The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 49

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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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49

“You little troublemaker.”
“Ahhhhh!”
“Angry red bean paste, just say it one more time for us, will you? ‘Don’t you dare lay a finger on my brothers!'”
“I never said that!”

Kim Sung-hyun and Kang Yi-chae continued to snicker and tease Jung Da-jun mercilessly. I spent a good while stroking Jung Da-jun’s head before finally making a show of stopping and getting the situation under control.

“Hey, you’re not going to press charges for assault, right? I couldn’t help myself. That’s enough.”
“It was self-defense. Besides, those guys have other things on their minds right now. But how did you get so good at throwing people like that?”
“I did judo as a hobby in middle school… Ugh, I regret it now.”

After the Today members fled with faces drained of all color as if they’d lost their minds, the filming location was quickly dismantled. We’d decided there was no point in continuing rehearsals.
The Manager rushed over, heard what happened, and made a fuss about going to the Hospital, but it might actually be Yoo Hyuk who needs medical attention.

“Did the camera catch that just now?”
“Oh, I’m curious too. If it did, I’ll watch it whenever I’m feeling down.”

I was in the middle of chatting with Sung Ji-won about trivial things.

“The live broadcast schedule won’t be delayed, right?”
“Who knows. The whole Program might fall apart.”
“Still, all the audience members are coming. We can’t cancel because of this. We’ll go on stage anyway.”

We stared blankly at each other. Sung Ji-won’s expression was oddly complex.

“What?”
“No, I just… you really pulled it off, didn’t you?”
“…”
“So it ends like this.”

Sung Ji-won’s expression seemed tinged with bitterness. He hadn’t expected the things that had tormented him all this time to crumble so easily, and it seemed he was experiencing a strange mixture of emotions.
Sung Ji-won lowered his long lashes and exhaled deeply before nodding.

“Thanks, Ho-yoon.”

I accepted his gratitude casually, hoping to brush past it without making a big deal. I didn’t want this incident to leave Sung Ji-won feeling indebted or burdened.
…But for some reason, an odd aftertaste lingered unpleasantly.

“…Should we practice?”
“Yeah.”

Sung Ji-won smiled deliberately, his expression bright.
Before I turned to leave, I glanced around the area.

‘Kim Hee-young PD….’

I wanted to ask Kim Hee-young PD about the program’s direction, but I decided to hold off for now. She was probably swamped dealing with the fallout from Today’s situation.
No point bothering someone who’s busy—I needed to handle my own affairs first.
I got in the van and checked the internet reactions. Hundreds of posts were flooding SNS in real time.

“Creepy as hell, Today is scary like I always said, lol the drug scandal, the photos spreading is really the end”
[Face reading!!!!!! I told you face reading!!!!!!!!!]
[This is so embarrassing seriously…]
[What about the assault?? Is there a video up?
└Search it on YouTube
└└(link)
Don’t press it above, it’s just a disgusting image lol – give me the Today video link instead.

I checked the real-time search rankings.

[Today]
[Today Yoo-hyuk]
[Yoo-hyuk]
[Shining Star]
[Today Members All Referred to Prosecution on Drug Charges (Breaking News)]

Referred to prosecution. At this point, it was safe to assume Today’s withdrawal from Shining Star was a done deal.
Next, I searched for The Dun. Compared to Today, which had completely exploded, there were only a few posts trickling in, but they were starting to appear.

[Title: The Dun Deserves Reevaluation

(Kim Sung-hyun frowning at Today screenshot)
(Today’s stage screenshot with “Do I really need to say anything…” caption)
(Seo Ho-yoon blatantly ignoring Yoo Hyuk’s greeting)

What devil’s editing lolololol it was apparently angel’s editing
So that’s why Kim Sung-hyun always frowns so hard and doesn’t greet Today

└lololol
└Is Kim Sung-hyun a drug dog? How the hell did he know? Even fans didn’t know
└└There’s a drug dog story
└Still, he’s a senior lol I think this is a bit much..
└└Better than building connections with drug users
└└Senior to a drug addict violent idol lololol are you Today fans crying?]

[Title: If Shining Star actually goes ahead, will The Dun come in first?

