The Malicious Member Has Returned! Episode 84
* * *
MusicDays, an entertainment broadcast station where the lights never seemed to go out.
The door to the
“…What the hell. Why is there only one person here? Hey, hey. Are you sleeping right now?”
“Kkh, P-PD-nim?”
“Yeah. It’s your PD. Everyone’s gone, so what the hell are you doing now? You guys got nothing better to do?”
PD Ju Cheolyeong snatched the pillow from the editor, who had been curled up on a folding bed trying to catch a quick nap, and barked with a face like an evil spirit.
“Hah, I see. No wonder nobody picked up when I called. Gim Changseok. When the senior is sprawled out sleeping, how are the juniors under him supposed to work properly? You kidding me? And where did that bastard Junmin go?”
“Jun-Junmin seonbae went to get an IV drip… He said he felt like he was going to pass out from a migraine.”
“No, if he’s gonna go, he should at least hand over his work properly before leaving. Huh? Ugh, smell this editing room. You think that wouldn’t give anyone a headache?”
PD Ju Cheolyeong, who had been ceaselessly chewing out the editing team, dropped the energy drinks and laptop he’d brought onto the desk with a bang, his face contorted.
“You guys keep this up, and I’ll drag you to the field and put you to work there. You wanna try working while running renders on this laptop for ten hours straight?”
“Ah, no! We’ll work hard! We’re sorry!”
“Tch, you talk a good game. I don’t like it.”
The editing team members—Changseok and the juniors under him—bowed and scraped before Ju Cheolyeong with their hands behind their backs, holding back tears while cursing him inwardly.
‘No, if they had just sent the files to be edited on time, none of this would’ve happened. If they suddenly say some files will come later, how are we supposed to work properly!’
‘Shouldn’t we report this to the social issues program on the neighboring station? I haven’t been home for twenty-nine hours now.’
‘Bringing energy drinks and acting high and mighty. If it were chicken, maybe.’
But having the ways of the working world drilled into their bones, they never voiced those thoughts aloud.
Rather.
“Um, then did the PD come here… to give us the files?”
Since the thought of finishing work quickly and going home to rest occupied the largest share of their brains.
“What nonsense. I already sent all the files by email. You haven’t even checked that yet? Wow, these bastards really….”
“W-we’ll start working on them right away!”
“You have five hours. Do it properly and finish the upload reservation too. Got it?”
“Yes!”
There had originally been seven hours left until the upload time for
Bang!
“Seriously… He comes in for no reason and stirs up trouble, that crazy bastard. I haven’t even slept two hours in the past two days!”
“Changseok hyeong. Shh, shh! The soundproofing here isn’t great…!”
“Huh? You don’t know to bow down in gratitude to the senior who let you sleep three hours, and now you’re taking the PD’s side?”
“Hyung, stop picking on the kid and let’s just work. I checked the files just now, and they’re all short clips, so if we focus we’ll finish quickly. Let’s get this done fast and go to the jjimjilbang.”
“…Ah, shit. Why are the short clips so damn short.”
Changseok sat back down in front of his computer and checked the files that had arrived from the field, muttering repeatedly.
“Gim Chunyong, Son Jaeha, Li Mingshen, Liu Wei… I’ll have to combine these guys by pairs. Anyone would think they only used one camera. Why is the footage like this? Did a camera turn off in the middle or something?”
“Still, Trainee Gim Chunyong and Trainee Son Jaeha had some decent main cam shots. They talked pretty well for subtitles too. If we edit them well, it should work. I’ll take Liu Wei and Li Mingshen.”
“Yeah. Let’s get this the hell done and go. I’m really gonna die at this rate….”
Grumbling, Changseok turned on the program. No.
Rather, all the editing team members there had been so preoccupied with thoughts of the seaweed soup set meal they would eat later at the jjimjilbang that they were missing something.
The answer to the question of why PD Ju Cheolyeong, who should have been on site, had gone out of his way to come to the MusicDays headquarters.
* * *
At the same time.
PD Ju Cheolyeong, seated in an empty office on the floor directly below, quietly recalled a conversation he’d had some time ago with AG’s CEO, Do Jaechan.
“Making a trainee people will love more? Is it possible to flip the rankings at this point?”
“You aren’t asking who it is, so I suppose you already have an idea.”
“Come on, PD Ju edits Trainee Gim Chunyong so meticulously. How could I not know?”
“Hah. I edited the AG trainees and Liu Wei just as meticulously. But you saw, didn’t you? Who particularly stood out there.”
“Is he the only one who stood out? Logan, Trainee Bang Yuchan, AG’s other….”
“They were directed. Written on sketchbooks, called aside, given hints on reaction levels. But we never did that for Gim Chunyong. Because he does well on his own.”
