Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 70

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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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70. Guess Who? (1)
No matter how I thought about it, I should have gone to Rene Entertainment instead. I should have pushed Cha Min-seok out of the way somehow.
“…No, that’s a bit much.”
The shock from when I first saw Cha Min-seok in person came rushing back. I had to admit that he was operating at a level where even decent talent couldn’t compete with him. Regardless of his skills or personality.
“Ugh, being an idol is really tough, seriously.”
Either way, I had to monitor the video, so I suppressed my reaction to the thumbnail and clicked play.
The familiar intro played—I’d heard it hundreds of times by now.
“It came out looking good.”
Even skipping past Han Sung-woo’s unnecessarily fatal part, the video definitely seemed well-produced.
The smooth camera movements, well-timed editing, and violet-tinted lighting captured the dreamy atmosphere of the song perfectly.
There were definitely some rough edges since they were inexperienced rookies, but….
‘Well, that’s what makes trainees charming, right?’
What mattered was buzz. No matter how well we crafted the thumbnail with attractive faces or uploaded a visually stunning video, it meant nothing if people didn’t watch it. I quickly scrolled down to check the comments.
– Wow, this company’s thumbnails are really good
– I came here because I heard there’s a face genius continuing Miro’s legacy of beautiful people
└ Not lying, I don’t know any of their names but I can tell who it is
└ Same lol
– ♥Tae-hyun I love you you’re amazing♥
– Seo Tae-hyun compilation for my own viewing
0:03 The way his hair flows is heaven
0:21 Nostalgic Tae-hyun
His falsetto is insane lol
…more
– The sculpture-looking friend was the main vocal, what a betrayal
– The rapper has a nice tone, it’s a shame he’s doing idol stuff instead of rapping
└ Why are you saying that to someone who came out for the Survival Program to be an idol
└ Still stuck in outdated thinking
└ Why else, his face says it all. Not being an idol with that face would be a crime lol
– Did Miro release all their trainees?
I’d felt it since the profile photos were released, but the response was good for an entertainment agency survival program. Only about 10 minutes had passed since the upload, yet the comments and views were solid. Every time I refreshed, the numbers climbed noticeably.
‘About half of them seem to be Seo Tae-hyun fans.’
Still, the other half had Team A’s trainee names fairly evenly distributed. The fact that Korean comments outnumbered English ones was also a good sign.
– 2:17 Can someone please tell me the name of the red-haired guy my heart hasn’t raced like this in a thousand years
└ It’s Lee Yu-gun!
“…Lee Yu-gun, huh.”
While monitoring public reaction and refreshing through comments, one name caught my eye. Now that I thought about it, this guy was there.
I scrolled back up and rewatched the already-finished video, focusing on the scenes where Lee Yu-gun appeared.
“….”
He danced fine, and he sang during his part. But since he didn’t have much screen time, there were quite a few scenes where he was compressed compared to his actual skill level. It was so bad that Lee Do-ha actually got more screen time than him.
“But Lee Do-ha, he really can’t dance.”
Unlike the end-of-month evaluation, the preparation period had been rushed, so for Lee Do-ha, memorizing the choreography was probably the best he could manage. Even at a glance, the stiffness was glaringly obvious, barely covered by his decent rap skills and solid physicality.
“…That’s exactly why it’s so strange. Don’t you think so, Thirteen?”
[System Notification: Yes, yes?]
Thirteen appeared slower than usual at my sudden call.
Whether it was the system upgrade’s influence or not, various special effects were gradually being added to the otherwise mundane blue window. This time, it was beads of sweat.
“Focus a bit, will you? We need to find the traitor.”
[System Notification: Are you suspecting Lee Yu-gun?]
“There’s no reason not to suspect him. There’s definitely something off about him.”
Since we’re on the subject, let me organize that too.
I activated the notepad function I’d created on one side of the system UI. Various memos I’d scribbled down before were organized like sticky notes.
