Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 97. Bomb? (8)

“Are you sure you’re okay? Hyung, you look so pale right now.”

Taehyun, alarmed, grabbed Hajin’s shoulders and inspected him closely. Haru, who had been drifting off to sleep, also seemed to have woken up at the sound, slowly raising himself with a worried look in his eyes as he watched the two of them.

“…I think it’s because I couldn’t sleep. I must be stressed out. I’m fine, really.”

“How can I not be worried? I just saw someone who seemed perfectly fine almost faint.”

“I wasn’t about to faint. Really, I’m okay. I just got a little dizzy for a moment. I’m fine.”

Contrary to his words, Hajin was still enduring pain that felt like something was deeply stabbing him from inside his body.

It was fortunate that only the mood light was on, making it dark. If Taehyun or Haru had seen Hajin under brighter lights, they would have insisted on waking up the managers to take him to the hospital right away.

But at that moment, more concerning than the pain in his body was the content of the system window that had suddenly appeared before him.

“If not, at least take some medicine. Where does it hurt?”

“…I’ll sleep first, and if I still feel bad when I wake up, I’ll go to the hospital. Okay?”

“…….”

“Come on, I’m not going to die. Just go to bed. It’s late.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll lie down right here as soon as you both go to bed.”

“…….”

“I promise.”

Using his well-honed acting skills, honed from deceiving many people, Hajin managed to reassure Taehyun and Haru. Though they still looked at him with worried faces, they had no choice but to leave, if only to let Hajin rest quickly.

As soon as Taehyun took Haru to their room, Hajin lay down on the sofa and properly examined the system window that had appeared before him.

[S?n_le Q$esSSSㅅㄴt *3.]

C?mplete the thir? mis*i@n w@th Lee Yu-geon successfully along with Miro (or Maze) Proje???? (?)

* T^e sys????em ??s /!*!now ?tt?cked b? the ???Return?ng On#e

Proceed with caution

** Fast restoration ?!!!scheduled

In c?se of fail#ure:

– %%%000000001 chance of regr?ssi/on

The system window, which he hadn’t seen in a while, was a mess, like a broken graphic, with letters misaligned and the display distorted. However, he could still make out the important parts among the garbled text.

And…

‘Why? Why now, of all times?’

If he didn’t successfully complete the third stage with Lee Yu-geon, he would inevitably regress.

Upon realizing this, Hajin genuinely felt his heart pounding.

‘Let’s think this through. That damned regressor said that the Chosen Regressor returns because he wants to be happy.’

Unable to endure the overwhelming misfortune that had befallen his life, he enjoyed only the happiness he could handle and fled by regressing. This was the pattern of the Chosen Regressor as Hajin understood it.

‘When I first entered Miro, the chance of regression was 85%. Even while I was dealing with the Director and Han Sung-woo, there was no separate warning about the regression possibility.’

This meant that Hajin’s achievements were satisfying. But at this point, the fact that his third mission suddenly involved preventing regression…

‘Does this mean if I fail the third mission, he’ll become unhappy? So much so that he wants to give up everything and go back? Why now? How does that even concern him?’

Hajin, suddenly heated, took a deep breath to remain calm.

‘It’s possible that the regressor is up to something again. It seems like the reason Thirteen can’t return right now is also because of that regressor.’

For now, tomorrow—let’s meet with Lee Yu-geon. And talk.

Whether Lee Yu-geon was the Chosen Regressor or not, Hajin needed to resolve all suspicions regarding Yu-geon for the sake of this quest. He tried to calm his anxious mind and forced himself to sleep, knowing it wouldn’t come easily.

* * *

However, the next morning, Hajin couldn’t meet Yu-geon.

“He didn’t come back?”

“No, and he’s not answering his phone….”

Yu-geon hadn’t returned to the dorm after going out the previous day. Judging by the circumstances, the last contact he made seemed to be when he sent Hajin the materials related to the song selection.

“Sang-hyuk hyung, do we have any emergency contacts for Lee Yu-geon? Any family members or anything?”

“Well, um… I did get one, but it’s old, or maybe it was entered incorrectly—it’s listed as an invalid number….”

The rookie development team staff responsible for Yu-geon’s care seemed clueless, avoiding Hajin’s gaze as they looked around nervously. This was the same employee who had been the subject of complaints among the trainees for not managing them properly or delivering notifications on time.

‘I’ll have to tell Ji Suho to clean house in the rookie development team.’

How could it make sense that they didn’t even know the emergency contacts of the trainees they managed? The employee, who seemed more flustered than Hajin, made Hajin want to shout, but he barely held it in.

With the fear that he might regress without being able to do anything, his mind was a chaotic mess. With the system breaking down, his mental care system might also have been damaged, making it hard to think logically. Ever since he woke up in the morning, memories and emotions from his past life had been mixing together chaotically.

“Hyung, then we’ll look for Yu-geon. You should contact the production team.”

“What? Me, contact them?”

“…We were supposed to film our practice session later, but Yu-geon’s not here, right? Are we going to film without him? You can’t just air that he’s AWOL. You have to delay the filming or something. You’re in charge of Yu-geon, aren’t you?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Right.”

Hajin knew that the person was still new and inexperienced, but in his current state, he wasn’t calm enough to understand those circumstances.

He held back as much as he could, but his words still came out harsh. The staff member, startled, began to pull out their phone, then hesitated and looked at Hajin with a slightly hurt expression.

“Hajin, what you said just now, I find it a bit uncomfortable. I’m still an adult and a staff member here. Do you really think it’s appropriate for you to speak to me like that?”

Not only were they inexperienced, but their attitude was even worse. Normally, Hajin would have apologized and moved on, but not now. Now was not the time for that.

