The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 12
* * *
The next morning, in front of the cafeteria, Yuchan-hyung spotted the dark circles under my eyes and laughed while holding his stomach, patting me on the back.
“Ah, ugh, my stomach hurts. So… in the end, did all your roommates end up calling you hyung?”
“All except one.”
“Who’s the exception?”
“Ryota. No, he kept calling me Aniki. I don’t know what he watched to pick that up….”
“Haha! Wow, your room must be really fun. There won’t be a dull moment.”
“Ugh, forget it. Just tell me how your room was.”
At my grumbling, Yuchan-hyung rolled his eyes as if pondering something, then threw his arm around my shoulder and spoke in a low voice.
It seemed he was finally starting to become conscious of the cameras hanging in the hallways.
“Um, it was a bit… brutal.”
“…Brutal?”
I recalled the people Yuchan-hyung had said he was rooming with.
Gong Minho, Ahn Jinwoo, and Han Sangwoo, if I remembered right.
Han Sangwoo was probably ranked 16th, or maybe 17th.
One AG trainee, and two from other agencies. None of them were particularly controversial figures.
But brutal with those members? Why on earth?
“Well, you know… we talked fine at first. But after midnight when the cameras turned off, everyone turned their backs and went to sleep. I wanted to talk more, though.”
“Ahh….”
This was because Yuchan-hyung didn’t yet understand the characteristics of sheltered greenhouse flowers who had only ever lived as trainees.
Idol trainees inevitably had different sensibilities from ordinary people.
Because they only ever rubbed shoulders with similar types of people in a restricted environment.
They were already on edge in a survival setting; they probably didn’t want to waste time on someone they didn’t feel the need to get any closer to.
But to Yuchan-hyung, who had worked hard and lived out in the real world, that must have seemed very strange.
It went without saying, but the old me had been exactly the same.
My current survival-mode social skills were something I’d picked up during my previous malicious member days, following my manager-hyung around to drink.
After playing drinking games ten times in a row, social skills I never had suddenly sprouted out of nowhere.
“Ah, Rex’s! Favorite! Random! Game! If you don’t know! Learn while! Drinking! Random! Game! Drink! Drink, driiiiink!”…
Whether I should thank that damned manager-hyung for this or tell him I’ll see him in hell was still up in the air.
“Chunyong-ah. Why are you clenching your fist? Are you angry?”
“Ah, no! It’s not that… hmm.”
Instead of honestly telling him about all that, I gave him different information in a roundabout way.
“Hyung, from now on, just sleep when the cameras turn off.”
“Hmm? Is there a reason I should?”
“Because…”
From now on, you might not be able to sleep even if you want to.
* * *
9 AM, after finishing breakfast and simple makeup.
All 18 trainees gathered in the dance practice room on the first floor according to the staff’s guidance.
“Oh, Chunyong hyung. Can I sit next to you? Is there space?”
Logan, who had been the first among the four multinational flatmates to start calling Kim Chunyong “hyung,” naturally stood by his side.
He approached so carefully and sweetly that it seemed like a large dog’s tail was wagging behind his tall frame.
“No, there’s space. Sit down.”
“Oh, cheers. Huh. Chunyong hyung, did you eat all of this? This was really nasty.”
“Uh… Logan. If you’re not going to eat that, just give it to me from now on.”
Kim Chunyong snatched the chocolate bar from Logan’s hand and told him in a low voice.
“And don’t say stuff like that out loud from now on.”
“Huh? Why? This is really nast—”
“It’s sponsored.”
“…Gosh.”
The Englishman, well-versed in capitalism, soon sat down beside Kim Chunyong with an awkward expression, rubbing the back of his head.
Bang Yuchan, who had already claimed the other side, struck up a conversation with Logan, looking curious.
“Oh, you’re Logan? Hi. I’m Bang Yuchan.”
“Wow. Hi, Yuchan. Are you older or younger than Chunyong hyung?”
“Me? I’m older than Chunyong. I’m twenty-two.”
“Then Yuchan is a hyung too. I’ll call you Yuchan-hyung.”
Watching Logan, who properly called even him hyung, Bang Yuchan looked at Kim Chunyong with admiring eyes.
