Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 438

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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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438. Why Did You Come to My Home (7)
“I’ll enjoy this meal!”
“If you’d only called ahead, I would’ve marinated short ribs and prepared everything properly. Next time, you must call before coming, alright? I’ll make you so many delicious dishes.”
“What are you talking about, Mother? The table is already about to collapse under the weight.”
“It hasn’t collapsed yet? That means it’s still not enough. Wait, I should fry up a few more pork cutlets right now….”
“Mother, Mother! Sit down! No! It collapsed! It did collapse! Look, it just collapsed now!”
I barely managed to stop Mother from rising again, clicking her tongue as if a table laden with food wasn’t nearly enough. With just two members here, the damage was already considerable—if I’d brought all the rest, I might’ve actually needed to grab a hammer and smash a couple of table legs.
I understood Mother’s nature well enough; she loved meeting people just as much as I did, and she loved treating people she cared about even more.
‘Next time I bring all the members here, I’m definitely making a restaurant reservation.’
With that resolve, I quickly picked up my spoon.
My stomach had been growling since morning with all this commotion.
“There’s plenty of rice, so eat as much as you want. During promotions, you probably can’t eat properly, so you should eat your fill when you’re home.”
“It seems like you eat well enough….”
Kang Ha-won tilted his head questioningly at Mother’s concerned remark.
In reality, Kairos was meticulous about eating three proper meals a day, and our dietary management was more lenient compared to other groups. There were even times when the trainers actively recommended high-calorie diets, saying growth and bulking up were crucial right now.
To the point where our content series, 【Kairos Log】, which was vlog-style, had a two-hour compilation video of just us eating—edited from the raw footage.
‘But how did Ha-won know that?’
I was briefly puzzled, but it wasn’t a major concern, so I let it slide.
He probably just figured his older brother wouldn’t go around starving.
“The Kang family boys grew up on my cooking anyway, so they’ll naturally have a taste for it. But what about Si-woo and Ha-ru? Do they like it?”
Mother asked with visible nervousness, clearly taking pride in her cooking.
In all my years, I’d never heard anyone say Mother’s food didn’t taste good, yet she still worried every time.
“…It’s delicious, really.”
Dan Ha-ru was the first to answer, having practically buried his face in his rice bowl since earlier.
Even back when he was a trainee, he had an incredible appetite, so I’d expected as much—but Dan Ha-ru had already devoured half of a heaping bowl of rice.
I’d never seen him eat this much even at the dormitory or during schedules, so Mother’s cooking clearly suited his palate. Mother seemed pleased by how eagerly Dan Ha-ru was eating, pushing various side dishes toward him.
“….”
“…?”
In contrast, Jeong Si-u, whom I’d expected to answer with a bright smile and smooth charm, was completely silent.
He seemed to be eating, but something appeared to be on his mind—his chopstick movements were slow, and he wasn’t reducing his portion much.
‘Does it not suit his taste?’
He was as meticulous about self-management as Seo Tae-hyun, but he wasn’t so inflexible as to maintain his diet even in front of a member’s mother’s table. During trainee days, he’d eaten pizza and chicken with everyone to match the mood.
When he showed this kind of strange reaction, there was always a reason for it.
“So you definitely prefer clean flavors? Simple and savory ones.”
“…Ah.”
I was wondering what the reason might be when Mother beat me to it.
After quietly observing what Jeong Si-u was eating, Mother skillfully pushed vegetable side dishes and grilled fish toward him—all the dishes he’d reached for multiple times.
“Ha-jin said you have an old man’s palate, and he was right. You’ll live a long healthy life, you know.”
“Mother, that hyung even eats ice cream like Babamba and Bibidig.”
“Really? Then we’re on the same wavelength. Your mother’s crazy about Babamba and Bibidig too.”
“Mom, you go to church—is that language really appropriate?”
“Are you really going to nitpick every single colloquial expression, son?”
I’d just picked a fight over nothing and came away empty-handed.
I quickly shook my head at Mother, who was giving me a sharp look, and buried my nose back in my soup bowl. Even in the midst of this, the beef soup Mother had made tasted absolutely divine.
Next vacation, I was definitely bringing Yoo Gun here to get cooking lessons from my mother.
“…Everything is so delicious. I’ve been too focused on eating to say much.”
While I was mentally scheming how to coax Yoo Gun into coming along, Jeong Si-u took a sip of water and opened his mouth with measured politeness.
His speech was as smooth as always, but after nearly two years of seeing his face regularly, I could instinctively sense something was different about him today. Ha-ru beside me must have felt the same discomfort—he kept glancing sideways at Jeong Si-u while picking at his skewered meat.
“It’s difficult to eat vegetables and fish like these during schedules, so they seem to require more preparation. I’m grateful for this meal.”
“Is that so? Then I’m really glad. Eat plenty. I’ll pack some of the vegetables for you to take back to the Dormitory.”
“Yes, thank you. We must have surprised you by coming so suddenly….”
“Surprised? It’s a holiday—it feels like seeing relatives. I’m in a good mood.”
“Haha, we’re even more grateful that you see it that way.”
Jeong Si-u set down his chopsticks entirely and continued speaking with deliberate courtesy. He’d always been someone with impeccable manners, but today there was something distinctly different about that formality.
‘What is it? What’s different?’
Even scrutinizing Jeong Si-u with a hawk’s gaze, he continued eating with his usual upright, flawless, impeccable composure.
