The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 143

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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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143

[Title: Seo Ho-yoon Smoking?]

The post on the anonymous community spread rapidly.

[Is this last year? It’s a screenshot from the rural area. Haha.
This is Seo Ho-yoon, right? The cigarette looks like this]

The photo uploaded in the post appeared to be a screenshot from a scene in the previous rural area self-produced content video.
Jung Da-jun and Kang Yi-chae were excitedly sprawled out on an outdoor platform bed, and beside them Sung Ji-won was unpacking luggage, when through the slightly open door frame in the background, someone could be seen holding something in their hand.
Below that, next to a heavily zoomed-in photo with degraded image quality through the door gap, there was also a captured photo of Seo Ho-yoon’s outfit before putting on the t-shirt that Kang Yi-chae had given him. The suspected cigarette brand was included as well.

[Title: Seems Right

(Photo)

The Manager’s taking it in a hurry, lol.
Ah, it’s been a while since a scandal broke~]

Truth be told, considering that they sell dreams and hope and become role models even for young children, there was a need for caution, and as singers, it was understandable that such matters could be raised from a management perspective. However, smoking incidents among idols were more common than one might think.
But the moment obsessive fans latched onto even a single incident, refusing to let it go and determined to tear him down, all manner of provocations and attacks erupted.

I totally called it / I knew this would happen
Why be so surprised? Lol, if you look at it roughly, you can kind of tell, right? She probably started smoking back when she was Mija~
[Doesn’t he manage his vocal cords? Doesn’t he manage his vocal cords? Doesn’t he manage his vocal cords?]

There were not only crude insults like these, but also many posts that feigned concern while subtly poking at him.

[Title: Seo Ho-yoon Smoking

Of course I think it’s fine if he’s an adult?
Isn’t Seo Ho-yoon the vocalist of the Idol group…? lol
I liked them, but I’m a bit disappointed because they don’t seem to manage themselves well…

The Noeul fans didn’t actually consider it a big deal.
Though Seo Ho-yoon had a reputation for being difficult, they couldn’t turn their backs on someone who gave his all for his fans.
He sent private messages daily, consistently uploaded selfies, and at any moment—even while filming Shining Star—he’d offer words like “Make sure you eat well” and “Stay strong today,” smiling warmly at them. There was no way they wouldn’t become devoted fans.

[What????? Seo Ho-yoon smoking??]

So when a post about Seo Ho-yoon smoking went up, the Noeul fans rushed over just as frantically—but with a completely different intention.

[Rushing over frantically]
[Hurry hurry hurry]

Not out of anger at the smoking rumor,

[Show us the photo right now!!!!!]

but because they wanted to see him like that.
The saying “like idol, like fan” existed for a reason.
It wasn’t something they could publicly admit to being proud of, but the Noeul fans who came rushing with their hearts pounding on their private accounts, eyebrows raised, were utterly deflated when they saw nothing but a blurry 144p quality screenshot of him holding a cigarette pack.

[Ugh~~ seriously]
[If you’re gonna make up a smoking rumor, at least show a photo of him actually smoking. Have some decency]
[I was so excited to make this my phone wallpaper… ugh, what a letdown]

These were fans who had overcome every obstacle. This was something they could dismiss with a scoff.
Even when Lee Jung-hoon played the crude PD character, they never actually saw Seo Ho-yoon with a cigarette in his mouth.
The Noeul fans, whose inflated expectations deflated with a soft hiss, went back to chatting amongst themselves.

[Honestly, once the comeback teaser drops, I’m smoking two packs a day
Because the fact that he’s not mine makes me sad

└That’s why every time this bastard comes on Pop Pop and acts all innocent, we drink soju straight. It’s the national rule]

[Do people still call this a scandal? You kids have only tasted the mild version of K-pop]

[If Jung Da-jun or Sung Ji-won were smoking, it might’ve been shocking(Kim Sung-hyun already said he hates the smell anyway)
But Seo Ho-yoon?
I’ve been waiting for you alone, he said on the red carpet—

└Kang Yi-chae: It’s surprising he doesn’t smoke
Hahahahahahaha oh my god hahahahahaha

However, Seo Ho-yoon’s cigarette scandal died down far faster than expected.
This was because a netizen had brought up footage from another entertainment show that had been filmed at the same location where The Dun’s self-produced content was shot, completely flipping the narrative.

