The Trashy Pd Has To Survive As an Idol: 문찐 [139+]

"This feels really f*cking ominous."

I had gotten up early out of habit and made myself a coffee, but I couldn't even take a sip—just sat at the table bouncing my knee. Kang Ichae glanced at me and asked,

"What are you doing?"

"I've got a bad feeling."

My gut feeling radar never fails.

As soon as he heard my answer, Kang Ichae immediately looked back and forth between me and the room I shared with Seong Ji-won who was still inside.

With instincts like this, he shouldn't be an idol; he should be reading fortunes on a mat in the middle of Gangnam.

"You're only realizing that now?"

He shook his head and tossed out a cryptic comment before disappearing into his own room.

My leg started bouncing even more violently.

'I mean, isn't the birthday cake usually bought by someone else, not the birthday person?'

I usually wanted to do anything Seong Ji-won asked, but this was just too suspicious.

"Hoyun, let's go."

But in the end, when Seong Ji-won came out ready to go, I followed him without saying a word.

I thought he might avoid eye contact again, but today he smiled brightly and chatted sweetly.

"The cakes at this hotel are supposed to be really good."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, they're supposed to be amazing."

Even his cheeks were flushed, and he kept repeating the same thing—he seemed more high-energy than usual.

Seeing him like that, honestly, the petty annoyance I felt from yesterday just melted away.

We went out without even bringing our manager, fully disguised in caps and masks.

Since it was a weekday morning, the hotel was relatively quiet.

"How about this one?"

"If you're gonna buy one, get the biggest. Jung Dajoon's like an elephant lately."

I replied, but my mind was elsewhere.

This was the hotel Yoon Hee-eon used to frequent, and I was on edge thinking this could somehow tie into the rumors about Seong Jiwon, lending them unwanted credibility.

'Maybe it's best to get out of here quickly?'

Or maybe I should linger around the lobby so we could be seen as friendly members buying a birthday cake together—a wholesome story.

"…Since we're here, want to get lunch?"

While I was caught up in my thoughts, Seong Ji-won suddenly suggested eating and dragged me to the restaurant in the hotel lounge.

Luckily, it wasn't crowded either.

I gave up halfway and took our usual seat in a quiet corner, prompting Seong Ji-won to ask,

"You've been here before?"

"A few times."

I'd come here a lot.

Not for good reasons—mostly for investigative programs.

A colleague I was working with almost got in big trouble just for stepping on the wrong toes during preliminary research.

We'd holed up here for days without sleep, trying to get the scoop.

As I rested my chin on my hand and looked out the window, Seong Ji-won's slightly trembling voice reached me.

"So you have been here."

But his face stayed calm.

As I sipped the water brought by a staff member, I thought I'd just let him enjoy his birthday meal and head back soon.

Then Seong Ji-won opened his mouth again.

"About Yoon Hee-eon…"

"Pffft…"

The water I was drinking shot back up my throat.

I quickly covered my mouth with my hand, but some of it leaked between my fingers.

'I knew it—something was off!'

So this was the real reason he brought me out.

I grabbed a tissue and tried to gather my spiraling thoughts.

"Well, we clashed a lot, so I didn't have good feelings, but seeing his name in bad headlines doesn't exactly make me happy either."

"Well, he brought it on himself."

Dating too much isn't the real issue. Look at Joo Woo-sung.

No, it is a problem.

But the bigger issue was how he looked down on others.

"You saw that message before, right? I got a lot of messages from Yoon Hee-eon. He said a lot of nerve-grating stuff too."

"Yeah."

"Still… I kind of get why he acted like that. His old agency was really awful."

I know.

Who doesn't know D.go is trash at this point?

"I know you went out of your way because of me. Thanks."

"..."

He didn't seem like he wanted to ask me directly, like he did back at Christmas.

But it felt like he still wanted to express his gratitude somehow.

I shrugged in response.

"He doesn't contact you anymore, right?"

"Mhm. Not anymore. Probably busy."

Looking at Seong Ji-won's gentle smile, I smiled back.

'Ah, geez.'

All the time, energy, and mental effort I poured into that whole mess suddenly felt worth it.

If someone important to me no longer had to be dragged down by that crap, then everything I went through was more than worth it.

'So this was what he was nervous about saying?'

That's all? Not a big deal.

The mood was warm and calm as we finished the meal and moved on to tea for dessert. I figured we'd go back soon and celebrate his birthday properly.

That's when he spoke again.

"You said you've been here before."

"Yeah, why?"

"I've been here too, a long time ago. …Because of my former agency."

As soon as he said that, I sat upright and drained my tea in one gulp.

"Should we go?"

Better to leave before unpleasant memories started resurfacing.

But Seong Ji-won waved his hand.

"No, that's not what I meant. Um… where should I even start?"

He looked around like he was trying to gather his thoughts, then slowly began.

"…First off, there's nothing to worry about. I never made it past the hotel lounge. The company guy said we were here for a profile shoot, handed me a key card, and dropped me off at the hotel."

I tried to keep my face completely neutral.

"When was this?"

"Three years ago. On my birthday, actually."

Did he seriously bring me here—on the same day, to the same place—on purpose?

'…Why?'

I stared at Seong Ji-won, trying to figure out what this was all about.

He looked more nervous than he had on our first showcase.

