The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 95
Hongdae’s busking street.
And right in front of it, a large café.
In a secluded corner of that café sat three trainees, whispering in low voices.
“There are so many people….”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in such a big café, too. Same for you, right, Won Hyeop hyung?”
“Yeah… I’ve been a trainee for way too long.”
Disguised in hats and masks, they might have looked suspicious, but in a place like Hongdae, filled with uniquely dressed people, they didn’t attract as much attention as they might have elsewhere.
“Huh? Are trainees not allowed to walk around? I didn’t know that.”
“It’s not that. My old company just used to be super strict about that kind of thing….”
“I had a similar experience. They told us not to walk around alone after 10 PM, and we weren’t allowed to snack either.”
“We had customized meal plans. Before I came on Targeting Star, I was eating nothing but greens every day, seriously.”
“Holy, I never even imagined that.”
“Anyway… this delay is getting ridiculous.”
The reason why the trainees, who came to Hongdae for a busking shoot, were now stuck sitting around in this café was due to the flustered production team, whose expressions had collapsed into disarray.
“Trainees, please wait here for a moment! Yes, just shoot some casual footage with your personal cams! We just need to check the location quickly, haha! Just a moment! Oh! Please! It’ll just be a minute!”
“Sorry, what was that?”
“It’ll only take a moment! Really! By the way, the blueberry smoothies here are great!”
Something clearly wasn’t going according to their plan, as the production team, running around like headless chickens, hurriedly shoved the trainees into the café and commanded them to wait indefinitely.
“…How long have we been sitting here?”
In response to Chunyong’s question, Seong Won Hyeop sighed as he checked his wristwatch.
“Haa, I think it’s been over 30 minutes. We got out of the van at 11 AM, so….”
“Bloody….”
Even though the trainees had already spent a considerable amount of time filling their personal cam footage with pointless comments, the production crew still hadn’t come to pick them up.
“Are we seriously going to be stuck here the whole time? The longer this drags on, the shorter our performance time will be….”
“That’s what I’m saying. Exactly my point.”
Logan, sitting close to the window, craned his neck to peer outside, mumbling with a frustrated expression.
“Huh… it looks like other people got here first.”
Hearing that, Seong Won Hyeop and Chunyong also leaned closer to the window, peeking outside.
There was the production team, endlessly talking to four men who didn’t seem willing to budge.
“Hmm….”
Watching the scene unfold carefully, Chunyong let out a small groan as his phone beeped with a notification.
[Surprise Mission (NEW!)
Unexpected filming trouble? To become the greatest idol in K-pop history, you must handle even this with grace. Solve the current situation smoothly and achieve the modest goal you set for today!
Reward: Archive – <Problems That Come Out of Nowhere> Unlocked]
“…Should we go out?”
“What? Can we?”
“Rather than worrying about whether we can or can’t, it feels wrong to just sit here when we’re the ones involved. If we can’t help, at least we could suggest moving to another location to the production crew.”
“Hm… yeah, let’s do that. Logan, come with us.”
After a moment of consideration, Sung Wonhyeop nodded and stood up.
Just as Chunyong had pointed out, waiting around inside the café didn’t seem like it would fix anything. And besides…
“Are those the trainees?”
“Trainees? Where?”
“You know, the ones from the Music Days program….”
More and more people inside the café were beginning to recognize them.
Hastily, the three of them slipped outside and approached the production team, who were in a heated argument with the outsiders.
“Excuse me, writer. Is something going on right now? We’ve been waiting quite a while,” Chunyong asked directly, causing the sweating junior writer, Ha Joon, to flail in surprise.
“Oh, oh, Chunyong! You’re outside now!? Well, uh, it’s because of the scheduled performance time, but it’ll be resolved soon….”
“Who said it’d be resolved soon?”
At the sound of a hostile voice, the trainees turned their heads.
“Hah, this is really funny,” sneered a man in a white sleeveless shirt, his ribs clearly visible, leaning lazily on one leg as he glared at them.
“How many times do I have to say it? Just because you’re filming doesn’t mean we have to clear out. It’s our performance time right now, got it?”
“No, talk to us instead! Please don’t engage with the trainees….”
“Oh, so these are the trainees on your show? Then let’s have a look at them, shall we? We’re all part of this, after all.”
The man strode right up to Chunyong, who was as tall as him, and flashed a nasty grin.
“What, you can’t dance, so you’re here to sing, huh? Still, let’s keep some standards, yeah? You can’t just push us around like that.”
“…Sorry?”
“You. You don’t look like a dancer to me. You should focus on your singing practice. Perform after we’re done, alright?”
‘He can’t even see my face under this hat and mask, so what’s this nonsense about me not looking like a dancer?’
Chunyong’s brows furrowed slightly at the barrage of insults, but as he continued to stare at the man, he suddenly recognized him, eyes widening in surprise.
This guy…
‘…That’s Choi Gun Young, isn’t it?’
Choi Gun Young.
Back when Chunyong was still causing trouble, he had been a guest on the street dance show Dancing Street, only to be completely edited out of the final cut. And Choi Gun Young? He was the winner of that show.
Now a street dancer, Choi Gun Young would later become renowned as a K-pop choreographer, excelling in multiple dance genres.
“There’s a real difference between street dancers and idols. No need to spell it out, right? Don’t you think so, Rex?”
“Haha… yeah.”
“See? Rex here agrees with me! This is hilarious, really… Oh, sorry! Please edit that part out.”
…And back during the Dancing Street filming, he had subtly taken jabs at Chunyong as well.
Chunyong’s mind quickly raced, calculating the situation, recalling the skill he’d received from X, and sizing up his opponent.
‘Looks like… I might really end up thanking X for this one.’
At the same time, a storm was brewing on the streets of Hongdae’s busking district.
