15. The Trainee Who Refuses to Debut (6)

To explain how Seo Taehyun ended up getting shaken down by Kang Hajin, we have to rewind the clock a little.

About three hours earlier.

Miro's Class B practice room.

And in the middle of that practice room floor, spread-eagled — one Kang Hajin, human specimen. Miro trainee, week three. Current thought?

'Should I just regress?'

The System is no longer moved by the Fixed Regressor's bluffs.

Not working. Shame.

I'd just finished physical training class (write it 'training,' read it 'a stroll along hell's doorstep'), and my reasoning was drifting toward the fundamental question of whether this was really any different from re-enlisting. I barely reeled it back in.

Hajin, snap out of it. That was the army. The army. Not comparable. Of course, the me saying that had already done one re-enlistment.

'No skills like, Pain Immunity, Infinite Stamina Boost, Lung Capacity x10 Booster? The Selreg doesn't just stat up on XP and auto-upgrade or something, does he?'

If he was sitting on skills like that and STILL riding the infinite regression bus this pathetically? Then I was killing him myself. I gave up on beating gravity and stayed sprawled on the practice room floor.

'Those fluorescent lights are starting to look like hellfire…'

title: Sudden Quest! Bo-nus tii-iime☆ for our worn-out user! Explore your surroundings and hand out as much help as possible! deadline: Within 3 hours from the first help act (3:00:00) reward: ☆★See More★☆ penalty: Sudden event probability +60%

…scratch that, let me tell you about the actual hellfire. Fuck.

'This thing keeps threatening me…'

I barely stopped my eyebrows from twitching. (Of course, I'd threatened it with a regression once myself, so I couldn't really nitpick.)

'And what's with this glittery "See More" business?'

The success reward field just read: ☆★See More★☆

Something about a reward box coated this openly in sparkle effects made me not want to click it. It wasn't even contrarianism.

Still, if I had to do this either way, at least knowing the reward would help with motivation. So I hit the "See More" box with zero expectations.

Success reward: Distributed on a sliding scale by amount of help given. — Help of 10%–30%: One heartwarming post-debut anecdote (Low) — Help of 31%–70%: One heartwarming post-debut anecdote (Mid) — Help of 71%–98%: One heartwarming post-debut anecdote (High) — Help of 98%–100%: All lower rewards + sudden event canceled. An unexpected stroke of luck (!)

Are you kidding me?

'And here I was expecting something huge.'

Looking again, the penalty wasn't a regression trigger either — just a 'sudden event.' So this was genuinely a lightweight event. Once I framed it that way, something in me eased up, and I finally hauled my heavy body upright.

'Three hours from the first good deed — better pick that one carefully.'

Beginnings mattered. If I only got the one in before class pulled me away, that would be a disaster.

"Hyung, could you hold this?"

"'Kay."

"Thanks."

First help achieved! (Completion rate 1.2%) Time remaining: 2:59:58/…

"Ah, are you fucking—"

"Huh?"

The moment I helped Ju Eunchan out of the hoodie that had gotten stuck around his neck, the system window updated with a little pop.

Wait, this counts?

"Hyung, did you just… to me…?"

"Uh, no. There was a bug on you."

"A bug!?"

"Got it, got it."

Whether young-master Ju Eunchan's eyes went round and stuck at the word 'bug' or not, Kang Hajin absently patted his back, already thinking.

Three hours left. Target: 100%. To hand out a lot of help in a short window…

'Step one: find situations that need help.'

Codename: Operation Steal the Well from the Thirsty Man! Kang Hajin's eyes, on the hunt for prey, gleamed sharp.

---

The bottom line: Hajin's operation was going extremely well.

43rd help achieved! (Completion rate 91.7%) Time remaining: 00:32:38…

"Not bad at all."

(No longer sure what to say.)

"What. What's the problem. All that matters is that the person on the receiving end feels grateful, right?"

About 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

The first place Kang Hajin headed after reading the quest and stepping out of the practice room was the trainees' bathroom.

Whether the System had a million question marks going up over his head or not, Hajin quietly cleaned out all the toilet paper in the bathrooms — every last hand towel, too! — and stashed it in the supply closet. Then he sat back in the practice room, and whenever he spotted someone heading to the bathroom, he'd say:

"Hey, grab some paper on your way. They're out in there."

And then the guys who'd been tipped off and grabbed a roll from the practice room would find the bathrooms really were bone dry — and feel grateful they'd been {warned!}(#8mien1hkhozm)

6th help achieved! (Completion rate 10%) Time remaining: 2:28:37…

'Not bad at all.'

Efficiency wasn't great, though. On top of that, if this kept up, his heartwarming post-debut anecdote was going to be 'The Toilet Paper Fairy of the Bathroom'! That, he could not stand for. Hajin quickly picked his next target.

"Oh, who did—"

"Ah, I did it, noona."

"That was my job, you could have left it."

"Aw, noona, you looked like you were on another urgent call, so I just took care of it."

"That was mine to do. Thanks, Hajin."

Snatching a task off a New Talent Development newbie prepping for the next class.

"Hyung, please… just one sip."

"Nah, keep it all."

"Really? I can have it?"

"'Kay."

Chucking a bottle of ice water at Dan Haru, who was crawling across the floor with extreme thirst after choreo practice.

"Hello, ma'am. Have something to drink while you work."

"Aigoo, you don't need to give me anything."

"It's just some extra I picked up for the kids. Hot out today, isn't it?"

