Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 25

Chapter 25. Do You Want to Become Special? (3)

What’s the most important thing for a contestant on an idol survival show?

Insane vocals?
Knife-sharp dance skills?
Quick wit that guarantees viral clips?

Or—

A spotless past that won’t explode later?
An attitude that never trends for the wrong reasons?
A personality so wholesome it becomes marketing?

There are probably a hundred different answers.

But the one I believe in is simple:

Position.

In other words—character.

To producers building a group,
to fans choosing their bias before debut,
to casual viewers watching the show—

You need to sell this:

“In this group, this is my role.
This is my charm.
This is how I create chemistry.
This is what I’ll show you on stage.”

On an idol survival show, the position battle decides almost everything.

And I already have proof nearby.

Seo Taehyun.

He swallowed all the buzz during Boy’s World—
but lost in the character war.

Character is everything.

You need a core image people immediately associate with you.

But you cannot get trapped inside it.

You have to show unexpected sides—
make people reinterpret you—
while still hearing:

“Yeah. That’s so him.”

And right now—

“...Should we pick a leader first?”

—we’re already losing that battle.

“No one’s volunteering?”

Gong Seok, the oldest among us, asked awkwardly.

Everyone avoided eye contact.

On a broadcast show, someone would grab the leader role for screen time.

Here?

It just feels like being forced to carry a group project.

And honestly—

none of them really have the weight for it.

I pointed at the only realistic option.

“Wouldn’t Doha make the most sense? He was in Special Class.”

Lee Doha.
Same age as me.
Underground recognition for self-produced tracks.
The only former Special Class member here.

Naturally, it should be him.

But the atmosphere shifted.

Even Doha looked uncomfortable.

“…What? Why’s everyone acting weird?”

“Uh… you probably don’t know since you joined recently.”

That tone wasn’t promising.

The others avoided Doha’s eyes.

Doha scratched his chin.

“I’m bad at dancing.”

“…”

“And singing.”

“…But you were Special Class.”

“I ranked high for producing and rap.”

Ah.

So that’s it.

He’s not bad.

He’s specialized.

Too specialized.

If he raps like a monster but the rest of us drag the stage down, it means nothing.

Now I get it.

Why a former Special Class member ended up in the leftover team.

“Our whole team’s mid or low-tier…”

In other words—

We’re the ambiguous ones.

Not strong enough to be placed in the specialized teams.

Silence settled.

Everyone except Doha wore the same expression—

A smile that didn’t reach their eyes.

The look of people already bracing for failure.

Makes sense.

“Hey.”

“…?”

“I’ll do it. I’ll be leader.”

My life is literally riding on this evaluation.

“Y-you?”

“You? But—”

“Anyone else want to?”

Silence.

Of course it sounds ridiculous.

A one-month trainee leading a survival-deciding evaluation.

But realistically—

Aside from Doha, who ranks highest?

I entered upper classes in two categories within a month.

And the first person to raise his hand was the one who knew that best.

“I’m in.”

Lee Doha.

He nodded immediately.

Once the closest-to-debut member backed me up, the others followed.

“If Doha hyung’s okay with it…”

“Yeah… we’ll help.”

“Please take care of us, Hajin hyung.”

Leader decided.

Three weeks.

We have to build something worthy of Top 10.

First step?

Control.

“Let’s start with planning.”

“Before that… can I say something?”

“Yeah.”

“I want full authority for this evaluation.”

“…What?”

“I’ll listen to opinions.
But if you made me leader—
trust me once.”

Former group project driver hyung.

This isn’t school.

This is survival.

Later.

“What time are you heading home?”

“Not sure.”

Just meeting daily practice targets barely lets me catch the last train.

Now I have to analyze concepts, references, stage structure.

Thirty minutes earlier—

“I’m Miro’s Zhuge Liang. Don’t react.”

“…”

“We all feel it, right? Like we’re the leftover team.”

“…That’s—”

“Am I wrong?”

No answer.

“Too many captains sink ships.
I can’t promise you Pirate King.
But I can make sure we ride the wave.”

They agreed.

Back to now—

“Should we just stay over at the company and crash at Eunchan’s?”

“Thought so. Let’s do late-night practice.”

Seo Taehyun is fully back in training addict mode.

“Why A-room? Hiding money there?”

“Usually people say honey.”

“Money’s more valuable.”

He grimaced.

“There’s only a folding bed in A-room.”

“What about C-room?”

“Jayden broke it.”

“Run.”

No folding bed equals death.

We moved like criminals.

At the trainee office—

“Applying for late practice?”

“Yeah.”

I wrote our names.

Then noticed something.

[Jung Siwoo]
[Han Seongwoo]
[Lee Doha]

…Doha again.

Interesting.

I left Taehyun and headed up to the rooftop.

Perfect timing.

I opened the system window.

My customized UI shimmered like something out of a sci-fi movie.

<System: Current Cash ∥ 7,820>

Not bad.

Most people would say:

Save it.

Prepare for later.

That’s advice for people who only live once.

For someone who might live five times?

There is no “later.”

There is only now.

Today—

I’m spending everything.