The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 188

With just one day left until the live broadcast of Targeting Star…

– “Ah, it’s really the end now. Just thinking that makes me feel a little….”

– “At the very least, I want to make sure I don’t have any regrets.”

<The 18 trainees who kept running through the harsh survival competition…>

– “I really want to debut.”

– “I didn’t buy a return ticket… I’m going to do well.”

Already on its twelfth loop, the one-minute teaser filled with the voices of the Targeting Star trainees.

It was enough to shake the heart of the lone part-time worker in Hanmaeum’s practice rooms.

“Seriously… it’s really the end now.”

Jieun, exhausted from leaving work late, shakily checked the email she’d received a few days ago.

[Targeting Star Live Broadcast Audience Admission Confirmation]

“Oh my god, I actually got in for the live broadcast….”

Remembering all the crazy times she’d shared with Minji, Jieun rubbed at her eyes, which were starting to burn.

“See this clock? Just send it at 59 seconds and then leave it alone. Don’t even think about clicking the mouse. Just leave it. And then quickly run to the water dispenser, pour a cup, and pray it works out.”

“Wait, the last part… that’s not an application method, that’s some kind of folk belief, isn’t it?”

“All Pomlympics and Mellympics always come with a touch of folk faith. You really… you need to keep learning from someone who knows what they’re doing. You can’t just come to me when you need something.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

Immediately after that conversation, the practice room computer crashed with a blue screen, sending Jieun into meltdown.

She hurriedly set an alarm on her phone and applied, but Minji, who’d logged in with a different ID earlier, couldn’t verify her identity and failed.

She’d been crying, convinced this was the end of the line for seeing Kim Chunyong, and then this confirmation email arrived?

“This is… a sign. A sign that I have to go see Chunyong one more time in person, and that because of that, he’s going to debut spectacularly.”

She was the only one who’d gotten in, but the fact that she did at all was what mattered.

After rambling on and on alone about fate, overcome with emotion. Jieun finally felt embarrassed and started rubbing her cheeks.

“…Ugh, what am I even saying?”

You can do anything when you’re alone, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t mortifying.

And right now, there was something far more important than her fate-fueled rambling waiting for Jieun.

“…….”

Swallowing hard, Jieun carefully picked up her phone, which she’d left abandoned for a while.

The moment she unlocked it, she saw that, as always, there was still one person flooding SNS with endless posts.

[└NB@Bombangbom

S**t, I really can’t spare even one hand right now, this is such a huge problem what am I even supposed to do]

[└NB@Bombangbom

Ah ㅠㅠ should I try to find a last-minute part-timer for the day? But who’s going to come do a one-day gig handing out debut support fans for an idol trainee?]

[└NB@Bombangbom

Wait!! I just checked and the WeTube Blue content numbers are looking real good, huh? This basically means Chunyong is definitely going to debut, doesn’t it]

[NB└@Bombangbom

So what else can I do, I’ll just do everything for Chunyong! I’ll pack the fans, put them in the slogan pouches, and line up early myself. Let’s do it! Chunyong, noona’s coming.]

“Every time I see it, I’m amazed at how fast she types… She must spend so much time online….”

Scrolling through the endless string of posts from NBML’s locked account, seeing one every ten seconds, Jieun clicked her tongue lightly.

Despite everything, aside from Minji, Jieun didn’t have any other friends who were idol fans.

Going to the live audience event alone, in that state?

She couldn’t even guess what might happen, especially since she wasn’t exactly comfortable even searching SNS.

“…Minji did say I needed to keep learning from someone who knows what they’re doing.”

Back then, Minji had meant herself when she said ‘someone who knows what they’re doing,’ but Jieun had understood it differently.

To Jieun, the person who best understood the idol fan culture ecosystem… No, someone who didn’t just understand it but basically ran that ecosystem.

Slowly, she began to type out a DM.

[YongYongGuri: Hello, Neulbom-nim!]

[YongYongGuri: It’s been a while since I last DM’d you ^^ It’s me, YongYongGuri!]

[YongYongGuri: I saw on my timeline that you’re down one helper for handing out fans and slogans at the live event!]

[YongYongGuri: If you’d be okay with it, I’d love to help out tomorrow!]

[YongYongGuri: I actually got into the live broadcast audience too this time!]

This wasn’t like begging to be added to a locked account or to see some secret photos of Chunyong.

Actually meeting someone in real life after only seeing them on SNS?

Brief flashes of those crime articles she’d accidentally stumbled across flickered through Jieun’s mind.

But she shook her head fiercely, forcing those thoughts away.

‘That was about those people being weird. It doesn’t mean everyone you meet online is weird!’
And as if in response to her resolve, a quick reply came back from NBML after a short pause.

[└NB: Whoa, really? Oh, thank you so, so much. I was actually panicking because it all happened so suddenly…]

[└NB: Ah, then could you come to the front of the sports complex by 5am tomorrow? ㅠㅠ There’s a lot to get ready…]

[└NB: I’ll make sure to thank you properly! We’re all going out for drinks together after the live broadcast, haha. They’re all Chunyong fans, so you’ll be fine]

[└NB: If you have any questions, I put together a quick summary here > Https://notiice.springyong/777]

“What, what the—5am? And what’s this link…? There’s this much to do? I thought I was just going to watch the show!”

Overwhelmed by the barrage of overly professional-sounding instructions, Jieun started sweating cold.

“Wait, everyone there is a Chunyong fan? Seriously? All Chunyong fans?!”

Words like ‘all Chunyong fans’, ‘after-party’, and ‘thank you’ scattered throughout the message pulled her right back into a trance-like excitement.

Clenching her fists, Jieun made a new vow to herself.

If Kim Chunyong was going to give it his all onstage, then she would be the kind of Kim Chunyong fan who wouldn’t fall behind any of the others.

“…First, I’ll need to get my next-day shift covered. My boss will probably be pissed, but if I’m up from five in the morning and go to the live broadcast too… my body’s going to be… ugh.”

NBML, and Jieun.

The first fan of the so-called ‘malicious member’ Trash Rex, and the first fan of Kim Chunyong.

The two of them, moving toward their first meeting.

At the same time, Kim Chunyong was fighting to make sure he’d have nothing to be embarrassed about when they saw him at Targeting Star’s final stage.

* * *

The live broadcast schedule of Targeting Star originally went like this:

After the 18 trainees’ joint “Aiming” performance, the group names based on viewer votes would be announced.

Then the 18 would be split into three teams of six to perform their final debut evaluation stage.

Finally, the debut lineup would be revealed based on the sum of all the votes, live text votes, and mission scores.

So, for the trainees, it should’ve been enough to practice their “Aiming” performance and the debut evaluation songs, but…

“…Haha, I wanted to give you all a present. I hope singing this song will leave you with good memories of Targeting Star.”

That was the end of it.