The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 405

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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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405

There was no fanfare, no dazzling sound effect.
I stared blankly at the message that had appeared last, then asked quietly.

“…It’s done?”

[Yes.]

The System Window gave only a terse response and, uncharacteristically, offered no further explanation.

“…That’s it?”

The box displaying “Yes” blinked as if in affirmation.
For all the mental anguish I’d endured, the anticlimax felt strangely hollow.
I pressed my throbbing forehead with my palm, then pushed myself up.
I needed to check on Seo Ho-jin. Whatever I’d done, I had to bear the consequences myself.

Noticing the apartment had fallen silent, I carefully opened the bedroom door.
The clock on the living room wall pointed to 4 AM.
All the members had apparently fallen asleep watching the film, scattered across the floor and sofa in various positions.
Moving as quietly as possible to avoid waking anyone, I passed by Kang Yi-chae with Jung Da-jun nestled against him, mumbling in his sleep, and made my way to the entrance. As I quietly put on my shoes, I heard rustling behind me, followed by a low, husky voice.

“Where are you going?”

Kang Yi-chae pushed himself up halfway, brushing off the Maknae who was practically sprawled across him, and yawned repeatedly. His sleep-tousled hair stuck up in all directions from his restless sleep.

“You’re awake?”
“Where are you going?”
“Home for a bit.”
“…Oh, because it’s Ho-jin’s birthday yesterday?”

Kang Yi-chae, with his eyes barely half-open, furrowed his brow as he looked at me.

“…But you’re not seriously going out like that, are you?”

Following where his gaze fell, I lowered my head and only then noticed what I was wearing—a black turtleneck and cotton pants.
Embarrassed, I was about to brush off my clothes and remove my shoes when Kang Yi-chae quickly got up and threw his padded jacket and scarf, which had been scattered haphazardly around the room, at me.

“Put them on before you go out. It’s cold outside. It’s snowing. And it’s really, really cold.”
“….”
“Oh, right. Don’t forget an umbrella.”

Half-asleep, he repeated the same words in a drowsy mumble before flopping down and falling asleep—a sight that was oddly befitting his age.

“…Thank you.”

I draped the padded jacket over my shoulders, wrapped the scarf around my neck, grabbed the umbrella, and offered a belated farewell.
Stepping outside, I pressed the elevator button and requested a taxi through the app. As the cold dawn air touched my skin, my mind seemed to become a little clearer.
By the time I reached the first floor, the taxi had already arrived.
I got into the vehicle and took out my phone to contact Seo Ho-jin in advance, but it was dead because I’d forgotten to charge it, and the screen wouldn’t turn on.

“Sigh….”

Today, I seemed particularly careless.
I stroked my chin and turned my gaze toward the window.
Thick snowflakes continued to fall endlessly.
Perhaps because of that, everything felt disconnected from reality.
I got out of the taxi that had stopped at the entrance of the apartment complex and opened my umbrella.
Walking along the pristine white path where no one’s footprints had yet fallen, I passed the bench where my maternal uncle had sat and headed home.
The moment I stood before the door, the anxiety I’d been suppressing began to creep up slowly.
I clenched my fist once, then opened it, and entered the password into the door lock.

…1, 2, 2, 3….

At the unlock notification, I grasped the knob and opened the door; the entrance light turned on automatically. The living room visible beyond was dark.
Given the late hour, there was a good chance he was asleep, so I called out cautiously.

“Seo Ho-jin.”

No answer came.
I called out again and opened Seo Ho-jin’s bedroom door. After surveying the empty room, I sighed and connected my phone to the charger plugged into the outlet by the bed.

‘He must have gone out to drink with friends.’

I should have reset while I was with Seo Ho-jin.
Thinking such thoughts, I flopped down onto the bed.

“…I’ll turn the heating down a bit.”

All I could do now was wait for him, just as Seo Ho-jin had done for me all this time.
Just as he always had.

.
.
.

My eyes snapped open suddenly. My entire body felt heavy, and even getting up seemed burdensome. The accumulated exhaustion from the past few days of sleep deprivation came crashing down on me.
I let out a sigh and fumbled around in the haze of consciousness, my hand finding my phone. The charger had been loose—it was barely charged at ten percent.

[Heavy Snow Advisory Issued for Seoul Metropolitan Area
Road icing expected due to snowfall and cold wave. Please exercise caution regarding pedestrian and traffic safety.]
[Traffic congestion is anticipated during tomorrow’s commute hours. Please use public transportation when possible.]

I skipped over the unimportant notifications and opened the messaging app, tapping on the most recent message.

[Jung Da-jun: Hyung! Hyung, hyung, hyung, hyung! Ho-yoon hyung, hyung, hyung, hyung, hyung!]

It was definitely The Dun’s group chat, but it was packed with messages from the Maknae alone.

