The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 82

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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 82
“Yes. I’ll adjust the contract immediately within my authority.”
“Thank you for hearing me out.”
“Cha Si-woo, you seem to know quite a bit about law for a trainee?”
‘Well, I have the gacha system to thank for that.’
As a quest reward, its usefulness proved far more practical than I’d anticipated.
After the lengthy meeting, the contract matters were gradually being finalized.
For reference, all my teammates except me already had affiliations with entertainment agencies.
I’d been prepared for some resistance from their previous agencies, but the company handled that smoothly on their own.
Having run the survival competition through season five, they’d weathered considerable challenges, and thanks to the company’s skillful handling, there were fortunately no complications.
“Let’s take a brief break and then continue with the meeting.”
“Yes!”
Glancing at the clock, three hours had already passed.
As the company staff stretched and filed out of the conference room, my teammates naturally gravitated toward me.
“I’m sorry for modifying the contract without consulting any of you first.”
I bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle to my teammates.
Because of me, they’d been forced into a deal adjusting the settlement ratio.
While I’d definitely secure rookie awards for everyone, acting unilaterally without team discussion was my fault.
‘If any teammate develops resentment later, it’ll become a problem. Better to apologize preemptively.’
Acknowledging mistakes and apologizing immediately was the fastest solution.
“No. Younger sibling Si-woo, you did great!”
“Right. Honestly, the contract ratio was too harsh. It was the same as my previous agency.”
Kim Sun-yu’s expression clearly showed he’d accumulated grievances about his former agency.
“If it’s you, Si-woo, I figured you’d make the right judgment, so it’s fine.”
“Same here. I think Si-woo made a good deal.”
“Yeah. You handled it like a man.”
True to their gentle nature, none of them harbored complaints or objections.
“Thank you all for saying that.”
“Sure.”
“Contracts really aren’t simple, are they?”
“I agree. At first, I spent a long time just trying to understand what the words on paper meant.”
“People can easily get swindled, so everyone stay sharp.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
After some brief conversation, the meeting resumed.
The next topic was the direction of our group activities.
“Since we’ve set rookie awards as our goal this year, we’ll need to accelerate your debut.”
Ambition gleamed in the Division Director’s eyes.
‘That makes sense.’
A rookie idol group receiving an award right after debut?
Because the difficulty was extreme, the prestige would be equally extraordinary.
From the Division Director’s position, it was a title impossible not to covet.
Even if the settlement ratio was adjusted, a golden goose that brought rookie awards in such a short timeframe would ultimately benefit them—the numbers would simply be different.
‘The scale of money involved would be entirely different.’
“Actually, I’ve prepared a special surprise gift for all of you.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. The Company has prepared a surprise track in advance to celebrate your swift debut.”
‘Finally, they’re showing the true face of a Large Conglomerate.’
It was the first piece of good news I’d heard.
Having conducted auditions through Season 5 and debuted idols multiple times, the Company was swift in its preparations.
‘So they’re quick when money’s involved, huh?’
I’d have to remember this for later persuasion.
‘Since we’re dealing with a Large Conglomerate now, I can probably trust them with the group’s direction and music, right?’
Having exhausted myself over contract issues, I felt comfortable loosening my grip on the group’s direction and musical choices.
‘I’ve talked so much my throat’s parched.’
Perhaps from the relief, sudden thirst washed over me.
I carefully opened the cap of the 500mL water bottle that had been sitting on the table.
The moment cold water entered my mouth—
“First, the debut concept I’ve envisioned is sexy!”
At the Division Director’s confident declaration, I choked.
“Cough.”
Apparently quite startled, my throat suddenly refused to cooperate.
The water lost its path downward and sprayed in the wrong direction entirely.
“Hack, hack!”
“Si-woo, are you okay?”
“Yes. Hack! I’m fine.”
My throat was fine, but the concept was not.
A rookie group doing sexy?
That was absolute lunacy.
‘Are these bastards joking?’
The small-company feeling I’d sensed beneath the Large Conglomerate facade came crashing down all at once.
A newly debuted group should barely suffice showing fresh, refreshing charm—and they wanted to unleash sexy right out of the gate?
‘Are they deliberately trying to fail?’
Idols didn’t do sexy concepts without good reason—it came only after years of experience.
“Ahem. You all like the sexy concept, right?”
“…”
“First, shall we listen to the song I’ve brought? It’s from a composer in South Korea’s top five!”
I forced myself to swallow my words at the Division Director’s confident demeanor.
‘Setting aside the concept, if it’s from a top-five South Korean composer, the song should at least be good, right?’
“Yes.”
“…Yes!”
As the members nodded, managing their expressions with visible effort, the Staff Members sprang into action.
Through the Conference Room speakers, songs pre-selected by the Entertainment Agency played in sequence.
‘…Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?’
The music flowing through was a beat that deviated significantly from current trends.
“By the way, all the songs playing now are ones I personally selected after careful consideration. They’re quite good, aren’t they?”
“…Ha ha ha.”
The song was terrible.
‘Has his sense completely gone off the rails?’
I seriously doubted whether this was actually composed by one of South Korea’s top five Composers.
The sticky beat expressing sensuality had a retro aesthetic overall.
It was the kind of bizarre song that seemed destined to become background music for an 80s erotic film.
‘If we debut with this, we’ll genuinely be ruined.’
Of course, I’m not particularly knowledgeable about music.
Still, I have ears like anyone else, and I have instincts.
While the Division Director alone was beaming with delight, the Conference Room atmosphere grew increasingly dark.
‘Even to others, it’s clearly not good.’
“Personally, I felt a strong vibe from the innovative third track. If Lucy Star Boys debut with this song, you’ll be able to make a powerful impression on people.”
