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

[Guys, holy crap. Cheongbeom just called out TwoPose.]

Despite her initial reluctance, Lim Hyunsu acted fast.

[This is gonna be a wild show. Let's go watch it unfold.]

I rested my chin on my hand and scrolled through social media.

[LOL it's been said before that the songs were similar.]

[Wow, they really are alike… TwoPose is clearly a repeat offender.]

Lim Hyunsu had two songs plagiarized by that composer. Five bars were undeniably identical, but since the songs were three years old, the public's response was lukewarm.

She even called him out directly on Stargram. Plagiarism scandals weren't rare, but direct call-outs like this were.

[Isn't this Cheongbeom's first time talking about plagiarism??]

Lim Hyunsu had never brought up plagiarism before. Because she had skeletons in her own closet.

[LOL is Cheongbeom insane??? Where's her conscience???]

[Title: BlueTiger Plagiarism Scandal Summary

For those who don't know why Cheongbeom's getting hate right now:

It all started because TwoPose plagiarized two of Cheongbeom's songs three years ago and again one year ago.

Yesterday, Cheongbeom posted on Stargram accusing TwoPose of plagiarism.

They've been going at each other ever since—total chaos.

But here's the kicker: Cheongbeom also had a plagiarism scandal. LOL

Random no-name indie composer got listed as a co-writer out of nowhere, and the plagiarism rumors exploded. Cheongbeom stayed totally silent back then.

Now she's threatening to sue for plagiarism? Pot, meet kettle.]

└ It's honestly a clown show 😂

└└ Peak toxic rivalry

└ Didn't Cheongbeom also get accused of rigging her own sales?

└└ Yeah LOL she'll probably sue over the rumors later too

The composer she called out had some name recognition, so he got flamed hard—but so did Lim Hyunsu.

'Still, at least she apologized and gave up the royalties.'

Not that it made her innocent. But she had reflected on it, regretted it, and likely always would.

[Title: List of TwoPose's Plagiarized Songs

Trash-tier behavior from Mr. TwoPlagiarist

Mr. PlagiarizeTwice strikes again…

└ This guy's nuts??? The accusations just keep piling up.]

But soon, the criticism that had been flooding toward Lim Hyunsu began to fade.

True to his new nickname "TwoPlagiarist," other composers began stepping forward, claiming they'd been plagiarized by him too—right after Hyunsu's call-out.

[TwoPlagiarist's track record is stacked. How many times has this happened now?]

[At this point, didn't Cheongbeom basically step up and take the bullet first? LOL]

[Ah… Cheongbeom… everyone was flaming you, but now…!]

[Don't compare Cheongbeom to TwoPlagiarist. At least our queen donates every year and tries to live right

└ LOL plagiarism is plagiarism...

└└ But TwoPlagiarist is on another level, facts.]

This was textbook media spin.

Even people who previously claimed to be "neutral" were starting to lean toward the idea that TwoPose was the real perpetrator.

It was the perfect moment.

The perfect time for a diversion.

But before I even had the chance to make a move, the "Noeuls" (Ichae's fans) rose up on their own.

> [Summary: TwoPose's plagiarism of Kang Ichae's unreleased song]

The Noeuls had been claiming this all along, but until now, their voices were buried. Suddenly, their words were gaining serious traction.

'Of course.'

Every viral controversy needs a clear victim. People crave someone to take the fall.

'Makes it easier to chew on.'

That's how people justify their online harassment.

And so, Kang Ichae—who had once been everyone's favorite punching bag—was now cast in the role of the victim.

[Why TwoPose is literal scum:

He plagiarized Ichae's unreleased song and then rushed his own version to release first so he could frame Ichae as the plagiarist. LMAO.]

[The most unfairly treated person right now:

Kang Ichae, who just wanted to drop a legendary banger and ended up accused of plagiarism.]

[Didn't know Ichae before, but he's a saint. If it were me, I'd be suing them into the ground.]

In the blink of an eye, Ichae had transformed from "plagiarizing trash" to "a talented, unfairly wronged angel."

Even YouTube channels that had been tearing him apart just last week were now uploading videos titled "TwoPlagiarist Gets Taught a Lesson by Cheongbeom," treating Ichae as the victim.

[What kind of rookie idols are accepting songs from these guys? LOL does the company have any brains??]

