Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 463

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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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463. Boy Heaven (5)
“…That’s what I mean, hyung. You really do understand what I’m saying, honestly.”
“Right, right. In an environment like this, human relationships are definitely the hardest part. …But wait, am I your hyung?”
“Oh, so like, now it’s kind of…. This vibe right now….”
“…Ah, okay, okay. Go ahead and keep talking.”
How many was that now?
Three? Five?
With a sausage hot dog in my mouth, unable to resist my hunger, starting with Park Young-ha, who had laid bare his worries about how to position himself among these younger kids and navigate the uncertain path ahead….
My late-night consultation booth, set up on the outdoor snack stand counter at the Training Center, had become a veritable hotspot of activity.
“But honestly, the best thing in those situations is just to leave it alone. That friend already knows their own problem, right? I caught a glimpse of them earlier, and that type seems like someone who needs to be left alone rather than stopped—until they come to their senses on their own.”
“Ah, yeah, I know that…. But since time is limited, I can’t help but feel rushed….”
“Sometimes taking the long way around is the fastest path. In the end, all these worries are for a good outcome, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true….”
Though I’d never asked them to bring anything, they all showed up clutching snacks from the snack bar—hotteok, crackers, whatever—like they were paying consultation fees, so I couldn’t bring myself to tell them to leave.
After all, they’d given up their chance for screen time while the cameras were rolling just to come find me, so I had at least enough conscience to repay them with the cost of this late-night snack, even if I couldn’t match their lost airtime.
“Um… so like, I don’t know how to put it…. I just feel this kind of…pressure? I guess.”
“…Hmm.”
Of course, some of them definitely had intentions beyond the pure purpose of “seeking advice.”
Young hearts that didn’t want to practice, were afraid of standing out by resting, and wanted to take this opportunity to chat with a successful idol and maybe get some screen time in the process.
“So? Are you thinking of giving up?”
“Huh? …Oh, no, that’s not it….”
“If you’re not giving up, then you have to endure. If you’re not doing this, you’ll have to go back to studying—can you handle the pressure of entrance exams? The military? Job hunting?”
“Oh, well… yeah, I guess you’re right….”
“Okay, problem solved. Let’s hang in there, yeah? …Next!”
I wasn’t unsympathetic to their feelings, but I was too tired today to take on all of it.
The twenty-year-old participant who clearly just wanted to chat with me and had squeezed out a fake worry about “pressure” looked bewildered at my quick dismissal, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. The way he stood up from his chair was clumsy, and honestly, he seemed far more interested in the snacks than in any actual advice.
‘Tsk, what a waste of kindness.’
If I were being my usual self, I wouldn’t have cared much about it.
But since these weren’t my kids, nor were they just anyone’s kids—they were kids that Seo Tae-hyun was looking after—I kept finding my resolve weakening.
‘He’s one thing, but kids he’s taking care of? They’re really just kids.’
The old saying goes that you shouldn’t try to compete with kids over trivial things.
I had no choice but to lean back in my chair and call over the next participant while breaking a freshly steamed pizza hotteok in half.
“Ho-young.”
“…Yes, yes?”
“Here.”
The twenty-year-old Ho-young looked up at me in surprise when I suddenly called his name.
I handed him half of my precious pizza hotteok and said one thing.
“Try this, and if it’s still tough later, reach out to me. I’ll buy you a meal.”
At those words, the face of the kid who’d been sulking just moments before brightened up.
“…Yes! Thank you so much!”
Look, I’m telling you.
Ho-young had already forgotten everything I’d just scolded him about, bounding toward the Main Building with excited, springy steps.
The Practice Room was in the Annex Building, but seeing him head straight into the Main Building where the Dormitory was without a second thought proved that his earlier claim about feeling pressured was nothing but a complete lie.
“Yes! Pizza bun.”
The crowd that had been pressing in seemed to have grown tired and dispersed, so after Ho-young left, no one else sat in the chair across from me.
My hair and clothes, which had been soaked in cold water, had dried completely, and checking the time, Seo Tae-hyun had probably already returned to his room, showered, and finished applying a face mask.
Staring at the half pizza bun still in my hand, steam rising gently from it, I fell into brief contemplation.
