Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 275. The Process or the Result…?

“Why on earth?”

I couldn’t understand.

No, it wasn’t just that I couldn’t understand—this was something that shouldn’t even be possible.

‘Rene? Singing Utopia’s song? Why? Why would they do that when they have their own seniors?’

Rene is a place that values the image of unity even more than Miro.

They have many successful senior idols, consistently hold agency concerts, and above all, they take immense pride in being part of Rene, a gigantic agency of its own.

Why would they suddenly choose to cover Utopia’s song when their own seniors have plenty of songs?

I clenched the sofa cushion tightly with a serious expression and asked Ji Suho.

“Did Cateon Lin Shao run off to China?”

“…Huh?”

“No? That was last year. Then is Cateon MJ getting married? Did someone find out about the secret proposal at the concert?”

“What… who did what?”

“Oh, someone from Spear must have messed up! I feel like someone did something crazy after renewing their contract. If not, did someone get caught drunk driving? Damn, there are so many idols in the agency that just thinking about all the possible scandals gives me a headache.”

Who in Rene messed up so badly that Lanion is doing something as crazy as covering Utopia’s song?

With my mind in turmoil, I bit my finger, and Ji Suho, who had been quietly listening, spoke as if he finally understood.

“…So you’re saying this happened in the original timeline? Hajin, you better be careful talking about this stuff anywhere else.”

“I won’t. I’m only saying this because it’s you, Director. …But it just doesn’t make sense. Why would they sing Utopia’s song? Why? Their seniors have at least a dozen songs they could choose from.”

“Well… it’s complicated.”

Ji Suho showed a troubled expression as he began explaining the situation.

“To cut to the chase, the broadcast station requested, ‘If possible, it would be better not to perform the songs of agency seniors.’ The official reason is that they want to show a variety of stages, not tied down to one company.”

“What’s the real reason?”

“…You know that Stormheader’s agency is backed by QBS, right?”

“Who? Stormheader?”

What do they have to do with this?

“QBS wants to push Stormheader as much as possible. They need Stormheader to succeed if they want to keep making money in the entertainment business.”

“And?”

“Stormheader’s reference point is Spear.”

“…Ah.”

I finally started to grasp what was going on.

So, we’re like a shrimp caught in the fight between whales, huh?

“They want to give Spear’s cover songs to Stormheader, but they don’t have a good excuse to take them away from Lanion. So they decided to ban songs from the same agency, right?”

“Something like that.”

“…But why did Lanion choose Utopia’s song? Their musical style doesn’t match at all. Weren’t they all about easy-listening, powerful, refreshing music for the masses?”

When I raised the remaining doubt, Ji Suho removed his glasses with a tired gesture and replied.

“The easiest reason is that ‘the number of members matches.'”

“This is insane.”

Did they seriously cut their trainee count in half just to perform Utopia’s cover?

‘No, no. They wouldn’t do something that crazy just for a year-end stage.’

But just in case, I asked Ji Suho again with an even more serious expression, clutching the sofa cushion even tighter.

“Director… Are you saying that Lanion was deliberately formed to match Utopia as a reference, even adjusting their member count for debut?”

Ji Suho responded seriously.

“What? What are you talking about? No, that’s not it. Why would they try to imitate Utopia?”

“No, listen to me. In the original timeline, they were a 9 or 10-member group, right? But in this timeline, they suddenly debuted with only five members. It seemed strange to me. I think they might be trying to connect with Utopia in some way…”

When I earnestly shared my speculation, Ji Suho burst out laughing and pointed at me.

“Are you kidding me? The reason they suddenly switched from a multi-member group to a five-member one is all because of you. Specifically, because of what you did.”

“…What?”

“You don’t realize it, but you’ve already changed Rene’s future with your actions.”

Wait, what is he talking about now?

Feeling wronged and like I was being accused for no reason, I waved my hands.

“How is that my fault? I didn’t do anything.”

“What do you mean you didn’t do anything? You went to Rene’s audition, didn’t you? And you raised Manager Jang’s standards unnecessarily.”

“You’re making less and less sense as you go on….”

Then Ji Suho leaned his chin on the armrest of the sofa and started listing off things I had no idea about.

“You raised Manager Jang’s standards so high that he started pushing Lanion’s main vocalist too hard. The main vocalist ended up going AWOL even before their debut. That messed up their entire plan.”

“…?”

“They originally planned to debut as a multi-member group as an experiment. But because their debut got delayed and you guys became so successful, they ended up scrapping everything and debuting as the current Lanion.”

“…”

“Now do you realize? You’re turning the world upside down in this timeline.”

Even though Ji Suho laughed as he spoke, I couldn’t bring myself to smile.

While his sudden revelation was surprising, it also stirred up a question that had been buried deep in my mind since the regression.

‘Is it really okay if other people’s futures change because of me?’

If I debut, someone who was supposed to debut might not get the chance.

If I win first place, someone who was supposed to win might lose their chance.

If I achieve something in this timeline, someone else loses the glory that should have been theirs in the previous timeline.

‘Is that right?’

Just because of me, their lives, timelines, futures, and present are all changing…

Am I capable of handling this?

A heavy question, one that I had felt pressing on me ever since the regression, weighed down on my heart.

When I used to read novels about time loops and regressions, I was too busy feeling the catharsis of the protagonist’s life-changing victories.

But now that those things were happening in my own reality…

‘It feels kind of…’

“…Hajin?”

“…Ah.”

Ji Suho’s call brought me back from my thoughts.

I didn’t want to burden him with my needless concerns when he already had enough work on his plate, so I quickly composed myself and forced a playful smile.

