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

A few hours earlier:

"Wow~, good job everyone!"

"Yes, thank you!"

Having wrapped up all the schedules in Europe, the team was given a few days of free time.

Thinking he should toss a little treat to his troublesome dongsaeng before returning home, Seo Hoyun threw on whatever outerwear he could find.

He was ready to head out, but overheard Jepng Dajun whining to the other members about checking out Milan Fashion Week.

In the end, everyone came out to stroll the streets and explore.

"Ah~, okay, okay."

While browsing a vintage shop, Kang Ichae exchanged a few words in English with the shop owner and then casually threw his arm around Jeong Dajun, pulling out his phone.

"Here comes the hamster."

The black t-shirt Kang Ichae wore, with a pattern of a toasted hamster flying between planets, fluttered dramatically.

"…What?"

"Since it's Fashion Week, let's host our own fashion show. You ready, maknae?"

"Yes, sir! Two glasses of wine!"

On cue, Jeong Dajun struck a pose and took a photo of Kang Ichae, sending it to PopPop.

Soon after, not only were replies flooding in from PopPop, but SNS exploded too.

> [What are these adorable little brats up to]

[LOLOLOLOLOL omg Kang Ichae LOL]

[They seriously live by impulse huh LOL]

Jeong Dajun snickered as he brainstormed messages to send to Noeuls (the fandom).

"How about this? Every time someone compliments me, I get to pick another outfit for Ichae-hyung."

"Love it."

No one quite knew why Dajoon got the compliments while Kang Ichae wore the clothes, but the maknaes were clearly just having fun.

> [Jeong Dajun is the world's most super gorgeous man!!!!]

Among the flood of messages, Dajun somehow managed to find only the ones calling him handsome.

> [Seems like he only wants to hear that he's hot…]

[Cutie.. laughing]

[An idol fishing for compliments and fans asking him to wear rainbow fur from the rack third from the right…]

And, as expected, Noeuls weren't picking normal clothes.

However—

"What! It suits me perfectly, doesn't it?"

Despite trying on outfit after outfit from nearby stores—some in solid, loud colors from head to toe, some decked out in rainbow patterns—everything looked good on Kang Ichae.

Even a strange illustrated t-shirt paired with a hot pink faux fur bolero (that looked like arm warmers) didn't make him look ridiculous. Instead, he pulled it off like a bold fashion model.

> [Is The Dawn the kings of fan engagement or what? They wear whatever fans ask]

[Is this the "metaverse"?

└You really like that word these days

└└Yes… I learned it yesterday…]

You'd think they'd stop after a while, but now he was strutting down Milan's streets in tight black spandex and a spotted leather jacket, throwing off smoldering gazes.

"Sung Ji-won. Kim Sung-hyun."

Seo Hoyun was trying to grab at least those two and leave the scene, when—

"Model-nim! Over here, please!!"

Ding!

> [He's gone full fashion muse…]

Exactly.

Seong Jiwon was clearly enjoying himself too, snapping photos of Kang Ichae.

All the outfits were being bought, which meant the shopping bags were stacked in both of Kim Seonghyeon's arms.

"Why are you carrying all that?"

"He's the model today. It's a fashion show."

"Leadership really comes with hardship, huh."

"Hey, wait. Hoyun, you're just now realizing that?"

Ignoring Kim Seonghyeon's grumbling, Hoyun turned to look at Kang Ichae, who was blowing air kisses and greeting passersby with loud "Ciao!"s.

Several reporters were now taking photos of Ichae, and someone who seemed to be an influencer—even Jeong Dajun had clapped a hand over his mouth in shock—came up, struck up a friendly convo, and took pictures with him.

'He's completely out of control.'

So this was what S-rank charm looked like.

Even surrounded by influencers wanting to snap photos, Kang Ichae looked completely composed.

The little fashion show seemed to be winding down. Hoyoon figured he'd gather the members and head off for a meal—but then, his eyes met Ichae's.

'Now what?'

The boy whispered something to the people around him and immediately walked toward Hoyun.

"Hyung, want to try a fun social experiment?"

"No. This has been plenty entertaining. I'm good."

