The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 138

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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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138

[Wow!!! The Dun’s Japan debut!!!]

“…Huh???”

It was better than expected.
Lee Ji-hyun jolted upright in shock, grabbing the monitor.

[Congratulations so much, guys!! Just walk on the flower path haha]
“Haha, as expected, yen earning power #let’s go”

…No, the response was genuinely positive.
Though it was a public account and scattered insults toward Dae Pa-sung were inevitable, such a favorable atmosphere was rare enough that Lee Ji-hyun rubbed her eyes multiple times in disbelief.
She also checked the private account she’d prepared in advance.

Haha, of course the kids are starting with Japan first.

Fortunately, the atmosphere there wasn’t particularly negative either.

Haha, it does seem like they’re starting to gear up to go overseas… (lol) Since they’ve been working hard to build their position in Domestic Korea for a year…

└It’s not like they’re struggling in Korea and running overseas.. They’ve built up recognition, so attracting capital overseas is unavoidable]

It seems a bit early, but at least I’m relieved that the period is short.
There are no major rookies debuting in January right now..
Even if they’re gone for a few weeks, there’s no reason the fandom influx would slow down

└ㅋㅋㅋ And these cute kids are working hard on the B app so I think I’ll upload something else lol]

Of course, negative opinions about going overseas were bound to emerge. Overly seasoned K-pop fans would gnash their teeth at the mere mention of “overseas,” so in a way, it was a natural reaction.
The fact that they weren’t trending and getting massively insulted was already a win.
Just as Seo Ho-yoon had said, they’d spent the past year meticulously building their foundation.

[After all, over the past year they’ve worked so hard on variety shows, self-produced content, title tracks..

└Thank you! This is The Dun! (entrance clip)
Rising dawn! This is The Dun! (exit clip)
Hahaha this is the real deal

[Dun-ging and Noel do this every day
The Dun: No comeback, no comeback, no comeback…
Noel: You Dun-gings always lie so easily..!
The Dun: (silence)
Noel: …Huh? Really no comeback?
The Dun: Comeback~!!
Noel: …Ugh! You Dun-gings always..!

Hahahahahahaha

Even during the year-end stage, comments like “We’re really going to strip away every layer, you Dae Pa-sung guys!” kept flooding in, but Lee Ji-hyun was caught off guard by the unexpectedly enthusiastic response to their overseas activities, stammering in bewilderment.

“…Wow, that’s crazy.”

[But? If we do this many overseas tours and miss the influx, we’ll uproot Dae Pa-sung]
[The moment we neglect domestic fans while chasing overseas money, we’ll go stand in front of the Lobby and scream]

└I’ll pull down my pants from the side
Hahahahaha seriously, calm down already hahahaha

“…Yes, yes.”

As new comments kept appearing with each refresh, Lee Ji-hyun’s eyes began to well up with tears.
For a whole year, she’d been ground down between a boss and colleagues who ignored trends and didn’t listen, working herself to death with barely a moment to breathe.
She’d received bonuses and there was some sense of accomplishment, but she’d had little time to enjoy it, and even the smallest mistakes felt like her fault. On top of that, her boss had been obstructive, her peers had been divisive, and stress had piled up relentlessly….

“Thank… goodness….”

So when the positive responses washed over her, the poor newcomer Lee Ji-hyun, who’d suffered so intensely all this time, began to shed tears uncontrollably.

“Sob sob sob. Thank goodness….”

Honestly, the Japan debut wasn’t that big a deal and the period was short. She’d always been receiving criticism, so she thought the impact wouldn’t be that severe, but with everything that had accumulated over the past year, once the dam broke, a flood of sorrow came rushing in.
Lee Ji-hyun forgot all sense of shame and wept openly, collapsed over her desk in the office.

“…Haaah~.”

And at that same moment, the resignation letter I’d been carefully keeping in my heart came to mind.
Not that I was living some perfect life, but I wanted to reclaim a life that felt human again.

‘Do I really have to go this far….’

After composing myself somewhat, Lee Ji-hyun quietly pulled out her resignation letter from the drawer with trembling hands and began filling it out.

“I’m not living like this anymore…. I’m quitting everything…. I want my godly life….”

Then, a familiar voice came from the entrance.

“Lee Ji-hyun.”

Seo Ho-yoon, his expression impassive, stood leaning against the doorframe with a book tucked under one arm.
Lee Ji-hyun startled at the sight of him writing her resignation, but Seo Ho-yoon simply tilted his head and approached.

