The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol

“This is Chae Jeongwoo’s Black Stars, Shining in the Dark Night. You’re tuning in to the visible radio!”

Chae Jeongwoo smiled brightly with his headset on.

Since it was a visible radio, I also had to put on a bright expression and waved my hand in the direction of the camera.

It was my first time meeting Chae Jeongwoo after I had ignored all his texts when I appeared on a variety show with Kang Yeonhu.

He subtly directed questions to Jeong Dajun or Kim Seonghyeon rather than Kang Ichae or me, seemingly considering the growing recognition gap within The Dawn.

[The host is so handsomeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[I love you guys♥♥♥]

A monitor was set up at an angle where both Chae Jeongwoo and us could see the real-time comments from people watching and listening to the visible radio.

Having been a radio DJ for two years, he skillfully picked out and read only the witty comments from the rapidly scrolling messages.

Jeong Dajun, who uses Stargram like a diary, had been diligently uploading selfies lately.

It seemed he genuinely wanted to appear more “grown-up” by uploading more “boyfriend material” photos.

In the process, the clothes and shoes gifted by Kang Ichae naturally made their way into the shots.

Everyone, except for Jeong Dajun, was astonished by their expensive price tags.

Jeong Dajun, who just found out, seemed shocked.

“What? Those are expensive?”

“Yes, they are expensive.”

“Dajun doesn’t know unless there’s a logo.”

“Ichae-hyung said it was only 30,000 won?”[1]

“Oh dear.”

Kang Ichae had a nasty hobby of teasing Jeong Dajun, so, of course, so did I.

Watching our banter with a gentle smile, Chae Jeongwoo then asked,

“Come to think of it, I heard Ichae often gives clothes to Hoyun as gifts as well?”

“Of course. They’re more custom-made and filled with affection.”

Indeed, they were gifts.

Claiming to consider my taste, he gave me black T-shirts and sweatshirts.

However, the chest area had phrases like “I’m pretty” and “Princess” written in rainbow colors.

“You don’t seem to wear them.”

“I wore it once because I couldn’t refuse, but after being caught by fans, I don’t wear it anymore.”

Everyone chuckled at my response, finding it amusing.

Kang Ichae turned his gaze to Seong Jiwon and said leisurely,

“Since Jiwon’s birthday is coming up, I’m thinking of giving him a T-shirt that says ‘The Dawn’s Real Power.'”

“I’ll wear it well!”

[Jiwon, what do you mean you’ll wear it well? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Truly, The Dawn’s top dog…]

Chae Jeongwoo looked satisfied as he skimmed through the rapidly updating comments.

Then, we moved on to an image game.

“Who’s the most stubborn person in The Dawn? Choose when I count to three!”

There was no need to think.

While I picked myself, the other members unanimously pointed at Seong Jiwon.

“…Ahaha? Is it me?”

As Seong Jiwon laughed awkwardly, Jeong Dajun stood up.

“Of course, Hoyun-hyung is no joke either—but at least he listens to reason when you talk things through. Ichae-hyung’s fine as long as it’s fun, unless it involves health-related stuff… But when Jiwon-hyung gets stubborn, there’s just no stopping him!”

“What about Kim Seonghyeon?”

“If someone makes Seonghyeon hyung stubborn, they really, really need to reflect on themselves!”

“If someone makes Seonghyeon hyung, the light and hero of The Dawn, stubborn, that’s a real big mistake,” Jeong Dajun grumbled as he ran his hand through his hair.

I tilted my head to look at Seong Jiwon.

Is Seong Jiwon really that bad?

Kang Ichae glanced at me briefly before turning his eyes away.

After that, we moved on to a segment where we read short stories sent via text and suggested solutions.

Jeong Dajun, who read a story about whether it was a fling or not, passionately shared his experience of watching dramas from his mother’s womb to the present, at the age of 19.

Of course, The Dawn’s maknae was a lifelong single.

I thought about stopping him, but I figured the Noeuls knew more about Jeong Dajun anyway, so I let it be.

Moreover, I didn’t add a word myself.

Even if I give advice, I can only think of an ending where I get slapped.

As the maknae frowned, muttering that anyone who confused others wasn’t a good person, I listened absently, my gaze drifting to the monitor where a few comments caught my eye.

[Jeongwoo is so cuteㅓㅓㅓㅓ]

[Dajun!!!! How did you learn about dating through booksㅠㅠ Our maknae]

[Seong Jiwon, explain yourself, Seong Jiwon, explain yourself, Seong Jiwon, explain yourself]

[Ugh, that’s disgusting. You really live up to being the center of T.D.O]

[Our makne is so pure, we must protect him]

[So cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Aren’t you sorry to the members? It’s amazing how you keep your mouth shut about your agency’s past~ㅋㅋ]

For a moment, my eyebrows twitched, but I quickly hid my expression.

