The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

“Huh?”

With a professional smile on my face, I looked at Park Sugyeok and the five others.

“Ah, I thought maybe I misheard something just now.”

“Huh? Ah… We weren’t talking about you. We were just talking among ourselves.”

Park Sugyeok quietly avoided my gaze.

“That’s right. So don’t worry about it.”

“Well, it sounded pretty clear to my ears, so I thought you were talking about me.”

The yellow-haired trainee with a nose piercing spoke with an uncomfortable expression.

“But honestly, it’s frustrating, isn’t it? It’s only a few seconds, yet he keeps messing up the same section.”

“He’s a trainee. Of course, he can make mistakes. Where in the world is there a perfect person?”

“Then he should stop slacking off and work harder. If he’d practiced properly, he wouldn’t keep making mistakes.”

“And what gives you the right to decide whether someone worked hard or not?”

“What?”

“Is there a single trainee here who hasn’t been working hard? You shouldn’t talk lightly about other people’s efforts.”

“He made that many mistakes. You think he even tried? Even if he messed up, he should’ve just kept going like me and half-assed it.”

“…”

‘Someone’s life is literally on the line here… and this guy’s talking about half-assing it?’

“Even if we get eliminated here, we still have a high chance of debuting anyway.”

“Exactly. Unlike some people, our company is huge.”

“And survival auditions already have the debut members decided in advance, so don’t work too hard.”

“Right. Enjoy being the center while you can. Don’t be disappointed later.”

As I watched the Harmony Entertainment trainees laughing among themselves, something hot surged inside me.

‘Do I really need to be polite to people like this?’

Come to think of it, Harmony Entertainment was famous not only for being a major agency but also for constantly being at the center of controversies.

Once I remembered the cards I held, there was no need to hesitate any longer.

“So that’s the mindset you joined this survival show with?”

“What?”

“I thought everyone here was working hard because they wanted to debut. Turns out there are trainees with bad attitudes who just coast through.”

“…Are you getting cocky because you’re the center of the A group?”

“Cocky? I was genuinely curious. …Did that hit a nerve?”

I shrugged while maintaining my professional smile.

The yellow-haired trainee practically squirmed with rage.

“What did you just say?!”

“Ah~ If it hit a nerve, that’s unfortunate.”

The yellow-haired trainee’s face turned bright red as he struggled to contain his anger.

‘He really can’t control his emotions. Must be because he’s young.’

“Are… Are you kidding me right now?”

“I’m not the one joking around. You are.”

“What?!”

“If you’re dissatisfied, you should work harder and raise your rank. Instead, you gather in a group and talk behind someone’s back.”

“…”

“How pathetic.”

“Pathetic?! You think we don’t want to move up in rank? What are we supposed to do when we don’t have the skills?”

‘If you don’t have the skills, how did you even get into a major agency? Isn’t that lobbying too?’

“If you lack skill, then at least put in more effort. Wouldn’t it be better to practice one more time instead of wasting time mocking others?”

The yellow-haired trainee’s breathing grew rougher, his nostrils flaring.

‘Looks like a rhinoceros.’

“Cha Siwoo! You’re one to talk! You became the center because of your face, despite your lack of skill! How dare a no-agency trainee lecture us? What makes you so great?”

The atmosphere tightened like something was about to explode.

“I know I’m lacking in skill. That’s why I spent the last four days practicing without sleeping. Doesn’t that give me the right to say something?”

“Y-You…!”

One of the Harmony trainees beside him cautiously grabbed the yellow-haired trainee’s arm.

But he looked ready to charge at me any second.

“And you seem way too relaxed just because you’re from a big agency. Do you think everyone from a major company debuts?”

“What?!”

“With that kind of complacent attitude, do you think you can survive in this brutal idol industry?”

“You done talking? Come over here!”

“I’m not finished yet. And your speech is getting awfully rude. Is that how Harmony Entertainment teaches its trainees manners?”

“Hey!”

“And you keep talking about lobbying, but judging from your attitude, maybe you’re the ones who got in through lobbying.”

“You little–!”

‘Yeah. He’s fully worked up now. Looks like I might finally get some compensation money for the first time in a while.’

Since he was from a major entertainment company, the settlement would probably be pretty decent.

‘How much would they pay here? If I get some money, hospital bills won’t be a problem for a while.’

Unable to contain himself any longer, the yellow-haired trainee finally threw a punch.

The fist sliced through the air, fast and sharp like a raging gust of wind.

The punch tore through the air, about to reach my jaw.

‘Ah, right. I’m the center.’

I casually tilted my head.

“…!”

“You have to debut as an idol, so you can’t afford to get a scar on your face.”

The punch, suddenly deprived of its target, continued forward without resistance.

THUD!

“…Ah!”

The one who went flying backward like a sheet of paper was none other than Park Sugyeok, who had been standing behind me.

‘Nice.’

I’d wanted to hit him myself anyway. Never thought I’d get to indirectly smack him like this.

Silence fell over the set.

“Oh dear, are you okay?”

Before anyone could start talking about character issues, I quickly forced down the corners of my mouth.

“…Yeah.”

Park Sugyeok staggered to his feet. One side of his lip had split open.

“You’re bleeding.”

“…Damn.”

The moment he noticed the cameras were still recording, Park Sugyeok swallowed his words and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Seeing the red blood on his skin, the yellow-haired trainee snapped out of his daze and widened his eyes.

“Ah! S-Sorry! I… I wasn’t trying to hit you.”

His earlier attitude had completely disappeared as he stammered in panic.

“Hmm… I think Park Sugyeok should go to the infirmary and get treatment. Imagine how upset the fans would be if they saw his face injured.”