What PD Ju Cheolyeong wanted to say was simple.
He wanted to push Gim Chunyong.
Enough, if possible, to debut through the remaining live broadcasts of
And he wanted CEO Do Jaechan to agree and cooperate with that.
“You know this isn’t a difficult request. Isn’t it a gain from the CEO’s perspective? Pull out the rotten tooth and firmly implant a new one. You even told me you sent An Jinu out to gain experience in the first place.”
“I know, I know, but….”
But no matter how impressionable and hot-tempered he was, he was still the CEO of an agency.
Such a person could hardly be pleased about throwing his full support behind a trainee who wasn’t in the company’s original plans and changing the situation.
“…You need to tell me specifically what kind of cooperation you’re talking about. After all, he’s a trainee under a provisional contract. I need to gauge what risks we’d have to bear.”
“Ugh, you don’t need to bear any risks at all. As long as things go as planned.”
“The Chinese investors are already in an uproar because of Liu Wei, so how can you say there’s no risk to bear!”
“That’s exactly the part we need to exploit, CEO. Who is currently in charge of the Chinese investors at AG?”
“…….”
“I’m certain they’re already scrambling to figure out how to resolve that issue. You should talk to them about it.”
“Heuh, heuh….”
Recalling CEO Do Jaechan’s face, which had frozen comically at those words, Ju Cheolyeong snorted and rested his head against the headrest of his chair.
That day, CEO Do Jaechan had left after saying he would think about it until they met again, but Ju Cheolyeong had predicted that the two of them would end up talking.
‘Because Director Sin Giho and CEO Do Jaechan’s opinions weren’t completely different from the start.’
After all, it was CEO Do Jaechan who had brought in Director Sin Giho from the outside.
In the beginning, the two had clearly set out with the goal of “Let’s make AG a good company again together.”
Director Sin Giho was to grow the company’s scale by attracting investments, while CEO Do Jaechan focused on the company’s internal system and artist management.
Everything began to get tangled with the appearance of global trainees and the investors becoming entangled with the trainees.
‘CEO Do probably didn’t think much of it at first. He must have thought, what’s the problem with debuting one Chinese trainee together? But what do you know. It was a landmine.’
A landmine so huge that even that tiger, Sin Giho, couldn’t have predicted it.
PD Ju Cheolyeong hadn’t come to the headquarters for no reason, pushing aside his busy on-site directing duties.
He had been waiting.
For the person who would walk this MusicDays hallway with a grave face and soon open that door and enter….
Squeak—
“Oh my, you arrived early.”
Director Sin Giho, who had finished his conversation with CEO Do Jaechan.
“…….”
Sin Giho, who glared at Ju Cheolyeong once, sat down heavily in the chair across from him without bothering to reply.
Rare dark circles had formed under his eyes, which he usually maintained with razor-sharp precision.
‘You ignored me like that during the Logan incident. The tables have completely turned, Director Sin.’
Ju Cheolyeong looked at that hollow shell of a Sin Giho, swallowed his inward scoff, and continued with a beaming smile.
“You seem very tired. I bought some energy drinks earlier; would you like a can?”
“Forget it. Let’s get straight to the point.”
“Why so stiff? You must be busy cleaning up after Liu Wei when you go back.”
“…….”
Ju Cheolyeong, who saw through the entire situation, struck at the weakness instantly, and Sin Giho’s face twisted horribly.
In truth, there was nothing wrong with Ju Cheolyeong’s words.
After the incident with Liu Wei’s fiancée broke out, Sin Giho had been living a life where he couldn’t even sleep two hours a day.
The investors had sent complaints, grievances, and threats to Sin Giho for all sorts of reasons.
How could you not properly manage a trainee’s personal affairs? If we had known this would happen, we wouldn’t have invested. Is there no other Chinese trainee who could be an alternative even now? Etc.
On top of that, the fiancée’s family, which had initially approached them with the simple words that they were interested in Liu Wei’s talent, had gone completely dark and wasn’t even taking their calls.
“Fucking….”
“D-Director. I think you should take this call first.”
“No matter how many calls I take, they all just say to debut him somehow. What’s the point!”
“Ah, n-no. This time it’s not the investors… It’s C-CEO Do Jaechan.”
In the middle of that splitting headache, a phone call came from CEO Do Jaechan.
“…Why are you contacting me all of a sudden?”
‘I called so we could both benefit. Do you think I’m doing this to screw you over? We’re from the same company.’
“Even without you, CEO Do, I have more than enough to do right now.”
‘Listen, Director Sin. It’s simple. Let’s use the next group chance. Well, the Chinese group we were preparing for in the first place is as good as dead in the water anyway, right? The investors are aware of Liu Wei’s own problems. Debuting a trainee like that will only lower the group’s evaluation.’