“You really taught him well. Logan’s calling me hyung too?”
“Where do you think these dark circles came from.”
“Dark circle? Chunyong hyung, where?”
“Logan, you made them for me.”
While the cluster of late-teens to early-twenties youngsters sat huddled together exchanging such silly banter,
someone appeared through the front door of the practice room with a ta-da.
“Trainees, did you all enjoy your meal? Your MC who has appeared once again, Choi Gaon!”
When
“Shh, shh. You don’t have to do this!”
Choi Gaon, naturally playing along, cleared his throat with an ahem and continued.
“I’ve come out today to tell you about the group song you’ll be performing. You’re all curious, right?”
“Yes!”
The teleprompter ceaselessly demanded reactions from the trainees. The world of broadcasting was indeed profound.
“Your group song is… the song that will become the flagship track of this Targeting Star, ‘Aiming’!”
Aiming.
The Korean meaning is “aiming.”
An original song that Do Jaechan had the A&R team at AG pour everything into, in order to firmly establish the program concept of
‘Seriously, what a concept freak…’
Around the time the trainees were groaning in annoyance at that tiresomeness, Jin Dasol and his crew members appeared on the screen at the front of the practice room.
Then, exhaust sounds roared out like a motorcycle starting its engine, and soon, to the beat of an electronic pop track lightly infused with flowing metal, they began to move in perfect unison.
—Shining city, noisy people
But here, it is only you and me
You & I
Jin Dasol’s dance moves, positioned in the center, looked very simple and light.
However, trainees who had ever danced even a little could tell how much attention he paid to controlling the tempo of each and every movement.
—Aiming us at the world
It is time to aim at everyone’s hearts
Aiming, Aiming
Watch who fires
Aiming, Aiming
An intense highlight followed by a dance break of high-difficulty moves. A song progression that left no room to breathe.
‘That’s… the first song I’ll get to sing.’
The trainees slowly opened their mouths, completely mesmerized by the song.
And soon, they were filled with one question.
“Everyone, did you watch well? I was shocked because the song is so good! It’s so good I want to sing it myself. Targeting Star is going to be a huge hit. I should debut with this too!”
Choi Gaon kicked up a fuss for the broadcast with high energy. However, he seemed somewhat sincere.
Because a strange envy flickered in his eyes.
“Ahem, anyway… I know the one question you all have in your hearts. You’re thinking this right now, aren’t you?”
Why.
“There are 18 of you, but only 6 of them were dancing, right?”
Yes. That was exactly the question swirling in the trainees’ heads.
There were 18 trainees in total. Yet Jindasol’s crew in the video numbered 6.
With a stage composition that involved the 6 members linking up in sequence, it was definitely a choreography too demanding for 18 people to perform.
Choi Gaon chuckled and said with a bright smile.
“The reason is that you 18 will be split into 3 teams to compete!”
“Wh-what? The group song is being split among 3 teams…?”
At a reaction that seemed prompted by someone, Choi Gaon stretched out his well-groomed fingers and drew a 6 in the air.
“The number of members debuting through
Having spoken quickly, Choi Gaon caught his breath and continued.
“Then can you form the teams however you want? No! If it were that easy, it wouldn’t be Targeting Star. Our clever production staff have it all figured out.”
Beyond the cameras, the main PD looked smug. He seemed to want to gild his own face even with a script like that.
“Now, you all must remember your base ranks. They were shown on a huge electronic display, after all. But you don’t know how each mentor scored you, do you?”
Choi Gaon smiled wickedly.
“Right here! Right now! We’ll reveal them!”
“…Huuuh.”
Raw groans burst out among the trainees.
As if they had been waiting for just this moment, the cameramen began closing up on the trainees’ shocked faces.
On the screen where Jin Dasol and his crew had been dancing, the trainees’ names were now displayed along with the scores given by each mentor.
“Now, the 3 people who received the highest total scores will take turns in ranking order to select 5 members each to build the group song stage with them.”
Finally clapping his hands together with a sharp smack, Choi Gaon wrapped things up in a bright, refreshing voice.
“Now, shall we form the teams?”