Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 321

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

321. The Moment Everyday Life Is Carved (2)
The Auditorium filled with students in an instant.
Student J slipped into a seat near the front with her classmates, glancing back to search for the friend she’d argued with earlier. She spotted her already in the row ahead, caught up in the excitement with another friend.
A small pang of spite bloomed in Student J’s twisted heart. In this moment, the entire world seemed hateful.
3, 2, 1—
Regardless, a dazzling lighting show erupted in the darkened Auditorium.
Everywhere, students pulled out their phones amid thunderous cheers, but Student J simply stared at the Stage with a stubborn, sideways gaze.
Soon the banner obscuring the Stage fell away, and a piercing high note cut through the air.
Raise your voices—One, Two, Three!
With the opening notes of “Kick Off,” more popular than their debut track “Over the Night,” Kairos emerged onto the Stage. Dressed in perfectly coordinated white shirts, black ties, and slacks, they drew a roar from the Auditorium that seemed ready to explode.
Student J watched her friend filming and screaming alongside the others, her lips twisting with displeasure.
‘They fought with the Destiny fans every day just because they’re Only members, and now look at them….’
Student J turned her gaze back to the Stage with a sullen expression. A boy who looked barely older than her was beaming, showering the crowd with fan service gestures.
‘Was that Dan Ha-ru? I think he was around our age.’
Having chosen isolation from the world upon becoming a test-taker, Student J dredged up her fading memories and crossed her arms more tightly.
The Kairos members were undeniably handsome enough to make people gasp, and their live performance and choreography were flawless enough to draw admiration. Yet for that very reason, Student J’s mood grew increasingly sour.
‘They’re so lucky. Just because they’re young and good-looking, they make tons of money and everyone loves them….’
Kids like them probably don’t lose sleep worrying about college admissions, do they? I’m jealous.
The brighter the Stage lights shone, the smaller and more pathetic Student J felt sitting alone in the dark audience seating. She knew this wasn’t a healthy emotion, yet she couldn’t help herself.
“Haedaeng Girls’ High School, let me hear you—!”
A member wearing black-framed glasses pulled his tie loose and naturally drew out the crowd’s response. Satisfied by the ensuing roar, he flashed a refreshing smile and jumped down from the Stage. He then went around shaking hands with and greeting the seated students.
When Student J watched that member shake hands with her friend before returning to the Stage, she thought to herself:
‘…I wish we’d just gone back to the classroom and studied. Shouldn’t third-year students be exempt from this? Or at least let those who want to study actually study…. It’s not like they’re taking the college entrance exam for me. What a nuisance, seriously.’
But truthfully, she didn’t really want to study either.
Student J knew better than anyone that the source of her twisted, inadequate feelings wasn’t these idols or her friend—it was only her own insufficiency.
“This is so annoying, really….”
She envied the Kairos members on Stage, laughing brightly with microphones in hand, dancing freely. She envied them deeply.
Unable to fully enjoy this fortunate moment,
Yet unable to properly process the depression and inferiority that dragged her down from within.
While everyone around her screamed and celebrated in the Auditorium, Student J alone bowed her head and let her sorrow spill out.
Hoping that no one would notice her in this moment.
* * *
Kairos made excellent use of their allotted fifty minutes.
Beyond “Kick Off,” they performed their own songs including “Over the Night” and “Again, Spring,” which had just been officially released, for a total of three tracks, plus the special “More More,” which had perfectly captured the year-end spirit!
In the remaining time came an interview with the Third-Year Class 1 Homeroom Teacher, who had sent in a message, followed by a talk-and-play segment where they played games with students and distributed gifts.
Though budget constraints prevented them from hiring a professional MC, having Kairos with Kang Ha-jin and Seo Tae-hyun made that a non-issue.
-Hello, everyone. MC Jjini is back!
-I’m MC Hyuni! Thank you for having us!
With the two of them sporting flashing light-up polka-dot ribbon headbands and delivering their spirited hosting, the atmosphere in the Auditorium grew even more electric.
-Wait, Jjini! But isn’t today’s gift lineup incredibly impressive?
-Don’t even mention it, Tae-hyun! These are all gifts provided by JDZ, who’s partnering with us on the Youth Targeting Project, for Haedaeng Girls’ High School! What do you think, Kairos members?
-I plan to give a thank-you speech before every meal from now on.
-Honestly, if it weren’t for JDZ, I wouldn’t buy furniture at all.
-JDZ beds help me sleep so well. The mattress is comfortable too.
-Eun-chan, are you watching? We’re working hard.
They didn’t forget to deliver capitalist-style remarks exactly as intended by the project—fully exploiting the golden-spoon member’s influence.
-Actually, the last song is a bit late for this season….
-Really? Why?
-Well, it’s supposed to be sung at Christmas, isn’t it?
-No, the song title itself is “This Isn’t a Carol.” If anything, now is the perfect time to perform it.
-…Is that so?
The final encore was “This Isn’t a Carol,” currently Kairos’s most recognizable song. The specially arranged Band Live version of “This Isn’t a Carol” for the year-end stage drew an almost concert-level crowd sing-along.
The members themselves visibly became exhilarated by the palpable energy of the students, amplified within the auditorium’s space.
-Thank you! Until now―!
-We’re Kairos! Thank you so much!
With a synchronized bow, Kairos’s first Youth Targeting Project busking stage concluded successfully.
But Kairos’s schedule didn’t end there.
-Excuse us…!
They visited all ten third-year classrooms in person.
And…
-Snack delivery!
With sustenance for the day!
-If we just walk in, they might not like it since it could interrupt their studying, so let’s at least bring something to eat.
