The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 38

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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 38
Yu Hae-in picked up the microphone after confirming that the trainee who had hesitated in front of the white line until the last moment moved to the O position.
“The correct answer is X!”
“Ah…?”
“Ugh!”
Sighs of disappointment erupted from the trainees who got the answer wrong.
“When defamation is committed with false information, the punishment is even harsher. You face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won.”
‘Right. That’s why I was so meticulous about verifying whether information was true or false during my paparazzi days.’
Since paparazzi work was closely related to defamation laws, I had to thoroughly understand the relevant legal statutes before taking action.
I had to operate within the boundaries of the law as much as possible.
I’d been sued for defamation a few times, but I’d managed to slip through like a loach by grounding my reports in facts and staying within legal limits.
“A total of twelve trainees survived the first question! The eliminated trainees, please step to the side.”
“Yes….”
“That was so hard!”
After confirming that the complaining trainees had moved toward the wall, Yu Hae-in picked up the cue cards.
“Now for the second question!”
[The taxes deducted from your salary are called the Four Major Insurances. Among these, the National Pension is 4.5%, Health Insurance is 3.5%, and Employment Insurance is 0.9%. The remaining Workers’ Compensation Insurance is fully covered by the company.]
“…”
“Please move to O or X right now!”
‘There are a lot of minors here… why is the question level like this?’
Watching the confused trainees face a question that seemed more suited for an educational broadcast, I casually moved toward the O side.
‘Either way, I should make the most of this.’
As a former office worker, this was a sweet deal of a game.
☆☆☆
The Star picking Sports Event finally concluded with five cost-effective events: cup stacking, arm wrestling, sit-ups, and push-ups.
The production team’s expressions were quite bright, apparently satisfied with the amount of content they’d gathered.
As I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, Yu Hae-in picked up the cue cards and the microphone.
“All the mini-games of the Star picking Sports Event have concluded. The five trainees with the highest combined scores, please come up to the stage right now!”
I moved toward the stage, having performed well in the OX quiz, arm wrestling, and push-ups.
As I finally stepped onto the stage, a rather familiar face was standing beside me.
“The first-place winner of the Star picking Sports Event is trainee Kang Chan, who took first place in arm wrestling, push-ups, and sit-ups.”
“Woooow!”
Watching the trainees applaud, I too became an enthusiastic clapping machine.
“Second place goes to trainee Cha Si-woo, who took first place in the OX quiz and second place in both arm wrestling and push-ups!”
“So cool!”
“Wow!”
Following the OX quiz I’d essentially coasted through, I’d scored the second-highest points after Kang Chan in both arm wrestling and push-ups.
‘People used to say I was impressive when I carried multiple cameras around, but I guess it was because of my arm strength.’
I figured it was functional muscle built up from doing lots of dynamic part-time work.
After introducing the trainees sequentially up to fifth place, Yu Hae-in flashed a harmless smile toward the camera.
“We’re now revealing the benefits for the top-ranking trainees from the Star picking Sports Event!”
Upbeat music played as the Screen displayed the words [Choose Your Desired Team Members] in large letters.
“Ah…!”
“That’s amazing!”
It was quite an appealing benefit.
“The reason the benefit is team selection is because you’ll become the Team Representative and can personally pick the team members you want!”
Seeing the trainees’ genuinely envious reactions, I felt glad I’d actively participated in the Star picking Sports Event.
‘If I pick the team members I want, the win rate will naturally be higher.’
“However, to ensure fairness, team members will be selected one at a time in order.”
“Oh…!”
“First place trainee Kang Chan, please call out the trainee you’d like to select. Then trainees in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place will each select a trainee in order.”
“Yes!”
“Then Kang Chan, please designate the person you want right now!”
Grand music filled the air as Kang Chan picked up the microphone with a solemn expression.
“I will….”
Kang Chan’s eyes swept across the trainees before settling on one person.
“I choose trainee Rua.”
“…!”
“Wow!”
Kang Chan’s unexpected choice sent a ripple of shock through the Filming Studio.
‘Usually they pick top-ranked trainees first.’
Rua, who had placed 11th, clearly hadn’t expected to be called first—his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.
When he looked at Kang Chan, a smile tinged with peculiar triumph crossed his face.
‘…What’s that about?’
“Trainee Rua, please stand right behind trainee Kang Chan. Next, trainee Cha Si-woo will select a team member.”
I took the microphone from the Staff Member and surveyed the trainees below the stage.
‘The main vocalist was taken, so there’s no help for it.’
Well, it was within expectations anyway.
“I choose trainee Kim Sun-yu.”
‘I have to secure the main dancer.’
Kim Sun-yu, equally surprised, made eye contact with me as he came forward.
After Kim Sun-yu smiled and took the stage, trainees continued to be called one by one in turn.
Actually, I’d deliberated quite a bit about calling Seo Ha-yul first.
But I decided it was more strategic to secure Kim Sun-yu, who had a higher ranking.
When my turn came around again, I called Seo Ha-yul’s name.
Seo Ha-yul came up on stage with a slightly pouty expression and stood behind Kim Sun-yu.
‘Why?’
I asked with my lips, but instead of answering, Seo Ha-yul turned his head away slightly.
‘Could he be upset that I called him second?’
I’d have to buy him some Heart Ping bread after filming wrapped.
Finally, the moment arrived to select the third team.
‘Who should I pick now?’
Most of the top-ranking trainees who were already excelling had already been chosen.
“Cha Si-woo, please make your selection right now!”
