The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 40

Chapter 40

 

A giant whiteboard stood prominently in the center of the practice room, looking completely out of place.

‘So they want us to start with a meeting.’

I naturally took a seat in front of the whiteboard, and the team members who followed behind gathered around as well.

I was wearing the yellow armband given to the team leader during the move.

As all four pairs of eyes focused on me, I met their gazes one by one.

‘There’s even someone here I’ve never spoken to before.’

In the awkward atmosphere, a staff member standing in a camera blind spot signaled for us to begin the meeting.

“First of all, I’m glad to be on the same team as all of you.”

With a professional smile, I picked up a whiteboard marker.

“We’ll be living and working together for the next two weeks, so how about we start by introducing ourselves?”

“Okay!”

“Sounds good.”

Perhaps because of the cameras with their red recording lights on, everyone was fairly cooperative at the start.

‘That’ll make arranging the song and assigning parts much easier.’

Aside from Seo Hayul, I knew almost nothing about the other three members.

At least one good thing was that, with Kim Sunyoo’s help during team selection, I’d managed to pick a balanced mix of positions.

‘It’s not like all the positions could’ve ended up stacked on one side, right?’

The odds of that were incredibly low.

Looking at the nodding team members, I spoke first.

“My name is Cha Siwoo. I’m twenty years old, the team representative, and a vocalist.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“It’s reassuring to have a main vocalist on the team.”

Next, the tall trainee spoke up.

“Hello. I’m Yoon Minsu. I’m twenty-two years old, and my position is rapper.”

“Wow, welcome.”

So, including Seo Hayul, that made two rappers on the team.

‘Not bad.’

The trainee standing next to Yoon Minsu introduced himself next.

“My name is Kim Chahyeong. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m also a rapper.”

“…Wow.”

Three rappers?

‘Well… that’s possible.’

The trainee standing next to Seo Hayul spoke with an awkward expression.

“I’m a rapper too.”

“Ah…!”

The thing I feared had happened.

I’d picked people according to positions, yet all the rappers ended up on the odd-numbered side?

‘…How is that even possible?’

Looking at the team full of rappers, I suddenly felt dizzy thinking about the future.

When Seo Hayul finished introducing himself as a rapper as well, the atmosphere in the practice room immediately turned gloomy.

‘A team with one vocalist and four rappers.’

The benefit had backfired spectacularly.

‘Kim Sunyoo’s team probably doesn’t have a single rapper.’

I could practically hear the producers laughing in delight at this ridiculous situation where all the rappers had been piled onto one side.

‘Get it together.’

I tapped the whiteboard once to change the mood.

“It’s nice to have such a unique team. Let’s start the meeting!”

“Okay!”

“How should we approach the arrangement?”

“Hmm…”

Perhaps because they were still shocked by the fact that we had four rappers, everyone looked mentally checked out.

“Is there anyone here who can sing, even a little?”

“…”

Silence filled the practice room.

This journey wasn’t going to be easy.

“Then how about we listen to the song first and decide things one by one?”

“Sounds good. Honestly, I don’t really know this song.”

“Let’s do that.”

Opening a music app, I played ‘The Story We Couldn’t Finish.’

As the low melody flowed from the speakers, the team members’ eyes widened.

The heavy kick drum, beating like a heartbeat, immediately captured their attention.

Its introduction, beginning with a distant whisper, was particularly charming.

 

— 

Your cold breath

Knocks on my heart again

I thought I’d forgotten

But I hear your voice again

— 

 

The song began in a low register and gradually built emotional intensity as it climbed into higher notes.

The chorus in particular was addictive enough to linger in your ears.

When the song ended, I found myself nodding unconsciously.

“The song’s good.”

It was the kind of song that stayed in your head and made you wonder how it had failed.

The better-than-expected song noticeably improved the team’s mood.

“Should we start by deciding the atmosphere of the stage?”

“Since it’s a mystery, a dark atmosphere would be nice.”

“Something mysterious and dreamy.”

“And during the highlight section, we should really show off the performance!”

After gathering everyone’s opinions on the whiteboard, a single concept came to mind.

“Then how about mixing an undead theme with a vampire concept?”

“Wow… that’s amazing!”

“We could show movements that look like we’re awakening during the highlight performance!”

“Leader, you’re really an idea bank.”

‘Yeah. This is what a group project is supposed to be.’

“Then, is there anyone who knows how to arrange music?”

An expert would eventually help with the arrangement, but true to survival show tradition, the trainees had to create the arrangement themselves first.

“…”

The lively atmosphere instantly cooled down.

At that moment, Seo Hayul cautiously raised his right hand.

“I… know a little!”

What an admirable gray cat.

“Then let’s have Hayul handle the arrangement. How should we approach it?”

“Good idea.”

“Since we have so many rappers, shouldn’t we arrange it around rap?”

The rapper trainees, excluding Seo Hayul, nodded as though it were obvious.

The problem was that the song was close to pop-rock, and its chorus contained some very high notes.

Unless this was a hip-hop stage, there were limits to how rap-centered it could become.

“Rap is fine. But I think we should arrange it without damaging the original song too much.”

“Then how would you like to arrange it, Leader?”

“I’d like to give it a hip-hop-style arrangement, but preserve the highlight chorus, since that’s the core of the song.”

‘Because the highlight section is this song’s biggest strength.’

One of the reasons ‘The Story We Couldn’t Finish’ eventually succeeded in its resurgence was that explosive, cathartic chorus.

