Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 248. Things I Forgot About (2)

-What are you talking about? It’s been a while since I got in.

“Oh. You got in…?”

-I told you when we talked on the phone last time. I passed.

Really…?

Hawon’s voice, which had sounded incredulous, quickly shifted to a tone that suggested he had expected as much.

-You didn’t really listen to me back then, did you? I told you to just sleep if you were tired, but you insisted on talking on the phone.

“Hey, aren’t you, huh? Wouldn’t you be a little upset if the brother you always hung out with suddenly moved out one morning? You wouldn’t be sad? Hearing your voice like that still makes you family.”

-I didn’t move abroad or anything, and I still appear on TV. What’s there to be sad about? Besides, you come home every time you’re on leave.

“Kang Hawon, are you a T?”

-Maybe? I don’t know, probably half and half.

Cold-hearted Kang Hawon…!

In the end, I groaned, holding my forehead, defeated by my little brother who never lost an argument.

Even so, it was a relief that he had gotten into college. I wasn’t too worried since, in the previous life, he had barely made it with an additional acceptance, but still…

Given how much I had changed my own life, it was only natural to worry a little that there might have been some changes in Hawon’s life as well.

I let out a sigh of relief and leaned back comfortably in the car seat.

“Where did you get in? I mean, when did you tell me? Why don’t I remember?”

-I told you during that call. You know, when you said you had a fight with one of your members.

“…Ah, that time.”

Only then did I vaguely recall it.

I had fought with Jung Siwoo, and even after getting advice from Ji Suho, I couldn’t calm down, so I called Hawon to check in and ended up pouring out my frustrations.

-Look, honestly, it’s not like I said anything wrong, right? Of course! I know it was partly my fault! But! Did he really have to say it like that?

-Well… I guess you must have been pretty upset.

-Upset? Upset?? I was seriously so upset, you know?

-Yeah. I get it. I can see that.

-Kang Hawon, are you a T?

-Probably?

…Let’s stop reminiscing.

‘But still, I forgot about Kang Hawon’s college acceptance?’

How tired was I? Did he tell me while I was asleep?

Back then, I was trying so hard not to think about the fight with Jung Siwoo that I had buried myself in work.

“Was I asleep when you told me?”

-It was late at night, so you were half-asleep. No wonder… You didn’t react much.

“Man, if you thought I didn’t hear you, you should have sent me the acceptance letter to brag about it….”

-I figured you were busy with your members and stuff.

“Is there anything more important than my brother getting into college, no matter how busy I am? You must’ve been hurt. I’m sorry.”

-…? Not really. I know you’re busy, so it’s fine.

“Are you really a T?”

-I told you, I’m half and half. How many times do I have to say it?

The guilt that had started to well up inside me quickly dissipated.

If you’re not a T, then I won’t trust MBTI ever again.

“Anyway, congratulations. That’s great news.”

-I honestly thought I’d fail because I messed up the practical exam, but I passed.

“Not an additional acceptance, just straight in?”

-But I didn’t get into any other schools.

“Hey, still, getting into one is what matters.”

In the previous timeline, it had always been an additional acceptance, and Mom and I would hold hands, anxiously waiting for the waitlist to move.

This time, there was no waiting, just a straight acceptance, and it made me feel good for some reason.

Then, I heard Hawon’s voice from the other end of the line, filled with stories.

-I realized I have to work hard to survive…

“Huh? What did you say?”

-Nothing…

Seems like going through the college entrance process made him think a lot…?

Then again, I remembered he had gone through something like a slump around this time before. It was probably because he had spent too long trying to find the right answer in the art world, where there was no right answer.

Recalling how difficult that time had been for him, I carefully asked, gazing out the window of the car as preparations for filming continued.

“How are you doing? You’ve been having a hard time with drawing lately.”

-Well… I still am.

“What part?”

-…I’m not sure what to draw.

Hawon had been drawing since he first held a pen at five years old.

He won awards in competitions, aced exams.

Even I could see he was talented, but…

In the previous life, twenty-eight-year-old Hawon eventually became an office worker. It was a decision he made after much deliberation, and that decision had actually stabilized him.

