The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 67

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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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67

Of course, my momentary sulk dissolved just as quickly.
Either way, placing first was always a good thing.
While the next team’s preliminaries were underway, I spoke to Kang Yi-chae as he returned to his seat.

“Kang Yi-chae, we’re all counting on you.”
“Come on, I saw you mocking us the whole time.”

Kang Yi-chae, eager to escape the servile position he’d been stuck in, seized the opportunity to be sarcastic.
Then, watching White Cherry’s semifinal match unfold, he seemed to grow slightly tense.

“White Cherry seniors… they’re really good.”
“Are they?”
“Those are people playing at the highest level. Especially the leader’s shot-calling—it’s extraordinary.”

He muttered seriously, then immediately called over Sung Ji-won and Jung Da-jun to huddle and discuss something.

“That won’t work. We don’t have previous data on them, so it’s hard to analyze.”
“No, I just watched them play, and Cherry senior—”

Sure, sure, do your best. Either way, I won’t understand it anyway. Refined, who’d been soundly defeated earlier, was enthusiastically waving their slogan with the sentiment of “At least let one of us win the championship.”

[White Cherry~!! White Cherry advances to the finals!]
[Wow! That was clean, they handled it cleanly!]
[White Cherry, have they always been this good at the game! Why haven’t they shown this level of skill until now! I really wish they’d start a YouTube channel~!!]

Joo Woo-sung quietly testified from beside me.

“That makes sense. Whenever they’re frustrated, they’re always playing that game.”
“Really? Does it relieve stress?”
“It just stressed them out more.”

Joo Woo-sung clicked his tongue, saying that those guys played that game no matter what—whether they were happy, annoyed, angry, sad, snowing, or raining.
An extraordinary energy emanated from them.

I thought first place was a given, but there are more variables than I expected. As White Cherry’s match ended, Kang Yi-chae took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and nodded as if he’d made a decision.

“Let’s go.”
“Let’s do this.”

Flutter.
With their slogan billowing from their shoulders, they departed with solemn determination.

“Admirable and yet… pathetic.”

Kim Sung-hyun beside me captured the feeling perfectly.

[White Cherry’s ranks are mostly gems, gems!]
[The Blue Tiger team isn’t falling behind either.]

The Dun and White Cherry exchanged courteous greetings facing each other before taking their seats.

[They’re not losing when it comes to greetings!]
[It’s psychological warfare, psychological warfare~!]

All the members found their places.
White Cherry was over there, yet Joo Woo-sung seemed unbothered and kept poking me.

“I want ice cream too.”

So this is the mental fortitude required to date half a team. I casually pointed out where the broadcasting staff member was handing out ice cream, while the commentators were already tearing into popcorn, clearly excited before the match even started.

[Players Sung Ji-won and Kang Yi-chae have the exact same picks as the last preliminary match! Why the same picks?]
[It seems Sung Ji-won didn’t have enough practice time, so he chose the champion he’s most confident with.]
[That’s unfortunate—it’s no different from already revealing their strategy….]
[Oh, here comes White Cherry! Their picks are also a bit disappointing! The Blue Tiger team’s pick is a counter champion! Why?? Why did they do that?]

Han Chae-ri from White Cherry let out a small laugh at the commentators’ words.

[Ah, there’s a laugh here, they’re laughing!]
[Could it be they’re confident in their mechanics!]

“Unnie, what should we do here?”
=Let me see once.
“The usual way.”
=Kill them.

‘This could get a bit dangerous….’

The match unfolded at a breakneck pace. The look of skepticism that had been etched across the commentators’ faces long ago had vanished entirely. They were on their feet, voices trembling with excitement.

[Ahhh! The stun right there! They’re landing the stun! But White Cherry’s Woo Bin adjusted his angle!]
[Wow, that was so close! But he dodged that one too!]
[This match is incredibly tight!]

“They’re pretty good….”

Woo Bin, the bottom lane player for White Cherry, muttered under his breath. He’d chosen words that wouldn’t stir controversy on camera, yet his tone carried an unsettling edge. Whether the commentators noticed or not, they were absolutely electrified.

[Not the bottom lane, no? Ah, the mid lane, the mid lane is getting pushed back! We thought the counter champion would hold, but Nightmare’s Young-gun is being pressured right now!]
[Wahhh! The skill combos are dazzling, absolutely dazzling! They grabbed the player with a hook and pulled them toward the turret! Securing the kill!]
[We simply cannot stop ‘White Cherry’s Cherry’!]
[Are they backing off here? No, they’re not! They’re pushing forward aggressively all the way to the enemy turret and diving in! Wow! Relentless!]

