The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 39

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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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39

“Huh?”

Sung Ji-won’s eyes rolled around before he let out an embarrassed laugh.

“Where did you hear something like that?”
“They said you were a promising prospect.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m that good.”
“I heard they were choosing between the main vocalist and the center position.”
“Well, I suppose among Today, I do have the best looks, don’t I?”

Sung Ji-won slipped in a self-compliment without seeming too arrogant, then posed a new question.

“But why are you suddenly asking about that?”

I felt caught.

“That Seo Ho-yoon wouldn’t be asking what position I held in Today out of simple curiosity… So you heard about that too?”

Sung Ji-won’s perceptiveness had become remarkably sharp. Having been chewed out like squid lately, the man had clearly changed.
Sung Ji-won clicked his tongue.

“The industry is cramped enough as it is. Bad news travels even faster.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Right, that’s what you heard.”

Sung Ji-won sighed.

“I ran away because I didn’t like the sponsorship offer.”
“…I see.”
“I knew the pressure was mounting gradually. Some of the Today members already had offers too. They treated me like an idiot—saying why wouldn’t I take a guaranteed opportunity like that.”

Sung Ji-won kicked at a small pebble on the ground.

“I… honestly didn’t understand it. I really thought I was an idiot. And as I kept losing my positions one by one, I felt like I was going crazy. But then one day, I don’t know why. I can’t remember it clearly. Suddenly, everything just clicked.”

He couldn’t remember.

‘Is he dodging the question because he doesn’t want to talk about it?’

Sung Ji-won’s neat brow furrowed.

“I realized I was going insane—what was I even doing? So I left right then and there. After wandering around for a while, I barely managed to find my current agency. The CEO and Manager are good people, so there’s no pressure like that at all.”
“Good people?”
“Well… they’re decent people.”

Sung Ji-won shrugged.
From my perspective, the CEO and Manager are the same. They chased after ideals, and when results didn’t come immediately, they practically abandoned the members and even gave up. Yet when you set the stage for them, these guys perform this well.

“After that, whenever I saw Today, I’d feel nauseous and like I might throw up. But you know what?”
“What?”
“Since that receipt incident last time, it’s just been funny.”

Ah, that thing from before. I remembered Yoo Hyuk’s face when he desperately tried to get the receipt, thinking it was a note.

“Whenever I think of his expression back then, I still laugh.”
“You told Yoo Hyuk to stop running his mouth about it.”
“Ha! I did it in a moment of frustration. But Today’s expression this time was no joke either. I’m definitely going to watch the broadcast when it airs.”

No matter how much I thought about it, Sung Ji-won kept chuckling. Well, it was funny.
After his laughter subsided, Sung Ji-won hesitated before standing up.

“…Anyway, thanks, Ho-yoon.”
“You’re thanking me?”

I muttered awkwardly.

“Why?”

I deeply suspected whether Sung Ji-won was naive.
Conversely, Sung Ji-won laughed as if he’d seen right through what I was thinking, looking exasperated.

“Do you know how much I owe you? I actually came running after you to say thank you.”

Sung Ji-won stretched languidly.

“I trust you. No matter how much you mess up here, I’ll still believe in you.”
“….”
“So you should trust us too.”

A faint smile crossed Sung Ji-won’s face.
Perhaps I had been arrogant. Perhaps the other members were right. I realized I’d been pressing the accelerator too hard on my own.
But this was who I had always been.
I had lived this way all along.
Because I had no choice but to bear the responsibility alone.
Could I ever change?

‘No.’

I drained the lukewarm yuzu tea in one gulp. Then I stood up, following Sung Ji-won.

“Ji-won.”

Sung Ji-won’s eyes widened.

‘I’m sorry.’

“I’ll make sure you come in first.”

It was all I could say right now.
I don’t make promises I can’t keep. Sung Ji-won seemed to understand the weight behind my words, his expression turning slightly bitter, but he soon patted my shoulder and spoke.

“Yeah.”
“….”
“Let’s head inside. It’s cold.”

***

“Hey.”
“What.”
“Eat this.”

While we waited in the conference room at tvK Broadcasting Station, Kim Sung-hyun suddenly tossed me some ginseng. I wondered if he’d taken it from Sung Ji-won.

“Uh… thanks.”
“Eat quickly. You’re supposed to have something like this once a day anyway.”
“Why is he suddenly acting like this?”
“It’s his way of apologizing~.”

