Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 32

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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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32. First Month-End Evaluation (4)
“Hurry, hurry!”
“Hyung, I think I grabbed the wrong hat!”
“Let’s try this one more time here. Three, four—.”
From morning onward, Miro Building 3rd Floor was in absolute chaos. Trainees darted back and forth, checking each other’s outfits, adjusting choreography by the mirrors, and warming up their voices in a cacophony of sound.
“Alright, everyone gather around now—!”
The New Artist Development Team manager overseeing the trainees called the scattered group together. Everyone assembled in one place, their faces tense with anticipation. Once they’d arranged themselves by team and taken their seats, the door opened and several people entered the Practice Room, each carrying a folder. They settled into chairs that had been prepared to the side and began preparing for their evaluations in their own ways.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Am I the only one late?”
A beat later, the Practice Room door opened again, and Seo Tae-il walked in wearing sunglasses. Wrapped snugly in a coat and scarf, he carried an identical folder tucked under his arm.
“Tae-il, please sit over here.”
“Yes, thank you.”
With Seo Tae-il’s arrival—the reason half the trainees here had joined in the first place—the Practice Room stirred with renewed energy. Tae-il pushed his sunglasses up onto his head and silently read through the names of the trainees in his folder one by one.
“….”
Then, finding one name that resonated most deeply, he quietly underlined it and turned his gaze toward its owner.
Kang Ha-jin—who sat in the very back of the room, having yielded his front-row seat to his teammates who were making a fuss over Seo Tae-il’s arrival, and was now simply doing neck stretches.
“Alright then.”
Ji Su-ho, sitting in the center, closed his folder. All eyes turned in one direction.
“Shall we begin? Everyone’s prepared well, right?”
“Yes!”
Finally, my first month-end evaluation had begun.
* * *
‘They all worked hard.’
That was my overall assessment watching the other teams perform. The evaluation order had been decided by lottery, and since Gong Seok ended up drawing the last slot for us, I could watch the other performances without much pressure. (Though that might just be me.)
The first team was Team B, which included Ju Eun-chan and Seo Tae-hyun.
Based on their member composition alone, they seemed destined for a performance-focused song, and they’d chosen a hip-hop track that had been hugely popular around last year. In an old-school look that was both easy to dance in and let the song’s vibe shine through, the diverse accessories coordinated by the wealthy Ju Eun-chan became the highlight.
‘Must be nice having money.’
Because their bandana designs matched, and the arm bands and belts they wore had similar styles, there was a clear sense of unity as one team, even within the old-school look where each member’s taste and style differed. They really emphasized their dancing skills, taking turns doing solo sections.
“Whoa!”
“Ah….”
Of course, there were mistakes. Lee Yu-gun, the Special Class’s regular center, had failed while attempting b-boying during his solo time.
‘…? What’s with that reaction?’
And in that moment, the atmosphere among the trainees seemed to shift slightly. It had grown cold and heavy. I tried to pick up on what was happening, but soon everyone’s mouths fell open and they burst into applause at Ju Eun-chan’s krumping that followed, and the moment passed.
‘What was that? Must’ve been my imagination.’
While I was trying to read the strange atmosphere, Team B’s performance ended. As I watched the members catch their breath and receive feedback in turn, the next team soon took their place.
Team C, with Dan Ha-ru and Jeong Si-u, performed an acapella-based ballad that showcased their vocal abilities, just as expected.
Dressed in flowing white shirts and knits, as Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru faced each other building harmonies, several trainees let out audible gasps of admiration.
‘Look at that, they’re good.’
I barely managed to suppress the irritation that flared up remembering Dan Ha-ru, who’d been grabbing my collar every night whining that he couldn’t do it and rolling around dramatically.
Now there were only about two more teams before it was really our turn. I glanced at my teammates’ expressions and saw they were all focused in their own ways, watching the month-end evaluation.
‘Well… it doesn’t seem like we’re doing too badly though.’
I was about to turn my head away, worried that striking up a conversation might break my concentration, when Kim Won-ho, sitting beside me, caught my gaze in that brief moment and carefully tapped my arm.
“What?”
“Hey, about that…”
“Hmm?”
“…Why did you give this choreography to me? This time.”
The question came out of nowhere, so I glanced over—and his expression was surprisingly serious. I’d been thinking about checking the others’ stats, but his eyes held too much sincerity to brush off with a casual answer. I held his gaze for a moment before offering an honest response.
“You looked capable of it.”
“….”
“I watched all your practice videos. You looked capable. I don’t bet on things that won’t work.”
After hearing my answer, Kim Won-ho seemed lost in thought. I almost said something, worried he’d mess up later while distracted like that, but then I figured—he wasn’t Seo Tae-hyun or Yun Tae-hee. Something told me he’d be fine, so I let it go.
“Alright, next. Group A, let’s go.”
“Ugh… guys, do well. Really.”
“Ah, this part got totally messed up during the mid-check, right?”
Our turn came around quickly. Every eye in the Practice Room turned toward us. I tapped Kim Won-ho’s shoulder—still lost in thought—and stood up.
This was the real deal now.
* * *
Ji Su-ho, to be honest, was genuinely worried.
