The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 10
* * *
Even after Kim Chun-yong’s shocking stage and evaluation, the competition continued without pause. Perhaps due to the intimidating warning Min Si-yeong had issued, declaring that she would give no points whatsoever to trainees who used shortcuts, the atmosphere was somewhat subdued. Yet even among them, there were trainees who clearly displayed their skills.
"Just by looking at his face, I thought, 'Ah. This kid is going to debut.' Who here would object? I don’t think anyone would. For an idol, beauty is a weapon, a weapon."
The true future star who received such tremendous praise from “him,” Mun Yun-ha, was none other than…
"Thank you. I will become a Son Jae-ha who works even harder!"
AG’s ace, Son Jae-ha.
"You wrote all the rap lyrics yourself, right? And you made the beat too? … This is the real deal."
"Hehe, thank you!"
To name a few more, there was Ji Hwa-seong, who caught Na Ji-hyeok’s attention with a singing rap over a barely audible beat.
"17 years old? That’s the same age as my youngest sibling. That kid is at home playing games right now. But here, a 17-year-old is directing stage composition. Like brother, like sister, I suppose."
"I-I’ll work even harder…"
Jang Si-woo, who appealed with fairly decent stage direction despite his young age.
"Your dancing, the basics… You’re faithful to the fundamentals. Not as much as someone, but."
"Xiexie (Thank you)."
Liu Wei, AG’s Chinese trainee, who was the first after Kim Chun-yong to elicit a reaction from Jin Da-sol.
And then…
"Huh? You’re British?"
Surprised after rummaging through the personal details, Na Ji-hyeok watched as the trainee standing in the center of the stage, holding a guitar, opened his mouth with a timid gesture.
"Oh, Yes. I’m, uh. I’m from Liverpool."
Logan Lee, who came from Liverpool, England.
His Korean name, Lee Logan.
Round yet delicate features. Contrasting with that, Logan wore an awkward, good-natured smile that gave off the image of a gentle large-breed dog. Na Ji-hyeok smiled warmly and attempted small talk with Logan using what he knew.
"Wow. The city with the Liverpool football team, right? Trainee Lee Logan, are you a Liverpool fan too? I actually know their chant."
For a moment, Logan’s face strangely stiffened.
"God, No. I-I’m actually a supporter of Everton FC, the team right next to them…"
To think he’d ask if he was a fan of a rival team.
Having watched overseas soccer quite avidly, Na Ji-hyeok knew exactly what that meant to English hooligans, so he hurriedly cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Sorry, sorry."
"Um, Wow! Anyway, I’ll sing for you. It’s a song I made, and the title is… not yet decided. Please give me one later."
After slightly embarrassing Na Ji-hyeok, Logan cheerfully performed his self-composed song—
"…This is a self-composed song?"
He was a dark horse who even drew praise from the notoriously picky Min Si-yeong.
Biting the end of her pen once before gripping the microphone, Min Si-yeong’s expression was brighter than usual.
"I can’t believe it. It’s to the point where I’d suspect you stole some masterpiece from somewhere. Ah, it’s a compliment, so don’t make such a sad face."
"Holy! N-no. Thank you."
"Of course, I think you’ll need to practice your Korean a bit more… but still, I really enjoyed it. I think it’d be even better if we could see your dancing next time. That’s all for my review."
"Ah, I’d like to hear the Liverpool chant next ti—"
"No! Never! Absolutely not! That joke is too much!"
"…My, how cute."
After that, a variety of contestants came out.
Seong Won-hyeop, who had been a trainee at another large agency for quite a long time; An Jin-woo, another pure-blooded AG trainee; and even Tsubasa, who had been active as a live idol in Japan.
Thus, after all the contestants’ stages had ended.
The time for the ranking announcement finally arrived.
All the trainees gathered in the center of the stage, and standing before them, Choi Ga-on began reading the cue sheet with a face more nervous than the participants’.
"Soon, the rankings will appear on the screen behind you. Before that, shall we first hear from the mentors who evaluated you fairly?"
Min Si-yeong, who looked thoroughly exhausted from the prolonged filming, took the microphone and began taking in each trainee one by one.
