The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 76

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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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76

“Huh?”

Seo Ho-jin stood frozen with his toothbrush still in his mouth, eyes wide as saucers. The hastily assembled House-warming Expedition Group had finally descended upon my home.
Even as I pulled the van up, I’d asked the members repeatedly, “Seriously, what’s so interesting about my place?” but they only grinned mischievously and refused to give up.

“What’s going on, hyung? Why all of a sudden…?”
“How have you been?”

Seo Ho-jin, catching only a glimpse through the barely cracked door, had assumed I was alone and furrowed his brow.
I swung the door wide open to let him in, but when he saw the gaggle of hangers-on behind me, his face filled with question marks.

“Hello!”

The members greeted him with bright smiles and respectful bows, while Seo Ho-jin’s eyes just rolled around in his head. I muttered in resignation.

“It’s come to this.”
“…??”
“Whoa! No way! You two actually look alike!”

Jung Da-jun gasped in surprise and stared intently at Seo Ho-jin’s face. With a sense of utter defeat, I sighed deeply, shoved Seo Ho-jin aside, and ushered the members inside.
Still bewildered and fumbling with his toothbrush, Seo Ho-jin found himself surrounded as the members circled around him.

“Yeah, now that I look closer, he’s definitely Ho-yoon’s little brother.”
“He’s got a gentler look though?”
“Uh, what…(what is this….)”
“Seo Ho-jin, go to the bathroom.”
“Okay.”

After rescuing Seo Ho-jin from becoming a spectacle in the middle of the members, I pushed him into the bathroom. When he emerged a moment later, he seemed to have regained some of his wits.

“Hello! I apologize for the sudden intrusion.”
“No, no. It’s perfectly fine.”

Seo Ho-jin waved his hand dismissively, then regarded me with an expression of disbelief, stealing glances back and forth.
What. Why. What.
Seo Ho-jin shifted his gaze away and let out an awkward cough.

“So… you’re the members of Ho-yoon’s group?”
“Yes! That’s right. I’m Kang Yi-chae.”
“I’m Sung Ji-won.”
“Kim Sung-hyun.”
“Jung Da-jun!”

They all grinned widely and brazenly finished introducing themselves. Seo Ho-jin accepted their greetings with an awkward demeanor.

“I’m… Seo Ho-jin. Ho-yoon’s younger brother.”
“Ah, so you both have the ‘Ho’ character in your names!”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-three… ah.”

As questions poured down on him, Seo Ho-jin’s mouth snapped shut.
Twenty-three—that’s right. We’re the same age, though I’m ten years older in experience. They all seemed to notice something odd and tilted their heads in confusion, so I stepped in to clarify.

“I was born in January, he was born in December.”
“Wow, I see.”
“But you call him hyung?”
“Are you crazy? Of course I’m the older brother.”

It was fortunate our birthdays were far apart. Once I sprawled across the sofa the moment I entered the living room—a true Korean move—Seo Ho-jin surveyed the members before turning his steps toward the kitchen.

“Would you like something to drink?”
“Oh, yes!”

It was chaotic and lively. They each found their own spots to sit and began whispering among themselves.

“What’s this? Why does Ho-yoon’s younger brother seem so innocent?”
“No way. He’s Seo Ho-yoon’s brother… how could he possibly be normal?”
“Maybe the older brother is like that, so the younger one turned out innocent instead.”
“Didn’t you just say I have a soft heart?”
“You actually believed that?”

‘These bastards….’

Seo Ho-jin casually laid out some juice and sat down beside me.

“Thank you!”
“Yeah, sure.”

Even as they sipped their juice, the members kept stealing glances at Seo Ho-jin. I silently observed them from above—there’s nothing special about my home, I’d told them. Once the last member had drained their glass, I stood up.

“You all done?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Then get out.”
“Whaaaat?!”

Stop being a nuisance. I needed to relax at home in peace. But Jung Da-jun held his ground with desperate determination.

“No way! I want to see more! I want to talk more with your brother!”
“Get out before I curse you out.”
“I’m already doing it with my eyes!”
“Seo Ho-jin, we’re the same age—should I drop the formalities?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah?”

While I dealt with Jung Da-jun, Sung Ji-won deftly steered Seo Ho-jin away. Having unexpectedly dropped formalities with Sung Ji-won, Seo Ho-jin’s eyes just kept rolling around.

“You in college?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“What’s your major?”
“Political Science and Diplomacy.”
“Your brother must be smart too, right? Whoa, that’s from that university!”

Jung Da-jun’s eyes went wide when he spotted the university jacket tucked away in the corner. For the record, Seo Ho-jin was my alumnus. With a ten-year age gap between us, he’d teased me about being a fossil and gotten hit for it more than once.

