Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 36

Chapter 36.The One Who Tries to Touch the Sun (2)

The elevator shot upward so fast it made Hajin’s ears pop.

Neither he nor Lee Doha spoke.

When the doors opened, darkness greeted them again.

Another wall of artificial greenery stretched across the hallway.

And this time—

Two doors.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hajin muttered.

Doha stepped forward first. “We choose one.”

Between the doors, a monitor flickered to life.

Choose Your Way.
The first threshold toward your fate.
Trust your instincts.
Left? Or Right?

Hajin stared at it.

“No explanation. No staff. No mics. They really just threw us in.”

Doha didn’t look fazed. “It’s probably just for reactions.”

“Obviously. They want clean, raw footage.”

A beat passed.

“So?”

“I’ll go right.”

Hajin studied him for half a second. “You think we should split?”

“It doesn’t say we have to.”

“…Then I’ll go right too.”

Doha raised a brow. “Safer to stick together early game.”

“Exactly.”

They opened the right door—

—and stepped into a literal maze.

Tall hedges towered over them in every direction. The air smelled faintly of soil and cut leaves.

Another monitor glowed ahead.

Escape the maze within the time limit.
The faster you escape, the greater the benefit.
Good luck.

“…They actually built one,” Hajin said flatly.

Doha looked around slowly. “They have money.”

Behind the Hedge Wall

Hidden behind panels and false greenery, the production control room buzzed with life.

Dozens of monitors displayed live footage from inside the maze.

Ji Suho entered quietly, holding vitamin drinks.

“Morning.”

“Morning, Team Leader.”

The head producer leaned forward, eyes glued to the screens. “First team’s close to exiting. Get mics ready.”

On one monitor—

Dan Haru and Joo Eunchan burst through an opening, breathless and triumphant.

Right behind them, keeping pace without looking rushed—

Seo Taehyun.

“Stop running!” Taehyun barked, even without a mic projecting authority.

The staff exchanged impressed looks.

Elsewhere, some trainees wandered aimlessly at dead ends.

Then—

“…Wait.”

Ji Suho leaned closer.

One camera feed showed three figures climbing.

Climbing.

The hedge wall.

“PD… a trainee is scaling the maze.”

The PD didn’t hesitate. “Don’t stop him. Follow him.”

The camera jolted wildly as the operator scrambled.

At the top of the hedge—

Kang Hajin looked straight into the lens.

He smiled.

“You can’t reach the sun if you stay on the ground.”

Then he jumped to the next wall.

Gone.

The control room erupted into movement.

Thirty Minutes Earlier

Inside the maze, Hajin and Doha had chosen to move together.

They weren’t rushing.

They were observing.

“Hyung?”

Hajin turned.

Kim Wonho stood there, freshly bleached hair catching the overhead lights.

“What happened to you?”

“I confessed five embarrassing secrets like it told me to. Door still didn’t open. I gave it everything.”

“…You need to work on your phrasing.”

Doha walked past them quietly and pressed a small red button hidden between the leaves.

A mechanical buzz sounded.

A section of hedge slid open.

Wonho stared.

“…There was a button?”

Doha shrugged. “It was obvious.”

Three seconds.

Solved.

Wonho naturally joined them.

They moved through the maze at a steady pace.

Hajin’s eyes scanned upward.

“How tall do you think the walls are?”

“Too tall to jump,” Wonho said immediately.

Doha tilted his head. “Not too tall to climb.”

Hajin smiled faintly.

Trust your instincts.

The phrase echoed in his head.

He grabbed a foothold between the woven branches and pulled himself up.

Wonho blinked. “You’re serious?”

“Stay low if you want. I’m going up.”

Doha watched him for a second—

then followed.

Wonho groaned but climbed after them.

At the top, the maze layout revealed itself.

Paths.
Dead ends.
Openings.

Hajin squinted toward the far edge.

“There.”

He jumped to the next hedge.

Meanwhile

Inside the control room, a producer whispered, “He found the camera.”

“Of course he did,” Ji Suho muttered under his breath.

The Choice

Back inside the maze, before the climb—

Hajin had opened the system window.

He skipped the regression clue.

Not now.

The second option glowed faintly.

Recruit an ally.

Two names appeared.

Lee Doha.
Response Rate: 68.9%

Kim Wonho.
Response Rate: 92.3%

One choice.

Hajin watched them.

Wonho was visibly nervous, overthinking every branch and turn.

Doha stood still, analyzing structure and pattern without panic.

It wasn’t about who liked him more.

It was about trajectory.

Who could tilt the future.

Who had weight.

Who could grow violently if given momentum.

The maze was just the first test.

The real game had already begun.

Hajin inhaled slowly.

And made his decision.