‘Since our Tae-hyun dislikes late-night snacks, it would definitely be the most beneficial choice for everyone to finish off this pizza bun and all the snacks piled up like a mountain on this table right now, wouldn’t it?’
Honestly, after talking this much today, eating this much was perfectly justified.
Just as I was licking my lips at the thought, a familiar voice rang out clearly from a distance, as if it had been waiting for this moment.
“Stop right there.”
Caught, damn it.
But my hands are faster than my eyes.
“Hey, Kang Ha-jin!”
Before Seo Tae-hyun could rush over with fire in his eyes, I quickly shoved the half pizza bun into my mouth.
It was half scalding hot enough to kill me, and half choking enough to kill me, but fortunately I was saved by some considerate participant’s milk they’d left behind.
Seo Tae-hyun, who came rushing from the far end, plopped down in the chair across from me—the same one that about eight participants, including Ho-young, had occupied until just moments ago—and bellowed.
“Are you insane? How did you fit that whole thing in your mouth!?”
“Mmmph, heyy Tae-hyun…”
“Don’t give me that ‘hey’ nonsense! Chew it up, quickly!”
“It’s sho hot…”
Damn, so one bite of a fresh pizza bun straight from the oven was too much after all?
I thought I had a chance since it was only half, but it was hotter than expected and surprisingly large. Still, the pizza flavor washing over my mouth in waves was so deliciously tear-inducing that I diligently chewed and swallowed the bun just as Seo Tae-hyun had instructed.
Seo Tae-hyun pushed a bottle of water toward me, his expression bewildered as if he were watching over a troublemaking seven-year-old nephew.
“…Am I the younger one here? Even Lee Yu-gun’s tigers wouldn’t act like this!”
“I did so much counseling that I burned off calories, so I had no choice.”
“Who told you not to eat? I mean… never mind. You did well.”
Seo Tae-hyun, who seemed ready to say more, shook his head and closed his mouth instead.
Then, as I cautiously reached for a Choco Pie, he leaned back comfortably against the chair and sighed.
“Just eat comfortably. I won’t say anything.”
“…Really? What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m a professional too, so I manage myself. I’m only particular about what I eat, not what others eat.”
“…?”
Staring at Seo Tae-hyun with a look that said ‘what kind of blatant lie is that?’, he seemed to feel self-conscious and added hastily.
“…It’s just unavoidable with the younger members—they can’t keep themselves in check without that kind of supervision.”
“Right.”
“I’m serious.”
“Got it. I didn’t say anything.”
Worried he might prevent me from eating, I quickly nodded and unwrapped a Choco Pie. As Seo Tae-hyun examined the pile of snacks stacked on the table, he broached the subject curiously.
“So, how did the counseling go?”
“I don’t know. I did my best. Did like ten people really come by and leave?”
“There were more, but I sent them away. You need to rest now too.”
“It would’ve been nice if you’d thought of that a little sooner.”
“I’ll keep that in mind going forward.”
Seo Tae-hyun shrugged his shoulders in an irritating way.
Knowing that despite what he said, he’d done half of it for my sake anyway, I couldn’t really bring myself to be upset with him.
Either way, what mattered was that the Choco Pie tasted incredible at this late hour.
After brushing every last crumb of the sweet, soft Choco Pie into my mouth, Seo Tae-hyun gathered the snacks using the hoodie I’d brought as a makeshift bundle and stood up from his seat.
“Let’s go. I need to sleep now if I’m shooting tomorrow…”
“Oh, wait…!”
“…?”
That’s when I sensed someone’s presence.
Turning my gaze toward the source of the sound, a boy with wet hair—apparently having rushed over—stood before us, breathing heavily and looking up at us.
“…Ga-ram?”
Seo Tae-hyun recognized the boy and wore a surprised expression.
Only then did I remember the name of that bright-eyed boy.
‘Yoon Ga-ram.’
Yoon Ga-ram, eighteen years old.
The second Cherry Boy created by Boy Heaven 2.
An acknowledged master of generating buzz and currently evaluated as the ‘trainee closest to debut.’
And…
“I, um, I heard you offer counseling… worry counseling…”
“Well, we did say that…”
“Am I… am I too late…?”
“Well, that’s…”
Seo Tae-hyun, who had been acting like he was about to head to bed, trailed off while watching my expression—unlike him.
