The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 34
The Liu Wei I had originally known was someone who had enjoyed moderate popularity as a talented member, hailed by fans as the “Beijing Ice Fairy,” showing outstanding stats in the position he was assigned.
As a main dancer, his dancing skills were guaranteed, and he had a refreshingly cool appearance that looked as sharp as ice.
[SiberianIceWind @FNASPOJA2294 Fuck, if it weren’t for that lag trash, our RyuRyu♡ would get more dance break parts. I’m so fucking pissed. Stage-hogging nuisance lag trash, seriously when are you withdrawing? Die, die, fuck]…
On top of that, my stage attitude as the malicious member was one of the factors that made Liu Wei’s fans burn with even more love for him.
Anyway, until his withdrawal, Liu Wei had spoken somewhat clumsy Korean, to the point that a selling point for those who liked him was, “the Beijing Ice Fairy becomes a whimpering puppy the moment he opens his mouth,” but….
“Making me waste my time.”
He speaks Korean perfectly fine, doesn’t he?
I felt the image of the Liu Wei I knew shatter into pieces, and focused a bit more on their conversation.
“Fine. Good. I’ll hear what you have to say from now on, Liu Wei. As expected, in Korea you should speak Korean, right?”
At Gao Yan’s bold remark, Liu Wei snapped his fingers with a slightly displeased look and slowly opened his mouth.
“…Gao Yan. Through this program, I must debut in this country.”
“What nonsense? I have to too, you idiot.”
“No, you probably just ‘want’ to. I have to. There are quite a lot of people entangled in my debut.”
Liu Wei’s words faintly echoed in the emergency stairwell. That voice, both grave and composed, contained many intentions.
“…The guy watching my back will probably take care of things on his own, but I don’t like that. Instead, I have a decent proposal for you, a fellow Chinese.”
“Stop acting like you’re in a movie and get to the point, Liu Wei.”
“At the necessary moment, I want you to ruin the image of two trainees a bit. I’ll tell you how once you accept the offer. The targets are,”
Logan Lee in your room, and…
Gim Chunyong.
“…Kuhk.”
Given the situation of eavesdropping, I was so tense I thought I’d misheard.
My name suddenly popping out of nowhere?
I couldn’t believe it even after hearing it.
Perhaps having the same thought as me, Gao Yan questioned back in a bewildered voice.
“…Chun-yong hyeong and Logan? Ruin their image? Liu Wei, what the hell are you talking about right now?”
“I need someone among those close to them to help me actively tear down their image. For my stable debut. Li Mingshen isn’t in the same room as them. You’re the right person for the job.”
A cold shiver crawled up my spine.
Liu Wei, who had already shown good enough performances on stage to be in a stable debut position, was proposing a sinister scheme of suppression to Gao Yan? To a fellow trainee?
Above all…
H-he already has plenty of backing, doesn’t he?
Regardless of what I was thinking inside, Liu Wei’s words flowed without hesitation, believing only he and Gao Yan were in this place.
“Of course, I’m not asking you to do this for free. I’ll help you debut after this survival show. Furthermore, my parents might be able to help your family’s business in Hong Kong. Isn’t this a decent enough offer?”
“I can debut without your help, Liu Wei!”
Enraged by Liu Wei’s words, Gao Yan shouted.
“…Then what about your family?”
Liu Wei standing before him was still cold.
Their conversation was like ice meeting fire.
“Your family. Is it okay for them to never set foot on Chinese soil again? Well, it must be quite difficult having your main accounts frozen. No matter how wealthy a business family you are.”
“Are you cowardly threatening my family?”
“I told you. It’s not a threat. It’s a proposal.”
Liu Wei answered in Korean with robotically crisp pronunciation, then muttered bitterly.
“You don’t have to accept if you don’t want to. But the reason I brought this up with you first… is that I value highly that you are Chinese, and that we have met before. I hope you understand that.”
“Liu Wei, why are you going this far? You’re already doing well! You just need to show your skills on stage, why?”
“…Because this is just a stepping stone.”
Stepping stone.
The moment I heard that word come out of Liu Wei’s mouth, I bit down on a certain memory passing through my mind.
