Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 539

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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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539. Entering the Eye of the Typhoon (6)
When Kang Ha-jin suddenly suggested they go dance, his feet carried him to an arcade nearby instead.
“…You want to dance here?”
“No, dancing right after eating will give you indigestion. Let’s digest first.”
And sure enough, he pulled cash from his wallet and exchanged it for coins!
‘Was this guy always the type who enjoyed playing around?’
But no matter how far back Lee Yu-gun searched his memories, the Ha-jin he remembered was always either buried in practice or frantically working—or else angry at him.
‘…Did he really catch some terminal illness?’
Swallowing his suspicions once more, Yu-gun observed Ha-jin carefully as he surveyed the arcade, trying to decide what to play first. Soon, despite looking like someone on death’s door, Ha-jin was grinning far too brightly and acting far too carefree as he stopped in front of a basketball game machine and turned back to him.
“Hey.”
“…?”
“Wanna bet on a round? Loser buys coffee?”
“…Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. Would I joke about this?”
So Yu-gun genuinely couldn’t shake the thought: ‘Is he actually serious right now?’
Even if he’d lived a life too busy scraping by to indulge in such frivolities, there was no way he could be worse at this than that FM tyrant who’d chased his grand “dream” since childhood, skipping meals and obsessing over practice.
“Well… do as you like.”
Either way, I’ll just watch and enjoy the show.
Yu-gun’s mood lifted slightly at the prospect of free coffee on top of free food, and he nodded casually, taking his place beside Ha-jin. With his sleeves rolled up, Ha-jin grinned mischievously and spoke.
“No excuses after you lose, got it?”
“Who would make any?”
Ding ding! Game Start!
The moment Ha-jin inserted a coin, the machine lit up with cheerful music. Yu-gun caught the basketball rolling down the ramp and, confident he couldn’t possibly lose, threw it.
The basketball soared in a perfect arc and passed through the net as cheerfully as the music flowing from the machine.
* * *
He lost.
“Um… Cafe Owner, I’ll have a venti caramel frappuccino with two pumps of hazelnut syrup, and for the java chips, grind half and top the other half, please. Oh, can I add extra shots? Then three extra shots, and drizzle it with chocolate drizzle instead of caramel—lots of it. And whipped cream, regular size but generous.”
“…”
While Kang Ha-jin rattled off his order at the counter with unbridled joy, Lee Yu-gun stood beside him, half his soul departed, gripping the display case for support.
He was so thoroughly dazed that even when Ha-jin customized a single drink to the tune of ten thousand won—the minimum hourly wage—he couldn’t even muster a sarcastic comment about his conscience. In fact, when Ha-jin asked “What do you want?” he’d just waved his hand vaguely and mumbled “The same thing…”
‘I got completely wiped out.’
It was a defeat so utter and humiliating that even calling it a “crushing loss” seemed inadequate.
He rarely used such harsh language, but there was simply no other way to describe what had happened.
The basketball game to start, then racing, shooting, DDR (where his mental state completely collapsed), spot-the-difference, Tekken, Metal Slug—every single game he played ended in LOSE.
Lee Yu-gun, who’d never really examined his own competitive spirit before, discovered today for the first time that he was actually quite a passionate person when it came to winning.
“Hey, your drink’s ready.”
“….”
“Hey, Yu-gun! …Looks like the shock hit pretty hard. Hey, young man!”
“…Yeah.”
Yu-gun, whose mental state had been thoroughly shattered in every way, only snapped back to reality when Ha-jin shook that monstrosity of a drink—a beverage that looked like the final form of accelerated aging—in front of his face a couple of times.
It was only belatedly that Yu Gun realized he needed to pay—and that he’d been the one to order in the first place—as he accepted the drink from Ha-jin and hastily pulled his wallet from his inner pocket.
“Oh, the bill….”
“Already taken care of.”
“What?”
Faced with yet another unexpected answer, Yu Gun froze mid-motion, wallet still in hand. Ha-jin simply shrugged, took a long sip of his drink, and replied.
“I paid earlier. What cafe lets you pay after the fact? You looked like your soul had left your body, so I just covered it.”
“Then at least let me transfer you the money—”
“Forget it. It was Ju Eun-chan’s card anyway.”
“…?”
“Come on, let’s actually go dance now. The practice room reservation time is almost up.”
A bet? No backing out after losing?
Yu Gun’s mind began to short-circuit at Ha-jin’s utterly incomprehensible behavior.
It was the same at the restaurant earlier, and again just now at the arcade. No matter how he thought about it, this wasn’t the Kang Ha-jin he knew.
‘What is this?’
Yet the strange part was that this version of Ha-jin didn’t feel out of place at all.
In fact, it felt welcome—even familiar. After beating him at DDR earlier, Ha-jin had done a victory pose with finger guns and a wink accompanied by a clicking sound, and instead of finding it cringeworthy or repulsive, it felt natural.
The question mark that had circled Yu Gun’s mind all day took on a different shape.
‘What kind of person is he, really?’
Foolishly holding a sickeningly sweet drink that didn’t even suit his taste.
Yu Gun stood motionless, watching Ha-jin’s retreating figure. Ha-jin was checking a map on his phone, apparently guiding him toward the reserved practice room nearby.
When Ha-jin noticed Yu Gun wasn’t following, he turned back.
“Hey, breadwinner. Not coming? Scared?”
“…I’m coming.”
The moment Yu Gun took a step toward Ha-jin.
An old memory, like a film reel, flickered through his mind.
-Hey, that’s right. Gun.
-…?
-Did you just repeat what I said?
-Apparently I’m really good at something.
“…?”
-How about it? You took a trip and it wasn’t as bad as you thought, right?
-Next time, can I bring Grandfather and the Tigers?
