The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 79

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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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79

“…Is Seo Ho-yoon really a devil? Wow, the back of my head is absolutely tingling.”
“Haha! It’s summer, after all~.”

How delightful. Everyone shook their heads in exasperation. I covered my mouth with my hand, eyes wide with barely contained amusement.

“I’m really, really looking forward to this.”
“He’s seriously, seriously insane….”
“Thanks for the compliment~.”

With the additional plan approved without major objection, I stood up in high spirits.
As I left the Conference Room, the Manager was staring at me with an expression of utter exhaustion.

“Ho-yoon, you’re going to be struck by divine retribution at this rate.”
“Should I buy a lottery ticket? In case I get struck by lightning?”
“You’ll die if you get struck by lightning, Ho-yoon. …But shouldn’t you go tell them right now?”
“It’s more fun as a surprise.”

I won’t say it’s revenge for the last surprise.

‘Though Kang Yi-chae seems to have caught on.’

No matter how much he struggles, he’s still in the palm of my hand. The Manager hesitates.

“Still….”
“Ah, Manager. I’ll do that.”
“Huh?”
“The Please Camera audition—I’ll participate.”
“What?!!”

The Manager’s eyes went wide. Thanks to this, the ‘Seo Ho-yoon Rural Healing Program Incident’ that had been weighing on his mind moments ago seemed to vanish entirely, and he immediately burst into delighted exclamations.

“Why?! Why did you suddenly change your mind?”
“The script was interesting.”

I spouted nonsense that made no sense, running my hand through my hair. There was no way I’d find the script interesting. I didn’t know the first thing about acting, so no matter how entertaining the script was, I would never have even considered auditioning under normal circumstances.
But still,

‘There’s something I need to confirm.’

No matter how much I thought about it, that character named Lee Jung-hoon kept bothering me. The fact that the System Window clamped up whenever this happened only deepened my suspicions.

‘How on earth did they use my life like this….’

If I went to the audition and simply made acquaintance with writer Kim Sook-hee, I could later find an opportunity to coax the information out of her through careful conversation. Since she was a complete stranger, I’d need to approach slowly and cautiously.

“Well, I’ll at least go to the first round of auditions. The CEO and Manager have been so considerate, so I should go at least once, right?”
“…Wow, I’m actually moved.”
“Why?”
“Here you are thinking of us like this, and I’ve been mistakenly thinking you were some arrogant hotshot doing whatever you please…!”
“….”
“I thought you were a stubborn lone wolf who doesn’t listen to the members and only does what you want all day…!”
“…Yes.”

The Manager pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. I gave a half-hearted response and walked on, slightly tired of this.

“I can see it, I can see it…! The face of million-dollar actor Seo Ho-yoon…!!”
“….”
“You’ve got idol visuals, but somehow you’ve got actor visuals too. Really, truly!”
“Manager, that’s enough~.”
“…Okay~.”

Right after the content shoot wrapped, I’d head straight to the audition venue. I was mentally organizing my schedule and tasks until then when the Manager chuckled.

“You don’t need to worry about the audition, really. I’m only telling you this, but the lead role for that drama has already been cast. By our company.”
“What?”
“If things go well, the CEO could put in a good word with the drama production crew during your audition!”

It was what they called nepotistic casting.
Inserting a supporting actor into a successful lead ensemble.
It was one of the things drama production crews despised the most.

‘Hmm….’

I don’t have the desire to go that far, and besides, there’s no star at this Entertainment Agency with enough power to pull something like that in the first place….

‘Wait.’

Who at our company?

I paused mid-thought and asked.

“…Who?”
“Aha! You know them too~.”

Unease flickered across my chest. The moment that name I’d dreaded came up, my face finally crumpled.

***

“Hello~.”
“Hello!”

