Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 433

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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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433. Why Did You Come to Our House? (2)
Approximately 24 hours before the incident.
Everything began at Kairos’s peaceful breakfast table that morning.
“Hyung! Set the table!”
“Already done—I’ve even laid out the spoons and everything.”
With the filming of 【Touch High】 wrapped up, Kairos was in an official reorganization period.
Though called a “reorganization,” it was merely a time for schedule adjustments and recharging before diving into full concert preparations and year-end award show rehearsals, so individual schedules and necessary group shoots continued unabated….
“Come on, come on, come on…!”
“Wow, seriously? Is that doenjang-jjigae? For real?”
“It smells amazing, Yoo Gun!”
“Thanks for the meal, Yoo Gun.”
“Why isn’t anyone mentioning the meatballs I made?”
“Thanks for the meal, Si-woo.”
“Yeah. Ha-ru, thank you.”
“Everyone, take as much rice as you need. Here, this is Ha-ru’s portion. No beans in it.”
Still, a break was a break…!
Though there were still tasks remaining and it wasn’t officially designated as a “vacation,” it was practically a holiday compared to the relentless pace of their active period.
For Kairos, whose members mostly hailed from Seoul, it was enough leisure to capture the lingering festive atmosphere that had already passed.
Ju Eun-chan, a Seoul native, took a generous spoonful of doenjang-jjigae from the well-prepared breakfast table and asked his hyungs.
“So you’re all going home today? I’m just planning to have dinner with my parents this evening and come back. Tomorrow I’ll visit my hyung and his wife briefly…. I might even stay overnight.”
“Yeah, go eat lots of delicious food. Once you come back, we’ll be plunged into meeting hell, practice hell, and diet hell…. You should enjoy it while you can….”
“…Should I not go?”
“Don’t mind that weird hyung—just go.”
Yoo Gun, combatively stirring rice into his stew, popped an entire meatball into Ha-jin’s mouth as he spoke ominously. While Ha-jin writhed from the freshly grilled, scorching meatball, Tae-hyun, who had been holding kimchi steady with his chopsticks for Ha-ru to tear easily, opened his mouth.
“I’m not going. Gangwon Province is too far, and I have a radio show MC schedule with Boy Champion, so the timing’s awkward. Everyone else, have a good trip.”
“I’m leaving right after I finish eating and clean up. I need to take my grandfather to the hospital too…. The tigers are entering their third year of middle school next year, so there’s some career counseling thing? Anyway, I need to go to school and handle that.”
“I think I’ll head down to Daejeon too. My older sister asked if I could spend some time with my nephews and nieces.”
Yoo Gun and Do-ha’s answers followed quickly after Tae-hyun’s.
Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned toward the remaining three.
The first to answer was Jeong Si-u, whose hometown was Seoul but whose remaining family was currently overseas.
“Well, I don’t have a home to go back to~”
“….”
At that refreshingly blunt answer, all six fell silent.
Jeong Si-u had answered, yet somehow they all felt as though they’d just committed some terrible faux pas. Ironically, the person in question was contentedly eating the rolled omelet he’d made without a care in the world.
“I don’t have anyone to visit either, so I won’t be going.”
“Cough….”
“….”
At Dan Ha-ru’s calm words as he ate his seasoned vegetable strips, Seo Tae-hyun finally choked. Do-ha silently handed tissues to Tae-hyun, who was desperately suppressing his cough to avoid spitting out his stew.
After Dan Ha-ru’s personality integration, he had officially become an orphan once more.
Though never disclosed to the media or outside parties, at least those in the company’s inner circle under Ji Su-ho and the group members had naturally come to understand this fact at some point. Ha-jin merely suspected that the “System processing” that reorganized the altered timeline had finally been completed.
‘What is this atmosphere right now…!?’
‘Why are you glaring at me like that? What do you expect me to do?’
‘I suppose I asked a thoughtless question….’
‘Ha-jin will figure something out, won’t he?’
But all this talk about ‘system processing’ and whatnot was ultimately just noise from another world!
Three Awakened individuals who had been forcibly made aware of the tragic circumstances woven through Dan Ha-ru’s life,
and one pure-hearted member who didn’t yet know about regression or timelines, but was acutely aware of just how bittersweet Si-woo and Ha-ru’s family situations were—their eyes trembled with visible anxiety.
