The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 70
An hour before Min Si Young seonbae-nim visited the practice room.
“I think… that milk CF Si Woo did in the past is somewhat of a trauma for him. To the extent that he can’t properly focus on team practice right now.”
That was the first thing I said to Yu Chan hyung, who was still sitting on the emergency stairs in the basement without any cameras around.
It wasn’t just a guess but a fact I had figured out during our 8 years as teammates.
Jang Si Woo despises any mention of the milk CF he shot when he was young.
Specifically…
The leader of the 2nd generation legendary idol group, ‘M-XY,’ who appeared in the CF with him.
“Hello, Sungwoon Milk family? I’m idol Jang Si Won. And this is my younger brother, Si Woo!”
More precisely, he struggles with any mention of his older brother, Jang Si Won.
Before debut and after debut.
The phrases ‘that Jang Si Won’s younger brother’ or ‘your brother is Jang Si Won’ have shadowed Si Woo’s name like a ghost.
Wherever he went, it was always about his brother.
Even when Si Woo became an idol, whether he sang, danced, rapped, or arranged music, it was always about his brother. Your brother’s group, your brother’s songs, your brother this, your brother that. It was like a constant comparison that followed him even in his breathing moments.
Si Woo, who can do everything decently—arranging, rapping, singing, dancing—became sensitive and started doubting himself because of that constant comparison.
“Yeah. My brother is kind of amazing… I guess.”
I can’t understand everyone’s feelings, but I could clearly remember Si Woo’s face turning pale whenever he heard such comments.
“Now that you mention it… Yeah, that makes sense. His expression changed the moment Joo An brought up the CF in the lounge.”
“I’m not sure if Kim Joo An mentioned it on purpose or if he just didn’t know… but this is how it turned out.”
“Even so, I find it hard to understand, Chunyong.”
Yu Chan hyung’s languid gaze sharpened as he listened to me quietly.
“I understand the situation. But right now, Si Woo is negatively impacting the team overall. In an idol survival show where team performances are crucial, that’s unacceptable.”
He was right.
Jang Si Woo’s lack of communication, uncooperative attitude towards team members, and the eventual disaster of the mid-evaluation stage.
Someone like me, who knows all the backstory, might understand, but Ryota and Yu Chan hyung, who are just sharing the same boat, don’t need to.
Maybe after debuting and gradually getting to know each other better.
At hyung’s firm words, I immediately waved my hands in the air to correct him.
“Ah, I think the story got a bit twisted? Of course, we don’t need to understand Si Woo right away. You’re right. That’s not what I’m suggesting.”
“…Huh?”
Yu Chan hyung seemed even more confused and mumbled.
“Chunyong, I thought you meant for our team to understand Si Woo’s situation and… have a deep conversation with him?”
“Uh, no? When would we have time for that?”
What is this hyung talking about?
I quickly controlled my expression that was about to break into a strange one and asked Yu Chan hyung.
“Hyung, how long do you think it would take to have such a conversation with Si Woo?”
“Hmm… two days?”
“Ha, haha.”
I let out a hollow laugh and patted Yu Chan hyung’s knee.
This hyung doesn’t know our maknae at all.
“I think it would take over a year.”
“A, a year? That long?”
“Yes, seriously.”
“Wow, really hard to deal with, a seventeen-year-old in puberty!”
Yes, he is really hard to deal with.
So let’s debut together and endure some hardships, hyung.
“What I’m saying is… let’s postpone understanding for later and focus on getting Si Woo in good enough condition to perform on stage. We only have five days until the main competition.”
“Ugh, okay… I get it. But how do you plan on getting him in condition? Is there anything we can do right now?”
Good. Now we’re getting to the point.
I took out my phone, which had been heating up in my pocket, and waved it in front of Yu Chan hyung with a big grin.
“We can ask someone who can help.”
Unlike us, who have just recently met him, someone who is mentally close to him, has endured similar hardships, and isn’t a fellow trainee preparing for survival.
Also…
Someone who can empathize with Jang Si Woo.
* * *
And now…
Min Si Young seonbaenim’s disgruntled voice hit me and Yu Chan hyung as she sat with her arms crossed.
“First of all, how did you know I was coming today? And what’s with all those printouts?”
“Haha… well, I think all the trainees already know. About the original artists coming today. The other teams are probably preparing too….”
“So the surprise visit by the original artists turned out to be a sloppy surprise. We need to reflect on this, production team.”
The two staff members flinched at seonbaenim’s words.
In fact, the production team had really tried to bring in the guests without the trainees knowing, but there’s no way the trainees wouldn’t find out.
Even the ones who usually didn’t wear makeup during practice had put on cushion foundation today.
Min Si Young seonbaenim looked at her own sparkling nails and let out a deep sigh before continuing.
“Then let’s get straight to the point. Why are there only two of you here? The biggest issue right now is with another trainee.”
“If you mean another trainee….”
“There’s a trainee who messed up on stage, right? You know who I’m talking about.”
Feeling a cold sweat running down my spine at her blunt words, I forced an awkward smile.
This was why we had planned for us to meet Min Si Young seonbaenim before she met Si Woo.
“Si Woo! Your dancing is amazing as always!”
I had seen countless times over the past eight years how much Min Si Young seonbaenim cared for Si Woo, treating him like her youngest sibling or a much younger nephew.
However, our great senior from AG had a tendency to…
“But compared to Si Won, your singing is lacking. And the arrangement too. Personally, I think you should focus more on vocal training….”
She had a habit of speaking without filtering herself when she felt comfortable with someone.
On the mentor panel, with the camera in front of her and an awareness to be cautious, she usually restrained herself, except in special cases.
“Your singing… not great.”
Recalling the times Si Woo’s face fell at such remarks, I carefully chose my words.
“Um, Ryota and Si Woo are meeting with Mentor Moon Yun Ha about their outfits right now. They should be back in about 20 minutes.”
“Then we can turn off the cameras and take a break. When they get back—”
“No, in the meantime!”
I raised my voice, desperately signaling to the crew members who were about to put down their equipment.
“Could Mentor Min Si Young give us some advice?”
