The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 41

Chapter 41

 

As if recalling the trainees besides Yoo Hoseung who had received evil editing in the previous episode, Seo Hayul’s expression was full of worry.

“Don’t worry too much. You’ll get a good edit.”

“Yes…!”

As I stroked Seo Hayul’s hair, episode 5 of ‘Star Picking 5’ finally began airing.

Right from the start, a suspenseful BGM played while the countdown number 100 slowly decreased one by one.

[The number of eliminated trainees is…]

The screen showed the Adam’s apple of a trainee swallowing nervously before slowly zooming in.

[Exactly… 50 people.]

[No way!]

[Seriously?]

[That’s impossible. Half of us are getting eliminated right from the start…]

Following the cliffhanger ending that had been used as bait, Episode 5 officially began.

“Wow, my heart really dropped back then.”

“Seriously. It was so cruel.”

The scene where teams were decided by drawing lots had been edited to maximize suspense.

After all the teams were formed, footage of position-based practice sessions and stage performances followed.

The first team to appear was the dance team, packed with popular trainees.

Starting with Dance Team 1, which included Yoo Hoseung, Kim Sunyoo’s team, and Kang Chan’s team followed.

Incidentally, Yoo Hoseung had once again received a provocative evil edit because of conflicts with his teammates during practice.

“Ah…!”

“That team had it rough too.”

Conscious of the cameras with red recording lights on, my roommates swallowed their comments.

‘The broadcasting station bastards are really going overboard.’

It seemed they had recruited him from the beginning solely to create controversy. The production staff had fully committed to creating broadcast material by editing the influencer negatively to boost ratings.

‘He’s going to get a ridiculous amount of hate for this.’

Both the production team and Yoo Hoseung.

Still, the attention-grabbing effect was undeniable.

When Yoo Hoseung appeared on stage as the designated villain, the crowd’s reaction was extraordinary.

The audience looked as if they were chanting only his name, and even footage of fans crying tears of joy upon seeing him appeared on screen.

“As expected, he’s incredibly popular.”

“Seriously. I’m jealous.”

The stage itself was filmed primarily around Yoo Hoseung.

The performance was little more than a talent-show level stage, but it was entertaining simply because of his face.

Next came Kang Chan’s team, almost as if the show was deliberately inviting comparisons.

The editing emphasized the contrast between Kang Chan effortlessly soaring and his teammates struggling to keep up with him.

What was amusing was that even when the teammates appeared to be keeping him in check, Kang Chan didn’t seem to care at all.

‘Interesting.’

The sight of Kang Chan quietly practicing despite the jealousy around him made him look steadfast.

His dancing in “Neon Promise” was flashy enough to rival a top-tier male idol.

Although the stage was edited as “Kang Chan and the Others,” the fact that they only lost the live vote to Yoo Hoseung’s team by ten votes was presented in an extremely sensational manner.

The production staff had clearly chosen Yoo Hoseung as their main target.

In contrast, Kim Sunyoo’s team, which had obviously received the PD’s favor, was shown preparing in a harmonious atmosphere without major conflicts.

Their stage was also portrayed as the textbook definition of an idol performance, and the fact that they ranked first in the live audience vote was emphasized as something completely natural.

“Wow, this team’s atmosphere is amazing!”

“Seriously. And they’re all so good.”

The Vocal Team 2 that I belonged to appeared around the middle of the broadcast.

As expected, the conflict with the composer was shown first.

[Stop!]

The scene of the composer pushing back his chair and shouting was aired in a highly provocative manner.

“Huh?”

“So it wasn’t easy for you either, Hyung.”

I continued stroking Seo Hayul’s hair sympathetically.

His hair was so soft that it was strangely addictive.

“Nothing in life comes easy.”

The composer’s stiff expression was shown in a close-up while tense background music played.

[There’s no need to hear any more. Just perform the original version.]

[I think it’s too early to judge without even listening to the arrangement.]

The broadcast edited things into a classic Composer vs. Trainees confrontation.

[I can tell just from the intro! You’re ruining the original song…! The emotional delivery and unique feeling are completely gone.]

[If we want to showcase dance and performance, a ballad absolutely needs a faster arrangement!]

Rua’s sharp voice rang out through the speakers.

‘Rua’s probably going to get criticized too this time.’

It was the kind of edit that made him seem disrespectful and rude.

[Shouldn’t a vocal-position stage focus on singing? Then we’ll proceed with the original arrangement.]

At the moment, Kim Taehan firmly handed the sheet music to the production staff, accompanied by the caption [Vocal Team 2 in Crisis!]

[Wait a moment!]

My voice echoed through the room, and then the show cut to commercials.

“Wow, they cut it there?”

“Siwoo, what did you say there?”

Four pairs of curious eyes immediately turned toward me.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

“Ah, now I’m really curious.”

Only after a cellphone commercial and a sportswear advertisement did the scene continue.

[First of all, it’s truly an honor for us to perform such a wonderful masterpiece on stage. Thank you very much.]

The screen showed me bowing at a perfect ninety degrees, followed by a close-up of the composer’s face.

The more I spoke, the gentler his expression visibly became.

A caption reading [Trainee Animal Tamer] appeared while the broadcast also showed me pinching Rua’s thigh.

“Pfft hahaha.”

“The way everyone starts bowing while watching each other is so funny!”

