The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 25

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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 25
‘Fortunately, I came out without a scratch.’
The camera captured the trainees’ shocked expressions before cutting to an interview segment.
[Q: Do you know who that person is?]
[A: Honestly, I have no idea who they are.]
…?
A fair response.
‘I don’t know who you are either, buddy.’
[He was so handsome that my eyes were drawn to him.]
[When so many people stare at you all at once, you’d expect someone to be nervous, but he walked forward so confidently that I thought he must be incredibly self-assured.]
The moment I stopped at the independent trainee line, the music swelled into something grand.
[Finally, all the trainees gathered at the filming location. And then a special guest appeared?!]
Yu Hae-in’s sudden appearance on stage drew roaring cheers.
[…!]
[A first-tier idol representing South Korea has arrived!]
[The trainees are visibly shaken.]
Yu Hae-in’s entrance as MC garnered considerable airtime.
His group’s stage performances and award achievements scrolled across the screen in an endless stream of captions.
[Yu Hae-in is truly my idol!]
[Watching him perform inspired me to dream of becoming an idol.]
[I’m so nervous knowing that my role model is the MC!]
The screen cut between interviews with trainees whose eyes gleamed with admiration, and Yu Hae-in appeared.
[Q: Isn’t this a busy time for you? Is there a particular reason you took on the MC role for Star picking5?]
‘What reason? It’s obviously for the money.’
[A: Being an idol isn’t exactly an easy profession, you know. I wanted to guide my juniors, so I decided to participate as the MC.]
‘…’
[Q: Is there anything you’d like to say to trainees who dream of becoming idols?]
[A: I hope you all give your best effort so you won’t have regrets. If you work hard, I’m sure you’ll see great results!]
‘You should take your own advice.’
The screen changed as Yu Hae-in flashed a benevolent smile.
[Trainees getting along despite meeting for the first time!]
Pink flower petals scattered across the screen as the trainees sat side by side on the group bus, exchanging awkward greetings.
‘They’re really editing it like this?’
The deliberately exaggerated pink-tinted editing flashed by quickly, showing the trainees greeting and conversing with one another in an awkward manner.
The scene of me patting Yoo Ho-seung’s head also passed by briefly.
‘Why was that included…?’
After the self-introduction rating evaluation was edited in, Yu Hae-in finally appeared at the end holding cue cards.
[Citizens Directors, formal trainee voting begins at midnight today. You can now check the one-minute self-introduction videos of all trainees on our homepage and YouTube. Please start voting so your favorite trainee can debut!]
Episode 2 ended with Yu Hae-in’s call to vote.
☆☆☆
After finishing position stage practice with Vocal Team 2, I stayed behind and practiced until dawn.
But today I’d wrapped up practice earlier than usual.
‘I should check the viewer reactions.’
Unlike Episode 1, which had been heavily edited down, Episode 2 had received decent airtime, and I was grateful for that.
After showering and arriving at Room 207, the dormitory was filled with the sound of breathing.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was approaching 3 AM.
‘Looks like everyone’s asleep.’
Creak.
I lay down on the bed as carefully as possible, but the old metal frame let out its characteristic squeaking sound.
“…”
I held my breath and looked around just in case, but fortunately the trainees in Room 207 remained motionless in deep sleep.
‘Phew.’
The moment I exhaled in relief and settled back, fatigue washed over me as the comfortable warmth spread between my back and arms.
‘Should I check YouTube first?’
On the TX official account, Episode 2 had been uploaded as a summary video following Episode 1.
Episode 1 had already surpassed 2 million views.
‘It’s more popular than I expected?’
The comment count had increased more than tenfold since my first search.
‘Episode 2 is what really matters to me though.’
Episode 2 currently had 300,000 views.
‘…Why is it this high?’
I slowly lifted my head and scanned the numbers again.
The figures before my eyes remained unchanged.
“This is really right…”
The broadcast had aired at 9 PM.
The Episode 2 edit was uploaded to YouTube immediately after the broadcast ended, so the video had only been up for about 5 hours.
‘300,000 views in just 5 hours of being uploaded?’
Considering it was the middle of the night, the rapidly climbing view count suggested Episode 2 would likely make it onto YouTube’s trending videos.
‘What kind of editing made it this popular?’
I hit play, and after a brief 10-second recap of Episode 1, I appeared at the start of Episode 2.
The scenes of me singing the national anthem and dancing were uploaded with humorous subtitles.
“Sigh.”
‘My character came across funnier than I thought, but at least I got decent airtime on YouTube too.’
In the roughly 10-minute video, Yu Hae-in and I received the most screen time.
The 1-minute self-introduction videos were also edited primarily featuring trainees with high recognition or those with strong skills and impressive performances.
Since it was a 10-minute video designed to drive viewers to the main broadcast, more than half the trainees didn’t even get their faces shown—the competition was fierce.
The comments were more heated than I’d anticipated.
>What the heck is that guy who sang the national anthem lolol
-Love of country lololol I was so taken aback.
-And he’s actually good at it too, which made it even more ridiculous.
-I watched it with my family, and my dad said he has exceptional patriotism.
Cha Si-woo’s dancing is hilarious, it’s so bad.
I seriously teared up lolol
-It’s impressive that he’s auditioning for an idol company with dancing skills like that.
-I had high expectations from his face, but I guess God is fair after all.
Are you seriously passing this?
>Wait, looking closely at Patriotic Guy, isn’t that the Charming Man who was at center during the TX Music Broadcast?
-??????
-Insane. The dancing is completely different? Same person?
-Charming Man = Patriotic Guy total chaos.
