The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 170

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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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170

Waaahhhhh!

The cheers gradually faded into the distance, and before I could even adjust to the light, the spotlight illuminating me dimmed.

Whoooosh….

In that moment, the sound of waves crashing violently against the shore echoed through the hall.

Splash, splash….

Simultaneously, the VCR began to play.

【How did I come so far?】

Then Kang Yi-chae’s husky, deep voice began the narration.
It was a famous line borrowed from a well-known science fiction film adapted from a novel.

【Everyone asked us, wondering if we had something.】

Whoooosh….

In the VCR, close-up shots of the members wearing the same outfits as on stage appeared. Though the details varied slightly, they all wore black spandex shirts that clung to their bodies, with harnesses made of weaving straps connected by buckles crossing their shoulders and running beneath their chests.

【Then we told them, we never saved anything for the swim back.
1)
】

I glanced down at the floor and wiped the corner of my mouth once.
The snug black turtleneck was slightly irritating.
To complement the song while not hindering the intense choreography, this outfit was designed with minimal embellishment, opting for a techware aesthetic.
I had specifically requested short sleeves for the styling.
To let the faint scar show plainly.

【Some laughed, some worried, telling us there is definitely a limit.】

A short, clipped viola sound rang out. The low register of the alternative rock genre gradually intensified.

I recalled the choreography I had memorized beforehand in my mind.
The moment I heard the promised signal—the twang of the viola string—I moved.
I walked straight ahead, then five steps to the right—.

【But they do not know one thing.】

—Then two more steps forward.
In the VCR footage, waves grew increasingly fierce before filling the entire screen.

Splash!

Lightning struck, and above the dark sea of night, a single star emerged.
I walked slowly through the darkness.
Standing behind the back dancers who were already in position, I briefly wiped my eyes.

And finally, I recited Kang Yi-chae’s words.

【There’s no gene for fate.
2)
】

There is no gene that determines destiny.

Boom, boom boom!

Wasn’t this verse perfectly suited to this moment?

Lightning struck the sea, and a fierce thunder roared. Each time the savage waves crashed across the stage, the back dancers swayed with them—like waves themselves.
Right on cue, the song’s title appeared on the screen.

【Stardust】

This composition, inspired by a film that spoke of how humans may once have been part of the stars, fit perfectly even in its title.

Crash!

As piercing light flooded down on me, the back dancers split left and right, and the camera rushed toward me from center stage.

【Black waves crash over me
My heart pounds wildly
Am I suffocating?】

Woooooah!

Strangely, the sounds around me became muffled, and even my own voice felt distant and unclear.
As if I were submerged underwater.

【My breath grows shallow, water fills my lungs
Fear threatens to drive me mad
Are we on the end?】

Suddenly, I remembered how much Kang Yi-chae had disliked giving me these lyrics.
I hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
Recalling that moment, my lips curved slightly upward.

【What are you talking about?】

With those words, a strange sensation consumed me.
Perhaps from pushing myself these past few days—heat radiated through my entire body, leaving me slightly dizzy, and my voice had grown rough and ragged from countless rehearsals.
Yet I could sense it clearly.

【Hear this Thunder!】

This was going to be the greatest stage performance I had ever given.

Crash!

As I swung my arms wide, white lightning flashed across the VCR screen behind me in perfect rhythm, followed by another thunderclap.
In that instant, my ears opened fully, and sound flooded back in.

【Embers ignite within my heart
I will risk it all
I’ve wagered everything from the start
The point of no return】

Shivers crawled up my spine at the sound of Kim Sung-hyun’s sharp, cutting voice—a tone I’d never heard from him before.
At the very front, Jung Da-jun was raging fearlessly and ferociously.

【Hear the thunder in my heart
We’re not drifting, we’re raging
We never saved anything to go back
We can never return, for the first time】

As I turned my body backward, feeling the sticky sweat flowing down,

【Whatever you call this moment
Riot, Fate, Stardust
I don’t care what you call it
The outcome is already decided】

Kang Yi-chae stepped forward with a composed expression, light at his back.