Sensing danger, Hoyjn rejected the idea quickly. But Ichae ignored him, threw an arm around his shoulder, and raised his phone like he was about to take a selfie.

As expected, the reporters who had been snapping Ichae started taking photos of Hoyun too. The influencers who'd been chatting with Ichae also turned their attention to him.

As Hoyun's face soured and he mumbled, "uh, uh, uh," he was suddenly—

"Seo Hoyun, seriously, I've never been so happy to see you in my life."

—shoved into a luxury fashion brand's private party and standing face-to-face with Joo Wooseong.

'Ha...'

Shaking off the hand holding his arm, Hoyoon asked,

"What are you doing here, Joo Wooseong?"

"I'm the ambassador here. What are you doing here?"

"..."

Okay, to be fair, his situation made less sense.

No wonder the usually glossy-faced Wooseong looked even more polished today.

Now noticing Hoyun's outfit, Wooseong frowned.

"Wait, how did you get in here dressed in all black like that?"

"Face and sheer audacity, why?"

"…Ha, ha. You hear this guy?"

It was obvious he was trying to smooth things over with a smile.

"Anyway. That's not the point—look over there."

When Hoyoon narrowed his eyes, Wooseong quickly changed the subject and nodded toward a group of people.

Hoyoon glanced, and sure enough—designers, models, and industry insiders all had their eyes locked on Joo Wooseong.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying drinks, chatting, and soaking in the atmosphere, but in truth, the vibe was incredibly tense. It was obvious everyone was fiercely determined to win over Joo Wooseong tonight.

"…Ugh."

"Right?! Right?!"

"What about your manager?"

"If I had a manager here, do you think I'd be worried? They said you can't bring guests."

I clicked my tongue quietly.

Unfortunate situation, but—

I casually scratched my ear.

"You don't have the skills for this?"

I silently wished him the best of luck.

"Stuff like this? Handle it yourself. Good luck."

"Hey, hey! Wait! I'm scared!"

"Stop being a baby. I'm leaving."

"People here are way too forward! They compliment your outfit and start... subtly touching you!"

"..."

…What is this guy's deal?

Seriously, what does he expect me to do?

Where did all those dating skills he bragged about go?

"Wooseong, long time no see!"

At that moment, a model walked up and spoke to Joo Wooseong.

He was smiling, but it was obvious he was trying to get my attention like, "See?! This is what I'm dealing with!"

"Good luck."

"Hey!"

Naturally, I saw it as the perfect excuse to slip away. Or at least, I tried.

But Joo Wooseong quickly rattled off an apology in English and chased after me, ruining the escape.

"You think something will happen if you stick with me?"

"Of course. You look so cold and unapproachable people find you intimidating."

"That's… not wrong."

He had a point.

"Then how about we just leave together?"

"Can't. Contractually, I have to stay right now."

No matter what I said, it didn't work.

As I was trying to figure out how to shake this clingy guy off, he quickly added:

"Look, I'm not asking for much. Just one hour of chatting. I've helped you a ton!"

"..."

"I'll buy you dinner!!"

I was about to ditch him because he sounded so pathetic, but then I glanced around.

Sure, I'd gotten dragged into this place by accident, but looking at it from another angle—this was the kind of venue someone like me normally couldn't even get into. In other words, it was a golden opportunity.

I spotted a few individuals who, like Joo Wooseong, drew a lot of attention.

"Hey, do you know that woman over there?"

"Who?"

"The one in the dark navy two-piece suit."

"…Uh… what was her name… Oh! Designer Lee Seongjin."

"And the person next to her?"

"Probably Editor-in-Chief Riel."

I'd at least heard of both of them.

I quickly ran through a plan in my head and then told Joo Wooseong:

"Fine. I'll play along for exactly one hour, so you better make the most of it."

His eyes narrowed with suspicion at my sudden change of heart, but I flashed a friendly smile.

I patted him on the back and slowly started walking.

"Okay, start saying something interesting. Smile a bit."

"...The model up to your right is staring holes through me. I'm scared."

"Haha, that's not fear. Isn't that your specialty, Mr. Joo Wooseong?"

I could feel his glare.

I nudged him in the ribs as a signal to fix his expression.

"I was never that good at it, and I've dropped everything now. I've decided to dedicate my whole life to being an idol."

