The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 133
“I’m glad we postponed the initial live stream schedule. This way, we can actually manage them.”
Lee Hyeon Jeong muttered to herself as she crawled through the Outgram feeds of the Targeting Star trainees.
“Gong Minho already posted six times, and Tsubasa… Wait, what is this? Ha Joon! Ha Joon?”
“Yes, yes, writer-nim!”
Calling over the youngest writer, Hyeon Jeong waved her hand around impatiently as she quickly spoke.
“We need to do another broadcast at the dorms. Remind them not to engage in overly personal conversations with fans on Outgram. Especially Kim Joo An.”
“Uh, what kind of personal conversations?”
“Things like how many hours they practice a day, when they can use their phones, what they had for meals, that kind of stuff.”
“…Are they really talking about that with fans?”
“Yeah. I have no idea what he’s thinking. We should add that to the list of restrictions.”
“Got it. I’ll issue a six-hour Outgram ban and go handle the broadcast.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep monitoring.”
Watching the youngest writer rush off to the broadcast room, Hyeon Jeong sighed lightly.
Normally, it wouldn’t just be her sitting here. PD Joo Cheol Yeong should be beside her.
But that’s how the broadcast industry works.
A little whisper from the assistant director during the day, a murmur overheard by the lighting crew at night.
And rumors like that naturally found their way to the top.
“Cheol Yeong, you idiot! Are you out of your mind? Why are you crossing the investors? Are you crazy? You think you’ll make money digging holes? Are you trying to quit the industry?”
As soon as Director Shin realized PD Joo had slipped out of his grasp, his phone was immediately ringing the executive PD.
Was there a problem with the sponsors? Was President Do Jae Chan handling the investors now?
What exactly had been discussed? Was Director Shin, who brought in the investors without a plan, now picking a fight?
With the big mid-rankings shoot coming up, it felt like everyone involved was walking on thin ice.
‘He must’ve gone to meet the executive PD again. He knows that guy won’t be cooperative….’
Thinking of the notoriously difficult executive PD, Hyeon Jeong rubbed her temples and turned her attention back to her phone.
Her screen was filled with Liu Wei’s Outgram feed, right at the center of this whole mess.
Two half-body shots in a natural mood, as if someone else had taken them for him.
And underneath, a short caption in his native Chinese.
“Hmm… Pretty ordinary, actually.”
Reading the Outgram auto-translation of [I’m Liu Wei, currently appearing in Targeting Star from China], Hyeon Jeong let out a small scoff.
But her eyes remained cold.
‘Liu Wei and Director Shin tried to kick Logan out, didn’t they? And now their target is…’
Her fingers tapped on another trainee’s account.
The one with only a single post.
[Springyong_TT]
Kim Chunyong’s account.
‘They’re looking for any way to eliminate him. Even if PD Joo cherishes him, it won’t be easy to protect him.’
At first, even Hyeon Jeong had thought Director Shin’s push for Liu Wei was just natural favoritism from the investors.
When she heard about their attempts to force Logan out, she thought, ‘Do they really have to go that far?’
But now, plotting to eliminate another trainee just because things weren’t going as planned?
“Jeez. That’s cold.”
Lee Hyeon Jeong sighed, not even bothering to suppress it, as she absentmindedly tapped on her phone.
Even though it seemed unlikely that anything Kim Chunyong did would make a big difference in this situation, she figured she’d check how he was doing anyway.
However…
“…Huh?”
Her eyes widened as she repeatedly checked the post Kim Chunyong had uploaded.
His hair had grown longer during the survival show, now tied up neatly. His face, sharp but undeniably handsome.
A comfortable training outfit that accentuated his build.
There was nothing particularly unusual about his appearance as a trainee, but the post had something special.
“…A video?”
“Since it’s my first post, I thought it’d be good to start with a nice picture, don’t you think? Add a bunch of tags, too.”
“Or maybe it’d be smart to upload a picture with some of the higher-ranking guys….”
“Should I ask Yu Chan hyung to take one with me?”
Everyone was focused on uploading their first post as perfectly as possible, but no one had given much thought to what form the post should take.
Maybe because of the rule that restricted live broadcasts to specific times, they hadn’t even considered the possibility of posting a video.
But compared to the other trainees, Kim Chunyong…
Even though most of his followers had initially come to mock him, an experienced idol is still an idol.
After all, the “problematic member” Kim Chunyong had quite the history with Outgram.
And who else but Kim Chunyong was the one who exploited loopholes during the initial mentor evaluations?
– “Ah, can you see me clearly? Hello, I’m trainee Kim Chunyong, currently appearing on Targeting Star!”
Waving lightly at the camera, Kim Chunyong smiled brightly as he continued.
– “Since this is my first post on Outgram, I thought it’d be nice to make it a bit special, so…”
The camera moved away from his hand, and suddenly, it was fixed in place, showing his entire body.
– “I’m going to show you a dance I performed during one of Targeting Star’s missions, ‘Fulfilling the Global Trainee Bucket List.’”
“Oh my… He really thought this through?”
Unconsciously, Hyeon Jeong found herself smiling and turning up the volume on Kim Chunyong’s Outgram video.
In the video, he began dancing through the first verse of the choreography he had performed with Choi Gun Young.
– “Thanks to Choi Gun Young from the dance crew ‘IllRic,’ I had such an amazing experience. And, well, since I noticed that in the fan-taken video I made a few mistakes, ha ha, I wanted to show you all a better version this time.”
– “Even though I’m lacking, I’m really grateful for the fans who captured me so well. I’m Kim Chunyong!”
That alone would have made for an impressive first post.
Not only was his dance flawless, but his subtle reference to the show’s mission format was pure brilliance.
“If this guy worked in an office, he’d be the boss’s favorite in no time, for sure…”
Of course, in reality, it was quite the opposite. But still.
The truly impressive part wasn’t just that.
Kim Chunyong had used only three tags in his post: Targeting Star’s official account, his own account, and…
– “Oh, right. This dancer—uh, this guy tagged me in his post after we danced together in Hongdae. So, well, I figured I’d tag him back and… maybe follow his dance. A challenge, right?”
Choi Gun Young from IllRic, whom he had mentioned earlier in the video.
Choi Gun Young, already with a large following, had tagged Kim Chunyong’s Outgram and posted a dance video, quickly sending it viral.
[The trainee whose dance Choi Gun Young followed], [The guy from the Hongdae street dance], [Hongdae street dancer = masked guy]. It went even further, [The trainee Jin Dasol invited to join his crew].
Kim Chunyong was walking the exact right path, a path only those with real experience could navigate.
Joo Cheol Yeong hadn’t been wrong.
Kim Chunyong had star potential.
“…What a waste.”
Without realizing it, Hyeon Jeong mumbled to herself as she played Kim Chunyong’s video again.
It would be such a waste for him to be pushed out due to this political mess.
…There must be a way, she thought to herself, convinced.
