The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 305

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

305

Ding!

[Are you really going?]
[Min Ji-heon is a fraud! Do you really believe what that guy says?]

After waiting for Min Ji-heon’s filming to wrap and stepping onto a separate path, the alarm that had been ringing incessantly in my ears, apparently sulking from my continued indifference, sent one final garbled message telling me to do as I pleased before vanishing.

“That bouquet is really huge. Can you carry it? Won’t it be too conspicuous?”

The place I arrived at was somewhere I knew well enough. It was the cafe where I’d talked with him after the final shoot for Please Camera.
It seemed he’d rented out the entire place again—the interior was completely empty.

“My manager will pick me up later.”
“I see~.”

Watching Min Ji-heon spout such vacant remarks with that cold expression, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.
I’d known for some time that he was trying to help me, but whether he genuinely didn’t understand or was simply trying to evade the situation, his constant evasions and dodging were beginning to irritate me.

But this time was different.
Aside from the fact that I now had the profession of “actor,” the unfolding situation and fundamental settings were remarkably similar. Even the characters appearing in them were. Though I couldn’t find The Dun or my younger brother.
In other words, both “Obscure Idol Tycoon” and “Unknown Actor Tycoon” were operating under similar control, and what applied to me would likely be the same.
Moreover, whereas back then I had to deal with Min Ji-heon without knowing anything, now he was the one watching and observing me cautiously.

A drink was already prepared at the table in the far corner.
Min Ji-heon, who had seated himself first, pushed an Americano toward me.

“Go ahead, drink it.”

His movements and speech were slow and clumsy, but he was sharper in judgment and better at reading the atmosphere than anyone. Throughout filming, I’d only consumed sweet things.
This was clearly something he was doing on purpose.

“…How exactly did you end up with the nickname Min Calm?”

Min Ji-heon sipped his Frappuccino with an irritating smirk as he spoke.

“Why? Isn’t that personality pretty decent?”
“Bullshit….”

I irritably pushed my Americano aside and drank water instead, but Min Ji-heon tilted his head curiously.

“I’m serious though. Seo Ho-yoon just came off as intimidating because of his first impression.”
“What? Why?”
“Physiognomy?”

I ended up giving him a flick on the forehead.
The guy pouted his lips, switched his drink, and rubbed the top of his head with his palm.

“Ow, ow, that hurts…. Can’t I even joke? Anyway, Mr. Seo the Kind, just as you said yourself, there are these dark, murky things clinging to you incredibly persistently. Even Lee Kang-seok, who’s getting absolutely trashed these days, can’t compare.”
“So?”
“Would anyone want to talk to someone walking around with that kind of thing attached to them?”

…Well, I suppose.
I couldn’t entirely disagree.
The fact that I’d transitioned to ‘Obscure Idol Tycoon’ was enough to suggest my reputation was the driving force.
Min Ji-heon sipped his Americano and looked me over.

“But here’s the strange part. Why does it seem to be fading gradually?”
“Fading?”
“Hmm….”

Min Ji-heon, who had been savoring his coffee in silence, saw my fist rising stealthily and quickly opened his mouth.

“Ah, no, I mean, your face seems to look a bit better… like you’ve become a different person?”

I twisted my lips and suppressed a smile.

“Hey, I don’t believe in redemption through change.”
“We’re in the same boat.”

Exhaustion was etched deeply across Min Ji-heon’s face after the relentless, high-intensity filming sessions.
He could never have been naive.
The abilities he possessed were proof of that, and the family circumstances he’d described so matter-of-factly couldn’t have been portrayed so simply. His experience rolling through the Entertainment Industry from a young age, and the position he’d already climbed to as a top star—none of it was simple.
Like me, he’d spent his entire life eating his fill of humble pie.

“I also believe people don’t change easily.”

Min Ji-heon’s gaze settled firmly on me.

“…But strangely enough, someone seems to believe otherwise so genuinely.”
“Get to the point.”
“…Seo Ho-yoon, you’ve died before, haven’t you?”

Only the sound of him sucking on his Frappuccino echoed through the Cafe.
Min Ji-heon exhaled softly and continued.

“I’ve always thought it was strange. You seemed to be precariously straddling the boundary between life and death. But if you died and came back….”

And?
When I raised one eyebrow, Min Ji-heon leaned forward slightly and whispered in a small voice.

“How did you die?”
“Crushed.”
“…Ah, I’m sorry.”

Watching him straighten up awkwardly, I took a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking slowly.

“…There are two things I need to accomplish to become whole.”

Either way, I had nothing to lose. Whether he spoke or not, when I returned to that side, the Min Ji-heon who played Min Han-jun wouldn’t exist.

“Two things you need to accomplish?”
“First is building recognition.”

