Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 285. A Maze is a Maze (1)

I thought about it.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I don’t want to give up the image that comes with the name Miro.’

And I hated the idea of letting Lanion take it even more.

No matter how childish it seemed, I couldn’t help it.

‘That’s not even their specialty to begin with, is it?’

In the previous timeline, meaning when we weren’t around.

Lanion, whose stature had exponentially grown, was compared to their senior group, Enderway, who debuted three years earlier.

The rivalry was mostly framed as “kids who are popular in school VS kids who aren’t,” and the more successful both teams became, the more their distinct images contrasted, often being lumped together in the same category.

‘It feels like just yesterday when people were arguing twelve times a day about whether Lanion and Enderway were from the same generation or not….’

Why try to steal someone else’s spotlight when they’re already good at what they do?

‘Well, strictly speaking, they weren’t really trying to steal it… It just happened that they covered a Utopia song once by chance….’

But regardless, now that Lanion’s comparison group was no longer Enderway but Kairos, I had no intention of easily giving up the title of “Miro” to them.

“…What are you planning to do?”

Cheong Hansol, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.

Looking at Cheong Hansol, who seemed genuinely curious, I casually replied.

“Now that I think about it, we have another stage, don’t we?”

Self-expression doesn’t have to be limited to cover songs, right?

To prepare for another performance, I fastened the cufflinks on my shirt sleeves and stood up from my seat.

* * *

In the male idol world, end-of-year stages were all about a fierce battle royale of “who can prepare a tougher and more grand-scale performance?”

Of course, it wasn’t always like this. If you go back about 20 years, there were times when idols would occasionally dress up as the opposite gender, swap songs with each other, and showcase different versions of their usual performances.

So how did this “year-end festival” become such a crucial schedule in the idol world that it turned into a pride battle among fandoms?

This was deeply related to the changing target audience of the K-idol market over the past 20 years.

[??? 3 million copies sold on X-Day’s first week????]

Why did it blow up so suddenly?????????? Where did this explosion come from???????

– Overseas

– They have tons of overseas fans

– Their fan energy they’d been saving up + dual personality performance at last GMA = huge comeback success

– X-Day always had a good response overseas; it’s just that they were a bit weak domestically… But the new song is good, so it seems like it’s gaining traction here too.

With the rapid development of platforms like iTube and OTT services, K-idols no longer had to rely solely on the narrow needle-eye openings of terrestrial TV to showcase their personal content and performances to the global market.

In a world where catering to the picky tastes of overseas fans could easily lead to a reverse climb and a sudden surge in popularity, allowing them to create their own demand.

In this market environment, year-end stages that gathered all idol fans with even a slight interest in K-POP in one place to watch were undoubtedly an excellent opportunity and a lifeline for male idols who had to stake their lives on forming and attracting fandoms.

‘And overseas fans… tend to prefer intense performances.’

There wasn’t any official statistic or anything, but that was just the general consensus in the idol world.

Even back when I was constantly lurking in communities for monitoring, I would often see posts like this.

[What’s your preference, male idols with a refreshing concept or intense performances?]

When your group announces a comeback?? What do you think would do better?

– Preference is refreshing, but in terms of results, intense is better.

└ 2222

└ 33

└ 4 I prefer refreshing too lol

└ 55 lololol

– These days, refreshing just doesn’t sell as well… so refreshing is rare.

– Refreshing is really good, but it’s a bit tricky to perform on a big stage like year-end events after rearranging the music to be intense.

– I wish they’d release a refreshing mini album and an intense full albumㅠㅠㅜㅠ

– I’m in the refreshing camp too, but it’s true that intense concepts are better for attracting new fans lololol

└ Agreed. After all… refreshing has more falsettos and easier choreography and songs, so it loses that edge.

It was ironic how everyone was clamoring for refreshing concepts, yet they spent their money on the intense ones….

‘Well, that’s just how market principles work, isn’t it?’

Another advantage of year-end stages was that you could do large-scale, intense performances that weren’t possible on smaller music shows. Even if it was a bit tiring, as long as you nailed one legendary performance, it wasn’t hard to attract a flood of new fans that day.

“Hajin, we’re going to work on your hair now, so try not to move your head too much.”

At the makeup staff’s words, I slowly opened my eyes.

In the mirror in front of me, my reflection showed deep and darkly shaded makeup that made me forget all about that pink sausage from earlier. The gray lenses I was wearing for the first time blurred the boundary between my pupils and sclera, giving me a vibe that was oddly reminiscent of a manga character.

After blinking a few times, unfamiliar with the look, I glanced at the monitor on one side of the waiting room. Judging by what I saw, Stormheader’s stage had just ended.

‘So they were a mega crew too.’

On the screen, members heavily adorned with smoky makeup were standing in an ending formation with what looked like around 50 dancers.

Whether that concept suited the original theme that was said to be inspired by Spear was another matter, but I was secretly relieved that the kids who had been frozen stiff even during their cover stage earlier seemed to have loosened up a bit.

‘Even though they say not to worry about celebrities…. I can’t help but be concerned since we’re in the same industry.’

I doubt they wanted to steal their seniors’ songs out of malice.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

In the corner of the waiting room, beyond the mirror, Dan Haru, who had been glued to the monitor, was now clapping quietly with a sigh of relief.

Has that been bothering him ever since ?

“Sparkling.”

“…Yes?”

“Come on.”

I snapped my fingers to call over Dan Haru, who then quickly scurried over to me without a hint of hesitation. When I motioned with a nod for him to sit next to me, he obediently sat down and perked up, looking at me as if to ask what was going on. He was a dead ringer for a rabbit…

‘Ah, stop it, stop. No more job-related thoughts.’

