Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 44. Special Mission! Shine Brightly (5)

The one who hadn’t shown up until the end and spewed nonsense like, “Don’t act out if you’re not coming,” was that trainee.

‘His name was Shin… something.’

I was the type to stay uninterested in things that didn’t concern me, so while I knew his face, I didn’t remember what he did.

“Hey, Hajin. The writer is asking if we should start practice…. What do you think? Should I go find Kyungho?”

“No, let’s just start practice.”

Ah, Shin Kyungho. So it was Kyungho.

I waved my hand dismissively at Gong Seok, who had cautiously approached, and then stood up. Then, I headed over to the production crew, who were busy preparing for the shoot on one side.

“Writer, Kyungho seems to be feeling a bit unwell. Would it be alright if we start practicing without him for now?”

“Oh, of course, of course. Just think of it as a rehearsal and proceed naturally.”

“Yes, understood.”

While the writer discussed today’s shoot with the PD who had come along, I approached the remaining seven trainees, who were awkwardly warming up. The microphones were on, but the cameras hadn’t started rolling yet.

‘If I’m going to say something, it’s now.’

Before coming to this practice room today, I had spent the entire time thinking about and organizing what I wanted to say.

“Guys.”

“……?”

“I’m an ENFP, you know. And you all know that ENFPs really take things to heart when they get hurt or upset. Honestly, I was really hurt yesterday.”

Some of them shifted their eyes, gauging my mood. I deliberately made eye contact with each one of them and continued speaking.

“But I’ll be blunt. I want to debut. Seriously.”

‘More precisely, I have to.’

At that moment, I asked the others, who were watching me to see what I was going to say, with complete sincerity.

“Don’t you?”

The awkward atmosphere grew tense. From far away, I heard the assistant director rush into the center of the practice room and loudly clap the slate. It meant that from now on, everything we said would be on the record.

“Let’s beat them, those A-Team bastards.”

Isn’t this the perfect line to use in the teaser, Assistant Director? Please make sure to include this audio.

Smiling, I clapped my hands in the silence that no one could hear. It was the signal to start our first practice.

* * *

Trainees aren’t as special as I thought.

Park, who had joined Miro three months ago and successfully debuted as an assistant director on her first broadcast with Miro’s upcoming survival show, thought so.

When she heard they were idol trainees (and from Miro’s next generation, no less!), she had come with high hopes of eye candy, but the trainees she met seemed more like ordinary teenagers you’d see on the street than anything special.

They were a bit taller and more handsome than usual?

When she shared these thoughts with the senior director who was leading today’s shoot, the senior laughed for a while before saying:

-Of course, they’re still just kids who are standing in front of the camera for the first time. It’ll take a few more years after debut for them to really start looking like idols.

That’s true. Seo Taeil, whom she saw during the opening shoot yesterday, really looked like a celebrity!

‘Oh, is it because I saw Seo Taeil first? The level is just different?’

Park nodded to herself, thinking that might be the case, and resolved to take a picture with Seo Taeil before this program ended. Just then, a sharp voice pierced through the music blasting in the practice room.

“You’re messing up again! Focus properly!”

“Wow, that scared me.”

What authority.

Even Park, who was in the corner of the practice room, could clearly hear it. The source of the shout was the trainee leading the practice in the center of B-Team. His name was Kang… something similar to that.

“Focus on the line! The line!”

“Align your angles! You’re all messing up!”

“Who hasn’t memorized the lyrics yet?”

Without easing his expression, he kept pushing them, and Park thought to herself that he was just like their main PD. Just then.

Another sun rises, shining on you and me

Let’s hold hands so we don’t get lost

I’ll go with you so night won’t fall

Perhaps it was his part, but the trainee continued to sing loudly while performing the choreography. Park was instinctively drawn to the unamplified voice. His voice was loud enough that it stood out clearly over the AR track that was already playing.

‘…He’s good?’

Park’s dismissive gaze gradually focused on the trainee wearing a cap pulled low over his eyes. As the song neared its end, Park found herself eagerly awaiting his part.

His appeal wasn’t limited to just that!

“Let’s go slowly, one, two.”

“Right, but you need to add a bit more smoothness here.”

“You’ve memorized the moves quickly. We’re halfway there, halfway.”

“No, you can ease up there. If you hit it too hard, it’ll look tacky.”

The Cap Leader (as he had been nicknamed in this short time) led the practice with a clear sense of efficiency. He gave loud encouragement when needed, and added gentle and kind explanations where detailed direction was required. It was just-.

‘It’s like he knows exactly what the person who made this song wants to express.’

The only downside was that the other trainees seemed unable to keep up with the Cap Leader’s directions.

Suddenly curious about the Cap Leader’s information, Park asked the junior writer sitting next to her, busily taking notes.

“Writer, how old did you say that leader guy is?”

“Who, Hajin? I think… he’s nineteen? Or maybe twenty?”

‘Nineteen? Not twenty-nine?’

No matter how you looked at it, there was a maturity and experience there that no South Korean high school senior should have! The fact that this Cap Leader was actually a seasoned group project pro who had lived about twenty-nine years was something she would never know in her lifetime.

