The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 345

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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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345

‘Ugh, having to work at the crack of dawn like this.’

It was an undeniable fact that I needed money to survive, yet the work itself felt unbearably tedious. Through a relative’s connection, I’d landed a part-time office job at an Underwater Filming Company—one where I could learn skills that might guarantee my future, though for now I was still stuck handling all manner of miscellaneous tasks. With heavy steps, I made my way toward the filming set.
Through her Relative, she had managed to land a part-time job at the Office of an Underwater Filming Company where, if she learned well enough, she could secure her future—though for now she was still handling all sorts of odd jobs—and with heavy steps, she made her way to the Filming Set.

“Was it an Idol today?”

I entered the workplace with a gloomy expression and approached my superior—a relative who shared my blood.
Even if an Idol was coming, she felt indifferent. It was just another grueling day of labor like any other, nothing more.
“Uncle, is the safety briefing finished?”

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry. So we’re filming today, right?”
“You shameless brat.”
“Yes, yes, I’m sorry. So we’re filming today, right?”
My uncle, who’d been glaring at me slightly, gave up and roughly scratched his head.

“I scheduled it with plenty of buffer time just in case, but they followed along so well we finished quickly. The kids were all nice and well-behaved.”

Because I’d been lazy for several days, I’d nervously come in early on my own initiative to check the office supplies and verify that the hot water was running properly. Since the tasks I managed as a part-timer were trivial matters far removed from safety, I finished them hastily and yawned as I collapsed onto the small office sofa inside.

“But I’m a bit worried. One of the members seemed to be sick.”
“If they’re sick, they should rest. Why be so stubborn about it?”

But I’m a bit worried. It seemed like one of the members was sick.
‘Just do enough to get by. People exhaust themselves living like that.’
“You really are! It’s nice to see you being so sincere!”

Just take it easy. People live such exhausting lives.

Wasn’t it a job where you only needed to make the surface shine anyway?
If you just play the part well, there will be plenty of people who’ll like you on their own, so why go out of your way to suffer like this?
Just as Uncle handed over a steaming cup of lemon tea, saying she had suffered since dawn, and she was gulping it down, the Idols who were scheduled to film today arrived.

“Hello.”
“Hello! Thank you for having us today!”

The makeup was applied a bit thicker than usual, probably because of the music video shoot, but they seemed to sparkle more brilliantly than any celebrity I’d ever seen——.

“Pfft!!”
“Oh geez, hey!”

——before I could finish the thought, I found myself spitting out lemon tea without realizing it.
My uncle standing next to her recoiled in disgust and stepped away, but she had no time to worry about such things.

“Cough, ah, damn….”

The people standing before me were definitely The Dun.
That idol group climbing fearlessly up the rankings on the community lately, the one people mockingly called “the miracle of the underdog” as a way to jab at them.
But there was another reason she’d been so startled.

‘I used to like TEW!’

TEW.
A group that had walked a relatively smooth path before their momentum completely shattered after Shining Star Season 2, relegating them to the shadows of the entertainment industry.
Of course, I’d only been a fan for six months, but I could confidently say I’d supported them with more intensity than anything else during that time.
I’d even handed out candy on the streets to promote them for the Shining Star Season 2 voting.

‘My Won-ha….’

Her taste ran to the spoiled, arrogant type—a young master raised in luxury without a shred of manners.
The moment she saw Jung Won-ha from TEW, she felt it was destiny. Of course, dating rumors followed one after another, problems erupted in succession, and she’d completely dropped out of K-POP.

But that didn’t mean the irritation she’d felt toward The Dun during Shining Star Season 2 had faded.
Her gaze turned toward Seo Ho-yoon.

‘Tsk.’

Whatever concept he was going for, he looked so pale that his veins were visible.
And wasn’t his first-place finish won by exploiting his poor “family circumstances”?

‘He’s really doing well. How infuriating.’

Everyone had anticipated The Dun would face severe backlash, yet as if born under a lucky star, they didn’t crumble—instead, they clung tenaciously and clawed their way upward, now being discussed as candidates for this year’s Grand Prize.
As I was reassessing The Dun with relative objectivity, my uncle, who had sidled up close again, jabbed me with his elbow.

“Niece, don’t lose your mind over some handsome face—help me with the work already.”
“That’s not what this is about!”

I yelped, and my uncle chuckled and walked toward the warehouse. I followed and began maintaining the equipment, but my ears remained fixed on The Dun’s conversation outside.

