The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 65

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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 65
Park Chae-young smiled as her gaze fixed intently on the Audience Seating Area.
“We are currently conducting the third online vote to announce the next rankings. Please make sure to vote online so your favorite can survive and debut!”
‘This is practically extortion without the knife.’
“Ho-seung! I’m voting for you!”
“Chan! You have to debut!”
“Si-woo! I’m going to make you debut!”
Park Chae-young gazed contentedly at the fervent reactions of the National Directors, their eyes gleaming with passion.
“Well then, this concludes the Star picking5 concept stage competition. Best of luck to all our trainees.”
As the familiar closing music flowed through the speakers, the concept stage competition came to an end.
☆☆☆
“Ah, it really feels good to properly rest after so long.”
Right after the competition stage ended, I was granted a week-long vacation.
I pondered what to do during this break, but the moment I checked my status window, I was able to make a quick decision.
My fatigue had accumulated up to 30.
So I concluded that I would focus on reducing my fatigue during the vacation.
‘I can’t afford to overdo it and cause another disaster.’
Recalling the time I had reluctantly borrowed money, my heart sank.
‘There was no loan shark more vicious than that.’
Honestly, I never expected to pay interest three times over just from taking out one loan.
On top of that, I still didn’t know what the remaining interest was, so I hadn’t been able to pay it.
‘This is unsettling. I’ll never take out another loan as long as I live.’
The fortunate part was that my fatigue was steadily decreasing.
By eating well and maintaining eight hours of sleep a day, it naturally diminished.
Thanks to that, by the sixth day of my vacation, I had achieved the remarkable feat of lowering my fatigue to 10.
“Good. The Final Stage will be here soon, so let me maintain this condition well.”
Zing. Zing.
Along with the familiar vibration, a yellow notification window flickered on my phone screen.
The yellow Group Chat Room was buzzing chaotically.
[Rua: You didn’t forget we’re gathering at My home today to watch the broadcast, right?]
[Haul-nyang: Of course!]
“Oh right, today was it?”
That’s right.
With debut drawing near, a gathering had been formed for mutual support.
[Ho-seung: By any chance… would you like to meet a bit earlier and have dinner together?]
[Rua: Nice idea! How about chicken for dinner?]
[Ho-seung: Sounds good!]
[Rua: Alright everyone, come to My home by 7!]
[Haul-nyang: Yes~]
[Kang Chan: Yes.]
The reason Yoo Ho-seung and Kang Chan had suddenly joined the group chat was because of me.
It happened three days ago, when I was forcing myself to rest to recover from fatigue.
After sleeping well and waking up, I found messages flooding in simultaneously—everyone asking to watch Episode 10’s broadcast together.
In truth, it felt awkward to single out one person to watch with while rejecting others.
After brief deliberation, I decided to gather everyone who’d contacted me in one place and immediately acted on it.
‘After all, since we’ve been around each other for so long, they should all know of each other’s existence, right?’
I mentioned it first in the group chat with Ha-yul and Rua, and they immediately agreed.
Yoo Ho-seung and Kang Chan also coolly consented, and a new group chat was created.
Later, I discovered they’d all been on the same team at least once.
‘Well, they’re all close to earning debut status anyway, so it’s good if they become friends early.’
It was possible because none of them had difficult personalities.
[Yes. I’ll be there by 7 PM.]
The moment I sent my reply, countless emojis flooded the group chat.
“Why are you all responding so quickly?”
[Ho-seung: Si-woo hyung, could you bring Melon-flavored ice cream when you come?]
[Ha-yul: I want Heart Ping bread!]
“You brats.”
‘Just because I’ve bought it for them a few times, they’re taking it for granted?’
But what could I do?
They were adolescents still growing, and at this age, they should eat the foods they crave.
[Okay]
“I need to stop by the hospital anyway, so should I shower and get ready now?”
☆☆☆
After visiting the ICU and finishing my visit, I headed toward Rua’s House.
Fortunately, my younger sibling was doing well without any major issues.
‘Even the medical staff recognized me.’
Though I’d covered my face with a hat and mask due to Star picking5’s established popularity, somehow every time I visited the ICU, intense gazes poured down on me.
‘I wish no one at the hospital would recognize me.’
What family would want to use their sibling’s existence as bait?
I could only hope that no one would notice.
Suppressing my anxious thoughts, I finally stopped in front of Rua’s House building.
“Wow, no matter how many times I come here, I can’t get used to it.”
As I pressed the doorbell, a familiar voice flowed out.
[Hey. Si-woo?]
“Yes. Could you open the door for me?”
[Okay.]
Click.
As I heard the soft sound of the lock disengaging, the door opened smoothly.
Passing through the well-maintained garden, I finally stopped before the entrance.
Before my hand could even touch the handle, the door opened boldly.
“Si-woo! Come in quickly!”
‘That startled me!’
“Rua, thank you for inviting me.”
“Yeah. Hurry up and get inside! Everyone’s already here.”
“Okay.”
I picked up my phone, wondering if I’d arrived late.
The time displayed on the screen was exactly 18:55.
‘Everyone’s so punctual.’
Following Rua inside, the men gathered in the living room all turned their heads at once.
“Si-woo, you’re here?”
“You made it?”
“Yeah.”
The aroma of savory oil wafted from the dining table.
As the warm scent of freshly fried chicken tickled my nostrils, my stomach gurgled audibly in an instant.
“Si-woo, are you hungry?”
“Um… a little?”