It was a calculated strategy of sorts.
Though it was only about two hours past lunch, at an age when they were still growing, hamburgers and cola were merely snacks—no problem at all.
The members all entered Class 1 together, where the story’s protagonist was, then split into three teams of two to cover the remaining nine classes due to time constraints, each visiting three classrooms.
“Hello, snack delivery~”
The door to Class 9, where Student J was, opened about twenty minutes before class ended.
Since it was physical education class and third-year Class 9 students were doing independent study in the classroom, they all let out small screams the moment they heard the knock and the door opened.
When Kang Ha-jin and Dan Ha-ru entered through the front door with hamburger boxes filling both their hands, the screams grew even louder.
“Sorry for interrupting your studies. We brought some hamburgers and drinks to help you stay energized—would it be okay if we came in for a moment?”
“Yes↗!!”
“You can stay forever!”
“Oh my, that would be a problem…? Ah, teacher. Hello.”
Faced with a more enthusiastic response than expected, Ha-jin chuckled softly and stood with Ha-ru in front of the podium. He then bowed respectfully to the Physical Education Teacher sitting in the chair at the front of the classroom, and the teacher, chuckling and patting his shoulder with a hand massager, gestured for them to proceed comfortably.
“So, shall we do something while you eat?”
“Yes―!”
“We’ll pass around the hamburgers and canned cola from front to back, so please relay them~”
Like a well-trained elite unit, the hamburgers and canned cola smoothly passed from front to back.
Even Student J, who had deliberately kept her earbuds in and tried to focus on her workbook despite Ha-jin and Ha-ru’s arrival, couldn’t resist the savory aroma of the hamburger placed before her desk and finally had to set down her pen.
I could see the classmate next to me making a fuss about how to eat the hamburger Kairos had given them, but Student J deliberately crunched down harder on her burger out of sheer spite.
Once the classroom had settled down somewhat, Ha-jin, who stood naturally with his hand resting on the podium as if teaching came naturally to him, spoke.
“Since Class 9 is our last class today, if you’re all okay with it, I think it would be great if we could chat with you all during the remaining class time… Would that be alright?”
“Absolutely yes!!!!! Absolutely!!!!!”
“Yes↗↗!!!!”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
“Thank you!”
Watching my classmates readily agree, I maintained a deliberately sullen expression.
How could I possibly say no to something phrased like that?
My stubborn mood still hadn’t found its way back to normal.
Whether I let my eyes drift aimlessly over the characters in the self-study workbook spread across my desk or not, Ha-jin continued smoothly with the conversation up front.
“Well, we actually did prepare something… but after visiting the other classes, I noticed they seemed to prefer just asking their own questions or talking about what they wanted to say? Does anyone in Class 9 have anything you’d like to ask us?”
Before he could even finish speaking, one of the most talkative and outspoken students in the class shot their hand up. When Ha-jin gestured for them to go ahead, the student pointed at the friend sitting right next to them and practically shouted.
“Oppa, this person is Desty!”
“Hey, don’t! Ah…!”
“She’s been a fan since the Miro Maze days! She even has merchandise in her locker!”
The classroom instantly erupted into excited chaos. The person in question turned bright red with embarrassment, unable to even lift her head, while her friends grew even more enthusiastic, gleefully exposing her fandom to the singers themselves.
At that, Ha-jin and Ha-ru, who had already experienced similar situations while visiting other classes, laughed playfully and spread their arms wide.
“Well, we can’t just stand by and do nothing then. Come here quickly.”
“…This is crazy, crazy. No, I can’t do this…!”
“Noona, there’s no time to be embarrassed…! Hurry, hurry!”
“Ugh, no, ah, please…!”
Amid the envious cheers of her classmates, the girl who was Desty walked forward trembling.
When she broke down crying, unable to accept their offer of a hug, Ha-jin and Ha-ru ended up shaking hands with her and signing the merchandise she had brought instead. Exclamations and camera shutter sounds erupted from all around in real time.
“Well, we’ve solved one. Does anyone else have a question? I’m happy to help with worries or concerns too. I’ve already done career counseling for about three people up front. Of course, I don’t know everything…!”
Ha-jin spoke amid the now-relaxed atmosphere.
At those words, my spite suddenly reared its head.
‘Career counseling? As if he’s even properly taken a single practice exam…!’
I raised my hand very impulsively. It was such a sudden action that even I didn’t understand my own thinking.
“Yes, the person wearing glasses over there.”
The moment I raised my hand, Dan Ha-ru pointed at me with a bright smile.
Finding even that smile irritating, I crumpled the March practice exam paper from my desk drawer in my hand and spoke.
“Then could you solve the English problem explanations for me?”
“…Yes?”
“Just solve the problems for me instead. …To save time.”
I could feel that the teacher, my classmates, and even Ha-jin and Ha-ru were somewhat taken aback.
I knew it was my sharp tone of voice more than the question itself that caused their reaction, but my behavior had become almost purely driven by spite at this point.
“Geez.”
“…?”
Just as the classroom atmosphere was about to turn cold and heavy.
A scoff echoed through the classroom.
Student J lifted her gaze from the floor where it had nearly fallen. In her line of sight stood someone at the teacher’s desk, rolling up his shirt sleeves and retrieving chalk.
“What a curious coincidence.”
With a confident expression, he brushed his hair back—his name was Kang Ha-jin.
“How did you know I was once a liberal arts student who studied desperately hard for the College Entrance Exam?”
He was the man who had experienced regression during his second attempt at the College Entrance Exam, specifically while taking the English listening evaluation.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————