The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 

‘Thankfully, they aired it normally.’

The trainees’ surprised expressions were shown on screen, and then it transitioned to interview footage.

[Q: Do you know who he is?]

[A: Honestly, I have no idea who he is.]

…?

That was only natural.

‘I don’t know who you are either, man.’

[He was so handsome that my eyes were drawn to him.]

[With so many people staring at him at once, it would’ve been normal to get nervous, but he walked in confidently. I thought he must be someone overflowing with confidence.]

As I stopped in the individual trainee section, the music suddenly became grand and dramatic.

[At last, all the trainees have gathered. And now, a special person appears?!]

Cheers erupted as Yoo Haein suddenly appeared on stage.

[…!]

[A top-tier idol representing South Korea has appeared!]

[The trainees are shaken.]

Yoo Haein’s entrance as the MC received quite a lot of screen time.

Captions continuously displayed his group’s performances and award achievements.

[Senior Yoo Haein is truly my idol!]

[Watching him perform was what made me dream of becoming an idol.]

[I’m so nervous knowing that my role model is the MC!]

The screen alternated between interviews of trainees filled with admiration and Yoo Haein’s appearance.

[Q: Aren’t you in the middle of a very busy period? Why did someone as important as you decide to become the MC of Star Picking 5?]

‘Why else? For the money, obviously.’

[A: Being an idol isn’t an easy job. I wanted to help guide my juniors, so I decided to participate as an MC.]

‘…’

[Q: Is there anything you’d like to say to trainees who want to become idols?]

[A: I hope they do their very best so they won’t have any regrets. If you work hard, I’m sure good results will come!]

‘Worry about yourself.’

The screen changed after showing Yoo Haein smiling kindly.

[Trainees who are already getting along despite meeting for the first time!]

Pink flower petals fluttered across the screen as trainees awkwardly greeted one another and sat together on the group bus.

‘They edited it like this?’

The deliberately exaggerated pink-toned editing quickly showed trainees greeting and chatting with each other despite the awkwardness.

A brief shot of me patting Yoo Hoseung’s head also flashed by.

‘Why that scene…?’

After showing the self-introduction ranking evaluations, Yoo Haein appeared holding cue cards.

[National Directors, voting for trainees officially begins at midnight tonight. The trainees’ one-minute self-introduction videos are available right now on the homepage and GyuTube. Please start voting so your number one trainee can debut!]

Episode 2 ended with a message encouraging viewers to vote.

 

☆☆☆

 

After finishing practice for the Vocal Team 2 position stage, I stayed behind and practiced alone until dawn.

But today, I finished earlier than usual.

‘I should check the viewers’ reactions.’

Unlike Episode 1, where I had been completely edited out, I’d received plenty of screen time in Episode 2.

After showering and arriving in Room 207, the dorm was filled only with the sound of breathing.

Looking at the clock on one wall, it was approaching 3 a.m.

‘Looks like everyone’s asleep.’

Creak

I lay down on the bed as carefully as possible, but the old metal frame still squeaked.

“…”

Holding even my breath, I glanced around.

Fortunately, the trainees in Room 207 remained fast asleep without moving.

‘Whew.’

The moment I sighed in relief and lay back down, warmth spread between my back and arms, and exhaustion rushed over me.

‘Let’s check GyuTube first.’

The official TX account had uploaded edited highlight videos for Episode 2 just as it had for Episode 1.

Episode 1 had already surpassed two million views.

‘More popular than I expected.’

The number of comments had increased more than tenfold since the last time I checked.

‘Episode 2 is what matters more to me.’

Episode 2 currently has 300,000 views.

‘…Why is it so high?’

I slowly lifted my head and checked the numbers again.

The figures before my eyes remained unchanged.

“It’s really true…”

The regular broadcast aired at 9 p.m.

The edited version had been uploaded to GyuTube immediately after the broadcast ended, meaning it had only been online for about five hours.

‘Three hundred thousand views in just five hours?’

Considering it was the middle of the night, the rapidly increasing view count suggested that Episode 2 would likely make it onto GyuTube’s trending videos as well.

‘What kind of editing did they do to make it this popular?’

I pressed play.

After a ten-second recap of Episode 1, I appeared at the start of Episode 2.

The scenes of me singing the national anthem and dancing had been uploaded with humorous captions.

“Phew.”

‘My character ended up looking funnier than I expected, but I got plenty of screen time on GyuTube too.’

The ten-minute video mainly focused on Yoo Haein and me.

Meanwhile, the one-minute self-introduction videos were edited to highlight trainees who were already popular, highly skilled, or had strong performances.

Since the video was designed to drive viewers to the main broadcast, more than half the trainees didn’t even get their faces shown.

The comments were hotter than I expected.

 

> What the hell is that guy who sang the national anthem? LOL

– Love of country LOL. Seriously, I was so confused.

– It was even more ridiculous because he was actually good.

– My family watched together, and my dad said that the kid’s patriotism is exceptional.

 

> Cha Siwoo’s dance LOL. I completely lost it.

– I seriously cried from laughing LOL.

– It’s impressive that he even auditioned for an idol show with those dance skills.

– I had expectations because of his face, but I guess God really is fair.

– LOL, and they passed him?

 

> Wait, isn’t National-Anthem Guy the Temptation Guy who stood center stage on TX Music Show?

– ??????

– No way. The dance skills are way too different.

– Temptation Guy = National-Anthem Guy. My brain is breaking.

 

> Is Kang Chan really that Gwangalli dance guy?

– Why has such a distinguished dancer come to this shabby idol audition…?

– I subscribe to him. His physique and dance lines are the same.