“Since we’re all here now, should we eat the chicken right away?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
Despite their intimidating appearance, these guys had surprisingly gentle personalities, so the chicken party unfolded in a surprisingly warm atmosphere.
“Wait! Let’s take a selfie!”
“Right. How about we upload it before episode 10 starts?”
“Sounds good! Let’s do it!”
Rua naturally handed over his phone.
“You’re the best photographer, Si-woo. Take a good one for us!”
“Okay.”
‘This phone is that one, isn’t it?’
The phone that had featured me as the center in Star picking5’s frequent advertisements was placed in my hands.
“I’ll take the selfie now. Since there are five of us, let’s go with a 2:1:2 formation.”
“2:1:2?”
‘Ah. They’re still trainees, so they probably don’t know yet.’
“Yeah. I’ll hold the camera in the middle, and the two on each side should stand slightly forward and back to create height differences so your faces don’t overlap.”
“Wow… how on earth do you know things like that?”
“Just… it happened naturally. Anyway, want to try it?”
“Okay.”
The moment I confirmed that all five faces were captured evenly and cleanly on the screen, I boldly pressed the shutter button.
Click. Click.
“Nice! Let’s try a different pose this time!”
Rua, who had been fidgeting, suddenly grabbed a chicken leg and shoved it into my mouth.
The crispy, savory flavor of the chicken spread across my palate.
“What the…!”
“Younger Sibling, the chicken’s getting cold! Hurry and take the photo!”
‘I can’t allow cold chicken.’
“…Yes.”
Click. Click.
The photo of all of us with chicken legs in our mouths, staring at the phone camera, turned out quite hilarious.
“Puhahahaha.”
“The chicken leg photo is so funny!”
The guys seemed to love the photo too, holding their stomachs as they laughed.
“Krhehehe. I’ll post it in the Group Chat Room.”
“Wait a moment. Give me the phone back.”
“Huh?”
I took the phone back from a bewildered Rua.
“I need to edit it before posting. It’ll only take a moment, so please wait.”
It’s unfortunate that I can’t use a dedicated editing program on a computer, but there’s no helping it.
After applying some basic adjustments on my phone, the photo looked considerably better.
‘Their faces are so naturally good-looking that there’s barely anything to edit anyway.’
“Here you go.”
“Wow…! Younger Sibling, you’re good at editing too?”
“I’m just doing the basics.”
‘I could do much better if I used professional software.’
“You’re quite particular about photos. Guys, I’m uploading the photo to the Group Chat Room, so take a look.”
“Got it!”
Ding. Ding.
The photo of five men smiling brightly and the one with chicken legs in their mouths both looked quite cheerful.
“We really turned out great.”
“Right. I love how the photos came out.”
Fortunately, everyone seemed satisfied with the photos.
“Can we upload this to DalStagram?”
“Of course.”
“Ho-seung, while you’re at it, tag all of us.”
“Yes!”
‘I should pay attention to how to post on DalStagram.’
Since this was an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the know-how of someone with 10 million followers, I moved closer to Yoo Ho-seung, who was concentrating intently on his phone.
[Had a chicken party with the hyungs before watching Star picking5 Episode 10 live! #LookForwardToIt #Star picking5 #WatchingLive]
‘It’s simpler than I thought.’
“Ho-seung.”
“Yes?”
Yoo Ho-seung, who had just uploaded the post, shifted his gaze from his phone.
“How do you use DalStagram?”
“Ah. Si-woo, you haven’t been at this long, have you?”
“Right. I’ve never used social media before, so I’m not sure how to approach it.”
“The important thing is posting photos that fans will enjoy. Since you’re good at photography, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That’s a relief.”
I often found myself thinking that my experience as a paparazzi was proving far more helpful in preparing for idol life than I’d ever anticipated.
“Yes. And you shouldn’t write captions that are too long. Keep them short and concise while using words that fans will appreciate.”
“Hmm.”
‘I’ll need to study this to some degree.’
“And finally, you need to post consistently. Fans appreciate frequent updates.”
“Does frequent mean posting every day?”
“Daily would be ideal, but honestly, it’s hard to maintain. Posting whenever you think of your fans should be enough.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you. You’ve helped me so much. If you ever have questions about social media, feel free to ask anytime. I’ll help however I can!”
“Got it.”
‘He’s really something special.’
Grateful for his kindness, I retrieved the melon-flavored ice cream I’d stored in the freezer and fed a spoonful directly to Yoo Ho-seung.
“Episode 10 is starting now!”
“Come quick!”
“Hurry up!”
The kids, their bellies satisfied, were already seated on the sofa and waving frantically.
“Coming!”
As I approached the sofa, the TX Channel broadcast on the television had just finished its commercial break.
‘Perfect timing.’
The familiar opening theme played as the screen showed an aerial drone shot of the Flea Market.
“I wonder how much screen time we got this episode?”
“Right? Hopefully a decent amount.”
Caught between worry and anticipation, the scene transitioned.
“Oh? There’s Si-woo!”
My stall, decorated with Heart Ping character merchandise, appeared first in a close-up shot.
[How many breads for the princesses?]
[Two, please!]
Suddenly, a heavy bass line with an ominous beat overlaid the scene, creating a sinister atmosphere.
[Trainee Cha Si-woo accepting money from children’s noses!]
‘…What?’
“That’s not how it was at all, was it?”
“Right. It was so cheerful and warm.”
‘I sold the bread at a loss because the children were so adorable…’
The edited broadcast portrayed me as a shameless person taking advantage of innocent children, pocketing their hard-earned money.

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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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