The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 239



Only Krnovel

The Malicious Member Returns! Episode 239

* * *

The KPCA, one of the most major award ceremonies we have ever participated in, has concluded successfully.

“Thank you for your hard work! You really, really worked hard. The response from the award stage was also good. There are still some award ceremonies left, but the KPCA Rookie of the Year award… You really, worked hard.”

“Hey, Hobin hyung! Are you crying? You’re not crying, are you?”

“… No way.”

“Hyungdeul! Logan! Siwoo! Hobin hyung is crying!”

Our T.O.J.E. won the Rookie of the Year Male Group Award, the Post K-Pop Star Award, and the KPCA Fan’s Choice 10 Award, which is something that Arrows had never achieved before, so it was a great success.

“Hmm. Gao Yan also wanted to win the Fan’s Choice Award, but she wasn’t even nominated. What a shame.”

“Gao Yan, wake up. That’s an award for idols, not content creators!”

“Ryota, shh. Don’t you know yet that Gao Yan’s very existence is an idol? As expected, she still has a long way to go.”

“Don’t ignore the benefits!”

“Haha… guys. Don’t fight, eat a lot and go. Thanks for coming. I was worried you might find it burdensome…”

“Hmm, what’s there to be concerned about? Gao Yan doesn’t turn down free food.”

“Oh, Jaeha hyung. The stage was really cool! Me too, I really want to go up there.”

We did well on the awards stage, and our multinational roommates from , who we hadn’t been able to contact properly due to being busy, naturally joined our dinner party to congratulate us.

“Congratulations, Yeonwoo. You’ve won an unprecedented triple crown! Before you go on stage to receive your award, could you give us a brief personal statement?”

“Hmm. There were so many great people this year, so I tried my best. I think my efforts were rewarded.”

“Oh! Is there anyone you were particularly concerned about? Can you give us a little hint?”

“Um, well… red?”

“Huh? There’s so much red! Is it the album color? Or is it the hair color of that team member?”

“I have to give it to you in a secret way to call it a hint, haha… .”

Of course, I got goosebumps a little when Yeonwoo hyung made a subtle hint at me while Sladix was sweeping the target.

“Aren’t you going to drink today, Chun-yong? Oh, I guess it’s okay to drink on a day like today… .”

“Oh, um. Because it feels good. Because I want to remember it for a long time with my mind clear.”

“Huh? That’s true, yeah. Did you see off your family members earlier?”

“Yes. Now that we are inactive, I think we should go home next week.”

“Yeah, yeah. Ah, I’m drunk… I feel so good.”

“Hmm. Should I stop it? I know you know, but I don’t drink alcohol, so I can stop it…”

“No! What is he talking about? Is he trying to kill me?”

Even with that included, it was a fantastic day.

[#232] Today, I have achieved the goal that I set from the moment of my debut, [winning the Rookie of the Year award at a popular music awards ceremony].

There, instead of asking the family to go on an overseas trip, they could have prevented the accident by asking them to just have a normal meal.

All of this only served to strengthen my resolve behind the scenes that I would never run away.

…however.

[WARNING!

This information is currently locked.

Please contact your administrator.

-Star Sirius Security Team Back-]

[WARNING!

This skill is currently unavailable for use.

Please contact your administrator.

-Star Sirius Security Team Back-]

[WARNING!

This Pokedex is currently locked.

Please contact your administrator.

-Star Sirius Security Team Back-]

…Isn’t it unrelated to the fact that I have no intention of running away?

“Ugh… .”

After a sweet dinner at our accommodation, everyone fell asleep in the early morning, either on the sofa, on the living room floor, or on the bed.

“This too? Can’t you see this too? Ha, haha. Oh my… .”

I quietly covered myself with the blanket and couldn’t help but sigh in bewilderment as I looked at the functions of the app that were blocked as soon as I pressed them.

Check the objective window, the Pokedex reward window, the skill window, and my current status window.

[WARNING!

This app has restricted use.

Please contact your administrator.

-Star Sirius Security Team Back-]

Everything was blocked.

There was one feature that wasn’t blocked, but it only served to annoy me.

– X: It’s a divine punishment. It’s a divine punishment.

– X: I did that! I did that!

– X: Don’t do useless things

– X: I kept telling you to just focus on winning the Rookie of the Year award.

