The Villainous Member Has Returned! Chapter 43
* * *
A company office located somewhere in northern Seoul.
'Nulbom Mir', the SNS account name of a fan photographer of trainee Kim Choon-yong, who is appearing on
*'Time really isn't passing at all, damn it!'*
She came to work at 9 a.m. and had morning work until 1 p.m.
After an hour of meal time, afternoon work again until 6 p.m.
“Senior, I uploaded it to the file server. Please check it.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Writhing in the tediousness of the unchanging, boring daily routine, she glanced at the employee next to her.
And then, instead of the server where the file was uploaded, she opened an internet portal site.
One was SNS, one was a celebrity community. And the last one was the voting page of
*'Tsk, if I get a bonus this time, should I buy a new lens? Thinking about going to the live audience recording and taking more photos of Choon-yong in the future….'*
Kim Choon-yong, whom she had dubbed her 'miracle', was cruising along in the votes with quite a decent response.
[8. Kim Choon-yong 297,742 votes]
*'It would be better if it was higher… Unlike the AG pure-blooded ones, he didn't even get a narrative, so being around 8th place is a good defense.'*
Since she had become a fan after seeing only the stage 'Us Beyond the Waves', she was worried that she might lose affection after watching Episodes 1 and 2.
“Spring Chun, dragon Yong is Yong!”
It was a needless worry.
Kim Choon-yong, whose eyes sparkled to do well and who was filled with venom, actually became better if anything.
There was no mishap like a burning disgrace or a sudden cooling of feelings due to useless behavior.
It's not that there weren't any incidents, like the subtle conflict with Min Si-young and mediating disputes among the 'Aiming' team members. But that much was necessary action.
*'If it wasn't that level of aggro, there wouldn't have been a reaction. Since what's important on the first broadcast is standing out….'*
[Did you see the pre-interview video?? How can an idol trainee's name be Kim Choon-yong lol How can an idol trainee's name be Kim Choon-yong lol]
[The gap moe is amazing, he says his name is Yongyong]
[⎿His name's Chinese characters are dragon dragon, it's crazy, but I liked it]
*'The reactions from fans who are just trying him out are pretty good too. But….'*
Click.
She carefully clicked the mouse and opened another page.
And then, instead of the 'Nulbom Mir' account that is a pure fan account of Kim Choon-yong, she logged in with the ‘ㅇㅇ’ (anonymous) account to check the deep-sea reactions.
*'It's a bit pathetic, but it can't be helped.'*
Currently, the fandom composition of the trainees was chaos, destruction, and ruin itself due to the AG pure-bloods, those from other agencies, foreign trainees, and even within them, factions divided among themselves.
Naturally, there was no way that there would only be good words for Kim Choon-yong, who had drawn considerable aggro through Episodes 1 and 2.
*'But I still have to look. To know what everyone is fabricating! Knowledge is power after all.'*
Isn't minus search an indispensable element for continuous fan activities and to keep rival survival show contestants in check?
Nulbom Mir gulped once and then searched the search bar for 'Mwop', the anti-search derogatory nickname for Kim Choon-yong.
[fireday @fireworksday Mwop, why is this bastard clinging to our kid so much? F*ck, I really hate seeing it lol He has nothing so he's just rubbing up against them, ugh]
[fireday @fireworksday In conclusion, isn't it that Mwop stole the dance break center from Juann? But why did they edit him so well? F*ck, ah, H-seong-ah, don't be friends with him ㅠㅠ]
[Mwop bastard, stop rubbing up against the pure-bloodz♡ It's so annoying♡]
[⎿(Picture) (Picture) Not Mwop!! But hamster baby Juanni♡ Please vote~ We'll send candles through a draw~]
[If you dig a little into Mwop, 100% school violence comes out, yup. By his looks, does he seem like he wouldn't do it?]
The search results for 'Mwop', which came from flipping the 'chun' character in Choon-yong to 'spring' and then reversing it, were extremely scathing.
“Ugh….”
Even though she was the one who searched for it, Nulbom Mir let out an empty laugh seeing the scathing curses directed at Kim Choon-yong.
“Oh, senior, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the file I sent you?”
“Ah, no! It's just a bit personal, yes. Haha!”
She quickly turned the screen so that the employee next to her peeking slightly couldn't see, and scrolled down fast.
