Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 395

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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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395. How This Idol Group Maintains Discipline (2)
After the Idol Athletic Games concluded, Destiny’s members were living through what felt like their own festival.
Not only had Kairos, their parent group, delivered a stunning performance at the Games, but a confirmed article had dropped announcing that their second comeback—originally expected around October—would happen on September 15th, their debut anniversary.
Moreover, the concept teaser uploaded alongside the announcement was more than enough to ignite their curiosity.
Windy
@ Windy0910
What the heck
Is this horror???
Is this horror??????
Are they going horror??!?!????
(School hallway drenched in blood red.jpg)
(Dark crimson 【Ode to Youth】 title.jpg)
2,300 shares 4,303 likes
The fifteen-second teaser video exuded an unsettling atmosphere at first glance.
The setting was the same school that had appeared in both “This Isn’t a Carol” and “Spring Doesn’t Come.”
But the mood was entirely different.
Hwiiiiii―
Following “This Isn’t a Carol” with its cheerful 1 PM afternoon vibe, and “Spring Doesn’t Come” with its 4 PM sunset-tinged apocalyptic energy, this teaser for the “Ode to Youth” album captured something closer to an 11 PM atmosphere.
Desolate, silent, as if everyone had fallen asleep…
No—as if everyone had vanished. The camera panned through the empty school in that profound quiet. Like the world truly had ended after “Spring Doesn’t Come’s” music video, the school looked less like an abandoned building and more like ruins.
Hwiiiiii―
The continuous whistle and music box melody that echoed throughout added to the eerie atmosphere.
Against this horrifying backdrop, the camera continued sweeping through the school, with props and metaphors seemingly hidden throughout—likely symbolizing the members’ presence.
The video never showed the members directly, only capturing the stillness of a frozen world, with its climax arriving in the final three seconds.
【Case 02. And Then, No One.】
【Ode to Youth 靑春禮讚】
【20XX.09.15 18:00 KST】
Red letters blooming across a white wall.
Though the scene had been sanitized with some clever tricks to avoid censorship, fans who had spent nearly thirty years immersed in the idol industry and consumed countless pieces of content couldn’t possibly miss the hidden meaning behind this imagery.
Destiny’s members, having predicted at minimum a horror concept or at worst a post-apocalyptic thriller, had already moved past the happenings at the Games and were deep in comeback speculation.
[Starting with the title itself]
‘And Then, No One’
This is definitely a homage to “And Then There Were None”
Do you know what the original story is about?
People invited to a mysterious island
Die one by one to a song until nobody’s left
– Definitely. I mean, the kids didn’t suddenly become detectives or anything
– Maybe it’s like a school ghost story? Huge expectations
[I think their comeback really was pushed back, right?]
Seeing them drop the teaser today, it looks like they’re really committing to a horror concept
This kind of horror concept is naturally a summer thing in Korea anyway.
Originally it was April last time, August this time, and November next time, but—
Was that rumor about them pushing back the schedule because of the Silverkick accident actually true?
– There was a rumor like that?
└ When Silverkick had that accident before, someone claiming to be related to them spread a rumor that their comeback got delayed because of it and caused chaos inside Miro, but there was no verification so it’s just believe it or don’t.
– Honestly it’s possible, but with three comebacks a year, May-September is too vague anyway.
– It’s a shame, but they had a long prep period anyway, so why not just push it to August and do it then?
– Huh? What are you all talking about? May was originally the scheduled date, they almost postponed it because of the accident but went ahead anyway. And the members had a packed schedule that summer so a comeback was impossible.
└ This is right, and their agency seniors had a comeback in July anyway. No matter how big Miro got, they couldn’t handle two consecutive group comebacks in July and August.
└ What? Then that’s even more disappointing… They picked a horror concept and now a September comeback? Honestly it already feels stale.
Why are you getting all worked up over just one 15-second teaser that’s come out?
└ What kind of trash talk is this?
└ Just ignore them. Anyone can see they’re desperate to provoke the fans.
[Since the new song has a horror concept]
I still haven’t let go of my hopes for a dark, dystopian apocalypse concept.
