The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 154
The reason my relationship with Yeon Woo hyung—and more importantly, his drinking habits—never made it out into the world came down to a lot of factors.
Connections with reporters. His obsessively controlled schedule, born from a need to micromanage everything. His agency’s power.
And, if I had to pick the most special reason among them all…
“Ah, now that I think about it… I left the gift bags for the trainees in the car. Would one of you be willing to help me? I might need an extra hand.”
“Ah, if it’s something like that, we can send one of the assistant producers—”
“No. I think it’d be better if a trainee came. You know how it is.”
Social maneuvering.
As if trying to prove his own line—“if you’re too smart, it’s hard to survive in this industry”—the way he played people was on another level.
“Let’s get a shot of us carrying the gifts in together. Then maybe the trainee can do a solo interview afterward, talk about what I said or how it felt.”
“Uh, hmm. That actually sounds…”
Of course, no staff member would disagree after a pitch like that.
“So, who’s going?”
“Seems like whoever goes is guaranteed airtime…”
“Uh, I—just need to… use the restroom.”
The other trainees still found Yeon Woo hyung a bit intimidating, and with everyone just glancing at one another—
“If no one’s jumping in… then maybe I’ll go?”
“Huh? You, Chunyong? Uh, I mean, I could go too…”
“Haha, first come, first served, Won Hyeop hyung. I’ll go win some brownie points.”
If I grabbed the spot first, his plan would fall perfectly into place.
…That’s what you were counting on, right, hyung?
When I looked at him while catching my breath, Yeon Woo hyung covered his mouth slightly with his right hand and smiled faintly.
“Thanks, trainee Kim Chunyong. Let’s head to the parking lot for a bit, then.”
That smile? It meant he was very satisfied with how things were going.
I remember it vividly—from when we used to mix drinks together.
Rubbing my forehead to fend off a mild headache, I followed him down the hall.
Because of all the cameras scattered around, the conversation stayed within “normal” bounds.
“How’s practice been going? Looked like Dasol was really working you guys earlier.”
“Working us, haha… No, it’s all for our debut. He’s doing it out of care.”
“Yeah? Hmm. If that’s how you see it. Still, Dasol seems convinced you’re going to end up in his crew someday. You saw that, right? When he was talking about good trainees, he…”
“H-haha! The parking lot’s kind of far, huh?”
…Okay, no.
This wasn’t “normal” conversation at all.
Just as I clicked my tongue in silent panic—
A voice cut in. Whether it was helpful or not, I couldn’t yet tell.
“…Trainee Kim Chunyong? Where are you headed?”
Do I call this being saved?
At the end of the hallway, looking back and forth between me and Yeon Woo with a puzzled face, stood none other than Min Si Young seonbaenim.
Maybe her vocal mentoring session with the other team had just ended, because behind her, the other trainees were pouring out.
“Wow, Min Si Young seonbaenim. Long time no see.”
“…Mr. Yeon Woo. Yes, nice to see you too. I wasn’t expecting to run into you here, though.”
“Well, it’d be hard for you to know where I’m going all the time, seonbaenim. I’m not AG, after all.”
“…….”
Min Si Young seonbaenim pressed his lips together, her usual professionalism twitching behind her expression. Then she tucked her long hair behind one ear and continued.
“Yes, well. But dance mentoring isn’t over yet. So why is trainee Kim Chunyong following you, Mr. Yeon Woo?”
“Ah, I asked for a bit of help. Chunyong volunteered. I left something in the car.”
“You’re taking a trainee with you? Not even a PA or an assistant?”
“I’ve seen you visit practice rooms to observe other trainees yourself, seonbaenim. I say this as a longtime viewer of Targeting Star, by the way.”
“…That was a natural part of the program, both for broadcast and for my role as a mentor.”
“Of course. And this is something I can naturally do, too—both as the composer who wrote their song and for broadcast reasons.”
They weren’t using knives, but their words were stabbing each other just the same.
If there weren’t hallway cameras rolling, they probably would’ve raised their voices already.
“Haha, when else am I going to get a peek at a legendary seonbaenim’s car? I volunteered!”
Before I could end up as a shrimp caught between whales—a rookie wedged between veterans—I quickly stepped in and plastered on a shameless smile.
“…A trainee’s job is to practice hard and put on a great stage, Kim Chunyong.”
“Oh, absolutely. Thanks to you, mentor, I’m working very hard.”
And that wasn’t a lie.
During our last break, I’d rewatched our clips after something Jae Ha hyung said.
On the “Beyond That Waves” stage, the hectic studio setup had made it hard to hear or see anything clearly at the time— But on the rebroadcast, I saw it.
Min Si Young seonbaenim’s mouth, barely moving.
“…Good job.”
On the survival show before I regressed, no— even as someone from the same agency, I’d never once heard anything like that before.
Min Si Young seonbaenim only likes people who are good and work hard.
For example, someone like Yu Chan hyung, who’s basically unmatched in vocals on Targeting Star, or Logan, whose potential is impossible to measure.
And if she’s partial to AG’s purebloods, it’s because she’s seen them up close, grinding every day.
So for her to say something like that to me, someone she didn’t initially like—
meant she’d changed her mind. It meant he now saw me as someone who was putting in the effort.
“…Trainee Kim Chunyong. So far, you’ve done well choosing songs that suit your tone,
but you can’t always sing just the parts you like. Start practicing your high notes too.”
“Ah, yes.”
“…You’re going to debut, aren’t you? You need to be able to sing it all.”
“Yes! Got it!”
Everything that came after that mentoring session flowed smoothly, too.
So then, if things between us were actually in a decent place now, the reason why Min Si Young seonbaenim still throwing barbs at Yeon Woo hyung was probably because…
She already knows what kind of person Yeon Woo is.
“I’ll just go instead. Trainee Kim Chunyong should head back to practice—”
“Oh, I heard the stuff was pretty heavy! It’s better if two guys go together, Mentor.”
I appreciated the sentiment, but honestly, I needed this talk with Yeon Woo hyung.
Maybe I laid it on a little thick, because Min Si Young seonbaenim let out a silent, long sigh and, after a brief pause, gave a slow nod.
“…This won’t happen during my mentoring sessions. Just so we’re clear.”
“Of course. Then we’ll be off—”
I quickly grabbed Yeon Woo hyung’s arm and bolted for the exit before Min Si Young could change her mind.
How fast were we walking?
Didn’t take long at all to reach the parking lot, where the chilled night air hung still and quiet.
…Wait. Now that I think about it.
It’s kinda weird that I’m walking ahead of the guy who owns the car.
“Guess we rushed a little, huh?”
kcyfan1000
I’m really sus of Yeon Woo, ngl
Thanks for the translation <3