The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 58
* * *
While everyone had gathered in the auditorium of the cramped trainee facility for the first filming session after break.
I squeezed past other trainees exchanging murmured updates about recent happenings, and called out to the person talking with Yuchan-hyung.
“Hey, Logan.”
I went through all that trouble to catch him; a post-mortem check was essential again.
“What… Oh. Chunyong-hyung!”
Logan approached me with his eyes wide open at my call. Perhaps because the worry that he ‘might have to unwillingly drop out’ had been lifted, a pleasant and clear energy—the same as usual—was seeping out from Logan’s round and delicate features.
“Wow, hyung. Did you rest well? Somehow, your expression looks strange?”
“Yeah. Me? I’m… always the same. So that’s something I should be asking you. How about you?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“During this break, you said you were having a meal with your parents. How was that?”
“…
Holy.”
Whether he hadn’t expected me to ask this, Logan scratched his cheek with an unreadable expression.
Tch. Guess it wasn’t a very good topic.
I quietly apologized inwardly and patted Logan’s shoulder.
After a brief silence, words slowly flowed from Logan’s mouth.
“Huh. Just, well, it was ordinary.”
“But they said they’d let you keep appearing on *Targeting Star*. Didn’t you try to add a few more words about that?”
“…
They departed overseas right after the meal, so I didn’t have the chance to ask about such things.”
Hmm. Judging by the expression he made while saying ‘meal,’ it seemed like something had happened.
As if not wanting to continue this conversation topic, Logan made a face like he’d just made a mistake, stuck closer to me, and whispered.
“Actually, that’s not important, Chunyong-hyung. Don’t you feel the gaze right now?”
“What? What gaze?”
“God, bro. Gaoyan has been looking at you like crazy since earlier. See.”
“Ahah….”
At Logan’s words, this time I pressed my lips into a straight line and made a troubled face.
Right.
The reason I’d deliberately called out to Logan, who was far away from me, trying to avoid conversation with someone else.
Of course, I was also paying a bit more attention to Logan, who would now finish the program to the end without dropping out, but…
It was also because of the absurd proposal Gaoyan over there had unloaded on me.
“…Haha, Gaoyan. I think you heard something wrong. The conversation I had with Li Mingshen wasn’t that kind of—”
“No. Gaoyan knows nothing, Chunyong-hyung! Before, didn’t Chunyong-hyung hear Liu Wei trying to force a collaboration on me?”
“…You.”
“Yep, exactly. Those footsteps were only Chunyong-hyung’s. The reason Gaoyan didn’t mention it was because it seemed Chunyong-hyung didn’t want to bring it up. But! The situation is different now! Chunyong-hyung also wants to deal with Liu Wei! Gaoyan can tell. Because it’s Gaoyan.”
Making it ring out loudly, yet without letting the sound leak outside the emergency exit.
Gaoyan, who voiced with perfect modulation of speed and intensity even better than vocal training time, said that to me. That he would expose Liu Wei’s sinister deeds himself.
“Ugh….”
“Holy, Chunyong-hyung. Your expression looks terrible. Is it a headache? Need some Aspirin?”
“Ah, no. I’m fine. I think I just didn’t get enough sleep.”
Just thinking about that moment, even though I could see the auditorium front camera was right before a take, my face was on the verge of contorting.
“Don’t do it, punk. What on earth are you saying? Would that even work?”
“There’s nothing impossible in the world! If I do an interview, or tell the PD-nim, or inform the press—”
“You said you wanted to debut, Gaoyan. Didn’t you want to become the most famous in the world?”
“…That’s right.”
“If you do that, debuting through *Targeting Star* is as good as gone. No, would it stop there? Other paths would be blocked too.”
“Then why did Chunyong-hyung make that proposal to Li Mingshen!”
“Because what he and I gain is clear.”
If Liu Wei falls from *Targeting Star*, Li Mingshen can immediately return to China and prepare for his domestic debut there.
And with the rise in ranking, I can escape the danger of a member who might debut with Arrows withdrawing.
However, Gaoyan had nothing to gain.
Instead, he’d bear the stigma of a personal trainee trying to ruin the program and get glares from both AG and Music Days to boot.
Moreover, I clearly remembered that Liu Wei had previously brought up Gaoyan’s family.
