Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 291

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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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291. A Boy’s Winter (2)
Among the award ceremonies, the Lemon Music Awards (LMA) was the earliest in date.
Before entering the singer’s seating area, I gathered my members in the tent we were using as a waiting room and said this.
-Today, we might not win an award.
The LMA, where only sound source performance, judging, and voting determined the winners, was disadvantageous for us.
While our sound source performance for “This Isn’t a Carol” was overwhelming, as always, no one knew where the weight of the mysterious “20% judging score” would fall.
-But that’s okay.
If we win, people will say “a deserving team won,”
and if we don’t win, suspicions will swirl that “why didn’t a deserving team win?”
-If we don’t win here, we’ll win elsewhere, and if they don’t give it to us elsewhere either, we’ll just have to make them have no choice but to give it to us.
I….
No, we.
“The Lemon Music Awards, this year’s Male Rookie of the Year is….”
I had confidence that we could do it.
“Kairos! Congratulations!”
So this was just the beginning.
* * *
-Kairos! Congratulations!
-Kairos, congratulations~
-Kairos’s “This Isn’t a Carol.” Congratulations!
-Kairos! Congratulations.
Starting with the LMA, we had successfully won the Rookie of the Year award at every award ceremony we participated in so far.
While there were occasional ceremonies where multiple teams received awards, and we shared wins with Lanion, B-liver, and Storm Header, we were the only team that swept all the ceremonies.
There were still a few more award ceremonies in January and February, but at this rate, it seemed we’d have no problem winning there either.
…Or rather, the problem was that we were winning too many awards.
“Then I’ll announce it. This year’s Rising Potential Producer Award winner is…!”
At the Asia Musician Awards held in Japan.
Sitting quietly at my assigned table, robotically applauding the winners, I doubted my ears at the host’s words.
‘What, what award?’
Couldn’t they just cleanly call it something like “Emerging Composer Award”?
Wondering if I really had to be hung up on this global-sounding vibe, I exchanged jokes with Lee Do-ha sitting next to me. Lee Do-ha seemed to agree with my sentiment, and began listing his negative views on the indiscriminate use of English lyrics in domestic music in a low voice.
That’s when it happened.
“De-on! Congratulations~!”
…Huh? Who?
My eyes and Lee Do-ha’s, who had been giggling, collided in mid-air. Beyond our field of vision, the other members sitting at the same table also seemed to doubt their ears, turning their heads around.
“De-on has successfully demonstrated the potential and possibility as a rookie producer through Kairos’s signature tracks “Kick Off” and “This Isn’t a Carol”….”
At the undeniable explanation, Lee Do-ha looked around at the members with a blank expression.
Seo Tae-hyun and Jeong Si-u, who had quickly grasped the situation, were gesturing for me to get up and leave while barely holding back their laughter, and Dan Ha-ru was letting out consecutive “No way!” sounds, clapping as if he himself had won the award.
Watching Ju Eun-chan ask confusedly what was going on while Lee Yu-gun whispered an explanation in his ear, Lee Do-ha finally seemed to realize he had won an award and awkwardly stood up from his seat.
What about me?
“Oh my goodness, what a blessing. Our De-on has appeared!? Finally, I can make De-on’s name known across Asia, beyond South Korea!? This is the glory of the De-on household! Wait, do demons have glory too!? Is it possible because we removed the music!?”
What did it matter anyway?
I was hell-bent on teasing Lee Do-ha.
Without even trying to suppress the smile tugging at my lips, I threw jab after jab at Lee Do-ha, who scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, fully intent on getting under his skin.
“Congratulations, De-on! You’re nothing less than Asia’s rising potential new wave hot trend iconic up-and-coming producer, De-on…!”
Even I thought he deserved a punch for how infuriatingly I clapped, yet I congratulated my friend’s award with genuine sincerity.
The congratulations were real, even if my words were sarcastic. Honestly, I wouldn’t bother congratulating someone like this without genuine affection.