"I watched all the stages you prepared. As I mentioned earlier…"
And when she saw Kim Chun-yong, her eyes turned into triangles.
"I evaluated everyone ‘fairly.’ I’d like to make this point absolutely clear."
"H-ha ha! Yes, that’s right. You are the best mentors currently active in each field. How could you not be fair!"
Choi Ga-on quickly smoothed things over after Min Si-yeong’s comment, muttering as he looked at the prompter.
"Then, I shall briefly explain the ‘scoring system’ of
To summarize Choi Ga-on’s words:
Based on the scores given by each mentor today, the base rankings for the next competition’s formation are decided.
Afterward, the top six with the highest combined score of audience votes, online voting, and a certain “mission score” will debut.
"Yes, it seems simple, but it’s a scoring system that requires much consideration! Especially, the ‘mission score’ part is very intriguing."
Huffing and puffing as he finished the explanation, Choi Ga-on elegantly wiped his forehead once before speaking loudly.
"Then now, let’s check the long-awaited base rankings. Show us the ranking board!"
"…Hup."
At that moment, goosebumps rose all over the arms of every trainee who saw the screen.
* * *
Immediately after the first studio filming ended, main writer Lee Hyeon-jeong called the trainees to individual interview rooms one by one.
The first question she asked was:
"How do you feel after seeing this ranking board?"
It was about their thoughts after receiving the mentor evaluations.
All 18 trainees had different reactions.
"I think I got 11th place because I couldn’t show all my skills. I don’t usually perform like this… I’ll become a Kim Ju-an who improves more. Please support me!"
"Um, honestly, 13th place isn’t a rank I’m entirely happy with… but it’s still just the base ranking. I want to work harder and rise up."
While some gave textbook answers.
"Ugh, my nickname in college was ‘The guy who sets the floor.’ So I’m just grateful to receive 12th place. It’s not the very bottom, so I don’t have to retake it. I hate retaking. Here, and in college too."
Some answered cheerfully despite similar rankings.
"Well, um. 7th is good. Right in the center. I think I’ll do even better next time! Dance Practice. I’ll work hard, so please watch me."
There were also answers that revealed anticipation for the next stage first.
"I cannot accept this."
"…Huh?"
"Liu Wei is 2nd, and I am 18th. Fundamentally, there is no difference between Liu Wei and me."
"A-ah. I see, you thought that."
"That’s right. Liu Wei, wait. Next time, I will be 1st."
The individual trainee, Gao Yan, who had received last place with a stage where he didn’t prepare any accompaniment at all.
‘He doesn’t have skills, but his face is quite handsome, and it said he’s a professional at attracting attention with his specialties, so I passed him to use as an attention-grabber… but he’s beyond imagination?’
Facing the audacity of Gao Yan, who had come from Hong Kong across the sea, Hyeon-jeong broke into a cold sweat and changed the subject.
"…I’ve heard Trainee Gao Yan’s ambition. Then shall I change the question now? Are you ready to answer?"
"I am always ready."
"…You didn’t prepare the accompaniment, anyway. Trainee Gao Yan."
Though there were many characters.
"Which trainee left the deepest impression on you in this first stage?"
"Oh. What impressed Gao Yan most was of course Gao Yan himself, but if another trainee…"
To Hyeon-jeong’s question, the answer didn’t take long to return. It was the same for the other trainees, not just Gao Yan.
"First, second, and third, it’s Jae-ha hyung."
Ji Hwa-seong, who had dyed his hair bright yellow, answered with a fierce furrow of his brow.
It was the expression he made when he saw something truly incredible.
"Hyung has always been good, but today he was even better. Usually when nervous, you can’t show your full skills, right? Hyung brought out twice as much. I’ve watched him for 5 years… I was really shocked today."
"So AG’s ace really is different, as expected?"
"No need to say it twice. Everyone else probably talked about Jae-ha hyung too. Since he’s 1st… isn’t it obvious?"
Feeling an editing angle at Ji Hwa-seong’s question, Hyeon-jeong smiled slyly and answered.
"Of course, many people mentioned Trainee Son Jae-ha, but…"
"…But?"
"There was a name that came up even more. I think Trainee Ji Hwa-seong can probably guess. Trainee Son Jae-ha mentioned this name too."
