The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 153

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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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153

“Joo Woo-sung, are you seriously insane?”

Joo Woo-sung, who had been standing on the Studio 3rd Floor Balcony tapping away at his phone, turned around with a grin spreading across his face.

“Seo Ho-yoon, hey.”
“I was about to complain that you didn’t tell me the lineup, but honestly, I’m past annoyed—I’m just amazed. How did you manage to pull that off between those two…?”

I couldn’t finish the sentence and just shook my head in disbelief.
Joo Woo-sung, who used to struggle just arranging a year-end stage with White Cherry’s Han Chae-ri, seemed to be in a good mood today.

“You only apply common sense in the weirdest places, you know that?”
“That’s because you lack common sense in those weird places, Joo Woo-sung.”

Joo Woo-sung chuckled. Then, with his arm draped over the railing, he dangled his hand and gazed down at the crowd gathered below.

“Season 2 is a total mess, right? My direct junior and a parade of exes…?”
“…”
“And you.”

This is ridiculous.

“Why am I caught up in this messy situation? It’s all connected to you anyway.”
“You’re asking even though you know? You’re the worst part of it all.”

Yeah, I’m definitely the worst part of this.
As I crossed my arms and stared at him, Joo Woo-sung nodded slightly.

“Why did it have to be a Lia Purple song?”
“Why?”
“Why, you ask?”

Joo Woo-sung let out a scoff of disbelief.

“You know exactly what you’re doing. Everyone knows you arranged the collaboration stage that way to avoid scandal. So why are you deliberately bringing Lia Purple here again? Don’t you realize that’s leaving a bad impression on your fans?”
“It’s refreshing to hear this kind of talk from you, Joo Woo-sung.”
“Want to die?”

The reality was that Joo Woo-sung was performing on broadcast with two ex-girlfriends standing right beside him, yet there was a reason he’d never gotten tangled up in any messy scandals despite dating so frequently.
He knew secret meeting places and, no matter what, never showed it in front of fans.
Well, the agency had thoroughly managed it too—they couldn’t afford to lose Black Call.

“What if a scandal breaks out?”

He was surprisingly oversensitive about these things.

“Most people would naturally think in that direction, wouldn’t they?”
“…?”

I approached Joo Woo-sung and rested my chin on the railing, peering down below.

“Don’t worry. I have a plan for everything.”

Below stood TEW.
I caught a faint mention of our group’s name, and everyone exchanged awkward laughs and glances.
It wasn’t strange talk even if someone overheard it.
Just typical workplace gossip.
Still, the cast members—who’d gained seniority and experience since the Shining Star Season 1 days—were clearly being careful with every word, no longer amateurs.

“Don’t act recklessly.”

Joo Woo-sung noticed and spoke while only rolling his eyes in that direction.

“There’s a limit to dragging other people down with you. They’re already being careful enough over there.”
“….”
“It can’t be helped—the more you move around in this industry, the more you learn to cover your tracks.”
“Speaking from experience?”

Joo Woo-sung stared at me for a moment, then let out a sigh.
It seemed to mean I should at least listen when someone was being serious.

“Anyway, we can’t count on the same luck we had in Season 1. We have to compete on skill alone.”

I looked at Joo Woo-sung.

“Isn’t it interesting?”
“What is.”
“That you’d think the same way, Joo Woo-sung.”

The top star smirked at my words.

‘Luck?’

He had a point. On the surface, it would look like luck.
If Season 1 was truly a wild frontier, then Season 2 was a mess pretending to be orderly.
At least the wilderness had purity to it—but here, only those who’d crawled up from the mire survived, and they were everywhere.
In other words, the politics would only get dirtier.
Just as Joo Woo-sung said, in this industry, the more you roll around, the more mud clings to you.

‘Doesn’t that make it even more interesting?’

“I see it differently. Doesn’t everything depend on the situation?”
“What do you think?”
“Those who already have things are worse.”

I’d seen countless cases like that.

“Those who’ve tasted something know its flavor, and those who’ve possessed something grow greedy. The more you have to protect, the greater the greed becomes, and soon enough, it shows itself.”

