Chapter 158
Chapter 158
Translator: Penny
Chapter 158
Cha Yeonho's misstep was a blessing in disguise, as it meant he'd finally stop bothering me. Yet, it still left me with an uneasy feeling.
Why is the fact that Reve has a Regressor so important? Why is he so desperate to uncover Regressors in other teams?
I had initially assumed he was seeking revenge for something that happened before the regression.
I chuckled dryly, recalling the malevolent glare in Cha Yeonho's eyes before the regression.
He clearly told me not to trust all my memories.
I spread my clean, tattoo-free palm wide, remembering Cha Yeonho's words.
My last memory was the first night I moved into the Cheongdam-dong House. I was brimming with excitement about pursuing my dreams as a producer, on what would be my final night as an idol.
And the Cheongdam-dong house—hardly a home—that had appeared in my hallucination.
And the text on the Status Window that had appeared before the hallucination:
Past of ⑇⑆▚⑉
Though the text was badly fragmented and difficult to decipher, I could still read the first word. The Status Window referred to the hallucination as the past.
The Cheongdam-dong house was the future from my current perspective, but it was also a past I had already lived through. So, that meant...
That degenerate, crazy bastard was me...?
I'd never lived like that.
The ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts like a Christmas tree, the countless beer cans rolling across the floor, not to mention that hideous tattoo.
Even though I resented Gyeon Hajun for cutting ties with me before the regression, I had never hated him so much that I would throw my phone to the ground while watching his dramas.
Unless it was Seo Yehyeon appearing in the video.
I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before speaking.
"Can you replay the scene I saw earlier? I think I missed part of it."
I needed to see that interrupted scene again—to confirm with my own eyes the face of that madman who was self-destructing his own life. Only then could I feel at ease.
This anomaly is due to a system error. The Project Grand Prize winner need not be concerned.
I had expected a more accommodating response, but the System's reply was surprisingly cold.
"If it's an error, compensate me. I seriously thought I was hallucinating from stress and was about to book a psychiatry appointment."
[A Random Ticket has been issued as compensation for the error!]
"You're trying to brush this off with just this? And I bet if I hadn't complained, you wouldn't have even considered giving me compensation. I'd bet Seo Yehyeon's rap skills on that, goddamn it."
"Is there really no way to see it?"
[It's possible if you meet the hidden conditions.]
"What are the hidden conditions? How am I supposed to meet them if I don't even know what they are?"
As I grumbled, the Status Window displayed more text. I read it seriously, barely swallowing the curse that rose to the back of my throat.
[We recommend looking up the meaning of the English word 'hidden'.]
"What a fucking smartass."
Today, Jiwon Hyung summoned me again to be his beat-picking machine.
As always, Jiwon Hyung was serving as a judge and producer for Drop The Beat this year.
"We're filming Drop The Beat right now. You kept going on about Yongcheol, Yongcheol, so I didn't recognize him at first. But D.I—that's Yongcheol, right? He's pretty good, huh?"
Hearing Jiwon Hyung's words, I grinned proudly, as if I'd received a compliment myself.
"I told you, Hyung! He's really good."
"If you're close, you should do a stage together, even just as a feature. Are you really satisfied with just spitting out less than a minute of rap in your song?"
Some of our fans complain that my 40-second verse is way too long and annoying to listen to. Though if you only count my solo part, it's barely over 30 seconds.
Filming for Drop The Beat started in May, but the first broadcast was scheduled for July. The semi-final stage where Yongcheol Hyung asked me to feature would probably be filmed in late August.
I still wasn't sure if Yongcheol Hyung would ask me to feature on his semi-final stage again, just like before the regression.
"Is it okay for an idol rapper to feature on a stage like that? I'm worried it might attract the wrong kind of attention and get Yongcheol Hyung criticized for using an idol for clout."
"What does it matter? As long as you can rap well, that's all that matters. Do you really think idol popularity means anything in the hip-hop scene? Maybe it affects the music charts, but stage evaluations don't give a damn about your popularity."
Jiwon Hyung offered his gruff reassurance.
He had a point. Even now, male fans still overwhelmingly outnumbered female fans in hip-hop. Though I'd heard some male voices joining the girls calling out to Daydream on my way to work, it was probably a different dynamic than with DTB.
"Honestly, if hip-hop cared about looks, Rijeri would be the most famous, right?"
"Since I went underground, Jeri Hyung has definitely been the most handsome rapper, whether underground or mainstream."
"So, you're saying you were the best-looking when you were underground? This guy's secretly hilarious, you know?"
Jiwon Hyung burst out laughing and slapped me hard on the back.
Honestly, wasn't I right? That's why those damn jerks kept chanting "Become an idol!" and making a fuss whenever they saw my face back then.
"I'll think about featuring on Drop The Beat. If it were my own stage, I wouldn't hesitate, but it's someone else's. I'd feel bad if I messed it up..."
"Come on, man, just join Drop The Beat! You have to be on Season 4, no excuses!"
Jiwon Hyung chuckled, putting me in a headlock.
