Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 423

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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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423. Let’s Go on a Trip! (4)
One guy playing games to get others drunk, and another playing to avoid drinking.
“Aaah! Shock!”
“Aaaaah! Shock!”
“Uaaaah! Shock!”
“Uaaaaah, cough, cough, gag…!”
“Got you!!!!”
And for two years, during every long waiting period between schedules, the five other members had been cornered by these two and dragged into a game hell. (One of them even received one-on-one coaching.)
“Hey!”
“Damn it!!!!”
“You!!!!!!”
“Ugh, you startled me.”
“Uh, uh? Your reaction’s slow right now?”
“You got caught. Yeah, this counts as getting caught.”
Even though the fixed members of Touch High had nearly fifty years of combined variety show experience, it was nearly impossible to beat Kairos—young, energetic, sharp-minded, and stone-cold sober because they didn’t drink.
Sanchez, who by this point had apparently been caught around 128 times and was receiving nearly every punishment the show could dish out, finally pushed himself up from the floor as if he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ugh! I can’t, I can’t! I’m done! These guys are total con artists!”
Yes, that’s right.
If the Idol Athletic Games had a regular games division instead of just e-sports, we would’ve swept gold, silver, and bronze.
With that modest reflection, I looked back on what we’d been up to over the past few hours.
Jeong Si-u, who looked like he’d never done anything like this in his life, stuck a spoon in a bottle of soda and belted out the legendary Cleopatra in a rock vocal style across three octaves, while Lee Yu-gun, who didn’t particularly enjoy this sort of thing but was just naturally sharp, and Lee Do-ha, who rapped well, rattled off over forty words from the “Going to the Market” game like they were spitting out a rap.
Even Seo Tae-hyun, who had been unable to hide his shyness and unfamiliarity throughout the shoot, delivered an intense performance of being crushed by a comet-like orange that had flown in from space.
There was Han Yi, contorting his body in all directions as if possessed by the god of strawberries, and Ju Eun-chan, a strawberry expert who kept shouting strawberries no matter what―,
And Dan Ha-ru, the laugh hunter, who pursed his lips so his teeth didn’t show during word-chain games, displaying insane cuteness and bold word choices while maintaining an eerie composure that made everyone who locked eyes with him burst into laughter!
“No way! Ha-jin, do you do nothing but song practice all day? What button do you press to make that happen?”
And then there was me—a former game idol, former entertainment director, former recreation instructor turned current idol who knew the rules, winning strategies, and play techniques for every single game the production team threw at us. As long as I existed, this match’s outcome had been decided a million years ago.
I turned toward Sanchez Park, who was fuming with annoyance (though it was obviously an act for the camera), and answered with the most irritating expression in the world, bowing politely.
“Oh, you’re too kind.”
“Ha, I really can’t stand that guy….”
When I scratched my head as if embarrassed by the sudden praise, Sanchez responded with a reaction of holding the back of his neck and dramatically collapsing as if flabbergasted. The other members, not wanting to be outdone, joined their voices in shouting “Thank you!”, while the fixed panelists delivered exaggerated expressions of frustration and intense performances, keeping the situation rolling.
‘Professionals really are professionals….’
Unlike group self-introductions where, no matter how much bickering happened, we inevitably showed a certain level of intimacy as members of the same group, shooting with veteran variety show panelists who openly formed a rival dynamic had a completely different energy from the start.
From their ability to create situations to the energy they carried forward.
Every panelist had a clear role, and their chemistry was impeccable. The smooth immersion and directing ability was so impressive that even our members felt their energy rising higher than usual.
“No, we can’t accept this! Let’s have a rematch with something we’re better at!”
“Yes!? Even if you’re a future father-in-law candidate, I think this is unreasonable!”
“What, come on, who said anything about being my father-in-law from the start! I don’t have a daughter… well, I do, but not right now…!”
“My. Then would it be alright if I tried to steal that son-in-law? Ha-ru, how about your noona….”
