Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 269

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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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269. The Lucky Snowball (2)
There was nothing particularly special about choosing a school uniform as the debut stage outfit for “This Isn’t a Carol.”
‘They seemed to like it.’
Sunset University
@SS_university
Until the day we collect a million
in Kang Ha-jin’s school uniform styling…
(“Over the Night” MV school uniform outfit screenshot)
(“Shouting at You” music show school uniform outfit screenshot)
(Engraved and self-produced school uniform outfit screenshot)
(“This Isn’t a Carol” MV school uniform outfit screenshot)
1.1K shares 1.2K likes
Carrot
@ghdekdan
I really wish there was a law requiring
all idols debuting in Korea
to wear school uniforms as rookies
Because once you get older and gain seniority,
you’ll all refuse to wear them out of embarrassment anyway…
1K shares 2,144 quotes 1.2K likes
Besides, they’re openly using a student concept in the music video anyway, and since today is the college entrance exam day, it has some meaning to it. Lee Yu-gun and Seo Tae-hyun literally came up wearing the same uniforms they wore during the actual exam.
This was possible because “This Isn’t a Carol” had relatively simple choreography with plenty of freestyle ad-lib sections.
Ah, ah―,
This Isn’t a Carol (for real)
Really Isn’t a Carol (seriously)
Since this was a live broadcast rather than a pre-recorded one, the fan chants following the official cheering method came through clearly despite fewer fans in the audience seating than usual. The members seemed equally energized by the fans’ roaring voices, and I could see them dancing the simple choreography with all their might.
Seo Tae-hyun in particular was practically flying across the stage.
‘Is he excited about being a first-place contender, or about finishing the college entrance exam, or… about tearing Cha Min-seok apart…?’
Come to think of it, he had way too many reasons to be excited.
I was having the absurd thought that I’d have to accept it even if Seo Tae-hyun came out in traditional Korean folk performance attire spinning a tall hat and beating a drum, when our eyes met—the Seo Tae-hyun who’d been flying around just moments before.
“…?”
He was looking at me with eyes that said, “Hey, what are you doing?” and when I looked to see what was up, I realized all the other members were standing on the opposite side from me. Yu-gun, who’d noticed me from behind while changing positions, rolled his eyes urgently with a panicked expression, beckoning me over.
‘Ah, damn it.’
I’d messed up my positioning!
Without even time to manage my expression, I scrambled back to find my correct position. Even as I did, my hands faithfully continued executing the choreography carved into my bones.
‘Please let this be one continuous shot, please, please….’
There’s no pre-recorded footage to edit this with.
If such a glaring mistake gets preserved in video, how am I supposed to be an idol?
So whenever you watch, it’s fine.
I’ll brighten up this exhausting day for you.
Whether my mental state was intact or not, the song progressed smoothly until we reached the final moments.
All the members gathered in the center, flashing bright smiles at the camera—and of course, I was the center once again.
The members who had been smiling since earlier seemed to have doubled their happiness upon discovering my mistake, and by the final stretch, their faces were contorted not with smiles but as if they were participating in some kind of laugh-suppression challenge. Only Ju Eun-chan and Jeong Si-u, who were in the middle of their parts and hadn’t witnessed the situation, wore bewildered expressions.
Our Day is Everyday Christmas!
With the final verse, we waved our hands enthusiastically toward the fans in the audience who had cheered us on. I was grateful for their passionate support, but the fact that I’d made a mistake while maintaining perfect form in front of all those people was utterly mortifying.
I instinctively covered my face with my hand and berated myself—’What kind of idiot loses focus on stage like this?’—when Seo Tae-hyun, sitting beside me, nudged my ribs and spoke through ventriloquism.
“Hyung, you’re today’s ending fairy….”
Damn it.
I’d just exposed not only my choreography mistake on a live comeback broadcast but also my moment of despair all at once.
‘Ha-ru, if you’re going to use regression, please do it at times like this….’
That regression bastard really can’t get the timing right.
* * *
“Ha-jin just messed up, right?”
“Yeah, it seems like it. The expression looked so genuine!”
“Huh? Really? Wasn’t it acting? I thought it was part of the choreography.”
“Oh, was it…? But the reaction looked way too genuine for that?”
Ha-jin’s mistake was also a hot topic among the Destiny fans in the audience seating.
Ha-jin was the type to be flawless on stage, and the image of him earlier, dressed in a suit and conducting the show with such ease, had left a strong impression, making the mistake stand out even more.
In any case, for Yoon Jae-hee, who was seeing the stage of ‘idol Kang Ha-jin’ with her own eyes for the first time since the Upia Concert, even that mistake was a joy. Moreover, Ha-jin’s styling today resembled how he looked during the Rene Entertainment audition, making the experience feel all the more poignant.
“Oh, the kids were nominees for first place today. Did you vote?”
“I got so frustrated watching those ads that I just spent money instead. I’m planning to go home after seeing my kids win first place and cry.”
Yoon Jae-hee nodded with a determined expression. The moment she heard that “This Isn’t a Carol” had been nominated for first place, she borrowed her younger sibling’s account and her friends’ accounts to pour all her effort into voting.
