The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 237

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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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237

A strong sense of certainty washed over me—this was going to work out.

“Da-jun, you can do this! Come on, fighting!”

Da-jun threw open the balcony window of the dormitory, inhaling the crisp Seoul air as he pumped his fist with determination.

“What’s gotten into him?”
“Looks like he’s fixated on something again….”

He refused to be discouraged by his older members’ teasing.
Though he’d grown up as an only child showered with affection, his parents’ demanding work schedules meant the house was always empty when he returned from school. So he’d developed a habit of meeting friends outside and staying out until the streets darkened—rarely setting foot inside before nightfall.
As he matured and his friends began attending academies, conversations about university looming on the horizon, he’d come to realize early on that studying simply wasn’t his path.
Instead, keeping up with the latest trends through films, dramas, and variety shows felt as natural and effortless as breathing—a gift cultivated through his mother’s prenatal care and attention.

And so he became a trainee at Dae Pa-sung, then a member of The Dun.
Dance, singing, fans.
Da-jun’s interests shifted around these three pillars, changing with the seasons.
Last time it was cooking; lately, it’s been dogs.
During periods so hectic he could barely sleep, he’d carved out time to volunteer at shelters for abandoned dogs.
Da-jun’s fascination with things tended to be fleeting, but his love for dogs only deepened with each passing day.

‘Dogs are… angels!’

After completing several more volunteer sessions, Da-jun uploaded photos he’d taken with the dogs to SNS.

[Da-jun, you’re a large dog yourself—what’s this about volunteering at shelters?]
[A guy who loves dogs is the worst and I’m so into it
(why are you saying this while crying!)]

Yet strangely, Ho-yoon—who’d tagged along simply to humor the youngest member—proved far more popular with the dogs than Da-jun, despite all his earnest efforts to win their affection. Ho-yoon barely had to stand there.
But Da-jun’s spirit remained unbroken.
If anything, his determination burned brighter. Despite his usual disdain for reading—claiming even the sight of text made him drowsy—he’d begun purchasing and reading relevant books, consuming television broadcasts and YouTube videos on the subject without fail.

‘Wait, this….’

One day, while I was absorbed in dog videos on YouTube as usual, Yi-chae suddenly came to mind—the one who went wild on stage and earned the nickname “mad dog.”
Along with the image of him getting angry.
He already looked intimidating, but when he clamped his mouth shut and widened his eyes, it was truly terrifying.
Of course, afterward he’d apologize and buy me delicious food or give me gifts.

‘Yi-chae hyung is at it again….’

When Seo Ho-yoon collapsed and Ji-won and Yi-chae clashed once more, Da-jun grew worried.
Yi-chae was holding back as best he could, but he feared resentment might accumulate among the members.
In reality, once Seo Ho-yoon peacefully rested in the hospital room for several days without incident, Yi-chae’s anger gradually subsided, making it needless concern.

‘I need to help somehow.’

Regardless, Da-jun was serious about it.
So he gathered Ji-won and Yi-chae at the dining table and gave them stern instructions.

Don’t fight each other.
If it seems like you might fight, use formal speech to create psychological distance.
No matter what happens, don’t show it in front of Seo Ho-yoon.

He listed these conditions as if they were rules he’d learned from somewhere. Rules that had to be followed.

“Okay….”

Despite their fights, The Dun’s members got along well.
Yi-chae and Ji-won were no exception.
Neither intended to back down from their positions, but they understood why the other insisted so firmly.
So they were already fine with each other.
Yet instead of those words, they simply complied with the maknae’s wishes.

“Ji-won, shall we grab a meal with the pretty rapper?”
“Aha, yes, yes. Pretty rapper, shall we?”

Yi-chae grinned and asked, and Ji-won responded with ease.

“Ho-yoon~. Where are you going~?”

After that, Kang Yi-chae became fixated on formal speech and began using it with Seo Ho-yoon as well.

“Yi-chae, stop being cheeky.”

Both appeared normal on the surface, but Jung Da-jun alone sensed a subtle tension simmering beneath the group’s interactions.

