The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 39

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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 39
‘What’s he planning now? Another game here?’
Yu Hae-in paused deliberately before glancing at Kim Sun-yu.
“Trainees who ranked higher in the ranking announcement will be given the opportunity to claim their concept first!”
“Ah…!”
“Oh yeah!”
The team’s atmosphere split at this unexpected benefit.
It was a progression that clearly reflected the production team’s intention to shower the top-ranked trainees with advantages.
‘Bringing Kim Sun-yu as my first teammate was definitely the right call.’
My lips curved upward involuntarily.
“Since the mini-games come with benefits, the ranking announcement should naturally have its own rewards too.”
“Yes! Of course!”
A booming response escaped before I could think.
“Trainee Kim Sun-yu, who ranked first in the ranking announcement, what concept did you choose for your team?”
“Our team’s concept is cu—”
“…!”
Our eyes met in that instant.
Kim Sun-yu flashed a playful smile and laughed aloud.
“Not cute—we chose the mystery concept instead.”
‘Phew.’
My heart was pounding intensely.
“Wow…! That’s quite a twist. It’s such an unexpected choice, and I’m really looking forward to it!”
Yu Hae-in, genuinely surprised, quickly moved on to the next team with his concept question.
“Second place goes to trainee Yoo Ho-seung—what’s your team’s concept?”
“Cyberpunk.”
“You made an excellent choice.”
To be honest, it suited those team members perfectly.
Finally, every team’s concept had been decided.
By the way, Kang Chan’s team, which ranked fifth in the first survival mission ranking announcement, was forced to take the cute concept that had remained until the end.
‘I’m actually curious what kind of cute concept Rua and Kang Chan will pull off.’
“It seems like everyone chose concepts that match their team members well!”
Yu Hae-in’s expression turned sinister as he made eye contact with each trainee one by one.
‘Why is he smiling like a villain?’
“How do you all feel? Are you satisfied with your current teams and concepts?”
“Yes~”
“Oh no! My heart is breaking and I’m so upset!”
Yu Hae-in’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed downward.
‘What’s going on?’
“…Yes?”
“Now that your teams and concepts are set, I’ll explain the details of the second survival mission. The second mission is a 1v1 team battle mission—a new format we’re introducing this season!”
“…Oh!”
Unlike last year’s mission, the trainees on stage couldn’t hide their bewildered expressions.
‘This is different from what I remember?’
“Let me explain the 1v1 Team Battle in detail. Each team will compete in a 1v1 team match, and the winning team will have all its trainees survive. The losing team will have all its trainees eliminated. It’s an all-or-nothing mission.”
“All of us?”
“That’s insane!”
This was a group assignment that truly demanded teamwork.
No matter how well one person performed, if the other ruined the stage, everyone went down together—a mission of collective responsibility incarnate.
“And since the number of teams doesn’t match for 1v1 battles, we’ll be splitting your current teams in half.”
“…!”
‘These lunatics. Why did you let us pick teammates as a benefit if you were going to do this?’
“Do you remember the order in which you were called when forming your teams?”
“Yes….”
“That order you’re standing in right now—that’s your number.”
“Ah…!”
The trainees standing in a line looked back and forth at each other, sighing heavily.
“By the way, the trainees representing each team have odd numbers starting with 1. From now on, those with odd sequence numbers, move to the left. Those with even numbers, move to the right.”
As I stepped to the left, Seo Ha-yul followed behind me.
‘No way….’
I turned my head to see Kim Sun-yu standing on the opposite side, his gaze fixed on me with complicated emotions.
“Did everyone move to their positions?”
The trainees stared at Yu Hae-in with confused expressions.
“Perfect! The odd-even split has divided us into exactly five people per team!”
‘You’ve got to be kidding…’
“The second survival 1v1 Team Battle mission is a clash between odd and even teams fighting over the same concept.”
“…No!”
“This can’t be happening!”
The filming location descended into pure chaos at this backstab within a backstab.
Hearing that I’d be facing the top-ranked experienced trainee head-on in a team battle, a sudden headache crashed over me.
Either Kim Sun-yu or I would be eliminated.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve picked Kim Sun-yu in the first place.’
In a 1v1 battle with the same concept, the teams would inevitably be compared against each other—there was no way around it.
Suddenly, a translucent blue window materialized before my eyes.
Ding.
[Sub Quest (7): Win the team battle mission and survive.
Rewards will be given upon success.
Failure means death.]
‘This won’t be easy at all.’
[Do you accept the quest?]
There was no choice here either.
‘That’s right.’
“The 1v1 team battle mission stage sounds truly exciting.”
Only two weeks remained.
Within that time, I had to defeat experienced professionals and survive.
Yu Hae-in, who had been savoring the trainees’ resentment, laughed aloud.
“Haha. We’re not finished yet. Now that the teams are properly divided, we’ll have one final song selection round. Everyone, could you please focus over here?”
The pace of the announcement left no room to catch one’s breath.
As Yu Hae-in pointed his cue card at the screen, ten albums appeared simultaneously.
“There are several RAIDEN sunbae songs, aren’t there?”
“There are Mboy sunbae songs too?”
The atmosphere shifted instantly as albums from top-tier male idols to struggling female idols appeared in diverse variety.
“This 1v1 battle mission will feature idol song covers! To debut as an idol, you must prepare a stage with idol songs! Now, let me announce the song selection order that you’re all curious about.”
Yu Hae-in paused briefly, then swept his gaze across the trainees from right to left.
“Song selection will also be given in order of ranking from the first mission, allowing higher-ranked trainees to choose first!”
“Wooooah!”
“Ah….”
The team with higher rankings cheered, while the team gathered from relatively lower ranks let out sighs.
