Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 580

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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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580. Frustrated, So I’ll Do It Myself (1)
‘Has this hyung lost his mind?’
Seo Tae-hyun, watching Kang Ha-jin’s broadcast appearance for the first time in roughly eight years, found himself thinking exactly that.
Ha-jin had always possessed a certain temperament even as a child, and he’d never particularly bothered to hide it. But he never imagined his hyung would adopt such a provocative stance directly in front of the camera.
‘If he keeps that up, he’s guaranteed to make a terrible first impression from the start.’
‘I came out here myself because I was frustrated watching what you all were doing’—really?
If Tae-hyun had been sitting in that chair, even if those words were the absolute truth, he would never have left such an arrogant response recorded on video.
The public generally prioritized effort over talent, and skill over effort, but what they valued most of all was character and attitude.
‘No matter how well I perform, people will always favor someone who says “I’ll work harder” over someone who says “I’m already good.”‘
Human nature was such that people wanted humble individuals to succeed even more, while hoping arrogant ones would fall flat on their faces.
Ha-jin, who was usually brimming with confidence yet never arrogant, had apparently decided to answer like that for some reason.
Tae-hyun, whose memories of the Survival Program lingered like a nightmare, continued watching with an expression of worry he couldn’t quite suppress.
【Q. Are you being sincere?】
【Ha-jin: Yes. I’m being sincere.】
Even at a moment when he should have immediately offered damage control—”Ha ha, just joking. What would someone like me, a nobody from a failed idol group, know?”—Ha-jin on screen simply blinked shamelessly and nodded his head.
Watching this, Tae-hyun’s face grew even paler. In his mind, he could already see the critical comments viewers who disliked Ha-jin would be posting all over the internet.
‘…There I go, worrying about pointless things again.’
Noticing Tae-hyun’s expression, Ha-jin let out a small, helpless laugh and shook his head.
Within his field of vision, the very real-time reactions that Tae-hyun was anxiously fretting over were being monitored through the System window.
– Wait, Kang Ha-jin’s like that? That answer just felt kinda off;
Isn’t it just me who finds that answer sad??? So while Dol was going through the PD route, he was always thinking he could do better than that bastard
– Idk about the rest but damn he’s so handsome, can’t believe this is what a regular person looks like without any camera makeup whatsoever fr
– If he gets eliminated super fast after saying that, it’ll be so embarrassing…
– Broad spectrum attack incoming lol, there’s probably tons of seniors among the cast members
‘Getting all worked up over a single greeting already, huh.’
To be honest, Ha-jin already knew his answer was risky.
He was well aware that Kwon Myung-eun, with her sharp instincts, would absolutely never edit out this response,
and he’d fully considered that this interview might paint his first impression in a decidedly unfavorable light.
After all, the archetype of ‘some upstart who suddenly appears and acts like they know everything, all smug and arrogant’—was universally disliked across any genre.
【Ha-jin: But, doesn’t everyone have that thought at least once?】
Still, there was exactly one reason Ha-jin had framed his interview concept this way.
【Ha-jin: You know, when you’re watching TV at home and think, “Wait, that’s not how you’re supposed to do that”?】
【Ha-jin: That’s what I meant.】
So what if people disliked him?
Image management mattered when you needed to make a living off something for years to come.
What Ha-jin needed right now was at most a year’s worth of buzz.
‘That slow-simmered, deep-flavored charm? The kind of appeal that takes time to develop? Completely useless to me right now.’
There was only one thing he desired.
【Ha-jin: I’ll boldly step forward to represent the front row of the Master Bedroom. Fighting.】
【Audacious former broadcaster (?)】
Becoming someone like a salty snack—cursing that it’s too spicy and salty while unable to stop using chopsticks.
Hahaha how many people are curious about Ha-na lol
Hate comments are attention too, and villains are protagonists. (Though I desperately hope the only thing waiting for those trolls is the iron fist of the law.)
Kang Ha-jin, a former Main PD from a failed idol group, launched his first career smoothly.
* * *
Ha-jin’s irregular behavior continued even after receiving advance notice of the test.
-Then we’ll begin the test now.
The production team showed the participants being guided to separate rooms and how they tackled the fake exam papers prepared for them.
Some were intellectual types who solved problems methodically with sharp minds, while others were entertainment-oriented performers who found loopholes and discovered answers through various creative methods.
– 08:12 Ha Tae-jin solving math problems mentally is such a brain-sexy moment I’m dying
– Comedians really are smart; I only ever saw Nam Sa-ra and Yong Guk-shin acting ditzy on variety shows, but seeing this completely changes my image of them
– As expected, Hongbin is a gifted child who was preparing for science high school before his debut as an idolㅠㅠ You’re amazing, my kidㅠㅠㅠㅜ
Given the broadcast nature of In the Chaos, viewers naturally reacted to the participants’ intelligent and capable moments.
Even Nam Sa-ra, a comedian whom they’d brought in purely for entertainment value, was showing unexpected sides—
So how would Kang Ha-jin, whom the Main PD had recruited using the cheat code of “personal connections,” prove himself?
Amid gazes that were either anticipatory or cautious, Ha-jin finally appeared on screen.
【??: Everyone hold hands and sing la-di-da love~♪】
【A song suddenly heard from nowhere?】
…Standing far away from the desk with the exam paper, humming along like an unemployed uncle while loitering outside the conference room as if spying.
-Why are you guys holding hands at someone else’s birthday?
