The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 286

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

286

“Jung Da-jun, wake up!!”

Jung Da-jun threw off his blanket and bolted upright, shouting the words aloud.
Under normal circumstances, a sharp rebuke about the noise would have come flying from beside him, but since we were still staying at a hotel in Los Angeles, only quiet silence answered back.
Jung Da-jun immediately began his morning routine, brushing his teeth thoroughly in every corner of his mouth before rinsing and spitting out the water with refreshing vigor.

“Perfect.”

My throat felt great, my body felt great—everything was in peak condition.
Even my knees weren’t throbbing today.
For no particular reason, I just had this feeling that everything would go well today.
And truthfully, whenever I felt this way, good things always seemed to happen.

“Let’s do great today!!”

I stretched both arms wide and shouted with energy, then pulled my cap down firmly and hurried outside. The Road Manager was already waiting at the hotel’s main gate.
The moment I climbed into the van, Kim Sung-hyun greeted me.

“The maknae’s here?”
“Yep!!”

I winked at him and flashed a thumbs up.

‘I’ll talk to Ho-yoon today!’

Yesterday, Kim Sung-hyun had told me to pay close attention to Seo Ho-yoon’s reactions during the performance. There had to be a reason for that.
Assuming the older members had discussed something among themselves, I planned to approach Seo Ho-yoon, thank him for the donuts, and make peace.

“Ho-yoon, hey!”
“Oh, hey.”
“Brother!!”

When Jung Da-jun suddenly stood up from his seat at the back, Seo Ho-yoon’s gaze flickered toward him.
Seeing his face, my anger seemed to dissipate.

“…Um, Ho-yoon Brother, thank you for the donuts yesterday….”
“Alright everyone, we’re heading out! Fasten your seatbelts~.”

But Jung Da-jun’s carefully chosen words were swallowed by the Manager’s voice.
Seo Ho-yoon responded with silence, putting on his earphones and eye mask as usual before burying himself in his seat and falling asleep immediately.

‘…Huh?’

He must not have heard me.
It must be my imagination that it looks like he’s ignoring me.
No way….
Since there was an unspoken rule among The Dun members not to bother Seo Ho-yoon while in the van, Jung Da-jun couldn’t say anything more.

‘I’ll talk to him when we get out, whatever!’

But there was no time for that.
A barrage of camera flashes awaited them at the concert venue entrance, and the moment they were guided to the Waiting Room by the Security Guards, they were caught up in back-to-back rehearsals.
Before I knew it, it was already time to take the Stage.

“The Dun! Come over here.”
“We’re ready for standby!”

In the Backstage, staff from Caris Games, WH, and Dae Pa-sung were all bustling about busily.

‘This isn’t right.’

Though I was grumbling, there was nothing I could do, so I received my final makeup and costume check while glancing to the side.
The members were dressed in all-white outfits with only subtle differences in detail.

“When we go up—….”
“Yes, I’ll do it that way.”

It was starkly different from the Cyberpunk concept last time. Yet Jung Da-jun thought this version also harmonized beautifully with the revised Connected.
Then I saw Seo Ho-yoon, with a few feathers braided into the ends of his hair, just finishing his costume check and putting on his in-ear monitor.
Jung Da-jun hurried over and grabbed his shoulder.

“Brother!”

My indifferent gaze fixed on Jung Da-jun. There was something cold in my eyes.
He shrank back slightly, but remembering the other members, Jung Da-jun opened his mouth.

“Brother, um, the donuts were really delicious…. Did you have a good half-day break? No, first of all, and I wasn’t… avoiding you.”

He stammered incoherently, spilling out whatever came to mind, while I simply listened in silence.
Somehow frightened, he lowered his head and asked.

“…Brother, you don’t have something to say to me, do you?!”
“….”

I watched my bare toes wiggling slightly as they peeked out from my slippers—I was scheduled to perform barefoot—but no answer came for a long while.
Just as Jung Da-jun was about to lift his head slightly,

“Something to say to you?”

I tilted my head at an angle.

