The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 79

Chapter 79

 

The green soju bottle he held out made me quickly bring over my shot glass.

The liquor poured without hesitation, filling the glass to the point where surface tension was barely holding it together.

“Everyone got a full glass?”

“Yes!”

“To the debut of Lucy Star Boys!”

“Cheers!”

The members, having discreetly filled their glasses, clinked them against the producer’s.

“Ahh~ Now that you’ve succeeded, don’t stop appearing on my shows, okay? Got it?”

“Of course. If PD-nim calls us, we’ll definitely come.”

“Right, right. Huh? Is your glass empty? Have another one.”

The producer’s eyes were already half unfocused.

“Yes. Of course.”

“Good. You succeeded, didn’t you? Today of all days, you should drink and get drunk!”

The PD laughed and pushed another drink toward us.

When I subtly signaled Kim Sunyoo, I saw him inconspicuously filling the members’ glasses with water.

‘Good thing I mentioned it beforehand.’

Before the company dinner had started, I had given Kim Sunyoo a heads-up just in case.

‘Let’s keep one soju bottle filled with only water.’

For rookie idols making their debut, realistically speaking, it wasn’t easy to refuse drinks offered by broadcasting industry staff.

‘If someone got drunk, caused trouble, or had their flaws exposed, that would be a problem too.’

Kim Sunyoo, quick to judge the situation, had readily agreed.

As for me, I was an exception.

Because I had never once gotten drunk at any company dinner so far.

‘I’ll cover things whenever possible, but in situations where everyone has to drink together, you have to rely on a few tricks.’

“One more glass! This one is really the last.”

The producer was already shaking his empty glass.

“Ah, saying it’s the last one is actually a lie. Hahaha. Anyway, drink!”

‘Fine. I’ll drink as much as you want.’

“Yes!”

Starting with the PD, countless people, including writers, sound directors, and makeup artists, offered congratulations while filling our glasses.

“Cheers!”

Only after more than half of the staff had become tipsy did they finally stop coming to our table.

“Wow. Siwoo-dongsaeng, you’re a total booze monster!”

“Siwoo, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Nobody got drunk, right?”

“No. Thanks to you.”

“That’s a relief. Since everyone ate plenty of meat, let’s send the minors home first.”

Since filming had continued until very late, it was already heading toward dawn.

“Why?!”

“We can still hang out more!”

Looking at Yoo Hoseung and Seo Hayul protesting, I pressed down on both their heads with my hands.

“There’s nothing good about watching adults drink.”

‘Besides, now that more people are drunk, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone crossed the line at any moment.’

“Tch… even so.”

“We want to stay with hyungs.”

The two youngest members were stubborn.

‘This should be about the right time to leave, shouldn’t it?’

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

As if he understood what I was thinking, he nodded.

“Alright. We’re a team now, so let’s all leave together.”

“Sounds good.”

The moment all of us stood up at once, everyone’s attention turned toward us.

“Eh?”

“The stars of the night are leaving already?”

‘As expected, they tried to stop us.’

Wearing my professional social smile, I nodded.

“Yes! Actually, since our team has minors, we have to be careful about staying out too late.”

“Ah, right. It is pretty late.”

Even the staff became cautious at that point and nodded.

“Then the adults can stay a little longer, right?”

“Yeah. On such a happy day, we should keep partying!”

As expected, escaping a Korean company dinner wasn’t easy.

“I think it’s dangerous to send the kids by themselves. Since it’s late, we’re planning to take them home.”

The moment I brought up safety concerns, even those who had objected reluctantly accepted it.

“True. They’re really popular now.”

“And if something happens, we’d share some responsibility.”

“Kids, it was fun. Get home safely!”

“Yes! Thank you for understanding!”

Before the staff could change their minds, we quickly bowed and headed outside.

 

☆☆☆

 

“Phew… now I can finally relax.”

“Everyone really worked hard.”

“You’re tired, right? Let’s get some rest.”

Since it was already so late, instead of going home, we headed to Lua’s house, which was closest to the dinner venue.

Since we had literally just debuted and had neither managers nor bodyguards yet, there wasn’t a better option considering safety.

‘Besides, we’re all going to TX Entertainment together tomorrow morning to sign our contracts anyway.’

It was also the most efficient route.

“How about having a small party among ourselves once we get there?”

“Sounds good.”

‘Aren’t you guys tired?’

Those guys had also sacrificed sleep to practice nonstop.

Yet perhaps because they were young, their stamina was incredible.

Although dark circles had practically reached their cheekbones from exhaustion, both their eyes and mouths were smiling.

“Good! Party!”

“I agree too.”

Even though it was extremely late, nobody opposed the idea.

‘Well, it is a happy day.’

Everyone was intoxicated by the fact that they had finally debuted.

I too, felt pretty good about having completed the quest safely, survived, and debuted.

When we finally arrived at Rua’s house, we gathered in the living room without even removing our makeup.

“Guys, want some wine?”

“Sure.”

Apparently, there was cheese in the freezer, because Rua returned carrying a plate of fruit and cheese.

“Rua-hyung, can we eat snacks too?”

“Of course! Take out anything you want!”

“Thank you.”

Incidentally, next to Rua’s refrigerator was enough snack stock to rival a mini convenience store.

