The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 207

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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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207

“I’m damn anxious.”

Out of habit, I’d woken early and brewed coffee, but I sat at the dining table without swallowing a single sip, my leg bouncing restlessly. Kang Yi-chae glanced over at me and struck up a conversation.

“What are you doing?”
“I have a bad feeling about this.”

My instinct radar never lies.
The moment Kang Yi-chae heard my answer, he immediately alternated his gaze between the bedroom I shared with Sung Ji-won—where he was still inside—and me. With that level of perception, shouldn’t this bastard be spreading a mat in the middle of Gangnam instead of being an idol?
At this level of obliviousness, shouldn’t this guy be laying out a mat in the middle of Gangnam instead of being an Idol?

“You’re only just finding that out now?”

My leg bounced even more intensely.
My legs trembled even more violently.

“No, usually isn’t it someone other than the birthday person who goes to buy the birthday cake?”

I’d like to do most of what Sung Ji-won asks, but this feels really suspicious, Won.

“Ho-yoon, let’s go.”

I’d thought he might be avoiding my gaze, but instead he approached me with a bright smile and spoke warmly.
I thought he’d avoid eye contact again, but today he approached me with a bright smile and spoke warmly.

“Is that so?”
“Yeah, apparently it’s really delicious.”
“Yeah, it’s supposed to be really delicious.”

Seeing him like that, combined with what happened yesterday, I felt the petty irritation that had been building up suddenly dissolve.
Seeing that sight, honestly, what with yesterday’s incident and all, I wondered if I’d helped for nothing, and the spite that had been welling up in me just melted away.

We moved about fully disguised in hats and masks, without even bringing the Manager along.
Since it was a weekday morning, the hotel was fairly quiet.

“How about this?”
“Since we’re buying anyway, let’s go with the biggest one. Da-jun’s been such an elephant lately.”

I was letting his words wash over me, but my mind was elsewhere entirely.
This was the hotel Yoon Hee-eon frequented, and I was acutely aware that if the rumors about Sung Ji-won—subtle as they were—got tangled up with this place, it could lend them unwarranted credibility.

‘Should I just leave as quickly as possible?’

Or maybe I could linger in the lobby and frame this as a heartwarming sighting—coming out to buy a cake together for a member’s birthday.

“…Since we’re here anyway, want to grab some food?”

As I was wrestling with the decision, Sung Ji-won suddenly suggested dinner and dragged me to a restaurant located in the hotel’s Lobby Lounge.
Fortunately, this place wasn’t crowded either.
Watching me settle into a secluded corner with the ease of someone half-resigned to fate, Sung Ji-won asked.

“Have you been here before?”
“A few times.”

I’d come through here quite frequently, actually.
Not for pleasant reasons—just for a documentary program.
A teammate I was working with had gotten into some serious trouble during research, nearly getting caught before the project even properly started, all because they’d rubbed a higher-up the wrong way.
I’d spent several sleepless nights stationed here.
I rested my chin in my hand, gazing out the window, when I heard Sung Ji-won’s voice—slightly trembling.

“So you have been here.”

Sung Ji-won’s expression before me remained composed.
I sipped the water a staff member had brought, thinking I should just feed him something delicious since it was his birthday and get back to the Dormitory quickly, when Sung Ji-won spoke again.

“About Yoon Hee-eon.”
“Pfft….”

The water I was swallowing reversed course.
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand, but water sprayed through my fingers and dribbled down.

‘So that’s why I felt uneasy!’

This is what he came out here to tell me.
I pulled out a tissue and wiped my hands, struggling to organize the chaotic thoughts swirling through my mind.

“Well, we clashed over every little thing, so there were no good feelings between us. But then seeing him go up and down with all these problems… it didn’t sit right with me either.”
“What can you do? It’s a self-inflicted wound.”

Is dating around really the problem? Look at Joo Woo-sung.
No, it is a problem.
But his biggest issue was that he treated people like they were nothing.