‘…D-did he hear?’

“You’re still working?”
“Y-yes. I w-was checking the debut response….”

Embarrassed, Lee Ji-hyun quickly wiped her face with one sleeve and covered the resignation letter with her other arm, though she couldn’t stop sniffling.

“Th-the response seemed good.”
“Yes, I saw.”
“…You saw?”

He saw it, yet he’s being so indifferent?
Lee Ji-hyun often found Seo Ho-yoon impossible to read.
Even for someone in the entertainment industry, where people start their careers young and grow up reading the room, Seo Ho-yoon was only twenty-four and just two years into his idol career.
Yet despite that, he was mostly indifferent to most things, but picky about trivial matters, and utterly fearless.

“Thanks to you, Lee Ji-hyun, the response wasn’t bad at all.”
“….”

‘…What is this, I’m actually moved.’

Lee Ji-hyun erased the description that had been there and looked at Seo Ho-yoon with a moved expression.
No one acknowledged my hard work, yet Seo Ho-yoon—notorious even within Dae Pa-sung for being difficult—was recognizing me like this, and my chest felt a little tight.

“The Japan activities should go well. The anime ending theme seems like it’ll do great too, and the Showcase planning was solid.”
“…The B-side tracks turned out beautifully.”
“Right? Kang Yi-chae put in a lot of effort.”

Seo Ho-yoon casually brought up work matters, then perched slightly on the adjacent desk, set the book aside, and offered me a tissue box.

“…Sniff. Thank you.”
“Sure.”

Whether Lee Ji-hyun blew her nose or not, Seo Ho-yoon’s gaze swept past her desk and landed on the monitor.

“Um, but did you need something…?”
“Ah~.”

Unexpectedly, Seo Ho-yoon didn’t bring it up directly. Unlike the blunt way he usually spoke, Lee Ji-hyun became especially guarded.

“Just… I was concerned.”
“…Ah, um….”

Lee Ji-hyun tried to understand the meaning behind his words.

‘What?’

That bastard with the terrible personality cares about someone else?
The tears that had been hanging precariously vanished in an instant.
I was rubbing my eyes in disbelief when Seo Ho-yoon tapped the desk.

“Working here is really tough, isn’t it? Getting squeezed from all sides is par for the course, and no matter how hard you work, most people don’t even notice.”
“….”
“Even when they do acknowledge you, they just take advantage and keep dumping more work on you like it’s obvious. People are really terrible.”
“…Um, Seo Ho-yoon.”
“Yes?”

He suddenly showed up and was building up to some topic, but still.

“Why are you talking like someone who’s been through the wringer for over a decade?”

You’re an idol, after all….
Seo Ho-yoon finally looked at Lee Ji-hyun as she hesitantly voiced her question, offering a faint smile.

“Not working, huh?”

He meant he’d drop all the pretense and hype, but Lee Ji-hyun found his words didn’t quite register.

‘…Wow.’

Lee Ji-hyun, who had long since abandoned K-pop for 2D and 3D animation, had genuinely lost interest in flesh-and-blood humans, yet she couldn’t help but feel pure admiration whenever Seo Ho-yoon smiled like that.
And he certainly had the looks to match.

‘This guy’s got such an….’

“I’ve got something for you, Lee Ji-hyun, with your sharp instincts.”
“…Yes.”

Lee Ji-hyun looked at him uneasily.
She admired him, certainly, but she’d already learned that whenever Seo Ho-yoon smiled like that, something always happened—whether negative or positive.

“Close your eyes.”
“Yes.”

Seo Ho-yoon’s expression shifted completely as he picked up the book he’d set beside him and handed it to Lee Ji-hyun. She accepted it cautiously, studying him with suspicious eyes, and her own eyes widened dramatically.

“…What?”

It was the first edition hardcover of Lee Ji-hyun’s favorite novel—the one discontinued sixteen years ago, the origin and foundation of her long history as a novel otaku!!

“Th-th-this is…!!”
“Check the front.”

This was the book people joked about—impossible to obtain even if you offered a million won, let alone ten million.
Lee Ji-hyun felt as though lightning had struck her head, caught between disbelief and exhilaration.
At Seo Ho-yoon’s words, she opened the front cover with trembling hands.

[Thank you for your support.
May you always be happy ^^]

…It was the autograph of the Screenwriter who had supposedly retired from writing.

