The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 120
This is clearly a situation that’s not going according to my original plan.
The plan was to check that I was within the top two and then see what was happening on Do’s side…
“Are you the flatmate, ‘Chunyong hyung’ Logan mentioned that he met in Korea?”
“Jesus. I thought it would only take a moment, but you came all the way here to do this?”
“You’re the one who left abruptly, Logan.”
What is this situation?
Seriously, what is this?
I glanced between Logan, who looked desperate, and the woman who spoke to me, feeling unsure.
“Uh, my name is Kim Chunyong… That’s right.”
“I see. I’m Alissa. Alissa Lee.”
As I responded, she nodded elegantly and extended her hand to me.
“I’m Logan’s mother.”
“Aah, yes… Wait, what?”
“Logan suddenly ran off in the middle of our conversation, so I followed. Nice to meet you.”
It wasn’t until I heard her smooth Korean with a hint of an English accent that I understood the situation.
Logan ran out in the middle of talking to his parents.
…This Golden Retriever kid!
Considering he made such a sudden decision to fly from Liverpool to Korea, it figures he’d have unusual energy.
And now, because of whatever reason, his mother didn’t seem particularly pleased.
“Logan Lee. Now I understand why you came here. Once again, you’re trying to avoid your own responsibilities and rely on someone else to solve things for you. Haven’t I told you that’s a bad habit?”
“No. That’s not what I’m trying to do—why do you always take it that way? And I never said anything like that!”
“If that’s not what you meant, then what is it? Can you explain?”
At her calmly sharp words, Logan pressed his lips together tightly and his eyes turned cold.
It was the same look I often saw from him when he talked about his parents.
“…Why do you always try to stop me from doing everything? I just said, just once. All I needed was to sign that contract, and it would’ve been done.”
“For heaven’s sake. Be quiet. …Can’t you see there are people in this hallway?”
With a quick glance, I saw that others had begun to gather as the mother and son raised their voices unexpectedly.
“What’s going on over there? Hmm?”
“Hey, hey. Lower the camera.”
Ryota, who had been with me to grab some drinks, was there too, along with the Targeting Star staff, who were hurriedly retreating with their cameras.
And furthermore….
“…….”
Even Liu Wei, with a knowing expression, was staring at us.
In fact, if you look closely, you can even see that he’s smiling a little.
He knows everything that’s happening behind the scenes. It must be delightful to see me in such a predicament.
I beat him on stage, but here? He probably thinks he’s winning.
“Hah…”
I tried to suppress a laugh, pressing my hand to my forehead.
It was obvious things were going badly.
Logan was probably trying to convince his parents but failed, which is why they were here, locked in an argument.
Does he think fighting back will stop him from being pulled off the show?
‘This fool… He’s a genius, but a genius!’
Although I was still reeling from everything that had just happened on stage, I needed to think of something to say.
We had just finished our dance performance, so in about 10 minutes, the rap trainees would be on stage.
“Sorry! I’m so sorry for being late!”
Last time Logan had a conversation like this, he was late getting on stage and completely botched his performance. So, to prevent that from happening again…
“You’re doing this again. You never think about how I feel…”
“Logan.”
“Chunyong hyung, wait! I can explain. I asked you to help me, but not for this….”
“Aren’t you supposed to be with the others in your group? You’re about to go on stage.”
The first thing to do is get him out of here.
“…What?”
“Go. Hwa Sung and Gao Yan were looking for you earlier, singing about how you disappeared.”
I shoved the panicked Logan toward direction of the rap trainees’ waiting room.
“Wait, if I suddenly go now, but—uh!”
“Just go, man!”
After shoving him in, I smiled awkwardly at Logan’s mother, who looked baffled at the scene.
“Haha. Logan needs to be on stage soon, and I figured he should get some last-minute practice in….”
“…It won’t make a difference. Logan—”
“I…!”
I quickly interrupted her, raising my voice.
“……”
Her expression soured, but there was nothing else I could do.
I couldn’t let something like “Logan will leave the show regardless of his performance” echo down the hall with all these people around.
Nothing is easy, seriously.
“I figure I can keep you company until Logan finishes his stage. Would that be alright? It might get boring just waiting around.”
Logan’s mother listened quietly to my rapid-fire sentences, her lips parting and closing a few times.
Then…
“…Since you’re the reason Logan ran off in the middle of our conversation, let’s do that.”
She gave the exact answer I was hoping for.
I wiped the sweat dampening the back of my neck, forcing a cheerful tone.
“…There should be an empty office somewhere. I’ll ask if we can use it for a bit.”
Maybe, through this conversation…
Something might change.
* * *
A man and woman sit in a waiting room, served by a grim-faced staff member.
The eyes of the woman, Logan’s mother, Alissa, fell on me.
I was a trainee who had just come off the stage, sweat still clinging to my body. I didn’t look significantly older than Logan, nor did I appear particularly mature.
‘He doesn’t seem accustomed to handling people in a business context.’
To someone like her, who was used to analyzing charts and distinguishing between what was worth investing in and what wasn’t, I probably fell into the category of “not worth it.”
Yet, her mind was still spinning from the words Logan had said in front of AG’s president.
“Can’t you care just once about what I’m thinking? How can you be colder to me than the flatmate I met in Korea?”
‘…What could have influenced my son to think like that?’
Sighing once more as she recalled her son’s childish side, Alissa spoke.
“First of all, I want to thank you.”
“Uh… What?”
“I heard you’ve taken good care of a kid who ran away from home and traveled all the way from Liverpool to Seoul. I’m thankful for that.”
“Oh, that wasn’t a big deal…”
“Fortunately, you won’t need to do that anymore. He’s quitting the program and returning to Liverpool.”
I coughed, choking at the sudden bluntness.
‘She’s straight to the point!’
Alissa calmly pushed a water bottle toward me as if nothing had happened.
“It must be surprising. To find out that your flatmate was a runaway, and that he’s leaving before the competition even ends.”
Even though I knew all of this, my heart wasn’t calming down easily.
“…Yes, well. I definitely didn’t expect to be having this conversation with you right now.”
“So, Logan probably came looking for you because he wanted help convincing my husband and me.”
Alissa tapped her manicured nails rhythmically on the table as she continued, her voice even and controlled.
“…Despite the numerous offers we’ve received from this program’s agency, my husband and I have already decided to take Logan back.”
“…….”
“So, if your intention is to help Logan persuade us, I suggest you stop. I think that’s clear enough now.”
She leaned back slightly and folded her arms.
Their only child, from a wealthy Wall Street family, suddenly declaring that he wanted to debut as a singer in Korea?
‘It’s absurd.’
Even if I were to ignore the process that brought us here, I couldn’t accept that he ran away first.
‘I thought you were taking good care of him. But to think you’d side with him and deceive us like this.’
Thinking of her kind mother-in-law, Alissa lightly bit her lip and spoke quietly.
“Logan… I heard he told you some things about us.”
“…Yes. I happened to hear a bit. Something about traveling frequently.”
That “happened to” was about 99% intentional on my part, but there was no way Alissa, who saw me as just another kid like Logan, would realize that.
“That’s right. As a result, Logan’s upbringing has largely been out of our hands.”
“Then, Logan’s wishes—”
“You could call it forceful. But for his future, and given the attitude that led to this situation, we had no other choice.”
“…..Huh.”