I was letting Yu Hae-in’s urging voice go in one ear and out the other when it happened.
A hand approached cautiously from behind, hesitated for a moment, and then tapped my shoulder.
“…?”
When I turned my head, Kim Sun-yu leaned in close and whispered.
“Do you have a strategy?”
“I’m thinking of picking evenly across different positions.”
“That’s a solid strategy.”
“The problem is, there are some trainees whose positions I’m not even sure about.”
“Don’t worry. I know them, so I’ll help you.”
“Thank you.”
I primarily called out trainees who ranked relatively high but hadn’t been photographed by me yet.
Finally, all the trainees were divided into five teams of ten each.
Watching the trainees lined up behind me, I felt conflicted.
‘But isn’t ten people per team a bit much?’
At this rate, each person would get an incredibly small amount of parts.
This was the kind of lineup that would spark fierce competition over parts.
“Everyone, are you happy with your teams?”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, no one here said no.
“I’m glad you’re satisfied. Then let’s move on to selecting what comes next in importance for each team.”
‘Is it the song?’
“It’s concept selection!”
“Woooow!”
‘Concept is definitely important.’
“Please look at the Screen.”
When I turned my head, five keywords were displayed prominently on the Screen.
“The keywords you see before you are the concepts you’ll be working with for this Second Mission.”
Sexy, cute, cyberpunk, oriental, and mystery—five words with completely different atmospheres—and the trainees immediately began to stir with excitement.
“I’m giving you exactly ten minutes. Each team should discuss and select one concept from these five within that time.”
“Yes…!”
Watching the excited trainees, Yu Hae-in picked up the microphone he’d set down.
“Then let’s begin your discussions right now!”
On the Screen, a timer displaying [10:00] appeared.
Watching the countdown tick away in real time, I felt my heart begin to race.
“Since we only have ten minutes, let’s skip introductions for now and start discussing the concept first, shall we?”
Nine pairs of eyes locked onto me all at once.
“Sounds good.”
“Yes!”
“How should we decide on our concept?”
“First, does anyone have a concept they’re really eager to try?”
Several of the nine trainees raised their hands enthusiastically.
“I want sexy.”
“Me too!”
“As expected…!”
‘Oh no.’
Sexy was a risky concept to attempt.
The reason was that Kang Chan’s team had delivered an intensely memorable sexy performance during the first survival round.
Any team choosing sexy would need an impact powerful enough to overshadow Kang Chan’s performance just to survive.
‘If we carelessly touch the sexy concept, we’ll inevitably be compared and found lacking against Kang Chan’s team.’
Looking at my teammates’ stats, none of them possessed dance abilities that could rival Kang Chan’s.
“I think cute would be better than sexy.”
The last trainee to speak among those with raised hands was Kim Sun-yu.
‘Why of all people…’
In truth, as long as we avoided sexy and cute, any other concept would work fine.
“…Cute?”
Seo Ha-yul asked with a hint of reluctance, and Kim Sun-yu nodded seriously.
“Yes, because our team representative here does aegyo so well.”
“…Pfft!”
A stifled cough escaped me in that instant.
‘Is this guy mocking me?’
“Haha. Wouldn’t a stable concept that suits everyone be nice?”
I forced a professional smile and glanced around the room.
“I think mystery would be cool!”
“No way! Wouldn’t a stylish cyberpunk concept be perfect for a performance?”
As the atmosphere grew heated, time slipped away relentlessly.
‘At this rate, we won’t even decide before time runs out.’
When the timer showed five minutes remaining, I clapped my hands once.
All nine pairs of eyes turned toward me at once.
“Since we’re running out of time, let’s decide by show of hands.”
“Okay!”
“First, who thinks an Oriental concept would be good?”
“…”
No one raised their hand.
“Second, who wants to do cyberpunk?”
Two trainees raised their hands, including the one who had proposed the performance concept.
“Who’s interested in cute?”
Kim Sun-yu alone raised his hand high.
“Who wants to go with a sexy concept?”
The three trainees who had initially suggested sexy confidently threw their arms up.
‘Wait a moment.’
This meant a total of six people had voted.
“…And finally, who would like to proceed with a mystery concept?”
When Seo Ha-yul and two others raised their hands, silence hung in the air.
“So we have three votes for sexy and three votes for mystery—it’s a tie.”
“No, that’s not right. There’s still one person who hasn’t voted.”
Kim Sun-yu gazed at me with a gentle smile.
“Team Representative, which concept would you like to vote for?”
“I would…”
‘Honestly, as long as it’s not cute or sexy, I don’t care.’
Because of the forced aegyo I’d displayed on the Heart Ping stage due to the System, my character had been locked into a unique mold, so I wanted to avoid cute concepts if possible.
‘Going overboard would be cringe.’
It was precisely the right time for a character refresh.
Would it be a sexy stage that surpassed Kang Chan, or a mystery stage that could showcase a new character?
‘This isn’t really a choice either way.’
“…I’d like to vote for the mystery concept.”
Right now, choosing a concept with higher winning odds and the ability to display a new character was the right call.
“Then our team’s primary concept is confirmed as mystery!”
“Woohoo…!”
“Just in case, I’ll set sexy—which received the second-most votes—as our backup concept.”
Watching the timer with less than thirty seconds remaining, my teammates reluctantly nodded.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
As the stopwatch hit zero, an alarm sounded through the speakers, signaling the end.
“Has everyone decided on their concepts?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s have each team take time to finalize their concepts.”
“Woohoooo~”
“The order in which you pick concepts matters too. The order for selecting concepts is…!”

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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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