Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 293

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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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293. The Necessary and Sufficient Condition for Happiness (1)
With the HMA that concluded in mid-February, our winter slipped away in the blink of an eye.
That winter, which I experienced as a clueless rookie idol, left us with so much.
“Ah, so dazzling! What is that? Oh my, oh my. I thought it was the sun, but it turned out to be the brilliant light reflecting off the trophy?”
I shielded my eyes with both hands, pretending to be blinded by Kairos’s trophy displayed so stylishly in the lobby of the Miro Entertainment Building’s first floor.
Then Seo Tae-hyun, who had come with me but was standing apart as if he were with a different group, hummed while holding a coffee straw in his mouth.
“…Honestly, hyung, I get a little embarrassed every time you do this.”
“…A little?”
Lee Do-ha, who had his hands in his coat pockets, asked back, and I heard Seo Tae-hyun let out a sigh and quietly answer, “Actually a lot. Really a lot. Seriously a lot.”
Deflated by their reaction, I lowered my arms and turned to look at them with a sulky expression.
“You guys have no sense of romance. And you call yourselves method actors? If it were Haruna or Eun-chan, they would’ve delivered the next line with me right away.”
“Then why didn’t you come with the younger ones?”
“Riding in the car with them is exhausting because I have to keep entertaining them.”
Just thinking about it drained all my energy, so I shook my head, and both Lee Do-ha and Seo Tae-hyun quietly nodded in agreement and avoided my gaze.
I glanced once at Kairos’s trophies that confidently filled an entire display section, then turned my body completely toward the two of them.
“But Do-ha and I came to wrap up work. Tae-hyun, why are you here at work?”
“Oh, the Executive Director called me.”
“The Executive Director? Why?”
“He said he has something to tell me about the A-Countdown MC situation. I heard Choi Producer is stepping down?”
“Huh? The Producer?”
My eyes widened at the news that A-Countdown’s Main PD was stepping down.
But the more surprising news came next.
“Yeah. He’s moving to a new show. Boy’s Supremacy Season 2.”
“…There’s a Season 2 coming out?”
“I only heard roughly from Kwon Wook hyung so I don’t know the details, but it seems like it’s almost confirmed. My name’s apparently being mentioned as an MC candidate for it too. That’s why I heard about it.”
“I think you’d do well, Tae-hyun, but… usually they pick from the previous season’s debuted cast, right? It’s a bit unexpected that you’re being considered as a candidate instead of the Believer members.”
Despite Lee Do-ha’s cold analysis, Seo Tae-hyun shrugged without much reaction and took a long sip of his coffee. Then he answered in a refreshingly clear voice.
“Since it’s just us here, I’ll say it—those hyungs actually have poor memory and can’t memorize all their lines. Even during Boy’s Supremacy, they couldn’t sing the lyrics properly without a prompter.”
His face held a subtle mix of smugness and the satisfaction of having surpassed them. He seemed quite pleased that he was being considered as an MC candidate over the Believer guys.
But I couldn’t simply laugh at Seo Tae-hyun’s news of a new job.
‘Boy’s Supremacy….’
Based on the PD’s reaction last time, there was definitely something that happened during Season 1.
Given that it was almost certainly a negative issue like vote manipulation, Seo Tae-hyun getting entangled with that program once more wasn’t exactly welcome news.
‘Of course, nothing related to Boy’s Supremacy has ever been revealed or exposed so far….’
I observed Seo Tae-hyun chatting enthusiastically with Lee Do-ha from the corner of my eye. Then, concealing my feelings and thoughts as much as possible, I spoke in a casual tone.
“Hey, but isn’t it a bit early for you to be an MC on an audition show? We’re only in our second year. Usually those kinds of positions go to people with more seniority and experience, right?”
“Hmm…. Yeah, honestly it is. When I think about how it was Senior Won-jun during our time.”
“But are you going to do it? You look completely excited right now.”
“Whether I do it or not, I’m definitely excited. I’m making a triumphant return to the audition show where I once failed.”
It seemed Seo Tae-hyun was more drawn to the idea of returning successfully to the place where his dreams had been shattered, rather than the mere fact that he might be offered an MC position on a regular audition program.
