Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 228. Banpo Xai in My Hand

Kang Hajin was quite serious.

However, just as sincere as he was about his album unboxing, he was equally dedicated to preventing unnecessary drama.

“Okay, let’s take a moment today too….”

As Hajin lowered his head to take something out from under the desk again, the chatroom burst into laughter, as if they already knew what he was going to do.

– Ah… is it coming?

– “It” is here.

– Ah, is it that…? (laughs)

– Alright, let’s proceed with the ‘ritual.’ Trolls, please pay attention~

One of the Desties, who had been watching the comment party influenced by Hajin’s fandom energy, couldn’t hide their mixed feelings and left a comment.

– Is it that Kang Hajin, a max-level fanboy, influenced Desties, or were those types of people naturally drawn to him and became Desties…?

Of course, it was a pointless question by now.

“Ah, here it is.”

Regardless, Kang Hajin took out a tablet PC that he had placed inside a shopping bag. After launching an app, he set up the tablet in a visible corner.

“There are a lot of announcements today. When I tried to write them all down on paper, I couldn’t read a single word. It might be a bit chaotic, but please bear with me, Desties.”

The black tablet screen displayed an app commonly seen at concert venues, an LED signboard. On the black background, fluorescent yellow letters scrolled horizontally like end credits.

– The increasing announcements during every live stream are seriously frustrating ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– This is like an anti-drama skill. When they try to edit and manipulate it, the LED makes it obvious.

– When overdoing something continues, it becomes art.

– I feel like he does these live broadcasts just to do this.

After finishing the setup for the anti-drama announcements, Hajin smiled contentedly.

“Now, let’s really begin… Ah, wait a moment.”

Hajin ducked under the desk again. This time, he quickly emerged, holding a rolled-up A3-sized piece of paper.

Ssssh—,

Hajin unfurled the paper.

“I found something like this on the internet. A photocard template? Thank you, Scan Kairos account.”

On the white paper, all the members of Kairos, including unreleased photos, were neatly organized by type.

“If I’m going to unbox 30 albums, it might get confusing, so I printed out a template. I’ll put stickers on it each time a photocard appears.”

Then, he started attaching the A3-sized photocard template to the whiteboard he had placed instead of a wall, using magnets.

By now, even the Desties who had been laughing started to take things seriously.

– Guys, I think he’s serious (whispers)

– This is driving me crazy, he’s seriously doing it ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– I feel a bit…reflective. Kang Hajin is going at it with such determination, and what am I doing…?

– By the way, did he mark the long-awaited photocard with a highlighter heart?

– Kang Hajin 700♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“Mm. Now, it’s really all set.”

Hajin, satisfied, nodded while checking the chat and began to speak.

“Do I have a long-awaited photocard for each member? Yes, I do. I’ve marked it here, but… my top pick is Siwoo hyung’s glasses photocard. Honestly, as long as it’s not a duplicate, I don’t mind Sparkling’s card. Why? Because he’s cute.”

Hajin also mentioned others, listing coveted photocards like Seo Taehyun’s Cherry Peace, Lee Yugeon’s basketball, Lee Doha’s uniform, and Joo Eunchan’s clerical outfit, all of which were rare and highly sought after among fans.

Amid comments like “Hajin, that’s something I want too…” and “Do you have any conscience, Hajin?”, Hajin’s expression subtly changed when he noticed someone asking, “What about your photocard?”

“My photocard? …Why would I need my own face?”

– Boo, that’s conceited

– I’m jealous, you bastard

– Yeah, you can just look in the mirror

– Pull one out and give it to us ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Hajin paid no attention to the booing chat as he once again clasped his hands together, looking earnestly at the pile of albums in front of him.

“So, I have 30 albums here, right? Each album has two regular photocards, one ID card, and one special photocard… If I don’t get any duplicates, I should be able to complete almost everything.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering his experience in Hongdae, Hajin let out a low sigh and spoke in a conflicted voice.

“I went around almost every record shop in Hongdae to avoid duplicates…? There’s no way I’ll get duplicates, right? I mean, there are seven members… and so many types….”

That was why Hajin, who had arrived in Hongdae after lunch, didn’t return to the dorm until well after dinner.

Typically, albums packaged at the factory were shipped in the same box to record shops, so buying several albums from the same store often resulted in similar or even identical contents.

As a result, Hajin, who spent all day scouring Hongdae for records, was now sick to death of the place.

“Alright, then….”

Hajin pulled one album from the towering stack. It was the ‘Over’ version with the campus look concept from the ‘Illusion’ version, containing the coveted Jeong Siwoo glasses photocard, Seo Taehyun Cherry Peace photocard, and Lee Yugeon basketball photocard.

“Am I really doing this?”

With a nervous face, Hajin carefully held a small carrot knife in his long, slender hand, looking as if it was incredibly precious.

* * *

Thirty minutes later.

A scream erupted in the conference room, where the silence had been heavier than death.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

Startled by the loud scream, Jeong Siwoo, who had stepped out of the practice room for a moment to drink coffee on a sofa in the office while printing sheet music, ran into the conference room where Hajin was. Manager Kwon Wook, who had been working nearby, joined him.

“What happened? What’s going on?”

“Are you okay, Hajin?”

What they saw when they entered was seven opened albums, a spread of photocards on the table, and…

“Another duplicate…!”

Kang Hajin was lying face down on the table, holding a bunch of his own photocards in both hands.

“……”

“…Uh, Siwoo?”

As soon as Jeong Siwoo saw the scene and roughly figured out what had happened, he turned and closed the conference room door without hesitation. Kwon Wook, who hadn’t fully seen the situation from behind Siwoo, was confused and pushed along by Siwoo’s action.