We have Kang Ha-jin in our group, who’s an otaku about any genre.
Honestly, don’t you think he’d pull it off at least once?
Zombie films, horror, exorcism, war, revolution—there’s no shortage of material.
And I’m currently praying that this one time becomes this comeback.
– Anonymous1: Sorry to burst your bubble, but Ha-jin doesn’t watch horror movies.
– Anonymous2: Sorry to burst your bubble, but Ha-jin hates war movies.
– Anonymous3: Sorry to burst your bubble, but Ha-jin goes to church.
– OP: Can’t you guys even let me dream, you relentless bastards?
Everyone waited with their own hopes and worries, anticipating new news about the comeback.
However, until July, Kairos had been making the rounds at various events and festivals, proving the claim that they were the trend of the moment, but as if announcing their comeback preparations, they completely cleared their external schedule starting from the Idol Athletic Games.
The members continued to share updates through personal messaging apps and SNS, but they didn’t show their faces or do anything like that. The selfies and photos that used to come up almost daily like clockwork suddenly stopped, and ironically, it was Destiny who was taken aback—those who had grown accustomed to it as if it were natural.
Professor Task (on hiatus) 🔒
@rytntlqkf
Kairos levels in my bloodstream are insufficient.
‖
Soda 🔒
@soda_lll
You need to be precise with your words.
It’s a deficiency of handsome guys in my bloodstream.
‖
Professor Task (on hiatus) 🔒
@rytntlqkf
What?
My eyes have become so spoiled now
that I can’t be satisfied with anything but Kairos.
Now I even miss Ha-jin’s two-shot selfies.
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Soda 🔒
@soda_lll
That’s serious withdrawal…?
That’s actually a disease, you know.
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Mal-lang-gom 🔒
@malang2
Come on, sisters, don’t be like that.
Just cross over to Chinese dramas like I did.
The male leads in Chinese dramas these days are absolutely gorgeous.
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Soda 🔒
@soda_lll
So now you’re into Chinese celebrities too?
Your aesthetic taste really knows no borders—nationality is just a passport color to you.
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Professor Task (on hiatus) 🔒
@rytntlqkf
Sorry, but
my heart only responds to those fox-like eyes.
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Soda 🔒
@soda_lll
You sound exactly like my sister.
But then what’s the point if we can’t even see their faces?
Whether Kairos has Michelin-star visuals or five-star VIP faces, what does it matter if I can’t see them? Whether they grow their hair a meter long and dye it rainbow colors or add extensions, it’s all the same anyway. I don’t understand why they’re going to such lengths to hide everything.
At least we could see the members moving on 【Today’s Kairos】, but even that’s on a temporary hiatus right now.
Mal-lang-gom 🔒
@malang2
Just try sampling a bit, I’m telling you.
It’s fine to hold out until the kids make their comeback, right?
(Chinese romance drama male lead screenshot.jpg)
(Chinese male actor selfie.jpg)
Eventually, the Destiny fans who were dopamine-addicted began quietly searching for “filler content” to get them through the gap. After all, once the comeback happened, they’d have to work hard again, so they figured they might as well find a substitute to keep their daily lives vibrant until then.
Moreover, true to their reputation as “real beauty finders” on social media, they pursued their side interests with careful consideration.
[? Why is Phase’s fandom suddenly booming these days?]
Did something happen with them?
What happened to them?
They were rookie idols that only I knew about,
and their fan sign events were absolutely packed, but suddenly—
– Game Pot and Omelette Rice’s Youngest Member got close at the Idol Athletic Games and fans are flooding in
– B-liver fans whose fandoms got destroyed all went there anyway
– Destiny fans are also doing a lot of taste-testing; there were a lot of people who hated Kim 1-ho back during the Twoomy era
Ha-rang
@dohajin_luv
Haha, but I actually liked musicals from the beginning,
so I was into musicals even before I liked them… lol
Want me to recommend a few fun ones?
Sam, looking at your daily life lately, you seem to watch musical performances often—are you a musical enthusiast!?