We (excluding me) headed toward the Rural Farmhouse with hearts full of anticipation. Rain had been falling since morning, and the large van moved sluggishly down the narrow sloped path, so we arrived somewhat late.
The moment we pulled up to the Variety Show Location, the rain stopped as if on cue, and the sky cleared brilliantly.
Jung Da-jun had arrived first and was busy preparing for filming. Seeing the Planning Team staff members rushing about, he didn’t even think to open the door—instead, he quickly rolled down the window and waved his hand.

“Kyaaah!”
“Vacation~!”

It’s content filming, not a vacation. But I had no intention of stopping them. The scent of grass and the humid summer breeze—smells hard to find in the city—wafted through.
The members who got out of the van a beat later were too excited exploring the surroundings to notice anything else.

“Wow! There are fields here too!”
“Are we going to cook and eat from this?”
“How did you even find a place like this?”
“They rented it from a Variety Show Location.”

The team leader must have pulled some strings. I laughed desolately, but no one noticed.

“Should we make bibimbap?”
“Oh, that sounds good, that sounds good.”
“Do you guys know how to start a fire?”
“Does anyone have a lighter~?”

In that instant, everyone’s eyes turned toward me.

“You don’t have any?”
“I’m proud of you.”

I stepped past Jung Da-jun, who was gazing at me with an oddly tender expression, and crossed the threshold of the old yet meticulously maintained rural farmhouse. It seemed the camera installation hadn’t happened yet….

“Let’s set it up here.”

I tapped the ground lightly and smiled contentedly. When the right “moment” came, I could just tell them to install it around this spot.

“Oh, memories.”

As I looked around the room, I discovered a collection of vinyl records neatly arranged on a small bookshelf. A turntable sat beside it.
While examining the familiar album titles one by one, I noticed that toward the right, the vinyl records were sticking out haphazardly. When I lifted several at once, a cigarette pack hidden and crammed in the corner came into view.
It must have been left behind by the broadcasting staff or cast members from the variety show that was filmed here before.

“What are you doing?”
“Geez, you scared me.”

After pulling out the cigarette pack and organizing the vinyl records, I was staring blankly at them when Kim Sung-hyun suddenly appeared before my eyes.

“…You.”

‘Oh no.’

Had he misunderstood?

Since Kim Sung-hyun was the one who’d made the biggest fuss about me quitting smoking, I quickly tossed the cigarette pack away and raised my hands.

“I’m innocent!”
“….”
“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m really not smoking!”
“…Seo Ho-yoon.”

Kim Sung-hyun stared at me for a moment, then let out a short sigh. He glanced outside cautiously, carefully closed the door, and spoke.

“If you want to smoke… just smoke one cigarette.”
“What?”
“I won’t tell the others.”

Ding!

[????]

Even I was taken aback, and so was the System Window. Kim Sung-hyun? The same Kim Sung-hyun who’d threatened me not to spread rumors if I wanted to be an idol—was he really telling me I could smoke one cigarette?
I stood there speechless, dumbfounded…

“I, I…. Um.”

My voice trembled for a moment.

“Um, hyung is….”

No, I couldn’t help it. I’d tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t anymore. I clenched my teeth and threw out a joke.

“Hyung smoking? Just close your eyes real quick, puff… and we’ll let it slide, yeah?”
“….”
“Why are you closing the door again?”

The smell would give it away anyway. The non-smoker’s logic was so ridiculous I was dying with laughter, but Kim Sung-hyun gritted his teeth. He’d figured out I was messing with him.

“…This is so annoying, seriously.”
“Sung-hyun~, can hyung smoke one? Two won’t work?”
“Fine, fine. Just get out of here.”
“Huh~, what about three?”
“I said get out.”

As I teased him with a giggle, Kim Sung-hyun irritably picked up the cigarette pack that had fallen on the floor and tossed it into the trash. Then, as if he’d just realized something, he rummaged through the trash again and retrieved it.

“What are you doing, Kim Sung-hyun?”
“…If this gets caught on camera, there’ll be more rumors.”
“Ohhhhh!”

Kim Sung-hyun’s learned a lot. As an irritated Kim Sung-hyun headed outside, I scurried after him and stood at the doorway.

