Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 61

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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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61. Screaming at You (3)
(Somehow) the Cleopatra game had transformed into a battle of pride between the lead vocalists, and this thrilling contest of honor was resolved far more quickly than expected.
-Hello, Cleo… uh, never mind.
The first to be eliminated was naturally Han Sung-woo, who hadn’t mentally prepared himself to be captured on camera in such a humiliating state.
He surrendered to the pressure of ‘the anxiety that a crack might slip out’ combined with ’embarrassment at his own struggling appearance’.
-Hel! Lo! Cleo! Pa! Tra!
-Hello!! Cleopatra!!!!
-Hel!!! Lo!!! Cleo!! Pa!!! Tra!!!!
The one who showed a truly unexpected side was Jeong Si-u. The sight of him, who was normally called ‘Miro’s Prince Charming’, belting out high notes with his neck flushed red shocked countless trainees.
-I forfeit.
-…Hyung, I didn’t know you were good at this sort of thing.
-If you can’t do at least this much in the vocal department, you won’t survive at drinking gatherings.
-!!!!
-Actually, I could do more, but the order doesn’t really matter anyway. Can’t risk straining my voice.
-No, hyung. Then why didn’t you stop earlier!
-Why should I? It’s my chance to wreck your vocal cords—you’re the other team’s lead vocalist.
-!!!!!!?
-Right, who started the provocation anyway?
‘Why do I feel like I lost?’
I had thought Jeong Si-u was just a quiet, composed model student type of senior, but it turned out he was actually a bit of a cunning schemer. Ha-jin couldn’t close his mouth upon learning this fact!
“Well then, trainee Kang Ha-jin. You participated in the game quite passionately. Now let’s select your performance order.”
“Ah, yes. We will….”
In any case, Ha-jin was the victor. Since this achievement was earned through Seo Tae-hyun’s keen eye for broadcast angles and even a hair-pulling performance, I needed to make the right choice.
Ha-jin thought carefully.
‘Kim Won-ho mentioned earlier that the Cinderella team is aiming for the first slot.’
The Cinderella team, with Jeong Si-u as leader and including Gong Seok, Kim Won-ho, and Ju Eun-chan, had prepared with a lavish masquerade ball concept. There was a lot to set up, and more importantly, the vocal condition of the main vocalists Gong Seok and Jeong Si-u was crucial, so they preferred an earlier slot according to the information.
‘Blue Scandal will naturally prefer the last slot.’
This wasn’t so much based on data as it was an inference drawn from Han Sung-woo’s personality. The song itself was grand, and he’d naturally want to shine by closing out the finale.
“Hmm….”
Ha-jin, lost in thought, alternated his gaze between Si-u and Sung-woo.
‘Well then, should I just give them what they want?’
“We’ll take the second slot.”
Everyone, including Sung-woo, looked shocked at Ha-jin’s choice.
After working so hard, deliberately choosing second? It would lack the impact of going first and wouldn’t have the lingering effect of going last.
“Yes, the Sad Ending team has chosen the second slot. Is there a reason?”
“I’m naturally a center type. I want to boldly claim the center position in the performance order as well.”
“Haha, but trainee Kang Ha-jin isn’t the center of the Sad Ending team, is he?”
“…That’s precisely why I have this small wish to claim at least the center position in the performance order.”
Geez. That guy keeps trying to bait me like this every time he sees me.
Grumbling only to himself, Ha-jin smiled brightly. In any case, thanks to Ha-jin’s choice, the remaining performance order was decided swiftly as well.
〜〚TO THE TOP〛〜
Cinderella
SAD ENDING
BLUE SCANDAL
“At last, the stage order for the second mission of Miro Maze, ‘To the Top,’ has been decided. Today’s mission will be graced by special mentors. We hope you’ll all do your best to ensure your performances are ones you won’t regret.”
At Seo Tae-il’s closing remarks, the trainees burst into synchronized applause. It was rather impressive how they’d grown comfortable in front of the cameras after some practice.
Once Seo Tae-il and the production staff disappeared, each team returned to their assigned seats.
“Hyung, do you think we’ll be okay in second place?”
