The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 123

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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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123

[Is this actually real?]

It all started when an SNS user brought a Community link into the conversation.

[They’re doing a year-end collab stage and the other group is actually Lia Purple]
[????What????]

Everyone was bewildered. There had been some speculation about a collaborative stage, but Lia Purple was a group we’d had no connection with whatsoever.

[Honestly… I really like Lia Purple so much]
[Right, me too. They got so much hate because of that scandal incident. Those members must have gone through so much..]

Even as they said this, Noeul’s fanbase already knew. This collaboration would draw insane amounts of hostility toward their side as well.
A newly emerged account with no profile picture was proof of that.

Where the hell is The Dun? Ugh, we need to protect our Lia Purple kids.

The post was filled with softened but easily decipherable profanity. Some people quietly blocked and moved on with a “here we go again” attitude, but naturally, others couldn’t let it slide and arguments erupted.

Lol, what songs does Lia Purple have? Other than that one time they did a reverse hit
└Then what do you guys have? Let’s talk about it except for being piggybacked on the popularity of Shining Star and Kabu hahaha Ah~~ Was there also Today~~? Damn lucky group haha
└Yeah scandals~]

While not universal, seeds of controversy were quietly beginning to sprout. As a result, most Noeul and Lia Purple fans were clutching their chests in distress.

[Guys please just ignore the hate comments… That account clearly isn’t even a Lia Purple fan…]
[Noul… It’s not us… We’re really looking forward to the year-end performance. We’re really looking forward to the year-end performance.
“Honestly, if you were a real fan, you wouldn’t act like that… Everyone, let’s use some common sense.”

Noeul and Lia Purple fans who understood the need to quickly control the narrative sprang into action. They knew all too well that pretty words like “Noeul supports Lia Purple♡” would only spread criticism like “scandal” faster.

So Noeul’s fanbase shut their eyes tight and quickly pushed their youngest member forward, redirecting everyone’s attention.

[Our maknae’s college entrance exam is the day after tomorrow!! We’re holding an event to cheer him on. Check the link for details]

Jung Da-jun’s college entrance exam became the topic of conversation.

[Wait, the college entrance exam is already the day after tomorrow??? Are you serious]
[Give me a break, grandma’s been out of the loop for a while now.]
[Da-jun, go out there and show them the skills you’ve honed under Ho-yoon’s relentless training. You’ve got this]

As Noeul fans began taking interest in Jung Da-jun’s college entrance exam, his individual fanbase seized the perfect moment and compiled several edited clips.
They were scenes of Seo Ho-yoon giving Jung Da-jun intensive tutoring, footage that had been sporadically released through B Live and YouTube.

[Episode 1: ‘The Kindly Lectures of Master Tutor Seo Ho-yoon’

Ho-yoon: (explaining with subtle kindness)
You get it now, right? Give it a try.
Da-jun: Yes!!!!

Da-jun’s response was loud and spirited
~Some time later~

Da-jun: (rolling the eraser) Number four, sir
Ho-yoon: …
Jing Jing-hyeon: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha (bad brothers whining in the background)

└Oh Seoho hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha]

[Episode 2: ‘Finally, Jung Da-jun’

Da-jun: (jumping up) Hyung!!! I got it! The answer is number two!!
Ho-yoon: That’s right!! Yes, that’s it! Hey! How did you figure it out?

(I’ve never seen Seo Ho-yoon this excited before
Ah, he’s so cute
He solves everything calmly and then gets this happy over Da-jun getting one problem right)

ㅠ: Look, you can do it if you want to do itㅠ;; How did you solve it?
Dal: Hyung’s eyes were on page 2
Gung: Get out
Dal: Yes
Gung: Get out of the dormitory right now
Jing Jit-hyun: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha—waaaaahhhhhhh (sobbing face-down)

└Our maknae hamster catches rabbits
└└Da-jun.. isn’t very good at lying]

[Part 3: ‘True Excellence’

녠: Hey guys ㅠㅠ I’m scared of Hoyun hyungㅠ (Hey, don’t you come here right now?!!)
“Hey hey, Yi-chae hyung, I’ll tell you the secret to acing the college entrance exam lol”
Dal: What?!! What is it??
Jit: Fill in the answer sheet with hearts and you’ll pass ♡

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
└└No seriously, Kang Yi-chae drawing finger hearts saying he doesn’t lose was really bad
└└And Jung Da-jun’s response in the meantime was “M-maybe?”
Seo Ho-yoon absolutely furious
Just forget it. Don’t even think about pulling out your exam admission ticket.

