The Malicious Member Is Back! – Chapter 70
There were many reasons why my friendship with Yeonu hyeong—and thus, his drinking history—had never become public knowledge.
His connections with reporters, his ironclad time management born from a need for control, the power of his agency, and so on.
And if I had to pick the most special reason among them…
"Ah, now that I think of it… I left the gifts for the trainees in the car. Would one of you mind helping me? I think I might need an extra hand."
"Oh, for something like that, one of the assistant directors could—"
"No. A trainee would be better. You know how it is."
It was his social finesse.
As if proving his own words that 'being too smart makes working in the entertainment industry exhausting,' the strategies that came from his mind were unrivaled.
"We can get a cut of us carrying the gifts together. And that trainee can share what I said on the way, or how I seemed, in a personal interview."
"Uh, hmm. That's quite…"
Naturally, there wouldn't be any staff members who'd disagree when he put it like that.
"Oh, if that's the case, who's going?"
"It's definitely a chance to get some screen time…"
"I, I need to use the… restroom."
The trainees were still intimidated by Yeonu hyeong, a senior far above them, and while everyone was eyeing each other cautiously…
"Everyone seems hesitant. Then shall I go?"
"Huh? Chunyong? Hmm, I'm fine with going myself."
"Haha, it's first come, first served, Wonhyeop hyeong. I'll go and get showered with a little affection."
If I secured that spot first, his plan would come together perfectly.
That's what you were thinking, right, hyeong?
As I caught my breath for a moment and looked at him, Yeonu hyeong slightly covered his mouth with his right hand and smiled faintly.
"Thank you, Trainee Kim Chunyong. Then let's take a quick trip to the parking lot together."
That smile meant he was quite pleased with how things were going right now.
The memories of drying drinks together are vivid, so vivid.
Pressing my forehead at the mild headache, I followed him down the hallway.
Perhaps because of the cameras set up everywhere, what hyeong said to me so far remained at a casual level.
"How's the practice going? I saw earlier that Dasol was working you all incredibly hard."
"Working us hard, haha… No, not at all. It's all for our debut, after all. She's doing us a favor."
"Is that so? Hmm. If that's what you think. Though I got the impression Dasol firmly believes Trainee Kim Chunyong will join her crew later. Did you see earlier? She was talking about trainees who are doing well, and she mentioned Trainee Kim Chunyong…"
"Ha, haha! The parking lot is a bit far, isn't it?"
…No, this doesn't feel right.
This isn't just casual conversation.
Just as I was sticking my tongue out internally in bewilderment, a voice rang out.
Whether it was a help or a hindrance, I couldn't exactly tell.
"…Trainee Kim Chunyong? Where are you going?"
Should I consider this being saved?
Staring at me and Yeonu hyeong in surprise at the end of the hallway was none other than Senior Min Si-yeong.
As if she had just finished vocal mentoring for another team, trainees were pouring out behind her in droves.
"Wow, Senior Min Si-yeong. It's been a while."
"…Yeonu. Yes, it's good to see you too. I didn't expect to see you here."
"Well, it would be difficult for you to know exactly everywhere I go, Senior, since I'm not part of AG."
"……."
Senior Min Si-yeong, having quelled her twitching lips with her trademark professionalism, tucked her long hair behind her ear and continued speaking.
"Yes, that aside. Dance mentoring shouldn't be over yet. Why is Trainee Kim Chunyong following you, Yeonu?"
"Ah, I asked for a bit of help. Trainee Kim Chunyong volunteered. I left something in the car."
"Going so far as to take a trainee with you. Instead of asking one of the assistant directors."
"Senior, I've also seen you head to the practice room early plenty of times to watch other trainees. Ah, I'm something of an avid viewer of
"…That was something I was perfectly capable of doing as a mentor, for the broadcast."
"Yes, of course. And right now, me taking Trainee Kim Chunyong with me is also something I can do, as the composer who provided the song, for the broadcast."
They weren't physically biting each other, but they were absolutely tearing into each other with their words.
If it weren't for the hallway cameras, voices would have been raised and then some.
"Haha, when else would I get to see a senior's car like this? I volunteered."
Before I could end up caught like a shrimp between whales—a trainee between veterans—I quickly wedged myself between the two of them and put on a brazen face.
"…A trainee's duty is to practice diligently and put on a good performance. Trainee Kim Chunyong."
"Oh, of course. And I'm working incredibly hard, all thanks to you, Mentor."
This wasn't an empty statement.
During the last break, after hearing Jaeha hyeong's words, I'd gone back and rewatched our broadcast segment.
During the performance of 'Us Beyond Those Waves,' I hadn't been able to see or hear well because of the noisy studio at the time—Senior Min Si-yeong's slight smile.
