Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 569

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

569. The Worst Timeline (4)
“Actually… I’ve already gone to see Si-woo once before.”
Our house’s shy, cautious kitten had already encountered the final boss of wariness itself—a creature whose vigilance had maxed out long ago.
The last time he’d been caught snooping and heard harsh words, his spirit had been thoroughly crushed. I could still vividly remember how shocked he’d been. When Do-ha mentioned his slump earlier, my tongue—which hadn’t twisted even once—felt completely parched.
“W-wh-whe-no, wh-when…?”
“The day you went to film 【In the Chaos】. I happened to have business at that hospital, so I ran into him briefly while I was there.”
“Hospital? Si-woo’s at a hospital?”
“No, Si-woo’s father is at the hospital.”
“His father is… alive?”
“…Yeah, guys. I understand this world is tough to get used to, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Just bear with it.”
The Lee Brothers fell silent at Jeong Si-u’s rather shocking circumstances.
‘If I tell them that Seo Tae-hyun is about to quit being an idol and become a manager, they’ll pass out.’
For the sake of their mental health, I’d have to save the stories about the other members for later. Yeah.
Anyway, that’s not what matters right now….
“So, you met Si-woo? Does he seem like there’s any room for improvement?”
“No. He’s still very guarded… and he was drinking and smoking. When I asked the nurses, it seems like he still can’t sleep properly….”
“….”
Jeong Si-u’s situation was exactly as I’d feared.
Drinking was something he’d enjoyed in a fun atmosphere, but smoking—he’d never even looked at it, saying it hurt his throat. If he’d reached that point, his mind must have been severely damaged.
“So? Si-woo’s wary of you too. What are we supposed to do?”
“I’m not sure of a method yet… but Do-ha is here, Ha-jin will be busy, and Yu Gun doesn’t have flexible time either. I don’t think we should leave Si-woo like that until the older brothers have time.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but even if I had free time, I can’t go there.”
“Why not?”
“…There’s a reason.”
The fact that Lee Do-ha had become a younger sibling was already driving me insane, but Jeong Si-u—the youngest who’d become Kairos’s official legal representative—was apparently unbearable for him. Yu Gun’s already pale skin turned even more ashen.
As always, Ju Eun-chan, still oblivious to everything, drew question marks above his head as he watched Yu Gun.
In any case, Eun-chan’s words made sense.
Moreover, Jeong Si-u had always been quite lenient toward the younger members in the group, so it was true that Eun-chan was the only one among these members who had any real chance of melting Si-u’s heart.
I nodded and looked at Eun-chan.
“Alright. Then go meet him. But if anything happens, tell me right away.”
“…! Yes! I’ll report to you immediately after I meet him.”
Though I hadn’t approved anything particularly momentous, Eun-chan nodded with satisfaction, looking as pleased as an elementary school student who’d been praised.
Do-ha, still reeling from the shock of hearing Si-u’s circumstances, wore a serious expression as he pondered something. His lips, which had been firmly pressed into a straight line, slowly parted.
“…Is there no possibility that he could awaken?”
At those words, I recalled a distant memory.
-…Ha-jin.
-I… had a dream. So, it was all a dream… It was definitely a dream….
-I keep seeing Father. Ha-jin. Father keeps….
At the Namhae Villa, Jeong Si-u had already awakened once before.
Back then, he had witnessed his father’s death—the final moment of his father, who had died hundreds of times across countless timelines.
[System Notification: Memories of the past timeline will be deleted.]
And I was the one who erased that awakening entirely.
I’d had to scrape together coins I’d painstakingly accumulated just to wipe those memories away—they were a clear poison and threat to Si-woo.
That remained true even now.
“It’s complicated to explain, but Si-woo and Tae-hyun have a low probability of awakening here. Back in your time, the Returner deliberately tried to break our minds, but that’s not happening now either….”
“Wow, I really…. I really can’t adapt to this kind of talk.”
“Endure it.”
As if his capacity for fantasy was reaching its limit, Yoo Gun—our representative ordinary person—made a pained expression and rubbed his face repeatedly with dry hands.
But since this wasn’t something time would solve, I left Yoo Gun to his distress and continued my explanation.
“Anyway, it’s not impossible, but it’s better not to expect it. And honestly, whether it’s Si-woo or Seo Tae-hyun, it’s safer if they don’t awaken.”
“…That’s true.”
“But… can we really talk about this stuff so openly like this? Especially here at the Military Base.”
“You’re only wondering about that now?”
Once he’d become conscious of the fantasy element, Yoo Gun grew anxious about everything, glancing around with an uncharacteristically timid demeanor.
I turned his head back toward us and answered.
“Don’t worry. To everyone else right now, it’ll look like we’re debating which chicken restaurant makes the best chicken.”
“…Ugh, I really don’t think I’ll ever adapt to this. Ever.”
“Well, they say it’s easier if you empty your mind.”
I gently patted Yoo Gun’s shoulder to soothe his confusion.
Though I wasn’t sure if it would actually comfort him.
Meanwhile, Do-ha, who’d finished deliberating, straightened his posture and opened his mouth. The already large man looked even more imposing with his proper bearing.
“At my place, there’s an external hard drive in my room’s drawer. I used it back when I was working on stuff.”
“…?”
“I’m not sure if there’s anything useful, but…. Still, I’ve saved all the songs I worked on back then, so if you need them, take them. I’ll let my mother know.”
“Ah, so that ‘my place’ you just mentioned is….”
“Yeah. My hometown. I cleaned out my studio apartment when I enlisted.”

