Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 283. If Someone Asks About the Freshness and Cuteness of Korea’s Boy Group (2)

Café Owner Mr. A came home again late this evening after finishing all the day’s work.

After washing up and lying in bed, Mr. A, feeling completely drained both physically and mentally, suddenly thought it was a waste to fall asleep just yet. So, she pulled out her tablet from the bag she had placed beside her bed.

‘I’ve already finished watching the drama I was watching… Is there any movie worth watching?’

As Mr. A scrolled through the OTT subscriptions she had, a banner caught her eye.

Now that she thought about it, the end of the year had already arrived.

Mr. A, who had been spending her days barely managing to keep track of the dates, felt an inexplicable urge to click on the live video.

‘Will they appear too? Kairos?’

That click was partly due to her thoughts of the Kairos members, who had recently become a refreshing BGM in her otherwise monotonous daily life.

The *Music Festival* had apparently already started, as the video began playing from a scene where a pretty, young girl group was performing a flashy fan dance.

“Wow, nowadays… I don’t know any of them, not a single one.”

Back in my day, each singer had their own distinct color. But now there are so many idols that if you wanted to assign official colors, you’d have to print out a color code chart. Back then, we could get away with just using the basic rainbow colors.

With this nostalgic thought, Mr. A turned up the volume on the tablet.

It seemed that everyone was trying their best to leave a legendary performance amidst this flood of idol competition. Even though she didn’t recognize the singers’ faces, she was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the songs were familiar, having heard them at least once while walking down the street or at a café.

“Yes, Hwanyeong. Do you know the slogan for this year’s QBS Music Festival?”

“Oh~ Shia, what do you take me for? Of course, I know it. ‘New Road!’ It’s a slogan that signifies opening up a new path that we must walk forward!”

“That’s right. As the saying goes, ‘On-go-ji-shin’—to know the new, one must first understand the old. This year’s music festival has prepared a special stage where we can look back on the path the music industry has taken.”

“Yes! A cover stage where junior singers pay tribute to their seniors with respect and sincerity! The ‘Back to the Future’ stage is prepared for you. From *Believer*, who has successfully re-debuted and is riding the wave of immense popularity, to *Lanion*, the rising supernova in the music industry! Many junior idols’ cover stages are ready. Let’s watch them now.”

As the MCs, dressed like princes and princesses from a fairy tale, gave their introduction, the VCR started to play.

The video quickly skimmed through the history of the music industry, from the commonly referred to 7080 generation to the current idols. It was a typical VCR where junior idols appeared one by one on a set designed like a spotlighted stage for interviews.

Of course, Mr. A, who had no interest in the music industry, could not recognize any of the young and unfamiliar faces.

“Back then… I think I used to hope that I could perform on such a stage someday.”

Mr. A, who was listening to the broadcast with her ears while browsing a food delivery app on her phone, turned her attention back to the tablet when she heard a familiar voice and tone.

Hajin, dressed casually in a gray oversized hoodie and black-rimmed glasses, was sitting with his legs crossed, lightly placing his hands on his knees, and was being interviewed.

“These days…”

Hajin smiled faintly, almost like a sigh, and pushed up his glasses with his unusually long and delicate fingers. When he tilted his head sideways, the ear cuff and earrings dangling from one ear clinked together in a strangely provocative way.

“These days, I often feel that it would take an incredibly long time and a tremendous amount of effort to catch up. After debuting, I feel it even more deeply.”

“So, what should I do? I keep searching for the answer to that question… Preparing for the seniors’ cover stage this time, I think I’ve been able to reflect on those thoughts a lot more. The preparation process was really enjoyable.”

Since Mr. A had just returned home and didn’t usually follow entertainment news, she had no prior information on whose song Kairos would be covering.

‘Judging by the atmosphere of the interview, it seems like they’ve prepared a legendary song…’

Having already watched several of Kairos’s previous performances, starting with *This Isn’t a Carol* and *Touch High!*, Mr. A was quite excited at the thought that they might be covering a song she knew well.

As she was considering possible song candidates, the VCR ended. When the camera returned to the stage, blue lights rippled like the ocean. The title caption introducing the singer and the song appeared at the bottom of the screen.

*Believer – Trouble Boy (Original: Wish Boys)*

It was a combination of a singer she didn’t know with a song she knew well.

When the three men in red suits lifted their heads on stage, the audience erupted in cheers, suggesting that they were quite famous.

“Wow, has it really been 15 years since this song came out? Please tell me it’s a lie.”

What are the Wish Boys doing nowadays…

Mr. A indulged in nostalgia while watching the performance. Since it was a cover stage, they couldn’t sing the entire song, and it seemed like they cut it off around the second verse, which left a lingering sense of regret. It felt both familiar and new hearing a familiar melody sung by unfamiliar voices.

“The kids these days are pretty good too.”

