The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 116

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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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116

“Ah, Ho-yoon! You worked hard.”
“…Yeah.”

Sung Ji-won was truly acting as if nothing was amiss.
Whether on the regional event stage, when the younger members were giggling behind him, or when I was staring intently at him—Sung Ji-won maintained a serene smile throughout.
Honestly, if I hadn’t watched B Live, I would have thought he was completely normal and moved on. His acting was that convincing.

‘…No, wait. He’s not even a good actor.’

Maybe he was just skilled at concealing things.
I’d given Sung Ji-won ample time to speak up—a whole day—so I decided not to drag this deliberation out any longer and cut straight to the point.
I stepped in front of him as he tried to slip past me and crossed my arms.

“Sung Ji-won, I watched your B Live broadcast yesterday.”

He flinched.

Sung Ji-won, realizing my intent, awkwardly averted his gaze and tried to brush past me.

“You watched that even though you’re busy? Haha, thanks for that… I didn’t say anything weird, did I?”
“No.”

But there was something else.

“Was that phone ringing during the broadcast a fan call?”
“…!”

The moment I brought up the real issue, Sung Ji-won’s eyes wavered. He paused, searching for words, and touched his lips.

“…Ho-yoon, you really don’t hold back.”
“It’s one of my charms.”
“Haha….”

Sung Ji-won laughed awkwardly at my brazen remark, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he glanced around cautiously before speaking.

“Yeah, sasaengs. They’re relentless—even after changing my phone number, they keep calling….”
“….”

I too had experienced my phone battery draining rapidly or being jolted awake by sasaeng calls more times than I could count. These days, I don’t even answer when “Unknown Caller” appears on the screen.
I’d changed my phone number periodically, and the rest of the members had done the same.
Which meant….

“Did you tell the company about this?”

…it was equally familiar territory.
If Sung Ji-won had simply mentioned sasaengs when I brought it up, he wouldn’t be acting like a guilty puppy, deliberately avoiding the subject like this.
That’s why I’d asked, but Sung Ji-won merely nodded in response.

“Yeah, of course I did. I’m planning to change my number again this time.”
“…Okay.”

Sung Ji-won had drawn a clear line—don’t push further. I couldn’t tell if there was genuinely something hidden behind this, or if it was just my paranoia… when my eyes suddenly locked with Sung Ji-won’s, who had been watching me intently.

“By the way, Ho-yoon.”
“What?”

And he asked with a faint smile.

“Are you worried about me right now?”
“…What are you talking about?”

Of course I wanted to understand if there was a problem with the team.
But before I could even respond, Sung Ji-won’s expression softened as if he already understood.

“No, it’s just… thank you.”
“….”
“Sung Ji-won, could you come here for a moment?”
“Oh, I should go. They’re calling over there.”

…Suddenly transformed into a sub-vocalist fidgeting with concern for my teammate, I found myself at a loss for words.

Ding!

[Man, the way Sung Ji-won slipped out of that was insanely natural….]

“…I seriously got caught up in it for a second.”

I was marveling at Sung Ji-won’s sophisticated technique when Jung Da-jun suddenly appeared beside me, holding Pikachu tonkatsu in both hands—though I had no idea where he’d gotten them.

“Brother, they said we’re splitting into teams for filming later!”

For now… I decided to set aside the cunning Sung Ji-won and focus on work.
After scheduling a series of regional events in this area over the next few days, they seemed eager to make good use of the time, so today we were shooting self-content. I’d heard it was a famous tourist attraction, but since it wasn’t peak season, there weren’t many people around.
Still, just to be safe, everyone wiped off their stage makeup and covered their faces with hats or masks.
The cameras were already following us.

“Really? Two teams?”
“No. They said we’re splitting into three teams?”
“…Oh.”

I was about to turn toward the production crew, worried that Sung Ji-won might end up alone, when Kang Yi-chae quickly intercepted me, biting into a rice cake skewer he’d gotten from somewhere.

“Yi-chae thinks~ two teams would be better than three?”

Wow….

“Why?”
“Seriously~! What if Yi-chae gets left alone? With how pretty he is, what if someone just whisks him away?”

‘Kang Yi-chae’s sense of awareness is seriously insane….’

Ding!

[What is this group…?]
[I’m starting to get scared… please stop….]

Yeah, these guys have eaten so much of this kind of thing over time that their instincts are absolutely crazy….

“I really hope someone takes him away….”

