Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 284.If Someone Asks About the Freshness and Cuteness of Korea’s Boy Group (3)

Kairos was quite serious about it.

‘Are they really serious about this?’ I thought.

“Come closer, More More!”

“Tralalala―, More More!”

Lee Yugeon, who didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding his fierce three whites (eyes showing white above, below, and to the sides of the iris), stepped forward, fluttering a loose mesh knit layered over a white short-sleeved T-shirt. Of course, this knit was also cotton candy pink.

In the original song, the part that was particularly praised for its pretty vocal tone was sung with a lot of aegyo in a falsetto, but when Yugeon sang it, it became a sharp and clear mid-low tone singing rap with a strong hip-hop vibe. Yet, Yugeon didn’t seem to feel any guilt about it.

In fact, from the way he casually tapped the pink heart sunglasses he was wearing with his finger, it seemed he was enjoying himself to some extent!

“Tell me, More More!”

“Tralala―, More and More!”

Just when I thought I had gotten used to it, this time, Joo Eunchan, wearing fluffy white earmuffs and a similar material fur scarf around his neck, softened his cool gaze as much as possible and took the camera’s attention.

The pink V-neck sweatshirt he wore looked especially soft and cozy, but the point was that Eunchan’s jawline and voice were anything but soft and cozy. Eunchan, who had almost never dyed his hair since his debut, stood out more than usual today with his black hair.

With Eunchan at the center, all seven members stood side by side in a horizontal line.

With slightly sassy movements, the pink figures turned slightly to the side, bent over, and rested their arms on the person in front of them, leaning their faces on them. It was a cute move often seen in girl group choreography.

“This is More than ‘Like’
I want more more!”

And as they crossed their legs, propped their chins, tapped their faces with their hands, or nodded their heads in a cheeky, cutesy manner reminiscent of an Italian mafia playing with toy dishes, people’s reactions were generally like this:

– Kairos, stop doing whatever you want… No, do more… No, stop… No, just a little more… No…

Those who discovered a preference they didn’t know they had began to tear at their hair in frustration.

* * *

Kairos had mastered the art of balancing sweet and salty.

For example, after Kang Hajin-Lee Yugeon-Joo Eunchan burst out in quick succession with rapid part exchanges, Jung Siwoo would monopolize the one-shot camera angle, showing off his face.

Just when people started to think, ‘What is this? How should I feel about this?’ Kairos would deliver a perfect therapy session, leaving them unable to decide if they actually liked it.

And the effect was tremendous!

– As expected, pink suits men.
– This is strange… Why does it seem to suit them…? Why… does it look good…?
– Sorry, Cheong Wol-seonyeo unnies, I can’t remember the original song anymore.
– Oh, please, I think my cheeks are going to tear from smiling. This is crazy.

After all, when they’re big, they’re also very cute.

No one could dislike watching big, handsome guys pulling off big aegyo moves, with pink fur flying everywhere.

In all of the formations on the roughly 1-minute-and-40-second stage, Kairos made sure that Seo Taehyun, Dan Haru, and Jung Siwoo stood in the middle of the members to neutralize the visuals.

Among them, Seo Taehyun, who naturally drew the most attention, stood out as he danced lightly with his pink hair swaying. When your gaze fell on him, even Kang Hajin, who stood next to him trying to match the height and also swaying, somehow looked cute.

– Woo woo, Kairos, that’s not fair. Don’t try to solve everything with your looks.
└ But everything was solved with their looks, wasn’t it?

However, there was one part that absolutely couldn’t be resolved, and that was Doha’s solo part.

Even though the entire performance was only 1 minute and 40 seconds, each member had a part allocated to them, and during their part, they had to take the camera alone without anyone’s help.

Kairos’ answer to this was clear.

– If we’re going to do it, let’s do it properly.

They chose a direct approach.

“Stop trying to test me, pretending you don’t know.
I’m tired of making excuses that we’re just friends now.”

Doha, who seemed like a polar bear in his angora wool knit outfit, emphasized his deep and heavy voice in a powerful rap as he moved from the left to the right side of the stage in one go, fully utilizing his long legs.

– Was the original *More More* always such a powerful song?

Even though he didn’t change a single word of the original’s coy lyrics, Doha stuck to his own style, not caring about the original vibe at all.

He didn’t seem to intend to look cute or have any desire to appear gentle, but the naturally softer styling and his usual intense gaze, which could be overwhelming whether directed at people or cameras, now seemed more restrained and subtle.

Moreover, the slightly tense expression from performing a style of choreography he had never tried before added to the effect, making it seem like he was genuinely waiting for a confession from someone he had a crush on.

“Before my heart gets tired and this excitement fades,
Come closer and tell me, Want you, More More!”

Hajin (the Doberman) and Haru (the Retriever), who had firmly established themselves as the puppy pair within Kairos, exchanged a light high-five with Doha while smiling brightly. The three of them, who made eye contact in the middle of the stage, couldn’t hold back their burst of laughter and giggled playfully.

Then, the camera captured Siwoo, who was enjoying the stage more than anyone, Yugeon, who was simply copying girl group moves as he saw them, Eunchan, who couldn’t hide his slight awkwardness and embarrassment, and Taehyun, who had finally found his true calling.

