Someone grabbed my shoulder and pressed something cold against my neck.
“Uh, what? Ahh!”
I yelped in surprise at the cold sports drink clinging to my neck. The person who startled me laughed heartily, finding my reaction amusing.
“Ahaha! You’re hilarious, Chunyong.”
The eldest member of the ‘Beyond the Waves’ team, who seemed in a particularly good mood today.
“Ah, Yu Chan hyung! You really scared me, seriously.”
“Well, that was the point. I figured you’d come here.”
Yu Chan hyung said as he glanced at Si Woo’s closed dorm room door. Following his gaze, I spoke quietly.
“You talked to Si Woo yesterday, right, hyung?”
“Ah. So you already know.”
“Yes, didn’t you?”
“…Shall we go somewhere?”
Exchanging glances, Yu Chan hyung and I slowly headed back to the emergency stairs where we had talked yesterday.
We both knew this conversation shouldn’t be caught by the camera’s audio.
* * *
“How was it?”
“…What?”
“Talking to Si Woo. I figured you had a lot on your mind too, hyung.”
“You, Chunyong, really….”
Yu Chan hyung ran a hand through his jet-black hair and spoke in a slightly weary tone.
“To be honest, at first I thought… Si Woo was being ungrateful.”
His eyes were heavy with the weight of his thoughts. I listened quietly.
Seeing my lack of reaction, hyung raised his thin eyebrows, looking surprised.
“…You’re not very shocked, huh?”
“Well, it’s not something surprising. It could easily look that way to others.”
“No, I mean, considering the image I’ve shown to you and everyone else, it’s a bit different….”
Sure, if I didn’t know Yu Chan hyung at all and heard this, I’d probably be really shocked.
I might have even said something like, “How can you not understand that?”
But now, I know both Si Woo and Yu Chan hyung.
I grinned at hyung and answered cheerfully.
“But that’s not how you’re feeling now, which is why you’re bringing this up, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Tap-tap-
Yu Chan hyung tapped his foot on the ground a few times before continuing.
“As you know, I come from a different background compared to you guys and only started preparing to be an idol recently.”
“Right.”
Literally. Hyung experienced the outside world that neither Si Woo nor I, nor any other trainees, had gone through.
A young man in his early twenties who attended middle school, high school, and even prepared for university entrance exams.
Given his experience during the filming of <Targeting Star>, hyung must have seen and heard things differently from us.
“I wondered why he was like that. If he crumbles over each thing, what’s he going to do when something else happens? Plus, it was putting me in a tough spot.”
“I understand. I can’t say I didn’t feel that way at all.”
“So, when you first suggested we set aside Si Woo’s issue and solve it, I thought you also saw him as a troublemaker. So, uh…”
“Oh, you thought I was just giving Si Woo a free ride?”
“Yeah, that’s it. I thought you were just being the bus driver for him.”
As Yu Chan hyung spoke, he lowered his head once. When he lifted it again….
“But, seeing you talk to Mentor Min Si Young yesterday….”
It wasn’t that.
He looked genuinely relieved, smiling.
“Of course, I would have understood if you had just given Si Woo a free ride, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case.”
“…I don’t even have a license, hyung.”
“Me neither! Between school and everything else, I’ve been too busy.”
Hyung lightly smacked my shoulder, a bit embarrassed but earnest in his words.
“Anyway, thanks, Chunyong.”
Me, Ryota, and even Si Woo.
For thinking things through properly and acting accordingly.
His gratitude made me feel a bit emotional, but I tried to hide it and nodded.
Honestly, the ones who really struggled were hyung and Si Woo.
Both had to work hard alongside a troublesome member who didn’t offer much help, so I knew exactly how tough it had been.
“Nice to meet you, we’re Arrows!”
Yu Chan hyung worked tirelessly, featuring in songs for various artists whenever his stamina allowed, and Si Woo, who debuted after us and became more successful, helped organize concert stages for our junior colleagues.
Meanwhile, I was drowning in alcohol.
So, the efforts I put in over the past few days couldn’t even be called hardships.
They were just things I had to do to make amends.
“By the way, hyung, what did you and Si Woo talk about yesterday?”
“Oh? Si Woo didn’t tell you?”
“No. His face looked too upset for me to ask….”
“Haha, if Si Woo didn’t talk about it, then I can’t either. It was a conversation between us.”
“…That’s disappointing.”
So, there’s no need to feel left out for not knowing every detail.
I sighed deeply as I saw Yu Chan hyung off to the vocal room, since he had a recording session scheduled with Si Woo.
“Anyway… for now, everything seems to be going well.”
There were only four days left, including today, until the second round of the competition.
The teamwork of the ‘Beyond the Waves’ team should no longer be an issue, and the other people I’m concerned about will handle their tasks smoothly.
But that’s that.
I rubbed my face with both hands and glared at the empty lounge at the end of the hallway.
The voice that mimicked Si Woo’s commercial line with excessive cuteness still haunted my dreams.
As a nightmare, of course.
…Damn hamster.
Regardless of how well things were going for our members and me, I couldn’t keep letting him get away with mocking us, unaware of the consequences.
Kim Joo An.
You’re dead meat.
YOU ARE READING
TMMIB!
Random**Story not mine** Title: The Malicious Member is Back! Nicknamed the worst malicious member in idol history, called 'Trash-Rex.' Stage name Rex, real name Kim Chunyong. As he was urgently arrested, with only the entertainment world waiting for him...