“Of course. We can definitely win from the second slot.”
Dan Ha-ru asked nervously as we headed back to the waiting room. I patted his shoulder reassuringly and flashed him a confident smile.
“Ha-ru, if you just do well.”
“Huh?”
“Hey, hyung! Don’t scare the kid!”
“Our center. You can do great today, right? I only believe in you.”
“Stop putting pressure on him!”
Seo Tae-hyun swatted my back in protest, but I simply gave Dan Ha-ru a thumbs up anyway.
“…!”
Understanding something from my gesture, Dan Ha-ru’s eyes sparkled with determination. Seventeen years old. The new center of “Screaming at You.”
Ha-ru nodded at my words of faith in him and gave me a thumbs up just like I had.
“Yes! I’ll do great!”
“That’s right. What’s our goal?”
“Make people cry!”
“How much? Goals need to be specific.”
“Um, um… so hard they can’t even breathe?”
“Hey, Kang Ha-jin. Don’t teach the kid weird stuff!”
* * *
The second mission of Miro Maze, ‘To the Top!’, had begun recording. When the stage—designed to look like a canal transplanted into the studio—was revealed, all the trainees in the waiting room were astonished.
‘They definitely put more effort into it since it’s a proper set.’
Only Seo Tae-hyun, who’d already experienced broadcast scale through “Boy Heaven,” and I, who once spent my days shuttling artists through backstage areas like this, remained unfazed by the production value.
‘After running around with an intercom every day, sitting here in the waiting room feels oddly fresh.’
Just as I was watching the busy assistant directors with sympathetic eyes.
The monitor revealed the identity of the “special mentors” Seo Tae-il had promised.
-Today’s special guests are none other than!
-The original artists of the songs the trainees will be performing!
“Wow, that’s insane.”
At Tae-il’s words on the monitor, every trainee held their breath. Soon, familiar faces everyone recognized appeared on screen.
-Endway’s unwavering center! Mentor Choi Yeon-woo.
-Hello. I’m Choi Yeon-woo from Endway.
-And this is… a familiar face, isn’t it? Upia’s main vocalist, Mentor Chung Han-sol.
-Wait a second, hyung. Why didn’t you add ‘proud’? Am I not worth being proud of?
—and it’s wonderful to see a familiar face after so long. The undisputed ballad queen, Sarin, has graced us with her presence as a mentor.
“Wow, hyung. What do we do?”
“I’m actually a huge fan of Choi Yeon-woo! Oh!”
“So we’re performing in front of them? This is insane, seriously.”
‘Sarin showed up?’
While everyone else was losing their minds at the original artist’s appearance, I stared at Sarin on the monitor in surprise.
‘She basically disappeared after this point, barely active at all. Did she come because she’s close with Seo Tae-il?’
Seeing Sarin for the first time in ages across my entire lifetime, she certainly looked like far more time had passed than I remembered.
‘After getting married, she only sang OSTs occasionally… and then she completely vanished from the music industry.’
I still vividly remembered the days working under Kwon PD, when she tried to recruit Sarin and got flatly rejected, then drank herself silly.
“First Cinderella team. You’re heading to the studio.”
“Cinderella, fighting!”
“Fighting!”
With the assistant director’s words, the first team moved to the studio. On stage, fireworks burst to signal the start of the mission.
I exhaled, shaking off the tension clinging to my body, then swallowed hard before suddenly shouting.
“Gaon Arts University’s pride from the vocal department, Jeong Si-u! Tear up that stage!!!!”
Si-u, who was warming up his voice and heading out of the waiting room, stumbled at my words and nearly tripped. The other trainees giggled and glanced back at me. Regardless, I just shrugged and grinned.
‘Might as well go out there and completely destroy the stage.’
I grinned wickedly, watching Sung-woo’s back of the head.
A grand finale? I’ll make sure that never happens.
* * *
‘They’re all doing well.’
Sarin watched the stage intently.
A beautiful masquerade ball. 【Mood Night】, reinterpreted with the concept of a spy who accidentally encounters a fateful love, showcased the solid harmony between the two main vocalists.
