The Malicious Member Has Returned!
Chapter 208
* * *
Sensing a strange atmosphere, I hurried back into the practice room and let out a sigh at the sight before me without even realizing it.
“Haaah….”
Just a moment.
Really, I had only stepped away for a moment.
“…….”
“Siwoo, you again. The moment anything happens, you clamp your mouth shut….”
I had no idea what conversation had transpired in the meantime, but Siwoo and Yuchan Hyung were avoiding each other’s eyes, their gazes darting about with distressed expressions.
“Hmm? Why this kind of conversation all of a sudden…? Haha, you two. Have you two not gotten along well from the start? Loosen up your expressions, okay?”
The ticking time bomb, whom I had thought would be fine since we’d drained his energy with the practice relay, was unknowingly scattering gunpowder everywhere.
“Are the T.O.J members fighting? Then is it, is it okay? Shouldn’t we stop them…?”
“…Let’s just stay out of it. We practiced a lot today anyway.”
And the ones seeing this scene weren’t even our T.O.J members, but the members of Wiz, another group.
What an embarrassing situation.
And to think this had to happen while we were separated from the other members and unable to communicate with them immediately.
At a loss, I gritted my teeth and let my eyes dart about.
Anyway, the first thing I needed to do right now was….
“…Taei.”
“Huh? Ah, Chunyong! You’re back! Look at this? Your member hyung and dongsaeng are….”
“—Why don’t you go with Danwoo to the lounge and eat some ramyeon? There are lots of cup ramyeon there. Pick whatever kind you want.”
First, I needed to get An Taei out—someone with an innate talent for making situations worse.
For now, Yuchan Hyung and Siwoo were so focused on each other that they were ignoring Taei’s presence, but the moment their attention shifted, there was a very high chance they’d get swept up in the gunpowder that guy was scattering everywhere.
People are easily swayed by a single word heard from the side.
I had ruined my idol life falling for a manager’s coaxing; wouldn’t the same happen with a fight?
“Huh? No, I don’t really want to eat ramyeon right now. And if I eat something and practice, my stomach gets bloated.”
But a formidable foe is a formidable foe. An Taei didn’t back down easily.
“And more than that, now’s not the time for that, right?”
The nerve to appeal, ‘What are you trying to do leaving me out of this conflict?’ with an innocent expression on his neat, porcelain-like face.
However, unlike during ‘Catch Me Catch You,’ I now had an ally who could lend me more strength.
“Uh, Han Danwoo. You take Taei and show him where the lounge is. Uh, you went there earlier, right? It’s at the end of the upstairs hallway on the right.”
“…Okay.”
“Hey, guys? What about my opinion? I just said I didn’t really want to eat.”
“Come out, you bastard. Please read the room, seriously…!”
“Haha, Danwoo. Why did you get so strong? I used to not get pushed when I held my ground.”
“Shut up, shut up. Hey, Park Hawon. You come too. What are you looking at again? Come out.”
“Huh? Uh….”
It wasn’t that Yeonwoo Hyung was unhelpful, but in this situation, Han Danwoo was clearly much more used to dragging An Taei away.
Come to think of it, seeing this, I felt it was fortunate that I had smoothed things over with Han Danwoo even if we had been on awkward terms.
“Um, Siwoo? Mr. Yuchan? Don’t fight, you need to resolve this well! I’ve felt this here and there, but fighting is really not good for the heart….”
“You really have a loose mouth, loose! Get over here!”
Thus, amid the clamor, as Han Danwoo took An Taei and Hawon out of the room, a silence settled over the practice room.
“…….”
Truly, a silence that would have been unimaginable just moments before.
Siwoo was hugging his own arms, his head bowed deeply, while Yuchan Hyung swept his bangs that had fallen over his forehead back and blinked his eyes slowly.
And in the middle of it all, I stood there awkwardly, choosing my words.
“…….”
I gently sat down between the two of them, gauging their unusual moods.
Before anything else, first….
“…What on earth happened?”
“Haah….”
“W-well, it’s….”
