The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 95

Chapter 95

 

That’s right.

Even if he had been from a flop group, to someone with five years of debut experience, a rookie who had debuted only six months ago was basically a baby.

“…”

For a moment, the waiting room fell into deep silence.

The expressions on the members of Fault, who could no longer control their faces, were quite a sight to see.

‘Looks like Kim Sunyoo can handle things just fine without me stepping in.’

He really was a dependable leader.

“Wow! As Sunyoo said, if it’s only six months, their career is way younger than yours!”

The one who broke the silence in the waiting room was Rua, smiling brightly.

‘Have I been overprotective of our team all this time?’

Judging by how they handled the situation, I probably didn’t need to worry about the older members no matter where they were thrown.

“Sunyoo hyung, you’ve already passed your fifth debut anniversary, right?”

I added a finishing blow of my own.

“Yeah. That’s true.”

Kim Sunyoo answered with a gentle smile, though the veins on his forearm were bulging.

‘Sometimes I think Kim Sunyoo has quite the temper himself.’

“Sunbae-nim, we’re sorry for not recognizing you!”

“We were rude.”

This time, the Fault members… including the red-haired one, quickly bowed their heads.

“Haha. It’s okay. I did debut again this time around, after all. Understandably, you’d think that.”

“No, we’re sincerely sorry.”

With the situation reversed, Kim Sunyoo looked at the Fault members, who were breaking out in cold sweat, and spoke.

“Right. Since we’re both rookies, let’s get along from now on.”

“Yes…”

I think we really chose the right person as our team leader.

“Please take care of us.”

Using Kim Sunyoo as a shield, I lightly bowed toward Fault from behind him.

“…Yeah.”

“Sure.”

Seeing the Fault members nodding with forced smiles, the corners of my lips naturally rose.

‘Having a veteran shield on the team is useful in so many ways.’

It was quite satisfying that the situation resolved itself simply through Kim Sunyoo’s presence without me needing to stir things up.

‘I should make good use of this for a while.’

As I looked at Kim Sunyoo with satisfaction, he naturally started taking care of the members.

“Guys. There’s not much time left until the pre-recording. Should we get some rest while we can?”

“Yes, sounds good, Sunyoo hyung.”

“Yes.”

The Fault members naturally moved away from the sofa.

“Please sit here.”

“Ah…! No, it’s okay.”

“We have rehearsal soon anyway.”

“That’s right. Please rest comfortably.”

Seeing the members hesitate awkwardly, I quickly sat Kim Sunyoo down on the sofa first.

“Sunyoo hyung, your legs must be tired. Hurry and rest.”

For the first time, Kim Sunyoo raised one corner of his lips in a wicked smile.

“If you’re giving it up, then I guess I will.”

‘Kim Sunyoo actually has a talent for this, doesn’t he?’

“Yes!”

I quickly sat beside Kim Sunyoo and bowed once more toward Fault.

“You’re very considerate. Thank you.”

“Haha… yeah.”

The expressions of the Fault members forcing smiles were quite entertaining.

Their eyes were sharply raised, yet only their mouths were smiling slightly. It seemed they were genuinely pissed off.

‘Then why start picking a fight in the first place?’

They brought it on themselves.

 

☆☆☆

 

‘This should be the fourth room, right?’

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Yes, come in.”

The one who opened the door after the formal response was another idol group’s manager.

Inside, the staff bustled around while the idols sat looking at their phones.

“One, two, three!”

“We are the shining stars! Hello, sunbae-nims! We are Lucy Star Boys, who debuted recently!”

One of the customs that absolutely had to be done after releasing a debut song was visiting seniors with albums in hand.

The so-called album rounds.

“Ah… yes. Hello.”

At the manager’s indifferent response, the male idols lounging comfortably in the waiting room poked their heads up.

“What?”

“Another rookie?”

“They’ll probably disappear without a trace soon enough.”

“Eh, they’re guys.”

The male idols’ expressions soured instantly.

“It’s an honor to meet you, sunbae-nims. Since our debut song was released, we’ve come to visit with our album!”

Despite their cold reaction, Kim Sunyoo maintained his gentle smile and delivered the prepared line.

“Ah, okay.”

“Just leave it on the table.”

With those curt words, their eyes had already moved elsewhere.

On one side of the table were other albums left behind by previous visitors.

‘Why is everyone’s reaction the same?’

Every single one of them had an unpleasant attitude.

Because we were fellow male idols, they directed sharp competitiveness toward us.

‘Whatever.’

People like that never last long.

So I didn’t even feel it was worth paying attention to.

“Thank you! We’ll continue working hard!”

We bowed according to the script.

I was already getting somewhat used to the indifferent responses after the fourth room.

Still bent respectfully at the waist, we carefully closed the door behind us.

“Phew…”

“How many do we have left now?”

The younger members looked slightly exhausted from the constant hostility.

“Fifteen left.”

“Wow. We still get to meet fifteen new groups? That’s great!”

As expected, Rua’s way of thinking was unique.

“Alright, guys. Let’s keep it up!”

At Kim Sunyoo’s shout, the members visibly brightened.

“Yes!”

“Let’s do our best!”

In a much warmer atmosphere than before, we picked up the albums again and started walking down the hallway.

This time, we knocked on the waiting room labeled Number 5.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Come in.”

Unlike before, a rather cheerful voice came from inside.

When we opened the door, completely unexpected people were sitting in the waiting room.