"You really didn't have to… Thank you, I'll enjoy it."

"Sure. Oh — the practice room trash is full, so I'll take it up to the first floor on my way out."

The cleaning lady who worked at the building was practically doting on Hajin like he was some clever nephew of hers. And when the timely rain gave him a chance to dig out the few umbrellas he'd shoved in his locker on top of everything, breaking 90% was a joke.

44th help achieved! (Completion rate 93.7%) Time remaining: 00:28:25…

A bizarre situation where nobody had asked for help, but the recipients were piling up. As the percentage climbed steadily, Hajin was even feeling a strange sense of pride.

Huh. Was this my thing?

Not gr-grasping the intent of the quest at… all…

'Ugh, I just need to fill in a bit more.'

Casually ignoring the flabbergasted System, Hajin looked around. Seemed he'd milked pretty much everything he could — the rate of gain had gone sluggish.

Not much time left. One good haul (?) and I could wrap it. With that righteous thought — where and to whom could he lend another hand — Hajin's eyes scanned around.

"Hyung. Is your concept today, like… that?"

"What."

"'Whenever you need help, I'll come running — Superhero Kang Hajin'…?"

Ju Eunchan and Dan Haru — holding maybe a 27.9% stake in that 93.7% — rattled their fully melted ice water and blinked at me, faces saying 'grateful, but something feels off.'

What are you two looking at. It's not like I did anything crazy — making a big fuss over nothing.

"It's scary when you're nice, hyung."

"Should I un-nicely take back the ice water?"

"Teacher Kang Hajin transcends mere kindness — he is consideration and generosity itself."

"Alright, thirsty little lamb. The ice cream's in the fridge — get it without the manager-hyung catching you, however you can."

"Hyung, love you!"

I batted away the little chatterboxes' extra chirping, and things finally quieted down. This wasn't the time for wordplay.

I moved fast, hunting for whatever would fill in that last percentage. No exaggeration — I was seriously out of time. Three hours of labor, and I wasn't walking away with just a 'heartwarming anecdote' by a 5% margin.

'Let's see… anyone need a hand around here.'

And so, hunting for that last piece of prey — all I did was head up to the first floor with the practice room trash bag, keeping the promise I'd made to the cleaning lady.

That was when Hajin ended up seeing it after all.

"……?"

"You smoke?"

"…No, sir. I came to take the trash out."

"Tch, never mind. Wouldn't make any difference now anyway, right?"

The Head of Department, picking a fight with Taehyun in that petty way of his.

'Wow. A cliché I really don't want to get pulled into.'

Gut said no. Any way I looked at it, getting tangled up over there was going to be a serious pain. The kid was a person of interest, sure — but that was a separate matter. Get pulled in now, and forget defusing any bombs; I'd be on the Head of Department's shit list first. I hadn't even properly figured out how to defuse this thing, and getting flagged this early would be a problem.

Based on that reasonable judgment, Hajin's plan was to dump the trash in the recycling area as quietly as possible, avoid getting spotted, and head straight back to the practice room.

"Meoww—."

If it weren't for those round eyes he spotted between the trash bins.

'…A cat, now, of all things.'

The phrase '{a cat caught in the rain}(#jn4gmhwg25o9)' flashed through Hajin's head, because there was in fact a kitten catching the rain. Blood on its leg suggested it had wandered in looking for shelter and gotten hurt on the way.

Gut said no, again. Picking this up was going to be a real pain.

Time remaining: 00:28:37… (Completion rate 93.7%)

Only thirty minutes left, no cash, no umbrella. Hajin wasn't particularly an animal person either. He couldn't just ditch practice to hunt down a vet on a whim, and if he stuck around, he was going to run into Seo Taehyun on his way through — so Hajin decided to just get back to the practice room fast and find another target.

"……"

"Hey."

"?"

That was the plan. So why was I standing in front of a rain-soaked Seo Taehyun with a rain-soaked kitten in my arms.

"You got any cash on you?"

"Sorry?"

"You had to come out to dump the trash anyway — you could've brought your wallet, right?"

"Are you picking a fight with me right now?"

"…No. This is begging. You happen to know where the nearest vet is?"

"……"

I put a deliberately pitiful face on and shoved the injured cat toward Seo Taehyun. Sure enough, even this kid was easier to move with a kitten that couldn't have been more than 18 centimeters than with a 182-centimeter grown man — the moment he spotted the cat, his expression changed and he came closer.

"Is it yours, hyung?"

"No, it was crying alone over by the trash. Looks like its leg's hurt too."

"Oh no."

Urgency on his face, Seo Taehyun pulled out his phone and started looking for a taxi app. And only then did it hit me that I too had that great legacy of the 21st-century Fourth Industrial Revolution — a smartphone. Ah, why hadn't I thought of that.

"Why is a bad hunch never wrong."

"Huh?"

"Nothing — how long till the taxi?"

To top it all off, the Head of Department — done with his cigarette and heading back inside — spotted me and Seo Taehyun. The moment his eyes met mine, he let out a snort before I could even nod hello, and headed back into the building.

The Head of Department. Seo Taehyun. A stray kitten. Every element I'd sworn to steer clear of five minutes ago, all tangled together in one swoop. Looking down at the crown of Seo Taehyun's head — the guy fussing over the kitten with a worried face — I let out a resigned sigh.

Yeah. Why do you think a cliché's a cliché. It's a cliché because you can't dodge it. Fuck.