The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 52
Chapter 52
The cleanly designed elevator quickly descended once Lua pressed the button for Basement Level 1.
‘The ride is smooth.’
Ding.
At last, the elevator doors opened, revealing an extravagant studio.
The sight of countless instruments displayed throughout the spacious room made their jaws drop automatically.
“Wow… This is really a house and not an exhibition hall?”
“Sure!”
“How many instruments do you even have?”
“Hmm. I’ve never counted, but I have pretty much everything.”
“Rua hyung, you’re really serious about music.”
“Of course!”
From string instruments like violins and cellos to percussion and keyboard instruments such as drums and pianos, there was an impressive variety spanning numerous genres.
“There are even instruments I’ve never seen before.”
The moment Seo Hayul started looking around at the instruments, his expression became visibly excited.
‘Why is he so happy?’
“Rua hyung! This is a limited-edition guitar! It’s famous for being impossible to get even if you have money!”
As Seo Hayul approached the guitar, his eyes practically sparkled.
“Oh. Hayul-nyang, you really know your instruments, huh? Want to try playing it?”
“Can I really?”
“Haha! Of course.”
Carefully lifting the guitar, Seo Hayul began strumming the strings.
Rua watched him with a pleased expression.
‘Why is someone like this trying to become an idol?’
To be honest, he was practically a musical genius.
Someone who lacked neither money nor talent, entering an idol audition program, suddenly made him curious.
“Rua hyung.”
“Hm? Siwoo dongsaeng, why’d you call me?”
“Why do you want to become an idol?”
“Just because? It seemed like it’d be fun.”
Rua’s expression remained bright, yet there was an inexplicable emptiness in his eyes.
“Is it really only because it’s fun?”
“I’ve got secrets too.”
Something hidden seemed to lurk beneath his cheerful smile.
‘Well, everyone has at least one secret they’d rather keep hidden.’
“Got it.”
Rua’s eyes widened.
His pupils trembled noticeably.
“You’re not going to ask any more?”
“You said it’s a secret. I’m sure you have your reasons.”
Rua’s expression gradually relaxed.
The tension around his eyes softened, and a quiet smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
“Siwoo dongsaeng, you’re really cool.”
“Being cool is cool, isn’t it?”
“Haha. Anyway, it’s almost time for the broadcast.”
“Should we head back upstairs?”
“Yes!”
When they headed toward the elevator, Seo Hayul was still absentmindedly strumming the guitar.
“Seo Hayul.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go.”
“Ah… Can’t I play just a little longer?”
“No. The show is about to start.”
Dragging along the reluctant Seo Hayul, who kept glancing at the guitar, they returned to the elevator.
☆☆☆
“Wow! Looks like Rusi-Nyang went to the café and watched Episode 7 together.”
Miss Park’s phone currently had the Dalstagram app open.
Ever since discovering a few days ago that her favorite contestant had created a Dalstagram account, she checked it every time a notification appeared.
The photo on her favorite account showed Rusi-Nyang cheerfully posing like a cat.
In the television visible in the background, Episode 7 of ‘Star Picking 5’ was playing.
“I don’t know whose house this is, but it’s insanely nice.”
For reference, “Rusi-Nyang” was a nickname fans created by taking one syllable each from Rua, Cha Siwoo, and Hayul-Nyang.
The meaning also appealed to them, so fans who supported all three actively pushed the nickname.
‘Since Rusi (Lucy) means “light” in Latin, it suits them perfectly.’
The three had completely different images, and even their appearances naturally drew attention.
Each possessed a unique charm, but their synergy became even stronger when they were together.
At first, Miss Park had been wary of Rua since he shared the same vocal position as her favorite.
However, the Rua shown on the broadcast displayed extraordinary friendship toward Cha Siwoo.
As the episodes progressed, Miss Park’s heart had gradually melted.
‘Rua is on our side. The way he looks at Siwoo is different.’
Funny enough, other fans seemed to feel the same way.
That was how Lua’s reputation was reassessed, ultimately leading to the birth of Rusi-Nyang.
Whether Rusi-Nyang understood fans’ feelings or not, the frequent gatherings of the three were undeniably satisfying.
“Anyway, is this follower count even real? Siwoo hasn’t even had Byulstagram for a week yet.”
Seeing the number already surpass 500,000 gave Miss Park a strangely thrilling feeling.
‘Looks like I picked the right one-pick from the start.’
Feeling pleased, Miss Park slowly scrolled down the Byulstagram posts.
She had already viewed the photos dozens of times a day, but each viewing somehow energized her.
As she continued scrolling, she eventually reached the very first post.
There, the billboard verification photos sat covered in countless hearts.
“Ha… If I hadn’t been working overtime that day, I could’ve seen him in person.”
The fact that her favorite had visited near her home to take those photos lingered in her mind.
Had she not collapsed from exhaustion, she would have rushed out the moment she saw the notification that her favorite had appeared.
“Still, the fact that he genuinely appreciates the fans makes me like him even more.”
What a precious favorite.
Most importantly, the main photo of that first Byulstagram post, the billboard picture, was actually one that Miss Park herself had taken.
She was glad she’d quickly submitted it when the fan café held a contest for billboard photos.
The more she looked at her favorite’s photos, the less she grew tired of them. Instead, they somehow made her heart race even more.
‘This is seriously a dopamine explosion.’
While happily swiping through the first post’s photos, Miss Park suddenly paused at one image.
“But honestly, the pairing with Kim Sunyoo is unexpected.”
During the First Ranking Announcement broadcast, the scene where Kim Sunyoo hugged Cha Siwoo despite not having much interaction before had been edited into a heartwarming moment.