I saw it again on the broadcast.
'…Good job.'
Words I'd never heard before, not in the last survival show, and not even as agency senior and junior.
The people Senior Min Si-yeong likes are those who work hard and do well.
For instance, in singing, Yuchan hyeong, who's unmatched on
As for favoring AG purebloods, well… it's because she'd watched them work hard right by her side.
But the fact that she'd said such a thing to me, after initially having a poor impression, meant she had changed her mind. And that meant she had acknowledged me as someone who works hard.
"…Trainee Kim Chunyong. So far, you've found and sung songs that suit your own tone well, but you can't always sing only the parts you want. Practice your high notes too."
"Ah, yes."
"…You're going to debut, aren't you? You should be able to sing everything, honestly."
"…Yes! Understood!"
After all, her mentoring had been extremely smooth ever since that point.
And so, the reason Senior Min Si-yeong was deliberately sharpening her tone just now with Yeonu hyeong, given our now pretty decent relationship, was probably…
Because she'd heard what kind of person Yeonu hyeong already was.
"Let me go instead. Trainee Kim Chunyong can go back to practicing—"
"Oh dear, from what I hear, the luggage is pretty heavy! Mentor, it'd be better if two men go."
I appreciated the thought, but right now I needed a conversation with Yeonu hyeong too.
Whether she noticed my exaggerated fuss, Senior Min Si-yeong let out a deep, inaudible sigh, hesitated a moment, and then slowly nodded.
"…It won't happen during my mentoring time. Keep that in mind."
"Yes, of course. Then we'll be on our way—"
Afraid Senior Min Si-yeong might change her mind, I hastily ushered Yeonu hyeong out of the building.
How fast had we walked?
It didn't take long to reach the parking lot, where only the cool, settled night air awaited us.
…Wait. Now that I think about it.
The picture of me walking ahead of the car's owner is a bit odd.
"Seems like you were in a hurry. Right?"
As if noticing my discomfort, Yeonu hyeong subtly spoke to me.
"…Listening to Mentor Min Si-yeong, I felt I should get back to the practice room quickly! Haha. Yes, that's why."
"Ahh, I see."
I thought I'd handled my fluster quickly without showing it, but hyeong's face was filled with that characteristic enigmatic smile.
"Trainee Kim Chunyong."
"Y-yes?"
"Your facial expression management, not bad. However… the sound of your eyeballs darting around is way too loud."
"……."
"Check it whenever you monitor yourself. With that level of sense, you'll fix it quickly."
Regardless of my response, once Yeonu hyeong's mouth opened, it moved leisurely—yet without pause.
"Oh… That's a face thinking something like, 'Is he really going to talk about it here?'"
"Ah, no. I wasn't thinking that at all."
"What do you mean you weren't? I said I can hear your eyeballs rolling around."
Yeonu hyeong soon pulled his car keys from his pocket and pressed a button.
"Well… if that bothers you, let's go to my car. The story about bringing gifts wasn't a lie."
The SUV, not too far away, beeped and opened its doors. It was a car I'd seen plenty of times before.
"Wow, awesome, this… No wonder you weren't drinking today, hyeong."
"Got it because I'm going back and forth between the studio and here. Something too flashy isn't my thing either."
"Right. The car is a bit… like you, hyeong? Expensive but quiet. Solid. It suits you well."
"You're working hard scraping together every metaphor you know and don't know, Rex."
"Then can't you give me a ride? I have that thing, you know, a schedule tomorrow. I need to head back in now."
"What about your manager?"
"He's not picking me up today. The manager hyeong is only interested in that DJ noona who comes here sometimes. And I'm just the idol he launched, the malicious member Rex trash, aren't I?"
"…Still, no. I don't give rides to drunks."
I'd never managed to get a ride back when we were close as drinking buddies, but here I was, getting in like this.
"Sit comfortably. Ah, I won't turn on the AC. This won't take long."
Even after closing the car door and leaning back into the well-maintained seat, I couldn't easily escape from the memories of that time.
These last few months of relentless running to undo my past mistakes. I had deliberately tried not to recall old memories.
Because it was hard when I remembered that time. Because it was difficult to focus on the present.
But with the person who had spent that time with me sitting right beside me, my guard had somewhat blunted.
Thanks to that, it was Yeonu hyeong who spoke first.
"Do you like alcohol, by any chance?"
"Keuheok, no, kheup, kuuluk…."
You really can't let your guard down for a second, seriously!
"Ahaha, I just asked. You're so startled it's over-the-top."
As if my flustered jolt was quite amusing, Yeonu hyeong burst into laughter and took out a bottle of water from the glove box, handing it to me.
