The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 143

I couldn’t hide my shock for a moment. My mouth hung slightly open as I checked the post over and over.

Of course, no matter how many times I looked, the post wasn’t going to disappear.

The video that now filled Jae ha hyung’s latest feed was a clip of us practicing “Aiming” during our last break.

The same day he had secretly warned me that Liu Wei was making moves to sabotage me.

The fact that the video had been posted wasn’t surprising in itself.

Ever since my first video had received a positive reaction, the other trainees had followed suit, uploading their own clips one after another.

If anything, Jae ha hyung was a little late to the trend.

But the timing—that’s what mattered.

“…Hyung must have seen the comments on his own post.”

Right now, the malicious rumors about me boiled down to two main accusations.

That I had gone on a date with my nonexistent girlfriend during break, and that I had scammed someone over a game item.

But with this single post, the first rumor—that I had been out dating—was completely refuted.

I had planned to ignore everything and let it die out on its own.

So this left me completely caught off guard.

…What’s wrong with Jae Ha hyung?

No, seriously—why?!

If anything, he had every right to be pissed at me.

The original clickbait comments hadn’t even named me directly, just baiting engagement by vaguely referring to a “Targeting Star trainee.”

Because of that, Jae Ha hyung had unfairly gotten dragged into the mess too.

He had already taken damage just by association.

And yet, without saying a single word to me—he went ahead and helped me like this?

Sure enough, the comment section had already exploded into chaos.

[Wait, does this mean the rumor about Kim Chunyong meeting his girlfriend during break was complete garbage?]
[⎿Maybe not totally garbage, but this at least proves he and Son Jae Ha are close… damn.]
[Oh f*ck, I got it. His girlfriend was actually Son Jae Ha.]
[⎿Bro, what kind of b******t is that.]
[⎿⎿I support this. I stand in solidarity. This works for me.]
[⎿Posting this now… Jae Ha’s too kind. He must have hated seeing his dongsaeng get dragged like that. T_T]
[⎿Nah, he’s just using this for noise marketing. People really act like these trainees are angels or something, lol.]
[⎿⎿Nah, Son Jae Ha’s at least better than you, lmao.]

“What the hell is this…”

I groaned, pressing my fingertips against my temple.

…It’s only once or twice that something unexpected happens.

Every single time, my heart ached.

And whether Yu Chan hyung knew that or not—

“Haha, I already heard everything from Jae Ha.”

He grinned excitedly, waving his phone at me like a fan.

“You guys practiced together during break, so obviously you couldn’t have been on a date. I asked Jae Ha what he thought about posting a video to clear things up, and he said it was a good idea.”

…Excuse me?

I blinked at him, slightly raising my voice as I smacked his shoulder.

“You two talked and decided to post that?! Since when—how did you even…?!”

“Shh, shh. Chunyong-ah. The cameras will catch your voice. You’re the one who taught me that.”

Yu Chan hyung smirked, mimicking the words I had once told him on the bus ride to this survival show hellhole.

Then, with that same infuriatingly smug grin, he continued.

“You know, from training and sharing a stage with you, I’ve noticed something. You always try to handle everything alone.”

“…That’s how survival shows work.”

And look at my situation!

I didn’t know what else to say. My lips opened and closed uselessly like a fish.

Hyung just laughed at me and shoved his phone in my face again.

“This isn’t the only thing. If you check your tagged posts—”

Ding!

“…Wait, what was that sound?”

“Hold on, let me check my messages—”

“Wow, Kim Chunyong. That’s your notification tone? That’s adorable.”

“…I didn’t set that up.”

– X: Didn’t I say I wasn’t watching anything of yours until this was solved?

– X: Well, surprise—X is back ♡

– X: What’s this, what’s this~

– X: I was gonna make you grovel and beg to get that posted the moment the scandal broke;; but wow, your leader hyung’s friend is sharp. Get closer to him.

– X: Now that you’ve got Gao Yan on your side, start cozying up to the other trainees too.

– X: How about heading over to Son Jae Ha right now and taking a selfie together with that pose I taught you? Viral marketing, baby.

– X: By the way, 45 degrees is the golden angle for selfies. Kids these days don’t get that -3-

Even as X’s ridiculous messages kept pouring in, I had nothing to say.

This time, I had tried not to be a burden.

I had only wanted to help myself.

…So how the hell did things end up like this?

Ding!

– X: Oh right, also check out what Bang Yu Chan is trying to show you right now ㅠ

– X: You were always so stingy about your family that I seriously thought they hated you ㅠ

“…What the—”

“Did you see it? Chunyong-ah, this one’s even bigger. Look. We have to go, basic choreo starts soon!”

“Wait, Yu Chan hyung! Let me breathe for a second!”

Before I could even fix my messy hair, I had to take Yu Chan hyung’s phone right in my face and look at what had him so worked up.

What came up first was a freshly made Outgram account with the default profile settings.

And a single post.

Its contents…

[@kimbomi__]
Hello. I’m Kim Bomi, the older sister of Kim Chunyong, a current contestant on Targeting Star.

Of everything I’d seen today, my sister’s post was the one thing that made my jaw drop the most.

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