Kind-hearted Siwoo had even patted Sunyoo’s back while gently comforting him.
‘Our Siwoo has this face and that personality too…? Is he secretly an angel?’
Kim Sunyoo had been an unexpected pairing, but because it gave her favorite a positive image, she’d simply accepted it.
However, learning that the two had privately met the very next day after the performance to go around taking billboard photos together felt surprisingly unfamiliar.
“Was my favorite actually a social butterfly?”
At such a sensitive time, with the Revival Ticket at stake, the fact that he deliberately included photos with Kim Sunyoo in his very first post strongly suggested they were genuinely close.
“Well, if it’s Kim Sunyoo, he’d actually make a pretty good teammate.”
He was experienced, skilled, and most importantly, free from personality controversies.
If they ended up on the same team, she’d only see benefits, not drawbacks.
The problem was the akgaes.
Once Cha Siwoo openly showed support for Kim Sunyoo, the obsessive solo fans of trainees who had been on Sunyoo’s team started attacking like crazy.
“Whatever. Like that’s going to matter.”
It was annoying, but Kim Sunyoo’s fandom was much larger.
The Kim Sunyoo fandom quickly changed their stance and immediately began trying to connect the two together in order to gain support votes.
“Ugh. I don’t like it, but if our Siwoo likes him, what can I do?”
Thinking about her kind and soft-hearted favorite, completely unaware of these behind-the-scenes circumstances, made Miss Park’s heart beat faster.
“Let’s win today’s war too.”
As new posts flooded in rapidly, Miss Park warmed up her fingers.
☆☆☆
“It’s been one week, everyone. Have you all been doing well?”
“Yes!”
In contrast to Yoo Haein’s harmless smile on stage, the trainees’ faces were filled with tension.
“Today is finally the day of the Second Ranking Announcement Ceremony!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Could everyone take a look at the chairs in front of you?”
On stage, thirty chairs were arranged in a triangular formation across five tiers.
Following the red carpet pathway upward, a golden throne sat at the very top.
Intricate engravings reflected the light, giving the throne a subtle shimmer.
The number ”1” was displayed on it.
Looking downward, the tier beneath contained leather sofa chairs marked with the numbers ”2” and ”3”.
The lower the tiers went, the poorer the chairs became, until the very bottom level held fifteen red plastic chairs.
‘They’re discriminating with chairs again based on ranking.’
Childish as it was, the visual impact was undeniable.
“Do any of you notice something about the chairs?”
‘Stop chair discrimination!’
“There are more chairs than people!”
“Correct. There are currently twenty-five trainees, but there are thirty chairs on stage.”
Yoo Haein was laying the groundwork for the return of the eliminated trainees.
“As determined by the voting that ended at midnight yesterday, the trainee from each eliminated team who received the highest number of votes has earned a Revival Ticket.”
Because of that, the internet had been engulfed in keyboard wars all week.
‘It was really intense.’
The things people were saying were terrifying enough that they were hard to repeat aloud.
“Who are the five trainees who maintained the highest rank within their teams and earned Revival Tickets?”
All the stage lights shut off at once, plunging the venue into darkness.
“Please welcome them with a round of applause!”
A deep drumbeat slowly echoed through the speakers from the distance.
As drums and strings layered together and the tempo accelerated, five silhouettes appeared from behind the stage.
“WAAAAAAH!”
The cameras relentlessly zoomed in on the trainees, genuinely cheering.
Finally, bright lights illuminated the stage.
Familiar faces stood there.
“The trainees who ultimately survived from the eliminated teams through the votes of the National Directors are Kim Sunyoo, Kang Chan, Park Sugyeok, Kim Jiwoo, and Hong Ryuhan!”
“Hyung!”
“No way!!!”
His eyes met Kim Sunyoo’s, who stood there with a tense expression.
When Siwoo subtly raised a thumbs-up, Kim Sunyoo responded with a warm smile.
‘That’s a relief.’
He had expected Sunyoo to obtain a Revival Ticket, but seeing it happen in person still brought a sense of relief.
‘That should settle my debt now.’
“Congratulations to the trainees who survived by overwhelming margins! Please take your seats so we may begin the ranking ceremony.”
The five trainees stepped down from the stage and sat together in the empty chairs at the back.
“Now that all thirty trainees have been filled, we will officially begin the Second Ranking Announcement Ceremony of ‘Star Picking 5’.”
“And for reference, since twenty trainees were ultimately eliminated during the 1-on-1 Team Battle Mission, everyone can comfortably listen to their rankings and move accordingly.”
‘Yeah, right. As if anyone could be comfortable.’
Contrary to Yoo Haein’s words, the trainees’ faces were stiff with anxiety.
Even a glance to either side revealed trainees clenching their fists tightly, their eyes filled with nervousness and unease.
Amid the atmosphere thick with tension, Yoo Haein picked up the microphone with a satisfied expression.
“First, we will announce the trainee who ranked 30th. This trainee is one of those who survived through the Revival Ticket.”
Doom… doom… doom…
A low bass rhythm slowly echoed.
The trainee sitting nearby swallowed hard, as if the sound were synchronized with their heartbeat.
‘I really can’t get used to this atmosphere.’
With everyone’s attention focused on the trainees seated in the back row, Yoo Haein lifted the cue card.
“The trainee who ranked 30th is Hong Ryuhan!”
“Waaaaah.”
Hong Ryuhan, who had consistently survived near the cutoff line thanks to steady upward momentum, walked toward his chair with a calm expression.
As trainees continued being called one by one from the lower rankings upward, a familiar name was finally announced just as all the red plastic chairs had been filled.
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