The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 391

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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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391

His eyes, deeply set beneath gracefully curved lids, held a solemn intensity, while his lips curved in a subtle smile.
When Seo Ho-yoon’s face appeared large on the LED display, the audience seating stirred with a sudden wave of energy.

[Wow…]
[His visuals…]

Seo Ho-yoon opened his mouth slowly once more, letting his gaze fall downward.

“…In the letters our fans sent us, I read that they had never wished for anyone else’s happiness more than their own—until they saw us, and their perspective changed….”

It seemed the members hadn’t coordinated this beforehand; they all looked at Seo Ho-yoon with slight surprise. But soon they relaxed their tense expressions and listened intently to what he was saying.

“…I’ve always been anxious about whether we could truly repay such sincerity. On the other hand, I often pushed myself, thinking that instead of worrying about this, we should practice more and show them our best selves.”

As if seeking agreement with his words, Seo Ho-yoon tilted his head slightly and looked at Kim Sung-hyun. At that moment, Kim Sung-hyun’s eyelashes trembled.

[Wow, they must be having those kinds of conversations a lot lately…]
[I’m so moved… ㅠㅠ Look at Seonghyun getting emotional at Hoyoon’s words]

He had trembled only from fear of not knowing what bomb might be hidden beneath that innocent face, but the fans could never know the truth.
Having warmed the atmosphere thoroughly, Seo Ho-yoon fixed his gaze straight ahead and infused his voice with even greater strength.

“We still don’t know how to repay such love equally… but I want to make one promise so that we won’t be ashamed of the award we’ve received.”

Then, with his hand placed over his heart, he spoke each word with deliberate care.

“So that we can confidently say we are a group that loves The Dun, and so that Noeul can feel grateful for liking this group, we will strive even harder.”

Everyone listened intently to his voice—soft and steady, yet trembling slightly at the end. Even those who disliked him or had been wary seemed entranced, their focus absolute in this moment.

“We, who might have remained strangers, have miraculously connected and become your idols—and for that, I am truly grateful.”

Seo Ho-yoon stepped back from the microphone and bowed deeply. The Dun followed suit with their own bow.
As they descended from the stage, Kim Sung-hyun, whose shoulders seemed oddly stiff, patted Seo Ho-yoon on the back as his gaze lowered slightly. Sung Ji-won wore a gentle smile, while Jung Da-jun grinned brightly.

[Wow…]
[Damn, I can’t even think straight…]

Only Kang Yi-chae stood with his hand covering his mouth, head bowed. Then he leaned forward and whispered something to Seo Ho-yoon. But his words were drowned out by the background music.
With a soft laugh, Seo Ho-yoon ruffled Kang Yi-chae’s pomaded hair, and as that final moment passed, the screen switched to show the sea of Noeul fans’ glow sticks filling the Mango Music Awards venue.

[It’s like a scene straight out of a movie…]

Like stars softly illuminating the darkness all around, the glow sticks cast a gentle, serene light.

.
.
.

In the end, neither High Five nor The Dun won the Grand Prize at the Mango Music Awards.
Everyone was puzzled since both groups had more than deserved it, but what drew even more attention at this awards ceremony was Seo Ho-yoon’s acceptance speech.

[Honestly, it really felt like a movie—Seo Ho-yoon spoke so calmly, and the members showed expressions of trust toward each other, and at the end when they showed the fans’ blue glow sticks waving
it was just so damn beautiful]
[I’m jealous of Noeul fans..]

[Seo Ho-yoon is a legend…

└What does that mean??
└└It’s short for “I’m grateful for the miracle of becoming your idol”
└└Star-given-thanks
└└Remember it, it’ll be on the next test]

Seo Ho-yoon’s words were undoubtedly a heartfelt expression of gratitude to his fans.
But was it proof of his popularity?
Every single word came with all sorts of interpretations attached to it.

【After winning the Global Artist Award at the Mango Music Awards, Seo Ho-yoon said, ‘I was sometimes anxious.’ A bold statement!】
【’So we could confidently say we love The Dun?!’ Is he talking about idols who didn’t win?】

Seizing the moment, excited cyber commentators spliced together clips from the Mango Music Awards, added subtitles, layered on robotic voices, and manipulated and twisted the situation to suit their narratives.

