Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 343. Admiration and Salvation (2)

“Hey, that’s enough.”

In the end, it was my job to cut things off before they escalated further.

Honestly, part of me wanted to say, ‘Go ahead, have it out with each other,’ but with so many eyes on us already, the last thing we needed was rumors of infighting within Kairos. Plus, there were only about ten minutes left before the fansign event was scheduled to begin.

“If you want to fight, save it for when you get home. Do you guys not realize you’re on the clock right now? Dan Haru, you were shaking like a leaf a second ago, terrified Eunchan might be hurt. Now you’re acting all tough?”

Dan Haru, who had been glaring at me like a rebellious teenager, gave me a look as if asking when he ever did that. But I’d already gotten used to his sulky attitude, so to me, his defiant gaze was no more intimidating than a small chick chirping.

Ignoring Haru, I turned to Hyung Wook to share my opinion.

“Let’s just go ahead with the fansign.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“If the members are okay with it, yes. If we were going to cancel, we should’ve done it an hour ago. It feels wrong to cancel now after making the fans wait for so long. Besides, they all saw us arrive in good health.”

At this, Seo Taehyun, who had been silently collecting himself, nodded in agreement, though his face was still pale.

“I want to go through with it too.”

“Even you, Taehyun?”

“If I go home with all this negativity, it’ll just leave a bad feeling. I’d rather talk to the fans, hear something positive, and forget about it. I don’t want to end Eunchan’s birthday on such a bad note, especially when so many fans came to celebrate with him.”

Though sentimental, Taehyun’s reasoning made sense, and it seemed to convince Hyung Wook to some extent. The other members also seemed to agree, though they didn’t say much. Only Dan Haru looked like he couldn’t understand what the rest of us were thinking, scowling like he’d bitten into sand.

“…Fine. But if I sense something’s off, I’m stopping it immediately. Even if it doesn’t look like a big deal, psychological trauma can last a long time.”

“Got it. I’ll take responsibility as the leader and make sure the members are okay.”

“And we’ll have to announce that Eunchan was injured. We won’t say it was because of a gift attack, just that he got hurt by accident while in the waiting room. That’s why the fansign was delayed. That way, the fans won’t start speculating and finding reasons to blame you.”

“Is that okay? If we leave out the part about the gift attack, people might accuse the company of failing to protect us….”

Perhaps because I used to work from the staff’s perspective, Hyung Wook’s words immediately made me worry about the company’s reputation. But he just waved it off with a smirk.

“What’s the difference if we reveal the gift attack? And yeah, we didn’t manage security properly, so we deserve the blame. Let them complain. This is why the company splits profits with you guys—to tank the heat when things like this happen.”

“Yeah, but you’re just an employee. You’ll be the one getting the flak.”

“You’re hitting where it hurts, huh? If you feel sorry for me, then work hard and make enough money so I get a fat bonus. Now, come on. If we’re really doing this, you better start getting ready. We’re out of time, aren’t we?”

With a clap of his hands and a lighthearted tone, Hyung Wook tried to lift the mood. He motioned to the road manager who had driven us, and I saw him rush out of the waiting room. He was probably going to bring back the styling team, who had been sent away when the accident happened.

I got up to get some warm water to soothe my dry throat when someone grabbed me.

“…?”

“Hyung.”

“Yeah, what is it, Eunchan?”

It was Joo Eunchan, who seemed to have finally cooled down. His sharp demeanor from earlier was gone, replaced with the usual cat-like softness in his eyes (though his appearance wasn’t exactly soft, his gaze was). He hesitated before looking up at me.

“My clothes… what do I do about this?”

“Your clothes?”

Looking down, I saw the sleeves of Eunchan’s hanbok stained with blood—probably from when he cut his hand earlier. The dark red stain stood out against the vibrant colors, and it made me feel a bit nauseous just looking at it.

“…Hold on. I’ll take care of it. Take that off for now. You’ve got something on underneath, right?”

“…Yeah.”

I could only imagine how Eunchan must feel seeing his own blood on his clothes, so I squeezed his hand tightly, trying not to show my own distress. Eunchan hesitated for a moment but then gripped my hand back.

I glanced around the waiting room. The spare outfits the styling team brought were all returned after the music show, and dressing Eunchan in casual clothes would look odd for his birthday celebration.

Fortunately, this place often hosted fansign events, so there were a few props and costumes left over from previous events. I scanned the clothes rack in the corner of the waiting room until I found something suitable.

“Eunchan, get up. Let’s change your outfit.”

“What am I wearing?”

“It’s similar to what you’ve got on. Just get up, come on.”

“O-okay….”

I pulled Eunchan over to the rack and handed him the costume I’d picked. His expression immediately turned dubious.

“You want me to wear this?”

“Yeah. It fits the occasion perfectly.”

“Does it…?”

With a nod, I handed over the costume. Since Eunchan was the type to follow along with most things outside of Dan Haru’s influence, he accepted it with a confused look. As I watched him, an idea suddenly popped into my head.

It was the perfect plan to cheer up the members and bring a smile to the fans who had waited so long.

“Hey, Lee Brothers. Come here for a second.”

“…Us?”

“Yeah, you two.”

Yugeon and Doha, confused at the sudden call, approached with bewildered expressions. Eunchan, who was in the middle of changing, also looked at me questioningly.

With a grin, I placed my hands on the Lee Brothers’ shoulders.

“You two have strong shoulders, right?”

“Huh?”

“For your younger brother’s birthday, I need you guys to put in some effort today.”

“…What?”

**Event coming soon.**

My cryptic comment left the Lee Brothers and the birthday boy staring at me in confusion.

—

Not long after.

