Chapter 117: The Reason Behind the Actions (4)
117. The Reason Behind the Actions (4)
"Are you seriously telling me that bastard Regressor did all that insane shit for my sake? What kind of garbage excuse is this?"
Oops.
A 100% unfiltered, raw thought slipped out.
I hastily raised my hands in apology toward Sipsam, but my mouth—still operating without any filters—continued spewing every ounce of frustration I'd bottled up, amplified to 1000%.
"What the hell is wrong with that bastard? I can't even remember how many times I've regressed now—my timelines are all tangled up! And while I was lying there with my shins smashed to pieces, what was that Regressor bastard doing? What did he even accomplish? The first few times, I scoured every corner looking for anyone who might seem like a Regressor, but I couldn't find a damn thing! Nothing! After repeating this so much, I can't even remember which bastard did what anymore!"
Once I lost control and exploded, Sipsam automatically turned on the air conditioning (that's possible?), brought me a bowl of cold water (that too?), and finally turned off the PPT to play some calming ASMR and nature meditation music.
At this point, I might as well accept that Kang Hajin's imagination just becomes reality. Not that this is reality or even my imagination, but whatever.
[System Alert: Here, drink this and calm down first.]
[System Alert: (And you haven't even heard the worst of it yet... What am I supposed to do with this...?)]
[System Alert: ヽ(;ﾟ;∀;ﾟ; )ﾉ]
"And you're telling me this isn't even the end of it?!"
[System Alert: Ah, oh no!]
[System Alert: Σ(； ･`д･´)]
[System Alert: (I forgot for a second that you can see everything I think—panic mode activated...!)]
"You've really outdone yourself, huh?"
What the hell are you even doing?
I was too dumbfounded to laugh.
"Ah, whatever. I'm ready now. I'm confident nothing you say can shock me anymore. Just hit me with it."
At this point, I was all in. Even if Sipsam told me the Regressor was secretly my mom, I wouldn't bat an eye.
[System Alert: .......]
[System Alert: W-well, um. Then I'll tell you.]
[System Alert: ヾ(｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞ]
"Yeah, go ahead. Spit it out. I'm ready."
After hesitating briefly, Sipsam seemed to steel himself and began typing at what felt like 999 words per minute, the blue window flickering rapidly.
[System Alert: The Chosen Regressor... is currently unaware that they are stuck in a regression loop...!]
The moment I read that, I screamed in utter disbelief.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"
[System Alert: AAAAH! Just listen!! Please hear me out, I beg you!!!!]
As if anticipating my reaction, this time the typing speed shot up to what felt like 9999 words per minute.
[System Alert: That crazy bastard Dolja did something—somehow, the 'Chosen Regressor's' personality and their 'base personality' have been completely separated!!!]
[System Alert: The one repeating the regressions is the 'Chosen Regressor'!!! But the 'person' living in this timeline has no idea the loops are happening at all!!!]
[System Alert: That's why you couldn't find any suspicious figures around you—and why we've been struggling so much to locate the 'Chosen Regressor'!!!!]
"What... the actual fuck?"
This insane bastard is regressing without even KNOWING he's regressing?!?!?!
Unlike before, this time it was Sipsam who had to pull out all the stops to calm me down.
[System Alert: U-um, w-would you like me to sing for you?]
[System Alert: Or, s-something sweet? You like chocolate, right? How about a chocolate cake? Even if you'll have to imagine the taste yourself...!]
[System Alert: Or... uh... ah! How about the reactions to 'To You'?!]
[System Alert: The responses this time were absolutely incredible!]
With that, he quickly pulled up reactions to Episode 4's <To You> performance.
— Why am I crying watching a survival show stage? Listening to "To You" just made me tear up.
— No but seriously, who imagined mixing Neo-Kwon with city pop? How does this even work?
└ ? What's Neo-Kwon?
└ It's short for "To You" (너에게 고함 → 너괌).
└ Do we really have to make K-pop this complicated?
— Will this ever get an official release?ㅠㅠㅠ Pleaseㅠㅠㅠㅠ It's perfect for my commute homeㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ Even the original artist cried watching this—let's push for a remake #LetsDoThis
[Wait holy shit is "To You" actually charting?]
(Screenshot of "To You" entering music charts)
Wait, this is happening????? "To You" is a song from years ago????
— Now we just need the remake. Starting my prayers today.
— Damn ㄷㄷㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's #1 on Lemon Chart.
[But honestly, Sad Ending Team's reaction was bound to explode.]
First off, they were the only team not covering a male idol song + they picked a completely unexpected ballad.
Half the team didn't even choose the song voluntarily.
(Only Haru and Tae-hyun chose it—Hajin was stuck with it due to battle penalties, and Jaeyoung & Jayden had no choice since slots were full.)
And the original song is notoriously hard to cover—it's the signature ballad of the "Ballad Queen."
Yet despite all that:
They bombed the mid-eval + rallied to create a legendary stage.
Original artist cried from emotion.
Jaeyoung's growth arc.
Tae-hyun overcoming his small-stage trauma.
Hajin solidifying his position as main vocal.
Haru's first standout moment as center.
Jayden proving his potential with singing-rap.
This was destined to blow upㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
— Fr tho, did you see Sarin's interview today? She said watching this stage gave her the courage to prepare for a comeback. What more needs to be said?
└ I saw itㅠ But it's kinda... bittersweet. Even someone like Sarin thinks about career setbacks after pregnancy and childbirth... Of course, it's not that her agency won't let her release an album, but she mentioned hitting her physical limits...ㅠ That's why I cried even harder watching the stage.
Kang Hadi @kang_HD
Guys, these are their actual school uniforms.
My mind is blown.
