The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 259

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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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259

The Office Worker, who had been a fan since The Dun’s four-member days, had been swimming in happiness lately.

“Yumi, you’ve been in such a good mood lately. Must be having an easy time at work?”
“Haha, does it look that way?”

Her daily life wasn’t inherently joyful, but she was so content that even the ridiculous questions her colleague from the adjacent department threw at her during busy hours didn’t provoke her anger anymore.

“You’ve been working overtime for three weeks straight without a single weekend, and you look like you’re having a leisurely time. That’s a relief.”
“…Sorry.”

There was only one reason her mood had lifted so dramatically.

The Dun.
The Office Worker had been immersed in K-POP since her school days, cycling through numerous idols over more than a decade.
Then came a catastrophic scandal from the group she loved so dearly that she believed they would be her final idol.
Four years had passed since that night at the hof bar when she’d blown into a soju bottle and sworn to her K-POP friends that she would never follow idols again, her drunken outburst a monument to her despair.
She had believed herself completely out of the idol fandom, living a life consumed by the grind of reality.
Then one day, a friend asked her.

[Want to go to a fan sign for some hopeless idol group if we buy a few albums?]

Haha, damn it, why are you like that?
what’s the group’s name anyway

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m excited]

Honestly, she’d started it half as a joke and half as a change of pace. She’d bought a few albums without any real expectations—who could have predicted she’d actually win?
The Office Worker was notoriously unlucky; she’d bought over a hundred albums before and never won a single drawing.
As someone who had exclusively supported first-tier groups, this situation baffled her, and she found it absurdly ridiculous.

‘Oh, that fan sign is tomorrow.’

This time, the Office Worker had planned to dress hastily, pull her hat down tight, and leave—everything felt leisurely in comparison.
She had intended to at least research The Dun before attending the fan sign event, watching only their music videos and stage performances.

“…What?”

But after watching the YouTube videos, she found herself in shock.

“No, what are these guys?”

Their skill was genuinely impressive considering their rock-bottom recognition.
Certainly, compared to major entertainment agencies pouring capital into their artists, they lacked everything. Ordinary outfits, unremarkable hairstyles, choreography without distinctive points, and songs that felt lacking in impact.
Yet even within those constraints, the members’ visuals and abilities kept catching her eye.
Especially Kim Sung-hyun—he was exactly her type from head to toe.

[What’s this, they perform pretty well;; Are these guys really unpopular?

└You see they’re not popular from the fact that you won the lottery
└└Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

But the more she struggled to find and watch the scarce videos available, the more unbelievable it seemed that The Dun was unpopular, so she frantically dug through various portal websites and communities.

‘With this level of talent, they should have some popularity…?’

Yet finding mentions of them was like finding water in a desert.
Seeing such promising kids buried like this made her acutely aware of just how crucial an agency truly was.
After spending the night that way, the day of the fan sign event arrived.

Haha guys, I’m heading out. I’m so nervous since it’s been such a long time.

In the end, she had to leave home without obtaining any additional information.
Except for the friend who had recommended The Dun’s fan sign event to her, whenever she asked other K-POP enthusiasts she knew about The Dun or Dae Pa-sung, she only received blank stares in return.
So she went to the fan sign event carrying slight anxiety and just a hint of anticipation.

“Ah, yes, yes! I’m Kim Sung-hyun.”
“…!!”

Seeing Kim Sung-hyun tense and stiff with nervousness at his awkward manner of speaking, the Office Worker received a second shock.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you….”

The real thing was so much better.
I’d seen countless idols over the years, but Kim Sung-hyun was never inferior to any of them.

After seeing the comments Kim Sung-hyun had meticulously written in the album—thanking her for coming to the fan sign event, curious about how she discovered The Dun, grateful for her support, reminding her to eat well at every meal, and promising to meet again in good health—she completely fell for him and immediately created a new social media account the moment she got home.

‘I’m just temporarily into this….’

I’m just temporarily into him because of the fan sign event high right now….
Ignoring her friends who used to cry about quitting fandom and now teased her for coming back with a “flop idol,” the office worker enthusiastically began promoting him.
But the response was virtually nonexistent.
Unlike what she’d said about only liking him temporarily, she was gradually sinking deeper and deeper into The Dun.

‘I’ll only like them until they become third-tier, I swear!’

Six months after the fan sign event had passed like that.

[The Dawn – Second Chance]

Along with the news that Seo Ho-yoon, the member who had dropped out before debut, was rejoining The Dun, concept photos for the new album were released.
A completely different atmosphere and quality from before—third shock wave.

They swept up all the K-pop veterans and showed sales that were incomparable to their debut album.
In the same hof bar where she used to cry about quitting, the office worker got drunk and cried again.

“Sung-hyun! I love you!! Ah!! Thank you so much, Ho-yoon!!”
“Hey, hey, she’s drunk.”
“Just dump her by the telephone pole.”