“I don’t have anything.”
“…What?”
“I said I don’t have anything to say.”

Jung Da-jun’s mouth slowly fell open.
Turning my back to him as shock washed over him, I walked forward.

“What did you just….”
“I’m heading up on the lift!”

Don’t get hurt, and do well on this stage.
I had believed I would smile with my usual confident expression, or at the very least say something dismissively.
Instead, Jung Da-jun was pushed along by the staff, removed his slippers, and had to climb onto the lift.

‘Why did he treat me so coldly?!’

The first emotion I felt was certainly bewilderment. But soon, disappointment washed over it.

‘No! Hyun-sung said to do well! Do well!’

While I floundered in shock, the other members had already moved to their designated positions and finished their preparations.
Jung Da-jun squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.

‘It’s fine. I don’t care.’

Beneath the darkened stage.
Five shoulders lined up in a row.
Jung Da-jun fixed his gaze straight ahead, resisting the urge to look toward Seo Ho-yoon.

I wanted to do well.
No—I absolutely had to do well.

【Fly neither too low nor too high
Sun’s heat will melt your feathers apart】

The VCR audio began to flow from above.
It was footage combining concept photos of the members that had been shot in advance in Korea with CG of IRIX characters.
The lift where The Dun had been standing slowly began to rise.

“Why am I the main?”

Kang Yi-chae had chosen “Icarus” as the motif for a human figure challenging limits and proceeded with Connected’s arrangement. Though in mythology Icarus fell after flying too close to the sun in his excitement, the concept was to transform him into a being who truly transcends the limit and pierces through the sun itself.
When I asked why the main character of such a concept had to be me, Kang Yi-chae simply pulled his lips into a smile.

“This is something you have to do. Da-jun.”

The members positioned on the pedestal-like columns revealed themselves one by one, and finally Jung Da-jun made his entrance.
With knees drawn up to his chest, he tilted his head slightly through the ruffles of his sleeves and flashed a playful smile at the camera. Despite his slightly taller frame, Jung Da-jun—who retained the fresh innocence of youth unchanged—was projected on the large screen.
Behind him, a metal sculpture adorned with feathers, pearls, and jewels, connected to the column, wrapped around his body like wings.

【Finally this tedious time passes
I love watching you shine bright】

Even as the bright midday sun poured down and a grand yet intense beat filled the concert venue, with excited audience members cheering from all directions, my chest tightened.

‘Don’t think too deeply.’

【Chase me like if you can
Shift up and press the pedal all the way down】

‘Stay calm, stay calm all the way through.’

【Don’t hesitate
Just move forward】

Seo Ho-yoon picked up where I left off, my expression straining not to crack.

【I will never leave your side】

As always, he showed not a trace of wavering.
And with his rapidly improving skill, he captivated the audience in an instant.

‘Don’t get excited. Stay calm….’

As Jung Da-jun moved back, his eyes met Kim Sung-hyun’s coming forward.
Kim Sung-hyun’s lips curved up ever so slightly before dropping again as he unveiled the newly added section.

【Don’t fly too high
And not too low either
Stay at your position
Do what people have asked you】

‘…No.’

I knew myself well now.
I could find my own worth without comparing myself to others, and I no longer needed to prove myself to anyone.

The dancers’ gazes gradually shifted toward me.
The tumbling section was coming up soon.
The dancers would probably cover for me smoothly, just as we’d discussed beforehand about me not doing the tumbling.
We’d kept rehearsing it during practice and run-throughs anyway. But if I attempted it now and actually got injured, Seo Ho-yoon might genuinely be disappointed in me.
That terrified me.
More than anyone’s judgment—the thought of letting down someone I cared about.
It would be easier to just give up.

【You hit me words to knock me out】

—But could I be satisfied with myself if I did?
In that moment, as if reading my heart, Kang Yi-chae deliberately turned his face and flashed me a grin.

【But I don’t lose my temper, darling】

As if there was nothing to worry about at all.
A moment of hesitation, a flicker of doubt, a surge of impatience.
All of it gripped Jung Da-jun, yet none of it could hold him back.
Without the slightest pause, Jung Da-jun’s feet touch down upon the backs of the dancers bending before him.