[Honestly, from start to finish, all he did was thank the fans. Calling this a diss is just nitpicking.]
[Wow, to reach that level of sensitivity… can you even function in daily life??;; I watched TV and thought he spoke well]
Now they’re saying even breathing is controversial lol

However, fans and the vast majority of the public refused to accept such explanations at face value.
Of course, there were those among them who actively supported the video.

[Hey guys, do you think Seo Ho-yoon was taking a dig at someone with his award acceptance speech? Let me know your thoughts

Of course I’m gonna hit on her lol, look how blunt the word choice is

[Lol, his personality is still the same, just now he’s doing it more gracefully(sneakily^^).. I still like this guy]

[Honestly, I was shocked… I saw a Noeul fan say it sounded like a letter they’d sent, so they took a photo just in case and posted part of it as proof… and he actually remembered it. That really moved me]

└He’s famous for actually reading all the letters lol
“Like, that’s just a prepared line anyway, so why are you even getting emotional about it lol”

And naturally, Ravish’s Green Music Awards Grand Prize acceptance speech—the one Seo Ho-yoon was accused of targeting—resurfaced and rapidly climbed back into the spotlight. Having won nothing at the Mango Music Awards, the previous acceptance speech was being dredged up again.

【—LV Entertainment CEO, I sincerely thank you from the depths of my heart for bringing us to this stage. I always respect and love you. Oh! And thank you to the fans as well.】

Even if one could overlook the lengthy gratitude extended to company employees who nurtured and supported them, and even to the Green Music Awards staff—the final words directed at the fans amounted to nothing more than a single perfunctory “thank you.”
Those who had let it slide back then now began to turn their backs on Ravish as the comparison to The Dun became unavoidable.
And simultaneously, problems that had been quietly circulating for some time began to surface one by one.

[The scariest part is when haters become fans..]
[Real talk…Ravish fans were actually saints this whole time based on what they’ve done]

Above all, the fact that voting at the Green Music Awards was restricted to paid members only intensified the controversy.

《Unfair Awards Ceremony and Corporate Abuse of Power… Is This Acceptable?》
《An Event Full of Falsehoods and Pretense – On the Current State of Award Ceremonies》

As major media outlets began paying attention to the incident, the situation grew increasingly serious.

In the meantime, Noeul and High-Li confirmed that the controversy was spreading through multiple mouths and hands without needing any additional fuel, and they cleanly severed ties with each other.

[It was a pleasure working with you, High-Li girls. It’s snowing a lot these days, so be careful on your way.]
[I couldn’t deny that fighting alongside Noeul gave me a sense of reassurance.]

[Go on.
Next time we meet… we’re enemies.
Two_boys_standing_back_to_back_like_rivals_in_the_middle_of_a_crosswalk_getting_rained_on.jpg

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
└└Lol the Noeul Fans are seriously so funny hahahahahahahahahaha

***

[Quest Complete!
Following the year-end stages at the Green Music Awards and Mango Music Awards, you generated the highest buzz volume among all existing idol groups for four consecutive days each.
Success! You have been awarded 10,000 points.]
[Current Points: 259,000]

‘Finally.’

Four days after the Mango Music Awards ended.
Once the buzz metrics had been sufficiently tallied, the quest completed and I could claim my points.
LV Entertainment had been greedy from the start. They must have anticipated the backlash, yet they pushed Ravish hard anyway, and ultimately, one small misstep snowballed into catastrophic image damage.

‘They should have at least managed their artists properly.’

If they’d shown even minimal sincerity to their fans, the fallout wouldn’t have been this severe. It’s probably their most painful mistake of the year.
Lia Purple—whether as a mid-sized agency during the joint year-end stage or now after being absorbed into LV Entertainment—seemed perpetually cursed with bad agency luck.
Mango Music Awards would be busy fielding complaints, and Ravish would need to lie low for a while.

‘Seriously, why spit in someone else’s rice bowl.’

