Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 273

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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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273. The Snowball of Fortune (6)
Justice from the heavens… no, wait.
Schedules poured into the Kairos Official Cafe like a deluge.
【Kairos, Full Cast Guest Appearance on ‘Midnight Sugar Factory’…Meets Choi Yeon-woo of Endway】
【Kairos Si-woo and Do-ha, Singles Pictorial Released…Autumn Elegance Personified】
【[EXCLUSIVE] Kairos Seo Tae-hyun Tapped as Year-End Awards MC…to Host ‘GMA’】
【#This Week’s ‘Nam Tee-joo Workshop’ Guest Announcement – Kairos Yoo Gun, Eun-chan, Ha-ru】
【[LET US DANCE] K:RUS EUNCHAN, HARU│Performance Video│’Lotus’ by Hong Ran】
….
Beyond that, notifications for fan signing events, behind-the-scenes content, and various other materials streamed in without pause.
Desty, who had initially enjoyed the relentless schedule, gradually began to worry.
Park Jang-mi 🔒
@roxeeey
It’s nice seeing all this content, but I can’t tell how much rest they’re actually getting during the breaks
[[Maple] Are the kids actually resting?]
From the survival program at the start of the year to the year-end awards coming up soon, they look so busy I’m worried
From what Tae-hyun says in his live streams, it seems like he’s not even sleeping these days and just practicing
I appreciate their hard work, but I’m genuinely concerned… especially after what happened with Miro before…
So like, I keep seeing it pop up and I do like it, but it’s upsetting seeing the kids looking so thin…
I heard that Miro has been taking really good care of artists ever since that incident back then, so don’t worry too much.
– Quality drops when condition gets worse and they just pump out quantity instead. One well-made piece is always better than lots of mediocre content, but every time I see Miro’s work, they never seem to learn. Even on the college entrance exam day, Han Se-won had to personally pick the kids up and drop them off. They couldn’t even book proper plane tickets and ended up canceling schedules. Seriously, Miro, get your act together. I feel like someone’s going to collapse again before you finally wake up.
In truth, for an idol group rising to prominence, they didn’t actually have that many overseas schedules yet, so their schedule wasn’t quite as packed as the fans feared.
However, since they were still in the early fandom stage before even having an official fanclub name, the constant influx of new and floating fans meant even small things could cause significant waves.
And Kang Ha-jin thought that level of noise was nothing to worry about.
‘If the content is entertaining, all that talk will die down anyway.’
And that prediction proved correct.
Desty, who had been expressing concern about the members’ health, soon found themselves too distracted by the incoming storm of content to maintain their worry.
It all started with—
Choi Yeon-woo’s video radio show, which they’d won as a prize for appearing on Touch High.
-‘Midnight Sugar Factory,’ where we receive your sweet and bitter love troubles and stories. Today’s sugar factory is running with Kairos, who recently made new history for the carol with ‘This Isn’t a Carol.’ Ha-jin?
-Yes. Those sweet love stories you’re experiencing right now, those tales of romance. The slightly bitter, tangy stories of parting and worries. Send us anything at all. We’ll gather all those bittersweet feelings and gift you delicious dreams.
The day Kairos appeared was a regular day for the fixed love consultation program. In part two, they introduced Kairos to listeners with light conversation regardless of the corner’s theme, and the main segment began in earnest from part three.
‘Midnight Sugar Factory’ was typically just casual chatting in pleasant voices suited for late-night radio, so existing listeners, including Desty, were listening to the radio lightly.
– ?? Why are we trending right now?
└ Listen to the radio right now
└ …? Did the kids do something weird again…?
Yes. It was definitely supposed to be a light segment.
Hanbalra is seriously crazy lolololololololololol
People are going crazy saying we need to eliminate all male and female friends around the world right now lol
└ ??????????
…Until they began their obsessive fixation.
* * *
-You pick her up while she’s crying!? Then you take her to karaoke for an hour!? You’re putting off going home!?
(Ha, Ha-jin. Please calm down for a moment….)
And then you call it friendship? Friend~ship? Just friendship~???
-From my perspective… I think he’s just genuinely cherishing his close friend and acting that way because they’re close, but it seems like the caller is trying to force romantic feelings where there aren’t any. If there were real feelings, he wouldn’t be so confusing about it.
