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Chapter 15
The Trainee Who Refuses to Debut (6)
To explain how Seo Taehyun ended up being shaken down by Kang Hajin, we need to rewind a bit.
About 3 hours earlier.
Miro, B-Class exclusive practice room.
And in the middle of that room, Kang Hajin—flat on his back like a dead body. Miro trainee, 3 weeks in. Current thought?
‘Should I just regress?’
[System Alert: The system is no longer affected by the returner’s bluff.]
…Not working. Shame.
After finishing physical training (also known as hell’s edge conditioning class), I was dangerously close to asking myself whether this was basically the same as being re-enlisted. I barely managed to hold onto my sanity.
Stay focused, Hajin. It’s the military. Don’t compare it. Of course, I’m saying that as someone who has already experienced re-enlistment once in life.
‘Don’t they have skills like pain immunity, infinite stamina boost, or lung capacity x10? Aren’t “returners” supposed to just level up stats with experience like RPG characters?’
If you’ve got abilities like that and you’re still stuck on this endless regression bus? Then I will kill you. I eventually gave up resisting gravity and just lay flat on the practice room floor.
‘Even the fluorescent lights look like the gates of hell now…’
[System Alert: Sudden Quest!]
Content: Bonus time for your exhausted self☆ Explore your surroundings and help as many people as possible!
Time limit: 3 hours from first act of help (3:00:00)
Success reward: ☆★See More★☆
Failure penalty: 60% increase in random event occurrence rate
…This is actually hell.
‘They’re threatening me every chance they get…’
I barely stopped my eyebrows from twitching. (Though honestly, I had a history of threatening regression myself, so I didn’t complain too much.)
‘What even is this flashy “See More”?’
[Success reward: scales depending on level of assistance.]
- 10%~30%: Post-debut heartwarming rumor creation (low)
- 31%~70%: (medium)
- 71%~98%: (high)
- 98%~100%: Sub-reward + random event nullification. Unexpected luck (!)
Are you kidding me?
‘And here I thought it’d be something big.’
The penalty wasn’t even regression activation—it was just increased random events. So basically this is a light event, right? That realization made me feel slightly better.
First help starts the timer, so I need to choose carefully.
One chance. If I mess it up and trigger a lesson or something, I’m screwed.
“Hyung, can you hold my clothes for me?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
[System Alert: First help achieved! (Completion 1.2%)
Time remaining: 2:59:58…]
“Ah, what the—”
I froze.
It counts even that?
“Hyung, did you just—?”
“No, something like a bug. I removed it.”
A bug, my ass.
From that moment, Kang Hajin began his operation.
And surprisingly, it worked extremely well.
[System Alert: 43rd help achieved! (Completion 91.7%)
Time remaining: 00:32:38…]
“Not bad.”
[System Alert: (has run out of things to say)]
“It’s simple. As long as the person feels grateful, it counts as help, right?”
About 2.5 hours earlier.
After checking the quest, Hajin’s first destination was the trainee restroom.
Ignoring the system’s question marks, he removed all toilet paper and paper towels and stored them in a supply closet. Then he told anyone heading toward the restroom:
“Hey, bring toilet paper. It’s all out there.”
So when they followed his advice and brought tissues, they’d see the restroom was actually empty—and feel relieved.
[System Alert: 6th help achieved! (10%)]
‘Not bad.’
But efficiency wasn’t great. At this rate, his post-debut “heartwarming story” would be something like “toilet paper fairy.” That was unacceptable.
So he moved on.
“Who cleaned this?”
“Oh, I did it, noona.”
“I was supposed to do that. Just leave it.”
“You looked busy on the phone, so I did it for you.”
“Still… thank you, Hajin.”
He hijacked a rookie’s prep work in the new choreography team.
“Hyung, please… just one sip.”
“Just drink it all.”
“Really? I can?”
“Yeah.”
Ice water dropped into Dan Haru, who was crawling from exhaustion after practice.
“Hello, ma’am. Please have this while you work.”
For a cleaning lady at the company building.
Rain started at the right time, and umbrellas were handed out from lockers.
[System Alert: 44th help achieved! (93.7%)]
People who didn’t ask for help kept receiving it anyway. A strange situation.
“What is this, am I built for this?”
[System Alert: I am completely losing track of the system’s intent…]
“Just a little more…”
The system was visibly exhausted, but Hajin ignored it.
Then he noticed.
“Hyung… is your concept today like… that?”
Jun Eunchan and Dan Haru, partially responsible for the 93.7%, stared at him.
“What?”
“The ‘help anyone in need superhero Kang Hajin’ concept…?”
“Want me to be unkind and steal your ice water back?”
“Hyung is kindness itself, generosity incarnate.”
“Good. Now go eat ice cream from the fridge without the manager seeing you.”
“I love you, hyung!”
He brushed them off and moved on.
Time was running out.
Then, as he headed toward the trash disposal area—
He saw him.
“…?”
“You smoke?”
“…No. I’m here to throw away trash.”
“Tch. Doesn’t matter now even if you do smoke, right?”
The company director was picking a fight with Taehyun.
‘Yeah, I want no part of this cliché.’
And then—
“Meow.”
“…What is a cat doing here?”
A small kitten, soaked in rain, bleeding from its leg.
Instinct screamed: don’t get involved.
[System: 00:28:37 remaining…]
But Hajin ended up picking it up anyway.
And standing in front of Seo Taehyun.
“Do you have money?”
“Pardon?”
“Since you came out to throw trash, you should have your wallet.”
“Are you picking a fight right now?”
“…No. I’m begging. Do you know a nearby animal hospital?”
“….”
Taehyun quickly softened after seeing the injured kitten and called a taxi.
Then the director noticed them and smirked before going inside.
And in less than five minutes—
Director, Seo Taehyun, and a stray kitten.
Everything he had tried to avoid got entangled at once.
Hajin looked down at Taehyun and the kitten, then sighed in defeat.
Yeah. Clichés exist because they’re unavoidable.
“…Because they can’t be avoided, you damn cliché.”
