The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 334
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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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334
Joo Woo-sung shook off Seo Ho-yoon, who was rolling his tongue with that jingling sound, and fled the scene like a coward, eventually holing up in the hotel and killing time with sleep. With his face buried in the pillow, he habitually reached out searching for Nyang-nyang before suddenly remembering once more that this place was Hawaii.
Instead, when he tapped the phone that had been charging, it was still early dawn.
‘I should sleep a bit more.’
I seemed to recall someone mentioning they’d set up a camera in the living room today to film something more authentic… While thinking such thoughts, my consciousness began to blur again—
【Your body’s insane HOO HOO】
—when lyrics from “Eye Color” drifted in from somewhere.
【Wherever you go, people only stare at your body Hoo
Sorry, but I can’t remember your eye color】
“Ugh, why on earth…?”
Joo Woo-sung, jolted awake by the relentless, nightmarish song that clung to him like a curse, roughly swept his hair back and slowly picked up his phone without even questioning why that was his ringtone.
“Yes, this is Joo Woo-sung…?”
Since I had set my phone to reject unknown numbers, I answered somewhat defenseless.
[….]
“Hello?”
When no response came, I asked again, but the other end remained silent. With half-closed eyes, I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the screen—Seo Ho-yoon’s name was displayed. I pressed my eye sockets with my thumb and forefinger and switched to speaker phone.
[It’s not “hello,” it’s Ho-yoon.]
Then a familiar baritone flowed through the device.
Utter nonsense, that is. My brain needed a moment to interpret it.
“…Seo Ho-yoon?”
[Did you sleep well?]
A chill raced down Joo Woo-sung’s spine, spreading across his entire body. He kicked off the blanket and bolted upright. Without even seeing him, it was obvious what was happening—Seo Ho-yoon’s voice was brimming with laughter.
[Sleepyhead, wake up now~.]
“What, what?”
Then the call simply ended without ceremony.
Joo Woo-sung stared at his phone for a moment before hurling it away in alarm.
“Have I finally lost it?”
Every hair on his body—down to the finest down—stood on end. He rubbed his arms frantically, unable to shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong from the moment he woke. Muttering like some incantation about the hidden camera, he swallowed back the curses rising in his throat and went to the bathroom to wash up.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone seriously wrong from the start of the morning. Muttering to myself about the camera installation like it was some kind of spell, I held back the curses rising in my throat, went into the Bathroom, washed up, and came back out.
“Did my pride get hurt that much yesterday?”
As he emerged, roughly toweling his wet hair, he spotted the Manager and a few Staff Members on the veranda connected to the living room—though he couldn’t say when they’d arrived. Drawing closer, he found Seo Ho-yoon, who typically clung to black like a creature of shadow, inexplicably dressed in a white shirt, his chin propped on the wooden table as he sipped cocoa. Before him lay plates arranged with fluffy scrambled eggs, a slice of toast golden from the oven, and thick strips of bacon glistening with oil—an appetizing spread.
He glanced toward the beach beyond the window and offered a greeting.
Joo Woo-sung’s instincts flared immediately.
Joo Woo-sung immediately had a hunch.
“Did you come?”
Today is dangerous.
As Ho-yoon pressed down on his feet that were instinctively trying to step backward and sat down hesitantly, Seo Ho-yoon turned his head and widened his eyes.
“….”
“….”
This bastard… he’s not actually using drugs, is he?
“Oh, you woke up early…”
The knife scraped across the dry surface with a soft sound. He bit into it, and before the sweetness could register, he opened his mouth.
The knife scraped across the dry cross-section with a scratching sound.
Crispy, she bit into it whole, and opened her mouth before she could even taste the sweetness.
“Where do you want to go today?”
“Anywhere, really.”
“…I’d like to visit the beach one more time.”
I despised the workshop so thoroughly that I never wanted to set foot near it again, yet the travel voucher I’d earned there was proving its worth.
The warm, salty breeze brushing against my nose, the endless white spray and unfamiliar yet beautiful emerald waters rolling in, the freedom to move about as I pleased—all of it loosened the tension in my shoulders.