[Title: That cigarette doesn’t seem to be Seo Ho-yoon’s

Before the rural self-content, there was a variety show called ‘Hometown Home Meal’ filmed at the same location, so I looked it up

Below are enlarged screenshots from the variety show

(Hometown_Home_Meal_crumpled_cigarette_pack_between_LP_records.jpg)

It’s hidden inside so it’s hard to see,
but if you capture the scene where they lift a few LP records to play the song like that, you can faintly see it in the corner
Isn’t this exactly the same as the one from Seo Ho-yoon’s leaked cigarette photo??

└Whoa, you’re right
└How on earth did you even find something like this???]

Shortly after this post, another post refuting the Seo Ho-yoon cigarette rumor was uploaded.

[Title: Evidence that it’s not Seo Ho-yoon’s cigarette (photos attached)

Compared photos from Hometown Home Meal and The Dun’s rural self-content

(cigarette_pack_enlarged.jpg)

The cigarette brand, location, and traces are identical

Hometown Home Meal broadcast: July 19th
The Dun rural self-content: July 21st

And when The Dun’s Manager briefly appears after the rural healing segment, if you enlarge it, he’s holding the same cigarette in his hand

The Hometown Home Meal broadcasting staff or cast members left it behind, and the reason Seo Ho-yoon was holding it was probably because he was trying to hand it over to the Manager in case it made noise.

└And they’re just spouting nonsense
└└?Seems right though
The comment above is just itching to criticize no matter what evidence is presented lol
└Hey, if this is true, it would be really unfair ㅠㅠ]

And as this story spread rapidly, a staff member from Hometown Home Meal clarified on StarStar that the cigarette belonged to them, putting the cigarette incident to rest for now.

Haha, where did all those kids who were cursing go? Haha
[This is ridiculous..]

Like just another passing issue, everyone simply brushed it off.

[Ho-yoon~ I’ll support you no matter what you do

└Even if you date?
└└Seo Ho-yoon is already dating
└└Huh??
└└With me♡
└└Seriously…]

But not long after, another reaction appeared.

[Wait, but where did that cigarette screenshot from the very beginning come from? I’ve looked through it over and over, and it’s not in any official video??]

To verify the screenshot, I searched through the Rural Area’s self-produced content videos on YouTube countless times, but that scene didn’t exist at all.

[…? What?]

Only then did the Noeul fans react sharply.
They could brush off the cigarette incident coolly, but if it was a leak, that was a different story.

[Is this screenshot unpublished? Then it was leaked from Dae Pa-sung?

└????]

No matter how many times I rewound the video and cut it down to the second, there was no part that exactly matched the photo posted on the Internet.

[Damn it]

The Noeul fans’ initial bewilderment gradually transformed into anger.

[Looks like there’s a leaker at Dae Pa-sung]

This wasn’t something they could simply ignore.
Then, suspicions about several previous incidents began to surface among the fans.

“Ah lol damn it, could the Second Chance audio leak from last year be from the same guy too?”
[The members don’t show it, but during B App there were so many private calls… Did they sell phone numbers too??]
[This is so infuriating…]

The keywords ‘leaker’ and ‘Dae Pa-sung’ instantly became trending topics in real-time.
During the Second Chance era, they could brush it off because of low recognition and obscurity, but not anymore.
Not only were coordinated hashtags flooding in, but posts demanding an official statement from Dae Pa-sung were pouring in.
As the situation escalated, Dae Pa-sung couldn’t remain silent any longer.

[The Dun’s ‘Second Chance’ audio leak constitutes copyright infringement… Dae Pa-sung Entertainment ‘immediately requested investigation’]

It was late, but at least they were doing something. While the uproar erupted outside, the internal atmosphere at Dae Pa-sung was equally turbulent.
The Planning Department was hit the hardest.
Since it was the department overseeing all data at Dae Pa-sung, the pressure was even greater.
After the CEO unleashed his fury, the Planning Department’s atmosphere was grim.

“Hey, who accessed the rural area data recently?”

Lee Ji-hyun’s Senior’s face was turning pale, but Lee Ji-hyun’s mind was elsewhere entirely.

‘That crazy bastard….’