The elaborate performance matched the grand orchestral arrangement, though it was somewhat ambitious for trainees to pull off. However, the trainee at center, Ju Eun-chan, anchored the piece quite solidly with his tall frame and long limbs.
‘They said the trainees choreographed all of this themselves?’
Circling the text crediting trainee Kim Won-ho for the choreography on the evaluation sheet, Sarin fell into thought.
“Would Sarin mentor like to share your thoughts as well?”
“….”
“Sarin?”
“…Oh, ah. My apologies.”
Startled by the voice calling her name, Sarin grabbed the microphone.
‘Get it together, Sarin. You’re causing trouble at a judging event.’
Quickly shifting back into professional mode, Sarin smiled smoothly.
“Sorry about that. You gave such an amazing performance that I was just absorbed in reading through this evaluation sheet.”
“Aren’t you being a bit too interested in other people’s kids?”
“Right, exactly. How could I not think about bringing them to our company?”
“Lia was eyeing them too last time, so none of this is going to work, is it?”
Fortunately, quick-witted Seo Tae-il played along and smoothly defused the situation. Sarin, seeing the trainees waiting for her evaluation, quickly continued.
“Ah, I really enjoyed watching that. Jeong Si-u? Your singing is truly excellent. I find myself thinking how wonderful it would be if I could sing even half as well as you do….”
“No, senior! If you say things like that, we won’t be able to sing at all!”
At Sarin’s words, Choi Yeon-woo from Endway, the youngest among the mentors, grabbed the microphone as if startled. The other mentors chimed in agreement, but Sarin’s words carried genuine weight.
“Oh, no. After going through childbirth once, I realized I can’t sing the way I used to anymore.”
In that moment, words I’d carefully hidden slipped out before I could stop them. Sarin was surprised by her own admission, but the other mentors simply took it as her characteristic humility, waving it off and insisting that Sarin was still Sarin. A bitter taste bloomed on Sarin’s tongue.
“…Still, since I’m a mentor, let me offer some advice, Won-ho?”
“Yes!”
“Personally, when you’re dancing in the back, you exude so much confidence and your expressions are wonderful, but I felt like that disappears during your own parts?”
“Ah… yes.”
“Since I’m a ballad singer, that might be why I notice it, but it’s really important to become a more confident version of yourself when you sing. For a singer, singing is something incredibly precious.”
Everyone nodded at the sincere advice. With Sarin’s evaluation complete, the first team descended from the stage.
Next came the moment I’d been waiting for—the trainees performing covers of Sarin’s signature songs.
“Sad Ending team! Please come up on stage!”
With Seo Tae-il’s opening announcement, five boys wearing different school uniforms climbed onto the stage.
“So, Sad Ending team. First, could you introduce yourselves?”
“Yes. We’ll introduce ourselves.”
A boy with sharp features, apparently the leader, exchanged glances with his teammates and synchronized their spacing.
One, two—they called out the count, and then….
“Waaahhh―”
“Oh noooo!”
“Sniff… sniff….”
They simply burst into tears. All five of them were even crying with distinctly different details.
One collapsed to the ground, another threw himself down and pounded the floor, while yet another turned around and waved a handkerchief toward some unseen destination.
“My goodness, what is this?”
“Oh. Are they crying like that because it’s a sad ending?”
“These guys are hilarious.”
Instead of introducing their team as instructed, the boys simply burst into tears, and the mentors couldn’t help but laugh. After about five seconds, as the short intro music ended, the boy who’d been burying his face in the center and sobbing grabbed the microphone again.
“Hello, we’re a team that sings about various kinds of breakups―”
“The Sad Ending team!”
In sync with the chant, the boys who’d been crying in their respective poses shouted the team name together. It was like a scene from a musical, and even Sarin burst into laughter.
‘These kids are fun. …Neither the concept nor the idea was planned.’
Curiosity and interest naturally welled up toward them. My gaze turned once more to the evaluation sheet containing details of their stage performance.
【Stage One-Line Description – A Scream to My Most Beautiful Moment】
‘I hope they do well.’
My sincere wish scattered inside my mouth.

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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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