Annoying.
I clicked my tongue and recalculated my points—not much left until the Seo Ho-jin memory reset—when Jung Da-jun, who’d been sprawling across the dormitory living room, suddenly sprang up, clutched his chest, and spoke in a trembling voice.

“We, who might have remained as strangers…”
“….”
“…touched like a miracle, and became your idols. I am truly grateful. Waaahhhhh!!!”

Stop dwelling on the past.
Even under my cold gaze, our elephant friend didn’t stop chattering away.

“Ho-yoon, that was seriously so cool!! My heart was pounding so hard that day I thought I’d die… right, Yi-chae?”
“Oh yeah, yeah. I thought my heart was gonna jump out too~.”

Kang Yi-chae responded half-heartedly while wiggling his crossed left leg. Jung Da-jun seemed oblivious, but at that moment, Kang Yi-chae had clearly grasped my intentions.

“Overprotective.”

That’s what he whispered as he came down the staircase.
My gaze, which had briefly settled on Kang Yi-chae, soon shifted to the phone in my hand. I needed to double-check tomorrow’s schedule for the season greeting and in-house content shoot in Jeju Island. And when we returned, we’d be recording the January 1st WH Entertainment concert.
Sung Ji-won, who was tearing open a decaf drip bag in the kitchen and heating water for coffee, asked toward Kang Yi-chae and Jung Da-jun, who were giggling together.

“Yi-chae, did you pack everything for Jeju Island? Da-jun said he already did.”
“Nah, can’t I just borrow your clothes and wear them? Everything from head to toe~. Even a single pair of socks.”
“Well, if you’re really that lazy, I guess it’s fine.”
“…No. Now that I’m seriously thinking about it, I kinda hate that idea….”

Sung Ji-won’s casual response, delivered with a bright smile, caught Kang Yi-chae off guard—he’d poked the wrong target and got nothing in return. He stammered and dragged out his words before flopping dramatically onto the floor.

“Whatever, I can just throw my luggage together tomorrow morning.”
“Hey, get up. The youngest in my family is only nine years old, and he’s more mature than you. That kid even packs his school bag the night before every single day. What’s your excuse?”
“Wait, Hyun-sung! The youngest is me, Jung Da-jun!!”
“There’s no one with the surname Jung in our family registry.”

Kim Sung-hyun indulged the youngest members’ noisy protests a bit longer before finally grabbing Kang Yi-chae by the scruff of his neck and heading to the bedroom to pack his suitcase.
Sung Ji-won, who had walked over to the sofa at some point, handed me a mug filled with decaf coffee.

“Ho-yoon, did you pack everything?”
“I was planning to borrow your stuff too.”
“Huh? Uh… um….”

It was a lighthearted joke, but Sung Ji-won looked unexpectedly flustered. As I observed him fidgeting in real-time, I took a sip of the hot coffee.

Thud-thud-thud!

A loud crash came from the bedroom where Kim Sung-hyun and Kang Yi-chae had gone.

‘…What?’

“—Whoa!! Whaaa!!”

Kim Sung-hyun’s scream immediately followed. The door burst open and he tumbled out like he’d been thrown.

“…What’s wrong?”

I glanced around the room, wondering if Kang Yi-chae had pulled some nasty prank, but he wore the same bewildered expression I felt.

“I, I, I, I….”

I snatched the phone from Kim Sung-hyun’s trembling hands—his face flushed crimson as he repeated the same word over and over—and saw a text message on the screen from Jung Sun-ui, the Planning Team Lead at WH Management Team.

[Black Call Joo Woo-sung, The Dun Kim Sung-hyun, Seo Ho-yoon special collaboration stage added. Song selection details to follow.]

“Seriously, supply with zero demand.”

I was thinking I should send Jung Sun-ui a message requesting a review when a dazed, almost intoxicated voice drifted from beside me.

“…Me and Joo Woo-sung sunbae… a special collaboration stage together…?”
“…Excuse me, I’m here too.”

Even as I waved my hand right in front of his face, Kim Sung-hyun stared blankly ahead, muttering incoherently.

“Is this… really happening…?”
“Hey? Kim Sung-hyun?”
“Could you just slap me once…?”

This is seriously getting on my nerves.

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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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