The Trashy PD Has To Survive as an Idol

This chapter is generously sponsored by Jaynne.

Trivia Quiz?

That’s the first thing you memorize when you become an entertainment PD.
But there’s no way Seo Hoyun like me wouldn’t know it.

…However, when I pretended to be unsure and mumbled some words, the production team eagerly jumped in with a deal.

– “If you get ten questions right, not only Joo Woosung, but we’ll provide food for the entire cast!”

– “Wow! Seo.
Hoyun.
The.
Savior!”

– “We.
Love.
You.
Seo.
Hoyun!”

“It’s a bit overwhelming…”

As if it to show how overwhelmed I was, I was now in the kitchen, just sipping some water.
Kang Ichae, who was playing a game while leaning against the couch in the living room, glanced at me.

‘What’s up?’

‘Nothing.’

Just play your game.

– “Hey, don’t be so anxious!”

“…Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

– “Seo Hoyun is the best!”

– “Let’s start the 100-second quiz! First question, there are six metropolitan cities in South Korea.
Please name them all!”

Please update the contents of the quiz…

– “Oh, this is suddenly so hard to think of~.”

Although the cast jeered at the production team, my mouth was already listing the answers.

“Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Incheon, Gwangju, Ulsan.”

– “…?”

The production team had been caught off guard by my rapid response and blurted out reflexively.

– “…Uh, correct!”

I poured water into the coffee pot and waited for the next quiz.

– “Next question: What is the name of the climate change agreement related to global warming and greenhouse gases, signed in December 1997?”

“Kyoto Protocol.”

– “…Correct! What is the capital of Albania?”

“Tirana.”

I slowly made coffee in the kitchen and answered within 0.1 seconds.
The coffee smelled so good.

From then on, the production team’s side became restless as I continued to answer without hesitation.

– “Alright…! How about this one?”

“Please go ahead.”

– “What is the English term for the time when the advertising fee is the most expensive due to the highest viewer ratings?”

– “Hey! This is too much!”

– “The production team is trying to starve us to death!”

“… Ahaha.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.
The other side seemed genuinely flustered.

– “Why, why are you laughing?”

“Oh, no, uh…”

I couldn’t really say it was because even this miserable world seemed to be helping me sometimes.
I just hummed the answer.

“Prime time.”

– “…And in Korean?”

The cast yelled “The production team is so mean!” But I calmly answered.

“Prime time.”

– “…Ugh.”

The production team grumbled for a while before finally spitting out the words they never wanted to say.

– “…Correct.”

– “Seo Hoyun!”

– “You got all ten questions right, Hoyun!”

– “Thanks to Hoyun, we get to eat!”

Yeah, I know that feeling…

I nodded with satisfaction.
I remembered memorizing trivia questions when I was a rookie just in case there was a “staff vs cast” situation.

– “Seo Hoyun, I’ll buy your album!”

– “Hope your album is a huge hit!”

“Ahaha! Thank you.
I will send you our album.”

– “You’re even so cool! So awesome!”

On the other side of the phone, the cast was already in a party atmosphere.
They were even praising me.

Maybe it was time to throw in some bait.

“Well, I’m going to hang up now.
Thank you for your hard work late at night.”

– “Wait! Just a moment!”

The production team hurriedly called me.

– “Seo Hoyun, let’s do one more Trivia Quiz.”

I had a sudden idea.

I could imagine the subtitle “Desperate production team” appearing on the screen during the broadcast.
As I hesitated on purpose, the production team quickly added.

– “If you get all ten questions right, the cast can sleep in a room with the boiler turned on, not in a tent tonight!”

“Gasp…!”

– “…Hoyun, please!”

“Ah, this is…”

I could answer more trivia questions without any problem, but the production team wouldn’t be such an easy opponent.

– “Since Joo Woosung used a phone chance, we’ll do a quiz related to Joo Woosung instead of trivia questions.”

– “Why? Why me? That’s a bit…”

– “Is Woosung upset because he can’t hear people saying he’s very handsome?”

– “No, it’s not that.
I’m saying this because he really doesn’t seem to know much about me.”

They must have thought that I wouldn’t know much about Joo Woosung since I failed the mission earlier.

Wrong assumption.

– “How about it, Seo Hoyun? Do you have no confidence? Oh right, no looking up the answers beforehand! You must answer immediately for it to count.”

“Alright.
Let’s do it.”

He didn’t need to provoke me; I would have taken the bait anyway.
As soon as I answered, not only the production team but also the cast members seemed a bit flustered.

– “Hey, isn’t this a bit too much? How would he know what you will ask?”

– “Ah… I don’t really trust Hoyun.”

Ignoring Joo Woosung, I continued.

“However, if I get all ten questions right, please invite me to your next broadcast.”

As I said this while sitting at the table with a cold coffee that had gone cold, Kang Ichae laughed at me for still working so early in the morning.

Be quiet.

– “Uwaaah!!”

– “Mr.
Seo Hoyun is so confident~.”

– “He must be really sure of himself!”

Shouts erupted.

The production team seemed to ponder for a moment, then whispered keywords like quantity, fun, and material, before finally deciding.

– “Okay, call!”

Let’s go.

I concentrated as the game began.

– “Now, let’s see how well you know Joo Woosung.
First quiz! What is the first song Joo Woosung topped the charts with, and who was its composer?”

