The Vicious Member Has Returned! Episode 7
* * *
The first day of filming after all sorts of storms had passed.
Kim Juan’s steps toward the studio his agency had informed him of early in the morning were heavier than usual.
After all, Kim Juan had only transferred agencies because his former agency’s director—that is, his uncle—had told him he could debut if he moved to August Entertainment.
To be precise, he never intended to appear on an idol survival show in the first place.
“...
You said if I came to AG, I could debut easily. So what the hell is this?! Uncle, are you messing with me? If Mom finds out...”
“Juan, calm down and listen to your uncle. It’s all fine. What you need to do right now isn’t anything else, it’s lining up.”
Stick to the pureblood AG trainees.
Those kids are guaranteed to debut, so if you just make a scene with them, votes will fall to you too.
‘Ha, good thing I latched onto Son Jaeha early. If it weren’t for him, I’d really be screwed.’
Kim Juan chewed over what his uncle had said on the phone as he entered the waiting room the junior writer guided him to.
“...
Huh?”
Inside, Son Jaeha, the lifeline Kim Juan had grabbed, was sitting alone. Kim Juan inwardly rejoiced and approached him.
‘If that bastard Ji Hwaseong were next to him, it’d be hard to even talk. Perfect. I need to get closer to him like this.’
“Jaeha hyung!”
“Oh? Ah, Juan, you’re here.”
Hearing Kim Juan’s voice, Son Jaeha smiled brightly and welcomed him.
If the prince described in animations, sleeping under the sunlight in the forest, were East Asian, this might be what he felt like.
‘To think someone like this went through seven years of grueling training.’
Kim Juan, who had skipped all kinds of practice yet barely managed to maintain his trainee status thanks to his uncle’s convenience, only to be eventually cut from the debut lineup, couldn’t believe it.
Kim Juan scurried over to sit beside Son Jaeha and spoke.
“Hyung. Did you see the article that came out? About our mentors?”
“Ah, I saw it. Only really amazing people were announced. No matter what mission comes up, it won’t be easy.”
“Right?! I mean, I switched agencies thinking I could just debut, but this seems way too harsh. I’m seriously so annoyed. What’s the big deal about debuting, that they have to go this far?”
“Hmm... I guess you could think of it that way. You’ve had a tough time so far, haven’t you?”
Kim Juan pretended to be moved by Son Jaeha’s ocean-deep understanding and clung closely to him.
“I’m really glad I met you, hyung. I... had a pretty hard time at my previous agency.”
At Kim Juan’s whisper, Son Jaeha raised an eyebrow, expressing curiosity.
“You had a hard time? Why? Was the Queen’s training program too difficult?”
“Oh, no, not that. It was kind of...”
He’d just said it offhand, but to get such a kind response.
For a moment, flustered, a certain someone’s face flashed through Kim Juan’s mind.
Kim Juan, that existence he detested with all his might.
Kim Chunyong!
If that guy were to become hated by Son Jaeha, who was practically confirmed to debut?
Having finished his calculation internally, Kim Juan’s mouth was already moving.
“It’s a bit delicate to say, but... there was this guy who trained with me and then transferred here. He...”
* * *
The AD whispered into the radio.
“Main camera 1, camera 2 check. Side 1, side 2, check. Jimmy jib confirmed. Choi Gaon main cam check. Mic check. One, two. Gaon-ssi goes straight into his ment.”
Once the camera director and FD nodded in confirmation of everything, the slate came down with a crisp sound.
Clack!
At the same time, brilliant lights poured down onto the center of the darkened set.
“For the dream of debut, shoot it!”
Posing as if taking a sniper shot, MC Choi Gaon made a stylish entrance.
Trainees snipe the hearts of the public, and the public selects the trainees to debut.
The name, taking its image from darts and snipers, was somewhat cliché.
“Hello, Star Shooters!”
But with a well-known MC, a well-written script, and skilled trainees, PD Joo’s philosophy that anything could succeed was indeed working.
[Thanks to our Jinu, I can be a Shooter, I’m so happy...]
