The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 42

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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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42

“What do you mean?”
“Have you ever worried about your team members? Like, what if something bad happens to them?”
“I don’t know. I’m the troublemaker of the group, so….”

I understood what he meant. Joo Woo-sung was the type who could cause a massive scandal the moment he got involved in a relationship.
Joo Woo-sung folded his arms and pondered for a moment.

“The guys are all good people, so nothing like that has happened. Oh, but there was one kid who shouted about doing a musical once and completely bombed it. He came and drank cheap soju until he passed out.”
“You didn’t stop him?”
“I didn’t. I thought he’d do well enough. Besides, if I’d stopped him from the start, it would’ve just deflated his spirit. At least he took on a challenge.”
“Isn’t success more important than that?”
“You can’t succeed without that kind of spirit. If you’re too scared to try, opportunities slip away.”

Joo Woo-sung was speaking like a true senior for once. I thought he’d be more pragmatic than this. It wasn’t easy for someone at his level to talk about challenge itself.
As I listened, I tapped my fingers on the desk.

“So you’re saying trust is what matters.”
“We’re all in the same boat, after all.”

Joo Woo-sung murmured.

“But why? Is something wrong?”
“I heard about Kim Sung-hyun’s school violence allegations.”
“…Really?”
“I’m not sure if it’s true.”

When I spoke candidly, Joo Woo-sung rolled his eyes awkwardly.

“Sorry, I don’t really have anything to say about that. It’s too sensitive an issue.”
“It’s okay.”
“We’ve had similar controversies in our team too. Smoking and stuff…. But it was fabricated.”

Joo Woo-sung sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

“Seo Ho-yoon, once you work here, you’ll understand—there’s really no end to the chaos. You’ll wonder why people hate you so much. The higher you climb, the more people will do anything to drag you back down.”
“….”
“Sometimes smoke rises from a chimney that’s never been lit. So… don’t act rashly.”

Joo Woo-sung chose his words carefully. It was something he shouldn’t say, and the sensitivity of the issue made him cautious.
I slowly turned over his words in my mind.
This was the most serious I’d ever seen him since I’d known Joo Woo-sung.

“At least trust me once. No matter what anyone says, he’s in the same boat as you.”
“….”

He was right. I accepted his advice as it was.
The moment I gathered my scattered thoughts and stood up, I suddenly froze.

Ding!

[Surprise twist!
Oops, mistake!! >//<
Kim Sung-hyun's school violence controversy has erupted faster than expected.
Issue a statement to prevent the scandal from spreading.
Prevent Kim Sung-hyun scandal 0/1
Success: Main scenario progresses
Failure: If not resolved before Shining Star ends, The Dun's reputation drops significantly]

The crisis had arrived.

***

As my expression hardened, Joo Woo-sung sensed the shift and turned back. I rushed to the Practice Room where the others had already caught wind of the situation, their faces cold. I snatched the phone from Kim Sung-hyun's hands as he stared blankly at the screen.
We rushed to the Practice Room. The guys who had already caught wind of what happened had turned cold. I snatched the phone away from Kim Sung-hyun, who was staring blankly at it.

"Wait."

The site floating on my phone was some kind of community website. I slowly scrolled through the titles.

Title: I'm Reporting Kim Sung-hyun from The Dun for School Violence

Hello. I'm reporting Kim Sung-hyun from The Dun for school violence.
I'm from XX High School, the same school Kim Sung-hyun attended.
I tried to forget about it, but when I saw Kim Sung-hyun brazenly appearing on television again, I couldn't hold back and decided to post this.
Kim Sung-hyun and I were in the same class. He relentlessly bullied our classmate Hwang Mo. He extorted money, hurled insults, and occasionally committed assault. Everyone was too afraid of him to stop it.
One day, when he attempted to extort money from Hwang Mo and Hwang Mo refused, he assaulted him. Hwang Mo was diagnosed with a two-week injury. Kim Sung-hyun showed no remorse and left school, but ultimately received a suspension due to the victim's testimony. A month later, he withdrew from school.
High school verification is attached below.
I cannot forgive Kim Sung-hyun for appearing on television and acting so brazenly as if nothing ever happened.]

"Huh."

I scrolled down quickly through the post. There was a high school yearbook, but no other verification. The post was full of vague language, and the author wasn't even a direct victim.
The only thing that caught my attention was that Kim Sung-hyun had received a suspension based on the victim's testimony.

"Hyung."
"Hey, wait a second…."

Kim Sung-hyun looked ashen. I deliberately didn't return his phone and grabbed him, demanding answers.

"Kim Sung-hyun. Tell me everything about high school."

Everyone stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Kim Sung-hyun's eyes narrowed.

"What?"
"First, tell me if it's true or not. That way I can figure out what countermeasures to take."

Everyone's mouths fell open at my blunt words.

"Hyung, what are you saying?"
"Ho-yoon, are you doubting Sung-hyun right now?"

They all looked at me as if I were sick.
Kim Sung-hyun must have lived well. No one else would even think such a thing.
Kim Sung-hyun's face had gone beyond pale—it was turning blue.

"Tell me quickly. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't believe you."
"…."
"The incident is already out there anyway."
"Hyung!"

Jung Da-jun's already large eyes widened even further.

"Hyung, I… I don't think that's possible. There's no way you'd do something like that."