Even if Tae-hyun and Eun-chan stayed at the Dormitory, both would be running around for schedules, so they’d essentially only come back to sleep.
Si-woo and Ha-ru didn’t seem like they’d cause trouble if left alone together….
‘No, those two aren’t exactly a combination that would cause problems, right?’
‘That’s true, but somehow leaving just the two of them in one place doesn’t feel right either?’
‘As long as they eat properly, that would be fortunate.’
‘Well, Si-woo is there, so surely….’
Four pairs of eyes darted frantically, desperately transmitting telepathy to one another.
If it were the old days when Ha-ru would beam brightly and drag people out of their rooms, it might be different, but with these two now, they’d definitely spend the entire vacation locked in their own rooms without exchanging a single word!
‘Say something…!’
Eventually, all eyes turned toward the remaining person.
Whether the members went to their hometowns or not, the miso stew and white rice in front of me were clearly the most important thing, as I continued emptying my bowl without hesitation―,
“…?”
…Kairos’s leader and a Gyeonggi Province resident who had already packed a bag yesterday for going home.
Kang Ha-jin.
“What? Is it weird to see me eating with such gusto?”
I mashed the fluffy potatoes thoroughly into the rice, then topped it with bland tofu and zucchini for a satisfying spoonful that settled perfectly into the bowl.
Unable to ignore their fervent gazes, I naturally placed a piece of kimchi on my spoon and gauged their reactions. Then Seo Tae-hyun, putting all his effort into his eyes and expression, sent a signal and spoke.
“Eun-chan and I are busy, and Yoo Gun and Do-ha are going to their hometowns, so what about you? Si-woo and Ha-ru will be at the Dormitory.”
“Ah.”
I grasped the entire situation from the half-heard words, the members’ expressions, and the awkward atmosphere emanating from the combination of Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru. I scratched my cheek and straightened up.
Then, with a carefree tone, I made a proposal to Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru sitting across from me.
“Why don’t you both come to my place instead?”
“Huh?”
“Well, the house is pretty small and shabby, but there’s plenty of good food to eat. Seriously. My mom’s portions are huge. Come along and we can enjoy some holiday atmosphere.”
But wait, would there even be room for two more people in that house…? What would happen if I pushed the table in the living room?
I rolled my eyes peacefully, recalling the old home, muttered something to myself, and went back to eating.
“Um, well….”
Those left behind began to panic at the unexpected proposal.
I had thrown out the suggestion without much thought at first, but seeing how my younger members grew anxious and fidgeted was so endearing that I let it be. Even Jeong Si-u, who had been quietly observing, stopped using his chopsticks.
In the meantime, I alone finished the last spoonful, set down my spoon, and looked back and forth between Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru.
“What will you do? Will you come with me?”
It was a sudden proposal, but the answer that would come back was already decided.
“No, I’ll just stay at the Dormitory….”
“Yeah, let’s go. Thanks for inviting us.”
“So both of you are coming?”
“No, I was planning to stay at the Dormitory….”
“Of course Ha-ru’s coming too. We can’t leave the youngest member behind.”
“No, please don’t worry about me. Just the two of you….”
“Then let’s grab dinner and pack our bags. Alright, since there are three of us, we’ll take a taxi.”
“Got it. You hear that, Ha-ru?”
“…Yes.”
Dan Ha-ru, who had been desperately trying to stay at the Dormitory with Seo Tae-hyun and Ju Eun-chan, quickly surrendered to the steamroller assault of his oldest member and the leader, nodding his head. His expression made it clear he already knew these were people who would kidnap him if necessary, regardless of his own wishes.
“This should be fun, right?”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
Jeong Si-u smiled and turned to look at Dan Ha-ru, as if finding this unexpected event dropped into an ordinary vacation quite interesting.
Dan Ha-ru, who had suddenly ended up spending his peaceful vacation with the top two craziest members of the group, nodded reluctantly. He had done a rather excellent job playing the cheerful “Sunny” Dan Ha-ru at first, but it had been quite some time since he started acting however he pleased under the excuse of adolescence.
Dan Ha-ru glanced at Jeong Si-u and spoke quietly.
“…As long as you hyungs don’t fight again.”
“What? …Haha! Yeah. We won’t fight.”
Because Ha-ru hated it when his hyungs fought.
With that simple thought, Dan Ha-ru also let out a small laugh.
This vacation was going to be incredibly chaotic.
