The Villainous Member Has Returned! Episode 157
Only one thought crossed Han Dan-u’s mind: *What on earth is going on?*
He had only taken his eyes off the monitor for a brief moment, immersed in nostalgia, and exchanged a few words with Bang Yuchan.
And yet….
—“I’m sorry, Chunyong. I’m really, really sorry!”
—“I know, when did I say I didn’t? Just do what you’re told. Didn’t you say you were confident you could stop a fight?”
—“I did say that, but! This is….”
Ahn Tae-i suddenly clinging to Kim Chunyong, utterly at a loss, and Kim Chunyong excitedly eating it up as he teased him.
“What the hell…?”
A hollow voice escaped his lips on its own.
Clearly, at first, Kim Chunyong had seemed somewhat uncomfortable with Ahn Tae-i, who had indiscriminately dropped bombs not only on WIZ but also on T/O/J. It was only natural he’d be in a foul mood when he already didn’t want to see that group, and now some member he didn’t even know was stirring up trouble.
—“Ah, I don’t get it. You said you were sorry, Taei? You said you could do anything! I only told you this because I trusted you. I’m hurt.”
—“Ugh… wait. I need… a moment.”
—“Fine. I’ll give you ten seconds. Five to think, five to answer. That’s enough, right?”
—“Hmm, let’s cut that in half. I think the Team Two survivors will be rushing over soon.”
—“That’s what the senior said, Taei.”
But watching the two of them talk, weren’t they rushing forward like a storm, as if they had been waiting for this very moment?
Of course, this was only possible because Kim Chunyong had made up his mind from the moment he arrived at the *Catch Me Catch You* set to somehow resolve the Ahn Tae-i situation and joined hands with Jeong Yeon-u, but….
“Whoa, wait! What is Yongyong hyung doing right now? Hyung Yuchan, did you see anything?”
“No, I just barely figured out what’s going on too… but it looks like something’s happening?”
It was to the point where even the fellow T/O/J members couldn’t hide their surprise; there was no way Han Dan-u, who was from an entirely different group, could grasp the whole story.
“Ha, haha… what on earth….”
So, while Han Dan-u was in the losers’ room with his mouth hanging open at an unexpected turn of events, under the camera vividly capturing that very situation, a farce of Team 1 survivors was unfolding in full swing.
* * *
The survivors of Team 1 and Team 2 in *Catch Me Catch You*—which currently purported to be a special forces survival mission—were three each.
Team 1: Jeong Yeon-u, Kim Chunyong, and Ahn Tae-i.
And Team 2: Son Jaeha, Jo Eun, and I Seonho.
With few missions remaining and so few survivors left, the moment where they inevitably clashed was bound to come. Whether they finished a mission before getting eliminated, or ambushed the opponent when they were trying to complete a mission to get another chance—either way, they had to meet and finish it.
And that conclusion couldn’t help but become the best chance for Kim Chunyong.
A chance to catch the bomber, safely finish filming, and put the members’ worries to rest.
That was why….
“You done worrying? I think I gave you twenty seconds.”
“Exactly thirty seconds. Haha, Mr. Chunyong… you’re more generous than I thought.”
“No, both of you…!”
This was how he had joined forces with Jeong Yeon-u to relentlessly corner Ahn Tae-i.
“…Does it have to be that method? I didn’t think you’d suggest that!”
Ahn Tae-i, his handsome face twisted in confusion more than ever, wore an expression that said he couldn’t believe this situation.
“Yeah. It has to be this method.”
Kim Chunyong shrugged lightly at that attitude and nodded quietly.
Of course, if it had been other T/O/J members besides Ahn Tae-i, or others who had influenced him, he would have used a more moderate method. Kim Chunyong was absolutely weak to family and T/O/J members, and despite his appearance, had quite a good-natured personality.
But this was a special case.
When he had humiliated Choi Geonyeong while busking with Logan, or even when he broke Kim Juan’s spirit to secure the center position for the dance break of *Targeting Star*’s first song, “Aiming”—Kim Chunyong was also someone who didn’t go easy on others when necessary.
Well, leaving aside Ryu Wei, whose situation had gotten complicated.
“Tch.”