That’s why you could truly understand a person’s character when they reached the top—when they became the kind of position that got forgiven for anything.
So what would happen if someone lost the comfortable position they’d always taken for granted?

“Most people are similar, you know….”

They absolutely lose their minds.
Lines like “Do you know who I am?” didn’t become tired drama clichés for nothing.
Because people actually said things like that.
But this time, everyone seemed cautious, so I needed a way to pick the most vulnerable target likely to make a mistake. That’s why I chose this song.

“I’m curious who that’ll be.”

Who would make the most foolish mistake?
I’d set the trap; now I just had to wait for someone to fall into it.
I tapped my fingers against the railing, lost in thought.

‘And I hope it’s your junior.’

Joo Woo-sung would be horrified if he knew what I was thinking.

“Let’s just pretend you didn’t hear that.”
“…”
“You’ll let it slide, right?”

I smiled in a way that even I found distasteful, fully expecting to be called cunning, but Joo Woo-sung simply nodded in agreement.

“Sure.”
“…?”

When I tilted my head in confusion, Joo Woo-sung glanced at me and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’ll help you.”
“…What?”

My behind-the-scenes scheming?
My blank expression made Joo Woo-sung’s eyebrows twitch.

“What kind of ridiculous idea is that?! I’m talking about your skills, your dancing. I’m here to help you improve.”
“…Huh??”
“Seo Ho-yoon, you think I came here as a mentor for nothing?”

Was Joo Woo-sung really…?
My thoughts stuttered at this unexpected confession.

“…Wait.”

…Could it be?
Whether my mind was just slow or not, Joo Woo-sung’s words sounded like he’d volunteered to mentor me of his own accord.

“Don’t try to take credit with nonsense like that. What are you grinning about right now?”
“A sharp guy like you didn’t notice something strange? Sure, the company suggested it, but do you think I have the standing to come here as a mentor? Usually they’d just assign some trainer.”

Joo Woo-sung’s sarcasm only deepened my confusion.

“That’s why I told you before. I’m going to get absolutely torn apart from all sides. First, they’ll criticize me for coming out as a mentor because of my direct junior, and then when they see that I’m not actually looking after my junior and instead hanging around these weird guys, they’ll tear into me again.”
“What?”
“…Hmm, at least I’ll live a long life, right?”

I watched him mutter sheepishly, my mouth falling slightly open.

‘That makes absolutely no sense….’

Fine, being generous about it, if this were actually true….

“…Joo Woo-sung.”
“What.”
“Is your DNA sequence composed entirely of stupidity? Or are you just insane?”

That was way too much.

“Damn it, yeah, I’m an idiot, you bastard.”
“…I’m just glad you understand.”
“You’re pretty harsh about it.”

Joo Woo-sung, who’d been looking at me with reluctance as if to say I was ungrateful even when he helped me, let out a deep sigh and pulled out his phone.

“Ugh, so unrewarding. Unlike Hyun-sung, this guy doesn’t even have that cute charm…. No manners, no skill, his dancing’s clumsy—what’s so pretty about him? I must be crazy.”
“Stop it, please.”
“Seo Ho-yoon, do you seriously not get why I and Chung Beom treat you like an idiot?”

I don’t know. You guys are just idiots yourselves.
I wasn’t sure what expression was on my face, but when Joo Woo-sung saw it, one corner of his mouth lifted.

“That’s why you’re a nobody, you lunatic.”
“….”

No, wait—this guy’s just starting shit with me now.

***

After selecting the competition song, the schedule for Shining Star Season 2 progressed rapidly.

“Sigh…”
“Why are you sighing so much?”
“Oh, it’s nothing!”

To increase the density of the broadcast this time around, the filming frequency had ramped up compared to the previous season, which meant there was proportionally more to prepare.
As a result, the tight schedule fell not only on the cast but on the Production Staff as well.
They even needed to film interviews with the members, and since there weren’t enough Staff Members, they had to pull personnel from the Cultural Affairs Department.
And that person was none other than the youngest Assistant Director at the Broadcasting Station, who was currently sighing endlessly.

