Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 92

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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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92. Bomb? (3)
It was true that Kang Ha-jin had a substantial amount of screen time in Episode 2.
After all, he practically carried the entire episode on his own.
Strong
@kang_HD
Who made my baby wolf cry, you bastard?
(Screenshot of Kang Ha-jin showing tears in the Episode 2 preview)
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Strong
@kang_HD
Apparently he’s our senior
Dissolve
(Video of Ha-jin crying in response to Seo Tae-il’s question during Episode 2 broadcast)
Shares 725 Quotes 167 Likes 1,536
Ying-ya 🔒
@inging02
This guy’s so cute lolololol should I just try a taste?
Funny Celebrity Meme Compilation
@IDOLOL
Don’t know the lyrics
(Video of Ha-jin flubbing the lyrics in front of Lia and clutching his face)
Rossy Day
@rossy_1017
I think that wink Ha-jin gave to Do-ha was real??
What what, aren’t you guys on the opposing team…
(Video of Ha-jin winking at something)
(Full shot screenshot of Do-ha sitting in the direction Ha-jin winked)
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Beyond this, his intentional self-aggrandizing remarks tailored to Seo Tae-il and his notably sharp critiques of Team A’s performance were being clipped and circulated in real-time. When the final results aired with Team B’s victory, the fervor intensified even further.
The very embodiment of the ‘underdog rebellion’ that Survival Program fans went wild for.
Clichés always worked without fail.
[Today’s Dopamine-Addicted Male Idol Survival]
(Miro Maze broadcast summary)
– Wait, but was Kang Ha-jin the battle loser? Who was his opponent?
└ Some kid who didn’t appear on broadcast
– The team battle seems like just a difference in Team A and B preferences, but the individual battle was a total stomp by Kang Ha-jin, right? Checked it out
– The guy who dropped out apparently rode a saw in the actual broadcast? How did he even lose that?
The problematic post rose at precisely that moment.
Right after the broadcast ended, when interest in Miro Maze and Kang Ha-jin was still blazing hot.
[But isn’t it right to push it through the maze?? LOL]
I can’t deny this one, at least…
Yesterday I saw all the Team B kids basically just standing around as Kang Ha-jin’s extras and I was like wow…
Honestly, I felt bad for the other Team B trainees’ fans
Posts like this weren’t new—most were dismissed as bait and faded away naturally.
But this time was different.
– Honestly the first episode was whatever…but after watching episode 2 lolol…
– They literally advertised him as the leader, but that’s how all agency survival shows work anyway
└ Right, everyone knows that right? The debut lineup’s already decided lol
– I’m okay with everything else, but the scene at the end where he asks if he’s okay??? I wanted to, but it seemed like he really wanted to take care of his image.
Someone had started leaving supportive comments.
As those posts multiplied, people began spreading misinformation based solely on those problematic threads.
“Whoa guys, is this real? Seriously, Miro Maze?”
(Screenshot of provocative post about Kang Ha-jin)
I’m so shocked seeing this right now…
Did they really cut out another kid’s parts just to push Kang Ha-jin???
– Yeah in the live broadcast Kang Ha-jin did all that but it was a different kid’s part in the pre-recorded version
└ Stop talking nonsense if you didn’t even watch the broadcast
– What kind of bullshit is this
– The kid who had that part got sick and dropped out right before filming so Ha-jin took over;;; stop spreading rumors
└ (OP) So basically Kang Ha-jin ended up doing it all anyway?? There are so many other kids though…
└ No, Hajin is the one with the best skills among the B team members, so the B team members were the first to ask him to do itㅠㅠㅜㅠㅠㅠPlease stop.
└ ??? This is a bit… I’m a fan of Team B’s other students, but I feel bad haha. Kang Ha-jin also said directly that he wrote his own part and let the other kids give it up, so why are they suddenly talking about skills?
– Obviously this is just bait, please mute it
Comments and replies piled up in succession, and derivative posts multiplied.
The Destiny fans who had tried to ignore it without engaging found the situation escalating beyond what they could overlook.
When Kang Ha-jin confirmed that several controversial posts had landed at the top of the trending section, he put his phone down and thought.
‘Foam’s built up.’
Out of all those people, how many were actually real fans who watched the Miro Maze broadcast and voted for the trainees?
‘I’d bet Han Sung-woo’s wrist it’s less than 20%.’
Though I wouldn’t risk my own wrist.
‘Well, there might be fans of other trainees who want to check me, sure.’
But Miro Maze wasn’t a random deathmatch run by the broadcasting station—it was an agency survival program where everyone had to live under the same roof anyway.
Debut wasn’t decided by viewer votes alone, so why would they need to go this far to check me?
“Well, I expected this much anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
Hate from hogging screen time was something I’d already prepared for since the moment I squeezed out tears in front of Seo Tae-il.
That’s also why I deliberately let Han Sung-woo take my votes.
‘If I slip up this much, they won’t be able to bite any harder.’
It would be even better if I dropped all the way to Feather Class. Besides, I’m going to ace the second mission too, so the editing should be really good anyway.
‘Park Jae-young’s fans seem a bit disappointed that I took all of Park Jae-young’s parts….’
That too would fade quickly once the second mission aired anyway. I’d deliberately given out plenty of parts so they could do what they couldn’t in the first mission.
‘Besides, it seems like the second mission will focus more on Seo Tae-hyun than me anyway.’
Once that calculation settled in my mind, my thoughts grew peaceful.
