The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 237
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Earlier, what Hyojae-hyung had said to me, looking unusually desperate, showed no signs of leaving my mind throughout the entire award ceremony.
No, that was it.
“I just wrote one real comment, you know? But I didn't know things would turn out like this…!”
“N-now, hold on. Could you please step back a little? Y-you're too close, aren't you?”
“What if the other people over there hear what I’m saying? They’ll think I’m crazy. I’m really just so anxious right now. Please, please, please….”
‘…He doesn't look exactly sane right now, either.’
To be exact, it would be more accurate to call him someone who had ‘gotten into’ Hyojae-hyung.
“Hoo….”
A sigh escaped me on its own, and I still felt dizzy.
The reason I had wanted to find the ‘other guys’ was to find out if they were related to the accident that had happened to our family, and furthermore, to find a way to identify the bastard who had caused that accident.
“…Nate! Hey, Yi Hyojae! Why are you so late? Why are you being such a pain these days, seriously!”
“*Gasp*, manager hyung….”
“Let’s go, let’s go. What kind of nuisance is this to the other groups? How awkward must this be for the seniors who’ve been around much longer?”
“I-I’ll go. But! Just the number!”
“…Huh?”
“I want to… get close with Chunyong-ssi. I’ll just get his number and go. Okay? Manager hyung….”
But to think I had completely lost sight of my original purpose, and had let someone else treat me like a lifeline.
“Wow, what? OMG, an idol is trying to get Gim Chunyong’s number.”
“Gim Nari, shh.”
“No, isn't this amazing, unni? I've never seen anything like this! Where else would I see something like this in my life? This is insane, really.”
“Ahem, Chunyong-ssi. You see, we have a schedule too….”
“…I’ll give you my number.”
Because of the situation where I had to escort noona and Nari to the staff seats and return to the waiting room myself, my number ended up being seized by Hyojae-hyung’s hand as if plundered.…
Though he wasn’t really Hyojae-hyung, anyway.
The instant messenger messages that arrived from fake Hyojae-hyung piled up in the chat window instantly.
[Yi Hyojae: Chunyong-ssi, it's me]
[Yi Hyojae: I really think I can finally live a little now, thank you so much]
[Yi Hyojae: How I ended up like this… ]
As if not afraid of leaks at all, fake Hyojae-hyung poured out his story in the messenger window even though I hadn’t replied.
Since it was so long-winded, if I were to summarize the contents, well.
He said he had just been an ordinary psychology major, and had left a harsh comment on the apology letter of Nate, who had caused an accident on the radio.
[⎿How can you be so oblivious to people’s feelings? If it were me, I’d never say something like this. You finally became a radio host too, yet you seem to have zero consideration for the public.]
That he had no consideration for the public, and that he would never have spoken like this.
Then he heard a strange voice, and when he opened his eyes, he was in the body of Nate from the past, and even had a strange mission:
[Resolve Deep Inner Worries 0/100]
—or something like that.
Because of the message saying ‘Complete the mission if you want to go back,’ he was listening to others’ worries, biting the bullet.…
Good grief.
Hearing that, it felt like the puzzle pieces of Hyojae-hyung’s strange behavior, which had been puzzling, were fitting together.
Since he knew the future, he must have taken advantage of that benefit.
Since he wanted to go back even a day sooner, he must have used the given skill recklessly.
Since it was ‘Resolving Deep Worries,’ he must have been poking at the other person’s weaknesses or painful points without hesitation.
That’s right.
To strangers, those were actions perfectly suited to being branded as unlikable.
[Yi Hyojae: It’s been a little over a year since I became Yi Hyojae?]
[Yi Hyojae: But I still haven’t filled 20 people… At this rate, I’ll have to live as Nate for 10 years]
[Yi Hyojae: ㅠㅠㅠ But!]
[Yi Hyojae: Because I remembered that Chunyong-ssi had struggled with malicious comments and articles about your family in the past? So I grabbed your hand to listen to that worry?]
[Yi Hyojae: The returned person thing was obvious in my eyes!]
[Yi Hyojae: Amazing… I didn’t know my skill would be this helpful]
Fake Hyojae-hyung said the only skill he could use was reading the memories intertwined with the worries of a person whose bare skin he touched.
He explained that it flashed past his eyes like a panorama.
Objectively speaking, it was an absurdly good skill.
If he could read the other person’s memories, he could easily come up with related solutions, and since he said he was a psychology major, wouldn’t he be able to come up with solutions more easily than others?
However, when I sent exactly that as my first reply, fake Hyojae-hyung violently objected.
[Yi Hyojae: Just because you’re a psychology major doesn’t mean you can do counseling?]
[Yi Hyojae: I was planning to go to grad school and go into research]
[Yi Hyojae: But I ended up having to listen to others’ worries, and now even an idol life…]
Well, to sum it up, that was roughly it.
I had gone through the trouble of getting Yu introduced by Taei, and even attending drinking sessions to get hints from Yu, but the card I found that way was a dud.
Fake Hyojae-hyung seemed to think he could hear a way to return from me, but what would I know?
I had been back in the past for a much shorter time than him, wasn’t possessing anyone, and was nothing but a malicious member, lag trash, who had never done a single thing properly.