“Kim Sung-hyun!”
“…Why?”

I spun around quickly, wondering if something was wrong, and was struck by the sheer trust radiating from him. I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe with a careful smile.

“Please don’t tell the others about this….”
“….”
“I’m asking you a favor, Sung-hyun~.”
“I really hate how you seize every opportunity to bite back after saying just one word….”

Kim Sung-hyun shot me a sidelong glance and left. Watching him hand something to the Manager outside made me laugh again.

‘Guess I’ve been through quite a lot….’

But I could say it with pride.
I had quit smoking!

‘Impressive, Seo Ho-yoon. That’s just like me.’

Having cleanly put aside my lingering attachment to cigarettes, I wanted to play some music and checked if the turntable was working when a Staff Member entered with a camera.
I confirmed through the crack in the door that the Manager was hastily shoving cigarettes into his pocket, then placed the vinyl record on the turntable.

[~♪♬♫]

“Nice song.”

The gentle patter of rain, the soft vinyl sound flowing into my ears, the members ripe for teasing. I wore a satisfied smile and leaned my back against the wall.
Ah, this is truly… a healing program.

.
.
.

“Tada~!”

As I left the bedroom after turning on the music, Kang Yi-chae was laying something out on the floor with a strangely proud expression.

“The adorable Kang Yi-chae custom-ordered these! Let’s film the self-cam in these!”
“…What is this?”

I was already uneasy. Kang Yi-chae proudly held up a white t-shirt and tossed them around to the members with a flourish.

“Try them on. I prepared thoughtful phrases for each member.”

I glanced at the t-shirt he’d slipped me. He said he’d prepared phrases suited to each member, but what I saw was large Gungsuh font text on my shirt.

[REAL TRASH]

“….”

Ding!

[Oh]
[Insane]
[I seriously love Kang Yi-chae so much!!!!!]

The System Window was wailing, and Kim Sung-hyun, who’d taken it hard from me earlier, stood up clapping and put on his t-shirt.

“I really love it, Yi-chae.”
“Right??”

That bastard’s shirt says “Light,” so he’d put it on without complaint….

“Huh? There’s something written on the back too?”

I reluctantly looked at the back of my shirt and saw the text [THE DUN’S GREATEST ATTENTION-SEEKER]. When I spun Kim Sung-hyun around by his shoulder, his back read [LOOKING AT IT MAKES YOUR EYES HURT SO MUCH YOU NEED LASIK SURGERY LOL].

Does Kang Yi-chae even realize he’s an idol?
The perpetrator himself casually put on his own t-shirt with [GREATEST HANDSOME] written on it and confidently straightened his shoulders.

“Kang Yi-chae, where’s your conscience?”
“What?”
“Greatest handsome? You?”
“Ah… I knew you’d say that.”

Kang Yi-chae, radiating shamelessness as always, turned around with a proud smile.

Haha, stop with the ugly jealousy~

“….”

I was fed up.
Sung Ji-won, wearing a [Buddha] t-shirt beside me, smiled gently, which only made me feel more wronged.

“Why is he fine? I’m the problem and he’s Buddha?”
“Check the back.”
“Huh!”

[Buddha: Gentle
Hyung: Older Brother]

“…I see.”
“Right?”

And Sung Ji-won had his face printed on the back along with his game nickname “Let’s Practice, Guys!!” But before I could stare at it with displeasure, Jung Da-jun, already wearing a [Gang-eol-jwi] t-shirt, jumped in.

“Whoa! I couldn’t see the back! What does mine say, hyung??”
“…Turn around and look.”

Too exhausted to argue anymore, I just watched Jung Da-jun spin around in front of me.

[Jung Da-jun definitely put it on without reading the back]

…was what was written there. Left speechless before me, Jung Da-jun bounced around like a puppy trying to see his own shirt.

“Hyung, what does mine say??”
“….”
“Puhahahaha!!”

Kang Yi-chae, holding his stomach and laughing, was the real culprit here.

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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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