“….”
“…? De-on, what are you doing, De-on?”
Lee Do-ha, who had been about to move toward the stage at the staff members’ signal to come up, suddenly stopped. Then he turned to look at me intently, as if thinking hard about something.
‘What is this? Why are you staring at me like you’re about to interrogate me instead of going up to accept the award?’
I was quietly marveling at Lee Do-ha’s intimidatingly broad shoulders, which I still hadn’t gotten used to, when he seemed to finish his deliberation and set his jaw firmly, as if he’d made a decision.
Then he walked with long strides…
…toward me?
“Let’s go together.”
“What, what? Where. Why. Hey, you bastard!”
“We worked on this together, so we should accept it together.”
“No, why should I! Hey! Are you too embarrassed to go up alone!?”
Is this guy insane?
Lee Do-ha, dressed unnecessarily dapper for the stage outfit, swirled the jacket draped over his shoulder and grabbed my wrist firmly.
This wasn’t some romance drama cliché, and thanks to him, I had no chance to resist before being dragged up onto the stage by Lee Do-ha’s hand. The other members at the table watching this burst into laughter as if the world had turned upside down.
“Nnnngh-mmmph-grrr…. (Why are you dragging me up here too, you crazy bastard?)”
“You seemed really interested in this award.”
Then he grinned and took the trophy from the MC, but there was no doubt about it—this bastard was getting revenge for me teasing him. What kind of revenge broadcasts it live to the entire globe!?
But now that I was already on stage, I couldn’t awkwardly climb back down. I stood behind Lee Do-ha like a bodyguard, hands clasped behind my back, maintaining as natural an expression as possible (though I did cover my face for a moment as embarrassment welled up).
‘If I’m going to be filmed anyway, I might as well look cool doing it.’
In the distance, the members were still tapping the table and laughing, and Seo Tae-hyun had even pulled out his phone to film this moment.
Laugh while you can, you bastards. When I get an award next, it’ll be your turn….
“Hello, I’m Lee Do-ha from Kairos.”
While I shot daggers at the members with my eyes, Lee Do-ha stood before the microphone with the trophy in hand and began his acceptance speech. Even though the microphone stand was raised quite high, Lee Do-ha had to bow his head like a turtle, which somehow looked cool.
“The songs ‘Kick Off’ and ‘This Isn’t a Carol’ that earned me this award were both created together with Ha-jin standing beside me. So I thought that if I were to receive this award, I should receive it together with Ha-jin.”
I would have been perfectly fine sitting in my seat and just being mentioned warmly in the acceptance speech, friend.
But contrary to my thoughts, when my name was mentioned, I heard the cheers of the fans and responded with an arrogant expression, nodding my head and making a V-sign with my hand.
There’s no point in crying over spilled milk—might as well float a paper boat on it.
As the award ceremony quieted down with laughter at my bright V-sign, Lee Do-ha continued his acceptance speech.
“…Lately, I’ve been having strange dreams sometimes.”
“….”
“In that dream, I’m not part of Kairos. There’s no Destiny, no members… In that world, I was just an unknown composer named De-on who no longer made music.”
“…?”
That was when the playful smile tugging at my lips began to stiffen gradually.
“The ending of the dream is always the same.”
“….”
“In the end, I become someone who can no longer make music. Because I come to realize that making music alone isn’t fun.”
Following Ju Eun-chan, Lee Do-ha also recalled the timeline that had passed.
What was terrifying was that I couldn’t understand what any of this meant.
Unaware of my reaction, Lee Do-ha calmly finished sharing his thoughts.
“After having that dream, I always find myself lost in thought. What was different between the me in that dream and the me now?”
Lee Do-ha, who had been looking ahead while speaking, turned to look at me once, then turned his head again to glance at the members at the table once, and finally looked at Desty sitting in the opposite audience seating once.
