The Malicious Member Has Returned! Chapter 166
When Son Jaeha stepped through the dorm entrance earlier than expected, the members chattering about their respective days naturally turned their gazes toward him.
“Huh? Jaeha hyung, why are you back so early? And where’s Chunyong hyung?”
“Aish, it’s because Logan hogged so much time today, obviously. He’s practically showing that Jaeha hyung didn’t get a turn!”
“Alone… nearly three hours… you used it all. You, that’s too much… I even factored in… the travel time….”
“What? No! I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear. Listen. Hwaseong, Siwoo. Even if I’d gone out with Hwaseong instead of Chunyong hyung, I definitely would’ve….”
“Jaeha, did something happen with Chunyong? He was all secretive about what you two would do. Was it that quick?”
“Haha….”
At the flurry of words raining down on him, Son Jaeha covered his mouth with his hand and let out a laugh like it was crumbling.
The four TiOje members, neither sitting on the couch nor on the floor, had eyes brimming with curiosity.
Though they didn’t show it, the five men here had racked their brains to lift the spirits of the one member who was down.
Son Jaeha gazed at these people with whom he now shared a special bond, mentally retracing each thing they’d done.‘Going to karaoke, playing games together. Eating sweet snacks, sharing what you love most….’Truthfully, during a busy promotion period, there’s no time to check on each member’s condition one by one.
You have to pretend not to notice some things even when you’re aware of them, and brush it off with “We’re all struggling, let’s just hang in there a little longer.”
That was the fate of those who chose this idol profession because they loved it.
Not being able to sleep at night, so you doze off in the waiting room or while getting makeup done?
“Ah, Yuchan ssi. Please don’t tilt your head back…! The spray will get in your mouth!”
“Ugh, ah, ah. Sorry! I just dozed off for a second, haha….”
The other members were similar too.
Compulsively checking your phone, minding your own attitude?
“Oh, Jaeha ssi. Are you checking our repackage schedule? I don’t think I sent you a separate file, so how did you…?”
“Ahh. I wanted to get a sense of how it’ll proceed, so I asked a company staff member separately.”
“You don’t seem to be overdoing it… but still, if you need anything from now on, I’ll send it to you personally. That’ll be more convenient.”
“Mm, okay. Don’t worry.”
Actually, Son Jaeha might not have shown it lately, but his own fatigue was as bad as, if not worse than, Kim Chunyong’s.
So the members’ attitude could be seen as a bit excessive.
From the start, Kim Chunyong had seemed a little flustered that these things were being planned for him, and calling it “playing to lift his spirits” sounded nice, but it was practically just causing more fatigue.
Even if he’d received help, it was that.
Even if he had the thought that he wanted the member who’d had a good influence on him to feel better, it was that.
There was no need to devote an entire hard-won vacation, wrangled so effortfully, just for the sake of one member.
But.
Still, the reason Son Jaeha and the other members planned this with the sole thought, “I wish Kim Chunyong could feel a little better.”
“I’m not doing it for you, hyung. I’m doing it because I want to.”
“…….”
“So you don’t have to feel burdened. This is just me, and by extension the other members, doing whatever we want. Why would you feel burdened? You could just put a hand to your forehead and think, ‘What am I to do with these troublemakers?’”
Sometimes, why do certain memories stay in your heart this long, making you do things you don’t even need to do?
And moreover, the actions Kim Chunyong took after that made it impossible for the members to stand by and do nothing.
“Yuchan hyung, do you want to permanently fix our hair and makeup times from now on? Then I think we could sleep about… thirty minutes more.”
“Huh? No! You seem tired lately too, so there’s no need to go that far….”
“Ah, I sleep in the van, remember. And personally, it’s more comfortable for me to get all my makeup done early and then go sleep in the van.”
“…
Well, if you say so.”
“Oh, then since Yuchan hyung is right before Jaeha hyung in the order, can you pass him this file? I saw him checking the repackage schedule these days. I was looking at it a bit too.”
“Huh, really? Got it. Wow, you and Jaeha, seriously, you two check everything….”
