The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol

Chapter 163

Chapter 163

On the day of the third competition, at a café near the broadcast station.

There, early in the morning, three Noeuls huddled together, shivering with hot lattes in hand.

“O-O-Omg, it’s the competition today.”

“Sigh...”

They were friends who, like wandering K-pop fans, had roamed around without settling until they bonded over their love for The Dawn.

There were a few others, but only these three had won tickets to the third round.

They were either trembling with nervous energy or repeatedly rubbing their faces with their hands.

“I’m so so so nervous... More than when I get my final grades...”

Then, another person, having returned from the counter with coffee, cheerfully suggested,

“Hey, it’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s take a ceremonial shot.”

“Are you going to upload it on YouTube?”

“How did you know? Am I going to buy a building with the profit from views of our Dawnies?”

Claiming Kang Ichae as her ultimate favorite bias, she was shameless.

From her bag, she took out a magic wand that could hold three photocard slots.

“Do you carry that around??”

“Why not? It’d be great if they made one that could hold five. One for each kid.”

“Crazy...”

Carrying it around might be a bit embarrassing for someone past their twenties, but it was perfect for YouTube content.

Watching this, one of the Noeuls chuckled and pulled something out of her bag.

“Heh...”

“Holy!!!!!!”

“Damn!!”

“Hey! This!!”

Three pairs of eyes quickly gathered.

The “Second Chance” photo card of Seo Hoyun.

Taken while waiting at the dark MV shoot, Seo Hoyun’s photo card, staring emotionlessly at the camera with his chin propped on his hand, was a rare item almost as valuable as plot of land in Gangnam.

“How did you buy this??”

“Sold my house for it.”

The owner of the photocard, whose daily life was filled with exaggeration and fanciful talk, flipped her hair back.

“Today’s cross unit? Seoho Yoon will handle it.”

Then, she slammed the table.

“If this handsome bastard doesn’t win! There’s no future in K-pop!!”

“Fuck..., this guy’s serious.”

“Over-investment legend... But I agree.”

They all nodded as if enchanted.

The Noeuls, their fighting spirit fortified by Seo Hoyon’s face, stood up abruptly.

.

.

.

“The shooting will start soon!”

“The audience has all entered.”

In the third cross-unit competition, while the staff were busily running around giving instructions, the atmosphere among the contestants was quite subdued.

The audience mood doesn’t seem bad today.

Though I greeted everyone with a smile, my gaze was fixed on Jeong Dajun.

He looks so down.

The always cheerful and never-ending laughter had dimmed, like cabbage salted for kimchi.

This probably stemmed from the harsh criticism directed toward our maknae.

“...Hmm.”

I touched the corner of my mouth.

I had intentionally left Jeong Dajun alone until now.

It didn’t seem like anything I did would cheer him up, and it might even hinder his growth.

Besides...

“He should do well on his own...”

“...”

Seeing Kang Ichae clicking his tongue quietly beside me, understanding what I was thinking just by looking at my eyes, made me lose any urge to help Jeong Dajun.

This guy, who never flinched no matter my indifference and wouldn’t budge until he dragged me to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with just a simple cold and gastritis... harbored his resentment for a long time.

“The third competition, the cross unit, begins now!”

Even as Ha Seoyeon appeared on the TV in the waiting room, the members just quietly sipped water and kept to themselves.

“Vocal unit Team A’s Seo Hoyun, please come out first!”

The rehearsal was perfect, and my stats were up.

Just as I was about to stand up and leave...

“...Hyung!”

Jeong Dajun quickly blocked my way.

“Uh, um.”

“...”

“Good luck.”

It seemed he had chosen to support me after appearing a bit distant since the unit selection.

Just looking at him, all innocent and slow-witted, he hesitated and seemed about to say more but then moved to leave.

“Jeong Dajun.”

“...Yes?”

While calling him and tapping his shoulder, I lifted my index finger.

I then poked at Jeong Dajun’s cheek.

I laughed at the sight.

“I’ll be back.”

“......What, what...”

“Seo Hoyun, do well.”

“You too.”

Leaving the confused Jeong Dajun behind, I headed out of the waiting room.

Following the staff’s direction, I moved backstage.

Then, the VCR began to play.

It featured many of my mistakes.

Whether I went off-key, cut off a lyric, or cracked at the end.

It also showed Team A comforting me.

“It will go up soon!”

“Yes!”

TEW’s main vocal, who was leisurely drinking water and warming up, quickly stuck by my side.

“Seo Hoyun, let’s not be nervous and do well!!”

Finally, as I checked my outfit and only giving him a side glance, Jeong Wonha gave a slight smile.

Some of it was affection for me, a certain degree was calculated gestures, and the rest was a look filled with confidence about the outcomes that lay ahead.

The problem is that it’s all too obvious...

Yeah, where would you find genuine kindness in the jungle-like entertainment industry?

If there hadn’t been any benefit for him, TEW’s main vocal wouldn’t have even spoken to me.

Well, maybe, at this point, this could be considered a sufficiently kind gesture in the cutthroat entertainment industry.

“Working with Seo Hoyun seems to have been a really good decision. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but after talking to you, I realized you’re quite a nice person.”

It was easy to find out who had rattled Jeong Dajun’s mental state.

It became clear just by looking at our maknae, who still couldn’t control his expressions well, when we played videos of each group’s performances for analysis.

