Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 289. Unexpected Consolation

“Hawon, I’m going out. Make sure you eat, okay?”

“Yeah, have a good day. Call me if you’re going to be late.”

“Got it.”

Hawon saw off his mom, Young-in, who had recently started working part-time at a friend’s shop to earn some extra living expenses. Although his father’s job had stabilized and the household’s financial situation was steadily improving, it seemed that it would take more time and effort than expected to bring their finances, which had been in the negative, back to zero.

‘I should be doing something too….’

While his parents and brother were working so hard, Hawon occasionally felt like he was the only one stuck somewhere in this small house.

He wasn’t the type to go out and socialize, and the thought of dealing with unfamiliar people at a part-time job made him feel anxious and suffocated. Although he had attended interviews here and there, his introverted nature meant that not many places called him back.

‘But for now, I just… want to rest a bit.’

Hawon had spent his entire life drawing from a very young age until now.

What had started as a simple joy in art had, at some point, transformed into an “exam” with the name “entrance exam,” carrying the weight of success and failure.

Since his high school was far from home, his daily routine of waking up at dawn and returning home late at night had repeated itself for a long time. In the process, Hawon began to feel worn out, and the thought of this routine continuing made him feel stifled.

‘I don’t even know what to draw anymore….’

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to draw, and even if he did, he no longer felt confident that people would want to see his work. But now, even trying to find something other than drawing seemed daunting, and he had no motivation to pursue anything else.

‘My brother found his path and is doing well….’

In truth, these concerns were premature for someone like Hawon, who was only 19 years old. However, having spent over ten years digging into the well of art, these questions weighed heavily on him, bringing a sense of burden and pressure.

But he couldn’t bring himself to talk about these feelings honestly with his parents.

– Don’t worry about money or the household situation. Just do what you want. No matter what, your mom and dad will support your dreams.

Hawon knew better than anyone how much support and encouragement his parents, who had once seen their own talents and abilities cut short due to a lack of family support, had given to him and his brother.

And with his brother recently making a successful debut as an idol, his parents were so proud and happy, as if it were their own success….

– Hawon, don’t you want to try something? There are so many contests and platforms these days.

…He knew that they also wanted him to fully utilize his talents and achieve something, just like his brother.

Even though he understood that this wasn’t pressure for results but rather a pure concern over his talent, he couldn’t help but feel suffocated.

“…Ah, what should I eat?”

In the house, now shrouded in silence, Hawon tried to shake off his thoughts and got up. After thoroughly checking the fridge and gathering some ingredients, it didn’t take long for him to whip up a plate of pasta, a salad drizzled with balsamic dressing, and a bowl of cream soup with mushrooms.

“Where’s the bread…?”

After pulling out some bread he had stored in the freezer, he made garlic paste with minced garlic and quickly whipped up some garlic bread. Then he sat down at the table. The habit of never skimping on meals, even when eating alone, was something he had inherited from his mother, who had a knack for cooking.

After pouring a generous amount of orange juice into a pretty glass, Hawon habitually picked up his phone and logged into iTube before eating. Ever since his brother’s debut, he had spent more time eating alone, so finding videos to watch while eating had become part of his meal routine.

“Anything good to watch? It’s the end of the year, so most shows are on break….”

Hawon quickly scanned the thumbnails, scrolling through the feed. Most of the shows he usually watched were either on break or hadn’t uploaded new episodes yet.

When he scrolled back to the top and refreshed the page, a rather shocking thumbnail caught his eye.

“……?”

The spoonful of cream soup Hawon was about to eat fell back into the bowl.

Not even paying attention to the cream soup dripping from the spoon, he rubbed his eyes slowly with his other hand and stared at the screen again.

<[20XX QBS Music Festival: New Road] Kairos – More More (Original by Chung Wol-seonyeo)>

The video thumbnail, which seemed to be from a year-end stage performance, featured pinkish lighting and a rosy filter that didn’t suit his brother or his group at all.

Moreover, his brother was wearing an utterly ridiculous white fur beret, poking his cheek with his finger!

“………?”

Failing to grasp the situation for a moment, Hawon threw his phone onto the table as if it were a bug and screamed.

“Aaagh! What is this!?”

It was a demon, a demon.

It had to be a demon.

Otherwise, there was no way his brother would be doing such cutesy antics with a pink ribbon around his neck….

‘…Would he?’

After his initial shock, Hawon pondered.

