The Return of the Evil Member - Chapter 186
* * *
The staff corridor of the Sangam Live Hall, where the pre-recording for Music Days' flagship music program, 'MusicMusicDays,' was taking place.
"Did you see it? The one that just went up?"
"Ah, of course I saw it. Mun Yunha really went all out on that one. The scene details are like a movie."
"Exactly. The song's great too. How much did they work the A&R team...?"
"Did you know? I heard a member made that. The A&R team just gave a little help. And the prep time was incredibly short."
"Wow, damn, and it turned out with that quality? That's seriously something else!"
The stage and editing staff passing through were too busy talking about what they'd just seen.
About none other than the music video of an idol group they see every single day.
"Goodness. When the teaser first dropped and it was all cyberpunk this and that, I wondered if it might be a bit much. But it actually feels more casual than the last song."
"Mmm, right? Honestly, I worried it might get too heavy with Mun Yunha just piling on everything, but it's got that light vibe too..."
"Yeah. After watching the whole thing, that's what I thought."
The murmuring voices soon began to converge on one shared opinion.
"...
Serenia and Choi Gaon are last in line this week. Next week, it's Sladex."
"Yeah. I'd say the timing feels pretty good."
"Right? You think it might actually happen? Well, they are overlapping with Lily J's comeback, but still. This side's firepower is better too."
Oblivious to the person approaching them from behind with leisurely steps.
"Yes. If luck's on their side this time, TEOJ..."
"Think they 'might get first place'?"
"Y-yes. I also think that's... Gah?!"
The youngest of the film crew, who had been answering his senior naturally, flinched in surprise at the voice suddenly coming from behind, his eyes flying wide open.
No, there's no way my senior's voice could be this pleasant.
No way he could be this tall and handsome either! 'Oh crap, seriously. I never thought he'd be here...!' He glanced at the senior next to him, who was giving him knowing looks, then at the person grinning cheerfully behind him, and slowly opened his mouth with a voice trembling from shock.
"Ah, hello. Yeon... Yeonwoo-ssi."
To Jung Yeonwoo, who was currently actively promoting Sladex's regular album, 'Mongjungmongseol.'
"Haha... yes, hello. You were really startled, weren't you? I didn't mean for that to happen. It just sort of ended up that way, I guess."
"No, not at all. It's only... natural! Yes, yes. It seems your pre-recording is finished."
"Yes. So I was moving to catch my breath for a bit... and I heard something interesting."
"Ah-ah, well, that is, you see..."
The youngest of the film crew, having blurted out the outrageous claim that a rookie idol who'd just made a comeback with a repackage album could win first place – while the leader of the top-tier active boy group stood right behind him – was completely at a loss, desperately trying to find an excuse.
Well, one might ask why a broadcast crew member would be so flustered by an idol, but he had his reasons.
Because Jung Yeonwoo was that kind of person.
Current leader of top-tier boy groups, a composing genius acknowledged by the charts.
In both good and bad ways. An utterly insane workaholic. 'Ah, damn. What if he gets upset over this and goes on some other show and says something like, "Someone from this film crew can't keep their mouth shut"...' But, rendering such worries pointless, Jung Yeonwoo's face was still full of smiles.
And that wasn't all.
"Hmm, I think so too."
"...Excuse me?"
"I've already watched TEOJ's music video way more than ten times since it came out. It's really good."
"What?"
When had it even started, but TEOJ's music video was playing from the phone he held in his hand.
The volume gradually rose under Jung Yeonwoo's touch, and the music began to ring out loudly in the hallway where they stood.
\- Welcome to the Next stage
`I didn't know it would go this far either`
A tale seen for the first time, a dream, and tomorrow. Neon signs that appropriately blend the irony of East and West – tall buildings and traditional Hanok houses.
\- Somewhere, where you choose
`Already know, it's bound to be good enough`
Somewhere, where you talk
Every single step I take is sweet
Walk on waltz, Walk on water
And in the midst of it, the members of TEOJ each holding an object with neon point accents, focusing on their own tasks.
