Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 523

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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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523. Finding the Lost Companion (3)
We began our proper conversation once Ju Eun-chan became aware of how uncomfortable it was to remain curled up in my arms.
It was right when Joo Eun-seok, who had been loitering outside the room, also started feeling uneasy about why he couldn’t hear a single word of our conversation, so I willingly let Ju Eun-chan, who was slowly rising to his feet, go. (Thirteen had informed me about Joo Eun-seok’s situation.)
Ju Eun-chan, who seemed to have cried a bit, sniffled softly as he awkwardly returned to his seat.
I explained to Ju Eun-chan the situation so far and what would happen next in a very simple and organized manner. Thanks to my professional summarization skills, our main vocalist seemed to understand the situation faster than expected.
“So… from now on, we need to find the hyungs and resume activities as Kairos, right?”
“That’s right. And it’s not just about doing activities—we need to do it big, successfully, well.”
“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
Here I was, already getting a headache thinking about how to escape this broken idol world, and this guy was making an expression like this was the easiest part of the situation we were facing?
Normally, I would have teased him about becoming quite arrogant, but ironically, watching Ju Eun-chan’s attitude in this situation right now felt rather…
‘…reassuring.’
I never thought the day would come when I’d find emotional comfort in Ju Eun-chan.
Could Ju Eun-chan also be childish at twenty-seven?
But inside him lives a nineteen-year-old kid.
‘…Ah, is that why it’s reassuring?’
Because he still carries that youthful audacity of a nineteen-year-old in a twenty-seven-year-old body?
Among the members, he was one of the ones I’d worried about most regarding his past (if that’s the right way to describe it), so seeing him awaken this early felt fortunate in a way.
I pulled out an orange tart from the incredibly expensive-looking refreshment set that Joo Eun-seok had prepared and openly observed Ju Eun-chan’s condition. At first glance, aside from him looking a bit gaunt and hollow, he seemed fine…
“What about you? How’s your condition? Can you start activities right away?”
“Ah, um…”
At my casually thrown question, Ju Eun-chan furrowed one eyebrow and made an uncomfortable expression. He rubbed his fingers together habitually before shaking his head slightly.
“It seems impossible right now. My stamina and all… I’ve tried singing a few times, but my voice definitely isn’t coming out well.”
“Your body right now is in ‘Ju Eun-chan’s Despair Edition’ state—having been cooped up in a room for nearly a decade without seeing much sunlight—so it’s no comparison to your original condition. This will take some time to recover. Anything else?”
“Ah. Depression or lethargy aren’t problems, but it’s still difficult sometimes being around unfamiliar people. That’s why I specifically called you over today… but I think this is more like aftereffects, so it should be fine once some time passes.”
“Aftereffects?”
“When I first recalled my memories back at Dream Land, it felt similar.”
Listening to Ju Eun-chan casually rattle off his experiences like that, I stuffed an entire orange tart with its perfect harmony of fresh citrus and sweet chocolate filling into my mouth in one bite.
Perhaps because I was eating so greedily, Ju Eun-chan, who had been staring at me intently, pulled a few more tarts from the tray and placed them in front of me.
[System Notification: The System notes that whenever food appears, the narration becomes oddly meticulous…]
[System Notification: ( ㅍ _ㅍ)]
What can I do? It’s delicious.
Must be because it’s a wealthy household—everything here tastes amazing.
Once again dreaming of reclaiming the abundant life of young and rich that I’d achieved in my youth, I nodded while taking another tart that Ju Eun-chan pushed toward me.
“Right. Anyway, we have some time before proper comeback preparations, so just focus on recovering well until then, even if it’s tough. Your condition and such will return quickly as you said, so for now, prioritize stamina and vocal cord management.”
“Yes. …Anything else? Is that all I need to do?”
“Hmm… If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could look into the members’ whereabouts. After all, I have my limitations in terms of information gathering. I’ll give you a few places I’m concerned about.”
“Ah, yes! That’s definitely possible. Actually, I’ve already asked hyung to help with that…”
Looking at Ju Eun-chan’s bright nodding face, I finally understood why every protagonist across all genres needs ‘wealth’ as a passive ability. Certainly, in this capitalist era, having more money makes things easier.
Anyway, between reviving Kairos and searching for the members, I would’ve needed twelve bodies, but it felt reassuring to have gained quite reliable support. So now, I could leave the members’ whereabouts to Ju Eun-chan and focus on Kwon PD’s survival program for the time being.
“Ah, and… besides the members, there are a few more people I need to find.”
“Anyone else?”
Eun-chan’s eyes widened as he gave me a look that screamed he was swamped and couldn’t fathom why I’d ask him to find more people. I casually ignored his expression and picked up the notepad and pen sitting on the table, jotting down a list of people whose whereabouts he needed to track.