‘This is rough.’
Seeing Kim Sun-yu across from me, my heart sank.
“Then trainee Kim Sun-yu, please select your song right away!”
Kim Sun-yu accepted the microphone from the staff member and took a brief moment to confer with his teammates.
“We’ll select RAIDEN sunbae’s The Last Days.”
“Oh! You’ve chosen our song.”
That was right.
The song Kim Sun-yu chose was ‘The Last Days’ by RAIDEN, Yu Hae-in’s group.
‘The concept and song fit perfectly together.’
“Wow…! It’s such a masterpiece, isn’t it?”
“You really made an excellent choice.”
‘The Last Days,’ one of the signature hits by top-tier idol group RAIDEN, had ranked first on music charts for three consecutive months and was among the greatest masterpieces in album history.
“I’m looking forward to it. Next, trainee Yoo Ho-seung in second place, please select your song!”
Yoo Ho-seung’s group also held a brief discussion before selecting a song from RAIDEN as well.
‘Let’s see what our team has….’
The highest-ranked person in my team was me.
‘Since I’m ranked 7th….’
I would be choosing seventh.
Finally, my turn was approaching.
The remaining songs were from Mboy group, girl group HERA, and a struggling idol group.
“Trainee Cha Si-woo, who is ranked 7th, would you please tell us your choice?”
I quickly glanced at my teammates, and they were agonizing over the remaining songs.
“Is there a song you’d prefer?”
Four pairs of eyes locked onto me simultaneously.
“Don’t you think Mboy’s song would be a good choice?”
“Right. A well-known song would have a higher chance of success, wouldn’t it?”
Naturally, my teammates rallied behind the first-tier idol’s track.
‘I saw this coming.’
I was still deliberating how to persuade them when it happened.
My eyes met Seo Ha-yul’s, who had been observing the team’s mood carefully.
“Does anyone else have an opinion?”
Seo Ha-yul raised his hand hesitantly.
“I… actually think differently.”
“You have a decent idea?”
“To be honest, from the beginning I felt that ‘The Story We Never Finished’ would suit our concept better.”
‘That’s actually solid.’
Ha-yul’s ears flushed crimson as he bowed his head under the barrage of stares.
I flashed a professional smile toward the other teammates, whose expressions betrayed their disapproval.
‘You guys, Ha-yul’s got this.’
“I genuinely think that’s an excellent choice. Our concept is mysterious, after all.”
“In what way?”
“If we develop the mystery narrative around beings who are dead yet still moving—alive—then ‘The Story We Never Finished’ feels like the perfect fit.”
“…Pardon?”
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
I laid it out plainly for my confused teammate.
“Death couldn’t stop us. But we still have a story left unfinished.”
“…!”
“Let’s anchor the concept in the undead and create a stage around that.”
The song title fit our concept like a glove.
“You came up with that in such a short time?”
Astonishment and curiosity flooded every face.
“When I heard the title, it just flashed into my mind.”
“Wow… Are you perhaps a genius, Cha Si-woo?”
“Ha ha. Thanks for the compliment. But this idea came to me thanks to Ha-yul.”
“Seo Ha-yul has good instincts.”
“Honestly, it feels like the best judgment we could make right now.”
“Then I’ll proceed with everyone’s agreement.”
I picked up the microphone, watching my teammates nod in approval.
“We’ll go with Wild Boyz’s ‘The Story We Never Finished.'”
“Oh! That’s quite an unexpected choice.”
Indeed.
The song I’d chosen was a Wild Boyz track—a band idol flop that had never once charted.
‘There’s another reason behind choosing this song, beyond just the title.’
The song I chose, “Unfinished Story,” had low recognition at first, but it would be re-evaluated three years later.
It appeared as BGM in a movie scene, and when that film became a massive hit, the song experienced a reverse climb in popularity.
‘It had strong addictiveness and the song itself was good, so it was destined to become a hit eventually.’
“Ah…?”
“Why that one?”
The reactions to my choice of a failed idol song were amusing—everyone had expected me to pick from the remaining first-tier male idol tracks.
While I enjoyed observing the other participants’ confused responses, all the teams finally finished selecting their songs.
“Each team has chosen a song that suits them perfectly, so the 1v1 team battle mission is truly something to look forward to. And as a final piece of good news, I have one more announcement for you all.”
The extended filming session was drawing to a close.
“I’m sure you’ve all suffered living four to a room in such cramped quarters, haven’t you?”
“Yes!”
“Could it be…!”
“From this point forward, your dormitory accommodations will be upgraded to the next level!”
Amid the chaos, the news of improved dormitory conditions brightened the trainees’ expressions slightly.
It seemed they’d need to reassign rooms since some trainees would be eliminated.
‘I hope the new beds don’t squeak.’
No matter how careful I was, whenever I returned to the dormitory after late-night practice sessions, I worried about waking my roommates.
Even walking on my tiptoes couldn’t silence the distinctive creaking of the old bed—that was beyond my control.
“The dormitory will be arranged as five trainees per room, and you’ll stay with your current team members for the next two weeks. Best of luck to all of you trainees!”
‘So they want us to stick together and practice relentlessly.’
I could see through the Production Team’s scheme to film team practice sessions even at the dormitory.
As the closing music finally played and filming wrapped, Yu Hae-in, who had another schedule, quickly left the Filming Location.
☆☆☆
Though Yu Hae-in had departed, the trainees’ filming was just beginning in earnest.
The trainees, now quite accustomed to the relentless filming schedule, moved without complaint to their assigned Practice Room.
As I opened the Practice Room door and stepped inside, cameras were already positioned throughout the space.
“Oh…. What’s that?”

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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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