The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 141

‘They can’t do anything with a blurry photo that doesn’t even clearly show it’s me or anyone else.’  

Other than temporarily lowering his ranking, none of it could actually hurt him.  

Kim Chunyong rubbed his forehead and let out a small, dry laugh.  

“Liu Wei must be getting desperate….”  

This uncharacteristic recklessness and transparent antagonism were unlike Liu Wei.  

But in a way, it had only served to rile Chunyong up even more.  

“…….”  

Chunyong had approached Liu Wei carefully because having solid proof meant he wouldn’t need to feel threatened.  

Part of it was also a lingering bit of mercy for someone he once debuted with.  

Even when he had been attacked relentlessly by Kim Joo An, Chunyong had given him a chance.  

After all, hadn’t he himself been given a second chance by X?  

‘That’s why I was trying to take the difficult route. I wanted to approach Liming Shen, hoping it would get Liu Wei to back down.’  

Recalling the comments that mentioned his family, Chunyong closed his eyes slowly.  

Despite the chaos in his head, his mind was working faster than ever.  

The conversation he’d had with Gao Yan, the reactions on social media, and Outgram all replayed in his thoughts.  

Finally, he pulled out his phone and sent a brief message to his family group chat.  

[Second Son: It’s not a big deal that I’m on the internet, don’t worry!]  

[Second Son: This is all because I’m popular.]  

[Second Son: Tell your friends to vote for me haha]  

By now, his sisters, who weren’t as detached from the online world as their parents, would have seen the rumors on the internet.  

‘My family’s probably like me—they’ll shrug this off as nothing serious. But still, sending a message was the right thing to do.’  

Just as he expected, the number next to his messages dwindled, but no one replied.  

“As expected. This is nothing. As long as I get through this, it’ll be fine.”  

Chunyong switched off the lights in the vocal room, shrugged his shoulders to loosen up, and walked out.  

*   *   *  

The controversy surrounding one of the trainees had reached the ears of the Targeting Star production team.  

Naturally, they were always on the lookout for such issues, which was why they’d enforced strict Outgram rules in the first place.  

“Tell them to disable the comment sections on all the trainees’ posts. What a bunch of useless rumors.” 

Lee Hyeon Jeong snapped, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she gave instructions to the junior writer.  

With the midterm rankings approaching, the team already had a mountain of tasks to deal with, and this new controversy was just an unwelcome distraction.  

“Should we just go ahead with that? I don’t think PD Joo knows about this yet….”  

“And? Is it overstepping? How long are you planning to wait for the PD to show up? We have a trainee being attacked with baseless rumors. What good is it to sit on our hands?”  

“Well, that’s… Oh?”  

Just as the junior writer was about to stumble through his explanation, his eyes widened as a nonchalant voice interrupted them from behind.  

“No need to worry about that, Writer Lee. Didn’t I tell you before? Even this sort of thing boosts ratings.”  

“─PD-nim!”  

Lee Hyeon Jeong’s voice was a mix of relief and irritation as she turned to face the man who had finally returned to the set—Joo Cheol Yeong.  

“Whoa, whoa. No need to be so happy to see me, Writer Lee.”  

As if the loudness of her voice was giving him a headache, PD Joo made a show of covering his ears with a grin, waving off the junior writer to leave them alone in the office.  

The junior writer, wearing an expression of sheer relief, quickly exited, leaving the two of them alone to continue the conversation.  

“Seriously, what were you talking about with the head PD that took an entire week? You haven’t been on set for a week!”  

“You’ve handled things just fine without me, haven’t you? There weren’t even any stage shoots. That’s what really matters.”  

“Hah… That’s not the issue. We’re in the middle of the Outgram mission, and there’s a scandal brewing around Kim Chunyong—”  

“I know, I know. I saw it all on the way here. Don’t stress over it.”

Joo Cheol Yeong’s nonchalant attitude made Lee Hyeon Jeong recall Kim Chunyong’s Outgram video, her frustration boiling over as she raised her voice.  

“…PD-nim, I wasn’t going to say this, but these trainees, they’re barely in their late teens to early twenties! This kind of situation is too harsh for them to handle.”  

“You think he sees it that way?”  

“…What?”  

Hearing Lee Hyeon Jeong’s outburst, Joo Cheol Yeong leaned back in his office chair, casually continuing.  

“Don’t you know how sharp that kid is? If he thought this situation was serious, he would’ve come straight to us. He’d be begging for a chance to clear his name or asking us to release a statement saying it’s not true.”  

“…Maybe he’s just too overwhelmed to do that. You know how hard it is to deal with this sort of thing on your own.”  

“No, I guarantee it. He’s not going to respond. He doesn’t need to. And I agree with him on that.”  

“…What?”  

“Look at the bigger picture. Anyone can see this was orchestrated by Director Shin, even if it’s uncharacteristically sloppy.”  

Joo Cheol Yeong tapped his phone lightly, a sly grin spreading across his face.  

“If he responds, that’s exactly what they want. Kim Chunyong knows that, which is why he’s staying quiet.”  

“…How could a trainee think that far ahead? You’re making too many assumptions.”  

“Even if that’s not the case… Did you see the latest post? I think that’s enough to solve part of the problem.”  

“Kim Chunyong hasn’t posted anything!”  

“Writer Lee.”  

Don’t focus on the tree. Look at the forest.  

At his words, Lee Hyeon Jeong, momentarily confused, buried her head in her phone, scrolling through other trainees’ profiles.  

There was only one trainee who had posted something new.  

And.  

“This, this is…?”  

“You think that’s all? Try searching Kim Chunyong’s name separately. You’ll be surprised.”  

Joo Cheol Yeong’s tired face broke into a wide smile as he continued.  

“Kim Chunyong… he really grows on you.”  

Someone was already moving for him.  

Someone who understood him well enough to step in and help. 

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