The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 147
With thousands applying with the sole goal of meeting their bias, truly only a handful could seize that opportunity.
[SoundDeep Gangnam fansign is happening now, right? When do the Record Play winner lists drop?]
[⎿ It already dropped. Notifications went out to all the winners.]
[⎿ Fuck, so this is how I find out I didn’t get picked.]
So those who failed to seize that opportunity could do nothing but bite their nails and watch the live reactions flooding in on social media and online communities.
[(Photo) Holy shit Son Jaeha’s flower crown is insane. Who made that for him with lilies? Are those real flowers? I think I’m gonna cry, this is no joke.]
[⎿ You think that’s tear-worthy? Fucking hell, someone brought him a veil at the venue and he apparently wore it too.]
[⎿ Seriously? Where are the photos?]
[⎿ It got confiscated by security after 30 seconds, so only the people there saw it…]
[⎿ Damn, fuck.]
[Look at the 8 cat-ear headbands in front of Jang Siu. Crazy, everyone thinks alike.]
[⎿ Well, if they have eyes….]
[⎿ But look, among them he picked the black one. I’m so moved I can’t even speak. Bury me with this photo when I die.]
And here.
“Wow, shit. Siu is really insane… If I only had the money, I would’ve bought 200 or 300 albums, seriously!”
A high school girl who had temporarily escaped from five days of school life, her long hair tied up high, rolling around on her bed, was no different.
Of course, her case was slightly different.
“Why don’t you ask Gim Chunyong for some? Well, it definitely won’t work… but would he refuse to give just one album? I heard he sent some to Mom and Dad too.”
“No, the album itself isn’t important. Seeing Siu is what matters. Unni, you know that, so why are you saying that?”
“Or ask him to let you meet him just once. I saw him before when I took him to the survival show set. Was it Logan? …
He was cute. Tall, and like a puppy.”
“Ugh. Talk some sense. Why would I say such pathetic things?! Wow, and Unni, you said Logan is cute? Huh? Did you say cute? If you’re switching sides from Choi Gaon for real now….”
“What? Who told you to raise your voice at me? Are you crazy?”
“Eeeek….”
If she wanted, she could ask her brother and manage to meet her bias at least once. But she deliberately didn’t, all to uphold her stubbornness-that-wasn’t-quite-stubbornness.
“Unni, do you know what jaman-chu is? Jaman-chu? It means pursuing a natural meeting.”
“Your unni is a high school teacher. You think I don’t know that?”
“But you see. I don’t want to do jaman-chu with Siu. I want to win it! With my own power! Go see him! And tell him that among all the people I’ve seen, he’s the cutest!”
“You’ve lost your mind….”
The eldest of the Gim household, Gim Bomi, watched her youngest sister’s deranged declaration with a horrified expression, clicking her tongue and patting Nari’s back.
“Go inside and study. Playing is fine, but do your work before you play.”
“Ah, but I’m allowed to play today. He said you have to rest properly when it’s time to rest.”
“What? With your school teacher right here, who the hell would say such a thi—”
“Who else? The person Mom said she wished would become her son-in-law.”
Gim Nari flashed a mischievous smile—one that took after Gim Bomi, her father, and Gim Chunyong—and waved her phone in front of her sister’s eyes.
On the screen, a long and moving testimonial related to this was displayed in full—the very one that had made the mother of the three siblings exclaim every time she saw the photo.
[“Hi, I’m a Yuchan maniac who just got back from the T.O.J fansign a while ago. I’m leaving this post because the conversation I had with Yuchan today was so impressive and touching. I didn’t make the fansign cut ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I only bought a few albums trusting the random draw for 30 people, but I got picked by chance. Honestly, I wasn’t even planning to go to the fansign… The thing is, I’m a retaker.”]
Bomi’s expression hardened into something fierce after reading that far.
A retaker at an idol fan signing?
From the perspective of an actual school teacher, nothing else was more infuriating.
“Are you crazy? Crazy? Why are you showing me this? Trying to piss me off? Retakers go to this too? Get over here, you brat!”
“Aah, Unni! Don’t break the touching true story, read it to the end!”
“…
If you’re making a fuss over nothing, you’re really dead. I’ll sell all your weird Jang Siu merch.”