Well, considering his brother sometimes danced or spoke in a cutesy voice when he was in a good mood, maybe this was just his version of being playful….

“No. Maybe I saw it wrong.”

Calming himself, Hawon picked up the phone again. But somehow, his hand had already pressed the screen, and he saw that the stage video had started playing.

With a skeptical expression, Hawon held the phone at arm’s length and watched the video through squinted eyes.

KIROS!

“Whoa, that scared me. I almost watched it.”

Hawon barely managed to endure the intro, where Taehyun and Haru came out with big smiles. But as soon as the song started and his brother appeared, he frantically paused the video and closed his phone.

He didn’t forget to praise his quick reflexes, thinking he had narrowly avoided something terrible. It seemed like this was the cute and sexy girl group cover he had heard about earlier.

“…….”

Maybe I should just….

Relax and have some fun until I start college?

Hawon suddenly had that thought. If his only brother was living such an intense and driven life, maybe he could afford to live a bit more leisurely to balance the universe.

With that thought, Hawon cautiously picked up his phone again.

After all, it was the result of his brother’s hard work, so he felt he should at least give it a like.

“………? What’s this……?”

Quickly scrolling past the frozen frame of his brother’s cheeky wink, which had been paused on the screen, and liking the stage video, Hawon soon discovered another related video below it.

This one also had his brother’s group’s name in the title, but the view count was something else.

580,000 views ‧ 17 hours ago

“…….”

The video thumbnail showed what was clearly (though he didn’t want to admit it) his brother, seemingly with Dan Haru and Joo Eunchan, with their arms around each other’s shoulders, wildly headbanging.

They had been shaking their heads so vigorously that the thumbnail was blurred, making it look like they had three heads in a row.

“Wow, I really don’t want to see this….”

But he was too curious.

This moth-to-a-flame curiosity was definitely something both he and his brother had inherited from their parents!

“Should I…? Or shouldn’t I…? Should I…?”

After a moment of deliberation in front of the cooling soup and pasta, Hawon finally gave in and clicked the video. The outfits looked more normal than that weird furry getup from before, so he figured it couldn’t be that embarrassing.

But as soon as the video started, Hawon was reminded that his brother was always crazier than he expected.

“Oh, this song.”

It was a song Hawon knew well.

His mom particularly liked it, so he had heard it often since childhood, and when the family went to karaoke together, the brothers would sing it as a special performance for their mom.

At first, nothing much happened. The members were just casually humming the song, and sometimes his brother, getting excited, would whisper to the other members or pretend to hit a high note into the mic.

The problem began when the song reached the chorus.

Because it was such an old song, the younger idol group members, who made up the majority, didn’t know the lyrics or melody well and started singing the song awkwardly.

In contrast, the unnecessarily grand band session continued to build up the atmosphere, characteristic of 1980s cheer songs, creating an extreme contrast.

And just when the idols holding the microphones around his brother were exchanging awkward glances and merely mouthing the words―,

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, come, Youth! Blow, Wind↗!

Out of nowhere, an incredibly loud and powerful voice began to echo!

Hawon didn’t need to see the fancam to know that it was his brother’s voice, who had begun belting out the song without a care in the world.

– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAh Kang Hajin pleaseㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Hey… Hajin, you better pay up when you clock out… You owe us for this, seriously.

– Now

I understand why Kairos goes out for four rounds without any alcohol at every company dinner.

– No, the whole group’s lost their mindsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– 3:08, look at the Utopia SBNs in the front row, they’re freaking out trying to figure out who’s singing this partㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– I mean, at least we can be sure now that Kairos doesn’t have a cute-sy crush.

– This is practically a Kairos solo show at this pointㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The comments section was in chaos.

Hawon felt a bit scared, wondering just how far his only brother was willing to go to showcase his craziness. He started to think that nothing good could come from the world knowing he was this maniac’s younger brother.

‘I shouldn’t have appeared on that broadcast….’

Fortunately, the VCR that featured Hawon was not uploaded on iTube and was edited out of the reruns, thanks to Hajin’s request right after the live broadcast. Still, Hawon couldn’t help but make a firm resolution.

‘I must never let anyone know I’m Kang Hajin’s brother. No one should ever find out.’

With that determined thought, Hawon comfortably twirled some pasta on his fork and took a big bite.

A quiet and peaceful life was the best.

Enjoying a serene life alone in the comfort of his home was the best.

It seemed that in this family, it was enough for his parents and brother to be the ones living life to the fullest.