Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 516

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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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516. The Last Day
The fifth day.
Kang Ha-jin sat in front of the computer for the first time in a while.
“…Sigh.”
After pondering briefly, I turned on the Internet and typed something into the search bar.
【Kairos】
In truth, I had already searched for information about us on the first day I realized we had fallen into this place.
But back then, my mind was too chaotic, and it was difficult to distinguish what was truth and what was falsehood, so confusion overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t properly absorb the information.
[Kairos is literally the epitome of failed idol groups by my standards]
I used to listen to their songs occasionally because I liked them, and I even dipped my toes into fan communities for a bit
But how do I put it… the members themselves aren’t bad, but overall there’s something vague about them;
They’re not bad singers, they’re not bad dancers, their visuals aren’t lacking, but they just don’t feel like a team—there’s no chemistry
– I agree lol they’re not even close with each other lol if they’re a failed group there should at least be a narrative but they debuted in a rush when the company moved so there’s literally no trainee era stories or anything like that
– Aren’t they that Seo Tae-hyun group? It’s a shame, but watching them makes you understand why they failed, which makes it even sadder
└ lol but the funny thing is they only got their name known because of Seo Tae-hyun, but within the fandom they reject Seo Tae-hyun so hard lmaooo
└ Really? Why?? Isn’t Seo Tae-hyun the most popular???
└ The other members are better looking and more talented than Seo Tae-hyun so why do they only push Seo Tae-hyun lol
– Just the fact that the leader had conflict rumors with the other members…
– And they just have nothing; no self-produced content or anything to consume as bait;;; you’d think they’d at least do live streams often but nope
I read through every piece of information about us that existed on the Internet.
In this timeline, Kairos was in a rather ambiguous state of failure.
It wasn’t that idol fans didn’t know they existed at all, but if you asked whether anyone knew what kind of group Kairos was, a hundred out of a hundred would shake their heads—a failed group.
They’d barely appear in Internet posts once or twice as ‘new male idols with decent visuals.’
Even among those who knew about them or showed interest, Kairos received harsh evaluations.
‘…Though of course, that’s all from ten years ago.’
At this point—ten years since debut, roughly eight years since disbandment—no one remembered Kairos.
Only because I had stirred up some buzz recently thanks to Seo Tae-il were these old stories being excavated in tiny fragments. The community post I had just read was from nine years ago.
Even the wiki page that idol members typically had was mostly empty, with only category headers and missing content.
Only traces of Tae-hyun, who came from Boy’s Supremacy and continued solo activities even after the group disbanded, remained somewhat intact.
“….”
Kang Ha-jin fell into thought.
On the monitor screen floated their crude group photo. The faces of the members, no different from my memories, flickered before my eyes.
Where were they now? What were they doing?
My dark brown eyes grew progressively deeper as I scrolled down the mouse wheel.
“….”
My resolve had solidified.
* * *
The sixth day.
I spent an ordinary day with nothing particularly remarkable.
Father and Ha-won went to work, and Mother had the day off from the Office, so she was at home.
Though Ha-jin’s family hadn’t taken any special leave, he sensed they couldn’t bear to leave him alone—as if they were taking turns keeping watch over him.
“Mom.”
“Hmm?”
Spending time with Mother was a good thing anyway, so Ha-jin chose to overlook such trivial matters.
No matter how much he insisted he was fine, his family would need time to truly accept it. Ha-jin understood well the impact his wandering had inflicted upon them.
“So, if maybe….”
Once Ha-jin began speaking, he realized continuing was far from easy. He wanted to say something to Mother, yet he couldn’t quite determine what.
“Um, so, so if maybe….”
Ha-jin needed comfort.
Or perhaps a little help.
Or maybe encouragement was what he truly needed.
Or perhaps he simply wanted to hear Mother’s voice.
“Ha-jin.”
And as always.
Mother spoke the very words I longed to hear.
“I’m okay with everything.”
Mother neither wept nor smiled. Without knowing what I was about to say, she simply covered my hand with hers and patted it warmly, twice.
“I….”
“….”
“I’m okay with whatever you do.”
-I know you do well. Really.
-And I’m okay even if you don’t do well.
Mother’s words from long ago—the ones that had lifted me from that abyss at twenty-nine—overlapped in my mind.
Back then, I thought those words comforted my twenty-nine-year-old self, but now, with Mother’s simple statement, my twenty-one-year-old self found courage.
Grasping Mother’s hand that covered mine, I nodded.
