The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 234

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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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234

‘What am I supposed to do about this?’

Sensing a situation disturbingly similar to what had unfolded in Japan, I paused to assess the moment before carefully opening my mouth.

“…Yi-chae.”

Kang Yi-chae gestured with his chin as if to say I should try making an excuse.

“How could that be? I didn’t ignore you, so surely….”
“….”

I trailed off mid-sentence and clamped my mouth shut.
Kang Yi-chae’s eyes flickered with even greater intensity.

“Why? Care to continue?”

He released his grip on the bed’s headboard and grabbed the IV stand—and I had the distinct impression he was about to strike me with it.
Kang Yi-chae tilted his head to one side as he continued speaking.

“I clearly told you to rest at home, but you stubbornly went to watch the performance anyway, and then I hear you collapsed and ended up in the hospital because of someone else. How do you think that feels?”

One of Kang Yi-chae’s defining traits was that the angrier he became, the more his expression drained away. And facing him in such a state was deeply uncomfortable for me.

“And the person who contacted me was Min Ji-heon. Isn’t that strange?”

I had been listening quietly, but there was one thing I wanted to clarify. Even if I had made it abundantly clear that I disliked Min Ji-heon, he wasn’t a stranger to either Kang Yi-chae or me.
After all, he was a senior from our Agency.

“…Well, yes.”

However, with my maxed-out social awareness, I recognized that if I said one more thing, there would be no turning back, so I kept silent.

‘What does he think I’ve done now?’

Well, it wasn’t an incorrect guess.
But if it hadn’t been for Min Ji-heon, I might have actually died.
Under Kang Yi-chae’s pressure—his gaze fixed on me, demanding truth through sheer force of will—I deliberated. Continuing to lie seemed pointless at this rate.
But I couldn’t just tell him everything either.
The moment Min Ji-heon struck my chest, I was already unconscious. When I came to, I was in the hospital.

‘Does that even make sense?’

As long as I didn’t end up committed to a psychiatric ward, I’d count myself lucky.
It seemed Min Ji-heon had brought me here after I collapsed, but with no memory of what happened before or after, I couldn’t afford to open my mouth carelessly.

‘…I’m not sure if it’ll work, but.’

To accelerate my idol activities going forward, I needed Kang Yi-chae’s help—he handled most of The Dun’s compositions.

“Kang Yi-chae, I’ll explain.”

I decided to appease him and share only the partial truths I could safely reveal.

“I appreciate your concern, but I didn’t see it coming either. I was fine while watching the performance.”

Kang Yi-chae’s eyebrows twitched.

“But then it suddenly got worse. It just so happened that Min Ji-heon had a schedule at the Broadcasting Station too, so we ran into each other. We talked briefly, and he helped me out.”
“….”
“…That’s all there is to it.”

What else could I possibly say here?

“That’s really all?”
“Yeah.”

I had no further excuses to offer, and I didn’t want to anyway.

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t interfere with our activities going forward. I’ll take care of my health. We’ve got to climb higher as The Dun.”

So instead, I added a touch of my genuine passion for Idol’s first-tier group.
Wasn’t that enough?
I needed to quickly repair my relationship with Kang Yi-chae and had so much work to do.
I had to monitor the fans’ mood, confirm the company’s cleanup, and think about the shortest route to clear that damned “Idol Tycoon” as soon as possible.
But Kang Yi-chae’s silence stretched on uncomfortably long.
Soon, his lips moved slowly.

“Activities….”

And then one corner of his mouth twisted upward.

“I’m curious about something, hyung.”
“…?”
“You’re smart, so you can answer me.”

The back of his hand gripping the IV stand had veins bulging out threateningly.
At that menacing sight, I instinctively shifted my hips backward again.

“What happens if I just sit out the next album’s activities?”
“…What?”
“What if I stop activities altogether?”

Had he lost his mind?
The sentence was clearly phrased as a question, but it wasn’t a question seeking an answer.

‘This bastard, has he really gone insane?’

He looked ready to beat me down and force me to take a break from activities.

“Wait, hold on.”

Just as I jumped up to try to calm him down somehow, the hospital room door swung open with a click.

“…I’m here.”

I froze mid-movement in shock and turned my head, only to see Sung Ji-won with his nose bright red.

‘This is a disaster!’

Before Shining Star’s final performance, they said the two of us fought over whether I should take the stage.
According to Kim Sung-hyun, the situation back then was quite serious.
With so much more we needed to accomplish, discord among the members was the last thing we could afford.

“Oh, oh… Ji-won came?”
“…Ji-won?”

