The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 10
Jae Ha hyung warmly welcomed Kim Joo An, who hadn’t been here for even a month, with a bright smile.
“Hello. Did you just arrive?”
“Yes. It’s too hot outside. Wasn’t it hot when you came up?”
“Oh, I came early in the morning and stayed in the practice room. I didn’t know it was so hot outside. Do you want to drink my juice?”
“Oh, can I really do that?”
Kim Joo An seemed on the verge of shedding tears in response to Jae Ha hyung’s kindness.
Well, Jae Ha hyung was already an incredibly nice person, so there probably wasn’t any deeper meaning to his kindness. He was just trying to be considerate because it might be too hot.
But that wasn’t what Kim Joo An thought.
“Thank you, hyung. Thanks to you, I feel like I’m adapting to the agency quickly.”
“Huh? Thanks to me?”
“Yes, because hyung has been so kind to me…”
Look at that disgusting gaze. Seriously.
He acts like there’s a camera in this seminar room, trying to create an image already.
He did that last time, and he’s doing it again this time.
There aren’t any cameras yet.
No matter how malicious broadcast stations are these days, they at least let you know if there’s a camera or not.
Do you know where to turn to the cameras? Do you know where and what will be filmed?
Later, they might install cameras as they please, but that’s a problem for the future.
“Kim Joo An, you don’t need to act like that; there aren’t any cameras yet.”
And as if responding to my thoughts, a cold voice was heard towards Kim Joo An.
It was the guy seated right next to Jae Ha hyung.
“…Huh? What do you mean?”
Facing an obvious attack, Kim Joo An barely managed to smile and responded.
The guy with bleached hair, fair skin, and a tall figure chuckled and said again.
“You don’t need to do image-making yet. Why bother already? It’s annoying.”
“I can’t understand what you’re saying. Hmm. Your name is…”
“My name is Ji Hwa Sung. Ji Hwa Sung. You memorized Jae Ha hyung’s name so quickly, but you can’t remember mine?”
Ji Hwa Sung was one of the long-standing trainees at AG, just like Jae Ha hyung.
“Haha, seriously, it’s hilarious. Why don’t you know me? Is your memory that bad?”
And one of the rare devils who could deal with Kim Joo An.
And… a member who debuted with Arrow’s in <Targeting Star> just like me.
“Hyung, please stop drinking. It’s really annoying to see you like this, it drives me crazy. Are you an idol or an alcoholic? It smells.”
During our time together, I’ve heard more than my fair share of dirty tricks.
Well, of course, I’ve heard worse.
“Uh….”
Anyway, whether he was confused by Ji Hwa Sung’s sudden attack or not, Kim Joo An stammered while looking back and forth between Jae Ha hyung and Ji Hwa Sung.
“Well, we didn’t really run into each other.”
“Huh? No, I was always next to Jae Ha hyung, when you were there. Was I invisible? Strange, I’m tall, so I should stand out.”
“Oh, no… It’s not that, Hwa Sung hyung.”
“Huh? Are we close? When did you see us together, calling me Hwa Sung hyung? Until a moment ago, you didn’t even know my name.”
Even though they were a bit far from me, I could see Kim Joo An’s fist trembling. The sight was somewhat pitiful, to say the least…
It was a bit perplexing.
Why could he keep challenging me fearlessly, when he couldn’t even retort to facts from someone a year younger than him?
“Pffft.”
Ah, that’s not my laughter. It’s the laughter of another trainee sitting in front of me.
“…Kim Chunyong, you.”
However, Kim Joo An seemed to think that the sound was my laughter.
I pretended not to notice the hateful look in Kim Joo An’s eyes. Even though we were the same age now, there was no need to engage with someone who’s mentally eight years younger than me.
Even if it wasn’t him, there would be plenty of occasions to deal with in the future.
“What, have you all become friends already?”
At that moment, as if perfectly timed for a prank, someone cheerfully pushed open the door to the seminar room.
Sharp eyes shining beneath round glasses, a square jaw.
“…Ah.”
I groaned softly at that familiar face.
Joo Cheol Yeong, the main producer of <Targeting Star>.
The hands behind successful idol survival shows like <Dive Little Star> and <Ready for Idol>, a Midas in the idol survival world.
“What if you guys are having fun? Then I would have nothing interesting to watch.”
… An emotionless and heartless human!
Just thinking about the hardships because of that person made my hands tremble.
I had to tighten my grip on my thighs as if to accidentally trip over the leg of the PD-nim passing by.
“Whatever it is, turn on the cameras, guys. You’re going to be idols, right? That’s why you’re participating in the survival show. To sell your faces.”
The PD-nim who had no idea about the turmoil inside me casually walked towards the front of the seminar room, laughing heartily.
Behind him, a youngest writer with dark circles and a downcast expression was hastily following.
“Oh, PD-nim, what are you saying to the kids…”
Despite the youngest writer’s protest, PD-nim was relentless.
“Well, how is it? Did I say something wrong? Ha Joon-ah. The broadcast needs to be fantastic, and everyone should know. Now that all of you are going to debut, it’s good to know a bit, right?”
He cheerfully distributed the paper and pen he had brought to the trainees and said,
“Let’s start with the friends who came early. Before we proceed with the preliminary interviews, you will all write a pledge. If you read it, you’ll understand, but it basically says that you take full responsibility for any consequences due to your past.”
“….”
“You’ll understand what I’m talking about, right? If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have made it this far.”
As Joo Cheol Yeong spoke, there was no one who didn’t know what he was talking about.
It was something that could be common among young men who had just graduated or were still attending school.
School violence.
Well, even if it wasn’t that, there was undoubtedly something in their past that could be a disadvantage when debuting.
“Some of you might feel guilty about something, or maybe not. Some might think, ‘I don’t think I’ll get caught?’ But even if that’s the case, I don’t care at all.”
