The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 205

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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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205

It was only natural that The Dun Members became my first targets.
Since this was a Quest given by the System Window, I assumed they were people somehow connected to the main scenario or becoming a first-tier idol.
So I started by testing the waters with light affection, trying the approach of saying things like “our XX is~” to gauge their reactions, and this is what happened.

“Are you insane?”
“Oh, yeah. Why?”
“Why, why, why are you like this, seriously?!”
“Yep, I’m Yi-chae, Ho-yoon’s brother~.”

And that was the end of The Dun.
Since the “designated” close person seemed to be an outsider, I held the back of my neck in frustration because of myself first, and then tried my next attempt on Lim Hyun-sung, who also got caught as a sucker.

[Me: Composer]
[Me: You know how much I care about you, right?]

The read receipt appeared immediately, but the reply didn’t come back until hours later.

[Lim Hyun-sung: Damn it, why do you need another song?]

Ding!

[The other party does not correspond to the Player’s designated “close person.”]

‘I see.’

I ignored Lim Hyun-sung’s message and searched for a new target.
And that target was Sucker #2, Joo Woo-sung.

[Me: Senior]

But he never contacted me back.
In the meantime, I sent a message to Min Ji-heon, who I was somewhat involved with, although we weren’t close to him, asking what he was doing, and all he got back was a bunch of aggressive comments like ‘Ugh ㅠㅠ I miss you too.’
And then,

[Me: Yeah]
[Younger sibling: What?]

First, I sent it to my brother too.

[The recipient does not correspond to the Player’s designated ‘intimate person’.]

‘Thank god, damn it.’

[Me: middle finger]
[My brother: Here we go again]

Even if I’d armored myself in shamelessness, the mere thought of expressing affection to blood relatives sent chills crawling down my spine. Well, I’d probably just brush it off anyway.

So who the hell is it then?
As I kept mulling it over, the worst-case scenario came to mind.

‘Surely not….’

It couldn’t be Kim Hee-young.
I’d rather not get tangled up with her if I could help it.
Even so, the System Window wouldn’t be that devoid of basic decency, right?

“Damn it, what do I do if that’s actually the case.”

I kept constructing and discarding hypotheses, pacing back and forth in my room with my phone in hand, when my phone suddenly vibrated.

[Joo Woo-sung: ;;; what the hell man]
[Joo Woo-sung: that’s so creepy]

Ding!

[The Player has made contact with the designated ‘intimate person’.]

“Huh, what?”

Joo Woo-sung?
I let out a dry laugh.

‘Wouldn’t Joo Woo-sung clear Quest 5 in seconds?’

I’d thought the Quest was designed to mess with me, but it turned out to be this easy.
The moment I called, the connection went through in barely a few seconds.

[…What’s up? What’s going on?]

His tone was filled with suspicion and wariness.

“Senior, I really respect you.”
[I’m hanging up.]
“Wait.”

I was trying to come up with something decent to say, but I had no idea what Joo Woo-sung was up to these days. I simply didn’t care enough to keep track.

“…So what have you been up to lately?”
[…Is this about a broadcast?]
“No, so don’t worry.”
[Then why are you calling me? Do you need something?]
“Why? Can’t we do this much?”
[No, we can’t, you bastard.]

Had I built it up enough?
Truth be told, I was already annoyed and wanted to get this over with quickly.

“Brother, I really care about….”

It was a word I’d chosen to start smoothly, but “care” wouldn’t come out easily.
Honestly, though he acted childishly at times, he took care of himself better than I did, so objectively there was no reason or opportunity for me to care about him.

[Huh? What.]

Empty words were nothing difficult for me, yet something felt stuck.

“I really, uh, care about you.”

In the end, I stumbled over my words unlike myself.
A long silence followed, and I even checked my phone screen wondering if the call had dropped, but the call timer kept running.
Just as I was about to ask what he was doing, Joo Woo-sung asked a question in a soft voice.

[Did you make a bet?]

Ding!