As he mumbled about wanting to live happily with his cat, I leaned in and whispered:

"Half the people here are your exes."

"Seo Hoyun, do you have a death wish?"

Joo Wooseong couldn't yell, so he ground his teeth instead.

At this point, we were both smiling, but the words being exchanged were vicious.

"Hoyun, as your senior, I'm genuinely concerned. How do you plan to live with that attitude?"

"Come on, can't you tell I'm doing just fine? You're the one asking me for help."

"Pfft…"

After taking that blow, he shot back again.

"This is why you have no friends!"

"Just me?"

"…No. Me too."

He quietly admitted it, lips pressed shut, and I sipped my cocktail while scanning the venue. My target was still a bit out of reach.

Then, Joo Wooseong muttered:

"Fashion terrorist. Guy who only knows how to wear black. Designers would sigh just seeing your outfits."

"Aww, what a cute insult."

"…Muse, my ass. You couldn't even get a business card."

That's supposed to be an insult too?

I let out a small chuckle in disbelief, and he gave me a sidelong glance before speaking again.

"So… this 'Shadow,' this Yoon Hee-eon person or whatever—was that your doing too?"

The timing was random.

For a moment, I thought maybe he set all this up just to ask that. But remembering how Joo Wooseong usually treated me, I tossed that idea.

Even though we were overseas at a party and the surroundings were noisy, his voice was deliberately low.

It was a completely out-of-the-blue moment.

I wondered for a second if this was the real reason he approached me and set all this up. But recalling how Joo Wooseong had treated me so far, I dismissed the theory.

We were overseas and in the middle of a noisy party, but his voice was lowered significantly.

"Asking something like this now, all honestly? That's rich."

Joo Wooseong knew very well that I'd do whatever it took to rise to the top. It wasn't something he couldn't figure out on his own.

I didn't say anything—neither confirmation nor denial. I just shrugged.

"You showing up at my place out of the blue last time too... Seriously, I don't get you."

"..."

"Let's be real. Everything's been going your way so far. So why are you trying so hard like your life depends on it?"

I downed the rest of my cocktail in one go.

Then I grabbed a fresh glass from a passing waiter whose tray was piled with drinks. The person I'd been targeting had finally gotten close.

"You're really~ interested in me, huh, Wooseong hyung?"

Joo Wooseong's brow twitched slightly.

I chuckled and gave his shoulder a playful pat.

"Come to think of it, didn't you say I couldn't even get a single business card?"

I leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

"Watch closely, yeah?"

"...?"

I brushed past his shoulder—intentionally bumping into someone who was walking toward us.

"Oh!"

Since I had instinctively pulled the hand holding my drink back, only the sleeve of my right arm got slightly wet. The timing was perfect—it looked like the other person had bumped into me.

Startled, the person quickly apologized.

"I'm so sorry!"

"…Ah, okay, okay. Wooseong hyung, do you have a handkerchief?"

"…Oh—are you Korean?"

The Korean words I threw out intentionally made the person's eyes widen.

Then I saw their gaze naturally shift behind me.

"…Ah, Mr. Wooseong… You're that idol…"

Seems like they didn't know my name.

The person looked flustered for a moment and apologized again with a guilty expression.

"Your clothes got wet… I'm so sorry. I really should've watched where I was going."

"Haha, it's fine. I'm just glad you didn't spill anything on Designer Seongjin."

"…You know me?"

"Of course."

Wooseong had told me who she was about 20 minutes ago.

I answered casually, then held out my left hand for a handshake.

"I'm Seo Hoyun. From The Dawn."

"Ahh!"

She seemed a little embarrassed that she didn't recognize me first, so her reaction to the handshake was more enthusiastic than expected.

This kind of person was easy to talk to.

Feeling guilty about being rude, they'd respond positively even to trivial topics.

"Hoyun, were you originally on the guest list?"

"Just happened to get lucky. A real stroke of fortune. Thanks to that, I got to meet Designer Seongjin like this."

"Oh my~, smooth talker, aren't you."

The conversation flowed naturally, and soon, even my second target—Editor-in-Chief Riel—joined us for a chat.

