Chapter 163. Final (7)
“The first trainee to confirm their debut, ranked 1st in the final rankings.”
For a moment, Hajin felt as if he couldn’t even hear the sound of breathing inside the concert hall.
In reality, since it was a survival competition within the agency, the debut ranking wouldn’t have a significant impact on the group’s activities later on. The broadcasting company did mention providing some benefits here and there, but those were related to individual activities, which was still a distant matter.
‘But why am I so nervous? It’s not like I’m going to be chosen anyway.’
Even so, the authority and pressure that came with the title of being first place was something he couldn’t easily ignore.
A heavy silence filled the air, making even the sound of someone swallowing seem like it would be heard by everyone.
Seo Taeil broke the silence and called out the name of the one who would receive the honor.
“First place in the final rankings for Miro Maze!”
“……”
“The first trainee to become the new wings of Kairos is… trainee Seo Taehyun!”
The moment his name was called, Taehyun collapsed onto the spot.
The entire concert hall erupted in cheers. As background music, an old pop song that Taehyun frequently mentioned as his favorite played.
Hajin watched as Taehyun, barely able to stand with the support of Siwoo and Eunchan, moved to the central stage where the debutants’ podium was. He applauded, filled with genuine congratulations.
“Trainee Seo Taehyun. Three years ago, you had to turn away from debut, even though it was right in front of you. Now, after three years, you’ve finally claimed the position you’ve dreamed of. Congratulations.”
In response to Taeil’s congratulatory message, Taehyun, with a face already swollen from crying, could only nod in acknowledgment.
Still, they couldn’t miss hearing the first-place winner’s acceptance speech, so Seo Taehyun did his best to compose himself and grabbed the microphone.
“…Uh, first, I’d like to thank my parents and uncle, who believed in me until this moment. And to all the Destiny fans… really… thank you so much.”
The screen showed fans holding up banners with Taehyun’s name on them.
Seeing the screen, Taehyun’s nose turned red again as he sniffled, barely managing to regain his composure before continuing.
“During these three years, there were so many times when I wanted to give up… and times when I almost did.”
With a voice choked with emotion, Taehyun turned his gaze to the podium where the remaining trainees stood.
“It was thanks to my friends who were with me during those times that I was able to endure. Especially….”
Even though the distance between the central stage where Taehyun stood and the stage where Hajin was was quite far, Hajin felt as if he was directly meeting Taehyun’s gaze.
The moment Hajin flinched, Taehyun mentioned his name.
“Hajin-hyung, who brought me here when I wanted to quit everything and run away. And Haru, who told me that he wanted to debut with me whenever I was struggling. Lastly, Eunchan, who was always a source of strength in my lonely moments. Thank you so much. I really hope… we can debut together.”
In the end, Taehyun, nearly breaking down into sobs, barely finished his speech and ascended to the first-place position. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, it seemed he was careful not to neglect mentioning the other trainees before stepping in, perhaps out of concern that some might feel left out or disappointed if he only named those three.
“Next is the trainee ranked 5th. This trainee’s position is rap.”
The faces of Doha, Jaiden, and Yugeon, who all held rap positions among the ten trainees, were split three ways on the screen.
And soon, one face filled the entire screen.
“5th place in the final rankings for Miro Maze! Trainee Lee Doha!”
Unlike Taehyun before him, Doha’s expression didn’t change much even after his name was called.
‘Wow, seriously. Is he a monk?’
Hajin was genuinely impressed by Doha’s composure and clicked his tongue in admiration.
But the real moment of surprise came right after that.
“…Uh. Umm. So…”
‘Did Lee Doha just stutter?’
Doha, who seemed to have shown no change in expression, started trembling the moment he reached the central stage and grabbed the microphone. Even though he was supposed to deliver his debut speech, more than a minute passed without him being able to open his mouth. Taeil, watching from the side, had to step in to fill the silence with a comment, seeing how uneasy the situation was.