‘Someone’s bound to take the hit in the beginning no matter what. Better I take it than some unlucky soul gets chosen and regresses.’
Thirteen, whom I expected to return soon, remained absent even after the sports day.
Skills seemed to remain intact, but with no way to know if the regression risk suddenly spiked, I needed to be cautious for now.
In that sense, Lee Yu-gun—currently the most likely candidate for being the chosen one—becoming bait for the haters was a significant risk factor.
‘That bastard isn’t actually planning to just regress casually, is he?’
Fortunately, since everyone who’d gathered at Ju Eun-chan’s house last time was from Team A, I could hear the story from various perspectives.
-Lee Yu-gun was like that from the moment he joined the company. Si-u hyung didn’t mind before, but when he acted like that even in the survival program where debut was on the line, he got angry. He hates causing harm to others.
This was Lee Do-ha’s take—someone close to Jeong Si-u and who’d done the second mission with Lee Yu-gun.
-But I can’t really say Lee Yu-gun was completely reckless. He was the first to learn the choreography and taught everyone else, and honestly, I got a lot of help from him. I think he’s just naturally lighthearted by nature.
This was Kim Won-ho’s assessment—someone who’d received so much help from Lee Yu-gun from the battle through the second mission’s song selection that he’d practically become a Lee Yu-gun fanatic.
-I haven’t been here long, so I’m not sure!
-Yeah, keep eating pizza.
Just Dan Ha-ru.
-I heard he doesn’t do separate weekend practice or personal lessons these days, according to Tae-hyun hyung. But back then Si-u hyung was also a bit on edge. Han Sung-woo hyung kept whining about his anxiety.
This was Ju Eun-chan’s opinion—someone who’d suffered through Team A practice because of Han Sung-woo.
In any case, everyone agreed that Lee Yu-gun’s usual attitude was irresponsible. That he showed no sign of wanting to debut.
‘For now, I’ll assume Lee Yu-gun is the chosen one and act accordingly.’
Since the system was under maintenance, I couldn’t recruit teammates or view past timelines either. So for now, I’d focus on not creating situations that would make Lee Yu-gun so frustrated he’d want to regress.
“If I want to keep him close and monitor him, doing the third mission together might be an option….”
Tomorrow was already the day the third mission and new ranks would be announced.
To prevent Lee Yu-gun’s reckless actions, keeping him right beside me and watching would be best, but the problem was that this third mission was incredibly important to me too.
‘You got first place with your high note, but they won’t just overlook the emergency alert I triggered during the midpoint check.’
Once episodes 3 and 4 aired, more people would come after me. To silence those haters, I needed to create a stage that everyone would acknowledge.
‘That way my fans will have grounds to defend me.’
At least, I wanted to make it so those people could take pride in the skills of the trainee they supported.
Since I’d most likely be the leader again this time, I’d need to create a stage with good teamwork and quality….
The moment my thoughts reached this point, my head started to ache.
“Ugh, forget it. I’ll think about it after I see tomorrow’s results. Wait, am I even allowed to work this hard? The chosen one seems to have it easy. Is this right?”
When Thirteen comes back, I’m definitely getting something out of him. This just won’t do.
“Mom, the whole universe is against me….”
It was a night when I missed my mother.
* * *
And then, the very next day. Kang Ha-jin thinks to himself.
‘The entire universe is conspiring against me.’
There’s no other explanation for this.
That bastard Thirteen disappeared saying he’d check the system, and it was clear he was dumping massive amounts of misfortune onto my timeline. There was no other way this could be happening.
‘Plans? What good are plans? Nothing ever goes according to plan anyway.’
I etched my conviction once more into my bones: life demands that you collide with it head-on first.
While I was lost in thought, the assistant director approached after finishing the camera setup in the Practice Room, raising his voice to capture everyone’s attention.
“Alright then, let me do a quick headcount.”
“Yes.”
“Jeong Si-u, Kang Ha-jin, Lee Do-ha, Kim Won-ho, Lee Yu-gun… and Ju Eun-chan. That’s all six, correct?”
“…Yes.”
“Right. We’re starting filming now. The PD will be here shortly to do a script reading, so please wait a moment.”
This was a disaster.
‘A stage with great teamwork? At this rate, I’ll be lucky if we don’t end up throwing punches before we even get on stage!’
I couldn’t grab the collar of the senior I wanted to, yet somehow everyone else kept giving me reasons to grab theirs.
If someone asked who had gone insane to create this team, the surprising answer was: everyone shared the blame.
I clutched my forehead and recalled the mission announcement recording from earlier.
-The new Wings Rank, reflecting the Destiny votes tallied through the first broadcast.
‽
〜〚WINGS OF MIRO MAZE〛〜
Seo Tae-hyun Jeong Si-u Ju Eun-chan
Dan Ha-ru Kim Won-ho Gong Seok Jayden
‽
‘I saw that coming.’
Dropping to Feather Class was actually a relief. I’d even congratulated Kim Won-ho, handing over my Wings badge since he’d likely climbed the ranks thanks to the Miro escape and his connection with Lee Yu-gun.
-Before announcing the third mission theme, we’ll first proceed with team selection.
-Currently, three rooms are prepared outside.
-You’ll enter one of these three rooms in order, each of your choosing.
-Your selections won’t be revealed to each other, and once a room reaches capacity, entry is closed.
Up to that point, it wasn’t too bad. It was a standard random grouping method.
The problem came next.
-However, each room’s capacity is determined by the trainee with the highest rank in that room.
Yes. That was exactly what caused this nightmarish combination.

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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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