Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 9

Chapter 9. The Crazy One in This Neighborhood Is Me (4)

— — —

Ji Suho said he had basically been staking out the convenience store in front of my house.

“But you don’t really come outside as much as I expected, Hajin.”

Well, yeah—it’s vacation. With only graduation left, there’s no reason to wander around.

But there was no need to say that out loud, so I just nodded and added one line.

“You could’ve called.”

“……”

For a moment, he looked like that hadn’t occurred to him… but maybe I imagined it.

“Anyway, the reason I came today is… as you probably guessed.”

Ji Suho spoke in a calm tone.

“I really want you to debut at Miro. It would be such a waste to give up like this.”

Nice.

But just because he bit the bait didn’t mean I could reel the line in right away. I asked carefully, putting on the most worried, cautious face I could manage.

“Do you really mean that?”

Ji Suho nodded vigorously.

“Seo Tae-il agrees. The other staff who watched your audition video think so too. Hajin, you really have potential. You match our company’s style—I’m sure you’ll like it here.”

Section Chief Kim aside, it was suspicious that he didn’t mention the Director at all. I had assumed it, but is the Director the one who opposed me?

Folding up my empty milk carton neatly, I thought: I need to figure out Miro’s internal politics fast.

“We really want you to trust us—no, trust me—and come with us.”

“Ah… yes.”

Trust you?

I used to get swayed by lines like that.

“Just trust me, follow me, I’ll promise you a rosy future”—only to learn later that everyone is still just a salaried worker in capitalism, and everything depends on marketability.

The unspoken truth:

The moment someone better than me shows up, I’m out.

I swallowed those words with a polite smile. No need to pick a fight here. Like I said, someone “like me” could probably be found anywhere in the country—if I push too hard, the door to Miro might really close.

Still… I can’t just let it slide.

It’s not like I did nothing for three days.

As I watched the man in front of me continue listing persuasion points—thinking I had been “considering it”—the information I’d gathered flashed through my mind.

Name: Ji Suho.
Age: Mid-30s.

And—

He successfully launched Enderway, Miro’s “next-next” group (there were articles), has a long friendship with Seo Tae-il (I checked his “One-stagram”), and over the last few years has become the “new wind” of Miro Entertainment—

The rumored Guardian Deity of Miro (according to Section Chief Kim).

Of course, this industry is full of geniuses. He could just be a talented manager who caught the right era…

But I need to confirm.

Is it truly his ability… or because he knows the future?

I have to confirm who he really is.

If he’s the Selected Regressor, I grab him by the collar immediately.

If not, I make him my ally—no matter what.

If I really have to seize control of an entire agency, it’ll be hard to find a better first helper than him.

But how?

As I was thinking, the system window blinked, as if it knew my thoughts, and sent a new message.

< Sudden Quest Special Reward >

Content: You may use a “Designated 1 Person Trait Viewing Ticket (Self excluded).”
Would you like to view Ji Suho’s traits? (Y/N)

That was the reward from the tearful presentation earlier.

Right—this existed.

Saving it now would be like holding onto an unscratched lottery ticket forever.

I hit YES.

Blue light scanned him as if analyzing him.

A popup appeared beside him.

< Ji Suho (Awakened) >

Epithets: “Burning Passion,” “Deepest Shadow”
Trait: Star Maker☆

Recognizes “star potential” fatefully. (Accuracy 77%)

Depending on the potential, an aura of a different color appears.
Special: Due to contact with the Selected Regressor, he is affected by “a past timeline.” (Déjà vu)

“What?”

“Huh?”

“…Ah—sorry. The conditions you mentioned are just… pretty shocking.”

I was so stunned I almost spoke casually to an adult more than ten years older than me.

I recovered, but I couldn’t take my eyes off his trait window.

“Hajin, you can absolutely do it. I guarantee it.”

Now every word he said sounded suspicious.

Anyway—after seeing that he has even had contact with the Selected Regressor, I have to make him my ally.

So, what do I do?

Two options:

Lay everything out and demand cooperation (threaten).
Observe longer and confirm he’s trustworthy.

Option 1: high risk, high return.
Option 2: low risk, low return.

And me?

I’m the kind of person who has to swing for the fences—even if I miss. Which is why I never even started stocks, gambling, alcohol, or smoking.

He kept talking.

“I’m absolutely sure—”

“Team Leader Ji Suho.”

“Yes?”

“What color am I?”

“…Pardon?”

His eyes widened.

“What… what did you just—”

I threw a straight fastball.

“What color was Seo Tae-il? Someone like him must be high-tier.”

“H-How… how do you even know that…?”

Ji Suho looked like he had seen a ghost.

I pulled a chocolate bar from my pocket and offered it, as if to calm him down.

“I can see status windows. I look crazy, right?”

“…No…”

“So, I’m asking.”

I crossed my legs and stared at him.

He stared at the air where I had pointed, pupils trembling, mouth hanging open.

I laced my fingers and rested my chin on my hand—making my face as harmless as possible.

“Am I the kind of person who becomes an idol?”

“…Pardon?”

“I think my fate in this life is to become an idol.”

Come on.

Tell me what my destiny is, Guardian Deity.

Ji Suho kneaded the chocolate bar until it was nearly melted before he finally spoke.

“I don’t remember exactly when it started. It just… began one day.”

He said it always came by coincidence.

A bookstore he suddenly felt like visiting.

A restaurant he ducked into to avoid rain.

A travel destination he visited on vacation.

In moments like those, he would “fatefully” meet people who could become stars.

“How did you know they could become stars?”

“I just knew. The redder the color, the greater the potential. Once I saw a minor actor with a red aura blow up as a supporting role in a weekend drama a few months later, I was sure. I had gained a strange ability.”

