Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 363

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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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363. Jeju Island’s Blue Night (5)
Contrary to Yoo Gun’s expectations (?) that there might be another twist upon arriving at Jeju Island, I grabbed a taxi the moment we landed at Jeju Airport.
Relieved that at least I wouldn’t be boarding a plane four times in a single day, Yoo Gun climbed into the taxi without even knowing our destination, simply following my lead.
‘…We’re really back on Jeju Island.’
I’d actually returned to Jeju Island.
The scenery of Jeju Airport that I’d seen and marveled at just hours ago still existed beyond the car window. Yoo Gun gazed up at the darkened night sky of Jeju Island.
“Driver, please take us to Dongmun Market Night Market.”
“Sure thing!”
At the mention of the night market, I remembered what I’d said earlier about flounder and squid.
‘So we’re really going to eat raw fish?’
Yoo Gun, whose only experience with sashimi was the occasional scraps he’d eaten while working as a server at a sushi restaurant, unconsciously swallowed hard.
Now that I thought about it, aside from the single roll of kimbap I’d eaten during the day, I’d been fasting all day long. Though Yoo Gun typically wasn’t greedy when it came to food—as the saying goes, the market itself is a side dish—right now he felt like he could deliciously chew on a stone.
“Actually, Jeju Island is most convenient when you rent a car to get around…. But we’re not old enough, and if we got into an accident, it’d be a hassle. Let’s just take taxis for today and tomorrow. That’s fine, right?”
“Well, I don’t really mind either way.”
“Jeju Island basically has a lot of tourists, so unlike Seoul, taxis pass by fairly often even without using an app, right? So instead of just turning on the app right away, sometimes it’s faster to head to a main street and wait.”
“…?”
“Just saying.”
Yoo Gun looked at me with a strange expression as I rattled off travel tips out of nowhere, but I just shrugged, saying I’d remembered and mentioned it. Though his attitude seemed somewhat suspicious, Yoo Gun quickly forgot that unease in the excitement of his first trip.
-You know what’s most important when renting a car? The model? Gas prices? No, it’s insurance. Don’t think you’ll save 50,000 won and lose 5 million. Just go with a major rental company, get full coverage insurance, and pick a good one. Safety isn’t where you skimp on money, you hear me.
-I sent you the accommodation info via message. There are lots of good apps these days, but did you know the official websites sometimes have pretty good package deals too? But we’re not staying at a hotel—it’s a private villa pension. Hotels require you to show ID at check-in, so I booked it just in case.
-Hey, listen. I’ll roughly tell you what we’re doing tomorrow. For Jeju Island travel routes, it’s convenient to just divide the island into quarters. Cut it into north, south, east, and west, and it’s easier to go around the connected sides, right? So tomorrow we’re going to quickly sweep through the northeast….
…But this older brother had talked too much to forget about it.
I spoke endlessly and without pause during the short ride to our destination. But it also felt odd to say it was strange.
Kang Ha-jin had always been talkative anyway.
‘Is this older brother excited about the trip too?’
Whether at home or at the dormitory, Yoo Gun, who had become adept at listening to his younger siblings chatter, didn’t take this version of me seriously either. As he listened, there were quite a few helpful pieces of information, and he even committed several to memory.
Though he didn’t know when he’d be able to come again, people’s lives were unpredictable after all.
“Thank you, driver!”
“Thank you.”
The distance from the airport to the market seemed quite short, as the two of us were able to get out of the taxi before long. Jeju’s night market, which wasn’t as large as I’d thought and yet more vibrant than the five-day markets that occasionally opened in neighborhood alleys, lay right before our eyes.
“Are you hungry? Let’s go. I’ll buy everything here today for you. …With the allowance my second father gave me.”
Perhaps because it was a weekday evening, there weren’t as many people as expected. After confirming the not-too-crowded market, I pulled down my ball cap and nodded toward Yoo Gun.
The lights of the night market visible behind me overlapped with the dark, dim night sky of Jeju Island, feeling like cascading stars.
“…If we eat all of that, we’ll have to run to the accommodation?”
“Ah, you’re supposed to gain about 3 kilograms when you go on a trip. It’s like a law that’s been enacted.”