Following the main scenario, I needed to complete Quests and become a first-tier idol that everyone acknowledged.
But the criteria for “first-tier” remained vague.
Was it album sales, fandom size, or annual revenue?
Even whether to judge by public standards or K-POP fan metrics wasn’t clear.
The System Window wasn’t going to suddenly pop up one day saying “Tada! You’ve achieved first-tier status, congratulations!” and meekly send me back as a PD.
So I’d simply chosen the most fundamental criterion: “popularity.”

“What about the second one?”

Min Ji-heon’s eyes narrowed as if gauging something.

“Next is….”

The scenario Quest.
For a moment I hesitated on how to explain it, then decided to simplify it briefly.

“…Gaining trust from those around me.”
“Huh?”

Min Ji-heon tilted his head with a dissatisfied expression.

“That’s it? Just popularity and trust?”

I suppressed the corners of my mouth that threatened to rise and kept my lips firmly pressed together to appear serious.

“Seo Ho-yoon doesn’t seem like the type to be that dull.”

The guy who’d been tapping his finger on the table suddenly pointed at my drink, then snatched it and shoved it into his own mouth. Half the frappuccino vanished in an instant.
I stayed silent, wondering what this pig was trying to pull.

“See, I just took your drink. So you’d probably demand something in return, right?”
“Money.”
“Ah, I see….”

‘Is that why he doesn’t understand?’ Min Ji-heon muttered softly, then handed me an Americano.

“Here, have this.”
“I don’t like caffeine.”
“…I’ll skip the analogy. I wouldn’t complain even if you ate my food. You know why?”

He pulled another Americano toward himself and added to his point.

“It doesn’t matter. You won’t die just because you don’t eat that, right?”
“So?”
“In other words, small acts of kindness don’t require compensation.”

Min Ji-heon hesitated slightly, running his slender, pale fingers across his lips.

“However, if you receive something truly important, then an appropriate price will inevitably follow.”

So for me to be given a new life—.

“You already know what comes next without me spelling it out, don’t you?”

—it meant another life would be demanded in return.
It wasn’t something I hadn’t anticipated. But hearing it spelled out directly by someone else… the feeling was absolutely repugnant.

“I suspect recognition and trust are important precisely because they fill in the gaps that remain unfilled. And if you’re going to forcibly wear someone else’s clothes, you need plausible justification for it.”

Min Ji-heon had said something like that before.
That the reason I was rejuvenated, became an idol, and struggled through life was because I was loved.
What if someone who wanted to save me sacrificed themselves to create this present moment?

‘…Damn it.’

Exhaustion crashed over me all at once. I sank deep into my chair.

“…It seems you weren’t completely unaware of that fact. You don’t look very surprised.”

Now that I thought about it, I probably would have been horrified if I were Min Ji-heon. Walking around neither dead nor alive, my entire body covered in disgusting masses of guilt.
And all of it purchased with someone else’s life.

“Well then.”

Just as countless thoughts were pouring through my mind, Min Ji-heon clapped his hands together sharply.

“I think I’ve done my part. Now it’s Seo Ho-yoon’s turn to provide an answer.”
“….”

I had found it suspicious that he was simply going along with my rhythm, but the truth was he had no interest in me at all.
Indifferent to the other person’s emotions or feelings, he merely sought to satisfy his desires quickly and obtain only the answers he wanted.

I gazed quietly at Min Ji-heon before slowly lowering my gaze.
A beaded bracelet rested gently on his wrist.

“…Ji-heon.”
“….”

Sensing something ominous in the familiar way I called his name without his family name, Min Ji-heon furrowed his brow and drew his body back as far as possible.
But the problem was that he was already here in the first place.

“How about you use that ability of yours just once for me.”
“…Yes, yes?”

The moment Min Ji-heon’s voice cracked in confusion,

Ding!

[What???]

The System Window, which had been sulking and pretending to ignore me, suddenly burst forth.

[Wait, hold on!]

The text was broken and distorted, as if startled.

“Right now.”

I ignored it and spoke firmly.
There was still something I needed to verify.
Min Ji-heon, sensing the threat, built walls around himself like a frightened small animal and shrank back.

“…Why… No, I don’t want to.”
“It’s not that difficult for you.”
“Do I really have to do this? It doesn’t feel right….”
“Come on~, it’ll be fine.”
“This hurts. For me too.”
“No no, you’ll be okay.”
“….”

Any professional Office Worker worth their salt had the skill of throwing a tantrum down to a science.
I’d been ignoring the System Window that kept flashing warnings at me since earlier.

“Aren’t you curious what happens?”
Ji-heon isn’t curious at all.”
“I’m really asking you, Hyung.”

Min Ji-heon, who was subtly soft-hearted, felt his pupils waver at the single word “asking.”
I let slip a word that would move him even further.

“Just once. After that, I’ll tell you the answer right away. If you want, I won’t show up in front of you ever again.”
“….”

Min Ji-heon, who had been grinding his lower lip between his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, rolling up his sleeve slightly.

“…You’re the kind of guy who’d sell air conditioners even in Antarctica….”
“Thanks for the compliment.”

