The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 343

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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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343

“…—it’s possible it’s just simple overexertion, but… usually people don’t lose consciousness like this….”

An unsettling sense of déjà vu washed over me.

“…—still, it would be better to run another —examination….”

It reminded me of when I’d sensed the Quest failure during the final stages of Shining Star Season 2.

“…Ho-yoon….”

Seo Ho-jin lay there drenched in sweat as if I were the one being penalized for abusing the System, his body limp and powerless, his face flushed red as he gasped for breath.

“…Guardian…!”

My heart pounded against my eardrums with deafening force.

“—Guardian!!”
“…Ah, yes.”

I slowly lifted my head and looked forward, and the Doctor spoke with an awkward expression.

“Your younger brother—are you absolutely certain he has no underlying conditions?”

It was the next morning, after completing Seo Ho-jin’s detailed examination.

“…As far as I know, no.”

The Doctor seemed to say something more, but I heard nothing. I simply nodded reflexively and left the Clinic Room.
The Manager, who had been waiting outside, approached with a worried expression.

“Are you alright? Your younger brother was just moved to a private room.”
“Thank you. I’ll just get some fresh air and come back.”
“Why don’t you go back to the dormitory and rest? I’ll stay here and keep watch.”
“No, it’s fine.”

I habitually pulled my cap down and wandered through the less-trafficked areas of the hospital.
Passing through clusters of small, neatly arranged trees, I cut through a well-maintained flower garden and found a solitary bench tucked away in a corner. I trudged over and collapsed onto it, leaning my entire body weight against the backrest.

“Maybe I should check my surroundings more carefully.”

So I did.

“Just as I shared my brother’s pain, someone else might be sharing his burden right now.”

I’d consumed hundreds of thousands of won worth of Korean beef alone.
Did that put my mind at ease?

‘I let my guard down.’

Something repugnant crawled through my stomach. Perhaps it was a form of self-loathing.
I pressed my eye sockets hard with my palms, then let out a small voice.

“…Was it you?”

I had no idea how long Seo Ho-jin’s suffering had persisted.
All I knew was that I was an idiot for not knowing it all this time.

“Has it been hurting for a long time?”

My words, spat out between gritted teeth, shattered the long silence, and a blue light rippled across my vision.

[Does it matter who did it or how long it’s been?]
[What you want to know isn’t why your younger brother is suffering—it’s how to make sure he doesn’t suffer anymore.]

Unlucky as it was, the System Window’s words struck true, and I couldn’t muster an easy rebuttal.
Taking advantage of my silence, the System Window displayed another message.

[I can help, if you want.]
[But it won’t be easy.]

I rubbed my face roughly against my palm, then stared at the words and laughed.

“You’re really fucking pathetic.”

When had things ever been easy?
I had nowhere left to retreat to.

***

The IV needle in my arm was a dead giveaway that I was in a hospital….
Seo Ho-jin opened his eyes and faced the seagull pattern on the hospital room ceiling, his first thought being that none of this felt real.
He remembered finishing the cleanup after the accident his department juniors had caused, then studying in the department office when his head started pounding terribly and exhaustion set in—he remembered Woo Kyung-un showing up and making a huge commotion—but after that, everything went black as if someone had deliberately cut it away.

‘My body actually feels better.’

Seo Ho-jin sat up groggily and rotated his upper body side to side, scratching his head. At some point, the fever that had been boiling up irregularly and without warning had completely vanished, and the overwhelming lethargy that had weighed down his body was gone too—his condition was remarkably good.

Click.

Then he heard the hospital room door open.
When he looked up, he saw Seo Ho-yoon in a linen shirt, thin slacks, and a hat. Of course, he was dressed entirely in black from head to toe, as if someone had poured black paint all over him.

“…Are you the Grim Reaper?”

Seo Ho-yoon’s eyebrows twitched as if his feelings were hurt, and without a word, he pushed his shoulder and made him lie back down. Still, he seemed to be cutting him some slack for being a patient.

“Lie down, you idiot.”
“Am I dying? Do I really have to go now?”
“You’re talking nonsense, so you’re not hurting that much.”

Despite not much time having passed since they’d last seen each other, it somehow felt like it had been ages, and Seo Ho-jin found himself oddly glad even for his brother’s sarcasm. He pulled the thin, rustling hospital blanket toward himself and shifted his position, when a question suddenly burst out.

“Hyung, aren’t you busy?”
“No, I’m not busy.”

Seo Ho-jin narrowed his eyes and tried to examine his brother carefully.
Ever since becoming an idol, Seo Ho-yoon had always been busy.
Whenever he had even a moment of free time, he’d squeeze in schedules and carve out sleep time to practice.

“I’m sorry. It’s because of me….”

Friends had always said Seo Ho-jin was harsh, but I’d always thought he still fell far short compared to Seo Ho-yoon.
It was obvious that today’s schedule had been disrupted because of me.

“…Forget it.”

Seo Ho-yoon, who had been resting his chin on his hand with his legs crossed on a folding chair, answered somewhat slowly. His expression was hidden beneath the shadow of his cap’s brim.
Yet despite his usual tone, I sensed an oddly anxious undertone bleeding through.

“I’m used to it.”
“Used to it?”
“Yeah. You’ve been like this since you were young.”
“Me?!”

As I bolted upright, he pressed his forehead with his finger and added casually.

“You’re so foolish and dense, with slow comprehension—you practically lived at the hospital.”

And the insults began.