Powerful, popping with energy.
Elements that resemble the young boys from 'Hide and Seek' yet clearly exude the sense of growth they've experienced since then.
"Uh..."
Just as the youngest film crew member was unknowingly about to get absorbed in the music video, and the screen filled with red hair.
Jung Yeonwoo's finger stopped the playback.
"...
Yes, it was about this good."
Jung Yeonwoo's voice, as if teasing the other person, was filled with a subtle sense of anticipation.
What could he be planning to show next?
What will I see, and what actions will I take... Will it be fun?
Jung Yeonwoo's eyes, curved like crescent moons, were fixed on the screen.
Almost as if he knew exactly what was going to happen next.
"...
Shall we keep this a secret just between us? If a rumor spreads that a senior likes a junior's song too much, it might make them feel pressured."
"Ah, yes. Yes...!"
"W-we'll do that. It won't do us any good if word gets out we talked about this either..."
"Haha, then I'll be going now. I have something to attend to in the basement."
As the two staff members watched Jung Yeonwoo's steps heading toward the elevator, a look of confusion drifted onto their faces.
Just what kind of dreamlike situation was this?
Or why was he heading to the basement, of all places?
"...
The snack shop, maybe?"
"Nah, it can't be the snack shop. Jung Yeonwoo isn't that kind of person."
"A guy who seemed like he'd never care about his juniors in his life just acted like that. Compared to that, the snack shop is nothing big."
"Well, that's true, but..."
"Let's go for now. Hand this over to the editing team, then we need to head back to the site too."
"Yes."
With his senior's grumbling, the youngest film crew member slowly moved his steps in the opposite direction. Lingering in his vision was the afterimage of the music video he had just seen.
To be exact...
[(Dragon emoticon): I think you can come now!]
It was the message from someone that had been floating at the top of Jung Yeonwoo's phone.
* * *
Actually, the person from Sladex who visited the basement level 4 of Sangam Live Hall the most recently was none other than Juyeong.
[Billie: Oppa, when does your pre-recording end? ㅠㅠ]
[Billie: I'm waiting in the car for ages right now... I want to see you soon]
[Billie: Can you stop by the snack shop and buy me a sikhye before our car arrives?? If you do, I'll give you a kiss ♡]
That place was famous among idol couples as a secret rendezvous spot, and he was currently in the middle of a very active relationship.
"...
Hey, I'm going down for a bit."
"Going down? Where to?"
"Sikhye. I'm going to get some sikhye."
"Goodness, you've really been hooked on that stuff lately... Yeonwoo hyung wouldn't like it if he knew. Says you can't manage your weight."
"Ah, mind your own business. Still, I'm skinnier than you, you punk."
He even perfectly fooled his members with an image like 'that guy who's been crazy for the MuMuDe basement snack shop's sikhye lately.'
"Anyway, if Yeonwoo hyung asks where I went, just say I went to the restroom. I'm trusting you."
"Sigh, fine. Just try to drink it in moderation, got it?"
"Ah, I said I got it!"
And using that, he even prevented the other guys from snitching to Jung Yeonwoo about his movements.
Should we call this a perfect crime?
It had already been around 150 days since Juyeong began his relationship with Billie, slipping past Jung Yeonwoo's sharp eyes.
In his heart, an unconscious arrogance was sprouting little by little. 'Ah, damn. Yeonwoo hyung is nothing special after all, huh? Even when I do this much, he doesn't know. I'm almost at the point where I want someone to notice this now!'He'd fooled even Jung Yeonwoo, so now he thought it might be okay to be a little more obvious.
The desire to tell someone about this relationship, as long as it didn't betray the fans' love.
The hasty confidence that he might just be able to hold onto both love and work.
These things mixed together, simmering in one place, and reached a single conclusion.
In the direction that 'it might be okay to tell those who don't know anything about it a little bit.'
And there happened to be some guys caught on his radar for that.
"...
Huh?"
"Huh? Juyeong sunbae-nim! Hello!"
