The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 5
“Oh… Ah! My, my body is so stiff…”
Stretching while extending my body, I checked my current physical condition calmly as I warmed my voice up.
Before I came back in time, my body was pretty wrecked from frequent binge drinking and long-term panic disorder medication.
My skin was always rough, with bags underneath my eyes. My physical balance was disrupted, and my belly protruded on my once-lean frame.
“Sigh… Rex, if you act like this, I’ll kill you. What’s this? What’s this? What’s going on with your skin, seriously? Is this an idol’s skin? An idol’s body?”
My coordinator and stylist noonas would sigh when they saw me.
They were concerned and scolded me at first, but later, they gave up.
Above all, the me back then had already given up on myself.
And now, the me who had not experienced that incident.
“…So smooth.”
In the large mirror attached to the wall, I looked much younger.
Of course, It was eight years ago.
Beautiful hair, a bright expression that hasn’t yet been subjected to the rotten politics of the entertainment industry. Cool, outstretched limbs.
Well, it was still obvious to me, but that’s my identity.
I reached out to the mirror, and the bright and cheerful version of myself looked back at me. The corners of my mouth curled upwards pleasantly.
It felt strange.
I had this face and this appearance before I became damaged.
Yesterday, I was called an evil member. I was called Trash-Rex.
Bzzz!
Perhaps my phone couldn’t stand seeing me indulging in self-contemplation, so a notification appeared.
[Sudden Mission (NEW!):
Due to the discrepancy between your mental and physical states, you’re unable to exhibit your true abilities right now. The only way to overcome this is through consistent practice! Shall we recapture some of the skills of our favorite (or not-so-favorite) idols and make it through the first stage in one piece?
Reward: Encyclopedia – <First Stage Memories> Unlocked]
Before I knew it, the menu tab had new sections, including Missions, Status, and Encyclopedia. Unlike the Encyclopedia, which I couldn’t click yet, the other sections were all active and could be viewed.
I’ve seen this before when I was in my phone gaming craze and was paying for multiple months.
“…If I think about it, I could technically consider myself the main character, right?”
Even so, I was just an idol who had won the rookie award once in my debut year, there was no way my abilities were just ordinary.
With a mix of curiosity and anticipation, wide-eyed, I opened the Status tab.
[Status window]
Name: Kim Chunyong (Solo Trainee)
Vocal: 45 (55) (Skilled Ordinary Person)
Rap: 45 (63) (Skilled Ordinary Person)
Dance: 49 (84) (Skilled Ordinary Person)
Appearance: 69 (80) (Handsome Idol Trainee)
Charm: 40 (75) (Ordinary Person)
Skills: –
“…What. Why is it like this?”
I furrowed my brow and quickly opened the chat window. There were too many things that didn’t make sense.
Kim Chunyong: Hey.
Kim Chunyong: Hey, X.
Kim Chunyong: (Screenshot)
Kim Chunyong: What’s this? Are these my abilities? Why are they so low?
The reply arrived in just 3 seconds.
– X: What are you talking about? You never learned Korean? I didn’t think you would understand if I only wrote the numbers, so I kindly explained it to you?
– X: The values inside parentheses are your original stats. Next to them are your current stats ^^
– X: Work hard in practice, and you can get back to your original stats, so cheer up, Trash-Rex!
– Kim Chunyong: No, why are my original stats so low?
– Kim Chunyong: Why aren’t you answering?
– Kim Chunyong: And what? Trash-Rex? Are you joking?
– Kim Chunyong: Hey.
– Kim Chunyong: -_-
“You’re just reading and not responding, huh?”
I grumbled and tossed my phone onto the couch in the corner of the practice room.
I glanced at the sofa, just in case, but the annoying notification sound didn’t return.
Forget it, it doesn’t matter now. What’s important is not that.
I had anticipated there to be a mission about aligning my mind with my body, but my abilities were much worse than I thought.
The most crucial skills were dance, singing, rap, but were listed as “skilled ordinary person,” and even my charm was only rated as a plain “ordinary person.” The best score was for my appearance.
When I entered the practice room, I was brimming with confidence, thinking it would be as easy as tearing a piece of paper in the debut survival, which I had already experienced.
“Why do I look so pitiful?”
With just one week left…
It felt chilling.
I could feel the cold sweat running down my spine.
***
Kim Jieun, a part-time worker at Hanma Heart’s private practice room, was voluntarily working late, which was quite unusual for her.
The reason was the guy who had been coming to Room 8 for three days in a row.
“Hey, is there someone inside?”
“Yeah, there is.”
“But why hasn’t he come out yet? It’s been two hours already!”
“He doesn’t move unless it’s to drink water or use the restroom. He comes in when we open the practice rooms and leaves five minutes before closing. Can’t he show some consideration?!”
“… You’re sick.”
“Sick? No, it’s not like that!”
“Sigh… more importantly, if he moves the same way every day, isn’t he a robot?”
“To call him a robot… I don’t know. How should I say this… There’s a human-like handsomeness to him that robots can’t express. I told you, he seems like the type to be a jerk*.”
(T/N: The word used is “날티” which is slang used to refer to people who are jerks or bullies. Often likened to the stereotype of a jock in high school. Similar to 양아치상, which just means someone who looks like they could be a bully.)
Jieun was talking to her best friend, Minji, but kept staring intently at Room 8.
Even though the soundproofing couldn’t let her know exactly what he was doing inside, the occasional glimpses of him showed an extremely fatigued face.
It was as if he was practicing to the point of death.
“If only he’d come out a bit more often. It would be good for him to take a break, and I could enjoy the view…”
“Jieun, you look relaxed.”
“Huh.”
“Hey, instead of just wasting time, how about watching a Leopold video with me? I’ve carefully selected some of the best ones to show you.”
Minji’s eyes blazed as she pulled out her tablet from her bag. Then Jieun finally understood the reason Minji came all the way to her workplace.
“Hey, didn’t I tell you that Leopold isn’t my style? I’m not interested in those guys with unrealistic concepts. Plus, they’re always talking about dying and stuff like that in their songs. “
“That’s the charm. Have you heard of ‘gap moe’? Our guys dance and sing like a northern artillery unit, but they’re actually gentle on the inside. Now, let’s start with some fancams.”
“Oh, I’m not watching that! Mom!”
“Daughter, listen to your mom!”
“Um, excuse me.”