Jung Da-jun interjected from beside me. Somehow he’d regained his energy, and at lunch he’d eaten a hearty portion of the tteokbokki that the Manager had wanted to buy him.
Kim Sung-hyun flicked Jung Da-jun on the forehead.

“He’s just regretting it. It’s all going to be criticism directed at Hyung anyway.”
“Hey, watch your mouth.”
“What? Ho-yoon Hyung already knows all about it anyway.”

Kang Yi-chae clicked his tongue disapprovingly. Of course I already knew. But Kim Sung-hyun kept watching me carefully, worried that I might have lost my spirit after seeing the internet comments.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. Was he really genuinely upset with me?

‘…I’m really trash.’

I was disgusted with myself too, but I’d jumped to suspicion first regardless.

“Oh my, our little treasures! Congratulations on placing first in the preliminary competition!”
“Hello~.”
“Hello! Thank you so much!”

In the midst of it all, a Staff Member opened the Waiting Room door and entered. He looked genuinely delighted with his beaming smile.

“Our viewership ratings are coming out really well! Our goal was just 1 percent, you know? Haha, but guess what! The first episode’s ADG viewership was 2.3 percent! And the second episode’s projected viewership is 3 percent!”

Wow, those were impressive numbers for a cable network.
Worthy of celebration.

“It’s all thanks to The Dun!”

‘Yeah, because we’re the sacrificial offerings.’

“Especially you, Seo Ho-yoon. How can we ever thank you enough? I think the production crew needs to treat you to something really special.”
“Yes, please do treat us generously.”

Since I’ve already been offered up as a sacrifice anyway.
The Staff Member was excited, but Jung Da-jun tilted his head in confusion.

“Isn’t the PD coming today?”
“Ah, the PD isn’t feeling well today. So I came in his place. Now, shall we check the second round mission?”

The staff member held out the mission envelope. Kim Sung-hyun carefully took it from him. Then he slowly read the written contents.

“Second round mission: Cover a different song.”
“Yes! We have to cover a different song! Isn’t this the highlight of an idol competition~!”

They were incredibly excited, absolutely thrilled.
Meanwhile, our expressions darkened. Excluding us, there were four other teams—which meant a one-in-four chance that Today would come up. If that happened, this controversy would absolutely explode into flames.

“I wonder what group’s song The Dun will end up covering. Let’s see, shall we?”

The staff member grinned widely and shook the container holding the lottery balls. Given the manipulation talk from last time, I would have bet my wrist that only Today’s songs were inside.
For the production crew, there was nothing to lose.

“Go ahead and pick one!”
“Ha ha….”

Kim Sung-hyun barely managed a smile, his trembling hand reaching for the lottery ball.
Bang—the conference room door flew open.

“PD Kim?”

It was Kim Hee-young, her hair disheveled. With a hoodie pulled backward over her head and a phone gripped in her hand like a weapon, she muttered to herself like a madwoman.

“PD Kim, what is this. I told you I’d handle it well, didn’t I? Why did you come?”

Kim Hee-young ignored the staff member’s words and strode toward the table. The smell of alcohol was overwhelming.
Whether the staff had gathered yesterday or not, Kim Hee-young’s dark circles were pronounced.

“Come with me.”

Kim Hee-young snatched away the lottery container that Kim Sung-hyun had been about to reach for and dumped it out with a crash. The camera director jumped up in alarm at the sight.

“PD Kim! What are you doing right now!”

She picked up the lottery balls scattered across the table one by one and opened them. They all contained identical contents.

[Today – Make Love]
[Today – Make Love]
[Today – Make Love]
[Today – Make Love]

Four slips of paper. All different.
Kang Yi-chae let out a hollow laugh. The Staff Member’s face went pale.

“PD! Have you lost your mind?”
“You bastard, I told you to make all the slips different, not keep them the same.”
“No, that was something you said while drinking yesterday… The Dun, please don’t misunderstand. We made a mistake. PD, you can’t do this right now, not here.”
“Why can’t I! I’m the PD!”

It seemed the push had already come from Today’s agency. Since public opinion had already turned, the strategy was to lean into the “The Dun versus Today” narrative and ride it upward.
It wasn’t actually a bad strategy. That’s why everyone had expected Today’s slip to come out.
But getting caught this blatantly was a first.
And by the main PD, no less.