Kang Hadi signing off.
(Screenshots of Sad Ending Team's "To You" stage)
(Hajin's high school uniform.)
(Tae-hyun and Haru's arts high school uniforms.)
(Jaeyoung and Jayden's school uniforms.)
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‖
Kang Hadi @kang_HD
To those quoting my alt account:
Please come forward.
Not in a scary way.
I just need people to talk about MiroMaze with.
#MaybeThisIs #WhatInsanityFeelsLike
Harang @dohajin_luv
GOD-tier vocals from Kang Hadi.
That final high note in full voice?
Absolutely electrifying.
#MiroMaze #KangHajin
(Clip of Hajin belting the final chorus in full voice.)
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[Yesterday's tearjerker interview with Seo Tae-hyun...]
"Stop."
[System Alert: Understood.]
I clutched my throbbing forehead, and the half-loaded community posts crumpled like discarded paper before vanishing. Pressing my temples a few more times, I straightened up from my slumped position.
'Right. I don't have time to be reeling in shock.'
The longer I stayed here, the worse the side effects would be when I woke up. I needed to absorb this report, understand it, memorize it, and wake up as quickly as possible.
"Alright. Let's summarize."
I summoned a blank system window like it was second nature. As I gathered my thoughts, a pencil-like tool popped into my hand, perfect for writing on the screen.
"Damn, this is ridiculously convenient."
Even if I wanted to delete my Fixed Regressor personality later, I might keep it just for this feature.
[System Alert: T-this function will disappear once we find the Chosen Regressor and stop the regression!]
[System Alert: Stop abusing the system!]
Ignoring Sipsam, who was on the verge of tears, I began jotting down my understanding.
Chosen Regressor = Some lunatic who's regressed hundreds of times.
??? = The Chosen Regressor's base personality. Unaware of the loops.
Unlike 'Kang Hajin,' where the Mental Care System merged the two personalities,
these two have been completely separated instead.
Dolja = The timekeeper bastard.
Unknown why he recruited the Regressor.
Tried to destroy my Mental Care System this time > Why?
What does this bastard want?
"That's it so far. Correct?"
[System Alert: ...Um. Just one addition.]
With that, a new line appeared at the bottom.
......
What does this bastard want?
[System Alert: This is just a hypothesis I formed while investigating this infinite regression incident...]
Sipsam hesitated before continuing.
[System Alert: I think what Dolja is after... are the 'passed timelines.']
[System Alert: More precisely... the 'discarded timelines' piling up from repeated regressions.]
As he spoke, another heading appeared on the PPT.
<03. Who is the Chosen Regressor's 'Base Personality'?>
Confirmed Clues So Far (Based on Discarded Timelines)
ㅡ Orphan.
ㅡ Doesn't know who their parents are.
ㅡ Exceptionally close to the orphanage director.
ㅡ Director's death triggered the regressions.
"We already knew all this. But none of the current trainees are orphans. The closest is Yi Yu-geon, who doesn't live with his parents, but... Yu-geon's life circumstances seem too rough for him to be the Regressor. Probably not him."
Even Yi Yu-geon, the closest match, didn't fit perfectly. Besides, Yu-geon seemed to at least know what his parents looked like—they likely lived together until his siblings were born.
[System Alert: Correct.]
[System Alert: There's no one matching those conditions so far.]
[System Alert: But during this investigation, we uncovered more clues about the Chosen Regressor.]
[System Alert: ...Take a look at this.]
With that, additional conditions were added below.
<03. Who is the Chosen Regressor's 'Base Personality'?>
Confirmed Clues So Far (Based on Discarded Timelines)
ㅡ Orphan.
ㅡ Doesn't know who their parents are.
ㅡ Exceptionally close to the orphanage director.
ㅡ Director's death triggered the regressions.
+
ㅡ Only child of wealthy parents.
ㅡ Genius intellect.
ㅡ Became class president in college.
ㅡ Served in the military.
ㅡ Didn't serve in the military.
ㅡ Traveled abroad.
ㅡ Never got a passport.
ㅡ Learned to play instruments.
ㅡ Played sports.
.......
"What... is this?"
The list went on endlessly, filled with inconsistent conditions that made no sense together. It was like a visual representation of that bastard's countless regressions—except the list seemed truly infinite.
And some of these were outright impossible or contradictory for a single person.
For example...
"He's an orphan. How could he have lived with parents? And how did he both serve and not serve in the military? Traveled abroad without a passport? What kind of...."
Frowning at the incomprehensible clues, I suddenly remembered Sipsam's earlier words.
That Dolja seemed to be after 'discarded timelines.'
"...No way."
I scowled at my own hypothesis.
Could the reason we've never been able to pinpoint the Chosen Regressor be...?
As if confirming my thoughts, Sipsam responded immediately.
[System Alert: Yes. What you're thinking is likely correct.]
[System Alert: The Chosen Regressor's 'base personality'... seems to be stitched together from discarded timelines taken from others.]
[System Alert: Meaning... without even realizing it, the life they've been living might be entirely fabricated.]
[System Alert: Dolja has been using the Chosen Regressor to discard countless timelines, and with those timelines...]
[System Alert: This is purely hypothetical, but.]
Sipsam hesitated, as if even voicing this was dangerous.
Then, finally, he revealed his theory about Dolja's motive.
[System Alert: 'The One Who Returns'...]
[System Alert: For some reason, seems to be trying to become 'human' by using those timelines.]
[System Alert: That's why he's using the Chosen Regressor—and why he attacked you.]
[System Alert: ...Because only when enough timelines are discarded...]
[System Alert: ...Will the regressions finally stop.]
It was a motive as insane as this endless loop itself.