What does the public’s eye mean to an idol? Speaking from the mouth of one dubbed the worst troublemaker in idol history…
[Shooting Rex @Shooting_REX]
(Photo) (Photo)
Rex on his way to Music Day 2X0924♡
Fight on today too, Rex! You look a bit thin, I’m worried ㅠ]
[Trash Rex, resign if you have a conscience @GEQOIUEPQET
Wow, are you saying you’d support even if Trash Rex resigns? As expected, fans of the malicious member are different ㅋㅋ. Defending even his alcohol bloated looks as being ‘skinny’, like mother like son ㅠ]
It’s a blessing and a curse.
You’re not an idol without it. But once you stray off the path, there’s no turning back. The myriad of hate comments I received is a testament to that.
So, what I’m trying to say is…
“Don’t cry, Ryota. Our real feedback starts after the broadcast anyway.”
“Chunyong… aniki…”
“It’s not ‘aniki’, it’s ‘hyung.'”
“S-sorry… hard to pronounce…”
I patted Ryota’s back as he sobbed into his dorm bed, picking out words that might calm him down.
“It’s okay to be at a lower rank now. The real ranking starts from the next competition. Think about it, from now on, you can only go up. Right? Stop it, stop.”
“That’s right, Ryota. Look at me. If things keep up, by the final competition, I’ll be debuting at the top spot.”
Gao Yan, who had once gloriously failed at 16th place and resurrected as a flamboyant influencer, chimed in with my words.
“That’s right, Ryota. We all know you’re good and cool. Always love yourself.”
“L… love* yourself?”
“Yes. Love yourself, Ryota!”
“That’s right. Loving yourself is important, Ryota.”
“Ryota!”
“Ryota!”
“Gao Yan, Logan! It’s love*!”
(T/N: A note for this entire exchange, is that Logan, from the UK says ‘love’ in accented English, but when Ryota and Gao Yan say it, it’s written as ‘라부’. When romanized, it comes out as ‘rabu,’ but can be likened to ‘loveu’ in pronunciation.)
I watched my multinational roommates hugging each other and shouting love before sneaking off to the bathroom.
With cameras rolling in every corner of the room, it was the only place for some solitude.
Thud―
As the bathroom door closed, I pulled out my warm phone from my pocket and scrolled through the barrage of messages filling the notification screen.
[Surprise Mission Success!]
Congratulations on achieving 1st place in the first competition! (Fanfare) (Fanfare) Use this experience as a stepping stone to progress further!
[Mission Reward: Skill Selection (F) ▷ Choose a Skill!]
First, I tapped on the reward section under the notification about mission success. It’s not like me to just leave something given idly by.
Plus, I had benefited before from the <Dance to Overwhelm Opponent> skill and, more importantly…
When I was more carefree, I used to enjoy mobile games a bit too much.
Soon, a crudely designed gift box appeared on the screen, shaking and then spontaneously untying its ribbon. Silver effects spilled out of the opened lid.
[Choose a Skill ▷]
[○ Vocal ○ Rap ○ Dance ○ Appearance ○ Charm]
Unlike the sentence-like skills before, this time the options were simple words. The moment I saw it, I realized I had to choose one to gain a related skill.
“So, with an audience coming for the first time in the next competition…”
This is going to be important.
After a moment of deliberation, just as I was about to pick a skill and the skill window was about to pop up, a flood of pending messages from X cascaded in.
– X: Hey hey, the preview’s coming out in 5 minutes, right?
– X: Amazing, Kim Chunyong’s idol life restarts ><
– X: Until now, you’ve just looked like a contractor who’s sensitive and not good enough. Wonder if you’ll look different after the preview airs?
– X: Are you confident that you won’t get as much hate this time? It should be less than before, right?
“Pffft…cough, cough…”
T/N: Hi!! Sorry it took so long to translate and upload new chapters. I love this novel so much, but the terminology and slang can be a headache to translate sometimes ㅠㅠ Thank you for your patience with this Banana, and for your love and support of Chunyong!
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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...