“That stuff is custom-made, so it won’t even sell. Please, just hurry, Unni!”
At Nari’s fussing, Bomi turned her gaze back to the rest of the post with a displeased expression.
Of course, she did so thinking it would just be the same old thing.
However….
“…
Ah.”
In the story laid out below, Bomi couldn’t help but let out a sigh as well.
[“I was originally preparing for university as a piano major. But I developed some problems with my hand and couldn’t play piano anymore. So after discussing it with my parents, I decided to try the entrance exam again for the Practical Music Department, and that’s where I am now ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. So while I was feeling a bit lost, I saw Yuchan on TV. He was refreshingly handsome, sang well, had a good personality… It was only natural that I came to like him. You all know that Yuchan got into Korea University’s Practical Music Department as the top student, right? And now he debuted as an idol? So maybe I was jealous of him. It’s weird to say I was jealous of my bias, but… That’s why I wanted to meet him in person and ask about things like the entrance exam, the hard parts, whether he was scared to take on a new challenge… That kind of thing.”]
The post laid bare the writer’s complicated feelings exactly as they were.
From the writer’s perspective, Bang Yuchan, whom they had come to like, was ironically someone who had achieved the very goal they were newly preparing for, yet had given it up.
While someone was suffering over a new challenge, someone else had thrown it away.
“Please tell me this person didn’t go there to hit Bang Yuchan? Well, I mean. Security is there to stop that, but….”
“Would they have posted this if they did, Unni? Ah, look look. The latter part really impressed me too; I want to read it again.”
The two sisters, who bore a striking resemblance to Gim Chunyong, soon put their heads together and began reading the rest of the post.
[“The Yuchan I saw in person was so handsome, kind, and had a good voice. He was exactly the college senior I imagined. And of all things!! Whether some fan gave it to him or what, he was wearing a Korea University department jacket. As I liked him even more, I also felt confused. So without thinking, I asked him: Do you think you would have studied so hard for the entrance exam if you knew you were going to become an idol? But Yuchan said: Back then, that was his goal, and now his goal has simply changed. And since he did his best back then, he has no regrets, and he said he was happy to meet me like this and talk about these things. He said being able to take on a new challenge is always wonderful, and what he did in the past is what made him who he is today, so it will always remain a good memory… Hearing that, I think I teared up without realizing, and that fucker Yuchan was so damn kind he gave me a tissue… I brought it home (photo).”]
The long, love-filled post that revealed so many thoughts concluded like this.
[“Anyway! Thanks for reading this long post. Because of this, I think I like Yuchan even more, and I don’t think I’m scared of the upcoming entrance exam anymore. I have a feeling I’ll pass ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Lastly, I’ll upload the exam tips Yuchan wrote for me and the signed photo. I hope you all think that no matter what happens, you can keep doing better, just like I was comforted thanks to Yuchan. Have a nice day!”]
Having read the entire post, Bomi summarized the story in just one sentence.
“Fucking hell, he makes me want to marry him….”
An idol who comforted his fan at a fansign instead of the other way around?
The moment when Bang Yuchan, who had merely been ‘Gim Chunyong’s handsome and cheerful teammate,’ rose to become number 2 on Gim Bomi’s list of idols she wanted to marry. It was a great moment.
Of course, number 1 was still Choi Gaon.
Nari, having seen her sister’s emotional state, giggled and rolled around on the sofa.
“See? See? Wow, after reading this, Bang Yuchan is totally rising to become my second bias. He was even the top student at Korea University’s Practical Music Department. If I receive my second bias’s energy, maybe I’ll do well on my entrance exam too?”
“Well, that’s true… Hey, wait. But there was nothing in the post about resting properly when it’s time to rest. What are you on about!”
“Ah, shit, busted.”
“Get over here, get over here!”
As the two sisters began to scuffle, exchanging both physical and verbal blows, social media and online communities continued to update with new fansign testimonials.
Bang Yuchan’s kind college entrance counseling, Jang Siu’s cat challenge, Ji Hwaseong’s goggles, Logan’s soccer lesson, and even Son Jaeha swapping out fansign items.
And, although the two Gim sisters paid it the least attention, if there was something that was still drawing heated gazes amidst all that….
