The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 215
* * *
The joint livestream carried out by T.O.J and Wiz, lasting an hour and thirty minutes, became a hot topic in idol fan communities and on social media.
[Wow, so they actually did this? T.O.J and Wiz actually did it.]
[⎿Handsome guys keep showing up on screen, one, two, three, ugh, there are too many.]
[I thought they'd never do anything together after Catch Me, Catch You… Guess Queens and AG have a different policy than other agencies?]
[⎿But seeing how the Wiz kids mention T.O.J sometimes, I did kind of think they got along. It was just the Wiz fans who were always flipping out.]
[⎿Catch Me, Catch You lived up to its nickname once more. Crazy, I guess it's not "Catch Me" but chemistry.]
[Hwaseong/Joeun < Is this a viable stock? I'm kind of in a hurry, so please answer quickly.]
[⎿Ji Hwaseong has too many amazing rivals in the same group, so Joeun can't even compete. Go scroll through SNS and see for yourself—you'll flip your eyes.]
[Theodore Tae @TeodorTAEiii < Did this person finally get their account suspended? LMAO, they cursed like hell while defending An Tae-i, but seeing the two of them getting along, I guess they lost their mind.]
[⎿Exactly, you shouldn't run your mouth about celebrities' personal relationships, tsk tsk. R.I.P.]
[Ugh, I started in the middle, so I don't understand why it devolved into such chaos at all. Please upload the replay quickly.]
[⎿Honestly, I watched from start to finish and I still don't really get it!]
And it was only natural. When the media openly framed two groups as rivals, it was normal for both sides to avoid each other.
Leopold and 2OCD had done so, and so had Serenia and Lily J, who reigned as first-tier fourth-generation girl idols through
At least Leopold and 2OCD were a bit better off, having appeared on variety shows together and demonstrated that their members were quite close; but Serenia and Lily J….
[Siyeon's Dating Yein @Sereeeslover No but the digital chart scores and album sales are overwhelmingly different, so why do they keep comparing them to our kids? ㅇㅅㅇ… I mean, if the concepts were similar, maybe. Serenia is steadily~ improving, so I don't know why they keep attaching that "first love" blah blah from ages ago ㅠ]
[⎿Siyeon-nim, who are you talking about?]
[⎿ㅋㅋ DM me.]
[Weren't their target demographics different from the start? Serenia goes with fans who watched the survival show together and cheered them on, but Lily J came out with a concept targeting male fans from the beginning.]
[⎿I think it's because there are quite a few members in Lily J who attract female fans…]
[⎿Ugh, f*ck, tell Billy to stop dating already.]
[No, we were just talking about how Yun-yeong unni treats her fans well, so why do Serenia fans come attack us every damn day? We don't want our names lumped together either ;;]
[⎿If that's the case, why do Lily J fans get the most excited and come running to write posts every time they're compared to Serenia? You think you're on the same level, right?]
[God, I'm so sick and tired of Serenia fans and Lily J fans fighting… I bet the agencies will just read the room and make sure their promotions don't overlap from now on. Using this for noise marketing once or twice is enough—last time they almost came to blows.]
[⎿What even are idols.]
Should it be called chaos, destruction, and oblivion?
If their promotional periods overlapped by chance, they fought over concepts; they fought even when they were just existing; they fought over whether your unni copied our unni or not; they fought and fought and fought.
With these circumstances constantly emerging, an unspoken rule had developed: "If groups are lumped together as rivals, it's standard to keep them from clashing."
In the early days after debut, both sides needed noise marketing, so that was one thing, but now that they were gradually settling into their orbit, it was especially true.
[Another guest in the practice room? Welcome, Jenia♡]
[Today it's not our practice room but somewhere else ♬]
Yet, T.O.J and Wiz had conducted a joint livestream as if telling such rules to go to hell.
The joint livestream of the two groups, which had already stirred tension among fans due to their debut timing, marketing, and the subtle vibe from "Catch Me, Catch You," was….
