Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 285

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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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285. Miro Is Miro (1)
I’d been thinking about it.
‘No matter how I look at it, I don’t want to lose the image that the name Miro carries.’
And I especially didn’t want to lose it to Lanion.
Call me childish if you want.
‘Besides, that’s not even their specialty in the first place.’
In the previous timeline—when we didn’t exist.
Lanion’s scale had grown exponentially, and their point of comparison was Endway, three years their senior.
The dynamic was mostly ‘kids who do well at school VS kids who don’t go to school,’ and the more both teams succeeded, the more their starkly contrasting images were highlighted and constantly grouped together on the same level.
‘Lanion and Endway were fighting twelve times a day about whether they were the same generation or not—it feels like just yesterday….’
Why were they trying to steal someone else’s bowl when they were doing fine with their own?
‘Well, strictly speaking, they didn’t really try to steal it. They just happened to do a Upia cover stage once….’
Still, now that Lanion’s point of comparison had shifted from Endway to Kairos, I had no intention of quietly handing over the title of ‘truly Miro.’
“…What are you trying to do?”
Chung Han-sol, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke for the first time.
Looking at Chung Han-sol, who seemed genuinely curious, I answered lightly.
“Come to think of it, we have one more stage.”
Self-proof doesn’t have to come only through cover songs, right?
To prepare for another stage, I fastened the cufflinks on my shirt sleeves and stood up.
* * *
In the male idol world, year-end stages were essentially a fierce battle royale where everyone competed over ‘who prepared the most intense and large-scale performance.’
It hadn’t always been this way—about twenty years ago, there were times when idols would occasionally cross-dress, swap songs with each other, and showcase different versions of their usual stages on a much smaller scale.
So how did this ‘year-end festival’ become such an important schedule on the Stone Board that it turned into a pride war between fandoms?
This was deeply connected to the shift in target demographics within the K-idol market that had changed over those twenty years.
[??? Xday initial sales 3 million copies????]
Why did it suddenly explode like this?????????? Where did it come from???????
– From overseas
– They have a ton of overseas fans
– All the accumulated energy from before + last GMA’s dual-personality performance = this comeback’s massive hit
– Xday always had good reactions overseas, it’s just that domestic response was weak… but this new song is good so domestic response seems to be coming in too
With the explosive development of AiTube and OTT services, K-idols no longer relied solely on the needle’s-eye appearances on broadcast television and could now showcase their personal content and stages to the global market.
If they catered well to the demanding tastes of overseas fans, the blessing of algorithms could lead them down the path of reverse-charting and rapid ascent, forming their own demand base.
In this market situation, year-end stages where all idol fans with even a passing interest in K-POP gathered to watch together were undoubtedly an invaluable opportunity and lifeline for male idols who had to stake their lives on fandom formation and acquisition.
‘And overseas fans… they tend to like intense stuff.’
There wasn’t any official statistics or anything, but that was just the general consensus on the Stone Board.
Even back when I was lurking in communities as a monitor, I’d see posts like this fairly often.
[Male idol concept: fresh-cute VS intense, which is it?]
When your main group makes a comeback?? Which do you think will do better?
– Personal preference is fresh-cute, but performance-wise intense
└ 2222
└ 33
└ 4 I prefer fresh concepts too lol
└ 55 lolol
– Fresh concepts don’t sell well in the market these days…that’s why they’re rare
– Fresh concepts are really good, but it’s awkward…like at year-end festivals, it’s hard to do stages with heavy arrangements
– I want the mini to be refreshing and the regular to be tough ㅠㅠㅜㅠ
– I’m a fresh concept fan too, but heavy concepts definitely pull in new fans better lol
└ Yeah, well…fresh concepts tend to have lower production value across the board, and the choreography and vocals get simplified so the appeal fades
It was ironic how everyone clamored for fresh concepts while actually spending their money on intense, heavy ones.
‘Well, that’s just how market dynamics work, isn’t it?’
