Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 409

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

409. A Celebration of Youth (1)
‘Wow. The awakening buff is insane.’
Watching Yu Gun’s stat increase in real-time, I couldn’t help but doubt my own eyes.
The Special stat had skipped from B all the way to S, and the skill itself had been completely overhauled—and that was just the beginning. His other abilities had jumped up anywhere from one to three tiers.
Was this the legendary “closed-eyes character opens their eyes” effect I’d read about in novels, seen in webtoons, and discovered in anime?
‘Even so, this is ridiculous. If a single stage performance can cause this kind of jump, isn’t that completely broken? Or is this just a temporary buff?’
I kept a close eye on the stat window throughout the recording, half-expecting the numbers to drop back down. But Yu Gun’s stats remained unchanged.
And what that meant was crystal clear.
‘Either Yu Gun genuinely awakened through this stage performance….’
Or he’d always been capable of this level, but had been limiting himself all along.
I’d been thinking about this for a while now—there was considerable narrative trickery embedded in this system and these skills. The way it quantified how much of someone’s latent potential was being drawn out, letting me gauge each member’s abilities individually, was one example.
And the way recruiting teammates worked, where my interaction with the other person became the most crucial factor reflected in the system—that was another.
Through all these experiences, I’d come to understand that it was premature to make snap judgments based solely on what appeared here.
‘So these letters and grades might also be influenced by deeper relationships and factors I don’t fully understand.’
No matter how I thought about it, Yu Gun’s stage skill couldn’t have jumped from a B-tier mess to A-grade in an instant. It wasn’t like he’d suddenly found his voice on stage.
Which meant this dramatic level-up was ultimately the result of Yu Gun’s internal growth having a major impact.
By simply changing his mindset, Yu Gun had become someone capable of attempting far more in just a few minutes than he had been before.
‘…I should only use this skill as a reference going forward.’
It felt dangerous to judge someone’s abilities and limitations based on this alone.
After all, Do-ha’s singing skill, currently F-grade, might suddenly jump several tiers through some unexpected catalyst.
But still….
“I mean, I did know that Yu Gun raps. But when I saw him in the Survival Program back then, I remember he really stood out more in dancing than in rapping….”
“…Ah, thank you.”
“But seeing him today, his rapping is really, really incredible. He completely transformed this stage into a concert.”
“…Um, yes. Th-thank you.”
Still, there’s nothing quite like visible numbers for confirming someone’s growth.
I smiled warmly, watching Yu Gun squirm under the praise, his neck and ears flushed crimson.
I briefly understood how fantasy web novel protagonists must feel witnessing their comrades’ awakenings and growth.
* * *
‘It’s over.’
The moment I stepped off the stage, my legs felt like they might give out. It was an exhaustion I’d never felt in all my years of performances.
‘I can’t even remember what I did.’
Somehow, it felt like I’d enjoyed it. That much was certain.
Throughout the talk segment, I’d received continuous praise from Sarin, and I vaguely remembered the other members noticing my elevated energy—they’d exchanged playful eye contact with me several times on stage.
Whether they were influenced by my energy or deliberately matching it, the members seemed to have finished the stage with higher energy than usual.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Ha-jin’s loud greeting echoed from behind. At that signal, the members who’d been removing their in-ear monitors and organizing their microphones bowed from their positions and gave their closing greetings to the Sarin’s Etiquette staff.
I did the same. Since Kairos wasn’t the last team for today’s recording, most of the staff were still in the studio, but the members made sure to greet at least the FDs moving around the waiting area.
Then a staff member—apparently from publicity and marketing, holding a camera for official account photos—approached me hesitantly.
“Um….”
“Pardon?”
“You were truly amazing today. I’ll definitely listen when your new song comes out!”
“Ah… Thank you so much. I look forward to your support!”
The staff member laughed shyly at the sight of Yu Gun bowing at a perfect ninety-degree angle, then disappeared, but Yu Gun remained in that spot for quite some time.
“Hey, what are you doing there?”
“…I’m coming now.”
