The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 16
The main writer, Lee Hyeon Jeong, surveyed the filming set with a serious look on her face.
‘The atmosphere is not good at all.’
“Hoo, hoo-hoo… Well, it’s supposed to stop…”
There were trainees sitting beside the stage, crying after the evaluation. Well, they didn’t expect much in the first place. The ones who managed to hold back their mental breakdown and not cry right were impressive. After all, for the trainees, tears, laughter, anger – it all becomes part of the routine.
So, the problem was elsewhere.
…The mentors.
“Yes, trainee Kim Chunyong. Let’s see both your singing and dancing.”
First up, Min Si Young.
Her judging criteria were strict, even too strict.
It was only natural; Min Si Young was the living legend of AG.
Before AG grew as a company, she appeared like a comet, sweeping the charts and dominating music awards as a genius solo singer. No trainee could even compare, and couldn’t stand out in a crowd the same way she did.
Unless they were really that good.
‘But still, this won’t do. If she only criticizes, will it even make it to broadcast?’
Lee Hyeon Jeong tilted her head nervously, looking at the other mentors.
They weren’t any better either.
“……”
Jin Dasol, who had been brought in because he was a handsome and talented dancer, sat quietly without any reaction.
“Yes, trainee Kim Chunyong… I will expect, uh, anticipate your performance.”
Even Na Ji Hyuk, who was trying to somewhat lighten the mood, was being pressed by Min Si Young’s aura, unable to express his opinion properly.
And now, the one considered the biggest bombshell, Moon Yun Ha…
“Before we see the stage, wait a moment.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Trainee Kim Chunyong, is this your real name?”
“Ah, yes! It’s my real name.”
“You were planning to appear on this program, and you didn’t prepare a stage name? Your name sounds a bit tacky. It doesn’t match your image.”
She’s going on like this!
Hyeon Jeong, unintentionally, slapped her forehead with her palm. Judging by the sounds around, she wasn’t the only one making such a gesture.
She wasn’t sure whether they came to assess the trainees’ skills or to pick a fight.
Hyeon Jeong sighed deeply, turning her head back to glance at the main PD.
“……”
The PD’s expression was inscrutable. He silently observed the trainees appearing on the screen through the camera.
“Now that I think about it, the trainee who just came up might be the one the PD mentioned he’d keep an eye on.”
Handsome, but a bit raw.
Kim Chunyong, unlike his sharp and sophisticated face, had a somewhat tacky name.
Even though the main PD might have seen something different in him, Hyeon Jeong still maintained a skeptical stance.
Even if he’s a somewhat different trainee, what more can be done in this icy situation? Especially, in front of a mentor who doesn’t just criticize the stage but openly disapproves of his name.
“Oh, it’s my name. Is it too tacky?”
Kim Chunyong, good-looking but with a name she didn’t like, spoke up.
The familiar scene was still difficult for Hyeon Jeong, especially now.
The thought that she might be doing something wrong to these young kids kept creeping into her mind.
‘No matter what, pointing out his name was too much. I should call for a break and talk to the PD….’
Just as Hyeon Jeong finally made up her mind and took a step towards the main PD, his eyes sparkled.
“Oh, my grandmother gave me this name. Is it too tacky?”
Kim Chunyong’s cheeky remark echoed through the shooting set.
The others present at the set could only stare in shock.
‘What did he just say?’
* * *
In the middle of the set, I gulped down my saliva, panic arising.
For a moment, I was concerned if the sound would pick up on the microphone.
“…The name my grandmother gave me,”
I explained, though it was an unnecessary worry.
Moon Yun Ha looked back and forth between me and the paper with my personal information on it and made a face. It seemed distasteful, as if the name itself bothered her.
In the past, when I used the stage name Rex, she never made such comments.
“Well, Trainee Rex? Do your best. Give me the music.”
The claim that my name was tacky because my grandmother gave it to me was a mere improvisation.
I knew that being bold and cheeky worked better than groveling in front of Moon Yun Ha.
Back when I debuted, I remembered the disdain in her gaze, as she watched the obedient and well-behaved attitude of me and the Arrows members, acting like good children.
“Are you going to keep taking concept photos with these deathly expressions? Seriously, it’s annoying. How many times is this now? But taking more doesn’t make it any better. What are you going to do?”
During our initial collaboration, she displayed a puzzled expression, placing her hand on her forehead, showing her dissatisfaction with our answer.
She even went so far as to conduct interviews after she withdrew from producing our team.
“I don’t know if they’re really idols because they’re just pretty and handsome like dolls. They don’t look like people, they look like corpses and it’s kind of creepy….”
A producer who wants to give them a narrative, but wants them to live and breathe freely.
Moon Yun Ha, an aesthetics fanatic.
Confidence was also included in the ‘beauty’ she loved.
