The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 59

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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 59
“Honestly, I have no idea who the center is.”
‘This is…!’
In that instant, Yoo Ho-seung, standing at center, lost his composure and subtly lowered his head.
The other members visibly showed signs of agitation as well.
“For a Royal concept, you need overwhelming grace and charm that captivates people.”
The Judge’s voice turned the temperature in the practice room cold.
“A center lacking in both vocal ability and dance skills, and now lacking in confidence too…. This is truly the worst.”
“…!”
“Frankly, there’s no impact either. Do you want to go on stage like this and all get eliminated together?”
The Judge’s indifferent gaze swept over us once.
The moment our eyes met, I flinched at those eyes that seemed to see through everything.
“What was your criteria for selecting the center within the team?”
Seeing my teammates exchange glances without answering, I quickly stepped forward.
“We selected the person we believed was most suited for the center position.”
If I said we picked him because he was handsome, I’d definitely get criticized.
“I see. In my opinion, the center doesn’t suit the concept at all.”
Today’s evaluation was particularly harsh and unsparing.
“It’s not too late even now—why don’t you change the center for the sake of the team?”
‘Absolutely not!’
I had said this Quest would go smoothly.
‘There was a reason the Quest success condition existed separately.’
I recalled the System emphasizing that Yoo Ho-seung had to be in the center position on the competition stage.
If we changed the center, the Quest would be over, and with my stats lowered, elimination would be certain.
‘How did I even get this far…!’
I was racking my brain for a solution.
I noticed Yoo Ho-seung’s fingertips trembling visibly beside me.
‘Resolve this quickly.’
“Our team’s center is absolutely Yoo Ho-seung!”
In my urgency, my voice came out louder than I intended.
The Judges were startled by the voice echoing through the room.
“Oh my, you scared us!”
“Think it over carefully before deciding.”
‘Think it over? I need to survive first, don’t I?’
“I believe in our Ho-seung!”
“…!”
I saw Yoo Ho-seung’s trembling fingertips stop.
“I’m confident that on the Main Stage, he’ll show an even better performance because I know how hard Ho-seung has worked and given his best effort more than anyone!”
“Trainee Cha Si-woo, you’re quite stubborn, aren’t you?”
‘No. This isn’t stubbornness—it’s survival.’
“You’re free to think whatever you like. However, I believe there’s no one more suited for center than Ho-seung when it comes to the Royal concept! I’ll explain the reasons in detail, from first to last.”
Yoo Ho-seung rapidly recalled the ten reasons why he should be the center.
“First, Ho-seung excels at facial expressions. Second, he’s handsome, and third, this distinctive face isn’t just an ordinary one…”
By the time I reached the tenth reason, a Judge with a visibly exhausted expression quickly grabbed the microphone.
“…Alright, I get it! Everything Cha Si-woo said is correct, and I understand your feelings, so please stop talking.”
‘Phew….’
“Yes, understood.”
The moment the Judge released his grip on his own hair and lowered the microphone, the Choreography Judge grabbed it next.
“Setting aside the center position, whose idea was the overall choreography?”
“Mine.”
This time, Kang Chan stepped forward.
“Kang Chan, didn’t I tell you before? Not everyone can dance like you do.”
“…Yes.”
“The dance is impressive and good right now, but how do I put it….”
After a brief pause, the Choreography Judge opened his mouth with a stern expression.
“It doesn’t match your teammates at all, and it feels like you’re dancing separately.”
Given how high the difficulty of the choreography was, the judges could clearly see the skill gap.
“You’re on the same team, but there’s no harmony. On stage, only Kang Chan stands out.”
‘Well, that’s because Kang Chan alone has an A+ dance stat while the rest of the team members are at C to D level.’
In a way, it was inevitable.
“…Yes.”
Despite the Judge’s continued harsh criticism, Kang Chan maintained his expressionless poker face.
“Remember that this is a team stage, not an individual one. Don’t forget that the team’s overall performance matters more than individual capability.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
As the harsh feedback continued, the team members’ expressions visibly darkened compared to before.
The Eldest Trainee in particular was scolded most harshly, criticized for lacking skill and presence.
“Royal Team, honestly, I had high expectations since you have many aces, but I’m quite disappointed.”
“I hope you’ll show a proper Royal concept on the Main Stage without making mistakes.”
“Yes…. We’ll do our best.”
“Alright, Royal Team, you can head out now.”
The faces of my teammates reflected in the mirror were pale.
Among them, Yoo Ho-seung’s shoulders drooped particularly noticeably, and his expression had gone completely slack.
Park Chae-young, confirming that we’d sat down on the floor, picked up the microphone again.
“Next, Wild Concept Team, please come out!”
“Yes!”
Kim Sun-yu and five others quickly stopped in the center of the Practice Room Stage.
True to the Wild concept, the stage was filled with bold and intense performances.
As expected, Kim Sun-yu was flying around.
However, this team also received harsh criticism from the judges and returned to their seats with dark expressions.
‘That’s strange. Even if the others are like that, why Kim Sun-yu?’
As I pondered this question, the mid-evaluation finally extended to the last team.
Since every team had received harsh criticism, the entire Practice Room atmosphere had grown gloomy.
‘They’re doing this on purpose for the broadcast.’
Of course, since the trainees had prepared their stages in just one week, there were inevitably shortcomings.
But I could see through it because even the teams that had genuinely performed well were torn apart.
