Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 434

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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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434. Why Did You Come to Our House? (3)
There was quite a story behind how the screw-loose Kang Ha-jin had managed to lose his own home address.
“Did your family mention anything about the house?”
“No. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t even called them much.”
I’d been incredibly busy.
Seriously, insanely, ridiculously busy—times ten billion.
Back at my debut, I’d at least call my worried parents once a day and send messages, but as schedules flipped between day and night shifts and ended deep into the early morning hours, even that became difficult.
My parents, who used to send messages without fail in the beginning, had long since started treating my silence as a good sign, accepting it as an inevitable part of my busy schedule. They found it more heartbreaking to watch their son force open his drowsy eyes for a video call than to worry about the lack of contact.
“Wait, couldn’t you just call your parents? We can use our phone.”
“Oh, that works. Let me call using Ha-ru’s phone then. Mine’s running on fumes battery-wise.”
“Yeah, yeah, that works.”
Ha ha, what an analog concern in this smart age of the fourth industrial revolution.
All three of them burst into embarrassed laughter at how trivial it was. When Jeong Si-u, whose phone battery was dead, didn’t offer his phone, Dan Ha-ru extended his instead, and Kang Ha-jin took it with a chuckle, as if to say he’d seen it all.
“Ha, seriously. Man, if my mom heard this, she’d literally die laughing—”
“….”
“….”
“….”
“…?”
I just held it.
And kept holding it.
To make a call, I’d need to tap the touchpad and enter the number, but I was literally just standing there with Dan Ha-ru’s phone in my hand.
My lips, which had been grinning just moments before, began to tremble, and my eyes wandered aimlessly. Dan Ha-ru, watching this with growing unease, cautiously ventured a question.
“…Don’t tell me you don’t know the number?”
Kang Ha-jin nodded with genuine regret and answered.
“Yeah.”
“Is this a joke?”
“No….”
Deflated by the troublemaker youngest member’s blunt remark, I began fidgeting with Dan Ha-ru’s innocent phone and launched into an explanation—or rather, an excuse.
“No, see… my parents have been using the exact same number for forever, right? They change phones but never the number. But now that I’ve become a celebrity—and not just any celebrity, but like, really famous—the word got out. How far did it spread? To my mom and dad’s in-laws’ in-laws’ uncle’s niece’s cousin’s aunt’s former homeroom teacher’s student from thirteen years ago, that’s how far.”
“….”
“So then, like, what happens? I make money, right? So what? Calls start coming in, right? Suddenly old classmates I don’t even remember are contacting me asking to borrow money, and people keep asking me to put them on the phone, and all sorts of weird people’s numbers show up, so my parents must be getting headaches too, right? So I did this amazing act of filial piety—right when the last settlement came in, I upgraded my parents to the latest phones!”
“And then?”
Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru, well aware of their leader’s tendency to ramble when flustered, crossed their arms and stared at me.
Under the combined gaze of the moody youngest member and the naturally intimidating eldest, I lowered my eyes like a caught puppy and finished my explanation shamelessly.
“So, I’m really bad with unfamiliar things… and I ended up being unfamiliar with my parents’ phone number too. Would you believe me if I said that?”
“You don’t know Ha-won’s number either?”
“I’m just not good with numbers in general, you know….”
In short, I didn’t know.
I thought if Seo Tae-hyun or Lee Yu-gun had been here instead, I might have faced endless ridicule for not knowing my family’s phone number.
“Fine, whatever.”
But whether fortunately or unfortunately, the only people present here were Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru.
One had blocked the last family member remaining in the world, and the other had only recently (by this timeline’s standards) experienced the act of saving a contact for the first time. Neither of them was in a position to criticize anyone.
“Then let’s quickly find another way.”
So the three of them swiftly moved to the next step, beginning to search for alternative solutions.
“Ah, Ha-jin, you brought your tablet, right? Doesn’t the app work on it?”
“…Oh. But I changed my phone this time, so I’m not sure if I saved the contact then or not….”
“Just turn it on, quickly.”
Urged on by Jeong Si-u, Ha-jin pulled out the tablet from his bag with an uncertain expression.
Then he carefully addressed Dan Ha-ru, who was watching the situation unfold with a serious expression.
“Could you share your hotspot….”
“What? …Oh, ah, yes.”
“…Doesn’t the tablet use data?”
“No, I’m trying to save money.”
Despite being an idol who earned astronomical sums from a single schedule, he was reluctant to pay for a data plan.
