Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 371

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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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371. Finding My Runaway Younger Sibling (5)
Meanwhile, Kang Ha-jin, the eldest son of the Kang Family—blissfully unaware of his Younger Sibling’s touching circumstances (and had he known, surely moved to tears)—was currently entertaining a rather different thought.
Something along the lines of: “I have no idea why my Younger Sibling isn’t upset, but since they say it’s fine, that’s a total win for me….”
“I’ll dig in―.”
“Go ahead, eat plenty.”
I was in the middle of feeding my Younger Sibling.
The table was laid out with freshly cooked rice and a full spread of Mother’s home-cooked side dishes that Ha-won had just delivered.
Chopsticks in one hand, chin resting in the other, I raised my eyebrows in disapproval.
“I was going to go out and buy you something delicious.”
“It’s too hot outside. And Mother’s cooking tastes better anyway.”
“Well, that’s true… but you came all the way to Seoul, and I wanted to treat you to something special instead of home cooking. I’m making good money.”
“I know—you already drained my tuition.”
Ha-won answered flatly, placing a strip of crimson-seasoned seasoned vegetable atop the white rice and taking a neat bite. As I watched Ha-won chew carefully, my expression softening, Ha-won glanced sideways at me, signaling discomfort.
Recognizing that familiar signal, I quickly averted my gaze and began eating as well. The truth—that I’d skipped both breakfast and lunch due to lack of appetite, and was now forced to eat because of my Younger Sibling—was mine alone to keep.
“Why did you change your number?”
I resumed my questions when Ha-won had emptied about half the rice bowl. Though the question came abruptly, Ha-won seemed to have anticipated it, pulling out a new phone from their pocket and waving it.
“The screen on my old one shattered, so I switched to this one.”
“You could’ve just replaced the phone—why change the number too? You’d been using that number for a while, hadn’t you?”
“If I switched carriers, I could combine the plan with Mom and Dad’s and get a discount, so I figured I might as well change everything.”
“Ah. Well, if that’s the case….”
I nodded without suspicion at the smooth explanation. After all, my Younger Sibling was always more thorough and competent than me at everything, so I trusted they’d handled this properly too.
But the interrogation wasn’t over yet.
“But why didn’t you check KakaoTalk? If your account changed, it would’ve shown as an unknown user, and I would’ve known. But your profile picture stayed the same, so I had no idea.”
“Ah….”
Ha-won, who had answered my questions smoothly until now, faltered at this one, their words trailing off. They seemed to be searching for an answer, hesitating for a moment before finally responding more slowly.
“…The account’s still the same—I was busy, so I just installed the app on the new phone without logging in. I told you I’m swamped with finals prep.”
“Then how are you staying in touch with other people? By text?”
“With Mom and Dad, I just call anyway, so it doesn’t matter. For school stuff, my Peer Soldiers pass along messages…. I’ll get around to it soon.”
“Yeah, whatever. I’ve been too busy to even look at my phone. Lately these sasaengs keep finding my number and sending messages—it’s exhausting.”
Right. Actually, it was because of those sasaengs.
That confession rose to Ha-won’s throat but was swallowed down along with a fresh spoonful of rice.
The day after the festival, overwhelmed by an endless barrage of messages on their phone—though Ha-won still wasn’t sure how they’d gotten the number—they’d dropped it in shock, cracking the screen. Better not to mention that.
‘Besides, I’ll be creating a new account soon anyway, and things will die down on their own with time….’
I didn’t want to add to my brother’s already overwhelming workload. Besides, I’d mentally prepared myself for this sort of thing ever since he announced his idol debut.
Just today, worried that someone might follow me from school to home, I’d bounced between friends’ studio apartments before finally stopping by the Hometown for the first time in a while.
If I told my brother about all this, he’d definitely spiral—soft-hearted, emotional, and prone to fragile mental states as he was. He’d lose sleep worrying about me. Being the extreme person he is, he might even suddenly go live on broadcast and say something like “Don’t touch my Younger Sibling” and cause a scene.
While I appreciated his care, unfortunately, being mentioned again in that manner would be even more unwelcome.
So Ha-won decided to sacrifice the part for the whole, sharing only half-truths with my brother—the essential facts stripped of their deeper context.
“Anyway, I’ve been really busy lately. I went home for the first time in a while, and Mother said I should bring you some side dishes, so here I am.”
“If you went home, you should’ve rested a bit. You must’ve taken public transportation. In this heat, carrying all that….”
“I had plans in Seoul this evening anyway, so I just came by. And it’s not that hard to get here by bus.”
“Really? Then that’s a relief… What time is your appointment? Should I drive you?”
“You don’t even have a car. Forget it, I can go alone. It’s close.”
“Hey! I do have a car and a license! It’s just a company vehicle!”
“You want me to show up to my friends’ meetup in one of those huge company vans? I’d rather die.”
At Ha-won’s pleading tone—begging me not to draw attention—I closed my mouth with a soft clicking sound.
‘When I buy a new car, I absolutely have to get something inconspicuous and ordinary, one of those domestic models you see everywhere on the streets.’
Of course, I didn’t have the audacity to buy a new car so casually yet, and if word got out to the fans that I’d bought a new car in my second year, rumors would definitely spread that ‘that bastard finally caught celebrity syndrome and is dating someone.’
That was still a distant future concern anyway.
Realizing that everything I’d done so far had been my own solo struggle, and simultaneously feeling relieved, I suddenly lifted my head as a question occurred to me.
“Wait!”
“…Geez, you scared me.”
“But why didn’t Mother say anything? She didn’t tell me you changed your number, didn’t tell me she was bringing you side dishes! Even though she knew everything!”
My younger sibling sighed at my bewildered expression and the questions I was raising, as if to say ‘you still don’t get it?’
