The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 122

122. Jin Jaehee (2)

2021, a recording studio in Busan.

“God damn it! You’re offbeat. Do it again. Seriously, making amateur mistakes.”

“Hey! Messed up again? Again.”

“It’s getting better, but still a long way to go.”

A producer with long hair tied back and tattoos all over his body dragged his chair closer to Jaehee.

Jaehee took her fingers off the guitar strings.

Looking utterly dejected, she hung her head low.

The producer said,

“Jaehee, do you know who’s the most pathetic in the world? It’s kids like you with mediocre talent. Talent that’s so-so, effort that’s so-so, just enough to make you think you might make it. But those kids never do. They never make it to the end.”

Mediocre talent.

Jaehee flinched at the word.

Her other friends had already gone to college and were making their mark as singers.

Apparently, Hoseung uploaded a singing video to YouTube, and it went viral, even getting him signed to an agency.

In the past three years, while her other friends had moved far ahead, Jaehee had stayed in the same place.

She had clearly walked along with them, but it was just treading water.

She didn’t know what the problem was.

She had simply started doing what she loved since she was born.

The world wasn’t a place where you could live doing what you loved.

It was like a qualification.

A young Jin Jaehee was confused.

“So… just listen to what this *oppa* [an older brother or male friend] says, okay? You know the singer-songwriter Fanny, right? She got famous after I produced her~ Ah, of course, it wasn’t a typical relationship. We gave and took. Huh? Do you know what *oppa* is saying?”

Swoosh-.

The producer stroked Jaehee’s back and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

He pressed close, smelling her scent.

Then Jaehee said weakly,

“Get your hands off me.”

“Huh…? What did you say?”

It was a voice she had never shown the producer before.

Jaehee thought he might have misheard, so she said it again clearly.

Looking at him.

“I said, get your hands off me.”

“You…!”

Bang-! Thwack!

Rumble-! Pow! Thwack!

“Sorry! Sorry! Just a moment!”

Rumble! Crash! Shatter…

“I was wrong…!”

Pow! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

* * *

Nom-.

Jaehee opened her mouth wide and swallowed a large helping of seasoned bean sprouts.

The salty and crunchy texture was superb.

Slurp-.

Along with the TV sound, her father’s voice could be heard.

“What’s the use of having a child? Still causing trouble even after growing up. Always getting into fights. Hey, at least you didn’t go to the hospital this time? Did you hold back for your dad’s sake? You little brat, if your dad was an athlete, you should have focused and followed in his footsteps. Do you think I taught you how to fight so you could go around causing trouble?”

Slurp-. Slurp.

“Seriously. Ugh… This is my fate, my fate. Did this dad tell you to study hard…? Or to earn money…? Sigh… Sigh. You’re still managing to shove food down your throat, huh? Huh?! Is it tasty?!! You good-for-nothing girl!!!!”

Crunch-!

Jaehee dipped a Cheongyang chili pepper [a very spicy Korean chili pepper] in soybean paste, chewed it, and then took a spoonful of dried pollack soup.

Then, she gave her father, who was sitting on the living room sofa beyond the kitchen, a thumbs up.

“It’s delicious. Dad. Have you been practicing cooking lately? Teacher Cheon Jongwon [a famous Korean chef and TV personality] keeps popping up in my algorithm. Are your skills improving?”

“That girl… Who did she take after…? Not listening to her dad at all. Sigh-. This is my fate.”

“Who else would I take after? I’m Dad’s daughter. I didn’t get this pretty without taking after Dad. …Dad’s daughter gets asked out all the time when she goes downtown?”

“What are you saying…?”

Jaehee dipped the chili pepper in soybean paste again and bit into it.

Watching his daughter eat heartily, her father sighed deeply.

“That girl, that girl. If she was born in the Joseon Dynasty [the last Korean dynasty, lasting for approximately five centuries], she would have been a general. Or a butcher, maybe?”

