The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 369

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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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369

“What? Da-jun got into it with someone yesterday?”

I had come to the conference room to discuss matters with the Planning Team and Management Team ahead of our departure to Japan. My eyebrows furrowed and then relaxed as I absorbed the breaking news that Kang Yi-chae relayed to me after coming over from the work studio.

‘I thought nothing had happened since he was sleeping so soundly with his mouth wide open….’

When I returned to the dormitory after finishing my personal schedule, Da-jun was already deep in sleep, and this morning we were both too busy to have a separate conversation.
Kang Yi-chae, who had been idly playing a mini game on his phone and moving his fingers ceaselessly, added indifferently.

“It happened by the emergency stairs after the YuYu Bank shoot wrapped. The other side was apparently pretty loud about it, so quite a few people witnessed it. A music broadcast staff member got spooked and broke it up.”
“Who was the other person?”
“That TEW member from Shining Star. You remember?”

Jung Won-ha?
What’s he doing here?

“Apparently Da-jun said something crude… I don’t know the details though. It looks like our company and TEW’s agency handled it so it wouldn’t spread outside.”

I crossed my arms and leaned back against the chair’s backrest.

‘He seemed like he wasn’t completely stupid, even if he was proud and greedy.’

Though he was a bit gullible and easily swayed by a little flattery.
Amid the hazy memories, I tried to recall Jung Won-ha as he had been, so readily charming toward me, and asked a question.

“So, what’s Da-jun saying about it?”
“No idea. I haven’t talked to him yet either.”

As I roughly sketched out the situation in my mind, Kang Yi-chae set his phone down on the table and narrowed his eyes, staring directly at me.

“Relax your expression a bit, will you? We’ll see him soon anyway, so you can just ask him then.”
“…Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

I let out a sigh while brushing away the bangs that fell across my vision, obscuring my view. In that very moment, the conference room door creaked open cautiously.
And through the gap, Jung Da-jun’s face peeked out.

“I’m here….”

Normally, he would burst through with fanfare, shouting “Jung Da-jun has arrived!” with bold confidence. But this time, he crept in quietly and hesitantly planted himself beside Kang Yi-chae.

“…Hey.”
“Y-yes, yes, what?!”

I called out, wondering what was wrong with him, but Jung Da-jun himself seemed startled by my voice. His oversensitivity felt off somehow. Even Kang Yi-chae regarded the youngest member with suspicion.
I decided not to beat around the bush and ask directly.

“Jung Da-jun, you went to YuYu Bank for a schedule yesterday—did something happen?”
“Ah… w-well… yes….”

Jung Da-jun, whose eyelids had been fluttering like butterfly wings, cast his gaze downward.

“Spill it.”
“No… it’s nothing serious… Jung Won-ha spoke a bit harshly to me… so I got a little upset too.”
“What did he say?”

I wasn’t asking him to confess just to hear it from the source himself. There was something unclear, something that didn’t quite add up, that was difficult to understand from secondhand information alone.
I could see Kang Yi-chae furrowing his brow and watching me intently from across the table, but I waited only for Jung Da-jun’s response.

“…He just said I don’t have enough experience to be an MC yet… and asked if I wasn’t causing trouble for my hyungs….”
“….”
“….”

…That’s it?

“Wait, hold on!”

Noticing my expression, Jung Da-jun hurriedly added more, fidgeting with his fingers.

“And he said I’ve transformed into a major idol, and, and, and….”

Isn’t that more like praise than criticism?

“You said I was pretending to be innocent!”

Strangely, hearing the Maknae’s explanation only made the situation more confusing.

‘He got upset over just these reasons?’

Of course, Jung Da-jun had always seemed innocent and childish to me, but that wasn’t necessarily true from an objective standpoint. At some point, he had secured his place within The Dun and was holding his own quite firmly. In other words, he had become someone who wouldn’t even blink at most situations.
There was even a time when I happened to run into an Idol in the Bathroom who sarcastically asked, “Is the WH Entertainment van comfortable?” and Jung Da-jun simply laughed and replied lightly, “The seats are so plush, it’s totally luxurious!” without missing a beat.

“And… and!”
“And what.”