While Jeong Si-u nodded approvingly at this firm conviction, Ha-jin opened the messenger app with a tense expression.
“….”
“…Wow.”
“…Is this really happening?”
What appeared was not the familiar friend list or chat window, but the initial login screen.
“It must have automatically logged out when I changed phones.”
“You didn’t log back in?”
“Since I don’t really need to check the messenger on this device….”
“What if you log in now?”
“Then a verification code window would pop up.”
And of course, the verification code would be sent to Kang Ha-jin’s phone.
Dan Ha-ru sighed and spoke in a resigned tone.
“Let’s just…. go back to the dormitory? Either way, if your phone is there, we can figure something out.”
“Yeah, that might be faster. …Oh, but I didn’t bring my wallet either. These days everything’s paid with the phone, so I don’t usually carry it. If we’re taking a taxi, can Ha-ru pay?”
“Uh, well….”
“…?”
Jeong Si-u, who had been putting his dead phone back into his bag, looked up again at the ominous silence.
Upon hearing Jeong Si-u’s words, Dan Ha-ru, who had been frantically patting his back pockets and coat pockets in dismay, opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.
“…Ha-ru?”
“I…. don’t have one either, a wallet.”
“What? Why!”
“You didn’t even give me time to pack properly this morning and just dragged me along! …And normally the managers handle everything anyway, so I don’t really need one….”
“…Then how did we get here in the first place? Who paid?”
“Oh, that was Kwon Wook who called a car with his phone this morning and sent it for us….”
“….”
“….”
Is this the inherent corruption of K-idols?
Since managers handled everything in advance—eating, drinking, dressing, sleeping—the Group Members had become remarkably careless about managing basic necessities like wallets or passports.
There was also the habit of leaving such items at the Dormitory or in the car, or entrusting them to managers, since losing them during transport would only compound the problem.
“Or, we could go to a Convenience Store and buy a portable charger…. Or charge Si-woo’s phone at a PC Bang or Cafe….”
“We don’t have money to pay for that right now.”
“Ah….”
Even the legendary fool On Dal would weep at this conversation.
Jeong Si-u reached a conclusion as he listened to their dialogue twist like an endless Möbius strip.
“So… what you’re saying is we’re literally sitting on the street right now with no home and no money…?”
Refreshing.
His tone suggested he was treating this situation like a real-world escape room railroad version. Jeong Si-u, with his arms crossed and tapping his elbow, turned his head back toward Ha-jin.
“Then why don’t we call Kwon Wook again and ask him to send a taxi? We can call from Ha-ru’s phone.”
“I already sent messages, but none of the hyungs are reading them. Not even Manager Kwon Wook.”
“What about calling? They don’t check messages during long drives anyway.”
“….”
“…Ha-ru, you don’t have the Manager’s number?”
“…It wasn’t intentional.”
Dan Ha-ru quietly dropped his gaze to the ground under Jeong Si-u’s piercing stare.
Due to his habits from his days as a trainee, Dan Ha-ru rarely saved anyone’s contact information, so his phone contained only the Group Members’ numbers and a handful of friends he’d met at the Idol Athletic Games.
Ha-jin scratched his forehead with a troubled expression, then snapped his fingers pointing at Dan Ha-ru.
“Ah, we can call a taxi using Ha-ru’s phone! Mobile payment should work, right?”
“…I’m sorry, but I don’t have mobile banking set up either.”
“Why? Anyone over fourteen can set it up these days.”
“My parents’ identity verification didn’t go through.”
“Please, seriously….”
At Dan Ha-ru’s unfilial remarks that would burst out with just a poke, Kang Ha-jin smacked his own mouth. Muttering that his mouth was a problem, Ha-jin cleared his throat loudly and shouted.
“…Wait, what, uh, ah, I got it! We can go to my house! There’s no way I can’t find my own home!?”
“You’re not finding it right now.”
“We can just go to the Community Center and get a copy of the residence register or something!”
“It’s the weekend today. They’re closed.”
“I’m going to lose my mind, seriously….”
Kang Ha-jin crouched quietly on his knees, pulling at his already disheveled hair as he wailed.
“I miss Mom….”
Where am I? Who is this place?
The neighborhood where I’d lived my entire life had never felt so unfamiliar.
* * *
-So…. You called me after going in circles? And through a work messenger at that?
A Neighborhood Playground that looked perfect for seven or eight-year-olds to play in.
In the middle of this wonderland filled with colorful paint and cute animal sculptures, three young men—homeless, penniless, yet with twenty billion won in their accounts (an exaggeration)—sat huddled together in despair.
