The Villainous Member Has Returned! Episode 55
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Sunday, 10 a.m.
A woman who had just stepped off the subway let out an exhausted sigh and tidied her disheveled hair.
‘Whew, all the way from Yongin to here just to check one ad…!’
Spending four hours of her precious holiday on transit was frustrating, but it was a grave she had dug herself.
The subway ad she had spearheaded—from fundraising to slogan voting—had been up on the electronic billboard at Apgujeong Station since last Friday.
[The Most Special Trainee from Mars! VOTE▷ 0723 Ji Hwaseong]
“Holy crap, amazing….”
Having gone all-in on Ji Hwaseong to the point of creating a social media account named FireworksDay—after previously lurking as an anonymous ‘ㅇㅇ’ on anonymous forums—missing the golden opportunity for a verification shot was out of the question.
Just yesterday, in Episode 4 of
- “I’ve already performed on stage with Logan once, right? So… I want to try trusting him.”
Supporting Logan within Team ‘Calendar’, which was subtly engaging in political maneuvering, and pulling off a great stage with him!
- “No, Logan! If you do it like that, you’ll look totally stupid.”
- “Huh? Stupid? Did you just call me stupid?”
- “Huh? That’s not what I meant?”
- “I do know what stupid means, though!”
On top of that, the same-age chemistry that subtly peeked through and lit a fire in people’s hearts…!
With comments popping up all over social media and communities like [No, Ji Hwaseong’s personality doesn’t seem that bad], [He’s not pushing a nice-guy image but at this point isn’t this basically image laundering?], right now was the prime time for going viral.
‘The photo collaboration came out really well. No empty spots in the overall layout, the colors don’t wash out… it’s perfect even by my crazy standards!’
Kneeling down to take verification shots without a care for the passersby’s glances, she sighed as she looked at Ji Hwaseong’s bright smile on her phone.
“Our Hwasung honestly has debut in the bag with his skills, star quality, and face… no, his ranking is good right now, too.”
So why did she suddenly let out a sigh when things were so smooth?
The reason was spelled out by the other electronic billboard ads plastered around Apgujeong Station.
[AG’s Golden Boy, Son Jaeha♬ Please cheer on Jaeha’s dreams together!]
[○A 1.3 Billion Chance, A 7 Billion Miracle○ The Flower Road for Liu Wei]
[Sensational Liverpool Boy! Target, LOGAN LEE]
Humans were weak to visual things.
No matter how much she knew in her head that Ji Hwaseong was in a safe debut zone, seeing the lineup of other trainees prominently displayed in an expensive subway station made her anxious.
At least she could understand Son Jaeha, who was currently the most popular on
Everyone said, “You never know until it’s over,” but deep down, they were sure those three would debut.
Logan was someone she was pushing alongside Ji Hwaseong anyway, so he didn’t matter.
Therefore, the trainee who amplified FireworksDay’s anxiety and anger the most was a different one.
[Like Spring Even in Summer♡ Our Yong, Kim Chunyong]
“Kim Chunyong….”
FireworksDay muttered the ad’s last line and finally burst into internal complaints.
‘What, he gets an ad in Apgujeong too? Does everyone have money to burn?!’
Of course, there were ads for other trainees besides Kim Chunyong, but they didn’t even enter her sight.
Rather, they were better off as allies to secure Ji Hwaseong’s certain debut.
She had no way of knowing that the butterfly effect started by Kim Chunyong’s return from the past had brought about a rise in overall recognition for the
“Ugh, seriously….”
Honestly, Kim Chunyong in yesterday’s broadcast of
Team ‘Beyond That Wave’ had been subjected to ridicule and hate from Star Shooters with titles like [Jang Siwon Younger Brother Scandalㄷㄷ], [Bang Yuchan Who Somehow Boarded a Sinking Bus_jpg], [How Can an Idol Trainee Be Named Kim Chunyongㄷㄷ < Him Panicking Is F*cking Lol].
[No, f*ck, he’s crazy good though?]
[They say Siwoo is a genius idol…]
[A pirate instead of a marine boy? That was pretty well thought out. Unexpected;;]
But when Episode 4 aired and the stage came out, they were the ones who put on the best performance alongside Ji Hwaseong’s team, ‘Calendar’.
[
And needless to say, the response to Kim Chunyong—who had taken the dance break center thanks to that—had been great.