* * *

During the break after the first practice, Hajin thought as he downed a whole bottle of water in one go.

‘I’m reaping the benefits of the laps I ran in the army.’

The stamina he had urgently acquired through a skill based on his time in the military was proving to be even more helpful than he had anticipated. Thanks to the lung capacity he had developed from running and singing military songs every day, dancing while singing live wasn’t too difficult!

[System Alert: Ahem (Proud)]

‘Yeah, thanks.’

This time, Hajin genuinely expressed his gratitude to the system that was making a big deal out of it, as he tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin and surveyed the atmosphere in the practice room.

‘They said they’re wrapping up filming now. The others… aren’t bad.’

The awkward atmosphere from the morning had long since shattered under Hajin’s intense practice. As he bowed to the crew leaving the practice room, saying they’d see them again in the evening, Hajin thought.

‘So the only problem left is… that guy.’

“After lunch, let’s rest and then practice again at 2 o’clock. You all worked hard-.”

At the word ‘rest,’ the trainees groaned and cheered as they rolled on the floor of the practice room. Watching them, Hajin grabbed another bottle of water and quietly slipped out of the practice room.

Shin Youngho. (Wrong) It was time to retrieve the one lost lamb.

* * *

Shin Kyungho (18 years old, Kang Hajin’s lost lamb #1, not Shin Youngho), who had gone down to the company cafeteria in the basement for lunch, felt that something was seriously wrong.

“Those traitors. They left me out….”

Had it been a mistake to ignore Seok’s message that he wanted to talk last night and instead become engrossed in the game that Seong-woo hyung had brought? As soon as he heard that his teammates were all practicing (and filming!) with Hajin without him, Shin Kyungho began to feel anxious.

“I shouldn’t have listened to Seong-woo hyung!”

The problem was that he had been swayed by Seong-woo’s suggestion that, since Hajin was likely to hog all the spotlight as the leader, he should show off better leadership than Hajin to stand out on the show.

Already jealous and filled with inferiority because Hajin, who had joined later than him, had become close with those he had envied, and had even received higher ranks, he had exploded in envy and inferiority, leading to the incident yesterday.

-Hyung! What am I supposed to do now? They’re filming without me!

-…Kyungho. I told you to work harder and show that you’re better than Hajin. I heard about what happened yesterday, and I’m disappointed in you. You even used me as an excuse?

This morning, when he confronted Seong-woo about the current situation, asking what he should do now, Seong-woo instead talked about his disappointment and withdrew from the situation, making Kyungho realize.

‘I’m screwed.’

As visions of his future, filled with public backlash and hate comments, with no hope of debuting and never dreaming of becoming a celebrity, flashed before his eyes, Kyungho clutched his head in despair.

And then, someone set down a sports drink with a loud *clink* in front of him.

“……?”

“Hey, Youngho.”

“……!”

Without waiting for a response, Hajin pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, flashing the ‘kind and gentle hyung’s smile’ he used when he wanted to appear nice.

“Let’s have a talk.”

“…….”

Kyungho, clinging to his last shred of pride, didn’t respond, but Hajin continued speaking anyway.

“Seok hyung told me. You’ve never made it to the special class since you joined Miro.”

“T-That’s…”

“And even though you’ve been a trainee for a long time, you’ve always been overshadowed by Haru and Eunchan, who joined after you. After hearing that, I thought about it. I get it. You might have felt bad seeing me getting better results than you.”

“…Yes.”

‘What’s going on? Is this hyung not mad?’

Surprised by the unexpectedly gentle tone, Kyungho felt the guard he had built up inside starting to relax.

‘Is this hyung actually a pushover? Maybe I can smoothly follow a reconciliation route?’

Seeing the path to survival open up, Kyungho’s lips curled slightly. Hajin, with a deeply sentimental gaze and tone, even patted Kyungho’s arm.

“You might not like me. Like you said, we’re still young. It’s natural to fight and be sensitive. Not being able to control our emotions, that can happen.”

Just when Kyungho had completely let down his guard, comforted by Hajin’s soft words.

*Smack.*

“But even kids can tell the difference between what should and shouldn’t be said. What’s respectful and what’s rude. What’s common sense and what’s nonsense.”

What?

Hajin, who had been gently patting Kyungho’s arm, suddenly grabbed it firmly and pulled him forward. With a loud *crash*, Kyungho’s body lurched forward, and Hajin, smiling, showed him a photo on his phone.

“T-This is….”

“Life’s real, Youngho. Why would you leave evidence?”

It was a screenshot of messages from the group chat Kyungho had created, excluding Hajin. The main content, of course, consisted of badmouthing Hajin, criticizing the other trainees, and Kyungho leading the suggestion to skip practice.

And the recipient of those pictures was….

“Make your choice. End your trainee life, or crawl back in quietly.”

Lost lamb?

[System Alert: 777 cash bonus points have been added! (Reason: Satisfaction)]

I never said I’d bring him back nicely.