Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 377

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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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377. Project Insomnia Annihilation (4)
‘What should I do?’
Jeong Si-u, who hadn’t slept properly these past few days, observed the two younger men sitting before him with deliberate slowness, his jaw sharpened by exhaustion resting lightly in his palm.
‘It’s frustrating, though….’
He’d learned that Ha-jin and Do-ha had been asking around about him through Choi Yeon-woo from Endway.
-Si-woo, you’ve got it good.
-Yeah, I do.
-I haven’t even told you what’s good yet?
-Doesn’t matter. My life’s been pretty good overall.
He recalled that conversation with Choi Yeon-woo, whom he’d run into by chance at the Company’s artist lounge.
Choi Yeon-woo, his hair dyed yellow for comeback preparations, sprawled across the sofa with a smile full of amusement, then asked in a voice tinged with concern.
-You still not sleeping well these days?
-Who told you that?
-Your leader.
-…Ha-jin?
-Yeah. He called me asking about it. He wanted to know what helps with insomnia, so I shared some wisdom as a senior.
It was true that his insomnia had worsened recently.
Sleep wouldn’t come easily, and even when he managed to fall asleep, he’d often have nightmares or wake up almost immediately. He was certainly aware his physical condition wasn’t good, but it was an annual occurrence around this time, so he hadn’t paid it much mind.
In fact, compared to previous years, his current state was relatively fine.
“…So, what I’m trying to say is, honestly, I thought about asking you directly? But that’s how all problems are, right? Sometimes there are things you need to be careful about, you know? That’s why, really, we didn’t intentionally investigate you behind your back…! No, I feel so wronged. Ugh, hey, Do-ha, you explain. When I say it, it sounds like an excuse! It’s not!”
Si-u’s distinctly deep, dark eyes moved slowly.
Ha-jin, visibly worried about making another verbal mistake and causing another incident like last time, was one thing. But Do-ha being here at all was somewhat unexpected.
“…The idea of asking people around you was actually something I came up with.”
Moreover, the fact that he was the one who’d conceived this absurd idea of “investigating through acquaintances.”
Jeong Si-u nodded as if to say, go on. Do-ha continued, unusually showing signs of tension.
“We weren’t trying to deceive you. We understood this wasn’t something to approach lightly, so we had to first determine whether this was a problem we should be stepping into. That’s why we decided to ask people who know you better.”
“….”
“We failed to consider how disrespectful it might feel to you when you found out about the process. I’m sorry.”
Jeong Si-u contemplated the apology with a composed demeanor.
‘Should I be angry?’
But he wasn’t angry.
Actually, that had been true from the moment he first learned about this situation. Si-u had never been angry from the start.
At first, he was simply taken aback, then curious about what they were thinking, and then frustrated wondering what he’d done to warrant them investigating him like this.
“I was wrong.”
“About what?”
“About asking around about you behind your back.”
But now, in this moment.
Watching his younger brothers fidget nervously and ramble explanations while gauging whether he might be upset, the emotion he felt was, how to put it….
‘…endearing.’
A completely different sentiment from the convenience store incident last time.
It might be because I’ve regained both physical and mental composure compared to back then. But it felt like something more fundamental had shifted.
While I pondered what that might be, Gong Seok, who’d been sitting beside me, checked the time and spoke up.
“Then sort out the rest among yourselves. I’ve got another schedule, so I’ll head out.”
“Got it. I’ll call you.”
Whether he genuinely had another commitment or simply found this suffocating internal conflict too unbearable for someone of his naturally timid disposition, Si-woo didn’t bother stopping Seok as he prepared to leave.
Do-ha and Ha-jin seemed to be sending urgent “don’t go” signals with their eyes, but unfortunately, Seok—oblivious to their telepathy—quickly gathered his things and stood up.
Before completely leaving the table, he patted Si-woo’s shoulder twice and smiled softly.
“Don’t be too hard on the kids.”
“Hard on them?”
“They’re doing well, though. …I’m really going now. Prepare well for the comeback.”
“Yeah. Get going.”
“Hyung, Seok-i hyung. You really have to remember what I said, okay? You have to. When you go, start by memorizing your name and service number first…!”
“Please take care of yourself, hyung. Stay healthy and come back safe.”
With Do-ha’s respectful farewell, Gong Seok completely disappeared outside the cafe. Now that the only herbivore in our group had left, a savage silence settled over the table once more.
Lee Do-ha had never been much of a talker, Jeong Si-u showed no inclination to open his mouth, and Kang Ha-jin was being cautious—acutely aware that one careless word could spell his doom.
“….”
Jeong Si-u gently swept back the bangs he’d been growing steadily since the “Youth’s End” activities. They’d gotten quite long—long enough now that without proper blow-drying in the morning, they’d slightly obscure his eyes—and they flowed back down across his straight forehead.
Tilting his head slightly to the side, he tapped Ha-jin’s iced tea glass with his finger, watching the condensation drip down. When he lifted his gaze again, Ha-jin was looking at him with those same eyes as always.
Eyes filled with a kind of reverence, as if he’d discovered something that shouldn’t exist in this world.
Si-woo lifted the corners of his mouth and asked playfully.
“What’s Ha-jin thinking?”
“…Can I be honest?”