“You saw that text from last time, so you know… Yoon Hee-eon contacted me a lot. He said some irritating things too.”
“Mm.”
“But I understand why Yoon Hee-eon thought that way. His former agency was truly, genuinely terrible.”

I know.
Is there anyone who doesn’t know D.go is garbage?

“I know you worried a lot because of me. Thank you.”
“….”

Unlike Christmas, he didn’t seem inclined to ask directly. Yet he clearly wanted to express his gratitude, conveying the meaning indirectly instead.
I simply shrugged at his consideration.

“He hasn’t contacted you since?”
“No, he hasn’t. Seems like he’s been busy.”

Watching Sung Ji-won’s lips curl into a slight smile, I smiled back at him.

‘Ah, what is this.’

All the time, energy, and mental effort spent repeating tedious tasks had been worth it.
If someone important to me no longer had to see such nonsense, wasn’t that enough to offset all the hardship?

‘Was he nervous just to tell me this?’

It’s nothing much.
We finished our meal in a rather heartwarming atmosphere, and as we sipped tea for dessert, I thought it was time to head back and celebrate Sung Ji-won’s birthday.

“You said you’d been here before.”
“So?”
“I came here once too, a long time ago. …Because of my Former Agency.”

Hearing that, I pushed myself away from the sofa and drained the rest of my drink in one gulp.

“Should we leave?”

It seemed better to get out of here before any unpleasant memories surfaced.
But Sung Ji-won raised his hand to stop me.

“No, that’s not it. Um, where do I even start explaining this.”

Sung Ji-won rolled his eyes as if organizing his thoughts, then spoke slowly.

“…First of all, there’s nothing for you to worry about. I only saw the Lobby Lounge here. A Staff Member from the Company said they were going to take profile photos, then just threw me a key card and dropped me off at this hotel.”

I tried not to let any expression show on my face.

“When was that?”
“Three years ago. It was my birthday that day.”

Wait—did he deliberately bring me here on the same day, to the same place?

‘…Why?’

I studied Sung Ji-won, confused about what was happening, and noticed he was tense in that same peculiar way he’d been on the day of our first Showcase.

“…I was standing around like an idiot in the Lobby when someone I’d never seen before pretended to know me and asked for my key card.”

As if recalling that moment, Sung Ji-won’s lips twisted slightly.

“So… I don’t know why, but I ended up giving them the key card. Looking back on it now, it’s ridiculous.”

Suddenly, I remembered what Sung Ji-won had said at Christmas.

“—There’s someone I’m looking for.”
“Someone who helped me when I was struggling.”
“Right before I left my Former Agency.”

This sounds like my story….

“I told you before, didn’t I? I was looking for someone who helped me when I was struggling.”
“…Are you sure they helped?”
“Haha, now that I think about it, maybe they didn’t. But this part I’m certain of.”

A clear laugh spilled from Sung Ji-won’s lips.

“You scared me.”

Me? Scare Sung Ji-won? Fear?

“What was it you said? That people like me are the most incomprehensible in the world, that if I kept parasitizing like that, what good would it bring later—.”
“Ah, stop! That’s enough….”
“—whether I could walk around with my head held high.”

The familiar tone of voice was unmistakable—I could identify it even at a hundred kilometers per hour—but I desperately prayed with both hands covering my face that it wasn’t me.

Ding!

Yet, as if it were inevitable, the System Window betrayed my wishes and appeared.

[Partial memories have been unlocked.]

‘It was me!’

Damn it, I’m losing my mind.
When I’d been desperately waiting for a scenario Quest, it never showed its face, but it appeared at the worst possible timing with impeccable precision.

“…How old were you?”

I recalled a younger version of Sung Ji-won, sitting vacant-eyed in the Lobby Lounge I’d passed through moments ago.
At that time, I needed the key card Sung Ji-won had because I was cleaning up after a colleague’s accident.
I’d looked down on him for a moment, knowing the intention behind its issuance, but after realizing he’d been deceived by the Agency, I felt more pity than contempt.

