The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14
“Wow!”
“I have something to take care of, so I’ll head out first.”
“I like Cha Si-woo even more because he speaks so straightforwardly!”
“…”
“Let’s go together, Si-woo~”
‘Now he’s even dropped my family name.’
I walked as quickly as I could, ignoring Rua chasing after me from behind.
‘Strange things keep getting tangled up with me here, of all places.’
It seemed you couldn’t prepare to be an idol with an ordinary mindset.
‘This isn’t an easy place.’
As I turned the corner and reached the end of the corridor, the familiar door to the practice room finally came into view.
The moment I boldly pushed open the worn door, stale air hung at the tip of my nose in the pitch-black space where no light penetrated.
My chest tightened at the sight of the practice room where I’d spent the most time over the past ten days, day and night.
‘I really did practice like a madman.’
Thinking of my dance stats, which were significantly lacking compared to others, I’d devoted myself entirely to practice without a single break.
With a personality that demanded seeing things through once started, I’d danced with all my might.
It wasn’t for nothing that the staff had nicknamed me the practice machine.
A hollow laugh escaped me as I recalled the moments when Seo Ha-yul and I shared HeartPing Bread while immersed in dance practice.
‘He explained to me in detail how to dance like that, and then…’
The image of Seo Ha-yul standing motionless on stage, unable to do anything, flickered in my mind.
Though I didn’t know the exact reason, I had to push through this uncomfortable situation.
The one saving grace was that today’s evaluation wouldn’t lead to elimination.
‘If it’s now, there’s still a chance. There has to be a reason.’
I hated the thought of seeing Seo Ha-yul, someone so sincere about music, standing helplessly on that stage.

‘Before we’re competitors, we’re still colleagues who’ve been through this together.’
Screeeech.
A metallic screech, like nails on a chalkboard, pierced the air.
The worn practice room door creaked open slowly, and a familiar silhouette appeared.
Since it was a filming day, Seo Ha-yul had styled his hair with pomade instead of his usual cap, and the sharp, polished look suited him perfectly.
“You came?”
“Yes.”
Watching Seo Ha-yul enter with his head slightly bowed and that shadowed, expressionless face, I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Whatever it is, I’ve definitely hit a nerve with him.’
“What’s wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not the type to just stand still on stage.”
“…”
“You love dancing and rapping.”
“Hyung…. What do you know!”
‘This punk! Is he going through puberty?’
My eyes met his as he looked down at the floor.
I almost flicked him on the forehead but held back.
His eyes were still bloodshot, the veins prominent and red.
Seeing those inflamed eyes, a surge of hot emotion welled up inside me.
“Fine, I only know about HeartPing Bread.”
“Why are you bringing up HeartPing now….”
“You were the one who first handed me HeartPing Bread. You watched my clumsy dancing during practice and gave me feedback.”
“…”
“Seo Ha-yul.”
“Yes.”
“I know it might seem like I’m overstepping, but since you helped me with dancing, I can at least help you out like this. So what’s going on?”
Seo Ha-yul’s bloodshot eyes grew even redder.
“Hyung….”
“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to. I understand.”
“You understand?”
“Yeah. Everyone has a moment of crisis at some point. You were just nervous before the stage, and your timing was off because the cues didn’t sync up right.”
“…What? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t be embarrassed! You punk. Everyone has to face a crisis with urgent signals at some point.”
“No! Hyung! What are you thinking! That’s not it!”
“It’s okay. I understand everything. There’s a saying that humanity forgives bathroom emergencies.”
“No, seriously! Why are you making me out to be a fool!”
“Then what is it?”
“…”
“Urg…”
“A…! I’ll tell you.”
Seo Ha-yul let out a heavy sigh, his fingertips fidgeting nervously.
“Do you think… I’m allowed to become an idol?”
‘What kind of nonsense is this?’
“Huh?”
“I knew it….”
“What are you talking about? Your dream was to become an idol, wasn’t it? That’s why you’re a trainee here. There has to be a reason you came out.”
“That’s true, but….”
Seo Ha-yul’s eyes were visibly trembling as he hesitated.
“I had one really close friend.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yes. Since childhood, I’ve been timid, and as a trainee, I had no friends. They were the only one who reached out to me.”
“I see.”
“Actually, that friend… they were talented enough to be in the debut group lineup.”
‘Did something happen at the agency?’
“But then my friend got injured and couldn’t continue as a trainee, so they eventually quit.”
‘Hmm.’
“After that, I thought I’d work harder for my friend and debut, but I guess that was just my own selfish desire.”
“Why would that be selfish?”
“…”
Though I didn’t know the exact situation, I could sense what had happened.
Wherever you go, there are always people consumed by envy and jealousy.
‘Such a tender-hearted kid.’
“Seo Ha-yul.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know exactly what happened to you.”
“…Yes.”
Seo Ha-yul’s voice trembled faintly as he answered.
“But as an outsider, there’s something I do know.”
“What is it?”
“A true friend would support your dreams more than anyone else.”
“…Really?”
“That’s what a friend is. Someone who supports your dreams no matter what and wants you to succeed.”
“…”
Seo Ha-yul’s shoulders trembled slightly as he bit his lip hard.
Standing there with his fists clenched, he looked like he was desperately trying not to break down.
‘I’ve seen this before somewhere.’
My hand moved before my words could.
I slowly placed my hand on Seo Ha-yul’s head.
“If that friend said they can’t be an idol and hated or tried to stop you from becoming one, then they’re not your friend.”
“Then what is he?”
“A bastard. That’s not a friend.”
“Hyung···.”
Seo Ha-yul lowered his head urgently, his words trailing off.
“So I… don’t have any friends now?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
I grabbed Seo Ha-yul’s chin as he hung his head low and lifted it up.