Finally pulling himself together, Doha carefully began his speech.
“…Thank you.”
“……”
“Ever since I began dreaming of music, my dream has always been to be in an idol group.”
“……”
“Thank you for making my dream come true, for giving me the chance to achieve it.”
Doha’s speech sounded almost like a declaration to those who had sneered at him, questioning why he was pursuing idol activities instead of being a rapper. After lowering the microphone, he bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle toward the audience and cameras.
After a slight hesitation, he added a short, final word.
“Father.”
Doha’s lips pressed together and then parted several times.
Just as his lips seemed to dry up, Doha’s deep, low voice resonated calmly.
“…I did it.”
That was the extent of Doha’s speech.
However, Hajin could sense that this one line contained an inexpressible amount of emotions.
Watching Doha calmly return to his place, Hajin bit the inside of his cheek.
‘…Ah, damn, I’m jealous.’
I seriously want to be called out like that and shout out the names of Mom, Dad, and Kang Hawon.
It was only then that Hajin realized just how nervous he was.
It was like the 17 seconds before the announcement of college acceptance results.
Or the 3 seconds before a military assignment decision.
Or the moment right before clicking on the results of a broadcasting station’s new PD recruitment interview.
Or maybe, 2 minutes and 10 seconds before securing a concert ticket for that singer Mom really wanted to see….
[System Alert: …Why are you so detailed?]
‘Ah, shit! You startled me!’
Thirteen suddenly appeared in front of Hajin’s eyes with a ‘pop,’ just as he was mentally reviewing every nerve-wracking moment of his life. Hajin was so startled by the unexpected appearance that he almost screamed, forgetting for a moment that he was on live broadcast. He barely held back by biting hard on the inside of his cheek.
Of course, the pain that felt like it could kill him came as a bonus.
‘…You really want to make people lose their temper, don’t you?’
[System Alert: Could it get any worse…. (๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣ (Sorry ㅠㅁㅠ)]
Seriously, what kind of balloons are these?
As Hajin grumbled, thinking that whoever worked on the grid must have been pretty terrible, he muttered,
‘Why did you come out of nowhere? Can’t you see that damned regressor?’
[System Alert: No. There’s no sign of him. And….]
[System Alert: But still, we have to be here together for the results.]
[System Alert: It’s been six months after all.]
‘Six months, you say?’
[System Alert: With the intermittent madness and habitual threats and extortion from the Chosen Regressor, the constant dilemmas and anguish of wondering ‘Is this really okay?’ as a time manager…]
‘Okay, okay. Stop hitting me. I get it, you’ve been waiting for this.’
Listening to Thirteen rattle off the past misdeeds without hesitation, Hajin waved his hand like he was swatting away a bug.
[System Alert: …But now, I genuinely want the Chosen Regressor to debut. Apart from the quest.]
Thirteen, who had been dodging Hajin’s hand movements, slyly revealed his true feelings. And then, as if embarrassed, he made himself half-transparent and started to disappear. Hajin, feeling a bit surprised, couldn’t help but smile as he found himself in a good mood.
‘Alright. Let’s finally make that damn debut happen.’
* * *
After that, the announcements proceeded quickly.
“The 4th-ranked trainee is… trainee Joo Eunchan.”
As expected, Eunchan secured his debut in the upper ranks. However, Hajin was more surprised that he wasn’t ranked 3rd.
‘I thought the Goguryeo-Silla-Baekje trio would sweep the top three spots.’
In this context, Goguryeo-Silla-Baekje referred to Joo Eunchan, Seo Taehyun, and Jung Siwoo.
Given his steady popularity and the way he had been steadily building a core fanbase without any major setbacks, Eunchan being in 4th place was quite surprising.
“I will always strive to be someone who doesn’t disappoint Destiny fans. Thank you for giving me this opportunity!”
