Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 35

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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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35. One Who Reaches for the Sun (1)
“Did you pack everything?”
“Yeah. It’s enough. I’ll be home every weekend anyway.”
As I picked up my suitcase and slipped on my shoes, Mom watched me and grabbed the car keys, saying we should get going. She rattled off reminders about eating well, staying in touch—the usual parental concerns. I nodded along, loading my luggage into the trunk of the car parked in front of the house.
“What are you doing? Get in the passenger seat.”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
Without thinking, I moved toward the driver’s seat, but Mom looked at me with an expression that said she wondered if I’d been working too hard and lost my mind.
‘Oh right, I haven’t gotten my driver’s license yet in this timeline.’
This is why habits are terrifying. I’d have to get my license the next time I had a break.
“Are you really starting now? You barely rested.”
“Three days is plenty of rest. I probably gained two kilos.”
My three-day vacation had ended. That meant the real, full-scale survival show preparation was about to begin. I pulled out my phone and checked the text message I’d received the day before.

Thanks to the Quest completion window, I’d already known I’d made it into the top ten, but seeing it officially announced like this felt strange.
10th place, 10th place. It was an unfamiliar ranking, but I’d done well enough.
‘They’re not telling us the other trainees’ rankings?’
Since it was a survival show, I’d expected them to announce the hierarchy right from the start, but they’d even prohibited disclosure. They must be planning something with this.
I’d deliberately avoided getting detailed information about the survival show’s structure from Ji Su-ho. I could have found out beforehand if I’d really wanted to, but going in blind was better for genuine reactions and meant I didn’t have to calculate everything.
Knowing too much unnecessary information beforehand would just give me a headache the entire broadcast, constantly worrying about what I could and couldn’t say. I turned off my phone after reviewing the existing idol survival show formats I’d studied during my vacation, just to have a general sense of what to expect.
“We’re almost there… Ah. Is this it?”
“Mom, turn right here. I think that’s the way.”
“Okay, this must be it. Wow, the dormitory looks nice.”
After driving for a while, the navigation announced our arrival at the destination. Standing where the car stopped was a building that looked brand new, standing majestically and imposingly.
What? This is the dormitory?
‘…Does Miro have that much money?’
It seemed unlikely they’d built an entirely new building just for one survival show, but the massive Miro logo emblazoned on the building entrance felt decidedly unusual.
Had they brought on some massive investor? Even as I unloaded my luggage from the trunk, I kept looking up at the building skeptically, when Mom—who’d neatly picked up even the scarf I’d set down—patted my shoulder.
“Ha-jin.”
“Yeah.”
“….”
“Ah, stop worrying about it. If it really gets too hard, you can just―.”
“Come back first place.”
“….”
“Since you’ve decided to do this, make sure you place first, debut, and succeed so you can give your mother a comfortable life.”
I was left speechless. I’d naturally assumed she’d say something like I could quit anytime if it got too hard and come back home. But Mom just gave me that spirited smile I loved so much and pushed me toward the door, telling me to hurry inside.
“Yeah.”
But I didn’t feel bad about it. Unlike before, there was no sense of burden or weight on my shoulders.
“I’ll give it a shot.”
If anything, my cluttered mind felt like it was clearing up a little.
Let’s do this, Kang Ha-jin. I deliberately straightened my posture and walked forward with renewed confidence so Mom wouldn’t worry.
* * *
The moment I stepped into the building with such confidence, I couldn’t help but cry out loud.
“Is Miro insane?”
Damn, did I say that too loudly?
I quickly glanced around, but fortunately no one was there. The interior of the tower, which already looked flashy and ostentatious from the outside, was even more dazzling within. Just looking at that fountain and topiary sculpture in the center of the lobby was unsettling.
‘What kind of crazy person came up with this idea?’
Still, thanks to having seen the artificial waterfall at Rene Entertainment, the shock didn’t last long. I’d never heard anything about building a new headquarters.
I found myself staring endlessly at the fountain, wondering what kind of money madness this all was (did the Executive Director cough up everything he’d been hoarding? That couldn’t be it), when suddenly the color of the flowing water changed.
“Wow, it’s got LED lights too.”
I thought there was just a fountain show, but there was a light festival thrown in as a bonus. It shimmered in aurora colors, twinkling mysteriously between the water and topiary, probably meant to represent stars. Watching it sparkle and dance between the water and plants….
“It’s subtly irritating.”
There was something vaguely annoying about it. And I had a feeling I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
I spotted someone standing on the opposite side of the shimmering, undulating water, staring at the same thing with an expression not all that different from mine, and I called out to him.
“Lee Do-ha.”
“…? Oh. Hey.”
“Yeah, hey.”
