Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 256. Touch High! (8)

The main PD spoke in a troubled voice.

“Originally, we had planned a final political game full of alliances and betrayals, using the badges each member of the winning team earned from the Destroyer….”

…Did they pour too much effort into the final part of the script?

No matter how I looked at it, this was way too elaborate for a simple filler week.

As our team blinked cluelessly, the main PD continued to speak, still chuckling with a laid-back attitude.

“We didn’t expect Doha-ssi to reveal himself as the Destroyer so early in the game… I mean, it was so entertaining that we’re actually quite satisfied with how it turned out….”

“So…?”

“Ah, yes. So, we’d like to propose something to the Kairos team.”

The PD pushed up his glasses and presented us with two choices.

“The first option is to end it here with the Kairos team as the winners, and each of you can take home a set of Hanwoo beef as your prize.”

“And the second?”

“The second option is to have the Kairos team play one more round of flag tag for 20 minutes. If Doha-ssi, the Destroyer, manages to protect his flag from his teammates for 20 minutes, he wins. If any of his teammates capture his flag, they win.”

“Isn’t that too unfair for Doha?”

The opposing team members, who had been eliminated by Doha carrying them out earlier, started protesting. Even Doha himself quietly nodded as if he had no complaints.

I raised my hand to ask the PD a question.

“So, if we catch Doha, only the remaining four of us get the beef? We live together anyway….”

“Ah. In the second scenario, it’s an individual competition. So, only the person who captures Doha-ssi’s flag will receive a prize. You are also allowed to capture your teammates’ flags to eliminate the competition. Doha-ssi can also retaliate by capturing others’ flags.”

“The prize is still beef, right?”

“No. In this case, each of you can request one item of your choice, and we’ll prepare that as your prize.”

“Anything we want?”

“…Within the limits of what we can provide, we’ll do our best to accommodate your requests.”

A customized prize? That’s a great deal.

We had finished filming earlier than expected, so there was no reason to refuse additional footage.

‘But it feels a bit lacking to just agree to this… Isn’t there something more we could get out of it?’

Doha and Dan Haru were waiting for my decision, and behind us, Ji Suho was gesturing for us to do as we pleased.

After carefully observing the production staff and the cast, I spoke up to the main PD once more.

“PD-nim, may I also cautiously suggest something?”

“Yes, yes. Go ahead.”

“Well, since we won as the Kairos team, doesn’t it seem a bit off to divide the prize with an individual competition when the concept was supposed to be a three-way battle? That thought just crossed my mind.”

The main PD and the main writer both looked at me with expressions that said, ‘What’s this buildup now?’

Remembering that I was the newest member here, I continued speaking with a slightly embarrassed but hopeful, shy, and playful tone.

“And since we’re doing an additional game, wouldn’t that count as overtime…? I carefully think that we’d be creating extra footage that could be quite entertaining….”

“…So?”

“As the winning prize for the Kairos team, if you could give us a group appearance on ‘Touch High,’ we would be delighted to participate in the final race with even more enthusiasm.”

Beef?

Our fridge at the dorm was already overflowing with it.

Seo Taeil had sent us a box of it right after the concert.

Considering our performance today wasn’t bad, and the fact that production teams are always eager for appearances, offering a group appearance was the most effective card that required the least effort and could still make them look good. I thought my proposal was pretty reasonable.

Sure enough, after discussing something with the writers for a moment, the main PD nodded enthusiastically.

“Great. Then we will promise the Kairos members a ‘Touch High Kairos Special’ as a winning benefit. We will also give the original prize of Hanwoo beef sets to the two members of Touch High. Congratulations to Kairos for the win.”

“Thank you!”

The cast applauded and cheered at the PD’s bold decision.

While the quick-witted leader of Wintertail reacted loudly, saying, ‘What a pity~,’ the faces of the members from Stormheader clearly showed their unbearable regret and envy.

I felt a little sorry for taking so much, but I knew better than anyone that this was an industry where even that was a matter of skill, so I forced myself to look away.

“Alright then. We will now start the final tag game to determine the ultimate winner of the Kairos team. Doha-ssi, you have 3 minutes to hide. Please start.”

As soon as the 3-minute timer on the set floor started, Doha quickly ran up the stairs.

Watching as his assigned VJ hurriedly followed, I casually put my arm around the shoulders of the now-familiar fixed panels from the same team and struck up a conversation.

“Should we form an alliance at the beginning? I don’t think I can steal Doha’s flag alone.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re not too greedy for the win, so we’ll help you out.”

“Haru seems pretty strong? I was really surprised earlier.”

“But I don’t think he can beat Doha hyung, right? Hyung is way taller than me.”

While we were chatting idly, the other cast members from the opposing team seemed to be relaxing as if the filming was over.

The older members of Wintertail naturally talked with the fixed panels, while the members of Stormheader, who were around our age, seemed to be just watching each other nervously.

‘…Should I throw them a bone?’

The 3-minute timer was almost up.

I first spoke to the leader of Wintertail, who I had managed to have a decent conversation with earlier.

“Sunbae-nim, how about a bet?”

“A bet?”

“Let’s see who we think will win among us.”

“Ah~ Well, it definitely won’t be you, Hajin.”

“Ha, come on. Sunbae-nim is really igniting my competitive spirit again.”

“Want to bet the shorts we didn’t get earlier?”