“Shall we then?”
My eyebrows shot up.
‘What is this bastard up to?’
My warning bells were flashing brightly, yet Seo Ho-yoon before me looked utterly ordinary, exactly as he always did.
As I was thinking something felt off while stabbing at my bacon with a fork,
“Why are you getting food all over yourself?”
“….”
Seo Ho-yoon’s finger brushed against the corner of my mouth and withdrew.
Screeeech—
Only the sound of my chair scraping echoed across the veranda. If I’d been any less careful, I would have nearly choked on my breakfast and had to experience it a second time live.
“…Are you insane?”
“Huh?”
Seo Ho-yoon tilted his head with genuine innocence, as if he truly had no idea and was simply trying to help.
That sight seemed to me like a preview of the hardship that awaited me.
.
.
.
“Alright, let’s go.”
After spending a leisurely morning at the beach, we ventured into a street lined with shopping malls under the pretense of buying gifts for the members. Despite the hats covering us reasonably well, people occasionally recognized Joo Woo-sung and me. Particularly, many asked Joo Woo-sung for photographs.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Joo Woo-sung pressed down the brim of his hat and led me forward as he spoke.
“Hey, sorry about that. Must’ve been uncomfortable.”
“No, not really.”
I shrugged dismissively.
“It looks good though?”
….
Why is this bastard acting like this?
In LA, he complained and gave me grief over everything, and now he’s saying it looks good?
“I like it when I see you being loved.”
….
I racked my brain wondering if there was something wrong with the maple syrup on the bacon, genuinely concerned about his wellbeing.
Vroooooom!
An engine roared in the distance. Before I could even turn around, something grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me backward.
“Watch out!”
What the hell? What’s dangerous about this?
After being thrown to the ground, I saw a motorcycle passing by Joo Woo-sung’s side, traveling straight ahead while faithfully obeying traffic rules.
“You should drive properly.”
There was at least three meters between the sidewalk and the motorcycle.
“Do you have eyes in your feet?”
“Exactly what I’m saying.”
No, I meant you, you.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
From then on, Seo Ho-yoon made me walk on the inner side of the sidewalk. I thought it just happened that way, but whenever I switched positions, Ho-yoon subtly moved to the outer side. He even repeated the same lame jokes in between. Eventually, my patience reached its limit.
While I briefly turned off the microphone and changed the tape, I grabbed Seo Ho-yoon and asked him.
“Hey. Are you seriously insane?”
“What?”
“Why are you making my stomach turn since this morning? Have you lost it? And how did you change my phone’s ringtone?”
“Huh?”
Seo Ho-yoon’s expression shifted to one of fresh surprise, and he let his eyebrows droop.
“Brother, what did I do wrong…?”
“What?”
“…I’m upset.”
“Wow, damn it! Really! Damn it! I’m upset! Me!”
Joo Woo-sung, who had been holding back curses and finally let them spill out, pounding his chest with his fists in frustration, had no choice but to clamp his mouth shut when he saw the Staff Member approaching with a microphone.
‘I can’t get caught up in Seo Ho-yoon’s provocation.’
He resolved firmly not to react no matter what that bastard did.
Still, having enjoyed the trip quite well, the two of them, their arms laden with shopping bags, entered a small pub as their final stop in the early evening. The shop, with its modest stage tucked into the right corner and accompanied by the gentle strumming of a guitar, was filled only with foreign patrons, creating an exotic atmosphere.
Joo Woo-sung ordered a beer and whispered quietly to the Staff Member beside him.
“By any chance, is there a mission I don’t know about? Like ‘Make Joo Woo-sung curse’ or something?”
“No, there isn’t….”
“….”
“But the two of you are really close, so the vlog is going to turn out so entertaining! It looks so good!!”
Joo Woo-sung forced an awkward smile, picked up his glass, and turned back toward Seo Ho-yoon’s side.
In other words, Seo Ho-yoon was doing all this voluntarily. He’d been acting the role of a ‘thoughtful junior who looked like a painting’ all day long, and the sight of it was unbearable. What irritated him most was that because of that pale, expressionless face, the performance looked convincing.