“Then please do your job quickly. Don’t just stand there.”

“What did you say? That’s really rude.”

“Hyung, you left the set before we finished shooting yesterday and didn’t come back. That’s why you didn’t know that as soon as we wrapped, Lee Yu-geon left the company and didn’t return to the dorm. But I never said anything to you about it.”

“…….”

“Right now, I’m holding back a lot.”

The Hajin this employee knew was always the one with a friendly smile, treating all the staff with kindness.

So when Hajin, for the first time, approached with a stern expression and a low, sinking voice, the staff member instinctively felt a pressure they couldn’t have imagined and took a step back.

But fortunately or unfortunately, Hajin couldn’t get angrier at the staff member. Siwoo, who had rushed in after hearing the situation, stood in front of Hajin, blocking him.

“Kang Hajin, calm down. What’s wrong with you?”

“…….”

“Eunchan, take him to his room. Hajin’s body feels hot. I think he might have a fever, so get him some medicine and let him rest. Quickly.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Wonho and Doha, ask the others if anyone has seen Yu-geon.”

“Yes, let’s go, Doha hyung.”

“And the rest of you, head to the practice room. Stop loitering around to see what’s going on with someone else’s team.”

Siwoo swiftly took control of the situation. It should have been the staff member’s job, but they remained silent and passive.

As Eunchan helped Hajin out of the practice room, Siwoo’s gaze shifted to the staff member in front of him. With a brief flash of coldness in his eyes, Siwoo quickly composed himself and placed a friendly hand on the staff member’s shoulder.

“Hajin’s been feeling unwell since yesterday, and now with Yu-geon missing, I think he’s just a bit on edge. You understand, right?”

It wasn’t a request for understanding; it was a command. But the staff member, already feeling subdued, didn’t pick up on the subtle difference. They simply nodded quickly, relieved by Siwoo’s kind tone and words.

“Sigh, well, I’m sorry I missed it because I was busy… But Yu-geon’s erratic behavior isn’t new, and I’m really shocked myself.”

Even until the end, they offered

excuses. They even subtly shifted the blame onto the trainee they were supposed to protect. Siwoo withdrew his hand from the staff member’s shoulder and took a step back. He was quick to judge whether someone was trustworthy or not.

“Sure, I understand you’re busy. I’ll contact the production team myself. You must have other things to handle… Please, take care of your work.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. I’ll look further into the Yu-geon situation, too.”

“Yes, please do.”

Given an opportunity to escape, the staff member quickly fled. They were only two or three years older than Siwoo, fearing that if their superiors found out, they would get into big trouble. Siwoo, with a troubled expression, dialed a number.

“Team Leader, hello. It’s Siwoo. Yes, I’m calling urgently because there’s an issue with our team.”

The person on the other end of the line was Team Leader Ji Suho, who was in charge of Miro Maze and the next boy group project.

There’s no reason for me to take responsibility for a mistake they can’t handle themselves.

Siwoo’s expression turned cold as he ran his hand through his hair.

* * *

“Hyung, I told you to take the medicine.”

“I don’t have a fever.”

“Take it. You said you were sick last night, too.”

“When did you hear about that?”

Eunchan, despite Hajin’s insistence that he was fine, had forcibly dragged him to the room and made sure he lay down on the bed. He then adamantly held out a fever reducer and a cup of water, determined not to let Hajin leave until he took it.

“Siwoo hyung said you were hot earlier. He said you felt warm.”

“…That’s not that kind of heat. He was just telling me to calm down because I was so angry. I’m really fine.”

Hajin’s condition had calmed down significantly on the way back to the room. However, Eunchan didn’t seem convinced. After a prolonged back-and-forth, Hajin finally relented.

“Okay. I’ll take the medicine. I’ll take it, then I’ll go out for a short walk.”

“Alone?”

“I just need to clear my head. If I really feel sick, I’ll lie down immediately. I promise.”

“…Really?”

After repeatedly reassuring the skeptical Eunchan, Hajin was finally able to leave the room.

“…….”

Hajin was acutely aware that his mental state was currently under significant strain. Regression 100%. The words wouldn’t leave his mind. And now, Yu-geon had gone missing.

‘…I hope no stalker fans are following him. If someone leaks this to the public, it might be irreparable.’

Hajin absolutely had to complete the third mission successfully with Yu-geon. If word got out on the internet that Yu-geon had gone AWOL, it would be nearly impossible to turn public opinion back in his favor.

‘I have to find him before things get out of hand. If that guy, with his conspicuous face, gets spotted somewhere….’

Just then, someone tapped Hajin on the shoulder.

“Hyung!”

“…! Oh, Dan Haru.”

With his curly hair, Haru looked up at Hajin, pulling his yellow hoodie, which resembled his hair, over his head.

“Hyung, are you okay? You were sick yesterday.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Where are you going?”

“Um, I’m going to buy ice cream for Taehyun hyung. Hyung, do you want to come?”

Not having heard about Yu-geon yet, Haru only mentioned yesterday’s incident with concern. Then, with a bright smile, he invited Hajin to join in on his “Operation Return Taehyun’s Ice Cream.”

“The ice cream is a limited edition, so we have to go all the way past the big intersection to get it. It’s a bit far to go alone….”

“…….”

“If you don’t want to, I can go by myself….”

“…No, it’s fine. Let’s go.”

As Haru hesitated and started to back away, Hajin impulsively nodded. Maybe walking a bit would help clear his mind and calm him down.

‘In my current state, I might actually grab Yu-geon by the collar the moment I see him.’

…For now, he needed to regain his composure. Hajin clenched his teeth and focused on his breathing.