Facing Hawon’s ‘first wandering’ again after ten years, I pondered for a moment, carefully choosing my words.

“It’s okay.”

-…

“For now, just take a break. You’ve been running for so long.”

When you think about it, Hawon had been running for ten years with only the goal of ‘college entrance’ in mind.

Now that the goal had been achieved, what he needed was some time to recharge.

Time to recharge so he could ponder over what he wanted to draw, what kind of picture he wanted to create, how he was going to make a living with that art, and whether he could live his whole life off it.

…Even if, at the end of that deliberation, Hawon decided to give up on art, I hoped he would think and think until his head exploded for the sake of his own life.

Because I knew how strong he would become after all that contemplation.

“Your brother is earning money, isn’t he? I heard I’ll start getting paid next year. So take it slow, relax, and think it over. The youngest is allowed to do that.”

Hawon didn’t respond.

But knowing that was his way of answering, I started to prepare to hang up the phone as I saw Hyung Wook gesturing at me from a distance.

“Wona. Looks like I have to get to work now. Congrats again, and let’s go out for a nice meal on my next day off. Think about what you want to eat.”

-Well… okay. What are you doing today?

“Season’s greetings shoot. I’m staring at the cold Gangwon-do sea in November right now.”

-Be careful not to catch a cold. And give Dad a call. He’s sulking, saying he’ll forget your voice.

“Tell him I’ll call if he changes his KakaoTalk profile picture from the one with my red cape.”

-…I’ll pass on the message. Do well.

“Okay~ Congratulations, my kid.”

I hung up the phone and got out of the car with a lighter heart.

Finally, we have a college student in our family.

Originally, I should’ve been the first, but due to my job issues in this life, I ended up graduating only from high school.

‘Even though they said I should at least attend a cyber university if I want to delay military service…’

Lee Doha, who believed there was more to learn in the field than in college, had already enrolled in a cyber university this year, balancing assignments and his debut. He’s not one to cut corners, so he seemed to be managing everything diligently.

Compared to him, I was still undecided.

‘I do kind of want to go to the school I used to attend…’

The people I met there, the experiences I gained, and the memories I had still lingered in me as a form of regret.

Although I’d have to enter college at the age of 22 if I took the entrance exam next year, I kept putting off the decision, wanting to chase the remnants of the past timeline.

As I stood there lost in thought in front of the car, Seo Taehyun, who was bundled up even in November, approached me and asked with a sly look.

“You weren’t talking to your girlfriend, were you?”

“Listen to that, Kang Hawon would freak out. It was my little brother.”

“Then it’s fine.”

Did you really come all the way from that sand dune just to ask that…? What a relentless guy.

Feeling a bit indignant, I wrapped my arm around tiny Seo Taehyun’s shoulders and put my weight on him as much as I could.

“Ack! That’s heavy!”

“Oh dear, Taehyun. This grandpa has no strength in his legs anymore….”

“You wish! According to our family tree, I’m your grandpa!”

“That’s in the Miro family tree, but in the Kairos AU, I’m your grandpa, no doubt.”

“As if that exists!”

“It’s a parallel universe, just go with it.”

I playfully coaxed the squawking Seo Taehyun as we headed back to the set.

The cold sea breeze slapped my cheeks harshly.

“Hey, but it really is cold. What are we going to do if we catch a cold?”

“At least you have long sleeves and long pants. Haru and I are in shorts.”

“What can we do? Every group needs at least one member in shorts. We can’t put Doha in shorts, can we?”

“…There might be some demand for it.”

I almost agreed with Seo Taehyun’s point before catching myself.

‘There probably

is a demand, but then we’d have to ditch the whole ‘rookie freshness’ concept, and that’d be a problem…’

Today’s schedule was a concept photo shoot for next year’s season’s greetings merchandise, and the planning team had decided that we should pour all the rookie freshness we had into this shoot, with the concept of ‘boys by the sea.’

Thanks to that, we had to wear sailor outfits, the epitome of freshness, on the early November coast of Gangwon-do, and it felt like we were going to freeze to death.

