The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 81
Along with the exploding stage effects, I slowly opened my eyes and checked the scoreboard.
The overlapping numbers gradually came into focus in my mind.
Min Si Young <Beyond the Waves> 214 votes : 2OCD <Be the LOW> 86 votes
Overall 1st Place: Min Si Young <Beyond the Waves>
“Oh…”
My legs almost gave out, and I nearly collapsed ungracefully.
Overall first place.
The team that covered “Beyond the Waves” by Min Si Young—our team—was first.
Before celebrating, I instinctively glanced over at Min Si Young, the original artist of our song.
“This stage feels like a gift to me.”
While CEO Do Jae Chan was staunchly supporting the ‘Calendar’ team, the fact that our team secured first place meant someone must have argued for our team to win.
“―.”
She was staring at me intently, mumbling something I couldn’t decipher.
“Chunyoooooong!”
“Chunyong Aniki!”
…Two of my teammates ran over and hugged me.
Ryota, I could understand, but even Yu Chan hyung was tearing up. Considering all the problems our team had, even he wouldn’t have expected this result.
I certainly didn’t.
“Really, wow! You did great today. Thank you. Thank you so much, Chunyong!”
“…It’s nothing.”
Hyung tossed his headband aside and ruffled my hair wildly. I naturally threw my arm over his shoulder, jumping up and down together.
Then, at that moment, someone slid into my defenselessly open left shoulder.
“Chu-Chunyong hyung….”
His voice was slightly embarrassed but couldn’t hide his excitement.
“Huh?”
…Jang Si Woo?
Si Woo was hugging me so easily?
This kid took a year to hug me the first time we met!?
“Thank you, hyung….”
Feeling bewildered, I gently patted our youngest’s back. His back was broader than I had thought.
Overcome with a strange sense of nostalgia, I stammered as I spoke to Si Woo.
“…Y-you did well, Si Woo.”
“…I’m sorry.”
I ruffled the youngest’s hair. He was apologizing unnecessarily again. I didn’t care if this earned me negative points in Si Woo’s mind.
First place.
A result created together with my two Arrows members and Ryota.
“Phew….”
“What? Chunyong, are you crying!? Are you crying?”
“I’m not crying!”
I quickly denied Yu Chan hyung’s teasing while rubbing my face vigorously. I really wasn’t crying.
It was just that the reality of it all was finally sinking in.
Getting first place was something I’d experienced before with the Aiming performance, but the sheer amount of chaos and hard work this time made it feel different.
The exhilaration crawled up from my toes, spreading through me.
A wide smile bloomed on my sweat-drenched face.
My mouth moved on its own.
“Everyone, you all worked so hard….”
“Chunyong Aniki did all the hard work! No, Kim Joo—”
“Shh, Ryota. Just enjoy the moment!”
“Oh my gosh. Yes, you’re right. Good things are good things, right?”
Through my teammates hugging me, I saw the faces of the other trainees.
Logan, who was happy but also regretful. Ahn Jin Woo from AG, who looked resentful. Jae Ha hyung, who tried to console the others with a bright expression but was visibly pale.
“…….”
And Liu Wei, whose cold, expressionless face gave away nothing about his thoughts.
This was the real face of survival.
…It’s only going to get more intense when the show premieres tomorrow.
The true nature of Targeting Star was about to be revealed.
* * *
-“Cameras have been removed from the dorm. The next filming will take place two days after the first broadcast. Trainees are free to visit their homes or relax at the dorm.”
The main writer’s announcement over the speaker brought rare liveliness to the trainee tin can—no, the trainee dorm.
“Yes! I’m going to see my mom!”
“Min Ho hyung and Sang Woo, we’re going to my place. Anyone wanna join?”
“Oh, me! I wanna go! Are we drinking? Beer!?”
“Really? What are you saying in front of minors!”
“Then we’ll have to drink soda! Go with the kids!”
“Ahaha! This hyung is so funny!”
Moderate cursing and carefree laughter, unconcerned about the cameras. It finally felt like a place where 18 young men were gathered together.
Our international roommates were no different.
“Oh, finally a day off! It’s been so exhausting. I’m going to sleep for 24 hours straight.”
“I feel the same way. We need to sleep well to perform our best in the next competition. We have to look our best, too!”
The foreign trainees wouldn’t go home. The break was too short for that. They’d probably stay at the dorm or go to other places they’d secured in Korea. It seemed like Logan and Ryota had decided to stay in the dorm.
“Ah, Chunyong Aniki, are you going home? You’re packing your suitcase!”
“Yeah, I’m going to see my family and watch the first broadcast with them.”
“Wow. You must have a good relationship with your family. Good for you. That’s great.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah… I guess so.”
Logan’s expression changed slightly when he said I must have a good relationship with my family.
…Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Logan talking to his family.
Even when the production team set up a public phone specifically for ‘family calls,’ I don’t recall seeing him use it.
“Have a great time, Bro. I’ll have fun with Gao Yan and Ryota.”
“…Yeah. See you later, Logan.”
I slowly made my way outside, pulling my suitcase and thinking.
It was only after getting this first break that I remembered something.
Logan had to leave after the next competition.
The Lady Swan cover of ‘Calendar’ and the fact that he was a British trainee made him quite a sensation.
“…Sigh.”
I had grown quite attached to my multinational roommates, even if not as much as to my Arrows members. It would be a bit sad to see him go just like that.
Even if he had to leave again, it would be good to talk to him and understand why he was returning to the UK.
Just as I was about to step outside the building, thinking about this, I heard a voice.
“This is Korea, Chinese boy. Just like the Roman law or whatever, in Korea, speak Korean!”
…A booming voice echoed from the basement floor below the stairs.
It was the perfect place for private conversations because there were no cameras around, a spot I used frequently.
“What on earth is that noise…?”
As if hypnotized, I parked my suitcase against the wall and leaned down to listen.
That firm yet confident tone, the kind that wouldn’t back down anywhere…
“Let’s start the conversation from there. Otherwise, there’s no point! I want to get back to the dorm and have fun with my roommates! Not with a corpse like you!”
Gao Yan?
And in front of him, his voice resonating through the emergency stairwell, stood someone else.
“安静点，我没有那个理由。(Quiet down. I have no reason to do that.)”
“B******t! Then I won’t talk to you either. Because I am proud of being a Hong Kong man, Gao Yan. And I am about to make a brilliant debut here in Korea.”
Unlike Gao Yan, who spoke loudly, the other voice was cautious, forcing me to lean even further to see who it was.
When I finally realized who it was, it felt like I’d been struck by lightning.
“Ha…”
Shaking his thin, voluminous hair, with his usual robotic expression replaced by sheer annoyance…
“Alright. Are you satisfied now?”
―Liu Wei.
I clamped my fist over my gaping mouth, taking a sharp breath.
…What on earth are those two doing down there?