“PD! I’m telling you, you’re actually going to get fired!”
“Fire me then, go ahead, fire me, you bastards! If I’m going to live this miserably, I’d rather just be unemployed. I’ll report you to the labor board and squeeze out breach penalties!”
“You lunatic! There are performers right next to us!”
“What! Why! What! You didn’t know I’m crazy?!”

It was absolute chaos. While everyone stared blankly, only one thought crossed my mind.

‘The editing… is going to be rough.’

“PD!”
“The Dun, don’t do that. I’ll pick new ones and bring them back.”

As the Staff Member tried to stop her, Kim Sung-hyun bent down and picked up one of the scattered slips, asking.

“Does Today sing our song?”
“That’s….”

The Staff Member hesitated. That was answer enough. Kim Sung-hyun glanced at me.

“Yeah.”

Kim Hee-young came out bluntly.

“So don’t do it. I’ll just pick something reasonable for you. Go with that. It’s the maximum consideration and conscience I can offer.”
“No… We’ll do this one.”

Kim Sung-hyun spoke up.

‘Hmm?’

It was unexpected.
The staff member’s face brightened with a smile, while Kim Hee-young’s expression twisted into something demonic.

“Is everyone here insane? I seriously don’t get it.”
“Please, let us do this one. We really want to.”

Jung Da-jun pleaded. I didn’t need to say anything.
Kim Hee-young slumped down and ran her hands through her hair, making the already disheveled mess even wilder.

“What is this? Am I the only one who doesn’t understand? Am I the only one getting anxious right now?”
“PD.”

I called out to her gently and held out a ginseng drink. Kim Hee-young glared at me, but I smiled shamelessly and straightened up.

“Then we’ll go prepare the cover song.”
“…Fine.”
“Yes! Thank you for your support!”

As I was leaving with the members, Kim Hee-young suddenly followed me out.

“Seo Ho-yoon, wait a moment. I need to talk to you.”
“Oh, yes.”

I followed Kim Hee-young down the hallway to where the vending machine was. She scratched her cheek, rummaged through both pockets frantically, pulled out some coins, and asked.

“Do you like canned coffee?”
“Yes. Anything is fine.”
“Alright, it’s not much, but I’ll buy you one.”

Kim Hee-young inserted coins into the vending machine with trembling hands, fumbling several times. She looked anxious.
But the vending machine only swallowed the coins and showed no intention of dispensing a drink. At first, she pressed the button slowly, as if trying to appear composed.

“Huh? Um… it’s not working?”
“It won’t work?”
“Ha, it’ll work in a moment. Just wait.”

Her tapping grew increasingly aggressive. She jabbed the buttons hard enough to break her fingers, then pounded it repeatedly before finally kicking the machine in frustration.
Everyone jumped at the loud bang and turned to look, but Kim Hee-young screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Damn it! Now even the vending machine won’t listen to me! Are you trying to drive me crazy right now?!”
“…”
“Kim, Kim PD…?”

A passerby who happened to be walking by was startled. Looking at the staff card, it was clearly someone higher-ranking than Kim Hee-young—a CP (Chief Producer)—but Kim Hee-young’s eyes narrowed sharply like a cat’s, and she spoke.

“Section Chief, what are you looking at! Huh?! Do you have a problem with me?”
“…Oh, no, I’m just… going about my business, PD Kim…”

The CP quickly disappeared. She really was one of the broadcasting station’s crazy lunatics.
I stood quietly beside her, unable to say anything. After Kim Hee-young had been huffing and puffing in front of the vending machine for a while, she blew at her bangs and suddenly turned to face me.

“Forget it. I’ll buy you something expensive later.”
“…Yes.”
“Anyway, Seo Ho-yoon, I didn’t call you here to say anything particularly important.”

Kim Hee-young spoke, trying her best to calm her temper.

“I owe you one. Since I caused damage to you because of my mistake.”
“Why would that be your debt, PD?”
“Because I took charge of planning this mess of a program. No matter how much pressure came from above, I was the one who executed it. So naturally, the responsibility falls on me.”

Kim Hee-young roughly brushed her bangs aside, annoyed by how they kept poking her eyes.
There was no need for this. If it had been anyone else, I would have gladly accepted the debt. But since it was Kim Hee-young, I didn’t want to.
Watching Kim Hee-young quietly, I realized something.
If I refused, it would only scratch her pride.