“…Ugh.”
When Kim Chunyong frowned and clicked his tongue at an unpleasant memory that suddenly surfaced, Ahn Tae-i, who had been watching his mood, flinched his broad shoulders and let out a sigh.
Ahn Tae-i, who had inadvertently given Kim Chunyong a hint to his behavioral principle with the careless words “Are you going to fight?” earlier, looked like a herbivore completely caught in a trap.
Tall, handsome as if sculpted from porcelain, and pure-hearted, but in the end, like a rabbit that overestimated his own leaping ability and bit hard into a snare.
“…Got it. I’ll do it. That’s enough, right? This isn’t what I thought, Chunyong…!”
To Ahn Tae-i, who had finally raised an invisible white flag, Kim Chunyong smiled brightly and patted his shoulder.
Well, there wasn’t really anything to brush off, but….
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to pressure you for no reason.”
“…What?”
“Now that I know what you want, I’ll do that for you too. Understand?”
To say such things while subtly holding his mic so it wouldn’t be caught by the audio, a certain level of showmanship was needed.
“This is what you wanted from the start. Don’t play dumb.”
Kim Chunyong smiled right in front of the grimacing Ahn Tae-i.
“…….”
That refreshing smile, showing a hint of fangs, was no different from usual, but to Ahn Tae-i, who suddenly felt his ankle caught, it felt different.
A carnivore.
Not something like a wolf or tiger.
“Then let’s not waste more time. This is fun, but missions like these are only good if you win in the end.”
Such a large animal suited Jeong Yeon-u more, who was still wearing a gentle smile behind Kim Chunyong.
“Shall we go then? No need for another explanation, right? I’m sure you’ll do it best even without one.”
So, Kim Chunyong, who subtly cornered Ahn Tae-i while smiling like a mischievous child….
“…You’re like a fox, Chunyong.”
Yes. This side.
“Um, I need to talk about something important for a moment. It’s just the three of us now… so I think we should get this straight first.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“…Let’s hear it first.”
“It’s a bit different from what we planned earlier, but since Taei is here, I think we can try this. This approach will work better.”
The moment he found a way to break through the situation, he naturally guided the conversation and made the other party act a certain way.
“Taei, you said you followed your parents around sets a lot, right?”
“…Yeah, right! Until high school, almost every day….”
“Right. Then I think you’ll have to act a bit.”
“W-what? No, I don’t want to! What do you mean act all of a sudden? Are you doing this because I’ve been mean to you until now…?”
“Hey. No, no. Do I look that narrow-minded? It’s not that; we really need you this time.”
“Sorry, but that’s a bit too…!”
“Huh? Didn’t you say you’d do anything if you could just stop a fight? That you could do anything, Taei?”
After driving him to the edge of a cliff, he suddenly stuck out his hand and made him grab it—all of Kim Chunyong looked like a fox to Ahn Tae-i.
“…A fox? Hey, what are you talking about.”
Kim Chunyong raised his eyebrows at those words, rolled his eyes for a moment, then chose to grab Ahn Tae-i’s arm and pull him along.
“Well, think of me as whatever animal you want. It’s not important.”
Kim Chunyong didn’t care what Ahn Tae-i thought of him in his head right now.
“…Let’s win, finish filming properly, and talk again then.”
He intended to properly end this game and settle the relationship between the now-cornered Ahn Tae-i and WIZ once and for all.
“I hear people from the left stairs. I think they’ll be here soon… Mr. Taei, please get ready.”
As Jeong Yeon-u’s voice signaled the end of the two’s exchange, Kim Chunyong naturally took Ahn Tae-i’s arm.
“Ready?”
*Thwack—!*
At Ahn Tae-i’s anxious yet determined face, Kim Chunyong squinted his eyes playfully and smacked the guy’s back—containing both anger at having caused this trouble and encouragement to do well.
“Go. Now.”
With that low voice….
“…If we just exchange this medal, we win, right?”
“Yes. The other team doesn’t have enough, so if we just exchange this, we’ll win.”
“Let’s prioritize not getting caught above all else and move carefully.”
The final all-out clash of this messy *Catch Me Catch You* filming mission came rushing in.