Lee Do-ha’s Mother was someone I’d encountered a few times even in the original timeline.
Unlike Lee Do-ha, whose very bones screamed athlete, she embodied the refined dignity of an intellectual from head to toe—the scholarly type.
In the original timeline too, she’d been quite fond of me, Lee Do-ha’s only friend his age, so visiting her here wouldn’t be particularly difficult, but….
‘Don’t forget. The worst timeline.’
I’d already been caught twice—well, more than that—and if it happened again, I wouldn’t be Kang Ha-jin anymore; I’d be Han Sung-woo.
I clasped my hands together respectfully (somehow it had just become my habit) and cautiously asked Lee Do-ha.
“Um, I’m asking just in case, but….”
“….”
“Do you think your mother will welcome us? I’m mentally prepared to take at least a cup of water to the face, you know?”
“Ah.”
“Yeah. I can read the answer from that expression.”
Her son was doing well in soccer, then suddenly decided to become an idol out of nowhere—she must have been utterly baffled—,
and the idol group he finally debuted in treated him like a composition machine, exploiting his work, only for the whole thing to spectacularly collapse and send him into a slump, after which he disposed of all his equipment and went dark into the military.
And the cause of all that was us (supposedly)….
‘I should go prepared for at least a cold reception.’
But if I didn’t even try because I was afraid of a mere door slam, the reward was too substantial to pass up.
An external hard drive packed with Lee Do-ha’s unreleased work?
‘I’d possess a divine phantom thief X if I had to, just to secure this.’
Dear God, please bless this righteous theft today (or rather, not-theft).
My fist clenched with unnecessary determination, filling with strength.
* * *
After chattering on for a while like that, it was already time to part.
“I’ll visit often, Bear.”
“Yeah. I’ll be waiting for news.”
“Hyung, you have to stay healthy. You can’t get hurt or sick.”
“Yeah. I’ll try my best.”
“…If you need anything, just call.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Yoo Gun.”
We each said goodbye to Lee Do-ha in our own ways.
Since it felt too sad to just part like that, we hurriedly took plenty of selfies on our phones.
Somehow it had become a tradition of the Kairos member-gathering project—the four-cut photo would be taken later on leave once everyone’s bodies were fully recovered. Lee Do-ha’s current visuals were far too radical to be revealed to the public.
“I’m going. Hang in there.”
“Go on.”
“Hyung, I’ll see you again soon.”
“Take care, hyung.”
“Yeah. Be careful on your way.”
Leaving him alone in this desolate military base, my feet wouldn’t move easily.
Lee Do-ha made it easier for us to leave by turning first and heading back to the military base himself, but he seemed reluctant too, turning back several times to wave at us.
The situation itself was heartbreaking, but when I thought about how I’d have to do this again (sending members to the military) once I returned to the original timeline, tears blurred my vision.
And when I remembered that I’d have to go through that myself (enlistment), I just wanted to die.
“Oh, right. You all go ahead. The driver should be arriving soon.”
As I headed toward the parked car to get in, Eun-chan suddenly delivered unexpected news.
I glanced at him, wondering what he meant by saying that after we’d all come together in my car, and Eun-chan answered with an awkward smile.
“I mentioned I was going to Gangwon Province, and my older brother said he’s on vacation too and asked if we could stay a bit longer and have more fun. I think we’ll probably stay in the area for a few more days.”
“Where’s your accommodation? I can take you there.”
“Actually, I’m not sure. My older brother mentioned that a friend of his opened a resort nearby, so I think we might be going there.”
“Does Eun-seok happen to not need a big brother around?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind, it’s nothing. Just drive safely. I’ll see you in Seoul.”
“Yes. You drive carefully too.”
Envious. The life of the silver spoon.
I need to get back to the original timeline soon and drop a line like that on our Ha-won.
Of course, since our Ha-won is a homebody, he’d refuse if I suddenly suggested a trip.
In any case, it ended up being just Yoo Gun and me who got in the car.
Since I’d driven our family car here today, I took the driver’s seat.
The fortunate thing was that in the meantime, our family had achieved financial stability and upgraded the car from that beat-up Morning to a SantaFe.
The fact that I no longer had to squeeze into a cramped car seat was, in a way, tremendous motivation.
“Well then, shall we set the navigation?”
“Can you tell me the address?”
“No, it’s fine. I already know it.”
“Really? How did you memorize it?”
Yoo Gun laughed with curiosity, remembering that I’d promised to take him home once today’s schedule ended, naturally assuming I’d be entering his address into the navigation.
Though I felt sorry toward Yoo Gun, our actual destination from here wasn’t his home.
I hummed a tune and entered our next destination into the state-of-the-art navigation system.
【Goseong County, Gangwon Province…】
“…? What, are we really following Eun-chan?”
“Have I lost my mind?”
“Then where did you just enter? Gangwon Province? Goseong…?”
Yoo Gun checked the navigation’s destination and raised his eyebrows at me, then gradually realized the address seemed familiar, his expression shifting to one of “No way?”
I smiled at Yoo Gun and spoke.
“Think about it. Do-ha will be at the military base building his body and finding inspiration, and Eun-chan will be going to find Si-woo and trying to change his mind. But what about you? Don’t you need a role too?”
“….”
Yoo Gun clamped his mouth shut as if he had nothing to say.
I drove the final nail into the coffin for Yoo Gun.
“Yu Gun, we are going to….”
“….”
“Refreeze the cherry that’s completely melted.”
This Gangwon Province—I’m going to squeeze every last drop of satisfaction out of this trip.
As I ground my teeth with a low growl, Yoo Gun in the passenger seat suddenly started hiccupping.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————