Jaehee chuckled at her father’s joke.

“Then, I’d have forty husbands.”

“…Are you crazy?”

His only daughter wasn’t doing the sports or studies he wanted, and she was just going around fighting.

No father in the world could have a peaceful day.

As a father, he had no idea what she was doing outside.

“…Hey. Do you want to go to Seoul?”

It was a conclusion he had reached after a long deliberation.

She was young, and even in Busan, she wasn’t producing any results. His thought was that she should go to Seoul and do something.

He looked at his daughter again.

Jaehee was already doing the dishes.

“…Hey. Go to Seoul. Don’t worry about the money. Go and do something. Do manual labor, or whatever. Do the music you like. Life will be different if you go to Seoul.”

Clatter-.

Before he knew it, Jaehee had finished washing the dishes and was shaking the water off her hands as she replied.

“No thanks~. I can’t even speak Seoul dialect… And what about Dad if I go to Seoul? You have trouble with your legs. How are you going to live alone? Or did you get a girlfriend? Ah, no way… Mrs. 1203?”

Jaehee glanced at her father’s legs.

They looked fine, but her father’s legs were as good as gone.

He had no feeling in them, so he couldn’t walk or even get up from the sofa on his own.

He even used an electric wheelchair inside the house.

His right foot was okay, but he could only walk with a limp.

He was once a well-known boxer in Korea.

A promising athlete who had won several gold medals at the Asian Games and was featured prominently in newspapers.

His influence was a big reason why Jaehee started various sports from a young age.

They were a fairly well-known family in the neighborhood.

Until his left leg joint was twisted 180 degrees by an opponent’s foul play in a match.

“What girlfriend? This dad only has your mom.”

Jaehee frowned at the mention of her mother.

“Why do you keep talking about a woman who ran away? A woman who ran away because she couldn’t handle taking care of Dad after he got hurt for the rest of her life.”

“Jaehee!”

“Am I wrong? It’s a disease too. The delusion that she’ll come back. Departed love doesn’t return! Did you watch some drama and think you’re the main character? I saw you watching some dramas on your YouTube algorithm… Ah, and stop watching those nationalistic TV shows. Are you showing your age? Seriously. Shocking! The whole world is amazed by Korea’s technology…! …I think you need to go out and meet some women. Huh? That’s why you haven’t had a girlfriend until now. …Anyway, I like Busan. Don’t say things like that. Dad.”

Squeak…

Jaehee slowly opened her bedroom door, gazing at her father until she was out of his sight.

“That girl… Look at how she talks to her dad…?”

Very… slowly, until she was completely inside the room.

Thud!

Her father clicked his tongue, looking at Jaehee’s firmly closed door.

“That… that. A girl who’s never even been in a relationship keeps saying things? Hah! I can’t believe it… You should meet a man! You brat-!!!!! Are you even going to get married?!?!”

Her father took a moment to catch his breath and then shouted again.

“And stop spying on my YouTube!!!”

* * *

Rustle-! Crunch!

Jaehee once again cut down Park Jisoo’s weakness.

She was still trapped in the memories of the past.

The mental pain was greater than the physical pain.

Why, why were these memories surfacing now?

She couldn’t understand at all.

‘…Two left. Sixteen minutes remaining.’

Her subjugation speed was exactly in line with what Kang Si-On had predicted.

Jaehee was now feeling Si-On’s greatness once again.

So far, she had been cutting down the weaknesses one by one, following Kang Si-On’s sphere, and now there were only two left.

She didn’t want to recall the memories that were flooding back, but she couldn’t stop her body.

Jaehee flew again.

Once again, the cells screamed and rushed at her.

“Die-!!!”

“Gyaaaaaaaaak!!!”

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

Jaehee swung her sword.

And with a beautiful curve, she cut down the cells that passed by her.

Her silver hair danced beautifully with her body’s movements.

