Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 360

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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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360. Jeju Island’s Blue Night (2)
【Q. Today’s ‘villain’ strategy?】
【Tae-hyun: Hmm…】
There’s one fact people keep forgetting, obscured by the frame of being the ‘only sane one’ sandwiched between my deranged older brothers and my chaotic younger siblings—.
【Tae-hyun: But honestly, I kind of want to go to Jeju Island alone?】
【Production Team: …Pardon?】
【Tae-hyun: I’m thinking that might actually be healing for me.】
【Production Team: So then…】
【Villain role abandoned just 5 minutes into filming…?】
In the end, Seo Tae-hyun was still Kairos, after all.
【Tae-hyun: Ha, but I have this kind of disease where if I get caught up in something like this, I absolutely have to pull it off well…】
【Tae-hyun: (dry wash of face)】
【Tae-hyun: And I don’t want to see the members getting excited when I get punished….】
【Two ‘excited members’ that somehow came to mind】
【(Photo of Ha-jin and Yu-gun with pixelated eyes)】
Thus was born the villain Seo Tae-hyun, obsessed with screen time. And the fact that I and Lee Yu-gun awakened this in him was quite symbolic, damn it.
【Tae-hyun: Why? We just go up the capsule, right? Let’s just try it.】
【Yu-gun: (exasperated)】
【Yu-gun: Please just come down, you.】
Following the villain’s rule that he ‘absolutely must become the final partner in the last turn,’ Seo Tae-hyun played the fool meticulously until that final turn arrived. Acting ignorant about the game mechanics was just the basics—he didn’t hesitate to spread false information as if he were carelessly divulging the hints he’d received.
He even used an item when persuading Lee Yu-gun at the end.
-What is this? It was definitely on the virtual casting board….
【Tae-hyun carefully offering something to a confused Yu-gun】
-If there are three people, you should’ve suspected the other two without fail, you idiot?
【ITEM ‘ERASER’ – The only item the ‘villain’ can use. Just once, it can create a single false hint.】
【※ However, be warned that false hints will always bear a mark indicating they’re fake!】
The meticulous way he saved it until the very last moment, then used it three minutes before the end, leaving Lee Yu-gun no time to verify the facts—that was quintessentially Seo Tae-hyun.
Truly a frightening kid…. I need to stick with him for the long haul and stay on the same side….
“We’ll be moving now!”
At the Assistant Director’s call, we boarded the plane together on good terms. Originally, the schedule was for the two of us to each go to Jeju Island separately, but with the stalker incident not long ago and various safety concerns, we decided to take the plane together and return together.
Though once there we’d have to move separately and shout “I love Destiny” from different spots on Hallasan Mountain, it was still oddly comforting that this lonely walk wasn’t entirely solitary.
“But what have you been staring at since earlier?”
After boarding the plane and fastening my seatbelt while waiting for takeoff, Lee Yu-gun had been glued to his phone the whole time, which struck me as odd. If it were me or Seo Tae-hyun, sure, but he wasn’t the type to usually cling to his phone like that.
“Ah, why are you looking at someone else’s phone without permission?”
“…? Hey, if you get serious on me here, I’m going to get serious too.”
Curious about what he was doing, I tried to sneak a peek, but Lee Yu-gun’s reaction was strange. This kid who usually couldn’t care less if someone looked at his phone suddenly turned off the screen and hid it to the side!
‘Now that I think about it, he seemed kind of flushed the whole time he was looking at his phone….’
Is this bastard dating someone!?
I knew better than anyone that with our murderous schedule, there wasn’t even time to meet people, let alone date—but you never know. Love blooms even in war, and if idols couldn’t date because they were busy, then all those who got hit with lovegrams wouldn’t be idols but just fools.
Moreover, Lee Yu-gun was the member with the least ambition in the idol industry.
I love dancing, I love the stage, and the fact that I can earn money doing it means I’m simply doing my best—unlike someone like Seo Tae-hyun, who was born wanting to be a teenage idol, my entire way of thinking is fundamentally different.
‘Now that life’s gotten easier financially, is he suddenly thinking about dating? Does that mean all those times he said he was going back to his hometown…?’
Once suspicion took root, there was no end to it.
Still, gathering evidence came first. He wasn’t the type to confess just because I asked “Are you dating?” so I leaned back against the seat, pretending to be indifferent.
“Yeah, well. But the plane’s about to take off soon, so we should switch to airplane mode, right?”
