The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 398

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

398

Without a moment’s hesitation, I continued marching forward with the correct answers, and Gwak Seo-jung’s gaze naturally drifted toward Yang Ju-ri, the PD. He was silently asking if the footage was sufficient. The Broadcasting Staff themselves were also floundering, unable to find an adequate solution.

“Ah, today is truly unusual. The Production Crew’s faces are heavy with concern. They seem worried about the prize money. The David and Goliath team members appear both delighted with their accumulated points yet anxious about whether they might lose them~! Now then, Seo Ho-yoon! You’re already standing before the final stage! How are you feeling?!”
“I’m feeling a bit nervous as well. Still, I’ll do my best until the very end.”

As I answered with a composed expression, Gwak Seo-jung, having checked the problem card, wore a meaningful smile.

“Hmm, this one really doesn’t look easy. Then it’s stage 12.”

Simultaneously, text appeared on the VCR screen.

[Among the three given options, choose the idiom with a different meaning.
1. Bright Night, Dark Night 2. Heaven’s Wheel, Earth’s Joy 3. Desire for Food and Flesh]

2. Heavenly principles and earthly joy

“…Can I use my second phone call opportunity here?”
I looked him over from head to toe and spoke with a faint smile.
“haha.”

“Haha.”

“Who will receive it?!”

Who could it be?
“I wonder who will receive it?!”

The person most likely to answer beautifully.

A few seconds after the call tone was heard, I heard the clear tone of the other person.

“Seong Ji-won.”

Thinking that this was my last chance to draw out the picture as I had planned, I opened my mouth with a relaxed attitude.

“I appeared on a quiz program—.”

As each stage was different, my words received special attention from the general public. I could see him stiffening and swallowing his saliva.
“I appeared on a quiz program—.”

Given the stakes, even my single remark commanded unusual attention from the civilian participants. I could see them stiffening, swallowing nervously.
I smiled and continued.

“—If I win here and take the prize money, Sung Ji-won, what do you want to do?”

[ah! Are you currently filming ‘David and Goliath’?]
Sung Ji-won seemed startled by the unexpected question, then asked brightly.

[Oh! Are you filming David and Goliath right now?]

[I want to congratulate you so much!]

But what I heard was a strange sound.

“…congrats?”
But what came through was something entirely different.

“…Congratulate?”

[Then, Ho-yoon, fight, and be careful when you come home!]

The phone just hung up.
[So Ho-yoon, fighting, and come home safely!]

The call ended just like that.
Staring blankly ahead as my carefully laid plan crumbled away once more, Gwak Seo-jung’s voice pierced through.

“Wow, it seems Seo Ho-yoon has a really close bond with all your members.”
“…Yeah….”
As I was pondering over the plan that had failed, the Goliaths that had survived so far were displayed one after another on the electronic display board.

And I couldn’t exactly call Kang Yi-chae back since he’d left his phone and gone out to buy whipped cream. Kim Sung-hyun and Jung Da-jun seemed quite busy.

The moment I confirmed it, I was able to realize what the sharp gaze I felt at the beginning of the broadcast was.

“Now! Please choose the correct answer!”

A middle-aged man sitting in the far right corner.
“Alright! Please select the correct answer!”
It’s not because he has a distinctive appearance or because he’s a famous person… .

Even though I was aware that multiple cameras and countless eyes were fixed on me, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him.

… Simply because he is my maternal uncle.

“Seo Ho-yoon, are you okay?”

Only then did I realize that Kwak Seo-jeong was calling my name, so I quickly covered up my embarrassment and slowly spoke while squeezing and unclenching my hand under the table several times.

“I’m still very nervous coming here. I’m sorry.”
Only then did I realize that Gwak Seo-jung was calling my name. I quickly suppressed my flustered expression, then slowly spoke while repeatedly clenching and unclenching my fists beneath the table.

“Now that I’m here, I’m definitely quite nervous. I apologize.”

“No. 3, I’ll do it.”
I drew a number and answered slowly.
“yes.”

“Number three, are you certain?”

“Number 1, Myeongyabokya, means successive happiness, and Number 2, Cheonryunjirak, means living in harmony with family members who share blood. On the other hand, Yoksikgiyuk—.”

I turned my head from the VCR screen and looked directly at the camera located in front.

“…—Greed is a word that means that the resentment is so deep that you want to chew the other person’s flesh.”

As soon as my explanation was over, Kwak Seo-jeong smiled and continued.

“Seo Ho-yoon chose the number confidently, but is it really the correct answer??!”

At that moment, the sound of drums played low in the background, heightening the tension even further.

“—I’ll reveal it now!”

Soon after, with Kwak Seo-jeong’s shout, the light flashed in bogey number 3.

“New Year’s special ‘David and Goliath’! This victory goes to David! Congratulations!!”

Paang!

Pollen exploded everywhere and thunderous shouts poured out.

“It’s been about a year since David defeated Goliath! Seo Ho-yoon, who became the winner, can I ask you what you think?”

I fumbled around looking for my relatives among the colorful papers falling from the sky.

“I took on the challenge with the mindset of doing my best, and I can’t believe I got to this point….”