“Ugh, Yi-chae, I’m sorry!”
“Young-gun, it’s fine. I’ll cover.”

Kang Yi-chae, who had already abandoned his composed facade, answered calmly while his fingers danced across the keyboard with dazzling precision. That’s when the gank came from Jung Da-jun’s direction.
Three versus two. Even seeing it coming, Woo Bin of White Cherry tried to retreat steadily. But Sung Ji-won was faster.

[Auto-attack, skill, auto-attack, auto-attack, skill! The fundamentals are solid, but the raw mechanics are on another level! This is pure talent, pure talent!]
[Meanwhile, White Cherry shows veteran composure. They trade smoothly and pull back. The two bottom lane players, without even a signal, immediately retreat and funnel toward the turret! That’s a play you can’t execute without absolute trust!]
[But Jung Da-jun! Rolling the snowball, rolling it! It connects!]
[Kang Yi-chae! Striking the lute and unleashing the ultimate, ah, it lands! Sung Ji-won is diving! Double kill!!]

While Kang Yi-chae teleported back after swinging the lute, I quickly purchased items from the shop and checked the minimap again.

“Dragon.”

[Kang Yi-chae! Very cool, just one word!]
[Sung Ji-won immediately rushes out!]

In that gap, I caught sight of a White Cherry member in the middle of taking down the boss monster.

[White Cherry’s leader! Liz, the player who shined brightest in the preliminaries!]

The commentators spoke with conviction. As the opposing team’s player approached, Liz didn’t back away and continued to finish off the dragon, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Kang Yi-chae, who had been frowning moments before, widened his eyes in surprise.

“Wait. This is…!”

[Oh no, is Liz about to die here!]
[No! No! Liz activates the Sauna Clock with just one health bar remaining!!]

“What’s that?”
“An invincibility item. It blocks all damage.”

Kim Sung-hyun answered helpfully.
Liz’s character activated the item and blocked every attack. Sung Ji-won glanced at the minimap and tried to retreat quickly, but other White Cherry members who had descended from above had already surrounded the area.

[Liz survives using the Sauna Clock item and falls back! Immediately begins healing! Now the incredibly fed Cherry charges in and launches four enemies into the air! Simultaneously, ADC Woo Bin activates his skill! It connects perfectly!]
[An incredible combo!]

White Cherry was…
Masters of teamfights.
I mean, they spend twenty-four hours together, constantly getting criticized and practicing choreography side by side—of course they’d be in sync. But that coordination was absolutely insane.

[Nightmare’s Young-gun arrives late, but gets caught anyway! A five-versus-five teamfight! Kang Yi-chae lands his ultimate on four enemies, four of them! The positioning is absolutely beautiful!]

“Kang Yi-chae is playing so well!”

Even though I didn’t fully understand what was being said, I could still see a path to victory, so I clenched my fists desperately.
As the melody unfolded beautifully and held everything together, Sung Ji-won immediately executed the follow-up combo.
But there was one critical flaw—Sung Ji-won’s character was running dangerously low on health.

[Jung Da-jun charges in, but wait, White Cherry’s Cherry right next to him attacks Jung Da-jun! Kill! Gets the kill! With just one health bar remaining, the freed Woo Bin fires his ultimate!! The Blue Tiger team is completely wiped out!]

After that, it was brutal.

[Shutdown! Double kill! Triple kill—no, PENTAKILL!]
[I can’t believe we’re witnessing a pentakill here! Wow! Cherry’s movement is insane, absolutely insane!]
[Blue Tiger fought incredibly well, but the problem was that White Cherry’s players were simply on another level! Liz survived by using the eternal item, and Cherry dodged the stun and fired her ultimate! We’ve got an instant classic moment, folks!]

The commentators went wild witnessing a scene rarely seen even in professional matches.
After that, White Cherry abandoned any attempt at recovery and took the dragon as it was. By the time Blue Tiger belatedly came back to life and rushed over, it was already over.

“Brother, I’m sorry!”
“No, it’s still okay.”

[Kang Yi-chae’s mental fortitude is outstanding! Even seeing the end approaching, he doesn’t give up! He even supports Sung Ji-won while securing two kills against White Cherry!]
[The Dun’s Sung Ji-won—double kill!]
[Sung Ji-won, Sung Ji-won!]

Rat-a-tat-tat.
Click-clack-click-clack.

Judging by sound alone, it was indistinguishable from a professional match.

[Can they turn this around here? Actually, the turrets are destroyed at similar rates right now! Ah, but Refined secures a kill!]
[The inhibitor was destroyed earlier, so super minions are coming! It’s breaking, it’s breaking down!]

