The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 40

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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 40
Incongruously, a massive whiteboard stood prominently in the center of the Practice Room.
‘So they want us to start with a meeting here.’
As I naturally positioned myself in front of the whiteboard, my teammates gathered around with practiced intuition.
I was wearing the yellow armband designated for the Team Representative that I’d received during the transition.
When four pairs of eyes converged on me at once, I met each teammate’s gaze in turn.
‘There’s at least one person I’ve never even talked to before.’
A Staff Member positioned outside the camera’s view signaled for me to begin the meeting.
“First of all, I’m delighted to be forming a team with all of you.”
I picked up a whiteboard marker while wearing my most professional smile.
“We’ll need to go through thick and thin together for the next two weeks, so why don’t we start with introductions?”
“Yes!”
“Sounds good.”
Thanks to the red camera light, my teammates proved quite cooperative from the start.
‘That’s good—it’ll make arranging the composition and distributing parts much smoother.’
I had almost no information about the other three members besides Seo Ha-yul.
The one saving grace was that when selecting my team, I’d gotten help from Kim Sun-yu to ensure we had a balanced mix of positions.
‘Surely we didn’t end up with all the same position, right?’
The probability of that was extremely low.
Watching my teammates nod, I spoke first.
“I’m Cha Si-woo. I’m twenty years old, and I’m the Team Representative and vocal position.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“It’s reassuring to have a main vocalist on the team.”
Next, the taller trainee spoke up.
“Hello. I’m Yoon Min-soo. I’m twenty-two years old, and I’m a rapper.”
“Wow, welcome.”
With Seo Ha-yul, that made two rappers on the team.
‘Not bad.’
The trainee next to Yoon Min-soo spoke next.
“My name is Kim Cha-hyung. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m also a rapper.”
“…Wow!”
Three rappers?
‘Hmm… I suppose that’s possible.’
The trainee next to Seo Ha-yul spoke with a troubled expression.
“I’m also a rapper.”
“Oh…!”
The exact scenario I’d hoped wouldn’t happen had just occurred.
We’d selected by position, so what were the odds of all the rappers clustering together?
‘…How is this even possible?’
As I looked at my team—now entirely composed of rappers—my sense of the future ahead suddenly felt precarious.
The moment I finished introducing Seo Ha-yul as a rapper, the Practice Room fell into a somber silence.
‘One vocalist and four rappers on a single team.’
I’d caught the full brunt of the backlash from this benefit.
‘Kim Sun-yu’s team won’t have a single rapper.’
With all the rappers concentrated on one side, I could almost hear the delighted laughter of the Production Team members echoing in my mind.
‘Get it together.’
I tapped the whiteboard once to shift the atmosphere.
“This is a distinctive team composition, which is great. Let’s start the meeting!”
“Yes!”
“How should we proceed with our arrangement?”
“Hmm….”
The trainees looked mentally shaken, clearly shocked by the fact that there were four rappers.
“Is there anyone here who can sing, even a little?”
“…”
Silence hung heavy in the Practice Room.
This was shaping up to be a difficult journey.
“How about we listen to the song first and then figure out each part one by one?”
“Sounds good. Honestly, I’m not familiar with this song.”
“Let’s do that.”
I opened the music application and played the track “The Story Left Unfinished.”
As the low melody flowed through the speakers, my teammates’ eyes widened.
A dull kick drum, like a heartbeat, seized my ears.
The intro, beginning with a distant whisper, was an alluring composition.
A cold breath
strikes my heart again
Your voice that I thought I’d forgotten
reaches my ears
The song started in a low register and gradually built emotional intensity as it climbed to higher notes.
The chorus in particular was so catchy it lingered in the mind.
As the song ended, my head nodded involuntarily.
“This song is great.”
It was the kind of track that haunted your ears—you’d wonder why it ever failed.
With a song better than expected, the team’s atmosphere warmed considerably from before.
“First, should we decide on the stage atmosphere for this song?”
“Since it’s mysterious, I think a dark atmosphere would work well.”
“Something eerie and dreamlike.”
“For the highlight section, it’d be great to really showcase the performance!”
As I compiled the opinions written on the whiteboard, one concept came to mind.
“What if we blend an undead and vampire concept for this?”
“Wow…that’s such a good idea!”
“And during the highlight performance, show those awakening movements too!”
“Team Representative, you’re truly a fountain of ideas.”
‘That’s right. This is a group assignment.’
“Then, by any chance, does anyone know how to arrange music?”
While an expert was scheduled to help with the arrangement, the survival show format meant the trainees had to handle the arrangement themselves.
“…”
The cheerful atmosphere evaporated in an instant.
That’s when Seo Ha-yul carefully raised his right hand.
“I… can do it a little!”
How could such a dependable gray cat not be endearing?
“Let’s have Ha-yul handle the arrangement for now. So, how should we approach the arrangement?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Since we have so many rappers, shouldn’t we focus the arrangement around rap?”
The rapper trainees, excluding Seo Ha-yul, nodded as if it were obvious.
The problem was that this song leaned toward pop-rock, with considerable high notes in the chorus section.
Unless it was a hip-hop stage, a rap-focused arrangement had its limits.
“Rap is good, but I think we should arrange it in a way that doesn’t damage the original song too much.”
“Then how would you like to arrange it, Team Representative?”
“I’d like to arrange it hip-hop style, but preserve the highlight chorus—that’s the song’s key point.”
‘Because that chorus is this song’s greatest strength.’
One reason “The Unfinished Story” succeeded in reverse charting was thanks to that intense, breathtaking highlight chorus.
“Since you’re the only vocalist here, you’re naturally trying to claim the chorus for yourself?”
In that instant, the smile vanished from Yoon Min-soo’s expression.