"…I was just standing in the lobby like an idiot when someone I'd never seen before came up to me and asked for my room key."

His lips curved slightly, as if recalling the memory.

"And… I don't even know why, but I handed it over. Still can't believe I did that."

Suddenly, I remembered what he said back at Christmas:

> "—I'm looking for someone."

"Someone who helped me when I was going through a rough time."

"Just before I left my old agency."

That… sounds like me.

"I told you before, right? That I've been looking for the person who helped me when I was struggling."

"…Are you sure they actually helped you?"

"Haha, now that I think about it, maybe not. But this part—I'm sure of."

A clear, ringing laugh escaped from Sung Jiwon's lips.

"They scared me."

Me? I scared Sung Jiwon?

"What did they say again? Something like, 'The most incomprehensible people in the world are guys like me. If you live like a parasite, what do you think you'll gain from it—'"

"Ah, stop! You can stop there—"

"'—Will you be able to hold your head high?'"

The way he said it—it was such a familiar tone that even if it flew by at 100 kilometers an hour, I'd still recognize it as my own. I buried my face in my hands, rubbing it dry as I silently begged it wasn't me.

Ding!

Of course, my hopes were betrayed by the inevitable system window.

[Partial memory has been restored.]

'It was me!'

Shit, I'm going insane.

When I was desperately waiting for a scenario quest to trigger, it was nowhere to be seen. But now, when I really didn't want it to, it shows up like clockwork.

"…How old are you?"

I recalled the younger Seong Jiwon sitting in the hotel lobby lounge we passed earlier, staring blankly.

At the time, I needed the card key that Jiwon had, to clean up a mess a colleague had made.

I knew what kind of situation he had been sent there for, so I had looked down on him—at first. But after realizing he'd been tricked by his agency, pity outweighed judgment.

"Don't do things like this. You'll just regret it."

"…So what do I do now?"

The Seong Jiwon I met back then was very different from now.

He was dried out, sensitive, hostile.

Like someone who didn't know what kindness was.

Probably because he had no room in his life for any.

"Don't worry. I didn't just say harsh things."

Jiwon tapped on the teacup he hadn't taken a single sip from since earlier.

"Like I said before, he was rough, but he was a good person to me. I was on the edge, and because of him, I stayed in this world. I kept going."

"..."

"And thanks to that, I'm here now—with you."

A gentle smile formed on Sung Jiwon's face—

And right then, a system alert rang again.

Ding!

> [You have earned Sung Jiwon's complete trust.]

> [Notoriety points have decreased.]

> [You have heard all of Sung Jiwon's past. Hidden information has been revealed.]

'It's progressing… this quickly?'

The guy who once said he only wanted to show pretty things to people he cared about—what kind of change of heart had he gone through to open up like this?

It didn't feel like he was just thanking me for helping with the Yoon Hee-eon situation. That might've sparked the conversation, but the flow had taken a strange turn.

Let's go.

Something else was still coming. My unease radar was screaming at me.

"Right. It's good you had someone like that."

I tried to wrap up the conversation and stand up when—

"I waited."

Sung Jiwon's voice rang sharply and clearly.

"I waited the whole time. But no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find you Clearly someone involved in the industry, but no broadcast station had you. I searched every agency, but nothing. Your face was unforgettable—but not a single piece of info, like someone deliberately erased you."

"..."

"But I remembered the voice. The tone, the way you spoke. That's all I had, so I replayed it in my head, over and over again."

The more he spoke, the more intense the unease in my chest grew.

"You know what? About a week ago, a memory came back to me."

At the same time, I recalled the unstable system alert I'd seen recently—and how Sung Jiwon had been hovering unusually close.

"There was a scar."

His gaze slowly traced from the bottom of my arm upward.

"…Exactly the same spot. Same shape. Just like yours."

Red warning lights flashed in my mind, and I quickly tried to recall the exact trigger conditions for scenario unlocks—

Clearly, resolving an incident alone wasn't enough.

If it were that simple, I would've cleared Jiwon's scenario back at Christmas.

And back then, he hadn't shown me this level of openness either.

Then… was it the depth of trust that made the difference?

Ding!

> [Sung Jiwon, main vocalist of THE DAWN]

> [Note: In the past, he received advice from the player 'Seo Hoyun' and didn't give up on his dream, continuing as a trainee. The player who gave him a major turning point—■ung Jiwon trusts benefactor ■■ Seo ■■.]

[Main Scenario Progress: 57% Complete]

[Proceeding to the next main chapter——]

Ddi-ri-ring!

Ddi-ri-ring!

Ddi-ri-ring!

Ddi-ri…

Ddi…—

———

—....

The blaring alarm that had filled my ears abruptly stopped. The system window turned pitch black.

So… does this mean the current Ji-won trusts me more than the one from the previous world?

"Was it you?"

No.

[E R R O R]

[E R R O R]

[E R R O R]

[E R ———]

[E ————]

[—————]

He's simply equating the past and present.

With the same trust.

In that case—

[■racter '■ Ji-won'—]

[Pers■ 'Seong Ji■' begins to sus■—]

[Character 'Seong■won' is start■ to dou■ the pla■—]

The frozen system window shut off entirely. Then, a new window popped up.

Dding!

[Character 'Seong Ji-won' is beginning to suspect the player.]

"Ho-yoon… that was you, wasn't it?"

The scenario can still be cleared.