The kind of respectful bearing you’d expect from someone visiting a member’s parents.
That’s when I realized—his excessive formality was actually creating the very awkwardness he was trying to avoid.
‘What’s with this guy….’
Was he nervous?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, Mother—who had been serving japchae to Ha-won—spoke up before I could.
“Call me Auntie.”
“…Pardon?”
“Just call me Auntie comfortably. Tae-hyun does it too, so I thought it would be easier for the other friends as well. ‘Mother’ and ‘Ma’am’ sound so stiff, don’t they? Ugh, it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Ah….”
At Mother’s playful remark, delivered with her characteristic warmth, something subtle crumbled in Jeong Si-u’s previously composed and upright expression. I’d seen him enough times to recognize this—it was the reaction that came when someone struck an unexpected nerve.
And that’s when I realized Jeong Si-u had never once addressed Mother by any title, except for the very first time he’d entered this house.
“Having an idol son has taught me something. No matter how much you’re bound by contracts, you’re all sailing in the same boat as Ha-jin, eating and sleeping together, spending most of your time as one unit.”
“….”
“But you’re not school friends, not academy friends…. Not university classmates either, and too close to be called coworkers…. Yet when I pray for Ha-jin at night, I find myself thinking of all of you just the same.”
Mother gazed at Jeong Si-u and Ha-ru with warmth deeper than ever before, continuing her words.
“What’s the point in distinguishing between my own son and someone else’s son? Your success is his success, and if you struggle, he struggles too…. So when I pray for each of you by name, I think—what else could this be but family?”
“….”
“Think of me as a distant relative, and be comfortable. After all, whether you like it or not, you’ll be seeing Ha-jin’s face for several more years, right? From what I’ve gathered, our house is closest to the Dormitory among your members and we have the most time available. Tae-hyun’s family lives too far away, and Eun-chan’s older brother is busy with work….”
Mother had apparently picked up bits and pieces about the members’ family situations through the Entertainment Company.
Since there were minors in the contract, guardian opinions couldn’t be ignored. Most of our group members had long since left their guardians’ care, so the Company must have given Mother and Father advance notice—they lived in the Seoul Metropolitan Area and could check on us regularly.
The atmosphere had grown somewhat serious, and I felt awkward, so I quietly set down my spoon. Mother laughed heartily again and slapped my back.
“Ow!”
“So this auntie will be your auntie, okay? ‘Aunt’ feels weird because of the different surname—it messes with the family tree. And ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel like I’ve had an illegitimate child in my later years, which doesn’t sit right with me.”
(Mom, please….)
Ha-jin’s father is still so upright that he wouldn’t even consider infidelity…
(What are you saying, Mom?)
No, yes, well, anyway.”
Her habit of getting sidetracked to make jokes whenever she mentions whose mother she is—it never goes away.
When Ha-won, who had nearly acquired an illegitimate sibling out of nowhere, hurriedly tried to stop Mother, she waved her hand dismissively while laughing heartily. Jeong Si-u and Dan Ha-ru simply continued staring at Mother in bewilderment.
“So, call me Auntie, okay? Yes? Just think of it as visiting a distant aunt’s house and relax. And if you ever need help from an adult, feel free to contact me anytime. After seeing what our son did today, I think I should leave you my number too.”
“No, but that all has a reason…. And who moved without telling me in the first place?”
“Ask your younger brother about that. He said he’d send you the address, but he forgot.”
What?
My eyes widened in shock at this revelation, and I whipped my head toward Ha-won sitting beside me. At that moment, regardless of whether Mother was delivering some heartwarming line, Ha-won—who had been focused on eating—suddenly stopped mid-chew.
Then he spoke.
“…Oh.”
“Oh? Oh? Oh oh oh?”
“I forgot. Sorry.”
“You almost made me an international missing person, and all you have to say is oh oh oh~!?”
“No, I really did forget. Sorry.”
Apparently embarrassed by his own actions, Ha-won burst into snickers and avoided my gaze. When I grabbed his collar and shook him, he giggled and played innocent even as I held him.
The touching dinner table descended into chaos in an instant.
“Ugh, those loud Kang brothers. Anyway, you understand, right? If Auntie feels uncomfortable, just call me ma’am. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t get used to ‘Mother.'”
While my wrestling match with Ha-won escalated into a chopstick battle, Mother—as if accustomed to such scenes—turned her back to us entirely and openly attended to Dan Ha-ru and Jeong Si-u.
I didn’t bother to see how the two of them responded.
Mother had firmly disciplined me, whose arrogance and pride reached the heavens from childhood, to keep me from going astray,
and had planted courage in Ha-won, who was introverted and timid with a strong inner world, so he could step out into the wider world. There was no doubt she would offer the same warmth and kindness these two needed.
“…Yes, Auntie.”
A quiet reply reached me from behind.
I could never tell whose answer it was between the two, but one thing was certain.
“Yes, I look forward to it.”
Steadfast kindness is always a comfort.
It was the reason I brought the two of them to my home.
* * *
That night.
After Father returned from his workout and we had another grand dinner, I stepped outside under the pretense of getting ice cream for dessert. I wanted to get some night air and aid my digestion.
“…Ha-jin.”
And someone followed me.
Already anticipating this, I turned around.
Standing a few steps away from me was….
“I’m thinking of disappearing.”
…Dan Ha-ru, who seemed to have already made a firm decision.

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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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