The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 63
* * *
When Gaoyan heard Kim Chunyong say, "I plan on receiving your help as well," his eyes sparkled.
That is, for exactly about one minute.
"O-ohh... Goodness gracious!"
Gaoyan's face, which had been listening quietly, was gradually engulfed in terror and dread, and finally, rubbing his arm that had broken out in goosebumps, he went so far as to say,
"Chunyong hyung, I never dreamed you knew about those things and were thinking like that. As expected, it's true what they say—it's scary when a nice person gets angry. I take back what I said earlier."
It would be a lie to say a bitter smile didn't form at those words.
"...I really didn't know I'd actually end up doing this. That's why I hoped things would work out smoothly with Li Mingshen if possible. ...Since he's a bit more humane, after all."
"Gaoyan, Chunyong hyung is so, so scary. Could it be that he knows about me like that too...?"
"Well... do you think he knows, or do you think he doesn't?"
"Hiiik!"
"I'm kidding, you bastard. Get out already. It looks weird if you keep staying here."
After finishing his conversation with Gaoyan, the expression of Kim Chunyong, who was left alone in the vocal room, changed subtly.
Whether it was because he was simple, or because he deliberately didn't ask—Gaoyan hadn't asked a single question about the "facts" Kim Chunyong knew.
Thanks to that, Kim Chunyong had also bought himself time to explain the source of that information to Gaoyan.
His fingers were already unlocking his phone screen.
Ping! Ping! Ping...!
"Ugh, so noisy."
Lightly ignoring the torrent of X messages that threatened to swallow his phone's top bar, he pressed Outgram.
Since Gaoyan had left too, the moment had come to check the comments.
[issuestar has sent a DM: Hello? This is the WTube channel
[SNFAPAEIJ has left a comment: That trainee is fucking crazy with guts. As expected, physiognomy never lies. Now school violence is all that's left.]
[ADNFAJLAED has left a comment: Leave the show leave the show leave the show leave the show stop bothering our kids and leave the show leave the show leave the show leave the show]
As if he had been anticipating that moment, the modest [Springyong_TT] account with only three posts was on the verge of exploding from all the notifications.
"It's a good thing the production team gave me an account with notifications turned off in advance. Ugh."
Grumbling softly, Kim Chunyong pressed his first post with a slightly trembling hand, and the comments that had poured in beneath it were revealed.
The first comment was Choi Geonyeong's comment, which Kim Chunyong had pinned. [@ChoiKY_ I'll beat you next time we meet lol]
The sentence was simple, yet somehow resolute—just reading it made a laugh burst out.
Of course, the real game was the comments piled below it.
[HowCanAnIdolTraineeBeNamedKimChunyong < I heard this person not only met his girlfriend during the last break but even brought her to the front of the dorm. What does everyone think? Leave your MBTI and reaction!]
[⎿ I'm INFP and I think he should leave immediately. Just thinking of being betrayed already, my eyes are trembling with tears and my hands and feet are drenched.]
[⎿ Seems fake? An INFP couldn't write a comment like this because they'd be too busy shedding real tears. Tsk tsk. Seems like an INTP trying to make INFPs look bad.]
[⎿ Busted lol. INFP get lost. Trainee who meets his girlfriend get lost.]
[⎿ No, dividing people into 16 types is absurd to begin with ㅡㅡ But I relate to him needing to withdraw haha]
[In that tabloid, the other person's face isn't really visible, but looking at his physiognomy, I felt like he was the type to do that... It feels like what had to blow up finally blew up.]
[Is the dating rumor the only thing that matters now? No, what kind of guts does he have to think about debuting after scamming in that famous game? Hahaha]
[⎿ Goddamn, and the game money scam? As a gamer, I really can't stand this. What the hell happened? Kim Chunyong, say something hahaha]
A number of comments completely overwhelming the good comments that had been posted until now were all spewing anger toward Kim Chunyong.
He was just a trainee, and there wasn't even proper evidence.
All merely because he was an easy target.
