The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 214

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

214

“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”

Because I’d failed to register for courses and was forced to add evening classes to make up credits, I’d been arriving home late at night for days now.
After showering, I collapsed onto my bed, seriously contemplating whether to skip my morning class tomorrow as I rolled around.
Just then, notification sounds chimed in rapid succession.

[Traitor But Friend: Yooo]
[Traitor But Friend: Those two went to Europe together and omg why is my kid so good on stage]
[Traitor But Friend: Ugh.. I think I love this bastard]
[Traitor But Friend: Yeon-hoo is kinda cute lol]

‘Seriously.’

It was a message from a friend who’d initially connected through High Five, then switched loyalties to Noeul after being overshadowed by The Dun’s maknae. We’d also lucked out and gotten tickets together to watch the Shining Star Season 2 Second Round Competition.
After checking what my friend had sent, I replied casually and closed the chat.

‘This is what living feels like these days.’

High Five had been practically guaranteed first place in Shining Star Season 2, but The Dun had stolen the ranking thanks to a conveniently timed scandal and Seo Ho-yoon’s pull. That lingering resentment had been sitting in my chest ever since.

‘Well, I was satisfied that High Five ranked ahead of The Dun at the Berlin concert, at least.’

Kang Yeon-hu was an idol who showed not even the slightest opening in how he conducted himself.
The variety show “Wanna Sing With Me?” that I’d been worried about had ended without incident, and afterward, there didn’t seem to be any real connection between him and Seo Ho-yoon.
I’d reassured myself knowing their relationship was purely business to avoid the production crew’s interference, but as a High Five fan, I simply didn’t want to hear any more about The Dun.

‘Whatever, Yeon-hoo will do fine on his own.’

Unable to sleep, I turned on my phone thinking I might watch Min Ji-heon’s drama that had been released on an OTT platform.
But as if reflecting my unsettled mind, even after opening Netflix, my fingers moved of their own accord and I found myself accessing the community instead.
I kept switching between SNS, laughing at funny memes and cute dog videos, when one post title caught my eye.

[Title: An idol busking in Italy to earn their keep, showing it live on Pop Pop]

“What the hell is this crazy bait?”

They thought The Dun would do anything just to boost their view counts.
Even as that thought crossed their mind, they clicked on the post anyway.
And that’s when they realized The Dun was currently doing a live busking performance.

‘What?’

In truth, busking itself was one of the clichés in the content industry.
Whenever a new album dropped, groups would suddenly perform their first show in an empty lot near a train station with heavy foot traffic, or do dance performances on foreign streets—it was a tactic frequently used to generate buzz.
Just as the college student was thinking The Dun might be jumping on the busking concept to produce some in-house content while they were abroad anyway, Sung Ji-won, The Dun’s main vocalist, filled the screen, his fingers lightly warming up on an electronic piano.
The college student’s eyes narrowed.

[I guess angels exist in Europe too]
[Yeah… this feels familiar
This is what you call a Korean Angel]
[These crazy guys are doing busking? Right now they look like indie musicians and I’m literally trembling]

She kept telling herself to maintain some distance from K-pop, yet habitually began analyzing anyway.

‘Is this the kind of content a mid-tier agency could pull off? It’s way too experimental. If this were High Five, they’d have appeared on a cable TV variety show first to gauge public reaction. Is this something they can do because of Dae Pa-sung’s protection? That agency has a notorious reputation for basically abandoning their artists, so even if they get more criticism, it doesn’t really matter.’

She was absolutely incapable of maintaining distance from K-pop.

[Traitor but friend: Ahhhhh you’re watching the live right]
[Me: Yeah]

Then Seo Ho-yoon picked up his bass.
The live comments exploded as expected.

[Wait, Seo Ho-yoon can play bass????]
[Wait, and he’s actually good???]
[Oppa… that’s too much
(snicker)]

Unlike the excited Noeul fans, the High Five fan wasn’t pleased.