“Yeah.”
“That hairstyle really suits you incredibly well….”
“Again?”
“That I’m really grateful Kairos is a group that has Jeong Si-u…?”
“Are you afraid of me, or are you fascinated by me?”
Jeong Si-u asked with genuine curiosity. Even after spending two years together, I still couldn’t quite figure out what kind of person Kang Ha-jin really was.
Sometimes he seemed to fear me, yet other times he appeared to understand me better than anyone else.
Sometimes he seemed curious about me, yet at other moments he looked completely indifferent.
Just moments ago he was anxiously tapping his fingers, worried I might be angry, and now he was casually complimenting my face as if nothing had happened.
“Well….”
To my question, laden with the nuance of incomprehension, Kang Ha-jin scratched his cheek and answered.
“I’m not really scared.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Until last year, he’d trembled at the mere sight of me—we’d even had a huge fight over it—yet now Kang Ha-jin nodded calmly. He seemed to have completely forgotten how he’d asked his same-aged friend to explain on his behalf just moments ago, claiming it sounded like an excuse. His shamelessness was remarkable.
But Kang Ha-jin’s shamelessness didn’t end there.
“Hyung.”
“Go ahead.”
“Just take a look, please.”
“What?”
“Honestly, you’re not even that angry right now.”
Gone was the tense demeanor from moments before. Kang Ha-jin had reverted to his usual smooth attitude, leaning forward with his body. Noticing this shift in demeanor, Jeong Si-u’s eyebrows twitched with interest.
Ha-jin replaced the innocent, harmless eye-smile that Si-u had earlier insisted he drop, instead flashing his characteristic confident and composed smile as he spoke.
“Come on, look at it for me, hyung.”
I know you’re not actually mad.
At that brazen confidence, Jeong Si-u finally burst out laughing.
* * *
“Ha! That’s funny.”
The moment I saw Jeong Si-u laughing so openly, I knew my instinct had been right.
Jeong Si-u didn’t find the current situation particularly unpleasant.
“…So you really weren’t scared?”
If anything, he seemed almost satisfied.
‘So growling is off-limits, but investigating the surroundings is allowed. The judgment criteria are tricky.’
I was genuinely puzzled about what was different between then and now, but regardless of the reason, as long as the same situation didn’t repeat itself, I was grateful.
After laughing contentedly for a while longer at my response, Jeong Si-u finally nodded as if conceding and opened his mouth.
“Yeah. Honestly, I’m not that upset. I wouldn’t have gotten much of an answer even if I’d asked someone else anyway, so I’m not sure why you did it…. But I understand the intention.”
As he said this, Jeong Si-u leaned back comfortably, and my nearly thirty-year-old intuition radar activated within me.
If I needed to ask Jeong Si-u something, now was the moment.
I didn’t miss the opportunity and seized that timing.
“Then you could just tell me, hyung.”
“….”
“Your insomnia has gotten worse lately, hasn’t it? Is it related to Father? Are you sure you don’t need help?”
Since asking separately would likely mean I’d miss some questions, I poured out all my questions at once while I had the opening.
To be honest, unless Jeong Si-u was currently under attack from Dol-ja regarding the timeline that had passed, everything Si-u was experiencing right now was entirely his own matter.
Even if I came to know something about that matter, it might mean I couldn’t actually help with anything.
“And you’ve been having bad dreams too, haven’t you? Is it about Father? You said you were fine until the counseling sessions.”
But once I knew something, pretending not to know didn’t suit my nature.
Moreover, now that I’d realized Jeong Si-u was just as stubborn and obtuse about taking care of himself as I was, it made it even worse.
“….”
“…?”
After firing off my questions in rapid succession, I waited for Jeong Si-u’s response, but strangely, no answer came.
When I checked his expression to see what was wrong, Jeong Si-u looked genuinely shocked. It was almost the same expression as when he’d grabbed me by the collar before.
‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’
He usually fired back, but giving no answer at all wasn’t in my expected range of responses, so I was slightly flustered. Wondering if I’d messed up again, I quickly turned my head to check Lee Do-ha’s face beside me, and Do-ha was calmly eating tiramisu with a peaceful, ordinary expression.
I wanted to ask if the tiramisu was even going down his throat right now, but the fact that Do-ha, who had high objective judgment, was showing such composure was a positive sign. So I followed Do-ha’s lead, kept my mouth shut, and waited for Si-u’s next reaction.
“…Haha.”
“…?”
“Hahaha, pffft, ahahaha!”
Whether he was organizing his thoughts or coming to terms with the situation.
After a long silence, Jeong Si-u suddenly burst into laughter.
It wasn’t the kind of bewildered, exasperated chuckle that had escaped him earlier—this time, it was genuine laughter born from a truly good mood.
“What, what is it? Why are you laughing when I’m being serious?”
I’d gathered all my courage to ask that question, and here you are laughing?
Even as I protested, Jeong Si-u continued laughing like a picture come to life, tears streaming down his face, before finally wiping them away with his palm and speaking.
“Ha-jin.”
“Yes?”
“You’re really something.”
“Huh?”
So what exactly is that supposed to mean?
Faced with our resident airhead god’s utterly incomprehensible assessment, countless question marks materialized above my head.

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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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