The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 124
Sunday, 10 a.m.
A woman stepped off the subway and sighed, fixing her disheveled hair.
‘Ugh, I came all the way from Yongin just to check one advertisement…!’
It pained her to have spent four hours of her precious weekend just commuting, but it was a grave she dug for herself.
The subway ad campaign she had spearheaded—from fundraising to the slogan vote—had been displayed on the electronic board at Apgujeong Station since last Friday.
[The most special trainee from Mars! VOTE▷ 0723 Ji Hwa Sung]
“Wow, damn….”
She had even created a social media account under the name ‘fireworksday,’ because she was operating as anonymous “ㅇㅇ” on an anonymous bulletin board. She had gone all out for Ji Hwa Sung. Missing the golden opportunity for a photo of the ad was simply out of the question.
Especially after how perfect Ji Hwa Sung had been in the 4th episode of Targeting Star that aired just the day before.
– “I’ve already performed on stage with Logan once, right? So… I want to trust him.”
<Unlike other trainees, Trainee Ji Hwa Sung stands out for his trust in Logan. What will happen to the ‘Calendar’ team?>
Not only did Hwa Sung support Logan amidst subtle internal team politics, but they also delivered an amazing performance together!
– “No, Logan! You’re an idiot for doing that.”
– “Huh? Stupid? Did you just call me stupid?”
– “Uh, that’s not what I meant!”
– “I know what ‘stupid’ means, okay!”
On top of that, their chemistry as peers was setting hearts on fire!
With SNS and community forums buzzing with comments like, [Ji Hwa Sung doesn’t seem that bad?], and [He’s not trying to sell a personality, he’s not character washing], [1] it was the perfect viral moment.
‘The ad photos came out great. No empty spaces in the layout, colors are on point… God, it’s perfect even to my eyes!’
Ignoring the stares of passersby, she kneeled and snapped picture after picture of the ad, sighing as she stared at Ji Hwa Sung smiling brightly on her phone screen.
“Our Hwa Sung, with his talent, star power, and looks, his debut is basically guaranteed… I mean, he’s even doing well in the rankings.”
Despite the promising situation, she couldn’t help but sigh.
The other digital billboards at Apgujeong Station gave away the reason.
[AG’s Pride: Son Jae Ha♬ Support Jae Ha’s Dream!]
[○ A 1.3 Billion-to-One Chance, A Miracle for 7 Billion People ○ Liu Wei on the Flower Path to Stardom]
[Sensational Liverpool Boy! Target, LOGAN LEE]
People are easily swayed by visuals.
Even though she knew in her head that Ji Hwa Sung was in a stable position for debut, seeing other trainees with such flashy ads in an expensive subway station made her anxious.
Sure, it was understandable that Son Jae Ha, currently the most popular trainee on Targeting Star, Liu Wei with his massive Chinese fandom, and Logan, with his retriever-like looks and genius, were making big waves.
Even though people said, ‘Nothing is certain until it’s over,’ deep down, she believed these trainees would debut for sure.
Logan? He didn’t bother her since he was one of the trainees she supported alongside Ji Hwa Sung.
But there was another trainee who amplified her worries and frustration.
[Even in Summer, He’s Like Spring ♡ Our Yong, Kim Chunyong]
“Kim Chunyong…”
Muttering the last line of the ad, ‘fireworksday’ couldn’t help but grumble to herself.
“What, even this guy has an ad at Apgujeong? Do these people have money to burn?”
Sure, other trainees had ads too, but none of them caught her attention.
To her, they were just potential allies in securing Ji Hwa Sung’s sure-fire debut.
What she didn’t know was that Kim Chunyong’s return had set off a butterfly effect, leading to a general increase in visibility for all Targeting Star trainees.
“Agh, seriously….”
In truth, even ‘fireworksday’ had to admit that Kim Chunyong had performed well on Targeting Star the day before.
From headlines mocking his team, ‘Beyond the Waves,’ like [Jang Si Won’s Little Brother’s Disaster], [Poor Yu Chan’s Sinking Ship.jpg], [How Can An Idol Trainee Be Named Kim Chunyong], the jokes were endless.
[No way, s**t, you’re good at it.].
[Si Woo is a genius idol…]
[A pirate instead of a sailor? That’s a good idea, I’m surprised ;;]
But as soon as Episode 4 aired, showcasing the actual performance, Kim Chunyong’s team had delivered one of the best stages, alongside Ji Hwa Sung’s ‘Calendar’ team.
[<Targeting Star> ‘Beyond the Waves’ Handsome Trainee with an Eye Patch ♡▷ Kim Chunyong Fan-Cam Video!]
Naturally, Chunyong, who took center stage during the dance break, received a great reaction.
Moreover, a viral video [2X0701 Hongdae Street Busking Chunyong cut], filmed by his top fan-tographer, NBML, further boosted his popularity.
As a result, Kim Chunyong’s ranking had risen to seventh place.
‘I know, I get it! I know he’s good!’
Grinding her teeth, she recalled Kim Chunyong’s video posted on the official Targeting Star YouTube channel.
But what’s the real issue?
The real problem was the growing animosity between Ji Hwa Sung’s fans and Kim Chunyong’s fans.
During the broadcast of the Aiming stage preparations, Ji Hwa Sung, due to his slightly overbearing attitude, had drawn some negative attention despite his skill.
He was accused of being too greedy, people questioned why he acted that way, and some even claimed that just because others called him a “pureblood,” he thought he was actually pureblood in a democratic country.
‘If Hwa Sung wants to debut, this can’t go on!’
To suppress such public opinion, Ji Hwa Sung’s fandom chose a strategy that wasn’t exactly subtle—they pitted other trainees’ fandoms against each other.
The classic tactic: start a bigger fire to hide the smaller one.
And the fandoms they chose to use were none other than those of Kim Joo An and Kim Chunyong.
At first, it seemed to work well.
It was true that there was some tension between Kim Chunyong and Kim Joo An during the dance break center position, and ‘fireworksday’ was well-versed in stirring up controversy from such situations after years of anonymous activity on message boards.
But she wasn’t the only one skilled in such matters.
[fireworksday @fireworksday
The conclusion is Mubee stole Joo An’s dance break center, right? But why does the editing make him look so good? ㅆㅂ, oh Hwa Sung, please don’t get too close to him ㅠㅠ]
[⎿ㅇㅇ @SFNPADJEFDA
It’s hilarious that Joo An’s and Hwa Sung’s moms are working together to sway public opinion;; the ones ruining that team’s vibe are Ji Hwa Sung and Kim Joo An ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I feel sorry for the other members ㅠ
#JiHwa Sung #KimJoo An #BoycottAGPurebloods #NoThanks]
‘Things got exposed and it all backfired. Damn it, I knew SNS was tricky, not like community boards!’
With her involvement in that mess, it was nearly impossible for ‘fireworksday’ to like Kim Chunyong.
‘He’s even more annoying because he’s good at what he does. I mean, we already have Liu Wei in the dance position, so why does Chunyong have to stand out like he’s going to debut with them too? If he debuted with another group, I wouldn’t hate him this much, honestly!’
Kicking her feet in frustration at the subway station, she took a deep breath and rubbed her face.
‘I can’t stand him, seriously. Is there anything I can do?’
Then, her eyes caught sight of a figure loitering near the subway ad.
——————
T/N:
[1] ↩
Another example: 신분 세탁 means to wash a person’s identity, which is when you change or hide yours for some sketchy things.