“Seo Tae-hyun would be horrified hearing you say that.”
Yoo Gun, with his mask pulled up, laughed along with me and moved forward.
* * *
I, who had been acting like I was going to conquer every food stall in the night market, actually chose my food quite rationally once I entered the market.
-The hungrier you are, the less you should just grab anything to eat. The hungrier you are, the better the food you should eat, so there’s no compensation psychology.
It’s not like I keep seeing Seo Tae-hyun wielding a baseball bat every time I pick food, you know?
….
Ha-jin never fully answered that question, but regardless, his choice turned out to be excellent.
From sashimi to various Korean side dishes, kimbap, grilled lobster, and even donuts for dessert.
The two of them packed everything and returned to the Dormitory, consuming every last morsel without leaving a single bite. Not because they were hungry, but because genuinely, nothing tasted bad.
Hey, hey. Don’t snatch it. Eat slowly, will you?
Yoo Gun realized that all the sashimi he’d eaten before wasn’t really sashimi—just dead fish.
What he’d called ‘sashimi’ was merely something mushy and grainy, tasteless except for the soy sauce or vinegar dressing. He was experiencing for the first time that fresh, just-caught sashimi possessed something beyond that.
“…Gun, Yu Gun.”
“Mmm….”
“Hey, come on. Aren’t you getting up?”
Yoo Gun, who had collapsed into sleep, burrowed deeper under his blanket to escape Ha-jin’s hand trying to wake him. But Ha-jin had already anticipated this, effortlessly flinging Yoo Gun’s blanket off the bed. While Yoo Gun writhed in agony with his face buried in the pillow, Ha-jin played something on his phone.
Pam↗pam→ pappapap→ pam↘pa↗ra↘bam↘pam―
A trumpet fanfare that somehow shouldn’t have sounded so familiar blared powerfully through the Dormitory.
Despite Yoo Gun’s notoriously heavy sleep, the moment he heard the unnecessarily rhythmic brass instrument, his body straightened of its own accord and he jolted upright—a miracle independent of his will.
‘What is this? What song is this? Hypnosis?’
Barely opening his eyes while half-asleep and thinking ridiculous thoughts, he saw Ha-jin standing at attention before the bed, wearing a victorious smile.
“I knew you’d react. Memory really is terrifying, isn’t it?”
Seeing that devilish smile, Yoo Gun suddenly remembered what this trumpet sound was.
It was….
“But you went to the Military even though you were the family’s breadwinner? This country really is hopeless.”
…the Military’s wake-up call trumpet fanfare.
Twenty-year-old Yu Gun, who should have only encountered the Military through webtoons and dramas, had to open his eyes while thrashing against the distant, overwhelming memories of his ‘past life’ crashing down upon him. Yoo Gun clutched his head in anguish as he checked his phone.
【06:30 AM】
“Why are you waking me up at the crack of dawn like this….”
“You went to bed early yesterday anyway. I let you sleep longer than usual. Get up, quickly. We don’t have time.”
“But what….”
From the moment Ha-jin explained the rough travel itinerary yesterday, I hadn’t particularly expected a leisurely vacation….
Still, sleeping alone in bed without the younger ones’ thrashing for the first time in ages felt so distant, my eyes wouldn’t open easily. Ha-jin dragged Yoo Gun along and unceremoniously shoved him into the Restroom, saying:
“Since we’re leaving right away anyway, just wash your face quickly and come out.”
“But… where are we going? You should at least tell me so I can prepare.”
“Don’t you see your face is ridiculously swollen from eating late-night snacks yesterday? Let’s go do some light exercise and come back.”
With that, he handed over Yoo Gun’s workout clothes.
“When did you even take this out of the bag….”
“Since you’ll need to shower again after exercising anyway, just wash your face and brush your teeth quickly and come out.”
“Got it.”
Was this some morning exercise routine, running a few laps?
Yoo Gun thought without suspicion as he turned on the faucet at the sink. Morning fasting cardio was a routine he’d done frequently at the Dormitory anyway.
A good place, good weather, a good morning.
