Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 498

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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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498. Cheongchun Bulpae 靑春不敗 (1)
The fiery NMA left countless legendary moments etched into the annals of Stone Board history.
…Especially Kairos.
[You guys get it, right?]
(Screenshot: Kairos responding to Upia’s stage at NMA with complete absorption.JPG)
You understand your crushes and girlfriends aren’t here, so stop it
– Those guys could actually work though
– Kairos and Desty are way too close no matter how I think about it;
– Wait, didn’t they all hang out together with the Miro members the day before that stage?? Why do they still look like me at a Superstar’s domestic concert tour???
“You’re really saying you don’t have any? lol You guys are so naive lol”
└ If you’re having trouble understanding context, open a book and study instead of spamming chat, you reek
└ Now they’re just attacking without any context
[The entire Kairos otaku community at NMA is absolutely losing it]
Idion
@gumhere
Why would oppa do that
(Screenshot: Lee Do-ha holding a Upia light stick in his hand.jpg)
Lee Do-ha bringing the Upia plastic (light stick) all the way to Japan is what’s absolutely killing me;;
And apparently it’s the old version, where the hell did he even get it
– Lee Do-ha is seriously a devoted Upia fan…
– The light stick design changed after 7 years ago, so now it’s a discontinued version that can’t be obtained even if you want it
– I’m a 10-year Upia fan and that light stick even has an engraving that’s a limited season item, only 50,000 were released and I couldn’t even get one please I really hope Do-ha sells it to us I’m desperate
That guy is a total Idea fanatic—the fact that he literally made a whole merchandise section in one corner of the Studio is actually insane lol
Kim Chun-sam
@Chuun_ks
Kang Ha-jin Lee Do-ha Ju Eun-chan
You guys better pay to watch. Seriously.
For real.
(Screenshot: Lee Do-ha waving a Upia light stick with an excited expression.JPG)
(Screenshot: Kang Ha-jin moved to tears, holding onto Yoon Ji-nu’s hand after a high-five as he descended as an artist.JPG)
(Screenshot: Ju Eun-chan scrunching his face in admiration at Yoon Ji-nu’s explosive rap.JPG)
Shares 12k Retweets 2,304 Likes 14k
Kairos Archive
@KIRUS_archive
What growth means.
(Kairos dancing “More More” in pink fluffy outfit 1 year ago.gif)
(Kairos standing as a backup dancer for “More More” in light blue sailor outfit at this NMA.gif)
Shares 41k Retweets 1,209 Likes 43k
Mayfly
@onlyoneD
Is that the right thing to say in a situation like this?
Kairos Archive
@KIRUS_archive
What growth truly means.
….
2,442 shares 3,103 likes
True to their nicknames—”Bluebird’s Men,” “The Embodiment of Community,” “Meme Factory,” “100K Retweets Every Time”—Kairos’s every fleeting moment was eternally preserved, bringing laughter to countless people.
From voting and awards to the order of performances, even down to the assigned time slots.
In this exhausting idol industry where everything is a competition, the sight of Kairos members enjoying nothing but the music and the stage itself became its own peculiar form of joy.
-And the Grand Prize at the Korea Global Music Awards goes to…!
-Congratulations on winning the Grand Prize at the Four Seasons Network Media Awards!
-At the Focus on Music Awards, we present….
Yet as expected, Kairos’s luck with awards this year was poor relative to the buzz they’d generated.
In award categories judged by criteria or performance metrics—excluding those where fan votes were the absolute standard—they consistently fell just short or didn’t even make the nominations.
It wasn’t so much that Kairos’s performance was lacking; rather, their matchups had been brutal. Most awards this year went to girl groups and solo artists, and Kairos was fortunate enough to be among the surviving boy groups.
‘This year’s activities were aimed at broadening the core fanbase rather than mass appeal anyway, so it’s not particularly disappointing….’
Still, coming to a celebration and leaving with only a participation award did deflate things somewhat.
After all, I knew the fans would feel more rewarded seeing Kairos take the stage one more time and lift a trophy—compensation for all their hard work.
It wasn’t that we deserved an award we didn’t receive, and I genuinely congratulated the girl groups who’d seized this transitional moment and dragged the industry forward with them, yet simultaneously, a creeping anxiety was unavoidable.
‘…Next year will only get harder. If I said I wasn’t scared, that would be a lie.’
As I applauded the girl group members of similar age taking the stage to receive the Grand Prize, I hid a bitter smile that no one could see.