Perhaps embarrassed themselves, the moment the situation calmed slightly, sigh-like sounds burst from both Yuchan Hyung and Siwoo’s mouths.
Of course, even then, they absolutely refused to look each other in the eye.
Like this, it felt as if I had returned to the days of
It was like that back then too.
Yuchan Hyung tried to get an answer from Siwoo, and Siwoo chose silence because he didn’t want to reveal his problem.
And in doing so, their emotions only got more tangled, repeating that process over and over.
“Good grief….”
A sigh naturally escaped from the corner of my mouth.
To be honest.
Even as I smoothly continued my T.O.J life, I had thought that a problem would arise between Yuchan Hyung and Siwoo at some point.
And for good reason, since the two of them had already had trouble during
And even during the Arrows days, they hadn’t been a very good match.
“Huh? Who changed the bathroom order for today? I thought I was first, but it got changed to Siwoo. This is bad. I have to wash up quickly and go to the recording studio….”
“Ah, Y-Yuchan Hyung. Then… you can wash up first.”
“Oh, no. I really just need to get water on me! Siwoo, if that’s really how you feel, want to wash up together? I really just need to wash my face and shave.”
“No! Ah, no. Hyung, you first… please wash up. If I’m there, it would be… uncomfortable… for you….”
“Uh… Siwoo. I’m not really uncomfortable with you. I mean it.”
“Even so….”
No matter how infamous I had become in a malicious direction, and no matter how negligent I had been toward the members, I could still sense that much.
“That wraps up today’s story. Ah, Mr. Yuchan. Would you say a word to Siwoo, the maknae of Arrows who just released a solo album? As a surprise, through this radio show….”
“Y-yes?”
“Um, I mean. A word of support…?”
“Uh, um… Siwoo, fighting!”
“…Is that all?”
It was less noticeable when they were with other members, but when Yuchan Hyung and Siwoo talked alone, things got strangely twisted.
They both tried their best to be considerate, but that very consideration often ended up making the other person uncomfortable.
And, well, my mind had been so broken back then that my memory is a bit hazy, but….
“…What are you two doing? Aren’t you originally roommates with Hwaseong, Yuchan Hyung?”
“Ah, Rex. Well… Siwoo and I had something to talk about. Haha! You know? Our second mini-album. Adjusting the parts a bit….”
“Haah… It was too quiet for that. Did you scold him?”
“No… it’s not that.”
“Well, don’t scold Siwoo. If there’s anyone among our members who most deserves a scolding, isn’t it me? No need for you guys to fight.”
“…….”
After my accident, there had also been a noticeable problem between the two.
“…If I hadn’t picked a fight with Siwoo for no reason back then, I could have talked properly with Rex.”
“No. I-it’s because I acted too sensitively toward Yuchan Hyung. So….”
“Tsk….”
I traced back the nightmare I had after my debut was confirmed, trying to shake off the embarrassment creeping up my spine.
In the end, it was probably a dream born from the guilt that I had created the problem situation myself.
Anyway, this time, I just need to help so that doesn’t happen.
I rolled my eyes, looking alternately at the two who were still silent.
Well.
If I had to find a reason why only these two were like this when the other members weren’t….
Was it because the environments they had lived in were too different?
Yuchan Hyung, who came from an ordinary family, steadily prepared for entrance exams, and despite safely getting into Korea University, threw himself without hesitation toward an opportunity to fulfill a once-in-a-lifetime dream and debuted.
Siwoo, who debuted through a survival show after having celebrity siblings who enjoyed top popularity, and spending his childhood in the entertainment industry closer than anyone else, leading a closed-off trainee life.
Not just in personality, but even in that regard, Yuchan Hyung and Siwoo were polar opposites.
No, was that not it?
Was it not that only their environments were different, but that their environments had made them that way?
“Urk….”
Letting out a low sigh, I briefly held my throbbing head.
It doesn’t matter.
As I had told Yuchan Hyung during
But no matter what, the timing was bad—too bad.
If it had been before debut, like with Jaeha Hyung and Hwaseong, or during a break after all activities had ended, maybe.
For this to happen when we still had repackage album activities left and were preparing for an end-of-year collaboration stage with another group?