Lee Do-ha, with a duffel bag bearing a prominent brand name slung over one shoulder, noticed me and gave a wave. Just by his physique alone, you’d believe he was an athlete. His casual style seemed pretty sporty too—he was wearing a branded athletic set with logos emblazoned on both top and bottom as he slowly approached me.
‘Oh, now that I think about it.’
Seeing Lee Do-ha reminded me of something. When I received the Quest completion reward, this guy was listed in the reward collection section. Before I could properly claim it, Mom asked me to fold some laundry, so I’d just marked it as important and set it aside. I remembered it now.
[System Alert: There’s nothing more to nag about now. I just hope you’ll handle things on your own.]
Was the system sulking?
Anyway, I was rummaging through the system window to check again when Lee Do-ha, who’d already made his way halfway around the fountain with those long legs, arrived in front of me and struck first with an urgent voice.
“Did you make it? The Special Class?”
“Huh?”
“Did you place in the top ten?”
Checking on the competition right after meeting? This guy was pretty cold too. Still, to ask a colleague you’re seeing for the first time in three days if they made top ten. Feeling a bit hurt, I responded curtly.
“I don’t know. They said we’re not supposed to share that.”
“Oh.”
“Read the guidelines carefully. Don’t cause problems later for nothing.”
I shrugged and played dumb, but Lee Do-ha scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed expression. Sorry. The brief apology that came back in a low voice was a bonus. I told him there was nothing to apologize for and flicked his arm, but—
“Ow.”
“…?”
“…Never mind. Let’s go up.”
Wait, is this rock?
Unlike Lee Do-ha, who didn’t even blink, I was the one who’d just punched a boulder with my bare hand, and I clenched my teeth.
So he’s the same age as me, huh? I kneaded my soft, flabby forearm absently as we moved forward.
“We’re heading to the 5th Floor, right?”
“Yeah, they said to come to the 5th Floor.”
As Lee Do-ha and I stepped into the elevator, it seemed they’d gone with some bizarre concept here too—the moment we entered, light spread rapidly from the floor of the previously dark elevator, gradually brightening the space. The floor indicator was mechanical, and the display continuously played some kind of media art and music videos of Miro artists.
…Did Miro win the lottery?
But even winning the lottery jackpot five hundred times and dumping all that money into X-stock would need to break through the ceiling of profit margins overnight for this kind of extravagant spending spree, and yet—surprisingly—it didn’t end there.
[5th Floor, 5th Floor―.]
“What is this, right place?”
“Yeah, this is the 5th Floor.”
The moment we stepped out of the elevator following the helpful AI’s guidance, we were greeted by a dead end. Just three large strides from the elevator, the short hallway ahead was blocked. And blocked by a very suspicious dark blue-green foliage wall at that.
“…Did we come to the wrong place?”
Just as I was thinking that, a monitor mounted on that suspicious dark blue-green foliage wall (I hadn’t even realized it was there in the darkness) suddenly lit up with a flash, and text that was clearly made with great care appeared on the screen.
〜〚Welcome to Miro Town〛〜
Life is often like an unsolved maze.
We welcome you trainees who will become Miro’s new wings.
Are you ready to escape this maze and reach the sun?
If you are ready, please open the door and enter.
※Please leave your belongings where they are※
“They’re throwing this at us without even a microphone check…?”
“….”
“No script reading, no pre-meeting, no rebranding at all, and they’re just jumping right in like this?”
I’d forgotten we were being filmed in my panic (though there hadn’t been a moment to realize it anyway), and as I rambled on, Lee Do-ha—equally flustered—looked at the monitor text once more carefully before turning to me. Damn, did I sound too realistic?
“Oh, sorry. I was just startled. I mean, this is―.”
“There’s no door here.”
“Huh?”
“There’s no door in the wall.”
Lee Do-ha pressed firmly against the foliage wall (probably a temporary partition) and stated it definitively. The monitor still only displayed that single command. Our eyes met in mid-air. And at the same moment, we both looked at the only ‘door’ in this space.
“…Could it be?”
The elevator we’d just exited had darkened again. When we pressed the button, the ‘doors’ opened and that light show unfolded once more. Lee Do-ha and I first gathered our luggage to one side as the monitor instructed, then stepped back into the elevator.
What kind of scale are these Miro bastards operating on?
“But we don’t know which floor we’re supposed to go to.”
The moment we entered, I looked around the elevator searching for hidden cameras, when Lee Do-ha called me over from the control panel with a puzzled expression. Should we go back down to the first floor? When he asked again, I recalled the monitor’s instructions, shook my head, and pressed the button for him.
The topmost floor on the control panel.
“No, we should go up.”
“….”
“Reach for the sun.”
Ding— With a clear, cheerful chime, the elevator sprang back to life.
No script reading. No preliminary meeting. No camera director. No PD or writer. And most shocking of all—no microphone. (This was the most astounding part. How on earth did the production team expect me to sync the audio?)
The survival challenge had begun!

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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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