One advantage of year-end stages was that I could pull off large-scale, intense performances impossible on regular music show stages. Even if my body was exhausted, landing just one legendary performance meant an influx of new fans that same day—it was nothing new.
“Ha-jin, I’m going to touch up your hair now, so don’t move your head too much.”
At the makeup staff member’s words, I slowly opened my eyes that had been closed.
In the mirror before me, I saw my reflection with deep, rich shadow makeup so far removed from that pink sausage appearance from earlier. The gray contacts I was wearing for the first time made the boundary between my pupils and whites subtly blurred, giving off an oddly animated character-like aura.
Unfamiliar with this visual, I blinked a couple times before glancing sideways at the monitor mounted on the waiting room wall. From what I could tell, Storm Header’s stage had just wrapped up.
‘Looks like they were a mega crew too.’
On screen, the members with heavy smoky makeup on both eyes were forming an ending formation with what looked like roughly fifty dancers.
Regardless of whether this concept suited their original concept that Sphere was supposedly a reference for, I felt inwardly relieved that those guys who had been completely frozen even during the cover stage earlier seemed to have loosened up a bit.
‘I shouldn’t worry about other celebrities, but…we’re all in the same industry, so I can’t help but care.’
It’s not like they stole a senior’s song because they wanted to, anyway.
It was kind of pitiful that they’d become public enemies within Stone Board because of it.
And I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
Beyond the mirror, in the corner of the waiting room, Dan Ha-ru sat on the sofa, unable to tear his eyes from the monitor, and let out a relieved sigh before clapping softly.
He must have been pretty concerned about it since that last Touch High! shoot.
“Sparkle.”
“…Yes?”
“Come on.”
I snapped my fingers once to call Dan Ha-ru, and he immediately tore his gaze from the monitor and trotted over without a shred of doubt. When I gestured with my chin for him to sit beside me, he obediently sat down and perked up his ears asking what was up—he really was just like a rabbit.
‘Ugh, stop it, stop. Occupational hazard, stop.’
I pulled my wandering mind back on track.
To avoid getting in the way of the staff members carefully tidying up the parts messed up from putting on the hat, I kept my head straight and continued speaking.
“Are you worried because your friend performed so well on stage?”
“Huh? …A friend?”
“Aren’t you friends with the maknae over there?”
Dan Ha-ru, who acts like a top-tier E-rank to anyone watching, surprisingly has no friends.
Whether that was his original personality or the intention of someone who’d regressed and didn’t know when they’d return again—avoiding meaningless connections—either way, Dan Ha-ru didn’t get close to anyone except the members.
The reason I asked if they were friends despite knowing this was because I remembered Dan Ha-ru’s reaction during the last Touch High! shoot was distinctly different from usual.
“Oh, no…we’re not friends. But they really performed well on stage. The members’ chemistry seemed good too.”
“Yeah? I thought our maknae finally made a celebrity friend since you were watching them so intently during Touch High!”
I said it deliberately in a playful voice, loud enough to get an immediate reaction.
“What? Ha-ru made a friend?”
“…Ha-ru made a friend?”
“Who is it? They’re a decent person, right? Bring them by.”
“Dan Ha-ru’s friend? Someone other than Ju Eun-chan?”
“…? Yoo Gun hyung, what are you talking about right now?”
Everyone except Dan Ha-ru suddenly perked up.
Only after Yupia left did the others, who had been resting scattered throughout the waiting room, snap their heads up and grill Dan Ha-ru about it. At their reaction, not just the members but also Ji Su-ho and Kwon Wook, who had been working over there, turned to see what was happening.
Faced with such overwhelming interest, Dan Ha-ru reacted uncharacteristically flustered.
“Ah, no. That’s not it, no. We’re not friends yet!”
“If not friends, then… could it be a romantic interest? That would be an even bigger problem?”
“No! That’s definitely not it! Ah, really, it’s not!”
When Jeong Si-u grew serious and tilted his head, Dan Ha-ru flailed with all his might. For a moment, I could’ve sworn I saw beads of sweat glistening behind that yellow-haired head.
