The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 39

Chapter 39

 

‘What are they going to do? Another game here?’

After deliberately building suspense for a moment, Yoo Haein looked toward Kim Sunyoo.

“Teams will be given the chance to claim a concept first, in order of the rankings from the ranking announcement!”

“Oh…!”

“Oh yeah!”

The unexpected benefit divided the mood among the teams.

It was a progression clearly showing the production staff’s intention to favor the higher-ranked trainees.

‘Good thing I picked Kim Sunyoo as my first teammate.’

The corners of my mouth naturally curled upward.

“There were benefits in the mini-games, so of course, there should also be benefits for the ranking announcement.”

“Yes! Of course!”

A booming answer slipped out before I realized it.

“Kim Sunyoo trainee, who ranked first in the ranking announcement, what concept did your team choose?”

“Our team’s concept is cu–”

“…!”

At that moment, my eyes met Kim Sunyoo’s.

Smiling mischievously, Kim Sunyoo chuckled.

“Not cu–. We chose the Mystery concept.”

‘Whew.’

My heart had tightened into knots.

“Wow! What a twist. That’s such an unexpected choice, I’m really looking forward to it!”

Looking genuinely surprised, Yoo Haein quickly turned to the next team with a question.

“Next, trainee Yoo Hoseung, who ranked second. What’s your team’s concept?”

“Cyberpunk.”

“That was a good choice.”

To be honest, it fit those team members well.

At last, every team’s concept had been decided.

Incidentally, Kang Chan’s team, which included the trainee who ranked fifth in the first survival mission ranking announcement, ended up being forced to take the only remaining concept: Cute.

‘I’m kind of curious what a cute concept from Rua and Kang Chan would look like.’

“It seems like everyone picked concepts that suit their teammates well!”

Yoo Haein looked at the trainees one by one with a sly smile.

‘Why is he smiling like a villain?’

“Do you all like your current teammates and concepts?”

“Yes~”

“Oh, dear! That makes me so sad and heartbroken!”

Suddenly, Yoo Haein’s eyebrows drooped dramatically.

‘What’s with him?’

“…Huh?”

“Now that the teams and concepts have been decided, let me explain the second survival mission in detail. The second mission is a new addition this season: a 1-on-1 Team Battle Mission!”

“…Ah!”

The trainees on stage couldn’t hide their confusion at a mission that differed from last year’s.

‘This is different from what I remember too.’

“Let me explain the 1-on-1 Team Battle in detail. Each team will face another team. The winning team will have all of its trainees survive. The losing team will have all of its trainees eliminated.”

“Everyone?”

“That’s ridiculous!”

This was truly a group project that required teamwork.

No matter how good one person was, if someone else ruined the performance, everyone died together.

It was a collective responsibility in mission form.

“And since the number of teams doesn’t work for simple one-on-one matchups, we’re going to split your current teams in half.”

“…!”

‘You lunatics. Then why let us pick teammates as a benefit in the first place?’

“You remember the order in which people were called when building the teams, right?”

“Yes…”

“The order you’re standing in now is exactly that order. Those are your numbers.”

“Ah…!”

The trainees standing in lines looked around at one another and groaned.

“For reference, the trainee representing each team is Number 1, which is an odd number. From now on, everyone with odd-numbered positions moves to the left, and everyone with even-numbered positions moves to the right.”

As I stepped to the left, Seo Hayul followed behind me.

‘No way…’

Turning my head, I saw Kim Sunyoo standing on the opposite side, looking at me with complicated emotions in his eyes.

“Has everyone moved properly?”

The trainees stared at Yoo Haein with bewildered expressions.

“Perfect! Five people on each side!”

‘This can’t be…’

“The second survival mission, the 1-on-1 Team Battle Mission, is a battle between the odd and even teams under the same concept.”

“Ugh!”

“No way!”

The filming set descended into complete chaos as betrayal piled on top of betrayal.

Hearing that it would be a direct team battle against a veteran trainee ranked first made me instantly feel a headache.

One of Kim Sunyoo or me would be eliminated.

‘If I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have picked Kim Sunyoo in the first place.’

With a one-on-one battle under the same concept, comparisons between the teams were inevitable.

Suddenly, a translucent blue window appeared before my eyes.

Ding.

 

— 

[Sub-Quest (7): Win the Team Battle Mission and survive.

A reward will be granted upon success.

You will die upon failure.]

— 

 

‘This really won’t be easy.’

[Would you like to accept the quest?]

This wasn’t a choice either.

‘Yeah.’

“I’m really looking forward to the 1-on-1 Team Battle Mission stages.”

Only two weeks were remaining.

Within that time, I had to defeat a veteran and survive.

Yoo Haein laughed out loud as he enjoyed the trainees’ complaints.

“Haha. We’re not done yet. Now that the teams have been firmly divided, it’s time for the final step: song selection. Could everyone look over here?”

There was no time to catch our breath.

When Yoo Haein pointed his cue card toward the screen, ten albums appeared at once.

“There are several songs by the senior group RAIDEN.”

“Mboy’s songs are here too.”

The atmosphere shifted instantly as albums from top-tier male idol groups, female idol groups, and even obscure groups appeared.

“The songs for this 1-on-1 Team Battle Mission will be idol song covers! If you want to debut as idols, you should prepare performances using idol songs, right? Now, let me explain the song selection order everyone’s curious about.”