[The other party does not acknowledge it.]
[Not counted as an expression of affection.]
[Expressions of affection: 0/5]

What? Why?
I stared at the System Window with suspicion.
Joo Woo-sung was the type to puff up with pride at the slightest compliment, acting all smug and superior—so why wasn’t this working?

[Ugh, Seo Ho-yoon really is consistent.]
“….”
[I’m busy. Hanging up.]

I clutched the phone that had gone dead and wandered around the dormitory for a long while.
The other members had all headed to the practice room, and I’d told them I’d follow shortly, so I’d stayed behind.
The guys I’d poked fun at kept sending calls and messages, but Joo Woo-sung remained silent.
I suppressed my irritation, threw on some clothes, and pulled a hat down firmly over my head.

“Yeah, this is how it’s going to be.”

There was no way Joo Woo-sung was actually busy right now.
Black Call had paused all external schedules except for a few members’ individual activities. It was supposed to be a rest period.
I searched Joo Woo-sung’s schedule just to be sure, casually probed Kim Sung-hyun—his devoted fan—to confirm, and then immediately hailed a taxi to head to Joo Woo-sung’s house.
I greeted the security guard familiarly, took the elevator up, and when I reached his door, I punched in the passcode I’d learned from previous visits and boldly stepped inside.

“Your junior’s here~!”

With that loud announcement, I stepped onto the marble floor and headed toward the living room, where I saw Joo Woo-sung lying on the sofa, his eyes widening in surprise as he lifted his head.

“Whoa! Damn!”
“Senior, what could you possibly be busy with? You’re just watching a movie.”

Just as I thought. This bastard had nothing but free time.
Joo Woo-sung’s cat, recognizing me, rubbed its face against my leg and purred.

“Hey, Nyang-nyang.”
“You scared me half to death! Why are you here? How did you even get in?”

I flashed a friendly smile at Joo Woo-sung, who was eyeing me with drowsy suspicion.

“I came to express my gratitude to a senior who has helped me in every way possible.”
“Wow, even lies have their limits before people stop believing them.”
“Come on, just hear me out.”

Joo Woo-sung was always blind when he needed to be, and only had good instincts when it didn’t matter.
Clearly displeased with my words, he let out a groan of exasperation.

“I haven’t seen you around lately, so I thought I’d drop by.”

Since things had come to this, I decided to just get through this quickly and complete the Quest.
I plopped down onto the single-seater sofa and spoke.

“I’m also curious why it’s been so hard to see you—.”
“Here we go again with the act.”

My attempt at saying I cherished him had already failed. Respect? What else could there be? I should have practiced saying these things before.
I had chosen my words with considerable care.

“So, I mean, we—.”

And just as I was beginning to broach the subject, Joo Woo-sung’s expression turned visibly disgusted.
Still, I pressed on.

“—I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done without you, Joo Woo-sung.”
“….”
“….”
“….”

A long silence hung between us.
Then Joo Woo-sung, who had been picking at his ear with his pinky, tilted his head slightly to the side.

“…Are you feeling sick?”

Though his tone seemed a bit rude and tinged with irritation, after confirming my complexion was quite healthy and radiant, he proceeded to make a circular motion with his finger next to his head.

“Or did my brain just… completely fry? Or is this some kind of broadcast? A hidden camera prank?”
“Are you messing with me?”
“Yeah, I think my brain really did fry.”

The corners of my mouth twitched slightly.

“Look, I really respect you—”
“What?”
“…I really respect you—”
“I don’t know.”

My attempt to try again went down in flames spectacularly.

“You’re not going to listen to the end? Is what I’m saying funny to you?”
“What’s wrong with you, seriously? Did you eat something bad?”
“Ugh, forget it! Can’t you just listen quietly for a second?! I really hope that article about you and someone being a couple for New Year’s Day doesn’t come out!!”
“You crazy bastard, just curse me out properly!”

[hahahahahahahahahahahaha]
Hahaha, dude, that’s hilarious lol. *munching popcorn* hahahaha

‘I’m losing it!’

I thought I could handle this faster than the ticket cutoff time for Black Call’s Tokyo Dome reservation that Joo Woo-sung had mentioned.