Transparent tears pooled in his bloodshot eyes, veins standing out against the redness.
‘This bastard. Looks tough on the outside, but he’s soft as tofu inside.’
“I’m right here.”
“…Hyung!”
Finally, Seo Ha-yul burst into tears.
‘He’s still young and fragile. At this age, friendships hit differently.’
“But… sniff. How could I be friends with you···.”
I put Seo Ha-yul in a headlock as he sniffled.
He was the type who felt good wrapped up in your arms.
“Agh···, ow!”
Using his cries as a rhythm, I ruthlessly ruffled his gray hair.
“Stop…! Stop it!”
“If you stop, then you’re officially my friend now. Got it?”
“I got it, so stop! It really hurts!”
“Hahahaha. Yeah, you punk. Now I’m your friend.”
When I released the headlock, his gray hair stood up like a cactus.
“Wow···. I must look like a mess right now, huh?”
“Yeah. You’ll probably need to avoid the cameras today.”
“What am I supposed to do about my image?”
“You had an image?”
Seo Ha-yul pouted his lips as if he hadn’t just been crying, grumbling.
‘Now he’s starting to look decent.’
“You pouting?”
“No?”
‘But his lips are sticking out like a three.’
That protruding lip shape resembled the expression Cha Si-hyun often made when he was sulking.
“Seo Ha-yul. I’ll buy you every kind of HeartPing Bread from the snack shop.”
“Hyung, you don’t have any money.”
‘…How did he know?’
“So I’m broke. Does that mean I have no pride?”
“Don’t push yourself.”
“You punk. I’ve got money to buy you bread. I’ll even give you all the cute stickers. Let’s go!”
Seo Ha-yul’s expression brightened slightly as he led the way toward the snack shop.
I followed Seo Ha-yul, whose expression had grown more animated, out of the practice room.
‘I don’t know who it is, but why deliberately provoke Seo Ha-yul right before the theme song evaluation?’
The timing of whoever was behind this reeked of malice.
‘I need to keep a close eye on things for now.’
☆☆☆
At midnight, Star picking5’s pre-release promotional video went live on YouTube.
‘They said it would air as advertisements on TV as well.’
The roughly thirty-second video was packed with provocative content designed to grab attention.
The promotional video, which needed to make an impact in such a short timeframe, was edited to focus primarily on well-known trainees like Yoo Ho-seung and Kim Sun-yu.
‘It’s a safe strategy to use recognizable faces to draw initial attention.’
Scenes of the judges delivering harsh criticism were interspersed throughout.
The scene of me placing my hand over my heart while singing the national anthem appeared for about three seconds, pixelated with a caption reading “A trainee brimming with patriotism.”
‘My face didn’t show, but that’s hardly unedited footage.’
The video ended with a close-up of Yu Hae-in’s face and a caption reading “Please debut the public director’s number one pick as an idol.”
Within an hour of the promotional video going live, it had reached fifty thousand views.
The engagement was better than I’d anticipated.
I clicked on the comments section to see the reactions.
‘As expected.’
The comments on the Star picking5 promotional video were merciless.
>Another idol survival show?
-They’ve milked this thing through season four. It’s not even fresh anymore.
>I’m only watching because of Yu Hae-in, who’s so handsome.
-The MC overshadows the trainees lol
>Yoo Ho-seung? When did you grow up like this haha?
Star picking5 garnered viewer interest primarily from the fact that the MC was Yu Hae-in, a first-tier idol, and from scenes featuring influencer Yoo Ho-seung.
‘YouTube manages comments pretty well, so there aren’t many malicious ones at least.’
To see more genuine reactions, I moved to an active idol community site.
On the idol community I’d frequently visited back during my paparazzi days to gather information, Star picking5 was becoming a hot topic.
>Isn’t this pushing it too far?
>Didn’t Star Picking 4 crash due to manipulation?
– Yeah, that’s right
– Looks like they’re going to manipulate this one too and crash again?
>They manipulate and then move on to the next series. TX Net is shameless.
– TX Net did what TX Net does.
– Not even surprising anymore.
>Isn’t that group uniform from last season?
– I compared it just to be sure, and it’s literally identical to last year’s.
– At this point, aren’t they just embezzling the production budget?
– Hahaha, there are some good-looking kids, but I feel sorry for them ㅠㅠ
Reheated stone lolololol
Why is Kim Sun-yu, someone with prior experience, appearing at a place that’s supposed to recruit rookies? Isn’t that unfair?
– Honestly, since he’s a failed idol, his recognition is probably at the level of Yoo Ho-seung’s pinky toe.
– Pinky toe lmaooooo
– Yeah. Yoo Ho-seung has like 1,000 times more followers.
– Honestly, Kim Sun-yu was pretty pathetic.
– Since he’s a failed idol, I’d never seen him before, but the fact that he debuted and is now appearing as a trainee is ridiculous.
Like hyenas that had spotted prey, the online community tore into Star picking5 and the trainees with relentless criticism.
Still, there were some positive reactions I hadn’t anticipated.
– I see Yoo Ho-seung on DalStagram all the time, but seeing him on video, he’s seriously handsome.
– Agreed. He’s my husband.
– I’m his mistress.
– +1
– +2
– These kids have good chemistry. I’m a sucker for visuals, so I’m definitely watching live.
‘Looks really are everything.’
– This one definitely has the charm of raising them as my own.
Of course, there were comments about me too.
– But who’s the guy who sang the national anthem?
– His technique is different.
– Honestly, I never expected that lol
– The fact that they pixelated him makes it seem like he’s some attention-seeking jerk.
Well… it was better than being ignored.
Anyway, given the nature of these survival shows, getting attention meant getting more votes.
☆☆☆

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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