‘Ho-yoon’s brother might be getting stressed!’

For Seo Ho-yoon, who had even collapsed once before, absolute stability was essential.
I felt this was precisely the moment I needed to step up.

‘There can’t be a bad Kang Yi-chae in this world!’

And so, starting from the morning of his birthday, he ventured onto the veranda alone, shouting encouragement to himself as he launched the “Sena-kang” plan.

“Brother, where are you going?”
“Practice.”
“Why? You’re not resting today?”
“I’ve rested plenty. Why rest more?”

While preparing to head out with Kang Yi-chae to buy a cake and have some fun, Seo Ho-yoon was already dressed in black training clothes and putting on his shoes.

‘This is a signal.’

Watching Kang Yi-chae approach and cling to Seo Ho-yoon, Jung Da-jun quickly grabbed a notepad and scribbled frantically.

‘This is a serious problem. A guardian who fails to recognize the severity of the situation can only make things worse.’

Perhaps the real issue wasn’t fixing the mad dog Kang Yi-chae—it was fixing the guardian Seo Ho-yoon.

“Fine, you two go then. I’m heading to practice with Joo Woo-sung. Maknae, call me when the birthday party starts.”
“Got it!!”
“Huh? Practice? Just rest at home, won’t you?”
“Ugh, seriously.”

He had actually held his patience for quite a while, considering Seo Ho-yoon’s temperament.
Watching Seo Ho-yoon’s face contort in visible displeasure, Jung Da-jun moved his pen across the notepad even faster.

‘It’s fine.’, ‘That’s enough.’, ‘Get lost.’
Jung Da-jun jotted down the phrases Seo Ho-yoon habitually repeated, organizing his thoughts as he wrote.

‘Emphasized and repeated sounds make Kang Yi-chae anxious…!’

So what should I do?
Jung Da-jun, who had been gnawing on the pen button, decided that he needed to separate the two of them first.
He then sprang to his feet and wedged himself between them, executing a body block.
Seo Ho-yoon and Kang Yi-chae froze.

“I’ll bring a really delicious cake, so Ho-yoon, you need to come back to the dormitory in two hours!!”
“…?”

Despite having told him to contact them when the birthday party was about to start, Seo Ho-yoon’s eyes narrowed at the very specific demand that came back.
Catching that expression, Jung Da-jun felt a slight pang of regret.
Seo Ho-yoon was no less formidable than Kang Yi-chae—perhaps even truly unhinged.
I couldn’t even predict what might happen if I crossed him.

“…Yeah, whatever.”

Jung Da-jun grabbed the ballpoint pen that had been clicking between his teeth and pulled it down as Seo Ho-yoon nodded slightly.
Once the situation seemed somewhat settled, Kang Yi-chae’s eyes brightened momentarily as he looked at Jung Da-jun and spoke.

“Maknae, should we really, truly, genuinely go get a delicious cake?”
“Huh!”
“The cake sounds good, doesn’t it?”

‘Really, truly, genuinely? Isn’t that just repetition?’

Repeated sounds make Jung Da-jun anxious….
He started to ask Kang Yi-chae how he was feeling, then stopped himself.

‘Better to keep my distance and wait until he calms down….’

Jung Da-jun recalled the knowledge he’d learned through YouTube videos.

‘Excessive attention can lead to conflict!’

Seo Ho-yoon left the dormitory first, and Jung Da-jun and Kang Yi-chae headed out to pick up the cake.
Throughout the journey, Yi-chae fidgeted anxiously, pouring all his mental energy into the “Sena-Kang” plan until his small head was overloaded while Da-jun executed it, yet Yi-chae casually leaned against his shoulder and whined.

“Maknae~, Yi-chae’s life has been so tough lately~.”
“When you’re like this, I struggle too, I also….”

The moment he answered, Da-jun immediately regretted it.
Reciprocating someone else’s complaints by imposing your own was ultimately an unhealthy behavior!
Recalling what he’d learned at Eun-jjok’s Counseling Center, Da-jun took a deep breath and asked gently.

