Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 527

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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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527. Special Mission! Become a Comet (4)
Kwon PD and Go Writer stared at each other with bewildered expressions, their mouths opening and closing like goldfish. Kwon PD frantically scanned the countless monitors before him, searching for Ha-jin as he spoke in an urgent, almost frantic tone.
“What, how, what happened? Wait, there’s still 30 minutes left? And the guy who’s supposed to be escaping the fastest—where the hell is he screaming from like that…!?”
At the incomprehensible, almost anguished question, the Junior Writer standing beside him flinched in surprise and rushed toward the monitor bank where Kwon PD stood. Then, quickly pinpointing one screen among the many, he reported the current situation.
“Kang Ha-jin found the hidden passage immediately after the test started and completed his escape from the Waiting Room. After that, he solved the other puzzles so quickly that he’s been advancing toward the Rooftop almost without any obstacles, moving entirely on his own….”
Kwon PD and Go Writer’s gazes followed the Junior Writer’s pointing finger to the screen. They couldn’t believe all of this had happened in the brief moment they’d looked away from the field to check the overall scenario progress.
On the screen the Junior Writer indicated, Ha-jin moved across the camera feeds with movements faster and more agile than anyone else, evading a horde of zombies.
“…?”
And behind Ha-jin’s movements, a group of people hesitantly emerged into view—the stragglers who had failed to escape the Waiting Room itself because they’d panicked so badly at the beginning.
Watching Ha-jin naturally lure the zombie horde (actors in costume) toward the Studio Warehouse and then safely rejoin the group using a hidden emergency passage, the Junior Writer added further explanation.
“Ah, he escaped so quickly at first that he’d almost reached the Rooftop…. But then he spotted the participants who couldn’t escape and went back down. Right now he’s completed entry to the 5th Floor with the stragglers, and it looks like he’ll encounter the advance group soon.”
“…So, he’s not in first place right now?”
“It’s a bit ambiguous. He hasn’t shared the hidden passage he discovered with anyone else, and no other participants have found it yet…. If Kang Ha-jin abandons the others and enters the hidden passage alone right now, he could overtake them immediately.”
The most important element in cinematic variety shows was ‘drama.’
How many scenarios and characters could be created within a short, limited timeframe?
Though everyone knew that one “cut” would end everything in variety show filming, that’s precisely why densely packed drama that could immerse viewers even deeper in the situation was so valuable.
In this survival variety genre, whether that drama was entertaining and abundant enough could practically determine the broadcast’s success.
“And….”
“…?”
Merely 30 minutes.
“Both the advance and straggler groups are currently approaching the Elevator that provides access to the Rooftop.”
“Yeah.”
“Since Kang Ha-jin was hastily cast at the last minute…. The Elevator capacity settings weren’t updated to reflect him, so there’s one more participant than the Elevator can accommodate.”
In just 30 minutes, Kang Ha-jin had become the center of all the drama unfolding today.
Whether that was his intention or not.
“….”
Myung-eun watched Ha-jin on the monitor intently.
Having left his bulky outer jacket in the Waiting Room, Kang Ha-jin wore only a black turtleneck, and his silhouette was far more striking than she’d remembered. His expression and demeanor—neither conscious of the camera nor so over-committed as to appear ridiculous—were the kind she wanted to capture in a close-up and splice directly into the preview.
Most importantly—his visuals were excellent.
Better than expected, though she had expected them to be good.
Not merely handsome, but rather like someone who already understood exactly how to present himself beautifully within the frame of a camera….
“…Byung-ho! Where’s Byung-ho?”
“Yes, yes? Byung-ho is here, senior.”
Myung-eun, lost in thought while watching Ha-jin, urgently called for an Assistant Director. The one called Byung-ho was currently handling communication with the KTBC representatives.
“You know how we planned to release an article after wrapping the pre-shoot? About the cast recruitment?”
“Ah, yes, yes. We were planning to release it around tomorrow.”
“Contact Hye-in PD now and let’s release one more article. Not an official press release—make it look like a leak.”
“An article? What kind…?”
