The Evil Member is Back! 64
Back when I was Rex Trash, my way of dealing with the flood of malicious rumors and stares was simple.
It was just...
"Hey, Rex. You were in the news again yesterday."
"News? What news? I haven't checked portal sites in a while, so I wouldn't know."
"They said you just did rehearsal and then went home or something."
"...
So what about it?"
"I just... I thought maybe you didn't take your meds. Are you taking your prescription meds properly? I'm asking because I'm worried, man."
"Yeah. Hey, I stopped caring about stuff like that a long time ago. You don't have to tell me every little thing, so let's just drink."
Pretending not to care.
If you pretend not to care about things that aren't important, eventually you really do stop caring.
That's just how life is for a hated evil member.
That doesn't change much even now, living not as Rex Trash but as survival show trainee Kim Chunyong.
For instance, even in a moment like this—the day after a malicious rumor had spread about me as a trainee.
"Um, Chunyong hyung."
"Oh, Logan. What's up?"
"...
Can we... talking about, is that okay? Just... I kind of have something I want to say."
"Pfft..."
I barely managed to stifle the laugh that almost burst out and answered coolly.
"Hmm, if we talk now, we'll be late for morning practice. How about after practice later?"
"Oh... okay. Got it!"
Logan gave me a slightly puzzled look at my completely normal attitude, then nodded vigorously and went out of the room first.
The reason Logan was acting that way was obvious.
"God, this is unfair. The person right here is Chunyong hyung's family, I'm telling you! I was right beside him."
Seeing me, the person who'd helped him, going through a big mess, he must have felt like he wanted to help.
And on top of that, he'd probably thought he could be a real help since he was there at the time.
"Haha..."
Still a Liverpool boy trying to repay a debt.
Regardless of nationality, it's admirable. And cute.
Honestly, Logan wasn't the only one acting like this.
Earlier, Gao Yan suddenly said something like "He's not quite as cool as Gao Yan, but it's true that Chunyong hyung is cool too."
And Ryota suddenly gave me a ton of snacks he'd brought from Japan, saying they were the ones he'd been saving.
"Hmm..."
I shrugged, popping one of the chocolate snacks Ryota gave me into my mouth.
Back in my Rex Trash days, I only pretended to be fine, but now I was actually, comparatively, doing okay.
You have to see a rumor or two die down when you don't react to know how it works.
Ping!
- X: Sigh, yeah you're so great. Your rank just tanked all the way to 8th and you're happy about it, they say.
- X: You know that? The name Evil Member Rex Trash is way too good for you.
- X: Hey, if you were a real evil member, you'd turn on a live broadcast and scream 'It's not me, you X-bastards!' at the top of your lungs. Jeez -_-
- X: Whatever, I'm done. I'm not watching you again until this gets resolved.
"...
What, this one's sulking too?"
I scratched my cheek a few times looking at the X messages, then slowly moved my feet toward the hallway.
If I could just respond nonchalantly to the other trainees worrying about me, and handle the stage after the midterm ranking announcement and the Liu Wei thing, it would all be fine.
That's what I thought.
It really was.
"─Chunyong!"
That is, if only Yu Chan hyung hadn't suddenly grabbed me just as I was about to head to basic choreography practice.
"...
Oh, Yu Chan hyung. Isn't it not time for your vocal lesson yet?"
"Ahh, right. But, you know, my major is vocals. I'm pretty decent at it, so I came a little early."
To see you.
At his added words, an old memory surfaced and I let out a "haha" laugh.
I'm telling you, I'm not going to sue you this time, hyung.
Hiding that thought, I shrugged casually and continued.
"Why? All of a sudden?"
"Suddenly? Do a couple of fellow trainees need a reason to see each other?"
"No, well. I think I know why you came."
Yu Chan hyung, who had naturally draped his arm over my shoulder, whispered in a small voice that wouldn't get picked up by the hallway camera.
"Well, your guess is more or less right. You, uh... you're going through something bad. I figured you'd be in a pretty crappy mood. So I thought I'd help you take your mind off it."
"I'm really fine. These are all fake rumors that'll die down eventually if I don't respond..."
"And also to tell you some good news."
"...
Good news?"
What's he talking about?
Nothing like that should be happening, unless the rumors suddenly vanished or Liu Wei announced he was leaving the show.
My flustered expression at the unexpected remark must have been pretty funny, because Yu Chan hyung burst into a hearty laugh and led me behind that same old vending machine.
"Look, look at this."
What Yu Chan hyung showed me was none other than...
[Son Jaeha @Sonjaeha_TT (Video)
Practiced "Aiming" during the last break (laugh)
Thanks for the help! @Sprinyong_TT]
It was Jaeha hyung's Outgram feed.
"Wh-what."
In that instant, unable to hide my bewilderment, I checked the post again and again with my mouth slightly open.
Of course, that didn't make the post suddenly disappear or anything.
The video adorning Jaeha hyung's latest feed was the clip of "Aiming" we'd practiced together during the last break.
