Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 298

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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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298. Nightmare (2)
Awakening.
-What is awakening, really?
Before everything could unfold, at that very moment when Kang Ha-jin had resolved to prepare for all possibilities, I realized I needed to know everything first.
If The Returner were to attack us using timelines from the past, there was a high probability they would strike at our minds.
-The Returner understands the human heart so intimately. They know what each person fears most, what they desperately wish to avoid, what they need most… and that cunning bastard knows exactly how to manipulate those desires to make people dance to their tune.
So if The Returner were to launch an assault to seize Ha-ru’s body, I was certain it wouldn’t be through simple means.
-The Returner employs multiple methods with timelines. They can trigger trauma by exploiting memories from past timelines, or they can manufacture actual accidents by weaponizing events that occurred in previous iterations.
As I recalled The Returner’s tactics gleaned from all that had transpired, my sharp gaze laid bare without reservation. When I lifted my head, the empty system window filled my vision—densely packed with countless hypotheses and information I had meticulously organized.
Like a whiteboard in an ambitious university research lab, or a detective’s deduction board burning with passion. It was abundantly clear that I had leveraged every single element of this custom system I’d built, leaving nothing unused in my preparations for all of this.
-Now then, let’s think this through.
-Who among us should we attack to make Ha-ru most afraid?
I clicked the system and pulled up the character relationship diagram I’d compiled. It was a method I’d frequently used back in university during acting elective classes when analyzing scripts for assignments—I never thought I’d find such practical application for it, I mused with a touch of self-deprecation.
-When they learn everything that happened in past timelines, who would suffer the greatest shock?
I began placing checkmarks next to the names in the relationship diagram, categorizing them by the level of danger I assessed.
-If events from past timelines were to repeat, who would sustain the most devastating blow?
One, two—the number of marks grew, and with each new criterion established, the gaps between them widened progressively.
When all the calculations were complete, four people remained in my Venn diagram until the very end.
【Seo Tae-hyun】
【Ju Eun-chan】
【Jeong Si-u】
【Ji Su-ho】
I stared at those four names for a long time. Countless thoughts and calculations churned through my mind.
And after that lengthy deliberation, I left behind one final question mark—an answer I could not yet discern.
-…How can I stop the Returner Dan Ha-ru?
But in the end, I had to open my eyes without finding an answer to that final question mark.
Praying earnestly that our time would flow safely onward.
* * *
“I really spent a long time wondering what I should say first when I met you.”
In the Unconscious Space, finally face-to-face with the Returner Dan Ha-ru, my voice carried a hint of anger. Of course, the Returner Dan Ha-ru facing me radiated a hatred in his gaze that ordinary Ha-ru could never have expressed, even through acting.
Seeing this ‘Ha-ru’, I twisted one corner of my mouth upward forcefully.
“But first, this—you bastard.”
With that, I rushed straight at Ha-ru standing before me and, before he could even counterattack, swept a kick at his shin. The Returner Dan Ha-ru, instinctively raising his arms to shield his face from my sudden assault, had no choice but to crumple down, clutching his leg as the pain registered.
Ha-ru’s head snapped up, and blazing fury erupted from his eyes.
“…Are you insane!?”
“You’re the one who’s insane? Do you know how many times I’ve gone to the Military because of you? And now I have to go again. Again! If I fail KATUSA this time, I’m dragging you straight to the front lines for joint enlistment, so remember that, you piece of shit. If you weren’t Dan Ha-ru, that would’ve been a punch to the face, not a shin kick.”
Faced with anger that was surprisingly practical(?), the Returner Dan Ha-ru’s mouth closed of its own accord before he could mount a rebuttal.
Not from remorse, but because the situation was so absurd he couldn’t help it. Ha-ru, who had furrowed his brow several times in complete bewilderment, pushed himself back to his feet.
“You… what exactly are you? Why did you suddenly appear and pull this bullshit?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? Can’t you tell? I’m your mentor cleaning up the insane mess you’ve made.”
“So what are you, then?”
“How should I know? Our timelines got tangled up so badly that this happened, but if anyone should be asking questions, it’s me asking you.”
I furrowed my brow in irritation and crossed my arms. At that, Dan Ha-ru paused, his gaze sweeping across the Unconscious Space as if organizing his thoughts. I offered him a helpful explanation.
“This is a space within my unconscious mind. To prevent you from connecting with that Returner bastard, I figured I’d need to sever your link to reality first. I noticed before that Thirteen couldn’t use his full power inside the Returner’s unconscious realm, so this time I brought you in here.”
Of course, I’d anticipated severe side effects from this—but Thirteen had assured me he’d handle it somehow, so I decided to focus solely on the present moment.
I left Ha-ru standing guard with his defensive posture intact and calmly walked over to the sofa, sitting down before he could think of anything else to say.
“Ha-ru.”
At that name—so familiar to me—the Returner Dan Ha-ru flinched as though hearing something foreign. So I called out that name again, pouring more force into my voice.
“Ha-ru. Dan Ha-ru.”
“…Don’t call me that.”
“Why? It’s your name.”
“…”
“If you’re not Dan Ha-ru, then who are you?”
At my deliberately innocent question, Dan Ha-ru’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth ground together, glaring at me. But I wasn’t intimidated by that look in the slightest—I let out a scoff and slowly leaned forward, tapping the table twice with my finger.
“Dan Ha-ru.”
“…”
“Sit.”
“…”
“Sit down before I force you. We need to talk.”
Rule Number Five of Kang Ha-jin’s Negotiation Laws.
Every negotiation begins with both parties sitting across from each other at a table.