“Haha, because we need to.”
Ah, so.
In the end, this was bound to happen.
Whether it stemmed from Kim Chunyong’s guilt over his life as a malicious member, or from a goodness even he didn’t know he possessed.
Only one thing was visible in the members’ eyes.
“…
Hmm.”
With various memories flickering through his mind, Son Jaeha, who had been standing blankly in front of the entrance, quickly removed the shoes encasing his feet and stepped into the living room.
It was to answer the members’ earlier question about why he had returned so soon.
And also, to confirm whether he had done the right thing.
Patting each of the members’ shoulders once, Son Jaeha opened his mouth in a voice that wasn’t too heavy.
“Everyone has hobbies, things they want to do for him… but for me, nothing came to mind right away. Even though I was the one who suggested this, I just drew a blank.”
“So… that’s why… you gave Chunyong hyung… free time…?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
At Jang Siwoo’s puzzled voice, Son Jaeha gave a warm reply, moving toward the window in the dorm’s living room.
“…
Each of us did what we thought was the best thing, right? Isn’t that so?”
“Oh, right. Jaeha hyung said the words I wanted to say for me. So if you think about it, I gave Chunyong hyung the sweetness of sleep and the coolness of guitar….”
“That’s it, Logan, hands up. I need to show you the taste of Korean-style corporal punishment. Why are you so shameless, seriously!”
“Holy! This is not just Korean-style, it’s universal, Hwaseong!”
“Haha….”
With a light laugh, Son Jaeha came to stand in front of the living room window, and Bang Yuchan approached him, letting out a low and puzzled voice.
“…
So, Jaeha. What did you do? Knowing you, I doubt you did something ordinary. …
Did you introduce him to someone else? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have left Chunyong alone.”
He might not be the leader, but he is the eldest, after all.
Or maybe, it’s the savvy with human relationships he gained from meeting many people outside the entertainment industry.
Unlike the maknae line busy bickering, at the question that pierced to the heart of it, Son Jaeha put his arm around Bang Yuchan’s shoulder and pulled him close.
Just like that red-haired member in TiOje, the one most at ease with skinship, would do.
“Yes. You’re right, Yuchan hyung. I had him meet someone. I contacted them urgently, so I wasn’t sure if it would work… but they said yes.”
“…
Um, is that the people at the playground? They’re, they’re women? Isn’t he hitting them?!”
“Mm, hyung. Don’t worry.”
Beyond the dorm living room window, Son Jaeha properly took in the scene inside the tiny playground and, with a face full of ease, slowly opened his mouth.
“…
It was quite decent, unlike what I had in mind.”
His thoughts were correct.
“Ack! Ah! It hurts, I said it hurts!”
“Stop being such a drama queen. I didn’t think it was this bad at home.”
In reality, just as the two of them were watching, Kim Chunyong was getting smacked once each in the back by the two women, but….
“Tsk, it’s because you’ve lost weight. If you’d put on a little more meat, you wouldn’t be making those noises from just this!”
“Agh, if you know that, then stop it!”
Because, in a place they couldn’t see, he was smiling brightly.* * *The three siblings’ conversation that had started on the swings below the playground continued until the sun, shining in orange sparkles, set and the streetlights came on.
Peacefully seated in a row on the three swings, catching up on each other’s lives.
“…
So, you’re saying that once the ‘Hide and Seek’ promotions wrap up next week, you’ll start preparing for the repackage? But wait. What exactly is a repackage? Even when I buy them, I always get confused.”
“Ah, it’s almost the same album tracks, but they repackage it with one or two songs added. These days, that’s how pretty much everyone extends their promotion cycle….”
“Wow, what a crazy marketing scheme… No wonder, our Gaon also originally did a full four weeks of promotions, but this time she said she’s only doing three weeks!”
“Ah, crap. I half expected it, but hearing Kim Chunyong talk about the end of ‘Hide and Seek’ promotions… That means our Siwoo’s Boy Scout uniform era is almost over! No!”
“Hey. Your oppa wore it too, you know.”