I pressed down on the back of Jung Da-jun’s neck as he muttered, ‘That’s exactly why I want to leave him alone,’ and exchanged a light glance with Kang Yi-chae. Sung Ji-won, who fortunately didn’t catch it thanks to the brief exchange, smiled and nodded.

“Alright, then we can split into two teams, right?”
“Yes, that works fine.”

The Staff Member agreed immediately and shook the lottery box. As the members huddled around it, the camera zoomed in sharply. When we drew the lots, the results turned out surprisingly decent.

“Oh! I’m with Hyun-sung and Yi-chae on the same team.”
“Brother! Ho-yoon and I are on the same team!”
“….”
“Why are you smiling like that?!”

Personally, I hoped our maknae would never develop any sense of reading the room and just stay as he was forever.
I patted his head and dropped the act, and Jung Da-jun closed his mouth while tilting his head back and forth in confusion.

“…Well, what should we do then?”
“Could we film a mukbang content? We’ve prepared a list of restaurants we want to try!”
“Ha, you’ve thought of that too?”

The Staff Member immediately laughed and handed over an envelope.

“Now, personal cards are forbidden for today! Just enjoy yourselves with the amount we’re providing.”
“…?”

This didn’t make sense from Lee Ji-hyun.
Though it was mostly because of me, the Planning Team at Dae Pa-sung was always grinding their teeth, plotting revenge against The Dun for dumping workloads and overtime on them.
Even Jung Da-jun hesitated, suspicious of such a gentle content concept.

“…We really just get to enjoy ourselves?”
“Yes, of course!”

The Staff Member beamed with a bright smile.

“Have a wonderful trip~. Come on, go!”

Except for one VJ camera operator per team and one staff member to report on the situation, the Production Staff scattered in all directions.
We decided to open the envelope before we split up by teams.

“How much is this?”
“…Ten thousand won.”

Three people and two people spending just ten thousand won…?

“Behold, ‘The Return of Ten Thousand Won’s Happiness
1)
!'”

At the Planning Team’s absurd concept, Jung Da-jun’s mouth fell open, and he stared at me as if I were somehow the culprit. And since I’d been pushing the Planning Team, including Lee Ji-hyun, harder lately, I quickly averted my gaze.
Was this my fault?

“…The three of us? At a tourist attraction?”
“In the provinces? Here?”

The three who’d formed a team looked disheartened. Especially Kang Yi-chae, who’d been crying “My tail!” all day insisting tonight was absolutely eel grilling, seemed to be barely swallowing a curse.

“Why~? It’s not like you’re spending ten thousand won for a whole week.”
“Can’t we just use our own money?”
“…What about the main rapper’s energy recovery?”

Everyone’s spirits had already plummeted 200% since they were hungry after finishing the event.
Meanwhile, Jung Da-jun counted the headcount and quickly finished his calculation (he seemed sharp at times like this), then laughed with a “hehe.”

“Ho-yoon, since there are two of us, we can eat for five thousand won each!”
“No, that’s right? We’re three people, so add five thousand won more!”
“No.”

At the Staff Member’s blunt response, the three wore gloomy expressions.

‘Hey, don’t worry.’

No matter what, that’s Lee Ji-hyun from the Planning Team.
Would she really ask us—no, ask an Idol group, and especially one with me, someone who feeds everyone—to film something as simple as “Ten Thousand Won’s Happiness”? Lee Ji-hyun, despite being so junior, was the person who planned the Post-Apocalypse trilogy for the Two-Meal Challenge. No matter how I thought about it, she wasn’t the type to just recycle old program material and plan something boring, making the members suffer and earning the fans’ anger. She’d definitely add some mission somehow.
I shrugged and called out to Jung Da-jun.
I shrugged and called out to Jung Da-jun.

“Come on, youngest, let’s go!”
“Baby, let’s go!!”
2)
”
“Am I a baby?”
“I’ll yield the position to you, hyung.”

Nineteen-year-old Jung Da-jun spat out an outdated slang term at thirty-three-year-old me, then followed along with a sly grin. While Jung Da-jun and I exchanged silly jokes like “Were you even born back then?” and “I saw you in the nursery,” the other three stood motionless with expressions of despair.
Not that I cared.

“Hey, you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes! I just ate a lot of snacks, so I’m fine!”

He was so spirited—it was wonderful to see.
I smiled warmly and patted his head….

“…Hyung.”
“What.”
“I’m hungry….”