I awkwardly perched on the edge of the bed with a forced smile, but Sung Ji-won, glancing between me and Kang Yi-chae, seemed to grasp the entire situation in three seconds.

“Kang Yi-chae.”

He strode forward and grabbed Yi-chae’s arm, pulling him backward.

“Yi-chae, come on out. Ho-yoon’s sick right now.”
“I’m not joking around.”

Kang Yi-chae moved as Ji-won pulled, but his gaze remained fixed on me, as if the rest of the world simply ceased to exist when he turned his attention elsewhere.
It was as though his vision narrowed to exclude everything around him.

“You know how easy it is to suspend activities?”
“…!”

Sung Ji-won’s movements froze.
The light in his eyes dimmed sharply as he stared at Kang Yi-chae.

Yi-chae’s words held no falsehood.
Several methods were already flashing through my mind. There would be some noise, certainly, but it was possible.
And yet.

‘What about me?’

My plan contained no gaps for rest.
Even the period preparing an album left me anxious, and if I took an extended break, the public would forget about me in an instant.

“…Don’t push it, Yi-chae. Come out and talk to me.”

Only then did Kang Yi-chae turn his face away from me and look directly at Sung Ji-won.

“I don’t want to.”

Sung Ji-won covered his mouth with one hand, turned his head as if thinking for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh.

“…You’re not listening?”

It was an expression I’d never seen from Sung Ji-won before.
Despite his lips curving upward in a smile, displeasure radiated from him unmistakably.

‘This is genuinely dangerous.’

The atmosphere wasn’t just cooling—it was plummeting rapidly.

“Hey, you guys….”

Just as I was racking my brain over how to handle these lunatics when the situation spiraled in an unexpected direction,

“Sniff!!!”

Jung Da-jun made his entrance.
Still clinging to his sulky concept.
He sniffled and wiped away the tears clinging to the corners of his eyes, then suddenly cried out.

“Ho-yoon can eat now!! Brother, honestly your attitude just now was super annoying, but we still need to take care of your health, so let’s eat something delicious!”
“Hey, Jung Da-jun. Lower your voice.”
“What’s good?! Jjajangmyeon? Pasta? Doenjang-jjigae?! Personally, I want doenjang-jjigae!!”
“Sigh….”

Kim Sung-hyun, who followed with a haggard expression, looked at our situation and became even more worn out.

“You, what are you guys doing.”

Kim Sung-hyun rushed over and approached Sung Ji-won, who was relatively more composed.

“Wait. Just step back for now.”
“Sung-hyun, hold on. I need to talk to Yi-chae for a moment.”
“Hey, hey. What do you mean hold on. Sung Ji-won, you’re already angry!”

Though his tone was infinitely gentle, Sung Ji-won’s eyes were also half-rolled back.
Finally grasping the situation, Jung Da-jun looked startled and glanced back and forth between the members.

“Again, again?!”

Then he hung from Kang Yi-chae’s arm, whimpering.
It was a familiar habit, something he’d done many times before.

“Ugh, Brother! This is a hospital room!”
“Jung Da-jun, wait a moment.”

Even with his anger gauge maxed out, Kang Yi-chae responded gently to the youngest member.

“Don’t fight. Watching you two fight once is more than enough!!”
“We’re not fighting. We’re just going to step outside and talk. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine!!”

Kim Sung-hyun and Jung Da-jun, who had witnessed bloodshed before, were desperate to stop them.
The youngest member stood in front of Kang Yi-chae, embracing him to block his path, and asked me.

“Um, why are you suddenly doing this?”
“Well, that’s….”
“D-did Yi-chae Brother say something about Ho-yoon Brother’s activities again?”

I was calculating how much to mention to the youngest member when Jung Da-jun beat me to it.

‘Do you have trauma?’

It seemed the incident from the final competition of Shining Star had deeply affected everyone.
Sung Ji-won, uncomfortable with such words being exchanged in front of me, slightly furrowed his brow and spoke.

“—Yi-chae, yes. You didn’t say that with such intentions in your heart, right?”
“That’s right?”

Kang Yi-chae laughed while facing Sung Ji-won.

“I regret it. Why did I listen to you and abandon Ho-yoon Brother during Shining Star?”

Yet coldness dripped from his voice, and his eyes were fierce.

“And this is the result of being persuaded that way.”

…That actually makes sense?

‘Kang Yi-chae has a point.’

Even I found myself convinced in an instant.
Kim Sung-hyun and Jung Da-jun didn’t voice their agreement, but their expressions clearly showed they sided with Kang Yi-chae to some degree.
At this rate, we were heading straight into a continuation of the fight between Sung Ji-won and Kang Yi-chae from Shining Star Season 2.