“Seo Tae-il’s Man, Kang Ha-jin. Could He Become the Star of KTBC’s New Survival Show? Casting Candidate in the Running.”
“….”
“Why do you have to frame it like this in the headline, making it sound like the reporter dug it up secretly instead of us leaking it? You know what I mean?”
Ha-jin. You trust your sister, right?
Your sister’s really going to make you a star.
Watching the junior who had been released into the big leagues return as an actual big fish, Myung-eun’s lips curved into an indescribably warm smile.
* * *
“Alright, one, two―!”
With a sharp shout, the massive drawer blocking the hallway slid to the side. The moment a space just wide enough for one person to squeeze through opened up, people rushed through the gap without a moment’s hesitation, scrambling to the other side.
“Slowly, sister, slowly please.”
“Oh, what do I do. This is seriously so scary.”
Most of those passing through the gap were celebrities whose names alone were enough to recognize.
Actors, comedians, singers, and broadcasters.
It was a gathering of people who had made their mark in broadcasting, but the one actually leading this group was someone else entirely.
“We just need to make it to the elevator now, right? We’re running short on time, so we need to move quickly. Please keep up and don’t fall behind.”
Kang Ha-jin.
An ordinary person from a failed idol group—someone most people didn’t even know existed in the entertainment industry until recently.
He suddenly appeared one day riding on Seo Tae-il’s coattails, and today at this location, he was demonstrating such prowess that the phrase “he’s doing it all himself” seemed fitting.
“Ha-jin, do you know the way to the elevator? Then maybe it’d be better if you led the way….”
“Oh, no. I’ll stay at the back and keep an eye on Tae-hyun and Sa-ra. Since Yong-guk is good at reading maps, if you could lead the way, and Ji-ye and Bin could scout ahead and tank for us, that would be great. What do you think?”
“Huh, me, me? You mean me?”
“I noticed earlier that Ji-ye’s crisis detection ability is really outstanding. She hears well and her senses are sharp, so I think it’ll work out fine.”
He wasn’t even trying to monopolize all the screen time—instead, he was strategically assigning appropriate roles to people and taking care of their characters. It had been dramatic from his very first appearance.
-What, what is this!
-Hello, it’s nice to meet you!
When they had failed to escape the waiting room during the golden time and were helplessly surrounded by hordes of zombies, he appeared like a hero, rescued everyone, and helped them get to this point.
Everyone was confused by the unfamiliar face at first, but that very strangeness actually gave his actions credibility.
-But Ha-jin… you seem to know this building really well?
-Oh, I used to work here.
-Really?
-Yes, I quit being an idol and worked as a PD. I came today because the Main PD said he was a senior I used to work with.
Ha-jin didn’t bother hiding the fact that he’d been cast through the Main PD’s connections. And the others didn’t particularly take issue with it.
-Wow… but seeing what you’re doing today, I would’ve cast you too.
-Now I understand why they cast you. Seriously, you’re so good at this.
-You solved the puzzle really fast too, Ha-jin. At this rate, isn’t it like the problems were leaked beforehand?
-Ha ha, I wish that were the case….
In a world where skill is everything.
Unlike idol survival shows where everyone starts as equals, in this survival lineup packed with the entertainment industry’s best and brightest, connections became a spec in themselves.
From the moment Ha-jin clearly proved his broadcasting ability, the story about Kang Ha-jin’s casting shifted from “the PD’s pet that he forced in” to “a hidden master the PD brought in to save the broadcast.”
“This way, this way!”
“Bin, how much time do we have left?”
“We’ve got less than 15 minutes now. We really need to hurry!”
With less than fifteen minutes remaining, everyone’s pace quickened in unison.
From the back of the group, I calculated the route in my head while keeping watch over the situation, letting out a small click of my tongue.
‘We had plenty of time just a moment ago… but we had to run into a trap of all things.’
The reason my group had gone from making a smooth escape with thirty minutes to spare to being pressed for time was an unexpected accident that occurred while climbing one floor earlier.