Not only that, the famous Kim Chunyong fan Neulbomir had escaped from their company just to film and upload a clip, [2X0701 Hongdae Busking Street Chunyong Cut], which had gone viral together.
And so, Kim Chunyong’s current voting rank was 7th.
‘I know, I get it! I know he’s good!’
Recalling Kim Chunyong’s video on the official
But what exactly was the problem?
It was precisely that the fandoms of Ji Hwaseong and Kim Chunyong were on bad terms.
When the preparation process for the ‘Aiming’ stage was broadcast, Ji Hwaseong’s slightly overbearing attitude had caused public opinion of him to turn quite sour regardless of his skills.
“He’s too greedy,” “Why is he like that,” “People call him a pure-blood so much he thinks he actually is one in a democratic country,” etc.
‘If Hwasung is going to debut, this won’t do!’
To quell that public sentiment, the Ji Hwaseong fandom had chosen a method of pitting other trainees’ fandoms against each other.
It was the so-called method of starting a bigger fire to cover a smaller one.
The fandoms used for this were precisely Kim Juan’s and Kim Chunyong’s.
At first, it seemed to be working well.
It was true that Kim Chunyong and Kim Juan had formed a subtle tension over the dance break center, and FireworksDay was a master at digging into such things and creating controversy thanks to her long years of anonymous online activity.
But she wasn’t the only one who was a master at such things.
[FireworksDay @fireworksday
Isn’t the conclusion that Mup took the dance break center from Juann? Then why did they edit him so well? F*ck, ah Hwasung-ah, don’t get too close to him ㅠㅠ]
[⎿ㅇㅇ @SFNPADJEFDA
It’s funny how Kim Juan’s moms and Ji Hwaseong’s moms are scheming together to shift public opinion ;; Actually Ji Hwaseong and Kim Juan are the ones who ruined the team atmosphere lololol The other members are the only pitiful ones ㅠ
#JiHwaseong #KimJuan #AGPurebloodBoycott #NotBuying]
‘Somehow it got exposed, damn it. Ah, I told you SNS is harder than community forums!’
Having contributed significantly to that incident, it was harder for FireworksDay to like Kim Chunyong than plucking a star from the sky.
‘It’s even worse because he’s good. We already have Liu Wei for the dance member, so why does Kim Chunyong have to stand out and act like he’ll debut together? If he’d just debut in another group, I wouldn’t hate him this much, seriously!’
Stomping her feet in over-immersion at the subway station, she soon took a deep breath and rubbed her face.
‘I hate the sight of him, really. Isn’t there some way to deal with this?’
And then, a figure hovering near the subway ad caught her eye.
“…Huh?”
FireworksDay, who had been about to dismiss the figure as just another fan who came early to take verification shots like herself, narrowed her eyes.
A man.
On top of that, his height around 180cm, his small face covered by a mask.
Up to this point, it wasn’t difficult to infer that he was a trainee who had come to take a verification shot of the subway ad.
The main point came next.
‘Wait, those shoulders, that height. And slightly long hair… those spiteful eyes.’
FireworksDay quietly stepped back and covered her mouth.
She searched for his photos to curse him out when annoyed, and memorized one more nickname just to block his fans.
They say hating something is ultimately a form of interest too, right?
‘That… isn’t that Kim Chunyong?’
That accumulated interest became the power to recognize the other person despite being all wrapped up.
“—”
And as if to lend weight to her guess, the man soon approached Kim Chunyong’s billboard.
Then he stuck a post-it he had written in advance, and soon took out a Polaroid camera from his bag to take a photo and stick it on too!
‘Holy sh*t, he’s going that far for verification?!’
FireworksDay’s heart raced as she watched.
It was the very target she had been worrying about how to deal with just moments ago.
It was still early morning, so she was the only person around the billboard who could be called a fan.
That meant, if she set her mind to it, she could easily remove that photo and post-it.
‘Ugh, I know it’s a dirty move… but there are so few people around right now, I feel like I could do it if I tried.’
But in an idol survival program, no.
Immersed in the thought that ‘the trainee I cherish must debut,’ her head had unknowingly begun to sprout dark, lowly imaginations about such despicable actions.
After a short time passed and Kim Chunyong left, she quickly rushed to the spot.
Looking at the clearly captured Polaroid of Kim Chunyong and the three characters ‘Kim Chunyong’ written at the bottom, she whistled inwardly.
‘I’ll just look at what he wrote, just look. And, well. If the situation really allows, maybe I could do something about it…’
That was the nature of a fan’s heart.