“Man, seriously.”

The image he had of me was operating like an impenetrable defensive barrier.

“You really don’t believe what I’m saying? Would I have come all the way here to tell you some pointless lie?”
“You just barged in and started spouting nonsense, so that’s why. Put yourself in my shoes, buddy. If you were me, would you believe it?”
“Damn it, I would!”
“…What?”

Joo Woo-sung blinked, looking slightly taken aback.
Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure if I’d believe it 100% purely myself.
But this fool had helped me out every time with Shining Star and often looked after The Dun members too, so I was more than willing to believe whatever nonsense he said, at least once. Whether it was a lie or not.

“Of course I believe you, considering how much you’ve helped me so far!”

[Favorable expressions are being counted.]
[Favorable expression count: 1/5]

Simultaneously, a System Window appeared with a sharp chime, and I doubted my own eyes. The words I’d carelessly spat out in frustration had been counted as favorable expressions.
But there was no time to be amazed. This was an opportunity.

“Do you understand?”

I faced Joo Woo-sung and spoke with gravity.

“I respect and appreciate you too, Joo Woo-sung.”
“….”

Ding!

[The other party does not trust the Player’s words.]
[They are thinking: ‘Yeah, that figures, ugh’.]
[Favorable expression has failed and the count resets.]
[Favorable expression count: 0/5]

Heat surged to the crown of my head, but watching Nyang-nyang continue to circle at my feet, I simply yanked off my cap roughly and hurled it to the ground.

“Forget it, just forget it!”

It felt even more hopeless and difficult than when I’d received the Aegyo Quest.
Joo Woo-sung looked at me as if I were a madman, muttering to himself.

“…Is that guy actually insane?”

At this rate, not only would I fail to complete the Quest, but even filling up two favorable expression counts seemed risky.

***

“You again?”

Already the third day.
Excluding schedules, practice, and sleep, I’d been clinging to Joo Woo-sung’s house as much as possible.
Whether he’d bathed the cat, Joo Woo-sung was emerging from the bathroom cradling Nyang-nyang wrapped snugly in a towel.

“Ho-yoon, I’m bored.”
“Want to die?”

Joo Woo-sung chuckled and put Nyang-nyang into the pet dryer.
The cat really did adapt quickly.
At first, no matter what I said, it would act like it had indigestion or refuse, telling me to stop. Now, before I could even open my mouth, it would shout “Not buying,” “Don’t like it,” “Can’t do it,” and dodge me with the same familiarity as avoiding a stranger met near the train station.

‘Damn it.’

What Joo Woo-sung did wasn’t my concern, but I couldn’t spare any more time after today.
I was pondering what to do when Joo Woo-sung casually picked up his phone and asked.

“Hey, you crazy bastard. Want to eat? I’m ordering something.”
“What are you ordering?”
“How about jjajangmyeon?”
“Not interested.”

I answered half-heartedly, then quickly changed my approach.

“I genuinely hate it, but I respect you so much that I could unify everything to jjajangmyeon, senior.”
“Even your bullshit is creative.”

[The other party does not acknowledge this.]
[Does not count toward favorable expression attempts.]

I clicked my tongue, then the image of Sung Ji-won’s face, tears streaming down as he bumped into the car, came to mind, and I steeled myself again.

“Seo Ho-yoon, sometimes you’re funnier than a drama.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

That’s my life right now.
More spectacular than any drama, truly.
I was lying on the sofa, having claimed it from Joo Woo-sung, watching him brush the cat’s fur.
A message came in from Sung Ji-won.

[Sung Ji-won: Ho-yoon, where are you?]
[Sung Ji-won: Are you busy?]
[Me: Why?]
[Sung Ji-won: Oh, just… it’s fine if you’re busy]
[Me: Yeah, later]

He seemed to want to tell me something, but the Quest took priority right now.
I decided to put Sung Ji-won off for later and looked away from my phone, just in time to see Nyang-nyang scratching Joo Woo-sung and bolting away, apparently annoyed by his touch.
While thinking it served him right, Joo Woo-sung winced and gently rubbed his forearm, where long scratches had left their mark, before asking.

