The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 263

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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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263

[Title: Seo Ho-yoon’s Brother

This is a sighting from today lol Photo of Seo Ho-yoon coming out of a restaurant

OO Korean Restaurant_sighting.jpg
photo_leaving_restaurant.jpg

The vibe is so similar lol lol lol lol lol lol
Since Seo Ho-yoon apparently called him “brother,” he must be his younger brother, and he’s incredibly handsome too wow]

The post, quickly buried under comments, was soon deleted, but the photos spread like wildfire.
No one could tell who had taken them—whether it was a stalker or just a passerby—but the images were remarkably clear.
That meant anyone who knew Seo Ho-jin would recognize him immediately, and it was only a matter of time before his identity was exposed.

[Whoa, seriously?! Seo Ho-yoon’s brother?!
So damn handsome
Well, of course he is—he’s Seo Ho-yoon’s real brother]
[Crazy lol lol lol lol lol He looks like a senior from a university that doesn’t exist in real life lol lol lol]
[Lol lol lol lol That’s what I’m saying.. This family’s genetics are seriously superior lol]

An idol’s family relationships were easily consumed as light gossip.
The first reactions from those who saw Seo Ho-jin’s photo were surprise and praise.

[Wait, his brother?? Really;;?
They don’t look that similar though, isn’t he just an acquaintance?

└The more you look at it, the more similar they are, right??]

Naturally, information about Seo Ho-jin began to surface shortly after.

[Seems like Seo Ho-yoon and this guy are definitely siblings. That person’s name is Seo Ho-jin apparently

└How did you find out?
└└Photos are being posted one after another on the S University community. Haha, orthopedic surgeon
└└Wait, seriously?? What’s with the academic background;; Must study like crazy]

[Wow, the hoja rotation is so cute..ㅠ!!]

At the same time, photos of Seo Ho-jin were being uploaded across the university community and SNS.

[Title: Seems like Seo Ho-yoon’s younger brother?

Saw him in the department, confirming it
I’m 25 this year and about to graduate.

S University International Relations Department_Seo Ho-jin.JPEG

Deleted the post 5 minutes later~]

Photos of him presenting, department group shots from retreats—
Everything from where he lived to what foods he liked, his hobbies and special talents, what part-time jobs he worked—
it all unraveled in less than twenty minutes.
At this point, denying the truth wouldn’t bury the situation.
I could only watch the information spreading helplessly before being rushed by staff members to take the stage for the concert’s finale.

“Everyone! Please give us a round of applause!”

I tried desperately to smile brightly.
Or at least, I made an effort to wave my hands to the Noeul fans and respond to their energy.

‘Damn it, damn it.’

But that should have been possible.
The positive reactions toward Seo Ho-jin from just moments ago—I couldn’t stop the endless negative thoughts flooding my mind about how they might twist once I left the stage.

‘No. I’m just overreacting.’

This wasn’t my PD days when I ate criticism for breakfast, and public interest would fade quickly anyway.
Family relations being exposed was a problem everyone famous experienced.
The members, who had roughly caught on to the situation from the manager’s and my behavior, stood around me with bright smiles, blocking the cameras from my view.

“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Yes, thank you as well.”

After finishing the schedule one way or another, I picked up my phone again inside the van heading back to the dormitory.
I scrolled past a post asking, ‘Didn’t Seo Ho-yoon’s expression look off at the ending today?’ and searched for other reactions.
Despite my attempts to reassure myself that it would be nothing, posts latching onto the very concerns I’d worried about were already surfacing.

Haha, look at them burning up because he’s handsome and has good credentials lol

Seo Ho-yoon’s been really popular lately lol

[But the whole “younger brother” thing seems weird
If he’s 25, wouldn’t they be the same age? How is he a younger brother?

└ I heard from someone who goes to S University International Relations Department that he was born in December
└ Isn’t Seo Ho-yoon born in January? Then timing-wise it could be possible]

[Looking at the fans, they didn’t seem to know. Why didn’t he mention the family relationship?

└└ After the accident and all the chaos, he probably didn’t want the topic of his younger brother to come up..
└└ Wow… ㅠㅠ]

I thought Seo Ho-yoon was an orphan when I saw him sell out his parents for the shades, lol, but he had a younger sibling… I thought he was alone in the world… just thought so…^^

└ ?? What are you talking about? Having a younger brother would’ve made it harder for Ho-yoon
“Are you illiterate or something? What I’m saying is, if you have a younger sibling, you should’ve been more careful about selling out family business like that, you know? lol”
“Damn, if anyone hears this, they’ll think Ho-yoon brought up family issues first, lol. Who was it that bothered the kid who was minding his own business? You’re being ridiculous right now.”

[But then wasn’t the younger brother there during the traffic accident?]

I knew they’d be curious about that much.
Cyber trolls who’d already caught the scent of controversy were quickly uploading videos.
‘Why a popular idol hasn’t revealed his family relationships two years after debut.’, ‘Seo Ho-yoon’s serious expression at Korean Wave Con’s ending + hidden biological younger brother?’, ‘Why one family fell apart.’ and so on.
As I skimmed through the titles, I pressed my fingers against the bridge of my nose.

‘They’re really creative with their bait, aren’t they.’

