The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 78

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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 78
The bright atmosphere evaporated in an instant.
Among the fifteen remaining trainees, only a single person would ultimately join the Debut Group.
As tense music filled the air, Yu Hae-in conducted a brief interview to draw out the time.
With each trainee’s desperate plea during their interviews, the atmosphere grew heavier still.
‘This program truly is cruel to the very end.’
Yet one person stood out distinctly above all others.
“Next, we have trainee Seo Ha-yul. We’d like to hear your final thoughts—words that may be your last on this stage.”
The gray cat with bulging eyes swallowed back tears and gripped the microphone.
“I sincerely thank all the National Directors who have supported me thus far. I’m uncertain whether I’ll debut or be eliminated, but…”
When Seo Ha-yul lifted his head, our eyes met for a moment.
“I’ve been genuinely happy during my time in this audition. Thank you for creating the best days of my life. Going forward, I hope to become part of a group with wonderful teammates and chase our dreams together.”
His voice carried more earnestness than anyone else’s.
“That was truly moving to hear.”
Yu Hae-in moved past Seo Ha-yul toward the next trainee.
‘Ideally, I’d want Seo Ha-yul to be that final member.’
Setting personal feelings aside, from a positional standpoint, Seo Ha-yul was the perfect fit to fill the main rapper role.
Besides, once we became one team, we’d be stuck together every single day for years on end—wouldn’t it be better to have someone I already knew and got along with?
“Now, we’ll announce the final trainee who will be joining the Debut Group.”
Having achieved the desired runtime, Yu Hae-in moved into his closing remarks.
“It is…!”
Heavy music began seeping into the stage.
At first, it felt less like sound and more like pressure.
A low, deep tone crawled across the floor and spread, tightening the space around us.
Boom—boom—
The rhythm was slower than a heartbeat, but infinitely heavier.
Throughout the Audience Seating, I could see people holding their breath.
The light sticks fell silent. The whispers ceased.
‘Who will become the final member?’
“The sixth trainee to debut is someone beloved for their exceptional rap skills and unique decadent charm.”
‘Could it be…?’
Only the low music continued to pour tensely from the speakers.
“It’s trainee Seo Ha-yul!”
“Kyaaahhhhh!!!!”
“He made it! He made it!”
“Ha-yul!”
“Congratulations!”
Seo Ha-yul seemed quite shocked, and ultimately burst into tears.
“Congratulations! Trainee Seo Ha-yul, please come up onto the stage.”
‘That bastard. He wanted to debut so badly—I’m really glad he made it.’
To be honest, I was glad it was someone I was acquainted with.
“Hm…! Thank you so much!”
Seo Ha-yul accepted the bouquet Yu Hae-in handed over while continuing to bow in gratitude.
“Seo Ha-yul, how does it feel to be selected as the final member?”
“I’m so happy! To be honest, I was earnestly praying in my heart to be selected as rank 6. I promise to show you my very best effort to live up to your selection of me.”
“Congratulations. Seo Ha-yul, please take seat number 6.”
As Seo Ha-yul approached, the others who had been sitting began to stand up one by one.
“Hey Younger Sibling, let’s go welcome Ha-yul!”
“Should we?”
As the others, caught up in joy, rushed toward Seo Ha-yul, I also moved to my feet.
‘It would look strange to just stand here alone.’
I ruffled Seo Ha-yul’s gray hair vigorously, and only then did he stop his tears.
“Seo Ha-yul, congratulations!”
“Ha-yul, welcome!”
“We’re one team now!”
In the warm atmosphere, Yu Hae-in’s closing remarks continued.
“Everyone, it has truly been a long journey until now.”
‘That’s right. We’ve been filming for several months straight.’
“Through countless stages, evaluations, and moments of selection, the trainees chosen for this position are no longer challengers, but artists who have endured to the end pursuing their dreams.”
Countless Quests that had been given to me so far came to mind.
‘I thought it was absurd back then.’
Every time I completed a Quest, I received a reward, and it was fascinating to see myself developing as an idol bit by bit.
“There must have been moments when you wanted to give up, days when you doubted yourselves. Yet despite all that, I want to give my sincere applause to all of you who have held onto this position.”
The trainees who ultimately failed to rank high enough to debut stood and began to applaud.
More than half of them were crying.
In return, we also bowed endlessly and applauded together with them.
“This program was made complete thanks to the choices and support of the National Directors who have been with us every step of the way. But today is not the end.”
As the farewell song signaling the end played as background music, tears filled the audience seating area.
Everyone knew this was truly the end, so various emotions surged up all at once in tears.
“Rather… today is the beginning! Right now, at this very moment, we ask for your continued support and love for the newly born team, Lucy Star Boys!”
“Kyaaaaa!”
“You guys, congratulations on your debut!”
“I will never forget this journey we shared with you. Thank you so much for watching ‘Star picking5’ until now.”
Following Yu Hae-in’s closing remarks, I bowed at a 90-degree angle toward the audience seating and the camera.
‘So it’s really over now.’
I had truly worked hard.
‘Honestly, if these are the members I’ll be debuting with, it’s not bad at all.’