“Yeah, thank you.”
It was the day before everything would stop.
* * *
The final day.
On the morning of September 22nd, Ha-jin woke early.
A time when his parents and Ha-won had all left for work.
What he needed to do now required swift completion. If his family returned in the evening and saw his state, it would be disastrous.
‘I’ll finish everything within three hours, no matter what.’
From early morning, his destination was the apartment’s rooftop.
The scenery was no different from when he’d come for that ultra-budget bungee jump during the September 15th escape operation. Perhaps because it was autumn, the wind blew stronger than expected and it was cold, but it was bearable.
Ha-jin approached the railing casually. Then he gripped that distinctly prominent railing tightly and looked down.
“Wow… it’s pretty high, huh?”
Okay, location secured.
So now, how do I call this thing?
With arms crossed, Ha-jin paused briefly in thought, then suddenly shouted toward the empty air.
“I hate mint chocolate!”
It was the access code to the Unconscious Space I had originally set up, but nothing happened. Squinting my eyes and scanning the empty air, I opened my mouth once more with a “What if?” expression.
“See you again?”
The temporary code Seo Tae-il had given me in Haeundae was equally useless.
Smacking my lips softly, I thought “whatever” and raised both arms above my head, drawing a heart shape.
“I missed you, Kim Thirteen, the universe’s strongest system!”
….
And nothing happened.
“Not this either?”
Raising my eyebrows at an angle, I made a clicking sound with my mouth and gripped the railing again. With my tongue creating a lollipop in my cheek and my arms draped over the railing, anyone watching would feel the unmistakable vibe of “look at this, will you?”
“This is how it works, right…?”
It seemed Thirteen was determined to erase my awareness and wipe my memory clean once today passed, no matter what. When things got urgent, he’d pop out saying something about a “temporary alert,” but now he wouldn’t even respond when called.
But well, there’s always a way.
“Hey, Kim Thirteen. You listening?”
I called out to Thirteen into the empty air once more. The blue window I wanted to see still hadn’t appeared, but I pressed on regardless.
“You clearly don’t want to talk to me, but I’m warning you—it’d be better if you just responded willingly while we can still resolve this through conversation.”
I was certain Thirteen was watching me.
There wasn’t any concrete evidence, really. It was just a feeling.
And my instincts had never been wrong.
“I’ve been thinking about it, you see? To make you appear, I’d need to create a situation you couldn’t bear to ignore. But today’s already the last day of our agreement. No matter what I do, once midnight passes, everything disappears and we’re back to September 15th, right?”
“If the result’s going to be reset anyway, you have no reason to care. You can just erase everything and freeze it back at September 15th. So I’ve been thinking too—what do I need to do for you to acknowledge this desperate resolve of mine?”
After finishing those last words, I fell silent and gazed down below the railing. It wasn’t a particularly tall apartment, but falling from here would definitely cause serious harm.
Even with trees densely planted below, the probability of them conveniently breaking my fall was nearly zero.
Exhaling sharply, I took a step or two backward with visible tension.
“I’d have to stake my life for you to even blink, wouldn’t I?”
And before anyone could stop me, I vaulted over the railing with my bare hands.
Toward that empty void.
And in that moment―.
[System Alert: Are you seriously insane!?!?!!]
The blue system window I’d been so desperate to see appeared before my eyes.
At the same time, I grabbed the railing with a sharp sound. As I jumped, the ring I’d hooked over the railing pulled the belt connected to my waist taut.
[System Alert: ….]
From outside the railing, barely balancing on the edge with my feet while gripping that sturdy railing like a lifeline with my right hand.
The moment I confirmed my blue friend who had finally revealed himself—clinging on like a spy from a thriller movie—I swiftly swung my long legs back over the railing.
Thirteen, realizing he’d been tricked, reacted with a violent emoticon (ʘ言ʘ╬).
[System Alert: Y-y-you cunning…! You scoundrel more wicked than a demon! The worst regressor in the world!]
Then, with the exact same nimble and swift movements as when I’d gone over, I planted my feet back on the rooftop. I retrieved the ring I’d hooked on the railing, and massaged my right arm and shoulder that had tensed up from gripping the railing so hard, loosening the startled muscles.
Then, with an extremely smug expression, I shot back at the now pale-blue(?) Thirteen.
“I told you I go to church, didn’t I?”
Playing with your life like that’s asking for trouble, man.
That artfully innocent smile now radiated the unstoppable confidence of twenty-one-year-old Kang Ha-jin.

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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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