‘If this goes wrong, his image will be completely ruined.’

The reason I deemed it experimental was that it was rare for idols to showcase their musicality through busking—performing only with their voices—in foreign countries.

The members of The Dun exchanged glances, as if ready to perform.
Seo Ho-yoon leaned his face close to the standing microphone.

[Chill out, Do not go too far]

I thought they might introduce themselves as a boy band from Korea, but the lyrics flowed out immediately instead.

“…!”

Old Britpop filled the street in rhythm with Kang Yi-chae’s guitar accompaniment. Soon after, Sung Ji-won’s piano notes seeped in.

[You and I are waiting fear hid underneath the bed]

This was a song that even college students knew well.
It was music released by a world-renowned rock band in the 1990s. The member who composed it became controversial for creating the song while intoxicated, but it was also famous for being difficult to sing well despite its flashy technique and high notes not being particularly demanding.

‘…They’re quite good?’

Yet the song, harmonized with Seo Ho-yoon’s baritone, sounded convincing.
No—it was quite impressive.

[As we cannot leave all the things behind]

Passersby walking down the street gradually stopped in their tracks.
The wind tousled Seo Ho-yoon’s hair.
He continued singing while plucking the bass strings.

[What is this, a movie?]
[Why are you filming an art film…]

In that moment, the college student suddenly realized something.

‘A beautiful landscape, the time of day as dusk falls, a pleasantly listenable tone, music with appropriate atmosphere.’

All of these elements interlocked, making it look like a scene from an indie music film.
The Dun wasn’t trying to display their skill and garner reactions. They were crafting a narrative.

[Lay down, do not go too far
You and I are waiting hope over the sunlight]

Just then, as if on cue, Sung Ji-won entered the stage.
His refreshing tone exploded with powerful vocals.
People’s wallets began opening.

Hahahahaha now there’s an account that counts the busking money The Dun collected hahahaha

The college student who saw that post let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“Are you insane?”

‘Is this a business tycoon game? Damn it!’

However, while it might draw some criticism, it was definitely a concept that resonated with people.
The fact that both follower counts and live viewer numbers were skyrocketing in real time proved it.

Hahahahaha seriously, who comes up with ideas like this?
[Honestly, you should at least feed them before making them work, but damn it’s entertaining]
Surprisingly, quite a lot of people are showing up lol

To preemptively block any controversy, a notice about this busking was pinned at the top of the profile.

「It’s a secret from The Dun, but all tips will be donated. Dinner will be covered by the company card!」

[I wanted to curse them out but this kind of thing is cute too, damn it…]

Since the charity destination was detailed there, fans even began donating in The Dun’s name during the live stream and verifying it on SNS.

[I’m buying another bottle of soju because of this bastard, it’s hard to stop being a fan

└The way you freely switch between calling him a bastard and oppa..]

After finishing several songs, The Dun, now fully energized, even performed an unreleased track by Kang Yi-chae that had been shelved from the album.

[Why go all the way overseas to do this… when they don’t even do it domestically]
“It’s probably a desire to be recognized overseas, or maybe they’re just really broke lol”

Negative comments flooded in—why were they doing this kind of content when they were already earning so much, why overseas, and why were they releasing unreleased songs through Pop Pop live?
However, the opposing voices were even more forceful.

[Yeah~ it’s all going to charity anyway]
[While keyboard warriors sit at home typing away gloomily, these kids are overflowing with talent—they take care of their fans AND donate? lol]
[Are you just countering to stir up drama? Thanks so much, seriously]

[Wow.. hearing people say the kids have grown so much…
If they were truly washed-up idols, they’d just get cursed out without a second thought

└It’s a relief to receive sympathy….]

“But you’re really good at it.”

