The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 111

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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111

What?
EX Rank?
I stood there, mouth agape at a rank I’d never seen before, when I overheard Kim Sung-hyun and Jung Da-jun talking beside me.

“By the way, why didn’t Senior Joo Woo-sung appear on a dance variety show? He’s the main dancer.”
“Oh, that… From what I heard, he went to the United States to study dance more. The company tried to stop him, but he said he was going for recovery and went anyway.”

[Me: ㅇㄷ]
[Joo Woo-sung: Cali]

Only then did I remember the messages we’d exchanged, and I pressed my forehead.
Joo Woo-sung….
So that’s why he was fidgeting excitedly earlier—he wanted to brag about this.
That’s why I hadn’t seen him for months.

“There’s a famous dance studio in California, you know. I heard he trained incredibly hard there.”

‘Can you really raise your dance stat to EX just by disappearing for a few months??’

I honestly envied Joo Woo-sung. Here I was, grinding myself to the bone, yet he just takes one trip to California and becomes EX-tier. The life balance patch was completely broken for him.

‘Did he save a nation in his past life?’

At this point, it transcended mere talent—I was starting to suspect Joo Woo-sung had received some kind of item buff.

Besides, he’d smiled so proudly telling me to watch the stage, and there was clearly a reason for it. When we returned to the Waiting Room, Black Call’s performance was starting on the monitoring television.
Even on the small, low-resolution TV typical of waiting rooms, Joo Woo-sung was absolutely… remarkable.

[You can’t deny, a crack forms in the smallest gap
I’ll change everything about you]

Joo Woo-sung lived up to his Vocal A+ and Dance EX ratings, delivering a flawless live performance. He found his angles to the camera with uncanny precision while instinctively knowing exactly where to modulate his intensity.

[Don’t run away, I’m right here with you
If you reel, you know why…]

No, what strength control? That guy was simply born for the stage. Joo Woo-sung flicked his hand upward from the center of the stage like he was tossing a ball, then lifted one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
He was just a guy born on the Stage. Joo Woo-sung flicked his hand upward in the center of the Stage as if tossing a ball, then lifted one corner of his mouth into a smile.

[It’s Black Call]

“….”
“….”

With that kind of talent, and he’d been coasting through half-hearted practice and dating all this time….
I wanted to grab Joo Woo-sung by the collar and shake him for wasting all those years.
I wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him hard because I resented all the time Joo Woo-sung had wasted so far.

“Am I crazy? She’s so damn good…”

Even through the small screen, the song exploded with energy. The shock the fans would feel seeing it live in person was impossible to even predict…
The more I watched the stage, the more my fighting spirit drained away.
The more I looked at the stage, the more I lost my resolve.

“Where did my cute number one go…?”

As the stage progressed, I felt a sharp sense of betrayal toward someone else besides him.
As the performance progressed, I was feeling a deep sense of betrayal not only toward Joo Woo-sung but also toward another person.

“Lim Hyun-sung, this is really…!!”

You slathered money all over that beat and pulled off something this ridiculously deceptive, and what? Kang Yi-chae is more impressive? You don’t need to come to me anymore?
This was pure deception, a power play, a mockery.
This was nothing but deception, obstruction, and manipulation.

“Huff, my head’s just spinning for a second….”
“Phew, I got a little worked up there for a second…”

Lim Hyun-sung, Joo Woo-sung… these people didn’t need my worry or comfort.
Both Lim Hyun-sung and Joo Woo-sung didn’t need people to worry about them or comfort them.

“Yeah, why would I worry about anyone when I’m in this situation myself?”

I made a vow that from now on, I would never worry about anyone else.
Let me just worry about myself. In this harsh world, everyone lives alone anyway.
This irritable mood persisted all the way until the Music Broadcast Studio first-place award ceremony.

“Congratulations! First place goes to Black Call!”

Confetti exploded with a bang.
Since the song and concept were so perfectly executed, I could see Noel members trying hard to manage their expressions despite having come with some expectations. No matter what, I couldn’t compete with Black Call, so I gave Noel members a (barely) smile and greeted the other singers around me.

“….”

Joo Woo-sung happened to be standing beside me, so I was about to bow to him too… but something felt off.
Joo Woo-sung, holding a large trophy in one hand, wore a strange expression as he looked at his fans—whom he’d seen so many times before.

“Congratulations.”
“…Oh.”

When I spoke to him, Joo Woo-sung seemed to snap back to reality, blinking his eyes suddenly. Then he smiled.
Even though it was impossible for Black Call’s Joo Woo-sung to act this way… he behaved as if winning first place was something entirely new.

“…Thanks.”

Joo Woo-sung gave my shoulder a light tap and then turned his attention to another idol greeting him.

‘What was that?’

Joo Woo-sung, who wasn’t usually so transparent, was now managing his image meticulously in front of the cameras like a top-tier idol, so I couldn’t see that same expression again. I glanced at him briefly before turning my head away.
It wasn’t something I needed to concern myself with.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The Dun members quickly descended to make way for Black Call’s encore stage, cracking their necks as they went.

“Good work. We have another Music Broadcast Studio schedule tomorrow, so let’s rest today.”
“No way!”

Jung Da-jun, who had been spacing out for a moment, suddenly lifted his head sharply.

“Let’s, practice.”
“Huh?”

Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned around, startled by Jung Da-jun’s bombshell announcement.

“Da-jun, no. You only slept three hours yesterday.”
“I don’t want to. But I still want to do a little more….”

Jung Da-jun bit his lower lip slightly and stood firm with stubborn resolve.
Kim Sung-hyun, arms crossed, seemed torn between feeling proud of Jung Da-jun and wanting to stop him.
That’s when Kang Yi-chae interjected from beside him.

