The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 28

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

Chapter 28
“Damn it… no, that’s not it.”
For a moment, frustration got the better of me, and I nearly cursed right in front of him.
“Excuse me? Did you just swear…?”
“The Blink”
“…!”
‘I threw it out there on a hunch.’
The moment I mentioned the name of the club Park Soo-gyeok frequented, he visibly stiffened.
“I mentioned my relationship troubles once before, didn’t I?”
“…How on earth do you know such information?”
“Park Soo-gyeok makes it so obvious that it would be stranger not to know.”
“…That’s impossible.”
“If you don’t want this to blow up, just listen quietly and do as I say.”
“…”
Park Soo-gyeok’s conflicted expression was quite the sight to behold.
“I’m not asking you to do anything difficult—just what you should naturally do as an idol.”
“Are you blackmailing me?”
“You were the one who brought up blackmail first by saying you wanted to quit. If you’re going to quit anyway, at least finish this team mission properly before you do.”
“Are you serious?”
“Does this look like a joke? If you want to crash and burn before your idol debut, keep acting like this. Otherwise, cooperate with the team activities.”
After a moment of silence, Park Soo-gyeok nodded.
“Fine… I’ll change my attitude.”
“Good. You made the right call.”
“…What exactly are you, Cha Si-woo?”
“Just an ordinary twenty-year-old from South Korea.”
“That’s hardly ordinary…”
“Hmm?”
“…Never mind.”
“Then shall we head to practice right now?”
I led Park Soo-gyeok, who was staring at me with a weary expression, back to the Practice Room.
“Everyone, Park Soo-gyeok has returned!”
I pushed the door open boldly, and all the team members’ eyes snapped toward us as they sat there awkwardly.
“Oh…! We were too harsh earlier, weren’t we?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Park Soo-gyeok, welcome back.”
Park Soo-gyeok stopped awkwardly in the doorway.
I gently pushed him inside, watching as he scratched his head with a forced smile.
“I was too emotional earlier. I apologize. I’d like to proceed by adjusting the choreography according to the Choreographer’s suggestions.”
“…!”
Seeing my teammates’ surprised expressions, I quickly began to clap.
“Let’s give a round of applause to Park Soo-gyeok for thinking so much about the team.”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
“Then shall we push hard until the stage where we meet the National Director next week?”
Once I had a legitimate reason, I drove the team members relentlessly without holding back.
Park Soo-gyeok, who had been defiant about everything, now showed a docile attitude, and his teammates who matched his energy followed along with practice, reading the room carefully.
‘I absolutely have to take first place.’
☆☆☆
Watching Park Soo-gyeok and the other team members trembling like aspen leaves, begging for practice to end, I finished at 3 a.m.
‘I’d say I was generous.’
I was grateful that our team had no minors.
If there had been a minor, I would have forced them to sleep at 10 p.m.
As I walked down the Corridor back to the Dormitory after cleanup, I caught sight of someone’s silhouette.
‘What is that?’
As I approached Room 207, someone was crouched down sitting in front of the door.
“Cha Si-woo, you’re back?”
In that instant, my eyes met directly with those blue irises.
“…You didn’t go back to the Dormitory?”
“No.”
“Why? What’s the matter at this hour?”
“I was curious about something.”
Something you’re curious about when it’s just the two of us?
“About what?”
“Cha Si-woo, what were you talking about with Park Soo-gyeok earlier?”
The Corridor of the Dormitory building only had cameras installed at the far end.
That meant conversations here wouldn’t be broadcast.
“Nothing much.”
“Park Soo-gyeok’s attitude changed too much for that to be true.”
“He must just be a moody person.”
“Hmm.”
Rua, who had been watching me with suspicion, suddenly sprang to his feet.
“Got it, if that’s what you say, then that’s how it is. And thank you!”
“For what?”
“For trusting my arrangement and convincing the Composer.”
‘That was only because I need to take first place in this stage.’
“You just made that judgment without even seeing the stage, so that’s all it is.”
“HaHaHa.”
Rua’s bright laughter echoed through the Corridor.