Just as Seong Jiwon, who had been laughing at Jeong Dajun, was about to turn his head towards the monitor, I tapped his leg under the table.

“Huh?”

With wide eyes, Seong Jiwon mouthed why, and I flashed a bright smile.

Fortunately, the next topic shifted to Seong Jiwon, leaving little time to look at the monitor, and there didn’t seem to be any more comments coming up.

“May the starlight reach you tonight. See you again tomorrow.”

The Dawn thanked the Noeuls for watching, and after Chae Jeongwoo delivered the final line, the radio ended.

“Good job~.”

As I said that and stood up, I noticed the staff’s gaze subtly passing over Seong Jiwon.

“Hyung, aren’t you going?”

“I should.”

As I stood still, observing the atmosphere, Jeong Dajun tilted his head slightly, looking at me with a curious face.

I decided to leave, but a nagging feeling kept ringing alarms in my head.

This is messed up.

“Hoyun.”

At that moment, as I was heading down the hallway to the parking lot, I heard Chae Jeongwoo calling me from behind.

“…Sunbae.”

I gestured for the members to go ahead and quickly put on a public smile as I turned around.

“Thank you. For the Yeonhu incident.”

There was no need to call me aside just to express gratitude like this.

No matter how I looked at it, Chae Jeongwoo seemed to have a great personality.

“Are you really thankful?”

“Of course… a lot… It was unexpected, but the broadcast turned out well in the end. But, Joo Woosung was grumbling a bit.”

“He texted me, asking why I live like this.”

“Ahaha.”

At my words, Chae Jeongwoo burst into hearty laughter.

After briefly glancing around, he lowered his voice.

“Hoyun, do you have a moment?”

I narrowed my eyes slightly, wondering what he wanted to talk about, but I nodded for now.

He led me to a secluded corner.

“…Normally, I would have just ignored it, but our kids received a lot of help.”

“Yes.”

“From what I’ve seen, Seo Hoyun seems to have a very strong mentality, so I’m saying this.”

What on earth was he trying to say with such a long preamble?

“What is it?”

Though I was getting annoyed from listening, I still maintained a smile on my face.

Of course, it cracked slightly a second later.

“It’s about Seong Jiwon.”

Chae Jeongwoo scratched his cheek, glancing away.

“With the comments coming in so fast, you might not have seen it, but it looked a bit strange.”

“Ah.”

It seemed he had seen those comments too.

Chae Jeongwoo scratched the back of his neck, showing a moment of hesitation before speaking slowly.

“Do you know what Seong Jiwon was like at his previous company?”

“I don’t know. Not really.”

“…Hmm, well…”

Chae Jeongwoo raised his eyebrows once, then spoke lightly, as if he had no intention of delving deeper.

“Anyway, you’re a team, so trust him. You’re on the same boat.”

It was something I’d heard before.

Specifically, from Sucker Number Two.[2]

“Yes. Thank you for your words.”

I was about to wrap it up, thinking he was done talking, but Chae Jeongwoo suddenly laughed.

“You don’t agree with me, do you? Or rather, you’re just letting it go in one ear and out the other?”

Being nice didn’t mean being easily fooled.

There’s a bite to his words.

I was pretty sure I’d kept my expression under control, but Chae Jeongwoo—a member of Black Call, a group known for staying at the top without any gossip, aside from Joo Woosung—seemed to have an uncanny knack for seeing through people.

“…Well, ultimately, it’s your choice, but as I said, you helped our kids a lot, and I’m saying this out of goodwill. Listening to it will be good for your team.”

“…”

“If possible, try to keep Seong Jiwon off the internet, so he doesn’t stumble across something weird and end up being hurt by himself.”

Chae Jeongwoo lowered his gaze and murmured quietly.

“Sometimes, wounds last a long time.”

He finished his words, lowered his eyebrows, and smiled.

“Looking at you, Seo Hoyun, you might not care much.”

Anyway, after saying we worked hard today and to be careful on the way back, Chae Jeongwoo turned and walked toward the radio booth.

After watching his back for a bit, I also headed back to the parking lot.

The amount of swearing I endured while working as a PD was enough to achieve immortality.

So how could I live paying attention to every little thing?

But that damn former agency of his, D.go, seemed to keep holding Seong Jiwon’s ankle, leaving me feeling uneasy.