- "Ugh, no! We're almost there! Almost there!"
- "Hwaseong-ssi, sorry, but we're the ones winning this time… Jayden. Are you crazy? Are you insane? You want to turn back here again?"
- "Eun, if you hadn't rolled a baek-do earlier, we would have safely reached the goal this time. It's not my fault."
- "…Guess we don't even need to go back to the dorm. Let's settle this right here, Jayden. Put up your fists."
- "Just what I wanted. Finally, I get to use a room alone."
It was even more of a mess than during "Catch Me, Catch You," several times louder than when they had moved quietly for missions back then, and at the same time….
- "Hey, hey…! Stop fighting over pointless stuff and focus on the game! T.O.J is totally going to win at this rate!"
- "Wajasseu, it's our chance! Yongyong hyung, literally even a gae would be enough for us to win. You can definitely do it… Aagh!"
- "Wait. Let me read it. 'From now on, return to the Start point again….' What?!"
- "Hmm, both teams are starting over from the beginning. Can we finish this within the remaining time?"
It was funny.
It was entertaining, and at times it looked like an MT of men in their late teens to early twenties laughing and crying over a hastily assembled game of Yutnori.
In the end, despite rumors circulating that they must not get along because they were rivals, after everything, they were just peers and friends.
That gave T.O.J and Wiz fans, who had been feeling awkward, uncomfortable, or wary of each other, a completely different impression.
That's what being a fan was, in the end.
Isn't it best if my idol is having fun and happy?
Their success is great and all, but wouldn't it be even better if they had a friend by their side in that moment?
Ah, in the end, you end up wishing for your idol's happiness.
Thanks to that, the friendship-supporting faction of T.O.J and Wiz, which had been operating under the surface since "Catch Me, Catch You," made a splendid appearance and naturally began to spread by word of mouth.
[So you're saying they did this livestream together because they happened to be gathering for the year-end collab stage? Wow, crazy, the handsome kids are even doing a stage together.]
[⎿Please let it stay like this…]
[Right, the members spoiled the collab stage at a T.O.J fansign before, but I didn't know they'd practice together this often ;;]
[Anyway, I support, stand in solidarity, and am together with them. My bias hanging out with a friend his age? This is precious.]
[Is the collab stage just a one-time thing? Too bad… They haven't said which broadcast it'll be on yet, right?]
[⎿That seems to be under an embargo. I guess it means they want us to watch all the year-end shows, f*ck lolololol]
[⎿Ah, hell, looks like I'll have to watch all of them. Looks like I'll be spending New Year's with idols again.]
And that reaction was exactly what Kim Chun-yong had wished for.
Through the livestream, making fans interested in their collaboration stage.
At the same time, drawing attention once more to T.O.J, who were aiming to win a Rookie of the Year award.
And with that alone, the joint livestream before their year-end collab stage practices had accomplished half of what Kim Chun-yong had originally aimed for.
"…Let's stop practice here for today. Everyone, great work!"
And whether the other half had been achieved was something he intended to check after practice ended.
* * *
After practice ended.
The van carrying our T.O.J back to the dorm was unusually noisy.
"…Everyone, you all really worked hard. It must have been tough with the music show today and practice. Let's go straight to the dorm and rest. Tomorrow will be really busy too."
"Yes! I'm tired… but it was still fun. We're slowly matching our chemistry with the Wiz members now, so it doesn't feel as awkward as before?"
"Oh, I feel the same as Hwaseong. Dan-u, I mean—he seemed really stoic at first… but as we practiced, I saw him smile a lot. Not to mention Hawon and Tae-i."
"Heheh, Yuchan hyung. Tell us some practice stories. Yongyong hyung rolled it all over, didn't he? Right? Yongyong hyung totally came back from hell during choreography practice."
"Haha, well, more importantly… how about you guys? Any interesting stories?"
"Oh, I'll tell you. Turns out Eun and Jayden support different soccer teams, so they don't really get along…."
