The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol - Chapter 99

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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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99

‘Does Min Ji-heon actually like me?’

Or is he just messing with me?
Ad-libbing with a rookie??
No, fine. Let’s say he’s guiding my acting through improvisation. But shouldn’t he at least give me some warning? On top of that, this is my first project, and I barely have any scenes.

‘Is this what he means by doing something fun?’

What’s even crazier is that the Director isn’t stopping him. In fact, he seemed fascinated by the situation—gripping the script tightly in both hands, he showed no signs of wanting to halt this chaos.
I’d never heard that Min Ji-heon improvised so much. This damn bastard….

Anger surged through me, but I didn’t want to use the excuses of being a rookie, having few scenes, lacking experience, or being an idol to run away.

I locked eyes with Min Ji-heon. No—with Min Seung-tae.
He had completely dropped the mask of the good guy he wore for everyone else. His eyes gleamed with a sinister coldness befitting someone who cared about nothing except Yoo Jung-hwa, someone indifferent to everything else and unbothered by any consequence.

“I thought you were a bit smarter than that. If you know I’m the son of Seonghoo Corporation, why would you meddle in someone else’s business and invite trouble? You don’t seem like the type with that kind of sense of justice.”

He’d backed me into a corner, yet he was offering hints anyway.
Be yourself, he was saying.

‘The hint just pisses me off more….’

But I had to take what was offered. I didn’t panic and simply looked him over.

“…Well, if I’m being honest, I don’t have one.”

Since the protagonist is essentially me anyway, I just had to answer in my own voice.
The moment I delivered the line, the staff members who thought I’d flub the take looked surprised.

“But I just thought it was ridiculous seeing how you treat that person.”
“What do you mean?”

Min Seung-tae tilted his head to one side and slipped a hand into his pocket. True to his character in the drama—someone who looked down on everyone except the protagonist—I could see him trying to intimidate me with that condescending gaze.

“What’s so ridiculous?”
“Hmm, rather than asking me if you don’t understand, wouldn’t it be better to reflect on yourself a bit?”

I fired back with a smirk, and I caught a flicker of guilt flash across Min Seung-tae’s eyes.

“A childhood friend you’ve known for over a decade turns out to be the son of your enemy. And you knew but pretended not to? This isn’t some movie. In reality, that’s just cutting ties. Period.”
“….”
“Either you threw your conscience in the trash, or think about it.”

I’d hit the mark precisely. Min Seung-tae slowly wiped his mouth and nodded reluctantly. He didn’t look pleased at all.

“You’re right. That’s… a fair point, senior.”
“At least you have a gram of conscience left. That’s a relief.”

At my words, Min Seung-tae lifted his eyes.

“But that’s not something you should worry about. I’m basically a stranger to you.”

There it was. Sparks flew in our battle of wills. Min Seung-tae was driving his point home.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop poking your nose into things.”
“….”

Poking my nose in.
I stared at him for a moment.
If I were still a PD, what would I have done? Would I have stayed silent after hearing this from some guy I barely knew? Would I have stayed quiet just because he’s a chaebol heir?
I looked at him for a moment.

I slowly fidgeted with my lighter, then set it on the railing. Taking a deep breath to calm my irritation, I looked at Min Seung-tae and smiled brightly.

“…!!”

Stay quiet?

‘No way.’

I was famous for being stubborn.

“It seems you didn’t understand, so let me spell it out for you… Let’s think slowly about who’s actually at a disadvantage here, yeah?”

I watched one of the Staff Members’ jaw drop at my ad-lib. Well, this character didn’t have any formal speech setting anyway. But my mouth was already running away with itself.
“……what?”

“…What?”

Min Seung-tae’s words dried up. Within the story, Yoo Jung-hwa was absolute to him. The moment I brought up ‘Yoo Jung-hwa,’ even the strongest Min Seung-tae had no choice but to lose.

“I’ve already got a ton of work, so shouldn’t I be the one managing the team’s servants myself? Why are you poking around and getting everyone worked up….”

“If you understand, I’m leaving.”

That should be enough. The ad-lib was getting too long anyway—it might even need editing—and I was about to walk away when….

“Wait!”

He grabbed me urgently. The wavering in his gaze made it clear that Min Seung-tae had already admitted his defeat.
“…Tell me really?”
“I thought you were the type to only look after yourself… but that was my prejudice. What do you want?”

“Yes, if there’s something you want.”

I pulled my arm free from his grip and answered concisely.
“What nonsense?”
“…A salary that comes in on time, decent bonuses, decent work-life balance, a boss who doesn’t steal my credit.”

“Sounds like something out of a legend, doesn’t it?”

I sighed.
“Huh….”

“Huh….”

‘…Hmm?’
Min Ji-heon, whose eyes were shaking for a moment, still spoke his lines so naturally that there were no NGs.

Min Ji-heon’s eyes wavered for a moment, but he delivered the line naturally enough that it didn’t result in an NG.
“Chaebol is really annoying. If you’re going to change it, change the director.”
“Would it be enough if I did that? Should I just change PD Lee Jung-hoon’s boss?”
“Chaebol types are so annoying. If you’re going to change anything, change Director Kook instead.”

“Can’t you do that either?”

There was something almost enjoyable about the way he looked….

‘As if he were wavering in his performance?’
“Anything else you could do?”