“So that’s why Lanion is so determined this time—because of me. Wow, I have too many sins to count.”

“Now you see why I’m so obsessed with your contract?”

“I remember worrying about how I was going to make a living just a little while ago…. This is overwhelming. Kang Hajin has made it.”

I deliberately exaggerated, hugging myself and patting my back, and Ji Suho turned away with a disgusted look.

If it were Ji Suho, he might have noticed the shadow I was hiding behind my jokes and laughter….

But even so, I pretended not to notice and kept smiling, swallowing my words.

‘Not yet… Not yet.’

For now, I wanted to focus on the task at hand.

* * *

After talking with Ji Suho for quite a while longer, I headed somewhere other than the dormitory.

As I walked, I replayed the things I had learned from my conversation with Ji Suho.

-So, why did Lanion choose Utopia’s song?

-As I mentioned earlier, the first reason is that the number of members is the same. That’s the official reason.

-…

-The second reason is that out of the remaining candidate songs, it’s the one with the most name value. That’s the unofficial reason.

-And it’s the most convincing reason… Well, they are Rene’s next big thing, so of course, they’d want to pick a song with a strong reputation. Among the male idol songs, Utopia’s songs have the most impact after excluding their agency’s songs.

‘If they can’t perform their own songs, they have to pick the strongest one available to save face.’

In other words, our list of options had been cut down to a fraction.

Stormheader had already taken Spear’s songs, which were as popular as Utopia’s, and the remaining options probably wouldn’t satisfy us, or other senior idols would be staking their claims on them.

-I don’t get it. Isn’t Miro a big enough agency to avoid getting pushed around like this? I know it’s small in terms of numbers since they only have two—oh, now it’s three—three singers under them, but those two are practically one-man armies… no, one-man legions, right?

Genuinely curious, I asked, and Ji Suho answered with a bitter tone.

-It’s a bit complicated, but to put it simply, we don’t get along with QBS. We don’t owe them anything… it’s just that there was some incident. It’s better to avoid clashing with them and to let things slide.

-…Does this have anything to do with the Enderway seniors?

-…Yeah. But let’s talk about that later. It’s not important right now. I’m just telling you the situation. What’s more urgent is figuring out what to do next.

I didn’t push further since Ji Suho didn’t seem eager to discuss what happened between QBS and Enderway. I had my secrets that I wasn’t sharing with him either.

“Sigh… So what do we do now?”

Lost in thought, I suddenly stopped in front of my destination. I had arrived at Lee Doha’s studio, a place I frequented so often that I could probably navigate

it with my eyes closed.

The moment I heard we couldn’t perform Utopia’s cover stage, the first person who came to mind was Lee Doha.

“…Oh, crap. He’s probably super excited about it. What do I say? How do I explain it?”

This guy had poured his heart and soul into performing Utopia’s song during MiroMaze.

In every interview, he would recite how his musical role model was Seo Taeil, how Utopia was his inspiration for starting music…

“Wow, if we can’t do Utopia’s songs, what should we do? What would make Lee Doha accept it? What should I say to disappoint him the least? Ah, this is driving me crazy. Should I just call Taehyun? Maybe Taehyun could explain it more calmly and gently? No, wait. Wouldn’t Seo Taehyun get pissed off too if he found out Lanion was doing Utopia’s songs? Or maybe not? Does Seo Taehyun care about Lanion anymore? No, he’d still get pissed, so how do I explain this without making our guys mad? Damn it, Kang Hajin. Use your brain!”

Standing in front of the studio, I couldn’t bring myself to go in, so I squatted down by the door, tearing at my hair.

Not only Lee Doha, but I also remembered that Lee Yugeon and Joo Eunchan had already started learning the choreography halfway. How the hell was I supposed to deal with this mess?

“Damn QBS… They should’ve told us earlier. We picked all the songs, and now they stab us in the back? These shameless bastards. How do I tell them we can’t do Utopia’s songs…?”

“We can’t do Utopia’s songs?”

“Uh… so we’re screwed right now. Ah, what do I do? How do I tell them—Ahhh!”

Who was that?

Who just answered me?

Why did they answer?

In shock, I turned towards the voice, only to see Lee Doha dressed in black from head to toe—black hoodie, black baseball cap, black pants, and black shoes—standing there holding a tumbler, calmly looking down at me.

‘Why is he there, not in the studio?’

Still in shock and unable to catch my breath, I looked up at Lee Doha, who took a sip from the tumbler, steam rising from the fresh drink, and asked again.

“We can’t do Utopia’s songs? You mean the QBS cover stage, right?”

“…Uh?↗ Oh, um, yeah. So, well, um… …Yeah.”

“Is there a reason?”

“Th-that’s a bit complicated, but to put it simply. Um. Well… same agency seniors’ songs are banned. Something about QBS’s standards, or a principle, or… no, not principle…”

“Hmm…”

“…”

Even I knew that squatting down in front of the studio door mumbling to myself wasn’t exactly cool, but I had no choice. I clung to the studio door handle as if my life depended on it, anxiously waiting for Lee Doha’s reaction.

Lee Doha quietly rolled his eyes as if processing my words, then raised his head and answered.

“Okay.”

“…Huh?↗”

“…What?”

“Okay? Okaay~?”

“Yeah. Okay, I got it.”

Despite my surprised questions, Lee Doha just nodded calmly with his usual expression—no emotion, just his normal, blank face.

“Okaaay? Got it~?”

“…?”

“Why aren’t you getting mad!?”

“…Should I be mad?”

The more he acted indifferent, the more it drained the life out of me.

Nothing’s going the way I expected with these guys!