I’ve been into musical actors recently and started looking them up, and I found your account so I’m happy…
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Park Jang-mi 🔒
@roxeeey
What I’m up to these days
Because of a friend who’s into actor fandom,
I’m going to press conferences and premieres, taking photos
Do-ha, wait for me
I’ll save up hard until noona makes her comeback
I’ll avert my eyes but try to stick to genres that don’t overlap with my main group,
and if they do overlap, only with those who aren’t in a rival position to Kairos,
enjoying it moderately while taste-testing, but ready to return anytime Kairos makes their comeback.
Moreover, the image of being a “real beauty finder,” the world’s greatest face enthusiasts, gave them absolution. As if discovering all the beauty in the world was their duty and right, they quietly began expanding into other genres.
A typical early stage of fandom attrition.
Such movements were never acceptable at this point, right before a comeback, but the Kairos members who should have been monitoring and preventing this fandom drift remained silent.
– Huh?
Until just today.
– Wait, Kairos is appearing?
└ ? Where?
And the place where they revealed themselves was far more unexpected than anyone thought.
– At an awards ceremony…
└ An awards ceremony when it’s not even year-end???
└ It’s a congratulatory stage for the Hwangryong Series Awards
└ ???
└ When is that?
└ Today
└ ?
└ They’re on the red carpet right now
Kairos is performing a congratulatory stage at the awards ceremony.
When?
Right now.
It was more than enough of an event to send the Destiny members who’d left home rushing back in a panic.
* * *
The Hwangryong Series Awards.
In an era where the TV and film market that everyone watched together was shrinking, and OTT services where individuals enjoyed their own preferences on palm-sized phones had become not just mainstream but the standard.
The Hwangryong Series Awards was a new awards ceremony targeting works broadcast on such platforms.
Compared to existing awards ceremonies, it had a shorter history and slightly ambiguous prestige, but precisely because it was an awards ceremony covering all dramas and variety shows aired in South Korea, it had the distinctive advantage of maintaining a relatively youthful and light atmosphere.
This awards ceremony was originally supposed to be held in July, but it suddenly got pushed to August—though there were complex circumstances among the adults involved….
‘That’s their business, but for us, it’s perfect timing.’
This awards ceremony’s congratulatory performance was originally a scheduled slot that had been cancelled because the ceremony was set for July.
It had conflicted with other important filming schedules and was ultimately declined, but for some reason the date suddenly shifted to August and we received an offer again. I was quite torn about it since we were busy preparing for a comeback, but thinking when else such an opportunity would come around, I decided to do it. And it turned out to be a perfectly timed stroke of luck.
“Hyung, is this how you tie it?”
“Come here.”
Ju Eun-chan approached me hesitantly with his necktie tied sloppily. I untied his necktie and retied it neatly, then tidied up his slightly disheveled bangs.
It was a common expression, but his hair was truly jet black, and it had been styled cleanly with wax for the first time in a while.
“How’s your body? You feeling okay?”
“Ah, I’m really fine, I’m telling you. I’m not even going to the hospital anymore.”
“Do you think aftereffects from a traffic accident come on a schedule? Tell me if anything feels off at all.”
“Yes.”
At my firm words, Ju Eun-chan nodded obediently despite his disgruntled expression. Then, looking at the group members beside him who were in the midst of getting ready, he spoke.
“…Destiny’s going to be so surprised, right? About today’s performance. What if nobody knows?”
“Come on, how could that be? The company should have released articles by now.”
“The response needs to be good… I heard awards ceremony stages don’t get much reaction, so I’m worried.”
Ju Eun-chan’s face was genuinely full of concern as he revealed his nervousness about the congratulatory stage.
Well, it would be hard to adjust—performing in front of fans who always cheer with chants and cheers, then suddenly performing in front of other entertainers, and at that, variety show hosts and actors we barely know.
“Eun-chan.”
“Yes?”
“You’ll be fine.”
“What, what do you mean?”
But at least I wasn’t worried about that.
“You look really handsome today.”
Today, I.
With our group’s three visual powerhouses who look more like actors than actors and our top-three physical specimens,
plus one baby rabbit warrior who’d reached max-level acting after repeating countless timelines—I was going to write history with a congratulatory stage more cinematic than any film.

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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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