Endlessly pure-hearted in front of the trainee they liked, yet becoming the worst trash in the world in front of the trainee they hated—and it didn’t matter.
She was no different in the end.
However.
“Uh…?”
Her face gradually flushed red as she looked at the post-it Kim Chunyong had left.
Even speaking generously, his handwriting wasn’t good, but the characters were written one by one, clearly and distinctly.
[Hello? Spring Chun, Dragon Yong!
It’s Chunyong.
Thank you so much for cheering for someone as lacking as me.
I’ll work hard to become a trainee you won’t be ashamed of.
-Kim Chunyong-]
“I will work really hard so that those who like me can take pride in it!”
Seeing the person you like in someone else.
That was enough to turn a person’s heart around.
“…….”
Kim Chunyong’s post-it overlapped with words Ji Hwaseong had said on broadcast, and FireworksDay—who had briefly thought ‘maybe I can do something if I remove this’—felt infinitely ashamed.
“Damn it!”
At the thought that she had nearly acted childishly and pointlessly, she smacked her own forehead a few times and gritted her teeth.
“…Yeah. It’s fine.”
She peeled off Kim Chunyong’s Polaroid and post-it, moved them to the most visible spot, and taped them securely in place.
‘Wishing for the trainee you like to do well is a feeling all fans share. I shouldn’t touch something like this.’
And her actions were posted on SNS by an anonymous fan who had been secretly watching the whole process.
[(photo) (photo)
Omg ㅠ A Ji Hwaseong solo fan moved Chunyong’s Polaroid and post-it and taped them up? Mutual aid is amazing… bb]
[⎿Huh, weren’t those two fandoms on bad terms?? What gives lolol]
[⎿⎿It does look better than fighting like dogs… It’s not like they’ll keep fighting even after debuting together lololol]
[⎿They can debut together?? You’re looking way too far ahead already ;;]
[No but listen, the two of them actually get along pretty well. No? They’re super close (link) Even so, you won’t cheer for them to debut together? Even so? Even so?]
[⎿Support, solidarity, cheer, together]
It was in a much better direction than she had expected.
* * *
Ping!
As soon as I finished writing the post-it on the billboard and started walking, more useless messages from X came pouring in.
- X: No, you should’ve taken the verification shot when there were more people, you punk ㅡㅡ
- X: That’s the only way it’ll go viral properly, aaack!!!11
- X: Is it because you have no selfie skills? Huh? Send me some? Should I give you the 3rd round victory skill in exchange?
“…What’s he on about, this idiot.”
I roughly replied to X’s message with a ‘ㅗ’.
It would’ve been better to take it when there were more fans here.
I could’ve chatted with them briefly, and built up a reputation as a trainee who communicates with fans.
The
But the reason I left this when no one was around.
It was because I couldn’t stand completely proud before the fans who liked me.
[Shooting Rex @Shooting_REX
(photo) (photo)
We ran a subway ad for Rex’s birthday♡ Thank you to everyone who helped with the fundraising!]
No matter how much of a villainous member I was, I was still a member of a fairly popular idol group, and thanks to core fans like Shooting Rex noona sticking by me, I had received billboard ads from time to time.
[⎿ShootTrash-nim, it’s so cringe how you put so much emphasis on the word ‘fundraising’ lololol Who raised funds for RexTrash? ㅠㅠ That was all Shooting-nim’s own money~]
…Not knowing at all how much effort and hardship this took.
So this time, I wanted to stay as quiet as possible, not wanting to act as if this was the result of my own effort.
Until the day after debut when I could repay them perfectly—only then, maybe.
…Well, anyway.
“Hoo.”
I let out a light sigh and began to leave Apgujeong Station, which was starting to gradually bustle with people.
So, why did I take a verification shot at Apgujeong Station instead of the subway station right in front of my house?
As I mentioned earlier, it wasn't to check my fame gained through
The reason was precisely.
- Excuse me, is Trainee Kim Chunyong inside?
During the pre-recording for
“Ah, you’re here? I thought people would crowd around, so I came out early.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then let’s go. It’s your first time using the practice room after changing agencies, right?”
“Uh… yes, that’s right.”
A man who let out a small “Haha” laugh at my answer.
Even though he was armed with a mask and hat like me, you could tell how handsome he was just from his briefly visible eyes.
The current overwhelming #1 of
…To meet Jaeha-hyung.