The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 24

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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 24
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The trainees responded eagerly, acutely aware of the camera recording their every move.
“You worked hard.”
“You’re usually much better than this···!”
“It had character.”
Park Soo-gyeok, whose expression had been rigid, forced the corners of his mouth upward and opened his mouth to speak.
“…I didn’t perform well today because I’m not in good condition.”
“Haha. That happens.”
“Park Soo-gyeok, I really appreciated your chorus section.”
Watching the trainees’ faces as they struggled to suppress their laughter, Park Soo-gyeok reluctantly nodded his head.
“Now we have just one person left.”
“Let’s see our Vocal Team 2 representative’s skills!”
To salvage the atmosphere, the Vocal Team 2 Trainees responded with exaggerated enthusiasm, more animated than usual.
“Yes. I’ll begin.”
The familiar instrumental accompaniment to “The Moment I First Saw You” flowed through the auditorium.
In truth, this song was a ballad my parents had loved listening to when I was young.
As the familiar melody began, memories of that time surfaced hazily in my mind.
I started singing, reading the lyrics as the introduction cued in.
The moment I first laid eyes on you
My pitch never wavered, and I didn’t suppress my emotions.
I thought time itself had stopped
Desperately, breathlessly
The faces of my parents—hazy yet vivid in my heart—surfaced in my mind.
I called out to you again and again
Could you possibly feel the same way?
The high note section ascended smoothly, perhaps thanks to my Song B stat.
Because we began like destiny itself
As I cleanly finished through the vibrato section, silence enveloped the surroundings.
“That concludes my performance.”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The trainees, their eyes glistening with tears, approached me.
“Representative, your tone is insane.”
“Is there some story behind this? What’s going on with your emotional delivery?”
“Wow···. I seriously almost cried.”
“You really sang beautifully.”
It seemed I had sung emotionally without realizing it, lost in memories of those days.
“…Thank you.”
Rua, whose eyes had widened considerably, clapped loudly.
“Since everyone has heard all the performances, let’s proceed directly with the chorus section voting!”
After a quick hand vote, Rua and I—both with Vocal Stat B—divided the chorus sections between us.
The remaining parts were distributed according to the vote counts.
Since the voting had proceeded fairly based on skill, most of the Vocal Team 2 Trainees were satisfied with the results.
However, in any group, there were always those who harbored resentment when things didn’t go their way.
Park Soo-gyeok was one such example—even with the camera rolling, he couldn’t manage to hide his displeasure.
‘Well, I’ll let it slide for now.’
Someone like him wouldn’t cause major problems unless he really stepped out of line.
‘If he gets too annoying, I can always bury him later.’
In group assignments, if someone wasn’t cooperating, I’d normally remove their name based on my usual standards.
But since this was a survival show being recorded, I decided to carry Park Soo-gyeok along to present a successful group assignment.
After all, the evaluation criteria encompassed not just individual ability, but also collaboration, stage direction, and charisma.
‘Since this is the first competition, the judges’ scores make up 40% of the evaluation anyway, so there’s no helping it.’
“We’ve assigned all the parts, so shall we discuss the concept now?”
In idol performances, concept was a crucial element that could determine victory or defeat.
‘It’s what draws fans in, after all.’
Park Soo-gyeok, still struggling with his expression, raised his hand clumsily.
“What about going with a sexy concept?”
“That sounds good?”
“Sexy definitely gets a good response.”
‘Sexy is popular, sure, but it doesn’t really match the arrangement direction.’
I wrote “sexy” on the whiteboard first.
“Does anyone else have an opinion?”
This time, Rua raised his hand.
“I think a flashy, amusement park theme concept with impressive performances would be great!”
“Oh, that sounds fun.”
“A bright image would work well.”
“Come on, honestly, there’s no concept that works as well as sexy. Let’s go with sexy.”
With opinions split between sexy and amusement park, a hand vote excluding me resulted in a dead tie: 3 to 3.