What the hell was I supposed to do at a time like this, so….
If only they would vent their emotions wildly like Hwaseong or Logan, or even cry in front of me, the solution would be much more straightforward!
“Uh, Yuchan Hyung. And Siwoo….”
Just as I, who had been groaning and worrying for a long while, barely opened my mouth.
“I-I’ll be right back….”
Siwoo, who had been looking only at the floor, raised his head sharply and stood up from his seat.
His subtly stiffened, pretty face quivered his lips several times as if searching for words before barely letting them out.
“I-I’ll be right back… I’m stepping out for a bit. I’ll be back soon. So we can practice… properly….”
Having finished speaking, Siwoo walked straight out of the practice room without giving anyone a chance to stop him.
I had been hoping he would take some kind of action, but not this kind.
“Ha….”
As I stared blankly at the practice room door with somewhat bewildered eyes, Yuchan Hyung scratched his cheek and nudged my shoulder.
“Uh, Chunyong. Sorry. That was bewildering, huh. For you, and for the Wiz members too.”
Honestly, Yuchan Hyung’s face as he said that looked the most bewildered and distressed.
See.
A person who would normally brush it off with a laugh was dripping with cold sweat.
So if I showed that this situation bothered me, he would have a harder time.
I pretended to be as calm as possible and carefully chose my words.
“…It’s fine. I’m just curious about what happened between you and Siwoo. We have to keep practicing.”
I was asking clearly what had happened without making Yuchan Hyung uncomfortable.
“Right, you’re correct. Everything you said is correct. Haha, you always say the right things….”
Yuchan Hyung, who had let out a hollow laugh without hiding his embarrassment, soon changed his expression.
Like usual.
With a handsome face bearing a cheerful, refreshing smile.
“…Don’t worry! It was nothing. It won’t interfere with our collaboration stage practice or our repackage activities. I promised Siwoo that.”
And he glossed over it.
Of course, if I had looked at the two as indifferently as before, I might have just shrugged it off with, ‘Well, it’s something that can happen between guys.’
But given the situation, and because of the word that had lodged in my ears.
A promise?…
Yuchan Hyung and Siwoo. When, where, and what promise did the two of them make?
Yuchan Hyung was the type to easily tell others about his affairs.
From trivial things like what he ate, who called him today, or how itchy he was from hairspray, to heavy stories like the hard times during his exam-preparation days.
However, I had never heard about the ‘promise’ he made with Siwoo.
“Yuchan Hyung, what really just—.”
“Uh, we’re back. …Is it okay now?”
“Oh! The Wiz members are back! Siwoo… too! Then shall we get back to choreography practice? We have to do well on the collaboration stage! The other teams upstairs must be practicing hard too!”
“…….”
I stood up awkwardly and greeted the others together with Yuchan Hyung, narrowing my eyes.
Thanks to Yuchan Hyung and Siwoo’s strange behavior, I could instinctively feel it.
The two had absolutely no intention of telling anyone first about the trouble between them, and were planning to just seal it away as is.
But that wouldn’t do.
During
Those problems would surely come back around and become a vicious cycle making each other more uncomfortable.
Then, I’m sorry, but….
I needed to dig it out.
Soon, my eyes gleamed as I approached the side of the Wiz member with the neat face who was grumbling things like, ‘See, I told you I didn’t really want to eat.’
Should I say it was fortunate that there was someone who had heard the conversation between the two that I hadn’t?
Of course, that person being….
“…For someone who said that, you sure ate well, Taei.”
“Hm? Chunyong? Earlier you jumped just from me raising my hand, but now you’re putting your arm around me first….”
“When did I do that. We’re friends, right?”
It did bother me that this unexploded bomb was who he was, but anyway.
But in the end, even an unexploded bomb was useful depending on how you used it.
I tightened the arm I had thrown around An Taei’s neck, and whispered furtively.
“…I’ll watch your dancing really closely, Taei. Just trust me.”
“Huh…?”
“So, I’m counting on you?”
Because you’re going to be the key to solving our members’ trouble.
I’m counting on you, An Taei.