After pausing for a moment, Yoo Haein swept his gaze across the trainees from right to left.

“Song selection will also be based on ranking order from the first mission! Higher-ranked trainees will get priority in choosing songs!”

“Wooo!”

“Ah…”

Teams with higher-ranked members cheered, while teams composed of lower-ranked trainees groaned.

‘Damn.’

Looking at Kim Sunyoo across from me made my heart feel heavy.

“Then, Kim Sunyoo trainee, please choose your song.”

Receiving the microphone from a staff member, Kim Sunyoo held a brief discussion with his teammates.

“We’ll choose senior RAIDEN’s song, ‘The Last Days.’”

“Oh ho! You chose one of our songs.”

That’s right.

The song Kim Sunyoo selected was RAIDEN’s The Last Days—the group Yoo Haein belonged to.

‘The concept and song match perfectly.’

“Wow! That’s a masterpiece!”

“You picked really well.”

One of the top-tier idol group RAIDEN’s signature songs, The Last Days had topped music charts for three months and set album sales records.

“Exciting. Next, trainee Yoo Hoseung’s team, please choose your song.”

After a short discussion, Yoo Hoseung’s group also selected a RAIDEN song.

‘As for our team…’

I was the highest-ranked member of the team.

‘I ranked seventh, so…’

That meant we’d pick seventh.

Finally, my turn arrived.

The remaining songs were from Mboy, the girl group HERA, and a flop idol group.

“Trainee Cha Siwoo, ranked seventh. Could you tell us your song choice?”

I quickly looked at my teammates.

They were agonizing over the remaining songs.

“Do any of you have a preference?”

Four pairs of eyes turned toward me.

“I think an Mboy song would be best.”

“Yeah. A famous song probably has a higher chance of succeeding, right?”

Naturally, the team supported the top-tier male idol song.

‘Well, I expected that.’

I was wondering how to persuade them when…

My eyes met Seo Hayul’s among the group.

“Anyone else have an opinion?”

Seo Hayul cautiously raised his hand.

“Uh… I think differently.”

“Got a good idea?”

“Actually, from the beginning, I thought the song The Story Left Unfinished would suit the concept.”

‘Not bad.’

Hayul-kitty’s ears turned red as he lowered his head under the flood of attention.

I flashed a professional smile at the other team members, who looked unconvinced.

‘Guys, Hayul’s about to melt.’

“I honestly think that’s a great choice. Our concept is Mystery, right?”

“How so?”

“If we build a mysterious story around beings who died but continue moving, then The Story Left Unfinished fits best.”

“…Huh?”

“What does that even mean?”

For the teammates who didn’t understand, I explained more directly.

“Death couldn’t stop us. But we still have a story left unfinished.”

“…!”

“Let’s build the stage around an undead theme.”

The title fit the concept perfectly.

“You came up with that in such a short time?”

Eyes full of surprise and curiosity focused on me.

“The moment I heard the title, it just flashed into my head.”

“Wow… Are you some kind of genius, Cha Siwoo?”

“Haha. Thanks for the compliment. But this idea came because of Hayul.”

“Seo Hayul has good instincts.”

“Honestly, it feels like the best choice we can make right now.”

“Then I’ll assume everyone agrees.”

Seeing the team members nod, I picked up the microphone.

“We choose senior group Wild Boys’ The Story Left Unfinished.”

“Oh ho! What an unexpected choice.”

That’s right.

The song I chose belonged to Wild Boys, a band-idol flop group that had never charted even once.

‘There’s another reason I picked this song besides the title.’

The song The Story Left Unfinished had low recognition, but three years later, it would be rediscovered.

It would appear as background music in a movie scene, and when that movie became a massive hit, the song would climb the charts.

‘It was always destined to become popular. The song itself is great, and it’s incredibly addictive.’

“Huh…?”

“Why that one?”

Apparently expecting me to choose the remaining top-tier male idol song, the reactions to my choice of a flop idol group song were amusing.

While enjoying the confused reactions of the other contestants, all the teams finally finished choosing their songs.

“The songs suit each team very well, so I’m really looking forward to the 1-on-1 Team Battle Mission. And finally… truly finally… I have one piece of good news for everyone.”

The long day of filming was reaching its end.

“You’ve all had a hard time living four people to a room in those cramped dorms, haven’t you?”

“Yes!”

“Could it be…!”

“Starting after this, your dorms will be upgraded by one level!”

Amid all the confusion, the news of better accommodations brightened the trainees’ expressions a little.

With the eliminations having happened, they probably needed to reassign rooms.

‘I just hope the beds don’t squeak anymore.’

Whenever I returned to the dorm after practicing late into the night, I always worried about waking my roommates.

Even if I tiptoed, there was nothing I could do about the creaking of old beds.

“The dorms will now be five-person rooms, and you’ll live with your current teammates for the next two weeks. Good luck, trainees!”

‘So they want us glued together practicing.’

It was obvious the production team wanted to film team practice scenes in the dorms as well.

At last, the closing music played, and as filming ended, Yoo Haein quickly left the set for his next schedule.

 

☆☆☆

 

Yoo Haein had left, but filming for the trainees was only beginning in earnest.

Having grown accustomed to relentless filming schedules, the trainees moved to their assigned practice rooms without complaint.

When we opened the practice room door and entered, cameras had already been installed all around.

“Ah… That’s…?”