Yu Gun finally moved when Tae-hyun came to fetch him, unable to watch any longer. As I walked toward the waiting room, my hands opened and closed in a somewhat dazed state.
I had gripped the handheld microphone so tightly that the sensation of it still lingered in my palms.
“Phew, it’s finally over. I’m relieved we wrapped up the activity without any incidents. The comeback is coming up soon anyway….”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, Do-ha called before we went into the recording earlier. He said he’s almost fully recovered. It looks like he’ll be able to return without any issues from the comeback week. That’s good, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I hope the music video turned out well too. Black Paradise got a decent response today, but I’m more attached to the title track, so I’m eager to perform it on stage.”
“Yeah.”
“….”
Tae-hyun’s lips pressed into a firm line as he walked toward the waiting room, his constant chatter coming to a halt. He was dissatisfied with his same-aged friend’s half-hearted responses no matter what he said.
However, instead of pressing his friend for answers, Tae-hyun simply turned his head and studied his friend’s face. He had already noticed early on that Yu Gun’s presence on stage today was slightly different from usual.
“Hey.”
“Yeah.”
“You need to actually speak. Don’t just think things over and over in your head. You’re always telling me I’m addicted to overthinking, but you never actually voice your thoughts out loud.”
Before entering the waiting room, Tae-hyun finally spoke up to his friend, who still seemed to be half-absent.
Having sacrificed so much since childhood, Yu Gun was terribly inept at expressing his own emotions and thoughts.
He had performed well on stage and his face was flushed, so something good clearly happened, but not knowing what it was frustrated Tae-hyun—he couldn’t offer praise or applause without understanding.
“Or maybe you just need some time alone? Then I’ll just quietly head into the waiting room.”
“…What are you talking about? That’s not it.”
“Then what is it? You were flying out there on stage today. Until last time you were completely frozen up…. Did you finally loosen up?”
When Tae-hyun asked with genuine curiosity in his voice, Yu Gun’s expression shifted subtly once more.
“…Hey, Seo Tae-hyun.”
“Yeah. What.”
“Let me ask you just one thing.”
“What?”
Whether he was twisting his lips or if his cheeks were twitching, Yu Gun, absorbed in something with that strange expression, finally opened his mouth after a long pause and asked Tae-hyun with a serious look.
“…Did I do well today?”
It was the most earnest expression imaginable.
So Seo Tae-hyun answered quickly with the most sincere heart possible.
“Yeah. You did great. Do-ha should be a little nervous though.”
“Really…?”
“Yeah.”
Then, across Lee Yu-gun’s face—who always just said “yeah”—spread a smile so full of pride and joy that it couldn’t be contained.
“Then that’s all I need.”
Yu Gun pushed open the Waiting Room door with noticeably lighter steps. Tae-hyun watched his retreating figure and let out a bewildered “What…?” but seeing how his friend felt, he couldn’t help but laugh along.
“Hey, wait up! How stingy of you to leave without me!”
Whether or not Tae-hyun’s playful complaints reached his ears, Yu Gun stepped into the Waiting Room with a sense of relief washing over him.
Then, the first person to enter his field of vision was there.
“…Oh.”
“Huh? Do-ha hyung! What are you doing here?”
“The hospital where I’m getting physical therapy is nearby. I heard you’d be done soon, so I came to pick you up.”
Do-ha wore a black cap pulled low, dressed in a loose anorak and shorts for comfortable treatment.
Do-ha’s bare eyes, without makeup, turned directly toward Yu Gun. Yu Gun, who had been unable to control the corners of his mouth lifting with excitement just moments before, suddenly felt as tense as if he’d stepped back onto the stage the moment their eyes met.
“Hyung, did you see our performance today?”
“Yeah. I did.”
Eun-chan, wiping away makeup with a cotton pad, asked with hopeful anticipation, and Do-ha nodded calmly, confirming he’d watched the stage. At that single nod, Yu Gun felt as though his breath was being stolen away.
It wasn’t the suffocating sensation he’d experienced before—it was something different entirely.