With flushed cheeks, Jung Da-jun slapped the table with both palms.

“Ho-yoon keeps coddling me and says I don’t know how to do anything! Stop making up things that aren’t true!”
“Is that why you’re upset?”
“No!!”

I would have believed him if he’d said he was angry about that, but unfortunately he didn’t.
Kang Yi-chae, who had been resting his chin on his hand and listening quietly, finally opened his mouth.

“You didn’t argue back?”
“Um…”

As if searching for a proper excuse, Jung Da-jun’s eyes rolled from right to left. At the same time, Kang Yi-chae’s lips twitched.

“…No, well, it was a bit like that… I just listened. …Yeah.”
“…Ah, is that so?”

Then he turned his body to the side and scanned Jung Da-jun from top to bottom with an expressionless face. Jung Da-jun’s shoulders instinctively narrowed. But soon, with his usual grin, he spun his chair around and gently rested his head on Jung Da-jun’s shoulder.

“Look at you growing up, our Maknae?”

I could clearly see Jung Da-jun’s back stiffen as he looked up at Kang Yi-chae’s cold gaze.

“So mature now~. I’m proud of you~. I hope you got through it okay. Did your heart get hurt?! Should your brother comfort you~?”
“N-no, ugh, I’m fine…”
“Look at this guy, subtly gagging?”

Kang Yi-chae, who had been giggling away, finally separated from Jung Da-jun.
The moment Jung Da-jun dragged his chair across the floor to create distance between himself and Kang Yi-chae,

“Hey, everyone!”
“Hi….”

Sung Ji-won and Kim Sung-hyun, who had gone to take vocal lessons together, appeared.
Kim Sung-hyun looked completely exhausted, as if he’d been thoroughly worn out by Sung Ji-won, who was like a training machine.

“Hello!”

Only after Lee Ji-hyun’s Planning Team from Dae Pa-sung, the Planning Team led by Jung Sun-ui from WH, and each of their respective Management Teams had entered did the meeting officially begin.
Jung Sun-ui, rubbing his stomach with his right hand, picked up the microphone and spoke in a weakened voice.

“—We’d like to confirm all details regarding The Dun’s Japan activities for the second half of the year in advance. Since we’re challenging a new concept, I believe we need to be even more thorough in our preparations.”
“Yes, yes~. Team Lead~.”
“…Have you all been practicing the instruments a lot during this time?”
“Of course!”

At Kang Yi-chae’s cheerful response that came bouncing out, Jung Sun-ui let out a small sigh before displaying an analysis chart of Japan’s album sales progress on the beam projector screen.
Meanwhile, under the table, the tip of Kang Yi-chae’s shoe was nudging my shin.
When I glanced over, Kang Yi-chae crossed his arms nonchalantly, pointed only with his index finger at the Maknae, and puckered his lips.

‘Liar.’

I turned my gaze away from Kang Yi-chae, whose eyes narrowed like a fox’s, and looked toward the projection screen.

Yeah. I think Jung Da-jun is lying too.

***

The Dunging Group went to Japan.

In early October, when The Dun was busy wrapping up the year and preparing for year-end performances, news spread that the group was heading to Japan.

[Dunging Group Tokyo Flight Information Sparse

└ Guess they’re going because of the concert lolol
And yet… The Dun is releasing an album…
└They made 3 comebacks this year and even reached Japan… ㅜㅜㅜㅜ Fuck, do they have one body or two?]

[What~~?? A Japanese album release timed with the K-POP concert schedule? That’s amazing―! WH… just how far ahead were you looking?

└ Lol Noeul really watched that anime so hard. Your Japanese is insanely good
└└ I’m actually Japanese.
└└ Oh… I’m sorry…]

However, the backlash was smaller than expected.
The Dun had built a solid domestic fanbase over time, and throughout the year they’d been consistently releasing tracks without any major breaks. Even during brief moments of downtime, they’d maintained their presence through individual schedules.
Moreover, when it became known that this was simply a trip lasting about ten days to attend a K-POP concert being held as an event in Japan, the atmosphere within the fandom became even more peaceful.

[Alright then, let’s make our babies yen princes~]

[But isn’t The Dun pretty popular in Japan? Especially the black cat Ho-yoon..

