Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 312

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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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312. A Night in Gangwon Province
The rising idol group Kairos’ decision to take on unpaid part-time work at a crowded Gangwon Province Pension was supported by several circumstances.
First. The timing worked out.
Whether they left this evening or tomorrow morning, there was no issue with their subsequent schedule, so many agreed they should rest for a day for Kwon Wook’s sake, given the long drive ahead.
Second. It was exceptionally busy.
Not just Tae-hyun’s Pension, but all the nearby pensions and restaurants were fully booked with group reservations. It was such an unusual situation that they wondered why everyone avoided Namdo on such a beautiful spring day and came to this cold Gangwon Province instead. Since even a single person was precious at times like this, none of them could bring themselves to take Tae-hyun back to Seoul so hastily.
Third. Surprisingly, people didn’t recognize them.
The location of Tae-hyun’s Pension was somewhat removed from the typical ‘trendy hotspots’ frequented by younger generations, so most of today’s guests were middle-aged or older couples in their 40s and 50s, or families.
No matter how much of a rising star Kairos was becoming these days, it was still only within the idol industry.
Without cameras or makeup, in their completely natural state, there was no one here who would recognize Kairos, which put their minds at ease considerably.
And so, at present.
“Tae-hyun hyung! How much should I charge for this barbecue set?”
“The prices are written by size on the counter next to the register!”
“Yes!”
“Hey, Seo Tae-hyun! Should I go check on room 304?”
304? Why?”
“Not sure, but apparently the boiler in that room isn’t working.”
“Ah, then I’ll go. Hyung, just finish setting up the sweet potatoes for me.”
“Got it.”
The romance of part-time work?
That didn’t exist in Kairos’ dictionary.
The evening rush started the moment they arrived, and all the members were thrown into real work without even having proper time to learn their tasks. To what extent? Si-woo, who had just showered with cold water and come out, was dragged away after changing clothes in response to the restaurant’s call for help.
There was no opportunity to appeal to the guests that “we’re actually idols…” before work piled up. Since this was their first time doing this, if they were this busy, problems could arise somewhere.
What was interesting was that everyone was adapting to this unexpected situation remarkably well.
‘Of course. There are several experienced part-timers here.’
Myself, who had done almost everything by twenty-nine, and Lee Yu-gun, who was already a part-time work veteran, and even Dan Ha-ru, who would normally cause all sorts of trouble, were now displaying surprising part-time work experience thanks to being combined with Seon Gwi-ja’s personality.
To such an extent that Seo Tae-hyun muttered “What’s gotten into our Ha-ru today…” about five times.
“Um….”
“…?”
Ha-jin, who was finishing the setup of roasted sweet potatoes for sale to the guests, straightened up from his crouching position at the sound of someone calling him and turned around. Two women who appeared to be in their early twenties looked up at Ha-jin and seemed startled.
Ha-jin, who had been sitting in front of the fire, wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand and asked kindly.
“You’re from room 201, right? What can I help you with?”
“Oh, well, we accidentally spilled coffee on our bedding…. We were wondering if we could get a fresh blanket.”
“A blanket? Yes, of course. I’ll get one and bring it to you right away.”
Recalling the guidance Tae-hyun had given him about bedding, Ha-jin removed the work gloves from his hands. As he stepped into the management office to head toward the storage where bedding was kept, Ha-ru, who was manning the counter, burst into laughter at the sight of Ha-jin.
“Hyung, your face is completely blackened!”
“Is it? Looks cool, doesn’t it.”
“Yeah. Look at this, hyung.”
Ha-jin, whose throat was parched, was reaching for a bottle of water from the refrigerator when he turned his head at Ha-ru’s words. Then he saw Ha-ru holding up the familiar camcorder with a playful expression, filming him.
Realizing it was the camcorder he had packed in his bag, Ha-jin chuckled and took a drink of water.
“Where did you even find that?”
“It was in your bag, hyung. Is it okay if I take a picture?”
“You’re already taking one, so what’s the point?”
“Right. I’ve actually been taking pictures since earlier.”
At Ha-ru’s shameless remark—clearly taking after someone—I set down my half-finished water bottle on the counter and shook my head with a wry smile before heading into the storage room. After finding the cleanest new bedding among those neatly stored, I emerged to notice the guests in Room 201 whispering among themselves while glancing in my direction.