I couldn’t drag an innocent person who couldn’t gain any benefit from this into it.
Unless directly involved, I wouldn’t harm anyone.
That was the minimum conscience I could maintain, having already committed too many deeds while living as a malicious member.
So, among the few available methods, I’d chosen the one involving contacting Li Mingshen.
I couldn’t even say I was completely proud of this matter myself, so who was using whom.
“Tsk, he really doesn’t know that either….”
“Opps, Gaoyan is always the same when it comes to not knowing things. He didn’t even know there were several football teams in Liverpool. Jesus. This is why I hate Kop (Kop: Liverpool FC supporters).”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Anyway.
Whether my plan went awry, or X who saw that mocked me harshly with [You really are good for nothing, you crazy bastard, hahaha]. Time flows, and *Targeting Star*’s filming continues too.…
I’d have to focus on each moment.
“Hello, everyone! It’s Gaon again! You need to prepare for filming with a fresh mindset now!”
The moment I fixed a broadcast-ready smile on my face again, the auditorium doors opened wide and MC Choi Gaon appeared.
“Oh? Gaon-nim, you changed your hair color?”
“Yes! I was going to ask how you noticed, but it’s gotten so bright it’s hard not to notice, right?”
“Yeees. It suits you so well.”
Choi Gaon, elegantly brushing back his mint-colored hair, strode up to us trainees with a smile.
“You’ll all be doing it countless times soon, so there’s not much to envy! Everyone take care of your scalp health, now now. Everyone, do you remember what filming we did after the last break? One person in first-come-first-served gets to answer!”
“M-me! I’ll answer!”
“Yes, very good. Trainee Tsubasa! What was it?”
“Back then, we… did mission filming! I went to the Han River. I rode a bicycle and ate ramen.”
Fweeek—
Choi Gaon whistled once toward Tsubasa and smiled brightly.
“That’s right. So naturally, since vacation has ended again, a mission should be coming, right? The mission score is important for the upcoming intermediate ranking announcement too!”
As Choi Gaon and the AD exchanged glances, the words [Mission!] appeared once again on the giant screen installed in the auditorium.
“Before the announcement of the 4th competition theme that will follow afterward, there’s also a special mission prepared by the *Targeting Star* production staff! Everyone, have you ever visited my Outgram?”
“Yeees!”
Outgram was a microblog-form network service composed mainly of photos and short videos, unlike other communities or SNS.
Photos and videos were essential to post. Moreover, these days it even supported trial live broadcasts.
Just so you know, the very SNS where influencer Gaoyan had reached 15 million followers before I returned was Outgram.
Recalling that fact, when I casually glanced toward Gaoyan, my eyes met with the guy who’d been staring at me the whole time.
‘I! Can help!’
Ugh, seriously.
I pretended not to see that silent cry and turned my head forward again.
“Now my Outgram follower count is… oh my, thankfully it just broke 3 million the day before yesterday. Since we’re all gathered like this anyway, shall we take a photo together?”
Before I knew it, Choi Gaon was holding his phone and swaying with a smile.
“My phone here and that screen over there are connected, so you can all see it together.”
As the words ‘Trainees, gather close please!’ appeared on the sketchbook held by the youngest writer, and we gathered, Choi Gaon turned his phone to selfie mode and shouted loudly.
“Okay, I’ll take it. One, two—”
Click!
Choi Gaon, flamboyantly displaying his selfie prowess, briefly admired the photo on the auditorium screen and then caught his breath.
“Now, I’ll upload this photo to my Outgram. Everyone came out well, so don’t worry!”
Soon, Outgram’s UI appeared on the auditorium screen connected to Choi Gaon’s phone.
And when Choi Gaon entered hashtags like #TargetingStar #Star_Shooter and uploaded the post…
[always__GAON__ liked your post 0 seconds ago]
[whathappenow liked your post 0 seconds ago]
[GG_ON started following you 0 seconds ago]
[whyamicrying_OPPA commented: My Boyfriend Material ♡♡ 0 seconds ago]
…
“Gasp….”
Several trainees let out gasping sounds at the flood of notifications in an instant.
I guess this is what a solo idol boasting 3 million followers’ notification window is like.