Then, as if relieved, he smiled and held the microphone lightly.
“Having friends to make music with, and having all of you to listen to the music we create—I will never forget how incredibly fortunate that is for the rest of my life. I will strive to become a musician who learns more, works harder, and dedicates myself further. …Thank you for being with us.”
Having finished his acceptance speech, Lee Do-ha stepped back from the microphone and bowed deeply to the fans. In response, heartfelt applause and cheers erupted from all around.
I barely managed to collect myself and applaud Lee Do-ha, and as he straightened up, he turned to me and handed over the trophy.
“…Why?”
“You do it too. Give an acceptance speech.”
“Why should I? It’s not even my award.”
“Do it. I already got permission from the MC. We made the song together.”
I took the trophy awkwardly and looked back at the MCs, and sure enough, the male MC nodded, indicating it had been arranged beforehand.
Still with my mind tangled in confusion, I stood awkwardly in front of the microphone.
“Um….”
Why did Ju Eun-chan and Lee Do-ha come to remember the past timeline?
Could it be related to the fact that both of them were people I recruited as colleagues?
Then what about Seo Tae-hyun and Kim Won-ho? What about Ji Su-ho?
Is this merely a concept of “awakening” like mine or Ji Su-ho’s, or is it some scheme of The Returner’s?
Barely managing to push countless questions to the edge of my consciousness, I tried to hide my trembling hands and cleared my throat.
“I apologize. Since I’m shamelessly sharing someone else’s award, I needed a moment to prepare myself….”
Speaking deliberately in a humorous tone, light laughter erupted through the awards ceremony venue once more.
Since it wasn’t even my award anyway, there was no need to speak at length.
Wondering what I should say, I slowly turned my gaze to look at the members sitting at the table.
“…Actually, Do-ha deserves this award. He really went through so much.”
“….”
“He stayed up all night modifying and re-modifying the song to match each of our members’ particular tastes, and it wasn’t just for a day or two. Honestly, since he’s the producer, he could probably threaten us by refusing to give us parts and do whatever he wants, but he’s such a kind person.”
The fact that I was calling Lee Do-ha, who had anything but a kind expression, kind seemed ironic, and laughter erupted again. The MC standing next to me laughed the loudest.
This wasn’t meant to be funny—it was sincere—but it seemed I was truly hopeless as a comedian.
“So… I don’t think there’s much more I need to say about this award, but since Do-ha shared this moment with me, I can’t just leave without saying anything, so I’ll just say something brief to the members….”
Whether from nervousness or from my thoughts, my lips felt parched.
Since we’d won a rookie award of this magnitude, The Returner’s influence over the timeline should have been significantly reduced, but I still couldn’t feel at ease.
Now that I couldn’t feel regression anymore, I had no way of knowing what situation Dan Ha-ru was in or what choices he was making, which made me even more anxious.
“…No matter what has happened, no matter what we may face ahead….”
So everything I’m saying right now is,
“I’m on your side.”
It was my warning to Dol-ja,
“I will never let us remain trapped in yesterday, the day we’ve already passed.”
It was something like my resolve toward the members.
“As Kairos’s leader, as an older brother, as a friend, as a younger sibling….”
I felt my breath trembling.
I was a little afraid that Ha-ru, sitting right there, might become someone I no longer recognized.
If the other members also came to remember all their past timelines, I couldn’t predict what would happen—my palms grew damp with sweat at the thought of such an uncertain future.
“I’ll make sure every tomorrow is filled with joy and laughter, so just trust this leader and follow along.”
But I smiled.
At the end of my gaze, I saw Ha-ru beaming with a brilliant smile, giving me a thumbs up and saying I was the best older brother.
“…Let’s see each other for a long time. Until we’re very old and dead, let’s keep looking at each other’s faces and make music together.”
Let’s see each other for a long time.
My resolve, conveyed to the bonds I’d formed after passing through so many timelines, was something this clichéd.

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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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