“…Haha.”

Once again, I had unintentionally received a comedic edit.

‘Maybe I really should seriously consider becoming the comic-relief character.’

As I pondered that, the scene changed.

With a BGM commonly heard in racing games, the footage showed Park Sugyeok running away while I chased after him.

[Vocal Team 2’s Second Crisis!]

The scene of me catching the runaway Park Sugyeok and shoving him back into the practice room had also been edited in an exaggeratedly rough manner.

“Hahaha.”

“Running away is funny enough, but actually dragging him back is on another level.”

“…Haha. There are no deserters on my team.”

At this point, even I didn’t know anymore.

Half-giving up, I continued watching as the scene shifted again.

On stage, my expression visibly changed in real time.

At first, I had definitely been wearing my professional social smile.

But little by little, a genuine smile spread across my face, making me seem strangely unfamiliar to myself.

[Because our story began like destiny!]

When Rua and I sang the chorus together in harmony, my expression looked genuinely relieved.

“Wow~”

“As expected of a main vocalist!”

“You sing really well.”

“Thank you.”

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

The feeling made my chest itch slightly.

“Honestly, your performance was really good. I think you just got fewer votes because you performed last.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“That’s right.”

“I think so too!”

The stage that had felt so unfamiliar to me finally came to an end.

Fortunately, the editing was decent as well, emphasizing that we were the [Team Ranked #1 by the Judges’ Scores], and our screen time was fairly generous.

The broadcast then shifted focus to the rap performances.

“Looks like Hayul’s coming up now?”

“Mm… yes.”

For some reason, Seo Hayul was watching the screen with a stiff expression.

[Shall we decide the center position?]

As Seo Hayul cautiously raised his hand, the trainees from Rap Team 3 laughed among themselves.

[Come on. Hayul’s the youngest… what center position?]

[Exactly. The center is basically the face of the stage. Do you think timid little Hayul can handle that?]

The editing framed it like close friends teasing each other playfully, just barely crossing the line.

‘These bastards…’

Before I realized it, my fist had tightened.

At the moment, Seo Hayul’s expression visibly stiffened, and he lowered his head…

Leader Jin Younghoon smiled brightly and spoke.

[You guys are taking the joke too far. What if Hayul starts crying?]

‘Fuck.’

I immediately ripped off the microphone attached to my clothes.

“…Hyung? What are you doing?”

I grabbed Seo Hayul’s microphone and removed it as well.

My roommates stared at me in confusion, but that didn’t matter.

The worst one here was that bastard Jin Younghoon, the leader of Rap Team 3.

“Wasn’t Jin Younghoon from the same agency as you?”

“…He was.”

‘This bastard is subtly messing with Seo Hayul.’

In the scene where parts were distributed, Seo Hayul’s opinions had naturally been dismissed, and he ended up with the fewest lines.

‘There’s always someone like that wherever you go.’

He was probably jealous of Seo Hayul because Hayul was better than him.

“Back before the evaluation mission, when you went to the bathroom…”

“Yes.”

“Who did you run into there?”

“…”

“Was it Jin Younghoon?”

“…Yes.”

Found him.

I’m definitely going to deal with this bastard.

“Hyung.”

“What?”

Even in front of the cameras with their red recording lights, I couldn’t manage my expression.

“I’m okay.”

“I’m not okay, you punk.”

“I’m not as easily shaken as I used to be.”

Unlike when I first met him, there was now a faint madness lurking in Seo Hayul’s eyes.

“I have friends now too. So just watch and trust me for once.”

“…Fine. For now, anyway.”

I desperately wanted to run out immediately.

It felt like I’d only calm down after visiting each of Seo Hayul’s teammates one by one and flicking each of them on the forehead.

‘I need to hold back.’

My parents always said that being an older brother meant trusting and supporting your younger sibling in situations like this.

When I finally put my microphone back on and turned my attention to the screen again…

Seo Hayul was shown staying behind and practicing until the very end despite having the fewest lines.

‘The kid’s really admirable.’

Normally, he was timid, but on stage, he transformed completely, becoming a totally different person.

Though he had the fewest lines, his overwhelming skill made him the member who attracted the most attention.

 

☆☆☆

 

“Everyone, today we’ll be holding the intermediate evaluation stage for the Team Battle Mission!”

It was Park Chaeyoung holding the microphone instead of the busy top-tier idol Yoo Haein.

“The intermediate evaluation for the 1:1 Team Battle Mission will be conducted differently from last time. This time, everyone will receive their evaluation in front of everyone else!”

Unlike the first mission’s midpoint evaluation, which had been conducted separately in each team’s practice room…

This intermediate evaluation for the 1:1 Team Battle Mission took place in a wide-open space where everyone could watch.

The judges sat on cushioned chairs, while the trainees sat behind them on plastic chairs as filming for the evaluation began.

Seo Hayul turned out to be surprisingly good at arranging music.

The choreography, complete with point moves, ended up being of better quality than the original dance.

‘The biggest problem is still the chorus, though.’

The refreshing high-note chorus that had originally built emotional tension had been converted into rap, stripping away much of the song’s appeal.

That was why I planned to solve that issue today through someone else’s hands.

“Today, not only the judges but also the trainees themselves will be providing feedback.”

That’s right.

Today, every trainee seated with their team had been given evaluation sheets and pens.