– Why was someone this handsome always dancing in a hat?!

 

> Is Rua a prince?

– I’m Rua’s princess!

– ?

– You’re just a maid.

 

> National-Anthem Guy’s self-introduction didn’t disappoint either.

– I honestly never imagined he’d sing Heart Ping.

– No, but why is he actually good? LOL

– Did you see the judges’ faces when he threw the heart gesture? I would’ve fallen for it too.

– My niece got up and walked right in front of the TV to dance along when she saw him singing Heart Ping. Haha.

 

I was receiving far more attention than expected under various nicknames such as Temptation Guy, National-Anthem Guy, and Heart Ping Guy.

‘At this level of interest, I probably won’t get eliminated early.’

After reading the relatively mild GyuTube comments and real-time reactions, I moved on to idol community sites to see the raw responses.

That place was less a discussion board and more a boiling battlefield.

‘Spicy is always better.’

As soon as I typed my name into the search bar, countless posts appeared in real time.

 

> What’s up with Temptation Guy?

– I got hooked after seeing him as center during Cheer Me On on the music show, but now he’s National-Anthem Guy and Heart Ping Guy too. None of it matches.

– I’m confused.

– He seems kind of eccentric.

– The aegyo was shocking too.

– His character is impossible to figure out.

– I think he’s cute LOL.

 

> Isn’t the whole “independent trainee” thing a lie?

– Wasn’t he in an agency and making stuff up just to get attention?

– And he danced like garbage in the first audition, but somehow became the center? Feels like he planned it for a storyline.

– Something about this guy feels shady.

– Even the songs he chooses are weird, just like him.

– Is the idol industry a joke?

– LOL, take it easy with the forced hate. Do you seriously think someone could intentionally dance that badly? LOL. It’s hilarious.

 

‘Oh~ this is the stuff.’

The corners of my mouth rose automatically as I read the hate comments.

It felt as though a long-buried sense of nostalgia was swelling in my chest.

‘I guess I did feel strangely empty after the hate comments disappeared.’

It was surprisingly nice to experience such raw reactions again.

‘Any more?’

 

> (HOT!) Isn’t this video Cha Siwoo?

[A Wedding Congratulatory Performance on Another Level — Heart Ping Edition]

[https://www.Goutube.com/watch?v=Wedding_song](https://www.Goutube.com/watch?v=Wedding_song)

I attended an acquaintance’s wedding, and this insanely handsome guy sang a really unusual congratulatory song.

I didn’t realize it then, but after watching the show, I’m pretty sure it was Cha Siwoo.

Could this be the first fancam of him…?

If I’d known, I would’ve gotten an autograph. ㅠㅠ

– Huh? I checked, and it really is Cha Siwoo.

– Why is he singing Heart Ping there?

ㄴ The kids running out and dancing are seriously adorable LOL.

ㄴ This is more like a concert than a wedding performance.

– He must be close friends with the bride or groom. I’m jealous.

ㄴ Nope. I heard the original singer canceled, so a part-timer came in as a replacement.

ㄴ ???

ㄴ A part-timer?

ㄴ Yep. And I accidentally broke a plate there, but he kindly cleaned it up for me. Super sweet.

 

‘When did someone even film this?’

Clicking the attached link titled “A Wedding Congratulatory Performance on Another Level — Heart Ping Edition,” the blurry screen came into focus.

 

— 

♪ I’m going to become a princess~

Heart Ping, who’s fallen for me!! ♪

— 

 

The bride and groom smiled warmly as footage showed me passionately singing the congratulatory song while children danced excitedly.

The wedding hall, filled with enthusiastic reactions from the guests, looked like a full-blown festival.

‘So that’s what I look like when I sing.’

The smile on my face wasn’t my usual professional social smile.

I genuinely looked like I was enjoying the moment.

 

— 

♪ Heart Ping! Love Ping Ping Ping! ♪

— 

 

As the song reached its ending, the camera shook wildly while capturing me winking and throwing a heart toward it.

Then the video ended.

‘Looks good.’

An unexpected gain.

 

> Cha Siwoo is my husband.

– Starting today, that’s official.

– Everyone else, stop trying.

– 22

– 333

– I claimed him first.

– Hey, get in line!

 

> You people are praising someone who can’t dance for shit just because he’s handsome. Tsk.

– The fans match the trainee.

– I swear I can dance better than him.

– Stop stomping around here and go watch the TX music show. He flies across the stage there.

ㄴ Yep~ next fangirl.

 

‘Things are going pretty smoothly.’

Perhaps because of the sense of stability, fatigue began washing over me, and my eyes gradually closed.

 

☆☆☆

 

A week into preparing for the position stage under a brutal schedule, filming for the intermediate evaluation began.

Since it was a group project, I had expected some difficulties and villains, but everything remained within manageable limits.

‘The biggest issue is probably fatigue.’

With the packed practice schedule, there was virtually no time to rest.

As a result, exhaustion continued accumulating.

‘I’ll have to find a solution after this competition ends.’

“Vocal Team 2, filming will begin now!”

“Yes!”

Following the staff’s instructions, we moved to the filming set, which was filled with energy.

Five cameras had been installed around the spacious studio, each positioned at a different angle.

Among the familiar faces seated at the judges’ table, I noticed an unfamiliar silhouette.

“…!”

“Hello.”

The moment our eyes met, I reflexively bowed ninety degrees.

“Uh… oh!”

“No way!”

“Hello!”

The members of Vocal Team 2 behind me also greeted him enthusiastically, prompting the man seated at the judges’ table to rise from his seat.

“Nice to meet you all. I am…”