>Kang Chan is that dancer from Gwangan-ri?
-Why would such a distinguished dancer show up at this humble idol audition?
-I subscribed to this guy and his physicality and dance lines are exactly the same.
-How can he be this handsome and always dance in a hat?!
>Is Rua a prince?
-I’m Rua’s princess!
-?
-You’re just a maid.
>Patriotic Guy’s self-introduction didn’t disappoint as expected.
-I never imagined he’d perform Heart Ping.
-No haha ​​why are you doing so well hahaha
-Did you see the judge’s expression when he threw the heart? Even I’d be smitten.
My nephew woke up when he saw my younger sister singing “Heart Ping” and went over to the TV to dance along with her haha
I was receiving far more attention than expected under various nicknames—Charming Man, Patriotic Guy, Heart Ping Guy, and more.
‘At this level of interest, I won’t be eliminated in the early rounds.’
After checking the mild YouTube comments and real-time reactions, I switched over to the Idol Community Website to see the raw, unfiltered responses.
That place was a warzone—not just hot, but boiling over.
‘Spicy is always better.’
When I typed my name into the search bar, countless posts were pouring in in real time.
>Who is this Charming Man guy?
I got hyped seeing him at center during the music broadcast for Cheer me on, but after Patriotic Guy and now Heart Ping Guy? It doesn’t add up. Confusing.
-Seems kind of four-dimensional? The aegyo was shocking too.
-His character is unpredictable.
The character is unpredictable.
>Is the rumor that Cha Si-woo is an independent trainee a lie?
Is he from an entertainment company trying to fabricate interest? And in the first audition round, his dancing was terrible, but he made it to center—seems like he’s scheming for a narrative?
-Something shady about this guy. Feels off.
-The songs he brings are all weirdly bad too.
–
–
-The idol industry is no joke. It’s not even funny—it’s seriously tough.
-Hey, don’t overdo it. Do you really think that dance is something anyone could pull off if they tried? It’s hilarious.
‘Oh~ This is the real deal!’
My lips curled upward naturally as I felt the harsh comments for the first time in ages.
A long-buried longing swelled up from deep within my chest.
‘I didn’t realize how empty I felt after the negative comments stopped coming.’
The raw, unfiltered reaction was surprisingly welcome.
‘Is there more?’
>(HOT!) Is this video Cha Si-woo?
[Unique Wedding Ceremony Performance_Heart Ping Edition]
https://www.Goutube.com/watch?v=Wedding song
I went to an acquaintance’s wedding where this handsome guy performed an unusual congratulatory song.
I didn’t know at the time, but after seeing the broadcast, I’m pretty sure it’s Cha Si-woo, so I’m uploading it.
Is this my first fancam…?
If I had known it would be like this, I would have gotten his autograph ㅠㅠ
-Wait? I checked and it really is Cha Si-woo.
-Why is he singing Heart Ping there?
The kids running out and dancing is seriously so cute lol
“At this level, it’s not just a congratulatory song—it’s more like a concert venue performance!”
-He must be close with the acquaintance? I’m jealous.
No. I heard the original singer canceled, so the part-time worker came in as a last-minute replacement.
I’m not sure what that is.
“You mean a part-time job?”
By the way, I accidentally broke a dish, and they kindly cleaned it up for me. That was really sweet of them.
‘When on earth was this filmed?’
When I clicked the link attached with the title [Unique Wedding Ceremony Performance_Heart Ping Edition], the blurry screen came into sharp focus.
I’m gonna be a princess~
Heart Ping who fell for me!!
As I sang the congratulatory song with full passion and the children danced with infectious enthusiasm, the Bride and Groom smiled warmly.
The wedding hall, filled with intense responses from the guests, was a festival in itself.
‘So this is the expression I have when I sing.’
My face, smiling not with a professional mask but as if genuinely enjoying the moment, felt quite unfamiliar.
Heart Ping Love Ping Ping Ping!
As the song ended, the camera capturing me blowing a heart toward the lens and winking shook violently, and the video came to an end.
‘It turned out well.’
An unexpected gain.
>Cha Si-woo is my husband.
As of today, that’s official, so don’t any of you dare look at my husband.
-22
-333
-I was first.
-Hey, wait your turn!
>Praising someone who can’t even dance properly just because he’s handsome. Tsk tsk.
-You can tell the trainee’s level by the fans they attract.
-His dancing is so bad, I think I could do better.
-Stop stomping around here and go watch the TX Music Broadcast. He’s flying across the stage there.
Yeah, next one, Ppasun.
‘This seems pretty smooth so far.’
Perhaps because of the stability, fatigue washed over me and my eyes grew heavy.
☆☆☆
A week had passed since we began intensive preparation for the position stage, and a mid-check filming session was underway.
Since this was a team assignment, I’d anticipated some difficulties and antagonism, but everything remained within manageable bounds.
‘The biggest problem is the accumulated fatigue.’
The packed practice schedule left absolutely no time to rest.
So the exhaustion continued to pile up.
‘I’ll need to find a solution after this competition ends.’
“We’re starting Vocal Team 2’s filming!”
“Yes!”
Following the staff’s directions, I entered the Filming Location buzzing with energy.
Five cameras were positioned at different angles throughout the spacious Studio.
At the Judge’s Seat, an unfamiliar silhouette sat among familiar faces.
“…!”
“Hello.”
The moment our eyes met, I reflexively bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
“Uh…. Uh!”
“Wow!”
“Hello, sir!”
The other members of Vocal Team 2 following behind me also gave a powerful greeting, and the man sitting at the Judge’s Seat stood up.
“It’s great to see you all. I’m….”

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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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