Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 294

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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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294. The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Happiness (2)
Thirteen had returned.
So what was I supposed to do now?
“Let’s work.”
[That’s too much!]
[｡･ﾟﾟ･(>д<)･ﾟﾟ･｡]
"The kid's gotten more temperamental while I wasn't looking. Pointless, really."
I clicked my tongue and crossed my legs, watching the system window—unusually animated—flail about like a fish out of water, expressing its displeasure.
It was both endearing and amusing, so I leaned back with my hand covering my mouth.
The upgraded sofa's cushioning felt remarkably satisfying.
"So, how does it feel being half-human?"
Still, it had been a while, so I asked casually as a courtesy. Thirteen seemed to ponder for a moment, displaying a loading indicator (…). I waited without pressing further, and soon the response came.
[Honestly, I don't have much of an impression to speak of.]
[But…]
Thirteen, who had been contemplating, carefully displayed another message.
[I'm starting to understand why No.12 made that choice, you could say?]
"No.12?"
[It's the manager code for The Returner.]
[While you were working hard to become a professional idol, we Time Management Authority members were also working hard!]
[Thanks to that, we were able to uncover more information than before, small as it may be.]
[ヾ( ˘ ⌣˘ )〴]
Manager Number 12.
I quietly traced the code in my mouth—likely what Dol-ja's original identity had been.
Just as I had gained deeper insight into Dan Ha-ru's psychological state and circumstances through my own regression, it seemed Thirteen, too, had come to understand Dol-ja better through his own humanization—understanding what drove him to become human.
"What do you think made Dol-ja choose that?"
[Because he loved humans.]
"…?"
The answer came without hesitation, and I instinctively crossed my arms defensively.
"You… don't tell me you're…?"
I wasn't interested in that kind of genre.
At that, Thirteen panicked and set off red alarms throughout the entire room.
[Are you seriously insane?]
[(ʘ言ʘ╬)]
"Ah, you made me misunderstand you!"
[Not romance—love! LOVE! Agape love!]
Thirteen was so worked up that the system window was practically spitting out effects, expressing its disgust. I felt embarrassed and just closed my mouth. Then, with a sighing effect (=3), Thirteen continued.
[To be precise, he came to love the 'life' of humans.]
"…Explain it more clearly."
[My humanization began when I started yearning for the life energy I felt through you, Kang Ha-jin.]
[Before that, your timeline was just another 'task' to me with nothing special about it, but after I became your system, it became different.]
As a human, I still couldn't fully comprehend the concepts of the supernatural Time Management Authority, but from watching various sci-fi and fantasy works over the years, I could at least grasp the general flow of what was happening.
After all, the myth of a god loving humans so much that he became human himself was a common trope in the human world.
Thirteen continued speaking.
[The One Who Returns was a Time Management Authority who managed Dan Ha-ru's timeline.]
[For the Time Management Authority, 'managing a timeline' involves far more work than you might think.]
[To cut to the chase….]
[I believe The One Who Returns may have proposed such a deal to Dan Ha-ru partly out of genuine care for him.]
[Just as I eventually came to sincerely support Kang Ha-jin's life and created missions to help with his endeavors.]
I slowly read through Thirteen's words.
Then I nodded slightly in agreement and replied.
"…You're right. At least to the Returner Dan Ha-ru, The Returner must have been like a savior."
Which meant that in my plan going forward, the greatest obstacle would be the Returner Dan Ha-ru.
It also meant that The Returner's only ally right now was the Returner Dan Ha-ru.
Thirteen shifted the studio's lighting with a notably serious mood and sent a message.
[What are you planning to do?]
[To merge the Returner personality with the base personality, you'll need to summon the Returner personality first.]
"Right. First, I need to call out the Returner personality and have a conversation. But before that…."
[…?]
"Why do we need to merge the Returner personality with the base personality in the first place? Explain that first."
[It's to anchor the Returner personality, which possesses the regression ability, to reality.]
[Otherwise, the Returner personality will keep escaping into the base personality's unconscious, and the longer this continues, the more danger Dan Ha-ru faces. The Returner will find it easier to seize the empty body.]
"So basically, it's important that Dan Ha-ru's body has one unified personality, like me."
At my words, Thirteen blinked a green light in affirmation.
After only ever seeing systems act like AIs, receiving such a living reaction for the first time in a while felt strange.
With my hands clasped together, I asked Thirteen one more question.
"I have one more question."
[Go ahead.]
"What happens if something goes wrong and a human becomes aware of a past timeline without the help of the mental care program?"
[…Pardon?]
"It seems like The Returner has been tampering with the members' timelines."
[….]
"No, not just the members. Everyone connected to me and Dan Ha-ru."
After noticing Lee Do-ha and Ju Eun-chan's timeline awakenings last time, I immediately probed the people who had been recruited as colleagues in my system with questions.
The first person I checked was Ji Su-ho, who knew about all of this.
-Have you ever suddenly recalled memories you've never experienced before?
-Well….
Ji Su-ho, who had been thinking for a moment, lifted his head with an "ah" as if something had clicked.
-Now that you mention it, back when you were repeating regressions because of that Yoo Gun. That time when you told me not to let Yoo Gun drop out—that looked like déjà vu to me.
