The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 155

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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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155

“Yesssss!”

When I learned that I’d successfully drawn a slot in the first round of the competition, this worn-out, exhausted office worker kicked my legs wildly through the air in pure joy.

“Yeon-hu, your sister’s coming!!”

As a High Five fan, I arrived at the competition venue on filming day, my heart racing with anticipation.

“Hey, the traitor showed up?”
“Haha, sorry!”

My friend laughing heartily at the entrance of the competition venue had, for a brief moment—like beef broth made from bones that had only dipped their feet in once—been a High Five fan in passing.
I’d thought I’d distance myself from fandom while struggling with real life, considering myself “K-pop free,” but then I got hit hard by The Dun’s maknae and found myself running around venues again.

“Still, we got another moment to come together like this~. Keep me with you forever.”
“I’m so over this…. Fine.”

We coolly agreed and stepped into the competition venue. The heat was already palpable against my skin, even though nothing had started yet.
As I looked around, trying to calm my pounding heart, the MC appeared.

“Hello, I’m Ha Seo-yeon~.”
“Wow, check out Ha Seo-yeon’s actress presence.”
“Her acting is so good!!”

While I whispered with my eyes glued to Ha Seo-yeon, the introduction flew by quickly, and Verse took the stage first.

“Oh!!”
“Not bad~.”

Even after checking the lineup, I’d expected the stage quality to be good since the performers had plenty of experience, but the composition was definitely not just solid—it was spectacular.

“It’s definitely better than last season.”

‘They’ve packed it with first-tier songs.’

Next came a Black Call song I’d sampled just a taste of ages ago.
The stage wasn’t bad.
But it didn’t feel particularly captivating to the office worker or my friend.

‘That’s something Black Call should be doing….’

Black Call had Chae Jung-woo, the K-pop deity whose vocal slip-ups since debut could be counted on one hand across all events, and Joo Woo-sung, whose mere presence on stage commanded gravitas. They were a different breed entirely.

‘No matter what they do, it’s just a downgraded version.’

They seemed to think that performing high-recognition songs would automatically work, but it was a massive miscalculation.
More often than not, they’d be swallowed whole by the original.

“Whoa, it’s hot, so hot.”
“Hey guys~, summer’s coming~.”

As similar intense songs continued in succession, the pyrotechnics never let up.
Every time flames shot up, my hair felt like it was burning, and sarcasm spilled out involuntarily.
My friend Noel had lost interest entirely by now and had even secretly pulled out a phone she’d snuck in, browsing the community instead.

“When’s our Da-jun coming out?”

Meanwhile, as Verse, Try, and TEW performed in succession, the office worker’s attention was entirely fixed on High Five.
Then The Dun took the stage as the fourth act.

“Hello!”
“??”

The moment they appeared, everyone at the venue was left speechless. What followed was nothing but screams filling the competition hall.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

They wore form-fitting black leather pants paired with flowing silk black shirts, and each member had draped thin, glittering body chains in various colors—some wrapping from waist to thigh, others peeking subtly from beneath their clothing.

‘Are they insane??’

Seo Ho-yoon even had a long velvet ribbon tied in a bow around his neck like a choker.

“I’m just going to pass out….”

Moreover, Sung Ji-won wore a flower crown woven from delicate white blossoms, while Kang Yi-chae sported a wet-look hairstyle with braids woven through with beads.
But the ultimate reason the screams erupted was.

“Damn!!”

The dancer line—Kim Sung-hyun and Jung Da-jun—had appeared wearing adorably cute cat-shaped headbands made from iron painted black!!

“That’s it for today! Everyone, wrap it up!”
“Wow, damn. This is driving me crazy….”

Leather pants, body chains, and headbands.
The Dun’s blatant declaration of intent to dominate had set the office workers ablaze with competitive fire.
The Noeul fan standing beside them had thrown all sense of decorum to the wind, frantically waving their light stick and screaming like a madman.
As Seo Ho-yoon gently adjusted Sung Ji-won’s flower crown, which had shifted slightly as he bowed at a ninety-degree angle, another roar erupted from the crowd.

“Hello, we are The Dun, the rising dawn!”
“Wow, the cheers are incredible?! The Dun, what kind of stage have you prepared for us today?”

The youngest member, Jung Da-jun, not the leader, picked up the microphone first with a bright smile.

“The song we’ve prepared today is ‘Easy Tempo’ by our senior, Lia Purple!”
“Is everyone ready to follow along with the tempo~?”

