Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 11

Chapter 11. The Trainee Who Refuses to Debut (2)

— — —

“Wait, you already met and introduced yourselves?”

Even though he said it casually, Han Seongwoo’s voice carried a sharp edge of suspicion. The other trainees’ gazes immediately shifted toward me and the sparkly one.

The previously calm atmosphere twisted in an instant, as if something had happened.

The sparkly one openly panicked and shook his head.

“N-No. It’s not like that….”

“We ran into each other in front of the restroom. It was just a coincidence. He was so good-looking that I ended up asking a staff member about him.”

“…Oh. Is that so?”

I smoothly cut off Seongwoo’s pointed tone with a light excuse, and the tension eased.

The sparkly one awkwardly laughed along.

Everyone was smiling—
yet it felt like a spiked ball was floating invisibly in the air.

“Alright then, seems like introductions are done. Let’s take a break. Everyone’s tired, right?”

Still wearing the face of a kind class leader, Seongwoo patted my shoulder and stood up.

The practice room grew noisy.

Now only the sparkly one and I were left sitting awkwardly.

He was about to slip away, but I grabbed him first.

“That restroom… where was it again? We ran into each other earlier, but I can’t remember.”

That was a complete lie. There wasn’t even a restroom near where we met.

“Ah… maybe because it’s kind of far… I mean, if you go out to the hallway and turn left—”

“Maybe it’s because it’s my first day, but this place is confusing. I bet lots of people get lost.”

I shrugged helplessly.

His eyes darted around nervously.

“So I go out and turn right, was it?” I repeated innocently.

He hesitated—then swallowed the bait.

“I-I’ll guide you!”

“Oh, you don’t have to. Thanks though.”

The moment we stepped out of the practice room, I naturally turned left.

His pupils shook again.

Whatever.

So—
are you a bomb?
Or a lifeline?

“Eunchan.”

Through the mirror, Joo Eunchan saw Hajin leaving with Haru.

Then he heard the familiar voice calling him.

Instead of answering, he pretended to stretch.

But when “Eunchan. Joo Eunchan.” was called again warmly, he couldn’t ignore it.

“…Yes, Seongwoo hyung.”

“I was worried you might’ve taken what I said earlier the wrong way. You know I didn’t mean anything bad, right?”

“…Ah. Yes.”

Feeling the other trainees watching, Seongwoo exaggeratedly patted Eunchan’s shoulder.

“It’s just better if you come on time. You’ve got long legs anyway.”

His cheerful voice filled the room.

“Everyone’s working hard. If the mood keeps getting disrupted because of you, that’s not good. You understand what I mean.”

“…Yes. Sorry.”

Suffocating.

That was what Eunchan swallowed silently.

Dan Haru was tense.

He was shy to begin with, and that new trainee hyung—Hajin—looked just as intimidating as Eunchan.

Their first encounter hadn’t been ideal either.

He followed Hajin anyway, but telling his personal circumstances to someone he had just met? That was hard.

“Haru, right? Where do you live?”

“Huh? Oh, I live in Seoul….”

“Your house is in Seoul?”

“No, I live in the dorm….”

“Wow, really? You’re young to be living away from home. That’s impressive. Where’s your hometown?”

“My family’s from the provinces, but my parents are overseas.”

“So you’re alone in Korea?”

“No, I live with my grandmother….”

“Mm. I see.”

Wait.

Why was he reporting his entire life story to this guy?

Somehow, during that short walk to the restroom, he had:

admitted he was the youngest trainee,
said trainee life wasn’t too hard,
confessed he sometimes wanted to go home and eat his grandma’s braised short ribs.

Hajin, who looked scary, treated him like someone he had known for ten years.

His conversation skills were on par with a professional MC.

Haru had even agreed to call him hyung—and had actually done it several times.

Compared to how long it had taken him to casually call Eunchan anything but “uh… hey,” this was terrifyingly fast.

What is this social adaptability?!

Watching Haru’s thoughts practically float above his head, Hajin thought:

You’re transparent, kid.

He had given the perfect opening for Haru to speak up.

But if the kid wouldn’t say it first—
Hajin would.

“You’re worried about earlier, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“About what happened. It feels like you don’t want others to know.”

With a gentle, understanding smile, Hajin spoke as if he already knew everything.

Haru jumped again.

His huge eyes filled with a million question marks.

“Don’t worry. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”

“Th-Thank you.”

He bowed quickly.

“Good thing I didn’t say anything carelessly.”

“It’s not that serious… It’s just embarrassing that I cried….”

“What’s wrong with crying? I cried all the time at my old company.”

“You were a trainee somewhere else?”

“…Yeah. For a bit.”

Hajin shrugged casually.

Haru’s guard visibly lowered.

Before heading back in, Hajin delivered one last line.

“If there’s something you can’t say in there, just tell me you want to go to the vending machine. I’ll buy you a drink.”

Lightly. Casually.

“I’ve got a younger brother. Seeing you earlier reminded me of him.”

(Somewhere, Kang Hawon was being sacrificed for strategy.)

“…Hyung really feels like an adult.”

Well. He was mentally twenty-nine plus alpha.

Hajin smiled without guilt.

Take the bait, little lamb.

Miro trainees had five classes:

Vocal
Dance
Rap
Acting
Physical Training

Hajin’s levels:

Vocal: High
Dance: Mid
Rap: High
Acting: Low
Physical: Mid

The acting rank was likely because of the mental-care system.

During dance class, the instructor described him as “awkward.”

Not bad enough for basics.
Not good enough for advanced choreography.

That damned “mid.”

He’d rip that label off.

After repeating step routines three hundred times, even walking felt like choreography.

When class ended, two trainees were missing:

Joo Eunchan.
Dan Haru.

Again.

For two weeks, they had frequently been called out mid-class.

And the one reacting most sensitively each time was—

“Guys, clean up properly before resting.”

Han Seongwoo.

Everyone hurried to tidy up.

As Hajin stood up to help, Seongwoo approached.

“Hajin, you can rest. It’s already hard enough for you to keep up.”

“…It’s fine. I’ll help.”

“It’s okay. If you mess with expensive equipment, that’d be worse.”

Is he provoking me?

Then—

“You must be having a hard time adapting. Jumping into advanced lessons without the basics must be tough.”

“Yeah, stamina’s the issue.”

“Don’t rush. Beginners struggle at first.”

It was obvious now.

This was a power play.

Seongwoo slid an arm toward Hajin’s shoulder—

BANG.

The practice room door burst open.

“Hyung!”

Haru stood there, ears red, looking determined.

“Me?”

He nodded.

“Vending machine.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go to the vending machine!”

…If you drink that, you’ll die, kid.