The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 229

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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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229

[WARNING!]
[Player is collapsing??]
[WARNING!]
[Player is losing consciousness!!]
[WARNING!]

“…Damn it, damn it!”

The System Window flashing ERROR messages suddenly spilled blood across my vision, triggering another alarm.
Every time I blinked, horrific afterimages seared across my eyes.
My hand closing the car door overlapped with my hand gripping the emergency stairwell door,
and a seatbelt wrapped around my body as I stumbled down the stairs, groping blindly at the wall.

“I’m losing it, cough, cough….”

I forced my dimming eyes open, covered my mouth, and tried to steady my trembling legs.
Even as my mind grew increasingly hazy, I repeated the same mantra over and over.
Hide away somewhere alone, away from everyone’s eyes.
A little rest and I’ll be fine.

Ding!

[Player is losing consciousness.]

Cough—blood poured from my mouth beyond my control.

“Damn it…!”

I considered calling the Manager, but the thought of being dragged to the Hospital immediately paralyzed me. And taking a Taxi was out of the question—my clothes were smeared with blood everywhere, making me look far too suspicious.

[Player is collapsing??]

No, even if that weren’t the case, where could I possibly go in this state?
The dormitory? Home?
Could I even slip out of the broadcasting station without running into fans or stalkers?
My thoughts spiraled endlessly in my head.

[Main Scenario ■ 57% Complete■.]
[Character ‘■■won’ ■■■ is ■■—]

My deteriorating health made it clear that I couldn’t just hunker down and endure this.
At this rate, tomorrow morning’s news would undoubtedly be about Idol S collapsing alone on the emergency stairs and dying.

“It’s fine, calm down, damn it….”

I descended the staircase step by step, searching for a way out, when my vision began to spin.
I hastily grabbed the railing and collapsed onto the steps. A violent coughing fit seized me.
It felt like my entire body was shattering and reassembling itself.
It was so horrible I felt nauseous.
Gritting my teeth, I was trying to move forward when—

—CRASH!

“…!!”

The emergency door burst open.

‘Damn it!’

Everything spun around me, and though I could barely see straight, panic seized me at the thought of being discovered. I instinctively stumbled backward.
The moment I turned to climb back up the stairs, someone grabbed the back of my neck.

“Found you.”

It was Min Ji-heon, breathing heavily.

“You’re a walking corpse. Why are you doing this?”

Min Ji-heon flinched slightly at the sight of me, then quickly supported me and hurried down the stairs.

“Cough, ugh…. Why are you here?”
“I was at the Broadcasting Station.”
“What do you—”
“How could I go home and leave someone dying? I’m a good person, after all.”

Min Ji-heon’s voice, adding ‘and you were visible anyway,’ resonated dully as if speaking underwater.

‘A blessing in disguise, I suppose….’

At least I could escape the Broadcasting Station because of it.
The moment relief washed over me, my fraying nerves—worn thin like a blade scraping metal—snapped clean.

“Ah, this is—…! Stay with me—…!”

Min Ji-heon’s startled face, his murmured words continuing, the metallic scent assaulting my nostrils.
After that, only fragmented scenes flickered past like photographs.

Blackout.

When consciousness returned, I found myself inside Min Ji-heon’s Car.
I asked through suppressed coughing.

“Where are we….”
“My house. Just hang in there.”

His tone wasn’t his usual blunt manner—it was saturated with irritation.
As I stared blankly at the spinning ceiling, Min Ji-heon accelerated, and the engine’s roar grew louder.
My anxiety climbed with it.
Gripping my throbbing head, everything went dark again.

“PD, what on earth are you thinking?”
“What?”

When my senses returned, Min Ji-heon was gripping my shoulder, muttering something incoherently.
Blood was flowing from my nose again—my shirt front was soaked. Or perhaps I’d coughed up blood, judging by the metallic taste in my mouth.

“Why isn’t this working?”
“Cough, ugh…!”
“This is driving me insane!”

Min Ji-heon, who had been fidgeting with the bracelet, also began bleeding from his nose. In his gaze fixed upon me, there was a despair as though he were witnessing someone slip away into death.

Then, once again, a voice echoed from somewhere.

“And the PD calls himself human?”

The voice from moments before had been a woman’s.

My vision flickered once more, and I found myself standing in the foyer of Min Ji-heon’s house.
Min Ji-heon, swaying in sync with my stumbling form, lost his footing and collapsed with me onto the living room floor.
Through my blurred vision, the blood staining the white carpet stood out with piercing clarity.
Min Ji-heon hastily rolled me onto my back.

“【Fragment that ■■■■■ the hollow vessel.】”

Tires screeching violently against asphalt, a brilliant blue sky.

[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]

A body tilting to one side, a crackling radio, wheels spinning frantically….

“…hey, hey.”

My body lifted weightlessly, then crashed down hard.
A strangeness I had not felt before now overwhelmed me.
With trembling hands, I reached up and gripped Min Ji-heon’s collar.

“…what was that just now?”
“What?”
“Min, Ji-heon, just once more, show me again.”

Min Ji-heon, flustered, grasped my shoulders and pressed down to steady my body.

“What are you… this is not the time to say such things! Just lie still!”

Then he let out words painfully through gritted teeth.

“【Your ■■■■ is here.】”

[WARNING!]

——The steering wheel turned frantically.

My eyes snapped open.

“【Your ■■ is correct.】”

[WARN—….]

