The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 176

While the trainees moved toward the courage test site the crew had prepped in advance…

“…Tch.”

I zipped up my hoodie against the crisp night air, scanning the key players once again.

“Trainee Li Ming Shen? Here’s your mic.”

“Ah, yes.”

Li Ming Shen looked more resolute than expected… but honestly, I couldn’t tell.

“Uh, Trainee Liu Wei, too…”

“……”

Liu Wei’s expression was the same: as bad as when I last saw it.

This is…

“Trainee Kim Chunyong, we’ll attach your mic now. Please be careful not to get it wet.”

“Ah, yes.”

Thinking about it again, I had a bad feeling.

Honestly,I can’t exactly say I have good instincts. I spent most of my time in this industry drinking and wasting my life away, not exactly what you’d call sharp.

But even so, sometimes your gut just knows.

In the first place, Liu Wei had said the reason he picked Li Ming Shen as his courage test partner was because “he had something to talk about.”

Anyone who knew the context around that would naturally be on edge…

“The horror! Chunyong hyung’s face has turned pale! Could it be… is he terrified of the jump scares? It’s just people in costumes?”

…Or maybe not?

Gao Yan had suddenly popped his face into mine and roared, and all I could do was make a dumbfounded expression.

Of course, Gao Yan didn’t know the backstory between those two.

Still, even he could probably figure out that Liu Wei’s mood right now wasn’t exactly great, and that this pairing couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“Even if it were a real ghost, it would not be able to harm me! Ghosts cannot fix themselves to the horizontal coordinate plane! There is nothing to worry about. Chunyong hyung, you’re really weak…”

“Where do you even learn stuff like that? Seriously.”

Yet here he was, focused only on the task in front of him, like none of it mattered. I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Holy… Gao Yan, some people do get scared. You shouldn’t criticize Chunyong hyung like that.”

“I’m not criticizing, Logan. I’m just delivering a dose of reality. Gao Yan shall march forward confidently and retrieve the treasure faster than anyone. While Logan and Chunyong hyung are cowering in fear, of course.”

“No, I won’t be cowering!”

With two of my multinational roommates putting on a full comedy act in front of me, my earlier worries suddenly felt meaningless.

Maybe I’ve just been overwhelmed lately?

Just as I was about to spiral a little deeper into that thought…

“Chunyong. Got your handycam. Here.”

“…Ah. Thanks, Jae Ha hyung.”

It was thanks to Jae Ha hyung stepping over to my side that I came back to reality.

Sure, hanging out with my foreign roommates had the perk of making me forget my stress for a while…

But that couldn’t happen in important moments like this.

“Thanks. I could’ve gone to grab it myself.”

“Huh? Nah, haha.”

Jae Ha hyung smiled at my thanks, his face shining bright as always.

“Besides, I had to ask the PD something anyway, so I went ahead and did both.”

And he’s kind, too.

I stuck my tongue out at hyung and rubbed my forehead lightly behind his back.

It was the first time we’d spoken since the vacation, and yet Jae Ha hyung acted like none of it mattered at all.

The timing of his Outgram post, and my noona’s explanation. They really helped calm the storm around the rumor.

I’d managed to thank Yu Chan hyung for that, but hadn’t found the right time to tell Jae Ha hyung yet.

I hoped the chance would come.

But for now…

“Trainees! We’ll start heading in one pair at a time now!”

Let’s focus on what’s ahead.

Each of the trainees held the map, a flashlight, and a handycam, all provided by the production staff. The youngest writer raised her voice and gave the instructions.

“Follow the bloodstains marked on the map and you’ll find the clue notes easily. There’ll be some horror elements along the way, so heads up! Also, please take care not to lose your handycam’s memory card!”

There were as many notes hidden as there were bloodstains on the map.

But even without collecting them all, if your team found the treasure and made it back to Gaon seonbae in the auditorium first, you’d win.

All things considered, it was an advantageous setup for me. I already knew the full storyline of this courage test content.

I could just throw Jae Ha hyung over my shoulder and run straight for the treasure, but thinking of the WeTube Blue episode’s runtime, that’d be stupid.

I couldn’t give up the benefit, nor the screentime.

A debut isn’t something you can take lightly.

And on top of that, Liu Wei and Li Ming Shen were heading in right before me, and I couldn’t help but worry.

“Alright, next up is sixth! Li Ming Shen and Liu Wei, you’re up!”

“…Yes. We’re going.”

Shoulders nearly brushing. Nearly.

The two, maintaining a vague distance, slowly walked into the wooded area beside the idol trainee facility parking lot.

At a glance, it didn’t seem like there were that many trees, but once you stepped inside, the trail stretched down to the road below, it was a straight walk that easily took more than ten minutes.

They’d apparently chosen this remote location to keep reporters and fans away, but now it was obvious they’d also had content like this in mind from the very start.

But still, why did they decide to do this content now, of all times?

So much had changed since I came back. I wish that they at least switched up the order of these kinds of segments.

“Son Jae Ha, Kim Chunyong team! You’re up now!”

“Ah, yes!”

While I silently cursed Joo Cheol Yeong PD’s meticulous planning, our turn to enter had already come.

“You shouldn’t get lost on the trail. But if you feel like it’s too complicated, just talk to one of the staff in costume.”

“Yes, thank you!”

I gave a thumbs up to Gao Yan, who shouted from behind, “If it gets too bad, just punch the ghost in the chin!”Then I slowly stepped into the forest path.

It was darker than I expected.