Not the leaker.

‘Seo Ho-yoon, this absolute madman….’

Seo Ho-yoon.
He hadn’t explained the details, but that day Seo Ho-yoon had asked Lee Ji-hyun to secretly hand over the rural area healing data. And afterward, he’d told Lee Ji-hyun not to touch anything personally and to dump the data hard drive work onto a few specific seniors.

“You’re not doing anything strange, right?”
“Of course not. Don’t you trust me?”

I can’t believe it.
Though I clutched the hardcover book he’d handed me tightly to my chest, I couldn’t quite erase the suspicion from my eyes. Seo Ho-yoon’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he spoke in a soothing tone.

“Are you anxious? Lee Ji-hyun just needs to pretend she knows nothing.”
“….”
“Think of it as easy, just easy.”

Then he leaned in slightly.

“We never met today.”

In other words, just follow what he says, keep your mouth shut, eyes closed, and ears sealed.
From those words alone, Lee Ji-hyun could infer what was happening without needing to think hard.

“Ugh, this is driving me crazy. What on earth….”

Seo Ho-yoon orchestrated this entire scheme.
I wanted to catch the leaker and press down hard on the Planning Department, but there was no point in dwelling on past matters now, so he’d dug up a new incident and lit the fuse. In other words, Seo Ho-yoon had deliberately spread it himself.
And on his own birthday, no less.

‘On his birthday, of all days.’

Naturally, the company never suspected Seo Ho-yoon had shot himself in the foot, so he wasn’t even on the suspect list. I wanted to grab anyone and ask them where in this world an idol existed who would leak their own smoking gun just to flip the company upside down,
I wanted to grab anyone and ask them where in the world there’s an Idol who would flip the Entertainment Company upside down by spreading rumors about her own smoking habits, but

“…here it is?”

If it were Seo Ho-yoon, it would’ve been totally possible.

“…Yes.”
“…Yes.”

Even if the cigarette incident ignited the audio file and phone number leaks, how would that lead all the way to a complete overhaul of the Planning Team? Besides, if they couldn’t even find the leaker despite lighting the fuse, it would just damage the image and wouldn’t even qualify as noise marketing—just a clumsy misstep.
Even if the tobacco incident sparked the leak of music files and phone numbers, how does that lead to a complete overhaul of the Planning Team?
“Then I should… get back to work.”

“Then I’ll… get to work as well.”

Lee Ji-hyun turned her head carefully, gauging the situation.
She had never had time to worry about a madman in the first place.

.
.
.

“Hurry up and hand it over already.”
[What a punk….]

It was then that I found myself pestering the System Window relentlessly for the first time in a while.

[Quest Arrived!
Complete 10 events in Japan!
Success: 5,000 Points Awarded
Failure: (None—you did your best)]
[You’re the best, hehe]

Before departing for Japan—before meeting Lee Ji-hyun—a quest like this had arrived for the first time in ages.
Perhaps the System Window had reflected on my recklessness and brought a quest with decent conditions, but I was far more tempted by the items in the Item Shop.

[I Hope to See You in Dreams ><
You can influence the dreams of a designated target. So that fans continue to think of The Dun—.
—…No.
Reality check hitting hard. Just use it however you see fit.
This is definitely an item that Seo Ho-yoon can abuse for all sorts of nonsense.
But it's expensive, so I'd recommend not even attempting it unless absolutely necessary.
Points: 20,000
*Additional points may be charged depending on dream content.]

The minimum points required were 20,000. I'd wasted so many points carelessly handling Yoon Hee-eon last time that I couldn't afford it right now.

[Why are you looking at this again?]
[You can't afford it anyway]

"Why can't I afford it?"

[…Excuse me?]

The System Window was utterly flustered.
There had been a time like this before.
I'd casually complained that accumulating points through successful quests was incredibly difficult, yet spending them happened in the blink of an eye.
Then, surprisingly, the System Window had answered me faithfully.
There was a cost involved, but I could borrow points, it said.

[No, don't!]

Then, suddenly noticing something, it frantically threw up multiple system windows.

[Don't take out a loan!]
[Seriously!]
[Absolutely!]
[This is overkill!]
[You'll lose so much!]
[You'll regret it!]

"Yeah, I'm going to do it."