[Lolololol fcking Shooter crazy bastards keep comparing tata trainees to our kids? Damn think about the level difference]
Because after the first broadcast aired, fans were excitedly calling each other names like ‘Shooter,’ ‘Sushu,’ and ‘Gaesushu’ all over social media and communities.
“I’m solo singer Choi Gaon, the MC for August Entertainment’s idol survival show,
With a fresh smile, PD Joo’s first ambitious choice, popular solo idol Choi Gaon, looked at the camera.
‘Is it okay?’
At the OK sign that appeared on the prompter, Choi Gaon continued with a much more relaxed expression.
“Today, Star Shooters, you will meet 18 boys dreaming of debut through
As he said that, the pre-produced VCR began playing on the electronic display behind him.
First, the footage showed trainees practicing in the AG practice room.
Then, much more briefly, scenes of individual applicants and contestants from other agencies appeared.
Kim Chunyong’s screen time was about the extent of him briefly walking down the AG hallway.
Roughly one second or so?
After that, even a close-up of Son Jaeha’s slightly anguished face appeared.
With a voice presumably Son Jaeha’s, the VCR ended, and the lights turned back to the MC.
“Now, after their first stage showcasing their skills, the trainees will receive rankings through the ‘Mentor Evaluation’ to determine the composition for the next competition stage.”
It was called a ‘Mentor Evaluation,’ but in fact, it was to identify promising and hopeless trainees in advance using the psychology of liking to rank people.
‘But the MC can’t exactly say that directly.’
“Please send your support, Star Shooters, so the trainees can find strength!”
Choi Gaon, having finished his explanation, shouted with his arms spread wide.
“Now, let us invite the mentors who will be with our boys from their first stage to their last! Mentors, please come in!”
Min Siyeong, Na Jihyuk, Mun Yunha, and even Jin Dasol.
Once they were safely seated in the mentors’ chairs, Choi Gaon smiled brightly and addressed them.
“Mentors, you will soon meet the boys waiting nervously behind the stage. But before that, could you introduce yourselves to the viewers and share your resolve for today’s evaluation?”
Singer Min Siyeong and rapper Na Jihyuk, having been on broadcast programs for a long time, answered simply and professionally.
Skill and sincerity.
And focusing on potential, fairly and strictly fairly.
The problem was the two headline-making judges.
“Since others will take care of fairness, I’ll be looking for members who fit my aesthetic standards. Because they’re the kids I’ll be seeing from now on.”
The words Mun Yunha, with her long hair cascading down her back and a confident impression, poured out the moment she grabbed the mic were, literally, unconventional.
The official article that Mun Yunha would be in charge of the group debuting from this survival show hadn’t even been released yet, but Mun Yunha was unfiltered.
She was a person whose thoughts seemed to leap straight out of her mouth.
In contrast, Jin Dasol, the child of darkness dressed head to toe in black.
“I’ll watch, and think about it.”
...
Was that it?
“Cut! Alright, let’s pause for a moment and start again. Yunha-ssi, Dasol-ssi, just a moment.”
PD Joo, clutching his head at the statements that couldn’t be aired, tried to shoot a few separate cuts for them, but both were so stubborn that they merely offered variations of what they had already said several times.
My-way like no other.
Taciturnity like no other.
Everyone in the studio except those two sensed it instinctively.
That the filming ahead would not be easy.
And it was no different for the trainees waiting behind the stage.
* * *
I rubbed my palms on my pants, trying to kill the tension.
Even if it’s something I’ve already experienced because I returned to the past, why else is a survival show a survival show?
Because you don’t know what will happen.
Even if I made it last time, I could fail this time.
In the previous
While I was biting my lips watching other trainees’ stages, Kim Juan, who had been standing far off, shuffled his feet and came over to my side.
After checking that there were no cameras, Kim Juan opened his mouth so only I could hear.
“Hey, Kim Chunyong.”
“Don’t waste your breath and go warm up your throat.”
Even with my warm advice, Kim Juan didn’t back down.
“How about you just withdraw here?”
What nonsense was this?
When I looked at Kim Juan like he was a madman on Line 1, Kim Juan whispered to me with a fishy smile on his face.
“I clearly gave you a warning, Kim Chunyong. The rest is what you choose.”