* * *
There’s a saying called Murphy’s Law.
Similar Korean expressions include “the day you go is market day,” “even falling backward breaks your nose,” and “those meant to succeed will, those meant to fail won’t,”
and in the words of our fixed returner Kang Ha-jin….
“Wow, I’m screwed.”
…there’s that.
As Si-woo and Ha-ru, who had just gotten their luggage out of the taxi and were walking toward Ha-jin, made puzzled expressions, Ha-jin, patting his body, answered with a dazed face.
“Wow, I left the bag with my phone and wallet at the Dormitory.”
“The wallet’s fine since we won’t need to spend money, and the phone… well, it’ll be inconvenient but we’ll manage.”
“But the house key is in there too.”
“Ah.”
The semi-basement house where Ha-jin’s family lived still used a physical key instead of an electronic lock. Remembering that he’d left the small bag containing that key right in front of the entrance door, Ha-jin scratched his cheek as if troubled.
“Well, it’s fine. Someone should be home anyway.”
“Didn’t you call ahead?”
“No.”
“Why…?”
“I don’t know, I just didn’t. Actually, I only decided to go home yesterday.”
Kang Ha-jin had these moments every so often.
Usually he lived as if calculating and preparing for every variable in the world, but then there were times like this when he seemed to have loosened every screw in existence.
At that carefree, thoughtless expression on his face, Dan Ha-ru set his bag down on the ground with an exasperated look.
“So… your family doesn’t know we’re coming today?”
“Well, that makes sense. Now that I think about it, I was worried I’d forget my phone, so I packed it in my bag last night.”
The eldest and youngest members’ mouths fell silent at an answer far more foolish than expected. Ha-jin, noticing their expressions, waved his hand dismissively and broke into a hearty laugh.
“Come on, it’s fine, really fine. It’s not like this is my first time bringing friends over from outside.”
“….”
“Besides, at this hour, someone’s bound to be home, right? And if not, we can just hit up an internet café until they arrive. Let’s go in, let’s go in.”
“….”
“I’m telling you, there’s really no problem. Honestly, you two don’t trust people. As if I couldn’t get into my own house.”
I couldn’t get in.
The problem materialized the moment the three of us descended the semi-basement stairs and stood before the entrance door.
“…Didn’t you say you’d use a key?”
“Right. This thing looks like it has fingerprint recognition too?”
“….”
Where there had once been a traditional lock, a gleaming digital door lock now hung—complete with fingerprint recognition capability!
From this moment onward, Kang Ha-jin instinctively sensed something was amiss, yet he began to deny it anyway.
“Well, I suppose now that my son’s become an entertainer, my parents have been reminded of the importance of security. Haha.”
Right, what was a changed door lock compared to anything else?
Ha-jin’s hand froze just as he was about to press the doorbell, when Jeong Si-u pointed at something affixed to the door.
“OO Church…. Is that the church your parents attend? The sticker’s pretty.”
“…Pardon? They attend XX Church.”
“Really? But there’s an OO Church sticker right here.”
Ha-jin’s head snapped up. Sure enough, a sticker for OO Church—brimming with love and hope—was plainly affixed to the entrance door.
Having lived in this neighborhood for so long, Ha-jin knew exactly where OO Church was. But from this life and all the previous ones before it, my parents and Ha-won had never once changed churches.
Moreover, unlike XX Church, which was Methodist, OO Church was a renowned Presbyterian congregation. The difference was as stark as that between boys’ and girls’ manga in the same school-life genre!
“Hyung.”
Dan Ha-ru drove the final nail into the coffin for Kang Ha-jin, who had been staring at the church sticker with a troubled expression.
Ha-ru, who had climbed the stairs alone and lingered near the mailbox area, casually glanced at the mail in Ha-jin’s apartment number mailbox.
“Is there anyone in your family with the surname Hwang?”
“No…?”
“What about someone with the surname Shim?”
“No.”
“Then this isn’t your place. The mail only has Hwang and Shim on it.”
“Huh…?”
At those words, Ha-jin’s hand, which had been reaching for the doorbell, fell limply to his side.
“Then….”
Dan Ha-ru and Jeong Si-u’s bewildered gazes fixed squarely on Kang Ha-jin. Receiving their full attention, Ha-jin spoke in a hollow voice.
“Then where is my house…?”
Kairos Autumn Break, Day 1.
Kang Ha-jin lost his home.

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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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