Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 34
Chapter 34. Each One’s Night
🌙 Ji Suho’s Night
Evening bled quietly into night.
For once, Ji Suho left the office early. He showered, changed into comfortable clothes, and settled onto his sofa. On the coffee table sat a carefully arranged lineup of late-night snacks.
He opened his laptop.
One last task.
“I do this every month… so why am I nervous today?”
He opened the Excel file Assistant Manager Yoon from the New Talent Development Team had sent him. After double-checking every number, he logged into the company intranet mail.
His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard.
Subject: [New Talent Development] February Monthly Evaluation Results
From: Ji Suho ([email protected])
1st – Jung Siwoo
2nd – Seo Taehyun
3rd – Joo Eunchan
4th – Lee Doha
5th – Dan Haru
6th – Lee Yugeon
7th – Han Seongwoo
8th – Yuki
9th – Kim Wonho
10th – Kang Hajin
“10th… just barely.”
He took a sip of beer and pulled up Hajin’s detailed breakdown.
If Kang Hajin had fallen out of the Top 10, Ji Suho wouldn’t have interfered. Results were results.
Still—
This is better.
He closed the laptop.
Work finished.
Tonight was the last stretch of calm before the survival program chaos began.
Ji Suho leaned back against the couch, beer in hand, smiling faintly.
🧩 System Message
Single Quest 03 Completed
“Do You Want to Become Special?”
Mission: Rank within the Top 10 in the monthly evaluation.
Reward: Clue to trace regression & companion recruitment access
Failure Penalty:
40% increase in 5th regression trigger probability
15% increase in survival show elimination probability
Quest Cleared.
🌘 Hajin’s Night
Kang Hajin was dreaming.
He knew it was a dream.
But he couldn’t wake up.
Voices from his first life echoed around him.
“We’re not practicing with you anymore.”
“Stop trying to stand out, Kang Hajin.”
“You only did it for yourself anyway.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“You should at least do that much.”
In the dream, he was crying.
Crushed.
Rejected by everything he once loved.
Then—
The monthly evaluation replayed.
“And you?”
“Couldn’t you have done it too?”
Seo Taeil’s voice.
The question that made him hesitate.
It felt like a massive boulder grinding down a pebble.
Then—
He jolted awake.
“…Stupid dream.”
It was still before dawn.
Purple-blue darkness filled the living room.
Something heavy slid off his chest.
“Ah… Kang Hawon.”
His younger brother.
They’d fallen asleep together in the living room.
So the suffocating weight in his dream—
Was real.
Just Hawon sprawled across him.
It almost made him laugh.
Almost.
But the lingering feeling in his chest wouldn’t fade.
So Hajin stepped outside.
🎠 Playground Before Sunrise
Cold air.
Empty swings.
His usual spot.
“…What are you doing?”
Kang Hawon.
Half-asleep. Blunt as ever.
“Why are you out here?”
“Why are you?”
“Are you a boomer?”
“A little.”
Silence.
Then Hawon asked quietly—
“…Did something go wrong?”
“…No. It went well.”
A pause.
“But during the performance, there was a dance break. I gave it to someone else. The judge asked why I didn’t take it myself.”
“…You weren’t confident?”
Hajin let out a soft laugh.
“No. I just… never considered myself.”
“…What?”
“I excluded myself from the start. Didn’t even think about it. I only realized that when he asked.”
He could’ve done it.
He knew that.
But—
“Maybe I just didn’t want to.”
His hands trembled faintly.
Then—
⚠ System Alert
Regressor psychological state unstable.
Mode: Wandering & Drifting activated.
Mental Care System engaging…
Memory Suppression activated.
The crushing weight in his chest vanished.
Like someone hit mute.
The pain dulled instantly.
“…What was that?”
The memories blurred.
He knew something had happened in his first life.
But the details were gone.
Only fragments remained.
Hawon watched him carefully.
“Are you okay?”
“…For now.”
They walked back home without another word.
Later that night, Hawon quietly pulled the blanket up higher over his brother’s shoulders.
That was enough.
Hajin fell asleep again.
🌌 Someone Else’s Night
A place that was neither dream nor reality.
A void between dimensions.
A presence stirred.
[It is time.]
The same existence Hajin had once encountered.
No light.
No sound.
Only awareness.
At the center stood a boy.
Calm.
Familiar with this place.
[Time to decide.]
[Same choice as always. Go back? Or continue?]
KEEP OR SKIP
The boy stared at the options.
Then answered.
“I’ll continue.”
[…Are you certain?]
“Yeah. Give me the information.”
The void rippled.
The two options dissolved into a long stream of text.
Fixed future events.
Essential knowledge.
Regression required preparation.
[Then… good luck.]
Space compressed and expanded like breathing.
The boy drifted through it.
And thought—
This time…
This time—
Maybe it would be different.