Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 93 Bomb? (4)

The team selection method was nothing special.

The higher-ranked trainees got to choose their rooms first. Then, when the highest-ranked trainee in that room said, “That’s enough for this room,” the next trainees couldn’t choose that room anymore.

-Each room has a minimum of four people.

-If both rooms are full with four people each, the remaining room will automatically have nine people.

It was a huge gamble. It was a blatant gesture to see the headcount battle of the Wings rank trainees.

But the rules didn’t end there.

-By the way, each room has a special effect and an item that you must use.

-We will share that information with the Wings rank trainees in particular.

-Then, let’s start with the Wings rank Seo Taehyun trainee.

That’s how they went out one by one in order, and chose their rooms for a while.

-Well, now. The Feather rank trainees will also go out one by one.

By the way, the Wings rank had rankings, but the Feather rank didn’t.

They were all the same, outside the debut group ranking, so they didn’t reveal them separately.

So the Feather rank decided the order of choosing the rooms by drawing lots.

By the way, what that meant was…

-Ah. Then the Wings rank trainees in the room won’t know who’s coming in from now on. Haha, this is fun.

…That’s what it meant.

Anyway, I was the sixth among the Feather rank, and when I went out, the situation of each room was like this.

First of all, I excluded room 3 from the candidates. There must be a reason why the two people in there had a small number of people, whoever they were.

And there was no one worth using among the ones who would come in after me.

So it was either room 1 or room 2, but then something happened that took away my choice.

-Room 2, closed by the authority of the Wings rank Seo Taehyun trainee.

So, I had no choice but to enter room 1.

As soon as I entered, Jung Si-woo, who saw my face, shouted at the production crew in a hurry.

-Room 1. Closed. We’re closing. Closed.

He shouted three times. It was the first time I saw Jung Si-woo so flustered.

Of course, after checking the faces of the team members, I would have said that I would quit if I didn’t shout closed right now.

And back to the present.

“Well, then.”

The awkward silence in the practice room was broken by Hajin’s voice.

Everyone had been silent for 10 minutes, just looking at each other’s faces.

Hajin, who had caught everyone’s attention with his sharp eyes, smiled brightly at his third mission teammates.

“Shall we do some self-introduction? We have some combinations that we’re meeting for the first time as a team.”

“…”

‘I miss Seo Taehyun for just one day.’

I missed the last team that was surprisingly noisy, but Kang Hajin held back.

Anyway, they were all gentlemen who would do their part once the atmosphere loosened up.

It was just because the combination was like this.

‘Jung Si-woo and Lee Yoo-geon fought like that on the broadcast the day before yesterday.

The pro-Jung Si-woo faction and the pro-Lee Yoo-geon faction are in the same group…’

But who am I?

Former youth training center instructor experience. (I did it as a part-time job because a friend asked me to. But it was when I was 29, so it doesn’t apply now.)

Recreation instructor and youth instructor certificates. (Again, it was when I was 29, so it doesn’t apply now.)

Many church retreat recreation experiences. (Of course, it was when I was 29, so it never happened now.)

Many audience guidance and reaction inducement experiences when I was rolling hard as an assistant director. (Same as above.)

‘Awkward atmosphere’ where Kang Hajin is? There’s no such thing.

No. Just no. Anyway, no.

“By the way, didn’t we get special training from Nam T-ju sunbae-nim this time?”

“…?”

“Following his variety show spirit, let’s do some special self-introduction from now on.”

Everyone in the practice room, including the team members, paid attention to Hajin.

He looked like he was going to do something again with that build-up.

Hajin, who was 200% ready to meet their expectations, deliberately made a dramatic voice and struck an X-pose.

“It’s called, ‘I know all your secrets that you don’t know’ game. Or, ‘Only truth or death’.”

“Never heard of it.”

“I just made it up.”

Hajin gave Kim Won-ho a look that told him to shut up, and explained the game.

“We all know the basics, like name, age, position, right? So from now on, we’ll take turns telling each other one secret that we think the others don’t know. But, you can lie if you don’t want to tell.”

“Lie…if you can lie, it’s not a self-introduction.”

“Eun-chan, good point. So if you think this is a lie, you can point it out by saying, ‘Lie!’ If it’s really a lie, that person gets one penalty. Let’s do this for three rounds.”

As Hajin finished his explanation, Kim Won-ho raised his hand.

“I have a question.”

“Yes, Kim Won-ho trainee. Ask your question.”

“What’s the downside of getting penalties?”

“Ah, that’s a good point.”

Even those who were not interested in the game were curious about that, and their eyes turned to Hajin again. Then Hajin pulled out a box next to him and shook out the items inside.

“…This, this is.”

“This is what we commonly call a harness, an item. It’s very hot. Ouch, it’s hot.”

The identity of the items that Hajin spilled out was a harness made of leather and silver chains. It was also the ‘must-use’ item assigned to this team.

And among those harnesses, there was one that stood out.

Hajin silently picked up ‘that thing’, and Eunchan swallowed his saliva and answered.

“A, a collar…”

“A collar? It’s a ‘choker’.”

“…”

“To the person who received the most penalties, we will give you the privilege of wearing this collar… no, choker. Wow, you must be excited.”

***

Inside the dark practice room.

Only one light was shining on the center of the practice room.

The expressions of the trainees sitting in a semicircle were very serious and grave.

Joo Eunchan, who was holding a pink PoX microphone (the assistant director hastily supplied it) as a speaker, opened his mouth nervously.

