The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 5

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

05

Blue Tiger, real name Lim Hyun-sung.
A compositional prodigy with solid fundamentals who keeps pace with trends, and recently she’d even ventured into songwriting—her tasteful lyrics only elevating her reputation further.
A walking guarantee of commercial success, her bank account swelling steadily with each project… but none of that mattered right now.

‘What the hell does any of that matter?’

She was in a foul mood.
She was already composing the next comeback title track for White Cherry, the top girl group dominating not just Korea but the United States as well.
But she couldn’t find a bass line that satisfied her, so she kept scrapping everything and starting over.
Whenever this happened, Lim Hyun-sung became hypersensitive, and the studio staff had learned to keep their distance.
So why, today of all days—

“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to let outsiders in?”

Yet here was an outsider, brazenly sitting inside the studio!
The staff member trembled as he glanced at the man lounging in the Studio Lobby. The guy, who looked to be in his early twenties at most, had an intensity about him that rivaled Lim Hyun-sung’s own sharp demeanor.
He was handsome enough to pass for an entertainer, but no matter how hard the staff member racked his brain, he couldn’t recall ever seeing him on television.

“Hello. I’m Seo Ho-yoon.”
“Who?”
“Seo Ho-yoon.”

The man greeted her with shameless composure and a smile. The staff member shuddered.
Never heard of him. Lim Hyun-sung regarded him with icy indifference, then turned toward the staff member.

“Get him out.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Wait, let’s talk for a moment.”

Where was she going? I called out to Lim Hyun-sung as she turned away, stopping her in her tracks. She looked back at me with irritation.

“Excuse me, I’m not sure who you are, but I’m quite busy right now.”
“Yes, I understand. That’s why I won’t take up much of your time.”
“But I don’t have even that much time.”

Lim Hyun-sung’s temperament hadn’t mellowed one bit. I gazed at the system window hovering above her.

[Lim Hyun-sung, genius composer.
Occasionally also handles lyricwriting.
Note: Her personality is extremely, extremely, extremely vile.]

I know, I do too. I’d worked with Lim Hyun-sung several times before—how could I not know that? I’d been cursed out more than once, right to her face, for doing sloppy work.
Watching her shudder with distaste as she looked me up and down, it seemed she truly didn’t remember me. The reality of it struck me anew—I really had entered the game. With that realization, I extended the shopping bag I’d brought.

“What is this?”

The sudden appearance of the shopping bag caught Lim Hyun-sung off guard. I seized the moment.

“Composer, I heard you’re fond of this particular Hokkaido sake. I made inquiries and managed to procure it for you.”
“Huh? This…. It’s hard to find domestically.”

Hyun-sung withdrew the sake from the shopping bag and turned it over in her hands. Her flushed face made it clear she was delighted, even if she didn’t voice it aloud.
Good, that’s how it should be. It was difficult to obtain.
Hyun-sung accepted the gift readily enough, though she remained wary—as if wondering what I might ask of her in return.

“Why are you giving me this?”
“Composer, I came to see you rather abruptly and without proper notice…. I felt obliged to bring at least something small.”
“Hmm.”

I smiled smoothly, greasing the wheels as I always did. My usual sales approach. Perhaps my flattery had some effect, because Lim Hyun-sung hesitated, glanced at the sake, and then settled into a chair in the lobby.

“It must have been trouble finding this. It would be rude of me to turn you away like this. I can spare about five minutes.”
“Thank you so much.”

Perfect. Half the battle was won.

“So why did you seek me out? That is to say….”
“I’m Seo Ho-yoon.”
“Right, Seo Ho-yoon. What do you do?”

Yeah, I knew this question was coming.

“I’m an idol. Currently preparing for a comeback.”

Lim Hyun-sung laughed.

“Right, an idol….”

Her gaze, which had been cautious about who I was, carried a subtle mockery. She’d encountered more than one person who’d appeared so suddenly like this.
Lim Hyun-sung was a box office guarantee. There were countless idols desperate to grab even the hem of her pants.