His mouth corners drooped slightly, and his gaze turned cold and unwavering.
“Excuse me?”
‘This bastard’s escalating fast.’
The atmosphere in the practice room turned vicious in a heartbeat.
‘So then, you. You want to sing it? Can you even handle those high notes?’
I maintained a forced smile while looking at the camera with its red light on.
“Ha. That can’t be it. Since this song’s chorus is the highlight, I suggested preserving it for the song’s sake. So, Yoon Min-soo, do you have a better idea?”
“Since almost everyone on the team is a rapper, wouldn’t it be fine to arrange the chorus as rap too?”
‘This guy wants to make it all rap.’
“But then the song’s vibe would become too hip-hop.”
“We have four rappers, so there’s no choice. Isn’t that right?”
Watching Yoon Min-soo push through with sheer numbers, I suddenly felt the urge to throw a punch.
‘I want to hit him.’
“That’s a bit… no, never mind.”
Seo Ha-yul, who had been standing hesitantly, stepped in to provide backup.
So that’s why the saying goes that one well-raised gray cat is worth more than a child.
‘What a dependable guy.’
As I gazed warmly at Seo Ha-yul, the other three rappers erupted in fierce opposition.
At this point, communication was impossible, and even if I tried to persuade them here, it was obvious I’d be blamed for monopolizing the chorus section as the only vocalist position.
‘Should I just let it go?’
In a team project, conflict with teammates was a disaster in itself.
‘Perfect recipe for failure.’
With no other choice, I decided to handle the chorus section through someone else’s hands for the sake of teamwork.
“Alright. Based on majority vote, let’s rearrange the chorus section as a rap and proceed with that.”
“…hyung!”
“Great!”
Watching Seo Ha-yul and my teammates with their mixed emotions, I offered a professional smile.
“We’ve roughly decided on the arrangement direction, so shall we determine the center position next?”
“Yes.”
“Who wants to be the center?”
The trainees glanced at each other.
“Hmm….”
I’d already conceded once, so now it was their turn to give ground.
“Personally, I’d like to recommend trainee Seo Ha-yul as the center.”
“…!”
“Since we’re arranging this primarily as a rap-focused stage, shouldn’t the center be the person who raps the best?”
“But…”
“Honestly, is there any trainee here who raps better than Seo Ha-yul?”
The trainees’ expressions froze quite entertainingly.
“I’m joking. You’re all talented, right?”
“…haha.”
Hitting the right nerve felt surprisingly satisfying.
“Besides, trainee Seo Ha-yul’s visual really suits the song’s vibe. The center should probably be someone who can capture attention—wouldn’t that increase our chances of winning?”
No one could compete with the gray cat’s appearance and presence.
“Hmm…. That’s true.”
“Since winning is what matters most, I think that’s the right call.”
Beaten down by facts, the trainees reluctantly nodded, thinking about their chances of victory.
‘Hey! I secured your center position!’
As I looked proudly at Seo Ha-yul, the gray cat reluctantly nodded.
“Let’s give a round of applause for our center!”
As I clapped enthusiastically, my teammates began clapping too, conscious of the camera’s red light coming on.
“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”
Seeing Seo Ha-yul’s ears turn red, my lips naturally curved upward.
While Seo Ha-yul worked on the arrangement, the rest of us spent time adapting and modifying the original song’s choreography.
Since the trainees had to handle everything themselves, the quality inevitably suffered.
‘Still, I need to do my best with what we can manage.’
Since it was pop-lock genre, the original song’s choreography was weaker than expected.
I incorporated as much of the original choreography as possible into the overall flow, then modified it to suit the vampire and undead concept.
Yoon Min-soo, who had rushed into the chorus section at first, at least managed to pull off the dance moves.
The team battle mission was being prepared in a somewhat precarious and creaky state.
☆☆☆
On the sixth day of practice, we stopped training and followed the Staff Member’s instructions.
We had to gather at the Dormitory to match the broadcast time for ‘Star picking5’.
Thanks to our rising recognition, the upgraded Dormitory had secured sponsorship from a newly opened Large Corporate Resort.
The assigned room was much larger and cleaner than before.
Compared to the room I’d stayed in initially, the space was nearly double the size.
‘Most importantly, the bed doesn’t creak!’
After practicing late into the night and lying down on the bed, the fact that I didn’t have to worry about my roommate’s feelings was quite pleasant.
Five people shared one room with two Second Floor Beds and one First Floor Bed, but since it was brand new, it boasted pristine conditions.
Yoon Min-soo, the oldest member of the team, occupied the only single bed.
I actually coveted that single bed, but I yielded because the community might criticize me for not showing respect to my seniors, which would go against Confucian values.
After choosing one of the Second Floor Beds and unpacking my belongings on the first floor, Seo Ha-yul naturally climbed up to the Second Floor Bed I’d claimed.
It seemed like he was comfortable around me too.
Though we were teammates who had practiced together and lived in the same room for six days, our relationship remained somewhat awkward.
‘There had been disagreements from the start, and we’d only focused on practicing.’
Still, because the cameras were rolling, none of the trainees overstepped their bounds, and everyone showed some level of awareness.
“Oh! Episode 5 is starting!”
“Hyung, hurry up!”
Befitting a Large Corporate Resort Dormitory, a TV was installed on one wall.
“I’m coming now!”
Having just finished showering, I quickly joined them while wrapped in a towel.
By the way, cameras were installed throughout the new Dormitory as well, except in the Bathroom, so the trainees had no privacy.
‘Still, it’s nice that this Dormitory has a shower in the room.’
At the previous cost-effective Dormitory that accommodated 100 people, we had to use the communal shower facility on Basement Level 1.
Looking at it this way, I could tangibly feel how the treatment had changed now that I’d survived.
“I wonder how we’ll be edited?”

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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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