[Jung Da-jun: Seo Ho-jin hyung came to the dormitory!!!! He was looking for hyung!!!!!]
[Jeong Da-jun: But when Lee Chae told me he had gone home, I immediately ran out.ㅠㅠ…]
[Jung Da-jun: And… is something wrong with Ho-jin hyung? He looked like a ghost… We were all so startled that we even told him to take an umbrella…]
[Jung Da-jun: (crying emoji)]
[Jung Da-jun: Anyway, we were just trying to look out for you… don’t say anything later…]

My heart began pounding hard as I read those messages.
I sat up and checked my missed calls.

[That damn kid]
[That damn kid]
[That damn kid]
[That damn kid]
[That damn kid]
[That damn kid]

Seo Ho-jin had called me several times.
I rubbed my stiff face with one hand before calling him back. The dial tone didn’t last long.

“Hello?”

I couldn’t hear a response from the other end.
But when you’ve cared for and raised a life for over ten years, you develop certain skills whether you want them or not.

“Hello? Seo Ho-jin?”
[…Yeah.]

One of those skills was being able to read my kid’s mood from just the faintest tremor in his voice.
I snapped awake at the slow, dampened tone coming through.

“What’s wrong with you right now.”

I shot up and rushed out of the bedroom, asking urgently.

“Seo Ho-jin, where are you?”

I wedged the phone between my shoulder and jaw, shoved my feet into my shoes, and grabbed the door handle when the electronic lock chimed.

[…In front of the apartment.]

Seo Ho-jin’s voice came through the speaker. Moments later, my younger brother appeared beyond the door, wearing nothing but a white sweatshirt and black training pants with three-striped slippers, his eyes covered in frost.

“…Are you insane?”

He was trying to freeze to death.
Seeing ice crystals clinging thickly to his eyelashes, I panicked and grabbed his arm, pulling him inside.

“You didn’t even bring an umbrella? Look at you, soaked through and—.”
“—Hyung.”

I was about to launch into a tirade about what kind of state this was, when Seo Ho-jin lifted his head from where it had been buried and called out to me.

“I’m about to say something really strange, and you can’t call me crazy. Don’t laugh at me, don’t interrupt. Just listen all the way through.”

His tone was resolute, but his voice carried a pleading quality. He licked his lips several times and his chest heaved as if he were nervous.

“…We’re not the same age. Our parents’ accident didn’t happen when you were twenty—it happened when you were ten.”

The pupils of his eyes before me grew increasingly moist and trembled.

“You’re not some celebrity. The Hyung I know was always working overtime, someone I could barely confirm was alive after dawn broke. No matter how much I asked you to take care of yourself, you never listened—.”

His voice grew thick with emotion, his nose crinkling.

“—but you’re someone I really love, our PD—.”

In the end, Seo Ho-jin couldn’t finish his sentence and pressed his lips firmly shut.
Watching him quietly, I shifted the mood and spoke the truth lightly.

“That’s right. You didn’t know, but I’m your older brother.”
“….”
“I’m your brother.”

An answer that evoked a famous science fiction film.
The moment I said it and saw Seo Ho-jin’s bewildered expression, I felt embarrassed and scratched my cheek.

‘It’s over.’

What I had longed for had finally come to pass.
Whether it was the right choice, I still wasn’t entirely sure.

“…Anyway, you idiot, it’s freezing out there. Almost like the North Pole. Why are you wandering around like this.”

I brushed away the snow accumulated on his crown and shoulders as if shaking off my complicated feelings, changing the subject, when a distorted utterance escaped through Seo Ho-jin’s clenched teeth.

“…Why are you only telling me this now?”

I raised one eyebrow slightly, catching sight of tear streaks on Seo Ho-jin’s cheeks before lowering it again.

“Why only now….”

At the same time, a wave of certainty crashed over me from afar, sweeping away the anxiety.
I understood that whatever words flowed from Seo Ho-jin now would become the answer to my choice.

“What really pisses me off is that I don’t even understand why I forgot. You should have taught me. You should have kept reminding me until I stopped acting like an idiot!”

Whether it was having to say goodbye to our parents at ten years old, or surviving hardship and adversity under a difficult older brother… even if such things were utterly useless for the life ahead of me.
The past was precious to Seo Ho-jin too.
Just as it was to me.

“I kept feeling something was off. I know exactly what expression you make when you’re struggling, but from some point on, whenever we met, you always had that look. I was the only one who didn’t know anything, acting like an idiot….”

At the sight of him—a face that could burst into tears at any moment, reminding me of young Seo Ho-jin—I reached up and brushed the damp strands of hair from his eyes, offering a small smile.

“Um… Hyung….”
“….”
“…I’m sorry I was a little late.”

I added the words I’d been hesitating to swallow.

“…For your birthday, I mean.”

Seo Ho-jin’s face crumpled, and tears finally spilled down his cheeks.
The boy who’d been holding back his sobs, unable even to lift his head, shoved hard against my chest.

“I’m annoyed….”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Hyung, you’re really the worst….”

Soon he buried his face against my shoulder, muttering apologies over and over.
But I wasn’t much of an adult myself, unable to find a wise way to accept it, so I simply whispered softly that I was wishing him a happy birthday.

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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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