“Seo Ho-yoon? I’ve never heard of you.”
“I’m from Dae Pa-sung Planning, an Actor Management Entertainment Agency, so we haven’t pushed much into the idol market yet. It’s only natural that you haven’t heard of me, composer.”
“I see, you must be working hard.”

But even as she said it, Lim Hyun-sung was already dismissing me. She slowly crossed her legs and looked at me.

“So why did you come looking for me?”

Anyway, I appreciated that Lim Hyun-sung got straight to the point.
I smiled.

“I came to ask you to write a song for me.”
“Ha ha ha!”

Lim Hyun-sung laughed. It was a reaction I’d anticipated. I waited quietly for her laughter to subside.

“My, idols these days are something else. Not going through a manager or the Entertainment Agency, but coming straight at me like this….”
“Isn’t that proof that your compositions are that attractive, composer?”
“Listen, Seo Ho-yoon. I understand what kind of delusions are running through your head. Do you really think that if you just cling to one thing with sheer audacity, something will work out? You’re not the only one who comes at me like this.”

I listened quietly to her words. Lim Hyun-sung stood up, flicking her nails as if to say it was a waste of time.

“You’ve watched too many dramas. I’m leaving now.”

This much I’d anticipated. But what comes next, even Lim Hyun-sung won’t be able to predict.

“Want to grab a drink?”
“What? With me?”
“No. It’s the composer’s song title.”

I hadn’t suddenly lost my mind and asked Lim Hyun-sung out for drinks.
“Want to Grab a Drink” was a song Lim Hyun-sung had released a year ago that dominated the charts. For Lim Hyun-sung, it featured an unremarkable beat and straightforward melodic progression, yet it claimed the top spot, earning her the familiar praise of being a composition genius.
But that wasn’t the reality.

“Let’s Go to the Moon.”
“That… why would you…?”
“Between You and Me, Let’s Stop Now, Be the Monster, and so on…”

I continued reciting. Anyone hearing this for the first time would be confused. And unless it was Lim Hyun-sung and me, there was no way anyone could understand what I was saying.
But Lim Hyun-sung’s complexion was growing increasingly pale.

“These songs share three things in common. First, they’re all Blue Tiger and composer Lim Hyun-sung’s work. Second, they all dominated the charts up to fifth place.”

And I raised my third finger.

“And finally, they’re all stream manipulation.”
“W-what are you talking about?”

Damn it, Lim Hyun-sung was trying to back away.
But I wasn’t about to let her slip away.

“Tch, seriously, coming out of nowhere with this nonsense…”

I pulled out my tablet. Fortunately, separate from the save file I’d lost, I still had the remaining data. I slid it across with a smile.

“Bank transaction records between the artist—or their affiliated Entertainment Agency—and the stream manipulation broker. Oh, and look at that. There are even some direct transactions with the composer here.”

Lim Hyun-sung accepted it with trembling hands. Then she immediately clenched her teeth.

“How do you have this?”

Lim Hyun-sung asked quietly. It was almost an admission.

“Ah, does that really matter?”
“Ha… haha. You’re something else, aren’t you? Do you have a journalist in your family or something?”

Lim Hyun-sung’s lips trembled as she pulled one corner of her mouth upward. Her spirit remained unbroken. She glared at me for a long moment.

“Why did you engage in chart manipulation when your skills are so good?”
“…And?”

Well, well.

“And what do you want me to do about it?”
“….”
“I got caught up in this mess by sheer bad luck.”

Oh, she’s coming in harder than I expected. I rested my chin on my hand and studied her.

“I’ll give you credit for having some nerve. I don’t know how you found out about this, but chart manipulation? I don’t even know how that works, and even if it were true, it wouldn’t be such a devastating blow to me.”

She brazenly lifted her chin.