[‘Withdrawal Announcement’ Arrows’ Liu Wei. ‘I can’t go into details, but it’s due to a health issue.’]
[Liu Wei, who left Korea due to a chronic illness, rises again in the mainland? Cast as the male lead in the Chinese romance drama ‘Beneath the Peach Blossoms’!]
[Chinese star Liu Wei, interview controversy… ‘Korea was too small to embrace me.’]
A grinding sound seemed to echo in the hallway.
Fortunately, Gao Yan’s incredulous voice was louder, so it wasn’t heard by them.
“…What did you just say?”
“I said that debuting in this country is merely a stepping stone for my triumphant return to China. A low stepping stone isn’t good, is it? I’m thinking of going higher.”
The meaning of his words was clear without needing to ask. While the Arrows members were struggling because of me, Liu Wei, who went to China after withdrawing…
Had been planning to leave the team even before debuting.
The palm pressing against the wall became soaked with sweat. My churning stomach felt like it was about to make me vomit.
“…I will never accept. You bastard. Logan and Chun-yong hyeong are my friends. And business investment? Our family runs business well even without that dirty money, you fucking crazy asshole! This is a survival show. You have to debut fairly, with your own skills!”
“…I heard your answer clearly, Hong Konger.”
Hearing Gao Yan’s refreshing refusal and Liu Wei’s fading Chinese, I quickly got out of the emergency stairwell and ran to where I had left my carrier.
And there stood the main writer, I Hyeonjeong, pacing around my luggage.
“Oh my, Trainee Gim Chunyong. Is this your luggage? It was left here the whole time, so I was wondering if I should collect it…”
“Ah! It’s, it’s mine. Yes. I was going to take it home.”
“…Your face is pale. Are you okay? Did something happen?”
Perhaps because she was someone who had been watching me through the camera the whole time, she reacted sensitively to the change in my expression.
I pondered over what to answer to I Hyeonjeong’s light question.
Should I tell her? That Liu Wei was trying to use another trainee to bring me down?
But Liu Wei was just a mere trainee. How would I prove that?
Moreover, what if the Targeting Star production crew and Liu Wei’s backers had already aligned their stories?
Already imagining all sorts of scenarios forming a vast sea, I parted my lips a few times and….
“…I think I’m feeling a bit nauseous! I must have been too nervous about today’s stage, haha.”
For now, I chose to keep my mouth shut.
“Really? There’s an infirmary next to practice room 106 on the first floor. You can get some digestive medicine there.”
“Ah, thank you for letting me know. See you in two days, Writer-nim!”
“Not at all. Get some good rest. Enjoy the premiere. We’ve edited hard to show the trainees in a good light too.”
After finishing my conversation with I Hyeonjeong, I pulled my carrier and quickly walked out of the building.
Liu Wei, Arrows. Withdrawal, me the malicious member. The new Arrows that will debut.
Various words mixed together in one place in a jumble. Then soon they became a single sentence and lodged in my brain.
For me, and for Arrows to become the greatest K-pop idol in history…
I had to do something about Liu Wei, who was blatantly planning to flee to his own country later.* * *
“Phew….”
Perhaps because it was the family bed and pillow I hadn’t seen in a while. My body was the most comfortable it had been recently, but my eyes were as heavy as if weights were hanging from them.
Because I had heard Liu Wei’s bombshell declaration even before the excitement of yesterday’s second round performance had faded, I hadn’t slept a wink.
As if I could fall asleep.
How could I sleep when my former member declared he would cast me aside on Targeting Star and go to China even before debuting!
And that bastard even said things with a nuance that he was clearly keeping me in check.
I didn’t know if he had been like that before, or if he did it because he was bothered by me, whose rank was rising sharply unlike before, but it wasn’t an important issue.
I picked up the blanket that had fallen to the foot of the bed and thought back to the conversation I had with X on the way home yesterday.
- Gim Chunyong: Hey X
- Gim Chunyong: Let me ask you something
- X: Yeah? What is it? Omg idk what it is but I’m kinda excited ><
- Gim Chunyong: Ugh, annoying ㅡㅡ
- X: Don’t judge my character and get on with what you were saying
- Gim Chunyong: ;;
- Gim Chunyong: Anyway
- Gim Chunyong: You know the contract condition between us, about becoming the ‘greatest K-pop idol in history’
- Gim Chunyong: …Is it okay if the members change?