Besides, I already had my hands full with my own problems; who the hell was I supposed to care about?
“Sigh….”
I let out a small, unnoticeable sigh and looked at 2OCD’s award performance, which was in full swing.
- Pump Pump
change gears
Endless Highway
Keep the seat beside me empty
So danger can ride
2OCD was renowned, together with their seniors Leopold, for having particularly intense choreography.
Masculine charm, sharp movements, and dance breaks that made you wonder if that was even allowed.
It was pitiable that a person who had been a psychology major had become a member of such a group and was in a position where he had to carry out absurd missions, but….
- X: So you went and stirred up trouble anyway
- X: Do you know why I told you not to get involved with Jeong Yeonu? Huh?
- X: Because you keep meeting him prematurely because of getting entangled with him, you keep messing up the timing!!
- X: But you really~ don’t listen to me telling you not to get involved with Jeong Yeonu, do you?
- X: You’ve been scheming behind the scenes? And now you’re even meeting contract workers from other companies?
- X: Didn’t I tell you beforehand that we’re fucked? That I already reported it to the higher-ups?
- X: It was under review, but it’s all over now because you contacted someone from another company
- X: I told you to wait until we get the Rookie Award!!
- X: You couldn’t wait a week? A week??
- X: If we take the Rookie Award at the KPCA today, it would have been not a week but three hours, you bastard
As I said before, I had my own problems weighing on me.
Whether X found out through talking with me or through a messenger conversation, X sent messages like bombs the moment this was over and was furious.
Saying ‘This is a real punishment.’
I didn’t know exactly what penalty would come or what disadvantage it would be to me, but I could definitely tell it was nothing good.…
If I had found the real ‘other guys’ related to the accident, I would have accepted it humbly!
It was absurd, I wondered what this even was, and a hollow laugh escaped me.
Somehow, finding out that what I thought I had caught by the fingertips was fake made me even more frustrated.
Of course, even if I had to face X’s scolding and punishment, I would still continue trying to find the ‘other guys,’ but….
Can I really find them like this?
And in the meantime, can I properly resolve the things I’m carrying out with all my might, claiming I would atone?
However, my worries couldn’t last long.
“Chunyong hyung, get a hold of yourself. If you space out now, you’ll be embarrassed when you go up to receive the Rookie Award later.”
“That’s right. Chunyong hyung, you seem nervous….”
Thanks to the voices of those beside me who ceaselessly made me face reality.
“…Haha. It’s not even confirmed that we’ll get an award, so what.”
“Ahem. That’s something you have to believe in to receive. Look at me. A trophy I took as if it were a given! I’ll make it the family treasure.”
Especially Gao Yan.
Thanks to Music Days’ consideration, our T.O.J was seated close to the
And that was enough to make me forget my tension and worries for a moment.
“Wow, that tone. It’s really been a while… I thought I was dreaming back then.”
“Hmm. What Bin hyung said is right. Once you hear Gao Yan’s voice, you can’t forget it. That’s why he received the award.”
“I know, but stop calling him Bin hyung and call him Seobin hyung….”
“Gao Yan, that’s arrogance. It’s the Creator Award!”
Seobin, Ji Hwaseong, Gao Yan.
And the many other figures who had participated in
There were also those who couldn’t come due to circumstances, like Liu Wei, whom I wasn’t even curious what he was doing now; Li Mingshen, who was preparing to debut; and Won Hyeop hyung, who had enlisted, but….
“Ha, I wanted to leave right after the stage ended. But they insisted we sit here like this….”
“Juan-ah. Don’t get caught on camera cursing and just put on a nice expression.”
“Han Danu or Gim Chunyong might get the Rookie Award; do I look like someone who would sit here making a nice face?”
“If that’s the case, why did you go to the shop and get makeup done?”
“…Be quiet. The camera’s on.”
Even Gim Juan’s fearless, hamster-like chittering gave me peace of mind.
It felt like I had returned to reality.
“…….”
I quietly straightened my back, looked once at the stage that had gone dark again after the award performance, and then at the members sitting beside me, nervous.
That’s what awards were.
A reward for the most appropriate effort I had made at the most necessary moment, and proof— that was exactly what an award was.
Moreover, since the Rookie Award was something you could only receive once in a lifetime.
Therefore, that nervousness was only natural.
I muttered inwardly to the nervous members.
That we had already received it before.
That even in a worse situation than now, you hyungs and you all sparkled so brightly that anyone could see you were newcomers with a bright future.
As I repeated that to myself, my complicated head finally cleared up.
For now, let’s think about winning the Rookie Award, the second main quest with X.
While thinking of the members, family, and the people who cheered for us by our side, let’s slowly organize what to do next.
“—Yes! The International Artist Award performance by 2OCD and Lily J was truly great. Then, continuing on, we will proceed with the Male Group Rookie Award presentation. For the presentation….”
I looked at the award stage slowly lighting up, gauging when I had felt this feeling before.
Probably back before I returned, the time when Arrows was waiting to receive the Rookie Award.
And the time when I was trembling in front of the live broadcast camera to debut as T.O.J.…
I wasn’t as nervous as I was then.
That was enough.