└What black cat?;;
└└Japanese Noeul’s taste is insane. They’re still pushing the cat moe design for Seo Ho-yoon..
└└Still??????
[That’s incredibly stubborn/persistent]

[Japanese Noeul’s isolationist policy… refusing to accept the rabbit moe design trending in Korea and stubbornly pushing the cat for domestic consumption… remarkable.
We need an appropriate expression to describe this situation

└’Because they’re Japanese Noeul’
Hahahahaha lol hahahahahahahahahahahaha

In that instant, another piece of news reached the fans.
The Dun’s documentary ‘From Dawn to Dawn’ was being released as a theatrical film in movie theaters.

[Whoa the documentary From Dawn to Dawn that came out during Woo-chan’s activities is getting a theatrical release simultaneously in Korea and Japan!!!
I guess they made it into a movie by including unaired footage and recently additional footage.
[Ugh I’m bringing my inverted pyramid lightstick]

[Movie Theater Staff: Yes~ What movie would you like to book?
Me: …From The Dun To The Dun,,,
Movie Theater Staff: Pardon??
Me: From The Dun To The Dun… The,,, The Dun,, the Idol movie,,,,
Movie Theater Staff: Ah… Yes^^

└Why couldn’t I say it confidently
I came to see my beloved members’ youth, came to see my man!!! Just speak properly, will you]

[Oh shit, the photocard given out in Korea is different from the Japanese trading card… But both are printed so damn beautifully…]
Japan’s secondhand trading apps are just fucking terrible, man…

Not long after, promotional videos for The Dun members’ documentary film began rolling out one after another.

【Hello~. I’m Sung Ji-won.】

The first to kick things off was Sung Ji-won, dressed in a thick-knit white sweater that looked cozy and inviting. With a bright smile playing at his lips, Sung Ji-won spoke fluent Japanese.

[Insane visuals, insane voice, insane tone—isn’t Sung Ji-won literally a Ghibli male lead? I’m so excited, what are you doing?! Why aren’t you scouting this talented guy already?! Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god

└He probably learned that from his former agency, so it’s probably not a good memory for Ji-won…
└Ugh… I’ll go murder the former agency CEO]

All of The Dun promoted themselves with similar greetings, but the reaction to Kang Yi-chae alone was explosive.

Ah, Kang Yi-chae’s Japanese pronunciation is so funny I’m literally crying laughing lololololololol
[Lee Chae is really just a foreigner, Arigato! Konnichiwa! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha]
I’m gonna have to watch this every time I’m feeling down. When Yi-chae first went to Japan, she kept using English so I didn’t realize lol. I’m crying.
[I’m crying right now. My baby with the spoon of luck.. my baby comedians.. I love you so much]

However, this time, curiously, almost no information about the actual important Japan broadcast schedule or songs was released.

[But why hasn’t anything been resolved this time? I’m trying to find out about the Japanese album, but it’s almost at the level of intelligence… They even put out the teaser image so damn late ㅜㅜ

└Looking at the tracklist, it seems like it’s just a cover of our brilliant dawn with one original track?
└So that original track is what I’m so excited about… The Colors tracklist was legendary…]

While Noeul fans eagerly awaited new information, The Dun had just arrived at the airport.

“The Dun!! Look over here!”
“Hyun-sung! Ji-won~!”
“Seo Ho-yoon!”

Reporters and fans who had spotted Kim Sung-hyun and Sung Ji-won exiting the van earlier unleashed a barrage of camera flashes.
The members descended in turn, and the last to emerge was Seo Ho-yoon, draped in a boxy navy coat over a black turtleneck sweater, with a deep teal plaid scarf wound snugly around his neck.
Upon hearing his name called, he broke into a radiant smile and loosened the scarf that had nearly obscured his face.

“Hello.”

[The essence of an idol…]
[A god.. Seo Ho-yoon is a god…]

In that instant, soft gasps rippled through the crowd, and the sound of shutters clicking erupted in a cascade.
Yet he remained unaware of those entranced by his visage.

Behind him, the WH Entertainment staff were carefully transporting the instruments that The Dun members would use in Japan.

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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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