‘Did they recognize me?’
I was wearing glasses, so I thought there was a decent chance they wouldn’t, but still.
Wondering what excuse I’d make if they had recognized me, I handed over the bedding.
“You can use this bedding, and just leave the soiled one in your room. We’ll take care of it after you check out.”
“Yes, thank you….”
“Yes, have a great day~”
“….”
“…?”
Even after I handed over the bedding, the two guests didn’t leave, and I turned back toward the roasted sweet potato drum with my face full of question marks.
Did they need something else? Or had they actually recognized me?
I could have played dumb easily enough, but the service industry instinct carved deep into Kang Ha-jin’s bones wouldn’t allow it.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Ah, well….”
When I asked with maximum politeness, the female guests hesitantly opened their mouths.
“Could it be….”
“…?”
“Could you possibly be an idol?”
Oh no, I’m caught.
Faced with this identity crisis arriving faster than expected, I desperately held back the “Yes, that’s right” that was about to slip out. Still, since they didn’t ask “Are you Kairos?” or “Aren’t you Kang Ha-jin?”, it seemed they hadn’t quite figured it out for certain.
Pushing up my innocent horn-rimmed glasses, I deployed my greatest strength—my acting ability—and answered with perfect composure.
“Do I really look like one? Wow, thank you.”
“Ah…. You’re really not? Your face is just so familiar….”
“I’ve heard a lot that I look like Kang Ha-jin.”
“Oh! Wait? That’s it. Wow, you really do look like Kang Ha-jin!”
Well, of course I do. Since I’m him, after all.
‘I actually pulled it off.’
I smiled mischievously and pointed to the roasted sweet potato drum beside me.
“So, would you be interested in trying some roasted sweet potatoes made by a cafe employee who looks like Kang Ha-jin? They’re really delicious. I roasted them very carefully.”
“Oh, but we didn’t bring our wallets…. Can you do a bank transfer?”
“Absolutely possible.”
“Um…. Then just three, please.”
“Yes, one moment~”
Having naturally boosted sales by leveraging my good looks, I switched into capitalism-mode customer service and flashed a smile. As I pulled out perfectly roasted sweet potatoes and packed them carefully in containers so they wouldn’t be too hot before handing them over, one of the guests from Room 201 holding both the bedding and sweet potatoes asked me cautiously.
“Um… could you possibly share your OneStars account? I’d like to follow you….”
Wow, they really didn’t recognize me after all.
Of course, I’d said I wasn’t Kang Ha-jin, but seeing the guests actually believe I wasn’t him left me feeling oddly unsettled.
Still, I’m a celebrity. An idol! I’ve even appeared on public broadcast variety shows!
Yet unable to let it show, Ha-jin simply offered an awkward laugh before responding in a firm tone.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have an account.”
“Ah….”
To be precise, I don’t have a (personal) account—only an official one….
Caught in a brief internal struggle over whether I should mention the Kairos official account and gain even one more follower, I suppressed the impulse and wrapped up the conversation.
“Thank you for the kind words. Have a great time here~”
“Ah…. Yes, yes. Thank you, you’re actually more handsome than Kang Ha-jin, really…!”
“Aha ha….”
I won against myself, so why don’t I feel happy about it?
Still in that peculiar mood, I tormented only the roasted sweet potatoes until the guests disappeared. Then Ha-ru approached from inside the management office, still holding my camcorder in hand.
“Hello, we’re here for an interview.”
“What are you doing?”
“Kang Ha-jin lookalike, Cafe Employee Kang Ha-jin. How does it feel to be more handsome than Kang Ha-jin?”
“…I need to work harder. I should become famous enough that even North Koreans would recognize me.”
For the record, I meant that sincerely.
Just then, Tae-hyun returned late after resolving the issue with Room 304, making his presence known as he looked at the two of them.
“What are you two doing?”
“Hyung! Ha-jin hyung almost got tricked into following a OneStarr account!”
“What…?”
“Please open your eyes, Tae-hyun. Is your hyung insane…?”
Tae-hyun, who had activated his fierce glare upon Ha-ru’s explosive revelation, quickly returned to his usual soft gaze upon seeing Ha-jin’s response devoid of any spirit to argue back.
