The Malicious Member Has Returned! Chapter 123
Perhaps because it was the last day of the reality shoot, or because of the location itself.
Throughout the camping shoot, Tioje captured every scene flawlessly, without a single wasted cut.
"God, Yuchan hyung. I have no idea what you're expressing! Offside? Foul?"
"Lo-Logan, just shouting soccer terms won't work! Please, think of something else!"
"Oh! I get it! Hat
-trick!"
"...
Three, two, one, time's up! Haha, Logan. The answer was figure skating."
"That's ridiculous! No matter how I look at it, it only seemed like soccer!"
"Ah, but I agree. I probably would've just shouted 'home run' too. Or maybe 'sidearm'? Since the topic was sports. Logan, I understand. That can happen!"
"Guys, the more you do that, the worse Yuchan hyung's expression gets? In the end, your team lost."
"Then all the snacks are ours...."
"No, not that!"
Even a simple, common game of 'Charades' had everyone doubled over in laughter.
"Mm... Would it be terribly rude to request a meal increase as a deal with the production crew?"
"Ja-Jaeha-ssi?"
"Ah, at this rate, I think all the members are going to go hungry... Our team still has growing members, you know. This amount is a bit difficult."
"Oh, I agree. A twenty-two-year-old can still grow more, right? Honestly, one serving per person is way too little."
"Yes. In that sense, we'd like to play a game with the production crew. With more meat on the line."
"―W-We'll have a quick meeting and get back to you! Just a moment!"
Creating a cheerful dinner scene that would later be captioned, "[Two hyungs who make the production crew shiver with laughter?!]"
"Cut! That was great! Wow, this is practically edit-ready, huh?"
That alone was more than enough for an idol reality show, but Tioje, who had by then grown largely oblivious to the cameras, didn't stop there.
After dinner, it was the 'heartfelt confession time for the members' around the campfire.
Crackle, crackle―"I... am really shy, and I overthink a lot, so I might make things awkward for you hyungs... but I'll work hard. Really, truly work hard...."
"Uh, I'm the oldest, but I lived as an ordinary person for a long time, so I probably lack more than you guys. I might not seem reliable as a lacking hyung... but I'll try my best to catch up quickly. So that you can lean on me."
The words that softly flowed out then were enough to make their eyes, which had been smiling brightly throughout the shoot, turn red.
"...
Ahem. I'll work hard too. Thank you for saying that, Siu. Thank you, Yuchan hyung."
"God, Why am I crying...?"
"Let's all do our best. Because we're already doing so well."
Laughing, spending time together, striving to grow closer.
Saying it was just for the camera wasn't enough; the way they poured their sincerity into every moment was powerful enough to capture the hearts of those around them.
"...
Tioje's reality show, it's going to get a great response, isn't it?"
"There's a reason I fought tooth and nail with Director Shin to bring them in. Everything has its reason."
Thus, even the ones who planned this program were sending pleased smiles, thinking about soaring viewership ratings and advertising bids.
Amidst this fine scene, there was only one person who couldn't enjoy it.
"......"
Hobin, biting his lips obsessively, looked even worse than when he had first faced Tioje a day or two ago.
It was because only the phone call he had hurriedly made earlier was replaying in his head.
- Yeah, I heard about that from a friend who runs in the same circles as Jeong-eun. If we're lucky, she might actually appear.
"...
I-Is that so?"
- Don't you think so? We've also thought, again and again, that we want to try group activities one more time. But I don't think we need to be too hasty about it either. Hobin, you don't have to worry about it too much.
"...
Alright, nuna."
Having heard that, Hobin was now effectively left with only one choice.
'...I might get to see the nunas perform again.'
Hobin could not miss this opportunity.
Because if he missed it, he didn't know when it would come again.
Because he might have to send off Ladies' Swan forever.
No matter how fond he had grown of them, Tioje were idols he hadn't even known properly for a full day.
Even if they brought in any top-tier idol group, let alone Tioje, Ladies' Swan was absolute in Hobin's heart.