Those short videos spread far more than expected, garnering attention even from people in the private education sector.

[I’m a part-time instructor, 28 years old, getting PTSD (sigh)]
[Are they idols?? The person on the left really teaches well? You can tell they’ve done a lot of tutoring
Why exactly can’t they do this? And then
They sigh once and continue teaching…]

While fans worked hard to quell the controversy over the collaboration and smiled bitterly, hoping it would pass without incident, Seo Ho-yoon was spending a warm vacation with family for the first time in a while.

“It’s been a while, and you’ve gotten uglier….”
“You and I look pretty similar anyway?”

Seo Ho-jin grumbled with his mouth wide open.

***

I deliberately chose a Gukbap Restaurant with few people around and ordered some dishes without much thought.

“How’s school?”
“School’s the same as always. Sometimes I just want to throw all my group project teammates into the Han River, you know?”
“Wouldn’t the Back Mountain be better?”

I gave a half-hearted response and asked once more.

“Do you have friends?”
“Yeah, I guess….”

I pushed the side dishes toward Seo Ho-jin. I didn’t really have much appetite myself, but I wanted to see him eat.
It seemed I hadn’t paid enough attention—his face had grown noticeably gaunt over the past few months.

“Make sure you’re eating well—. Ah, fine. I’ll stop.”
“The three-combo interrogation is seriously killer. School, friends, nutritional intake. I’ve never seen anyone ask about that except during holidays.”

Seo Ho-jin paused mid-bite, his spoon dipping into a hearty broth, and grumbled properly. Now that I thought about it, I realized I was being a bit much, so I closed my mouth sheepishly.
That kid pretends otherwise, but he’s got my sarcasm down to an art form.

“By the way, what’s with the vacation? I haven’t even seen your face around the members lately.”
“Jung Da-jun’s taking the college entrance exam.”
“What?! Then why are you here?”

What do you mean?

“Shouldn’t you be going? Isn’t it normal to wait all day in front of the School Gate?”
“Why would I?”
“…Huh?”

If I showed up like that now, it would be a burden. Sure, crowds would probably flock to Jung Da-jun’s exam site anyway, but I didn’t think I needed to add to that.
As I slightly frowned, Seo Ho-jin blinked and tilted his head as if puzzled.

“The college entrance exam is a huge event for you guys. …Isn’t it?”
“What are you talking about? Who doesn’t think the exam is important?”

It was important enough that I’d filmed a college entrance exam support message video with The Dun members a few days ago.
When the video of Jung Da-jun—recently worn down by both practice and studying, his face haggard—cheering on all test-takers (including himself) with a fighting pose was released, it sparked a small wave of laughter among Noeul fans.

“No, what I meant was when I took the college entrance exam, my brother…. Oh.”

Seo Ho-jin stammered through his words before seeming to realize something, lowering his head.

“…Ah, I see.”

I narrowed my eyes at his suspicious reaction, but Seo Ho-jin simply shoveled rice into his mouth quietly as if lost in thought, then abruptly changed the subject.

“So Jung Da-jun is taking the college entrance exam today….”
“…When did you see him take it? And why are you smiling?”

Back when I was a reckless PD (not that I’m much different now), I’d always warned him never to acknowledge knowing me, afraid that getting tangled up with some strange person might expose Seo Ho-jin’s personal information. Perhaps because I’d emphasized it so many times every time we met, Seo Ho-jin didn’t seem particularly interested in my workplace either.
Actually, it was better to say he didn’t know much about it.
Seo Ho-jin set his spoon down on the table with a clink.

“I hope Jung Da-jun did well. It seemed like he prepared hard for it?”
“Don’t pretend to know when you didn’t even know Jung Da-jun was taking the exam until just now. And don’t contact Jung Da-jun or my members just because you saw him once….”
“Hm?”

I was about to say don’t get close with the people at my workplace, but I hesitated.

‘…Wait, is it okay with the members?’