Just as I was about to press a button to create a new memo, Thirteen’s chat window opened again in a small box beside me.
[System Notification: Um, well….]
[System Notification: Aren’t you monitoring the video of yourself?]
[System Notification: The system expresses pure curiosity. (・ヘ・?)]
I had no answer to such a timid question.
It was true that I’d deliberately been avoiding watching Team B’s video.
[System Notification: Could it be that you’re embarrassed? Σ (･口･)]
“Yeah, I’m dying of embarrassment, seriously.”
Thirteen, oblivious to my feelings and throwing up sound effects like “whoosh” and “bang,” suddenly annoyed me.
I waved my hand dismissively and refocused on the memo in front of me.
‘I’ll watch our team’s video later tonight. Once more reactions pile up.’
In truth, I just didn’t have the courage to face public opinion about myself.
Call it rationalization if you will. But fear is fear.
-Ha-jin’s voice stands out. The volume is way too loud.
-I don’t know… it’s kind of ambiguous.
-Have you thought about changing your path? When are you going to debut like this?
Voices that once squeezed my chest came to mind, but I deliberately shook my head.
I was no longer the naive and foolish Kang Ha-jin from back then, and I hadn’t repeated the mistakes I made. So naturally, the evaluation of me would be different now.
Still, I wanted to put off confirming that for as long as possible.
“Ugh, forget it. I’ll watch later. I’ll watch it later.”
[System Notification: Then I’ll set a reminder alarm for around 9 PM to monitor Team B’s video so you don’t forget!]
[System Notification: The system expresses anticipation for the fixed returner’s first performance video. (⸝⸝⍢⸝⸝) ♥]
Thirteen, who had no sense of reading the room whatsoever, was still oblivious to my feelings and had already plastered checkmarks all over the to-do list, shoving it in front of my eyes. I could’ve told him to stop, but he seemed more excited than I was, so I just left it.
“Alright, let me organize this now.”
The beauty of the system notepad was that words would inscribe themselves as if I were typing, just by thinking them.
After all, I couldn’t very well write things in the air or tap on a keyboard. The connection to my mind made it convenient in moments like this.
“It seems certain that one of the trainees is involved. There’s no way it’s a staff member or a debuted senior—the vibes and connection points are completely off. So it has to be one of the seventeen currently participating in the Survival Program.”
Immediately, the profiles of all seventeen trainees automatically loaded onto the notepad.
Wow, the functionality is insane.
Slowly examining the trainees’ photos, I first eliminated those who seemed unlikely.
“It’s not Seo Tae-hyun. As you said, he made the same choices across every life.”
【Seo Tae-hyun】
“Han Sung-woo too. Park Jae-young and Gong Seok as well. Kim Won-ho probably isn’t it either.”
【Han Sung-woo】
【Park Jae-young】
【Gong Seok】
【Kim Won-ho】
“Ju Eun-chan and Dan Ha-ru… let’s set them aside for now. Based on how they got caught up with the Executive Director, it seems unlikely they’re the ones, but this time around, it’s possible they didn’t regress because that situation was resolved.”
As I went through various pieces of evidence, eliminating and keeping candidates, the list that had been seventeen names suddenly shrank considerably.
【Lee Do-ha】
★★★☆☆
-Excessively exceptional rapping, composition, and producing abilities
-Never heard his name or seen his activities in the previous life
-Sees through far too much (though it might just be his personality)
-Currently monopolizing the Special Class with rap as his sole tool
【Jeong Si-u】
★★☆☆☆
-Excessively exceptional stats (appearance, vocals, and seems decent at dancing too)
-Actually still don’t know much about what kind of person he is
-Need to investigate further
【Lee Yu-gun】
★★★★☆
-Stats are supposedly high, but what’s actually visible isn’t quite that level
-Speaks as if he won’t debut anyway
-Always seems to walk alone
-Doesn’t seem to have a good reputation among the trainees either (see reactions during the monthly evaluation)
-Doesn’t seem particularly desperate about the Survival Program itself
【Ju Eun-chan】
★★★★☆
-Excessively exceptional stats
-But why didn’t I ever see him in the previous life? (Could be because of the Executive Director and Han Sung-woo)
-High possibility that the regressor didn’t regress this time thanks to dealing with the Executive Director and holding the Survival Program
-Ju Eun-chan, who was most threatened by the Executive Director and Han Sung-woo, benefited the most
【Dan Ha-ru】
★★★☆☆
-His name is suspicious (too ordinary a name)
-Benefited from dealing with the Executive Director
-But isn’t this kid too bright for a regressor?
