Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 586

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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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586. When Cherry Grows (1)
This is the confession of a certain Cherry Boy from Gangwon Province who lived his entire life in dreams and died in dreams, ultimately withering away because of those very dreams.
-My goodness, whose child dances so beautifully?
-I tell you, I couldn’t take my eyes off Tae-hyun the whole time!
-Ha, is that so…?
Seo Tae-hyun, age four.
At a children’s musical prepared for the kindergarten talent show, he was merely a round pumpkin standing beside his older brother who played the lead—yet his overwhelming beauty and innate stage presence captivated every gaze in the auditorium.
He tasted the spotlight for the first time in his life.
-Because of Tae-hyun, I heard nothing but praise about our boy all day long. It felt like my birthday, truly.
-…Did the child really do that well?
-I’m telling you, you should have come and seen it yourself. I said we’d just leave him for one day and come back, but his stubbornness….
That day.
Those early years he barely remembered.
Mother, who always wore a weary expression worn down by life’s burdens, couldn’t suppress her smile all day long. Father, who had seemed indifferent, spent the entire night rewatching the video of Tae-hyun’s talent show that Uncle had recorded.
-Our Tae-hyun shone brighter than anyone in the world. He was so magnificent.
Whether it was that praise that moved him, or perhaps he simply couldn’t forget the dazzling brilliance upon that stage.
From that day forward, Tae-hyun often sang and danced before others. According to Uncle, he would sometimes perform enthusiastically alone in front of the bonfire where Pension guests gathered, basking in their affection.
Though he was too young to remember clearly, it seemed he had enjoyed the feeling of being loved by people.
Tae-hyun often reflected on his childhood in this manner.
-Sister, sister! This is huge, huge!
-Ugh, what now? Where did you go without running the bedding laundry?
-The bedding laundry isn’t important right now! Our Tae-hyun is going to be on TV!
-What?
Seo Tae-hyun, age twelve.
The rapidly growing super born-to-be idol kid from Gangwon Province finally revealed his light to the world. The catalyst was a drama shoot happening near his home.
When Tae-hyun went to visit the filming location with Uncle, he was coincidentally selected by an assistant director who needed a child extra, achieving his first television debut. Though he had done child modeling work frequently up until then, thanks to his exceptionally beautiful face and overflowing charisma, this was his first direct step into the entertainment industry.
-Okay, cut! Ah, perfect! Actually, it seems a shame to use this just once and throw it away?
-The kid isn’t scared of the camera at all. Has he done this sort of thing before? Usually when we roll, many kids cry.
-Is that so…?
-Oh my, ma’am. You really should make this child an entertainer! He’s going to do something big later!
His parents, who had been born and raised in Goseong, Gangwon Province, began to feel anxious.
They worried that if he had been born in Seoul, he would be sweeping across television and screens by now—what if their child was missing his chance to shine because of them?
Eventually, a few days after finishing that drama shoot.
Father called Tae-hyun over and sat him down, asking him a question.
-Tae-hyun.
-Yes?
-Do you want to be an entertainer? Would you like to go to Seoul to do that?
-Seoul…?
-If you say you want to, your Uncle said he’ll go up to Seoul with you. Will you do that? If you go, you’ll attend an Academy, and go to auditions and such… that’s what you’ll need to do.
Moving to the capital.
For a boy of merely twelve years old, a life spent separated from his parents and grasping at shadowy possibilities in an unfamiliar city was never easy—and yet….
-Yes, I want to try.
-Really?
At least for Tae-hyun, it was undoubtedly a golden opportunity that could never be missed.
-Yes. I want to give it a shot.
And everything that followed unfolded exactly as everyone knows.
-The boy who will become B-light’s final member is…!
-Choi Ha-ram! Congratulations!
-If you come with me, we’ll definitely debut. Let’s debut together, Tae-hyun. Yeah?
-As long as I’m at Miro, you’ll never debut. You get that, right?
-That’s why you shouldn’t have done something so pointless. If you’d just listened to me, you wouldn’t have suffered.
-The company has no intention of backing you anymore. You already know that, don’t you?
-You’ll be enlisting next year. When you come back, you’ll be over thirty, and by then you’ll know that it’s too late for anything.
Even when Tae-hyun appeared on Boy’s Supremacy in place of his friend Min-seok, he thought something was finally beginning.
Even when Min-seok called him to Miro, saying they should debut together,
Even when he finally debuted with seven members, leaving that tedious Executive Director behind.
No—even after Kairos disbanded and he challenged a solo career with a better entertainment agency.
-…Mom.
-I… I just… no matter how hard I try, it seems like nothing works….
Where should I have stopped?
What if I got it wrong from the very beginning?
Boundless despair and frustration dragged Tae-hyun down into the depths again and again.
Even the epithet “Cherry Boy” that he once desperately wanted to shed had now become something he yearned for.
[Casual Talk] What’s CSH up to these days?
Didn’t he say he was debuting as a male idol somewhere? I thought he’d be the most successful of the Cherry Boy outputs, but after going quiet for a bit, there’s been no news
– He had a solo debut last year, but the response wasn’t great, right?