Even so, he hesitated several times, muttering curses under his breath.

“Tch….”

Pretending not to hear, I waited. Soon after, I heard the beads of the bracelet clinking against each other.

“【Fragment that fills the empty vessel.】”

At the same moment, my vision rippled, and every blood vessel in my body seemed to contract.

“【This is not where you belong…】”

But that was all.
The excruciating pain that had been surging from my abdomen, the ringing in my ears that had pierced through my consciousness, and the time that flowed slowly like a film in slow motion.
All of those alien sensations, as if I were a foreign object jutting out alone….

“【I declare the expulsion order.】”

None of it registered.
Even Min Ji-heon’s voice, hissing like a serpent yet resonating as if submerged in water, struck my ears with crystalline clarity.
The System Window remained silent without any ERROR.

Thud.

Then, I felt a warm sensation at my nose.

“…gasp….”

It was blood—a reddish trickle.
The crushing pressure that had been closing in from all sides suddenly released.

“Nosebleed, I’m getting a nosebleed!”

As I slowly raised my hand to wipe beneath my nose, Min Ji-heon’s complexion drained of all color.

“Ugh, this is exactly why I didn’t want to do this…!”

He hurriedly pulled out tissues and handed them to me.

“Damn, I really hate seeing blood… Wait, Seo Ho-yoon was the one who insisted on doing this first. I advised against it.”

My head throbbed slightly, but my condition wasn’t bad. Min Ji-heon looked perfectly fine too.

“Are you alright?”

Min Ji-heon had only used his ability twice before.
When we met at the Korean Restaurant.
And when we went to watch Kang Yi-chae’s mentor performance on stage.
Each time, severe backlash had struck his body as well.

“Should I call the Manager? Should we go to the Hospital?”
“Ji-heon, just shut up for a moment and let me think about this.”

But this time it was just a nosebleed?

‘Is it because this place is the Unknown Actor Tycoon?’

Yet that contradicted my initial assumption that both worlds operated under similar rules.
Which was the truth?
Was the current situation an exception, or was my prediction correct?

“What? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Min Ji-heon fidgeted nervously as he watched my eyes narrow into slits.

‘He doesn’t seem to know anything more than this.’

Having finished my business with him, I rose from my seat with one hand still pressed against my nose. I was exhausted and wanted to rest.

“That’s enough. Good work.”
“…Huh?”

As I turned to leave, Min Ji-heon’s eyes widened and he blocked my path.

“Wait! I haven’t heard your answer yet?! You’re breaking your promise?”
“Ji-heon.”

I tossed the soaked tissue onto the table as I spoke.

“Did we even sign a contract or something?”

If he felt wronged, he should have recorded it.
Watching Min Ji-heon’s jaw tremble, I turned without hesitation and left the Cafe. I texted the Manager with one hand while pressing my nose with the other. The unceasing drops of blood trickled down my wrist and soaked into my collar.
Without hesitation, I turned my back and left the cafe when I saw Min Ji-heon’s jaw trembling.

“hey.”

Then, in a calm tone, he called up the system window.

“Come back before you get angry.”

Tiring!

[…] … You’re already angry.]

Normally, the guy who would go on a rampage asking Min Ji-heon for something like that was calm. However, the blue light vibrates violently, as if it is very uneasy.
Normally, Min Ji-heon would throw a fit, demanding to know why I’d asked him to do such a thing. But he remained oddly docile, only his blue aura trembling anxiously and intensely.

“Give me the play guide.”

[Producer Seo Ho-yoon, who lives by ruining other people’s lives, has been possessed by a novice actor, Tycoon.
[PD Seo Ho-yoon, who has been ruining others’ lives, has been possessed by the Unknown Actor Tycoon.
Except for specific individuals, no one remembers you as a PD.]
[To escape this world and return to where you originally lived, to become an idol again, you must clear the Unknown Actor Tycoon.
If you fail to clear it, you will be permanently unable to log out.]

A Korean Wave star, or a million-dollar actor.

“It’s fun, it’s fun.”

[…] What is it?]

Recently, after rebooting the system through unconsciousness, I was leading a peaceful life as if my hard work was worth it. No errors, no instability.
Recently, after rebooting the system through my unconscious mind, I had been living a peaceful life proportional to my struggles. No errors, no instability.
And so I wanted to verify through Min Ji-heon.

And in the end, look.
And in the end, look.

“Now, let’s clear it and send it back?”

[yes?]

In such a situation, a glitch suddenly appeared and he became a ‘new actor tycoon’. Even through a person I remember from my PD days.

Anyway, isn’t it too elaborate to be considered a coincidence?
Isn’t it too much of a coincidence to call it mere chance?

“Hey, you bastard.”

To summarize, there was a high probability that the reason I fell here was not due to an error.
To sum it up, the probability that I ended up here due to an error was slim.

“Did you really want me to become an actor?”

A wonderful world where you can get double the points.

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