"Calm down a bit. It's a joke."
"Kheup, a joke… Th-this is too much!"
"What do you mean? Considering the gap in experience between me and Trainee Kim Chunyong, this is just me being affectionate."
Yeonu hyeong watched me until I had gulped down the entire 500ml bottle, then soon spoke in a voice more serious than before.
"Fascinating, really…"
"…What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about you, Trainee Kim Chunyong."
Yeonu hyeong tapped the car logo on the steering wheel with his finger and looked into the rearview mirror.
Unable to look at him directly, my gaze met his there, and both his eyes held a peculiar light.
"When I said I'm an avid viewer of
"Ah, yes. Of… course. Monitoring is important."
"And while doing that, I paid close attention to the trainees as well. Trainee Son Jaeha, for instance. And Trainee Ji Hwaseong."
Yeonu hyeong brought up a few more names.
Yuchan hyeong, Logan. Si-u, whom he'd personally selected for his team this time, and even Liu Wei.
By the time almost every name of a trainee likely to debut had rolled off his tongue…
"Hmm, and Trainee Kim Chunyong too."
My name came up as well.
"Why do you think I paid close attention to that side?"
Why, he asks.
If I had to pick a reason, I could point to what Yeonu hyeong had said back when he chose me during the team selection.
He said I looked like I'd be a good drinking buddy.
And that point is exactly what made me start suspecting, 'Does Jeong Yeonu hyeong know I've come back?'
Honestly, telling if someone drinks well or not just by their face is a lie, right?
While I was agonizing over how to bring up the subject of how I returned, and mention Ex, without looking like a lunatic…
Yeonu hyeong's two eyes in the rearview mirror curved like crescent moons.
"Trainee Kim Chunyong. Have you ever seen someone with alcohol poisoning?"
At his sudden, off-the-wall question, I wore a dumbfounded expression for a moment, but Yeonu hyeong, paying it no mind, continued saying what he had to say.
"I've seen it a lot. How people's faces fall apart because of alcohol comes in all shapes and colors. You know, cheeks might sag. Ears that turn red might never go back to normal."
"Ah, I see."
"But there's one thing that feels familiar. Trainee Kim Chunyong, you're probably confused about what to say right now. So I'll decide for you. Just say, 'What is it?'"
"...
What is it?"
As I obediently opened my mouth as instructed, Yeonwoo hyung beamed and responded.
"That they're all anxious to the point of despair."
"……."
In that instant, my heart felt like it plummeted to the floor.
"Ah, I need to drink quickly to escape this situation. Or, if I don't quit drinking, this situation will continue. Thoughts like these made them anxious, I found."
"I... see."
"But wait, why is that trainee anxious like an alcoholic? That was my impression of you, Trainee Kim Chunyong."
"……."
"No matter how harsh a survival show is, to that extent? I honestly thought you had some kind of trauma."
In truth, it was real that I'd been suffering from pressure since my return.
Because if I failed to fulfill the contract conditions with X, I'd go back to the moment of my emergency arrest.
And one more thing, if there was something making me anxious...
It was the fear that I might end up relying on alcohol again.
Yeonwoo hyung had accurately read those emotions of mine just through a screen.
I barely kept my grinding teeth still and slowly parted my lips.
"...
Haha, I'm not sure. I think you might have just seen me desperate to debut."
"Who knows. Like I said earlier, it's not that..."
"But it's a bit strange. You said you've seen alcoholics often, sunbae-nim. Aren't you famous for living a model life?"
"……."
Just because he saw through that part of me doesn't mean I can bare everything to him.
Even if my outer shell is 20 years old, inside is a problematic member who rolled around in the entertainment industry for 7 years.
Right now, Yeonwoo hyung is around my age from back then, or even younger...
He's easier to deal with than before.
"……."
At my words, Yeonwoo hyung looked at me with a gauging expression. But I kept my face stiff and didn't avoid his gaze.
Avoiding him wouldn't change anything, and right now I had no reason to.
"...
Hmm."
Yeonwoo hyung soon nodded as if he understood and leaned his head against the headrest.
"Well, that's possible. Anyway, I didn't see any withdrawal symptoms from Trainee Kim Chunyong. Yeah. That was a bit of a stretch on my part."
"...
Yes. Like I said."
"Well, I think Trainee Kim Chunyong might have something to say to me too. Let's hear it. Since I feel like I cornered you, I'll help you if I can."
The two eyes that had been indifferent yet sharply gleaming were now curved like crescent moons again.
At that smile, I erased all the sentences I'd been thinking of before from my mind and slowly opened my mouth.
"I..."
To say the most appropriate thing I could bring up right now.