The sunset and night sky of Jeju Island, which he’d never seen in his life, came flooding back. Within the excessively sweet aroma of a Frappuccino, he caught the scent of a tangerine chocolate he’d never smelled before.
-…Brother, what kind of person are you, really?
-I’m your brother. What are you going to do about it?
All those memories felt simultaneously foreign and desperately longed for.
Yu Gun had to stop all thought for a moment.
“Hey, Lee Yu-gun! What are you doing? Are you hurt?”
“…Yeah.”
He came back to himself when Ha-jin, unable to bear it any longer, returned to fetch him.
Yu Gun, unable to recall what he’d been reminiscing about just moments before, shook his head with a slight tremor running through his body at the inexplicable discomfort.
“No, let’s go.”
What was that just now?
Despite the indescribable feeling, Yu Gun obediently followed Ha-jin without resistance.
The final schedule of the day awaited him.
* * *
Ha-jin had brought Yu Gun to a Dance Studio not far from where they’d been. Yu Gun had passed by this place frequently in the area, but he’d never actually stepped inside until now, so it felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Ha-jin let Yu Gun look around the studio, then greeted someone who had been waiting for him in the Dance Studio’s lobby.
“Hyun-il, hey.”
“Oh, hyung. You’re here?”
The person called ‘Hyun-il’ was surprisingly someone Yu Gun already knew.
He was a fairly famous content creator who worked as a dance influencer on social media, having trained as an idol trainee. Back when Yu Gun still had lingering attachments to dancing, he’d often watched his videos.
‘But how does this hyung know Lee Hyun-il?’
Curiosity suddenly sparked in Yu Gun, and he quietly eavesdropped on the conversation between Ha-jin and Hyun-il.
“Thanks for letting me borrow the studio. How is it that you conveniently have a dance studio in this area?”
“It’s not that I conveniently have a studio in this area—I operate multiple studios throughout Seoul. I’m not that Lee Hyun-il from back then anymore.”
“Yeah, you’ve done well for yourself. You’re not the Hyun-il who bullied me ten years ago anymore.”
“…Ah, hyung. You said we’d forget about that.”
“Just joking, joking. Anyway, thanks?”
“…Don’t forget to take a photo with me before you leave. Our part-timer will handle cleaning up the studio, so just send me a text when you’re done.”
Bullied? This hyung?
Unable to reconcile the conversation with what he knew, Yu Gun unconsciously furrowed his brow.
The Ha-jin he’d known ten years ago had been sharp-tongued and stubborn, but he wasn’t the type to do anything bad enough to warrant being bullied, nor was he someone with rough edges. Even though Ha-jin had been hostile toward Yu Gun himself, honestly, all the members had been uncooperative with each other back then, so it wasn’t something worth holding against him.
“Hey, done looking around? Let’s go in.”
“How do you know each other?”
“Ah. Well… we trained together before. Before you guys met. And then we reconnected this time.”
In truth, when Ha-jin had asked Eun-chan for information about the Group Members, he’d also asked for an investigation into Hyun-il, and as soon as he’d found his contact information, he’d sought him out and reconciled (coerced) him using their past as leverage….
…which Yu Gun, naturally, had no way of knowing, simply nodded dryly.
‘If he’s close enough with the person who bullied him to be friendly like that…. Hanging out with someone like me and Ha-ru must be nothing for him.’
Since Lee Hyun-il, now a famous influencer, and Ha-jin’s mutual fame benefited each other, it was more of a ‘temporary alliance’ than a true reconciliation…. But Yu Gun, unaware of this, only grew deeper in his misunderstanding.
Before he could think about it further, Ha-jin grabbed Yu Gun by the back and pushed him into the studio. The moment his feet touched the wooden floor for the first time in ages, Yu Gun’s breath caught.
“Alright, alright. Now that you’re here, let’s warm up properly. We need to film a video or two for SNS today.”
“…Huh? Wait, what are we filming? A video?”
“What else would I bring you here for?”
“No, I can’t do this. It’s been a real ten years since I danced. I haven’t danced once since Kairos fell apart. How could I possibly—”
“Yeah, no. You dance well. You know how. Don’t worry.”
“No, I’m telling you I can’t, so why would you—!”
He should have anticipated this when Ha-jin suggested going dancing.
But Yu Gun never imagined he’d actually film a video with him and post it online. He vehemently opposed the idea, but Ha-jin acted as though he couldn’t hear Yu Gun’s protests, humming cheerfully as he connected his phone to the speaker and searched for a song.
Throughout the entire day, Yu Gun had been curious about what Ha-jin was thinking, but at this very moment, he genuinely wished he could open up that head and see inside.
“I’m telling you, I don’t know how to dance at all. How can I make a video when I can’t even dance…?”
Watching my vacant reflection in the mirror, Yu Gun finally decided he couldn’t stand it anymore and approached Ha-jin to stop him.
Whether Ha-jin had selected a song or simply cranked the volume to maximum, the speakers erupted with a sound more explosive than ever before.
Raising his voice, one, two, three—!
And remarkably, it was a song so familiar and recognizable that even Yu Gun, who barely heard it as background music at his part-time job, could identify it instantly.
Though it had been a full decade since he’d last heard this song, Yu Gun could feel his body responding to the beat.
-It’s started, our Death Match!
Once again, a memory he didn’t possess came flooding back.
It was a moment on stage—him rushing toward the audience, using the hands and backs of countless dancers supporting him as steps beneath the cascading lights.
Noticing Yu Gun wavering, Ha-jin set his phone down on the floor and flashed a grin.
“How is it?”
-Do or Die, And feel this vibe
“Do you remember?”
-The weight of my footsteps as I stake my life on every step forward
This was the final trial Ha-jin had set before Yu Gun.

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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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