The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 249
* * *
After a full week, the faces of the Tioje members who had returned to the dorm were saturated with their own emotions.
“We’re back! Anyone gonna carry my bags?”
“Hwaseong, you punk. Shouldn’t you carry your own bags?”
“Eeeh, then Yuchan hyung goes in by yourself. I’ll ask Siu.”
“I’ll, I’ll carry them… No one makes me do any work at home….”
“Siu, seriously….”
Some were simply happy, some had deepened their thoughts, and some finally felt like they could live again.
“First, everyone take your gifts. Ah, I thought I was gonna die from the weight, seriously!”
“Ugh, Hwaseong. What’s all this? Why’d you pack so much stuff coming back from a one-week trip?”
“When else would I get to go to Daegu if not now? So I brought a lot back. This is Yuchan hyung’s. They say it’s good for the throat… Ah, Siu. You take this too.”
“Mm, yes….”
Only when all six finally gathered like this did the dorm feel full.
“Haha….”
Kim Chunyong, who had fallen asleep late last night, walked toward the noisy living room, slowly rubbing his stomach.
It was true that when it had been just Rogan, Son Jaeha, and Kim Chunyong himself, it was hard to feel this level of liveliness.
Whether because they were particularly quiet people, well, who knew.
“Ah, Chunyong. I heard from Hobin hyung about a trainee coming out of Queens….”
“Really? A trainee is coming out of Queens this time too?”
“Yeah. But it’s someone you know….”
“What?”
“Well, y’know. Juan.”
“…*cough.*”
He had been busy thinking, worrying, and mulling things over until the other members arrived.
“*Yawn*….”
Kim Chunyong hugged the famous Dongseong-ro bread from Daegu that Ji Hwaseong had tossed him, letting out an un-idol-like yawn into the air.
“Yongyong hyung, did you not rest properly? Why does your face look like that?”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
“It looks exactly like when you only slept eight hours over three days because of schedules.”
“Ah, well. Guess so….”
‘Kim Juan is doing another survival show. I never even imagined this, so I couldn’t sleep.’
The awkward smile, heavy with fatigue, didn’t last long.
“Ah, everyone is here. The timing is perfect.”
The fact that all the members had returned to the dorm meant their sweet yet short vacation had ended, which in turn meant….
“…Could everyone lightly unpack and gather for a moment? I’d like to explain your upcoming schedules.”
It was as if their competent manager had appeared at the perfect moment to brief them on their future schedule situation.
It was a rather tense yet strange moment, like receiving packed luggage that had been prepared for them.
“Then….”
Yu Hobin surveyed the members sprawled along the living room one by one, cleared his throat briefly with *ahem*, and recited the items he had written down.
“First, Rogan, Jaeha, and Chunyong will be appearing as mentors on a survival program called
“Huh, just the three of you have separate schedules? Is that okay? I want a schedule too….”
“—Hwaseong, you will be appearing on a program where you travel domestically with other idols. It’s a good thing. Your quick-witted and bright image has worked well.”
“…Huh.”
Domestic travel with other idols.
There was no need to explain what this was.
It meant Ji Hwaseong had been chosen as the next member of
“…Me? Really? I watched all the episodes with the Leopold sunbaenim!”
“Yes. They seemed to want a more lively maknae image. You’ll do well.”
Ji Hwaseong’s face was still colored with shock at something he couldn’t have imagined, but to Kim Chunyong, who had roughly experienced this before, this fact was less surprising than his own role appearing as a mentor on a survival program.
Even back in the Arrows days, there had been a noticeable hiatus after the repackage.
They had run like mad without a single break after their survival show debut, both then and now, which also meant they managed hiatuses the same way.
Even then, the first from Tioje to go on a solo variety show had been Ji Hwaseong.
“Ugh, sigh. Hwaseong. Hwaseong has filming starting next week. I’ll tell you what it is slowly. Just, know that it’s happening.”