“Is this your place? And how did you even know my house password in the first place?”
“You’re only curious about that now?”
“So how did you get in?”
“I caught a glimpse of it from behind once, and it was obviously set to your birthday. Who wouldn’t know that?”

September 21st. Information that appeared the moment you searched Joo Woo-sung on any portal website. It was a profile I’d already memorized long ago.
Why didn’t he just hang a sign at his door saying everyone was welcome?
At that moment,

Ding!

[Affection Expression Count: 1/5]

I flinched at the System Window that appeared.

‘…Why did it go up?’

Joo Woo-sung was looking at me with an odd expression.

“What, what is it? Suddenly. You knew my birthday too?”
“…Only an idiot wouldn’t know that?”

Ding!

[Affection Expression Count: 2/5]

“…Damn, that’s actually touching.”

Why is this bastard acting like this?
Of course I remember.
Since thorough research came first before making a move, I knew everything about him—his debut date, stage name, every album concept, song titles, lyrics, you name it.
It wasn’t so much special interest as it was the kind of thing that got imprinted in my memory after seeing it a few times.
Yet Joo Woo-sung seemed to have forgotten about that variety show appearance, getting all emotional and muttering to himself.

“Damn it, you bastard… Still, I’m the only senior you’ve got, huh.”

Wait, when did I ever?
But listening to Joo Woo-sung’s nonsense, I realized something.

‘This guy’s the natural-meeting type!’

He pursued organic encounters.
In other words, he was the type who was weak to people approaching him without artificiality.
Even as the parade of compliments poured down, Joo Woo-sung, who had been indifferent, scratched his head vigorously and glanced at me.

“There’s no one but me who’d put up with you suddenly showing up and acting crazy, right?”
“…Yeah, I guess so.”

I knew he was the type with firm boundaries, yet he was particularly lenient with me.

Ding!

[Affection Expression Count: 3/5]

Just now, didn’t I only answer?
Once I opened that floodgate, the count went up even on trivial words.

“You’re the only person who’s ever treated me this way, Joo Woo-sung.”
“Wow, you bastard. Go film another drama. You’d be damn perfect for a chaebol heir role.”

[Affection Expression Count: 4/5]

“That was a variety show.”
“That’s entertainment.”

He spoke honestly.

“Would I really go around blabbing about this kind of thing to just anyone in private? That’s annoying.”
“…!”

You’re a Quest, so that’s why I’m doing this.
Joo Woo-sung, unaware of my true thoughts, covered his mouth with both hands and shuffled backward hesitantly.

“Damn it, seriously. You, you…!”

[Favorable Expression Count: 5/5]
[Quest Complete!]

‘…This bastard’s taste is hilarious.’

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have many friends.
Then again, I’m the same way.
I didn’t particularly relate to his preferences, but ultimately, as long as the results were good, that was all that mattered.

“Well, I raised Seo Ho-yoon after all.”

That’s funny.
So he was secretly grateful to me all along, pretending otherwise—this was the reward of nurturing a junior, I thought, feeling pleased as I ran my hand through my hair with a chuckle. I left Joo Woo-sung, who was hissing at Nyang-nyang for being loud, and stood up from my seat.

“Where are you going?”
“My business is done.”
“…Huh??”
“I’m leaving.”

Joo Woo-sung stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
I put on my shoes and was about to open the door when, seized by a sudden impulse, I raised only one corner of my mouth and stroked Nyang-nyang, who had come to see me off, while speaking.

“You must have it rough too.”
“Hey! Hey! Rough? I fed you, raised you, and bathed you, so why are you rubbing against him like that?!”

Ignoring Joo Woo-sung’s indignant protests, I closed the door without responding.
Either way, I’d successfully completed the Quest and obtained the item I wanted.

[‘Pandora’s Box’
Is someone’s secret truly always a harbinger of catastrophe?
An item that allows you to view only one account of a designated person.
※You can restore and view all previously deleted posts.
※You can only check one account.]

Now it was my turn to reveal my true colors.

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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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