Just then, a foreigner who had been singing on the pub’s small stage moments earlier spoke to him in English.
“Are you filming right now? Those people over there showed me a broadcast consent form earlier, so I signed it.”
“Oh, yes.”
When Seo Ho-yoon answered in English, the singer grew slightly excited and asked another question.
“You’re a celebrity, right? An actor? Or a model?”
“A singer.”
“Oh! Then this is fate. If you don’t mind, could I hear you sing a song?”
It was a good element for broadcasting, but it was clearly a position that was difficult to step forward into. Just as the staff members showed signs of hesitation, Seo Ho-yoon turned his gaze toward Joo Woo-sung.
Memories from the workshop automatically surfaced in his mind.
“Woo-sung, you’re always like this—so shy when it matters.”
As if reading it from his expression alone, Seo Ho-yoon chuckled softly and walked out on his own. Then he picked up a guitar set at the edge of the stage and stood before the standing microphone.
【No regret
Even if distant, even if blurred, even if afraid
If I smile through it, that’s all there is to it】
Soon a soft yet husky baritone filled the small pub. All eyes converged on one point in an instant.
I couldn’t deny the mysterious charm that drew people in from the moment I first saw it.
【When I try to picture a future with you
Why does loneliness creep in?】
The sight of him softly lowering his eyes, gripping the microphone with both hands, and belting out high notes as if scraping his throat raw—it appeared unexpectedly wistful and poignant.
Ting.
After finishing the final verse, Seo Ho-yoon gently plucked the guitar strings and met Joo Woo-sung’s gaze directly.
“Hyung….”
“….”
At the same moment, intense unease struck Joo Woo-sung.
“I think I’ve been able to come this far because of you.”
Why did he have to say that, especially in Korean, right there on stage? As if deliberately creating an atmosphere that said, ‘Only you can understand what I’m saying.’
Joo Woo-sung wanted to bolt from the pub right then and there.
“I’m always grateful.”
The staff members had no idea what was happening and simply looked between the two of them in confusion. Meanwhile, Seo Ho-yoon was deliberately translating what he’d just said into English.
“Everyone, this song is—….”
“Hey, don’t! Whatever you’re about to do, don’t!”
“—I sang it for that precious person sitting over there. Please give me a round of applause.”
“No! It’s not!”
“Thank you. Woo-sung, let’s make the rest of our trip fun together.”
“Hey! Hey nooo!!!”
Joo Woo-sung’s desperate cry was swallowed by the audience’s cheers and applause.
“Nice! Nice man!”
“Wheeee~!! Whee~!”
“No! I’m telling you no! We don’t even know each other!!”
His desperate denials only served as further proof of their close bond, and everyone simply nodded knowingly while patting Joo Woo-sung on the shoulder.
“Have fun on the rest of your trip!”
Before the staff members excitedly spinning their cameras, thrilled that the broadcast had turned out so beautifully, all Joo Woo-sung could do was drain his beer in deflated resignation.
“Man, Seo Ho-yoon, that was perfect!”
“Should we wrap up too? We’re definitely getting a bonus this time, right? The view count is going to be solid!”
Watching Seo Ho-yoon stride back after returning the guitar, Joo Woo-sung slammed his empty glass down on the table.
“Joo Woo-sung.”
He approached with leisurely confidence, draped his arm over the table, and spoke in a tender tone.
“This is what broadcasting really is.”
“You’re seriously a bastard….”
“Shh, our little kitten. You need to use pretty words on camera.”
Damn it… what am I… supposed to do…?!
Indignation surged through me, and I lifted my chin, but when I saw Seo Ho-yoon’s eyes rolled back nearly 270 degrees, I clamped my mouth shut obediently.
I knew full well that this bastard could easily lose it even more right here.
“Answer me.”
“…Yeah.”
Joo Woo-sung resolved never to mention broadcasting again in front of Seo Ho-yoon, and quietly ordered another beer instead.
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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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