For an ordinary trainee, that barrage alone would have been more than enough to break their spirit.
However, Kim Chunyong, who had been scrolling down smoothly, merely tilted his head with a slightly bitter expression.
"...It's better than I thought?"
Even though the notifications alone were already no joke, he remained composed.
What had to be pointed out here was that Kim Chunyong was a malicious member who had already been rolling around in the entertainment industry for seven years.
Getting cursed at for things he didn't do, getting cursed at fifty-fold for things he did, getting cursed at while staying still, getting cursed at for things worth cursing at.
Kim Chunyong was someone who had returned after experiencing all of that—there was no way he'd bat an eye at something like this.
[How did his parents educate their child for him to turn out like this....]
[⎿ I heard it was his dad who brought his girlfriend to the front of the dorm, so what lol. Like father, like son.]
Of course, there were also comments that made his expression twist ferociously. But that was a separate matter.
Having calmly assessed his current public opinion, Kim Chunyong closed the app and took one big deep breath.
"...This much is fine. Let's not respond. Rather, it'll become noise marketing."
For the production crew to start paying serious attention to a trainee's controversy, evidence was needed.
Definite proof that the figure in the various rumors right now was the real Kim Chunyong.
To properly take care of Liu Wei, Kim Chunyong had schemed with a fierce determination because of that as well.
The public were not fools.
[But there's too little evidence? How do you know if that's Kim Chunyong or his girlfriend in that photo... Couldn't it be family?]
[⎿ Whatever, they say it's his girlfriend lollll]
[To everyone spreading groundless rumors, I've compiled everything into a PDF and plan to deliver it to AG Entertainment.]
[⎿ The PPT freak appears again lol. Can you even sue with this? ㅠ]
[⎿ This will be delivered as well.]
[No but look at the timing lolll. They stayed quiet until now and blow this up right before the ranking vote deadline? That's fucking malicious, isn't it?]
[⎿ I know right lolll Just look at how the mid-rankings dropped; ; I bet the moms of the lower-ranked trainees are framing him tsk tsk]
[Chunyong, I believe you]
'With tabloid rumors without evidence, or blurry photos that can't even confirm if it's me or not, they can't do anything.'
Other than lowering his immediate mid-ranking, that is.
Kim Chunyong lightly touched his forehead and let out a hollow laugh.
"It seems Liu Wei was in a hurry too...."
Reckless actions he hadn't taken before, and blatant checks that were practically meaningless.
But, on the contrary, that had rubbed Kim Chunyong the wrong way just the same.
"......."
The reason Kim Chunyong had been cautious in approaching Liu Wei was partly because he needed solid evidence so he wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
To some extent, it had also been his last bit of goodwill toward a member he had debuted with.
Kim Chunyong was someone who had even given a chance to Kim Juan, who had attacked him indiscriminately.
Because he himself had received a chance from X.
'That's why I tried to take the difficult path. By approaching Li Mingshen, I was trying to get Liu Wei to back down indirectly.'
Recalling the comment that had mentioned his family earlier, Kim Chunyong slowly closed his eyes.
Inside his head, things were spinning faster than ever.
The conversation he had with Gaoyan earlier, SNS, Outgram, the public's reaction.
Kim Chunyong slowly picked up his phone and left a light message in his family group chat.
[Second child: Don't worry about what's on the internet, it's nothing!!]
[Second child: It's all because I'm so popular]
[Second child: At least tell your friends around you to vote for me haha]
By now, unless it was his parents who had little interest in the online world, Kim Chunyong's sisters would have checked the Rekabal rumors.
'Our family members think similarly to me, so they'll probably think this much is nothing. Still, it's right to leave at least a message.'
As if his prediction was correct, even though the number next to Kim Chunyong's message decreased, no reply came back.
"Anyway, that's exactly it. It's fine. As long as I get through it well, that's all that matters."
Kim Chunyong turned off the lights in the vocal room, whose rental time would soon end, and moved to leave, lightly dusting off his shoulder.