“Of course you’d want to keep the chorus for yourself since you’re the only vocalist here, right?”

The smile vanished from Yoon Minsu’s face.

The corners of his lips subtly dropped, and his eyes became cold and unwavering.

“Pardon?”

‘This guy just escalated things out of nowhere.’

The atmosphere in the practice room instantly became tense.

‘Then what, you brat? Are you going to sing it? Can you even hit those high notes?’

Looking at the camera with its red light on, I forced a smile.

“Haha. Not at all. I just think the chorus is the highlight of the song, so it’d be best to preserve it for the sake of the song itself. Do you have a better idea, Minsu hyung?”

“Since four out of five members are rappers, wouldn’t it be better to rearrange the chorus as rap too?”

‘This bastard wants to turn the whole thing into rap.’

“Wouldn’t that make the song sound too much like hip-hop?”

“There are four rappers. We don’t really have a choice, do we?”

Watching Yoon Minsu try to pressure us with numbers alone made me want to flick him on the forehead.

‘I really want to punch him.’

“That’s… not right.”

Seo Hayul, who had been standing there awkwardly, finally stepped in to support me.

This was why a well-raised gray cat was worth more than any child.

‘Good boy.’

As I looked at Seo Hayul with satisfaction, the other three rappers immediately pushed back.

At the moment, reasoning with them wouldn’t work, and if I insisted, the edit would definitely paint me as the selfish vocalist trying to monopolize the chorus.

‘Maybe I should let it go for now.’

Conflict in a group project was a disaster.

‘The perfect way to fail.’

In the end, for the sake of teamwork, I decided to let someone else handle the problem.

“Alright. Let’s go with the majority vote and arrange the chorus as rap.”

“…Hyung!”

“Sounds good!”

Looking at Seo Hayul and the other members, whose emotions were clearly split, I maintained my professional smile.

“Now that we’ve roughly settled the arrangement direction, should we choose the center next?”

“Okay.”

“Who wants to be the center?”

The trainees looked around at one another.

“Hmm…”

I’ve already compromised once. Now it’s your turn.

“Personally, I’d like to recommend Seo Hayul as center.”

“…!”

“Since we’re making this a rap-focused performance, shouldn’t the best rapper be center?”

“But…”

“Honestly, is there anyone here who’s a better rapper than Seo Hayul?”

The stiff expressions on their faces were quite a sight to see.

“I’m kidding. Everyone’s good, aren’t they?”

“…Haha.”

Seeing how thoroughly I’d gotten under their skin made me feel a little better.

“Besides, Seo Hayul’s visual image suits the song perfectly. Shouldn’t the center be someone who can immediately draw attention? That’ll give us the best chance of winning.”

No one here could beat the gray cat’s visuals and atmosphere.

“Hmm… that’s true.”

“Winning is what matters, so I think that’s the right choice.”

Faced with undeniable facts, the trainees reluctantly nodded.

‘Hey! Hyung got you the center position!’

I proudly looked at Seo Hayul, and the gray cat nodded awkwardly.

“Alright, let’s give our center a round of applause!”

I started clapping enthusiastically, and the others, conscious of the cameras with their red lights on, joined in.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

Seeing Seo Hayul’s ears turn red made me smile unconsciously.

While Seo Hayul worked on the arrangement, the rest of us spent time adapting and modifying the original choreography.

Since the trainees had to do everything themselves, the quality naturally had its limits.

‘Still, we have to do the best we can.’

Because it was a pop-rock song, the original choreography was surprisingly weak.

We borrowed as much as possible from the original dance and modified it to fit the overall flow while making it suitable for the vampire and undead concept.

Even Yoon Minsu, who had exploded over the chorus earlier, turned out to be a decent dancer.

The team battle mission was taking shape, unstable and creaking, but moving forward nonetheless.

 

☆☆☆

 

On the sixth day of practice, we stopped training at the staff’s instruction.

We had to gather at the dorm to watch the broadcast of ‘Star Picking 5.’

Perhaps thanks to the show’s growing popularity, the upgraded dormitories were sponsored by a newly opened resort.

The room we were assigned was far larger and cleaner than before.

Compared to our original room, it was almost twice the size.

‘Most importantly, the beds don’t squeak!’

The fact that I no longer had to worry about waking my roommates when I came back late from practice and got into bed was a blessing.

The room housed five people, with two bunk beds and one single bed, but everything was brand new and pleasantly comfortable.

As the oldest member of the team, Yoon Minsu had claimed the only single bed.

Honestly, I wanted it too, but if I didn’t show respect for my elders, the online communities might accuse me of violating Confucian values, so I let it go.

I chose the lower bunk of one of the bunk beds and unpacked my things. Seo Hayul naturally took the top bunk above mine.

I guess the kid felt comfortable around me too.

Even after six days of practicing and living together, the team was still rather awkward with one another.

‘We clashed from the start, and all we’ve done since then is practice.’

Still, no one crossed the line in front of the cameras, and everyone had enough sense to behave.

“Oh! Episode 5 is starting!”

“Hyung, hurry up!”

Like any resort owned by a major corporation, there was a television mounted on one wall.

“Coming!”

Having just finished showering, I quickly joined them with a towel draped around me.

Incidentally, the new dorm also had cameras installed everywhere except the bathrooms, meaning the trainees still had zero privacy.

‘At least this dorm has a shower inside the room.’

Back at the budget dorm that housed all one hundred trainees, we had to use the communal showers in the basement.

Looking at it this way, surviving really did come with better treatment.

“I wonder how they edited us?”