[Even their performance sucked, LOL not trendy at all.]

[Looks like they were desperate to ride Kang Ichae's coattails. Small-time nobodies don't get many chances to promote themselves like this.

└ Fucking scumbags. Not even C-list idols, more like Z-list.]

And just like that, public opinion flipped.

'Scumbags.'

Well, not that I'm much better.

[ㅠㅠㅠ Ichae, what are we gonna do… you've been through so much…]

[Sigh… there's just so much I want to say… But more than anything, I just want Ichae to rest ㅜㅜ]

[♡♡♡♡♡ Ichae, we love you ♡♡♡♡♡]

The scandal had been flipped, reframed.

Kang Ichae was cleared. His reputation began to recover.

'People really are something else.'

All I'd asked Lim Hyunsu to do was simple.

"Seo Hoyun, you son of a bitch."

Just stir things up with the plagiarist. Either that or I'd go ask Ichae to write a similar song and pick a fight that way.

After nearly two years of calling each other "teacher" and "student," it turns out Lim Hyunsu really did care about Kang Ichae.

There was one thing she still hadn't changed about herself—even beyond the plagiarism issue.

"...You really are still a piece of shit, you know that?"

She's soft-hearted. That's what she can't fix.

When I explained the task I needed done, she stayed silent until the very end.

"Composer-nim, I'm counting on you."

Seeing her still sitting with her head bowed, I left the studio.

Whether she'd go through with it was entirely up to her.

And two days later, I saw online that Lim Hyunsu had publicly called out the composer on Stargram.

'All done.'

Thanks, Lim Hyunsu.

Thanks to her, things had more or less been sorted out.

'…Hmm.'

I looked up Lim Hyunsu online too.

There were still some hate comments, but they had clearly decreased, and here and there were messages of support.

[But like… why did Cheongbeom unnie suddenly bring up an old song to call out plagiarism?

If it was because of that, I think I might actually cry.]

[I'm just going to love our unnie, no matter what.

Yeah, she made mistakes, but she's also done so many good things.]

The Noeuls were being careful not to tie Kang Ichae to the incident, but it seemed some people were already catching on.

As I scrolled further down the screen, reading post after post, I closed the social media app and headed to the company to wrap things up.

Now that the issue had been stirred up, it was time to put out the fire.

"Hello~"

"Oh, Hoyun! Long time no see?"

Thanks to all the things that had been going on with The Dawn, I'd run into the Daepaseong legal team quite a few times, and we'd become somewhat familiar with each other.

"Looks like you're busy?"

"Ahh, we're working on a group lawsuit…"

The legal team was preparing the countermeasures for the current situation.

I flashed a bright smile at the worn-out legal staff and held up the bags and drink tray I brought with me.

"Here, have some snacks!"

Drinks and some light food I'd picked up on the way here.

"Wow, as expected of Hoyun~!"

I chatted casually with them while smiling, and then casually slipped in what I really came for.

"Oh right! By the way, do you guys have a lot of monitoring reports on Lim Hyunsu?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course we do."

The legal team member tilted his head slightly as he answered.

"Do you manage those separately?"

"Uh… well, we gathered her hate comments along with the ones for Ichae. Why? Should I send them over?"

"Yes, haha."

He gave me a puzzled look at first, but soon nodded like he'd figured it out.

"Ohh, is this something the management team hinted about? Like, for networking purposes?"

Nope. This was just me being nosy.

Even though I was trash for using her like I did, a part of me wanted to clean up the bastards who crossed the line while I had the chance.

Thankfully, most people in the industry already knew Kang Ichae and Lim Hyunsu were close, so they probably just assumed I was helping out for networking's sake.

I just smiled without saying anything. The legal team member then said he'd check with the manager and see if it could be forwarded.

"Ah! By the way, Kang Ichae was just here earlier. He bought us lunch too."

"…Kang Ichae?"

"Yup!"

Would he still have any reason to stop by the legal team again? I thought he'd already wrapped everything up after dropping by several times.

"It took a while, but thanks to Ichae acting fast, it looks like we're finally getting things under control. Phew. The official notice should be going out soon."

"…What?"

"Oh! But before that, Ichae said he wants to talk to the members first, so we're waiting until then."

I was frowning, sensing that there was something I didn't know about when—

"Oh, oh! Seo Hoyun, you're bleeding!"