The cells were at best throwing clawing and hitting attacks, but their attacks didn’t even touch Jaehee’s body.

Her artifact was now Awakening 2.

It was now on a different level from ordinary attacks.

Even touching the edge of the blade was enough to melt and cut the cells like soft tofu.

Thousands of cells that blocked Jaehee died.

‘…’

At the same time, Jaehee controlled her emotions.

She endured steadfastly, hypnotizing herself.

‘You regretted it a lot in your past life.’

The regret of not protecting her father.

‘You cried so much you could have died.’

Regret for the choice she made at that time.

‘So you vowed to undo everything.’

Her determination, and her promise.

‘Because I promised to go back.’

Because she was so sad in her past life, she could endure even if painful memories surfaced now.

To the point where there were no more tears to shed.

Jaehee suppressed her emotions and focused on the slaughter in front of her.

Those with weak hearts easily resort to violence. They harm others and hide the fact that they are weak.

Jaehee was one of those cases.

In reality, she was fragile, but she was feeling the painkilling effect in the act of destroying her opponents.

As she moved along Kang Si-On’s sphere and finally arrived in front of Park Jisoo’s last weakness, Jaehee was unknowingly shedding tears.

“…”

But even while shedding tears, her expression was intense.

It was a look full of murderous intent to tear everything apart and kill it.

The last location.

There, tens of thousands of cells were gathered.

They were all surrounding and protecting the last remaining cell.

Jaehee, who was looking down at them from the air, fell towards the space where the cells were swarming.

It was like putting herself in a more difficult environment.

To offset the pain in her current memories with more powerful, more painful, and more dizzying physical pain.

Jaehee entered the pandemonium of countless Park Jisoos.

* * *

Jaehee’s past life.

That day was a very ordinary day.

It was the day that her hometown friends came down to Busan after a long time, and they decided to have a drink.

It was so ordinary, and until she left the house, Jaehee’s father was sitting on the sofa watching YouTube.

Before leaving through the door, Jaehee glanced at her father.

And called out.

“Dad.”

“…?”

Her father took his eyes off the nationalistic TV show and looked at his daughter.

Jaehee was silent for a moment, then smiled and said.

“I just called you.”

“…What is it, you brat.”

Jaehee put on her sneakers and went outside.

At that time, her father grabbed Jaehee.

“You brat.”

“Huh? What is it.”

Jaehee went halfway out the door, then poked her head in and looked at her father.

Her father smiled pleasantly.

Still holding the remote control in one hand.

“…I always support you.”

“…”

Jaehee was silent at her father’s sudden support, then chuckled.

“I told you to stop watching dramas.”

“…You brat, talking back.”

“I’ll be late today~ Go to sleep first.”

Squeak……. Thud!

That was her father’s last appearance.

* * *

A neighborhood pub.

Jaehee, who was very drunk, slapped Hoseung’s back with a flushed face.

“Hoseung, you succeeded! You little rascal! Where did the snot-nosed kid go?”

Slap-!

Hoseung smiled bashfully, patting the back of his head.

“I just went on one music program. What are you talking about.”

“Wow-. This guy. He speaks the Seoul dialect so well? He’s become a Seoul person. Hey.”

“Hey, but if you’ve already debuted, you definitely have talent.”

Minji, who was sitting across from him, cheered for Hoseung.

Then Hoseung looked at Jaehee and said.

“The real talent is her.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah. Are you still practicing?”

“Huh? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah.”

Jaehee absolutely couldn’t tell her friends that she had beaten up the producer again in a fit of anger.

She just silently drank her beer.

Hoseung picked up a dried snack and said to his friends.

“Guys, I haven’t given up yet.”

“…On what?”

“Once I succeed in debuting and gain some recognition, I’m going to start making a group in earnest. Then Jaehee will be in charge of vocals, and we’ll do it like we used to.”

“…Is that possible?”