When the auditorium screen was on the verge of overload for a moment, Choi Gaon pulled out the cord connected to his phone and smoothly continued the proceedings.
“Haha, the reason I showed you all this process of uploading a post to my Outgram wasn’t to brag about my followers. It’s all related to the mission!”
And the moment he said that, small notification sounds and vibrations rang out incessantly from where the trainees’ phones were gathered.
Also, the words [Mission!] that had been written at the top of the auditorium screen had changed to [Social Media Mission].
“As you might have guessed, that’s right. This time, your mission is related to Outgram. Specifically, gathering followers and likes!”
While the trainees’ surprised faces were zoomed in on each camera, Logan, equally surprised, leaned toward me and spoke quickly.
“Jesus. Chunyong-hyung. Is, is it okay for trainees to do SNS? I remember, the writer definitely said before the first filming….”
“Yeah. They said personal SNS is forbidden.”
There was almost nothing good about trainees or rookie idols doing SNS.
As if I didn’t know how many mistakes would pour out when the constraints on greenhouse flowers were released.
Account mistakes, drunk live broadcasts, secret dating feeds getting caught, wrongly uploaded photos—there were enough issues to write a thesis about.
[
[Singer Ahn Jaeho’s younger brother Ahn Semin, apologizes for problem brother… ‘I’ll beat him up good.’ Followers skyrocket past 200,000]
Was that all? Even people who already had problems caused repercussions just by doing SNS.
So, someone like me before I returned.
[Arrows Rex, avoiding stage exit apology? Shock over deleting Outgram profile amid stage response controversy…]
[??: You really don’t know what Rex trash means?;; Collection of cathartic comments from Rex trash live broadcast lololol]
However, it was equally true that it became a talking point.
“From today until the day before the intermediate ranking announcement! Communicate freely with fans and gather followers and likes!”
“Gasp, then live broadcasts too….”
That’s why the *Targeting Star* production staff allowed trainees to use SNS with minimal constraints that wouldn’t cause huge incidents.
“Ah, I should mention that part? Production staff, please put it on screen!”
As if responding to Wonhyeop-hyung’s surprised voice, a large X mark and red warning sentences appeared on the screen.
[1. Live broadcasts only after practice, receiving a personal cam for content to be uploaded to Witube, and only at designated times! (Times announced on the day)
2. Live broadcasts with 3 or more trainees showing faces together forbidden (Violation penalty: Outgram ban for 1 day)
3. 4th competition related spoilers forbidden (Violation penalty: Outgram ban for 2 days)
4. Creating accounts other than those provided by production staff forbidden (Violation penalty: Complete Outgram ban)]
“Did you all hear the notification sounds from your phones earlier? That’s the message delivering the account created by the production staff! Please read the prohibitions carefully, and if possible, I hope you can complete the mission safely without receiving penalties.”
Along with Choi Gaon’s announcement, the trainees’ expressions varied as they read the prohibitions.
Some immediately understood, some were puzzled.
And someone who wants to bring me down…
“…….”
Was staring at the screen with a cold face as always.
What Liu Wei was probably paying attention to was clearly not the prohibitions themselves. It must be the ‘4th competition’ and ‘ban penalty’ parts.…
Checking to see if there was anything wrong in what he’d been delivered.
He’d already known the ‘Crucial Boy’ mission contents in advance; there was no way Liu Wei hadn’t received this mission information.
Fortunately, perhaps the fact that I already knew about this too.
While I gauged Liu Wei far away, Logan concealed his uncomfortable expression and whispered.
“Huh… Bro, there are a lot of things we can’t do? I thought we’d need that kind of stuff to get lots of followers and likes.”
“Why? You thought having multiple people showing faces together would bring in more viewers?”
“Yes. I understand the last one, but I don’t really get the second and third. Don’t people all like spoilers?”
“That’s true too. But probably, it means to make good use of that on your own.”
“Huh, what? Sometimes Chunyong-hyung really says things that I can’t tell if you know or not.”
“You’ll see, punk. If you handle this even a little well, you’re already halfway there.”
I patted the back of worried Logan and scanned the auditorium thoroughly.
Now that they’d told us about this mission…
“We’ll take a short break! There will be an announcement regarding the intermediate ranking announcement filming right after, so please gather again without being late!”
I’d have to hear about the main game too.