“Um, Taeuk hyung. If you could explain a bit more in detail… so that Hwaseong can prepare….”
“Hey, Jaeha. Rex is in that state right now; what do you mean explain in detail? You have to watch the mood for that too.”
…Back then, the schedule had been set right after Kim Chunyong’s accident, so they couldn’t celebrate like they could now.
“Hey, Ji Hwaseong. Have fun, okay?”
“Ugh! I’m so nervous though? W-will I be okay without you hyungs? Will I really be fine?”
“What do you mean, not okay?”
Kim Chunyong ruffled Ji Hwaseong’s platinum hair, laden with as much regret as he’d felt back then, and waited for Yu Hobin to speak again.
That probably wasn’t the end of it.
There was one more member who would appear on another variety show alongside Ji Hwaseong.
“Ah, and Yuchan.”
As if answering Kim Chunyong’s expectations, Yu Hobin scratched his cheek with a bright smile and gave a thumbs-up toward Bang Yuchan.
“…Congratulations. This is the first overseas schedule for Tioje.”
“Uh… what? Overseas?!”
“Can You Heal Me, you’ll be appearing as an idol guest this time.”
“Huuuh….”
That’s right.
During the difficult days of Arrows, the reason Bang Yuchan had been able to appear on the radio, do featuring spots, and go here and there had been because of this ability.
In Kim Chunyong’s memory, the music travel program hadn’t been ‘Can You Heal Me’ but a different music competition program, but this time it seemed to be more of an upgrade.
This was how the power of the KPCA Rookie Award reached its hand out.
“Holy crap, amazing. Yuchan hyung. You know you have to sweep the duty-free shops clean, right? Please! There’s a jacket I want!”
“Hey, Hwaseong, Hwaseong. We haven’t even received our settlement yet….”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Around next week… Tioje’s first settlement will be made. That’s another thing to celebrate.”
“S-settlement….”
It was truly a briefing full of good news.
While every day since debut had felt like walking on thin ice, they were finally receiving money through achieving their dreams.
The living room, which had been moderately noisy with the members’ return, instantly became a cauldron of joy.
“Wow, what should I buy my parents? For this kind of thing, thermal underwear comes first, right? Ah, I can finally show off a little, seriously!”
“Ugh, that’s right. But you have to think about taxes too….”
“Wait, Yuchan hyung. I want to hear more about that. I’m a foreigner, after all…!”
Laughing, chatting, holding their stomachs and rolling around, and pulling people apart.
Amid all that, Kim Chunyong quietly approached someone who was only smiling.
The one person among the Tioje members who had no schedule during this hiatus.
“…Siu.”
“Ah… Chunyong hyung.”
Kim Chunyong plopped down next to Jang Siu and whispered in a small voice so the other excited members wouldn’t hear.
“…You’re still a minor, so you can’t have flexible afternoon schedules. Once you’re older, you’ll probably have the most schedules out of all of us.”
Kim Chunyong had no way of knowing what Jang Siu was thinking at this moment during his time in Arrows.
“Anyway, Yuchan and Hwaseong should head to their schedules. Liu Wei left earlier….”
“Hyungs, have a… safe trip.”
“…Yeah. Siu, you rest up too. Um. Yeah. Rest there.”
“I’ll take care of Rex hyung. Have a good… schedule….”
He had locked himself in his room, writhing in the agony of his accident, while the other members had gone out on external schedules somehow for the group’s image, and for that same reason, only Jang Siu had stayed with Kim Chunyong in the dorm, quietly keeping still.
From now on, the other Tioje members would be so busy that it would be questionable whether they were even on hiatus.
Watching such members, how did it feel to be the one staying back at the dorm?
Kim Chunyong owed a lot to the Arrows members.
‘…If only I’d been a little more mature back then. I should have talked to Siu back then, and things wouldn’t have turned out that way. I wouldn’t have been digging in the dirt by myself without even guessing how a young kid felt.’