What he said wasn’t technically wrong.
‘Yeah, we’ll definitely make a powerful impression—as rookie male idols who debuted with an all-time worst song.’
Incidentally, the third track that the Division Director felt a vibe from was the worst song I’d heard so far.
While my teammates maintained their silence, only the Staff Members who worked in corporate society dared to speak.
“The song is so catchy and pleasant to listen to.”
‘Well, it’s music—of course it enters your ears.’
“As expected, Division Director, your taste is impeccable.”
‘Yeah, impeccably terrible taste.’
The Staff Members simply kept flattering the Division Director, gauging his mood.
‘I understand, but this is too much.’
Our survival is on the line here.
Corporate life is unavoidable, but it still requires the courage to say no when something is wrong.
Watching my teammates struggle to maintain their composure, I decided it was time to speak up.
“No! The song is completely trash!”
Thanks to Rua bluntly calling it garbage, I was spared from having to risk my neck.
‘Perfect!’
“…Pardon?”
The flustered Division Director, unable to manage his expression, stared at Rua with a dumbfounded look.
“Division Director, you don’t understand English? The song is trash!”
Watching the shocked Division Director and the horrified Staff Members’ expressions, Rua continued speaking.
“There’s no soul in this music at all. A song like this is basically an insult to the fans waiting for us. We need to give our precious fans the very best songs.”
‘He’s absolutely right.’
Surprisingly, even Kim Sun-yu, whom I expected to hold back, was nodding along beside me.
“I’ve heard that these days, the MZ generation says whatever’s on their mind….”
The Division Director muttered softly, as if the blunt words hadn’t fully registered.
“I agree as well. And honestly, it feels excessive for us newcomers to go with a sexy concept right from the start.”
I quickly added my opinion as well.
The Division Director’s brow furrowed, clearly displeased with the situation.
“Then do you have a better idea than this?”
Silence hung in the conference room.
The staff members merely read the mood, while the members fell into contemplation.
“If there are no ideas, let’s just proceed with this song. Besides, you’re all quite popular right now, so the fans will love whatever you release.”
‘That kind of attitude won’t do.’
Thinking of the fans who were waiting with anticipation, I quickly raised my right hand high.
“I have a good idea!”
In that instant, every gaze in the conference room focused on me at once.
‘These guys are hopeless.’
I’d thought we could comfortably coast along as a Major Entertainment Company, but if things continued like this, it was clear everything would fall apart.
It seemed like someone frustrated had to step up.
“Si-woo, what is it?”
“What if we went with a fresh, refreshing concept instead of sexy?”
‘Starting out safe is always the best approach.’
“…Fresh and refreshing?”
The Division Director’s eyebrows rose slightly, while his eyes narrowed to slits.
“Yes. For reference, you all know that the first love concept stage from Star picking5 gained considerable popularity, right?”
“That’s true.”
The first love concept performance we did as a team mission had gained massive popularity not just for the stage itself, but for its narrative as well.
I suspect my ranking rose steadily thanks to that strong opening.
Notably, the first love concept had even received expert praise as the greatest narrative in audition program history, and it continued to be well-received.
“There’s that unique feeling you can only experience at the beginning—like a first love or first meeting. I think it would be great to bring out that charm through a fresh concept.”
“But wouldn’t a fresh concept feel too clichéd?”
“That’s right. So many rookie idols have already debuted with a fresh image.”
“The idol industry is harsh, so these days you need to be bold to survive. I think a provocative sexy concept would work better.”
The staff members were pushing back while gauging the Division Director’s reaction.
‘Do they really think that?’
“Of course, it can feel clichéd because it’s common. But what if we looked at it differently?”
“How so?”
“From another perspective, the fact that so many rookies debut with a fresh concept means the demand is high, success is guaranteed, and it’s safe.”
“…!”
There’s that unique, fluffy freshness you can only feel from a newly debuted rookie.
There’s a distinct youthful charm that exists only during that period, and it would be such a waste not to use it.
There was no better concept to capture the attention of not just the fans, but also those still caught up in the Star picking5 fever.
“The truth is, there are only certain concepts that idols can pull off when they’re rookies.”
“Hmm….”
“I’d like to proceed with a concept that maximizes the fresh, newly-debuted rookie idol image as much as possible.”
The Conference Room fell silent in an instant.
“Well….”
“Still, wouldn’t it be better to proceed according to the plans the experts at the Company have prepared?”
“Since you’re all rookies, you probably don’t know, but this is normally something the Planning Team handles by convention.”
“That’s right. Besides, freshness fades quickly. If your first impression is weak, it gets buried, and that’s as good as your downfall.”
“So this time, we’ll proceed with a fixed song and a sexy concept.”
Once again, it was the Staff Members watching the Division Director’s lead who spoke first.
‘Impressive.’
It seemed the Division Director’s influence within the Company was far more formidable than I’d anticipated.
“Lucy Star Boys, now that your debut is confirmed, it’s a race against time.”
“In an era of rapid change, popularity is inevitably a sensitive matter.”
“Given the nature of the Survival Competition, releasing the debut song as quickly as possible before the momentum fades is advantageous from multiple perspectives.”
“So trust us and let’s proceed with the song and concept as sexy.”
I watched the Staff Members pour out their counterarguments and my mind raced quickly.
To block the Division Director’s unilateral decision, I had no choice but to exploit the internal fracture.
‘Let me use that person.’
My gaze fell on none other than Director Seo Yun-kyung.
“Of course, everything you’ve said is correct. But wouldn’t a stable song for debut have higher success rates and greater practical benefits for the Company than a reckless challenge?”
“…!”
In that moment, Director Seo, who had maintained silence throughout, visibly flinched.
‘Just as I thought.’

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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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