Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 512

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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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512. The First Day
“….”
“….”
“….”
“…Are you really going to keep staring at me like that?”
“Yep!”
On the afternoon of September 16th, when the weather was unusually clear and the sunlight brilliantly warm.
Upon hearing that his older brother was home alone, Ha-won had even taken an emergency half-day off—something he rarely did—and rushed back from work, only to set down the pizza he’d been eating onto a side plate. On the dining table, his brother’s favorite cheese oven spaghetti and bacon potato pizza remained untouched.
Ha-won quietly took a long sip of cola from a mug as if it were beer, then slowly shifted his gaze to the side. Across from him, his older brother sat in a flower-pot pose, beaming with an inexplicable smile, staring intently at him the entire time.
“Look, I don’t mind you looking, but… why don’t you eat while you watch? Or if you’re not going to eat, I’ll put it in the freezer?”
“Hey, hey, hands off. I’m going to eat. I’m definitely going to eat.”
“Then eat.”
“Just let me watch you eat a little longer.”
“…Sigh. Fine, then. I’m hungry, so I’ll finish mine.”
His older brother, born as the eldest son in a household full of love, had always been unusually affectionate since childhood—unlike Ha-won.
Over roughly thirty years, Ha-won had learned through experience that this affection and emotional expression were particularly pronounced when directed at his younger sibling, so a look like this was as natural as breathing.
‘…Is he in a better mood today?’
It used to be natural.
Ha-won’s jaw slowed as he chewed his pizza. His brother, having finished admiring his face, was now happily devouring a mouthful of spaghetti. Ha-won’s gaze quietly followed his brother.
“Brother.”
“Hm? Huh?”
“…Eat slowly, okay? Slowly. You’ll get indigestion.”
Is he okay today?
The question on his lips never quite emerged; instead, he only circled around it with different words.
Rather than ask the question he’d meant to ask, Ha-won pulled out several wet wipes from the dispenser beside the table and handed them to his brother. Whatever reason his brother’s mood had improved, it was better than before—when he’d shut himself in his room every day, staring at his phone with empty eyes.
‘I couldn’t even ask him properly what was wrong….’
After graduating university and starting work, his brother had seemed to be managing well enough, until one day he suddenly returned home.
His face bore the look of someone whose every supporting pillar had crumbled.
-Should I tell him to look for a different job now? I mean, it’s a field we don’t really know much about…. Maybe it’s because we couldn’t support him much….
-Forget it, stop talking about it. …Tsk, those bastards really….
His brother’s despair—he who had always handled everything flawlessly—had profoundly affected the entire family.
His mother, who had prided herself on raising her children to the best of her ability despite their meager circumstances, began to doubt her past efforts, while his father could not easily accept the failure of his eldest son, whom he had been so proud of.
-Mom, sometimes I….
-I’m afraid of my unremarkable future. Afraid you’ll be disappointed in me.
That was when Ha-won finally understood.
The meaning behind what his brother had said long ago when he’d abandoned his first dream.
Why his brother could never allow himself to exist in a state of ‘doing nothing,’ not even for a single moment.
-Mom trusts me this much, so if I can’t achieve something, that’s truly my fault.
His brother had lived a life where even failure was a ‘failure.’
Even this home was no longer a space where his brother could empty his mind, Ha-won realized.
That thought crossed my mind.
“Why aren’t you eating more? Come on, eat up. I’ll finish it all myself.”
“…Go ahead, hyung. I’m eating as much as I need.”
“Ah, I really wanted something this rich and greasy, you know?”
Either way, hyung seemed to be in quite a good mood today.
Whether it was just my imagination or not, his complexion looked better, and his face seemed a bit… thinner?
‘Can someone really lose weight in just a day or two…?’
Hyung, who had maintained his diet meticulously out of habit from his idol trainee days, had completely abandoned his eating habits once he started at the company. With the routine of commuting at dawn and leaving at dawn, it seemed natural that he’d grown fond of carbonated drinks and delivery food—things he hadn’t particularly enjoyed before.
As a result, by the time he quit, he’d gained nearly 20kg compared to his weight before joining, but somehow today seemed….
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Your jawline is showing?”
“…What?”
Today, he looked sharper. More defined.
Though hyung’s appearance hadn’t quite reached the peak condition he’d had right after his discharge, it seemed to have returned to how he looked before starting as a PD.
“Now that I think about it, your clothes look a bit loose too… What’s going on? Did you lose weight?”
“….”
“No, but seriously. Can someone really lose weight like that in just two days? Wait, now that I look closer, it’s really true? What’s happening? How is this possible?”
Unaware of my brother’s reaction—cold sweat dripping steadily in real time before my eyes—Ha-won genuinely marveled, pushing his glasses up. But whether he wore them, took them off, or put them back on again, the fact that hyung’s appearance had changed was unmistakable.
