Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 42

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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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42. Special Mission! Shine Brightly (3)
Beep, beeeep—.
“Why did they choreograph it to be this difficult!”
During the time when everyone had left their seats for dinner, I lay sprawled on the practice room floor in frustration, having turned off the music for the title track choreography I’d been mimicking.
“I should’ve created a choreography copying skill. Stupid Kang Ha-jin.”
After about a month of trainee life, I’d come to realize that while I wasn’t bad at learning choreography itself, I apparently had no talent whatsoever for simply watching videos and copying the movements.
As I lay there, pressing a pre-frozen water bottle against my neck and arms to cool off, my phone vibrated beside me. Too exhausted to get up, I simply stretched out my arm to check the messenger.
“Miro’s Younger Sibling_this OO ‖ lol but that hyung was seriously practicing alone”
【Miro_Younger Sibling_Lee○○ ‖ if it wasn’t for Sung-woo hyung】
“Miro Younger Sibling Kim OO ‖ BS, this isn’t that room”
【Miro_Younger Sibling_Lee○○ ‖ oh crap sorry】
(Deleted)
(Deleted)
Sorry, but I took a screenshot.
“Ha-jin, I’m sorry for calling you stupid. There are actually stupid people out there.”
Watching the young punks engage in such childishly unfunny antics, I sighed and turned my head toward my reflection in the mirror, offering myself a consoling pat. Then I checked the screenshot again.
【Miro_Younger Sibling_Lee○○ ‖ if it wasn’t for Sung-woo hyung】
“Han Sung-woo again….”
My question to Ju Eun-chan about my exact relationship with Han Sung-woo was meant to confirm two things.
First. Is Han Sung-woo a bomb?
‘I already knew he was the territorial type, but that alone isn’t enough.’
Honestly, when hot-blooded men gather and engage in endless competition with no end in sight for years, anyone’s bound to lose their grip on sanity halfway. It wasn’t that Han Sung-woo’s territorial behavior was justified—it meant there was still room for extenuating circumstances before he could be branded a ‘bomb.’
Then second. Is Han Sung-woo part of a ‘successful debut group’?
‘From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem like it though.’
But there was always the possibility.
I recalled the conversation I’d had with Ju Eun-chan at the dormitory two hours earlier.
-Will you honestly spill the secret of your origins, or should I just dismiss it as gossip about an inconvenient and unlucky trainee hyung?
-….
I crossed my arms and sat down in front of him, making it clear he wouldn’t leave until he answered. After a moment of hesitation, Ju Eun-chan finally spoke.
-…Nothing happened.
-….
-When I got demoted to General Class and the parachute rumors spread, it was Sung-woo hyung who was the only one from General Class—besides Ha-ru—who talked to me.
-But then why did you tell me not to get involved with that hyung?
-Just… something feels off. After every conversation with that hyung, I always end up being the one in the wrong.
Ju Eun-chan rubbed his arms with a reluctant expression, avoiding my gaze.
-It’s not that he did anything wrong to me, so it’s awkward to explain. It’s just that after talking with that hyung, I feel so frustrated. It’s always my fault, always my problem…. Anyway, it’s better to avoid getting involved with that hyung if possible.
If even the usually unflappable Ju Eun-chan was saying this much, there was definitely something going on. I was frowning when—
“Huh? What are you doing here, Ha-jin hyung?”
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“Already finished two bowls.”
Won-ho spotted Ha-jin through the half-open Practice Room door and sauntered in with his hands shoved into his pants pockets. When Ha-jin gave a casual wave of greeting, Won-ho settled beside him and picked up the tablet displaying the choreography video.
“Were you practicing? But why are you alone?”
“I’m being ostracized, Won-ho.”
“Seok-i says you’re rapping. How are you being ostracized? You’d make friends even on a deserted island.”
“Who would I befriend on a deserted island?”
“I don’t know, but you’d probably find someone.”
…Was that a compliment?
“No, I’m serious. The kids are really excluding me.”
“Yeah, got it. I’ll tell them you’re a practice machine who skips dinner to train.”
“No, I’m being serious, you bastard.”
“Wow, Kang Ha-jin’s being ostracized? Ha-ru’s breakdancing is probably faster.”
This guy?
At first, it was just a complaint I’d thrown out without much thought, but Won-ho’s continued disbelief was starting to stir my stubbornness. To prove once more that I was truly being ostracized, I hastily thrust the phone I’d been looking at right in front of Won-ho’s eyes.