-…What about recently? Haven't you noticed anything strange recently?
-Recently? Well…. …Ah.
-Why? Did something happen?
-Now that I think about it, I haven't been seeing light from people lately. I thought maybe as you resolved that fantasy-like stuff, it naturally disappeared for me too.
Awakener Ji Su-ho's ability had vanished.
Next was Kim Won-ho.
-Wow, it's been forever.
-What's with the "forever" talk from someone about to debut? Cut it out.
-Ah, I'm working on fixing that. Sorry.
-…Nothing serious, right? Is debut prep going well?
To my deliberately roundabout question disguised as a greeting, Kim Won-ho laughed and deflected.
-I've been having nightmares lately, you know? Guess I'm more stressed than I thought.
-…Nightmares?
-Yeah. Dreams where I quit singing and work as a delivery driver. Then I run into Seo Tae-il at one of my delivery stops, and I recognize him but he doesn't recognize me. I end up crying alone in the park before I wake up.
-…That's quite a dream. Tae-il still mentions you sometimes these days.
-Damn, that's an honor.
-…Drop the "damn" talk, will you? You're gonna make it a habit.
-Oh, right.
Kim Won-ho, the last member I'd recruited, was also beginning to perceive the timeline.
However, there were others outside my circle who were starting to perceive it as well.
-I think it's genetic, hyung. Once something catches our attention, we both just have to dig into it.
It was my younger sibling, Kang Ha-won.
-But isn't the intensity different between us?
-You're way more like fire, hyung. Don't you remember? Before you, there was that outsourcing company CEO or whatever, and you two ended up having a huge fight, and the next day you went straight to submit your resignation. You said you'd rather do manual labor and scrape by than work with someone like you. Wow, you really are our hyung back then….
-…What? What did you just say?
-What?
-You just said something strange.
-I didn't say anything just now?
The incident with the outsourcing company CEO and my resignation had occurred in my twenty-ninth timeline.
I didn't know how Kang Ha-won, who had nothing to do with this regression, had become aware of that timeline, but it was clear what kind of weapon this could become for Dol-ja.
My expression crumbled so badly I couldn't even manage my face as I stared at Thirteen.
"When Dan Ha-ru said he wouldn't regress anymore and didn't want to give his body to Dol-ja. What do you think Dol-ja's first move would be?"
[….]
"To give Dan Ha-ru a reason to regress."
Dol-ja had already failed once at preserving Dan Ha-ru's single day.
"December 31st, Dan Ha-ru's birthday. It seems Dol-ja came looking for Dan Ha-ru then. The system sent me an alert."
[So he was trying to preserve that day.]
"But he must have failed. Our baby rabbit warrior is tougher than expected, and the Returner would prioritize the will of the original personality Dan Ha-ru above all else."
[Then The One Who Returns….]
"That's why the Returner Dan Ha-ru is important. Now Dol-ja will try to force the Returner Dan Ha-ru to preserve the original personality Dan Ha-ru and repeat the regression."
Making him remain in the happiest moment had failed.
Then the next method he could choose was the opposite.
To make him flee from his most unfortunate moment.
"What if Dan Ha-ru's core personality learned the entire truth?"
[….]
"What if he discovered that every past surrounding him was a lie, and that because of his repeated returns, the brothers he holds so desperately dear have endlessly repeated their misfortune?"
[….]
"What if that misfortune, through its endless repetition, became an immutable fixed event that ruined his brothers' lives—and Dan Ha-ru learned of it?"
[…What?]
"Wouldn't he want to flee again? To yesterday, when he knew nothing and was happy? Or perhaps…."
Wouldn't I want to make him flee?
So that Dan Ha-ru could remain forever happy within that false happiness.
While I, the Returner, bore alone all the truth hidden behind those delusions.
"During the infinite regression incident, Ji Su-ho was like that. Why did Lee Yu-gun still want to get off even though everything was resolved well? Perhaps certain choices that keep repeating create the same outcome."
[But still….]
"Thirteen, you were the same back then. If I kept regressing with a broken leg, if I kept injuring myself, and if that became a fixed event—how would you endure it?"
Remarkably talented Seo Tae-hyun never succeeded as an idol across countless timelines.
Wealthy and well-connected Ju Eun-chan could never resolve Han Sung-woo's matters on his own across countless timelines.
Intelligent and capable Jeong Si-u endured his father's death across countless timelines, nurturing trauma.
Always bold and decisive Lee Do-ha never sustained music across a single timeline.
Burdened by responsibility, Lee Yu-gun survived through countless timelines by enduring life solely through sacrifice for his family.
And I as well.
"Despite gaining the opportunity to regress, despite living multiple times over, I still fear failure and crave affection."
If that was everything—the weight of life created by the timelines Dan Ha-ru accumulated through repetition.
If the day comes when Dan Ha-ru learns it all.
"For Dan Ha-ru to truly become happy, he must learn and overcome all this truth. Conversely, to make Dan Ha-ru unhappy, all this truth must be exposed. The Returner will never let this final opportunity slip away."
I clasped my two hands, now cold and stiff, and spoke to Thirteen like a declaration, with unwavering resolve.
"So this time, I'm going to make the first move."
For happiness, shattering the world.
That was the growing pain I had chosen for us.

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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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