“If they had accepted those words now, I would have used it immediately. Somehow. They don’t think the engagement is the problem. Unless an even bigger issue breaks out, public opinion can only be managed by debuting Liu Wei unconditionally—”
‘I just heard about an even bigger problem.’
“…What did you say?”
‘Putting aside the fiancée’s family investors, this is the kind of problem that makes you think, “Well, this can’t be helped.”’
“So what is this….”
“It’s the Courage Experience mission video. Don’t think about deleting it. It’s already all backed up on my personal drive.”
“…….”
And Sin Giho, confronted with that problem with his own eyes, had no choice but to grab his throbbing head and close his eyes.
The handycam footage showing Liu Wei grabbing Gim Chunyong and openly admitting that he was the one who spread the rumors.
The reason Ju Cheolyeong showed this to Sin Giho was simple.
Setting aside the fiancée issue, if this spread, Liu Wei would definitely….
be unable to debut. That’s what he was saying now.
‘My goal was to take a larger stake in AG by debuting Liu Wei, and eventually move to a China-based global agency.’
Was this what they called a self-contradiction? Something like that?
Sin Giho had to admit that, with this, he had lost to Do Jaechan and Ju Cheolyeong, and moreover, to the situation itself.
And that he had to remain at AG.
“…Haha.”
Ju Cheolyeong smiled pleasantly as he watched Sin Giho silently watching the video.
“Ah, PD-nim. I’m here to return this handycam.”
“…You should give that to the assistant directors, shouldn’t you?”
“No. I thought it would be good for you to see it, PD-nim.”
‘He did this knowing full well that I’ve taken a liking to him.’
It was as he recalled that trainee, who had returned the handycam with a shameless yet cheerful face, as if there were no problem at all.
Nor had Ju Cheolyeong done nothing after speaking with CEO Do Jaechan.
He had separately provided Son Jaeha with a waterproof cam, and positioned Gim Chunyong’s team right after Liu Wei’s team.
A setup that made something bound to happen.
‘I laid out the board, and he went and completed the whole painting himself.’
Gim Chunyong, you remarkable kid.
Ju Cheolyeong lightly licked his lips, sprang up from his seat, approached Sin Giho’s side, and spoke in a low voice.
“Of course, this won’t be uploaded as WeTube Blue content. I cut it out separately. Liu Wei’s screen time in the content will be a bit short, but he should look reasonably scared.”
“…….”
“However, if the current situation doesn’t change, I’m not sure what will happen.”
At Ju Cheolyeong’s words, Sin Giho’s thick eyebrows shot up all at once.
Hoo….
“…
All right. Let’s say this situation changes. If that happens, what do you get out of it?”
And, as if he had been waiting for those very words, Ju Cheolyeong….
“The debut life variety show for the trainees who will debut through
He quickly blurted it out.
“…
You want exclusive charge of it?”
“Yes. I think extremely highly of these kids who are about to debut.”
Ju Cheolyeong shrugged, then folded his fingers down one by one.
“Son Jaeha, Ji Hwaseong, Jang Siu. First of all, those three go without saying. AG has polished them up very well. Bang Yuchan. Unlike the other trainees, the fact that he came from a completely ordinary background is his selling point. Logan is a bit different, but… the context itself is similar.”
“…
What about the last one?”
“You know, don’t you?”
“…….”
“Who created this situation. He’s got an agency director in the palm of his hand. Aren’t you looking forward to him?”
Previously, Sin Giho had once made a prediction—though it hadn’t quite been a prediction—that he felt he was going to be bitten by Kim Chunyong.
And yet, to think that it had truly become reality.
The words brought up by PD Ju Cheolyeong and CEO Do Jaechan, and what Sin Giho could do right now.
And how he was supposed to persuade the investors when that video had been leaked.
Or how he was supposed to break through this situation. There were now only about ten days left until the final live broadcast of
Sin Giho squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, and in his usual sharply gleaming gaze, murmured lowly.
“…
I’ll contact you once things are settled.”
“Of course.”
And before Sin Giho left the office.
Looking at the energy drinks scattered across the table, he picked out exactly one can and took it with him before heading outside.
It was a bright red cherry-flavored drink that brought someone’s hair color to mind.
And at that moment, while the middle-aged higher-ups were making their moves to win on the chessboard called
Kim Chunyong, who was practically a knight, was….
- “No. Sorry, but I voted for Siu, not you, oppa. This really couldn’t be helped.”
“…
Writer. I’m sorry, but can we cut for a second? I don’t think this can go on air?”
He was, in full swing, having a problematic conversation with his family.