It was a message I sent with great tension, but the reply from X arrived very quickly.
- X: Huh? You’re asking if it’s okay for the members to change?
- X: Of course! The contract condition is you becoming the greatest K-pop idol in history, so yeah, a member change is nothing, lol
- X: But you can’t fail to debut through Targeting Star!
- X: Remember? It was written in the current goal, lol Targeting Star final 6 @.@
It was okay for the members to change.
But I had to debut as one of the final six in this survival show.
This was the condition X had put forth.
Reading that reply, I pondered over Liu Wei’s words and the condition of becoming the greatest K-pop idol in history.
If I debuted with Liu Wei, the initial reaction wouldn’t be bad.
Liu Wei’s skills were already proven, and the power of the global fandom was considerable.
However, it was nearly impossible for a team that lost a member for an unsavory reason to become the greatest idol in K-pop history.
So “re-debuting with Liu Wei” was like crossing a river that one could never return from.
Even if I was criticized with, “You ruined the team just the same, how dare you try to cut someone else; then how do you plan to atone?” there was nothing I could do.
Because my role this time was to accept that criticism and do what had to be done.
The thoughts that came to mind as I stayed up all night with that resolve were two.
Eliminating Liu Wei from Targeting Star, and another member who could debut in his place.
“Eliminating Liu Wei….”
It wasn’t that there were no methods.
It’s just that it was a bit tricky to do right now.
If it were during my malicious member days when I had solidly built connections through drinking sessions, it would have been more effective, but I could somehow devise a way.
“I’ll take my time preparing for that….”
What was more urgent than that right now was the second thing: another trainee to join Arrows besides Liu Wei.
If I somehow took care of Liu Wei, it would be right for “that guy,” whose rank was higher than mine now, to debut together.
The one who was currently receiving Liu Wei’s sinister suppression together with me.
The Briton who surely would have debuted with Arrows instead of me if he hadn’t withdrawn.
“Have a good time, bro!”
“…Logan.”
Logan, who returned to England, appeared on the hottest audition program in the UK at that time a year later, and succeeded in dominating the charts by proudly taking first place.
So, he wasn’t just your average impressive guy.
Moreover, he had producing abilities that the previous Arrows members didn’t have.
This would definitely help fulfill the contract condition with X of becoming the “greatest K-pop idol in history.”
Because to aim for overseas markets beyond Korea, a title of “an idol capable of writing lyrics and composing” was needed.
Thinking like this, Logan was perfect, and it seemed like he could debut with Arrows even without much help from me now.
The problem was….
“…But he’s going to withdraw soon.”
Logan’s withdrawal.
“Ah, just when things are going well!”
I rolled around on the bed and kicked the blanket. Just when I thought things were going well, a blocked moment like this arrived.
Do I have to stop the withdrawal? But does it get blocked just because you try to stop it?
Judging by the nuance of what Liu Wei said, it was clear that his influence had reached Logan’s previous withdrawal.
“…Still, it’s probably better than doing nothing.”
First of all, if that happened, Logan would leave Targeting Star before starting preparations for the next performance, so finding out the exact reason before then would be crucial….
“How do I find out?”
On top of that, if I got it completely wrong in the process? If all of this failed and…
I returned to the time when I was arrested.
“Hey, Gim Chunyong! Aren’t you watching the premiere? Mom and Dad even bought your favorite snacks. How insolent, making an adult move like this.”
“Huh, huh?!”
Just as I was about to dig a hole into the ground despite having come home, my sister flung my door open without warning and scraped away my gloom with a sharp voice.
I came to my senses and sprang up from the bed.
“Sorry, I’m coming! But what snacks did you buy?”
“Come see for yourself, you rude brat. I really want to smack the hell out of your back.”
“Ah, ouch. It hurts!”
Right.
Thinking about what to do from now on was something to do as the survival show continued, and right now….
It was time to check my appearance in the premiere.