“You weren’t even a picky eater, yet your frame was smaller than your peers, and besides, you couldn’t do anything without me. Oh right, now that I think about it, you were kind of ugly when you were young.”

Did this brother really sharpen his tongue?

“…You’re lying, right?”
“You were ugly. That’s the truth.”

I wanted to argue, but when I tried to recall those days, everything remained shrouded in a hazy fog, blurred and indistinct.
Seo Ho-yoon gently took hold of Seo Ho-jin’s hand, which had unconsciously begun picking at his nails, and offered a faint smile.

“When was it? There was a time you didn’t come home until late. I was worried you’d wandered off with some stranger offering candy, so I went searching for you. You didn’t even have a phone back then….”

Seo Ho-yoon paused briefly before continuing.

“While I was searching frantically, I got a call from the Emergency Room. I rushed over and found you there covered in blood. You’d been playing with a friend, tumbled down the stairs, and split your forehead open—they said it needed stitches.”

Seo Ho-yoon’s gaze lingered around Seo Ho-jin’s forehead before dropping, and he curved his lips in a mischievous smile.

“It was funny watching you be so self-conscious, pretending not to cry with those puffy eyes.”

Seo Ho-jin had no response to offer.
Even after rummaging through his memories thoroughly, he found no recollection of such a thing.

“…You’re really saying I did that?”
….
“But if it was childhood, why did you call me instead of Mom and Dad?”

Rising from his seat, Seo Ho-yoon let out a soft chuckle—the kind that always came just before he cracked a joke.

“Who knows why.”
“What?”
“Seo Ho-jin, get some more sleep.”

Seo Ho-yoon tapped his forehead gently, then covered his eyes with his palm and spoke in a hushed voice.

“I’ll take care of everything else.”

Though I’d judged my condition to have improved somewhat, exhaustion layered upon itself, and sleep came crashing down.
Soon my vision faded, and my heightened hearing picked up the sounds of Seo Ho-yoon moving about the hospital room—the creak of the refrigerator door opening and closing, the soft clicking of his tongue.

“The patient has woken up.”

Seo Ho-yoon pressed the call button by the bedside, paused momentarily, then moved without hesitation.

“…——Min Ji-heon. About the house—….”

Just before closing the door and stepping out, Seo Ho-yoon’s voice on the phone faded into the distance, and my consciousness dissolved completely.

Four days later, Seo Ho-jin was discharged in perfect health.

Several additional tests were conducted in the interim, but all came back without any abnormalities.
In the end, the hospital’s diagnosis was the same as always—temporary symptoms brought on by stress.
As I left the hospital, I sent a text to Seo Ho-yoon, who had handled all administrative matters through the Manager, to express my gratitude.

[Me: Hyung, I was really grateful]
[Me: Can I call you now??]

However, no reply came until I arrived home and finished unpacking. Just as I hesitated and was about to press the call button, a brief message came back.

[My Brother: k, busy]

“…Busy?”

Since there was no reason for my brother to lie, I turned off the message and searched my contacts for Woo Kyung-un’s name, then called him. I’d heard that when I collapsed, he’d quickly reported it to the Rescue Team and handled it promptly, so I thought I should at least thank him.

[Hey! Seo Ho-jin!!!]
“Yeah, like that’ll burst my eardrums.”

But the moment the call connected, Woo Kyung-un’s loud voice made the gratitude I’d been holding onto vanish in an instant.

[Are you okay?! I mean, you seemed fine, but then you just suddenly collapsed like that? Is it really stress-related?]
“The tests came back inconclusive, so what can I do.”
[Hmm… but anyway, you know I’m your lifesaver, right?]
“And?”
[A lifesaver deserves proper repayment, don’t they? How about you donate some of those precious IRIX points of yours?]
“Hang up.”
[Aaah! Hey! You’re really treating your lifesaver like this?]
“Shut up. Unless you want to know what real lifesaver treatment looks like.”

Glancing at the clock, I realized I’d long passed mealtime.
I tucked my phone against my shoulder and headed to the Kitchen, opening the Refrigerator. Somehow, it was packed full—various types of porridge and an assortment of side dishes filled every corner.
I let out an exasperated laugh and grabbed whatever was within reach.
My friend’s rambling continued to leak from the phone like background noise.

[…—Your brother is really something else. There’s like this aura around him! Is it because he’s a celebrity?]
“My brother was always like that.”
[Always? Like, since childhood?]
“Probably.”

I tossed everything onto the Dining Table and was returning with utensils when I caught sight of a small mirror hanging on the wall.
Suddenly, the conversation I’d had face-to-face with my brother at the Hospital came back to me.

“…Huh?”

Carefully lifting my bangs, I noticed a very faint mark on my right temple.
A scar so faint that you had to look closely to even notice it.

“…It’s really there?”

[Huh? What is?]

.
.
.

At that very moment.

“…Cough, hack!”

Seo Ho-yoon was hunched over the sink in an unfamiliar bathroom, retching violently. Crimson droplets fell one by one onto the pristine white basin, then cascaded in an unrelenting torrent that swiftly stained the entire surface in vivid scarlet.

“Damn it.”

This was Min Ji-heon’s house, temporarily vacant while he was away for overseas filming.
Beyond the bathroom door, the dog Min Ji-heon had left behind whimpered anxiously, as if voicing its own distress.

“Ugh….”

Seo Ho-yoon cradled his wet head in trembling hands and collapsed to the floor. With his head pressed against the basin, he muttered softly.

“Make that dog stop barking….”

The price of my deal with the System Window—the beginning of a grueling month ahead.

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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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