After that, though there were still unsatisfactory aspects and plenty of rough edges, Dae Pa-sung seemed to awaken and transformed rapidly.
Self-produced content poured out and activities continued steadily.
Even when newly acquired fans cursed the agency, to the office worker who knew Dae Pa-sung’s previous trajectory, they only looked like celestial beings.
And now, another year and a half had passed.

[Failed to get fan sign event slot]

The Dun had made it.

[Ugh.. I bought so much this time but still didn’t get into The Dun’s fan sign event

What do I do… this is so sad.
└└So moving…
└└You crazy bastard..]

The Dun’s fan sign event cutoff grew steeper with each passing day.
The Office Worker found herself increasingly unable to secure a spot at the fan sign events. Yet even that frustration—that creeping irritation—she transformed into gratitude.
When the “Christmas Again?” album dropped in December, the Office Worker had resolved to attend no matter what. She drained her savings and finally managed to win a ticket.

“Oh!!”

She arrived at the fan sign event venue far earlier than scheduled, her nerves taut. She was mentally rehearsing how to make the most of her allotted time when word spread through the Noeul fans that The Dun had arrived.
Soon the members appeared.
Kim Sung-hyun’s handsome features remained unchanged, but now an unmistakable celebrity aura radiated from him.

The fan sign event proceeded in orderly fashion, and soon it was the Office Worker’s turn.
After sending off the previous Noeul fan, Kim Sung-hyun turned and spotted the Office Worker. His eyes crinkled into crescents as he flashed an impossibly bright smile.

“It’s really been so long!”

That bastard—those are my lines.
I’d missed him terribly, but with the fan sign cutoff climbing higher and higher, and my terrible luck on full display, there was no hope.
Yet I didn’t want to air all those grievances directly.

Just this morning when I woke up, I’d had so much to say. I’d even planned to tease him about how I’d switched my bias to Seo Ho-yoon.
But seeing Kim Sung-hyun looking just as happy to see me as I was to see him, my mind went blank. I could only feel joy.

“Should I sign here?”

Have you been eating well? Was the trip difficult? What have you been up to?
I wanted to hear more from Kim Sung-hyun, but instead I found myself bombarding him with questions about himself. Of course, I felt good knowing it was his way of showing he cared.
Our brief meeting ended, and as I moved to leave, Kim Sung-hyun urgently grabbed my arm.

“I’m not very good with words… but I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time. Thank you so much for continuing to support us.”

After that, I barely remembered how I finished the fan sign event or made it home.
All that remained was Kim Sung-hyun’s signature along with the words: “You’ve been such a tremendous source of strength for me. I want you to know how much you mean to me. And I missed you!!” followed by the signatures of the other members.

[Sigh… I feel so good right now..
When did I write such a long comment while talking about our Sung-hyun.. I still feel a bit awkward about it, but that’s good too..]

By this point, the Office Worker felt she could endure anything as a Noeul fan.

[When is Yumi doing her talk show
She said when we reach tier 3
But we’re already The Dun’s tier 2]
[We’ll do it when The Dun reaches tier 1]
Hahaha the standards keep getting higher lol

[I bet once The Dun reaches tier 1, Yumi will say she’ll do it when they win a Grammy

Haha oh my god that’s so fucking funny lol

Even when her friends joked with affection, she had no time to respond. She was too busy capturing screenshots of The Dun.
From various variety shows to collaborations with IRIX.
The Dun’s activities had been relentless since late last year.

Especially when Kim Sung-hyun appeared on a motorcycle at the Rix Cup’s “Connected” stage and removed his helmet to reveal his face—tears welled up in her eyes without warning.

[Tears verified

I’m literally going crazy, for real hahahahaha

[Why is watching Yumi’s chaotic K-pop diary from the sidelines so entertaining
It feels like watching someone raise a Tamagotchi]

From that day forward, the Office Worker felt she had entered Phase 2 of being a Noeul fan.
She rewatched “Connected” fancams from every angle and found herself drifting through various communities.
The posts there contained nothing but praise.

[Using a handheld microphone was truly a masterstroke (5,412 likes)]

Behind-the-scenes recordings of “Connected” on The Dun’s official YouTube channel, work reviews from IRIX featuring The Dun, rehearsal footage from Rix Cup—
As these were posted consecutively, The Dun’s YouTube subscriber count and official SNS followers skyrocketed.

[I’m so proud to be a Noeul fan. No one in the world can deny they’re geniuses (laughing emoji)]
[Seeing Hyun-sung smile at the end made me smile too. Such a sexy man, but backstage he’s always getting picked on by Ho-yoon, such a gentle guy (laughing-crying emoji)]

Most of them were overseas fans.
Eventually, “Connected” climbed the Billboard World Digital Chart, and while it charted lower domestically, it entered the real-time charts.

[Title: Who do you think is doing the best in the second tier?