Kim Sung-hyun let out a hollow laugh, and I watched him with my arms crossed. Sung Ji-won calmed down the excited Jung Da-jun.

"Let's just listen to what he has to say first."

Sung Ji-won and the others had known Kim Sung-hyun for roughly two to three years. But because we practiced together every day and lived closer than anyone else, trust inevitably tilted in one direction.
Kim Sung-hyun sighed and pressed his forehead.

"…No."
"…"
"What's written there. It's really not true. I swear I've never bullied anyone. Not extortion, not assault."

I tried to gauge whether he was being sincere. Out of habit.
In that moment, Joo Woo-sung's words echoed in my mind.
That we were a team, and no matter what, we were all in the same boat, so I had to trust him.

"What about the suspension?"
"…That part is true."
"That doesn't add up."
"Ho-yoon."

Sung Ji-won carefully stopped me. I was already formulating a strategy in my head.

"Soon the Manager and the CEO will be involved in this conversation too. By then, we need to have everything sorted out. So tell me honestly, exactly as it happened. If there's even a shred of a lie mixed in, I can't help you."
"…Seo Ho-yoon."

Kim Sung-hyun pressed his brow as if a headache was coming on. Then he sighed again and slumped down.

"Yeah, my story doesn't add up, does it? No assault, but a suspension anyway. It doesn't make sense."

Kim Sung-hyun muttered dejectedly.

"But it's not like that. How could I do that to him?"

To him?

"The one listed as the victim here was my friend."

Kim Sung-hyun looked bitter.
His lips trembled several times before, as if steeling himself, he finally began speaking slowly.

"I might have thought I was close to him alone, but at minimum we were… on decent terms, having conversations. Suddenly he got photographed and started getting bullied. I was so scared I just stood by and did nothing. One day I saw him getting beaten in the alley next to school, so I ran over. I called the police and helped him."

From now on, I listen to what Kim Sung-hyun says believing it's one hundred percent sincere. That was my maximum compromise.
I fit the full story of Kim Sung-hyun's incident into my head in chronological order.

"But the moment the police arrived, the kids who were bullying him smiled and said I was the one who hit him. Even my friend, the victim, couldn't withstand that pressure and pointed me out as the perpetrator. I ended up getting suspended, and after that incident, my hands would shake every time I went to school. So I dropped out. Besides, my family didn't have the money to send me to university anyway…."
"…."
"So I wasted away like a shell of a person, then started dancing again, worked a lot of part-time jobs, …even tried being an idol."

Kim Sung-hyun laughed hollowly.

"That's how it happened."

[Quest Success!
'Learn about Kim Sung-hyun's past.'
Kim Sung-hyun's Trust (Very) Slightly Increased, Main Scenario Progresses]

This was the first time I felt unsettled even after a Quest Success appeared.
Then, Jung Da-jun suddenly burst into tears.

"Hyung."
"Why, why are you like this?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't even know that…. I'm always whining to you, ugh."
"Hey, hey. Don't cry. Stop it."

Kim Sung-hyun, flustered, threw the jacket that had been rolling around to Jung Da-jun. Jung Da-jun caught it and wiped his tears that flowed like a faucet, then blew his nose into it. Kim Sung-hyun's expression darkened.

"Hey, why are you blowing your nose into it?"
"My nose is stuffy and it's hard to breathe…."
"But into my jacket?"
"No, I, ugh. When I make a lot of money, I'll buy you something nice."

Jung Da-jun continued to mutter, his eyes still glistening with tears. The atmosphere had lightened considerably. Sung Ji-won carefully patted Kim Sung-hyun on the back.

"You've worked hard."
"…."
"Brother, you really went through a lot."

Kang Yi-chae followed up with his own words of comfort for Kim Sung-hyun. Kim Sung-hyun fell silent, his nose stinging.
While he sat there with his head bowed, bearing it alone, I committed every detail of the incident to memory.

"This… we'll need to issue a statement."
"Kim Sung-hyun, can you reach that friend?"

When I asked casually, Kim Sung-hyun shook his head.

"There's been no contact since he dropped out."
"Then were there any witnesses at the time of the incident?"
"That too… as far as I know, there weren't any."

Kim Sung-hyun spoke dejectedly.
The post that just came out versus the best explanation Kim Sung-hyun could offer right now.
I weighed which would have more impact. The calculation was complete.

"Then let's not issue a statement right now."
"What?!"

Jung Da-jun shot up from his seat.

"Brother, that won't work. Do you know how much people are misunderstanding right now? Kim Sung-hyun is such a good person—we need to clear this up quickly."
"Doing it now will backfire."
"…I agree with that."

Sung Ji-won, who had been quiet, spoke up. He looked apologetic toward Kim Sung-hyun.

"If we say we can't even reach the victim right now, there's nothing we can do."
"Sung Ji-won's right. Even if we vaguely deny it, it won't be a proper explanation—it'll only strengthen the backlash."
"What if we handle damage control now and explain later?"
"No, then people will forget. We'll just keep getting branded with school violence accusations."

I turned the problem over in my mind. The Manager would be bursting through the practice room door any moment now. I grabbed Kim Sung-hyun's shoulder.

"Kim Sung-hyun."
"…Yeah."
"I trust you."

Kim Sung-hyun's eyes wavered.

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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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