Yoon Ga-ram, radiating a fresh, vibrant image that sparkled with vitality even with wet hair, looked between Seo Tae-hyun and me with anxious eyes.
“Tae-hyun.”
“Yeah?”
I slowly folded the empty milk carton I’d been holding.
The page for Yoon Ga-ram in the training log that Seo Tae-hyun had written—notably packed with entries—flashed through my mind.
“Go on inside first.”
Yoon Ga-ram, eighteen years old.
“Looks like we have one more guest.”
Probably that kid Seo Tae-hyun had mentioned being concerned about.
Curiosity sparked my senses awake, cutting through the exhaustion that had been weighing on me.
* * *
The dark-haired boy, who looked ready to pour out his worries at any moment, remained silent for quite a while.
I didn’t rush him; I simply observed.
Looking at his delicate, well-proportioned features, I began to understand why people had bestowed upon him that uncanny epithet of ‘the second Seo Tae-hyun.’
‘The image is… similar.’
After spending time as a trainee at a small mid-sized company and quitting not long ago, I had decided to appear on Boy Heaven 2 by chance.
A cute face paired with an elongated, slender frame, solid fundamentals that easily digested various genres, and a lively, bouncy energy that radiated from his movements despite doing nothing special.
‘His expressions are so varied that he seems emotionally rich too.’
I recalled how during practice, those small features moved ceaselessly, and he flitted about like a sparrow.
Though Seo Tae-hyun—the cheat key to Season 1’s success—came to mind given how he drew people’s attention without doing much, if I had to pick the single most similar quality….
“…Over there.”
“Yes.”
…Wasn’t it that sincerity visible in his eyes?
To be honest, by my standards, comparing Yoon Ga-ram’s skill to Seo Tae-hyun’s was nonsense.
He only stood out because he was among a pool of participants lacking overall energy, but compared to the formidable competitors back then, Seo Tae-hyun was on an entirely different level.
‘This is the kind of thoughtless thing Seo Tae-il would do….’
But that was the reality.
The reason I acknowledged that Yoon Ga-ram resembled Seo Tae-hyun was precisely because of that sincerity.
At least Yoon Ga-ram was earning a reputation as the most honest among the 22 participants here today.
“…Thank you, senior. Honestly, I thought it would be unavoidable even if you refused.”
Yoon Ga-ram, visibly tense, kneaded his pale hands repeatedly. Somehow it reminded me of when I first saw the youngest members at our house, so I pulled a warm canned coffee from the pile of snacks and pushed it toward Yoon Ga-ram.
“But I’ve been sitting here for a really long time. Did you come from practice?”
“Ah, yes. They said the practice room would close soon, so I went to wash up… and after hearing about you from my roommate, I rushed over.”
“Your roommate? Who?”
“Um, Ho-young hyung….”
“Ah.”
That Ho-young.
He was the last official visitor to the late-night counseling booth, so he really did catch the last train, so to speak.
It meant he’d been at the practice room for so long that he got the news late, and it also meant that knowing he was late, he still rushed over because he wanted to talk with me.
“Why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why were you so desperate? I’m not a shaman or anything.”
But why?
I recalled what Yoon Ga-ram had been like throughout practice.
Even in that bloodbath of criticism and correction, Yoon Ga-ram had survived.
Whenever I thought the team was hopeless, he was one of the few ‘relief pitcher’ participants who would pop up from somewhere and drag the average up by the collar.
Of course, appearances aren’t everything….
But his relationships with other participants didn’t seem bad, he was doing remarkably well on broadcast, and the production team’s evaluation was favorable as far as I could remember.
I couldn’t easily predict why Yoon Ga-ram, despite all that, had sought me out with such a desperate expression.
“Well, so I….”
Yoon Ga-ram hesitated and opened his mouth.
Then, toward me who had been reminiscing about what worries Seo Tae-hyun had during the Miro Maze, he muttered his concerns in a very uncertain voice.
“I think I’m… too ordinary….”
“…Too what?”
“Ordinary, I suppose….”
Did I misunderstand the meaning of the word “ordinary”?
“That’s the kind of nonsense like saying Jeong Si-u hyung was so ugly he almost couldn’t debut…?”
“Huh…?”
Yoon Ga-ram blinked, unable to muster a rebuttal against the sincere words that had spilled from my lips unbidden.

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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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