Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 119. The Reason for Actions (6)

“Alright, it’s all done.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

Siwoo meticulously finished disinfecting Hajin’s blood-soaked hands, applying ointment and gauze, and then organized the first aid kit. When Hajin slightly bowed his head to Siwoo, Siwoo sighed softly, first looking at Hajin, then at the youngest members kneeling beside him on the floor.

Then, in a cynical voice, he advised Hajin.

“If you’re in pain, go to the hospital.”

“…What?”

“You did this last time too. The day Lee Yugeon disappeared. I told you to take medicine and rest, but you insisted on going to the convenience store in the next neighborhood to find and bring back Lee Yugeon.”

“No, but I wasn’t even in pain that day…”

“How could you not be? You had a fever. Your body was hot, and your face was red. Do you think I had Eunchan take you, give you medicine, and put you to bed for no reason?”

Jung Siwoo scolded Hajin quite sternly.

Hajin was surprised first by the fact that he had actually been sick, and then again by Siwoo’s firm reprimand.

It was the first time Siwoo had gotten this angry, so Hajin couldn’t even think of refuting and just kept his mouth shut. Looking back, he realized that he deserved to be scolded.

“Soon, the company will be conducting health checkups and psychological therapy, so I won’t mention this to the staff separately. But if you’re sick, go to the hospital, get examined, and get treated. Don’t try to fool yourself or others by saying you’re fine.”

“…Yes. I’m sorry for worrying you, hyung.”

Sensing that he should instinctively keep a low profile, Hajin quickly lowered his head, and Siwoo let out a deep sigh.

Then he turned his head and spoke to the youngest members, who were waiting for their turn.

“You guys should go to bed if it’s late. What are you doing playing games until this hour? By now, you should know that self-management is basic.”

“…Sorry.”

“You’re lucky it’s just me seeing this. What would you have done if you had woken up the other members? Given the circumstances, I won’t say more, but from now on, sleep when you should. Don’t doze off during practice the next day.”

“Yes…”

As the youngest members replied dejectedly, Hajin felt bad, thinking that they were being scolded because of him.

Trying to avoid Siwoo’s gaze, Hajin mouthed the words “sorry” and gave a quick eye signal to the youngest members. But Siwoo, who noticed everything like a ghost, spoke without even looking at Hajin.

“If you’re going to apologize, do it properly.”

“…What?”

“You scared them. How frightened must they have been seeing you covered in blood in the middle of the night? Apologize properly and show them that you’re okay so they don’t have nightmares.”

Then he nodded towards the youngest members, who had been fidgeting with their hands and lips while kneeling.

“Come on over. I’m leaving now.”

As soon as Siwoo stood up, the youngest members rushed toward Hajin.

“Hyung!!! Are you really okay!?”

“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital now!? I was so scared earlier!”

“Hey, hey! Quiet down! You’ll scare Hajin hyung!”

“Yuki was really scared too!”

“What if it leaves a scar, hyung…?”

Although Hajin had played with them whenever he could, he didn’t expect such intense concern.

But the way he had looked earlier was terrifying enough to haunt his dreams, even to him. Feeling a sense of responsibility for his worried younger brothers, Hajin reassured them that he was okay.

“It’s just from getting cut by something like a razor blade. I didn’t realize it was bleeding so much because it was dark.”

In reality, he hadn’t felt the pain because he was dizzy.

But the wound wasn’t that deep, so he thought it would heal in a few days with gauze and proper medication.

‘Still, it’s nice to be worried about.’

At least he was relieved that there were no shoots scheduled for the time being.

Hajin thought as he gently comforted the younger brothers who surrounded him like puppies.

* * *

And then the next day, Hajin ended up slapping his forehead in frustration over his own complacency.

‘…I really shouldn’t have jinxed myself like that!’

He regretted saying yesterday that he was glad there was no filming schedule for *Miro Maze*. It seemed his life was destined to be filled with #RealityDrama #MisunderstandingGenre #ClichéKeywords!

Hajin asked again, facing Ji Suho, who was sitting across from him with a bright smile.

“We’re doing a special stage? On *A Countdown*? With *To You*? And the recording is tomorrow?”

“Yep. A stage got canceled last minute, and since *To You* is getting good reactions, Ntv suggested it to us.”

The news that Team Leader Ji Suho brought after summoning the *Sad Ending* team early in the morning was about their appearance on a music show.

“Since it was decided suddenly, the schedule is tight… But it’ll be a good experience for you guys to appear on a music show. The broadcasting station also agreed to adjust everything else to fit our schedule, except for the timing.”

Though Ji Suho smiled and told them to think about it slowly, honestly, there was no one here who needed to think slowly.

“I’m in. But we’ll have time to practice today, right?”

Taehyun jumped at the suggestion, and Suho nodded as if it was a given.

“Of course. It’s your first music show appearance, so of course, you’ll need time to practice properly. That’s why I called you in so early. If we’re doing this, there’s a lot to prepare.”

“Then I want to do it. What about everyone else?”

Taehyun’s gaze fell on Hajin. With an intense look in his eyes, Taehyun gave an unspoken pressure to hurry up and agree. Hajin subtly hid his injured hand under the table and responded.

“I’ll do it too. If they’re offering, we should take it. But will the fans be able to attend?”

“No. The schedule is tight, and since it’ll be pre-recorded, there won’t be any audience. It would’ve been better if we could perform in front of the fans, but it can’t be helped.”

As Hajin followed Taehyun’s lead and agreed, the opinions quickly converged.

Luckily, except for Hajin, who had taken his school uniform back to his parents’ house after the last competition, all the remaining team members were still in high school, so there was no issue with the stage outfits.