Since the waiting room was on the second floor and the elevator leading to the rooftop was on the fifth floor, the participants had to climb three additional floors, which meant solving puzzles on each level. If the puzzle was solved correctly within the time limit, a door would open to the next floor; if not, zombies would appear or other sudden traps would be triggered.
“I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, we could’ve moved faster….”
The woman walking beside me with my support must have heard me click my tongue, as she apologized in a voice full of guilt. She had twisted her ankle after panicking at the trap and horde of zombies we’d encountered just before.
“What? Oh, don’t say that. We’re just glad you weren’t hurt badly.”
“Ha-jin, you go ahead. I’m really fine.”
“Come on now. If you keep saying things like that, I’ll feel hurt. We’re almost there, really. Just hang in a bit longer.”
I flashed her a playful smile and cracked a joke, noticing how her face was full of regret that the group was falling behind because of her. But when her expression didn’t lighten, I shrugged my shoulders to reassure her that I was genuinely okay.
“Actually, I’m really fine. I was actually a fan of yours.”
“Me? You were a fan of mine? Hey, you can’t just say things like that on broadcast.”
“No, I’m serious.”
“What did you even see to become a fan of me?”
The woman asking with a confused expression was Nam Sa-ra.
In the current timeline, she wasn’t a breakout hit, didn’t have exceptional talents, and wasn’t particularly famous, but she was a female comedian who continued to get work by playing the so-called “punching bag” role—using her unique comedic timing to work well with distinctive personalities and create chemistry.
“Hmm….”
And in the original timeline where I was active as Kairos….
“Your sense of choosing BGM?”
Using a single verse from “Let it all perish,” she led a miraculous reverse-run of “There Is No Spring” on a comedy show segment, and through that opportunity, she created the connection that allowed Kairos—a second-year rookie at the time—to be invited to the Hwangryong Series Awards and perform a masked performance that would be evaluated as the greatest congratulatory stage in history.
She was precisely that person.
By the way, the DJ of the radio station from which Tae-hyun heard the news when I, Si-woo, and Ha-ru had gone missing was also Nam Sa-ra herself.
“Hey guys, I can see the elevator over there! Hurry!”
“Come on, hurry! It’s about to go up!”
The reason I, who could have escaped to the rooftop before anyone else, chose to fall back to look after the stragglers was partly for the broadcast footage, but also because of Nam Sa-ra here.
In the current timeline, because Kairos had collapsed, Nam Sa-ra hadn’t used “There Is No Spring” as the BGM for her segment, and the hit corner that had elevated her to the female entertainer award had never happened.
As a result, she was living as just an ordinary punching bag comedian, not even knowing how much her comedy could make South Korea laugh.
‘I’m not particularly trying to be a grateful magpie repaying a debt….’
If I had to choose one person among today’s cast members to be on my side, I thought Nam Sa-ra would be the better choice.
For one thing, she was the most comfortable person to be around, despite the internal familiarity. Above all, Nam Sa-ra was someone with no controversies regarding her attitude or character, whether then or now. Though she was currently being treated as dead weight due to an unexpected injury, she had also provided some of the most useful answers next to me on the way here.
“Hurry, hurry!”
“Ha-jin! Sa-ra! Come on!”
“Uh oh, there, there are zombies! Zombies are coming!”
The elevator leading to the rooftop was now right in front of us.
While Sa-ra and I still had some distance to cover to reach the elevator, a horde of zombies began pouring in from the opposite hallway. Anxious voices erupted from the group already aboard the elevator.
The moment I confirmed the situation and tried to move quickly toward the elevator by carrying Sa-ra—.
“Uh oh! Oh, we can’t!”
“…?”
“The elevator has a capacity limit! Only one more person can get on! If we exceed capacity, the elevator won’t move!”
Time running short, a horde of zombies closing in.
One injured member and the team leader.
Only one spot left in the elevator.
“…Ha!”
Upon hearing the situation, Ha-jin let out a hollow laugh, squeezed his eyes shut, and looked up at the ceiling.
“This is driving me insane, seriously.”
It was time to choose.

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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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