relentlessly outside the window were impossibly infuriating.

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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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