Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 359. Jeju Island’s Blue Night (1)

“……”

“………”

“………..”

“……….. Haah.”

Only deep sighs and an uncomfortable silence filled the space between us. At least PD Kwon had a thing for sunsets, or we’d have been forced onto a dawn flight for a sunrise shoot. That would have made me cry.

“Hajin-ssi, Yugeon-ssi, your flight’s been delayed a bit. So, please wait here a little longer before boarding.”

“Yes.”

“Got it.”

Despite our frustration, we were both so used to the capitalist system that our replies were quick and efficient.

With extra time on my hands, a thought popped into my head. The moment the assistant director left, I grabbed Lee Yugeon by the shoulders, shaking him like a washing machine cycle.

“If only… if only you had believed me! If you had listened to me just once!”

“Ugh, my head’s spinning. Calm down.”

Yugeon put his phone down, clearly annoyed, but let me shake him anyway. He even loosened his body to make it easier for me to shake him, having accurately judged that I wouldn’t stop until he gave in.

‘Why does it feel like I’m the one losing here?’

Feeling like I was being played by someone younger than me, I slackened my grip a bit. But even when I stopped shaking him, Yugeon continued to sway gently on his own, adjusting the rhythm so that his bangs swayed just enough — looking like a natural dancer.

“…What are you doing?”

“…Oh, nothing.”

I watched, arms crossed, to see how long he’d keep going, and he didn’t even notice I’d stopped. He just kept swaying while staring at his phone. When I finally spoke up, he froze awkwardly, only then realizing what he was doing.

As I wondered if Yugeon saw me on the same level as my youngest siblings, my pride stung. And just as my eyebrow twitched involuntarily, Yugeon scratched his cheek sheepishly and offered an excuse.

“Look, how was I supposed to know it’d turn out like this? You’d have done the same thing if you were in my shoes.”

“I never realized I was such an untrustworthy hyung. What a wasted life…”

“To be fair, you haven’t exactly done anything to be seen as trustworthy.”

“This kid… you sure know how to hit where it hurts.”

“…Are you actually hurt?”

“No, it’s just a figure of speech. Forget it.”

“Then… can I say something else that might hurt?”

“…Go ahead.”

Clicking my tongue, I braced myself for Yugeon’s next words. He continued with an air of unjustified frustration.

“If we’re talking about suspicious villains, don’t you think you’re more likely to be one than Taehyun?”

“This kid…!”

Yes, the villain. That blasted villain was the root of all this chaos.

To explain this situation, I needed to rewind to the day we were outplayed by the demon that was Seo Taehyun.

* * *

“Isn’t it strange?”

“What is?”

Just before the second turn of partner matching ended.

It was right before the announcement of Joo Eunchan and Dan Haru’s successful partner match when I, staring at the whiteboard with Doha, voiced the suspicion that had been bothering me since the race began.

“The penalty person. They said it’d be whoever failed to match with the right partner, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But the way things are going now, there’s a set number of worlds, and one person is inevitably going to be left out. Unless the groups are split two, two, and three.”

“…That seems likely.”

“But isn’t that unfair?”

Doha, quick to pick up on what I was getting at, nodded as if he understood.

“You’re saying the production team might’ve rigged the penalty rules? Because the penalty is going to come from whichever world has three people.”

“Exactly. But then… would our production team really be that unfair? I doubt it….”

– Attention, everyone.

My musings about the penalty were cut short by the announcement of Eunchan and Haru’s successful match.

Doha, too, seemed to have briefly considered searching for clues about this, but as soon as the final turn began, he quickly became more focused on finding his own partner, seemingly forgetting all about it.

In the end, I was the only one suspicious enough to keep searching for hints about the overall structure.

“Hey, kids.”

“Yes?”

“Any hints? Got anything for me?”

Having wandered around for a while without finding much, I went to Eunchan and Haru, who had finished their match and were hanging out at the opening area. Joo Eunchan, who was now fiddling with some Legos he’d found somewhere, looked thoughtful.

“Hmm… We came straight here, so I don’t really remember what the other hyungs did.”

“Alright, never mind.”

“Oh, but….”

“…Hmm?”

Just as I was about to turn away, thinking there was nothing to gain from them, Eunchan seemed to remember something.

“Our hint was cut in half, so I’m not sure, but I don’t think Taehyun was in it.”

“Seo Taehyun?”

“Yeah. And also… you were only in the photo, and the rest was cut off.”

“…I see.”

“At first, I thought it was just missing, but it seemed like the board with the photos ended with you, so I’m not sure if it was a mistake or…”

“Eunchan-ssi!!!!”

