The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 283

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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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283

“You hit every note perfectly, but there’s no emotion behind it.”
“What good is a pretty expression when there’s no soul in your fingertips?”
“Why do you even have a brain? Please, think for once before you move!”

Every practice session brought another round of criticism.
What I’d hoped to find in Joo Woo-sung was the catalyst—the person or circumstance—that had elevated him to EX-rank status. Anything.

‘This guy’s useless.’

Yet all he actually did was stick to my side all day, spewing endless nagging.
And here I was, dancing while calculating xyz axes, and he dared call me thoughtless in my movements.

“Look here, you stubborn thing.”
….

I wanted to retort, but whenever Joo Woo-sung demonstrated, I found myself forced into silence.

‘Damn genius….’

He was said to be the greatest dancer among all idols in history—what more needed to be said?
The joke that Black Call, especially Joo Woo-sung, had built half of the WH New Headquarters wasn’t without reason.
He’d transcended humanity itself, and even his casual warm-up movements captivated people into staring.

“Sigh….”

IRIX’s newly opened Korean Server had become a massive hit. Despite already being a globally trending game, word spread of a second golden age arriving, and its popularity became astronomical.
Along with it, The Dun’s Connected had also become wildly beloved among game users.
Thus, at Caris Games’ request, The Dun was set to perform Connected again at IRIX’s new season launch ceremony.
Kang Yi-chae sat in his work studio chair, whistling as he spoke.

“Doing the same thing again would be boring.”

At the thought of performing on stage at the launch ceremony for his favorite game, Kang Yi-chae’s enthusiasm burned brilliantly.

“If last time was a neon sign illuminating darkness, this time you’re becoming the light that pierces through the sun itself.”

“Do you understand?”
“The pace is too fast.”
“I understand, senior!!”
“….”

Kim Sung-hyun and Jung Da-jun, who were supposedly doing the Los Angeles wishlist with Kang Yi-chae, had somehow joined the practice session. Sung Ji-won, a practice enthusiast, apparently declined to come, saying he wanted to rest for once.
As Joo Woo-sung rapidly pointed out the key movement transitions, Kim Sung-hyun burst into seal claps.
I was about to play the song again while mentally cursing, when Jung Da-jun, who had been carefully reviewing the choreography, asked Joo Woo-sung a question.

“Woo-sung, don’t you think this part feels a bit empty? Would it be too much if we added this move? The back dancers might find it difficult, but if they step on their bent backs and climb like stairs, I think we could create a jumping sensation….”
“Wow, the maknae grasps the concept faster than the choreographer.”
“Hehe.”

The back dancers that IRIX had prepared for this performance were a dancer team renowned even in Hollywood.
The moment Joo Woo-sung gave the okay signal, Jung Da-jun scurried over to the dancers and conveyed his opinions through various body language gestures.

“Okay? I go whoosh whoosh!”
“…OK!”

The dancers, somehow understanding, immediately got up to try it out.
The revised choreography looked far more dynamic.

“Something still feels off….”

The dancers cheered with excited shouts, but the maknae, still unsatisfied, massaged his knees and pouted his lips.

“Woo-sung, hyung! Look, it needs to go like this—pat pat pat!! But there’s a pat and then a zing that’s needed, and that zing is missing….”

…What kind of alien language is that?

“Isn’t that more like zing zing zing?”

…Did he actually understand that?
Joo Woo-sung, observing Jung Da-jun flailing his limbs about, answered nonchalantly.
Jung Da-jun, muttering “I guess so?”, slightly altered his movements and shifted his body.

“Shall we try it one more time?”
“Yeah.”

It wasn’t glaringly obvious enough to pinpoint exactly what was off, but there was an unmistakable sense of instability.

‘But what advice could I possibly give?’

I was just a hack, for crying out loud.
I watched quietly as Jung Da-jun adjusted the sections that had changed with the dancers, then suddenly realized that someone genuinely capable of helping was right here in this space.
I furrowed my brow as I studied the choreography’s atmosphere, then tapped Joo Woo-sung’s shoulder and gestured for him to step outside.

“What? Why again?”
“No, what do you think of Jung Da-jun’s dancing?”
“Way better than a hack like you.”
“I know.”

Joo Woo-sung, who had brought only his ion drink and was gulping it down like he was filming a commercial solo, raised his eyebrows.
As if asking what I meant by the question.