‘What do I do?’

“Sung Ji-won, hold on a second….”
“Ugh, uhhhhh….”

The Leader and Maknae, who had snapped back to attention as if that past incident had been a nightmare, quickly began restraining both Sung Ji-won and Kang Yi-chae.
They looked like two shrimp caught between whales—their backs about to split from the pressure.
Then Jung Da-jun’s eyes met mine, and his mouth fell open.

‘Brother! Do something!’
‘I’m a patient.’
‘…!!’

Jung Da-jun’s pupils trembled violently as if he’d been betrayed.
Wait, I’m racking my brain hard right now too.

‘Should I make someone a sacrifice?’

“Why are you looking at me like that!?”

Wouldn’t a true leader step forward at a moment like this…?
But the sharp-witted Kim Sung-hyun caught on from just my gaze alone and hid his conspicuous frame behind Kang Yi-chae.
Unfortunately, he got caught, so the tactic lost its effectiveness. I was searching for another approach when the door suddenly burst open again.

“Huff, puff, Brother! I’m here…!”

Seo Ho-jin entered the hospital room, his face flushed with exertion, catching his breath as he steadied his ragged breathing.

“Does it hurt a lot? Are you okay?”

My foolish younger brother had arrived.
Watching the members bicker, I caught sight of Seo Ho-jin and felt the tension ease from my chest.
Though his once-chubby cheeks had vanished without a trace.

“Sorry. I took a taxi to get here as fast as I could, but traffic was terrible….”

Seo Ho-jin closed the door, turned to face us, sensed the peculiar atmosphere, and let out a slightly dazed sound.

“…Huh?”
“…Oh.”

Even Kang Yi-chae and Sung Ji-won, who had been growling as if ready to tear into each other, froze at Seo Ho-jin’s appearance.
Soon, Sung Ji-won was the first to close his eyes and greet him with a smooth smile.

“Ho-jin, hey.”
“Oh, hey….”

I thought this was perfect timing and tried to drag Seo Ho-jin outside to escape.

“Seo Ho-jin, come on….”
“This, this is it!”

Just then, Jung Da-jun broke away from Kang Yi-chae and quickly approached Seo Ho-jin.

“Ho-jin, I’m sorry!!”
“Uh, uh-huh?”

And then he positioned himself behind Seo Ho-jin—.

“Oof!”
“Ugh!”

—and shoved me hard.
My unsuspecting younger brother tumbled down on top of me.
I felt a strong impact and weight against my abdomen. I’d raised him too well—he was taller than me now and weighed considerably more, so the force of the collision was substantial. I coughed involuntarily.

“Cough. Seo Ho-jin, you could’ve braced yourself! Are you trying to kill me….”
“Oh, no! I was just startled! Wow, I didn’t realize Da-jun was this strong!”

That guy’s completely an elephant pretending to be a puppy…
He’s been eating way more lately, but his appearance hasn’t changed much—he’s just been building up strength.

“I learned judo, Hyung!!”
“…Good job…”
“Why do you keep praising that?”

I offered casual praise as Seo Ho-jin scrambled up off me.
In that moment, Jung Da-jun spread his arms wide and looked around at everyone.

“Look! You two, stop fighting!”
“….”
“Isn’t this… isn’t this actually pretty good?!”

What am I supposed to be looking at?
Me dying under Seo Ho-jin’s weight?
Everyone stared at the Maknae with bewildered expressions at his sudden non sequitur.

“Listen! Ho-yoon Hyung is a patient! He needs to rest first! We should fill him with only good things, and looking at only good things is the best way!”

He sure knows how to talk.

“So….”

And he got stuck.

“So, what?”
“It’s okay. Go ahead and say it, Da-jun.”

Though I’d asked gently as the Maknae, Sung Ji-won and Kang Yi-chae’s eyes gleamed so sharply that Jung Da-jun’s shoulders shrank.
At that sight, Kim Sung-hyun watched the situation unfold with a tense expression.

“Um, uh.”
“….”
“So… Hyung….”

This guy clearly had no real plan after all.
Watching him stammer and roll his eyes around, it was obvious he spoke first and thought later.
I sighed and opened my mouth to help salvage the situation, but—

“Hey, we—.”
“Ho-yoon!”

Jung Da-jun’s voice overlapped with mine.
The Maknae stared at the cold Kang Yi-chae and Sung Ji-won, his fists clenching tight.

“—confine him like this?!!”
“….”

…What did he just say?
A chilling silence enveloped the Hospital Room.

—————
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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