Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 75

Chapter 75. Someone’s Night

By the time Hajin got home, it was already late evening.

It was still light out when I got on the subway…

Next time he had to meet Ji Suho, he swore he’d make Suho come closer to his neighborhood.

With that small vow, Hajin dragged his completely drained, cried-out body into the entryway.

“I’m home.”

“Hyung, you’re back?”

“What—where are Mom and Dad?”

“Out for a walk.”

“And you ate?”

“Ate.”

Hawon—lying on a blanket spread out in the living room, scrolling iTube—greeted him in a dry voice. Hajin walked past him toward his room, then stopped, turned back, and crouched in front of Hawon.

“…? What are you doing?”

“Observing my little brother.”

“…Did something happen?”

“No? Why?”

“Hyung. You act like this when something’s up.”

They’d lived together for nearly twenty years—Hawon wasn’t wrong. Hajin panicked.

Did he notice I was crying?

He started to lean back—

But thankfully, Hawon only flicked his eyes up for a second before returning to his screen.

“If not, whatever.”

“Wh-what would even happen? Nothing happened. I’m gonna shower, okay?”

“Yeah.”

Sharp little brat…

Hajin popped upright fast. He grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom—when Hawon’s voice drifted over, still flat as ever.

“Ah, hyung.”

“Hm?”

“…Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“There are two things that piss people off, and one of them is starting to talk and then stopping—”

“No, seriously, it’s nothing. Just go wash up.”

Like he was telling Hajin don’t talk to me, Hawon even rolled over completely. Hajin pouted in protest, then went into the bathroom anyway.

Once the sound of running water started, Hawon—who’d turned away—peeked his head back around. After confirming the bathroom door was shut, he picked up his phone again.

On the screen, Hajin’s performance video was paused on iTube.

“……”

Hawon stared quietly at the frozen image of his brother.

Lately, hyung had seemed… a little down, in a way that didn’t feel like him. But on screen, Hajin still looked cool and intense, and that made Hawon feel a little relieved.

…It’d be weird to say “you did great” out loud.

So Hawon just tapped the Like button.

He subscribed. Turned on notifications.

He scrolled down, sorted comments by “Top,” then liked a bunch of the ones praising his brother.

I should work hard too.

It was his own way of cheering Hajin on—always the one ahead of him.

“…What the—Kang Hawon, asleep?”

When Hajin came out after showering, Hawon was out cold in the living room, not even properly covered with the blanket.

“What is he doing, sleeping like that…”

With a towel draped over his head, Hajin strode over and pulled the blanket up neatly over Hawon. He picked up the phone that had rolled around near Hawon’s chest and set it off to the side.

Only after turning off the living room lights—leaving just the entryway light on—did Hajin finally go into the room he shared with Hawon.

“Alright then. Time for me to do what I need to do.”

Sitting on the bed, Hajin opened the infamous system window.

The reason he’d rushed home—forgetting he’d been crying in the middle of the street just hours ago—flooded his vision.

[System Alert: “Wandering and Drifting” mode has been disabled because it is now maintained below 50%. (Current: 48%)]

“This one… I get it. Pass.”

On the way home, he’d noticed it—breathing felt easier, and his thoughts felt sharper, tighter.

Like a rock that had been pressing down on one corner of his heart had finally cracked.

This was probably why.

“The real problem is this.”

[System Alert: “Kang Hajin” reacts to you. (Reaction Rate: 100%)]
[“Kang Hajin” can be recruited.]
Recruit? (Y/N)

“…So this whole time it was ‘Kang Hajin Team’ without Kang Hajin?”

His voice jumped up in disbelief. He quickly clamped his mouth shut, worried Hawon might hear and wake up, but that didn’t make it any less absurd.

Normally, Thirteen would’ve popped up like Well, actually~ and explained everything.

But ever since this alert, Thirteen had gone completely silent.

I don’t want to go back into the Space of the Unconscious—those side effects were scary…

What now?

Right then, like it could read his thoughts, a new system window appeared.

[System Alert: Sudden Quest!]
[Content: Your biggest ally in this world is you.
Believing in yourself starts with knowing yourself!
Get to know “Kang Hajin.”]
[Reward: Varies depending on completion level.]

• Recruit “Kang Hajin” as a companion: Trait-view ticket for 1 designated person

• Confirm “Kang Hajin” traits: Free skill-upgrade pass

• Confirm “Kang Hajin” stats: Unexpected luck

No failure penalty. Rewards chaining into more rewards.

No matter how you looked at it, this quest had nothing to do with finding the regressor.

Which meant—this was probably another quest Thirteen had made up on its own, like the “Cat’s Gratitude” one.

“Fine. Whatever. Let’s do it.”

And Hajin—right now—felt like maybe it would be okay no matter where his limits were.

[System Alert: “Kang Hajin” has been recruited as a companion. (4/??)]
[You can track a recruited companion’s condition and location, and summon them if needed (Cost: 10 cash).]

“Not like I’ll ever need to summon myself…”

[Sudden Quest Special Reward]
[Content: You may use a Trait-view ticket for 1 designated person (cannot be used on yourself).]
View companion “Kang Hajin” traits? (Y/N)

The system wasn’t Hajin’s power in the first place—he’d been temporarily granted the authority of a Time Administrator.

And judging by everything so far, the system didn’t recognize him as “Kang Hajin,” but as “Fixed Regressor.”

It always calls me Fixed Regressor. So that’s why “Kang Hajin” can be recruited as a companion… and why a “not-self” trait ticket can still be used on me.

