Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 278

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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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278. Dessert
“Your grapefruit ade, iced americano, and dessert box are ready. Enjoy your meal.”
Running the Cafe was smoother than I’d anticipated.
I had no talent for coffee, but I possessed an innate gift for serving.
My old experience working at the Meat Restaurant was shining through once again.
“Oh, that’s not ours….”
“Huh?”
Ah, not this table?
“The next table over, next to us!”
“Got it.”
Yoo Gun poured espresso into ice water with one hand, pulled out a fresh cup with the other, and lightly kicked a box that was cluttering the floor with one foot while calling out instructions—a masterclass in multitasking. I’d made the right call bringing him along.
Truly excellent multitasking. I’d definitely made the right decision bringing him here.
I mobilized every ounce of my acting ability, turning my body with the most natural movements possible as I set the cup down on the adjacent table.
“Your order….”
“No, to the right!”
“Oh, my apologies.”
This was embarrassing.
“Here’s your drink and dessert—the correct order this time.”
“Thank you so much~”
The moment the grapefruit ade found its rightful owner and touched the table, the fans nearby giggled and snapped photos. I flashed a peace sign at the cameras and played it off with feigned innocence.
“I’m normally not like this, but I guess I’m nervous today.”
“Ha-jin’s nervous?”
“I didn’t think I was, but apparently I am a little. I can’t focus at all.”
“For someone who’s nervous, you sure talk well.”
“That’s more like a passive skill, so it’s not really related to being nervous.”
Laughter erupted from various corners at my offhand remark.
I realized that with such positive reactions to minimal effort, anyone would develop bad habits.
‘No wonder people develop star syndrome. No wonder….’
I’d often wondered what was wrong with those celebrity kids who lacked charm, were full of nothing but arrogance and bluster, and would laugh at their own unfunny jokes. Now I understood—it was all because their surroundings had spoiled them rotten.
No matter how self-aware a person was, growing up in an environment where you only heard praise would inevitably inflate your ego within months.
“Hyung, next drink.”
“Right.”
I was making eye contact with the phones being thrust at me while lost in thought, when Yoo Gun called me over—he’d already finished setting up the next drink.
Our original plan was for Yoo Gun to handle coffee and me to handle non-coffee drinks, alternating service as needed. But after pouring just a couple of drinks, Yoo Gun complained I was in the way and shooed me out to work the floor instead.
His excuse was that it was annoying, but watching him churn out drinks like a machine, it was obvious he was being considerate in his own way—giving me more opportunities to interact with the fans.
‘That guy’s too soft-hearted.’
How does someone that kind survive in this harsh world?
As I headed back to the counter to pick up the next drink, worried about Yoo Gun’s future like his grandfather would, the system window popped up with a short warning beep.
[Warning! ※Information Leak Alert※]
[The ‘Information Leak Prevention’ system set by the fixed returnee is now active.]
[Block upload? (Y/N)]
The reason I had zero concerns about leaks while pulling off something this audacious was thanks to this system. Last time it filtered my words, and now it seemed to be managing people’s mobile networks as well.
‘No matter how I think about it, the Headquarters people gave me something incredibly powerful….’
Anyway, since I’m using it well, thank you.
I hit YES to the question about blocking the upload, then activated auto mode (a function I’d added myself) to handle the rest automatically.
I couldn’t stop people from leaving here and spreading the news by word of mouth, but if I could just prevent it from spreading across the Internet, today’s event would wrap up successfully.
“Is this the last one?”
“Yes. That’s all we need.”
“Okie, thanks for the hard work.”
“…We’ll see about this on my birthday, for real.”
Leaving Yoo Gun grinding his teeth behind me, I served the final drink.
Then I returned to the counter and sat on the tall bar stool the Staff Member had prepared in advance. Yoo Gun, who had neatly organized the kitchen, also came and sat beside me, untying his apron.
“So now that all the drinks are out, how about we chat and have fun for the remaining time? We don’t have much time left, everyone.”
Sighs of regret burst out from all around.
Thinking about it again, this really is the perfect environment to develop bad habits.
Even as I told myself not to get used to it, I couldn’t help but smile as I sat among people who had cleared their schedules to come here, saying they wanted to celebrate my birthday and have fun with me.
‘It was a satisfying splurge.’
Though all the money I spent would be deducted from my settlement, reducing the number that would hit my account next month….
‘Well, when was that money ever mine anyway.’
Thinking it was a perfect choice for my first purchase with my first settlement, I quickly grabbed the iced chocolate I’d made for myself.