Then, ten minutes later—

"Hoyun, you've got great visuals. Such a vibe to you, and you're easy to talk to. How about this—want to meet up sometime? Ah! Wooseong should join too!"

"It would be my honor."

I casually slipped the two business cards I had aimed for into my pocket.

Joo Wooseong, who had unexpectedly gotten pulled into all of this, tried to force a smile, his lips twitching.

After ending the conversation on a friendly note, I dragged Joo wooseong over to a corner of the party venue.

He looked completely worn out as he stared at me, and I grinned while waving the cards held between my index and middle fingers.

"Oopsie~"

"...."

It meant: "Now who was it that said I wouldn't even get one business card~?"

"…Okay, I take back what I said earlier. It's actually a good thing you're focused on idol work. Otherwise, you'd have become a con artist."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Well, now that I've handled my business, let's go."

Crises are the best times to turn things into opportunity—and the opportunities you collect stack up into solid stepping stones toward success.

"Excuse me, Seo Hoyun, it hasn't even been an hour yet, you know?"

Joo wooseong pouted that it was barely ten minutes—"what is this, Just One 10 Minute?"—but still quickly followed behind me out the door.

---

[Guys, I think THE DAWN just got a schedule with Riel??]

[Whoa whoa what is this? Sudden Riel??]

After completing their European schedule and enjoying some rest, THE DAWN had recently returned safely to Korea.

Noeul (THE DAWN's fandom) had been vigilantly watching for updates on their overseas tour, but this had nothing to do with that—it was a sudden, totally unexpected schedule that hadn't been mentioned before.

There were even rumors circulating that Lee Seongjin, the lead designer for a famous international brand, had sent Seo Hoyun a gift.

[I mean, it's good but… why…?]

[Seriously... why...?]

[Did we ever get even a hint of this???]

Though they were initially confused by this seemingly contextless development—especially since the group hadn't even formally launched any global promotions yet—Noeul ultimately took it as a good thing for THE DAWN and rejoiced.

A paparazzi video of Seo Hoyun and Joo Useong walking down the street in conversation had been edited warmly and uploaded to YouTube.

The comments were flooded with English.

[I love the way they talk and smile at each other! So sweet :)]

[They both look unreal, like actual models!]

[Hahaha their friendship lives on in Milan too~]

Even though they appeared to be smiling at each other, they were actually arguing about dinner plans in the pettiest way possible.

**[Wait, isn't this the day Kang Ichae did that fashion show? Hoyun's wearing the same clothes??

└Our Hoyun wears all black like… every day, it always looks the same…

└└Oh, makes sense now

└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]**

[Wooseong is honestly hilarious. Even overseas, it's obvious he has no friends

└Why tho?

└└(photo) Bro went all the way to Milan just to hang out with Seo Hoyun

└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ these two are truly besties]**

But even more buzzworthy than those two—was of course Kang Ichae.

[How to sneak into fashion week as an idol while pretending to be a regular citizen.jpg]

His star power truly shined: no matter what random rags he wore, it looked like a brand-new F/W collection piece.

[There are soooo many pics of Kang Ichae from fashion week labeled "street fashion" it's cracking me up

└It is literally street fashion thoughㅋㅋㅋ

He actually bought all that stuff from local street stores

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]**

[Also why is Seong Jiwon beside him snapping pics like a pro? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

**[Kim Seonghyeon is a riot too. Totally the type to quietly wait while his partner tries on everything in the department store, even if he doesn't get it at all.

└Ugh I just wanna marry him before he finds out what love is

└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Can't happen though… not with Seo Hoyun being such a romance hater…]**

On top of that, a clip of Kang Ichae drunkenly playing piano went viral again, and his name trended across forums and SNS for an entire week.

[Wow, he really is a genius...]

[I love him so much ㅠㅠㅠ Our baby composes music, looks like that, AND dresses amazing… What do I even do?]

[He even dropped a fan song while overseas… ah… they really treat Noeul like a priority. I love them so much…]

[This latest fan song is SO good, so well-made ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ Kang Ichae is seriously a genius]

Just as Noeul's pride in him reached the heavens, it suddenly crashed back down to earth—

[Title: Isn't this Kang Ichae song plagiarized?]

—because of one unexpected accusation.