“We’ll go pick up Hajin’s uniform from his house. Can you let your parents know?”

“Oh, yes. I’ll tell my mom.”

“Okay. I’ve reserved the A practice room for you today, so you can practice there. I’ll be taking care of you tomorrow, so don’t get too nervous and just show what you’ve practiced.”

“Yes!”

“Good job, guys. You know this is all thanks to your hard work, right? Now, go have breakfast before the cafeteria closes. Eat well; the morning menu looked good today.”

With a very proud expression, Ji Suho announced the dismissal of the *Sad Ending* team. Dan Haru and Jaeyoung were already excited, laughing together as they anticipated their first music show appearance.

As the trainees were getting up from their seats, Suho suddenly spoke up, as if he had remembered something.

“Oh, Hajin and Taehyun, could you stay for a moment?”

“…? Sure.”

Hajin, who had already half-pushed his chair out of the way in response to the mention of the tasty morning menu, quickly spun his chair back into place.

“Well, I was thinking of only telling Taehyun, but I figured it’d be good for you to know too, Hajin.”

After confirming that Jaiden, Haru, and Jaeyoung had left the office, Suho cautiously began to speak. Taehyun, who seemed to have already guessed what it was about, quietly lowered his gaze and gave a bitter smile.

‘…What’s with this atmosphere?’

Why am I the only one who doesn’t know?

Disliking this kind of atmosphere, Hajin quickly glanced back and forth between the two, prompting Suho to clear his throat and get to the point.

“I’m trying to adjust the schedule as much as possible, but… there’s a chance that our recording might overlap with the *B-liver* group tomorrow.”

Oh.

Hajin instantly understood why Suho had called them separately.

*B-liver*. The group Hajin was familiar with…

“…Of course, it’s all in the past now, but I thought Taehyun should know.”

They were a sub-group formed by the debut team that Seo Taehyun had once been part of, in *Boys’ World*.

He vaguely remembered that the original group *B-light*, which debuted as *Boys’ World*, had disbanded sometime last year due to the short contract period.

‘Was *B-liver*’s comeback around this time?’

*B-liver* was a group formed by three popular members from *B-light* who were from the same agency, right after *B-light* disbanded.

They debuted right after disbanding, so some fans criticized them, saying, “Weren’t those bastards just waiting for *B-light* to break up?”

‘But they ended up doing well, didn

’t they?’

In fact, fans who liked the combination of those three from the same agency praised the company for doing a good job.

Anyway, they were likely an uncomfortable presence for Taehyun.

‘While we’ve been stuck here for three years without even debuting, rotting away in *Miro*, and still in the middle of a survival show. At least it’s not that bastard Cha Minseok… No, no.’

Hajin, who was somewhat relieved that it wasn’t Cha Minseok, quickly shook his head, trying to stop that line of thinking.

He was determined not to stupidly raise another flag.

[System Alarm: The Life of a Cliché-savvy Otaku…]

[System Alarm: (Shakes Head)]

Thirteen, who had apparently popped up again, took a shot at him, but Hajin muted it out of habit.

[System Alarm: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!]

[System Alarm: Ahahaha!!!]

Then, as if Thirteen had somehow managed to tweak the system, it reappeared, not backing down.

Hajin, unmoved even by Thirteen’s gloating, reduced its transparency without batting an eye.

[System Alarm: Aaaaagh! How do you even do this!??]

Ignoring Thirteen’s incessant whining, Hajin looked at Taehyun.

“What about you? Will you be okay meeting them?”

“…I knew they were making a comeback. There were articles, and those hyungs contacted me directly too.”

How were Seo Taehyun’s relations with those *B-liver* guys? The fact that they were in contact suggested they weren’t on bad terms.

Regardless of Hajin and Suho’s careful observation of Taehyun’s expression, Taehyun calmly expressed his thoughts.

“Still… I think it would be best to avoid running into them if possible. I know it’s unavoidable if we’re recording on the same day, but… I just don’t want any unnecessary rumors.”

“Got it. I’ll talk to *A Countdown* about that. And while I’ll be at the scene tomorrow, if it’s hard for me to manage things, could you two take care of the others? I’m counting on you.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. …Thanks for being considerate, Team Leader.”

Nodding, Taehyun expressed his gratitude to Suho. Suho smiled and patted Taehyun on the shoulder as if it was no big deal.

“I’m the one who’s thankful you’ve put on such a great stage since joining *Miro*. Now, you two should head out. Don’t forget to eat breakfast.”

As the warm atmosphere ended, Hajin raised his hand.

“I have a question.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“What’s on the menu for breakfast?”

“It looked like rice cake soup with dumplings?”

Hajin, whose brain had been running on low power due to hunger, lit up at that answer. He immediately grabbed Taehyun’s arm and sprang to his feet.

“Awesome. We’ll be going then. Hey, Seo Taehyun, get up quickly.”

“Why me… I don’t even eat breakfast!”

“Then watch me eat. I hate eating alone. The others have probably already eaten.”

“…Are you a kid or something?”

“More like your grandpa, you ungrateful grandson. Team Leader, we’ll be off.”

“Oh, uh, okay. Enjoy your meal.”

“Ugh, seriously… We’ll be going, Team Leader. Ugh, slow down!”

In the end, Taehyun sighed, bowed his head to Suho, and let himself be dragged out by Hajin. Even after they had left the office, the sound of them bickering could be heard for quite a while. Listening to that noise with a pleased smile, Suho sat down.

“…Was I worried for nothing?”

Even as he said that, Suho began searching for the *A Countdown* PD’s number on his phone.

Since it was the kids’ first music show, he was determined to give them the best possible conditions.