-But anyway, this isn’t a carol♪
The ridiculous lyrics that made you doubt your ears and the voice singing with lazy, half-hearted effort were unnecessarily melodious—
Ha-jin showed no intention of solving problems or even looking at the exam paper.
Compared to the other participants’ exam papers, which had turned pitch-black from actual problem-solving, Ha-jin’s paper only had a few checkmarks. There was no trace of particular struggle.
Soon the screen switched to Ha-jin’s interview.
【Q. You barely touched the exam paper?】
【Ha-jin (former production staff): Yeah, it was way too hard, you know? Geez, how am I supposed to solve that?】
Ha-jin’s shamelessly brazen attitude—as if asking whether they really expected a person to solve such problems—was excessively bright.
Since the impression from his confident interview earlier hadn’t yet faded, Ha-jin’s appearance resembled a puppy that had fearlessly charged at a tiger only to taste bitterness.
Some who had quietly resented Ha-jin’s attitude at the beginning quietly found his current state satisfying.
Haha, the character is definitely solid/consistent.
– Ah… my expectations are ruined…
– It’s okay Ha-jin, you’re handsome anyway that’s the fate of a visual member of a flower field brain group
I thought he was a total intellectual from the interview lol
I guess it makes sense that being competent in reality and playing at that level of “another world” are completely different things…lol
– What, I thought he was a sexy and charming guy but he’s a comedy character?
That was all of Ha-jin’s screen time during the problem-solving segment.
Though some viewers wondered if there might be some twist, the editing’s focus quickly moved to other participants, contrary to expectations.
Ha-jin’s first character seemed to solidify as something like “a puppy that barked loudly and got its nose bloodied.”
From the flow, there didn’t seem to be any opportunity for a special reversal.
Whirrrrrrrrrrr―!
Rrrrrrrrrrrrr―!!!!!
That was the case until a sudden, unexpected situation unfolded.
-What? What!?
-Huh? What is it!?
【No Prior Warning】
【Players Caught Off Guard by the Sudden Situation】
-Ah, ah! We’re issuing an urgent announcement.
-Currently, people exhibiting abnormal symptoms for unknown reasons are being discovered inside the building…!
-If you’re listening to this broadcast, head to the rooftop immediately, the rooftop―! Ugh, argh! No! Don’t come! Don’t, don’t come! Aaahhh…!
The announcement heralding the “real” test echoed through the building with enhanced realism via post-production.
All the cast members who had been focused on the test questions began scrambling to grasp the situation. The screams of actress Lim Ria, who spotted the zombie horde first, only deepened the immersion.
The production team rapidly cut between the cast members in each room.
– ?? What
– What is this
Viewers who had been watching the suddenly transformed situation with fascination fell into confusion when one cast member’s room appeared on screen.
The room that should have shown someone panicked and startled was completely empty.
-Whoosh…!
Well, there was someone there.
Half of them.
– Did he just break through the ceiling?
– Yeah, those are legs. They’re so long I thought a power line fell lol
– What’s even happening
After staring at the empty conference room for a while, viewers soon realized that the dangling object from the ceiling was a person’s legs. The problem was that while they understood those were human legs, there was no explanation for how this had happened.
【A Few Minutes Earlier】
On behalf of the confused viewers, the production team kindly rewound the video.
Then Ha-jin’s figure, sprawled lazily across a chair like a carefree nobleman, came into view.
Whirrrrrrrrrrr―!
Rrrrrrrrrrrrr―!!!!!
When the alarm that startled everyone sounded, Ha-jin, like the others, lifted his head and rose from his seat.
-…Ah. The senior really hasn’t changed.
Then, without even glancing back, he immediately stepped onto the desk and stood up!
As Ha-jin’s screen showed him tearing away a false ceiling panel, his interview voice overlapped the footage. A tense, heroic BGM merged with Ha-jin’s calm and sharp vocal tone, making the situation even more dramatic.
【Ha-jin: From the moment I entered the building, something felt off. It was very different from what I remembered.】
The screen returned to the scene of Ha-jin first entering the conference room.
Unlike before, when only a quick greeting was shown, a close-up of Ha-jin’s eyes now appeared, scanning the conference room with a meaningful gaze.
-That test too. For a 60-minute test, it seemed too difficult, you know? Though it’s possible I just couldn’t solve it….
-But as a PD, you develop an instinct for these things, right? This simply wasn’t the type of problem suited for broadcast.
-Something felt off, so I examined the conference room a bit. The ceiling pattern, you know? There was one spot that looked different. Large enough for a person to fit through.
Ha-jin on screen unhesitatingly tears away the false ceiling panel attached to the ceiling.
With his tall frame and long legs, Ha-jin easily gripped the edges of the opening, confirmed his footing for a moment, then launched himself upward in a single explosive jump. That one movement alone revealed the full extent of his physical prowess and athletic instincts.
—Hah!
Inside the dark opening in the ceiling.
Ha-jin’s head suddenly emerged above the mounted camera positioned in the narrow passage.
Despite the grueling position he maintained, Ha-jin hung effortlessly from the passage and locked eyes directly with the camera.
—Hello, senior. Are you watching?
Talent matters less than effort; effort matters less than skill; skill matters less than character and attitude.
Then what comes next?
—Ha-jin has arrived.
【A former broadcaster comes to catch the broadcaster】
Overwhelming talent that makes the flaws in character and attitude impossible to ignore.
Ha-jin’s refreshing smile—the kind that evoked the memory of summer waves—filled the entire screen.

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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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