“Oh dear.”

Before he could finish spilling the suspicious details, Eunchan was yanked away by the PD, who came running to shut him up.

Seeing him dragged away while still clutching his Legos like a giant cat being carried off after causing trouble was one thing, but what he told me left me with a huge question mark.

‘Did the production team make a mistake? No way.’

There was no chance the meticulous staff, who were known for their attention to detail, would accidentally leave out such an important clue as the virtual casting board.

Out of the seven of us, two had already passed. Siwoo and Yugeon weren’t each other’s partners, which drastically reduced the number of possibilities.

Given this, if one person had to play the wildcard, the most likely candidate was…

‘Seo Taehyun.’

There hadn’t been any hints about Seo Taehyun’s role yet. What if his role was the twist that would flip this race on its head?

– The second partner match has been made.

– The *Four Kings of Terror* world capsule is now closed.

“Oh my god.”

And with that, Doha and Siwoo successfully completed their match.

Now it was just me, Yugeon, and the wildcard, Seo Taehyun.

‘What’s Taehyun’s role?’

More importantly, ‘Who’s playing the role of Seo Taehyun?’

If I was playing the role of Seo Taehyun and Taehyun was playing the role of Kang Hajin, I needed to figure out Seo Taehyun’s role as quickly as possible. Especially since Yugeon was now running around with Taehyun, whom I had seen lazing about earlier with zero motivation.

“Come on, come on… just one clue…”

I ransacked the set for any remaining hints.

After nearly an hour of the others scouring the place, most of the rooms had already been picked clean, but I still managed to find something.

“…Ah, here it is!”

I was rummaging through everything, even opening closed drawers, when I stumbled upon a suspicious locker. It was locked with a padlock, but I grabbed a nearby safety pin, jimmied it open, and found a suspicious notebook sitting inside.

It definitely looked like a major clue. Judging by the lock, there must’ve been a mission to find the key, but I didn’t have time. I’d just let the PD clean up the mess later and opened the notebook.

It turned out to be a diary.

Tapping into my web-novel-reading instincts, I skimmed through the pages quickly, and before long, I had a pretty good idea of whose diary this was.

A character who appears in every story, never gets a happy ending, and whose existence is necessary to highlight the protagonists’ joy?

“…Looks like we have a villain.”

I knew this. This plot was all over romance-fantasy novels.

So, the villain was planning to steal the protagonist’s role and board the capsule. Judging by the mysterious accident at the beginning and the memory loss plot, this person was likely the mastermind.

Hoping for more clues, I flipped to the back of the notebook and found a profile page with the owner’s identity.

A villain who wants to steal someone’s role, a missing photo of Seo Taehyun, and a motto about staying true to himself.

“…So, Seo Taehyun *is* Seo Taehyun, and I’m Kang Hajin.”

Now it was clear.

Realizing the full truth, I dashed out of the room and went in search of Yugeon and Seo Taehyun. But by the time I found them, Taehyun had already convinced Yugeon that our roles were swapped.

“No, you

’re wrong! I’m Kang Hajin, and he’s the villain! If you board with him, we’re all screwed!”

“I saw the virtual casting board Taehyun found! It said he’s Kang Hajin!”

“What? No way! That’s not true! That sneaky little…!”

Though I was briefly tempted to believe the casting board Yugeon mentioned, I knew better. Seo Taehyun was the villain who had come to steal the roles, so anything he “found” couldn’t be trusted.

“I’m telling you, don’t believe him! He was acting earlier when he pretended not to find any clues! It was all part of his plan!”

“You’re the one who’s so good at acting that I can’t trust you.”

“Unbelievable.”

But, as we all knew, Yugeon’s unshakable distrust led him to board the capsule with Seo Taehyun.

– Please state your names and roles.

“Joo Eunchan. Ranked 2.”

“Wait, what was I again? Oh right, Hajin-hyung’s role.”

“First love. Male lead’s first love.”

“Oh, right.”

And, as expected….

– Please state your name and role.

“…Seo Taehyun.”

“…?”

“My role is….”

“Hey, what’s your….”

“The villain here to steal the happy ending.”

With a bright smile, Seo Taehyun threw up a peace sign in victory.

The innocent and clueless look he had worn earlier was gone, replaced with a smug grin. Yugeon, meanwhile, was staring at him in horror, as if he’d seen a ghost.

And just like that, the moment was captured, becoming a meme as screenshots of their stunned faces flooded social media, endlessly edited and shared.