"Jae-ha hyung mentioned another trainee?"
Slightly flustered, Ji Hwa-seong grabbed his chin and fell into thought upon thought.
Someone other than hyung? There’s someone else?
Who on earth could it be…
Ah.
"For me, the most impressive trainee was… Kim Chun-yong."
Son Jae-ha answered with a gently melting smile on his face.
"Everyone gets nervous on stage, right? I was incredibly nervous too. But Trainee Kim Chun-yong didn’t seem nervous at all. If it were me, I would’ve tripped over the microphone stand at least once while putting it in."
There was no hesitation in Son Jae-ha’s words about Kim Chun-yong’s stage.
"So honestly, I was disappointed that Trainee Kim Chun-yong received 6th place."
"Oh, that’s a very bold answer. By disappointed, do you mean he should have received a high ranking alongside Trainee Son Jae-ha?"
"Uh, if I say it like that, it sounds like I’m blaming the mentors… that’s not what I meant. It’s just, that stage really came across well to me."
Son Jae-ha’s awkward gaze turned toward the camera blinking its red light.
A strange light swirled in his dark pupils.
"…Anyway, I want to watch the next stage too."
* * *
"…And next time, I will work hard to show a stage that leaves no room for disagreement. Everyone, please remember me, the spring dragon, Chun-yong!"
"Cut! Well done. So, Trainee Kim Chun-yong, your luggage later…"
Bbong!
An excessively cute notification sound rang out, and the main writer’s words stopped. Unable to hide my confusion, I quickly shouted to the writer.
"Later. Writer-nim. Later! May I listen? I’m sorry."
"Uh, uh? Well, it wasn’t anything important. Go ahead."
"Yes. Thank you!"
The moment I confirmed the camera was off, I hurriedly escaped the individual interview room and ran to an empty bathroom.
Then, entering a stall, I hastily typed out a message to my phone that had been ringing bbong-bbong nonstop.
It was the chat window with X.
- Kim Chun-yong: Do you not know how to read the room or the timing?
- Kim Chun-yong: What am I supposed to do if you send messages during the entire interview ;;As if he had been waiting desperately for my reply, a response came back from X in 3 seconds.
- X: If I’m giving you rewards, you should bow your head and say thank you~ You’re really ungrateful ㅡㅡ
- X: Well anyway… I see you really did have everything planned ㅎㅎ
- X: You’re a really strange contractor ;; I mean that in a good way
- X: Anyway, check your notifications ㅋㅋㅋ You probably got a lot of good stuff? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ"Even though I set notifications to silent, you send them with sound, making me like this…"
I grimaced at X’s tyranny but did as told, touching the gift box and scroll icon at the top of the notification window. Then several notification windows popped up filling the phone screen.
[Codex: A Master’s Acknowledgment
What a rookie idol trainee needs to make a name for themselves. That is none other than the acknowledgment of another skilled expert. That expert will now stop at nothing to scout you. Among them, stand out in that lineup and become an outstanding idol!
Collection Reward:
[Sudden Mission Success!
[Codex: First Stage Memory
You who received 6th place on the brutal idol survival show’s first stage. It would have been better to receive a higher ranking, but such is the way of the world. Let’s work harder to take 1st place next time!
Collection Reward:
"Overwhelming momentum, Will of the 6th… what is all this."
I sighed and roughly shoved my phone into my pocket. I could check the Skills later anyway.
And I still couldn’t really feel whether they would be practically helpful.
Anyway, what was important now was…
The fact that I, who had barely hung on at 10th place in the previous mentor evaluation, had become 6th place. 6th place. What kind of rank is 6th place? It’s the precarious position on the border of the debut zone, the rank that someone would kill to have.
"…Hoo."
I had to cover my mouth and take several deep breaths to calm my nauseous stomach. My body, which had been overloaded with tension, was screaming that it was dying.
Goodness, what did I even do well for my tension to release already.
Nothing was over yet. I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
It was only the first stage at best. And I hadn’t even placed in the very top of the mentor evaluations.
"I have to do better. More."
I brainwashed myself as I moved my feet back to the broadcasting station hallway.
There were dozens more mountains to cross.
I had to harden my resolve.