With the rise of YouTube and personal broadcasts, OTT platforms, television media had steadily lost its grip, and ironically, the idol industry—riding the wave of the Korean Wave and expanding globally—was suffering the side effect of an increasingly fragmented, niche market.
【Music broadcast viewership continues to plummet… Breaking through the 0.5% wall of terrestrial music broadcasts】
【’Recruiting aspiring idols’ – Entertainment agencies in crisis… Wave of company closures continues】
【[Ha Young-seo’s Media View] Superstars to fans, but whose sons to the public? The influencerization of idols has begun】
It’s like the difference between a customer who simply chooses whether to buy a delicious Christmas cake or not, versus one who can select everything—the sponge, cream, decorations, and number of fruits.
The customer can now specifically order the cake they want, and the shop benefits by using these flashy options as bait to attract more customers.
But from the perspective of the cake that must be chosen, there’s nothing more demanding and difficult than that.
【Drugs, assault, romance, fan deception? How did ‘fanatics’ turn their backs on their ‘oppas’ – HJ’s Market Report① Male Idol Edition】
I recalled the title of an article I’d found fascinating recently and quietly rested both hands on my knees.
‘It’s a sad truth… but people no longer admire male idols.’
It had been nearly twenty years since the ‘idol’ market took root in South Korea.
Members of groups once called first-generation idols by common consensus were now approaching middle age, and those who once adorned themselves head to toe with fan-meeting merchandise and acted cute for their fans were becoming heads of households and fathers.
Fans no longer indulged in the ‘fantasy’ that male idols provided.
-Hesed members, thank you so much for always working hard for us! We love you…!
Unlike the past, when simply dancing and singing well, occasionally appearing on broadcasts and being funny was enough to gain popularity, modern idols had to keep adding more options to be ‘chosen.’
Paid messenger services, live broadcasts, selfie uploads, relationship management with members, original content and cover songs—an endless stream of material….
‘Fan service’ had somehow become ‘paid merchandise sales,’ and idol activities carried a certain fatigue with them. Especially in the male idol market, which operated around fandoms rather than the general public.
Both idols and fans.
Even knowing that the ‘sincerity’ each spoke of might not be sincere, the blindfolded role-play between them barely held together under the word ‘fan devotion.’
—People say nothing lasts forever in this world… but Psyche will always be by Hesed’s side. Let’s run forward together so that our eternity can continue for a long time!
What can I do?
Ha-jin’s fingers stopped moving as he listened to the girl group member holding the Daesang trophy give her acceptance speech.
“….”
Dazzling lights, beautiful and expensive clothing, surrounded by handsome and beautiful people receiving cheers—such was their life.
At this level, they’d achieved considerable success, earned decent money, and if they continued at this pace, they could comfortably live through the remainder of their contract without worry.
The trends of boy groups and girl groups naturally cycled, and if they grew their fanbase without controversy, maybe one day Kairos could receive a Daesang award too.
Many idol groups and fandoms were falling apart due to excessive fake romance and fan service demands, but Kairos and Destiny had a truly rare, healthy and wholesome relationship—something to be genuinely grateful for.
—Thank you so much for this great award. We’ll work even harder going forward!
So then. If that’s the case.
‘Is that enough?’
Despite having achieved most of the dreams he’d harbored since childhood, an inexplicable unease lingered in the corner of Ha-jin’s heart.
He recalled the promise he’d made when discussing composition-related issues with Lee Do-ha last time.
—So, from now on, I’m going to think about it.
Why I wanted to make music, what kind of music I wanted to create.
What is my music that I want to pursue from now on.
What did I ultimately want to become.
‘…Next year is going to be busy in many ways.’
The year was drawing to a close.
Yet Ha-jin felt as though he was only now approaching the starting line.
—Let’s give another round of applause for our Psyche members!
As Ha-jin applauded the award-winning group, anticipation and tension for the coming year settled over his expression.
* * *
Dan Ha-ru didn’t understand difficult concepts like the relativity of time, but he certainly felt that the present moment was passing faster than any other time in his life.
‘It feels like it’s only been about three days since December started….’
It had been only days since he’d joked about winter arriving, yet the calendar already stood on the brink of year’s end.
December 25th.
This year’s Christmas brought heavy snow, as someone had wished for.
“Ha-ru, let’s go build a snowman!”
“A snowman?”
He’d heard that on days like this, others ate delicious food, threw parties in warm homes, and blew up balloons.
Kairos, who had finished their Christmas party weeks before the Christmas season even arrived, had been managing their busy year-end schedule without proper sleep for days.