Yeah, I couldn’t believe it.
“I challenged with the mindset of just doing my best, but I still can’t believe I’ve made it this far….”
Until just a moment ago, thoughts that had been tangled up in thoughts about how to be caught on air, quests, length, editing, prize money, etc., volatilized, and other thoughts began to fill the space.

No human—or rather, no beast wearing human skin—could stand here so shamelessly after recalling what they’d done.
Until moments ago, my thoughts had been tangled in chaos about how the broadcast would capture me, Quests, screen time, editing, prize money—but now those thoughts evaporated, replaced by something else entirely.

What were the odds of coincidence?

It’s been quiet so far, but now it’s here for some reason.
Yet the piercing gaze that reached me was telling me something. It was absolutely no coincidence.
Anyway, one thing was certain in this yard.

I wondered if this too was the System’s doing, but the sequence didn’t add up. After all, I was the one who chose the program and pushed for the Quest.

That little bastard that I can chew on will once again become a hindrance to my life.
“…I’ll donate the prize money to a good cause.”

***

At PD Yang Joo-ri’s request, I was only able to board the van after completing the interview.
***
In reality, the process by which he got here didn’t matter at all.
Only after completing the interview at Yang Ju-ri’s request could I board the van.
After probing her casually, it was as expected. Among the civilian participants selected for today, there had been several drawn on the spot. Whether my uncle was included in that, I couldn’t say for certain.

What mattered was the fact that he wanted to meet me.
I asked the Road Manager, who had just taken the driver’s seat, while irritably brushing my hair back.
“They say we are acquaintances or relatives.”

“Huh?”

“Hmm, there are a lot of people like that. Well, it may sound like nonsense.”
The Road Manager glanced at me through the rearview mirror and tilted his head in confusion.
“That’s why it seems like most of the cases are filtered out by the WH security team without even coming to us. WH Entertainment is very strict when it comes to that.”

….
“So most of them don’t even reach us—the WH security team filters them out on their own. WH Entertainment is incredibly strict about that sort of thing.”
But no matter how you look at it, the timing was strange. Why now?

Given the circumstances, it was highly likely he’d visited the Agency as well. Since he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of me lingering around the area, perhaps he appeared on the program instead.

But at this point, another problem occurred.
‘He said he wanted to see me recently.’

Then something else caught my attention.

I said while keeping my eyes fixed on the window where the scenery was rapidly passing by.

“Please take me home today.”
I kept my gaze fixed on the window where the scenery rushed past as I spoke.

“Take me home today.”
“Huh? Not to the dormitory?”
I said hello to the road manager, got out of the van, and entered the front door. As I took the elevator up and reached the door, I felt a little anxious for some reason.
I maintained silence instead of answering. The Road Manager didn’t seem inclined to ask further either.

After greeting the Road Manager and stepping out of the van, I entered the foyer. As I took the elevator up and reached the door, my heart stirred slightly for some reason.
I entered the digital lock code set to Seo Ho-jin’s birthday and grasped the knob to open it. Seo Ho-jin was visible on the sofa, lounging with his phone in hand.
“What’s going on?”

“….”

“Kkeut… it hurts….”

I took off my shoes, went in, sat down on the sofa, and looked down to see what I was doing, but Seo Ho-jin, who was rubbing the top of my foot with his palm, stood up, walked closer, and sat down on the floor.
“Ow… that hurts….”

I removed my shoes and settled onto the sofa, watching with curiosity as Seo Ho-jin suddenly sprang up from where he’d been rubbing his bruised foot with his palm, walked over, and sat down on the floor in front of me.
Perhaps because I wasn’t sprawling out as I usually did, he rolled his eyes around, awkwardly gauging my mood.
“I’m eating better than my brother. … But why did you come here all of a sudden?”
“…So, what?”

“Better than you, actually. …But why did you suddenly come over?”

“Okay, cell phone.”
I glanced around the room briefly, then extended my right hand toward Seo Ho-jin.

“Enough. Your phone.”
“…Why your phone all of a sudden….”
I solved the familiar pattern and entered the Talk app.
I pretended not to notice Seo Ho-jin’s obvious displeasure and shook my right hand firmly once more. It was a clear signal that I wouldn’t tolerate being ignored.

I unlocked it with the familiar pattern and opened the messaging app.
There were countless unread messages, mostly from university acquaintances.
[UNTRANSLATED LINE 220]
[Woo Kyung-woon: If you chew my contact information, does it taste good? You damn heartless bastard haha ​​I went on a blind date the other day…]

“Yeah, Kang Joo-kyung went to Jeju Island for a trip, right? Let’s take his name off the group project lol…”

‘Have you contacted Seo Ho-jin yet?’

Something felt uncomfortable.
‘They haven’t contacted Seo Ho-jin yet?’
So, without further inquiry, I gave the phone back.

But if my younger brother didn’t know anything about it, I decided it was better to leave things as they were rather than create problems where none existed.
So I didn’t press further and handed the phone back to him.

“…Why, why?”

“…brother.”
I tossed out the question half-jokingly as a way to change the subject, watching Seo Ho-jin fidget and stammer. He narrowed his eyes sharply and replied curtly.
“Of course, it’s scary when someone who may or may not stop by your house once or twice a year suddenly barges in without contacting you….”

“What.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————