Cyber-bullies would exaggerate a facial expression that appeared for a mere second on broadcast as some kind of confrontation, or edit and manipulate a single exchange of words as if something momentous had occurred.
For them, bait of this caliber was nothing short of a feast.
Within minutes of being posted, the view count had already surpassed ten thousand.
I didn’t bother clicking to see the content. There was no need—I could already predict exactly what narrative they’d concocted.

‘I need to think about how to handle this. Think.’

I couldn’t just sit idle while a spark was thrown, waiting for the entire mountain to burn.
I was running my sluggish mind in circles, fingers tracing my lips, when I felt a nudge from beside me. Turning my head, Yi-chae gestured with his hand toward the exit.

“Hyung, we’ve arrived at the dormitory.”
“Yeah.”

As I followed Yi-chae out, I heard Kim Sung-hyun’s voice.

“Are you okay?”

Only then did I notice the members hesitating and watching me intently.
Kim Sung-hyun, who had stepped forward, was trying to meet my eyes.

“…Of course.”
“We don’t have any more schedules today, so get some proper rest. I’ll talk to the company about this.”

At that face full of concern, I forced a smile.

“Thanks.”

I gave Kim Sung-hyun’s shoulder a light pat, then brushed past the members’ worried gazes and entered the bedroom.

“…Damn.”

After closing the door, the curse I’d been holding back spilled from my lips.
The tension eased slightly, and my brain, which had ceased functioning, seemed to creak back into motion.
I picked up my phone and texted Seo Ho-jin.

[Me: Don’t answer if someone you don’t know calls]
[Me: Don’t go outside either]
[Me: I’ll contact you again soon]

In that moment, Kim Jae-yeon’s number and the names of several other celebrities flashed through my mind before disappearing.
People’s attention was like reeds swaying in the wind—swept away and drawn into more sensational incidents.

‘It’ll be buried soon enough.’

This whole situation stemmed from my own carelessness. I’d naively thought it would be fine since we only met a few times every couple of months.
If my connection to Kim Jae-yeon were exposed in a situation like this, I wouldn’t even be able to contain the fallout.

‘If only I had the Item Shop, this would be so much easier to resolve.’

I called out to the System Window aloud, but my vision remained silent and still. I closed my eyes.
As for those bastards spreading weird rumors, I could just sue them through Dae Pa-sung….

‘Don’t make any hasty moves.’

The entertainment industry was always chaotic anyway.
New scandals erupted constantly, so all I had to do was wait quietly.
Smile in front of the camera as if nothing happened, brush off any questions with a smile. That’s all.

.
.
.

The next day.

《Major Actor A Suspected of Illegal Gambling Worth Hundreds of Millions?》
《The ‘Kind’ Actor A Was Actually an Abuser of Power》

As expected, a new scandal had erupted, and instead of Seo Ho-jin’s name, another person’s name was dominating the portal website news sections, real-time SNS trends, and online communities.
The backlash was even greater because the actor had been beloved by the public for his clean image.
With each press of the F5 key on my laptop, I could see people’s attention shifting away.

‘As expected.’

Even the mentions between Noeul and some K-POP fans were buried in an instant.

‘Even if it was unavoidable, I was too reckless back during Shining Star.’

While my image had been significantly rehabilitated through variety shows, I had determined that during Shining Star Season 2, there was no other method available.
Honestly, I don’t regret my actions back then, even now.
If I were to go back to that time, I would sell out my family circumstances without hesitation countless times if it meant winning.
I extracted the most sensational footage from the traffic accident dashcam video and meticulously refined the sentences on how to spread it. Why would someone like me feel regret?

However, the arrows I had fired back then were now piercing into Seo Ho-jin.
Being so accustomed to packaging and selling others’ misfortunes, I should have been more mindful that those blades could return and strike my own brother—.

“Damn it… it’s done.”

It’s already over.
A slight sense of helplessness washed over me.
I glanced at Sung Ji-won’s empty bedroom for a moment, then called Seo Ho-jin.

[Hello? Hyung!?]

The dial tone rang a few times before Seo Ho-jin’s voice came through.

“…Seo Ho-jin.”

Hearing that familiar voice put my mind at ease slightly.
I spoke as casually as I could manage.

“It’s your hyung. Were you startled?”
[Ah, no.]
“You understand the situation, right? It’ll blow over soon, so just keep quiet until then.”
[Yeah…]

I wasn’t particularly worried about how Seo Ho-jin would handle himself.
He had always managed well even when I was a PD.
I was more concerned that he might be hurt by the thoughtless words of those around him.

[—But are you okay?]

As I was choosing what else to say, Seo Ho-jin asked with slight hesitation.

[I’m more worried about you, hyung.]

“Who are you worried about right now?”

I’d always known, deep down, that the truth would eventually come to light.

“Of course I’m fine.”

A torrent of thoughts rushed through my mind in those brief seconds before the words I’d been holding back spilled out.

[Hyung, want to grab something?]
“….”
[I’ll buy you a meal with that card you gave me before.]

Seo Ho-jin seemed intent on acting mature today, tossing out a light joke as if to lift my spirits.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose with my index finger, my gaze drifting toward the laptop screen.
It was still flooded with reactions about the popular actor’s illegal gambling scandal.
Even knowing that meeting him again now would reignite the controversy, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
On the other hand, the thought occurred to me that since everything was already exposed, perhaps it would be better to seize this as an opportunity to meet my brother openly and confidently.
And more than anything else….
I wanted to see what state Seo Ho-jin was really in, whether he was truly okay,

“I’ll head home.”

I needed to see for myself.

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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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