They were more natural and lovable than ever. I couldn’t remember who covered for whom or what they did anymore.

At this point, people had no choice but to admit it.

– Damn, I liked this kind of thing.

It was the moment when the final winner of this senior idol cover stage was confirmed.

* * *

After finishing the wild stage and returning to the waiting room, Kairos was greeted by screams that were close to laughter.

“Ahahaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Seriously, are you all crazy?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“Here she comes, the proud youngest daughter of Miro!”

“Whose idea was that, really?”

“Yeah, you need that kind of spirit to be the youngest of Miro.”

It was Utopia, who, as the eldest performers of today’s music festival, had the honor of closing the show.

“Why are you even here….”

“We came to tease youㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“Hajin, look at this. I filmed it. Can I upload it on Wonstar?”

“Hyung, aren’t you guys busy?”

Hajin, now cynically wiping his sweat with a towel, had completely ditched the coy expression from earlier. But his words didn’t reach the Utopia members, who were already too excited at the thought of teasing their juniors, who were ten years younger.

“Oh~ Taehyun~ Our Taehyun~ You were so good~?”

“Please, just go away, sunbaenim….”

Instead of using their spacious waiting room, the Utopia members began a full-scale reaction, calling out the names of the Kairos members and reacting loudly in the cramped junior waiting room.

Taehyun, more scared of dealing with his agency seniors’ pranks than performing on a cute girl group stage, retreated further into a corner of the waiting room, his energy draining in real-time. Meanwhile, the other members began changing out of their sweat-drenched clothes.

It was almost time for them to perform their main stage.

“Siwoo, you did well for someone who doesn’t look like it! It suited you!”

“I was just handsome as usual, but thank you.”

“…Ah. I can’t argue with that, which is frustrating.”

Nam Daun, who had been joking around, bit his lip in frustration as he found himself defeated by his own words.

Hajin, who had completely taken off his top and wiped his body with a wet towel, put on the shirt he had worn earlier during the red carpet event and looked around the waiting room.

In the distance, Lee Doha had already been caught by Yoon Jinu, while Kwon Sang-rok, who clearly wanted to be alone, was being cornered by Joo Eunchan and Dan Haru, who were eagerly asking for feedback on their performance….

It was nothing particularly special.

‘Why did these hyungs even bother coming all the way to our waiting room….’

Is Utopia really not busy?

Even as he thought that, Hajin couldn’t help but smile faintly as he took a sip of water, finding the noisy atmosphere not entirely unpleasant. Just then, Seo Taeil, who had been sitting inside the waiting room, put down the tablet he had been holding and called out to Hajin.

“Son. Come here.”

“…Have you finally decided to just adopt me as your son?”

“Well, I figure I’m going to end up living single anyway,

so having a grown-up son might be nice.”

“Sorry, but I already have a biological father I need to support, and he’s very much alive and well.”

He’s probably already changed his profile picture after watching this stage today.

Even as he thought about asking Kang Hawon to spy on his dad’s profile picture when he got home, Hajin obediently went and sat next to Taeil as he was told.

He had a hunch as to why these people had come all the way to someone else’s waiting room during such a busy year-end performance schedule, to create this noisy atmosphere.

“Since you’re going to be my father, how about you start with giving me some New Year’s money, Office Father?”

“Office… what? Stop talking nonsense and be serious.”

“I’m serious, though.”

When Hajin lightly joked, Seo Taeil let out a small chuckle, then sat up straighter after checking the situation in the waiting room and the broadcast monitor. When Hansol, who was sitting across from Taeil, greeted Hajin with a nod, Hajin returned the greeting with a slight bow.

Taeil got straight to the point.

“I thought you’d have a hard time picking a cover song, but you handled it well.”

Of course.

As I expected, since it’s their own song, Utopia seemed to know all about the bloody politics that had gone into selecting this cover song.

‘But it wasn’t really important enough for them to come by and comfort me like this.’

Kang Hajin, who had long since forgotten the past where he’d desperately tried to open a café to forget his sorrow and frustration, shamelessly shrugged his shoulders and responded.

“Hyung. Don’t you know me? I’m the Zhuge Liang of Miro.”

“I heard Taehyun and Haru picked the song?”

“…Utilizing the wisdom of those around you and choosing the appropriate methods is also an important quality of a strategist, hyung.”

“Anyway, I wondered what you were thinking when you chose this song, and whether the kids were handling it okay, but it looks like you managed well.”

Nodding in approval, Taeil showed Hajin his phone.

The screen was full of reactions to Kairos’ cover performance.

“You’re trending number one right now. The buzz is no joke.”

“It’s all part of my plan.”

“Sure, if you say so.”

“It’s true. I always have a plan, you know?”

“Yeah, whatever you say.”

Hearing Hajin’s words, Taeil snorted and nodded as usual.

He probably thought it was just the good-natured bravado of a rookie who had finished their cover stage well, but Hajin was serious.

“I’m serious. And it’s not over yet, my plan.”

“…?”

At Hajin’s confident words, Taeil and Hansol turned their attention to him.

“I might have conceded the song to you guys, but I’m not going to concede the spot as your successors.”

Hajin, who had just buttoned up the last button of his perfectly ironed shirt, flashed a confident smile and made a V-sign with his hand.