The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 72

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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 72
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
“…Phew.”
“Si-woo, you’ve been through a lot.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
After exchanging brief greetings with my teammates, we dove into serious Final Stage rehearsal.
“While you were gone, Si-woo, we prepared the arrangement and choreography!”
“That’s right!”
I’d been worried since I hadn’t been able to practice properly for the past two days, but my teammates were truly remarkable.
“Thank you. I’ll give my absolute best right up to the Final Stage.”
“Good.”
“Now that we’re all here, should we start by listening to the arrangement?”
“Sounds good.”
A powerful melody unfolded, followed by an irresistible verse that struck straight to the ear.
The arrangement, more dynamic than the original and built on an addictive rhythm, had already surpassed the original track.
‘Wow… I feel this every time, but Rua really is a musical genius.’
It was an astonishing arrangement skill that never ceased to amaze me.
“How is it? Good?”
“It’s amazing.”
“Wow… Personally, I think the arrangement is even better than the original.”
“Thank you. What do you think, Si-woo?”
“It’s perfect. We don’t need to change anything—we can just go with this as is.”
Rua’s expression brightened even more at the team’s praise.
“But there’s one problem.”
“What is it?”
“Actually, I raised the chorus section a whole key higher than the original.”
“…!”
‘Red Shadow’ was already known for its extreme high notes, boasting a considerable vocal range.
‘And he raised it even higher?’
He wasn’t a genius—he was just insane.
“…What?”
“Rua, this is a girl group song. Can we even sing this?”
Rua nodded as he watched the bewildered teammates.
“Hmm… With this arrangement, only one person can actually handle the chorus part.”
“…Who?”
“Si-woo!”
‘Hey, don’t confidently declare something like that when you’re not even the one singing it.’
The situation was bewildering, but the chorus part with the raised key definitely sounded more captivating than the original.
“Well… I’ve never attempted this before, so I’ll need to try it to know for sure.”
“Then let me hear it once.”
“I’m curious too.”
I nodded, observing the eager expressions on my teammates’ faces.
‘Why not give it a shot?’
“Then I’ll sing the chorus section.”
“Go ahead.”
The arranged instrumental of “Red Shadow” flowed through the speakers.
It was a chorus part with a considerably high vocal range.
Red shadow, the burning fire within me
Touch me closer, a destiny I cannot stop
My throat tightened at the section where I needed to hit the high note, and my voice trembled thinly before fading into silence.
“…Oh!”
An incomplete silence hung in the air, as if an unsung note remained caught in my throat.
“That was harder than I expected.”
“Si-woo, is that really your best?”
“…What?”
Rua’s expression had grown noticeably rigid.
“You can do better than that, can’t you?”
“…Me?”
‘What’s this? Does this guy know something?’
I regarded Rua with suspicious eyes.
“Well, the key is quite high though. If there’s a risk, it’ll be unsettling, so wouldn’t it be better to proceed with the original key?”
It was Kim Sun-yu stepping in to mediate.
‘He’s got a point.’
Taking the stage on the Main Stage while carrying the risk of barely hitting the key was quite a dangerous gamble.
‘If I crack even once on stage, it’ll be a complete disaster.’
“The ultra-high note in the chorus section is the key point of this song. I want to maintain the arrangement as is.”
But Rua refused to back down.
“I understand the arrangement is good, but wouldn’t this put too much pressure on Si-woo?”
Kim Sun-yu countered with a gentle smile.
‘Kim Sun-yu handles even Rua well, doesn’t he?’
He truly was a born leader with the mark of destiny upon him.
“What do you think, Si-woo?”
“Right. Your opinion matters most since you’re the one singing.”
All eyes converged on me at once.
‘Can I really sing a higher key?’
I had already tasted the sweetness of the arrangement—it was too late to go back to the original key now.
If I could deliver a higher-quality performance, there was no reason not to choose it, given how much I wanted this.
“To be honest, I think I can do it.”
“…!”
‘Because I have that guy on my side.’
“Really?!”
Seeing Rua’s face light up with excitement, I sensed the moment had arrived.
‘Is it time to use the stats I’ve been saving?’
‘Hey, System.’
[Yes.]
‘Put all my remaining stats into singing.’
Ding.
[Stat Window]
Cha Si-woo (20)
Appearance: A-
Singing: B+ (UP)
Dancing: B-
Charisma: B+
Stamina: B+
Ability: ???
Status: Paparazzi who regressed five years.
Fatigue: 20
A tingling sensation suddenly coursed through my vocal cords.
‘I wonder what it’ll sound like when I actually sing.’
“Let me try once more. Please listen and judge for yourselves.”
“Yes.”
“Sure.”
The familiar instrumental began flowing once more.
Experiencing a B+ singing stat for the first time felt exhilarating, like drinking carbonated soda.
Red shadow, the burning fire within me
Touch me closer, an unstoppable fate
‘It’s like my throat, which was completely blocked, suddenly opened up all at once.’
The high notes that followed came out effortlessly—it was impressive.
‘A single tier difference feels this significant.’
“Good! I knew you could do it, Si-woo. We made the right call teaming up!”
“Wow…! What is this?”
“You’re really good!”
“Thank you.”
“Then let’s go with our arrangement as is.”
“Sounds good.”
“If it’s like this, Si-woo has no choice but to be the main vocalist, right?”
‘I might end up being broadcast as a trainee with excessive ambition.’
But there was no helping it.
For the sake of a high-quality stage, I continued preparing for the Final Stage, now unintentionally occupying the main vocalist position.
☆☆☆
“Everyone, the Final Stage is really just around the corner now.”