Seo Tae-hyun continued speaking, radiating contentment from every fiber of his being.
“For the fans who support me, Boy’s Supremacy is still a sore spot, you know? Sometimes when I do fan meetings and meet people who’ve been with me since then, they actually cry. They tell me how happy they are seeing how well I’ve done.”
“….”
“But I… even though it was incredibly difficult back then, it was also fun and enjoyable. After all, it was the show that first introduced me to the world, and because of who I was then, I can be who I am now.”
Seo Tae-hyun tossed his empty coffee cup into the trash bin beside the lobby and flashed a bright smile.
The smile carried a maturity far beyond the innocent grin of his younger self back then. At merely twenty years old, he crossed his arms with an air of practiced sophistication.
“I hate it most when fans look at me with pity. I want to always shine beautifully for them. That’s why I wanted to become an idol in the first place.”
“…So that’s why you’re taking the Boy’s Supremacy MC position?”
“Well… either way, if I do it, it’ll be good for the fans, right? They won’t remember Boy’s Supremacy as my failure anymore, but as a stepping stone to my current success.”
‘Born to be an idol’—that phrase really does suit someone like him.
I still couldn’t fathom how someone with such natural talent had run away to Gangwon Province Seaside claiming he didn’t want to be an idol.
‘I should’ve squeezed that Executive Director’s son harder back then….’
No matter how much I thought about it, I felt like I’d let him off too easy, and I was grinding my teeth over it. Seeing my expression, Seo Tae-hyun apparently misunderstood something and laughed, smacking my arm with a light thud.
“Ow! …That hurts, you bastard!”
“No, no. I won’t do it, so relax your face. I know, okay? I don’t have enough experience to take on the MC role yet?”
“No, that’s not what I meant….”
“First, I’ll ask the Executive Director today and hear the details. I’ll probably decline if I can, but it’d be a shame to just refuse outright, so it’d be nice if I could at least show my face as some kind of special mentor, don’t you think?”
“Well….”
“Oh, I’m late. You guys keep working. If you get back to the dorm before me, help the kids pack their stuff, will you? They’re trying to throw everything into their luggage for their first trip. I’m heading up first, okay?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Seo Tae-hyun rattled off everything in a rush and then dashed away.
Left alone in the lobby with Lee Do-ha, we watched Seo Tae-hyun wave at us from the elevator, maintaining a brief silence.
“…Should we head out too?”
It was Lee Do-ha who pulled me from my thoughts.
Rather than answering him directly, I quietly moved toward the elevator. As I pressed the button for the opposite elevator that Seo Tae-hyun had taken, Lee Do-ha confirmed there was no one around and asked me quietly.
“Do you think it’s good that Tae-hyun isn’t taking the Boy’s Supremacy MC position?”
“Does it look that way?”
“Yeah.”
“Well… I just think it’d be better if Seo Tae-hyun didn’t get entangled with Boy’s Supremacy anymore.”
“Why? Boy’s Supremacy is practically an identity for Tae-hyun, isn’t it?”
As the question left his lips, the elevator doors opened. I gave a light nod to the people exiting and stepped inside. Once I confirmed it was just Lee Do-ha and me, I posed a question instead of answering.
“Do-ha. If you had to choose between an uncomfortable truth and false happiness, which would you pick?”
“Is that question related to what we were talking about with Tae-hyun?”
“No, I’m just asking because it came to mind.”
Even though he could easily tell that was a lie, Lee Do-ha pretended not to notice and gave me his answer.
“The uncomfortable truth.”
“Why? Why deliberately choose something painful?”
“Because if my current happiness is actually all false, then it’s not happiness at all—it’s just an illusion.”
“If you never learn the truth until you die, then it’s not an illusion—it’s reality.”
“But that just means someone else is bearing the hidden truth behind it all in your place.”
The moment Lee Do-ha gave his firm and unwavering answer, the elevator arrival chime sounded.
The elevator doors slid open.
Lee Do-ha stepped toward that light with his characteristic composed and decisive movements, turning back to look at me.
“If you have a friend beside you who’s willing to bear the truth for your happiness, then that truth won’t be entirely unbearable either.”