“Doesn’t he seem a bit unstable?”
“He looks a bit taller than usual.”
“…So what should we do?”

Joo Woo-sung exhaled deeply like a sigh, leaning on one leg as he brushed his hair back.

“…Ho-yoon, that’s just a phenomenon from not adapting to his suddenly changed physique.”
“And?”
“Just leave it alone. He’ll naturally regain his sense of it on his own.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”

Joo Woo-sung shrugged his shoulders as if to say he was serious, his eyes half-lidded.

“That’s a problem only he can solve—do you really think my telling him what to do will work? Jung Da-jun himself probably knows that better than anyone.”

In other words, there was no immediate solution right now.

“Then we’ll need to change the choreography. If we keep going like this, he’ll get injured.”

If I pushed too hard and injured my knee, that would be a disaster. It seemed better to replace the main dancer before an accident occurred.
I should also relay what Joo Woo-sung said….

“What?”

But upon hearing my words, Joo Woo-sung’s expression turned incredulous.

“Why would you change the choreography?”
“Didn’t you just say there’s no other way besides leaving it alone?”

The truly absurd one here was me.

“According to what you said, this won’t be resolved in the short term anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to change the choreography rather than forcing the performance around an injured member?”
“What are you talking about? But you didn’t back out.”

What? The concert?

“…Joo Woo-sung. Are he and I the same?”

He offered no response.
He simply raked his displeased gaze up and down my body before letting out a low scoff.

“Ah… so this is what it feels like.”

Then, as if he’d figured something out, he muttered to himself and kicked my leg lightly.

“Idiot.”

This bastard?
As if deflated, he shuffled toward the Parking Lot instead of the Practice Room, apparently intending to return to the Hotel.

Ding!

[Seo Ho-yoon is really an idiot.]

What did you say.

***

Practice continued relentlessly.
We had only ten days ahead of us.
Between training sessions, filming our own content, streaming live broadcasts, and preparing for the Connected performance, every member bore dark circles that descended to their jawlines.

“My wish list….”
“Why didn’t I just write something like ‘practice nonstop for 24 hours’?”
“Ugh….”

Joo Woo-sung continued to show up at the practice room without fail, but he refrained from commenting further about Jung Da-jun. He simply shared his thoughts on the performance itself.
I still hadn’t told the members about changing the choreography. Joo Woo-sung’s final action had left me feeling unsettled.

“Hyungs! Let’s run through this part one more time.”

Moreover, as time passed, Jung Da-jun’s obsession with practice only intensified, making it difficult for me to speak up. He barely left the practice room except to sleep, to the point where even the Dancer Team had grown weary.
Sung Ji-won, however, seemed deeply moved by it all.

‘I was worried at first, but he’s doing well.’

Though he’d struggled initially, now he moved through the choreography with considerable skill.

‘I wish I could see his stats….’

“Ho-yoon, hyung! What do you think about trying it like this?”
“Like what?”
“Right here—zing-zing, whoosh! I think it would look great. The lyrics work perfectly with it.”

Zing-zing, whoosh?
For some reason, my mood deflated.

“Watch!”

Before I could even ask what the exact movement was, Jung Da-jun dashed over and signaled the dancers. They seemed to have already understood, immediately repositioning themselves into formation.
The dancers took their poses without hesitation.
Soon, the newly arranged Connected—the one Kang Yi-chae had poured his heart into—flowed through the speakers.

【All we have left are wings and….】

Walking across the dancers’ backs as they ascended in staircase-like formation was no different from the choreography we’d changed last time.

Tap, tap!

The moment Da-jun’s foot touched the last dancer’s back,

“…!”

he launched himself upward and spun his body forward.

‘Is he insane?’

He was attempting a tumble.
But his center of gravity twisted, his body failed to complete the rotation, and he began to plummet downward.

Crash!!

“Ugh!”

Da-jun quickly wrapped his hands around his head and absorbed the impact with his body, rolling across the mat.

“—Da-jun!”
“Da-jun!”

All the members rushed toward him in alarm, calling out his name.
Though a mat was laid beneath him, it couldn’t protect against all injuries.
Da-jun clutched his left forearm and groaned.

“Hey! Hey, Da-jun. You okay?”
“Ugh… yeah….”
.
As everyone stared at him with concern, he still wincing, pushed himself up into a sitting position.