*'No, didn't they see Kim Ju-an acting crazy over the dance break in front? No, they must have seen it! But it's really frustrating that Ji Hwa-seong's fan is doing this. They just want to use Kim Ju-an as a shield to curse Choon-yong! It was Ji Hwa-seong who ruined the team atmosphere anyway!'*
Nulbom Mir pounded the keyboard with a faster typing speed than ever before. It was literally beating it.
*'Choon-yong-ah. Noona will make the world a good place to live for you.'*
[ㅇㅇ @SFNPADJEFDA It's funny that Kim Ju-an's mothers and Ji Hwa-seong's mothers are joining forces to turn public opinion ;; Actually, it was Ji Hwa-seong and Kim Ju-an who ruined that team's atmosphere lol Only the other members are pitiful ㅠ #JiHwaseong #KimJuan #BoycottAGPureBlood #DontBuy]
[ㅇㅇ @SFNPADJEFDA Why are Ji Hwa-seong's fans so self-conscious? Do they really think that the AG pure-bloods are that much and are protecting them? Fine, just live like that….]
*'…Actually, I don't have any big grudge against Ji Hwa-seong or Kim Ju-an, but this is what survival shows are. Can't be helped.'*
After feeling a sudden sense of disillusionment, Nulbom Mir slightly touched her head, then discovered the top post on the [Targeting Star] board that had been created separately due to too many posts, and her eyes widened.
[I'm at Gyeongbokgung right now and saw Targeting Star trainees, crazy]
*'What? Gyeongbokgung?'*
Nulbom Mir's cursor quickly headed there.
[(Picture) (Picture) Right now at Gyeongbokgung, Liu Wei, Son Jae-ha, Ji Hwa-seong, the pure-bloodz are appearing ;; All three are wearing hanbok, it's really crazy…. I eavesdropped on the staff talking while looking around, and they said it's filming for YouTube Blue content?? Other trainees probably went somewhere too!]
[⎿People are saying trainees also appeared at a PC bang in Hapjeong? Jang Si-woo and Bang U-chan lol]
[⎿I also just saw them filming in Hongdae!! They were even performing with a dance team? Sharing the link Weutu.be/X45♡WP_QK♡t0]
[⎿Crazy, who is that dancing right now? And who are the ones standing next to him? Ah, I can't see well because of the quality ㅠㅠ]
[⎿I'm an anonymous person who went to the scene, the ones next to him are Ro-geon and Seong O-hyeop! And the one dancing is…]
Nulbom Mir, who had been blankly turning off the sound and sneakily watching the short, low-quality video, muttered in a small voice.
“Choon-yong….”
“Yes? What did you say?”
“Ah, no!”
Nulbom Mir, forcing a smile, buried her head under the partition and let out a silent scream.
A street busking performance, she said.
And on top of that, Kim Choon-yong, a dance member, is doing a street dance performance!
[Mwop, you act up as a dance member, but when you compare him to a real dancer, he's just so-so, isn't he? ㅠㅠ It's disappointing.]
[Jin Da-sol telling him to join her crew was just lip service too… lol Yes~ Since Mwop can't debut anyway, Mwop fans can just make that their lifelong boast!]
This, at a time when talk was already arising in the broadcast about the dance break center position with Kim Ju-an.
[Hongdae street dance, Illik's Choi Geon-yeong vs
This dance performance that didn't fall behind even compared to a professional dancer was an opportunity to solidify the justification and standing for Kim Choon-yong's actions.
*'But why! Why! Why does it have to be now when I'm working, Choon-yong-aaaaagh!!'*
Of course, even if Nulbom Mir rushed to Hongdae right now, it wasn't certain whether she could see Kim Choon-yong or not.
*'But still, if only I could properly ride the YouTube viral wave with a proper video I took, not this crappy quality short video….'*
Having firmly resolved in her heart, Nulbom Mir carefully got up from her seat and headed to another desk.
“Um… Manager Park.”
“Huh? What's the matter?”
“Could I possibly go out for a bit in the afternoon… I'll get my work done today by working overtime after I come back. I'll make sure there's no disruption to the work!”
“Huh, right now? Suddenly? If you had told me in advance….”
“Sorry, sorry! I'll make sure this doesn't happen next time! It's! A very! Urgent matter!”