-What…? Si-woo. When your close dongsaeng cries, you just… go pick them up and take them to karaoke to hang out? You’re that kind of person?
(Tae-hyun, stay composed…)
No, wait. Isn’t this clearly fishing for attention? This is really bad…!
(Fishing for attention is bad, yeah.)
Even Eun-chan agrees!
-Um, w-what do you think, Yoo Gun?
-Well… if a friend is having a hard time, isn’t it natural to go to karaoke with them? I don’t think that counts as flirting….
-It’s exactly this kind of thinking that’s making our unrequited love solidarity fall apart! Why are you leading them on if you’re not going to date them!?
(I never led them on—they just came over on their own.)
This guy…!? Lee Do-ha, say something too!
-…The caller’s feelings seem so complicated that I can’t easily start a conversation.
-Ha-ru. Can you try to stop the hyungs….
-They’re actually showing considerable restraint at this point, don’t you think?
Generally speaking, dating talk was among the top forbidden topics for idols, yet Kairos’s members, purely from a third-party perspective, threw themselves into the discussion with remarkable intensity, arguing back and forth.
Some might have said “these young kids are already obsessed with dating,” but Desty remained unfazed. It was because of how they’d shown themselves before.
-Please understand, everyone… these are the kids who spent 30 minutes solving one balance quiz question on their live broadcast…
-We should’ve known from when Do-ha wrote a whole thesis about the perilla leaf debate
-Every time they do that “Kairos’s Big Three Obsessives” thing, they’re literally risking their lives… when will that stop being funny…?
└ Who are the Big Three Obsessives?
└ The Rapunzels. Do-ha, Ha-jin, Tae-hyun <<They got so obsessed watching Rapunzel that they cried seeing the same scene and became the Rapunzels
-I'm heartbroken thinking if 2U Gun hadn't become an idol, he'd be committing every crime imaginable
└ Why do you think he's not doing that now…?
└ For f's sake, 2U Gun early graduation petition… my sister's wrists hurt
No matter how you looked at it, starting with Do-ha, Ha-jin, and Tae-hyun's obsessive fixation—clearly xNFx MBTI types—that night's Midnight Sugar Factory transformed from a dating advice show into a dating courtroom.
With such formidable personalities in the group, even Choi Yeon-woo, who usually didn't bat an eye at most guests, lost his footing and found himself swayed by his juniors, which gave the And With U fans quite a fresh source of entertainment.
-Well then. Let's listen to a song before you go. Kairos will perform. 'Destiny'.
And so, having turned the late-night radio upside down, Kairos delivered a live rendition of 'Destiny'—a B-side from their debut album and a fan song revealed during the Miro Maze finale broadcast—with surprising sweetness.
These days, radio live environments had improved so much that it didn't feel as raw as before, but there was still a unique charm that came with a radio live performance.
The members who had been noisily debating moments before suddenly shifted their expressions and sang the sweet ballad, and clips of it spread everywhere in an instant. The closing song 'This Isn't a Carol' that played at the end also became a minor topic of discussion across communities.
…And so, spending busy day after busy day, exactly one week after Kairos won their first music broadcast number-one.
"Kairos! Congratulations–!"
Kairos won the same award at the same place once again.
Since they'd already won first place at all four music broadcasts that had aired last week, this was their fifth win.
"Thank you, Desty!"
"It's all thanks to you. Desty is the best!"
The first three times, I was too overwhelmed to compose myself, crying and scrambling to recover.
By the fifth time around, I could finally deliver my acceptance remarks with a clear head. Some fans seemed a bit disappointed by my composure, but there were certain things that became possible once you grew accustomed to winning first place.
"Hey, give me a piggyback ride."
"Carry me, carry me."
"Who's supposed to—, ugh! You bastards, one at a time!"
The charm of an encore stage.
It was a first-place promise.
Kairos had been collecting encore moments by fulfilling all sorts of first-place pledges—wearing animal-shaped hats, switching parts, singing while doing push-ups. Today's was singing while carrying members on their backs.
As Eun-chan and Ha-ru suddenly climbed onto Ha-jin's back, leaving him struggling to maintain his balance, Do-ha found himself face-to-face with Tae-hyun beside him.
"…?"
"…Come on, carry me."
"…Carry you? Not the other way around? Do you have any conscience, hyung?"