‘If things get this unpredictable right from the first month-end evaluation…’
Lee Do-ha’s dance break, Kim Won-ho’s original choreography, Gong Seok as main vocal—there were far too many unproven elements in this performance. The other trainees had accumulated data from previous evaluations to base their scores on, but Kang Ha-jin?
‘He needs to make a real impression this time. What on earth is he thinking?’
With a worried expression, he watched Kang Ha-jin’s group take their familiar positions at the center of the Practice Room. Group A, dressed in torn black-blue and black tops with strategic accents, lined up in formation.
Surrounding Lee Do-ha in the center, the members wrapped around each other as the song began.
Ooh―, Woah―
The group chant part that Kang Ha-jin had sung alone in the guide was now performed by all of Group A in the recorded version.
As the song started and Lee Do-ha in the center stretched his hands and gaze upward, turning his head, the other members surrounding him burst open like a flower.
Short group choreography followed the accelerating intro rhythm. The four members moved as if conducting themselves according to Lee Do-ha’s lead in the center.
A drum beat drops—thump—and the song begins.
Begin―, our brilliant scenario
Knight tearing through the night, those who wished for a new morning, onto the streets
Kang Ha-jin’s opening verse followed with a kick move, charging toward center. Standing confidently like leading a rebellion, he continued the live vocal through the middle section before matching movements with his group members again at the lyric “Knight tearing through the night.”
Crossing the crimson horizon, MAKE NEW WAVE!
Light the fire, within your chest
The small ember trampled and crushed
Kang Ha-jin stepped back as Yun Tae-hee and Kim Won-ho’s back-and-forth section continued. It was the harmony of the team’s highest and lowest voices.
‘…They’ve increased the live vocals?’
Even while performing a fairly intense pair choreography, the two showed no signs of breathless rhythm or wavering notes like before.
[Gong Seok (Affiliation: Miro)]
Appeal Points:
‘Teacher, I have a question’
-Scholarly enthusiasm, educational passion
[Kim Won-ho (Miro)]
Appeal Point:
‘A TO Z’
-Quick learning ability
[Yun Tae-hee (Miro)]
Appeal Point:
‘Strong Heart’
-Delivery, stage presence, performance execution (91%)
-By the way, could you watch Tae-hee and Won-ho’s vocals together? I’ll be too busy keeping up with the choreography progress.
-Huh? Yeah, that’s not difficult…. Thanks, Ha-jin. I’ll do my best.
-Got it. Fighting, hyung.
It was the result of Ha-jin, who’d known these stats from the beginning, deliberately assigning Gong Seok to mark Tae-hee and Won-ho. After the two’s rapid back-and-forth, Lee Do-ha’s brief rap followed.
Ji Su-ho watched the scene unfold, discovered something, and let out a hollow laugh.
‘Fundamentally, the choreography isn’t that difficult. Most of it is simple movements….’
Simple movements, yes—but precisely because of that, matching every detail of each move became easier. Thanks to Ha-jin’s intensive training that emphasized ‘angles’ and ‘lines’ throughout practice, even Lee Do-ha now delivered sharp, synchronized choreography on every beat.
‘The people doing vocals just do free gestures anyway, so Do-ha’s part can have more intense choreography.’
Ooh―, Woah―
As Lee Do-ha’s rap ended, all music disappeared, and the group chant erupted once more. The movements slowed in unison to match it.
Climb aboard, we’re the New WAVE!
At the high note from main vocalist Gong Seok, the vocal trainer sitting beside Su-ho gasped audibly. Did his voice originally reach that high? There was no time to wonder—the next person’s part came rushing in. It was Ha-jin’s trick, having judged that no single person had the capacity to carry many parts.
Watch me. Victory firmly grasped
Melody to rebuild the crumbled walls
I’ll draw out the you that you don’t know
If you can see the end of this beginning
Climb aboard, we’re the New WAVE!
The second verse’s chorus passed in a flash, and after the bridge section featuring Won-ho’s solo dance.
Finally came the problematic dance break. With the high-note ad-lib harmonized by Gong Seok and Ha-jin, Lee Do-ha and Tae-hee took formation.
Won-ho, having safely finished his part, turned back to rejoin the formation and saw Lee Do-ha blocking his path.
One success out of ten attempts. An absurd success rate.
Lee Do-ha’s dance break—the one he’d asked Ha-jin about countless times if it was right.
Ha-jin’s answer each time was always the same.
-You can do it.
-….
-He just needs to succeed once. Just once.
-What are you even saying? That one time is damn near impossible, isn’t it?
-You, I told you to watch your language. Anyway, just trust me. If he succeeds just once, the probability jumps to 80%.
-I have no idea what you’re thinking.
Won-ho still didn’t understand what that meant, couldn’t comprehend it—but he decided to trust Lee Do-ha anyway. Because he’d said he’d do well. Because he’d thanked Ha-jin for entrusting him with the choreography he’d created, and sworn he’d succeed no matter what.
And Won-ho didn’t know, Su-ho didn’t know, and even Lee Do-ha himself didn’t know—but there was one single fact that only Ha-jin knew.
[Lee Do-ha (Miro)]
Appeal Point:
‘Strong Heart’
-Delivery, stage presence and adaptability, performance realization (80%)
Once Lee Do-ha succeeded even once, he was the kind of person who would inevitably succeed on stage.
Inevitably.

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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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