I was about to take a big bite of the pizza slice with bacon and potatoes, topped with savory Parmesan cheese and spicy hot sauce in a golden ratio, finished with a generous drizzle of garlic sauce, when I suddenly set it back down on the plate with a solemn expression.
“Hey, you bastard. How does a person lose 20kg overnight? Unless I’d gone into some isolated mountain retreat for three years and caused you serious mental anguish….”
It was the truth.
But Ha-won, who had no idea this was the truth, blinked.
“Really? But seriously, even your fingers look thinner now―.”
“Look, I’ve been gradually losing weight since I quit, okay? My weight’s first digit changed yesterday, so I guess the physical changes are finally showing now, huh? You little… you―! Hey? Call Mom and ask where she is. Let’s go out somewhere this evening.”
“Go out this evening for what….”
“Tsk, ah, just do it, come on?”
At my urging, Ha-won stopped observing me and wiped his hands with a wet tissue.
When my usually smooth-talking hyung puffed up his speech bubbles like that and fumbled with his words, it always meant something was bothering him.
‘But what… what could there be to hide about dieting in just one day?’
Unless he’d gone somewhere and gotten some forbidden drug or procedure, there was nothing to worry about.
Ha-won, the type who listened well to his hyung, decided to simply believe what he said. Come to think of it, after quitting, he’d stopped ordering delivery food and was sleeping well, so it made sense that he’d lose weight.
“If going out somewhere feels awkward, let’s just take a walk. Or grab some food. Hyung said he’d buy some beef.”
“Beef? With our family’s finances? Hyung, did you win the lottery or something? Why have you been saying you’ll buy us stuff since earlier?”
“…Ah, right. I was unemployed. Right. Ah well, I’ll buy something anyway. I can break my savings account. Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
“…? Hyung, are you crazy? What’s wrong? Is something actually going on?”
Had hyung actually lost it in just one day? Or did he have no more attachments to this world?
At hyung’s insane suggestion to break his savings account to buy beef—something he didn’t even particularly like—Ha-won’s expression grew increasingly serious. Now, without hyung even urging me, I felt I should call Mom and Dad right away.
No matter how I thought about it, hyung had clearly let go of something after being cooped up in his room for so long.
I appreciate you sharing this, but this text appears to be corrupted or contains formatting errors that make it impossible to translate accurately. The Korean characters are malformed with random consonants and vowels that don’t form coherent words.
With his eyes still fixed on his brother, Ha Won typed quickly. There were so many typos that it ended up looking like a strange SOS signal, but it didn’t matter.
Could you please provide the text again in proper Korean formatting?
Still keeping his gaze fixed on his brother, Ha-won’s fingers flew across the keyboard in a frantic blur. The typos were so rampant that the message looked like some eerie SOS distress signal, but he didn’t care.
The turmoil Ha-won felt right now was far more intense than any ordinary disaster scenario.
Hanbit University Student Council Choi Yun-ho ‖ Yaya
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ sir】
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ sir】
【?】
A disaster alert was practically blaring, and here this guy was spamming messages.
Ha-won hadn’t been particularly close to this Peer Soldier during university, but after they both ended up working in similar industries, they’d kept in touch. Now, seeing his message, Ha-won found himself frowning without realizing it.
Whether back then or now, these frantic messages over trivial matters always exhausted him.
“Mom?”
“No, a Peer Soldier. Hold on, I need to respond to this.”
“Mm.”
After confirming that his brother had returned to happily munching on pizza, Ha-won replied to the message with a flat expression.
【Why】
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ yo】
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ something’s wrong】
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ wait】
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ something’s huge】

Did our company CEO go insane and give a 300% salary raise before going bankrupt or something?
Unless something had that level of impact, Ha-won was confident nothing could be more shocking than his brother sitting there with that carefree expression, eating pizza and talking about breaking into their savings account for beef. But the moment the next reply arrived, the pizza dough he’d been holding fell straight from his mouth.
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ this】
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ isn’t this your brother????】
【Hanbit University Department Head Choi Yun-hyung ‖ (internet article link)】
Feeling his throat go dry, Ha-won cautiously took a sip of cola from his cup.
Ha-won clicked the link as if in a trance. The link immediately connected to an internet article.
And the moment the article’s headline loaded―.
【Seo Tae-il’s Man, ‘Kang Ha-jin’… Who Is He?】
“Pfffft―!!!!”

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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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