Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 63

Chapter 63. Shouting to You (5)

There was a clear reason Hajin chose city pop for the rearrangement.

First—

Their vocals weren’t strong enough.

Dan Haru could hold up for a day or two.
Seo Taehyun couldn’t fully carry the original version of Shouting to You.
Park Jaeyoung? Impossible.
And Jayden had been angling for rap from the beginning.

If they tried to preserve the original’s brutal technical difficulty just to satisfy Taehyun’s pride—

They’d be buried alive before debut.

“We Can’t Shout to You.”

Stamped forever as “Just Shouting.”

And Hajin had absolutely no intention—none whatsoever, not even as much as the balance in his bank account (which was zero)—of becoming another sacrifice under Sarin’s name.

So they would do what they were good at.

The Performance Continues

Looks like we’re breaking up like this
I guess we’ve really broken up

Jayden delivered his singing-rap while the others froze in distinct character poses.

Only he moved.

Following the choreography path, he faced each member one by one, flowing naturally into paired movements.

The LED sunset shifted—

Now a deep blue city nightscape.

Spending just another ordinary day, sometimes
Trying to hold on to time that only flows slowly, sometimes

The highlight repeated.

The key rose.

The high notes tightened.

Hajin sang it effortlessly.

I could probably push it higher.

But excess emotion would be poison here.

He restrained himself.

Because—

It’s not time to explode yet.

The Second Chorus

This time, the instrumental didn’t drop out.

Full accompaniment. Richer. Yet lonelier.

Haru and Taehyun stepped forward, facing each other at center.

Bye, oh bye!

The raised key made falsetto even tighter.

But Haru’s untouched, boyish upper register rang out clean and pure.

Bye, oh good bye
Yes, the end we barely reached

Taehyun layered in with a slightly husky lower harmony.

The bell motif returned.

♪♬♬♪♪―♪♪♩―

Then—

The dance break.

Seo Taeil’s Reaction

Seo Taeil, who had been tapping his pen along with the rearranged melody, smiled.

“So you kept what needed to be kept.”

Brass solo.

Layered keys.

It was the same jazz-based arrangement they had been torn apart for during mid-check.

But now—

It felt intentional.

Not avoidance.

Expression.

“…It’s subtle.”

Unlike the first verse’s unified school uniforms, they were now styled differently.

Traces of uniforms remained—

Making the transition stronger.

“They look like classmates meeting again after growing up.”

“They were smart. Even with the costume changes.”

Despite the sad lyrics, their faces were bright.

Smiling.

Yet a wistful loneliness lingered—the exact emotional texture city pop excels at.

Hajin’s Position

This stage revolved around Taehyun’s emotional draw and Haru’s youth.

And Hajin knew—

His own image was sharp. Intense. Not naturally suited for “sunset nostalgia.”

Pushing Taehyun and centering Haru had been deliberate.

But—

Just because it started with Seo Taehyun
didn’t mean it would end with him.

This might have begun as Taehyun’s wish.

But Hajin had no intention—just as he had none of being friends with Han Seongwoo (which meant less than zero)—of becoming merely:

“Seo Taehyun and the others.”

Final Highlight

At the end of all those special days, we
At the end of all that time already gone, we—

This time, instead of lifting into a light half-falsetto—

Hajin drove the note full-force.

He raised the pitch.

Deliberately.

As if pouring out the original’s explosive emotion.

Like this, we—
Are we really parting like this?
The end of the love we once had—

His voice trembled at the end.

Not weakness.

Expression.

The piano slowed the tempo.

Among the members facing different directions, Taehyun moved fluidly forward.

Bye, oh bye
Bye, oh good bye
Yes, the end we barely reached

Final pose.

Calculated to the fingertips.

Lights dimmed.

The Ending

The humming from the intro returned.

Soft.

Almost like a music box.

At stage edge, the desk and red mailbox reappeared.

Haru—now without his uniform—walked slowly.

He retrieved the letter.

Hmm— hmmm—
Yes, the end we barely reached…

Like a whisper.

He dropped it into the mailbox.

Blackout.

Aftermath

Hajin saw Seo Taeil smiling quietly.

It landed.

Relief washed over him.

<System Alert: Teammate ‘Seo Taehyun’ has gained enlightenment! (Reward ∥ 300 Cash)>
<System Alert: Teammate’s past timeline (1) unlocked!>
<System Alert: See? Updating was worth it!>

How smug.

“Sad Ending Team. Well done. Please come to center.”

The boys gathered, still catching their breath.

The stage was over.

Mentor Discussion

“Ah, this is fun.”
“They did really well.”

Among the mentors, one person remained quiet.

Sarin.

She stared at the stage.

The boys were laughing, patting shoulders, relief shining on their faces.

The pride of pouring everything out.

The calm after giving everything.

I’m jealous.

It was what she had longed for.

Back on Stage

“Dan Haru, why do you look like that?”

Hajin had chugged a bottle of water and returned.

Haru looked slightly dejected.

“No one cried.”

Ah.

He hadn’t forgotten the mission:

Make at least one person cry.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t have to be the mentors.”

“…Really?”

The true goal had never been tears.

It was this—

For a moment,
Make them forget the original.

If even briefly, the audience could receive their emotion without comparison—

That was enough.

“You did well, Haru.”

The baby rabbit returned.

Smiling again.

The Evaluation

“Sad Ending Team’s ‘Shouting to You.’
First… from the original artist, Mentor Sarin.”

Park Jaeyoung choked quietly.

Hajin nudged him.

Look respectful.

Don’t breathe weird.

Sarin took the mic.

She paused.

“I kept thinking about how to start.”

Silence.

“Thank you.”

…Suddenly?

“Thank you for reminding me that my song could be sung like this.”

Her tone was sincere.

Far more than polite praise.

“Ah…”

“I really didn’t want to cry.”

Her eyes reddened instantly.

She tilted her head up.

Seo Taeil quickly handed her tissues.

“I was avoiding singing again. I thought maybe I couldn’t anymore.”

Her voice trembled.

“But watching you… I felt like I wanted to try again.”

The studio went silent.

“You gave me the courage to sing again. Thank you, Sad Ending Team.”

The boys blinked.

Well.

They hadn’t meant to go that far.