To get ready for the shoot, Seo Taehyun took off his coat and handed it to the manager. Dressed in a navy long-sleeved top and white shorts with a long belt hanging down, Taehyun rubbed his hands together, which were holding several heat packs, as if he was already feeling the cold.

I wore a white jacket over a navy top and long pants, with a navy tie hanging down, and I had a cap with the Kairos logo on it.

Honestly, I thought there wasn’t much difference between this and the uniforms or suits I usually wore, but when I asked the stylist noonas, they told me to just trust them.

Since she was the same noona who suggested the see-through shirt with the hot reaction in the third round of Miro Maze, I decided to trust her judgment.

“Ah, hyung.”

“Huh? What? Are you cold?”

“No. You know how I’m supposed to MC on the day of the college entrance exam?”

“Oh. Why? You’re not doing it?”

“No, just… listen to me. He’s coming that day, so just a heads up.”

“He?”

Who’s he?

…Just as I was about to ask, I suddenly remembered another big event I had forgotten about.

“…Oh, crap. You mean…?”

“What do you mean crap? You knew he was debuting. Cha Minseok is debuting that day. Since you’re MCing, you have to do a challenge video with him too.”

“…”

“…Hyung, did you forget he was debuting?”

“Look at me. Do you think I had the mental space to care about the debut of Rene’s next group? I even forgot about my brother getting into college.”

Oh, damn.

I had forgotten about Ranion.

This time, it wasn’t that I forgot because I was asleep. I had just completely overlooked it. Honestly, I was too busy to care whether that brat debuted or not.

Cautiously, I looked at Seo Taehyun and asked.

“Are you okay with it? Our activities will overlap.”

Seo Taehyun looked at me for a moment, then turned around as he picked up today’s prop, a sparkler.

“You should be thankful that I have better things to do than hold a grudge against that psycho.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not worried either. I’m too busy being successful.”

“Hyungs! Come quickly! Let’s write letters with these!”

Dan Haru, who was already having fun with his sparkler, called us in an excited voice.

Next to him, Lee Doha was helping Joo Eunchan with his sparkler that wouldn’t light, and Yugeon was busy spinning his sparkler in a heart shape as Haru urged him on. Meanwhile, Jung Siwoo was capturing the scene on a film camera.

“Kids really are resilient. Aren’t they cold?”

“Haru and Eunchan must have five heat packs on their backs. And they ran around a lot… Ah, I want to do it too! I’m coming!”

Seo Taehyun hurriedly ran to join the members.

I took off my coat and was about to walk over to them when I suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity with the scenery.

‘…What is this?’

The unfamiliar golden beach under the lavender sky, with the crimson sunset rippling.

I had seen this place before.

It was the unconscious space where I had once encountered ‘existence.’ The sea of that place was now spread out before my eyes.

“Hajin-hyung! Come quickly!”

Dan Haru called out to me.

Wearing a white round beret, a short-sleeved shirt with white and navy stripes, navy shorts, and knee-high socks in matching colors, Dan Haru embodied the very image of a ‘boy.’

Then, a new quest opened.

[‘Basic Quest 02. Confrontation with the Regressor’ has been unlocked.]

[Unlock Condition 1: ‘Fixed Regressor’ and ‘Chosen Regressor’ timelines 80% or more separated]

[Unlock Condition 2: ‘Chosen Regressor’ timeline petrification risk 70% or more]

[Unlock Condition 3: ‘Kang Hajin’ and ‘Dan Haru’ timelines connected 3 or more times]

[Would you like to view ‘Basic Quest 02. Confrontation with the Regressor’?]

Under the beautifully setting sky and the sea, Dan Haru, waving a sparkler as bright as his eyes, appeared in slow motion.

Only after seeing the quest did I realize that I had forgotten the other protagonist of this #BodyPossessionIdolDrama and that the time had come to face him.

[Basic Quest 02. Confrontation with the Regressor]

Objective: Convince the Chosen Regressor ‘Dan Haru’ and merge Dan Haru’s personalities into one.

It seemed the time had come to meet the other Dan Haru.