“What’s your opinion, Team Representative Cha Si-woo?”
All eyes from Vocal Team 2 turned toward me at once.
“Of course, I understand that the sexy concept gets good reactions.”
“I knew it…!”
“But considering our arrangement direction and the song lyrics, a sexy concept doesn’t really feel like it suits the song.”
“…”
“How about this instead?”
Since we’d already shown conflict during the part distribution, we needed a scene showing the team coming together.
‘If we’re branded as a controversial team from the start, viewers might get fatigued.’
“This is a meaningful moment meeting the national directors for the first time, so let’s go with a first love concept! The moment we meet the national directors is the moment we fall in love for the first time!”
“…!”
In that instant, Rua’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Good idea!”
“I honestly never thought of that. It’s genuinely brilliant.”
Truthfully, there was no better concept than this for the early stages.
‘But as the team representative, I can’t hog all the credit.’
“Let’s combine the first love concept with the amusement park and sexy elements you all mentioned, and capture the hearts of our national directors!”
“I’m in favor.”
“The phrase ‘first love’ fits perfectly with the song lyrics and arrangement.”
As most of the Vocal Team 2 trainees cast their votes in agreement, Park Soo-gyeok reluctantly nodded along.
“What if we capture the mood with that unique first love emotion—fresh and tingling as it progresses?”
“That works.”
“Wait. Are you an idea bank, Cha Si-woo?”
“Haha. Thank you for the compliment. Anyone else with suggestions, feel free to speak up anytime!”
“Me! For the lyric ‘taking one step closer,’ I’d love to see a twist with some sexy energy.”
“I like that.”
I began jotting down the torrent of ideas on the whiteboard and organizing them.
The sharp tension that had surfaced during the part assignments had vanished without a trace.
The cameras captured Vocal Team 2 accepting each other’s opinions while voicing their own.
☆☆☆
On the sixth day of devoting every moment to practice, the trainees were summoned to the auditorium once more.
It was because Star picking5 Episode 2 was about to air.
‘These production team guys are way too serious about screen time.’
I understood watching the meaningful first episode together and filming reactions.
But I never expected them to gather us like this for Episode 2 as well.
Seated by team, cameras were positioned throughout the auditorium to capture reactions.
The PD in Charge briefly took the stage and picked up the microphone.
“When we were editing, the reaction shots turned out pretty entertaining. So I’m looking forward to your responses today as well.”
‘This time they’re not telling us to relax and watch.’
Star picking5 had become a massive hit.
Contrary to everyone’s predictions of failure, Episode 1 achieved a remarkable 3% viewership rating on a cable channel.
I knew it had been a major success in the future, but the buzz it generated was even hotter than expected, drawing more attention than anticipated.
The production team and PD in Charge were glowing with excitement from the ratings.
‘Did they treat themselves to beef or something?’
As the advertisement on the large screen ended, the PD in Charge stepped down from the stage.
With all the trainees’ eyes fixed on the screen, Star picking5 Episode 2 began.
After a brief recap of Episode 1, the screen transitioned.
[Hello. I’m Participant 2031, Cha Si-woo.]
At the opening scene shown in Episode 2’s preview, the trainees around me suddenly turned their gazes in my direction.
‘Looks like I’m getting all the screen time I missed from Episode 1 in this one.’
[After a lengthy evaluation, a refreshing trainee appeared before the exhausted judges!]
The judges’ eyes, which had been glazed over, transformed in an instant—edited comically with a humorous BGM inserted for Episode 2.
[The song I’ve prepared is….]
The screen transitioned as the judges’ shocked expressions were zoomed in on.
‘…They’re really milking this for all it’s worth.’
It seemed the second episode’s dramatic buildup was my doing after all.
“Cha Si-woo, what on earth did you do to warrant such a long setup?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Rua leaned in close and whispered.
‘Right? I wonder if their editing style is still the same.’