“I’m actually pretty sensitive about music. So when music issues come up, I often end up clashing with people like this.”
‘No wonder he went off so suddenly.’
“Well, honestly, the arrangement was good. The Composer was being stubborn, so I was just doing my job as Team Representative.”
“Still, I wanted to say thank you for believing in my song and supporting me.”
“Yes. Then I’ll accept your gratitude.”
“Right. It’s getting late, so I’m heading out now. Let’s practice hard again tomorrow.”
“Yes. Sleep well, hyung.”
“Wow! Did you just call me hyung?!”
“No, sir. See you tomorrow, Rua hyung.”
Rua’s laughter echoed through the Corridor until I opened and closed the door to Room 207.
‘This guy. Laughing like that at 3 AM is going to wake everyone up.’
☆☆☆
The day before the Position Stage, we gathered in the Auditorium once more.
“How is everyone preparing for the Position Stage?”
The PD in Charge, now quite accustomed to standing on the Stage, picked up the microphone.
“Yes.”
The trainees, worn down by exhaustion on the eve of the competition, squeezed out their voices with noticeably less energy than usual.
“Your voices sound good. Today, we’ll watch Episode 3 together.”
“Yes~”
Seated by team in the Auditorium, the trainees naturally turned their gaze toward the Screen on the Stage.
“How do you think Episode 3 was edited?”
“Hmm, who knows.”
Rua, sitting beside me, struck up a casual conversation.
“I have a feeling Cha Si-woo’s Younger Sibling was edited for comedy.”
‘What, do I look like a comedy character?’
“Haha. I just hope there’s plenty of screen time no matter how it’s edited.”
“If it’s Cha Si-woo, you’ll definitely get a lot.”
“I think you’ll get plenty too, hyung.”
“Oh. It’s starting!”
[Trainees divided by grade through self-introductions.]
The theme song Cheer me on rang out alongside a brief recap of Episode 2.
[The moment the track dropped, Cheer me on entered the real-time charts within the top 100! What was the preparation process?]
Episode 3 was edited with a focus on the Cheer me on theme song.
The Cheer me on vocal lessons, conducted with trainees divided from A-Grade to E-Grade, had a distinctly different atmosphere.
Starting with E-Grade trainees who were harshly scolded and made countless mistakes, the editing proceeded methodically through each grade level.
The C-Grade training process was edited to focus heavily on Yoo Ho-seung.
[Trainee Yoo Ho-seung.]
[Yes?]
[I told you to sing using diaphragmatic breathing. Let’s start over with vocal exercises.]
[Yes!]
Though Yoo Ho-seung followed the trainer’s instructions, his voice couldn’t keep up, and his eyes gradually grew red.
[Sigh… Can you really be an idol with this level of skill?]
[…I’m sorry.]
The camera cut to Yoo Ho-seung struggling and crying.
“Oh dear.”
“Singing really isn’t easy, is it?”
The trainees, conscious of the red recording light, hid their exhaustion and reacted enthusiastically.
The screen showing a close-up of Yoo Ho-seung’s tears shifted in an instant.
The background music became upbeat as the screen panned to the Vocal Practice Room where B-Grade Line trainees had gathered.
[Is there a genius trainee in the B-Grade Line?]
Cheer me on on my shining day
“…!”
[Trainees shocked by the triple-octave high note!]
The cross-cut close-ups of the wide-eyed trainees and Park Chae-young were edited to look like they’d witnessed something extraordinary.
…?
[Trainee Cha Si-woo, are you perhaps a genius?]
[No.]
[Trainee Cha Si-woo, you’re quite talented.]
Against this warm atmosphere, I appeared on screen like a trainee overflowing with talent.
‘Honestly, I’m not quite at that level. Isn’t this a bit much?’
The following B-Grade Line practice room segment showed B-Grade trainees receiving praise in a heartwarming way.
The peaceful background music shifted harshly, and the screen soon changed to dance lesson time.
[Is there a robot trainee in the B-Grade Line?]
I appeared on screen once more.
[Trainee Cha Si-woo! Are you a wind-up doll?]
[No.]