“The sky seems so gloomy today… I’m craving fish cake!”
“They don’t sell fish cake this season.”
“What if we go back to the dormitory and boil some? Should I ask Ho-yoon’s brother?”
“…Just bear with it for now. If you cook it, you’ll probably get sick even if nothing’s wrong.”

I craned my neck to peek through the crack in the door and saw Kim Sung-hyun, their leader, and Jung Da-jun, the maknae, bickering. From what I could hear, they seemed to get along well.

‘What’s the latest gossip about The Dun?’

Though I’d quit being a fan, I still habitually browsed several communities, so I was generally aware of most rumors.

‘Hmm, was it about internal conflict?’

WH Entertainment’s security was famously airtight—you could barely spot a sasaeng’s shadow near the dormitory. Yet recently, strange whispers had been circulating everywhere.
The rumor was that Seo Ho-yoon seemed to be absent from the dormitory.

Though rare during their break period, he still attended official schedules consistently, and people said nothing seemed particularly different about him—yet strangely, sightings of him with the other members had completely dried up.

Thinking I’d found something interesting to post on the community, I watched Seo Ho-yoon approach the set first, then cautiously edged closer to where the other members were waiting.

“Ho-yoon’s brother, are you really okay? You’re practically a conscious zombie at this point….”
“We have to trust Seo Ho-yoon. At least today’s the last day, thank goodness.”
“Weren’t you pushing yourself too hard yesterday too? Why not just rest at the dormitory instead of insisting on going home?”

‘So it’s true he’s been leaving the dormitory.’

I picked up equipment I didn’t even need to touch, setting it down again, my ears fully alert.
Then Sung Ji-won, The Dun’s main vocalist, brushed his nice-looking brown hair back with his ear and carefully offered his opinion.

“Well, if we wait a bit longer and it really doesn’t seem right, couldn’t we all just take him to the hospital? Since Hyun-sung said Seo Ho-yoon was fine, we should trust him.”
“Has Ho-yoon’s brother ever said he wasn’t okay?”

‘The staff will dry everything with blow dryers anyway. Such a fuss.’

Even though the water during filming was cold, the shower had hot water flowing abundantly, and besides, once he came out, other people would help dry his hair, wipe his body, turn on the heater, and treat him like royalty—I couldn’t understand what there was to worry about.

“Right, Yi-chae?”

Jung Da-jun clung to Kang Yi-chae, the main rapper with fierce eyes beneath crimson hair, whining his question, and a curt response came back as if slightly annoyed.

“I’ll manage.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“….”
“….”

Even I, merely eavesdropping, felt a chill—his voice carried such a cold wind.

‘Is the discord rumor actually true?’

Just as I was intently focused on this fascinating exchange,

Splash!

The sound of something heavy plunging into the water reached my ears. When I turned my head, I saw Seo Ho-yoon swimming leisurely. Several people who appeared to be WH Entertainment staff were already holding cameras, filming the music video behind-the-scenes.

‘Well, well, putting on quite the show now, aren’t we.’

I couldn’t help but click my tongue.
His face was clearly pale, yet if they upload footage like that, the fans will habitually make a fuss about it. If we’re lucky, maybe it’ll end with them praising how professional our boys are?
Either way, it made no real difference.
Either way, it didn’t make much difference.

“Oh, that’s great! I love it!”

It was around the time when, despite being in poor condition, he was still managing to continue filming quite well. Seo Ho-yoon, who had been going back and forth underwater several times to catch his breath, took one last deep breath and submerged again for the final shot.

“Close your eyes now! That’s it!”

The music video director looked at him, smiled with satisfaction, and shouted.

“Seo Ho-yoon, come up slowly now!”

But there was no response.

“Seo Ho-yoon?”

Seo Ho-yoon simply kept his eyes closed, continuing to sink toward the bottom.

“…Huh?”

He’d responded quickly to every direction until now—how could he not hear this?

“Uncle.”

Regardless of her personal feelings toward The Dun, she turned to her uncle in alarm, and he too immediately gestured to the staff with a grave expression.

“Hurry! Get the equipment ready! We’re going in right now—”

Then,

Splash—!

Seo Ho-yoon’s eyes snapped open and he burst out of the water tank.

“Whoa!”

All the staff nearby rushed over, practically dragging Seo Ho-yoon out, wrapping him in towels and directing heaters and hair dryers at him.
With his wet, bright face, he laughed playfully.

“Haha, surprised you, didn’t I?”
“Hey! Don’t pull stunts like that!”
“Come on, just a little surprise.”

It would’ve been easy to curse him out as usual for being such an airhead, but something felt off.