Compared to my PD days, my public image was incomparably better, and the company was adequately blocking overzealous fans (as unbelievable as it sounds, it’s true).
After the Sung Ji-won sasaeng phone incident, I’d gone to the company and added a word of decorum, and they seemed to be even more careful about such matters now.

‘…Come to think of it, this guy is also twenty-three like Sung Ji-won and Kim Sung-hyun?’

I’d always thought of him as a kid because he was ten years younger, but after returning to youth and living with The Dun members, he wasn’t quite that much of a child.
At twenty-three, one could read the room fairly well, engage in politics however clumsily, and pick out people’s flaws.
No, first of all, even Kang Yi-chae was twenty-one.

‘When I think about it like this, really… but?’

I glanced at Seo Ho-jin, who was carefully piling pickled radish on his spoon and chewing away.
He looked far too simple-minded.

‘…Or is that not it? Does this guy still have the mental age of a ten-year-old?’

To be honest, Seo Ho-jin and Jung Da-jun seemed pretty much the same to me. Not that I’d ever say it out loud. But Seo Ho-jin had an uncanny ability to read my mind, and his eyebrows furrowed sharply.

“What’s wrong? Why are you annoyed?”
“Watch your tone, will you?”
“Ow!”

I tapped his head with the spoon I hadn’t even used yet, making a sharp sound. Seo Ho-jin rubbed the spot gently while muttering “I can’t even say a word,” dragging out three syllables, then glared at me with wounded eyes.

“So what, what am I supposed to do about it?”
“….”
“If you’re upset, you should’ve been born as the older brother.”
“Mom… why didn’t you give birth to me first….”

I hit him once more, then scooped rice with the same spoon, when I heard the voice of what appeared to be a restaurant employee.

“Wow~, isn’t that the PD from here~? Is that your friend next to you?”
“Oh, hello.”

I gave Seo Ho-jin a subtle signal to stay quiet, then quickly switched my expression to a professional smile.
The drama had been a hit, after all. Every so often, people would recognize me and strike up a conversation like this.

“I told you to stop pushing Yoo Jung-hwa around, right? And in the end, she went over to Seung-tae!”
“Haha… I’d like to keep Yoo Jung-hwa by my side forever and keep pushing her around.”
“Don’t keep her around just to push her around….”
“Come on, that’d be such a waste~.”

I threw out a service line, a riff on “that’d really be a waste,” and the woman burst into delighted laughter. When she mentioned giving me extra service, I nodded gratefully and went back to eating my rice. That’s when I noticed Seo Ho-jin watching me with a suspiciously pleased expression. His impure gaze gave me chills, so I rubbed my arm.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s creepy.”
“Watch your language a bit, will you?”
“I’m already being careful enough.”
“You’re a textbook example of a hypocrite….”

The kid scratched his head while grumbling.

“I just… you’re doing really well, hyung. It’s nice to see.”
“Your tongue’s too long. What else do you want to eat?”
“Why do you always twist your words like that? You could just say ‘I understand, thanks,’ but you never do.”
“…Hmph.”

I felt embarrassed and stopped myself. There was no need to be sarcastic even in front of my younger brother. But sarcasm had become such a habit that I couldn’t help it.
I’d realized something recently while spending time with nineteen-year-old Jung Da-jun—kids absorbed everything like sponges. That’s why I’d been restraining my language around Jung Da-jun lately.

‘For all that, Seo Ho-jin turned out pretty normal.’

I paused for a moment, marveling at how Seo Ho-jin had endured my chaotic, turbulent phase and grown into a reasonably well-adjusted adult.
He didn’t curse, he studied a bit, and he had his head on straight.

“What a waste, really…. Yoo Jung-hwa, do you want to work with me again tomorrow?”
“….”

Or maybe his head still wasn’t on straight after all….
I kicked Seo Ho-jin’s knee as he smirked in front of me, then went back to inhaling my gukbap. But Seo Ho-jin kept chattering away stubbornly.

“Your acting in that drama was insane, hyung. I was watching it and got so scared I turned it off halfway through.”
“Did you end up watching it to the end?”
“I took a deep breath and hit the spacebar. Why is Lee Jung-hoon so popular with the romance line anyway? I seriously don’t get it.”
“I don’t get it either, so just be quiet.”

I scooped up some broth with my spoon and let out a quiet laugh. Seo Ho-jin searched for meat in his gukbap as he spoke.