Personally, I think The Dun
Before they did the showcase last year, High Five was more dominant, but The Dun seems to be doing really well with their self-produced content and songs this time
In the old days it was mainly focused on hardcore fans so it was a bit disappointing, but recently they’ve been very active in entertainment activities and their public recognition has increased a lot

└I’m High Five lolol but they can’t compete with the major agencies
└Wait I naturally thought it was The Dun lolololol and for the Rix Cup song this time, A:STAR was originally supposed to do it but The Dun did it instead
└└Stop starting fights with rumors and hearsay
└A:STAR has been declining lately, feels like they’ve exhausted their image consumption, The Dun is rising
Can’t they reach 1.5 tier next year?
└└1.5 tier lol yeah right, you guys are delusional
└What’s the intention behind posting something like this? It’s bad for The Dun and bad for High Five lol
└This is clearly trying to start a fight lololol ugh 🖕🖕]

Even facing such inflammatory posts, the Office Worker was happy enough to brush them off and move on.

‘They’re becoming more popular….’

Just as I was about to close the internet window with a satisfied smile,

[Title: Didn’t Kim Sung-hyun get plastic surgery?]

“What the hell?!”

A community post title shattered my composure in an instant.
I’d been following him since Glow, and only his hair, makeup, and styling had changed—I’d never touched his face, so what nonsense was this?
Clutching my heart as it raced with anger, I clicked on the post.

[Title: Kim Sung-hyun’s plastic surgery has been posted about for a while lol

It’s very different from Seonghyun Kim’s elementary school graduation photo.

Young_Kim_Sung-hyun.jpg
Rix_Cup_Kim_Sung-hyun.jpg

Right?]

The young Kim Sung-hyun in the photograph had chubby cheeks that made his small, round face appear even rounder, and he wore thick-framed glasses with a high prescription.
Compared to the fresh-faced Kim Sung-hyun from the Rix Cup that had been posted for comparison, there was certainly a noticeable difference, but it was endearing.

“Is that supposed to make me laugh?”

[hmm? ㅠㅠㅠ It’s a little different ㅠㅠ]
[Minimum eye contact]

“You want to die?!”

The comments seemed to be spiraling into something quite serious.
The Office Worker quickly uploaded Kim Sung-hyun’s childhood photo—his facial features unchanged—to a Twitter account with a large following.

But even after several days passed, the controversy didn’t die down.
Just as the Office Worker’s frustration reached its peak, a live stream notification popped up.

[[Yi-chae<3] Let's play together]

I quickly clicked in to find Kim Sung-hyun, Kang Yi-chae, and the youngest member Jung Da-jun appearing with the dormitory as their backdrop.

【Hyung, what is this photo?】

Jung Da-jun on screen was too busy laughing as he thrust a photograph at Kim Sung-hyun. It was Kim Sung-hyun's elementary school graduation photo—the very center of the current controversy. Kang Yi-chae was also laughing hysterically.
Then suddenly Kim Sung-hyun jumped to his feet and disappeared off-screen, only to reappear moments later with something in hand.

【Since Kang Yi-chae and Jung Da-jun keep teasing me about this, I'm going to do the live stream wearing it.】

It was the glasses he'd worn in elementary school.
He still had them, and as he put them on, Kim Sung-hyun's face transformed completely. I'd often seen that manga trope where a character becomes beautiful just by removing their glasses and thought it was ridiculous, but it was actually happening in real life.
Kang Yi-chae placed Kim Sung-hyun's elementary school graduation photo right next to him wearing the glasses and even did a side-by-side comparison.
Kang Yi-chae placed Kim Sung-hyun's elementary school graduation photo right next to the bespectacled Kim Sung-hyun and even compared them.

Jung Da-jun, giggling away, even took the glasses off Kim Sung-hyun's face and tried them on himself.
Giggling, Jung Da-jun took the glasses off Kim Sung-hyun's face and held them up to his own.

After a brief explanation of what was going on, when asked if he wanted to try on the glasses, Seo Ho-yoon flatly refused.
Instead, he enthusiastically teased Kim Sung-hyun.
Instead, he teased Kim Sung-hyun enthusiastically.

"Hyun-sung seems to rely on Ho-yoon quite a lot…."

Feeling a sense of pride at The Dun's harmonious chemistry, the moment the live broadcast ended, she created a split-screen edit of Kim Sung-hyun's face with and without glasses, posted it on SNS with the caption "Is this the classic trope from pure romance manga where someone becomes handsome after taking off their glasses?"
Then she logged into the community portal, and people were buzzing with conversation.

《Joo Woo-sung Appears on 'Racing Me', Requests Seo Ho-yoon for Spontaneous Casting… Extreme Chemistry Anticipated》

[Joo Woo-sung.. does he really have no friends?
I thought he was doing well with his own group]
[If Woo-sung is happy, then I'm just okay with it]

The office worker checked the article link and, without any particular reaction, typed a comment on Twitter and moved on.

[I'm just grateful that Hyun-sung's elementary school graduation photo surfaced….]

It was so very Noeul—thoroughly self-centered.

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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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