“My secret is…”

“…”

“Um, well, I…”

“If you don’t say it in 3 seconds, you’ll get one penalty.”

“I, I order gamjatang at home these days.”

“Hmm…”

At the word penalty, Joo Eunchan spat out whatever came to his mind. Then the hyungs started to doubt the truth of his words with a scary expression.

“Okay, pass.”

“Hey, wait. We have to decide by majority opinion, how can Kangha hyung decide on his own?”

“Eunchan lives alone. But ordering gamjatang, which is a lot and hard to handle, is likely to be a lie. We have to consider the possibility of ppyeo-haejangguk too…”

“No, pass.”

Despite the objections of Wonho and Doha, Hajin shouted pass without hesitation. Then he looked at Eunchan with a proud face and smiled kindly.

‘Kid, you’ve learned the taste.’ That was the meaning behind his face.

“Okay. Then Eunchan’s answer. True or false? If it’s false, Kangha hyung gets a penalty, you know?”

“Uh, well. There’s no way it’s false.”

“It’s a lie.”

“…?”

“Gamjatang doesn’t deliver for one person. I order ppyeo-haejangguk.”

“…!”

“Okay! Kangha hyung penalty~.”

Hajin looked at Eunchan with a face that the world had collapsed. His expression of betrayal was indescribable, and even the camera directors laughed out loud.

The game led by Hajin was more exciting than expected until the last turn.

For the trainees who had not yet fully set their idol mindset, the collar (choker) gave them a lot of pressure.

-If you just keep saying true, who’s going to get a penalty!

-And even if you lie and say it’s true, you don’t know anyway, right? It’s a secret.

-Okay. Then let’s add a rule.

Even an additional rule was created.

Everyone was immersed in the game that started for ice breaking.

The score so far was like this.

“At this rate, it’s either Yugeon hyung or Hajin hyung, right?”

“Kangha hyung does everything well, but he keeps getting the others wrong. That’s also a skill.”

“Yugeon hyung gets the others right, but he keeps getting caught lying. It’s the opposite.”

But Wonho and Eunchan, who had no guard against Yugeon, played a big role.

They casually mentioned Yugeon and joined the conversation, and Yugeon, who seemed a bit uncomfortable because of Si-woo, was also actively participating in the game.

“Okay, this is the last turn.”

The final round of the choker decision was raised.

No one had received a penalty, and Hajin, Wonho, Eunchan, and Doha quickly took turns.

Next was Si-woo’s turn.

“Um… I. I chose this room because I didn’t know what a ‘harness’ was.”

“True.”

“True.”

“Pass.”

Everyone shouted “true” without hesitation. No matter how much Jung Si-woo had built up his image as a strategist and a genius, they didn’t think he would have chosen the harness himself.

“False.”

“Huh. Really? Bro, think carefully. It’s dangerous if you get another penalty.”

Everyone had chosen true, except for Hahjin.

Everyone tried to dissuade him, but Hahjin stubbornly stuck to his claim.

He then explained the reasoning behind his deduction. He was like a detective from a mystery comic.

“Si-woo hyung, you majored in classical piano, right? I think I heard them call the belt that holds the instrument a harness sometimes.”

“…”

“And anyway, I don’t think you would have thrown a gambling number as the first thing you don’t know.”

Si-woo chuckled at Hahjin’s sharp remark. He then raised both arms as if to admit defeat.

“It’s false. I don’t know it because I’m a classical performer.”

“Wow, that’s unbelievable. This is betrayal.”

“I… I just came in without knowing.”

“Yeah, Eunchan would have done the same.”

In the end, everyone except Hahjin got one more penalty.

At this rate, Yugeon was doomed to be the choker.

“Now, depending on the result, will there be a tie or a confirmed seeker?”

“Wh-what is this? I’m nervous.”

Everyone’s attention was on Yugeon’s last turn. Yugeon looked at the leash once, then at the trainees who were staring at him.

“Can I think for a moment?”

“Go, go ahead.”

“Don’t you hate doing this?”

“Then Si-woo hyung, do you want to do it?”

“…I only have one penalty.”

While they were having a fruitless conversation, Yugeon’s thoughts continued.

After a short time of one or two minutes, he seemed to have made up his mind and straightened his posture.

“I decided not to wear that disgraceful thing because my parents are coming to this performance.”

“Then… I think I have to let you go, hyung.”

“No, this is a game right now. True or Fake.”

“…Ah!”

“Wow, Yugeon, you’re bringing up your parents here? I say true.”

“Me too, true.”

The trainees hesitated for a moment, but eventually shouted true at Yugeon’s appearance, which didn’t seem like acting. It was because he was persuasive. The producers had announced that each of them would get an invitation for this performance.

“Hah hyung, you too? Wow, this is going to be a mess if it’s false… right?”

Wonho asked Hahjin, who he thought would surely say true, with an excited face.

And for a very brief moment,

Hahjin’s eyes changed fiercely. No one but Wonho noticed that Hahjin.

“False.”

“Are, are you serious?”

Hahjin, who quickly returned to his usual expression, said false in a slightly lowered voice. His gaze was still fixed on Yugeon.

A chilly atmosphere hung over the practice room. Hahjin waited silently for Yugeon’s answer.

It might have been a leap, but this could be a very important clue depending on the situation. Because…

“Ah…”

Because, in the past he had seen, the chosen regressor was.

“It’s false. I guess I’m the winner of the leash?”

…an orphan who didn’t know who his parents were.