The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 193

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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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Episode 193
193
Achieving Financial Freedom?
Money isn’t everything in life, but it’s most of it.
They say happiness can’t be bought with money, but wouldn’t it be better to be happy while having it?
By that logic, Jin-woo’s life was something anyone would envy.
Money flowed in steadily from PanTube revenue, and his account still held over 100 billion won.
Actually, Jin-woo himself didn’t know exactly how much was in there.
He’d never bothered to check his account balance.
Maybe he’d look if the account ever ran dry.
But it never did.
In any case, that was Jin-woo’s situation now.
He’d reached a position anyone would envy.
Especially the person sitting across from him.
The person staring intently at Jin-woo while meat sizzled and grilled before them.
Jin-woo spoke to that person.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Hey, are you really done now? It’s been a month since you uploaded a video, and the last one was from the Gong-hun ceremony.”
“Yeah~ I’m done~.”
“Sigh.”
Kim Young-jin, Jin-woo’s editor and childhood friend.
He sighed and shook his head.
It had been about a month since Jin-woo became a Duke of the Zafin Empire—the Gong-hun ceremony, as it were.
It was a long time, or it could be considered short, but nothing significant had happened in that span.
Why?
Because Jin-woo hadn’t uploaded a single video to PanTube.
Lin needed more time to grow, and Jin-woo himself felt no necessity to venture in and play games.
So what had become of Young-jin?
Had he lost his job like this?
Not at all.
Thanks to Jin-woo already recognizing Young-jin’s skills and recommending him to Barmon and the Han-sung Guild, he was working there as a dedicated editor.
The income was enormous too.
Though working as a dedicated editor for both guilds earned him roughly the same as when he was exclusively Jin-woo’s editor, so his income hadn’t changed.
Still, Young-jin felt a sense of loss.
When editing Jin-woo’s videos, there was a certain satisfaction in editing someone who’d reached the pinnacle.
Now that feeling had faded somewhat.
Of course, the Barmon Guild and Han-sung Guild were top-tier guilds.
But compared to Jin-woo, even combining both of them left something to be desired.
“Then what about Lin—or rather, Gia?”
“Huh? Gia? Why Gia?”
“Wait, isn’t Gia filming?”
“Hmm, she said she’s not filming yet.”
“Why?”
“She said she’ll film once she improves her skills a bit.”
“Ugh! You’re the best except for me! So why?!”
“She said she’ll do it when she can hunt with me.”
I couldn’t help but sigh, but watching Young-jin like that, I let out a quiet chuckle and tossed some meat onto his plate.
There was something admirable about how he kept trying to accomplish more through his channel, so I just let it be.
Annoying as it was, he was my friend after all.
“But hey, you’re already running two guilds and making good money—why are you trying to take on more?”
“Making good money? That’s weird hearing you say it like that.”
“Well, I’m beyond that anyway, but you’re doing pretty well too. You’re making what, over a thousand a month?”
“Sometimes I get two thousand.”
“You’re so ridiculously busy that I barely see you, yet you’ve got plenty to say.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right about that.”
I nodded at what Jin-woo said.
I already knew he was right about it anyway.
So I just kept eating the meat.
Then naturally, I found myself looking at Jin-woo.
Now that I thought about it, it had been almost a month since we’d seen each other.
Since Jin-woo stopped uploading videos, we hadn’t been in contact much either.
Talking like this felt like it had been forever.
So I looked at Jin-woo with curiosity.
Glancing over, I noticed his left hand—the one holding the tongs—had no ring on it.
His right hand holding the scissors was obviously the same.
Huh? He still doesn’t have a ring?
That’s strange.
“Hey Jin-woo, so what’s going on between you and Gia?”
Since we’d just been talking about Gia, I figured things hadn’t gone badly or anything.
Still, even if this guy’s a total romantic novice, he must be dating her, right?
That’s what I’d thought before.
“Huh? What do you mean, what’s going on?”
“Are you seriously asking?”
“…?”
Watching Jin-woo’s expression of genuine confusion, I swallowed hard.
Was this real?
Without realizing it, I felt myself breaking into a cold sweat like I was watching a horror movie.
No way? Seriously, no way?
Thinking that, I looked at Jin-woo calmly grilling the meat.
And I asked.
“You two still haven’t started dating?”
“Huh? W-what?”
Look at how visibly flustered he became at those words.
What was I supposed to do about this….
Young-jin seriously pondered the matter.
“Are you serious?”
“Well, I haven’t seen her since after the commendation ceremony, so what dating are we talking about….”
Look at him trailing off like that.
I wanted to kill him.
But Young-jin simply smiled benevolently and nodded.
Yeah, that’s possible.
He’s a lifelong bachelor, so it’s understandable.
Yeah.
“Go to hell.”
“What?”
No, that’s impossible.
No human could do that.
Jin-woo, who had just been cursed at out of nowhere, glared at Young-jin as if asking what he meant.
But Young-jin’s momentum was far too overwhelming.
“What is this? Didn’t you say it looked like you two had chemistry? You even went on dates and the atmosphere was good!”
“Y-yeah.”
“What do you mean ‘yeah’! Are you Kim Jong-min or something?”
“N-no, what are you talking about.”
“You bastard, the way you’re stammering tells me I’m right! So why haven’t you confessed yet? What are you doing?”
“Ahem.”
It seemed like he was feeling a bit embarrassed too.
Then why hadn’t he confessed yet?
I couldn’t understand it.
Well, Young-jin wouldn’t know either.
Young-jin thought of Jin-woo as a lifelong bachelor at twenty-six, but counting the regression, he was roughly a thirty-six-year-old bachelor.
Before the regression, he’d had no contact with women whatsoever.