Seriously

└Is it that bad… But if all Today fans drop out, they’d probably come in first
└└School bully idol vs drug idol
└└lololol damn lololol what a battle of the century
└Isn’t the biggest concern whether the program continues at all?
└└Would they stop just because one group dropped out? The program’s still popular right now]

After seeing the community reactions, I grew angry on SNS.

[It pisses me off seeing clueless bastards reevaluate him but… still… I guess it’s something to be grateful for]
[Still, I’m glad that all of Seonghyun’s unfair feelings were revealedㅜㅜ]

I also checked the Shining Star YouTube where the video of Kim Sung-hyun and The Dun was uploaded. The popular comments hadn’t changed yet. When I switched to the latest comments, something caught my eye.

[Kim Sung-hyun school bully stop bringing it up~]
[It’s disgusting seeing The Dun fans stir up trouble thinking this is their chance, makes me want to puke]

The likes were quite substantial too. Hmm.

‘This is a bit concerning….’

Resting my chin on my hand, I scrolled through the comments with my finger and remembered the phone call with Kim Jae-yeon.

-School violence victim, but didn’t they study abroad?
-Huh?
-They went to Austria. We’re trying to track down their phone number there, but it’s proving difficult. They don’t seem to use SNS at all, and their email account has changed.

I’d thought we could resolve the school violence controversy quickly, but things had gotten complicated. According to the original plan, it would have been better to settle this before the Today scandal broke.
So everyone was smiling while naturally keeping an eye on Kim Sung-hyun.

‘The way Kim Sung-hyun cried while looking at that sticky note last time… it’s a bit concerning.’

How was I supposed to handle this?
As I sat there lost in thought, trying to organize my mind, the System Window chimed for the first time in a while.

[A Special Service Just for You!]

I felt uneasy. Strangely, I was far too uneasy.

[Check out the Item Shop!]

‘…The Item Shop.’

But the one who regrets loses. A new tab labeled [Special Service Item] had appeared in the previously empty Item Shop. I tapped on it.

[Lucky Polyhedral Dice
Roll the dice and the phone number you desire will appear!
Uses: 1
Note: The item disappears immediately upon rolling.]

“Oh…”

Why was the System Window helping me out? Wait, how much does this cost?

[Points Required: 2,000]
[Points Available: 1,000]

I sat there for a moment, then opened the Quest window again, which was blinking as if asking me to notice it from the side.

[Aegyo is Essential for Idols!
Aegyo is absolutely essential for idols.
Practice aegyo and raise your proficiency level.
Current Aegyo Proficiency: 0%
Reward 1,000 Points upon reaching 30% Proficiency]

“….”

The System Window wasn’t trying to help me—it was mocking me!
I trembled. I looked back at the internet comments, then at the Quest window, then at Kim Sung-hyun.

“What?”

Kim Sung-hyun asked, bewildered. At the same moment, the image of him pulling his hat low and bowing his head in front of the billboard flashed through my mind.

“…Sigh.”

I clenched my teeth.

***

“Huh? Ho-yoon, want to practice a bit more?”
“Yeah. You guys head in first.”
“Hyung, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

Jung Da-jun spoke with concern. I waved my hand dismissively.

“Just a little more. Go rest first.”
“…Okay. Text me if anything comes up.”

With Kim Sung-hyun bringing up the rear, the members of The Dun filed out of the Practice Room.

‘They’re all gone.’

I checked multiple times, peering in and out of the Practice Room to make absolutely sure everyone had left.
Two in the morning….
Yes, the perfect time to lose your mind.
I searched for aegyo on YouTube.

[Pwooing, pwooing~!]
[Me, koong-kko-tto ki-sing koong-kko-tto!]

After watching the video, I took a deep breath and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
Right, aegyo. Aegyo’s good.
It was essential for idols, and whenever fans asked for it, I had to deliver. I couldn’t show them a rotten expression in those moments. If the fans wanted it, I had to give it to them.
I looked at the mirror and brought my fist up beside my face.

“Pwooing… pwooing.”

‘Damn it!’

[Aegyo proficiency has increased by 1%.]
[Current aegyo proficiency is 1%.]

Without thinking, I punched the mirror.
No, I can do this. I can do this. I’m capable of doing this.
I repeated the incantation of victory several times over, practicing my aegyo again and again.

“Koong-kko-tto… ki-sing koong… ah, shit.”