Ha-ru, still absorbed in playing reporter with the camcorder, turned the camera toward Tae-hyun.
“Oh? Hyung, what are you carrying?”
“…?”
“Ah. They said the restaurant is almost finished, so the hyungs are on their way here.”
In Tae-hyun’s hands was a large box of indeterminate contents. With Ha-jin’s help, Tae-hyun set the box down on the ground and spoke cheerfully with a relieved tone.
“We came all the way to Gangwon Province, so we should do what we couldn’t during vacation.”
The box was filled with various barbecue equipment and fireworks for the celebration.
As if commemorating a night in Gangwon Province that was no longer lonely, Tae-hyun broke into a bright smile, fresh and vibrant as spring cherry blossoms.
* * *
“Come on, come on. Let’s make a toast. To Kairos—!”
“Let’s go up—!!”
Behind the commotion, peace had arrived on this Gangwon Province night.
In the Staff Dormitory Courtyard located behind Tae-hyun’s Pension, six glasses clinked together cheerfully in the air. Though the drinks inside contained not a drop of alcohol, the faces of those who downed them in one gulp radiated pure refreshment.
“Let’s eat well!”
“Our maknae, eat plenty.”
“Yes!”
“Do-ha hyung, would you like some rice?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Looking for someone to pass some bibim noodles to our cute Ha-ru~”
“Seriously, why are you all like this….”
Finally reunited, the members filled the evening with boisterous chatter as they began dinner. What had started as a simple plan to grill some meat had transformed into a table so laden with side dishes and food that the legs threatened to buckle—all of it brought from the neighboring restaurant where Yoo Gun, Do-ha, and Si-woo had been helping out.
Tae-hyun, who had abandoned all pretense of diet management for the evening, mixed rice into steaming miso soup and asked Yoo Gun beside him.
“Hey, what exactly did you guys do at the restaurant anyway? Your mother was singing about how thrilled she was because of you and your hyungs.”
“Nothing special, really. We just helped out, that’s all.”
“She seemed way too happy for just that….”
As Tae-hyun expressed his bewilderment, Do-ha, who had been watching Ha-ru swallow an enormous wrap stuffed with five pieces of meat in a single bite, answered in a calm voice.
“It was pretty much like usual.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The atmosphere was similar to our regular company dinners.”
At those words, Tae-hyun and I turned to look at each other simultaneously, our eyes meeting.
Like usual? What were our regular company dinners actually like?
In that instant, memories of Kairos’s typical company dinners unfolded vividly in our minds. I even recalled Si-woo building a pyramid out of thirty-some beer glasses before deliberately shutting down that particular memory.
Some things were better left forgotten.
“Oh, right.”
“…?”
Then, suddenly, Si-woo, who had been quietly picking at meat from one end of the table, seemed to remember something and rummaged through his back pocket.
“I made money? That’s awesome.”
Speaking with casual confidence, Si-woo pulled out a thick wad of bills. With ten-thousand and fifty-thousand won notes mixed randomly together, it was clearly worth several hundred thousand won at a glance—enough to make me drop the king trumpet mushroom I’d been holding with my chopsticks with a soft clink.
At that, Yoo Gun beside him also let out an “ah” and rummaged through his hoodie’s front pocket. As if it were the most natural thing, he produced a thick white envelope. There was no way of knowing when or where he’d managed to prepare such an envelope.
“Do I need to report this income in May? I was thinking of using this for the guys’ allowance anyway.”
“That’s not allowance money, Yoo Gun—that’s thick enough to open a savings account with.”
Did you guys go perform a circus act at the restaurant or something…?
While Tae-hyun and I sat in stunned silence at this inexplicable income (?), Do-ha, sitting casually between us and still observing Ha-ru’s remarkable wrap-eating technique, let out another “ah.”
“…? What now? Stop it. Please, just stop.”
Ignoring my plea, Do-ha retrieved something from the padding jacket he’d set aside. The mysterious white pouch bore the logo of the restaurant where the three of them had worked today.
When I checked inside, it contained all manner of coins and a bundle of thousand-won bills tightly bound with rubber bands.
Do-ha spoke with an untroubled expression.
“I made money too.”
What on earth did you guys actually do there…?
This time, even my chopsticks fell from my hand with a pathetic clatter to the floor.

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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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