– X: You’ve been poking around here and there, you’re doing a good job

From the moment I was able to touch my phone again, X has been hurling insults at me nonstop.

This kid, at least when ended, he said something similar to “good job.”

– X: You said that information would be unlocked after receiving the Rookie of the Year award

– X: Oh my gosh, poor me ㅠㅁㅠ

– X: Why am I suffering like this because I met the wrong contractor?

At the moment, he seemed so consumed with self-pity and anger that he didn’t even have the presence of mind to say such things.

Because I had committed some sins, I replied to X in an unusually polite manner.

– Kim Chun-yong: So this is a penalty?

– Kim Chun-yong: Your company? A penalty for breaking the rules and contacting someone from another company.

– Kim Chun-yong: I’ll try to solve it somehow.

– Kim Chun-yong: Let’s calm down a bit.

However, despite my sincere apology, X only became more and more angry.

– X: Is this what you call a solution??

– X: Hey Inma, how annoying I am right now!!!

– X: Originally, even if you didn’t reply to me, I could read your thoughts and figure out the situation.

– X: I can’t do this anymore!

– X: For the time being, I can’t even increase my skills or my ability levels! I can’t even raise my prices!

– X: Oh my, my sins are deep, deep

– X: I shouldn’t have given you that hint in the first place.

– X: Oh no, if it’s like this, I’ll just be the same as Sim X…

X, who had been filling the chat window with [ㅠ] and [ㅗ] for a long time, finally became able to have a proper conversation with me after almost 10 minutes.

I still don’t know if he’s a human or not, but the first thing X, who’s finally starting to speak like a human, says is…

– X: So what are you going to do?

– X: You know what’s important right now is confirming your goals and what to do next, right?

– X: It’s a goal, it’s a prerequisite, so it’ll be unlocked soon. Our company also has to make a living, so we can’t just keep on begging for contractors.

– X: But!!

– X: What are you? That Lee Hyo-jae? He started contacting you and even went on a program with Jung Yeon-woo!

– X: What are you going to do now?

– X: You got a penalty for that, but you’re just going to keep doing it?? Huh??

– X: Then I don’t know how long the penalty will last ㅡㅡ

I was so intoxicated with the joy of winning the Rookie of the Year award that I forgot about it for a moment, so I had to stay in bed for a while and just stare at my phone screen.

okay.

In fact, as many things were resolved, there were also things that got tangled up.

[Lee Hyo-jae: Congratulations to Chun-yong for the Rookie of the Year award]

[Lee Hyo-jae: I don’t know exactly?]

[Lee Hyo-jae: But now you can let go of your worries, right?]

[Lee Hyo-jae: Then, can you please think about my problem as well?]

[Lee Hyo-jae: I understood what Chun-yong said about not knowing]

[Lee Hyo-jae: But ㅠㅠ The only person I can say this to is Chun-yong ㅠㅠ]

Even though I politely refused by saying, ‘I don’t know anything about that either,’ the fake Hyojae hyung, whose real name I still don’t know, continued to desperately send me messenger messages.

He said that he had only listened to my worries up until now, but that he was the only one who could listen to his worries.

That meant that unless I changed my phone number, the fake Hyojae hyung would keep contacting me.

Well, if I make a hundred concessions, I could have just said that I couldn’t see it because of my schedule.

The important thing is the second problem that X pointed out.

[Senior Jeong Yeon-woo: We will have a meeting after the Seoul Zero Cost Song Awards ceremony next week]

[Senior Jeong Yeon-woo: I heard that Director Shin and Chun-yong’s manager gave the okay.]

[Senior Jeong Yeon-woo: I’ll see you then ^^]

At the time of BNS Sound Stage The Final, I was trying to chase after Yoochan hyung and Siwoo, but I was caught by Hobin hyung.

I quickly got out of the situation by answering most of the questions with ‘yes’ and ‘like’, which naturally led me to the mentor position in PD Joo’s next survival show.

…should I say that I dug my own grave?

There were many things I could blame, but bringing them up now wouldn’t help the solution.

So, we need to think differently.

“…hmm.”

I pondered for a moment, my slightly water-dampened red hair on my phone, then slowly replied to X.

– Kim Chun-yong: I thought about it.

