The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 306

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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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306

“I told you something felt off from the beginning.”

[What are you talking about?]

Watching the System Window make excuses, I whistled softly.

“An actor out of nowhere? Even you have to admit that’s ridiculous.”

This game world had already transformed an ordinary PD into an Idol under the pretense of keeping me alive. It wouldn’t have been strange if it had used any excuse to turn an Idol into an Actor. So as I quietly pondered this situation, my suspicions narrowed down to two possibilities.
So as I thought quietly about this situation, my speculation divided into two possibilities.

First, just as a major crisis befell me and I had to go to the Unconscious World, it was handed over to the Unknown Actor Tycoon.

But this is an exception.

There was no sign of that being the case. Recent days had been very peaceful.

Second, it’s a hidden event in the game.

That opinion makes sense.

I’m guessing it’s a secret event that’s given when you complete a specific character or quest.

“Jung Chung-yeon, you just temporarily regained your memory, right?”

If I assumed she’d recovered her memory, then her bewildered reaction upon seeing my altered appearance at the end made sense.
In other words, she’d deliberately dropped me here.
The Christmas-like deluge of easy Quests and the excessively generous Point rewards lent credence to my theory.
The easy Quests pouring down like Christmas gifts and the excessively generous point rewards reinforced my suspicion.

If her meeting with me, someone who harbored negative feelings toward her, and her recognition of me served as a trigger, and if a glitch occurred that ejected me into the Beta Server, then the pieces fit together.
If her meeting with me—someone she harbored negative feelings toward—and her recognition of me served as a kind of trigger, and if we assume that’s what caused the glitch and sent me bouncing to the Beta Server, then everything more or less adds up.

[Wait!]

“I was a bit confused at first, but once I pieced together the situation, everything clicked into place.”

When I return, Jung Chung-yeon’s memories will probably fade again so her idol activities won’t be disrupted.

[No, no, wait a moment!]
[Do you really think I sent you there?]

In the end, there’s no evidence—just my own speculation.
I laughed as I watched the System Window flicker with agitation.

“Hey, quit your whining. Stop baring your teeth like that.”

Ultimately, the purpose of this event was for my benefit.
If that’s the case, it aligned perfectly with what that system had always claimed—that it was always looking out for me.
In the end,

‘This place is just a goldmine of points, that’s all.’

I’d been so caught up searching for grand explanations that I’d actually lost my way.
I’m not sure if the accumulated experience points will carry over as stats, but I’ve definitely improved my acting and raked in a decent amount of points.

“Honestly, it wasn’t bad.”

The System Window rippled with quiet blue light.
Waiting for what I would say next.

“But I need to go back now. I have to check on the members.”

It’s already been several months since I’ve been here.
Since I collapsed at the Company, things must have been sorted out somehow, but various schedules have definitely been delayed.

“Let’s call it even. I’ll let what you put me through slide.”

[…Really?]

“Why? Should I not let it slide?”

[No, no, no!! That’s not it….]

The System Window, which had remained silent for a moment, suddenly erupted.

[My goodness…. For Seo Ho-yoon to let this slide so easily, he’s become a bit softer. And to think of ‘Obscure Idol Tycoon’ as a place to return to… wanting to see the Members too…?!]

That’s quite a leap in logic.
When did I ever say I wanted to see the Members? I said I needed to check how they were doing.
The truth was, I’d taken a lot of breaks while working as an actor, and acting was starting to bore me.
Besides, I could only return to my original life by completing ‘Obscure Idol Tycoon.’ I was also aware that if my knees rusted any further, it would be dangerous.

But I had no intention of correcting this creature’s misunderstanding as it made a fuss like it was deeply moved.

[I’m so incredibly touched that I want to grant your wish, but….]

“But?”

[It’s a genuine error.]

Are you really going to keep denying it?
My eyes narrowed involuntarily.

“Then I’ll have to go back to Min Ji-heon.”

[What??]

“Since you’re incompetent, I’ll have to ask Min Ji-heon instead. That charlatan might actually be capable.”

[Huh???]

As I turned to climb the Staircase again, new windows popped up in rapid succession.

[This is serious, really!]

“So what? Things are already a mess anyway.”

[Min Ji-heon seems like he’d genuinely listen to what you’re saying?]
[Earlier, he left like you two would never see each other again! But it seems like he’d grant your request?]

“I’ll just sweet-talk him with some food. It’ll work out somehow.”

While he stood there blinking, rendered speechless, my feet carried me briskly down the staircase.
By the time I reached the Cafe and reached for the door handle,

[Wait just a moment!!!]

Of course. Just as I expected.
An urgent window materialized, blocking my path.

[Err… no…]
[Err…]
[Ugh…]
[It’s definitely an error.]

“Tch.”

[No, listen, Teacher. It is an error, but I never said I wouldn’t do anything about it.]
[I’m going to attempt a transition to ‘Obscure Idol Tycoon’ right now.]

I turned my body sideways against the wall, crossed my arms, and raised one eyebrow. A clear signal to hurry up.

[Would you like to return to Idol Tycoon?

Yes / No]

“Right now.”

I nodded without hesitation.

[Synchronizing fame….]

Look at that.
The way it was proceeding so smoothly made me certain this bastard was the culprit.

[Synchronizing points….]

Would there be another event like this?
If there were, would it be moving to a different Beta Server, just as this one was about “Actor”?
Would that also be a profession capable of earning recognition?