“A-are you insane?!?!”

Crash.

Lee Ji-hyun placed the book on the desk as if she’d seen a ghost, completely oblivious to the chair toppling over as she stumbled backward in a frenzy.
Yet Seo Ho-yoon merely responded with indifference.

“I heard you liked it?”
“Are you crazy?!! It’s not just liking—I worship this! It’s my religion! My Bible!!”

Gazing at her Bible that seemed to radiate light itself, Lee Ji-hyun remained in shock.

“H-how did you even… no, why….”

During a Planning Team meeting, she’d mentioned it in passing once—that she was a fan of this novel and wanted to get a hardcover edition.
It was certainly said, but the fact that Seo Ho-yoon remembered it was shocking enough, let alone how he’d actually obtained it….
No—how he’d obtained an autographed copy.

“I’m glad you seem to like it.”
“….”
“I wanted to organize that anyway. Take it.”

Lee Ji-hyun remained too stunned to respond, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Unable to muster a reply, she simply righted the chair and collapsed into it.
Seo Ho-yoon leaned on the chair with one arm while moving the mouse with the other, closing the website Lee Ji-hyun had been searching and asking a question.

Click.

“Are you still planning to resign?”

…So he really did see me writing the resignation letter, this bastard.
As the hesitant Lee Ji-hyun shook her head as if entranced, Seo Ho-yoon smiled softly.
The cluttered websites closed, revealing the Dae Pa-sung logo set as the desktop background.

“…What is this?”

She couldn’t tell if the person before her was an angel who’d brought her the autographed first edition hardcover of the novel she worshipped, or a devil whispering sweet words to lure her into a trap.
No—even if Seo Ho-yoon were an angel, he wouldn’t do something like this without reason, so the sharp-minded Lee Ji-hyun barely held onto her senses and asked.

“Is there anything you’d like to ask of me?”
“Aha ha.”

Seo Ho-yoon laughed as if he appreciated this side of Lee Ji-hyun. In stark contrast to Lee Ji-hyun’s anxious expression, Seo Ho-yoon looked quite satisfied.

“There’s something I’d like to do. Before that, I came to confirm your intentions.”
“…??”

Lee Ji-hyun furrowed her brows and looked up at Seo Ho-yoon. He averted his gaze from the Dae Pa-sung logo, lowering his eyes.

“Lee Ji-hyun.”
“…Yes.”

Seo Ho-yoon’s Japan activities were one thing, but…

“Are you perhaps the ambitious type?”

He was already setting things in motion to climb to the first division quickly, pruning away unnecessary branches along the way.

.
.
.

‘Hmm.’

I recalled Lee Ji-hyun, gazing at me as if I were some savior, continuously pledging her loyalty.
Was that really so appealing?

‘I don’t understand.’

As for the hardcover book—
I’d gone through considerable effort to obtain it as a surprise gift for Kim Hee-young, who claimed to be a fan of that author, but then I’d gotten buried under supporting Ho-jin through his college entrance exams and the flood of other tasks, completely forgetting about it. Even after everything fell apart, life had been too hectic, and the item remained gathering dust, forgotten.
If Lee Ji-hyun hadn’t happened to mention it during the meeting briefing, I would never have remembered it.
In any case, it was a gift I’d obtained to give to my ex-girlfriend, but ultimately I never managed to hand it over, and now there was no way I could.
Not that it bothers me or anything.

‘The object itself isn’t at fault.’

Shameless and without a shred of conscience, I descended from the business class cabin with a lightness of spirit and arrived at Narita Airport.
I exchanged greetings with the airport staff, hovering awkwardly beside Sung Ji-won, who spoke fluent Japanese.
After completing the formalities, I stuffed my passport into my pocket, flashed a refreshing smile, and gazed at the sight before me.

“Wow~.”

The air was slightly warmer than Korea’s winter, the characters before me indecipherable, the atmosphere somewhat serene.

“This is Japan.”

Invigorating.

‘Still, I’m glad I laid the groundwork before coming.’

A person really should handle things in advance.
Kim Sung-hyun, with a neck pillow wedged against his side, regarded me with a sullen expression.

“…Every time he smiles like that, I hate it. Am I abnormal?”
“Beep beep. You’re perfectly normal.”

I ignored Jung Da-jun’s words as he placed his hand on Kim Sung-hyun’s forehead, and lifted the corners of my mouth once more.
The beginning of our first overseas activity.

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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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