“I’m telling you, I’m really being ostracized!?”
And in that moment.
[System Alert: Skill 【What Even Am I?】 creation penalty prerequisites have been met!]
[※Additional Prerequisites
1. Must activate where Seo Tae-il is absent
2. Should activate in places with as few people as possible]
[System Alert: Mental Care effectiveness temporarily reduced as penalty. (10% deduction)]
God, please.
“Ugh.”
“…? What, what is it?”
“I’m being ostracized. Sob—.”
Along with the system window, tears burst forth, and all the sorrow I’d endured until now came flooding in like a tidal wave. I grabbed Kim Won-ho by the collar and shook him roughly while thrusting my phone in his face, sobbing uncontrollably. (Of course, it wasn’t intentional!)
“They tell me, they tell me not to show off, and—hiccup—damn it, I really—sob….”
By the time my mouth had spiraled beyond my control and started spouting whatever it wanted, I’d already half-surrendered my mind.
Ha. Shut up, Kang Ha-jin!
* * *
My tearful performance didn’t end until a good ten minutes had passed.
I was drinking the banana milk that Kim Won-ho had hurriedly bought from the Convenience Store in the basement, worried I’d get dehydrated, while pressing ice water against my now-swollen eyes.
I didn’t bring this for this reason, damn it.
“….”
“Wow, did these guys all go crazy together?”
In the meantime, Kim Won-ho, who had been reading the KakaoTalk screenshots, handed me back my phone and snorted.
“I’m going to expose all of this in the interview!”
“It wasn’t even caught on camera, so how would that work?”
“Then we’re just leaving it like this?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
I roughly wiped away the remaining moisture from my eyes. Not to act tough, but I’d actually already sketched out a rough plan for what to do. I shouldn’t be crying like this, but damn this penalty.
“I’m fine with it. How about you?”
“Me?”
“Can you handle Team A?”
“Ah… it’s killing me.”
“Is anyone giving you a hard time?”
Despite the deliberately pointed question aimed at Han Sung-woo, Kim Won-ho tilted his head. Not really. Everyone’s just a bit on edge, I guess?
“More than that, what about Lee Yu-gun? Lee Yu-gun. Wow, that guy picks up choreography so fast. How am I supposed to keep up with that? I’m worried I’ll just get trampled in the battle.”
The thought of the upcoming battle suddenly hit Kim Won-ho, and he scrunched his face up with both hands.
‘Lee Yu-gun’s stats are basically copy-pasted anyway, so of course it’s natural.’
I gently patted the back of Kim Won-ho’s head as he spiraled into despair at the thought of embarrassing himself on broadcast, and threw a subtle hint to this guy who knew one thing but not two.
“Hey. Try to get along well with Lee Yu-gun if you can. And work hard at practice. You’ll do it anyway.”
“…What, some kind of ‘love your enemy’ strategy?”
“Just do what I say. You don’t need to force friendship, but don’t think of him as a rival either. And listen carefully to interviews.”
“….”
“Anyway, as long as you don’t end up on the dislike route, you won’t lose anything whether you win or lose.”
The guy stared at me for a moment at my words, then nodded without any objection.
“If you say so, hyung, then that’s how it is.”
Ever since the monthly evaluation last month, this guy had been showing me a strange sense of trust. Normally it might have felt burdensome, but given the situation today….
‘I’m oddly grateful for this.’
“But seriously, I didn’t believe it when you said you were being ostracized earlier. Wow, it sounded kind of like something Yun Tae-hee would say, but it actually worked.”
“Do you really want to die?”
“Anyway, if things get really bad, just say the word. I’ll either snitch to the manager hyungs or slip it to the production staff.”
Kim Won-ho, who had shattered my moment of gratitude in one second, brushed off his knees and stood up. I muttered something about needing to head back to the dormitory, then grabbed his hoodie and pulled him back down into his seat.
“Where are you going?”
“Ack―.”
“Because of you, I just wasted 20 minutes of precious practice time.”
“…How is that my fault?”
The penalty triggered because of you.
“Make it up to me. My practice time.”
“B-but I bought you banana milk!”
“Then help out your poor hyung who’s being ostracized before you go.”
“Your mood swings are seriously lightning fast, hyung.”
Whether Kim Won-ho looked at me like I was a con artist or not, I recalled the stats I remembered about him.
[Kim Won-ho (Affiliation: Miro)]
Appeal Points:
‘A TO Z’
-Fast learning ability
“You’ve memorized all the title track choreography, right?”
