The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 130
The first filming after the break, and all the trainees gathered in the auditorium of the trainee dormitory.
I weaved through the small talk happening around me and called out to Logan, who was talking with Yu Chan hyung.
“Hey, Logan.”
After all the trouble I went through, a post-check was necessary.
“What… Oh. Chunyong hyung!”
Logan’s eyes widened as he turned toward me.
Maybe it was because the worry of having to drop out had been lifted, but his round, delicate features were radiating their usual bright, clear energy.
“Wow, hyung. Did you rest well? Your expression looks a little… different?”
“Eh, I’m always the same. I should be the one asking you that. How was your break?”
“What? What about it?”
“You said you were going to have a meal with your parents during the break. How was it?”
“…Holy.”
Logan scratched his cheek, clearly caught off guard by the question.
Guess it wasn’t a topic he liked.
Feeling a little guilty, I lightly patted his shoulder.
After a brief silence, Logan spoke slowly.
“Huh. It was… just normal, I guess.”
“But they said you could stay on Targeting Star, right? You could’ve talked to them a bit more about that, no?”
“…They left right after the meal, so I didn’t really get a chance to bring it up.”
Hmm.
The look on his face when he mentioned “meal” made it seem like something happened.
Realizing he didn’t want to continue the conversation, Logan moved a little closer to me and lowered his voice.
“Actually, that’s not the important part, Chunyong hyung. Don’t you feel it? Like, someone watching us?”
“What? Who?”
“God, bro. Gao Yan’s been staring at you for a while now. See.”
“Oh….”
At Logan’s words, I pressed my lips together in slight discomfort.
Yeah.
There was a reason I’d called Logan over, trying to avoid someone else’s attention.
Sure, part of it was that I wanted to keep an eye on Logan now that he’d stay until the end, but more than that…
It was because of that ridiculous proposal Gao Yan had made to me.
“…Haha, Gao Yan. I think you misunderstood something. What Li Ming Shen and I talked about wasn’t—”
“No, Gao Yan knows everything, Chunyong hyung! Didn’t you overhear Liu Wei scheming with me before?”
“…You.”
“Of course! I knew it was you by your footsteps. I didn’t say anything because I thought you didn’t want to bring it up. But now, things are different! Chunyong hyung also wants to deal with Liu Wei, doesn’t he? Gao Yan can tell. Because I’m Gao Yan.”
His voice echoed loudly, yet somehow managed to stay within the walls of the auditorium, not escaping to the emergency exit.
With vocal control even better than during training, Gao Yan made his dramatic declaration:
He would expose Liu Wei’s dirty tricks.
“Oh, geez….”
“Holy, Chunyong hyung. You look terrible. Is it a headache? Need some Aspirin?”
“No, I’m fine. Probably just lack of sleep.”
Thinking back to that moment, even with the cameras about to roll in the auditorium, I couldn’t help but grimace.
“No, man. What are you even talking about? You can’t be serious.”
“Nothing is impossible! I could do an interview, tell the PD, or even the press—”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to debut, Gao Yan? Didn’t you want to become the most famous in the world?”
“…Yes, that’s true.”
“If you do that, you can kiss your debut in Targeting Star goodbye. And not just here. Every other opportunity will be blocked too.”
“Then why did you make that suggestion to Li Ming Shen?”
“Because he and I stand to gain something.”
If Liu Wei gets kicked off Targeting Star, Li Ming Shen can immediately return to China and prepare for his debut there.
And I, along with rising in the rankings, would be freed from the risk of having a member of Arrows drop out at the last minute.
But Gao Yan had nothing to gain from this.
In fact, he’d just get labeled as a troublemaker trying to ruin the show, earning disapproval from AG and Music Days.
And besides, I clearly remembered Liu Wei mentioning something about Gao Yan’s family before.
There was no way I could drag someone innocent into this mess with no benefit for them.
Unless they’re directly involved, don’t harm anyone.
I’d caused enough harm as a former problematic member, so this was the least I could do in good conscience.
That’s why, out of all the options, I’d chosen to approach Li Ming Shen.
Even I couldn’t claim to be completely innocent in all of this, so who was I to exploit someone else?
“He really doesn’t get it, does he…”
“Opps, Gao Yan never knows anything. He didn’t even know there are multiple football teams in Liverpool. Jesus. This is why I don’t like the Kop (Liverpool FC supporters).”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Anyway, whether my plan goes awry, or X watches it all and mocks me with a [You really can’t catch a break, you crazy fool ㅋㅋㅋㅋ], time keeps moving forward, and so does the filming for Targeting Star.
… I guess I’ll just have to focus on the present moment.
“Hello, everyone! It’s Gaon here once again! Time to get ready with a fresh mindset for filming!”
As soon as I plastered on my broadcast smile, the doors to the auditorium swung open, and MC Choi Gaon strode in.
“Oh, Gaon-nim, you changed your hair color?”
“Yeah! How did you notice? Well, actually, it’s so bright that it’s hard not to, right?”
“Yeah, it suits you really well.”
Choi Gaon, with his mint-colored hair elegantly swept to the side, walked confidently toward us, smiling brightly at the trainees, including me.
“You’ll all be doing this soon enough, so don’t be too envious! Remember to take care of your scalp, everyone! Now, do you all remember what we filmed after the last break? First to answer gets the floor!”
“Me, me! I’ll answer!”
“Great! Trainee Tsubasa, what was it?”
“We filmed the mission! I went to the Han River. Rode a bike and ate ramen.”
Whistle—
Choi Gaon whistled at Tsubasa, smiling warmly.
“That’s right. So, it makes sense that after the break, we’ve got another mission coming, right? And with the mid-rankings coming up, mission points will be important!”
As Choi Gaon exchanged a glance with the AD, the massive screen in the auditorium lit up with the words ‘MISSION TIME!’ again.
“Before we announce the theme for the fourth round, we’ve prepared a special mission for you all! Have any of you visited my Outgram recently?”