At the System's question, I chuckled.
Borrowing Kim Jae-yeon's hand to expand the board had been quite a good decision.
Look at this reaction.

'See, I told you there's a use for everything.'

At that time, cameras hadn't been installed in the bedroom yet. However, from outside, the van had been continuously filming the members' reactions from the moment it arrived at the filming set.
From where they were editing the in-house produced content, the footage was cut with a hawk's eye on the cigarette pack section and reported separately only to the Planning Team Lead and Lee Ji-hyun, who was almost exclusively dedicated to The Dun, and a heads-up came to The Dun as well. Afterward, the edited video was uploaded to YouTube in a deleted version.

Remembering that time, I quickly formulated a plan.
I asked Lee Ji-hyun to hand over the data, dug through the accumulated data to scatter screenshots of unreleased footage, and through Kim Jae-yeon, successfully flipped it into a Dae Pa-sung leak rumor.

Since I'd set the wheels in motion for the Planning Department overhaul, now I just had to keep running.
I wanted to catch the leaker and create a perfect picture, and for that, this item seemed to offer the best value.

[How could you think like that first?? Don't people usually try to save what they already have?]

"Office workers basically run on overdraft accounts."

I answered lightly and tried to hurry the System Window along, but this bastard kept asking persistently.

[You know you can't use that item if you don't know who the target is, right?]

"Would I be doing this if I didn't know?"

[…How on earth do you know?]

"I already threw out bait last year."

I sprawled across the sofa with my legs crossed, crunching on a lollipop.
From the moment the Second Chance audio leaked (right when I was busy vomiting in the bathroom), I'd already suspected the culprit was someone inside the company.
After the stalker phone incident, my suspicions only deepened, and I deliberately set a trap.

"I changed my phone number and shared my new number only with a few people I suspected."

[What??]

"It didn't take long before the phone rang. They sold the information."

The motive behind the leak itself wasn't particularly clear.
Just some pathetic person who got off on spilling secrets or was satisfied with pocket change.
And that pathetic person was in the Planning Team.
When I actually tried to gather evidence, they'd been keeping their head down lately—nearly impossible to catch.
Even if I got the self-produced content data from Lee Ji-hyun, exposed the cigarette incident, and connected it to both the Second Chance leak and the stalker call,

'it wouldn't be enough.'

The company clearly wouldn't move easily.
Most companies were conservative—they'd rather hide problems than cut them out, even knowing things would get worse later.
In other words, unless I dragged the culprit directly to the CEO, he wouldn't easily overhaul the Planning Department.

'It's all about timing.'

Rather than wait for a sluggish investigation, I needed to catch the culprit and reorganize the Planning Department while external pressure was mounting heavily.
And while thinking along those lines, this item had caught Seo Ho-yoon's eye.

[You're insane….]
[You're really going to do this??]

"Yeah, kid. Don't make me say it twice."

When I showed no sign of changing my mind, the System Window flickered with static before displaying something new.

[…Well then, let me tell you about the side effects of the loan system.]

"Mm."

[High fever, muscle pain, chills.]

I'd already anticipated that much.
It had been the same when the music file leaked before.
I was staring with an indifferent gaze when the endless stream of information made me momentarily lose my words.

[…A cough so severe you think you're about to die,
an excruciating headache as if someone were splitting your skull from behind,
loss of appetite where you feel like vomiting no matter what you see or smell,
hemoptysis from bronchial mucosa hemorrhage,
nasal blood vessel damage rupturing roughly once every hour….]

"…This explanation seems deliberately designed to discourage me."

[Are you really going to do this? It's nothing like last time, I'm telling you?]

I lifted my gaze and scanned through the side effects list once more.
It truly seemed endless.
After a moment of deliberation, I nodded.

"Loan it to me."

I've come this far—I can't back down now.

[Ah, seriously…. This is really crazy….]

The System Window displayed a message window and grumbled for a while. I immediately purchased an item with the borrowed points.

[You have purchased 'I Hope to See You in My Dreams'!]
[Really, don't regret this.]

"Why would I regret it?"

.
.
.

…or so I said, but exactly one hour later.

"…Cough, cough! Hack!"

…In other words, after coughing up blood three times in the bathroom,

"Damn it."

I began to regret, for the first time, not listening to the System Window's warning.

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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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