“Yi-chae hyung, what exactly is troubling you?”
“…Pffft,”

A deflating sound escaped.
When I turned my head to look, Yi-chae’s mouth corners were twitching. He quickly poked at the corners of his eyes with his fingertips.

“Hehe…. Actually, you see….”
“Yeah!! Tell me!”

Even while picking up his birthday cake—the honey macaron cake—Da-jun perked up his ears and focused on Yi-chae’s story.
But what actually came back was,

“…My imaginary hamster left my side. I guess it’s time to let it go.”
“Da-jun, once I eat the honey cake, I think I’ll feel sorry to the version of me from five minutes ago who wanted the melon cake.”
“Oh!! Hey! There’s a claw machine over there, hyung will win you a plushie!”

His words made no sense.
Yi-chae’s attention quickly shifted elsewhere, and he dragged Da-jun along with him. Throughout it all, Da-jun answered sincerely.

“That’s truly unfortunate, but your imaginary hamster will live forever in your heart.”
“Don’t think about the version of you from five minutes ago—enjoy the present… Wait! Where are you going!”
“Hyung, I told you I don’t need a plushie?! Hold on! You’re stretching my clothes!”

Caught while trying to escape, Da-jun found himself swept up in playing the claw machine for over thirty minutes.
At first, Da-jun watched with an indifferent expression as Yi-chae played, but as round after round progressed, his determination to win a plushie ignited with fierce intensity.

Clunk!

“Yay!! We actually got it! We got it!”
“Didn’t I tell you I’d get it for you~?”
“You’re amazing!! Brother, you’re a total genius!!”

After finally managing to win the rabbit plush with the last thousand won remaining, I was so caught up in excitement and exhilaration that I completely forgot what I was doing in the first place.
‘Sena River’ and ‘Yang A-chae Counseling Center’ had long since flown far from my mind.
Kang Yi-chae carried the cake, while Jung Da-jun returned to the dormitory with a puppy plush and rabbit plush tucked under both arms.
Seo Ho-yoon, who had finished practice and arrived earlier, greeted the two of them.

“Did you have fun playing?”
“Yeah~! Hehe, this is a gift for you, hyung!”
“Oh… so it’s my birthday.”

As if he’d been sweating, Seo Ho-yoon accepted the rabbit plush from Jung Da-jun and Kang Yi-chae, who looked somewhat disheveled, and let out a soft chuckle.

“Thanks.”

Even though it was actually his own birthday, Jung Da-jun’s chest swelled with pride upon seeing that smile.
Returning to his room with a happy heart, Jung Da-jun placed the puppy plush on his bed and then realized something.

‘Wait, didn’t I just play around without thinking at all?’

As Jung Da-jun reflected on the recent events, he realized he had failed to comfort Kang Yi-chae as the dependable youngest member, as the mature youngest member.
Rather, Jung Da-jun had been thoroughly played by Kang Yi-chae.
Once he realized that, a chill ran down his spine.

‘…No way!’

He had executed his plan perfectly and carefully, yet had Kang Yi-chae still seen through it?
With an ominous premonition, he sprang up and flung open the door.

“—Why are you always like this, hyung?”
“…!!”

There in the living room, he could see Seo Ho-yoon and Kang Yi-chae, their voices growing increasingly heated.

“Like what?”
“If you’re going to be like this, just quit everything.”

Kang Yi-chae ran his hand through his hair in exasperation.
The atmosphere was taking a distinctly unsettling turn.

“Why are you—, never mind. Drop the formal speech. Why won’t you consider my feelings at all?”
“I’ve listened to you plenty at this point.”

Seo Ho-yoon turned his head, his lips curling into a slanted smile.

“What more do you want?”

It was the expression Seo Ho-yoon wore when he was truly angry.
The moment Kang Yi-chae’s eyebrows began to rise, Jung Da-jun threw himself between them.

“Stooooop!!”

Jung Da-jun raised both arms and flailed them wildly as he spoke.