Each voice continuing in a murmur had a different pitch, yet they sounded similar somehow, as if to show they were siblings.
“What’s important about Kim Chunyong wearing it? Oppa, do you care when I wear my school uniform?”
“Kim Nari, you really… When I get my settlement, no more allowance.”
“Wow. Foul, foul. How can you do that? Even if I get that allowance, I use it all to buy TiOje albums. For Siwoo!”
“Hey, dongsaeng. Instead of thinking about allowances, give some to Mom and Dad and save up. You don’t even have anything in your pockets yet, what’s with this?”
“Tsk, you say that, but you still get happy when Mom and Dad give you allowance, sis.”
“What was that?”
Teasing and being teased.
Landing a blow, and taking a big hit.
“Haha….”
Lightly pushing off the ground to rock his swing back and forth, Kim Chunyong let out a clear laugh, unlike the worried-ridden chuckles of the past few days.
It wasn’t as affectionate as the close siblings in some novel, but for Kim Chunyong, this was enough.
Because beneath it all, he knew there was love.‘I’m here because your handsome leader contacted me’—even with that added remark, his noona had shown up with both hands full of over-the-counter meds and side dishes, and his dongsaeng seemed to have followed right out without even changing out of her school uniform. …
How much he had missed this.
After taking them in with his eyes for a moment, a tight presence, Kim Chunyong feigned nonchalance in the most casual voice possible.
“Do you two have a lot of time? You’ve been sitting here for a long while. What’s so fun about the three siblings getting together to chat?”
If you had eyes, you couldn’t miss it.
That soon, they would have to return to their own daily lives.
Because Kim Bomi’s phone, ringing intermittently, and Kim Nari’s school bag, sitting heavily, swayed along with the swings.
In his honest heart, Kim Chunyong wanted to tell them to stay longer.
But….
“Yeah. We should get going… now. I asked someone to cover the first period of my night self-study supervision to come. On the way, I’ll drop Nari off at her academy too.”
“Huh, busy life….”
“You do know that, right? I made time to come. Tell your leader hyung thank you.”
“Next time I see you, get me Siwoo’s autograph. Ah, I should’ve taken it down and brought it with me….”
“Hey, I want Gaon’s album!”
“Ah, okay, okay.”
He had to protect their everyday lives and, for the sake of a better tomorrow, send them off holding onto that regret.
“Get home safely. Don’t look at your phone while driving.”
“Hey, you just take care of yourself.”
“Oppa. Please, tell Siwoo I love him. Stay well!”
Watching the shadows of his two sisters stretched long by the streetlight, Kim Chunyong slowly blinked his eyes.
“…….”
The slightly faded red hair spilling before his eyes silently reminded him that quite some time had passed since debut.
Kim Chunyong hadn’t had the time to look back on what he’d done.
He hadn’t been able to check what others were thinking.
Because he’d been busy.
Because he’d always thought, “This is just something I have to do,” rushed just to clear away the tasks in front of him.
But, today.
To be precise, this one full day off that had started last night.
Spending time there, one by one, with the people he considered important….
Kim Chunyong could think, maybe, just maybe, that he had run quite well so far.
Should you say it was the point where the TiOje member-led dragon raid, something he’d never imagined, was coming to a successful finish?
“…
Hoo.”
Anyway.
Thanks to that, the breath coming from his lips was light.
His head was clearer than ever.
The vacation the TiOje members had arranged for him breathed more courage and determination into Kim Chunyong.
- X: Ha Kim Chunyong-yongguri this is not it, huh? You just leave me and go off on your own?
- X: Hey, this is a problem ;; Remember what our method of communication is
- X: I’ve been trying to accommodate you as much as possible ㅡㅡ
- X: You’re really hopeless, dude
- X: I need to give you a special mission as punishment
- X: Remem ber this you bas tard (fury) (fury)
“Ha, seriously….”
Even at the messages from X that he faced again upon returning to the dorm, he could smile with a resolute face.
Once you’ve paused at the station called refreshing, the most basic thing is to prepare to run again.
Attacked once with affection as the foundation, Kim Chunyong was ready to properly run again.