In the end, White Cherry pushed forward relentlessly and the inhibitor exploded. Sung Ji-won pushed until the very end, but it wasn’t enough.

[White Cherry vi~~~ctory!!!]

“Ugh.”

Sung Ji-won let out an awkward laugh.
White Cherry stood up, ripped off their headsets, and cheered while embracing each other. Though they’d started relaxed, it had been such an intense match that the thrill of victory was overwhelming them.

[White Cherry takes first place~!! Gold medal~!!]
[Blue Tiger, unfortunately, finishes in second place!]
[Wow, that was so much fun! Especially that team fight in the finals we just witnessed—the back-and-forth was something you rarely see even in actual matches! It was twist after twist after twist!]

“….”

Kang Yi-chae stared blankly at the monitor before splashing his face with his hands. I thought he was slipping back into character, but he looked genuinely sad.
Suddenly, the sincere expressions he’d shown at the PC Bang flashed through my mind.

‘Brother Ho-yoon! If we get first place, should we go eat Korean beef?’
‘This time I’ll get first in esports and treat you well, hyung!’
‘Brother, why are you playing so badly….’

There was something stuck in the middle, but let’s ignore that. In any case, Kang Yi-chae was brimming with confidence as he anticipated a beautiful future where he’d claim first place.

“Is he crying?”

I furrowed my brow and poked Kim Sung-hyun a couple of times, but he just let out a hollow laugh as if what I was saying made no sense.

“He’s probably never cried except when he was born.”

True, there’s no way Kang Yi-chae would do something like that.

“…Ha.”

Kang Yi-chae rubbed his face with his palm a few more times, then sprang to his feet.
His face was completely dry, not a trace of tears.

‘Right, don’t embarrass yourself by crying here….’

He patted the shoulders of his Nightmare teammates and looked toward his opponent.
Liz, the leader of White Cherry, was walking toward Kang Yi-chae.

‘Wow.’

The way she strode forward was like a general who had severed an enemy’s head and held it aloft in one hand. Kang Yi-chae quietly watched her and gave a respectful bow.

“Thank you for the match.”

The White Cherry members finished bowing in return.

“Well played.”
“…Well played.”

[Ah, both teams! Bowing, they’re bowing!]

The commentator’s eyes glistened slightly with tears.

[Though I won this time, they’re acknowledging what a beautiful match it was! You can see it in those solemn expressions!]

After the commentator finished their remarks, the esports camera cut off, and Kang Yi-chae tried to compose himself. The fan seating area probably didn’t catch it, but I heard it clearly.

“I have no regrets.”
“Brother, you worked hard.”
“Yi-chae, that was fun.”

Kim Sung-hyun clicked his tongue in exasperation as he watched Sung Ji-won laugh brightly, seemingly unbothered by the loss.

“I’m starting to think he might actually have the strongest mental fortitude here.”

Kang Yi-chae wore a bitter smile. After confirming the camera had stopped recording before Liz left, she crossed her arms and asked him a question.

“Do you mainly play support?”
“Pardon?”
“Or a different lane?”
“I play ADC too, but I’ve always preferred support.”

As Kang Yi-chae answered awkwardly, Liz nodded and offered serious advice.

“Your game sense is sharp, but sometimes your rotations feel too rushed. If you took a moment to check in with your teammates more often, you’d get even better results.”
“….”
“Other than that… there’s nothing to fix. Thanks to you, I had fun for the first time in a while.”
“…!!”

Kang Yi-chae’s eyes widened at Liz’s praise. His left eye gleamed with admiration, his right with inspiration.
…Actually, if I’m going to get advice, I’d rather it be about idol activities than online games.
Completely oblivious to my lukewarm reaction, Kang Yi-chae was burning with enthusiasm all on his own.

“I look forward to seeing you again next time.”
“…Next year, I won’t lose so easily.”

At Kang Yi-chae’s words, Liz smiled brightly. Then she coolly turned and waved to the fans waving their banners.
Kang Yi-chae returned as if he’d never been shocked at all, wearing his usual cheeky grin.

“Everyone loses sometimes. Ahaha, sorry~.”
“That’s enough.”

I patted Kang Yi-chae’s shoulder lightly.
The archery setup was already finished in the next area, so it was time to move on.

[Next archery session participants, please prepare.]

“Let’s go, Seo Ho-yoon.”
“Yeah.”

The moment Kim Sung-hyun and I stood up, the Noeul members erupted in cheers, their anticipation finally breaking free. I waved lightly to them and turned my gaze toward the Archery Set with unhurried confidence.

“I’ll just bring back first place.”

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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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