The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol

was in chaos.
As she checked what was happening, she jumped up from her seat.

[The Dawn? Like Girls’ “Want You”]

“Pre-release?!”

Shining Star released a sneak peek.
The three-minute stage was condensed into a video that wasn’t even a minute long.

Taking a deep breath, the fan pressed the play button.

[“My fellow pirates, this is our show time!”]

It was Kang Ichae who opened the door of the opening.

“Ah, Kang Ichae, really…!”

Her heart felt constricted.
A pirate costume, seriously? This year’s K-pop has been completely torn apart by The Dawn.

As the office worker clutched her heart, the ticking sound of a clock and the sight of Seo Hoyun tilting his head appeared.

[“Hello, let me greet you once.”]

“Aah! Hoyun!”

Her chest hurt. Sob, sob, sob.

Seo Hoyun seemed to be overflowing with composure, not knowing if he understood the fans’ feelings.
He approached unsteadily within the screen and said with a smirk.

[“I know you’re wavering.

Eventually, you’re meant to come my way.”]

“Hoyun, I’ll go… I’ll go now…”

[“But don’t make me wait too long.”]

“I’ll go right away!!”

As she grabbed her wallet and was put into a frenzy by herself, the 45-second preview ended.

The office worker stared at the black screen for a while, shedding tears from the lingering emotions.
The community was already in chaos.

[What, did I just listen to Like Girls’ “Want You”??????]

[Isn’t this crazy??? ㄷㄷㄷㄷ It’s so different, it used to be cheerful and refreshing but a bit bland, and now it’s so spicy! A pirate with a tough exterior and soft interior hanging on me, my tongue is on fire]

[Hey, I thought this was a fairy tale concept, guys… Picking Peter Pan was honestly awesome, but then they bring in a pirate concept? Isn’t that telling Peter Pan not to go??? I won’t go, it’s totally possible.]

[I just slapped Peter Pan, hayah.

└Lol

└That’s a new level of nonsense.ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Barehanded crocodile combat is totally possible.]

[I must confess, I want to die stuck in Seonghyeon’s dimples.

└Get a grip.]

Everyone was excitedly having a nonsense parade.
But suddenly, a strange post appeared in the community.

[Title: What’s this? The Dawn is PD’s Pick? Just looking at it, you know it’s PD’s Pick.ㅋㅋㅋㅋ They’re really appearing together with Today, so that they could generate articles and controversies ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I knew something felt off from the beginning.
Today wasn’t meant to go up against those scrappy teams

└Right? I thought their agency was insane for having them, the previous first-place winners, compete there

└At least, it’s over if you exclude Maze and Refined ㅋㅋ Especially with The Dawn, thinking they’re on the same level as Today just because they’ve recently become popular and appearing together with those nobodies is pathetic.]

“Shoot….”

An aggro was triggered.

In cases like this, there’s a high probability it’s not a Today fan.
Even if there were extreme Today fans, they wouldn’t start a fire in such a public community.

The moment The Dawn fandom falls for such provocation, it would turn into a full-fledged fan war on both sides.
She hurriedly left a comment.

It began with “I like Maze…”

[Today’s stage was also goodㅇㅇ The Dawn did well too.]

I’m sorry, Maze fans… Honestly, I don’t know if Today’s stage was good, but I desperately tried to cover for them.

[└LOL, you like The Dawn?

└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ When a Maze fan starts with ‘I like Maze’ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s transparent.]

Gasp…!

I made a mistake in my haste.
I quickly tried to take down the post and scramble, but the aggro had already been drawn to the original post.

[Title: Honestly, what does Today have in terms of skills or personality? ㅋㅋㅋ

It’s all thanks to their agency, right?

Those famous ones are so annoying ㅋㅋ The Dawn is better.
At least they help grandmas ㅋㅋ

└Are you kidding? Comparing them to those nobodies?

└Honestly, if you saw the pre-release this time, you would’ve thought The Dawn was their senior ~~ Today covered White Cherry’s “Lemon Love,” and it was an eyesore ㅋㅋ In comparison, The Dawn is like a fairy, a fairy~

└That’s some crazy talk, you crazy person.]

“It’s ruined….”

It was a total disaster.
With the community’s response spreading uncontrollably, their secret SNS accounts were already spewing curses.
This was a bad situation.

Meanwhile, Shining Star‘s official account callously released the audience application notice.

[Round 1 Audience Application Form]

No, it wasn’t callous.
This was a declaration of war.

If you don’t want to kill us, apply and come— a declaration of war.

Damn those producers.

“I, I have to go.”

Today fans must never occupy the audience.
She had to save her kids.

She began to flood SNS with audience application posts.

***

“Our first episode is a week later?”

“Yes.
We’re moving quickly.
Filming was delayed, so we have to finish by episode 6.
The final round is going to be live.”

The staff briefly explained.

It worked out even better.
The Dawn members nodded as we sat around a conference table at tvK’s broadcasting station.

“Yes, understood.”

“I wonder if many people will come to our performance….”

Seong Jiwon expressed his concern.

There will be a lot of people.
Though the size of the fandom was still small, there would be fewer than Today fans.

The staff carefully observed our reactions.
It seemed they would be comparing us to Today.

“As you know, The Dawn previously took first place in the talent show, right? So, in the first episode, you will have a special 15-minute segment.”

“Wow!”

Jeong Dajun clapped his hands with an innocent smile.
Kim Seonghyeon and Kang Ichae also high-fived and grinned.

The more they acted like that, the more the internet would be ablaze with controversy with titles like “Isn’t The Dawn really annoying? ㅋㅋ.” I should tell the members not to look on the internet.

“I will announce the first-round mission.”

“Yes!”

“The first round is… your representative hit song.”

“…”

Our reactions turned sour in an instant.

We only had one single and our debut album from before.

We only had two songs.

“The judgment will be based on audience voting, judge voting, and the contestants’ own voting.
And among those, the group that takes first place will be given special authority.”

“Authority?”

“Yes.
You’ll find out when you go on stage.
So, the first round will be the day after the first episode airs.
There are eight days left.”

“That’s quick….”

“Yes.
Thank you.”

The staff left, and now only the camera remained.

Kim Seonghyeon let out a hollow laugh.

“There’s only one stage… and we only have two songs.
So, we don’t have to take too much time to choose.”

“It’s good that it’s fast.”

“Ahaha….”

Seong Jiwon tried to smile, but his face was bitter.
While the recent single did well, the response to our debut album was virtually nonexistent.

“Well, we’ve narrowed it down to “Second Chance” and our debut song “Glow.” Since “Second Chance” is more popular….”

“To gain a reaction on site, we have to choose a better-known song, no matter what.”

“Um, guys.”

Kim Seonghyeon, who had been quietly massaging his chin and lost in thought, cautiously began to speak to the members.

“Yes.”

“Actually, I want to do our debut song.”

[1] The phrase “모르면 간첩이죠” is a Korean proverb that translates to “if you don’t know, you’re a spy.” It is often jokingly used to encourage someone to stay informed about everyday things.
Or, as is the case in this scene, also used to gently tease someone who appears uninformed.

[2] CP, or chief producer, is the highest-ranking PD in a broadcasting company.

[3] Kim Heeyeon actually said “입으로 식빵을 구웠다”.
This Korean idiom literally translates to “to bake bread with one’s mouth.” It is used to describe someone who talks excessively or is just boasting.