Thus, while (former) Shooting Rex, current Nulbom Mir was fighting for Kim Choon-yong in places unseen by him.
“We take song requests! We can sing any genre for you!”
Kim Choon-yong was also continuing his own fight.
* * *
The main street of Hongdae, having just hit lunchtime, was truly a sea of people.
“Hey, hey. Let's go watch that busking performance over there.”
“Huh? I saw them dancing earlier when I passed by. I'm not really interested in dancing. I don't even know what I'm looking at…”
“They said that's over. Now they say idol trainees are going to sing.”
“Wow… trainees? Then shall we just look at their faces and then eat?”
After the street dance with Choi Geon-yeong, as I looked at the passersby still casting curious glances at me, Logan, and Won-hyeop hyung, I continued to wear a kind smile on my face.
*It's not just because of comments like 'he looks scary' or 'he looks like a thug'. It's to prevent them from saying things like 'I don't want to watch and just leave' to a smiling face.*
*'Anyway, it's a bit surprising that Choi Geon-yeong backed down like this.'*
Choi Geon-yeong, whom I thought would jump around saying he couldn't acknowledge it or curse me out, unexpectedly matched a beat with me in the next song and then quickly left.
“Huff… Hey, you. You said your name was Kim Choon-yong, right?”
“Yes? Uh… that's right.”
“See you next time, you idol trainee bastard!”
Leaving a line like something out of a gangster film.
If things go well, that's good for me.
But for some reason, weirdly… it felt like I had somehow gained a bit of favor, so it felt unpleasant.
Usually, when you get beaten like that, your pride is hurt and you get even angrier, right? Why did he back down with such a meek attitude?
“Hey you! I'll need it when we meet next time, so give me your number―”
“Geon-yeong hyung, please! You don't have to spread rumors that you're an idiot by asking an idol trainee for his number!”
“Tsk.”
As the pale-faced Illik member said, was he really just an idiot.
*'Since we're the same gender, I could just give him my number.'*
“We'll start filming soon! Choon-yong ssi, thank you for helping. Thanks to you, things went smoothly…”
“Ah, no. It was a good experience for me too.”
Anyway, I easily erased thoughts of Choi Geon-yeong from my head and answered the youngest PD brightly.
No matter what, the important thing is today's main goal.
As for Choi Geon-yeong, unless I appear on 'Dancing Street' again or there's a series of coincidences, we won't meet again anyway.
“Bro, I'm all ready.”
“…Oh. You brought it.”
Logan had already slung his precious guitar over his shoulder and was wearing a serious expression.
It was because of what I had said to Logan earlier before throwing out the almost gamble-like move.
“Even if we lose, we can perform here, and if we win, we can also do it here. You go to the van and bring the guitar.”
The opponent was Choi Geon-yeong, who is still struggling around Hongdae, unless his skills had matured enough to appear on 'Dancing Street'.
The words that came from my prediction that we would either draw or win against such a guy, with no possibility of losing, seemed to have motivated Logan somehow.
“…Did you discuss the song list with Won-hyeop hyung a bit?”
“Yes! The first song is an acoustic arrangement version of our 'Aiming' for now―”
Logan's bright expression was a good sign.
The sight of him doing what he's good at with bravado, it's very nice. That way he'll be full of confidence.
“Oh, that's good. But Logan, hold on.”
But through this mission, I had to confirm not only a successful YouTube viral, but also the reason why I had to hold onto Logan, who was getting eliminated….
The reason why he really has to become a member of 'Arrows'.
“Do I really have to go on stage for something like this? One drunken lunatic seems enough.”
“Liu Wei! The person concerned is right next to you, how can you talk like that!”
“…I said it because he didn't seem to be in a state of mind to understand.”
I briefly recalled my days of causing trouble and my Arrows activities with Liu Wei, then carefully relaxed my clenched fist and grabbed Logan's shoulder.
“Logan. Can you arrange even songs you hear on the spot?”
“…What? What did you say?”
“Yeah, so…”
Today's preliminary battle was all over now.
The confidence to draw out of this bewildered-looking boy from Liverpool, England.
“…Huh?”
“Besides arranging. The songs you've already composed, or everything you can do.”
Let's do it all today.
With this mission today, I planned to not only hear Logan's story.
But also to confirm Logan's 'real' genius.