Sitting in a circle in the living room, our modest after-party officially began.

“Our makeup’s still on. Should we take a photo before eating?”

‘Since we’ve debuted, we should at least leave a thank-you message on social media.’

“Good idea!”

“Yeah.”

Apparently, everyone had the same thought, because they quickly gathered in front of the camera.

After taking several pictures with all the members in frame, I naturally edited them and handed them over to Yoo Hoseung.

The faces in the photos looked exhausted enough to collapse at any moment, yet their expressions were the brightest they had ever been.

“Hoseung, I’m counting on you.”

“Of course. Siwoo-hyung, just leave social media to me!”

After receiving the photos, Yoo Hoseung quickly uploaded them to Byulstagram.

‘Looks like Hoseung should handle the team’s official social media.’

I’d have to mention that later.

“Alright. Since we’ve uploaded the photos, how about we have our own toast now?”

Perhaps because he was in such a good mood, Kim Sunyoo wore a goofy grin instead of his usual gentle smile.

The members raised their glasses… filled with wine, soda, or even chocolate milk according to their preferences.

“How about the first-place winner, Siwoo, gives the toast?”

‘If I refuse here, it’d ruin the atmosphere.’

“Alright. I’ll do it!”

Feeling as good as everyone else, I raised my wine glass high.

“To our debut… Lucy Star Boys, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

The atmosphere grew even warmer as our private celebration truly began.

“I’m really happy we became one team.”

“Me too! I really like our team.”

“We’ll be together from now on, so let’s get along.”

“Definitely.”

Honestly, I never knew these guys talked this much.

‘When did everyone get so close?’

“How about talking about first impressions?”

“That sounds fun.”

As I savored the taste of wine for what felt like the first time, a hand suddenly landed on my shoulder.

‘… ?’

“Siwoo-dongsaeng’s first impression was pretty sharp.”

“Ah. I agree.”

“Yeah. He does look intimidating when expressionless.”

“What? What’s wrong with me?”

‘This is seriously unfair.’

The moment I set down my wine glass and protested, everyone burst out laughing.

“Siwoo’s first impression was definitely a bit cold, wasn’t it?”

‘Even Kim Sunyoo betrayed me.’

Feeling wronged, I looked around, and only Yoo Hoseung shook his head.

“I thought Siwoo-hyung seemed warm.”

“…?”

Everyone except me stared at him in confusion.

“What? Hoseung’s saying the right thing.”

“…Siwoo-dongsaeng, don’t you ever look in a mirror?”

“What are you talking about? Seriously, what’s wrong with me?”

While I was arguing with Rua, Kim Sunyoo asked with a puzzled expression:

“Hoseung, why do you think that?”

“Back in the early days of the show, nobody came up to me. The very first person who approached me was Siwoo-hyung.”

He was probably talking about when we sat next to each other on the bus.

‘I only sat in the front because I wanted to get off quickly.’

“You brat. You’ve moved up to third place now.”

As I ruffled Yoo Hoseung’s hair affectionately, Lua and Seo Hayul immediately protested.

“Ah… hyung! What about me?”

“Hey, Siwoo-dongsaeng!”

While I enjoyed their reactions, Kang Chan’s deep voice echoed through the living room.

“Siwoo’s first impression may be like that, but once you get close to him, he’s warmer than anyone.”

“That’s true.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“…Me?”

Apparently, these guys were talking nonsense because the wine was stronger than I thought.

“Are you all drunk?”

“No.”

“Siwoo’s embarrassed.”

“Siwoo-hyung, Hoseung, and I didn’t drink any alcohol at all, so how could we be drunk?”

“Ahem.”

With everyone relaxed, the conversation continued.

“Siwoo-hyung, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it, Hayul-nyang?”

“Why did you choose the group name ‘Lucy Star Boys’?”

“Do you not like the team name?”

Seo Hayul immediately shook his head.

“I can say this now… but it was really hard to choose.”

That was the truth.

I thought first place would come with prize money, but instead they suddenly told me to choose the group name…

And from five terrible options, no less.

Remembering what happened on stage made my heart skip a beat.

‘By now, the internet might already be criticizing me for choosing a lame name.’

“It was honestly the best choice available.”

“I figured.”

“Why? I like our team name. Lucy-Nyang Star Boys!”

“Rua, it’s Lucy Star Boys, not Lucy-Nyang Star Boys.”

“I like it too!”

“Honestly, it was the best among the five options.”

Thankfully, they were positive people.

As the conversation continued in a comfortable atmosphere, one by one, the night grew deeper, and everyone began drifting into intoxication.

 

☆☆☆

 

‘Looks like everyone’s finally passed out.’

Looking at the members sprawled across the sofa asleep, I finally felt the time had come.

‘Hey.’

[Yes!]

‘Show me the quest rewards.’

Several colorful fireworks exploded before my eyes, and two translucent blue windows appeared.

[Congratulations. You have successfully completed Sub-Quest (10): “Successfully debut in the Final Stage.”]

[Congratulations. You have successfully completed the Main Quest: “Participate in the idol survival audition Star Picking 5 and debut successfully.”]

That’s right.

By finally debuting, I had completed a total of two quests.

The fact that I had achieved my very first Main Quest filled me with a strange sense of emotion.

‘Yeah. So what’s the reward?’