* * *
Thanks to Ahn Tae-i having faithfully followed his parents around filming sets, Kim Chunyong and Jeong Yeon-u were able to hide behind the central stairwell door while Ahn Tae-i went to meet the Team 2 survivors.
Watching Ahn Tae-i’s back as he slowly walked toward where he sensed people, Jeong Yeon-u opened his mouth with an interested voice.
“…Mr. Chunyong. Can we talk for a moment?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Please speak.”
“Haha, I won’t talk long. I just want to understand the current situation.”
Throughout today’s filming, Jeong Yeon-u had taken Kim Chunyong’s side as much as possible and spent time figuring out his intentions. In doing so, he had learned two things.
First. Ahn Tae-i had been continuously provoking Kim Chunyong to test him.
Second. Whatever the reason, there had been some trouble between WIZ and Kim Chunyong.
Others might think “what does that even matter,” but to Jeong Yeon-u, that information alone was enough. After all, he only needed to conclude how Kim Chunyong planned to resolve Ahn Tae-i, and that the relationship with WIZ was problematic in that process.
And at the end, a new question popped out.
“…Is Taei going to act based on what he learned from watching his parents related to how you plan to resolve this situation, Mr. Chunyong?”
Though he had expressed it indirectly for the broadcast audio, the meaning was obvious. *I know you’re trying to break Ahn Tae-i’s spirit and resolve this filming in a different way. But will that be a way to solve another upcoming trouble related to WIZ and Ahn Tae-i?*
That was actually true.
Because they were on a filming set, Kim Chunyong had refrained from explaining his thoughts to the extreme, and mostly showed through actions first. So those watching from the side who roughly knew what was going on couldn’t help but be curious. Could making Ahn Tae-i act like that really solve problems beyond just the filming?
“Sigh….”
Kim Chunyong, mulling over Jeong Yeon-u’s words, let out a low sigh and watched Ahn Tae-i still walking like a snail with his rabbit-like legs.
The guy who had suddenly thrown a bomb at Kim Chunyong and the WIZ members, asking if they had fought.
And the guy who had clearly been affected by watching some problem between his parents.
Kim Chunyong carefully observed his gait, revealed his characteristic fangs, and opened the conversation again with a light voice.
“Senior. Have you seen anything like that? A child education program or something.”
A child education program, all of a sudden?
Though it was a very strange opening, Jeong Yeon-u calmly searched his memory and continued answering.
“…Not really. Unless Sladix members appeared on it.”
“I watched them quite often. And sometimes those kids appear on them. …Good-child complex?”
“Ah, I know what you mean.”
A child who doesn’t want to be hated.
A child who wants to remain a good son or daughter somehow.
Usually, such children realize through professional solutions that they can act appropriately for their age, and their symptoms improve.
However, there were certainly cases where that didn’t happen.
For example, when they couldn’t receive the solution itself. Or when no one knew the child was in such a state.
Then what happens to such children?
“Then do you know what happens to a child when that isn’t properly resolved?”
“…Hmm. I haven’t seen it, but I can roughly guess. It would divide into two categories.”
They either remain a good child forever, or realize being good is useless and go astray.
Kim Chunyong quietly nodded and closed his mouth again.
Ahn Myeong-uk and Baek Yeong-hyeon—the so-called love of the century—and Kim Chunyong and WIZ.
There was a clear commonality here.
A commonality that made Ahn Tae-i inevitably reveal his true nature without realizing it.
“Still, that doesn’t quite answer my question. So, whether this can become a solution….”
“Ah, Senior. Shh, shh.”
Kim Chunyong brought a finger to the still-questioning Jeong Yeon-u’s lips, left a faint smile, and looked beyond the stairwell door.
“…….”
“……!”
Before they knew it, Ahn Tae-i had met and started a conversation with the other Team 2 members, including Son Jaeha.
For now, Kim Chunyong’s new! plan started from here.
Through this filming, peel off a layer of Ahn Tae-i’s shell and clear the main event that would follow right after.
“Let’s go. As quietly as possible.”
“…Haha, alright. I’ll hear the answer later then.”
The endgame of the idol special forces members catching and being caught, for that purpose, was approaching.