“Ugh…”

As he followed PD Kim Hee-young around, he found himself thinking of his cousin—the one who had been whining incessantly at him.

‘I need to get High Five’s autographs…’

Being a devoted High Five fan, his cousin had contacted him relentlessly—via text, KakaoTalk, phone calls—until he agreed.
He wanted to finish up quickly and move on, but of all things, the first shoot had been assigned to The Dun.

‘Man, this is annoying.’

PD Kim Hee-young had strictly told him never to show his fan side during filming, but surely getting an autograph or two wouldn’t hurt, right?
He pouted slightly, hoping to finish The Dun’s shoot quickly and run into High Five instead.

“Hello?”
“Hello, thank you for having us!”

But all those thoughts vanished the moment The Dun walked in.

‘Wow, are they even human?’

Having worked at the Broadcasting Station and seen plenty of celebrities, the Idol standing right before him seemed so surreal it was hard to believe they were the same species.
He’d heard they were popular these days. Looking at their elongated frames and faces that rivaled actors’, he understood why.

‘Being an idol really isn’t for just anyone…’

However, as an Assistant Director who had often heard senior colleagues’ stories about power abuse in the Entertainment Industry, he made sure to stay sharp and avoid giving them any reason to complain.
After all, Seo Ho-yoon, Kim Sung-hyun, and Kang Yi-chae looked intimidating even while standing there expressionless.
Once the members finished greeting the Staff Members, they gathered in the center of the Practice Room and began to talk.

“I’ll listen to Lia Purple’s song first before we start.”
“Sure.”

【I get this Feeling
You think I’m easy and light
But you’re already drawn to me】

Lia Purple had recently gained fame through viral chart resurgence and was actively appearing on variety shows, but as an Assistant Director with virtually no idol knowledge, I had no recollection of ever hearing this song before.
That meant it was likely a track that ordinary people like myself would also be unfamiliar with.

‘Is it more on the sexy or cute side?’

But something felt off.

‘Why did they even include a female idol song in the first place?’

Of course, it could have been included to make another idol choose it.
But if I happened to pick it, the whole thing would be a disaster. After all, The Dun had even picked the note that The Dun itself had submitted.
So wouldn’t it make more sense to just include something safe that would leave an impression—a male idol song, like Black Call’s Kings—and pick that instead?

‘…What on earth is this?’

It was a sultry, seductive concept that pulled out every ounce of charm—sexy and cute all at once.

【You can mistake me for an easy girl, we have time
Touch me slowly
Easy Tempo One and Two】

The lyrics were so dated that I wondered why the song had never become famous—the kind of content that wouldn’t land at all nowadays, all about playing coy and acting aloof to look pretty to you, but ultimately you’ll come to me anyway.
I wasn’t the only one thinking this way. The veteran staff members who’d been in this industry for years were also visibly unsettled.

【Don’t rush
Easy Tempo One and Two
Don’t come hastily without conviction】

‘This? On Shining Star? A male idol? In the first round?’
‘We just dodged a scandal and now it’s Lia Purple again?’

Thinking of Lia Purple’s outfit at that time made it all the more bewildering. Skin-tight black leather skinny jeans.

“This works. Should we go with this?”
“Yes~!”
“…!!”

Yet the members of The Dun, the ones directly involved, remained utterly composed.
Just then, the practice room door suddenly burst open and someone entered.

“Your awesome senior is here~!”

‘…Why is he here again???’

It was Joo Woo-sung, the one supposedly so difficult to face.
Unlike the bright and melancholic image he projected on broadcast, he was already notorious for being prickly and drawing clear boundaries.
That’s why the broadcasting station had merely thrown the mentor title at him as a formality—in reality, they saw him as someone whose face appeared occasionally on screen and served to boost ratings.
Everyone wore question marks at the unexpected guest’s arrival, but only Seo Ho-yoon reacted with indifference.

“Want something to drink?”
“You treat your senior like a shuttle service?”
“If you don’t want anything to drink, you can turn around and leave.”
“Seo Ho-yoon, you know what?”
“What?”
“I’m not even angry anymore.”
“….”

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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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