Perhaps because it was an edited audio track, the performance flew by in the blink of an eye.

The stage was performed as a lip-sync, not live, which seemed to allow most of the teams to focus on their facial expressions and performances. Some teams had even rearranged the songs to match their style, thinking that the original image was too strong.

The only minor flaw was that the singers, being rookies, still looked young and inexperienced.

Their stage manners weren’t bad, and their lip-synced vocals were decent, but the songs were too intense for them to handle.

“You can’t beat experience.”

After all, Mr. A belonged to the generation that was most familiar with the original performances of the songs the current idols were covering. Since most of the songs had been massive hits when the senior idols were in their 3rd or 4th year of their careers, and had hit their peak, it was inevitable that, in Mr. A’s eyes, the current cover stages seemed as cute as high school dance clubs performing at a festival, despite the skill level.

If it had been live, the sight of the idols gritting their teeth to pull off the high-difficulty songs could have been a plus. But with their expressions being too calm compared to the difficulty of the songs they were performing, the gap only grew wider.

The only performance that seemed somewhat decent was Lanion’s *Coup d’état* stage.

“Oh, a 7-step high note.”

The scale was enormous, from the shiny uniforms to the velvet flags with golden tassels that the backup dancers brought out and waved around. Even though it was just a cover stage, it was clear that they had spent a lot of money on it. Although it wasn’t a live performance, even through the lip-sync, it was clear that they were fairly good singers, so it was pleasant to listen to.

“They’re pretty good too.”

Moreover, they had the most celebrity-like appearance among the rookie idols that had appeared so far. Judging by the loud cheers, they were probably the most popular team in the lineup up to that point.

If they could pull off a performance like that of Utopia, who were known for their talent, it could be considered quite a success, right?

Just as Mr. A was beginning to take a slight interest in Lanion, the thought of Kairos suddenly yanked her back.

“Then what song is Kairos going to perform?”

It felt like every notable male idol group from that era had already been summoned.

Considering Kairos’s physical abilities and their past performances, she thought they might be able to pull off the intense and powerful songs of the old-generation idols, which only made her more curious.

And finally, when the stage transitioned and the long-awaited name appeared at the bottom of the screen.

“……?”

The scene filled with a completely different set, bathed in pink and yellow lights, with a kitschy, almost childish backdrop.

The tremendous cheers were vividly conveyed even through the screen, and Mr. A, too, was greeted with a familiar and friendly intro, one she had often performed with her classmates during a talent show at a university retreat. As the lively sound played, the center of the stage lit up, and seven men, who had been bowing their heads demurely, slowly lifted their heads.

KIROS!

Originally, the signature sound of *Chung Wol-seonyeo* should have been “Blue Moon” at this moment, but a different team name popped up instead.

The first to appear at the center, along with the lively intro, was none other than the one and only Tae-hyun, who was in charge of Kairos’s freshness. He had dyed his hair pink, reminiscent of his glory days during *Boy’s Paradise*, and was wearing a light pink blouse, contrasted with a black ribbon tied around his neck.

“No…”

As Tae-hyun, the one tasked with ‘our own Tae-h

yun,’ passed by, flashing his trademark fresh smile, Dan Haru, who wore a white baseball cap backward, blonde hair, and a matching pink hoodie with white shorts, energetically jumped onto the stage.

This part was relatively easy to adjust to.

This was something she had seen often.

“Oh…”

Mr. A was left speechless as the first verse began.

As the members’ formation changed, the first runner, who had been waiting in the back, appeared at the center.

Wearing a white angora beret, a pink shirt, and a white ribbon tie, was none other than Kang Hajin!

**Tell me honestly**

His soft, low voice produced a delicate melody.

As if determined to enjoy lip-syncing to the fullest, Hajin didn’t even pretend to sing live, dramatically moving his facial features as he pleased.

**What exactly are we?**

Leaning on Yugeon’s back, with his arms resting on it, Hajin tapped his face with his hand, then pouted his lips with a blatant frown while looking at the camera.

As he slowly stood up, Siwoo, dressed in a pink blazer, and Doha, wearing a pink angora sweater, shook their shoulders and swayed their hips next to Hajin.

“What is… this?”

The dance moves were certainly gentle, but perhaps because they all had good physiques, their dance lines were excessively vigorous.

As Hajin stepped forward, he momentarily seemed to break character, almost bursting into laughter before holding it back with a slightly embarrassed smile. That very expression, where the corners of his mouth were slightly bitten as if he were trying to hold back a grin, was the essence of a rookie idol.

**Don’t just say we’re friends**

**You felt the flutter too, didn’t you?**

Hajin, summoning his courage, raised his head, wiggled his nose impishly, and crossed his arms toward the camera. Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, he gazed at the camera with the gentlest eyes in the world….

“…?”

Mr. A was left utterly speechless, stunned by the sight for many reasons.