* * *
Thirty minutes was an incredibly short time to meet one’s favorite artist.
Moreover, Ha-jin and Yoo Gun even slipped out of the cafe five minutes before their scheduled exit time to prepare for the next session!
‘I’d rather pay more…. Please let them stay longer….’
As human greed knows no bounds, Professor Task had no time to rejoice at winning a free fan meeting he never expected before feeling regret welling up to his very brow.
As Professor Task checked the photos of Ha-jin and Yoo Gun he’d eagerly taken on his phone, a Staff Member who was giving closing announcements to the crowd approached and handed him something.
“Before you leave, could we get a birthday message from each of you?”
What the Staff Member handed over was a cute blue post-it note and a pen. The pen had the phrase “Pride Of You. It’s only for you, My D.” — the cafe’s name and SNS account — engraved in cursive script. Since there was no mention of returning the pen, it seemed to be part of the gifts as well.
‘Ha-jin, what are you planning for my birthday next year…?’
Though it hadn’t even been a year since Professor Task first saw Ha-jin, he could instinctively tell.
From the details to the scale, there was no way this wasn’t the result of my kid’s involvement — a true fan who knows all the details.
-We’re still in the early stages, but we think we’ll only get busier from here on.
-So we wanted to do what we could while we had a bit more time.
Reflecting on the reason for holding this fan meeting that my thoughtful kid had explained directly just ten minutes ago, Professor Task carefully grasped the pen.
From what I’d heard him discussing with Yoo Gun earlier, he seemed incredibly busy preparing for the year-end stage, yet all I could offer in return to Ha-jin for preparing something like this was a post-it message, which felt insufficient.
‘What should I write?’
Honestly, if I wrote down everything I wanted to say, I could fill a thousand pages of manuscript paper, but I’d already sent a birthday fan letter to Ha-jin filled with those feelings through the mail.
Since love for one’s favorite artist knows no bounds but human vocabulary has its limits, Professor Task had to think about the post-it message longer than expected.
-Actually, work has been busy lately, and I’ve had a lot of worries and thoughts…. But after playing like this with Destiny, my head feels a bit clearer.
Then I suddenly recalled something Ha-jin had said during our conversation earlier.
From his debut until now, looking back, there hadn’t been a single moment without difficulty, yet Ha-jin rarely showed signs of struggle.
Professor Task was actually somewhat surprised that Ha-jin, for the first time, expressed to fans that he’d “had a lot on his mind.”
“….”
After deliberation, Professor Task carefully wrote his feelings onto a small sticky note, one character at a time. It wasn’t particularly profound, but he hoped that when Ha-jin saw this message, he might smile, even if just for a moment.
【Happy Birthday, Ha-jin♥ I hope your biggest life worry from now on is just things like “What should I eat for lunch today?”.】
“…Sigh. I’ve never wished for my own life to be this happy.”
After writing it out, he felt a slight pang of reality, but that thought quickly evaporated the moment he saw the dessert box Ha-jin had made himself.
‘Right. There are plenty of idols out there who only chase their own happiness, fan or not. When else would I get to support such a devoted idol?’
Enjoy it while it lasts.
With that thought, Professor Task gathered the sticky note and his belongings and stood up. There were still several birthday cafes left to visit today.
* * *
The first review post about Kang Ha-jin’s birthday party, hosted by Kang Ha-jin himself, went up after 4 PM, as promised, once the birthday cafe had closed.
Not all approximately 100 people who successfully reserved spots at the birthday cafe upheld their loyalty and trust in Ha-jin—rather, it was thanks to the “leak prevention system” Ha-jin had activated ending at that time.
Because of this system, fans experienced the bizarre phenomenon of all SNS and messaging apps going silent whenever they tried to brag about this remarkable act of kindness, no matter how much they wanted to.
Tae-gun also
@cherrygun2
Went to the main birthday cafe
and spilling the tea that the organizer was the main himself…
#Kairos #KangHajin
(Phone camera photo of Ha-jin sitting at a table chatting with fans)
(Phone camera photo of Yu Gun making coffee)
Grape Kang
@ppoppo1130
#Hajin #Kairos #KangHajinBirthdayReview
My hands were shaking wanting to spread the word, so I’m posting this now
Ha-jin really did set up the birthday cafe profile picture
He said he wanted to do a reverse surprise and a surprise event too
All the members came and each worked a shift
I was paired with Tae-hyun
↓continued
(Photo of Ha-jin and Tae-hyun bickering in the kitchen)
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Grape Kang
@ppoppo1130
The cafe will stay open until tomorrow
He said the remaining desserts and goods will be raffled off
Check the profile for details
He said we can do this again for the next member’s birthday if order is maintained
Ha-jin kept emphasizing over and over to please keep things orderly!!
