The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 66
Choosing the song I had in mind was good.
<Beyond the Waves>, a song from “Sailing with Galleon,” is known to anyone around our age who has seen the show even once. It’s still on the karaoke favorites list, so everyone’s heard it at least once.
It ensured song popularity, with young Min Si Young’s high and low tones, and even a cute rap part, so the song’s part distribution is well-balanced.
But there’s no way an anime opening has a stage composition or choreography.
That’s why we needed Jang Si Woo now.
Knock-knock-
Still holding Ryota by the scruff, I knocked on Si Woo’s door, and someone inside made a noise.
“Who is it?”
“Ah, I came to see Jang Si Woo. Is he there?”
“Eh, that voice is… oh!”
I heard something crash, and soon, the door was opened by a man who kept rubbing his knee.
He was tall, with blond hair dripping water as if he had just showered, and slightly relaxed double eyelids from fatigue.
“Tsk, what’s up? Why are you here all of a sudden?”
Ah, he was in the same room as Si Woo. I didn’t know that.
I awkwardly smiled and greeted him.
“Hi, Ji Hwa Sung.”
At my greeting, he seemed embarrassed, shook the remaining water from his hair, and pouted his lips.
“Yeah, I’m Ji Hwa Sung, but why did Yong-yong hyung come here?”
“Uh…”
Yong-yong hyung.
…It’s been a while.
Suddenly being called by the nickname from when we were active as Arrows, I was momentarily at a loss for words, but I quickly turned my head and blurted out.
“I’m on the same team as Si Woo. You know, covering Min Si Young.”
“Ah, no wonder the kid seemed a bit odd.”
Quickly checking the hallway camera, Ji Hwa Sung put his arms around my and Ryota’s necks and whispered in a low voice.
“I was on the same Aiming team with Yong-yong hyung, so I have some important advice for you.”
“Me, why me!? Even though I wasn’t on the same team!?”
“Shh, shh. Anyway, you’re on Si Woo’s team this time. It won’t hurt to know. Listen carefully. Si Woo is like glass, just like glass.”
“Gl-glass?”
Startled by Ji Hwa Sung suddenly looping an arm over his shoulder, Ryota’s eyes widened.
Ji Hwa Sung snorted, looking pleased as if he expected this reaction.
His arrogance is the same as always.
Of course, it was this attitude that made him a popular member of Arrows.
Ah, the least popular member was, of course, me.
Thinking about it, it’s funny that such behavior still brought popularity.
“You didn’t know? It’s a premium tip. You really have to be careful with Si Woo. He’s not a bad kid, you know? And it’s not because we’re from the same agency. If you get a bit closer, he’ll even call you ‘hyung.'”
“What? He never did that with me or Yu Chan aniki! I want to hear it too!”
“Then you approached him the wrong way. You shouldn’t do that, tsk. Anyway, there’s something you should never bring up in front of him, and that is…”
At that moment, Ji Hwa Sung’s lowered his voice further.
“Hwa Sung hyung, what are you doing there?”
“Eek.”
“Ouch!”
Ji Hwa Sung hastily threw me and Ryota aside and quickly turned around.
That reckless guy. He’s no different than he was before.
“Uh, nothing! Just that your teammates came looking for you.”
“…What? My teammates?”
Until just now, Jang Si Woo had a face as cute as melting cotton candy, but now, hearing that his not-so-close teammates were here, a chill wind seemed to blow across his face again.
“Rex hyung.”
Damn, there was a time when he used to call me like that too!
I quickly hid my feeling of injustice and cleared my throat to call out to Jang Si Woo.
“Well, we have a dance lesson in three days, but I thought it’d be good if we sort out some choreography before that.”
“…The song we chose doesn’t really have choreography, does it? We might need a professional’s help.”
“We’re going to be professionals once we debut, right? Plus, if we prepare some choreography in advance, it might make it easier for the choreographer, right?”
Jang Si Woo just rolled his eyes at my words, but soon nodded quietly and stepped out of the room. He shows his agreement not with words but with quiet actions.
That’s our maknae for you.
“Let’s get together with Yu Chan hyung and at least figure out some key choreography today. That way, we can keep up with the other teams.”
I led Jang Si Woo and Ryota down to the lounge on the lower floor to pick up Yu Chan hyung. As the main vocalist, he was always practicing his vocals during the survival shows.
Before that, he’d soften his throat by eating raw eggs.
He should be in the lounge eating eggs now, so if we time it right and pick him up…
“Huh?”
I was baffled by the completely unexpected combination and stood there, mouth agape, for a moment.
At the end of the first-floor hallway, in the trainee lounge…
“That’s really good for your throat? That’s fascinating.”
“Oh, yes. Well, it’s a bit pricey… but if you want, hyung, I can give you some.”
“Wow, really? Thanks. I’ll just have a little bit, then.”
Kim Joo An and Yu Chan hyung were continuously chatting.
…. Or maybe not. Kim Joo An seemed a bit displeased, while Yu Chan hyung appeared thrilled.
“Wow, awesome. My throat feels better already?”
It seemed Yu Chan hyung, with his sociable nature, had struck up a conversation with Kim Joo An as he passed by.
While Kim Joo An had managed to keep a composed expression until Yu Chan hyung finished eating his propolis, he grimaced helplessly upon seeing me outside the break room’s glass door.
Just as Kim Joo An seemed about to spew curses, he noticed the camera in the hallway and clamped his mouth shut, showing annoyance.
“….Ah, really!”
I thought he might self-destruct, but that wasn’t it.
“Oops, did you eat too much? Sorry!”
“No, no, it’s not because of you, hyung…”
“Oh, there are my team members. Wait a moment. Joo An, want to say hi? Guys, come in!”
Yu Chan hyung, who didn’t understand why such good friends don’t even say hello, quickly introduced the rest of our team members and Kim Joo An.
“This is Ryota, a Japanese individual trainee, and this is Chunyong. Ah, Chunyong is from the same agency as you, so you probably already know him— And here’s our maknae, Si Woo.”
“Jang… Si Woo? That Jang Si Woo?”
“Uh, um… Hello…”
After briskly scanning me and Ryota, Kim Joo An’s eyes lit up upon hearing ‘Si Woo’s’ name. His pupils moved at an unusual speed.
Quickly grabbing Jang Si Woo’s left hand, Kim Joo An, oblivious to being at minus 200 points in Si Woo’s mind, excitedly chattered.
“Wow, I really wanted to meet you!”
