Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 33
Chapter 33. First Monthly Evaluation (5)
The moment Lee Doha took his first step,
Kang Hajin knew.
It’s done. We’re safe.
“Oh my.”
“Doha improved a lot.”
With Gong Seok’s ad-libs soaring overhead, the dance break between Yoon Taehee and Doha began.
The concept was rebellion.
So their choreography wasn’t clean-cut synchronization—it was confrontation. Sharp exchanges. Aggressive counters. A controlled clash.
Because their moves weren’t identical, Doha wasn’t directly compared to Taehee’s stronger execution.
But when their movements overlapped—
Their long limbs cut through the air at the exact same angles.
Every practiced count landed perfectly on beat.
Taehee used Doha’s thigh as leverage—
Back-tumbling cleanly through the air.
No wobble.
Hajin and the others marched forward like conquering generals as the final chorus detonated.
Look at me—this radiant Victory
A melody filling the shattered moonlit night
Our clasped hands will shine in the end
I’ll invite you to the end of this beginning
Welcome—this is NEW WAVE
Heavy breathing.
The music stopped.
They froze in their ending pose.
Then, at Hajin’s subtle signal, they stepped forward and lined up for feedback.
Silence.
Longer than usual.
The trainers didn’t speak immediately.
Then—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Seo Taeil.
“Well done. That was a well-constructed stage.”
Relief flickered across the team’s faces.
“Your gesture cleanup was impressive. Doha doing a dance break for the first time? You must’ve practiced a lot.”
“Thank you,” Doha replied quietly.
“But why Doha?” Taeil continued. “Wonho dances well. It would’ve flowed naturally after his solo.”
Silence again.
“Was Doha really the best choice?”
All eyes shifted to Hajin.
It had been entirely his call.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Wonho had heavy choreography in the third chorus. Adding the dance break would’ve overloaded him.”
“….”
“Gong Seok hyung had ad-libs, so he couldn’t step in. Doha and Taehee have similar builds—it makes the duel concept cleaner. And Taehee needed someone strong enough to support the acrobatic lift.”
A pause.
“And.”
Hajin glanced at Doha.
“I believed he could do it.”
None of the trainers argued with that.
Taeil tapped his pen lightly.
“And you?”
“…?”
“You could’ve done it too, couldn’t you?”
For the first time, Hajin hesitated.
Before he could answer—
Doha raised his hand.
“I asked to do it.”
Internally, the team froze.
When did you ever say that?
“I wanted to try. And I thought Hajin should take the third chorus.”
Taeil leaned back in his chair.
“Good ambition. Nicely done.”
Feedback ended.
Hajin’s Expression
Wonho leaned toward Hajin, barely containing his excitement.
“Hyung, we did well—”
But Hajin’s face was strange.
Not relieved.
Not smiling.
Tight. Focused. Distant.
“…Did you call me?”
“I was just saying good job.”
“Yeah. You too.”
But his eyes were somewhere else entirely.
Later That Night — Executive Review
Miro Headquarters, 2F Conference Room.
The monthly evaluation had concluded.
Three days of trainee break had been announced.
Now it was time to decide rankings.
Comments flew across the table.
“Top-tier placements are obvious.”
“D Team picked the wrong song.”
“Seo Taehyun’s confidence is back.”
Then—
“A Team?”
Silence.
“Well… they did well.”
“But…”
“It’s complicated.”
One of the producers, Manager Kim, frowned.
They were the most impressive.
A senior manager sighed.
“They performed well. But was that their baseline? Or did they just peak today?”
“The difficulty wasn’t particularly high.”
“No clear center.”
“It felt like watching a completed idol group stage. That’s it.”
Manager Kim couldn’t hold back.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
All eyes turned toward him.
“They’re trainees. And they looked like an actual debut-ready group.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Individually? Maybe not the flashiest.
But as a team?
Their output was maximized.
An underdog rebellion story.
Content gold.
Ji Suho finally spoke.
“That’s a fair point.”
He adjusted the tone of the discussion.
“Even if they don’t displace the strongest individual performers, what they achieved today deserves to be reflected in the rankings.”
A pause.
“We need to determine whether this is hidden potential finally unlocked—or their ceiling. The Top 10 will represent Miro in the survival program.”
Discussion resumed.
“Doha is top-tier for sure.”
“Wonho deserves high marks.”
“Gong Seok surprised me.”
Seo Taeil glanced sideways at Ji Suho.
“You’re quiet. Isn’t Hajin your pick?”
“You like him too.”
“I’d be biased.”
“So would I.”
Taeil chuckled softly.
“What if Hajin doesn’t make Top 10?”
Ji Suho smiled.
“I don’t think that’s something we need to worry about.”
He nodded toward the whiteboard.
<20XX February Monthly Evaluation – Final Rankings>
The first tremor of something bigger.
The Real Point
Everyone debated:
Difficulty
Individual spotlight
Fairness
But they missed something.
Kang Hajin never intended to stand out.
He engineered a team that looked complete.
And in a survival show—
The one who makes everyone else shine
is sometimes the most dangerous position of all.