The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 123
As expected, Do Jae Chan’s initially gloomy face brightened, and a faint smile appeared on PD Joo Cheol Yeong’s face as he stood in the background.
Meanwhile, the only one whose world was crumbling was Shin Ki Ho.
‘They’ve flipped their opinion like it’s their palm!’
This was the exact opposite of what Shin Ki Ho had hoped for.
It would’ve been much better if Logan had joined AG’s next male idol group.
With Logan’s talent already showcased through the show, there would have been time to convince the Chinese investors.
But having Logan remain on Targeting Star was a completely different story.
If Logan secured one of the six debut spots, that would leave only five.
The door would narrow for Liu Wei, and Logan, who might draw in English-speaking investors, could reach the debut threshold.
Not to mention, Liu Wei didn’t secure the first place in the recent position battle.
Logan, despite not being in his primary position, had grabbed second place with overwhelming talent.
“Sh*t….”
Staring at his phone, which had already received several calls, Shin Ki Ho cursed under his breath.
– If you couldn’t get that trainee to quit earlier, isn’t it time to do so now?
Even with the immense pressure from the investors, Shin Ki Ho had no response.
The final blow had already been delivered by Logan’s parents before they left for their hotel near the airport.
“Director Shin. I understand what you’re worried about, but…”
If Logan was denied a fair evaluation…
‘Then what you’re truly afraid of will indeed come.’
What Shin Ki Ho truly feared: them pulling English-speaking investors into AG, threatening his standing.
BAM!
“You son of a….”
Recalling the blatant threat, Shin Ki Ho finally hurled his phone against the monitor.
Hearing that AG’s ‘Tiger’ Shin Ki Ho had been beaten down was rare.
And to think it was happening in the very survival program he had carefully designed.
Stuck in an unimaginable worst-case scenario, he could do nothing but stew in his rage.
After running a hand through his disheveled hair, Shin Ki Ho regained his composure and shouted to the secretary waiting outside his office.
“Secretary Choi!”
“Yes, Director Shin!”
“Find out the schedule of the head PD at the broadcasting station. If PD Joo insists on this, I’ll have to escalate things.”
“…Understood, sir.”
“And once the pre-recording for the music show is done, arrange for Liu Wei’s pickup.”
“…You mean, Liu Wei?”
“Yeah.”
Director Shin nodded slowly at the trembling secretary, clenching his teeth as Liu Wei’s words echoed in his mind.
“This all happened because you turned a blind eye to Kim Chunyong.”
“What?”
“I told you. You needed to get rid of Kim Chunyong too.”
“…I clearly said—”
“Yes, you said something about justification. Still don’t think you have any? If you keep saying that, I’ll have to tell those backing me that your instincts have dulled.”
Arrogant brat. But the way he spoke, as if he knew something, made Shin Ki Ho realize it was worth having a conversation about.
Finally, Liu Wei and Shin Ki Ho were seeing eye to eye.
Trainee of the week.
… Kim Chunyong.
* * *
Meanwhile…
“Trainees, great job! Please wait here for a moment until the Targeting Star production team arrives.”
“Oh, yes! Thank you!”
In the waiting room after the pre-recording of the Music Music Today stage, the victory benefit from the position battle performance…
“Phew…”
After catching his breath, Kim Chunyong glanced at the person seated across from him, staring intently into the mirror.
“……”
It was Liu Wei, who had just finished performing with him on stage after placing second in the dance position battle. He wasn’t looking at his phone—just staring into the mirror, fixated on his reflection.
Kim Chunyong could guess based on their shared history in Arrows.
‘He looks pissed. Better not bother him. It’s probably because of me.’
Letting out a quiet sigh, Kim Chunyong turned away.
‘At least… I put out the immediate fire.’
He wasn’t sure how much his actions influenced the outcome, but it seemed he had managed to stop Logan from dropping out.
“Seriously, Chunyong hyung, thank you so much!”
“Ah, it’s no big deal.”
“No big deal? For me, it’s like a second life.”
“Second life, huh… Well, just make sure you talk things over with your parents. They seemed like good people when I spoke with them.”
“Gosh, no. That’s just because you were there. To me, they’re… um, seriously…”
Logan still wasn’t sure.
About either of them.
It wasn’t like the knot between him and his parents had been completely untied overnight, but…
‘That’s not something I can do anything about, anyway.’
With that resolved, there wasn’t much left to deal with.
Logan, who’d secured his spot, and more importantly, Kim Chunyong himself.
To make it into the debut group safely.
The reaction to him was better than expected, but the next performance and the upcoming mid-rankings were still on his mind.
‘I need to start strategizing against Liu Wei for real now.’
With that thought, he slouched in his chair, contemplating his next moves, Kim Chunyong pulled out his phone, which he had stashed away earlier.
“Ugh…”
The phone had been buzzing non-stop, so he’d turned it off. Now, as soon as he powered it back on, a flood of messages from someone equally invested in the current situation came pouring in.
– X: Dude, you’re in serious trouble. What are you going to do?
– X: I’m so worried I can’t sleep. Can you handle this??
– X: What are the odds you’d run into *that* director at the wrong time ㄷㄷ
– X: Here’s a story about a sucker who neglected their own stuff to help someone else and now has to deal with the fallout ㅠㅠ
Reading the sharp words, Chunyong smirked.
Even in such a chaotic situation, the only person he could talk to was someone causing a scene.
‘X is very helpful… it’s not like it can’t be done! But anyway….’
The problem at hand…
“What kind of trainee are you, hanging around here like this?”
“Well, I mean, I was just…”
“You should return to the waiting room immediately.”
‘You said you’d check what I did… carefully.’
Kim Chunyong, who had been playing it safe after his comeback, had now caught Director Shin’s unwanted attention.
Liu Wei was frustrated after losing on stage, and now Director Shin had set his sights on Kim Chunyong.
So it was clear that Liu Wei wouldn’t be moving against Kim Chunyong on his own anymore. Director Shin would likely join forces with him.
Trying to solve Logan’s problem had only made things more complicated for Kim Chunyong himself.
He’d anticipated this might happen, but the bitter taste in his mouth remained unavoidable.
X’s over-the-top reactions weren’t entirely unfounded, after all.
‘Still, it was necessary. If not for this, Logan would’ve dropped out, and things would’ve gotten even worse. So, now…’
As Kim Chunyong mentally organized the next steps during the upcoming break, there was a sudden knock.
Knock, knock—
– Excuse me, is trainee Kim Chunyong in there?
It was an unexpected, yet somewhat predictable visitor.