I quickly refocused my mind, which had wandered off, and returned to the matter at hand.

Keeping my head straight so as not to disturb the staff who were carefully tidying up the parts messed up by the hat, I continued.

“Are you bothered because your friend did so well on stage?”

“Huh? …Friend?”

“Isn’t that kid your friend?”

Despite acting like the ultimate alpha male, Dan Haru surprisingly had no friends.

I didn’t know if it was just his nature, or if it was the intent of the Chosen Regressor to avoid forming unnecessary ties because of the uncertainty of when he might regress again, but Dan Haru didn’t get close to anyone besides the members.

Even knowing this, I feigned ignorance and asked if they were friends because I remembered that Dan Haru’s reaction during the last shoot was clearly different from usual.

“Oh, no…. Not a friend…. But they really did well on stage. The members seemed to have great chemistry too.”

“Really? I thought you kept watching during because our youngest finally made a celebrity friend?”

I deliberately spoke in an exaggerated tone, and the response was immediate.

“What? Haru made a friend?”

“…Haru made a friend?”

“Who is it? Are they a good person? Bring them over.”

“Dan Haru’s friend? Other than Joo Eunchan?”

“…? Hyung, what are you talking about?”

Not Dan Haru, but the other guys.

After Utopia’s performance, the guys who had finally started relaxing in the waiting room perked up and began questioning Dan Haru. Seeing that even the usually reserved Ji Suho and Wook hyung, who were busy working, turned their heads to check out what was going on, I couldn’t help but find it amusing.

The overwhelming attention seemed to fluster Dan Haru, who was normally so unflappable.

“Oh, no. No, they’re not friends yet!”

“If they’re not friends, could they be… a lover? That’s even more serious!”

“No! That’s definitely not it! I’m telling you, it’s not!”

As Jung Siwoo tilted his head with a serious expression, Dan Haru flailed desperately. For some reason, I felt as if I could see the sweat trickling down his yellow-haired head.

“Hajin’s hair is set. You can go change into your clothes now.”

Just in time, the setting was complete.

Nodding lightly to the staff as I got up from the chair, I noticed Dan Haru opening and closing his mouth as if he

had something to say but didn’t know how to put it into words. Beyond Dan Haru, I could see Lanion, always annoyingly handsome, giving an interview on the monitor.

I put on the stage costume jacket and coat hanging on the rack and then strapped the ridiculously expensive watch that had been carefully placed on the table onto my left wrist. Then, I approached Dan Haru, who was still wearing a foolish expression, and patted his shoulder.

“When the stage is over, go say hello in the waiting room. Exchange numbers too. You’re the same age, right?”

“Y-yeah, but….”

“You want to be friends with him, don’t you?”

When I deliberately looked him in the eyes and asked gently, Dan Haru finally admitted his feelings and awkwardly nodded.

“But… I do, but what if he doesn’t want to be friends with me?”

“Why? Did you do something wrong to him?”

“Well… It’s not really wrong, but there’s something I said….”

“You mean when you said you were envious?”

“Yes….”

Dan Haru nodded again, his expression complicated.

For a baby rabbit warrior who had flipped the world upside down six hundred times to save his reality, it was a surprisingly timid mindset, but it also seemed to hint at a life where he’d never really had the chance to make friends his age, which made me feel a bit sorry for him.

Instead of indulging that emotion, I just shrugged and turned away.

“Then just let him reject you when the time comes.”

“……”

“If he rejects you, we’ll comfort you.”

I gestured to the other members with my head, and they immediately responded with encouraging words for the youngest’s first attempt at making a friend.

“Yeah, Haru. It’s good to have at least one friend your age!”

“Who’s going to reject our youngest? Bring him over, let’s see who he is.”

“Why do you keep telling him to bring them over? Are you his dad?”

“Haru, if you feel too shy to go alone, should I go with you?”

“If Eunchan goes with you, they might get even more scared.”

“…Hyung, what do you mean by that…?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at our members, who were all eager to join in.

Dan Haru, who had been lost in thought while watching us, soon made up his mind and nodded with a determined expression.

“Yeah. I’ll go after the stage is over. …But it’ll be a bit embarrassing to go alone, so please come with me.”

“Sure, let’s go together. It’ll be nice to say hello after a while.”

Let’s make a friend!

While our baby rabbit warrior was nervously preparing for the grand quest he’d been given, Ji Suho, who had been watching our conversation with amusement, checked the time and clapped his hands loudly.

“Alright, alright. But before Haru makes a friend, you guys know you need to finish your stage well first, right? We need to stand by soon, so everyone get ready.”

“Did you hear that, Dan Haru? If you don’t do well on stage today, you won’t be able to make a friend.”

“Why would it turn out that way?”

“Stormheader just pulled off a great stage, so if we mess up ours, how could we go over there without embarrassment? Haven’t you read shonen manga? When asking to be friends, style and coolness are the most important.”

“Oh, I see….”

“Are you going to keep teaching Haru weird things?”

Ignoring Seo Taehyun’s usual nagging, which had become like background noise, I checked my reflection in the mirror one last time.

A perfect fit of a white shirt crossed by a silver tie pin, a black jacket covered by a sleek black long coat, and a glimpse of a silver watch peeking from under the black leather half-gloves.

Admiring the impeccable suit fit, I asked the stylist nuna, who was always saying that being handsome was the reason I made money.

“Nuna, how do we look now?”

“What about?”

“Do we look like the Italian Mafia?”

“Huh?”

“If not Italian, at least like the Hong Kong Triads….”

Now that the surprise party was over, it was time to get back to business.

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, which even I found intimidating, I smiled with satisfaction.