– Kim Chun-yong: Anyway, after I won the Rookie of the Year award, the existence of ‘other guys’ was unlocked.

– Kim Chun-yong: Then I guess it’s okay to mention it now.

– Kim Chun-yong: Then isn’t that the same as saying that the penalty issue will be resolved soon?

– X: … Huh?

– X: That’s true, but

– X: You’re not saying that’s the solution right now, are you?? Right??

– X: Hey, there’s a procedure and there are parts that require explanation.

– X: Just leave me alone! There are other guys! You went around beating around the bush with the hints I gave you!

– Kim Chun-yong: No, I feel sorry about that too…

– Kim Chun-yong: But first, let’s think about how to resolve this situation.

At least that’s what I thought.

Even when I was making a name for myself as a trash writer, it didn’t really matter whether I actually did it or not.

What was important was how to recover after that.

Let’s just put aside the past and solve the problems that are right in front of us.

The common concern between X and me right now is the app penalty that is unfolding before both of us.

Knowingly or unknowingly, I had been receiving a lot of help from my abilities, skills, and the Pokedex, so it would definitely be inconvenient if they disappeared.

First of all, we have to solve this somehow.

And then there’s the encounter with Yeonwoo hyung, who both X and I find awkward.

X said that if I got involved with Yeonwoo hyung, I would have to avoid him because I would run into the ‘other guys’ too quickly and without any steps, and I just wanted to avoid Yeonwoo hyung because he was uncomfortable with me.

So, how do we solve this problem right now?

[Do you want to mute notifications from your friend ‘Lee Hyo-jae’? Yes / No]

For now, let’s ignore this.

Since the activity periods of 2OCD and thiazides do not overlap significantly, it would be possible to somehow offset them if we just avoided contact.

And then next is Yeonwoo hyung’s side… .

– Kim Chun-yong: Let’s sleep first.

– X: Huh?

– X: Are you going to sleep without even trying this?

– X: Aren’t you feeling defeated by Jeongyeonwoo too quickly?

– X: Hey you, if you want to be the greatest idol in K-pop history!!

– X: It’s a constant to beat Jeongyeonwoo!!

– Kim Chun-yong: That’s not why, Inma

I lightly ignored X’s misunderstanding and left the chat window that was filled with noisy sentences just by looking at it.

This is a problem that requires me to borrow the power of someone higher than me rather than do something about it right now.

The person above who can influence whether or not I appear on the program.

“You want to do well? To me? … There’s no way that a kid with no social experience would think that way. There’s no reason to act like that unless you have a purpose. So, tell me quickly.”

Of course, this person was just as awkward to run into as Yeonwoo hyung… .

But since our team won the Rookie of the Year award this time, he probably wouldn’t have outright refused my request.

“…after.”

I thought of one way to put out the urgent fire, and turned on the entertainment news window before going to sleep.

Because I didn’t want to end a dreamlike night like today by worrying about the future.

[KPCA full of things to see… Who are the faces of this year? ‘The grand prize is Sladix, the rookie award is Tioje’]

[ ToZ on stage receiving the Rookie of the Year award, ‘We won an award today!’]

[ Collection of this year’s KPCA winners]

I slowly slid my finger across the screen, carefully examining the faces of the members that were appearing here and there in the entertainment news.

Among them, the one I clicked on and checked was a collection of photos from when our T.O.J. won the Rookie of the Year award.

Jae-ha hyung shed tears after winning the Rookie of the Year award, and Hwa-seong standing next to him and holding Jae-ha hyung’s arm.

Yoochan hyung with a cheerful expression as usual, Siwoo with a shy but firm face.

And Logan, who puts his arm around the shoulders of those members and wags his tail wildly, not looking like a big puppy.

And next to him, I am making an expression that is hard to tell whether it is a smile or a tear.

“…haha.”

I felt like I could sleep well.

No matter how tangled things are, it’s happier to think about things that are properly sorted out.

So, I thought I would finally fall asleep after reading the congratulatory messages from my family.

I think that would be the perfect end to a day.

“…uh?”

however.

Under the entertainment news section, a real-time breaking news item caught my eye.

[ ○○ Company Airport Limousine Overturns… Yeongjong Bridge Temporarily Closed]

That kind of news sends shivers down my spine.