The pairing of the tallest Do-ha and the shortest Tae-hyun had quietly become popular among fans. The main appeal was the cuteness that came from the shortest Tae-hyun dodging the tallest Do-ha.
When Do-ha openly spread his arms as if asking Tae-hyun to carry him, Tae-hyun gasped and stepped back. But Do-ha showed no intention of backing down.
"You need to work out."
"Why would I work out using you as equipment?"
"Build up your strength."
"This is seriously ridiculous."
Tae-hyun glanced at the other members on stage.
The Ha-jin group, who had been bickering among themselves, had shifted positions when the stronger Ha-ru suddenly hoisted Ha-jin up and carried Eun-chan in a princess-style hold. Meanwhile, Yoo Gun and Si-woo, still somewhat awkward with each other, seemed to have settled things when Si-woo casually picked up Yoo Gun, who had been hesitating.
Tae-hyun, exasperated, clicked his tongue once and turned away.
"Fine, I'm in a good mood today anyway. I'll carry my old roommate hyung once. Come on."
Tae-hyun struggled to lift Do-ha, who was over 10 centimeters taller. In reality, Do-ha's feet still touched the ground, so he wasn't truly being carried—just supported. Tae-hyun, who had roomed with Do-ha for quite a long time during their trainee days, knew well that Do-ha liked to tease people he was close to in this manner.
"Geez, the hyungs are more immature than anyone…."
"Tae-hyun."
"Hm?"
As Tae-hyun muttered jokingly, Do-ha called his name and straightened up from his back. Since Tae-hyun hadn't actually been carrying him—Do-ha had been supporting himself—it was easy for him to shift his position.
Do-ha smiled faintly at Tae-hyun, then presented his back as if asking Tae-hyun to ride. As Tae-hyun climbed onto his back in confusion, Do-ha slowly walked across the stage, waving to the fans, and whispered something only Tae-hyun could hear.
"You've worked hard all this time."
"…Suddenly?"
"I've always wanted to say it. You're proud and smart, so I thought you'd hate it if I said something like this carelessly."
"…."
"But now that we're on the same team, I thought it would be okay to say it."
As Do-ha spoke, his gaze drifted toward the other teams still exiting after the performance. When Tae-hyun glanced in that direction, he caught Cha Min-seok staring directly at them before hastily turning away.
Tae-hyun, who couldn't possibly not understand that the "all this time" Do-ha spoke of included their days as roommates during their trainee years, simply laughed and swung his legs playfully.
"Yeah. Thanks. Let's work hard together from now on. We need to create lots of good songs."
"…? Creating good music isn't hard work."
"Right, right."
How did I end up meeting such wonderful people?
From the day we claimed our first number one, I'd been racking my brain trying to make sense of it, but I could only chalk it up to pure luck.
Feeling foolishly close to tears again, Tae-hyun bit down on his lip and buried his face against Do-ha's shoulder. Then someone delivered a gentle flick to Tae-hyun's head.
"…?"
"If you bite your lip hard enough to wound it, are you planning to get cosmetic surgery, you idiot."
"…No, I wasn't biting it."
"That's hilarious."
Ha-jin raised an eyebrow at the lie and smiled, patting Tae-hyun's head reassuringly.
"You're the one who did it."
"…."
"We pulled this off together, so let's just enjoy it. That's all."
"…Yeah."
Tae-hyun assumed those words were merely meant to console him in his tears, but for Ha-jin, they carried a deeper significance.
Ha-jin recalled something he'd once said carelessly to convince Tae-hyun.
-I voted for you.
-You're so talented. I envied you so much whenever I watched you.
Seo Tae-hyun's final stage, which had shone brilliantly even on that small monitor in the practice room during those darkest and loneliest days, remained vivid in Ha-jin's memory.
Thirteen had said there was no such thing as "destiny" in this world, only "such choices" remaining….
'If our timelines become intertwined, perhaps it's because these moments accumulate like this?'
I found myself growing sentimental, wondering when exactly this snowball—this one I'd rolled and rolled into existence—truly began.
Gazing at the first-place trophy in my hands and the name "Kairos" engraved upon it, I flashed the fans another broad, refreshing smile.
'Whatever happens, this is only the beginning.'
Until the eyes of the world grow weary and fade, until I create another snowball.
I was determined to sprint forward with everything I had.

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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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