"Ah, I said I'll think about it!"
"You little brat, playing hard to get."
Jiwon Hyung released me from the headlock and lightly tapped the back of my head.
"You miss the stage too, don't you?"
"The stage? I'm on stage all the time. What's there to miss?"
"No, not just any stage. I mean a stage where you stand alone, completely yourself, as a rapper."
Jiwon Hyung raised a finger and spoke earnestly.
"I've never had the experience of performing on a stage like that. I've only ever squeezed in a few verses between the Crew Hyungs. There's a reason I switched to becoming an idol, you know."
I answered nonchalantly, then paused.
Wait a minute... even before the regression, I never stood on a stage completely alone. My so-called solo songs were just album tracks.
I suddenly realized that before the regression, I hadn't experienced or achieved as much as I thought.
What I truly missed wasn't my life before the regression, but the rewards I had left behind—the compensation for my hopelessly tangled life.
Even now, or rather, if I could just get through a few more years without any major issues, I could buy them anytime.
And... no, let's not think about that. Now that I've regressed, that's become forever impossible.
I forced a bitter smile and tried to erase the thought from my mind.
"Ah, now that I've said it, I miss it too. The stage. The way the crowd's energy electrified me whenever I performed."
Jiwon Hyung, leaning back with his hands clasped behind his head, murmured with a nostalgic look on his face.
Before the regression, I couldn't even imagine participating in Drop The Beat.
After my falling out with the Underground Hyungs, I refused to even look in their direction. And once I realized our misunderstanding had been caused by someone stirring up trouble, it was too late to turn back—whether it was our relationship or my gaze.
But now, I craved a world I hadn't experienced before the regression—my original dream, the one I had to bury when I chose this path.
But... can I really do this?
What if trying to be both a rapper and an idol leaves me as neither?
What if I end up neglecting one side?
And knowing my personality, I knew the "neglected side" would likely be the idol side.
Being an idol was a second-choice dream, while becoming an overground rapper remained an unfulfilled ambition.
If that's the case, I'd almost certainly regress again. Wouldn't it be better to just be content with my current life, satisfied with releasing solo albums, and live that way?
This was a problem I still needed to ponder, especially since I was cursed with this damn Infinite Regression.
#1 - 'Reve - Reverse' ♥154,025
Finally, 'Reve - Reverse' had secured the top spot on the charts, and their third mini-album, [ Other Side ], had successfully surpassed its break-even point.
Considering the song had begun its chart resurgence only two months after release, this comeback was remarkably swift.
I felt a smug satisfaction at having finally surpassed [ Come to My Universe ], even if only in this small way.
"I was so worried this would flop," Kim Dobin sniffled. "I was afraid the CEO would force us to do another weird song like [ My Universe ] again... sniff I was so anxious..."
Kim Dobin sobbed. That damn song, [ Come to My Universe ], had only been actively promoted for two weeks, yet it haunted us like a ghost, still being mentioned to this day.
"Are you a faucet or something?" I clicked my tongue and tossed a tissue box at Kim Dobin. Gyeon Hajun scolded me, telling me to hand things directly to people instead of throwing them.
"No, Hajun Hyung. I'm just really touched that Eden Hyung didn't yell at me to stop crying and instead handed me a tissue."
Kim Dobin, tears streaming down his face, sniffled and pulled out a tissue to roughly wipe his eyes.
When did I ever yell at him? All I said was that a grown man shouldn't be crying all the time.
"The initial hype died down because of the leak, but the song was so good it couldn't have failed. It would have blown up eventually," Ryu Jaehee said, handing Kim Dobin a few more tissues. Seo Yehyeon, chewing on her salad, asked me, "What about the person who leaked our music? Did they catch them?"
"They're setting a trap. But we need bait, so it might take a while."
Seo Yehyeon covered his mouth with his hand, feigning shock, and asked, "Wow, the company still hasn't printed your banner?"
"I'm not putting up a banner," I replied through gritted teeth. He's milking this joke for all it's worth.
Okay, maybe I was a little tempted when I said it, but it wasn't a serious suggestion.
With only a week left in our promotions and Altair, our biggest competitor, having already wrapped up their activities, Reve was on track to finish our promotions at number one, barring any major setbacks.
Might as well do today's Weekly Search Quest. As usual, I posted a message on the FROM Board starting with "May your health be well" and habitually searched for my name.
Normally, I would have scrolled past it indifferently, but the top result was the kind I couldn't ignore.
What the fuck is this...?
The absurd combination of words made my brain momentarily refuse to process it.
"Eden Hyung! Have you seen what's trending? Were you monitoring it? Try not to read the comments, just focus on the article for now—we need to draft a rebuttal. Or should I screenshot the whole thing and send it to you?"
Ryu Jaehee rushed over, clutching his phone tightly, his face pale with shock.
"I'm looking at it now," I replied, forcing myself to sound calm as I lowered my gaze back to my phone screen. The words blazed clearly:
Yoon Eden's School Bullying
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny