Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 547

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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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547. Something That Happened Before Filming (3)
Heard anything about it?
Well, yeah.
“They say it’s going to be insanely tough? Apparently people end up begging the production team to step in.”
“Ah, come on….”
“Hey, I could say the same thing!”
That deflating comment shattered the sharp, tense atmosphere in an instant. The exclamations rippling through the room carried genuine relief masked as playfulness.
‘Looks like everyone’s pretty nervous about this.’
And rightfully so—except for Ha Tae-jin and maybe one top-tier comedian, the lineup was fairly uniform.
Everyone had name recognition, and people would definitely react with “Wow, really?” when hearing they’d appear together, but when you broke it down coldly, they were all clearly “supporting cast”—the type who’d get secondary or tertiary roles anywhere.
Far removed from rookies or unknowns, but not quite A-list either. They were just one step short of commanding top-tier appearance fees at major events.
‘Well… for a survival show that needs audience immersion, this kind of lineup is actually standard.’
Still, when a bunch of these mid-tier talents suddenly found themselves cast in KTBC’s most anticipated first-half project—an OTT exclusive variety show competing for the top spot domestically—it was enough to make anyone’s eyes spin.
I casually cut through the growing commotion and spoke lightly.
“Hey, my previous workplace didn’t give me any advance notice about this either. I’m someone who decided to appear here on short notice too.”
“See? I told you they’re in the same boat~?”
“Yeah, why do people keep making up rumors when we keep saying it’s not like that?”
“We’re going to be seeing each other for days—if we start this kind of tension already, it’s going to give me a headache.”
When I laughed it off with an awkward smile, supportive voices began erupting from various corners. The “neutral” faction, who’d been privately uncomfortable with the topic, was finally speaking up.
‘Well, they’re either moderates, or… they’ve got something they feel guilty about themselves.’
I stopped thinking there.
Whoever started this, if someone deliberately launched a full-scale opinion war, I could definitely stoke real flames before the cameras even started rolling….
But honestly, all that would do is give me a headache and create unnecessary complications before filming even began, so it wasn’t worth it.
Besides, constantly calculating and strategizing when dealing with people wasn’t my style to begin with.
“Hmm. Still, couldn’t we at least make some educated guesses?”
“Guesses?”
“Well, neither Myung-eun nor Writer Se-eun really favor formats that are overly cruel or inhumane. They do pursue stimulation, but it’s a bit different from the sensibilities of this generation, you know….”
That’s partly why some of their past shows flopped anyway.
I swallowed the rest of that thought and threw out a few more clues to these people who were just as much in the dark as I was. After all, I was equally curious about what the filming would entail.
“And it seems like they usually packed a lot of meaning into the program titles. My previous one was called ‘Trouble Traveler,’ and it was literally a show about taking problematic people on trips.”
You didn’t have to look far—just look at how they literally built an actual maze for Miro Maze.
If it’s In the Chaos, then something chaotic must happen, so if I’m being unimaginative about it, maybe natural disasters or catastrophes?
“Participants, please gather in the center now! We’re starting at exactly 9 o’clock!”
“Ah, it’s starting. Let’s go, everyone?”
“We’re starting at exactly 9 o’clock! Please gather quickly!”
“Wait, there’s still 10 minutes left? Why are you calling us so early? I need to touch up my makeup…!”
“Ah, I need the restroom. Just the restroom, I promise.”
“Ugh, I need to change clothes too? Hey, Su-hyun! Where’s Su-hyun!”
Amid the growing chaos, an FD’s voice announced the start of filming. Everyone who’d been speculating about the content in their own ways bustled about doing final checks before stepping in front of the cameras.
Since I hadn’t done anything special or had anything else to prepare, I naturally took the first step forward, and I immediately felt someone stick close to my side.
“So? You really didn’t hear anything?”
“You’re curious about that too, senior?”
“Come on, call me hyung.”
Ha Tae-jin, who’d shown up for his first broadcast with unstyled bangs and casual clothes, flashed a playful grin and jabbed me in the ribs.
The way he was biting his lip without seeming the least bit curious whether I actually had information or not made it painfully obvious he knew full well that those earlier conversations were a coordinated smear campaign aimed at me—and it irritated me.
Especially since that “someone” was almost certainly this guy’s agency junior, the one who’d been clumsily trying to intimidate me.
“Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you, senior.”
“Wow, that hurts. Honestly, the fact that the Kang Ha-jin controversy died down is partly thanks to me, right?”
“It didn’t die down—you buried it under something louder.”
“Getting linked to the Ha Tae-jin line on your first variety show? Most people would kill for that. Don’t need it?”
“If we get any more linked, I think your agency junior’s going to get a first kill.”
“Who, Zeus? Hmm, no. The kid’s cunning, but he’s not that stupid.”
Ha Tae-jin, who’d been whispering in a near-ventriloquist fashion so no one else would hear, cut himself off the moment staff members approached and switched to his public-facing smile.
‘So this guy knew too? That his company and junior have it out for me.’
I kept my mouth shut as well, and the audio director who’d been waiting stepped forward to fit me with a microphone.
Everything said from here on out was on the record.
Producers would dig through bathroom gossip if it made for good audio, so from this point forward, watching my tongue was security and survival.
And yet—.
“Well….”
“…?”
“It’s not like I came away completely empty-handed.”
I recalled those camera directors from earlier, the ones who’d been teasing and harassing the youngest assistant director.
For a large-scale survival program, the staff deployment was massive. There were barely over ten cast members, but just the directors alone numbered around a hundred.
Which meant those idiots had been sitting in a corner chain-smoking and cracking jokes while all those directors and staff members were rushing around frantically.