The review starts below
Sunset University
@SS_university
Ha-jin’s reverse surprise birthday cafe
Visited Pride of You for the first time
My hands are still trembling right now…
(Dessert box and welcome kit verification photos)
(Video of Ha-jin sitting on a bar stool chatting with fans)
JungCream
@ice_ciu
Oh my god my coffee prince is here
(Phone camera photo of Jeong Si-u sitting at a table with his chin resting on his hand, looking at fans)
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JungCream
@ice_ciu
A friend who just came back shared their experience
Si-u apparently sat like that the entire time during his slot
and only drank malt barley tea
Ha-jin told him that showing his face helps the fans
so he had to sit like that
When will Kang Ha-jin’s eldest brother face bragging ever end, seriously
As reviews poured in like a promise had been made, the internet erupted into chaos once again.
This was a period when awareness and traffic were surging due to “Not a Carol” and “Touch High!”, so the buzz was definitely on a different scale than before. Some, unable to bear their envy, openly expressed their disappointment about this surprising reverse surprise.
[Am I the only one who understands the reaction of being disappointed about this birthday party?]
They could’ve at least posted proper notice on the official account and done something like a lottery…
People who don’t usually go to social media or don’t use social media don’t even get a chance to get involved…ㅠㅜ
We all have the same heart wanting to celebrate his birthday, so why did it have to be only known by those in the know…?
I just want to celebrate, but it keeps making me feel sad and disappointed..
– But it was a surprise reverse surprise so they kept it secret from everyone, so why are you disappointed;? It’s not like anyone knew beforehand and went there;;;
– I understand, Sunny. But it’s not as disappointing as you make it sound, it’s just that the company seemed a bit careless? I don’t really understand why they handled it this way.
└ What are you talking about, giving feedback like it’s a media blunder? Miro has been doing their best work since their founding
– Our fandom’s glass hearts are really exhausting. Now we’re burning Mapple over a birthday reverse surprise the day before his birthday? I’m more disappointed in you for saying this
– The birthday cafe is open until tomorrow and they’re doing lucky draw raffles for goods and even giving out 100 free drinks, so why are you upset? Getting an event like this three months into debut and complaining is really ungrateful
Tomorrow Ha-jin will be the one getting it… ugh.
└ If you want to see Ha-jin, use your own money and go to a fan sign…
Since this happened during a rest period after all official activities had ended, it wasn’t a disappointment they couldn’t understand, but Destiny knew all too well that the longer this atmosphere dragged on, the original intention would fade and trolling would take over.
Especially since Ha-jin was the member with the second-highest recognition among Kairos members after Tae-hyun, there would surely be many non-Destiny fans joining in on the commentary.
Destiny, having learned keenly from the Miro Maze days that it was crucial to cut through any disappointment cleanly and maintain order at times like these, quickly moved to tighten fandom discipline.
[You guys don’t worry about this and let’s just focus on the birthday hashtag mass streaming later]
People complaining about being disappointed right now, I’m gonna make you post streaming verification later because I’m seriously fed up
– Miro please give us Destiny 1st generation status please when is it coming
– There are so many fake Desty fans who just run their mouths because the kids keep sharing that dutiful Dol around… it’s stressful…
[Even with all this chaos happening]
The funny part is that Ha-jin’s birthday hasn’t even come yet lol
– Feels like we’re on the 48th hour of Kang Ha-jin’s birthday
– Everyone’s going crazy, just look at the barista photo that just dropped (photo)
└ Oh my god
└ He’s insane
└ Ah Kang Ha-jin!!!! So annoying!!!!!!! So damn handsome!!!!!!!!
While the Desty fans managed to weather that storm in their own way, time flowed on until it struck midnight.
November 30th.
The long-awaited official birthday of Ha-jin had finally arrived.
And it was Kairos’s official account that announced it first, as always.
Kairos
@Daily_KIRUS
[Ha-jin] Kang Ha-jin’s Birthday Mention Party Kicks Off in a HUGE Way
Starting with party poppers blasting and fireworks exploding everywhere
Starting until the Desty fans who went to bed come back
Starting with party horns blowing and all that
(Original four-cut photo we gave away as merchandise)
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Genie
@genieminie
Our Ha-jin’s birthday and you’re excited again
As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters to us.
The Desty fans who saw the post smiled warmly.

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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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