Now that I think about it, they were all members I had predicted would debut from the beginning.
But it was too early to feel relieved.
Because the main Quest was only just being achieved for the first time.
Once the final Quest filming ends, I need to check the rewards first.
☆☆☆
All filming had concluded, but my social obligations were far from over.
The moment shooting wrapped, the celebration dinner immediately began.
‘Is it really unavoidable that celebration dinners are just an extension of workplace social life?’
While company dinners have become less frequent these days, the broadcasting industry remained an exception.
‘I’ve been too busy to even check my rewards,’
Star picking5, having successfully completed filming for the final broadcast, had achieved nothing short of a massive hit.
Thanks to capturing the highest viewership rating in its time slot, the Broadcasting Station executives had arranged the celebration dinner at a Korean beef restaurant.
“Everyone, the director has provided us with an unlimited company card!”
“Woooow!”
“We owe this success entirely to the Lucy Star Boys!”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The Production Team members, their eyes gleaming at the mention of beef, erupted in cheers.
“You’ve all worked so hard this whole time.”
“Congratulations on your debut!”
“Thanks to you all, we got amazing ratings and delicious beef too. Thank you so much!”
I continued bowing as compliments poured in.
“Thank you so much!”
“This was only possible because the Production Team took such good care of us.”
Of course, I didn’t forget the social etiquette of redirecting credit.
“That’s right. We were only able to debut thanks to the Production Team. We’re truly grateful!”
Kim Sun-yu, who had professional experience and knew how to read the room, smoothly added his words from beside me.
‘As expected of the leader I had my eye on.’
Having someone in the group who’s skilled at workplace dynamics definitely makes team activities much easier.
‘There’s real value in having someone you can rely on.’
He was truly a dependable ally.
“I’ve noticed this for a while now, but you all speak so eloquently.”
“Right? The kids are really well-behaved!”
For a moment, I wanted to correct the Production Team’s comment, but I held back.
After all, the members were innocent, but that didn’t mean they were naive or foolish.
I had positioned myself and Kim Sun-yu at opposite ends of the table with the other members in the center.
There was a specific reason for this seating arrangement.
Celebration dinners are unpredictable places where unexpected incidents can occur.
This positioning served as a safety measure to protect our innocent members.
“Haha! What a joyous occasion this is. Shall we all make a toast?”
“Yes!”
The celebration dinner proceeded in a warm and cheerful atmosphere.
The PD in Charge, caught up in the joy, inserted a spoon into an empty soju bottle and used it like a microphone.
“Alright, everyone, please pay attention for a moment!”
As glasses clinked and laughter subsided from various corners, the PD in Charge rose from his seat, his face flushed crimson.
“Now that we’re here, I can say this. To be honest… I thought this program would collapse at some point during production.”
Laughter erupted from all around.
‘Of course he can laugh about it now that it succeeded. If it had failed, nobody would find this funny.’
“I barely slept while editing, and I took a lot of criticism too.”
‘That’s because you guys messed up with malicious editing.’
“In fact, there were several crises during the program.”
In that moment, various incidents and accidents flashed through my mind—including the assault incident and other malicious edits.
“But we made it to the end. This success is thanks to all of you trainees who took the stage and the Production Team members who endured behind the cameras!”
The PD in Charge raised his glass high.
“You all worked hard and suffered much! Please eat your fill and enjoy this moment!”
“Yes!”
As everyone’s glasses clinked together, the celebration dinner began in earnest.
For the record, the glasses of Yoo Ho-seung and Seo Ha-yul, both minors, were filled with soft drinks.
“Wow, the marbling on this beef is like art!”
“Right, it’s really delicious.”
Since it wasn’t my money, I kept placing additional orders for beef as soon as each batch arrived.
Watching the guys eat so well, I put all my effort into grilling the beef, drawing on my part-time job experience.
“I grilled the tenderloin medium-rare to preserve the juices.”
‘Beef definitely cooks quickly, which is nice.’
As soon as the cooked beef was placed on their plates, my teammates accepted it like baby birds being fed.
“Si-woo, why do you grill the beef so well?”
“I’ve done a lot of meat restaurant shifts because the hourly wage is good.”
For reference, meat restaurant work required considerable labor, so the hourly wage was higher than other part-time jobs.
“Si-woo, can you give me the tongs now? I’ll grill with you too.”
“Kids aren’t supposed to grill meat. Since I’m doing it well, just eat and enjoy it.”
“…Okay.”
When I put the beef cooked over high heat into my mouth, the juices burst forth.
‘Wow, it’s delicious!’
As I marveled and eagerly kept the grill plate filled with beef, that’s when it happened.
“I’ve done a few meat restaurant shifts too, so I’m confident. Let’s grill together.”
It was Kang Chan, who had somehow procured tongs and was now assisting beside me.
“Sure.”
With two of us grilling, the speed of cooking beef definitely increased.
It was while we were eating in what could be called a combative manner, inhaling the beef.
“You trainees really worked hard!”
The PD in Charge, his face flushed red, approached us unsteadily.
“Thank you so much, PD!”
“That’s right. I’ll give it to you directly, so accept a drink.”

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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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