“Don’t you know Mother?”
“….”
“Obviously she was just pretending not to know to make you reflect a little. Besides, I’ll find out everything once I go to the Dormitory and see you soon anyway.”
“Why would she pull a prank like that! My heart nearly stopped!”
“Well, I guess she found it funny watching you squirm.”
“….”
“Mother’s always liked teasing people anyway.”
…Ah, Mother.
It became abundantly clear in that moment where the eldest son of the Kang Family had inherited his reckless sense of humor from.
* * *
After finishing our meal, I washed the dishes while Ha-won looked around the Dormitory. I’d seen it before through video calls with my brother occasionally, but there was definitely a difference between watching through a screen and seeing it in person.
“….”
I’d never been told whose room was whose, but the atmosphere and decorations in each space made it abundantly clear who the owner was. The moment Ha-won stepped into what was unmistakably my room, he let out a small exclamation upon seeing a framed photograph hanging on one wall.
“…Ah, that’s from back then.”
The day of the Miro Maze final live broadcast.
A photograph of my brother in a masculine sheer back top and leather pants, gazing up at flower petals falling from the sky, captured in vivid detail. The moment he saw the photo, it felt as though the very air and scent of that day came rushing back, and a faint smile crossed Ha-won’s lips.
My brother is truly loved.
Just from this single photograph, he could feel it deep in his bones, and Ha-won thought it was truly fortunate. And somehow, he felt he understood why Ha-jin had chosen to hang this particular photograph—taken before he’d even debuted—among all the countless photos he could have displayed.
Ha-won’s gaze naturally drifted to what hung beside it.
“…Huh.”
Beside his own photograph, Ha-jin had hung another frame. Two frames, each slightly larger than a palm, were aligned vertically side by side.
One was a family photo taken together on Ha-won’s graduation day, and the other was….
“You have to admit it’s well done, right?”
…his own drawing.
A crimson sun hanging above a golden hill, as if it could swallow the entire world.
A hastily submitted sketch—the work I’d sent when suddenly notified to submit pieces for the flea market.
After finishing the dishes, Ha-jin approached Ha-won’s side and spoke while gazing at that “regrettable” painting.
“Man, I really love the way you draw the sky.”
In that moment, Ha-won felt a corner of his heart—weary and busy with recent happenings—swell with quiet pride.
‘I am loved.’
He had just realized anew that just as he took pride in every moment of Ha-jin’s life, Ha-jin likewise cherished every moment of his with equal pride.
Yet Ha-won remained someone clumsy with expression, so he could only stare blankly without hiding his embarrassed look.
“…No, it’s a bit regrettable. I could’ve done better.”
“Yeah, then next time I’ll ask for something even better.”
“I’ll charge you a high price, so make sure you earn a lot of money.”
Ha-won fired back without losing to Ha-jin’s cheeky joke, and Ha-jin chuckled softly before heading toward the clothing rack where his outfit hung. It was about time to head to the Company and prepare for recording.
While changing clothes, Ha-jin asked Ha-won, who was still looking around the room.
“By the way, are you really okay with this? What if everyone at your department finds out I’m your older brother?”
“Oh, that.”
Ha-jin had thrown out the question with considerable worry, but Ha-won seemed unbothered again. With hands clasped behind his back, he carefully examined the figurine Do-ha had displayed with care, and answered.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why? You hate that kind of thing.”
“Since rumors spread from the moment I enrolled anyway, everyone who needed to know already knows, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Huh…?”
Ha-jin, pulling his head through a loose short-sleeved shirt, made a dumbfounded expression at those words. Ha-won shrugged and continued.
“You think there are no fans of your debut at our school?”
Ha-won recalled the drinking gathering last February, when the first batch of freshmen had gathered.
Ha-won, who resembled his brother in having neither interest nor talent for alcohol, desperately didn’t want to go, but was forcibly dragged along by a friend from the same Art Academy who had passed the entrance exam with him, pleading that they go together even if it killed them.
“So we were introducing ourselves one by one, and the moment I said ‘I’m Ha-won Kang,’ two girls went ‘No way!’ They’d suspected it from when I first came in because I looked like you, but when they heard my name too, they were like ‘Told you so.'”
“So then….”
“Well, still, no one’s directly asked me about it until now, so it was unofficial until recently. Now it’s basically semi-official? But anyway, everyone in our department is so busy with assignments and projects that they don’t have the energy to bother me about it. Really busy. Insanely busy. So busy they can’t even tell if the person next to them is an idol’s younger sibling or their grandfather.”
“….”
“Do you know what it’s like being a Fine Arts student…? Staring at paper all day, we have to rub it with our fingers first just to tell the front from the back, and our eyes feel like they’re about to pop out. When we go to liberal arts classes and say we’re Fine Arts students, those bastards are like ‘Then draw me a portrait’ and it makes me want to throw away what little social skills I have left and just explode. Do you know this pain?”
“…Yeah. I was wrong, at least.”
Not sure what it was about, but seeing his younger sibling seemingly in such distress, Ha-jin quietly pulled on his pants. Yet even so, that mouth of his couldn’t help but keep running, spitting out a second and third verse.
“…Wait, but then! I could’ve just said this was my younger sibling’s school at the festival….”
“What…?”
“…No, if everyone already knew anyway, I could’ve just…! Played it cool! Said this was my younger sibling’s school…!”
“What…?”
“No, sorry. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t. I didn’t, okay. Relax your eyes, you bastard. You look so scary when you get that serious expression because you look like me.”
So that’s why I was so afraid of Seo Tae-hyun—it must’ve been because he reminded me of Ha-won….
Finally understanding the source of his fear, Ha-jin quietly shut his mouth.
The original was always the scariest after all….

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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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