“Yeah, I went to the same school as my brother—ow!”
“Ho-jin.”

I drove my fist straight down onto the center of Seo Ho-jin’s head. He still seemed out of it. Seo Ho-jin looked at me with wounded eyes and grumbled.

“You’ve got a real temper….”
“Got a problem with that? If you did, you shouldn’t have downloaded that stupid game in the first place.”

Ding!

[What’s wrong with me?!]

You need to be quiet.

“So you’re still like this even at home, huh?”
“Huh?”

Kang Yi-chae regarded Seo Ho-jin with a sympathetic expression. Seo Ho-jin turned to face him with an aggrieved look, muttering under his breath.

“Do you bully the members like this all the time?”
“How did you know?”
“Wow, you’re really the same wherever you go.”

Finding a kindred spirit, Seo Ho-jin began eagerly sharing unsolicited details no one had asked for.

“He’s always asking me to turn off the lights, and staying up all night is just the baseline.”
“Right! And he lectures me endlessly whenever I eat instant food.”
“He tells me not to do all sorts of things, but then he just goes ahead and does whatever dangerous thing he wants without saying a word!”
“Exactly!! That’s it!!”

Suddenly the conversation exploded. Curious to see where this would go, I watched as our living room became the stage for an impromptu “Seo Ho-yoon Gossip Championship”—whether behind his back or to his face, it hardly mattered.
It was quite a spectacle.
Every time Seo Ho-jin said something, the members poured out all their grievances they’d been holding back.

“He’s completely stubborn!! He just does whatever he wants without even talking to us!”
“I agree! Totally agree!!”
“But then he complains about what I do!”
“Exactly!! He does worse things himself!!”
“Did you all come here just to talk trash about me?”

I muttered in disbelief. Even Seo Ho-jin, who had been so reserved at first, was now fired up and speaking freely. Our eyes met across the room, and I could see the knowing glances exchanged between him and the members.

‘You too?’
‘Yeah, me too.’

In the end, I shook hands warmly with the members in solidarity.

“You must have been through so much….”
“No, Seo Ho-jin has endured this hardship for twenty-three years….”
“That’s a long time….”
“Mm….”

I clicked my tongue and stood up, and Seo Ho-jin’s eyes widened as he asked.

“Smoking?”
“When did I quit?”
“…That punk quit?”

Seo Ho-jin was astounded. The members watched with keen interest, wondering what other drama might unfold, but since I kept my mouth shut, I figured I might as well raid the refrigerator to pass the time.
I dug through the freezer and pulled out some ice cream.
Unfortunately, there was no Bab-O. No taste.

“Oh, but so you two were living together? In a shared place?”
“Huh?”
“Are your parents in the provinces?”

I grabbed a few more strawberry ice creams and walked over, and judging by the atmosphere alone, we seemed like best friends of nearly ten years. Then I heard the question and my footsteps stopped.

‘Oh, I didn’t mention it.’

Seo Ho-jin glanced at me nervously, so I shoved an ice cream straight into the back of his neck. I naturally ignored his shriek.

“Both my parents passed away.”
“…What?”
“Car accident.”

It had been so long ago that I answered without hesitation, then sat on the sofa and bit into my ice cream, but somehow the atmosphere had turned cold.
The members’ expressions were indescribable. Jung Da-jun lowered his head, at a loss for words.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s fine. It’s okay. It was a long time ago….”

Seo Ho-jin quickly waved his hand in denial. Then he tapped me.

“You still haven’t told them?”
“I forgot.”
“…Springing it on them like this is going to throw them off.”
“Goodness, Seo Ho-jin. When did you grow up and develop such thoughtful consideration?”
“Your sarcasm is really annoying… If it weren’t for you being my brother, this wouldn’t even—”
“This? What did you just say?”
“…I said you’re very handsome.”

It was such a common occurrence that I bickered with Seo Ho-jin without much concern, but above the members’ heads hung a heavy cloud of gloom. I flicked the ice cream beside me and spoke up.

“Hey, cheer up. Did you commit a felony or something?”
“…I didn’t know… I’m sorry.”

Sung Ji-won’s gaze swept across my left arm. He was looking at the scar.
Right. That car accident back then—the one where I lost my parents. Sung Ji-won’s face went pale, and he asked hesitantly, carefully.

“Are you… okay with riding in cars?”
“I drove the van and brought you all here, didn’t I?”
“…Right?”
“You guys kept pestering me to come.”
“…Your brother came to pick us up himself?”

I was fine with riding in cars. I had been fine for a long time now. Probably. Seo Ho-jin looked at me with an odd expression and scratched his head.

“We’re fine, really. It’s such an old story that we don’t remember it well anyway. Um… and since you’ve come all this way….”