The Judges were deliberately being overly harsh and intimidating beyond their usual standards to create dramatic broadcast moments.
‘Those Broadcasting Station people, always the same.’
The tired pattern was painfully obvious.
‘They’ll edit the mid-evaluation criticism into a narrative of team crisis.’
Then they’d show the dramatic Competition Stage footage to drive up engagement and viewership ratings—their intentions were transparent.
If that’s what the Production Team wanted, I just needed to deliver accordingly.
I maintained the most serious expression I could manage among the trainees whose faces had hardened.
“Trainees, the mid-evaluation is now complete.”
In the somber atmosphere, Park Chae-young swept her gaze across the trainees.
“You still have about a week remaining, so I hope you’ll do your absolute best during this final period.”
“Yes!”
Satisfied with their resolute response, Park Chae-young nodded and raised the cue card she’d received from the Production Staff.
“Now, for our final activity, we’ll be drawing the Competition Stage performance order.”
That’s right.
The performance order for the Competition Stage happening a week from now hadn’t been decided yet.
“The order for drawing the stage positions will be…”
Whirrrr. Whirrrr.
I turned my attention toward the sound of wheels rolling.
Staff Members were bringing a waist-high object to the center, covered with a white cloth.
‘What is this? What have they brought this time?’
Considering the Production Team’s antics so far, I immediately judged this object hadn’t been vetted either.
“It is…!”
As Park Chae-young removed the white cloth covering it, she flashed a bright smile.
“A gacha machine!”
‘They’re using every trendy element out there.’
“This gacha machine contains five capsules. The number written inside each capsule will be your team’s performance order.”
So they were deciding everything by lottery.
“Now, each team representative, please come forward to the gacha machine!”
Yoo Ho-seung rose from his seat with a resolute expression.
“I’ll be back.”
His steady voice carried both determination and tension.
“Go for it!”
“Ho-seung, fighting!”
“Yes!”
Supported by his teammates’ cheers, Yoo Ho-seung stepped forward confidently—he was indeed the youngest among the team leaders.
“All the team leaders have gathered.”
“Woooow!”
“Royal Team, fighting!”
The enthusiastic cheers from each team instantly transformed the atmosphere into one of fierce excitement.
Park Chae-young, who had been enjoying the crowd’s reaction, promptly picked up the microphone.
“For the third competition, our audience members will be given exactly one opportunity to cast their vote. That means the performance order will have a significant impact on who wins, doesn’t it?”
“Yes!”
In on-site voting without time constraints, when there was only one chance to vote, performing earlier was always advantageous.
This was because the number of people with voting rights decreased as the performance order progressed.
“Then let’s proceed with spinning the gacha to determine the performance order.”
“Woooow!”
“We’ll proceed in order starting with the highest-ranked trainee.”
‘This program really loves creating hierarchies.’
Not that it mattered.
‘After all, the first-place trainee is on our team.’
“Trainee Yoo Ho-seung, who placed first in the competition, please spin the gacha first!”
“Yes!”
‘Please let the order be early!’
Since the first-place team was given a whopping five million votes as a benefit, securing an early performance slot was essential to garner many votes from the on-site voting.
“Yoo Ho-seung! Yoo Ho-seung!”
Bolstered by his team’s cheers, Yoo Ho-seung boldly turned the gacha handle.
‘I believe in you, Ho-seung!’
The gears inside the gacha meshed together with mechanical sounds as they rotated.
The moment a capsule dropped from the machine, a small, crisp “pop” sound echoed through the air.
“Trainee Yoo Ho-seung, please open the capsule right now!”
Yoo Ho-seung nodded and gently pressed the capsule with his finger, twisting it open.
The transparent plastic shell clicked open with a sharp sound.
‘Let’s see what number it is.’
As Yoo Ho-seung unfolded the crumpled white paper, his expression hardened instantly.
“The Royal Team’s performance order is fifth—the very last!”
“…!”
We were done for.
‘The most disadvantageous position for on-site voting.’
My heart sank at the realization that we’d drawn the exact worst-case scenario.
The team’s already dim atmosphere grew even darker.
As the trainees’ fortunes diverged, the gacha drawing continued.
“Next, trainee Kim Sun-yu, please spin the gacha!”
That guy Kim Sun-yu drew number one with an easy smile, achieving an impressive feat.
‘Come to think of it, Kim Sun-yu has surprisingly good luck.’
By the way, Rua had drawn number three.
‘I’m envious. Third position isn’t bad either.’
Only after every team had determined their performance order did filming finally wrap.
☆☆☆
Because filming ended late into the night, the trainees moved to the Dormitory instead of the Practice Room.
For reference, this team was also assigned the same Dormitory, so we had to stay together until the Competition.
As a result, my roommate changed as well.
Instead of Seo Ha-yul, the person now living above my bed was Yoo Ho-seung.
“Um, Si-woo.”
Just before entering the Room, Yoo Ho-seung carefully grabbed my sleeve and tugged.
“Hm?”
“Do you have a moment?”
Yoo Ho-seung looked anxious, tensing his fingertips as he gauged my reaction.
“Of course.”
After confirming that all the trainees had gone inside, Yoo Ho-seung carefully opened his mouth.
“I… what if we changed the Center for our Team right now?”
It was a bomb dropped without warning.
“…What?”
As if someone had struck me hard from behind, my mind went completely blank for a moment.
“Why are you saying this?”

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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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