"Goodness, all of that would be solved if they watched baseball instead of soccer. Such funny people."
Usually, after practice, everyone was so exhausted that they'd fall asleep with their heads against the windows, but despite having gone through an even tougher schedule today, they seemed more energetic.
How practice with Wiz had been.
What differences there were between their basic choreography and AG's basic choreography.
And furthermore, which Wiz member they had gotten close to, and so on.
"Jaeha, what about you? Hwaseong and Logan just say everything was good. Were you okay?"
"Ah, yes. I had a good time too. It was definitely fascinating matching up with people from another group… and it's my first time since
"Ah, me too. It felt strange seeing someone else after only ever being around our six members? Haha, I never got to feel this when I was in school…."
While all of that mostly boiled down to "it was good," I turned my gaze toward the one member sitting unusually quiet and alone.
A member with his head bent low, fidgeting with his fingers, wearing an expression of not knowing what to say.
Our maknae, Siu.
"……."
Siu's condition had been like this ever since the joint livestream with Wiz.
"Hmm? Siu-ya. You got the arm order wrong just now."
"Yes, yes? Me? I-I'm sorry!"
"No. No need to be sorry. But you suddenly made a mistake when you never do. Is something worrying you?"
"It's… it's nothing. Just, yes. I'm sorry…."
Should I say he seemed to have something weighing on one side of his chest, yet didn't quite know what it was himself?
With his demeanor as obvious as a cat that had accidentally stepped in water, I could be certain that Siu was feeling a change of heart.
"U-um… are the two of you… really, okay?"
"Hmm? Are you asking if Eun and I are okay? Ugh, honestly, I'm the better-looking one. In Wiz, the only person who can rival me in looks is An Tae-i."
"Jayden… Siu isn't asking about that, you idiot. It's because you were picking a fight with me earlier."
"Ah, that's fine. It's daily life. Eun is my… er, my sida-bari. My sida-bari."
"You really need to go back to language school…."
Earlier during the livestream, after seeing Eun and Jayden arguing and fighting yet still getting along, Siu had started thinking something.
Well, I hoped it was in a good direction.
I subtly tilted my chair toward Siu and stopped his hands, which had been constantly tearing at his cuticles.
"Tsk, you'll hurt your hand. You should stop that."
"Ah, Chunyong… hyung."
Perhaps flustered by the sudden attention on him, Siu fumbled his eyes around and hid his hand behind his back.
He's not even a real cat.
I barely held back a laugh that felt ready to burst and cast a line toward our black-cat maknae, pretending not to know.
"Do you have some worries? Is it because of the mistake you made during practice today?"
Pretending not to know, but knowing.
Miraculously hitting the core of the worry he currently held.
"U-um, hyung. I have something I'm curious about…."
Siu, who had been looking at me with wide eyes for a while, soon whispered to me in a timid voice.
"Even if we fight often, even if we don't get along… we can become close, right? As long as we know there's no malice inside it?"
And the moment that sentence ended, I realized I had completely captured Siu through the things I had done today.
Saying "captured" feels a bit strange.
So… should I say it became an opportunity for Siu to open his heart to Yuchan hyung?
Anyway.
I cleared my throat and broke into a bright grin, canines peeking out, answering cheerfully.
"Well. I'm not sure?"
"…Huh?"
It wasn't the answer Siu had wanted, though.
Now one person was ready to open his heart.
Then, after preparing the other person as well, I would….
"That's for you to find out going forward. How close you can get while staying near someone you don't click with. Right?"
Not by using me as a medium, but by making it so the two of you can talk alone.
"……."
I smiled again at Siu, who was looking at me with a blank expression, and returned the van seat to its original position.
"Hmm…."
Whether it was the effect of the intense practice, or the satisfaction of things going well.
A sweet feeling that made the world before my eyes slightly dizzy swept over me.
The time remaining until the year-end collaboration stage was one month.
I was confident I would resolve all these matters by then.