The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 38
Ji Hwa Sung snarled at me, his face pale with anger.
I wiped the sweat trickling down my forehead with my sleeve and continued.
“I know what you’re trying to say, but it won’t get better if we keep going. So, let’s stop here, okay?”
“What do you know—”
I spoke quickly and quietly, so that only Ji Hwa Sung could hear me, and not the camera or the other team members.
“No matter how much you say you’re an AG pureblood, you’re in Mr. Do’s line. Do you really think he’d look out for you that much?”
Ji Hwa Sung’s face blanked for a moment upon hearing what I said.
Then he stuttered in response.
“…What the hell?”
Good, that kind of reaction is what I was aiming for.
I hastily made Gao Yan and Ji Hwa Sung shake hands, shouting somewhat artificially.
“Come on, make up, make up! There wasn’t really a fight, but make up anyway!”
After all, there was no actual fight.
What kind of idol trainees would be fighting?
At my shout, Gao Yan, who had been fuming, looked surprised and raised his eyebrows.
“…What? What? Chunyong hyung? Make up?”
“Yes, reconcile! Real men apologize after saying harsh words to each other. Got it?”
“I didn’t say anything harsh! …But what’s this about being a man, Chunyong hyung.”
“Dàgē.*”
(T/N: Chunyong said ‘따거’ which is dàgē, and is also apparently a buzzword in Korean which means ‘thug,’ but Chunyong refers to the Chinese word 大哥, which translates to ‘big brother.’)
Hearing my words, Gao Yan suddenly calmed down and extended his hand to Ji Hwa Sung. His face became solemn.
“…Sorry, Hwa Sung. I got too heated.”
The power of the word “hyung,” or “elder brother,” is indeed great regardless of the country. I nodded slightly and whispered to Ji Hwa Sung as well.
“Ji Hwa Sung, you do it too. Quickly.”
Then, Ji Hwa Sung, who had been standing with a sour face, reluctantly extended his hand, pouting his lips.
“…I got a bit heated too, Gao Yan.”
Not exactly an apology, but it’ll do.
I clicked my tongue.
As the situation roughly settled down with my intervention, the other team members chimed in.
“It can happen. I understand where Hwa Sung is coming from, and Gao Yan too.”
“Right. Hwa Sung, I’m so sorry. Seven times was too much. I won’t mess up again, really.”
“…Neither of you said anything wrong.”
Even Kim Joo An, who seemed dissatisfied with both Ji Hwa Sung and me, scoffed but didn’t add much.
It seemed Joo An wasn’t thrilled I had intervened and somewhat salvaged the situation from Ji Hwa Sung’s potential self-destruction.
“Ugh.”
I shook my hair out and sighed deeply. Why is he always so insidious, with a face like an innocent hamster?
Anyway.
Due to the unsettled atmosphere, everyone agreed that practice wouldn’t be productive anymore, and so the dawn practice ended earlier than usual, about an hour ahead of schedule.
Walking back in the dark corridor to the dorm, Gao Yan and Logan, heading to the same room, started speaking in hushed tones.
“…We really need to do better. I’ve never seen Hwa Sung so angry before. Ma mistake.”
“Yeah, Logan. I’ve been thinking, too, and you went overboard. 7 times, man. Gao Yan fixed it in 5 tries.”
“Yeah, that too… Oh? Chunyong hyung, where are you going?”
“Oh, you guys go ahead.”
I pointed to the first floor and waved at them.
“…I think I need to talk about something.”
With Ji Hwa Sung, that is.
* * *
“Go ahead inside. I’ll turn off the lights and tidy up the equipment before I come in.”
Anyone else might have believed that, but I knew better. What kind of person is Ji Hwa Sung? Would he just quietly go in and sleep?
“…I knew it.”
Just as I expected, Ji Hwa Sung was still sitting alone in the middle of our team’s assigned practice room.
Perhaps he didn’t want to show himself like that, even his hood was covering his face from the camera.
When the main PD sees this tomorrow, they’ll think these debut-less brats are nothing special.
I cautiously opened the door to the practice room.
Ji Hwa Sung, who had his face buried between his knees, responded without even looking to see who it was.
“Ah, I’m almost done tidying. Just got a bit sleepy….”
“It’s me.”
Hearing my voice, Ji Hwa Sung jerked his head up so fast it made a sound.
His tiger-like eyes seemed to demand some explanation from me.
Well, there’s something to talk about…
“Done tidying? Wanna step out for a bit?”
Not here.
‘The cameras will catch our voices here.’
When I pointed outside the practice room with my thumb, Ji Hwa Sung, who seemed about to say something more, quietly closed his mouth and followed me as I led the way.
It almost felt like the old days when we debuted together.
I guided Ji Hwa Sung to the emergency stairs leading to the basement, slightly lost in nostalgia.
“…Why are we going all the way down here?”
“There’s a camera at the boundary between the first and second floors.”
“…….”
“Don’t worry. Even if our voices echo here, it won’t be picked up there.”
I remembered seeing Liu Wei here, yelling at Li Ming Shen in this very spot; I couldn’t possibly forget.
“What exactly are you doing, hyung….”
Ji Hwa Sung, seemingly baffled by my meticulous choice of location, held his forehead. Naturally, I sat down on the stairs and patted the space beside me.
“Sit down. Let’s talk while sitting down. Aren’t your legs tired?”