‘I know. I’m not satisfied.’

I don’t want to fail.
I don’t want to stay frozen in this pathetic place.
I don’t want to remain just an ordinary younger brother—someone who can’t even be relied upon.

In the instant before stepping onto the last dancer’s back, Jung Da-jun’s gaze turns toward Seo Ho-yoon.

【I just keep tempering our hope】

Seo Ho-yoon was watching Jung Da-jun too.
A moment less than a second stretches like pulled tape, elongating into eternity.
Beneath the pure white light, Seo Ho-yoon’s lips curve into the faintest smile.

‘Go.’

Go ahead.
So Jung Da-jun lifts his foot without hesitation.

【When our eyes meet,
anxiety melts away】

One.
Two.

Three.

Tensing his legs, he launches himself upward in a powerful leap.

【What remains for us is…】

Scorching heat lashes across my cheeks.
The floor tilts beneath me, and the backdrop blurs like watercolors swirling in water. Then a heavy yet solid impact reverberates through the soles of my feet.

Roooaaaar―….

The crowd’s roar surges violently, but Da-jun finds himself enveloped in an exhilaration that burns through his entire body, making the sound feel distant.

【Wings and faith alone】

“…!”

Breathing heavily as I move through the choreography, Ho-yoon taps my shoulder and walks past.
At the same moment, pyrotechnics burst across the stage, and I feel something catch in my throat.

【Even if these wings fly higher toward the sun
They will never melt】

Whenever I take the stage with my brothers, there are moments when my chest surges with an intensity I cannot control.

【Only burning ever hotter】

A wild heartbeat.
Adrenaline.

Until now, I never knew how to describe such moments.
But now I could say it clearly.

【Don’t hesitate
Just move forward
I will never leave your side】

When I came to my senses, all that remained was the sweat pooling in my palms and the audience’s roar.
I realized I’d been standing motionless in the ending pose, lost in thought, so I quickly bowed and made my way to the backstage.

“Dajun! that was amazing!”

I thanked the staff members hurriedly for their praise, quickening my pace.

“That was pretty good just now―.”
“Yeah, the timing was quite―….”

As I stepped into the waiting room, the members who had arrived first were casually sharing their impressions of the performance. Seo Ho-yoon looked at Jung Da-jun standing by the door and spoke.

“You made it?”

His tone remained listless and his expression blank, yet he couldn’t hide the light in his eyes.

“….”

That unmistakable gleam of pride.
Seeing it, Jung Da-jun finally understood why Seo Ho-yoon had said he had nothing to say.
As Jung Da-jun slowly approached Seo Ho-yoon,

“You on stage just now… Wack!”

He suddenly rushed forward and embraced him with all his might.
Seo Ho-yoon staggered backward and fell, and at the same moment, the other members huddled nearby tumbled to the ground like bowling pins struck by a ball.

“Ugh!”
“Hey!! Jung Da-jun!”

The members’ cries echoed through the room, but Jung Da-jun remained motionless, his face buried in Seo Ho-yoon’s shoulder.
From the deepest depths of my chest surged an emotion I had never felt before. Though no tears came, my heart trembled endlessly.

“Hey, Jung Da-jun, you….”

Seo Ho-yoon sat up and started to say something, then suddenly stopped. As if waiting for what Jung Da-jun would say.
I’m sorry, thank you, you really are my hyung.

‘I don’t know, I don’t care about complicated things.’

Truthfully, I still wasn’t sure if I could become a reliable member to my hyungs.
But in me, a faith had taken root that would not waver no matter what came my way.
With these members, I could go anywhere and accomplish anything. Even if we were to venture into absolute darkness where not a single light shone, it wouldn’t matter.

“Hyung, you’re really annoying.”

We are the dawn.
We will greet the sun that is about to rise.

Seo Ho-yoon burst into laughter at those words.
And his hand slowly patted Jung Da-jun’s back.

“Do you understand now?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————