“Haha. I didn’t expect them to edit it to be this suspenseful. It should be coming up soon, right?”
Conscious of the camera’s light, I gazed at the screen in front of me.
After several trainees’ first audition scenes passed, I finally appeared on the screen again.
[The song I’ve prepared is…. The National Anthem.]
In that instant, the auditorium stirred with the trainees’ reactions, unable to hide their bewilderment.
[Pardon?]
The judge’s dumbfounded expression was zoomed in on.
[The National Anthem?]
[Yes. I chose the National Anthem out of my love and affection for our country.]
[Ha. Ha. Ha. Love of country is the best, isn’t it.]
[What a patriotic trainee we have here.]
[Let’s hear the song then.]
[Yes. I’ll begin singing now.]
In stark contrast to the judges’ awkward smiles, the scene of me placing my right hand solemnly over my heart with a grave expression was quite surreal.
“…pfft.”
“…heh.”
Sounds of hands covering mouths echoed throughout the hall as people struggled to suppress their laughter.
‘That’s right, hold it in. Laugh in front of the National Anthem and who knows what your edited footage will look like.’
Soon after, the familiar accompaniment of the National Anthem flowed through the speakers.
With my eyes fixed forward on the camera, I sang the opening verse.
The East Sea waters and Baekdu Mountain
“…!”
The judges’ eyes widened in astonishment as their faces flashed across the screen in succession.
May they be preserved forever.
As I lowered my right hand, which I had held aloft while singing the National Anthem with full voice, applause erupted.
[Wow, I’ve never seen a trainee sing the National Anthem this well before.]
[Cha Si-woo, your love for the country is truly exceptional. Your vocal tone is wonderful too.]
As I gazed at the screen with a satisfied smile, I felt an intense gaze from beside me.
Rua simply stared at me with an enigmatic expression.
“What is it?”
“…It’s nothing.”
[Now that we’ve heard the song, let’s see your dancing next.]
[Yes. I’ll begin dancing now.]
As the Judge pressed the button, an upbeat song blared through the speakers.
I moved stiffly in time with the cheerful, energetic music.
[*gulp*···.]
[Ahahaha.]
“Ahahahahaha”
“Puhahahaha.”
For about a minute, my awkward writhing filled the Auditorium with ringing laughter.
When the camera zoomed in on sweat beads rolling down my forehead as I wiped them away with the back of my hand, the laughter grew even louder.
“Ahahaha”
“Ah. My stomach hurts.”
“Hehehehe, I’m getting tears.”
On the Screen, I could see the Judge laughing until breathless, while several trainees in front of me were rolling on the ground clutching their stomachs.
‘Yeah. Go ahead and laugh.’
[*chuckle* Hehe.]
[Ah, sorry. I’m sorry. Hehe.]
The Judge, still unable to suppress their laughter, cleared their throat deliberately and asked a few questions.
As I answered seriously, Rua grabbed one of my shoulders.
“Puhaha.”
‘…What?’
“Cha Si-woo’s younger sibling is really a fun person. I genuinely like you.”
“Haha…. Thank you for enjoying it.”
Though I hadn’t danced properly in a long time, my first audition ended with the image of a trainee passionately doing their best.
The editing turned out funnier than expected, but overall, the amount of screen time I received was quite satisfying.
‘I should check the viewer reactions before bed later.’
After the first audition ended, the background music changed and a scene appeared showing trainees being summoned to TX Broadcasting Station.
In the Auditorium, trainees from various Entertainment Agencies stood in line while a deep, heavy bass beat pulsed rhythmically.
Each time a trainee entered, the camera captured glances of wariness and curiosity, heightening the tension.
The editing primarily featured trainees with high recognition or from Large Entertainment Agencies making their entrance.
‘They sure know how to create buzz with their editing.’
I, who entered last, also received a short amount of screen time.
[The participants stir at the appearance of the final individual trainee!]
My face was zoomed in on as the camera slowly panned upward from my feet to my head.

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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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