Feeling his understanding of the system deepen bit by bit, Hajin inhaled like he was bracing himself.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

When he nodded, the familiar blue window—the very first one he’d ever seen—appeared.

[Kang Hajin (Fixed Regressor)]
Title: Undecided (Not enough achievements to obtain a title.)
Trait: Fixed Regression

• Follows the chosen regressor’s timeline

• Remembers “past timelines”

• Experience from “past timelines” accumulates

Special: “Wandering and Drifting” mode OFF
Influenced by “past timelines” through contact with the chosen regressor. (Déjà vu)
※ Mental Care System is temporarily active. ※

His own trait window was… simpler than he expected.

Why was I so scared of this?

The only line that really stood out was the last one—something he’d seen on Ji Suho’s trait window too.

“…So I really did meet that bastard—the chosen regressor.”

Who the hell was it?

A few suspects surfaced in his mind, only to be crossed out just as quickly.

Not today. Today I’m dealing with me.

Hajin opened the next reward.

[Sudden Quest Special Reward]
[Content: Upgrade one of your skills once, with no penalty.]
Choose a skill:

• Say It and It Happens (LV.10)

• How Much Is It?

• Behold, With the Dragon’s Eyes (LV.3)

• What Even Is “Me”? (LV.4)

“Wow. The naming sense is really something.”

Seeing them lined up like that, he could practically feel the years.

Skill names were apparently chosen to be the easiest for him to understand, so…

Yeah. He couldn’t even argue with it.

Anyway, the skill he wanted to upgrade had already been decided.

“Upgrade Dragon’s Eyes. It’s too hard to judge ability objectively right now—make it more intuitive.”

[System Alert: All skills are constructed based on the user’s internal DB.]
[System Alert: Do you agree to “quantifying human ability”?]
[System Alert: If you agree, the displayed values for <Dragon’s Eyes> will be modified.]

“…Wait, so the reason it’s been displayed in those annoying percentages this whole time is because of me? Because I hate being evaluated?”

[System Alert: Understanding of <Dragon’s Eyes> (LV.3) increases!]

“Wow. That’s… actually insane.”

Hajin pressed a hand to his forehead, stunned by a secret he never expected.

Maybe his depression had seeped deeper into him than he thought.

It was true that checking “how much potential someone can still bring out” felt less disgusting than grading people into ranks—

…but still.

I need a clearer metric now.

To find the chosen regressor, he needed something simpler, more direct.

He nodded without hesitation.

[System Alert: Updating <Dragon’s Eyes>…]

“Hey, but can’t you change the skill name? No matter how I think about it, it’s—”

[System Alert: …Skill renaming is available for 100,000 cash, valued customer ^♡^]

“…Oh wow. Our stingy Thirteen is back.”

Even at the criminal price, Hajin found himself smiling—honestly a little relieved.

Because he knew: this quest had been made purely for him.

[System Alert: <Dragon’s Eyes> has been upgraded.]
[System Alert: Changes apply immediately.]
[System Alert: Use <Dragon’s Eyes>? (Target: Kang Hajin)]

“Hoo. Okay. This is the final boss, right?”

He straightened up, shook out his wrists, even did a pointless neck stretch.

Then he nodded.

“Show me my stats.”

Like it had been waiting, the blue window appeared.

Hajin stared without blinking as the text formed.

[Kang Hajin (Affiliation: Miro)]

• Debuff: Certain stats decreased due to the Mental Care System

Vocal: A
Rap: A-
Dance: B+
Expression: C+ (S)
Charm: A-
Special: Born for the Stage (S)

• In live performance, there is a fixed probability that all stats temporarily increase.

Appeal Point: “Even so.”

• Leadership, positive mindset, synergy

It was… better than he thought.

No—better than he’d ever allowed himself to believe.

Still dazed, Hajin hurriedly pulled up other stat windows, like he needed confirmation from the world.

“Strongest one, strongest one…”

First: the “ideal idol” and the “most talented idol,” by Hajin’s standards.

[Seo Tae-il (Group: Upia)]
Vocal: S-
Dance: SS
Expression: A-
Charm: S
Special: Melody (S)

• Greatly boosts composing and producing ability

Appeal Point: “Everything is in my hands!”

• Leadership, charisma, stage control

[Seo Taehyun (Affiliation: Miro)]
Vocal: B+
Dance: A-
Expression: A
Charm: A
Special: Allure (A)

• Certain probability to temporarily increase charm

Appeal Point: “My eyes keep going to you!”

• Tone, dance lines, stage expression

Then: the “least idol-like idol.”

[Lee Doha (Affiliation: Miro)]
Vocal: F
Rap: S
Dance: C
Expression: B
Charm: B+
Special: Melody (SS)

• Greatly increases composing and producing ability

Appeal Point: “A strong heart.”

• Delivery, adaptability on stage, performance realization (80%)

And finally: the “hard-to-believe idol.”

[Lee Yugeon (Affiliation: Miro)]

• Debuff: All stats decreased due to an inherent trait

Vocal: D (C+)
Dance: B+ (S)
Expression: C- (A-)
Charm: D+ (B+)
Special: Copy & Paste (B)

• With a certain probability, fully makes an immersed target “his own.”

Appeal Point: “There are still twelve ships left.”

• Responsibility, perseverance, intense focus

After looking at the comparisons, Hajin muttered—feeling strangely hollow, strangely light.

“…I’m not bad.”

He laughed—quiet, relieved—and collapsed backward onto the bed, eyes closing.

“I’m… not bad.”

That night, Hajin dreamed.

As always, the past returned, smeared like paint.

But in the dream—

Hajin didn’t cry anymore.