[Then you’re a robot!?]
As my stiff wave appeared on screen, the Auditorium erupted in laughter.
“Pfft…!”
“Hahaha. Oh man, that’s hilarious.”
It contrasted sharply with my serious expression as I focused intently on the choreography.
“Wow. Younger Sibling Si-woo, seeing it like this, your dancing has really improved a lot, hasn’t it?”
“Haha… I worked hard at it.”
[Why is the person so stiff?]
[I’ll practice again.]
[Sigh… The dancing is really a mess.]
[I’ll reflect the feedback you gave and work hard on it.]
The scene of me conversing with the Dance Trainer was edited amusingly with a spear and shield appearing as CGI together.
[You answer well though. But it’s strange—no matter what we say, why doesn’t your spirit ever break?]
[Do I need my spirit to break over something I can’t do? I just need to work hard and learn.]
[…Work hard and actually do it well.]
‘Wait. Am I really becoming a comedy character? I need to establish myself as a growth-type character.’
“Hahaha. Younger Sibling Si-woo, the way you talk is so funny.”
Unaware of my inner turmoil, Rua beside me simply laughed with unbothered ease.
The dance lesson seemed to wrap up as Park Soo-gyeok and several other B-Grade trainees received praise.
However, the screen fast-forwarded through the footage, showing only me alone in the Practice Room, dancing.
[Practice extending into the late hours]
The screen zoomed in on a clock.
[Finally, a trainee who finished practice?]
The camera captured me moving across the room before playful music suddenly blared from the speakers.
[Ah!!]
[Ugh!]
[You’re my roommate, right? What are you doing here?]
“Haha. So Cha Si-woo is a scaredy-cat?”
“I’m not.”
Edited to portray us both as cowards, the camera quickly rewound.
[How did this happen?!]
A close-up captured Seo Ha-yul’s face as he watched me dancing stiffly.
“Pfft.”
“Snicker.”
Though the dancing sequence was brief, I could hear suppressed laughter echoing throughout the room.
After Seo Ha-yul disappeared from the frame—alternating between glancing at the clock and at me—he reappeared loitering outside the Practice Room, bread in hand.
[The unique friendship among B-Grade trainees!]
Accompanied by heartwarming text, our conversation played through the speakers.
[It seemed like you were practicing without eating. Please have some bread while you practice.]
[Heart Ping···.]
[I like Heart Ping too!]
[Ah. Thank you.]
Thanks to the editing, I’d suddenly become someone genuinely passionate about Heart Ping.
[In all my life, this is the first time I’ve received bread from a man.]
My murmur marked the end as scenes of me practicing with Seo Ha-yul flashed by rapidly.
“Cha Si-woo, this is discrimination! The temperature difference between how you treat Yoo Ho-seung and me is severe.”
“…Haha.”
‘Is this the B-Grade Line that Park Soo-gyeok was aiming for?’
Though I received considerable screen time, my character seemed to have been edited strangely.
After the B-Grade trainees’ theme song preparation process ended, the screen transitioned to the final A-Grade practice scenes.
Filled with top performers, the atmosphere was noticeably warm and harmonious.
‘Isn’t that the real discrimination?’
Watching the A-Grade trainees learn quickly and dance with crisp precision was pure satisfaction.
‘So that’s why they showed the editing starting from E-Grade.’
The editing itself wrapped up the practice scenes with a clear emphasis on elevating the A-Grade trainees.
The screen transitioned, and the theme song stage evaluation scene appeared, edited with maximum sensationalism.
My advancement to A-Grade was edited to make sense through my dramatic improvement.
‘That editing worked out well for me.’
Thanks to it, I’d be receiving fewer malicious comments.
A few trainees who had taken the brunt of the negative editing were shown in close-up as Yu Hae-in smiled harmlessly.
[You might have thought it was over, but we’re not done yet! Now we’ll be selecting the center for the most important ‘Cheer me on’ stage.]
Episode 3 came to an end with Yu Hae-in’s bright voice.
The moment Episode 3 finished, the Idol Community erupted into flames once again.
☆☆☆

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