“…Oh.”
The moment I spoke casually, he seemed to listen intently, glancing around before picking up his phone again. Then he started frantically doing something on it while keeping a wary eye on me, so I closed my eyes and prepared to sleep—only then did I feel him finally relax his posture.
‘Just wait. I’ll definitely find the evidence.’
I didn’t rush. I simply waited.
Since I naturally had sensitive ears and felt uncomfortable during takeoff and landing on every flight, I kept my eyes shut without moving a muscle until the plane safely reached cruising altitude, as if I were dead.
“….”
I cracked my eyes open again when the plane was already passing over the middle of the sea. Since the flight to Jeju Island was only about thirty or forty minutes at most, I figured we’d be preparing to land soon.
“…Are you asleep?”
And in that short span of time, Yu Gun had fallen asleep.
Seeing him passed out with his phone gripped tightly in one hand, it seemed he’d unknowingly dozed off while using his phone on the in-flight WiFi.
‘Is this the moment?’
Yu Gun was the type who slept heavily. The kind of guy who, living with the younger members who rolled around everywhere while sleeping and even destroyed bed frames in their sleep, had to be that way to survive.
“….”
And I was the type who never missed an opportunity.
I’d known since debut that Yu Gun’s phone password was his birthday, 0901. I hadn’t discovered it through some perverted snooping—I’d just picked it up from living together.
I’d even seriously warned him once about how recklessly he’d set his password, asking what he’d do if he got hacked by sasaengs or bad people, but he’d just waved his hand dismissively, saying “There’s nothing worth stealing from me anyway.”
【0901】
【Unlocked】
…I genuinely hadn’t planned to become one of those “bad people.”
‘Anyway, it’s come to this, Yu Gun.’
In any case, I hoped our Yu Gun would learn from this incident and take security more seriously. I carefully checked Yu Gun’s phone screen.
“…Huh?”
He must have fallen asleep while using his phone, because the apps he’d been staring at were still open on the screen.
“What is this….”
I was so nervous, worried that she might be a woman I really didn’t know and that we’d have some ridiculous conversation like “Hey babe, I’m going to Jeju Island lol” or “I’ll go there and secretly shout your name and be all crazy haha,” but all that showed up on my phone was just an ordinary search bar from a regular portal site.
When I clicked the search bar, his search history from while he was coming appeared in a list.
【Jeju Island souvenirs】
【Souvenirs near Hallasan Mountain】
【Things to see near Hallasan Mountain】
【First time in Jeju Island】
【Things to see at Hallasan Mountain】
【Jeju Island travel】
【Jeju….】
It was clearly the clumsy search history of a twenty-year-old going absolutely crazy with excitement about visiting Jeju Island for the first time.
* * *
“It seems like having both of you head toward Hallasan Mountain would be difficult in terms of the course layout and broadcast visuals, so it’s been decided that Ha-jin will go to Seongsan Ilchulbong instead. The travel time will be a bit longer, so the return time might end up being later than expected.”
After arriving at Jeju Airport, I separated from Yu Gun and boarded the vehicles the production team had prepared. The Production Director who had followed me explained the revised course with courtesy.
Since I disliked dietary management more than mountain climbing anyway, the change to Seongsan Ilchulbong didn’t bother me much. My only concern was one thing.
“What about Yu Gun?”
“Yes?”
“He’s close by, isn’t he? I was wondering if he’d take an earlier flight and go ahead.”
“Ah… No, the entertainment agency requested that you two travel separately because airport security would be more difficult to manage if you split up.”
“So you’re saying he’ll wait until I’m done and then we’ll go together?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then that’s fine with me.”
The moment I heard the answer I wanted, I nodded in agreement and added a playful remark.
“I can’t stand the thought of him going home alone, you know.”
With a comment that was 100% for the cameras, we drove along the coastal road toward Seongsan Ilchulbong without stopping. Perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon before the holiday season, there weren’t as many cars as expected, so we arrived faster than anticipated.
“Wow, the weather is insane.”
The moment I stepped out of the car at the parking lot, what caught my eye was a brilliant blue sky dotted with pure white clouds, and Seongsan Ilchulbong radiating such vibrant greenery that the word “green” seemed inadequate to describe it.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
While I couldn’t quite remember when I last visited, I clearly recalled when I first came.
During my second year of high school, when our school trip was to Jeju Island. That’s also when I first discovered that my ears were sensitive enough to easily develop serous otitis media from airplane pressure changes.