“I’ve laid the groundwork. I’ll talk to the CEO and have him prepare a group. Don’t worry. There’s no way I wouldn’t think of you guys, right?”

“Oooooo… Hoseung…!”

One by one, their faces lit up at Hoseung’s story.

But Jaehee was the only one who couldn’t smile.

“…Count me out.”

Hoseung, surprised by her answer, turned around.

“Hey… What are you talking about? Who’s going to do the vocals if you’re not there?”

Jaehee thought that she would definitely be a burden if she joined the group.

Because she had a history of school violence.

Hoseung frowned as if he couldn’t understand.

“Is it because of the school violence…? No, it’s not your fault. That bastard…?”

“…Whether it’s my fault or not, the world will see it differently. You guys succeed. I’m done. What I’m doing now is just because I can’t let go of my lingering feelings….”

“…Hey, Jin Jaehee!”

“Ah, *ssiba* [a Korean swear word]! Surprise…?!!”

Jaehee was so surprised that she flinched, spilling her beer.

It was the first time she had seen Hoseung get angry.

Jaehee blinked her eyes and looked at him.

“I… Not even once… Even in Seoul… I haven’t not thought of you guys! I’ve always been thinking about you!”

“…Are you confessing to me right now? …Sorry. I can’t see you as anything more than a snot-nosed kid….”

“What the hell are you talking about! Aish!!!”

At that time, Hoseung picked up a 2000cc beer pitcher and started drinking it all at once.

Grab-!

Gulp, gulp, gulp-!

Glug, glug, glug!

He couldn’t even drink water like that, but Hoseung emptied all the beer and slammed the beer pitcher on the table nervously.

Bang-!

Jaehee, who saw Hoseung’s fiery drinking show, applauded.

“Wow. As expected of a Seoul University student, he drinks so fiercely….”

“It’s Seoul Institute of the Arts, Institute of the Arts! It’s in Gyeonggi-do. I’m not a Seoul University student.”

“…? Why isn’t Seoul Institute of the Arts in Seoul?”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say! You brat!”

Hoseung looked around at the friends sitting in a circle.

And he got up from his seat and said.

“You guys… You know me, right? Since I was young, my body was so weak. I was always getting beat up. Honestly… I had a lot of dangerous thoughts. But Jaehee helped me with everything, right? Whenever someone picked on us, she would always show up and help. I think of you as my benefactor, and I will never forget it! If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have even gone to college. Don’t say weak things! You brat.”

“That’s right, Jaehee helped a lot….”

“Yeah….”

The other friends nodded as if agreeing.

Then they chuckled.

“But… I think it’s a confession?”

“Yeah. That bastard is confessing.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I really think of her as my benefactor!”

Hoseung sat down on his seat with a thud.

His face was swollen and red, as if he was drunk.

Even though they were friends, there was a slightly strange distance that made it difficult to say thank you.

They should say thank you if they were grateful, but even if they were close, they were a little embarrassed.

Hoseung, Minji, and Cheolho were the same.

Hoseung took the lead and shouted, but the other friends had the same thoughts.

Jaehee was grateful.

She smiled silently, hiding her emotions.

“Eish! Good! You’re grateful to me, right? Then don’t refuse any of the alcohol I give you today?!”

At that time, Jaehee poured *soju* [a Korean distilled beverage] and beer into a 2000cc beer pitcher in a 9 to 1 ratio.

Pouring, pouring, pouring-!

It was a legendary ratio of alcohol called honey beer.

It was incredibly delicious, but it would get you drunk quickly.

Jaehee, filled with honey beer, picked up a beer glass.

And she smiled at her friends.

“Succeed. You guys.”

“…What is it, old man?”

“Shut up! Just succeed!”

The friends smiled and clinked their glasses with each other.

The night was getting late.

And Jaehee’s cell phone kept ringing.

10 calls……. 20 calls…….

It was Mrs. 1203.

(Continued in the next episode)