After that, it was just a matter of confirming it.

You should’ve hidden it better if you were going to do it.

But then again, he would have been caught anyway.

Jeong Wonha shook Jeong Dajun because famous people like Joo Woosung, Lim Hyeonsu, and Min Jiheon were hanging around.

“Wait a minute!”

It was Jeong Wonha, the main vocal of TEW, his face red and veins bulging with anger.

Despite a mishap, he had managed to avoid last place, finishing fourth, but he wasn’t someone content with such a ranking.

“I just checked with the manager. No such rumor has been spread.”

Of course.

It was a bluff.

I had only guessed he might have rosacea or was in a relationship because he was always on his phone, blushing and chatting away.

He had hidden it quite well.

I thought he would spill the beans once we got closer, but being seasoned in the entertainment industry, he kept his lips sealed.

Kim Jaeyeon did cross my mind, but time was short, and Jeong Wonha wasn’t worth the effort.

“Why the fuck did you make up such a story and screw me over?!”

When a few staff members turned their attention toward us, Jeong Wonha’s voice dropped to a whisper.

Luckily, the commotion was loud enough that Seong Jiwon didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.

“My mental state is fucked up because of that, and because of it, I messed up and ended up in fourth place—”

“Excuse me.”

I looked at Jeong Wonha, who was whispering angrily, with a nonchalant expression.

“Is that my fault?”

“...!”

One of the few things I was exceptionally good at was dodging blame.

This skill had been quite useful whenever I had to explain myself to the broadcasting station’s director.

“Well, I guess you’d want to shift the blame. You messed up a significant portion of the performance because of your mistake, right?”

“...What did you say?”

“Don’t delude yourself.”

His face turned red and then pale.

I tidied up my annoying earpiece and said slowly,

“Wonha made the mistake and hurt the team.”

“...”

“Don’t pass the buck.”

The guy, trembling with barely contained tears, hurried off.

He had come to confront me in anger but soon realized causing more of a scene here wouldn’t do any good.

I usually wouldn’t resort to such petty tactics, but this time, I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.

I watched his retreating figure with indifference and turned to leave.

Doesn’t feel so great when you’re the target, huh?

Ding!

[Hey, didn’t you say everyone makes mistakes?]

Exactly.

Everyone could make mistakes.

But whether I overlooked them or not was my decision to make.

I laughed.

“Seo Hoyun.”

A strong sense of alarm blared in my head, and I tried to send Seong Jiwon away first, but Kang Yeonhu spoke up faster.

“Is this why you pretended to be close to him? To get revenge because of Jeong Dajun and take first place?”

Shit!

“Thanks to Seo Hoyun, he’s completely out of it right now. How could you shake his mental state like that just before the performance? He’s going to have serious trauma.”

Ah, shit!

Don’t talk about that when Seong Jiwon is right next to you!

I made an effort not to look at Seong Jiwon, who was beside me.

“What are you talking about?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t remember.”

“...Is this a hearing or something?”

At my shamelessness, Kang Yeonhu rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, and then sighed.

“Well... good job. You too, Seong Jiwon.”

After dropping that bomb, he hurriedly left.

“...Seong Jiwon.”

I was pondering how to mend the situation, but Seong Jiwon seemed remarkably calm.

“Why did you call?”

As I fumbled for words, Seong Jiwon slightly turned his head and our eyes met.

“Is there something? Do you need help?”

“...No?”

“But why are you being so cautious... Ah!”

Rolling his eyes in thought and then quickly piecing things together, Seong Jiwon clapped his hands.

“That vocal thing?”

“...??”

...What was he talking about?

“You knew?”

“...Wasn’t it obvious?”

Seong Jiwon was surprised, and he pushed my frozen self forward and started walking.

“Weren’t we all acting knowing this? Ah, Dajun might not know.”

“...!”

You knew all this time and never said a word?

Even the other members?

Catching a glimpse of my shocked expression, Seong Jiwon burst into laughter.

“Hoyun, do we still need to talk like this? It’s been over a year since we got back together.”

“...Yeah.”

“You really act well. It’s a pity you don’t want to do it anymore.”

Was this sarcasm?

But knowing Seong Jiwon wasn’t that kind of person, I mumbled as if to excuse myself.

“You don’t like this kind of thing, do you?”

“Huh?”

“...Scheming.”

As Seong Jiwon bowed to a passing staff member, he whispered,

“Yeah, I hate it a lot.”

Then he turned back to me.

“But, because it’s you.”

With those words, Seong Jiwon flashed a smile and went back to our waiting room.

I quietly watched the direction in which Seong Jiwon disappeared.

[...How can he say such a thing without even blinking?]

“That’s what I’m saying. I really find kids these days terrifying.”

[Yes. Don’t ever lie to Seong Jiwon again... It seems like it won’t work anymore...]

“Yeah...”

Seong Jiwon was not someone to be underestimated.

“...Sigh.”

Anyway, my part was over.

I took care of TEW’s main vocal who messed with Jeong Dajun, and by boosting my stats to A+, I also secured the victory for the vocal unit.

I rubbed my neck, thinking,

Jeong Dajun, I’ve taken a small revenge for you.

Now, it was up to Jeong Dajun to stand up for himself.

[1] 꿀잼 (“kkuljaem”) literally translates to “honey fun” and is used to describe something that is extremely enjoyable or entertaining.