The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 100
A company office located somewhere in northern Seoul.
One of Kim Chunyong’s fan photographers from <Targeting Star>, who went by the SNS handle “NBML__0000,” glanced at the clock on the office wall and let out a small sigh.
‘Time just drags on endlessly!’
Arriving at work at 9 AM, working until 1 PM for the morning shift.
An hour for lunch, then back to the grind until 6 PM.
“Seonbae, I’ve uploaded the file to the server. Please check it.”
“Oh, yes. Got it.”
She peeked at the colleague next to her as they replied, already drowning in the monotony of her day.
Then, instead of the file server, she opened an internet portal.
One tab was for SNS, another for a celebrity community, and the last for Targeting Star’s voting page.
‘Maybe I’ll use my bonus to buy a new lens. I’ve been attending tapings to photograph more of Chunyong, so…’
The person she had dubbed her “miracle,” Kim Chunyong, was sailing smoothly in the rankings, drawing quite a good response.
[8. Kim Chunyong 297,742 votes]
‘It could be higher, but… for someone who wasn’t given a strong narrative like the AG pure-bloods, 8th place is holding up well.’
She had fallen for him after seeing his Beyond the Waves stage, and though she’d worried she might lose interest after watching episodes one and two,
“Spring Chun, Yong Yong here!”
Her concerns had been needless.
Kim Chunyong, with eyes blazing and determined to succeed, only made her like him more, not less. There were no embarrassing moments or impulsive actions that made her affection suddenly evaporate.
There had been moments of tension with Min Si Young, and some conflict resolution within the ‘Aiming’ team, sure—but those were just necessary actions.
‘Without that bit of drama, he wouldn’t have drawn any attention. The key to the first broadcast is getting noticed…’
[Did you see the pre-interview video?? How is there an idol trainee named Kim Chunyongㄷㄷ How is there an idol trainee named Kim Chunyongㄷㄷ]
[⎿The gap moe is insane, he calls himself Yong Yong]
[⎿He’s saying the Chinese character for his name is Yong Yong, you’re just slow on the uptake. But I like it.]
‘The response from casual fans isn’t bad. But still….’
Click.
She carefully clicked her mouse, opening a different page.
Instead of her main fan account, “NBML__0000,” she logged into her secondary “ㅇㅇ” account to check out the deeper parts of the internet.
‘It’s a bit unsavory, but it has to be done.’
The current fandom landscape for trainees was chaos—AG pure-bloods, trainees from other agencies, foreign trainees, all split into factions, creating utter havoc.
Among them, Kim Chunyong, who had drawn quite a bit of attention in episodes one and two, naturally wasn’t receiving only positive comments.
‘But I have to see it. I need to know what kind of slander they’re spreading! Knowledge is power.’
Constant fan activity and negative searches to keep an eye on competitors were just part of the job.
NBML__0000 swallowed once and searched for Chunyong’s antis’ derogatory nickname for him, “Mup.”
[Fireworksday @fireworksday
Why the hell is Mup all over our boy? ㅆㅂ So disgustingㅋㅋㅋ He’s got nothing to offer so he’s clinging, ugh.]
[Fireworksday @fireworksday
So in the end, Mup stole Jooannie’s dance break center spot, right? But why do they edit him so well? ㅆㅂ Ah H-seong, don’t get close to himㅠㅠ]
[Stay away from our purebloods, Mup♡ It’s driving me crazy♡]
[⎿(photo) (photo)
Not Mup!! But baby hamster Jooannie♡ Please vote for him~ We’ll send a candle as a prize~]
[If you dig into Mup’s past, 100% he was a school bully ㅇㅇ Just look at him, does he look like someone who wouldn’t do that?]
The search results for “Mup*,” a play on “Chun” twisted to mean “Mup,” were nothing short of vicious.
(T/N: I’m honestly uncertain about what this term means)
“Ugh, seriously…”
Despite having searched for it herself, NBML__0000 couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh as she scrolled through the harsh insults directed at Kim Chunyong.
“Oh, what’s wrong, Seonbae? Did I mess up the file I sent you?”
“No, no! It’s just something personal, yeah. Haha!”
Quickly flipping her screen to hide it from the curious colleague peeking over, she scrolled down faster.
‘Did they not see Kim Joo An throwing a fit over the dance break? No, they saw it, for sure! But seeing Ji Hwa Sung’s fans act like this, it’s so obvious. They just want to use Kim Joo An as a shield to bash Chunyong! Ji Hwa Sung was the one who ruined the team’s vibe in the first place!’
NBML__0000 hammered the keyboard with a speed and force that could only be described as “literally pounding.”
‘Chunyong, don’t worry. Noona’s going to make the world a better place for you.’
[ㅇㅇ @SFNPADJEFDA
Kim Joo An’s and Ji Hwa Sung’s moms teaming up to sway public opinion is hilarious ;; The truth is, the ones who wrecked the team’s vibe were Hwa Sung and Joo Anㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The other members are the real victimsㅠ
#JiHwa Sung #KimJooAn #BoycottAGPurebloods #NotBuyingIt]
[ㅇㅇ @SFNPADJEFDA
Why are Ji Hwa Sung’s fans so full of themselves? Do they seriously think AG purebloods are that great? Fine, keep living in that delusion….]
‘…Honestly, I don’t have anything against Ji Hwa Sung or Kim Joo An, but this is how survival shows work. It can’t be helped.’
Feeling a sudden wave of guilt, NBML__0000 rubbed her temple. Then, she noticed a top post on the [Targeting Star] board, newly created due to the flood of posts. Her eyes widened in surprise.
[I’m at Gyeongbokgung right now and I just saw Targeting Star trainees wtf]
‘What? Gyeongbokgung?’
Her cursor swiftly moved to click on the post.
[(Photo) (Photo)
Right now at Gyeongbokgung, Liu Wei, Son Jae Ha, and Ji Hwa Sung, the pureblood trio, just appeared ;; All three are in hanbok. They look seriously amazing….]
[I was nosing around and overheard the staff talking, it seems like they’re filming for WeTube Blue content?? The other trainees must have gone somewhere else too!]
[⎿ㄱㄴㄲ* They say some trainees were spotted at a PC cafe in Hapjeong? Jang Si Woo and Bang Yu Chan, lol.]
(T/N: Online slang for ‘that’s what I’m saying’)
[⎿I just saw them filming in Hongdae!! They were performing with a dance team too? Sharing the link: Weutu.be/X45♡WP_QK♡t0]
[⎿Who’s that dancing right now? And who are the ones standing next to him? Ah, I can’t see clearly because of the low quality ㅠㅠ]
[⎿I was there in person, and the ones standing next to him are Logan and Seong Won Hyeop! And the one dancing is…]
NBML, who was absentmindedly watching the low-quality short video with the sound off, muttered in a small voice.
“Chunyong….”
“Sorry? What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing!”
NBML forced a smile and buried her head under the partition, letting out a silent scream.
A street busking performance.
And Kim Chunyong, a member of the dance team, is doing a street dance performance!