But.
"......"
Hobin momentarily shifted his gaze into the distance, toward Taeuk, who was standing with a roguish expression, watching the Tioje members.
"H-humph..."
Humming a tune and shaking his leg, that sight was mercilessly shaking Hobin's resolve.
Because if he went back to Ladies' Swan, the Tioje members would now have to attend every schedule with Taeuk.
Having already caught on to what kind of person Taeuk was, how could his heart possibly be at ease?
"Haa..."
Hobin kicked at the ground with his foot and squeezed his eyes shut.
At the very least, if he did go back, he resolved to speak to the team leader about selecting someone else as the Tioje members' manager. Even if they answered, 'Why don't you just do it?' he would pretend not to hear and search through resumes.
It was while Hobin was thinking that, knowing full well it was impossible.
♪♬♩♬♪♬♩....
"...
Ah."
The strum of a guitar, which Logan had insisted on bringing from the dorm, saying 'a campfire is absolutely incomplete without this', struck his ears.
Several nice songs had already gently echoed through the camp, but this one particularly caught Hobin's attention.
"You can tell just from the accompaniment, right? It's a request from Chunyong hyung! Wow, I didn't know I'd be singing this again... Hwaseong, want to harmonize?"
"Ah, of course! Logan, quickly, quickly. This is a song I love."
"Mmm, great. Then, One, Two..."
Because it was a song Hobin couldn't possibly not know.
- Counting the days until I return to you soon
Monday, and Tuesday
Every day drawn with colored pencils
That song Logan had personally arranged and earned good results with during the 'Targeting Star' cover mission.
- Flying pages of the calendar
When the snow melts, spring with blooming flowers will come
I hold you in my arms, We're Flyin'
Ladies' Swan's, Calendar.
"......"
He had already heard the arrangement and lyrics once because Ladies' Swan had appeared on 'Targeting Star', but this time, it hit his heart differently.
- Even from afar, it feels like I can see you
This road is a Rainbow Road
I know you're at the end of it
Even if unseen, even far away
Because I'll reach it someday
Because we'll meet again in the end
That he didn't need to cling desperately to the uncertain chance right now, that they would meet again someday.
- I don't care What time is it
It only makes me look forward to it more
One step, two steps
So please, enjoy the present a little more, immerse yourself in it.
Lyrics that felt like Ladies' Swan were speaking, and at the same time, like Tioje were speaking.
- Flying pages of the calendar
When the snow melts, spring with blooming flowers will come
Spring with blooming flowers will come
Will you wait
Until the day the prettiest flower blooms
The delicate and gentle lyrics, much like Logan's personality, and Hwaseong's diction that missed not a single syllable, lodged themselves in Hobin's heart like thorns.
Just as Hobin's conflicted eyes were deepening and Logan's fingers were slowing, the accompaniment fading away.
"...
Ah."
Even from quite a distance, their eyes met.
No one else, but the person who had made Hobin reconsider the role of a manager.
Kim Chunyong, that is.
"......"
The blazing campfire light and Kim Chunyong's red hair seemed nearly identical.
Thus, the presence Hobin felt was immense.
Two overly sharp eyes curved into round crescents, and Kim Chunyong mouthed something silently toward Yoo Hobin.
'――.'
"Th-the song... The song, it's good, right? Ah..."
Hobin, having mumbled a few times trying to read those lips, ended up letting out a burst of laughter without realizing it.
"......"
Yes, it was good.
So good that it made him wonder if he should reconsider the choice that had already narrowed down to one.
♬♪... ♩♪♬♪...
Logan's accompaniment grew softer and softer.
* * *
All the scheduled filming wrapped up, and a free period arrived for both cast and crew to rest for a while.
"Well done on the evening shoot, everyone... We'll be withdrawing the cameras for a bit, so have some snacks, chat comfortably, and rest. In the morning, we'll do the morning mission and the closing, then the reality shoot is over."
Now familiar, Lee Hyeonjeong handed one of the envelopes the assistant director had brought over to Bang Yuchan and continued her explanation.