“….”
“I believe it’s a human right to know the truth, to grieve what deserves grief, and to sorrow at what deserves sorrow.”
“…Are you a masochist? If you’re going anyway, shouldn’t you take the easier path? Why deliberately invite suffering?”
Even at my half-joking jab, Lee Do-ha simply smiled and reached out to hold the elevator button—keeping the doors from closing until I could exit.
Those distinctly dark, gleaming eyes regarded me with warmth. In his expression, which I could finally read to some degree, lay a steadfast trust I couldn’t fully comprehend.
A trust that seemed to say: whatever uncomfortable truth you’re hiding, I’m fine with it.
In that moment, I thought of all the uncomfortable truths surrounding us.
The truth that Boy’s Supremacy, which had crushed Seo Tae-hyun’s dream, might have had its results manipulated,
The truth that those nightmares Lee Do-ha and Ju Eun-chan remembered were actually real events that had occurred,
The truth that I, who knew the future through several regressions, might be stealing someone else’s Achievement,
The truth that all these nightmares might actually be connected to Dan Ha-ru’s infinite regression, and
The truth that everything surrounding Dan Ha-ru’s life might be entirely fabricated lies.
The reason I kept hesitating to execute the climax I’d planned was simply that I couldn’t even imagine what kind of shockwave would come when these truths were revealed.
And to me, still wrestling with doubt….
Lee Do-ha offered an answer in his calm voice.
“Hurt, break, fall…. And still get back up.”
“….”
“The world calls that growth.”
The first thing you must do to complete a race is to stand at the starting line.
If you don’t stand at the starting line first, no matter how many signal flares sound, we cannot run.
Then, where is our proper starting line?
“Do-ha.”
“Yeah.”
“I need you to handle today’s work alone. I’m heading back to the Dormitory—something just came to mind that I need to do.”
“…Okay. I’ll finish up and head back.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
With my resolve solidified, I gave Lee Do-ha a light farewell and quickly pressed the elevator’s close button.
Growth.
Growth, huh….
“…To grow, I’ll have to endure growing pains.”
Before embarking on this journey, there was something I absolutely had to do to prepare for that pain.
* * *
“Huh? Ha-jin hyung? I thought you weren’t coming in today?”
“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling well, so I came back early.”
When I returned to the Dormitory, Ju Eun-chan, who’d been gaming in the Living Room, looked up at me in surprise. I gave him a perfunctory answer and quickly headed to my room. Before closing the door, I made sure to firmly tell him not to wake me under any circumstances—I was exhausted and needed to sleep.
“Hey, come out.”
I stepped into the empty room and summoned the System. A brilliant blue window materialized in the air before me—the first time I’d seen it since that system update notification. The fantastical phenomenon felt strangely unfamiliar today.
[System Notification: System update has been completed.]
[System Notification: Would you like to check the update details? (Upon acceptance, automatic entry to Unconscious Space)]
“Yeah. Let me in.”
[System Notification: Please provide the entry code for Unconscious Space.]
“I hate mint chocolate.”
As I muttered the entry code—one that no longer even pricked my conscience—I felt my body slump backward onto the bed as if I’d lost consciousness.
When my eyes opened again, accompanied by a sensation I doubted I’d ever grow accustomed to, I found myself sitting on the sofa in my Studio within my Unconscious Space. The cushions were several times softer and more plush than before, and every tension drained from my body at the luxurious sensation.
“Hey.”
But my attention wasn’t on that comfortable, inviting sofa.
“Come out. I know you’re here.”
A system update starting at this critical moment?
It was obvious what that meddlesome bastard at Headquarters had updated.
“Kim Thirteen. Show yourself. I’m busy.”
Then, a brilliantly blue window appeared on the white wall opposite me with heartwarming familiarity.
[Seriously though….]
[Kang Ha-jin, you have no sense of occasion!?]
“The fact that you’re complaining about mood means you’ve really become fully human.”
[This wasn’t how I imagined our reunion would feel….]
[System Notification: The System sighs, saying it’s disappointed by the Returnee’s T-level response (*´Д｀)=з]
The long-awaited return of my partner—I’d missed them so much.

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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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