“Don’t do this. You’ll only regret it.”
“…What should I do now?”

The Sung Ji-won I’d encountered back then was vastly different from who he was now.
Parched, hypersensitive, and aggressive.
Like someone who had no idea what kindness even meant.
Perhaps it was because he’d had no room to breathe back then.

“Don’t worry, that’s not all I said.”

Sung Ji-won tapped the teacup he hadn’t taken a single sip from since earlier.

“Like I said before, he was rough around the edges, but he was a good person to me. I was going through a turbulent time, and thanks to him, I’m still in this business—it’s no exaggeration to say that.”
“….”
“And because of him, I’m with you now.”

As a gentle smile bloomed across Sung Ji-won’s face, the System Window chimed.

Ding!

[You have obtained Sung Ji-won’s complete trust.]
[Notoriety Points decrease.]
[You have heard all of Sung Ji-won’s past. Private information is now unlocked.]

‘This is progressing all of a sudden?’

That guy who wanted to show only good things and speak only pretty words to those he cherished—what change of heart had made him open up with such a deep story?

It didn’t seem like he was doing this because I’d helped Yoon Hee-eon. He’d opened his mouth because of that, but the flow of things felt off.

‘Get out.’

My “creepiness” radar was sending off warning signals that something more was going on.

“Yeah, well. It’s a relief that there’s someone like that.”

Just as I was hurrying to wrap up the conversation and leave,

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Sung Ji-won’s voice pierced my ears vividly.

“I’ve been waiting all this time. No matter how hard I searched, there was nothing. Clearly someone who worked in the industry—I combed through every broadcasting station, every agency—but there was nothing. Such a striking impression, a face I couldn’t forget, yet I can’t remember a single detail. It’s as if someone deliberately erased it.”
“….”
“But I remember the tone and atmosphere vividly. That’s all I’ve kept of that person, and I’ve gone over it countless times.”

The more Sung Ji-won spoke, the deeper my anxiety grew.

“But you know what? Just a week ago, a memory suddenly came back to me.”

Along with those words, I recalled the moment the System Window had warned me to be careful because it was unstable, and Sung Ji-won’s unusual hovering around me.

“There was a scar.”

Sung Ji-won’s gaze slowly traced up my arm from below.

“…Exactly the same place as yours, the same shape.”

Red warning lights blazed in my mind, and I rapidly searched through the criteria for unlocking scenarios that I’d glossed over just moments before.

Resolving an incident wouldn’t be enough to complete everything.
If it were just that simple, I would have finished Sung Ji-won’s scenario back at Christmas. Besides, he hadn’t opened up about his true feelings to me back then.
So was it a matter of the depth of trust?

Ding!

[Sung Ji-won, The Dun Main Vocal]
[Remarks: In the past, the Player ‘Seo Ho-yoon’ gave him advice, and he continued his trainee life without abandoning his dreams. The Player ■■ who gave him such a significant turning point, Sung Ji-won trusts his benefactor Seo■yoon.]
[Main Scenario ■ 57% Complete.]
[Proceeding to next main chapter——.]

Ding ding!
Ding ding!
Ding ding!
Ding di…
Din…—
———
—….

The alarm that had been ringing from all directions loud enough to burst my eardrums suddenly cut off, and the System Window turned pitch black.

So, does Sung Ji-won in this world trust me more than the Sung Ji-won from the previous world?

“You?”

No.

[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[E R ———]
[E ————]
[—————]

He simply equated the past and the present.
With the same trust.
Then.

[■Character ‘■Ji-won’—]
[Character ‘■Sung Ji■’ is the Player■■—]
[Character ‘Sung■won’ ■■is■ means—]

The System Window, now unresponsive, suddenly shut down, and a new window materialized in its place.

Ding!

[Character ‘Sung Ji-won’ suspects the Player.]

“Ho-yoon, was that you?”

The scenario can be unraveled.

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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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