“We’ve been sitting in the Playground for an hour unable to do anything. Now Ha-ru’s phone battery is running low too. If this dies, we’re really screwed…. I want to cry, Executive Director….”
-Alright, alright, I understand. Let me try calling Kwon Wook. Hang up for now.
“Yes…”
On that very same bench where Ha-jin had once plotted a strategy to promote Ji Su-ho to Executive Director, I was now in the middle of another call with Ji Su-ho.
The difference this time was that it was Ha-jin making the call instead of Ji Su-ho, and I was using the company messenger’s call function rather than a cell phone—a last resort discovered while desperately scrambling to contact the outside world.
-Wait, but Ha-ru has a phone. Why are you calling on your tablet instead of using his?
“I don’t know. Dan Ha-ru’s phone is acting weird. Messages won’t send, and calls won’t connect properly…”
-Is that so? Ha-ru’s phone model is pretty old… Alright, I’ll contact Kwon Wook right now. You three just stay put and don’t do anything strange, okay?
“I can’t promise that. I’m in a state of emotional disorientation right now, so I’m feeling incredibly anxious and impulsive.”
-…I’ll check on it quickly. Hang up.
“Yes. We’ll head back inside.”
-Alright.
Beep.
The messenger call disconnected with a small mechanical sound.
Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru, who had been creaking back and forth on the seesaw nearby, quickly approached me when they saw the call end.
“Did you get through to the Executive Director? What did he say?”
“He said he’d look into it and call back. I think he’s going to call Kwon Wook.”
“So we just keep waiting here?”
“Probably. It looks fun over there—go try that slide too, our youngest. Want me to take a picture?”
“…Si-u hyung asked me to ride it in the first place.”
“Youngest, want to go down the slide with me?”
“How old do you think I am…?”
“It’s sad. Before Ha-ru hit puberty, he used to do stuff like this with me all the time…”
“…I never did things like that before either.”
Dan Ha-ru, who had been dragged by Jeong Si-u through swings, seesaws, and every other playground equipment since earlier, furrowed his brow in protest.
Finding it endearing how the youngest reluctantly went along with his recklessness while still insisting he was right, Jeong Si-u let out a cheerful laugh and plopped down beside me on the bench.
“Aw, you’re not fooling anyone. So what do we do now? Should we play some hand games while we wait for the Manager to call?”
“What, you want to do a friendship test with three of us? I’m actually really good at it, though. Back in high school, all the girls in our class said they set records whenever they played with me…”
“Could we get reported for three guys doing something weird at a playground? I’m already worried someone might think this is strange.”
“Hmm, you’ve got a point. I did notice some neighborhood residents looking at us funny since earlier.”
“That’s because you and the youngest have been riding the seesaw and swings way too roughly.”
“Oh, is that so?”
But Ha-ru’s point was valid.
This area had an elementary school and several kindergartens, so it was a neighborhood where young children passed through frequently. Moreover, since many people had lived here for a long time, residents often knew each other.
If three unfamiliar men loitering around this neighborhood playground with luggage got reported, it would cause all sorts of problems.
“Hmm. Then…”
I opened my mouth, having been lost in thought. We couldn’t go to a cafe, couldn’t go to a PC bang, and we’d already tried all the playground equipment. There was nothing left to do.
“How about we do this instead?”
I pointed to something on my tablet’s home screen. At that, Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru, who had been crouching in front of the bench playing with sand, suddenly looked up with sparkling eyes.
After confirming the identity of the ‘this’ I’d mentioned, the two exchanged glances briefly before nodding and standing up.
“But didn’t the Executive Director tell us to stay put and not do anything strange?”
“Why is this strange? It’s an utterly ordinary task for an idol.”
Was it?
Dan Ha-ru, who had briefly entertained the question above his head, soon dismissed the doubt.
‘Well, they’ll figure it out on their own.’
Even if this was something odd, he lacked both the strength and the will to stop those two.
Resigned, Dan Ha-ru quietly moved to sit beside Ha-jin.
* * *
And, moments later.
【Kairos’s live broadcast has started.】
A new notification appeared on Aibus, Kairos’s fan communication app.
【Hey Tae-hyun, it’s Ha-jin here. What was my younger sibling’s phone number again? (This is real, not made up, not a scam, I’m really Kang Ha-jin)】
“…?”
“…What is this?”
A shocking reality.
Namely, a live broadcast of .

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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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