Why?
“You’ve been seeing that rig camera going around since earlier, right?”
They’d finished their work and were just killing time.
Normally rig cameras and camera teams are called separately, but when things are tight, it’s common for camera directors to pull double duty.
“A rig camera? Well, usually those are set up early, aren’t they? Is there a problem?”
“On a filming set where they haven’t even properly shot the opening yet, and the cast hasn’t even put on audio equipment, they’re just running the rig camera aimlessly? That’s the kind of insane move that blows a sync team budget….”
Damn, occupational hazard again.
When I turned my head, uncomfortable with the vibe, Ha Tae-jin was staring at me like I’d just spoken an alien language.
“Sync… what?”
“Oh, I mean…. On a large-scale shoot like this, syncing cameras costs money too, so there’s no way they’d just be running the rig camera this early—it’s just how PDs talk about it….”
“….”
I mean, he’s in the industry—he should understand this much!
Seeing Ha Tae-jin give me the same look the members had given me when I’d used “gudari” once before, I added an explanation with a sigh.
“…Putting the lead actor on standby 48 hours before the shoot starts tomorrow evening.”
“Ah.”
A highborn actor who only understands his own world….
Leaving Ha Tae-jin behind as he nodded with that irritating air of newfound understanding, I absorbed every detail of the filming studio with meticulous attention.
Kwon Myung-eun was someone who never squandered the production budget she received, and even less so did she waste it carelessly.
The cameras rolling meant we were recording, and recording meant everything happening now was part of the script.
“What? What is it? Why are you two talking in secret?”
Nam Sa-ra, having finished her makeup touch-up, rejoined the group. The other cast members were still in their final preparations—some returning late from the restroom, others changing clothes.
Honestly, they should have finished all that during the endless waiting period earlier, but it seemed some of them still harbored the bad habit of wanting to confirm their status by the order they entered the filming studio.
An idol group I’d grown friendly with during the previous pre-shoot and a female influencer quietly gravitated toward me.
Nam Sa-ra, reading the atmosphere, spoke up readily.
“Oh, by the way, did you guys see something on my way here? Like some kind of pre-filming notice or something?”
“Oh! I saw that. Is it important?”
“I thought it was for the staff… there was something written on it, but…”
“I was editing this earlier and skimmed it for a moment. You know that alarm sound that went off during our pre-meeting? I think that’s some kind of signal. Like, when the alarm sounds, you have to stop whatever you’re doing and follow the instructions, something like that?”
“I read it too. ‘Time is money’? It said to strictly adhere to the set times, and apparently a bell chimes from that large clock over there on the hour.”
That’s Nam Sa-ra for you.
She’d caught the easter egg notice Kwon Myung-eun had planted and, rather than keeping it to herself, naturally shared it with the cast members, creating a smooth flow.
Honestly, she could have kept it to herself and revealed it at a crucial moment. It was also a solid strategy to stay silent without a microphone, then share it with only a select few once she had one on.
The fact that Nam Sa-ra chose to share with relatively inexperienced newcomers and younger members was a significant plus. Anyone could see this was considerate toward information-deprived kids.
‘Hmm, maybe I should do something good too.’
Both Ha Tae-jin and Nam Sa-ra, along with the younger cast members who came with them, had proven to be quite capable during the previous pre-meeting.
I confirmed that the other cast members still had quite a while before arriving. Despite the filming announcement, the production team wasn’t hurrying the dawdling cast members at all. Even on Kwon Myung-eun’s face—someone who preached that time is money—there was only serenity.
“It’s nothing grand, really… just something I heard chatting with that young assistant director earlier.”
“Chatting? Yeah, what did he say?”
My gaze turned to the young assistant director trembling with a laptop next to Kwon Myung-eun.
-From now on, whenever those guys snap their fingers, call Hyun-gyu no matter what. He’s disrespectful to our team too, but even more so to other teams, so he fights well in situations like this.
-Ah, yes, yes…! Thank you so much. This is really my first time doing something like this…
-I know. But even though it’ll be hard, you can’t let it show that it’s your first time. This industry is full of people who brag about their skills and strength based solely on how long they’ve endured.
I’d only offered a few words of advice because it pained me to see the young kid being dragged around by the directors while being called “Park.” Park PD—whose name I still hadn’t learned—looked up at me with sparkling eyes as if I were some kind of hero.
-Well, then I’ll get going. Try to stick close to the seniors as much as possible. And always wear your name tag. Anyone who doesn’t call the PD “PD” gets absolutely crushed.
-Ah, I…!
-…?
-Um, so…!
Helping Park PD was purely out of sympathy, nothing more.
With no ulterior motive, I was wrapping up the conversation and turning to leave when Park PD, clutching that envelope of documents, suddenly called me back. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he asked one thing.
-Running…! Are you good at it…?
“He asked if I was good at running.”
“Huh?”
“Running—if I was good at it. He said it’s good to do ankle stretches regularly, things like that.”
“…?”
At my words spoken with a slight smile, question marks flooded the faces of the cast members who heard me.
But those question marks transformed into exclamation points in an instant.
Ding, ding, ding―.
The clock tower chimed 9 o’clock sharp, its sound reverberating across the entire filming studio.
And at that very moment, the iron gate of the set that had been sealed shut until now burst open with a thunderous crash.
And of course―,
that wasn’t all that began.
Whirrrrrrrrr―!!
Rrrrrrrrrrrr―!!!!!
“…!”
“What the hell is happening now!?”
Taking the blaring alarm as my signal, I didn’t even glance back—I bolted toward that iron gate like a madman.
At last, In the Chaos had begun.

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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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