Dan Ha-ru, who had been waiting for a terrestrial broadcast year-end stage, hesitated at Ju Eun-chan’s words as he returned covered in white snow.
‘Since he came back from the snack bar covered in snow, it means it’s still snowing. Given his personality, he won’t be satisfied with just rolling two snowballs together and calling it a snowman—he’ll want at least one proper sculpture. That means I’ll be outside for at least two hours from now, and in this weather, that’s insane. I should make an excuse and decline.’
But the words that actually came out of his mouth were the complete opposite of what he was thinking.
“Okay.”
“Then I’ll go tell Manager Kwon Wook!”
Oh no, like this.
Before Dan Ha-ru could even take back what he’d said, an excited Ju Eun-chan had already rushed off to find Manager Kwon Wook.
This was a disaster. Lately, his words and actions kept coming out differently from what he intended, which was quite troublesome.
“Pfft….”
“…?”
Ha-ru rubbed his lips together in clear displeasure, and from beside him came the sound of someone struggling to stifle their laughter.
When I turned my head, I saw the members I thought were asleep all squinting their eyes shut, desperately holding back their amusement.
Dan Ha-ru’s eyebrow quirked upward.
For once, Ha-ru’s body and heart were perfectly aligned, and without hesitation, he brought his fist down on Kang Ha-jin’s thigh as the older member sprawled across the adjacent sofa. The corrupted baby rabbit warrior showed no mercy.
“…Ow! Are you insane!?”
“Why are you laughing at me?”
“What, laughing? La~ughing~? Wow, look at our youngest member’s speech habit?”
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, I mean. Can’t I even laugh at my own mouth? And I wasn’t the only one laughing! Everyone here was laughing!? Why are you only hitting me!”
“You were laughing the loudest, hyung.”
As Ha-ru shrugged with a “so what” look in his eyes, Kang Ha-jin huffed indignantly but made no real attempt to retaliate or genuinely get angry.
Separate from thinking that was Ha-jin’s most mature quality, Dan Ha-ru—curious about why the members had laughed at him—raised his fist again.
Ha-jin, well aware that those small fists could really hurt when thrown with proper force, quickly drew his legs together and surrendered.
“Ah, because you’re cute. We were laughing because you’re cute! When Eun-chan suggested making a snowman, you pretended you didn’t want to but your ears perked up and your hair was fluttering while you clearly wanted to! Can’t we older members find our youngest adorable!?”
“…Me? I wanted to?”
“Of course you did. Look in a mirror. Right now you look like a little kid excited about making a snowman, no matter who’s looking!”
At Ha-jin’s exclamation, Ha-ru blinked in bewilderment.
Me? I wanted to when he mentioned making a snowman? That couldn’t be right.
Even as I thought that, the other members around Ha-jin wore sheepish expressions of agreement. Quite shocked by their reaction, Dan Ha-ru hurriedly turned his head to look at the mirror across from him.
But before I could even check my face in the mirror, Eun-chan, who had gotten permission from Kwon Wook, came rushing into the waiting room first.
“Ha-ru! I got permission! Let’s go!”
The moment Eun-chan’s excited voice rang out, the members’ nagging followed like comments on a post.
“You two, wear masks since it’s cold.”
“And wrap scarves around your necks too. If you catch a cold, we’re done for.”
“Chan, wouldn’t it be better to wear a long padding jacket instead? Wear mine—it’s next to that chair.”
“Don’t go too far. I’ll come get you when dinner arrives.”
“Call us when you finish the snowman~ We’re coming to judge it.”
…The last one was a bit removed from nagging, but anyway.
Following the members’ instructions, Eun-chan gathered everything from a mask to padding, a scarf, and even wool gloves from who knows where, then rushed over to Ha-ru and urged him on.
“Hurry! We need to go now so the snow doesn’t melt. Let’s make it and come back quickly.”
“Okay, I just need to put my shoes on.”
“Come back soon if it gets too cold~”
“Yes, we’ll be back!”
“…We’ll be back.”
Eun-chan’s figure as he held Ha-ru’s hand and walked briskly down the hallway seemed quite excited.
“Let’s go fast, fast. I checked earlier and there’s a ton of snow piled up.”
“I know, so watch ahead. There are lots of people—we’ll bump into them.”
As Eun-chan and I headed toward the back exit of the concert hall.
Dan Ha-ru continued to deny his own excitement at the prospect of building a snowman, yet his mind refused to stop calculating the best way to roll the foundation of his creation.
It was the first snow of the year.

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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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