“Our youngest member is a minor!!”
Since the game was played with evening cleanup duties on the line, the Touch High panelists couldn’t easily admit defeat and kept making excuses. They probably weren’t being serious, and since the concept for the whole day had been this kind of bickering back and forth, it seemed like they were just spouting meaningless nonsense.
If we just fight enough to get good clips, that other team will soon surrender on their own….
Click.
Tap tap.
Bang—.
“What, what is this?”
Right in the middle of our entertaining brawl, strange sounds erupted, and the lights in the duplex began cutting out in sequence from the far end. Soon, even the living room where we’d gathered was plunged into darkness, save for a single battery-powered mood lamp left in the center.
In that moment of confusion—everyone wondering if this was a broadcast accident or intentional direction—I understood with absolute certainty.
‘It’s here, damn it.’
Right, we’d been way too peaceful all day, hadn’t we?
Where sunlight had streamed through the windows just moments ago, now only pale moonlight and streetlamps filled the view outside.
After dinner, the staff had withdrawn entirely from the dormitory, claiming they’d create a relaxed MT atmosphere. Given how quiet it was outside, they were either at some prepared headquarters or had set up camp near that abandoned building we’d seen earlier.
“What is this, what’s happening?”
“Is this an accident, what is this…?”
“But where are the staff? What’s going on?”
“I knew it, I knew this would happen! I was wondering why they were letting us have fun so easily!”
“Can’t we turn the lights back on? This is too scary.”
The fixed panelists, who’d experienced situations like this countless times before, naturally began filling the audio. Glancing back, I could see our members rolling their eyes in the darkness, clearly uncertain how to react to this pitch-black scenario.
Diiiiiiiii―.
Then, the dormitory’s telephone, placed on one side of the living room, began ringing fiercely with a red light. Everything was silent and dark as if the power had truly gone out, yet only that telephone’s red light blinked steadily.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the phone. In the silence, Dan Ha-ru’s young voice rang out softly.
“…It’s here again.”
Again.
Yes, it was ‘again.’
Throughout today’s entire shoot, that telephone had rung exactly three times.
Once when we first entered the dormitory and decided to play together while unpacking,
Once when we returned from swimming and were washing up and changing clothes in the prepared bathrooms,
And finally, once while we were busily preparing food to grill barbecue together.
At first, I thought it might be part of the setup, but since all three calls came during maintenance breaks rather than actual filming, everyone dismissed it as unimportant. Even when someone answered, the caller said nothing of significance.
When I asked the production team during a break, they seriously explained that it was ‘an actual dormitory telephone, but it seems there’s been some mix-up causing wrong numbers to come through.’
“Should we… answer it…?”
“Of course? It could be the production team calling….”
“But then this isn’t a blackout, is it? How is only the phone ringing?”
“Well, I mean, they could’ve kept the phone line separate, so it’s technically possible… but….”
Relying on nothing but that single mood lamp, we and the Touch High team exchanged glances, reading each other’s expressions. Meanwhile, the mysterious call that had briefly stopped came right back without hesitation.
“I’ll answer it.”
After a brief moment, it was Dan Ha-ru who volunteered—he’d been sitting at the far end, closest to the phone. Apparently deciding that nothing would progress otherwise, he stood up calmly and walked slowly toward the telephone.
That brief moment of lifting the phone and bringing it to his ear felt surprisingly long.
“…Hello?”
Like this luxurious dormitory itself, the telephone was also a cutting-edge model.
The old-fashioned-looking phone transmitted the caller’s voice through the receiver with considerable volume and excellent sound quality for all of us to hear.
-Hello? Who are you people! What are you doing in there right now?
“Huh?”
It was clearly a line that sounded like it came from an actor, but when you’re actually hearing something like that over the phone at a real location, it becomes difficult to distinguish between acting and reality.