“Wait, stop right there!! This isn’t a healthy dynamic. Members are supposed to have unconditional affection as the foundation!”
“….”
“I did this for you, so why can’t you do more—conversations like that are a direct path to relationship breakdown! It’s fine to want affection, but if you make too many demands on the other person, it absolutely won’t work!”

Jung Da-jun, his face flushed crimson, rattled off knowledge he’d accumulated through various video media over the years.

“So, so anyway!”

‘And what else should I say?’

“Amusing.”

But all that came back from Seo Ho-yoon was a cold response.
Seo Ho-yoon let out a scoff and looked at Kang Yi-chae, who stared back with an icy expression, arms crossed.

“Then let our clever maknae speak.”

Just as Jung Da-jun was tugging at his hair in desperation, the arrow suddenly changed direction.
When the two members who looked most terrifying when expressionless turned their gaze toward him simultaneously, Jung Da-jun wanted to scream apologies about twenty times over.
Barely managing to keep his mouth shut and swallowing hard, Seo Ho-yoon grabbed both his shoulders and firmly pressed him down onto the sofa.

“Da-jun, you—.”
“Yes, yes.”

Then, meeting my gaze, I asked quietly.

“—Do you like the black rabbit or the blue rabbit?”
“…What?”

…Black rabbit? Blue?

“Choose quickly. I don’t have patience, brother.”
“What??”

It was an extraordinarily familiar situation.
Da-jun rapidly searched through his memories.
During our Japan activities, at the surprise camera event planned for Seo Ho-yoon’s birthday, the scene where he had been searching for a whipped cream cake for Kim Sung-hyun.
The moment that memory surfaced, Yi-chae plopped down beside Da-jun’s left and wrapped an arm around his neck.

“Is this blue rabbit your rabbit~?”
“No, mine is just an ordinary rabbit.”
“Then is the Seo rabbit your rabbit~?”
“Yes, well, I think that’s roughly correct~.”

While Da-jun stammered, the two of them perfectly synchronized and burst into giggles.
Seo Ho-yoon, seated to Da-jun’s right, turned on the television with the remote.
Then, accompanied by a birthday song, a dazzling animated PowerPoint presentation—one that looked like Da-jun had created it—appeared on screen.

☆ Jung the Elephant ☆
Happy Birthday

“Kehehehe!”

The tension dissolved, and tears spilled forth.

“Wahaha!”
“Pfft.”

Even as the youngest member wept openly, the shameless older members only burst into even louder laughter.

“You guys are really terrible and so annoying!”
“Didn’t you know? That’s our group’s identity.”
“I seriously, seriously, seriously hate you all!!”

From the start, they had definitely orchestrated this whole setup to tease me.
Hearing Da-jun whimper with his cheeks puffed out, Kim Sung-hyun arrived late and sighed heavily as he warned the mischievous older members.

“Hey, you guys stop it. You’re making the kid cry.”
“We got it, we got it.”
“Da-jun’s just so cute, that’s all.”

How could they be so shameless without even a hint of remorse?
As Da-jun huffed indignantly and shot daggers at Kang Yi-chae and Seo Ho-yoon, Sung Ji-won emerged from the room carrying a honey macaron cake with lit candles.
The members’ voices rose in a birthday song.
After blowing out the candles, Da-jun took a bite of the cake that Sung Ji-won had cut for him and reflected.
Thanks to all this, he would never forget his twentieth birthday for the rest of his life.

“Sniffle….”
“Da-jun, have some water.”
“Okay….”
“Hey, you should eat the macaron on top too.”
“I’ll eat it myself. Don’t touch it.”

Watching the thoroughly sulking Da-jun, Kang Yi-chae chuckled softly.

“Alright, I won’t touch it.”

In truth, Kang Yi-chae’s lingering frustration had finally been completely released thanks to Da-jun today.
After all, Da-jun’s “Sena-Kang” plan hadn’t been a failure, but….

“Happy birthday to our maknae~.”

Da-jun would never know.

—————
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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