The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 129
“…Tsk.”
Recalling past malicious comments like, [“But who wouldn’t suspect school violence with that face?”] I smiled bitterly.
At the time, AG had released an article firmly denying it, but seeing people still suspicious now meant they hadn’t fully believed it back then either.
Judging someone based on their looks alone—assuming there must be something there—is such a terrible habit. People really need to realize that.
No, seriously, they need to.
“So, Chunyong? Why did you want to see me separately? I came early because of you.”
“Ah, sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”
I smiled at the trainee standing in front of me, who seemed uneasy, and carefully chose my words.
Right now, dealing with Kim Joo An and the sedan could wait. The priority was executing the plan X and I had brainstormed throughout the break.
But before diving into the main topic…
“Did you have a good break, Li Ming Shen? Looked like you spent it with Liu Wei.”
Start with a casual greeting.
“The break, huh….”
Li Ming Shen glanced around uneasily, eventually nodding reluctantly. His expression made it clear.
…It wasn’t a good vacation.
“大家好 (Hello), I’m Li Ming Shen. Please take care of me!”
Li Ming Shen, a trainee from the Chinese-speaking region under Targeting Star, like Liu Wei and Gao Yan.
Officially, he was just another global trainee who passed AG’s audition alongside Liu Wei. But in reality, their relationship was more complicated.
They attended the same local arts high school, even the same acting academy.
That said, it wouldn’t be fair to call them close.
‘As expected. Then and now, Liu Wei has been relentlessly barking at Li Ming Shen, practically forcing him into submission. And Li Ming Shen, while displeased, can’t bring himself to say anything.’
There were several reasons why I said dealing with Liu Wei was tricky.
One of them was that I now had to focus on someone like Li Ming Shen, who had barely any overlap with me.
The other reason was… Well, I preferred avoiding situations where someone else would get hurt.
“…Why did you want to meet? I don’t think we’re close enough for this, and I don’t quite understand what’s going on.”
Perhaps sensing my ambiguous expression, Li Ming Shen shot me a sharp glare, his eyes narrowing.
Unlike Liu Wei or Gao Yan, Li Ming Shen’s command of Korean was fluent enough to leave me speechless. I nodded in acknowledgment.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. But if it made you feel uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
“…No, I was a bit harsh too. Sorry, Chunyong.”
After we both calmed down, I took a moment to gather my thoughts and tried to find the right words.
“Li Ming Shen, do you….”
Do you want to debut in Korea?
The question that finally slipped out was blunt, to say the least. But still.
Li Ming Shen’s shocked expression said it all. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally blurting out,
“…That’s what you want to ask me? If not that, then why on earth would I have decided to join Targeting Star—?”
“You didn’t want to get involved, but you’re only here because of Liu Wei. You definitely wanted to be part of the Greater China team being prepared back in China.”
At my remark, Li Ming Shen’s eyes widened as he looked at me, confusion swirling in his gaze.
“…H-how do you know that?”
“Liu Wei doesn’t like me very much. Enough to try and get me eliminated from this survival show.”
“……”
“If you think about it, the connection becomes pretty obvious.”
In truth, I’d heard it at the club I used to frequent before coming back.
“Didn’t Rex’s old survival show have a Chinese trainee who went back to debut in China?”
“…Who, Liu Wei? Don’t even mention him.”
“No, not him. That lackey. What was his name, Li Ming Shen? The short one.”
“Hey, don’t call him a lackey. You really need to watch your words.”
“What? It’s not wrong, though. He was set to debut under AG’s China subsidiary, but ended up joining the survival show to be Liu Wei’s sidekick. That’s being a lackey, right?”
“…Poor guy.”
After hearing what I said, Li Ming Shen pressed his fingertips to his temples, groaning for a moment before looking at me with a slightly sympathetic expression.
He looked at me like we were in the same boat.
“…I don’t fully understand how you came to know all this. But the fact that you do know hasn’t changed.”
So, what are you trying to say to me?
Finally, we got to the point.
“Well…”
I quickly licked my lips, carefully choosing each word before speaking.
After hearing my proposal, Li Ming Shen’s expression was… well.
“…Do you really think that’ll work?”
I didn’t need to say anything more.
* * *
After Li Ming Shen left, I sat there for a while, running my fingers through my hair as I mulled over what he had said.
“…So if I expose how Liu Wei has been mistreating me, and if that causes his elimination, I won’t have to worry about supporting him anymore and can return to China immediately? The investors backing him will withdraw their support.”
“Yeah, that’s more or less it.”
“I already knew my turn would come after he debuted.”
“But that’ll take a long time. Besides, the way Liu Wei treats you is unfair. This will definitely benefit both of us—”
“No. You don’t understand anything.”
“…What don’t I understand?”
“There’s something in China called guanxi (关系). It’s about reciprocal relationships. And it’s not just between me and Liu Wei. It involves my family, Liu Wei’s family, and people even higher up.”
“……”
“My family has benefited greatly from that relationship. So no matter how badly Liu Wei treats me, I can’t harm him directly.”
‘I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything you said. If you want my cooperation, you’ll have to make sure I stay completely out of sight.’
“That’s complicated, man. We don’t have that kind of system in Korea….”
I clicked my tongue, waving my hand in the air in frustration.
Just when I thought I was starting to get a handle on things, everything slipped away, leaving me feeling lost and hollow.
“So in the end, I’ll have to—”
“─That’s too sloppy.”
What?
I jumped at the sudden voice from above, whipping around to face it.
I had chosen this spot because the other trainees hadn’t returned yet, and I had only brought Li Ming Shen here, so who could it be?
“If you’re talking in a place like this, of course someone’s going to overhear. My goodness, if it hadn’t been me, you’d be in serious trouble right now!”
My goodness? My goodness is what I should be saying!
“Uh…”
Unable to hide my shock, I opened and closed my mouth a few times before finally squeezing out a name.
“…Gao Yan.”
Of all the people who could have shown up, why did it have to be you?
Gao Yan, clearly not concerned with my flustered state, marched down the stairs, his voice booming nonstop.
“Yeah, it’s me, Gao Yan! I heard everything you and Li Ming Shen were talking about! But don’t worry, Chunyong hyung.”
He struck a dramatic pose, crossing his arms and staring at me with sparkling eyes like a character straight out of a drama.
Then, with a dazzling look, he dropped the last thing I expected to hear.
“I can help you.”