I became serious instead and said quietly.
“...
Hey, Kim Juan.”
“What. Going to pretend to be smart again with stuff only you know? It’s really useless now. Because...”
“No, you’re being called.”
“...
What?!”
It was true.
“Trainee Kim Juan? Please come up on stage!”
“Ah, shi...!”
At the MC calling his name, Kim Juan hurriedly climbed onto the stage.
“...
What warning. A guy who doesn’t even know his own turn properly.”
My mind went blank for a moment at the sight of that somewhat lacking rodent-like behavior, and I blinked my eyes to regain focus.
Setting aside the absurd nonsense Kim Juan spouted.
Because we were from the same agency, my turn was next.
“I’m Kim Juan, striving for my dream. I’ll work hard!”
After the mentors’ encouragement and well-wishes, Kim Juan’s stage soon followed.
Dancing with a slightly bad habit but passable, and vocals that dodged the high notes he couldn’t sing.
Not exactly outstanding, but difficult to find any glaring flaws either.
Well, it was because he was at that level that even after skipping practice and preparing half-heartedly, he ultimately debuted and got on track.
I think his personality is the problem, not that he lacks skill.
“……”
But the mentors thought differently.
They were the kings wielding absolute power on this stage.
Once Kim Juan’s stage ended, the first to hold the mic was senior Min Siyeong.
“Trainee Kim Juan.”
“Y-yes?”
“Just because you can’t hit high notes, are you going to avoid songs in that range forever?”
“...
Hic.”
At senior Min Siyeong’s sharp criticism, Kim Juan hiccupped.
As if even that displeased her, she clicked her tongue lightly and continued.
“Did you watch the stages of the trainees before you? Everyone tries to show their strengths, and even if they lack in one area, they prepare something else special. But with you, trainee Kim Juan, I don’t see that. It just felt like someone told you to do this, so you did it. That’s not right.”
A harsher evaluation than expected fell upon Kim Juan.
Yet, as for whether it was entirely excessive, each point was painfully accurate.
That was the cold, sharp assessment of a female solo singer who had lifted a small agency all the way to an IPO.
Taking the mic from her, Na Jihyuk smiled awkwardly and consoled Kim Juan.
“I thought you weren’t bad. Both your dancing and singing are above average... so I hope you don’t get too discouraged. I can see room for further growth. Especially how your expressions change drastically during your performance. That’s a huge strength.”
The so-called carrot after the whip.
“Th-thank... thank you...”
But since the whip senior Min Siyeong had brought down was so rough and sharp, there was no sign of Kim Juan’s mental state properly recovering.
I clicked my tongue.
Because I remembered what the next mentors had said seven years ago.
“……”
“Honestly, you know you’re not exactly the handsome type, right? That nose, I don’t like that nose. I don’t know why I watched this stage. Everything was not my taste, so it kind of put me in... a bad mood.”
Although it was edited out because it was too harsh for broadcast, the evaluations from Jin Dasol and Mun Yunha were even more ruthless.
Well, I mean. Jin Dasol didn’t say anything at all, just silently made an X with his hand. Anyway.
“I’ll work, sniff, harder, I will. I’m sorry...”
In the end, Kim Juan headed to where the trainees who had finished their stages were sitting, with tears streaming down.
As luck would have it, he had no acquaintances among the other trainees, so there was no one to comfort him.
He was like a thorn in my eye, picking fights with me, but seeing him sobbing his eyes out after being verbally lashed by the mentors stirred something strange in a corner of my heart.
Was I feeling empathy for someone who’d been dragged through the mud alongside me?
Well, maybe it was because his face seemed even younger than back then, making me feel a bit sorry for him.
Anyway, such useless thoughts couldn’t last long.
“Then now, we’ll meet trainee Kim Ch- Kim Chunyong!”
Because it was my turn.
I strode to the center of the stage, where the spotlight poured down, and took a deep breath.
I have to smile.
Because this is my first impression shown to everyone.
As brightly as possible. As innocently as possible.
And as desperately as possible, more than anyone.
“Hello, ‘Chun’ as in spring! ‘Yong’ as in dragon! I’m Kim Chunyong!”