-Thinking about my age when I first regressed, Dan Ha-ru seems too young
(When I regressed the first time I was seventeen, so he would’ve been a fourteen-year-old brat then, making the timing a bit off)
—But there’s no certainty that they aren’t returners either.
“Five people, then….”
Of course, I’d need to stay vigilant and examine the others beyond these guys carefully, but regardless, narrowing it down this much was already quite a significant harvest.
And one of them had already fallen into my grasp.
“Thirteen. I still have one unused reward from before.”
A Quest reward I’d kept postponing because I couldn’t decide on it suddenly appeared in a new window.
[Single Quest 03.]
[‘Want to become special?’
Description: The trainers still show little interest in you, a mere rookie trainee. Achieve excellent results in the end-of-month evaluation, stand out, and enter the Special Class!]
[Quest completed.]
[Success Reward: Clue for Returner Tracking & Ally Recruitment]
[Will you claim your reward? (Select reward to claim)]
1. Clue for Returner Tracking
2. Ally Recruitment]
[System Notification: ‘Lee Do-ha’ (Response Rate 68.9%) and ‘Kim Won-ho’ (Response Rate 92.3%) have ‘responded’ to you. Based on your choice, you can recruit one person as an ally.]
[※The response rate of the unchosen target will accumulate, but the timing of ally recruitment cannot be guaranteed.※]
[Ally Recruitment Status 2/??]
‘Kim Won-ho’s response rate is a shame, but… at that level, I should be able to recruit him later anyway.’
“I’ll go with Lee Do-ha.”
[System Notification: ‘Lee Do-ha’ ‘responds’ to you. (Response Rate 68.9%)
Recruitment of ‘Lee Do-ha’ is possible.]
[Will you recruit him? (Y/N)]
“Yeah. Let’s do this quickly. No time to waste.”
Ha-won would be leaving the Academy soon.
I couldn’t act like a madman when I was with Ha-won, so I’d probably have to go to the Playground… but if the kid who was supposedly sick and resting suddenly says he’s going to the Playground this evening, his parents would never let it slide.
[System Notification: ‘Lee Do-ha’ has been recruited as an ally. (3/??)]
[You can now check the current status and location of recruited allies, and summon them if needed (10 Cache required).]
“I want to see Lee Do-ha’s past timeline.”
[System Notification: An ally’s past timeline can be unlocked only at a response rate of 70% or higher.]
[System Notification: An ally’s response rate is calculated based on trust in the fixed returner.]
“Ah, so I can’t see it because I’m short by 1.1%, is that it?”
What a waste.
“But wait. I gave him a ride during the end-of-month evaluation, incorporated all his daylight feedback—so why? Why is it only this much? Kim Won-ho has a whopping 92%?”
I’ll have to meet him soon. I need to ask about Lee Yu-gun too.
Then, my phone vibrated briefly with a short buzz.
【Miro ent_Ji Su-ho Team Leader ‖ Yeah, you worked hard on the Survival Program. How about lunch tomorrow?】
The sender was Ji Su-ho. I replied with an acknowledgment, and soon the time and place to meet came back.
So now, the last task of the day remained.
“Thirteen.”
[System Notification: The system responds to the fixed returner’s call.]
“Let’s see what that bastard Yoon CP is up to with Han Sung-woo.”

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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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