There was only one thing Yoo Gun overlooked, intoxicated by that atmosphere.
“Just wait ten minutes, hyung~”
“Got it.”
…The fact that Kang Ha-jin was the guide for this entire trip.
* * *
The moment I finished washing up and brushing my teeth as Ha-jin suggested, he thrust Yoo Gun’s phone—which he’d prepared beforehand—into my hands and hurried me outside without delay.
One might have found it strange that Ha-jin didn’t even give me time to grab my wallet, but I was already completely captivated by the morning scenery of Jeju Island that I was experiencing for the first time.
“How about we just run straight along the Coastal Road?”
“That’s fine.”
Since everything was new to me anyway, I obediently ran along the Coastal Road as Ha-jin suggested.
Black basalt cliffs and a sea just as dark and blue, with an open sky and picturesque cumulus clouds that made the water even more refreshing.
With nothing that wasn’t beautiful, I didn’t even realize I’d run more than an hour away from the Dormitory.
“Phew, should we rest a bit? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Weren’t we running to digest the meal we just ate?”
“Well, it’s digested now, so we need to eat again. And look, there’s a famous bracken soup restaurant nearby.”
Ha-jin pointed toward a Restaurant District near the Coastal Road.
Though I’d never been there, I’d learned through various media that Jeju Island’s bracken soup was famous, so I spoke playfully.
“Isn’t eating bracken soup on Jeju Island kind of like going to Busan and eating pork soup?”
“So have you ever gone to Busan and eaten pork soup?”
At Ha-jin’s casual retort, I shrugged my shoulders and moved my feet toward the Restaurant District first.
“No, everything’s a first for me.”
“That’s how first trips go, kid. You start with the basics. Let’s go.”
Despite eating so much last night, the moment I caught the scent of food inside the restaurant, hunger struck. It was only natural after running for an hour straight since morning.
“Auntie, we’re ready to order!”
Once we sat down in the restaurant, the menu turned out to be quite extensive.
After deliberating, the two of us ordered one bracken soup, one rib bone soup, and even the side of grilled meat that came with it—all in medium portions. It was definitely a menu selection I wouldn’t have managed to try if I’d come alone.
“We’re grateful for this meal.”
“Go ahead, eat well.”
The food that arrived faster than expected was all flavors I was tasting for the first time.
It felt both familiar and new at the same time, but the thought that came immediately upon tasting it was singular.
‘Grandfather would love this.’
The meat was tender, and the broth had a deep flavor that was exactly Grandfather’s taste.
The restaurant had floor-to-ceiling windows showing the beach, which added to the ambiance, and the side dishes were seasoned subtly but perfectly. And most importantly, the prices were reasonable.
“What are you thinking about so hard while eating?”
“I was thinking it would be nice to bring Grandfather here.”
“Yeah? Does Grandfather like this kind of soup?”
“He can’t have it often because of his health, but he does enjoy it when he can.”
Ever since that time long ago when I first confessed my family circumstances to Ha-jin.
I spoke about family in front of Ha-jin for the first time. Truth be told, I’d blurted it out half-drunk on the atmosphere, so I hesitated a bit after saying it, but Ha-jin, who heard the story, simply continued eating his meat without making much of it.
“Is that so? Next time we get the chance, it’d be nice to bring him along. A family trip with the tigers and all.”
“…That’s easier said than done.”
“Then I’m glad—at least there’s one thing that’s easy.”
“….”
My words sounded like sophistry at first glance, but Yoo Gun didn’t bother refuting them.
“You never imagined you’d open your eyes watching the waters off Jeju this morning, did you? That’s what life is—unpredictable.”
I placed the last piece of meat into Yoo Gun’s rice bowl and flashed him a grin. He recalled a similar moment from long ago.
When vegetables, not meat, had been piled onto his spoon one after another.
‘Could the Yoo Gun of then have ever imagined the Yoo Gun of today?’
Yoo Gun took the meat I’d given him in one large bite. The tender, chewy texture filled his mouth completely.
Across from him, I rested my chin in my palm, watching him with quiet satisfaction. Yoo Gun answered with a small smile.
“…You’re right.”
A satisfying start to the morning.

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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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