The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 37
The atmosphere in the practice room remained tense due to the aftereffects of a minor clash among the team members earlier.
“…Joo An hyung. I’ll match the beat.”
“O-okay. Got it….”
“From the beginning, again. The song starts, one, two—”
Ji Hwa Sung’s voice, which usually filled the practice room with a commanding presence, was now cold and firm. The team members, usually so responsive to his commands, appeared even more subdued.
It was like a caption of <Gloomily subdued self-practice time> was going to flash on the screen. This situation was bad.
For everyone involved.
Already there had been trouble among Kim Joo An and the other trainees, which had been captured in personal interviews, and now, before that had even healed, another conflict arises?
Perfect fodder for gossip-hungry producers and people eager to discuss it.
Maybe it was my years of being an idol, but I could vividly imagine the kind of community posts and social media reactions that would come out of this.
Roughly… posts criticizing Ji Hwa Sung’s character or the lack of passion in the team, including comments like [Are these ungrateful people blocking our Hwa Sung’s path? So infuriating!].
…That would be problematic.
With the intention of clearing the air through open discussion, I decided to speak up, right around the time when Joo An’s part was ending.
“Sorry, but can we stop for a moment—”
“—Logan!”
And as if anticipating my intervention, Ji Hwa Sung suddenly raised his voice.
It was because Logan had once again misstepped.
“Ah, this is really too hard. My feet keep on… oops.”
Perhaps due to his lack of extensive dance experience, Logan especially struggled with the step choreography, making the same mistake Ji Hwa Sung had been continually pointing out.
Ji Hwa Sung shook his bleached hair in frustration and spoke irritably.
“This is a problem. I’ve talked about this part over and over again.”
“God, sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”
“Sorry isn’t enough; you need to fix it. Do you know how many times it’s been? It’s already the 7th time. Don’t you think that’s excessive?”
“…Oh.”
“Hey, Hwa Sung.”
As the situation began to overheat, Seo Bin quickly stepped in between Hwa Sung and Logan. Despite that, Ji Hwa Sung didn’t stop talking.
“I’m trying to do well here, why aren’t you helping? Isn’t this a strange situation? I mean, really―”
“―Ji Hwa Sung is acting like a dictator right now!”
Suddenly, Gao Yan interjected.
…Why did you suddenly jump in!
“Hey, Chunyong?”
While I was grabbing Seo Bin’s shoulder, unable to hide my astonishment, Gao Yan’s comment caught Ji Hwa Sung off guard, and he responded with wide eyes.
“What did you just say….”
“Chunyong hyung was trying to help Seo Bin hyung because he noticed he was dancing wrong. But you! You’ve just been treating us like idiots! If we can’t do it, teach us, Chī xiàn!”
(T/N: the word Gao Yan used is 痴線, which translates to ‘idiot’)
Why is my name coming up now?
While Ji Hwa Sung was exchanging opinions with other team members, I had helped Seo Bin with his choreography, but I didn’t want it to be mentioned in this way.
I was just trying to help everyone do well on stage, that’s all!
The red alarm started flashing.
It’s an emergency.
“Ji Hwa Sung thinks he’s the whole team! But there are six of us here!”
Gao Yan, firing away, was clearly not mindful of the cameras at all. The other team members, who had not anticipated such a situation, were in disarray, only looking at Gao Yan.
Of course, I was the first to rush over to Ji Hwa Sung.
“…Is that really what you’re saying to me right now?”
He’s not holding back.
Ji Hwa Sung was the type to consider what would make it into the camera shot before speaking.
While people like Gao Yan might swear in Cantonese, prompting the production team to sigh and edit, Ji Hwa Sung’s words, devoid of swear words, were sure to be broadcast as is.
“What did you just say because I told you something was lacking? Was I just showing off alone? I don’t think so. I thought everything I said was valid.”
“Hey, Hwa Sung….”
“Well, since it’s been brought up, I’ll speak frankly too. I know Chunyong hyung has been pointing things out and helping. But was anyone here in the practice room before me? Or did anyone come in for extra practice?”
“No, right now….”
“Right or not, do you even want to debut? Looking at this, it seems like I’m the only one who wants it. Like I’m the only one desperate.”
Adding to his words was the pride of being a pure AG trainee, believing he wouldn’t be portrayed negatively. His words were unfiltered.
I tried to block the camera with my back while whispering urgently to Ji Hwa Sung.
“Wait, just wait. Hwa Sung. You’re getting heated, okay?”
“…Let me go. I need to take care of this.”
Ji Hwa Sung snarled at me, his face pale with anger.