└ The song was good though, I still listen to it
└ Wow, it’s been forever. That’s me—I was crazy about Cherry Boy back then
– His life really doesn’t seem to be working out; honestly, his talent is top-tier even among active idols
└ That’s a bit much; you just hit him with a wide swing
└ What kind of swing is that lol it’s facts
He simply wanted to be loved.
Though he was shy by nature, shame vanished the moment he stepped onto the stage. Solitude felt comfortable, but if he could only shine brilliantly, any opportunity would do.
To have someone watch me with fervent passion, to gain energy through their affection, to draw the strength to live from that energy—what a radiant thing that would be.
‘Still… I should stop now.’
Perhaps there’s always a reason why dreams remain dreams.
Tae-hyun decided to think that way.
-Think about it carefully. You’ve honestly tried everything you could. But if it still doesn’t work, what can you do?
-Accept it now, Tae-hyun.
-Your brightest moment has already ended—perhaps a very long time ago.
The last words he’d heard from the entertainment agency that had managed his solo career left a deep and vivid scar on Tae-hyun’s heart.
But each time Tae-hyun recalled those words, he would ask himself this question.
‘Have I ever truly shined?’
Having been buried in darkness for far too long, everything now felt like a mirage to Tae-hyun.
The fans who had cheered for me, the colleagues who had shared the stage with me, the spotlights that had poured down upon me.
All of it existed only as faintly as the afterimage of light.
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ Hey Seo Tae-hyun】
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ The edited version is done. Want to review it?】
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ (video)】
That was roughly the context behind Tae-hyun’s impulsive decision to appear in Ha-jin’s AiTube video, which he hadn’t seen in years.
【Doesn’t matter】
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ Really? You don’t have to watch?】
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ Is it okay?】
【There wasn’t really anything problematic about it】
【I’m just a civilian now anyway, so what does it matter if there’s backlash?】
Tae-hyun had appeared in several “Cherry Boy Update” bait videos before, and the view counts and results had never been particularly significant. This didn’t seem like it would be any different.
Of course, Ha-jin’s appearance on the Survival Program and the phrase “Kairos Reunion” certainly sounded much more compelling than before, but that was all it amounted to.
‘Even if there’s some reaction… it would just be because of Ha-jin hyung.’
After all, he’d become a regular cast member on an official TV program.
But even Ha-jin couldn’t know for certain whether he’d be able to continue his career after In the Chaos ended, could he?
【Just upload it whenever, I don’t care】
He’d always been meticulous about his work, and since he came from a PD background, at least he wouldn’t cause any harm to me or the other members.
That was the extent of what Tae-hyun remembered about Ha-jin.
‘Well… he did seem a bit more reckless as he got older.’
Still, there was at least some faith that he wasn’t the kind of person who would generate low-level bait using himself in a video like this. In fact, at this point, he’d be grateful for any bait at all.
Besides, he’d gained a lot of weight since then, and without exercise or proper management, his visuals were a mess anyway.
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ Really?】
So Seo Tae-hyun truly believed this.
That there would never be a spotlight shining on his life again.
Even if a bright light happened to shine down on me for a moment, it would only be because it was passing through on its way to illuminate someone else.
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ Hmm… I don’t think so lol…】
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ Anyway, got it】
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ Get ready for work】
【Kang Ha-jin ‖ (emoji of a puppy waving in greeting)】
That evening.
Tae-hyun heard from Ha-jin that the video had been uploaded, but he didn’t bother searching for it.
It wasn’t that he was deliberately avoiding it—he was genuinely too busy preparing for work. Having been suddenly dragged to Seoul by Ha-jin and Yoo Gun, there was far too much to prepare and organize here.
For Tae-hyun right now, adapting to Miro Entertainment starting next week was far more important than the view count of some video whose outcome was uncertain.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
“…?”
I first sensed something amiss after I’d finally settled on an outfit for my first day of work and sat down on the sofa to check my phone during a brief respite.
“Why are there so many notifications…?”
My eyebrows furrowed at the deluge of alerts crowding the top of my phone screen.
Before I could even think that something had gone wrong, I instinctively tapped the topmost notification icon—an OneStagram account I’d created long ago and hadn’t properly accessed since returning to Gangwon Province.
@itaerryu
Seo Tae-hyun
Posts ‧ 32 Followers ‧ 213K Following ‧ 0
Upon logging into my account, I blinked slowly after confirming something.
“Huh?”
Then I quietly closed the app and reopened it.
@itaerryu
Seo Tae-hyun
Posts ‧ 32 Followers ‧ 214K Following ‧ 0
@itaerryu
Seo Tae-hyun
Posts ‧ 32 Followers ‧ 230K Following ‧ 0
After repeating this about five times, the numbers were still abnormally climbing—so my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
Wondering if it was an app glitch, I logged in again from my laptop, but the follower count only continued to surge in the meantime.
“Wh-what…?”
Something unbelievable was happening!

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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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