My triple-lidded eyes—usually hidden because I rarely tensed them or opened them wide—gleamed with intensity. In my upturned gaze burned that brilliant, piercing light that made fans call me a wolf.
My pupils were distinctly dark, my eyes cut in a long, sharp line, and my lips pressed into a rigid, unwavering line—nothing of my usual careless demeanor remained.
Faced with that overwhelming presence, the Returner Dan Ha-ru, still standing by the window with his fists clenched, had no choice but to exhale deeply and slowly move forward. With reluctant steps, he sat across from me, his voice taking on an irritable edge.
“You… what exactly are you? What kind of person are you?”
“Me? I’m… your hyung. Your fellow member. You know that already. You’re Dan Ha-ru.”
I maintained an air of composure throughout. At my response, Dan Ha-ru’s lips twitched as if he wanted to argue, but he seemed to realize that speaking would only trap him further, so he simply closed his mouth.
Watching him, I continued.
“And I’m the only person who knows you’ve been repeating time for the sake of a ‘happy Dan Ha-ru.'”
“…”
“And I’m one of the few people who can do anything to stop it.”
Having said that, I turned the tables and asked him a question.
“Are you really planning to hand over your entire life to that Returner bastard like this?”
“What’s it to you?”
“What do you mean, what’s it to me? You think your contract is a joke? You think being an idol is a joke? You’re the youngest member of the same group with seven more years of activities ahead, and you’ve been subjected to an unfair deal—your body and your life stolen by some psychotic non-human creature. How can you just sit back and accept it? Especially when that non-human bastard is now throwing every obstacle he can at you?”
I rattled off my concerns like some meddlesome police sergeant lecturing a runaway teenager. Dan Ha-ru’s expression grew even more incomprehensibly twisted, but I paid it no mind and continued.
“I’m not going to blame you for making that deal with the Returner in the first place. I have no right to, and at that time, it was probably your best option.”
“…”
“But stop now. Let’s end this here. I’ll help you. You know by now what you really want, don’t you?”
It was right then that Dan Ha-ru’s expression hardened as he listened to my words in silence.
A smile—the first genuine one—blossomed across Dan Ha-ru’s lips. Yet his eyes, when he lifted his gaze, held not the faintest glimmer of life.
“…What I want?”
“….”
“What is that?”
His eyes carried the veneer of amusement, yet they were not smiling at all.
Rather, they were hollow—utterly devoid of warmth, filled only with emptiness.
Gazing into those irises, which felt somehow familiar, Ha-jin swallowed softly and answered.
“Happiness.”
“….”
“Tomorrow. Hope. Family. Friends. Comfort.”
“….”
“…Life.”
Kang Ha-jin could not fully understand Dan Ha-ru.
He had never lived a life as consumed by deprivation as Dan Ha-ru’s.
Yet this one thing he could know with absolute certainty.
“You wanted to live, didn’t you?”
Kang Ha-jin remembered words that Ji Su-ho had once spoken to him.
That everyone, without exception, needs warmth.
“You wanted to keep living, but you couldn’t muster the courage to go on. So you wanted to die—but you couldn’t even find the courage to escape through death. So instead, you chose to run away. Isn’t that right?”
“…You.”
“….”
“What do you know?”
Dan Ha-ru’s eyes had become vivid with crimson veins, blazing with intensity as he stared at Ha-jin. A faint sneer twisted his lips.
“That’s right. I know you.”
“….”
“You have family. Parents who support you steadily, a younger sibling who follows you, dreams, the ability to achieve those dreams, the talent to draw people in. That’s probably why Ha-ru is so particularly fond of you and follows you so closely.”
“….”
“But so what?”
“….”
“How can someone like you possibly understand me? What exactly are you telling me to stop?”
With each word Dan Ha-ru spoke, his emotions seemed to escalate further. His voice, grown louder, resonated sharply through the space.
“Do you know what happens if I stop? If I stop here? Do you know what state of mind I’ve endured to come this far?”
“…Because of you, countless people’s time has repeated. Because of that, even the members you hold dear have been affected, and now they’re even under attack from the Returner. Don’t you feel even a shred of responsibility? Not even a hint of guilt?”
“If I had any of that, I never would have started this in the first place!”
Dan Ha-ru’s face, as he shouted with fury, was truly a sight Ha-jin had never witnessed before. In that expression, none of Dan Ha-ru’s kindness, courage, consideration for others, or altruism could be felt.
And yet, still, Ha-jin knew that he was Dan Ha-ru.
Even knowing that he himself might never understand such a Dan Ha-ru for the rest of his life.
“That’s right.”
“….”
“I don’t understand you. Probably never will.”
“….”
“That’s why I can’t stop you either. I’ve thought about it countless times, but I just can’t figure it out. There’s no way to make you stop.”
Ha-jin, who had been driving Ha-ru toward the cliff as if ready to push him off at any moment, suddenly raised the white flag. Ha-ru’s vigilance didn’t waver as he regarded Ha-jin with confusion.
Ha-jin didn’t avoid Ha-ru’s gaze. Instead, he tapped the table once more, lightly. An indecipherable expression crossed his face as his shoulders rose in a shrug.
“But you know, I’ve had a similar experience before.”
“….”
“It seems like only you can truly understand yourself completely.”
“…What?”
“You heard everything, didn’t you, Ha-ru?”
“…?”
As Ha-jin spoke those words, his eyes were not looking at the Ha-ru seated before him.
Ha-ru slowly turned his head to follow Ha-jin’s gaze. Behind the sofa where they sat, silhouetted against the crimson sunset, he saw someone standing with a startled expression, watching them.
“…Ha-ru?”
Bathed in the red light of the setting sun, the figure stood rigid as if rooted to that very spot—and wore a face identical to his own.

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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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