‘It feels like when I finish my convenience store shift and reconcile the register with the Cafe Owner…’
He lamented his own vocabulary for resorting to such a comparison, but he couldn’t find any other way to express it. There seemed to be a better phrase somewhere, but this was what it felt like.
And he desperately hoped that this reconciliation would result in a perfect zero—neither positive nor negative.
“Yu Gun.”
“…Y-yes.”
Whether Do-ha knew what was going through his mind or not, he withdrew his hand from his pants pocket and slowly approached Yu Gun.
Yu Gun’s visible shock prompted Tae-hyun beside him to give another “What’s wrong with him?” expression, but Do-ha paid no attention whatsoever, positioning himself in front of Yu Gun and staring directly at him.
“…What is it, sir?”
No, please don’t say anything.
For the first time, Yu Gun experienced the strange phenomenon of his spoken words contradicting his inner thoughts, repeatedly clenching and unclenching one fist. He was curious about Do-ha’s evaluation of his performance, yet he didn’t want to hear it.
He glanced around desperately for someone to rescue him from this moment, but Seo Tae-hyun was already lecturing the youngest members about the importance of cleansing, Ha-jin was watching from a distance with an amused smile, and he didn’t even dare hope for help from Jeong Si-u.
In the meantime, Do-ha opened his mouth.
“For ‘Black Paradise,’ I think you could afford to take your breathing a bit more leisurely. But keep the tone elevated like you did today.”
“…Pardon?”
However, Do-ha’s feedback was unexpected—it was neither “you did well” nor “you did poorly.”
“And after watching ‘Kick Off,’ I was thinking next time you could structure the song to finish with your part. That would work really well.”
“Ah…”
“Since you have good stamina, Yu Gun, you could really drive the dance at the end and push the song into a complete highlight. And also…”
“Ah, Lee Do-ha. That relentless guy.”
Ha-jin, who had been half-listening to Do-ha’s words, shook his head with exasperation and let out a scoff. Regardless, Do-ha continued pouring out ideas about “next time” to Yu Gun.
Rather than critiquing what was good or bad about today’s performance, every word was “let’s try it this way next time,” leaving Yu Gun utterly dumbfounded. And Lee Do-ha, delivering all these suggestions, looked incredibly excited!
“…Oh, right. And thinking about ‘Shout at You,’ the tone of the narration seemed to match really well. Next time, what if we focus on putting more emotion into the lyrics…?”
“Um, wait, wait a second…!”
It was Yu Gun, unable to distinguish whether this was praise or feedback and listening in bewilderment, who finally stopped Do-ha’s momentum.
Yu Gun stared at Do-ha, whose eyes blinked with an expression that said “Why are you stopping me when I’m in the middle of something interesting?” Then, with a slight awkward laugh, he opened his mouth.
“Hyung, I just barely filled in for you, and aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? I’m going to tear my pants at this rate.”
Yu Gun, whose habit was to practice a bit of humility and self-deprecation, lowered himself self-mockingly as he spoke. Even as the words left his mouth, he wondered if this was the right approach, but old speech patterns accumulated over years weren’t easily corrected.
Do-ha immediately countered, as if he didn’t understand what Yu Gun was saying.
“Why? You’re doing so well.”
At those words, Yu Gun found himself at a loss for words. He could feel the other group members and staff members in the waiting room smiling warmly, their gazes turned toward him.
Not knowing what to say in a moment like this, Yu Gun’s lips merely trembled until a familiar chocolate was suddenly thrust into his hand.
“…?”
“Want some chocolate?”
Si-u was offering that Dubai chocolate again—or wherever it was from—with a playful smile. When Yu Gun glanced at him suspiciously, wondering what this was about, Si-u simply shrugged with a rather gentle expression.
“I’m a bit weak to compliments too.”
Along with the chocolate came an unexpected confession.
Yu Gun stared at the chocolate for a moment.
“….”
Soon after, he accepted the chocolate Si-u offered. Then, without hesitation, he popped a small piece into his mouth.
“Yes. Thank you, hyung.”
The soft, nutty sweetness of the chocolate finally began to bloom on his tongue.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————