It seemed problematic, and the rumor that Seong Jiwon was originally going to be the center of Today was quite widespread, so it wasn’t strange for such talk to circulate.

The timing is the issue.

There was one thing Joo Woosung said in the past that I strongly agreed with.

It was that it was extremely rare for a celebrity’s secrets to leak without reason.[3]

To survive in this industry, you needed talent, or at least some evil.

As a result, cases where people were inherently bad or their character being ruined posthumously were more common than expected.

“…Hmm.”

I should consider this intentional.

As the youngest of Lea Purple had mentioned, it seemed like Yoon Heeun was up to something, and it might lead to repercussions for the entire group.

As for Seong Jiwon, well…

He was The Dawn’s No.1 in stubbornness, he should be fine without me taking care of him.

I organized my tangled thoughts as I headed down toward the basement.

As I got closer to our van, I saw Seong Jiwon standing just outside, both hands covering his face as Kim Seonghyeon paced restlessly around him.

“Hey, why aren’t you guys getting in…”

But I couldn’t finish my sentence when I saw Seong Jiwon looking up.

“Oh, uh. Hoyun.”

Seong Jiwon was crying.

“Seong Jiwon.”

I approached and bent down to examine Seong Jiwon.

His nose was red, and his eyes were bloodshot, with tears falling like rain.

“Hey, you…”

Before I could ask why he was crying, Seong Jiwon turned his face slightly and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. It’s nothing.”

“What’s nothing?”

“Hey, hey. Seo Hoyun.”

I barely registered Kim Seonghyeon’s voice calling my name, even as his hand closed around my arm.

Did he see those comments earlier?

Did he see something on the internet?

Or did Yoon Heeun contact him?

All sorts of thoughts tangled in my head.

“Seo Hoyun, come out for a moment.”

As my expression grew increasingly harsh, Kim Seonghyeon tried to restrain me.

But my eyes remained fixed on Seong Jiwon, who continued to cry as if it were raining.

“Don’t cry and tell me what’s going on.”

I grabbed his shoulders and urged him to answer, and after a moment of hesitation, he replied,

“Well… I bumped into the van.”

“…What?”

His face turned red with embarrassment, and he pointed to a spot on the van.

There was indeed a whitish mark.

“No, I was looking around to see when you’d come… and I hit my face on the door…”

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence enveloped us.

“Hey, did you even hear what I was saying?”

“…”

“Or is it that your ears only hear Seong Jiwon’s words?”

Kim Seonghyeon grumbled.

Jeong Dajun, who was already sitting in the back seat of the van, lowered the heavily tinted window and rested his chin on it.

“Hyung, it’s cool and all, but… what should I say?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It’s overprotective!”

“Dajun, you’ll shock Hoyun-hyung. You should keep those thoughts to yourself~.”

Then, leaning against Jeong Dajun’s back, Kang Ichae clapped exaggeratedly.

Watching him chatter on, bragging about being the original source of “Seo Hoyun Syndrome” and claiming that people imitated him for a reason, made my fists clench with anger.

“Hey, just get in.”

“Huh? Oh.”

“Stop dawdling and hurry up.”

“Dajun, interpret for me.”

“That means please pretend you don’t know because it’s embarrassing.”

Thinking it would only be a distraction to stay here, I pushed Seong Jiwon and Kim Seonghyeon into the van first, while the two youngest continued to fool around endlessly.

“Tell me. Who did it?”

“Kya~! Hoyun-hyung~!”

In the end, Jeong Dajun imitated me, and Kang Ichae laughed heartily before getting a playful smack on their heads.

Then, I saw our manager and road manager running from a distance.

They must have been busy greeting people since we visited the broadcasting station.

Both got into the vehicle, and we soon left the parking lot.

As I rested my chin and looked out the window, listing the series of recent events in my mind when the words of Lea Purple’s maknae popped into my head.

He should focus on doing well themselves… even though he has plenty of things to be ashamed of, too.[4]

I immediately turned on my phone to text Kim Jaeyeon, but I felt a gaze and turned my eyes sideways.

Seong Jiwon, feeling guilty for being teased because of him, was cautiously watching me.

Seeing him still wet with tears, I picked up a tissue from the corner of the seat and threw it at him.

“Wipe it off.”

“Uh, okay!”

Damn, fine.

They kept throwing around the word “overprotective,” but I’d show them what real overprotection looked like.

[1] About $21

[2] I think he’s referring to Woosung from Episode 43.

[3]Episode 173

[4]Episode 198.