【When there is darkness, there is light
Lord, Please give us faith】

It was strange to see him rap those lyrics with that expression—a guy who seemed to believe in nothing but Chung Beom and himself.
Sung Ji-won, who had been waiting for his part beside me, glanced at me once before striding forward onto the stage.

【Stardust
Stars embroidered across the night sea】

As Sung Ji-won’s clear voice rang out in a soaring high note, the stage effects erupted in brilliant splendor.

【I’ve crossed through darkness for this moment】

And then,

Boom!
Crash! Boom!

The stage blazed with blinding white light and plunged into darkness repeatedly, creating the effect of lightning striking down into waves.

【We are becoming Stardust】

Scattered lights so brilliant they bleached my vision adorned this place. My dance never faltered, yet my eyelashes trembled.
The audience, the fans, and perhaps my brother too—knowing they were all watching this performance right now—

【I bet everything on this
Don’t be afraid, move forward
We never saved anything to go back】

My mind snapped into focus.
So even as I bit the inside of my cheek, I flashed a confident smile for the cameras.

【We’re not lost, we’re moving forward
We never saved anything to go back
Never able to return, for the first time】

As the members slowly gathered toward the center, screams reached my ears.

Whoooosh….

Our eyes met, and we slowly made our way toward the staircase set up behind us.

Whoooosh….

White petals drifted down from the sky.

【Toward the light】

The song was racing toward its end.

【All the way to the end
No matter what awaits】

I tilted my head back and hastily swept my sweat-soaked hair up.
One by one, the members took their positions on the staircase.
I climbed all the way to the top alone, then spun around and flicked my fingers toward the camera.
The roar from the crowd—incomparable to any other stage—twisted my lips into a grin.
Yes, didn’t I say it?

【We are becoming stardust】

This will be my greatest performance.

Boom!

.
.
.

“Gasp, huff….”

The moment the stage ended, I was gasping for breath.
My hands trembled violently, and I felt completely out of control. As the lights cut to black, the roar of the audience pierced through my in-ear monitor, drowning out everything else.
My heart pounded so fiercely I thought it would burst from my chest. Coming down to the Backstage to compose myself, every staff member chimed in with their own words.

“Insane! That performance was absolutely crazy!”
“I literally got chills. I wish I could’ve seen it from the front!”
“Seo Ho-yoon, you were literally flying across that stage?!”

Leaving the members behind as they watched me with towels in hand, I grabbed a staff member’s arm and asked.

“Is voting finished now?”
“Huh?”
“The voting.”

The staff member looked slightly flustered before explaining the situation.
In the noisy atmosphere, I missed a few words, but I could infer the meaning well enough.
Thirty minutes until the deadline, preliminary results showing High Five and us in a close race, and so on.

“Thank you.”

I bowed in gratitude and approached my members.

“―Brother.”

Jung Da-jun, who had been full of energy on stage, paused mid-wipe and glanced at me.

“Take a breather, Da-jun.”

My mind was cool and collected, yet my emotions surged with intensity, leaving me feeling weightless and untethered.

‘Second place is guaranteed.’

But what I needed was first place alone.
The question was how much of the foundation I’d laid would pay off, and how much the general audience’s interest and votes would influence the outcome.

“Seo Ho-yoon, drink some water.”
“Yeah, thanks.”

[Voting is now closed!]

I returned to the Waiting Room and waited for the results. Among the members, only silence hung in the air.
After the voting closed and a bit more time passed, the Staff Member’s voice came through.

“The Dun, please head up!”
“Got it.”

As I slowly climbed back onto the Stage, the fandoms watching each group waved their light sticks and cheered.
Even though I knew I didn’t care much about it, Kim Sung-hyun and Sung Ji-won stood in front, slightly obscuring my figure.

“Then let me announce the results!”

I wasn’t as nervous as I’d expected.

“5th place, Ber!”

The group name appeared first on the screen installed behind the Stage, followed by the voice of MC Ha Seo-yeon.

“—3rd place, TEW!!”

Applause followed with their comments, and now only two remained.
High Five and The Dun.
I felt Jung Da-jun press tightly against my side.