[Realtime Trends
1. T.O.J fansign
2. HowIsThisAnIdolName gakuran
3. gakuran]
It was an outfit that brought with it both Neulbomireu’s healing of past wounds, and a major turning point for Gim Chunyong’s image.
* * *
Until now, Gim Chunyong’s image had been intense, but if asked to summarize it in one word, there had been a difficult aspect.
[Name: HowIsThisAnIdolName Gim Chunyong
Face: Delinquent guy
Personality: Frustratingly kind
Skill: Confirmed dance member center < NEW
Overall: What is this, fascinating]
The so-called “gap moe” certainly did a good job of catching people’s attention.
But it was also true that he always needed a focal point to pin it down.
Then, with red hair, wearing a pitch-black gakuran, a bandage plastered on his cheek—a gift from another passing maniac who thought ‘this is it’—and smiling at fans, Gim Chunyong was….
[“Holy shit, the latecomer to the idol delinquent lineage has arrived.”]
[⎿ Plus he’s a dance member, this is it. I’ve been feeling it out slowly, but this is confirmed.]
[⎿ The 4th gen belongs to Gim Chunyong, this is it. Hey, even his name went retro. This is real ssanmai.]
[⎿ A delinquent who’s only kind to his fans. This is real. It’s been a while since I’ve seen ‘the real deal’…]
[Neulbomireu @NBML__0412
(Photo)(Photo)
Go take a look at Chunyong, the love-filled 4th-gen representative delinquent guy♡]
[⎿ Reposting]
[⎿ What do you mean reposting? What year is this?]
[⎿ It reflects the times, just accept it.]
Finally, he had been able to establish his image.
As a “classic delinquent pretty-boy member who evokes nostalgia for the past.”
Moreover, he had already proven through his dance collaboration with Jin Dasol’s crew that he wasn’t just a face, so there was no better direction than this.
Therefore, no one could carelessly use Gim Chunyong for group promotional purposes anymore.
Rather, precisely because a solid character had been built up, he could end up overshadowed.
“Tch….”
Immediately after the fansign ended, after calmly checking the reactions pouring in about him and nodding, he entered the message window with X.
There, messages sent during that time, as well as messages that had just arrived, were piled up.
- X: Ah, your T.O.J is in big trouble. Your rival group is debuting? Those kids are the ones who won Rookie of the Year from the list I sent you, right?
- X: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, another path of hardship has opened~
- X: Well, I’m sure you’ll handle it ㅎㅎ I have to keep reminding you because you might not remember ㅎㅎ
- X: You? If you don’t win Rookie of the Year? You have to go back to emergency arrest days? Hmm?
Gim Chunyong, who had pretended not to see the taunting messages for the past few days while dealing with that issue, roughly scrolled through them and soon checked X’s most recent messages.
- X: Ugh, I’m a bit pissed that Gim Chunyong resolved it without my help.
- X: You weren’t originally this competent, were you? Why are you doing so well? Tch, I picked you thinking you’d fail, but you’re not.
- X: Oops, slip of the tongue. Anyway…
- X: Anyway, even if I don’t go out of my way to curse you ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ hardship finds you on its own, chunyok chunyok!
- X: It starts from dawn today, right? Suffer a bit ㅎㅎ
- X: Oh right, check the stuff piled up in your Compendium too?? You probably got something like [Memory of the First Fan Signing] today.
- X: Ah, overtime is brutal. I’m heading out first. Bye.
Having read all those sentences that could be taken as curses, hexes, or praise, Gim Chunyong lightly rubbed his cheek with his hand and blinked both eyes.
It was a tired face, but in fact, his mind was clearer than ever.
“…….”
Now that he could finally help with his own abilities without being a burden to the members.
Unlike the times when he had been pressed for time and flustered, desperately searching for solutions, Gim Chunyong could prepare properly this time.
So….
“…Hello, T.O.J sunbaenim. We’ll introduce ourselves. We are Wiz.”
With people he had known since trainee days, with whom there had been troubles along the way….
“Wow, hello, Chunyong sunbaenim. I’m An Taei. Haha… Do you happen to know we’re the same age?”
…to the point where he could now brazenly come face-to-face with a person who was his exact opposite—someone who had walked a perfectly paved path in this world.