“Should we though?”
“…!”
“My stomach’s been bothering me, hasn’t it?”
“…Huh?”

Even Sung Ji-won, the practice machine, widened his eyes and looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Maybe that kimbap we ate earlier didn’t sit right….”
“Hyung, that’s too much.”
“Haha, it’s just funny seeing you two like this.”

If Kim Sung-hyun and Sung Ji-won had always been the type to live and breathe for the Idol, then Jung Da-jun was the type who grumbled but still tried to keep up, and among them, only Kang Yi-chae seemed out of place.
He’d always seemed like someone who treated idol life as just a game.
Seeing everyone’s shocked expressions, Kang Yi-chae laughed awkwardly.

“…Why are you looking at me like that? I’m human too~. When it’s right in front of me and I’m about to lose it, my stomach really starts to ache~.”
“Kang Yi-chae, looks like you really got shocked this time.”
“So Yi-chae can feel jealousy too….”
“People are boring when they’re perfect~. …Wait, why is everyone ignoring me?”

Kang Yi-chae shrugged and draped his arm around Jung Da-jun’s neck, then led the way forward. Frustrated that they hadn’t won first place despite their musicality, everyone’s faces were filled with nothing but the two characters for “practice.”
Well, it’s good that they’re doing something, but still.

‘Is it really possible just by practicing?’

Ding!

[Quest Arrived
If you can’t do it, making yourself do it is human nature!
During the activity period, secure first place on the Music Broadcast Studio.
Reward: 3,000 points
Failure: Singing stat drops significantly
(A0 → C0)]

…A curse slipped out involuntarily.
I clicked my tongue once, and despite really not wanting to, I sent a text to PD Kim Hee-young and shoved my phone into my pocket.

“We need an emergency meeting.”
“Huh?”

Jung Da-jun turned his head as if asking what I meant. I found myself recalling the shocking Black Call stage and the ungrateful Joo Woo-sung and Lim Hyun-sung, grinding my teeth.

“We’re getting first place.”
“…Excuse me??”

***

A bleak evening. Everyone wore serious expressions except Jung Da-jun, who was munching on some rice cake he’d gotten from somewhere.

“I’m calling The Dun’s first emergency meeting to order.”

I tapped the blackboard. Kim Sung-hyun raised his hand, going along with the atmosphere as if he had something to say.

“Kim Sung-hyun speaking.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“What exactly is this emergency meeting about?”
“It’s an emergency meeting to plan how we can achieve first place during the mini-album activity.”
…

Kim Sung-hyun’s eyes grew slightly clouded, as if asking, “Will a meeting really make that happen according to our wishes?”
But would just practicing be enough?
I wanted to handle things on my own as much as possible. However, as The Dun’s leader, I couldn’t do it alone.

“What do you think was the reason we couldn’t take first place this time?”
“Cute-pretty-gorgeous Kang Yi-chae~!”
“I didn’t quite catch that.”
“Just Yi-chae.”

Kang Yi-chae raised his hand halfway and wiggled his fingers playfully.

“The timing of our comeback was just terrible~. We had no idea Black Call’s seniors would overlap with us so completely.”
“Right. And we can’t really postpone the comeback either. We’ve already locked in schedules afterward.”

Everyone groaned. The implication was clear—we needed to find a way to avoid overlapping with Black Call as much as possible.

“Ho-yun, could we extend our promotional period a bit more?”
“We could manage it if we adjust things… but we have schedules lined up right after ours.”

If we could just promote for one more week, we’d hit a window where we wouldn’t overlap with Black Call.

“That’s Kim Sung-hyun speaking. Even if we promote for one more week, can we really take first? Black Call’s seniors get first place without even appearing on music broadcasts.”
“…How many consecutive wins is Black Call’s all-time record?”
“I’m not sure about the all-time record, but their last promotion was 13 consecutive wins. They swept every music broadcast ranking, and even after they stopped appearing, they kept taking first place….”
“13 consecutive wins??”
“Of course, even for Black Call, they promoted for quite a long time, but they dominated that thoroughly….”

Sometimes I forgot just how remarkable Joo Woo-sung was, because he carried himself so humbly most of the time.
The atmosphere deflated instantly.

“Well, it’s still worth trying, right? When do Black Call’s seniors finish their music broadcast promotions? Next week, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the last one.”
“Should we extend by one more week and adjust the schedule?”

It would cost more, but it wasn’t a bad option. Except for one thing.

“Yeolhwa’s making a comeback after that.”
“…Ah!”

Yeolhwa was a group that had been considered as a candidate for Shining Star Season 1, but their caliber was too high to participate, so they’d ultimately declined. They were currently active in Japan, so they weren’t competing domestically. They hadn’t gained as much recognition as expected, but still.
Hmm, overseas….

“This is troublesome….”

Everyone fell into contemplation. Kang Yi-chae swayed back and forth on the sofa, rolling his eyes around until his gaze fixed on Kim Sung-hyun.

“Hyung, show us your abs?”
“What difference would that make?”
“Oh man, it’d make a huge difference~.”
“You do it then.”

The two of them bickered back and forth with nonsense.
Just then, my phone buzzed. I checked it—it was PD Kim Hee-young.

[Shining Star PD Kim Hee-young: Yeah, that’s right]
[Shining Star PD Kim Hee-young: How did you know? The voting method is changing?]

“I’m grateful I’ve lived righteously.”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Let’s go for one more week.”

Since we’ve already made our comeback, we should at least grab first place before we go.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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