“You really okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, really.”

When he flashed a smile insisting he was truly fine, the gathered members let out sighs of relief.

“Man, that was embarrassing.”
“Da-jun, you should at least tell your hyungs before trying something like that.”
“Ugh…. I thought I could pull it off, but I guess not. Though if I try once more, I think I might be able to….”

But this bastard….

“What the hell are you doing?”

Jung Da-jun had nearly gotten hurt and showed absolutely no remorse for it.

“…Yes?”

I turned Jung Da-jun around as he was walking back to practice, and began pressing along his forearm—the first place he’d complained of pain.

“Listen here. You know your body is your asset, right? What are you going to do if you get hurt again?”
“…Um…. I’m sorry.”

I stopped and looked at Jung Da-jun.

‘What’s this?’

“Ugh, I’m fine, so please let go….”

His tone dripped with dissatisfaction. His face openly displayed his stubborn determination to try again.

“Don’t do this choreography.”
“Huh??”
“Listen to me. You think if you half-ass it and go on stage, a serious injury won’t leave lasting aftereffects? At this rate, it’d be better not to perform at all.”
“…But.”

But?

“Um… But you see.”

Jung Da-jun’s lips began to pout more and more.

“—You did the exact same thing.”
“…What?”
“You did the same thing during the concert. You went on stage with an ankle injury.”

My blood pressure spiked, rushing from my spine up the back of my neck.

“Back then, everyone was worried about you too, but you just ignored it all… So why won’t you listen to me?”
“Hey. Am I the same as you?”
“What?”

Some kid whose ID card ink hasn’t even dried yet.
Trying to match wits with an adult.

“I can handle it, so I did it. But if you get hurt here—especially your head—what then?”
“What are you talking about! Did you really handle it back then?”
“I did. I finished the two-day schedule without incident.”
“…Y-you did finish without incident, but you kept going in and out of the hospital after that! So I can do the same thing, can’t I?”

They say kids learn the bad things first, and Jung Da-jun was a perfect example of that.
I turned my head away and exhaled a long sigh, then spoke to Jung Da-jun firmly, suppressing my anger.

“You can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“You just can’t.”

As my voice grew louder, the Dancer Team, unable to understand the words but sensing the tense atmosphere, glanced over. The Members seemed to be debating whether they should intervene.

“Okay, let’s stop talking about this—”
“—Wait.”

Just as I was about to end the conversation, Jung Da-jun suddenly raised his voice.

“Listening to all this, it’s really ridiculous?? I get that the choreography I want to do is dangerous! But what you’re saying right now—don’t you realize how absurd it is?”
“What is.”
“What’s the difference between Ho-yoon and me?”
“There’s obviously a difference.”
“What difference?! You’re a person too! You have eyes, a nose, and a mouth just like everyone else!”

You don’t have a System Window.
Even if you get hurt, you can’t use items.
I’ll just guide you down the highway myself without you having to strain yourself.

“Jung Da-jun, hey…”

But I couldn’t voice such inner thoughts.
I buried the truth and spoke in gentle, soothing tones, circling around what I meant to say.

“—You’re still young….”

However, the moment the words left my lips, Jung Da-jun’s cheeks puffed up indignantly.

“Y-y-you old fossil!”

He violently swatted my hand away from his body.

“What?!”
“We’re only four years apart, hyung!!”

‘Fourteen years, you brat!’

“Why won’t you ever listen to me….”
“…Hmph!”

Jung Da-jun stubbornly turned his head away, refusing to meet my eyes.

“You’re….”

He clenched his lips tightly, breathing in ragged, heavy gasps, his shoulders trembling as tears began streaming down his face.

“You’re a complete idiot, a moron, a jerk!!!”

And with that, he bolted outside.

“What, what….”

An idiot, a moron, a jerk?

Ding!

[Ah~.]
[He cried~~.]

“Man, Jung Da-jun….”

Kang Yi-chae approached from the side with an inexplicably satisfied expression, placing his hand on my shoulder before withdrawing it.

“Go apologize to her~.”
“What?”
“Yeah, you messed up.”

Kim Sung-hyun then patted my back as he passed by.
As I exhaled and turned my gaze away, Sung Ji-won, who had been observing the situation while drinking water, offered an awkward smile.

“Ho-yoon, …this is a bit much.”

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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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