‘Was he actually unconscious just now?’

Over the months spent here, through countless takes, she’d learned to distinguish between the two. Dangerous situations and those that weren’t.
Usually, when people are told to play unconscious, they instinctively hold their breath. But just now—bubbles had risen continuously.

‘Hmm….’

Her eyes tracked Seo Ho-yoon with unwavering intensity.
The WH Entertainment staff and The Dun members exhaled in relief, believing Seo Ho-yoon’s words, but Kang Yi-chae—whose lips had curved into a subtle smile—rose to his feet and shifted the atmosphere.

“Come on, let’s pump ourselves up and head to the next shoot!”
“Let’s go!”

The filming set’s energy transformed in an instant. All eyes were drawn toward The Dun’s boisterous chatter, when my uncle jabbed me in the ribs again.

“Go after him and hand him a fresh towel. While you’re at it, double-check that he’s really okay.”
“…Yes.”

I gathered supplies from the storage room and trudged toward the powder room, which connected to the shower and washbasin.

“…Huh?”

The water rushed.

I’d assumed the water—used only to warm the body—would’ve run out by now, yet the sound persisted. Worse, there was a strange, unsettling noise mixed in.
I hurried forward. The moment I drew near, Seo Ho-yoon—already changed into a black shirt after his shower—had his head bent over the washbasin. He turned only his gaze toward me.

‘Gasp.’

Those sharply honed eyes fixed directly on me.
I’d thought the makeup created a pallid complexion, but his bare face was far more ashen.
I instinctively stepped back, but Seo Ho-yoon maintained his gaze and slowly raised his upper body.

“Is there something you wish to say?”

His tone was courteous, yet cutting.

“…Pardon?”

As I retreated further, Seo Ho-yoon turned off the washbasin valve and swept the wet hair from his forehead. Water still dripped steadily from the strands.

“You’ve been staring at me this whole time.”

Seo Ho-yoon simply stood there quietly, gripping the edge of the washbasin as if waiting for my excuse.
Alarm bells blared frantically in her mind.

“Oh, no! I, um… there’s nothing like that… I was just trying to bring you this towel…”

What do I do about this?
The Robber’s feet were itching—she’d been caught red-handed paying attention to the gossip about The Dun’s internal discord for entertainment value. If she claimed she was just looking because he was handsome, what could he say? But if he filed a formal complaint…

“A-and, I, I’m a fan?! Because I’m a fan!”

Dizzy with panic, she blurted out whatever came to mind first, calculating that surely he wouldn’t be stingy about acknowledging a fan, and threw out the standard lip service.

“…A fan?”

Seo Ho-yoon echoed the question softly.

“Of Noeul?”
“…Yes, yes! Noeul!”

As she nodded desperately, Seo Ho-yoon tilted his head slightly, as if gauging whether it was true or not.

‘Damn. It’s not working. I’m going to get an earful.’

Maybe if he said anything, she could just brush it off to her uncle as anti-fan behavior.
With her head bowed low, she racked her rusty brain for any way out, when Seo Ho-yoon’s voice returned noticeably softer.

“…I drank too much water earlier and felt a bit nauseous.”
“…What?”
“I felt like I drank several liters.”

And the menacing aura he’d been radiating until just moments before evaporated instantly.
Seo Ho-yoon accepted the towel from her hands and offered a faint smile.

“You’ve been working hard since dawn—both of us.”
“…”
“Thank you for your hard work.”

With that greeting, Seo Ho-yoon passed by her and stepped outside.
Left alone, she tidied the powder room—which wasn’t particularly dirty—in silence.
Just minutes ago, she’d been dead set on digging up gossip about The Dun’s internal conflicts and posting it to the community, but suddenly the urge had vanished. She pulled out the phone she’d smuggled past her uncle and searched for The Dun, clicking on the latest post.

[Title: Seo Ho-yoon and Joo Woo-sung on broadcast

Joo Woo-sung doing a solo content lol
They seem to fight constantly but they’re actually super close

└Wait, Woo-sung, why exactly…
└Guess WH got a taste of that Hawaii sweetness
└└It’s business
└└Still, this time they called the members first..]

She hesitated, typing and deleting repeatedly, but ultimately succumbing to temptation, she posted a new thread.

[Title: Who said Seo Ho-yoon was cute

Everyone kept saying he was cute so I checked it out
The real thing is seriously scary as hell,,,
Though he is handsome

└Huh?? You spotted him?
“lol what kind of provocation is this”

The blood that had long since flowed beneath the drain—she never saw it.

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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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