Sung Ji-won followed up next.
Even though he’d only slightly raised the corners of his mouth, the way Sung Ji-won’s presence brightened the surroundings, combined with the fluffy charm of Jung Da-jun as they exchanged glances and smiled at each other in perfect harmony, made me think they were incredibly cute, even as a fan of another group.

“Let’s go!!! I’ll follow you to hell!!!!”
“Calm down….”

It was nothing compared to my friend’s excitement from head to toe.

‘But….’

The High Five fan and office worker, having given up on restraining Noeul, reflected on the song The Dun had chosen.

‘Easy Tempo by Lia Purple?’

Male idols covering girl group songs had quite a bit of demand. However, it was typically something reserved for year-end stages or fan meetings.
Moreover, this particular song wasn’t even that famous.
All I could vaguely recall was that the outfit had been quite bold.

‘Did they rearrange it? Or is there some other trick up their sleeve?’

While turning it over in my mind, I didn’t realize it myself, but the fact that I was already a fan of another group yet paying this much attention and being this vigilant was itself proof that they were shaking up the entire scene.

【Easy Tempo One and Two
Easy Tempo One and Two…】

The lights dimmed, and an unfamiliar melody flowed through the air.
Soon the stage brightened again, and Jung Da-jun, leaning his head against Kim Sung-hyun’s shoulder as he sat in a chair, opened the introduction.

【Sitting beside you, I whisper softly
I’m feeling a bit dizzy today—
You know it all too well, smiling just a little】

“Da-jun, please….”

The friend whose bias was Jung Da-jun trembled from the very first verse as if experiencing vertigo.
Sung Ji-won, perched on the edge of the table beside them, tilted his body slightly toward Jung Da-jun and laughed.

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

‘Wow, such confident vocals….’

【But Easy Tempo One and Two
Don’t rush in without conviction】

Sung Ji-won grabbed Seo Ho-yoon’s right arm and spun him around, dancing a paired choreography together.

【You can mistake me for an easy man, there’s plenty of time
Take care of me slowly
Easy Tempo One and Two
Don’t rush
Easy Tempo One and Two
Don’t act hastily】

“Are you insane? Are you insane? Hey!! Are you insane??”

‘…Okay.’

The office worker found himself being swayed by his friend, who was shaking him while gripping his shoulders and making a fuss, and he was reassessing things.

‘I thought the original lyrics were mediocre.’

It was breathtaking.
The voice carried slightly more breath than usual, and the subtle widening of the eyes paired with the slight upturn of the lips seemed like ‘a technique no one else could replicate.’

‘He’s actually providing a pretty good mood shift for the audience exhausted by the intense consecutive songs.’

Just as he was judging The Dun’s performance with the cold, discerning eye of a K-pop veteran,

【Don’t subtly push and pull
Unlike the other guys you’ve met before】

Kim Sung-hyun stepped forward, draping a leather jacket halfway down his shoulders. A body chain glinted as it traced from his neck down his chest, and his toned, sleeveless arms rippled with the wave of movement.

“Yeah, you’re seriously different!!!!!”

It was a deliberately calculated move, but since so many people loved it, it had become a classic.

【I get that you’re going crazy with desire
But I said!
Easy Tempo One and Two】

His expression was lethal, yet his ears were flushed red as if a single tap would draw blood.

“Kyaaaaaaah!!”

The High Five fans felt a surge of dread as the surrounding roars and frenzied screams washed over them.

‘Damn, they really want this victory!’

I wondered if this was the part they’d prepared to make up for Kim Sung-hyun’s dance losing to the unit’s abs and placing second.
Then Kang Yi-chae, who had moved to center position, scrunched his nose tip cutely before launching into his rap.

【Hey, don’t look away, it’ll make you jealous】

It was a rap that fit the moment perfectly—sharp and sticky.

【Don’t you know I push everyone else aside
And rush straight to you?
Baby, you are my one and only thrill】

Then Jung Da-jun walked in from the diagonal, tapping his cat ear headband playfully.

【The moment I first saw you
I felt it
That you would change everything about me】

Just then, a soft pink hue seeped into the blue lighting. While all the members froze in place, only Seo Ho-yoon lifted his head.

【Think I’m an easy guy, we have time】

And with a wave, he seized the ribbon around his neck,

【Love me slowly】

And pulled it free in one fluid motion.

“Kyaaaaaaah!!!! Ahhh! Ahhh!!”

‘Damn!! Why does only he get the ribbon??!’