“ICU.
Composed by Philharmonic.
It ranked first on Music Bank on February 5th, XXXX.”

– “…Huh?”

Joo Woosung’s puzzled voice was transmitted clearly.

– “Correct! In the recent song Strike by Black Call, please say one line of Joo Woosung’s part!”

“Tell me what you want, I’ll make it come true.
Who do you think you are talking to?”

– “…Correct!”

– “What?!”

I already learned all this information when I researched Joo Woosung’s background.

After watching his videos a few times, I could easily remember it… On the other hand, the production team remained silent.

– “Grr… What is the date Joo Woosung debuted on a music show?!”

“December 9th, XXXX.”

– “Uh… was it?”

– “Joo Woosung! How could Woosung become unsure of himself.”

– “…Correct!”

– “Wow, it’s amazing! Seo Hoyun must be a fan of Joo Woosung!”

The next questions were also easy.
Too easy.

I correctly answered the names of Black Call’s featured songs, the recent drama OST sung by Joo Woosung, and even his cat’s name.

– “Yaaaaah! We’re going to be invaded!”

– “Hey, Joo Woosung, you’ve raised your junior well!”

– “Hey, Seo Hoyun… I’m starting to feel a bit overwhelmed here…”

“Next question, please.”

– “…Alright.”

As Joo Woosung grumbled, laughter erupted from the other side.

Finally, it was the last quiz.
The production team seemed to have given up.

– “Do we only have this one quiz left? (Yes…)”

– “Ah, seriously… This is like a freebie.”

– “We lost…”

– “The last one… this is like a spoon-feeding service question.”

I was confident I could handle whatever came my way.
Considering that The Dawn would appear on a terrestrial broadcast, I was already humming.

– “Here is the final quiz.
What is Joo Woosung’s favorite food?”

?

– “Ah, I know this one!”

– “It’s famous.
Joo Woosung really likes this.”

…What did they say?

Was this famous?

“…Um.”

A cold sweat ran down my face.

– “Uh-oh?”

I searched my memory over and over.

Did I have this information? Naturally, I mainly investigated Joo Woosung’s music show performances and activities.
If they asked me to recite the lyrics of a Black Call song from their second album that Joo Woosung wrote, I could do it right away.
But…

How would I know Joo Woosung’s favorite food?

Not being able to answer easily like before, the production staff quickly realized that I didn’t know.

– “Seo Hoyun, you have ten seconds left!”

Black bean noodles.
Bongole pasta.
Cat food.
Tuna kimbap.
No, tuna kimbap was Jeong Dajun’s favorite.

I tried to think of various things, but they all scattered chaotically in my head.

Sensing their chance, the production team excitedly began the countdown.

– “Mr.
Seo Hoyun, please answer!”

…I need something to answer with.

“…That.”

– “Yes!”

“That, do I really need to know that?”

– “…!!”

An icy silence passed for a moment.

– “Buzz!”

– “…”

I got it wrong.
I had come so far, but just because I didn’t know Joo Woosung’s favorite food… Feeling empty, I just glared at my phone.

– “…Don’t cry! Don’t cry!”

– “It’s okay even if your younger sibling ignores you!”

The silent cast suddenly started comforting Joo Woosung.
Honestly, what did it matter if Woosung ate well or not? I was listening to the noisy chatter from the other side of the phone, and one of the cast members kindly explained.

– “Joo Woosung is famous for loving kimchi fried rice, isn’t he~? He’s been known to eat it all the time on shows, so even non-fans would know.”

– “Enough, enough.
Hoyun doesn’t want to know.”

– “Ah… I see…”

Was that so?

Now that they’ve mentioned it, it seemed like I had seen something like that… I didn’t care, so I skipped it.
With nothing more to say, they switched to a one-on-one call, urging the two to make up.
Joo Woosung remained silent for a long time.

– “…”

“…Should I hang up if you have nothing to say?”

– “Yup, let’s end the call and also our relationship.”

“…Ah, come on.
What kind of words are those?”

No, you can’t.
It’s not a refund period.

– “Please edit out the part where I got touched earlier…”

It wasn’t my intention to catch the last part…

The quiz, which turned into a sea of laughter at the end, ultimately ended in the production team’s victory.

– “With the production team’s victory, the cast will sleep in tents tonight!”

– “It’s okay, we can sleep outside! We’ve already warmed up from laughing.”

– “Seo Hoyun, you’re so funny.
Even though we failed the mission, you should come back next time.”

“I’d be grateful if you invite me.”

After adding a few more words of appreciation and small talk, I hung up the phone and sprawled on the sofa.

The surroundings felt even quieter after the noisy sounds had disappeared.
Kang Ichae, who had been focusing on his game with earphones on for a while, turned his head to look at me.

“You’ve been working hard since dawn? You said you were sleepy.”

“It’s okay.”

It was worth giving up a little sleep for what I gained.
The system window in front of me confirmed that.

[Sudden Quest Arrival!

Appear on a variety show alone and receive positive feedback.

Success: 3,000 points

Failure: Ban on variety show appearances for one year]

“Ha, as expected…”

Joo Woosung was a resource to be used until the end.

As I chuckled, Kang Ichae glanced at my expression and shook his head before going into his room.

I found a way to earn points.