The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol

e dance.”

Joo Woosung kicked me.
I got up and practiced along with the beat, but I had difficulty keeping up with them, probably because they practiced like crazy while I was filming the drama.

Joo Woosung sat on the sofa in the corner of the practice room, crossed his arms, and looked at the members with sharp eyes.
Soon after, he managed to spit out some reluctant compliments with a face that was trying to suppress his annoyance.

“…Not bad.”

He watched until the end.
He then got up and corrected the members’ dance moves.
Even with just a few words added on, it was fascinating to see how the members quickly adapted.

But… what about me?

These days, my dance practice has been neglected because of acting.
As Joo Woosung finished correcting the other members’ dance moves, he quickly turned his attention toward me.

And sure enough, he nagged me like crazy afterward.

“What have you been doing all this time? Only acting?”

“Please, just stop it! Enough!”

“Hey, just give up, give up.
Just admit defeat.”

With those words, I glared at him as I caught my breath.

“You just came to tease me, right?”

“Oh, you got me.”

“…”

I clenched my teeth and followed Joo Woosung grudgingly while cursing at him.

I will definitely become more popular than Joo Woosung and laugh at him! I’ll show you what I was like during my PD days.

However, for now, Joo Woosung just laughed, looking at the pathetic me.

“What are you looking at?”

“…”

“Do it again, kid.”

“…Yes.”

“…Oh, what’s going on today?”

“Wow, you’re really fierce today….”

Moreover, Joo Woosung’s nagging was overflowing today so that even the members trembled as they watched.

My suspicion that he came to tease me because he was bored gradually turned into certainty.

Only after several more attempts did Joo Woosung finally distanced himself with a reluctant face that said, “Ugh, fine.” As I staggered into the corner and collapsed, Joo Woosung even advised Jeong Dajun and Kim Seonghyeon about their upcoming dance variety show appearance, proving that he was indeed helping his juniors.

But what was that just now?

As I barely moistened my parched mouth with water, Kim Seonghyeon and Jeong Dajun started dancing to a routine they had made for the variety show.

“?♪?♪”

It was a b-boy dance routine choreographed to a strong hip-hop bass.

The two seemed to have put much effort into it, as the choreography was flashy, and the moves matched perfectly with the beat.
I lay down, fixing my gaze on their dance moves, and Seong Jiwon sat beside me.

“They’re really good, aren’t they?”

“True…”

“I think they’ll get even better if Joo Woosung-sunbae helps them.”

Could it be…

Joo Woosung, despite how he acted, had high standards.
No matter how hard we prepared, he wouldn’t even blink an eye and say, “You’ve worked hard, considering you’re amateurs.” So, I looked at Joo Woosung, anticipating his unpleasant words to the two…

“…”

But Joo Woosung’s expression was strange.

…What?

“We’re done here!!”

“So, how is it, sunbae?”

Our group’s two main dancers, panting with flushed faces, asked in unison.
Only then did Joo Woosung snap back to reality and rub the back of his neck.

“…Ah.
Good choreography, um…”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, come here.
Let’s fix this part.”

And Joo Woosung strode over, demonstrating the move himself.
His popularity wasn’t just for his good looks; he was truly amazing.
I watched him as I took another drink.

Something’s off.

Lately, both Lim Hyeonsu and Joo Woosung seemed to lack energy.

After everything was done, I looked back and forth between the members thanking Joo Woosung and those practicing again.
Joo Woosung walked towards me, looking somewhat in a foul mood.

“Ugh… Checking on them just made me more pissed off.”

“…?”

“Damn, I need to go.”

To where?

But he just ruffled his dark brown hair and started searching for something on his phone.
I glanced over and saw it was an airplane ticket.

“What are you going?”

“It’s none of your concern.”

“…Did you get splashed with water again today?”

= In a bad mood?

“Fuck, I really did get my act together, you know?”

I was about to ignore him, thinking he wouldn’t tell me anything, but Joo Woosung watched my face, nervously playing with his phone as if regretting his harsh words.

I was entirely captivated by his pushover attitude.

Just when I started to think that both Joo Woosung and Lim Hyeonsu could be Korea’s most soft-hearted people, even towards those they bullied, I remembered something.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Suddenly, Lim Hyeonsu’s words flashed through my mind.