“Ha-jin’s hair styling is done. Go change into your outfit now.”
The styling had finished just in time.
As I rose from the chair with a light nod to the staff members, Dan Ha-ru looked like he had plenty to say but didn’t know where to start, his lips just fluttering soundlessly. On the monitor visible beyond Dan Ha-ru, that irritatingly handsome Lanion was conducting an interview.
I slipped on the stage jacket and coat I’d hung on the rack, then fastened the ridiculously expensive watch that had been carefully placed on the table around my left wrist. Then I approached the still-dumbfounded Dan Ha-ru and patted his shoulder lightly as I spoke.
“After the stage ends, go to the waiting room and say hello. Exchange numbers too. You’re the same age, right?”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
“Don’t you want to become friends with them?”
When I asked while deliberately meeting his eyes with warmth, Dan Ha-ru finally admitted his true feelings and nodded awkwardly.
“But… I’m worried that person might not want to be friends with me.”
“Why? Did you do something wrong to them?”
“Well… not exactly wrong, but there was what I said before…”
“You mean when you said you were envious?”
“Yes…”
Dan Ha-ru nodded once more with a complicated expression.
For a baby rabbit warrior who had turned the world upside down six hundred times over to save his own reality, he had a remarkably timid mindset—though it also suggested he’d never really had the chance to make friends his own age before.
Instead of dwelling on those feelings, I simply shrugged and turned away.
“Then just get rejected when you try.”
“…”
“If you get rejected, we’ll comfort you.”
As I gestured toward the members with my chin, a flood of enthusiastic remarks poured out from all directions, eager to support our maknae’s first attempt at friendship.
“That’s right, Ha-ru. It’s good to have a friend your own age!”
“Who would reject our maknae? Bring them by, let’s see what kind of guy he is.”
“Hyung, why do you keep saying ‘bring them by’? Are you our dad?”
“Ha-ru, if you’re too embarrassed to go alone, should I go with you?”
“Eun-chan, if you go with him, they’ll probably be even more scared over there.”
“…Do-ha hyung, what are you even saying right now…?”
Our members’ determination not to miss a single word was quite amusing.
Watching us like that, Dan Ha-ru, who had been lost in thought for a moment, soon nodded as if he’d made a decision, his expression growing resolute.
“Yes. After the stage ends, I’d like to go. …But it’s a bit embarrassing to go alone, so could you all come with me?”
“Sure, let’s go together. It’s been a while since we’ve said hello.”
Make a friend!
While our baby rabbit warrior was receiving this grand Quest and growing increasingly nervous, Ji Su-ho, who had been watching our conversation with satisfaction, checked the time and clapped loudly.
“Alright, alright. But before Ha-ru makes friends, you all need to nail your stage performance first, yeah? We need to get on standby soon, so everyone get ready.”
“Dan Ha-ru, did you hear that? If you mess up today’s stage, you’re not going to make any friends.”
“Why does it work that way?”
“Storm Header performed so brilliantly on stage—how could we show our faces if we bomb? Haven’t you read any shounen manga? When you’re trying to make friends, coolness and swagger are everything.”
“I see….”
“Are you seriously going to keep teaching Ha-ru weird stuff?”
By now, I simply let Seo Tae-hyun’s nagging fade into the background like white noise, and checked my reflection one last time in the mirror.
A perfectly fitted white shirt with a black tie crossed by a silver tie pin, draped beneath a luxurious black long coat, and beyond my hands clad in black leather half-gloves, a silver watch gleamed subtly.
Admiring the impeccable suit fit, I asked the Stylist who had been overseeing my fitting—that noona who said my good looks were what earned the money.
“Noona, how do we look right now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do we look like Italian mafia?”
“Huh?”
“Even if we can’t quite pull off Italian, I’d love to at least look like Hong Kong triads….”
Now that the surprise gift of a playful game had ended, it was time to return to business.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror—fierce even to my own eyes—I smiled with satisfaction.

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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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