With the philosophy of “the sea over mountains,” I hadn’t set foot on Seongsan Ilchulbong or Hallasan Mountain since then, but I had visited Jeju Island itself several more times after that.
Once before enlisting in the military after receiving a university scholarship, once after discharge and before starting work, and the last time was…
‘Was the last time after I quit my job?’
For someone like me who wanted to travel but found overseas trips financially burdensome, off-season Jeju Island was a pretty good option.
No crowds, no buildings, beautiful nature, stunning scenery. Just submerging myself in the sea was perfect for clearing my mind.
“Ha-jin, shall we head up?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
I climbed Seongsan Ilchulbong while gazing at the breathtaking landscape. Though it was a weekday afternoon, there were still some tourists, causing occasional commotion, but we safely reached our destination.
The sun was slowly setting, and the sky was tinged with mysterious shades of orange and purple. I found myself thinking that this scene was almost too beautiful for a brief penalty video to be attached as a post-credits clip.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
“Yes, let’s do it.”
“Although all the tourists here are immersed in sentimentality, quietly admiring the sunset and the sea, I’m going to suddenly raise my voice and make a love confession.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“It’s not from the summit of Hallasan, and doing it here makes me look like a madman confessing love on a mere hill, but I’m still going to raise my voice and call out the name of Destiny…”
“Ha-jin?”
“Yes.”
“Do it.”
“Okay.”
That’s pretty firm.
The Production Director cut through my attempts to lay groundwork with a single decisive statement, so I quietly closed my mouth.
As I stood facing the sea, the beautiful landscape filled my entire vision, and the only word that came to mind was “awe.” Those past days when I gazed at this same sea and worried, “What will become of my life from now on?” felt like they belonged to a previous lifetime.
As the lead vocalist of Kairos, the world’s greatest voice, an idol ranked first as someone who could call for rescue even if stranded on a deserted island—I lived up to that title and, with my abdomen tensed firmly, let out a whale-like roar.
“Destiny! Destinyyyyyy!!!!!”
“Whoa, you startled me.”
“I! Love! You so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The Assistant Director holding the camera and the Production Director both took an embarrassed step backward. My resonant confession, ringing so loudly it seemed to create echoes that hadn’t existed before, shattered across the eastern waters of Jeju Island, mingling with the sound of waves.
I turned to face the camera and asked seriously.
“I think my diction got a bit slurred just now. Should we do it again?”
“No, no….”
* * *
After re-shooting the penalty performance scene about three more times, I was given approximately ten minutes of free time. The excuse was that we’d arrived earlier than expected and still had plenty of time before the flight, but it seemed the Production Team had actually planned generously from the start.
“Oh, then could I make a quick call? There’s someone I want to show the view to.”
“Ah, yes, yes, of course. Would it be okay if we filmed it?”
“Ah, well…. Yes, no problem.”
At the Production Director’s signal, the Assistant Director, who had been organizing luggage, quickly grabbed a handheld camera and followed me. I positioned myself at the best spot to capture the sunset over the sea, then searched for my phone to call the person who had been on my mind all this time.
“By the way, who are you calling? The group members?”
The Assistant Director asked with curiosity in their voice—half genuine interest, half wanting to capture more footage. I nodded while looking at the camera.
“Ah, yes. I’ll show off to the group members too, and to my younger sibling and parents….”
“Ah….”
“But the person I’m calling right now isn’t the group members or family.”
“Then…?”
I simply smiled at the Assistant Director’s questioning expression, then without hesitation, I initiated a video call to the number saved in my contacts.
I deliberately angled my body so my phone screen would be clearly visible to the camera, and as I waited for the signal, the person I’d been eagerly anticipating soon appeared on the screen.
-…Ha-jin?
“Beloved, respected, and cherished CEO, hello! Kairos’s youngest member, Kairos’s future, Kairos’s new sprout! Kang Ha-jin reporting in. I hope you’ve been well and healthy?”
-Huh? Ah, yes, well…. Hehe….
Commonly known as Han-father, Han-CEO, and occasionally Seo Tae-il when work wasn’t going well.
The mastermind behind Upia’s Seo Tae-il staying at the same company for thirteen years, and the top-tier national treasure of the male idol world who made all Stone Board fans wonder “How did Han Se-won pull this off?” and “Did Han Se-won save a nation in a past life?”
-I’m already full just watching you all succeed~
It was Han Se-won, the representative of Miro.

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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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