“Bring it on. I’m confident.”

“Oh, that sounds fun. Why don’t we place bets on who will win among the remaining people?”

Sanchez jumped in, sensing the broadcast angle in our conversation.

The PD, seemingly pleased with the idea of getting some extra content out of the remaining people, leaned forward with interest.

As people got fired up about the bet, the 3-minute timer ended, and the 20-minute timer restarted.

And as soon as the whistle blew to signal the start of the game—

“…Huh?”

“Huh!”

I quickly removed my arms from the shoulders of the fixed panels and grabbed the flags attached to their backs at the same time. The sudden move left the two of them, as well as the other cast members, staring at me in shock.

But I just gave them my usual playful smile.

“I really want to win today… I have to reduce the competition.”

“Seriously! Did you have to grab them right away!?”

“See you later~”

With the most harmless smile I could muster, I quickly ran towards the stairs where Doha had disappeared.

Dan Haru had already shot off as soon as the whistle blew and was already passing through the second-floor hallway.

I smiled to myself as I mentally traced Doha’s route.

‘Awesome. Got another schedule booked.’

When I got back to the dorm, if Seo Taehyun scolded me for not promoting the new song, I’d use this as an excuse.

A smile spread across my face without me even realizing it.

* * *

And now, back to the present.

For a full 15 minutes, Doha had managed to evade both me and Dan Haru’s pursuit.

Since I had already earned enough screen time, just hiding and staying out of sight wouldn’t be fun, so I teased Dan Haru a bit as he passed by, tapping on the emergency stair railings like a killer in a horror movie, adding as much flair as I could.

“So, here you are, our Destroyer~?”

“…….”

Finally, with 5 minutes left in the game, I encountered Doha.

“Hand over the flag nicely, Ideon.”

“…I can’t do that.”

“But you don’t even care about material things. If I win, I’ll make a killer wish for you.”

“I have a wish I want to make too.”

“…Really? But what can I do? In this situation, I’m totally at an advantage.”

Given the situation, where Doha was trapped in a box with limited movement and I was looking down at him from above, I was 100% in control. I cautiously moved my body to avoid being overpowered by Doha and aimed for the flag on his back.

Just as the tension between us was reaching its peak, I felt someone behind me trying to grab my flag.

“…Whoa, what the hell.”

“Doha hyung! Run!”

When I turned around quickly, I saw Dan Haru lunging toward me, trying to steal my flag. As I grabbed his hand in a hurry, Doha slipped out of the prop room while I was tangled up with Dan Haru.

“Hey, Sparky. What are you doing attacking me? We should be working together to catch Doha, not fighting each other.”

“I’ve been thinking… I have a better chance of winning if I go one-on-one with Doha hyung rather than you, hyung.”

“Does that make sense? Look at Doha’s build!”

“At least with Doha hyung, it’s just a fair fight of strength, but you use all sorts of tricks…!”

‘What on earth do you think of me?’

…I couldn’t ask, though, given all the things I’d done.

With time running out, it seemed best to take down Dan Haru quickly and then go after Doha.

“Okay. Come at me.”

I had messed around with Dan Haru plenty of times before, but I had never really had a serious strength contest with him.

It seemed silly to go all out against the youngest, so I planned to just subdue him and take his flag… but then…

“…Hey, hey! Mom, hey, you brat! You’re not going to grow tall if you keep this up!”

“I really want to win this time!”

Using my own strength against me, Dan Haru suddenly lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder!

‘Is this for real?’

Of course, the difference in our height and build meant his balance quickly crumbled, but the fact that I, the hyung, had been thrown over the shoulder of the much smaller youngest was humiliating.

If I didn’t deal with Dan Haru quickly, I might actually get eliminated before I could take Doha’s flag. So, I used my weight to bring Dan Haru down to the floor as his balance faltered.

“Aagh! Hyung! I’m the youngest!”

“I know, you’re the youngest.”

“I’m Haru…!”

“Yeah, you’re Dan Haru. …Ugh! What the hell are you doing here!”

While I was wrestling with Dan Haru, someone else charged at me.

It was Doha, who I thought had run away.

“What? You didn’t run away!?”

“…I felt too guilty leaving Haru behind.”

“Of all the things!”

It was better for screen time that he was here fighting with us rather than just hiding somewhere and winning. Although, I wasn’t sure if Doha had come back with that in mind, but it was clear that this fight would decide the winner.

“Ah! Ah! Hyungs, I’m going to die!”

“I didn’t raise you to be so weak.”

“Doha hyung!!”

“Haru, move your arm a bit. The flag’s getting caught.”

“How could you do this to me too…! I’m going to tell Taehyun hyung everything!!”

Doha, Dan Haru, and I were all tangled up in a mess.

At first, it seemed like Doha was targeting Dan Haru, but whenever I showed the slightest opening, he reached for my back. The PD, who had been filming us, shouted that there was only 1 minute left.

“Ack…!”

Caught between two ruthless hyungs, Dan Haru was the first to be eliminated.

The stylish hairdo that our stylist noona had worked so hard on had become a total mess. As soon as Dan Haru’s flag dropped, my eyes and Doha’s met in the air.

“30 seconds left—!”

“Somebody win already!!”

At Dan Haru’s shout, Doha and I reached for each other’s backs at the same time.

It was the moment when the glorious winner of Kairos’ first terrestrial broadcast debut would be decided.