Kim Won-ho nodded reluctantly at my words. Of course. If Lee Yu-gun was a human copy machine, this guy was a human sponge.
But, but we’re on different teams… Kim Won-ho seemed suddenly hesitant about it now, so I gently patted his shoulder and reassured him, it’s okay, it’s okay.
“If you want to see Kang Ha-jin escape being ostracized, teach me quickly, teacher.”
“Is it true you have a bad attitude?”
“Please teach us, oh wise master.”
“Ugh, they’re really hopeless….”
* * *
“Ah, Ha-ru.”
“Seok-i?”
Gong Seok had been waiting for Kang Ha-jin to respond to his messages for hours now, and he’d concluded that Ha-jin must have seriously misunderstood him. This was the kind of thing that needed to be resolved face-to-face, but the building was so massive and sprawling—true to its name, Miro—that finding Ha-jin proved nearly impossible.
“Hey, have you seen Ha-jin by any chance?”
“Kang Ha-jin? No, I’m not sure….”
Upon spotting Dan Ha-ru, who was close with Ha-jin, Gong Seok hurriedly asked about his whereabouts, but Ha-ru simply shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either.
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t been able to reach him since earlier. Weren’t you with him?”
Ha-ru’s counter-question only deepened the inexplicable guilt gnawing at Gong Seok’s chest.
‘He’s not off somewhere crying alone because of what happened with the others, is he…?’
Of course, based on Ha-jin’s personality as Gong Seok had come to know it during the monthly evaluations, that didn’t seem likely. But that’s how people are, isn’t it? To think that during his first survival mission as a trainee, Ha-jin had been ostracized by his own teammates!
‘As his senior, this is far too shameful.’
During the last monthly evaluation, Ha-jin had trusted him with the main vocal position, and thanks to that, Gong Seok had achieved a significantly higher ranking than usual. Moreover, Ha-jin had reignited the competitive spirit and ambition that had been dulling as he watched younger, more talented trainees. It made him wonder if he truly had what it took to be an idol.
So honestly, when he’d found out he was on the same team as Ha-jin this time, he couldn’t describe how thrilled he’d been!
‘So I need to talk to Ha-jin properly, and I need to reconcile him with the others. No, I need to make the others apologize.’
But with Ha-jin nowhere to be found, Gong Seok’s anxiety only grew more urgent.
“Oh, there’s Kang Ha-jin coming over there!”
“What? Where?”
As Gong Seok stood fidgeting, unsure where to even begin searching, Dan Ha-ru pointed behind him and blinked. There, having just finished practice and showered, was Kang Ha-jin walking slowly toward them, toweling his hair dry.
‘Oh no. Did he practice alone? What if he’s angry with me too? And what should I even say first? I haven’t even told the others to apologize to him yet! What if they don’t listen to me? Will me helping Ha-jin alone actually be any real help?’
Now face-to-face with Ha-jin, Gong Seok’s mind flooded with countless worries and doubts. Though Ha-jin was younger than him, there was something about him that felt weighty and difficult to approach casually. His usual gentle, smiling expression softened this impression, but whenever he turned serious with that sharp gaze, Gong Seok felt like a child being scolded by an adult.
“Ah, no, not yet. Maybe later, later.”
“Come on, hyung.”
“Huh?”
“The right moment doesn’t come around as easily as you’d think.”
“….”
“So when the chance to say what you need to say comes, it’s best to say it. That’s what my grandmother told me.”
Just as Gong Seok was about to flee, lacking the courage now that he was face-to-face with Ha-jin, Dan Ha-ru grabbed him. With a bright smile and a tender voice, he relayed his grandmother’s wisdom. And then—
“Kang Ha-jin! Seok-i has something to tell you!”
With sparkling eyes and a wide wave of his arms, he called out to Ha-jin. At his summons, Ha-jin turned from the hallway and walked briskly toward them.
“Dan Ha-ru, why aren’t you showering?”
“I’m about to go soon. But that’s not the point—Seok-i has something to say right now.”
“Ha, Ha-ru….”
Unable to say anything to the cheerful Ha-ru, Gong Seok creaked his neck back around. With a towel draped around his neck, Kang Ha-jin tilted his head and asked, his tone cold. At those chilly words, Gong Seok’s eyes welled with tears as he timidly raised his hand.
“Ah, hello. Ha-jin.”
“Yes. Hello, hyung. But what did you want to tell me?”
…S-scary! Seok-i’s lonely cry echoed through the void. Of course, it was only in his mind.

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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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