“But it really was natural. How did you pull off that PD role so well when the age doesn’t even match….”
“…?”
“…pull off….”

Seo Ho-jin seemed to hesitate for a moment, then his eyes darted around as he forced an awkward smile, trying to lighten the mood.

“…Of course you did well, right? You acted using your actual experience as a PD back then.”
“…?”

‘What?’

A vague sense of unease washed over me—like my suspicious radar had just pinged. My eyes narrowed slightly. I immediately set down my spoon with an audible clink.

“What?”
“What what?”
“Something’s off.”
“…So what is?”

My appetite suddenly vanished. I looked Seo Ho-jin up and down, but he deliberately avoided my gaze. Just then, the service arrived with perfect timing.

“Enjoy your meal~.”
“Oh! Thank you!”

I bowed my head in sync with Seo Ho-jin as he accepted the service with a polite nod. Soon the conversation shifted to Seo Ho-jin’s university, and throughout his story, my younger brother kept stealing glances at me.
Just as I was about to say something, my phone rang. The caller was Sung Ji-won.

“Hey, hold on a sec.”

I raised my hand to Seo Ho-jin and answered immediately, receiving the message right away.

[Ho-yoon, Jung Da-jun’s done! Come to the company.]
“Yeah, I’ll head over.”
“Oh, you’re going right now? Tell Jung Da-jun I said hi when you get there.”
“…Sure.”

Hearing my response, Seo Ho-jin coolly set down his spoon. He immediately stood up to reach for his wallet, but I blocked him and handed my card to the cashier.
I was still on the call, so Sung Ji-won’s voice continued flowing through the receiver, but honestly, I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying.
And for good reason.

“Oh, I got a call too. I’m heading out~.”

Seo Ho-jin hurried away as if the timing couldn’t have been better.

‘…What the hell?’

I watched him for a moment, then pulled my hat down firmly and headed toward the company, but it felt like someone had grabbed the back of my head.
Like I shouldn’t just let him go like this.

“….”
[Ho-yoon?]
“…Hey, wait a second. Hang up.”
[Huh? Okay.]
“I’ll be right there.”

No, this felt seriously off.
I didn’t know where this feeling came from, which made it even more irritating. I finally ended the call hastily and turned around. As I walked with long strides, I spotted Seo Ho-jin on the phone with someone.

“Are you joking?”

Seo Ho-jin seemed to be arguing with the other person about some group project or something… but that wasn’t what mattered.

“What am I supposed to do without that?”
“….”
“I’m giving you ten seconds, so send it right now… Whoa!”

I grabbed his arm and spun him around. My younger brother, suddenly seized and turning with wide eyes, was truly—
the older he got….

“Seo Ho-jin….”
“What, what?”
“…yeah.”

…he looked more and more like our mother.

“…I might not be able to make it to Mom and Dad’s memorial day.”

So I couldn’t bring myself to say what was really on my mind… and instead let out a roundabout excuse.
Seo Ho-jin, still holding his phone awkwardly with the clumsy excuse I’d hastily blurted out, blinked for a moment before laughing awkwardly.

“Oh, you scared me….”
“….”
“You came rushing over so urgently, I wondered what was wrong. Hey, hang up for a second.”
[——!!]
“Hang up.”

I could hear something being said from the other end, but Seo Ho-jin, ignoring it, ended the call and looked at his arm that I was holding.

“The memorial day? Is that why you came rushing over like this?”
“It’s coming up soon.”
“Yeah, well. I’ll go alone. It’s been over ten years now—they’ll understand even if I can’t make it on the exact day.”

‘Ten years.’

I… found relief in that span of time.
Only then did I release the arm I’d been holding, and as I took a step or two back, Seo Ho-jin brushed his arm and looked me over. Feeling oddly embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my neck and avoided his gaze.

‘What on earth was I doing?’

“Buy flowers.”
“Of course. I’ll pass along your regards.”

Seo Ho-jin merely shrugged his shoulders and pointed at his phone with his finger. It was a gesture meaning he’d call again, and from the hyung whom even the members acknowledged as troublesome, it was a clear signal to disappear now.
Seo Ho-jin turned his back first.
I lingered in that spot for a long while, and only when Seo Ho-jin’s figure vanished from sight did I slowly move my feet.

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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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