Now curses were spilling out. The proficiency had stopped increasing.
I rolled around on the Practice Room floor by myself. When I watched others do it, I didn’t think anything of it, but trying it myself felt like I was going insane.

“How do they all do it? Is it natural talent? Do you have to be born that way?”

I exhaled deeply. It was nothing. Everyone else did it anyway, so what would change if I did it too?
I brainwashed myself several times over, then jumped up and practiced again.

“Save it in my heart! Save it!”

[Aegyo proficiency has increased by 1%.]
[Current aegyo proficiency is 2%.]

Once I abandoned my conscience, things felt a bit easier. After digging through the internet for a while and getting past the initial hurdle, it seemed doable.
It was fine when others did it, so why did it feel so repulsive when I did it? I urgently needed to reevaluate Yoo Hyuk, who had pulled off aegyo in front of the camera with such flair.

‘Seo Ho-yoon, get it together.’

Convincing myself that the repulsive reflection staring back at me in the mirror was just another version of myself made things slightly more bearable.

‘I can do this. This is nothing.’

[Current Aegyo Proficiency: 28%]

After all this ridiculous effort, I was finally approaching 30%.

“You’re… so… cute… Shim… ga… cae… Shim… ga… cae.”

At this rate, aegyo would spill out the moment someone poked me.
I’m an aegyo machine. Just a little more of this and I’ll hit 30%…!

“I’m… so… pretty! Mi… a… nae… Mi… a… nae.”

[Current Aegyo Proficiency: 29%!]

I was in the middle of practice when something felt off.
More than just cold—a chill ran down my spine.
The moment I spun around, I froze.

“….”
“….”
“Um….”

It was Kang Yi-chae.
Kang Yi-chae was standing motionless in front of the Practice Room door.
When our eyes met, that shameless Kang Yi-chae wore an awkward smile for the first time.

“Um, you weren’t answering your phone, so I came to tell you about Shining Star.”
“….”
“You dropped out of Today, but Shining Star Pro continues. The live broadcast will go on as scheduled.”
“…Right. That’s good news.”
“Yeah. PD Kim Hee-young was looking for you.”
“Got it. I’ll call her.”

Even after he’d said everything, Kang Yi-chae lingered, glancing at me while scratching his head.
Since he usually grinned and teased constantly, I almost wished he’d laugh and mock me instead—at least then I wouldn’t feel so embarrassed. But his eyes held a pitying look.

“…Uh, Hyung, yeah.”
“….”
“Hang in there.”

With those final words, Kang Yi-chae slipped out of the room.
My soul seemed to scatter into pieces as I collapsed onto the floor.

‘My life….’

***

[Current Aegyo Proficiency: 30%!]
[Quest Complete!
Aegyo is essential for an idol, after all!
I was so embarrassed I nearly punched a wall!]
[1,000 points awarded.]

Barely—just barely—I’d scraped together 30 percent proficiency, and I spotted the Lucky Dice in the item shop.
I nearly shed tears of genuine relief, but I held them back. Never again. I would never do this again, no matter what.

“Hyun-sung… your brother is going this far for you.”

[Purchasing Lucky Dice.]
[Consuming 2,000 points.]

Muttering to myself, I purchased the dice. Light poured forth, and a nine-sided polyhedral die tumbled into my clenched palm.

“So I need to roll it eleven times?”

[Austrian phone numbers are ten digits!]

“Right. Thanks, you bastard….”

With a hollow feeling, I rolled. Sixes came up consecutively, and I jotted down each number.
How many rolls had that been? Without time to think, I rolled the dice one final time and it vanished. I scribbled down the last digit, jumped to my feet, and frantically punched the numbers into my phone. Wait—it’s an international call, so…. After entering the Austria country code, a long dial tone followed.
She filled in the last digit and sprang up, jabbing at her phone to make the call. Wait, it’s an international number… As she entered Austria’s international dialing code, a long dial tone followed.

Take it, take it.

I’m going through all this trouble, so you better pick up. Soon enough, I heard a click.

[Hello?]
“….”
[Hello, Hwang speaking.]
“Hwang Jung-gyu.”

I let out a sigh. Through the receiver, I could feel the other person taking a breath.

“Hello, this is Seo Ho-yoon, an acquaintance of Hyun-sung’s. Do you have a moment to spare?”

Whether you do or not, damn it.

—————
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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