Jung Da-jun collapsed in three minutes and seventeen seconds.

“Just one of those hotteoks…!!”

I smacked Jung Da-jun’s back with a sharp sound as he crumbled before the glittering cafes and restaurants lined up to prey on tourists.

“Eat a proper meal instead of that.”

Seeing this, the Planning Team Staff Member who had been assigned as our manager started eating a hotteok, then hesitantly glanced at me and took a step back. Jung Da-jun, who had been clinging to me, immediately switched targets and grabbed him instead.

“Jung Da-jun’s Clinging Skill activated!! Just one cling…! Just one bite of that…!”
“…Uh, haha. Sorry, Da-jun. That’s not in the plan~.”

…Was the Planning Team actually trying to torment us like this?
The theory was becoming increasingly convincing.
Standing beside Jung Da-jun, who was fake-whimpering, I crossed my arms and smirked.

“Baby, let’s go.”
“…This is seriously annoying.”

Jung Da-jun’s shoulders sagged as he finally accepted that he wouldn’t be able to eat.

“I’m hungry, brother….”
“I told you to eat rice.”
“—I’d really like a hotteok.”
“Just don’t eat it, you.”
“How can you be so heartless to the youngest member??”

As I grabbed Jung Da-jun and tried to drag him away, the Planning Team Staff Member—still with hotteok syrup smeared around his mouth—chuckled.

“We’ll start the mission here. Da-jun, have you heard of the Prisoner’s Dilemma?”

The Planning Team Staff Member explained enthusiastically, and though Jung Da-jun seemed unfamiliar with the concept, he nodded along anyway.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma.
When two suspected accomplices are arrested for a crime, if one denies involvement or invokes the right to silence while the other confesses, only the confessor is released. The one who denied or remained silent receives the maximum sentence.
Conversely, if both deny or both confess, they receive the same sentence—though a lighter one than if one had betrayed the other.
In essence, the Prisoner’s Dilemma is a non-zero-sum game between two participants where cooperation benefits both, but if each pursues only self-interest, the more rounds that pass, the worse the outcome becomes for everyone.

‘Why does it have to be so grandiose?’

As I felt uneasy, the Planning Team Staff Member thrust his thumb upward.

“Let’s play a TMI game. If both teams keep each other’s secrets for just five minutes, I’ll give you an additional fifty thousand won.”
“…!”
“That’s not bad.”

I said it half-heartedly, but the next condition was far more dramatic.

“However, if you expose the other person’s secret, I’ll give you an additional hundred thousand won.”
“That’s even better?”

At my slight murmur, Jung Da-jun—who valued friendship with his teammates—glared at me.
No… I was just saying it’s fine.

“What if you both expose each other simultaneously?”
“Then I’ll confiscate fifty percent of your total winnings.”
“…What if only the other person exposes me?”
“I’ll confiscate everything except one thousand won.”

I could see exactly how this would play out.
Among the two of us, only Jung Da-jun looked genuinely serious. The camera staff quickly moved in, focusing intently on capturing our expressions.

“Brother, honestly… I think it’s better if we all just stay quiet!”
“Why?”
“To be honest, I’m a bit worried about Yi-chae, but if we all just stay quiet, we both get fifty thousand won each, right? Then we can eat something delicious for dinner!”

Jung Da-jun, as if suddenly presented with a second chance at the food he’d missed, spoke with surprising eloquence.

“The best choice for us is to exercise our right to remain silent and each get fifty thousand won! I trust you guys!!”
“Hey, you really did study hard.”
“Of course! Brother, didn’t I tell you not to bother me?”

Right—it paid off to leave him alone while he’d been studying lately, even if he’d gotten a bit sensitive about it. Meanwhile, the Planning Team Staff Member let out an amused chuckle.

“Well then, should we be considerate and wrap this up a bit faster? One minute?”
“Yes! Our trust won’t change!”

So be it.
Of course, I knew that trust, unless documented, was no different from stale emotional sediment, so I simply waited.
And sure enough?

“There.”

After one minute had passed, the staff member extended his hand toward Jung Da-jun, who stood with both arms stretched upward as if about to proclaim “Our friendship is eternal!” with a satisfied expression.

“Give me the money.”

1) MBC Happy Company (2003.11.15.~2008.10.02.) was a corner segment of a variety program.
2) A famous line from the SBS drama Paris, My Love (2004.06.12. ~ 2004.08.15.).

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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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