"Ah, this envelope is something we prepared for the adult members to enjoy a little, so... please be careful to keep it out of the minors' reach."
"Ah, we weren't going to drink anyway! Still, thank you. Haha, everyone. It's full-on free time now."
"Holy! Let's play games, games! I'll go get the cards!"
Thanks to having wrapped up the shoot so smoothly and splendidly, the mood was excellent for cast and crew alike.
Roasting marshmallows over an enormous, first-time-seen campfire, playing card games.
"So, Logan has never once watched baseball? That's fascinating. Baseball is really popular in Korea, you know."
"Yes, Yuchan hyung. For me, it's Only football. So it's really fascinating that baseball is popular in Korea."
"Of course it has to be popular. In baseball, you can score 4 points in one hit! In football, even with 10 guys rushing, it's only 1 point, right?"
"...
God, Hwaseong, that's a challenge to me. Tonight, I'll definitely teach you the romance of football."
"Ah. Hyungs, please don't go too overboard..."
Playing silly pranks related to their favorite sports, and bursting into excited laughter over it.
And then, someone else....
"Excuse me, Hobin hyung."
"Ah, yes. Yes, Jaeha-ssi. What is it?"
"...
A quick talk, is that okay?"
Taking advantage of that warm atmosphere, someone attempted a conversation that needed to be held in secret.
"I'll be honest. I'd like it if hyung became our manager."
"......"
Yoo Hobin's eyes, already troubled by hearing the song 'Calendar' during the campfire shoot and by locking eyes with Kim Chunyong, widened hugely.
"You can do it, right?"
Son Jaeha covered his own mouth with his right hand and made a peculiar expression.
"I know why hyung is hesitating... but the members, they seem a bit uncomfortable with the current manager hyung. As the leader, I can't just watch and do nothing."
"...
Well, I am."
Even knowing there wasn't much time, it was a problem Hobin couldn't answer right away with 'I'll do it' or 'I won't.'
Ladies' Swan, Tioje.
Jo Taeuk, who had just arrived as Tioje's manager.
And himself, walking the tightrope in between.
While Hobin remained silent for a moment over his own wretchedness, Son Jaeha lightly shrugged his shoulders and continued.
"Mm, of course we haven't known the manager hyung for long, and a manager and their assigned celebrity don't necessarily have to be close, but..."
"......"
"Hyung, you didn't treat the Ladies' Swan nunas in a business-like manner like that."
At those words, the corners of Hobin's eyes trembled finely.
"We need a manager who will treat their assigned celebrities like that, hyung."
Actually, what Kim Chunyong had asked of Son Jaeha earlier was not this.
"Of course, it's only been a day or two since we first met, so I can't be sure... but I just talked to him, and he didn't seem like a very decent person."
"...
Mm. I felt that a bit too."
"Could you maybe ask Hobin hyung for me? Whether our manager might be able to change."
Just to let him know that the members were uncomfortable with Jo Taeuk.
However, Son Jaeha was originally perceptive, and he was the kind of person with a tendency to not stop there and go one step further to handle things.
No matter how much he had talked it over with Kim Chunyong, Ji Hwaseong, Bang Yuchan and improved, one's nature is not easily changed.
So this, too, Kim Chunyong had predicted, that is.
"......"
Thus, right at the moment Yoo Hobin was obsessively biting his lips from the bombs that had come one after another.
"―You son of a bitch!"
A loud yell burst from deep within the forest, a little distance from where Yoo Hobin and Son Jaeha were standing.
And there...
"Keuk... this, let... go..."
The final bomb that Kim Chunyong had prepared.
"Wh-What are you doing right now!"
Yoo Hobin, who had rushed over in bewilderment and anger, missed one crucial fact because of the dramatic situation.
"Keuk, cough. A, ah."
"Chunyong, are you okay?"
"...
Yes, hyung. I'm fine."
The fact that Kim Chunyong, who had been grabbed by the collar by Jo Taeuk, was smiling with a face full of fury.