I carefully raised myself to move toward Dan Ha-ru, who was asking again as if to say “what are you talking about?” Information transfer would be more effective if at least one more person heard this together….
Knock, knock, knock!
“Mother…!”
At that moment, someone knocked roughly on the entrance door, and my legs went limp.
The fortunate thing was that not just I, but everyone else was startled at the same timing and hurriedly moved away from the entrance door.
Even amid that commotion, Dan Ha-ru clutched the phone as if he’d just heard shocking news.
No matter how I looked at it, this development was like something out of a horror movie when the story really kicks in, and it pissed me off.
Knock, knock, knock!
-Excuse me, could you open the door! Is anyone there?
The person who had been knocking suddenly began to speak. With this sudden shift in atmosphere, everyone gathered together as if by agreement, holding hands and began to assess the situation.
The two male panelists from Touch High, famous for being cowards, even cried out “Why are we doing this when summer’s already over!”
Still, someone outside continued knocking on the door.
-Hey! Please open the door! I’m the Manager! You need to come outside right away!
“The Manager?”
“He says he’s the Manager.”
“What do we do? What is this? What should we do?”
While we were panicking, I saw Dan Ha-ru put down the receiver as if the call had ended.
I quickly approached Dan Ha-ru, whose expression showed confusion about whether he’d heard correctly.
“What is it? What did he say? Is it the Production Team?”
“Well….”
-You need to come out right now! Open the door!
Dan Ha-ru’s voice and the man’s voice from outside the door overlapped.
The sound of someone knocking roughly on the entrance door played like background music, and everyone’s gaze in the living room turned toward Dan Ha-ru.
“He says he’s the owner of this dormitory, and he’s asking who you people are….”
“What?”
“He said that a year ago, a university club came here to play, and someone died, and ever since there have been accidents, so he hasn’t taken any guests, and….”
I knew.
What I knew was that this was all a scheme and a roleplay scenario orchestrated by the Production Team.
“What are you talking about? We all made a reservation to come here.”
“Well, yeah, that’s true, but….”
One of the female panelists, fully immersed in the situation, spoke with an eerie tone.
“But, none of us actually made a reservation here, did we….”
“Ah….”
Of course not. The Production Team made the reservation.
But such meta commentary couldn’t provide any answers in this situation where someone claiming to be the Manager was knocking on the entrance door while the person on the phone was asking who they were, saying he was the Manager.
“Kairos, or rather, you guys from the other group? Who made your reservation?”
“We just…. came because we were told to come here, right?”
As expected of a true professional, Seo Tae-hyun threw himself earnestly into this situational drama, stammering as he finally found his voice.
-Hello! You need to open the door right now! You have to come out!
Even in this moment, someone outside continued knocking on the door relentlessly.
I had no idea who this supporting actor was, but their performance was worthy of a Cannes Film Festival award.
Why were they going to such lengths?
As I pondered this, Ju Eun-chan, who had been rolling his eyes the entire time, cautiously raised his hand.
“W-well, shouldn’t we just open the door and listen to what they’re saying…? They might actually be the real manager….”
“No, we can’t.”
It was Dan Ha-ru who shut down that suggestion.
Dan Ha-ru, his expression ambiguous between jest and seriousness, let out a small sigh.
“On the phone call, they said we absolutely must not open the door for anyone who comes. And if we do open it, an accident will definitely happen, so we must stay inside the dormitory.”
The moment those words ended, the commotion from outside the entrance door stopped abruptly, as if a faucet had been turned off.
Everyone held their breath and turned to look toward the entrance. Several moments of silence passed.
And then….
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom.
-Open the door already…!
Let me be clear about this: I know.
This is part of the filming, it’s direction, it’s nothing but a scripted scenario, and the person standing outside that door is just a supporting actor who was paid for this gig.
But….
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”
That doesn’t mean it isn’t terrifying!!!!?
Along with a scream that seemed to shake the entire island, Kairos’s first horror experience began in earnest.

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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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