He said that’s how he became Miro’s “Guardian Deity.”

He added that before scandals or crises, the aura turns black—or disappears.

That’s basically a cheat skill for a management team leader.

“The reason I recognized you on the subway right away… was because of that.”

“…Subway?”

“Yes. Don’t you remember? I was so shocked at being treated like some Taoist monk that I couldn’t even follow you.”

Taoist monk—

A memory flashed.

— “Hello.”
— “Yes, I believe in the Way.”
— “Huh?”
— “It means you’re a fellow believer, so please move along.”

…That was the day I went to Rene’s audition.

I had assumed he was a cult recruiter.

So it was him.

“After missing you, I was disappointed—then I got a call from Team Leader Jang Seoyoon. I shouted that it couldn’t be anything but fate.”

So Miro welcoming me with open arms was because of this guy.

It all clicked.

Still, one question remained.

“So… what color was my aura?”

Ji Suho hesitated, then tilted his head.

“White. A very bright white.”

“But you said it’s usually blue or red. So am I a dud?”

“It was the first time I’d ever seen that color, so I was startled. But I felt it strongly—like I had to bring you in.”

“What if it turns out to be nothing?”

“If someone has no potential, I see no light at all. Seeing light means there’s something.”

White… not red, not blue.

That made the thread even more tangled.

But he had no reason to lie.

Color aside, he could clearly be useful.

So now the real question is:

How much of my hand do I reveal?

Can I trust Ji Suho?

I decided to reveal just enough so he wouldn’t feel cheated.

Sharing a secret is the easiest way to make someone feel like you’re in the same boat.

“…Like I said, I can see status windows, and I’m clearing quests that appear there. That’s why I tried to become a Miro trainee.”

Ji Suho seemed less shaken now—maybe because he had already been hit by one “bomb.”

After a moment of blank processing, he started firing questions.

“What are ‘quests,’ exactly?”

“If I don’t clear them on time, I get a penalty. And the penalty is… worse than you’d think.”

“So becoming a trainee is all you need?”

“I have to find someone too… but anyway, I do have to debut. Like I told you—this life feels like I’m fated to be an idol.”

Ji Suho thought quietly, then asked carefully:

“Then… is becoming an idol only because of that quest?”

I didn’t expect that question.

“…Does it matter?”

“To me, it matters. A lot.”

Why does this guy sound more serious about my idol life than I am?

< System Alert: (Awakened) ‘Ji Suho’ ‘Star Maker☆’ mode is active. >

Ah—so it’s his manager instinct.

“If I’m going to gamble on a white aura I’ve never seen before, I need to know exactly what card I’m holding.”

“…You’re saying you’ll help me?”

“I also have a reason you must debut. Adult problems. Annoying ones.”

He sounded bitter and changed the subject, but I got the gist.

He’s fighting the Director over me.

If he came this far, they must have already clashed.

“That’s why it’s important.”

“……”

“If you clear the quest and run, that puts me in trouble too.”

< System Alert: ‘Ji Suho’ is reacting to you. Your future recruitment depends on his reaction rate. >
< Recruitment status ?/?? >

A new system window floated above his head.

So this “ally” must be what the quest meant by “meet allies.”

I met his eyes.

“Burning Passion,” huh? His gaze was already bright, cautious, and intense—almost burdensome.

I’d come to dislike pure passion like that. It makes it harder to hide my emptiness with pretty words.

Do I want to be an idol?

That question is still hard.

But—

This man won’t abandon me.

There’s only one white aura he’s ever seen, and I’m the only “crazy person” who can see status windows.

So I decided to reveal one more piece of sincerity—just enough for him.

“It is the ultimate reason, yes.”

“Then…?”

“But I don’t want to do it half-heartedly.”

Being an idol demands more than people think.

I know that better than anyone.

I remembered the gift Team Leader Jang Seoyoon had delivered.

I’ll probably never be able to measure its weight.

So I could say this sincerely:

“No matter what happens… I won’t disappoint anyone.”

< System Alert: ‘Ji Suho’ reacts to you. (Reaction rate 73%) >
Recruitment of ‘Ji Suho’ is possible.
Recruit? (Y/N)

“Please take care of me from now on, Team Leader Ji Suho.”

And just like that, I became a trainee at Miro.

With the fifth regression as collateral.

< Single Quest 01 > “Find the Lost Dream”

Content: The fastest way to untangle a knotted thread is to find the starting point. Become an idol trainee within the time limit.
Time Remaining: 39 days (Base 60 days)
Quest Completed.
Success Reward: Clue-viewing ticket for tracking the regressor.

After signing the trainee contract and sorting out various things, a few days passed.

During that time, the year changed and I turned twenty.

And Dad received a job offer from a new company.

“At first, they say I’ll have to work as a contract worker for about a year…”

“Do it, Dad.”

“…You’re okay with that? Not ashamed of a contract-worker dad?”

“Are you ashamed of your son retaking the CSAT and being half-unemployed?”

“Who would be ashamed of my brilliant son?”

“Same.”

I carefully took my worried father’s hand. He squeezed mine back.

“Starting next week, right? The… singing.”

“Yeah. It’s not a big deal. I’ve done it before.”

“If it’s hard, tell us anytime.”

I shrugged with a smile.

“Come on. It’ll be fine.”

And then—my first day “going to work” at Miro.

I immediately sensed something was wrong.

“…So Rene and Miro fought over casting me, and Miro won—but then I had a huge fight with Seo Tae-il and left, and Team Leader Ji Suho knelt and begged to bring me back?”

“…Is that not what happened?”

I’m going insane.