“…”

Park Sugyeok glared at me and the yellow-haired trainee in turn before letting out a sigh.

“What’s going on over there?!”

Hearing the commotion, staff members finally rushed over.

Park Sugyeok immediately fixed his expression.

“Oh my! What happened? Why is Park Sugyeok bleeding?”

“…I fell.”

“How do you fall and split your lip?”

“Well, that is…”

Instead of the sighing Park Sugyeok, I flashed my professional smile.

“He hit him.”

My index finger pointed directly at the yellow-haired trainee.

“What?!”

The moment I pointed him out, chaos erupted.

With help from the staff, Park Sugyeok was quickly escorted to the infirmary.

Since the issue involved trainees from a major agency, the production team hurriedly moved to contain the situation.

“You all remember the confidentiality agreement you signed when joining the audition, right?”

I remembered the agreement.

It had been closer to an unfair contract than anything else.

“Yes.”

“We’d appreciate it if today’s incident didn’t spread outside.”

“Hmm.”

“There will be penalty fees if anything leaks, so please be careful.”

It sounded less like a request and more like a threat.

‘Well, would you look at that.’

Trying to silence the victims before anything else was ridiculous.

“Then the production team should make sure to do their part too.”

“Huh?”

“There are lots of minors on set. An assault incident like this shouldn’t happen. How are we supposed to feel safe filming?”

“…!”

The production staff stared with mouths agape.

“Ah… We’ll file a complaint with the agency and discipline the trainee so nothing like this happens again.”

“And the Harmony trainees were saying the debut lineup is already decided anyway.”

“…!”

“They kept talking about lobbying and stuff. Ah~ Surely that’s not true, right? Since you’re filing a complaint, maybe you could verify that too.”

“Hahaha… Of course. In this day and age, lobbying or rigging? No way. Don’t worry about such things.”

‘That’s rich coming from people who rigged the previous season.’

“Hearing that directly from a staff member really puts my mind at ease. These things are all about mu.tu.al. trust, after all! Then I’ll trust you and keep the confidentiality agreement too.”

As I smiled my workplace smile, the flustered staff nodded.

“That’s right. We’re all working together on trust.”

‘Good thing I turned on the voice recorder beforehand. Nice insurance policy.’

I’d activated my phone’s recorder out of habit, just in case.

Never expected it to pay off like this.

If news got out before the show even aired that there had been violence on a set full of minors, controversy would be inevitable.

It was absolutely a disciplinary-level issue.

‘This leash is surprisingly useful.’

While things gradually settled down, Park Sugyeok returned after receiving makeup over the wound.

‘They covered it better than I expected.’

At that moment, the director and PD returned from their cigarette break.

“We’ll resume filming.”

“Yes!”

Ding!

[Congratulations. You have completed the Optional Quest. Since the dissatisfied trainees have been dealt with, your reward is that filming for the theme song stage will finish within 30 minutes.]

‘Does this really count as dealing with them…?’

The situation had gone in an unexpected direction, but I was happy the filming would finally end.

‘I’m taking a nap the second this is over.’

The theme song began playing once more.

This time, filming finished quickly after only two NGs.

 

☆☆☆ 

 

“Only the A-rank trainees, please remain for the challenge video shoot.”

“Yes!”

As part of the benefit reward, the A-rank trainees stayed behind to film a MemeTok challenge.

While the equipment was being set up, we lined up in a formation optimized for MemeTok.

Trainees from the other ranks stood around the edges watching.

“Cha Siwoo.”

“Yes?”

I turned at the voice behind me and found Kim Sunyoo smiling warmly.

“This is our first private conversation, isn’t it?”

“Ah, yes. I suppose it is.”

“I heard you haven’t been a trainee for very long, but your adaptability is impressive.”

“Thank you.”

“Your singing improved tremendously. Do you have some kind of secret?”

‘Because I raised my singing stat.’

“I simply worked hard.”

“Worked hard… Haha.”

“Hahaha.”

“Then I suppose I need to work harder too.”

Kim Sunyoo continued smiling gently.

His appearance was hard to describe.

Like a sage who had reached enlightenment.

Or maybe someone whose screws had come loose.

‘He said he was twenty-three, right?’

Maybe because he had entered society so early, he seemed far more mature than people his age.

‘Looks like he’s been through a lot too.’

Someone with an ordinary mentality probably couldn’t survive as a former idol entering another survival audition.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

‘For what?’

“For standing up for that trainee earlier. You looked really cool, Cha Siwoo.”

‘Honestly, I just wanted the filming to end faster. Twenty-four hours of filming was insane.’

Kim Sunyoo had completely misunderstood.

“Haha. It was nothing.”

At that moment, a staff member who had finished setting up the cameras approached.

“A-rank trainees, we’ll begin filming the MemeTok challenge now.”

“Yes.”

“It’s only about twenty seconds, so let’s finish quickly.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll do my best.”

The filming began with the instrumental of the first chorus, the highlight section of the song.

Since there were no major changes from the existing choreography, the filming finished after only three takes.

‘Being the center really means getting close-ups nonstop.’

“As expected, the A-rank trainees are good.”

Perhaps he had heard about what happened earlier, because unlike during the theme song stage, the camera director’s voice sounded much gentler now.

‘These guys only behave once you put a leash on them.’

“Thank you!”

“It’s nice finishing quickly. And you, Cha Siwoo.”

As the camera director called my name, everyone in the studio turned to look at me.

“Yes?”

The camera director tilted his head slightly.

“You’re just a trainee, so how do you always know exactly where every camera is and make perfect eye contact with them?”