Seo Ho-jin glanced at me, then suddenly broke into an oddly wide grin and treated the members with warmth.

“Is there anything you need?”
“Me!”

Kang Yi-chae raised his hand brightly, as if trying to lighten the mood.

“Tell us about Ho-yoon’s first love!”
“Ooh!”
“I want to hear about it.”

Laughter erupted among the members.
Are you a middle schooler teasing a newly assigned student teacher?
What was even funnier was that Seo Ho-jin fell into serious contemplation, carefully selecting his response.

“My first love… I’m not sure I really need to know about that. But I guess I was somewhat popular in high school. A lot of people asked about me. They’d ask if I was Seo Ho-yoon’s younger brother.”
“Ohhh~.”
“But once they found out about my personality, they stopped asking….”
“Ah, as expected~.”

I was fed up.

“Hey, that’s enough.”

The members only got more excited.

“Then I want to hear some dark history.”
“Has Ho-yoon ever been dumped?”
“From what I know… I don’t think my brother has ever confessed first.”

He definitely has.

“Wow! How unlucky!”
“But he’s been dumped plenty of times while dating.”
“Hahaha, why?”
“Why would you even ask something so obvious?”
“Ah, so it really is because of his personality….”
“Hey, where can you find someone as kind as me?”
“Where did your conscience go, brother?”

I flicked Seo Ho-jin’s forehead as he glanced around. Though he wore an aggrieved expression, he still dutifully answered the members’ questions. When he brought up the day I came home with a slapped cheek so swollen it looked like a balloon, everyone burst out laughing.
It was clear they’d come with a grudge, eager to dig up my embarrassing past.
She clearly came here harboring ill will, eager to hear about my embarrassing past.

***

“Even if I say no, you won’t listen anyway.”
“How did you know~.”
“How did you know~.”

In the end, the members showed no signs of leaving, insisting they’d sleep here instead. Apparently, Seo Ho-jin’s stories were just that entertaining.
After my entire embarrassing history had been exposed in an instant, I gave up and went out alone to buy some candy since we were running low on snacks.
When I returned, the roasting session about me was still in full swing.

“Aren’t you tired? Please, let’s get some sleep.”
“Aw~, Manager~, this is so funny~!”
“Brother! Ho-jin, give me your number. Let’s talk more later.”
“Sure, Yi-chae… If life gets tough, reach out. I’ll tell you plenty of funny stories.”
“Me too.”

Despite their grumbling, they all lay down to sleep.
Youth really does make people restless—they were bouncing with energy. Only after I flicked each of them on the forehead and urged them to sleep did they finally quiet down.

‘It feels like I’m raising five kids.’

I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open.
Since there wasn’t enough space in the living room, I brought Jung Da-jun into my bedroom. He lay on the floor below me and quietly started talking.

“Brother.”
“Go to sleep.”
“Ah, Brother.”
“What now….”
“Haha. Are you already tired of us?”

Already? I needed sleep if I was going to work tomorrow. Jung Da-jun’s laughter filled the pitch-dark bedroom.

“Today was really funny. Seo Ho-jin is so entertaining.”
“Is that so….”

I gave a half-hearted response and tried to close my eyes, but Jung Da-jun kept chattering away.

“Seo Ho-jin said it was really rare for you to bring someone to your home like this.”
“….”
“He said you seem to trust the members.”

Did Seo Ho-jin really say that? Now that I thought about it, I’d barely invited anyone over since my parents passed away.
Questions like “Where did your parents go?” always came up, and I hated seeing young Seo Ho-jin crying in the corner whenever I answered matter-of-factly.

“I’ve always felt sorry toward you, but it’s because… we trust you, yet you don’t seem to trust us. Especially me.”
“…Why you?”
“I’m the most unremarkable one, aren’t I? I’m not as good at composing as Yi-chae, I don’t have convictions as strong as Hyun-sung, and I can’t sing as well as Ji-won.”

Jung Da-jun brought up something unexpected. I’d never realized it because he was always smiling—I had no idea this cheerful guy harbored such thoughts beneath the surface. When I closed my mouth, he continued.

“So I thought I’d never be of any help to you in my lifetime. I still wanted to become a member who could pull my own weight, but… I figured that wouldn’t happen, and that made me anxious.”
“….”
“But after hearing what you said today, I felt a bit relieved. It made me think that you still consider me within your boundaries, at least to some extent.”

I let out a sigh after hearing that.

“Jung Da-jun…. Are you an idiot?”
“…What?”
“Why are you unremarkable?”

Of course, there was a time at the beginning when I thought that way too.
I thought about it slowly. Jung Da-jun was foolish. Just when I’d think he understood me reasonably well, he’d act like this—so stupid.