Despite the commotion, Hajin just lay on the table, making crying noises.

“This doesn’t make any sense… This can’t be happening….”

Muttering to himself, Hajin clutched his head and cried out.

“I opened seven albums!!! I got 14 regular photocards!!! How can they all be duplicates of mine!!!??!”

Then the door suddenly opened again.

This time, Jeong Siwoo, who had turned cold earlier, walked in carrying a mug and a bundle of biscuits. The mug was filled to the brim with hot chocolate, topped with marshmallows.

After placing the snacks and hot chocolate, which he had brought to calm Hajin down, on the table, Siwoo casually waved at the phone broadcasting the live stream.

“Hello, Desties.”

“Hyung….”

“Alright, eat something first and take care of your sugar.”

Kang Hajin, who had fallen into the abyss of seven consecutive duplicates, clung to Siwoo’s waist.

Normally, he wouldn’t even dream of being so close, but the shock of seven duplicates was enough to make Hajin momentarily lose his senses (and fear).

Seeing the numerous photos of Kang Hajin’s face spread out on the table, Siwoo patted Hajin on the back and gently asked.

“Did you get all the same photocards?”

“I opened 14 and got 12 duplicates…. The world has forsaken me….”

“What about the other two?”

“Two duplicates of Lee Yugeon’s candy photocard….”

Hmm. That was a bit….

Understanding the dismal outcome, Siwoo sighed and pushed his glasses up slightly.

While patting Hajin with one hand and holding the photocards with the other, Siwoo tilted his head, as if contemplating something. Then, he quickly removed Hajin’s grip and spoke concisely.

“Maybe your hands are just unlucky?”

“…Hyung, you’re a T, right?”

“If your guess is correct,

probably?”

The indifferent tone in Siwoo’s voice shocked Hajin, who quickly moved away and covered his mouth.

Ignoring him, Siwoo picked up one of the unopened albums.

“Mind if I try?”

“Sure, but they all seem to be duplicates. Probably from the same box. Ah, I should have gone to Gangnam instead of just buying from Hongdae….”

As Hajin tore at his forehead in belated regret, Jeong Siwoo neatly peeled off the album’s plastic wrap with his clean nails.

“Do I just open it?”

“In the middle of the album, you’ll find the photocard.”

As Siwoo flipped through the book-like album, a photocard fell out.

Both of their eyes focused simultaneously on the photocard that had fallen face down on the table.

With a tense face, Hajin carefully turned the card over.

“No, but seriously, I opened seven albums, and they were all duplicates? If you suddenly pull out something that’s not a duplicate, that would be just ridiculous….”

“Just flip it over already.”

Growing impatient with Hajin’s muttering, Siwoo took the card from Hajin’s hand and turned it over himself.

The picture revealed on the front was…

“Oh, no way.”

“Oh, it’s mine.”

…none other than Jeong Siwoo’s glasses photocard!

Seeing the card, Hajin immediately slammed his head back down onto the table.

“This can’t be happening…. This can’t be happening!!”

Siwoo handed over his glasses photocard to the despairing Hajin and said.

“Well, since I pulled it for you, isn’t that good enough?”

“Pulling it myself would feel different… it’s all about the feeling….”

“Mm. So you’re drawing member photocards like a gacha game.”

Understanding the logic, Siwoo nodded as he took back the photocard.

“Then I’ll keep this one. Since I pulled it.”

“………Okay….”

“Isn’t it a good thing that not all the photocards are duplicates?”

“Usually, after something like this, everything but the photocard you want shows up, leaving you with a sequence of bad luck… And if you do this, it makes my seven consecutive failures even worse! What about me? My life!?”

“…Mm. Not sure what you’re saying, but anyway, that sucks. Well, good luck. Goodbye, Desties. I’m going back to practice. Have fun with Hajin. See you at the dorm later.”

“Okay….”

Having effortlessly pulled Kang Hajin’s number one desired photocard, Jeong Siwoo lightly walked out of the conference room. Even after Siwoo left, Hajin remained in shock, unable to speak for a long time.

“No way, ha….”

– Stay strong, Hajin… This is our daily life.

– Our poor puppy has bad luck with drawsㅠㅠ

– Seven consecutive duplicates followed by one-shot fulfillment, that’s really depressing ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The chat was also confused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the situation.

Gently touching the remaining albums, Hajin spoke.

“No… I’m too shocked to open any more albums. I’ll get mad if I get duplicates, mad if I don’t, and even if I get the glasses photocard, I’ll feel wronged.”

No, seriously, why do they put the photocards in randomly? With how severe global warming is, aren’t they even a little sorry to the trees? They could just let us pick the photocards as an option!

Hajin almost let his inner monologue, a wide attack on the record companies, slip out due to the despair of not pulling the photocard he wanted, but he managed to hold it back with a single line of rationality fed by the marshmallows.

Even so, it wasn’t easy to revive the mood that had already turned gloomy.

Being a definite ENFP, Kang Hajin’s moods could swing just as intensely as his highs.

Amid this atmosphere, someone suddenly burst through the conference room door again.

“Hajin hyung!!!”

“……?”

In Hajin’s own words,

Dan Haru, who looked like a baby rabbit warrior who had just heard the shocking news that his once-respected master had fallen into the villain’s trap and was living a life waiting for death, came rushing in, panting, and glaring at Hajin.

‘Why is that Sparkling guy looking at me with such fierce eyes?’

While Hajin pondered briefly, Dan Haru spoke with a desperately sincere voice.

“Hyung, you can’t gamble!!!!”

“…What kind of nonsense is that, out of the blue?”

Hajin’s pupils shook violently at the absurd statement.