Despite being ranked lower than his usual high standings, Eunchan didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
After calmly delivering his debut speech, Joo Eunchan ascended to the podium.
“…Why is he acting like that?”
However, perhaps unable to hide his nervousness.
At some point, Eunchan, walking awkwardly with the same arm and leg moving together, even went as far as to sit on Doha’s lap, completely missing his own seat.
“…S-sorry!”
Eunchan quickly stood up, startled, while Doha managed to calm
him down, and the situation was quickly resolved.
Though it was a sudden occurrence, technically a broadcast mishap, it lightened the otherwise tense and serious atmosphere of the concert hall.
Hajin was fully focused on mentally arranging the remaining trainees and their ranks.
‘There are too many variables. The mid-rankers dropped out too quickly.’
Given that he and Haru were ranked 7th and 8th in the previous rankings, it became more complicated to predict when trainees who were originally supposed to be ranked higher suddenly took middle ranks.
‘The safest and most likely outcome would be Dan Haru taking 6th place and me taking 7th… but among the remaining trainees, the ones most likely to debut are Jung Siwoo, Lee Yugeon, and possibly Kim Wonho. Jung Siwoo will obviously be 2nd, so he’s out of the equation…’
So, someone among the remaining candidates must have made a massive leap to 3rd place, but who could it be?
‘…Could it be me?’
Considering that the final vote was a one-pick vote, Hajin was the most likely candidate among the remaining trainees to experience a significant rank increase.
But even then, would it make sense for someone who barely made it into the debut rankings in the previous elimination to suddenly leap to 3rd place in the finals?
Just as Hajin’s mind was about to be overwhelmed with all the possible scenarios, Seo Taeil called the next trainee.
“Announcing the 6th-ranked trainee.”
‘Please, please, let it be Sparkling. That way, I can at least have peace of mind, please…’
“The trainee who just barely made it into Miro Maze and is now stepping into Kairos is…!”
A brief sound of someone sucking in a breath was heard, and Taeil’s eyes, which had been darting back and forth between the script and the monitor, finally settled on one spot.
“The 6th-ranked trainee is… trainee Dan Haru!”
It’s done.
At least the fear of being forced to regress on the final day due to not making his debut as the Chosen Regressor was now gone.
While Hajin was clutching his chest in relief, Haru slowly walked to the podium and grabbed the microphone to give his speech.
“……Uh.”
Dan Haru, unable to fully grasp the reality of the situation, wore a flustered expression and simply mouthed words without saying anything.
Fidgeting with his fingers as he searched for what to say, Dan Haru eventually began to speak, not with the usual expressions of gratitude towards his parents or fans, but with something slightly different.
“…Lately, I’ve actually been a little scared every day.”
Because I’m so happy.
There was sincerity in his added words.
“I often have nightmares. In those dreams, there are no wonderful hyungs, no Destiny fans who love me, and no beautiful, glamorous stages like this. I’m always alone.”
If Dan Haru really were the Regressor.
These dreams he mentioned might be memories of those timelines he subconsciously remembers. Hajin often, very often, dreamt of old memories too.
“Sometimes, I think… what if that’s the reality and this is the dream? I get so overwhelmed by these thoughts… but what I want to say is….”
As if unable to fully express himself, Dan Haru rubbed his forehead with his hand and looked distressed.
“These days, I really look forward to tomorrow. And that makes me really happy!”
At that moment, Hajin felt a strong sense of déjà vu and lifted his head.
“My grandmother used to say, if you just live through today, there will come a moment when you’ll look forward to tomorrow.”
-If you just live through today, someday, there will come a time when you’ll look forward to tomorrow too.
Ah, where did I hear this before… Where was it? I definitely heard it….
[So, do you want to go back? To a moment when you were happy.]
“…Ah, I remember.”
Right after the first round ended.
After meeting the damned regressor, I reviewed the first timeline of the Chosen Regressor.
It was something the orphanage director, who had died in an accident, said.