* * *
The controversy surrounding a trainee currently appearing on the show had also reached the ears of the
They always had to check such things quickly, and it was no different from having hung a whole string of prohibitions on Outgram in the first place to carefully monitor such aspects.
"Tell them to remove all the trainees' comment sections. Such worthless rumors are surfacing, really."
Lee Hyeonjeong brushed back her hair that had fallen onto her forehead and gave instructions nervously to the youngest writer.
Her workload was already piled up like Mount Tai due to the mid-ranking announcement, so there was no way she would welcome such a bothersome controversy.
"Um, can I just do it? Chief PD probably doesn't know about this yet...."
"So what? Are you saying it's overstepping? How long are you going to wait when you don't know when the PD will come? A trainee is being attacked with absurd rumors; what good is there in leaving it alone?"
"Uh, um. That's... huh?"
It was then, while the youngest writer was flustered by Lee Hyeonjeong's rare irritation,
his eyes went wide, and at the same time, a cheeky voice was heard from behind.
"Lee Writer. There's no need for that. Didn't I tell you before? All of that is ratings, see."
"—PD-nim!"
Lee Hyeonjeong let out a shout at Ju Cheolyeong, the man who had belatedly returned to the filming set, filled with both relief and annoyance.
"Whew, there's a limit to how glad you should be to see me, Lee Writer."
As if that voice grated on his ears, Ju Cheolyeong made a gesture of covering his ears once, then waved his hand and sent the youngest writer out of the office.
The youngest writer left with an "I'm saved" expression, and the two's conversation began in earnest.
"No, what did you talk about with the Head PD for the conversation to take this long? You haven't been on set for a whole week!"
"You would have done well in my place even without me, come on. There weren't any stage filming sessions anyway, right? That's enough."
"Ha... that's not what's important right now. We're in the middle of the Outgram mission, and regarding trainee Kim Chunyong—"
"I know, I know. I saw everything on my way here. There's no need to worry about that any further."
At Ju Cheolyeong's nonchalant attitude, Lee Hyeonjeong recalled the Outgram video she had seen of Kim Chunyong and spat out with a surge of anger.
"...PD-nim, I wasn't going to say this. But the trainees appearing on the show right now are only in their late teens to early twenties! It's too cruel for them to experience something like this."
"I don't think he sees it that way?"
"...What?"
At Lee Hyeonjeong's explosive tone, Ju Cheolyeong leaned his tired body against the office chair and continued nonchalantly.
"You know his head works well, right? If he thought he needed to do something about this situation, he would have come immediately. Asking us to let him explain, or to put out an article saying it's not true."
"...It could be because he doesn't have the mental strength for it. You know how hard it is to handle something like this alone."
"No. I'll bet on it, he won't respond to this. Because there's no need. And I agree with that."
"...What do you mean."
"The current picture—anyone can see it was drawn by Director Shin's side, right? Well, it's sloppily done, which is so unlike that person."
Ju Cheolyeong tapped his phone with his fingers, a sly smile spreading across his face.
"If he responds, it'll be exactly the picture they want. Kim Chunyong is probably staying still right now because he knows that too."
"...How would a mere trainee think like that? You're overthinking this right now."
"Well... even if that's not the case. Did you see the post that just went up? I think that'll resolve things to some extent."
"Trainee Kim Chunyong hasn't posted anything right now!"
"Lee Writer."
Look at the forest, not the trees.
At Ju Cheolyeong's words, Lee Hyeonjeong put on a blank expression, then buried her head in her phone and slowly scanned through the other trainees' profile pages.
There was exactly one trainee who had posted something new.
And.
"T-this is...?"
"You think that's all? Search for Kim Chunyong's name separately. You'll be surprised."
Ju Cheolyeong continued speaking with a beaming smile on his tired face.
"Ah, Kim Chunyong. I really am starting to like him."
Anyone.
To the point where they'd want to help him.
At the same time, someone who understood such feelings was already moving for Kim Chunyong.