Because of the high five, college students watched ‘Shining Star Season 2’ and ‘Want to Sing with Me?’ and inevitably saw The Dawn’s performance a few times. Even though the programs were not that long ago, the skills of The Dawn, especially Seo Ho-yoon, had changed significantly compared to then.

‘What did you do?’

In the end, the college student was unable to turn off the live performance until the streets of Italy became dark and after several encore songs, The Dawn ended the busking with a fan song.
People whistled and cheered with applause.
The members of The Dun, who had waved lightly to them, soon rushed toward the camera.

“We’ve saved quite a bit of money! I’ll come back after dinner.”
“See you again!”

Just like that, about two hours of busking ended.
Even though it was already past 2 AM in Korea, the community and SNS were buzzing with activity.

[UNTRANSLATED LINE 186]
[Enjoy your meal, kids… ㅜㅜㅜㅜ]

That morning, a new notice was added to The Dawn’s official YouTube account.

[#The Dawn’s live has ended. In addition to the live video, separate filming was conducted.
The Dun’s live broadcast has ended. Separate filming was conducted in addition to the live broadcast footage.

[Oh, oh, oh~~~ I was counting on a huge disaster~~~~!!]
“Oioioi~~~ I was believing in Dae Pa-sung all along~~~~!!”

In the end, the college student who had voluntarily canceled morning classes woke up at a leisurely hour and confirmed this later.
In the end, the university student who had skipped his morning classes on his own woke up at a leisurely hour and checked the messages late.
It turned out that even after the busking ended, while eating dinner at a restaurant, Jung Da-jun, the youngest member of The Dun, had continued sending updates through Pop Pop.

‘It’s crazy, really… .’

[UNTRANSLATED LINE 203]
[Kang Yi-chae drinks two glasses of wine and gets drunk and plays the piano. ㅠㅠㅠ Fuck the list, Mazeparae ㅠ You are my Cheon Seo-jin
1)

[What about an idol who is at the level of a classical music expert… How about a man who gets drunk and plays without sheet music?

└I like men who drink two glasses of wine
└A guy whose alcohol tolerance is two glasses of wine, I like him

There were still no updates on High Five’s Star Star, Tweet, Pop Pop, or YouTube.

‘I never thought I would be jealous of The Dawn… … .’

With a sigh, the college student threw away his useless jealousy and vowed not to look for Dawn anymore.
The university student let out a deep sigh, abandoned his pointless jealousy, and resolved not to search for The Dun anymore.

[UNTRANSLATED LINE 219]
[Traitor But Friend: Hey, did you see the update on The Dawn SNS?? It’s really cute ㅠㅠWhat should I do?? ㅜㅜㅜ]
[Traitor but a Friend: Now I’m dressing Lee Chae in clothes sold on the street during Fashion Week ㅠ]

As I was filling up on caffeine after class in the late afternoon, I received another KakaoTalk message from my friend.

‘Whatever it is, it’s the result of a lot of hard work, my friend.’

In the heart of a college student, a little more resentment piled up today.
A bit more resentment accumulated in the university student’s heart.

.
.

Meanwhile, Seo Ho-yoon wondered what on earth was going on.

Uh huh? When I came to my senses, I was already inside a private party hall of a famous brand.

‘What on earth is this…? .’

He was caught up in Kang Yi-chae’s trick.
I’d fallen victim to Kang Yi-chae’s scheming.

‘It’s so fucking annoying.’

He was quickly teasing himself, saying that he had to get out of here and take a look, but suddenly someone grabbed his arm from behind and pulled him hard.

“Hey, hey!”
“Hey, hey!”

The Korean language that I was glad to hear abroad, even in unfamiliar places, was Korean.

“Wow, there comes a day in my life when I become so happy to see Seo Ho-yoon.”

The voice was so familiar.
That voice was far too familiar.

“Please save me.”

Joo Woo-seong was here with a worn-out face.

1) On SBS, 2020.10.26.-2021.09.10. A character from the drama Penthouse, which aired until season 3.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————