With the last broadcast approaching, the trainees gathered in the Auditorium once more to squeeze out the final segments of content.
‘What on earth are they calling us here for this time?’
For reference, the last broadcast would be divided into three parts total.
Following the Final Stage in Part One and leading into preparations for the group performance to be shown in Part Two, the trainees’ faces were already haggard from the grueling schedule they were enduring.
“Today, to match the meaning of this being our last time, we’ll be writing messages on a rolling paper!”
“Woooow!”
At the news of a relatively low-activity filming session, the trainees’ expressions brightened considerably.
A round table was placed in the center of the Auditorium, with ballpoint pens and sheets of paper spread across its surface.
It was a chance to catch their breath amid the hectic and chaotic practice sessions.
“Each sheet has a trainee’s photo and name written on it. You’ll write your final messages to one another.”
“Yes!”
As I approached the round table, I found numerous sheets of paper spread out at various angles across its surface.
‘Huh?’
The first thing that caught my eye was the sheet with Seo Ha-yul’s photo attached to it.
‘Wait… what is this photo?’
Seeing Seo Ha-yul’s profile photo with that awkward smile, I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘He looks better in person than in this picture.’
I picked up a pen and stared at the paper for a long moment.
‘When I think about it, it’s really been a funny connection.’
The time we’d spent together—starting from Heart Ping and running through practice—flashed past in an instant.
‘It was fun.’
Soon the sound of the pen tip scratching across the paper filled the quiet Auditorium.
[Thanks to Ha-yul, it was fun]
‘That should be enough, right?’
Next, I picked up the sheet with Yoo Ho-seung’s photo on it.
‘That guy’s really handsome.’
If there was such a thing as the golden ratio, wouldn’t it describe Yoo Ho-seung?
I pressed the pen firmly and wrote the sentence.
[You’re center material]
‘Next.’
As I grabbed whatever came to hand, this time the sheet with Kang Chan’s photo landed in my hands.
‘He loves dancing and he’s really good at it too.’
[Same age buddy, thanks for teaching me how to dance.]
I remembered how the fans called us “same age buddies” and wrote that down.
The sheet I spent the most time thinking about was Rua’s.
‘What should I even write about him?’
It was quite difficult and awkward.
‘How do I even describe what Rua’s existence means to me?’
He was a human figure unlike any I had ever encountered—almost like a different species entirely.
‘He’s really something else.’
Well, what could I do about it?
Geniuses have always been difficult to understand.
‘Still, he’s sincere about music, and he’s not someone who would harm me.’
[Make me an original song later]
It was when I finally picked up the last piece of paper—the one with Kim Sun-yu’s photo attached.
“Wow… it feels strange knowing this is the last one.”
Seo Ha-yul’s voice trembled slightly, tinged with emotion.
‘He’s naturally creating the image the Production Team wants.’
“Right. It really hits home that this is the end.”
I pressed my pen-holding fingers down with a bit more force.
[Sun-yu is second place in my life.]
Since he was my benefactor, I wrote with considerable care.
Once everyone finished writing on the rolling paper, Park Chae-young gazed at it with satisfaction.
“Has everyone written down everything they wanted to say to each other?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s proceed to the rolling paper reading session.”
“Pardon?”
‘Right now… like this?’
“The trainee whose name is called will come forward and read what’s written on their rolling paper.”
It seemed quite a few had written embarrassing things, as I heard sharp intakes of breath from various corners.
Park Chae-young randomly pulled one rolling paper from the stack in her hand.
“First up, Seo Ha-yul, please come forward!”
Seo Ha-yul stepped forward with visible nervousness on his face.
“Seo Ha-yul, aren’t you curious what’s written on your rolling paper?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead and read it.”
As the camera zoomed in on the rolling paper, the Screen on the wall displayed the paper covered in various handwriting styles.
“Your rap is really good, you’re attractive, aren’t you thinking of going the hip-hop route?, Ha-yul…? Thanks to you it was fun?”
“Puhahahaha!”
Seo Ha-yul’s face flushed red as he read the nickname Ha-yul.
“Let’s debut together, you worked hard…”
After reading all twenty messages, Seo Ha-yul’s expression looked quite overwhelmed.
“There are many touching comments. Please pick just one best comment from the rolling paper.”
After a moment of thought, Seo Ha-yul pointed to a line on the paper with his finger.
“The best one I picked is [Your rap is really good]. It feels great to have my skills recognized. I don’t know who wrote it, but thank you!”
Seo Ha-yul bowed toward the other trainees.
“Hey! That was me!”
Rua bounced up and down with his hand raised, and laughter erupted from various corners of the Room.
“Next, we’d like to invite Rua, who was selected for Best Comment, to come up on stage.”
“Yes~”
Rua took the spot where Seo Ha-yul had descended.
“Rua, please read the rolling paper for us!”
“Great singer, genius at arrangements, always smiling and it’s nice to see, looks like a prince, make an original song for me later, ….”
Since this was the final rolling paper, it was filled with compliments and praise.
“Rua, which comment did you choose as your Best Comment?”
“Hmm….”
After a moment of thought, Rua flashed that characteristic radiant smile of his.
“I’ll go with [always smiling and it’s nice to see].”
“The trainee who wrote Rua’s Best Comment, please come up on stage.”
Kim Sun-yu, who had been sitting with exemplary posture, suddenly jumped to his feet and made his way forward.
“Wow. It was you, Sun-yu? Thanks!”
“Ha ha. Yeah.”
‘They seem to have gotten quite close, haven’t they?’

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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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