“Now only 1st and 2nd place remain. Before the announcement, I’ll first reveal the total scores of both groups.”

With MC Ha Seo-yeon’s smooth smile, tension-building BGM filled the Live Hall.

“The 2nd place total score is 29,200 points. And with 12,590 votes from tonight’s live performance, the 1st place winner with a total score of 30,430 points is—!!”

The chaotic lights scattered in all directions suddenly converged on me, and I felt their focus.

“—Congratulations——!!”

Boom!

“——The Dun!!”

Brilliant confetti cannons erupted, and flower petals fluttered down in a gentle cascade.
Deafening cheers erupted loud enough to make my ears ring.
A shiver raced up my spine and exploded through the crown of my head.
An overwhelming sense of relief crashed in alongside the electric thrill.

“…Ah.”

The point gap I’d never quite managed to overcome until the very end.
First place—achieved only by selling out my family circumstances.

‘It’s done.’

Either way, by clinging desperately to the bitter end, I’d accomplished what I wanted.

“…Aha ha.”

My face remained fixed forward, but my hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly, seeking to feel something real.
I pushed down the runaway conscience creeping back into my chest and smiled brightly.
Then,

Ding

[Quest Complete!]
[You have secured □□ in Shining Star Season 2!]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[—….]
[E R R O R]
[——Separate from this game, some of the player’s confidential information has been leaked.]
[Reward settlement is being delayed.]
[Processing—….]

The System Window erupted in a cascade of notifications before settling into a processing state, the ellipsis crawling forward with agonizing slowness, offering nothing more.

‘Maybe it’s because I exposed my family situation first.’

Normally, a substantial boost to my Vocal stat should have been granted as a reward.

‘That’s fine.’

I’d been wanting to experiment with penalties anyway, and it seemed things had worked out in an unexpected way.
I’d think about the details later—for now, I brushed away the paper flower clinging to my hair.
Then I took a step toward the members.

“Kim Sung-hyun, you—.”

But I couldn’t finish the sentence.
Jung Da-jun suddenly pulled me into an embrace, tears streaming down his face.

“Brother, sniff, Ho-yoon Brother….”
“….”

Tears rolled down his cheeks like something out of a manga.

“Brother, our Hyung…. Sob, sob….”

I could roughly guess why, so I just held him back and gently ruffled his hair.

“You call yourself an adult, Jung Da-jun.”
“That’s… ugh…”

I wasn’t sure why my mood improved slightly watching Jung Da-jun cry, but I let out a laugh and brought up something I’d said after the first round of Shining Star Season 2.

“How about it? I promised to take you on a first-place roller coaster ride, didn’t I?”

The youngest member then burst into tears like someone had turned on a faucet.
I was slightly taken aback, but there was no one to pass off the comforting to. Sung Ji-won was also crying with his head bowed beside him. And behind him was Kim Sung-hyun.

‘Is everyone crying?’

Just to be sure, I checked on Kang Yi-chae as well, but he simply stared ahead with an expressionless face.

“Stop crying now, stop.”

Once Jung Da-jun had calmed down somewhat and stepped back with sniffles, the High Five members approached and offered their handshakes.
It was a customary gesture of courtesy displayed before the cameras between victor and vanquished.
Kang Yeon-hu, who had been wearing a natural smile, stepped in front of me and made a slightly peculiar expression before extending his hand.

“You worked hard, Ho-yoon.”

I grasped his hand in return.

“Thank you.”

At my light response, Kang Yeon-hu furrowed his brows before breaking into laughter.
The chaotic atmosphere settled, and it was time for the victor’s remarks.
Seeing Kim Sung-hyun, who had shed tears no less than Jung Da-jun, I doubted he could even speak properly, so I grabbed the microphone first.

“—Hello.”

The lights felt particularly bright today.

“I’m Seo Ho-yoon from The Dun.”

All eyes gathered on me, and I smiled with deliberate audacity.

A position climbed up solely through narrative.
It was time to share impressions that everyone desired and met their expectations.

1) Partial quote from the film Gattaca (1997. 10. 24.).
2) Partial quote from the film Gattaca (1997. 10. 24.).

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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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