That was why he couldn’t help but worry about Jang Siu, who would be alone this time.
“Haha….”
Whether he knew how Kim Chunyong felt or not, Jang Siu covered his mouth slightly with his right hand and let out a bashful laugh.
“Chunyong hyung. I… turned down the schedules. Hobin hyung knows too.”
“…What?”
This was something he hadn’t known.
Kim Chunyong barely caught his mouth from falling open and met Jang Siu’s eyes with wide circles.
Jang Siu rubbed his reddened cheek with the hand that had covered it and whispered small, using the other members’ chatter as background noise.
“I’m preparing something. It’s in April….”
“…You turned down schedules because of that? Because you want to do it properly?”
“Yes. So, please don’t worry.”
Whether someone else knew, whether only he knew, or whether everyone else knew and only Kim Chunyong didn’t.
With a subtle smile, Jang Siu lightly patted Kim Chunyong’s back and stood up to grab one of the breads Ji Hwaseong was tossing into the air.
That’s right.
Thus began the members’ individual schedules, decided during what was nominallya hiatus.
“Ah, everyone. It’s fine to eat the corn bread, but there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
“Hehe, what ith it?”
“Well, I’m not sure if this should be called a group schedule. But anyway, it’s one of the most important things….”
Along with the start of that hiatus, an event to soothe the Zenias’ disappointment at not being able to see all the members together for a while had also been prepared.
* * *
Internet communities and SNS were always abuzz with talk of whichever idols were the hottest topic at the moment.
From the newly announced survival show
[Sereeeslover: Ju Cheolyeong < Has this old man completely lost his touch? If he did a male idol survival once, the next should be female idols;; His timing is shit]
[Reply: Hey hey, Tioje’s survival was under their own agency so it’s not treated as official. They say after Serenia is Flickt Boys]
In the midst of all this, it was only natural for talk of Tioje to come up.
[Tioje is in their first hiatus now but schedules are insane? Three as survival mentors, two on a travel program?? The remaining one must be so awkward lololol]
[Reply: But looking at the hiatus timing and the remaining one’s age… maybe he’s preparing to transfer schools? Just saying lol]
[fireworksday: Our Hwaseong, I hope he gets lots of love from the hyungs on this trip… (pray)(pray) Wish Chunyong went too, damn]
[Reply: Bbulsam, don’t rub your bias all over this]
[mennnnheeriS2: Wait, how is Tioje already survival mentors? They’re not at that level though o_o…]
[BangbangYourchan: Yuchan oppa is scheduled to flip LA upside down this time… Everyone, please put your hands together and wait for the divine vocalist blessing to descend upon LA]
Hearing such good news, there was no way a fan could be in a bad mood.
“Jaeha as a mentor. It feels like just yesterday I got him to debut….”
However, AGMulsanHoesa, who had watched all this community flow, tilted her head with a joyful, excited, yet wistful heart.
“So, hm. There won’t be any group activities for the time being.”
No, it wasn’t just her.
The Zenias who loved Tioje’s group activities.
Or the Zenias who had started by stanning just one member but found the others seeping into their hearts before they knew it.
Seeing my idol succeed and appear everywhere is great… but still.
Didn’t we debut together? Isn’t it better when they promote together?
Because of those thoughts.
And because AG had once been smacked hard on the back of the head by Smeji, if there was one thing they knew, it was catching onto things like this quickly.
First is skill, second is skill.
To show that best, what did they have to do?
“…Huh? Official account notification… Omg, omg!”
A single piece of news poured down like rain onto the drought-stricken hearts of fans who loved group activities during the hiatus.
[AG Trading Company: Neulbom-nim]
[AG Trading Company: Neulbom-nim please they’re recruiting for our official fan club now]
[AG Trading Company: And ㅠㅠㅠㅠ a fanmeeting ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
Ah, of course.
They had said all the events were prepared. That was exactly it.