Although there was no physical album, the digital sales were overwhelmingly strong, so if the fans did their part this week, they could potentially sweep first place across all music shows.
“I really hope they win everything this week. Next week, Lanion will probably be nominated too….”
“Wow, their album is really selling well. I heard fan signs and lucky draws already sold out.”
“…Haha. That’s just how Rene Entertainment is.”
Yoon Jae-hee, the very person who had worked at Rene Entertainment until recently, lowered her gaze with an awkward laugh.
Shortly after, all the performances of the day finally ended, and all the performers and MCs took the stage for the ending. Ha-jin had changed back into his suit from earlier, but apparently hadn’t had time to change his shoes, as he was still wearing his canvas sneakers.
Those shoes alone evoked such intense nostalgia—as if the high school student from that stage moment had simply grown up over time. It felt similar to the emotion she’d experienced when she first saw the “Shout at You” stage back then.
“So~ who will be the owner of this week’s trophy in mid-November?”
Today’s first-place nominees were Kairos and a female idol group that had made a comeback recently.
The opposing side was also known to have a strong fanbase for a girl group, so there was no room to let down their guard until the very end.
On stage, beside Ha-jin who was looking at the MC, the Kairos members standing in a domino line were gripping each other’s hands tightly. Ha-jin, holding a cue card and microphone, glanced at his members and let out a small laugh.
“Let’s reveal the final results!”
The final scoreboard appeared on the monitor.
Since it was a digital single with no physical album, the album score was zero, but Kairos showed overwhelming dominance in the digital score. As each scoring category was revealed in order, Yoon Jae-hee quickly calculated the numbers in her head.
“And finally, the glorious first place, including the live broadcast voting score, is…”
‘Please, please…. The live broadcast voting, please….’
Until the live broadcast voting score was included, the scores looked roughly similar, and the Destiny fans in the audience, including Yoon Jae-hee, clasped their hands together in nervous anticipation.
Ha-jin, too, seemed a bit tense, as he was seen tapping his fingers repeatedly against the cue card.
Soon, the monitor captured the image of today’s number one artist.
“…It’s Kairos! Congratulations!”
Kairos’s first number one since their debut.
The fact that Yoon Jae-hee had witnessed this moment made her heart race as if her own dream had come true.
* * *
‘We did it.’
We really did it.
We achieved first place.
It wasn’t as though I had no experience winning awards at competitions, yet somehow it didn’t feel entirely real.
‘Wait, have I ever actually come in first before?’
I’d received special awards and encouragement prizes countless times, but I couldn’t quite recall ever truly winning first place.
At best, there was the relay race at the school sports day, but even then, all they did was stamp my hand with a “well done” mark.
“First place since debut—truly congratulations. We’d like to hear remarks from our MC and leader Ha-jin, and then from each member.”
The trophy naturally passed into my hands. The members, who had been trembling beside me as if praying until just moments ago, now seemed bewildered by the reality of actually achieving first place, exchanging only nervous glances with one another.
What do people usually say when they win first place?
As I turned to look at the members while mentally running through the people I needed to mention, I saw Seo Tae-hyun standing at the far end finally break down in tears. Ju Eun-chan, who was trying to console him, had his lips trembling as if he too would soon cry.
“Um…. So….”
Since it was already the ending, I couldn’t afford to ramble on.
I mentally decided to first thank Destiny, then mention the company staff, but my voice wouldn’t come. My throat felt parched and dry, and I noticed Jeong Si-u standing beside me turning away with reddened eyes.
‘Even he’s crying?’
This wasn’t some year-end awards ceremony grand prize.
We debuted through the Survival Program with far greater attention and interest from the public, and now we’re crying this hard over one music broadcast first place?
Worried that this joyous day might turn into a funeral atmosphere, I straightened up and faced forward again to regain my composure.
“…Well, first of all, our Destiny!”
The moment I called out the name of our fans—the primary architects of our first place—cheers erupted from the audience seating.
I looked down at the nameless someones waving our lightsticks below the stage. Since we hadn’t even recruited an official first generation of fans yet, and official merchandise hadn’t been released, all the lightsticks in the crowd were basic white ones distributed by the company for promotional purposes.
Watching other fandoms wave their colorful, beautiful lightsticks, they might have felt envious, but Destiny was waving those plain white sticks louder than anyone else, as if worried we might lose heart from insufficient cheering, shouting their congratulations to us.
The moment I took in that wave of light, my throat tightened once more.
“Ah, this is driving me crazy. Really….”
This was a sight I thought I’d never witness in my lifetime.
Even if I spent my entire life behind this stage, in the darkest corners, wearing the darkest clothes, playing the role of making brilliant people shine—I believed that too held meaning.
I didn’t regret that life then, nor did I feel ashamed of it.
Only, merely.
Among all those choices and their consequences, I had newly realized that this very moment was what I had desired most.
With tears streaming down my face in an ungraceful manner, I suppressed the sob rising in my throat and spoke to Destiny with all my sincerity.
“We achieved first place.”
How could I possibly explain that this miracle was all created by you?
Our first number one became, in that way, a sea of tears.

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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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