“Don’t you remember being center in Glow? Do you have any idea how important an image like yours is?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You and the way you trust people easily and follow along—that’s a tremendous talent.”
“…That’s a talent?”

In the twenty-first century, it is.
Jung Da-jun asked again in a hesitant tone.

“But because I trusted too easily, I ended up causing problems with the contract this time.”
“That’s the fault of the person who deceived you.”
“…I thought I was the one who disappointed you.”

From my lying position, I turned my body sideways toward where Jung Da-jun was.

“Hey. …If I didn’t like you, would I have gone that far out of my way to look after you?”

It had been that way since the athletic festival. Honestly, if it had been someone else, I would’ve just ignored them adequately. But it was Jung Da-jun, someone I’d grown fond of over time, and when I saw him being disrespected by those around him, something in my head just flipped. As for the dual contract issue, even if I’d dragged my feet, I could’ve subtly coaxed the CEO into paying the penalty. I didn’t need to step in that far.
But I was just concerned.
But I’m just worried about it.

‘Damn, it’s easier once I admit it.’

“If you’re done talking, let’s sleep.”
“…Actually, there’s something…”

The question was swallowed by the rustling sound of blankets shifting.

“Why did you cancel your contract with Wisoo Entertainment after less than two days?”
“Yeah.”
“You said someone talked you out of it. Do you remember?”

I remember. I said something like that during the first MV shoot, and there’s no way I could forget it.
Ever since Kim Sung-hyun’s scenario was completed, I’d been observing Jung Da-jun carefully—all because of those words.
Jung Da-jun hesitated for a moment, then carefully brought out the question he’d been hiding all this time.

“…Was that… your brother?”

I fell silent for a long time. In that moment, the System Window materialized above my head.

Ding!

[Some memories are being unlocked.]

‘Why would you go there?’
‘…What?’
‘If I’m your older brother, I’ll pull you out by force if I have to.’

Words I’d overheard by chance while sitting at a cafe near the broadcasting station. I hadn’t caught the entertainment company’s name, but no matter how I thought about it, their contract methods were those of swindlers.
I’d said those words while looking at Jung Da-jun’s face—he must have been around middle school age then, much younger than he was now.

‘So think it through carefully again.’

“…I…”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Jung Da-jun, now slightly older than he’d been then, laughed hollowly.

“…That doesn’t make sense, does it? That person was a broadcasting station staff member. They even had a staff ID badge on…. I just can’t remember their face well.”
“…”
“Ah, just forget about it. Brother.”

It was too late to say I was right. Jung Da-jun smiled and pulled the blanket up to his neck. And just before falling asleep, he forced back the overwhelming drowsiness and spoke haltingly.

“Ho-yoon.”
“…What.”
“Anyway… you basically saved my life. I’ll definitely repay this debt. I’ll really do my best. In practice, in performances, in everything.”

Jung Da-jun came into focus at the edge of my vision, now accustomed to the darkness.
I’d only thought of him as bright and cheerful, but he had his own worries too, and he was trying to repay his debt. He was relying on me quite a bit.

“I’ll do my best.”

Ding!

[You have obtained Jung Da-jun’s complete trust.]
[Infamy Points decrease.]
[You have learned all of Jung Da-jun’s past. Hidden information is now unlocked.]

“Jung Da-jun.”
“….”
“Da-jun.”

I shifted my body and sat up on the bed. For a moment I was at a loss for words, but by then Jung Da-jun was already asleep.

“You asleep?”

No answer came back. A hollow laugh escaped me. Less than a minute after pulling the blanket over himself, Jung Da-jun was already in deep sleep, snoring softly.

“I guess that’s what it means to be young….”

He falls asleep so quickly. Above him, the System Window floated into view.

[Jung Da-jun, The Dun’s youngest member and sub-dancer]

Ding!

Note: With help from former player Seo Ho-yoon, he escaped from the Unethical Entertainment Company and successfully became a member of The Dun. Through Seo Ho-yoon’s support, Jung Da-jun will cut ties with the Unethical Entertainment Company and work hard to be a source of strength for the members.
[Main Scenario 33% Complete!]
[Proceeding to the next main chapter.]

I felt conflicted. Strangely, the prospect of moving to the next main chapter didn’t excite me as it once had. Perhaps a warning light had flickered on in my mind. I had come to realize that I had grown far more attached to these people than I’d ever intended.

“Jung Da-jun, don’t trust me too much.”

But I wouldn’t change.
This place was meant to be left behind anyway. As if this world had never existed, as if I’d never been connected to these people from the start.
Unaware of such truths, I looked down at Jung Da-jun, who had naively placed his faith in me and steeled his resolve, and muttered under my breath.

“I’m such garbage.”

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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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