Yes, the steering wheel.
That’s where the strange unfamiliarity began.
The traffic accident at twenty—the one I could never forget no matter how hard I tried.
It wasn’t the steering wheel I saw that day, etched so painfully deep into my memory.

When the accident happened with my parents, I was sitting in the back seat behind the driver’s seat. In other words, it was a position where I couldn’t see the steering wheel clearly. Especially not in such a desperate moment.
Yet in the replaying scene, it lay directly before my eyes.

And more than anything, everything about this accident being shown to me now was so horrifyingly vivid.

“【It is your seat.】”

My parents’ screams never reached my ears.

[—————.]

All sound ceased.
Strength drained from my entire body.
The truths I’d stupidly overlooked all this time came flooding in like a tide. Simultaneously, the fragmented events that had seemed disconnected began to link together.

[I can erase your memories.]

The System that claimed it could erase memories.

‘But why was I forgetting?’

And the events that had been forgotten.
There was certainly more that I had lost.
In this place, or that world….

“…Ugh!”

The moment I realized it, my soul felt like it was being torn from my body.

“…Huh? Why is this happening?”

Min Ji-heon’s bewildered voice reached me first. Then a cold hand slapped my cheek, and I felt my body being shaken, though it all seemed distant.

“Another seizure?!”

Min Ji-heon muttered incomprehensible words to himself several times.

“Should I do it? If that doesn’t work either….”
“Ugh…. Blech!”
“…Ugh, I really didn’t want to do this….”

And moments later, something was fastened around my wrist.
As fresh pain surged through me, I bit my lower lip hard, while Min Ji-heon—muttering something about “it being better than cleaning up a corpse in my house”—took my hand.

“—Listen carefully.”

[E R R O R]
[System is collapsing.]
[E R R O R]
[X?度: 3?1%??]

“I’m going to kill you once and send you into the unconscious.”
“…What?!”

Is Min Ji-heon insane?

“Look, wait! Don’t worry. See here? I put my bracelet on you.”

Min Ji-heon lifted my arm slightly to show me.
That sensation of something being fastened earlier—it must have been Min Ji-heon’s bracelet strung with black beads.

“This will help you come back to life. …Probably. It’s only temporarily separating your soul from your body.”
“Are you fucking insane?!”
“Think of it as a reboot. It’s the only way your brother can survive right now.”

[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[X?度: 2?4%??]

“There’s no time, so I’ll keep this brief. Right now, something incomprehensible is tangled tightly inside you. That’s what’s causing all this chaos.”
“…!”
“You have to find out what it is, Hyung.”

As Min Ji-heon steadied his breathing, blood streamed ominously from the corners of his eyes like tears. His long lashes, stained crimson, trembled faintly, casting delicate shadows.

“Hyung, Ho-yoon. Get a grip. Can you ———hear me? —appears————don’t, don’t trust ——, and above all, don’t get attached. It’s only ———— to get out—.”
“What… what?”
“Whatever comes out— don’t ———.”

As my consciousness grew distant, Min Ji-heon’s words leaked through in fragments.

“Please, explain it properly…!”

When my focus finally returned, I caught sight of Min Ji-heon’s ashen face.

“Let’s meet again safely.”

He wore a faint smile.
Then he raised both his tightly clenched hands and brought them down hard against my chest.

“Wait…!”

At least explain this properly, you bastard!
Even as I thought I’d definitely land a punch next time,

Thud.

“【Withdraw from the vessel.】”

The circuit breaker tripped.

.
.
.

Brrrring….
Brrrring….

The phone’s shrill cry pierced through the silence.
My eyelids remained sealed shut, my body heavy—not a single fingertip would obey.
Between the stale air, the musty scent of dust, and the artificial fragrance of air freshener drifting with the aroma of coffee, it seemed my initial expectation of encountering a traffic accident first had proven wrong.

Brrrring….
Brrrring….

I gathered all my strength and tried to twist my body. It wasn’t easy.
Then footsteps approached, and the incessant phone ringing abruptly ceased.

“Yes, QBS Entertainment Division. …Oh, yes! What brings this on…. Everyone’s gone down now. Yes?”

…QBS?

“PD Seo…. Yes, yes.”

What?

“…!”

PD Seo?
Superhuman strength surged through me as I bolted upright, my upper body shooting up.
The familiar face of the Assistant Director stared at me with a slightly frightened expression. He gripped the receiver with both hands and spoke carefully.

“…Yes, PD Seo isn’t here right now.”

The Assistant Director, who had been bowing his head repeatedly and answering only with “yes,” let out a small sigh and lowered the receiver.

“Geez, Director Kook’s been making a fuss since New Year’s asking where PD Seo is…. I feel bad about lying. You’ll have to cover for me later, okay?”
“…Where am I?”
“…Are you joking?”

The Assistant Director slightly furrowed his brow and tilted his head in confusion.
I slowly lowered my gaze to examine my body. I ran my hands over myself, feeling.
There wasn’t a trace of blood anywhere.

“…Oh, w-what’s today’s date?”
“…Yes? January 14th.”
“No, what year is it?”
“Are you insane?!”

I left him to recoil in disgust and frantically searched for my phone like a madman.
Soon enough, the phone in my hand displayed a letter from Seo Ho-jin from my childhood as the wallpaper.

“No matter how recently things changed, this is too much….”
“Wait, wait….”

And the date was clearly visible above it.

20XX, January 14th.

“What’s wrong? Did you get chewed out by Director Kook the last time you went up there?”

Approximately one year and nine months ago, when I’d possessed this wretched alternate world….

“PD Seo?”

The very next day.

—————
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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