“Something you could do?”
I tapped his shoulder with my hand, as if shaking off dust. He spoke clearly as he watched Min Ji-heon take a couple of steps back as if he was displeased.

I tapped Min Ji-heon’s shoulder with my hand, brushing it as if dusting off dirt. Watching him step back a couple of paces with clear displeasure, I spoke each syllable distinctly.

“Quit. It. Now.”

“I’m leaving.”

The moment I walked out of frame, the Director called out excitedly.

“Cut!”

‘That Min Ji-heon bastard, really….’
Director Yoo was excited and poured out words.

Director Yu gushed with excitement.

“….”
But I wanted it removed.

But I wished he’d spare me from that assessment.
“…Waaa, is this our one-cut~?”
“That was incredible! Wow, how are you both so good at ad-libbing? The back-and-forth was perfect…!! The dynamic between Min Seung-tae and PD Lee Jung-hoon really came through! We don’t even need to shoot this again.”
“…Wow, so we got it in one take~?”

“Thank you for the kind words.”

I wore an awkward smile while responding to those around me, yet something continued to nag at me. Despite being surrounded by praise that should have made me happy.

‘What is it?’
The excited director walked away to say he was monitoring again, and our eyes met as the hair person was fixing Min Ji-heon’s hair again.
If it had merely been improvisation, it wouldn’t have mattered, but it felt like I’d missed something crucial….

Min Ji-heon was….

“Hehehk….”

The moment our eyes locked, he couldn’t suppress the laughter bursting from him.

“…!”
-I thought he was a person who only cares for himself, but that was my bias.
-Why would you bother meddling in someone else’s business? You don’t seem like the type with that kind of sense of justice.

-What are you hoping for?

In that instant, like a bolt from the blue, Min Ji-heon’s lines flashed through my mind.

‘Ah! Damn it!’
That bastard, since I don’t mind asking most questions these days, he purposely pounced on me with ad-libs on set!
That wasn’t… that wasn’t a scripted line.
That bastard—knowing I’ve been tight-lipped about most questions lately, he deliberately threw out ad-libbed bait at me on set to probe me!
What kind of person I really was… what my actual thought process was, how I’d handle a situation like this!

My mouth fell open in betrayal.
“Ahaha, haha, ah, really.”

“Ahahaha, haha, ah, seriously.”
Swept up by a sense of defeat, I had no choice but to stand in silence and wait for Min Ji-heon to calm down… .

Overwhelmed by a sense of defeat, I stood there numbly, left with no choice but to wait for Min Ji-heon to calm down….

“Ha…. Seo Ho-yoon, your personality is really funny… how do you even live like that? Do you act that way with the chaebol too?”

Min Ji-heon laughed until tears actually began to streak his cheeks.

“Ah, things have been so fun lately… I actually feel like living.”
“….”

“My goodness, yes!”
Dajeong Min is freezing to death. That bastard was a solid person even in the entertainment industry, which was full of people who were all crazy in one way or another.

Min Ji-heon was freezing to death. That bastard was thoroughly twisted, even in the entertainment industry where everyone had at least one screw loose.

‘He said he doesn’t joke around with acting!’
I was fooled by that bastard again. I trembled and glared at the direction where Min Ji-heon had disappeared… .

***

***
In addition, Jihyun Lee, who has now become almost one with Tonic, also worked like crazy, allowing The Dawn’s own content to pour out in droves.

Moreover, Lee Ji-hyun, who had practically become one with nutritional supplements by now, worked like a madwoman, so The Dun’s in-house content poured out in abundance.
[Kang Yi-chae, you go to my room right now. Producing Behind CAM]
[Sung Ji-won OST Making Film]
[Kang Yi-chae Come to My Room Right Now. Producing Behind CAM]
[The Dun Human Theater Documentary (Feat. Hyun-sung’s Greatest Regret)]

[Exciting Dunning School Student Council President Election]
The one that stood out among them was definitely Jacon.

Among them, the self-produced content stood out the most.
He said he would hand out hamburgers to the class.
Haha, Seo Ho-yoon made his Student Council president campaign promises so carelessly.
Said he’d pass out hamburgers to the class
(end)
Hahahahaha
└Kang Yi-chae: (raises hand) Wait, you only need to hand out four, right?

└└Ah, this is driving me crazy. I knew this bastard was trouble from the moment I casually walked him around with my hand in his pocket]
Seong Ji-won: Um…
[Meanwhile, Sung Ji-won’s campaign promise
Sung Ji-won: Hmm…
I’ll cut practice time by two hours.
Everyone: (jumping up) Sung Ji-won!! President Sung Ji-won!! Say a few words about winning!!
Sung Ji-won elected unanimously

Man, Sung Ji-won really is like a tiger when he’s practicing lol
It was a mix of students with the concept of 1980s American Teen, Will you go to Prom with me.
The student council election content garnered quite positive reception, and eager to repurpose the fan song she’d already created, Lee Ji-hyun began planning a new self-produced content.
It was a 1980s American high school concept—”Will you go to Prom with me”—mixed with the students.

The Dun had no way of knowing what American school life was like with its red plastic cups, vibrant club activities, and heart-fluttering proms.

“Alright! Listen up!”

So Jung Da-jun tapped the blackboard repeatedly while wearing his glasses.

“This right here is the exam scope! Okay? Everyone, take notes!”

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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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