A hot trickle ran down from my nose.

"Oh crap!!"

Even though I quickly tilted my head back, blood dripped right into my hand.

"…Ah, it's real."

I glanced at my sleeve and realized it was white. That's when I remembered it was a gift from the Noeuls.

I rolled up the sleeve in a hurry and tilted my head forward. The legal team guy frantically pulled out tissues and handed them to me.

"Whoa! Are your schedules super packed lately??"

"Eh, no… Not really?"

I was just glad this happened inside the company building.

While the legal team member fussed over whether my work hours were being properly managed, I wiped at the blood with a tissue and muttered,

"Just now…"

"Oh! Sorry, call—this one's really important. Let's talk later!"

He cut me off just as I was about to ask him what he meant earlier. His phone started ringing. He picked up and gave me a nod before rushing back to the piles of documents on his desk.

I tossed the bloody tissue in the trash and wandered awkwardly out into the hallway.

'What was that about?'

Nosebleeds were nothing new—I used to get them all the time back when I was a PD because of all the late nights, so it wasn't a big deal.

What bothered me more was what the legal guy had said earlier.

'I'll need to talk to Kang Ichae soon.'

The nosebleed would stop soon enough, and as long as I didn't run into a lunatic right now, I should be fine.

But speak of the devil—

"…Uh?"

"...!"

On my way to the elevator, I locked eyes with Kang Ichae, who was standing in front of his studio with arms crossed, staring right at me.

I immediately turned to walk in the other direction, but something grabbed my shoulder.

Of course, it was Kang Ichae's hand.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"…I wasn't going anywhere?"

"Haha, really now?"

I tried to shake his hand off and take a few steps back, but another stream of blood ran from my nose.

Reflexively, I blurted out an excuse.

"My kidneys are healthy, I have no chronic illness, and I take supplements every day."

"Who said otherwise?"

You did, every single time, you little punk.

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you. Good timing. Come in. There should be tissues."

Despite being health-obsessed, he didn't seem particularly alarmed by my nosebleed.

Even as he walked into the studio ahead of me and tossed a tissue box onto the table, I kept carefully watching every move he made.

'Does this guy know something?'

The problem was solved, yes—but now that it was over, something felt off.

You can't hide something forever from someone as sharp as Kang Ichae. If he found out I used the reputation of the mentor he admires to get things resolved, I couldn't even imagine how he'd react.

Before I brought up what the legal team had said about the upcoming notice, I decided to ease in with something else.

"Hey, Kang Ichae. Why haven't I seen you around lately?"

"Oh, me?"

When I asked with a tissue plugged up my nose, Kang Ichae flopped into the chair he always used to work in and replied casually.

"I've been talking to a lawyer."

"…What?"

A lawyer?

Now that I think about it, she did say earlier she met with the company's legal team. But a lawyer? For what?

"Hyung, are you in contact with Composer Cheongbeom right now? I'd like to go see her too."

And what's up with Lim Hyunsu now?

My nerves were already on edge, and the tissue was now soaked with blood, but the nosebleed still wouldn't stop.

"…Whoa, that's a lot of blood. Should you go lie down or something?"

"What did you just say?"

"I said your nose is bleeding a lot?"

"No, before that, you brat. Why did you meet with a lawyer? Don't tell me you got sued over the plagiarism thing?"

"What are you talking about? If anyone's suing, it's gonna be me."

Kang Ichae let out a short laugh, like it was ridiculous.

"It took longer than expected to verify the legal validity. I've been a bit all over the place."

"…Isn't the company already handling all that? Why are you getting a lawyer on your own?"

"…Didn't you just come from the legal team?"

Even earlier, when I was talking to the legal department, I felt like I was missing something. And now, my conversation with Kang Ichae was feeling increasingly off.

he squinted at me, looking puzzled.

"Ah."

Then he looked me up and down carefully.

"I thought you were just pretending not to know… but you really didn't know, huh."

"…What?"

"You really think I'd just sit back and do nothing?"

In that moment, the hair on my arms stood up straight.

Kang Ichae absentmindedly touched his lips, locking eyes with me.

"You know. That unreleased song."

That look in hi eyes—it was the same as when I'd seen him coughing up blood in front of the restroom during him time promoting in Japan.

—By the way.

"I already registered the copyright."

What the hell is this brat saying right now?