The very video shot that day, when hyung had secretly tipped me off that Liu Wei was taking steps to do something to me.
The fact that the video was uploaded wasn't anything special in itself.
After I posted a video as my first post and got a decent response, other trainees had lined up to upload video posts too.
If anything, Jaeha hyung uploading it now was a little on the late side.
But the important thing was the timing of when this was posted.
"Even hyung must have surely seen the comments on his own post..."
The malicious rumors currently being hurled at me boiled down to two main things.
A date with a girlfriend during the last break, and a gaming item scam.
But with this video Jaeha hyung posted, the rumor that I'd gone to meet a nonexistent girlfriend during the break was directly refuted.
I'd planned to just let this matter slide without any response, so I couldn't hide my fluster.
...
Why on earth would Jaeha hyung do this?
No, seriously, why?!
As things stood, it would be understandable if Jaeha hyung was annoyed with me.
Because those comments that initially tried to sway public opinion had deliberately not specified the target properly and just clickbaited with the phrase "targeting star trainee," so even Jaeha hyung's post got hit with nonsense aggro and he suffered no small amount of damage too.
But in a situation like that, he's giving me this kind of help without a single word to me?
Sure enough, the comments were already in a huge uproar.
[What? So the rumor about Kim Chunyong meeting a girlfriend during break is total BS?]
[⎿ Not sure if it's total BS, but it probably means Son Jaeha and Kim Chunyong are close... whoa]
[Ah fuck I get it, Jaeha was the girlfriend]
[⎿ Epic bullshit right there]
[⎿⎿ I support this, let's conspire. This version is better for me]
[No but uploading this video at this timing... Jaeha's too kind, he just can't stand to see his dongsaeng getting cursed at ㅠ]
[⎿ What do you mean 'coincidentally', he's just trying to get some benefit from the noise marketing on his trainee account tsk tsk. Do they think these kids are all angels or something]
[⎿⎿ Yeah, at least Son Jaeha is probably kinder than jerks like you lol]
"What on earth is this..."
I pressed my hand to my slightly aching head and let out a small groan.
...
Things happening that I didn't expect, this isn't the first or second time.
This kind of stuff really made my heart ache every time I saw it.
Whether he knew the state I was in or not.
"Haha, I heard the whole story from Jaeha."
Yu Chan hyung, looking extremely excited, kept waving his phone at me.
"He said that since you two practiced together that day, there was no way you could have done that. So I asked him how about posting the video, and Jaeha said it sounded good."
They had that conversation without me knowing?
I unconsciously raised my voice a little and tapped hyung's shoulder.
"You two talked and decided to post it? That video? No, when did you even have time to..."
"Shh, shh. Chunyong. That voice is getting picked up by the camera. You're the one who told me that."
Yu Chan hyung, mimicking what I'd said back on the bus when we first headed to the trainee canning facility, continued with a handsome smile on his face.
"I felt this while practicing with you and going up on stage together. You always tend to want to handle everything on your own."
"It's a survival show, you know."
And besides, with the situation being what it is!
Not knowing what else would be good to say, I kept parting my lips, and Yu Chan hyung beamed and pushed his phone at me again.
"That's not all. Among the posts tagged with your name..."
Ping!
"Uh, what's that sound?"
"W-wait a second. Let me just check this message..."
"What the, Kim Chunyong. Your notification sound is really cute?"
"...
I didn't set that."
- X: Didn't I say I wasn't watching until it's resolved?
- X: Yep, X is here ♡
- X: Omo omo, for real
- X: I was gonna go and beg you to do that as soon as this thing blew up ;; Your leader hyung's friend is pretty sharp? Get even closer with him
- X: Now that you've even held hands with Gao Yan! Go schmooze it up with the other trainees too
- X: Go to Son Jaeha right now and suggest taking a selfie together using the skill I taught you and posting it ㅎㅎ It would totally go viral
- X: Anyway, 45 degrees is the golden rule for selfies, but kids these days don't know that -3
-Even as a barrage of dumbfounding messages poured in from X, there was nothing I could say.
This time, I'd tried not to be a burden and only give help. How on earth did things turn out like this?
Ping!
- X: Oh right, also make sure to see what Bang Yu Chan is about to show you ㅠ
- X: You were so harsh to me that I thought your own family hated you ㅠ
"What the..."
"Done looking? Chunyong, this is more urgent. Look, look. Basic choreography lesson starts soon, I'm telling you."
"Wait a second, Yu Chan hyung. Let me get a grip!"
Thanks to impatient Yu Chan hyung shoving his phone right at me, I had to check the screen without even a chance to fix my disheveled hair.
The first thing I saw was a freshly made Outgram account sporting a default profile picture.
And one single post.
The content of it...
[Kim Bomi @kimbomi__
Hello? I am Kim Bomi, the older sister of Kim Chunyong, a trainee currently appearing on
It was a story from my sister, something that made my jaw drop wider than anything I'd seen before.