Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 23
Chapter 23. Do You Want to Become Special? (1)
He’s scaring people for nothing.
I got tricked by the system. As expected, you shouldn’t trust emotionless data made of 0s and 1s—
(Not that it actually is.)
<System Alert: The system protests this unfair accusation!>
Don’t complain when you’re made of 0s and 1s.
I dismissed the window and stood up immediately. No reason to stay any longer.
“Y-you’re leaving already?”
“What, you staying up here? It’s freezing.”
“G-go… together.”
Seo Taehyun, who clearly still had something on his mind, stood up almost reflexively and followed me. He walked beside me in silence, deep in thought.
Then he nodded to himself, like he’d figured something out.
<System Alert: Companion ‘Seo Taehyun’ status — “Realized Something.”>
<System Alert: Your companion has gained an insight! (Reward: 30 Cash)>
<System Alert: This insight significantly aids quest progress!>
Wait.
Free money?
The system was practically throwing confetti over that conversation. So… no bonus reward? A little extra? I stared at the window expectantly.
An aurora-colored notification popped up.
<System Alert: ☆★Nope!★☆>
…You little—
I was glaring at the system with an expression colder than Antarctica when Taehyun suddenly muttered, “Huh?”
I looked up.
The Special Class practice room was completely empty. Lights off. Not a single person inside.
“What? Where’d everyone go?”
“Isn’t it personal practice time?”
“No. Group choreography starts soon.”
Taehyun pulled out his phone, clearly worried something had happened without him knowing. At the same time, my phone buzzed.
Dan Haru.
“Yeah?”
—Hyung, where are you?
“Basement level one. Special Class room.”
—Oh—are you with Taehyun-hyung?
“Yeah. Why? What happened?”
—Come to A-Room. All-trainee announcement. Everyone’s here already.
All-trainee announcement?
I nodded without thinking—assuming it was about the survival show—and hung up.
“They’re in A-Room. Some kind of announcement. Let’s go.”
“Announcement? About what?”
“Survival, probably. They said they’re waiting for us.”
And without a second thought, Seo Taehyun and I headed over—
Not realizing that announcement would cause a massive aftershock.
A Few Days Later
As usual, I changed in the locker room and walked into the practice room.
“Wow. This place is a mess.”
The moment they saw my grim expression, Joo Eunchan and Dan Haru—who’d been hiding in a corner—turned pale and ran over like abandoned puppies, grabbing onto my arm.
“Hyung. I think I’m gonna throw up.”
“……”
One looked completely fed up.
The other looked so fed up he might actually faint.
I gently pried my arm free and smiled kindly.
“Endure it.”
“……”
“After you debut, you’ll enter a world of power games way worse than this. Consider this training, little lambs.”
“B-but…”
Haru grabbed my arm again like a puppy who’d had his snack taken away and whispered:
“But we’re scared of the former Special Class hyungs. We can’t practice with them.”
The Special Class had been dissolved.
After removing Director Son Hyeonggu completely from Miro, the CEO discovered he’d been manipulating the Special Class for personal profit. So it was immediately disbanded. Trainees were reassigned by age and redistributed into new classes.
Since the survival show was happening soon anyway, everyone was now “equal.”
The practice room became overcrowded overnight.
The atmosphere?
A disaster.
Three clear factions had formed:
The furious former Special Class trainees who hated being treated the same as “you guys.”
The trainees thinking, You got kicked out after taking money and you’re still acting arrogant? Pathetic.
The exhausted neutrals who just wanted everyone to shut up and practice.
Naturally, I represented Neutral Territory.
“Where’s Seo Taehyun?”
“He has an interview.”
“Taehyun-hyung looked one second away from dying of embarrassment. They keep bringing up his Cherry Boy photos.”
I nodded.
Seo Taehyun was now the official “frontman booster” for the survival show rollout.
That legendary clip from his Boy’s World days had resurfaced again, and idol forums were flooding with one keyword:
“Boy’s World Cherry Boy.”
Everything about him was being dug up.
And not just him.
One post was blowing up in real time:
Miro’s next boy group trainee
(photo)
Someone spotted “Boy’s World” Seo Taehyun at a vet hospital recently
says he’s confirmed for Miro’s survival
People think the guy next to him is another Miro trainee
That “cat’s gratitude” reward, huh.
They found my OneStargram. My graduation photos. Everything.
Fortunately, the reaction wasn’t too bad.
“Ha-jin, can you move?”
“Oh. Sure.”
I tried to grab mirror space for warm-ups, but the former Special Class crowd had already claimed it.
Neutral Territory wasn’t welcome there.
The moment I stepped closer, they practically started growling.
Petty teenagers…
“Hey, Dan Haru. Hold my leg—”
“A-Aah! Dan Haru! Stop! Stop!”
“Hyung, are you made of wood? How are you less flexible than yesterday?”
I turned to Haru—the most flexible among us—for help.
He was already stretching Eunchan’s legs with zero mercy.
I immediately abandoned them.
“I’ll just stretch by the wall.”
Eunchan looked at me like save me.
I avoided eye contact.
Sorry. Survival of the fittest.
“Hey.”
“…?”
Someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned.
That broad-shouldered, ridiculously handsome bear again.
Lee Doha.
The trainee I’d bumped into earlier.
“Ah—Doha. Lee Doha, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s up?”
He scratched his jaw awkwardly.
“Um.”
“Yeah?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“…Are you buffering?”
Why call me over just to go silent?
Then I remembered.
He’d been Special Class.
Ah. He wants my spot.
“You want this corner? Fine. Take it.”
“What? No, I—”
“Everyone. Gather up.”
Bad timing.
Ji Suho entered, cutting Doha off.
Doha looked like he wanted to finish what he was saying, but no one ignores Ji Suho—especially not when he’s rumored to be on track for a director position.
“You’re on speaking terms with Doha-hyung?”
“No. He wanted my mirror spot. Guess former Special Class hits different.”
“…Huh? Doha-hyung did?”
Seo Taehyun tilted his head.
“That doesn’t sound like him.”
Hearing that tone awakened my inner gremlin.
“Yeah… noble bloodlines and all. Hard for us General Class peasants to understand.”
“Kang Hajin. I hate you.”
You and Eunchan are entertaining specifically because you react like that.
Ji Suho cleared his throat.
“The company’s been chaotic lately. Classes merged, schedules changed. Thanks for keeping up. I have a few announcements.”
Everyone stiffened.
“You’ve probably heard rumors. It’s official. We’re holding an in-house survival program to determine the next debut team.”
Silence.
“I’ll be overseeing it. And as announced, Upia’s Seo Tae-il will participate as a special collaborator.”
At the word “survival,” tension and excitement mixed in the air.
“First recording in March. Final in May. Full debut prep in June. Second-half debut target.”
He continued:
“That doesn’t mean you slack until March. You’ll shoot profiles, teasers, record the title track. You’ll be busy.”
At “profiles” and “teasers,” murmurs exploded.
Ji Suho smiled, then switched back to strict mode.
“And before that—what’s in February?”
Silence.
“Why’s everyone quiet? February. What is it?”
“…Monthly evaluation.”
…We have that?
A bad feeling crawled up my spine.
Damn it.