“Next to the names, I’ve written down the approximate locations of group members I think we might know about. Below that are the people I’d like you to find additionally. Even if you locate someone first, don’t meet them yourself—just get me the information first. Got it?”
“Yeah… sure. No problem.”
Eun-chan meticulously examined the list I’d written down, line by line. As his eyes traced through the names, I caught a flicker of longing and worry crossing his face, but I pretended not to notice.
A few minutes later, his gaze, which had been lingering over the list, shifted toward me as if something seemed off.
“Hyung, what are these numbers you wrote next to the names?”
“Their ages. You’ll need that information to find them, won’t you?”
“But… it’s different from what I know.”
Eun-chan pushed the notepad back toward me, questioning whether I’d made a mistake. I scanned through the personal information I’d written down. Admittedly, there were a few discrepancies from what we’d known.
But I shook my head firmly.
“No, this is correct. It’s information I properly verified online.”
“Huh?”
“…That’s just how it is. If you don’t believe me, search it up online yourself. Anyway, can you do this for me?”
As I made my plea with an obviously troubled expression, Eun-chan looked at the notepad several more times with a bewildered face before nodding in agreement.
‘Looking at him like this, he’d probably believe me even if I told him I made red bean maratang.’
If it were me, I would’ve immediately pulled out my phone and searched their profiles to call out the nonsense.
Thinking that everyone except me who’d been taking advantage of such a gentle kid deserved to be dug up, I slowly got to my feet. Eun-chan startled and quickly rose to follow me.
“Are you… leaving already, hyung?”
“Nah, it’s not that. Even if there’s more to discuss, we should probably head out of this room soon. By now, your overprotective hyung outside must be going crazy in real time, right?”
“Oh.”
When I explained the psychological state of AiTube’s overly protective hyung without even needing to see it, Eun-chan couldn’t easily counter and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Yet, relieved that I wasn’t leaving immediately, a faint smile of relief bloomed through his startled, frozen expression.
That look was exactly the Eun-chan I knew, so I shrugged with a smile spreading across my face.
“Yeah, you’re most natural when you’re like that. Honestly, I’m still not used to you being like this right now—like, discovering things first? It’s taking some adjustment.”
“…Are you really teasing me even in a situation like this?”
“Finally being able to tease you in a situation like this—how could anything be more delightful?”
As I chuckled shamelessly, muttering something like ‘almost caught on camera: our Ju’s changed’, Eun-chan drew his characteristic slanted eyebrows and pouted as always.
When he was nineteen, he was shorter than me, which gave him a certain cuteness, but now he’d become a full-grown, not-at-all-small adult tomcat, and I was starting to worry slightly for my own safety.
Of course, that gentle kid wouldn’t fold me up like a postage stamp the way Yu-gun or Ha-ru might…
“Hyung, hyung. Do you want to come to our place and eat? Actually, I wanted to invite you to my place, but my hyung said it was dangerous, so I came here instead. You’ll be staying here working anyway, so let’s go to our place and relax.”
See?
He’d already forgotten I was teasing him and was wagging his tail again.
I patted Eun-chan’s head a couple of times as he chattered away about all the things he wanted to do with me, then slowly stepped out of the room. Since I’d come this far, I had no intention of parting ways after just business talk with Eun-chan, so whether we went to their place or headed to the Han River to cook ramen didn’t really matter…
“…Hey, Eun-chan.”
“Our place has a gaming console and a really big screen too… Yes?”
“You can’t go outside at all? As long as you’re not constantly buried among crowds of people, a brief outing should be fine, right?”
“Uh… yes, that much should be okay.”
“Yeah?”
…Before that, there was one small matter I needed to handle.
“Then before we head home, come with me somewhere for a bit.”
I scrutinized Ju Eun-chan carefully as he blinked his wide eyes in a perfect circle and asked back, “Where to?”
Without a trace of makeup, his skin was admittedly a bit dull and dark circles hung heavily beneath his eyes, but….
“…?”
As the baby fat melted away, his features became even sharper, and the natural aura that came with age, combined with the black long hair cascading messily down to cover the nape of his neck, only made Ju Eun-chan fit even more perfectly into the nickname “Natural-born Miro Beauty.”
For the twenty-seven-year-old Ju Eun-chan, now equipped with top-tier physicality, dark circles and dull skin were nothing more than accessories that perfected his gloomy-handsome aesthetic—nothing more, nothing less.
‘So how did our crazy Returner manage to slap the “Fallen Star” label onto this noble face?’
Thank goodness.
Even after returning to reality, Kairos could milk at least another decade out of that face alone.
Feeling a deep sense of relief at this unexpected job security, I flashed Ju Eun-chan a grin (the kind of smile I usually wore when I wanted to benefit from his good looks a little).
“Ever heard of four-cut photos?”
Kairos’s salvation through the ages.
Save us once more with that face, I pray.
The arrival of the cheat code that would shake up this insane idol industry.

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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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