My thoughts had reached that point when―,

Ding!

[E R R O R]

An error message appeared.

[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]

Then the System Window vanished all at once.
Simultaneously, my vision flickered and my body was hurled to the ground.

“…You damn bastard….”

By the time I managed to force out another curse, the System Window had already recovered.

[…Huh?]
[Eh?? This isn’t right… it should be working….]

My vision was immediately flooded with code. New values streamed in one after another, but nothing changed.
After a brief silence, the System Window delivered its conclusion.

[That’s right. This was actually a genuine error….]

Of course, that was complete nonsense.

“Don’t feed me bullshit, you bastard.”

[…No, I didn’t expect this either… I told you not to meet Min Ji-heon.]

He spat out a resentful remark without hesitation.
It seemed the current ERROR was the aftershock of using Min Ji-heon’s ability.

“If you’d been honest with me from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”

I swatted away the whining System Window and slumped down on the staircase.
I needed a moment to gather my thoughts.
But looking at what he’d done, it didn’t seem like a lie.

[…Are you okay?]

“No, I’m not.”

Whether to apply more pressure or devise a different strategy.
Even if I met Min Ji-heon again, there was no way he’d spill everything willingly, just like the System Window said.
That bastard was only good at scratching people’s insides, rambling on about dark masses around him and fragments of existence and all that….

“…Fragments.”

A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

“That’s it! Fragments!”

Min Ji-heon had said it before.
That the character ‘Lee Jung-hoon’ appeared in this world because fragments of existence were flowing in.
If the ‘Unknown Actor Tycoon’ worked the same way—.

“Hey! You focus on fixing the problems that popped up!”

[Yes??]

I hurried down the staircase.
Just then, the van was pulling into the underground parking lot.

“Manager!”
“Huh? W-what’s with the sudden enthusiasm?”

I boarded the car immediately and spoke without pause.

“You said you got a bunch of scripts before, right? Where are they?”
“Right, so you’re not exactly thrilled to see me….”

The Manager, who’d been looking slightly dejected, quickly broke into a grin and opened the glove compartment in the front seat, handing over a stack of scripts.

“Here they are~! You wouldn’t even look at them before, but now you’re interested?!”

These days, it had become standard practice to prepare for the next project while filming the current one, so quite a few had already come in. The impact of Kim Woo-ho must have been enormous—leading roles appeared frequently among them.
I skimmed through them quickly, letting the Manager’s chatter go in one ear and out the other. Most came with drama proposals and only the first or second episode’s worth of material.
The first one I checked was an espionage action piece featuring a protagonist from the National Intelligence Service.

“Ooh! That action drama! It was refreshingly straightforward without any melodrama!”

I read through it just in case, but it wasn’t what I was looking for.

I tossed it to the back seat and moved on.
A chaotic hospital life story of a genius intern fresh out of medical school. It seemed to have some light romance mixed in too….

“That’s good too! Actually, the genre that is most suitable for a new actor to impress the public is romance… Okay, I’m not interested.”

The manager seemed to have read all the scripts and was very knowledgeable. After searching for a while, one title caught my eye.

“…A showbiz drama?”
“…An entertainment industry drama?”

I listened to his story and laid out the plan.

“Dramande, co-produced by WH Entertainment and Studio Olio, is said to be a coming-of-age drama about a producer who planned a survival contest program, learns about the past history of the contestants, solves cases, and leads the show to a successful broadcast. The main character, the producer, has a unique personality, so it would be good to attract viewers’ attention! The title of the drama is… that….”

I slowly recited the words written on the cover of the script.

“Shining Star.”
“Shining Star.”

I knew it would be like this.
I knew it.

From the title to the plot.
From the title to the plot.

Anyway, if I can’t go back to being an ‘unheard idol tycoon’ right now, I should at least make the most of this situation.
Since I can’t immediately return to “Obscure Idol Tycoon” anyway, I might as well squeeze everything I can out of this situation.
Through two drama shoots so far, I’ve uncovered information even I didn’t know about myself. Perhaps this drama also harbors hidden truths.

“…It’s fun.”

Perhaps even information about the last remaining Kang Yi-chae scenario… .
Maybe I could even extract information about Kang Yi-chae’s remaining scenario….
I quickly began calculating my options.

“When does filming start for this?”

The manager asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror with sparkling eyes.

“Why? Did you like that?”
“Why? Did you like it?”
“Yes. This PD role seems perfectly suited for me.”

This drama would have been a copy of my life anyway, so who else would play the main character if not me?

“…Producer? Protagonist?”

However, the manager, who was happy, looked away as if he was embarrassed and hesitated.

“…that…….”
“…Well….”
“The casting hasn’t been finalized yet, right?”
“Ho-yoon, look… everything’s fine, but…. I mean, I know you’d be perfect for the protagonist’s personality.”
“Or is there already someone lined up? That’s okay. I’ll just meet with the Director once. I can convince him quickly.”

The manager, who was hesitant, cut me off in a cautious tone.

“…why?”

Even though I asked back with a slight frown, the manager’s hand holding the steering wheel twitched nervously.

“Who is the nominee? Is he a third-generation chaebol?”
“Who’s the predetermined choice anyway? Some chaebol heir?”

The manager hesitated to answer, but finally opened his mouth after receiving a cold glare from me.

“The main character is a woman….”
“The Protagonist… is female.”
“….”
“….”

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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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