‘We’re seeing them already…!’

The group that should have been rediscovered years later when one of their songs went viral as a movie soundtrack… Wild Boys was already sitting in the waiting room.

It was three years earlier than I remembered.

‘Could it be… because of me?’

It seemed to be the result of “The Story Left Unfinished” being chosen as a competition song because of me during the audition program.

“One, two, three!”

Kim Sunyoo’s chant instantly snapped me back to attention.

“We are the shining stars! Hello, sunbae-nims! We are Lucy Star Boys, who debuted recently!”

The Wild Boys members, who had been preparing for their stage, all stopped at once.

The way they looked us up and down was filled with goodwill.

“Our benefactors finally arrived!”

“Lucy Star Boys, we’ve been waiting for you!”

“We really enjoyed watching the survival show.”

As we offered the album, someone who seemed to be the leader ran over personally and accepted it with both hands.

“Thank you for welcoming us!”

“It’s an honor to meet you, sunbae-nims!”

“Haha. We’re the ones honored. Thanks to you guys, our song climbed the charts again. Thank you.”

Unlike the seniors we’d met until now, Wild Boys’ expressions were genuinely bright.

“Especially Cha Siwoo.”

“Yes?”

“The scene where you kept believing in our song until the end was impressive. Thank you for saving our team.”

At that heartfelt gratitude, the corners of my mouth rose before I realized it.

“No, not at all. I chose it because the song was genuinely good. And thanks to you seniors, I also received a good ranking.”

“Thank you for saying that. Actually…”

The leader’s expression looked rather complicated.

“Our team’s contract was about to expire. We were on the verge of disbanding.”

The ones who reinforced his words were the Wild Boys seniors, who had already gathered nearby.

“That’s right. We’re so happy to have another chance.”

“Thanks to you juniors, we’re back at a broadcasting station and standing on stage again after such a long time.”

“We listened to your song, and we’ll promote it too.”

“Congratulations on your debut!”

For the first time, we were receiving sincere goodwill instead of hostility, and the members visibly relaxed.

“Thank you!”

“This is your first week of promotions, right? The schedules are intense at first, so make sure to take care of your stamina.”

“Is there anything uncomfortable or difficult?”

Concerned questions continued one after another.

The members answering them enthusiastically also looked much brighter.

‘It’s a relief that there’s at least one decent senior group around.’

It hadn’t been intentional, but having connections with veteran idol seniors would be quite useful in this industry.

In the warm atmosphere, compliments and advice continued without pause.

“The TX stage lighting is stronger than other broadcasting stations, so it’ll be dazzling.”

“So the center shouldn’t raise their head too much, and for the ending pose, look at the camera a beat later.”

As useful tips continued, the Wild Boys manager, who had been watching from the side, checked the time and subtly signaled them.

“Ah, we have to go now.”

The Wild Boys leader smiled with a regretful expression.

“I’ll be watching your stages from now on. I’ll give you my phone number, so contact me if you need anything. Got it?”

It was an unexpected gain.

“Yes!”

“Alright. Congratulations on your debut. Go and do well on stage.”

“Thank you!”

When we came back out and closed the door, the members’ expressions were visibly brighter.

We had handed over albums and greeted people just like before, yet the weight lingering in our hearts felt completely different.

Formal greetings were merely procedures.

Sincere concern and support became memories.

 

☆☆☆

 

‘My babies are finally debuting!’

After the music video and album had been released, Miss Park had been waiting for this day.

Since Lucy Star Boys had debuted through an explosively popular survival audition show, their recognition was already incredible before debut.

‘Thanks to that, getting a seat in the audience was insanely difficult.’

Having finally secured a seat for the pre-recording audience, Miss Park smiled victoriously.

Obtaining that seat hadn’t been easy, but as a fan, there was no way she could miss her favorite’s very first debut-stage pre-recording.

‘I expected it since they’re rookies, but I didn’t think they’d film this early in the morning…’

Looking at the clock approaching 4 a.m., Miss Park clenched her fist.

‘Guys, hurry up and get big enough to move your pre-recording times later!’

Fortunately, it was September, so the weather wasn’t unbearably harsh.

“We will now begin admitting the audience for the pre-recording.”

At the staff member’s shout, which she’d been waiting hours to hear, the corners of her lips naturally rose.

‘Finally…!’

It was welcome news after standing for so long that she’d almost lost feeling in her feet.

The expressions of the fans who had been waiting in line together since dawn brightened instantly.

“Please enter in order!”

Although audience admission was decided by lottery, the seating itself was first-come, first-served.

That was why Miss Park had arrived earlier than everyone else… to claim a seat in the very front.

‘I’ll finally get to see Siwoo in person again.’

Suppressing her rapidly beating heart, she hurried forward.

When she finally reached the fence directly in front of the stage, she was overcome with emotion.

‘I can’t believe I’m meeting my favorite again!’

Miss Park had never imagined that the kindness she received at a wedding buffet would lead to this.

Holding the slogan she had tucked away in one corner of her bag, she patiently waited for her favorite’s stage to begin.

‘The debut song was really good.’

Her favorite’s debut song, “First Greeting Hello,” had achieved the remarkable feat of entering the Top 30 of the real-time charts immediately upon release.

‘At this rate, even first place might be possible.’

The song was perfect.

Now all they had to do was absolutely crush the stage performance.

‘I wonder how their live performance will be.’