Confessing first, asking someone out—those were things he couldn’t even imagine!
The fact that he’d come to like someone and feel romantic emotions at all was practically a miracle.
And now a confession on top of that?
Young-jin was asking for far too much.
But how could he possibly know that.
Well, seeing Jin-woo look a bit ashamed, it seemed he at least understood something.
But then he said something shocking.
“Ah, but what if she rejects me?”
“What…?”
Truly a shocking declaration.
Even hearing that coins had crashed wouldn’t be more shocking than this.
Wait, could she refuse?
What do you mean?
You’re saying Gia might not accept your confession?
Young-jin stared at Jin-woo in disbelief.
Jin-woo, equally embarrassed, cleared his throat before speaking.
“Ahem, well, I mean, that could happen, right?”
“…But didn’t you say Gia likes you too?”
“Y-yeah, that’s true.”
“Then why would she reject your confession?”
It was a genuine question.
Young-jin was sincere.
But Jin-woo was equally sincere.
“Well, just because someone likes you doesn’t mean you have to date them, right?”
“…”
This guy was a formidable opponent.
He had a point, technically.
Could you really date everyone who likes you?
No, you couldn’t.
But in this case, they both liked each other, so why wouldn’t they date?
“What! Yeah! Damn it, you both like each other. Yeah, you might not date, but in this case, why wouldn’t you? Usually there’s a reason like long distance or one person being much older, right? But you two aren’t like that—what the hell is the reason you wouldn’t date?”
Young-jin spat out his words like machine-gun fire.
His flow was so impressive that onlookers from nearby seats would naturally admire it.
His diction was equally impressive—if he went on a rap show, he’d easily make the finals.
Regardless, Jin-woo scratched his head and grilled meat as he spoke.
“Ah, I’m just saying it could happen.”
“…Ha, haha. You’re insane, man.”
How could someone who’d become a billionaire lack this much confidence?
It was beyond what could be excused as mere inexperience with romance.
Young-jin was so exasperated he couldn’t find words.
Yeah, it could happen.
This guy was beyond saving.
So Young-jin smiled.
Had he reached enlightenment or something?
Jin-woo looked at him somewhat anxiously.
Young-jin opened his mouth.
“Alright, it could happen. Then I’ll ask Gia for you.”
“What, what? You crazy bastard, don’t!”
Jin-woo tried to stop him, but there was nothing that could hold back Young-jin, whose frustration had reached the breaking point.
I quickly pulled out my phone, found Gia’s number, and dialed.
Seeing the call connect, Jin-woo swallowed hard as well.
Young-jin was Gia’s senior at school, after all.
Of course he had her number, and as time passed, soon enough—
A soft click, and Gia’s voice came through.
—Hello?
“Ah, Gia, it’s Young-jin.”
—Oh, yes, I know, Senior Young-jin.
“Actually, I was calling to ask what you think of Jin-woo. You know, our junior Gia.”
It was utterly shameless.
Not even a fastball—more like a laser beam driven straight through.
Both Gia and Jin-woo were caught off guard.
—W-what?!
“Y-you crazy bastard!”
Of course, Jin-woo muttered it quietly so Gia wouldn’t hear.
But he didn’t stop Young-jin.
Though he easily could have.
The truth was, Jin-woo was curious too.
This cowardly fool.
Young-jin glanced at Jin-woo with a look of pity before turning back to Gia. “So, what do you think of Jin-woo?”
—Ah, um… w-when you ask so suddenly like that…
Her voice wavered uncertainly.
But the trembling and embarrassment came through unmistakably.
The shy way she spoke was so endearing that even Young-jin, who had Hye-jung, found it adorable.
Yet Jin-woo found himself growing anxious without realizing it.
Whether you’d never dated or had plenty of experience, even if you were certain someone liked you, there was always that blind spot when your own feelings were involved.
Especially for those who’d never dated.
That was exactly where Jin-woo stood now.
Swallowing nervously, visibly tense.
Anyone could see through his obvious anxiety.
His pathetic state was laid bare.
Young-jin barely managed to hold back, about to press further, when—
The sharp-witted Gia swallowed hard and asked instead.
—Are you two… together right now?
This time, even Young-jin flinched.
What should I say?
But the situation was far too obvious.
Jin-woo was just as tense as Young-jin.
But isn’t this situation just too predictable?
Jin-woo was equally nervous.
But Gia’s response that came back was entirely unexpected.
-Then, should I come there too?
“Oh!?”
Young-jin’s expression became quite peculiar at those words.
It was the kind of look that said, “What’s this, what’s this~?”
The expression of someone watching two people on the verge of romance.
Meanwhile, Jin-woo felt his heart shrivel.
Was she coming just to reject him?
While such thoughts consumed him entirely.
Young-jin stepped forward and spoke.
“Please do come, please do. I’ll call Hye-jung too.”
-Ah, yes, understood.
“I’ll send you the address via text, so just come whenever. It’s close to this guy’s place.”
-Ah! Yes!
The moment the call ended, Jin-woo’s eyes blazed with resentment.
What was wrong with this bastard?
Did he really think she might reject him?
After seeing such an obvious green light?
It was utterly absurd.
“Hey! You!”
Just as Jin-woo was about to say more.
Young-jin called Hye-jung, effectively silencing Jin-woo.
-Yeah, what?
“I’m at the Golden Pig Storehouse. Come quickly.”
-Huh? Suddenly? Aren’t you eating with Jin-woo? I’m kind of busy right now…
“Yeah. But I called Gia and asked what she thought of Jin-woo, and she said she’d come now.”
-Ah, I’m heading out now.
Even Hye-jung agreed immediately and left.
Jin-woo looked at Young-jin with resentful eyes, but Young-jin simply grinned from ear to ear.

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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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