“Did you get a call from Composer Lim Hyeonsu?”

“… Eh? Cheongbeom-noona?”

Having roughly finished what he was doing, Joo Woosung put down his phone and looked at me with a face as if he had been hit by a sudden realization.
He then tilted his head.

“Uh… Yeah, I think something like that happened?”

“For a get-together?”

“Yup, how did you know?”

I closed the water bottle cap, took another sip, and wiped the corners of my mouth.

“Don’t go to that.”

“…???”

Like Lim Hyeonsu, Joo Woosung looked at me with a face full of question marks.

“Why? Do you have something going on there?”

“Nothing.
I’m just saying it for your sake, Joo Woosung.”

“For my sake? What does that even mean…?”

Although he quickly denied it with words, Joo Woosung mumbled like he had a good sense at times like this.

“Who’s going to be at that get-together? It’s only Shining Star’s PD Kim Heeyeong and Cheongbeom-noona, right? You don’t want me to go because it’s a get-together to badmouth you… Ah!”

Joo Woosung suddenly seemed to understand something and opened his mouth.
His face slowly turned angrier.

“Hey, fucker…”

“…”

“Do you think I’m some fucking player trying to hit on every girl with XX chromosomes?!”

But as expected, his thoughts went in the wrong direction.

What the hell was he talking about now…?

“Cheongbeom-noona and I have nothing going on, okay? And how many times do I have to tell you I’ve made up my mind?!”

It wasn’t about her, okay!

Ugh, what should I do about this jerk, Joo Woosung?’

I said that because I didn’t want to listen to the stories that were just coming my way.
I still had to deal with Joo Woosung since he was useful, so I inevitably had to continue meeting him… If the three of them met happily, wouldn’t I hear a lot of news about it?

There would be no big problem if I didn’t have to face PD Kim during Shining Star Season 2, but I said that because I hoped there would be no personal contact between us as much as possible.
But Woosung, extremely sensitive today, must have misunderstood something and gone on a rant.

“Are you really living in the 21st century? Are we still living by the rule that men and women should not sit together? Seo Hoyun should have been born as a scholar in the Joseon Dynasty.”

“Ah, I didn’t think like that.”

“What do you mean? It’s written all over your face.
How could you even think of linking me with Cheongbeom-noona? Don’t tell me…”

“Are you crazy?! Not that! Joo Woosung, you’re the narrow-minded one.
You’re making wild guesses from just one thing I said.
I said not to go there because it’s a get-together where they badmouth me, not because I can’t break my habit.”

“Then I should go even more.
I’ll attend that get-together and seduce all the noonas.”

“Hey! Have you gone crazy? Reserve your all-out for Pop Pop!”

“Heyyyy? Crazy? You’re done talking back to your sunbae?!”

As I fought with Woosung in the corner, the members, who were practicing far away, stopped singing and stared blankly at us.

“…Why is Hoyun like that?”

“Seo Hoyun… Has he gone crazy to his sunbae?”

“Hyung, is something wrong today?”

That’s right, I must be crazy…

Feeling embarrassed for showing this side of myself in front of the innocent Jeong Dajun, I apologized first, ignoring the murmuring members.

“…Ugh.
Fine, I got it.
I didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m sorry anyway, okay? That’s not what I meant.”

“You’re even apologizing to that bitch? Thanks?”

Joo Woosung, who had been preaching about fixing his ways and becoming a proper idol (whatever that entailed), scoffed with a solid misunderstanding and anger.
I almost got flustered by his words, but I held back.

How can I clear up this misunderstanding? Should I say Kim Heeyeon is my ex-girlfriend?

No way.
I could never say that.

I quietly stared at Woosung, still whining about a guilty conscience with his splendid past.

“…After it’s over, go eat out with the members or something.”

“Buzz off.”

“You like kimchi fried rice, don’t you?”

“Kimchi fried rice, my ass….”

Even though I mentioned what I learned from the trivia quiz, that guy was already sulking.
Watching Woosung grumble about attending that get-together, I sighed.

Yeah…

Congratulations, Joo Woosung.
Now you’re living a proper life…