Kairos’ fansign event started an hour later than scheduled, just as announced. Some fans had grumbled about the delay, but once the agency released a statement explaining that Eunchan had been injured, most fans were more concerned for him than upset.

—

**@sinae04**

*sigh* Seriously, is it Eunchan again?

Is this guy cutting himself just for attention???

Who does he think he is, making me wait just because he hurt his hand?

I didn’t starve for three days and buy albums just to wait around for him.

—

Of course, there were always a few whose self-centeredness couldn’t be masked, people who saw the Kairos members not as humans but as dolls that existed to fill their emotional voids.

Whenever Kang Hajin’s monitoring system flagged posts like this, he would filter them out without hesitation. He didn’t want the negativity of a few to cause him to misunderstand the genuine concern and affection of the majority.

“We’ll have Kairos make their entrance now~!”

With the staff’s announcement, the fans in the hall began buzzing with excitement, and camera shutters went off everywhere. Despite having waited for an hour, the anticipation of seeing the members in person quickly lifted the fans’ spirits.

♩♪♫♫♩―

Suddenly, a majestic and somewhat profound traditional Korean-style background music filled the room.

“……?”

“Happy↘ Birth↗ Day↗ To↘ You↘~ Happy↘ Birth↗ Day↘ To↗ You↘~”

The regal music, which made it seem like a traditional fan dance was about to start, turned out to be a birthday song. Despite the polite formality of the lyrics, the absurdity of the tune made laughter bubble up from all corners of the room.

But the real spectacle was yet to come.

“To the beloved↗ Lord↗ Joo Eunchan―.”

Kang Hajin, Lee Doha, and Lee Yugeon carried Joo Eunchan’s chair like a royal palanquin and made their grand entrance into the fansign hall.

Leading the procession, Jung Siwoo, holding a flower basket, scattered flower petal confetti over Eunchan. Trailing behind, Seo Taehyun and Dan Haru did their best to ignore the antics as they walked into the hall.

“We offer our congratulations― to the noble Eunchan on this day―.”

The highlight was Joo Eunchan himself.

He was dressed in a bright red *gonryongpo*, embroidered with golden dragons, and wore a Western-style crown on his head. In one hand, he held a toy sword of some sort, and despite his usual composed demeanor, his face was flushed red all the way to his ears.

“You guys are the worst….”

Too flustered to even hide

the cast on his left hand, Eunchan covered his face with both hands in embarrassment. The tall hyungs, carrying the chair high, made it impossible for him to run away or hide, no matter how hard he tried.

Laughter and camera clicks echoed around the room, making Eunchan feel even more embarrassed. For a moment, he couldn’t even remember that he had been the victim of a gift attack.

“Everyone, you’ve waited a long time, right? We’re sorry. It’s late, but we’ll now begin Lord Eunchan’s birthday celebration.”

With Kang Hajin’s cheeky comment, Eunchan’s chair was finally set down.

And so, Kairos’ fansign event, in celebration of their comeback and Eunchan’s birthday, officially began.

—

“Eunchan, are you really okay? We were all so worried about you earlier….”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was a little careless…. You guys must’ve waited a long time.”

“No, no. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters to us.”

Thanks to the lighthearted opening, the fansign progressed in a cheerful atmosphere. The members showered the fans with as much affection as they could, and the fans, in turn, expressed their heartfelt concerns for the injured members.

Eunchan thanked the fans who had traveled far to celebrate his birthday and who came bearing armfuls of gifts. Hearing their voices, full of love, helped calm the erratic beating of his heart.

‘I’m glad we decided to go ahead with this.’

As Eunchan finished signing an album, he glanced at the cat ear headband one fan had gifted him. He wanted to wear it, but with his cast, it was hard to put on. Normally, a fan manager would help with things like this, but they seemed too busy organizing the piles of gifts.

“Uh….”

As he looked around for help, Eunchan grew frustrated.

Taehyun-hyung, on his left, was busy talking to the next fan in line, while Dan Haru, seated to his right, seemed unlikely to offer assistance after their earlier spat. Normally, Haru would at least respond if spoken to, but today, Eunchan had a feeling even that wouldn’t happen.

‘…How did things get like this?’

Eunchan felt genuinely sad. If he knew the reason, he could fix it, but Haru had changed overnight, dismissing his concerns as teenage angst. With a resigned sigh, Eunchan clenched the cat ear headband tightly in his hand, looking dejected.

“…Give it here.”

“…What?”

Someone grabbed the headband from Eunchan’s hand. It was Dan Haru, who had been silently tapping his pen on the table, still waiting for the next fan.

Avoiding Eunchan’s gaze, Haru, his face still a bit stiff, carefully placed the headband on Eunchan’s head.

Though his movements were a little awkward, Haru’s touch was gentle, as if he was worried about catching Eunchan’s hair or ears.

“There, done.”

“…Thanks, Haru.”

“…You look ridiculous.”

Eunchan’s mood brightened almost instantly, just from having the headband put on. Even Haru’s grumpy comment, calling him ridiculous, made him smile from ear to ear.

Eunchan had no idea why Haru was so upset with him, but as long as Haru didn’t hate him, that was enough for now.

“Why are you smiling? It’s not funny….”

Haru turned away with a grumble, clearly irritated by Eunchan’s expression. Haru wasn’t the version of himself that Eunchan adored, but because they shared the same face, he was still on the receiving end of Eunchan’s affection. It felt suffocating.

And yet, and yet—

‘…I was the one who made you suffer.’

In a world now erased, you had turned your back on everything and vanished because of me.

The happiness I tried to grasp left you miserably and desperately lonely.

“…….”

Even knowing all of this, would you still smile at me?

Was it okay for me to even hope for your smile?

It was a question Haru couldn’t bear to answer as it sank deep into his heart.