“How many singers engage in chart manipulation and still shamelessly debut? Why would I be the problem?”

She had a point. Lim Hyun-sung glanced around to see if I was recording. When she realized I wasn’t, she waved her hand dismissively.

“Just leave. Don’t make this more troublesome.”
“What if I want to make it more troublesome?”
“What?

Let’s hear the rest of what you have to say in Korean.

“Do you really think I came here with just that one thing?”

Lim Hyun-sung froze at my words.

“Swipe through the tablet screen.”
“….”
“Go on.”

I flashed her a friendly smile and gestured toward her. Lim Hyun-sung trembled, but curiosity got the better of her, and she handed over the tablet. A song began to play from it.
Last year’s chart-topper—a male idol’s song that had dominated the rankings. Composed by Blue Tiger.

“It really is a well-crafted song, isn’t it?”

With just that one remark, Lim Hyun-sung slammed the tablet against the edge of the desk. She’d swung it with such force that the screen shattered, and in an instant it looked like some worthless piece of junk discarded a decade ago. This woman had no concept of money.

“My tablet.”
“You… you… damn it…. This….”

Lim Hyun-sung’s face drained of color. I gazed at her with delighted amusement.

“How do you even have this?!”

The song that had played from the tablet earlier wasn’t a Blue Tiger composition.

“It was composed by a guitarist from an Unnamed Indie Band.”

That’s right.
Lim Hyun-sung had plagiarized.

“You… you…!”
“You’ve met that composer several times at drinking gatherings. Was it Hapjeong? You met two or three times at that Izakaya there and even received a USB from them.”

As I spoke as though I’d been present at those very moments, Lim Hyun-sung trembled as if seeing a ghost.

“The bulk buying scheme—that could pass off as nothing, as something you got caught up in by accident.”
“….”
“But plagiarism? The moment this gets out into the world, unless people are tone-deaf, they’ll recognize it immediately. Then everyone will say it.”
“P-please stop.”

I clapped my hands together.

“Ah, so Blue Tiger plagiarized!”

Lim Hyun-sung looked ready to strangle me on the spot.
Ah, how satisfying.
I never imagined that working as an assistant director on that investigative program about bulk buying would come back to reward me like this. How fortunate that I’d taken on that role. And how fortunate that Lim Hyun-sung is still alive in my present reality!

[Are you trash?]

‘Don’t ruin the mood.’

This is the opportunity the heavens have mercifully sent me—to blackmail Lim Hyun-sung, who stands trembling before me, knowing nothing of what’s to come.

[But the person who was plagiarized—there’s someone else, isn’t there?]

Sorry, but I’m in a hurry too.

I lowered my eyebrows as if genuinely sympathetic. I deliberately chose only words that would needle Lim Hyun-sung gently.

“What can we do? Our composer here. You’re working on White Cherry tracks right now, aren’t you? And you’ve got a few ballad pieces in the works too…. If plagiarism allegations surface, you’ll have to pay quite a hefty penalty.”

So, what kind of reaction would she show?
Would she yell at me to get out immediately? Or would she bluff and tell me to try? Or would she strangle my neck?
Either way, it doesn’t matter. Though the last one does scare me a bit, so I should call the police.
No, I knew Lim Hyun-sung well.
Just as she had done, I flicked my fingernails tick-tick and asked in a soft, drawling voice.

“You’ve gone quiet all of a sudden….”

Three,

“Should I head out now?”

Two,

“You must be terribly busy.”

One.

The moment I was about to stand, Lim Hyun-sung grabbed my arm.

“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“What do you want?”

Ah, this is why I liked Lim Hyun-sung.
How quickly she adapted to reality. I grinned.

“Tsk. Composer, you’re trying to get everything handed to you. Do I really have to spoon-feed you the answer?”
“….”
“You need to think it through yourself. Understood?”

Ding!

[Seo Ho-yoon, are you a demon?]

The broken tablet irritated me enough to make me bounce back once.

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