The fans didn’t know it, but all of this was thanks to Joo Woo-sung’s meticulous coaching.
Seo Ho-yoon, who had been grinding his teeth, awakened to the challenge and broke down every movement into 0.1-second increments, setting x, y, z coordinates and endlessly calculating where to position his body—which allowed him to execute today’s stage flawlessly.

“Kyaaaah!!”

Seo Ho-yoon’s eyes widened as he licked his lower lip, flushed with color.

【Easy Tempo One and Two
Don’t rush
Easy Tempo One and Two
Don’t come in hastily, yeah?】

As Seo Ho-yoon spun his body around and matched the pair choreography with Sung Ji-won again, the inverted triangle light sticks shook even more violently.
How could the Noeul fans not get excited when someone like Seo Ho-yoon, who seemed to excel at everything, was asking them to love him as their easy man?

“Bunny!!! I want to go fast!!!!”

‘These guys are really, really, really obsessed….’

They knew what worked in the market.
The office worker who was a High Five fan let out a gasp-like sigh, dizzy at the thought of the “My Baby” stage that would follow next.
In that moment, Sung Ji-won’s high note exploded.

【No, Please I can’t stop!】

“…!!”

‘I thought he was following in Chae Jung-woo’s footsteps, but this… he’s just on Chae Jung-woo’s level?’

Chills ran across my entire body.
Everyone’s mouths fell open as they stared, and Kang Yi-chae wedged himself into the space between the lyrics.

【No Easy Tempo, the beat keeps getting twisted】

It was a newly added rap for this stage.

【Drop the act and I want to do more than just you
My heart burns pitch black】

Kang Yi-chae’s gaze pierced through the screen like a direct stare, desire and affection dripping and overflowing. The rap continued in a voice a tone lower than before, spat out like he was chewing on the words.

【Take My Tempo One and Two
I want to swallow everything about you】

Most of the Noeul fans were nearly fainting.
The reason Seo Ho-yoon had left the rap unit alone and claimed first place with an overwhelming number of votes became crystal clear with this performance.

【Ddu du ru ru
Ddu du ru ru ru】

‘Damn it….’

The styling was flawless, the members’ ability balance was impeccable, and every movement calculated to match the lyrics—a stage executed to absolute perfection.

【Easy Tempo One and Two
Don’t rush
Easy Tempo One and Two
Take it slow and easy】

There was no way this performance could fail.
The Dun’s breathing grew ragged as they brought their flawless finale to a close.
Through the screen, flower petals fluttered down across the members’ heads.

【Easy Tempo…】

“…Wow.”

In that moment, Seo Ho-yoon’s pale face with only his cheeks flushed a delicate pink was captured on screen, and the office worker found himself muttering without thinking.

“Wow. He’s seriously gorgeous.”

If even a die-hard fan of another group could say that, I didn’t need to guess how it looked to my Noeul fan friend sitting beside me.

“Hey, hey…, is this a dream? If I pass out, call me a taxi, okay?”
“Watch High Five.”

I gripped my swaying friend’s hand firmly and spoke with sharp clarity. Looking around, even other fans had that slightly enchanted expression on their faces.

“Is this really happening right now….”

I watched my friend with an impassive face, still overwhelmed with emotion, hands clasped tightly together, tears glistening in their eyes, but inside, I was drowning in a sense of dread.

‘They’re going all out for success. This is dangerous.’

In reality, on SNS private accounts where leaks were hard to prevent, reactions from the venue were already pouring in like crazy.

[Just bury me here…
with Seo Ho-yoon’s ribbon…]
[Seriously, if I hadn’t been an idol, I would’ve had zero clue about this stuff, but damn, this is so good…]
[Thank you!!! I’m seriously grateful!!!!
Who planned this??? Come out, you genius!!!!]

It was Lee Ji-hyun.

[Kang Yi-chae’s rap section knocked me out
The new lyrics are insane.. This guy really knows how his fans tick…]

‘The Dun really is smart.’

The staff member stared at the voting device in their hand.

‘Wow, I really can’t predict how the live voting will go….’

After all, this was a ‘competition,’ and with established groups participating, multiple fandoms had gathered here fiercely. The other groups before them seemed to have been aware of this too, constructing their stages with intense male idol songs.
The fact that only The Dun had taken a distinctly different path….
From the tangled mess of thoughts, one conviction emerged crystal clear.
This,

‘Damn, this is serious….’

It was very, very, very risky.

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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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