"Oh-oh, TEOJ members. Right. It was your comeback this week, wasn't it? ...Well, this is something."
The three TEOJ members who were loitering in front of the MuMuDe snack shop, that's who they were.
"Haha... First time seeing you since the KemiKyu filming, sunbae-nim! We've been watching your promotions closely."
"Sure. Hmm, so what brings you all here?"
"Ah, Logan and Hwaseong said they were curious about this snack shop... so we're buying some sweets and showing them around. Two birds with one stone."
"Aha. I see..."
From Juyeong's perspective, there seemed to be no better candidates to first share the news of his relationship with.
"Well, now that you're here, what do you think? Seniors come here way more than you'd think, right?"
"Yes, yes! Oh man, I knew it! Everyone you'd say 'they're not in the waiting room' was actually all here? Yongyong hyung said only people in the know come, but it's basically just us who didn't know!"
"That's what I'm saying. I feel like I've seen everyone I haven't seen for a while here..."
"Hm-hm, yes. That's correct."
Having debuted through a survival show, they still overflowed with curiosity about the idol ecosystem and had far more they didn't know than what they did know.
"We also saw the Serenia sunbaenims, and I was really shocked! Especially Yein sunbae-nim..."
"Oh-oh, Hwaseong-ah. Don't just go saying stuff like that."
"Huh, why?"
"What do you mean, why? I'm stopping you because you might cause a misunderstanding."
"Gahk, is that so? I didn't even think of that."
I'm not entirely sure, but they seem interested in female idols.
Of course, Hwaseong was about to talk about the beatbox Yein had shown him, but Juyeong, not knowing that, was able to strongly solidify his resolve.
Ah, if there's a first target to whom I reveal my relationship, it's probably these guys.
And so, Juyeong ended up casually opening his mouth and saying that.
"...
Aren't you a bit curious about idols dating each other?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well, as someone with experience, I thought I might tell you a little."
An utterance that would have been thoughtless even if spoken carefully, coming out without him realizing it.
"Gasp... Sunbae-nim, no! Is that really okay right now? Whoa, damn, I was so surprised I almost crushed all my puffed snacks!"
"What? Are you serious? No, why would you tell us that of all people..."
Up to here, it was the reaction Juyeong had imagined.
One practically popping his eyes out with shock, flustered; another glancing around with an expression that said, 'Did I just hear that right?'
There was this kind of thrill in revealing something the other person didn't expect.
That was partly why he'd kept wanting to tell someone. 'This is it, this is the feeling. This is why you can't tell people close to you and only end up telling people you barely know!'With dopamine rushing up from his toes to the top of his head, Juyeong's mouth started chattering away nonstop.
"They say this place is only known to those in the know. You know why? Because that owner over there never opens his mouth."
"Uh-uh, sunbae-nim. Is this really something we should be hearing...?"
"It's stuff you'll all have to know eventually anyway. Isn't it better to learn early?"
"...
Alright, Hwaseong-ah. Just stay quiet and listen. Sunbae-nim is teaching us something good."
"Hah, Choon Yong-ssi gets it! So, the thing is, the person I'm seeing these days is..."
If only he had stopped there.
If only he could have noticed the long strides walking up right behind him sooner.
No, at the very least.
If only he had noticed Kim Choonyong, staring at him blankly with bewilderment and disbelief, wearing an awkward smile that said 'I didn't plan for it to go this far'!
"...
So, who are you seeing?"
"Ah, you TEOJ members probably know them too. Among your seniors, Lily J is... Wait. Why are you speaking informally to me, though?"
"Juyeong. You don't expect me to use formal speech with you, do you?"
"...
Huh?"
This was the full account of the situation that led to Juyeong getting completely chewed out by Jung Yeonwoo.
"Haha... Hello, Yeonwoo sunbae-nim."
"...
That's quite the grand gift, Choonyong-ssi. I like it."
"Aagh, Yeonwoo hyung! Please! You, you misheard, hyung!"
A situation that our Kim Choonyong half-planned, and half came about because Juyeong recklessly rolled a giant snowball.