“…I understand.”
“Good, you made the right choice. Tell me anytime. If it’s within my power, I’ll do it.”

Kim Hee-young said that and kicked the vending machine again with a loud bang. Oddly enough, several drinks finally tumbled out. With a dismissive snort, Kim Hee-young turned and strode away, leaving the beverages behind.

‘Hmm.’

The backlash was beginning to take root in Kim Hee-young as well.
Exactly as I’d planned.

***

“What’s going on?”

I asked only after we’d drawn lots and returned to the practice room.
Everyone’s morale had soared even higher than before. More so than after the guerrilla performance. Their eyes blazed with a fierce determination—the kind that said they’d destroy anyone who got in their way.

“This time, we’re really, truly, absolutely going to do better.”

Jung Da-jun stammered.

“Actually, I talked with Hyun-sung all night yesterday.”

What kind of development was this? I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow, and Jung Da-jun clenched his fists.

“If we pick a Today song and perform it even better, we can prove it. That we’re better than Today.”
“Right, and besides, it’s better to think of this as a revenge match.”

‘Hmm…?’

This wasn’t the development I’d anticipated.
I mean, sure, if we keep this rivalry going with Today, that works in my favor. But still.
Despite my worries yesterday about even one teammate’s mental state cracking, they were all brimming with confidence. What if we don’t place first? Won’t their morale completely collapse?
As I stood there uncertainly, Sung Ji-won tapped my shoulder.

“Ho-yoon. This competition isn’t about placing first. It’s about showing people what we can do.”
“…You’re like a mind-reading ghost.”
“Ha, I learned from the best.”

Sung Ji-won smiled knowingly.

“Just like Da-jun said—let’s show them we’re far superior to Today. Let no one question our abilities.”

Kang Yi-chae thrust his thumb out sharply.

“Hyung, you said it yourself.”
“What?”
“That we can’t just be good—we have to be insanely good.”

Kang Yi-chae picked up his laptop and opened it. Songs and concepts from Today were organized neatly in an Excel spreadsheet, apparently compiled yesterday. I was honestly taken aback.

“What is this?”
“I organized it yesterday. All night. Honestly, I figured we’d probably have to perform on stage with another group’s song at some point, so I’ve been preparing gradually. The problem was not knowing which group it’d be. Anyway, after yesterday, Today became predictable, so I compiled all the concepts and song interpretations those bone-headed guys put out, and I’ve already decided on arrangement vibes so we can prepare immediately no matter which song we pick.”

What are these guys doing?
I stared blankly while Kang Yi-chae glanced seriously at Sung Ji-won before continuing.

“Fortunately, Sung Ji-won knew their situation well. Made organizing easier.”
“Make Love would be within the range we considered, right?”
“Yeah. We’ve already thought through the arrangement direction for that one.”

Kang Yi-chae spoke with fluent confidence.

“Look, from the Make Love pre-release video, you can tell Today’s vocal line is weak in both high and low notes. So we lay down rap in the lower register and showcase Sung Ji-won and Ho-yoon in the high register to pack the sound density tight and full….”
“No, wait.”
“What? Don’t you like it?”

I raised my hand briefly to stop Kang Yi-chae.
It wasn’t about liking it or not.

“When did you guys have time to prepare all this?”

Kang Yi-chae tilted his head. Then he answered casually.

“When you were sleeping?”
“When you went out to talk with Sung Ji-won!”
“You weren’t sleeping?”

Wait, so you weren’t actually talking behind my back?

“Kang Yi-chae, you didn’t come into the bedroom because you went to talk about this?”
“What, you thought I left because I didn’t want to see your face?”
“….”

That was exactly it.
When I closed my mouth, having nothing to say, Kang Yi-chae’s eyes widened before he burst into laughter.

“Wow… so we made you feel sorry by talking without you?”
“Geez, how can my brother have such a soft heart~.”
“Are you insane?”

Though I was exasperated, the team was already looking at me with oddly satisfied expressions. Kim Sung-hyun sighed.

“We need to put in effort too.”
“….”
“We can’t just sit back and accept everything.”

I kept my mouth shut for a long moment at those words, then ruffled my hair once and looked at Kang Yi-chae.

“…What about the arrangement?”

Kang Yi-chae smirked.

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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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