The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 97

Chapter 97

 

The pre-recording ended after only two takes.

“Phew… haa…”

After performing the intense choreography twice in a row, it felt like his lungs were about to burst.

His body was heavy as lead, but the corners of his lips kept rising.

‘We did it.’

Relief flooded through him knowing that everyone had completed the stage successfully without a single mistake, and his heart began pounding fiercely again.

“Waaaah!”

“You guys were amazing!”

They bowed at a ninety-degree angle toward the fans who were cheering with joyful voices.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you so much for coming today!”

“Thank you for supporting us!”

Just as they were about to leave the stage after greeting everyone, giant telephoto cameras glittering throughout the audience caught his eye.

‘Hmm…’

This was a good opportunity.

He turned his head and grabbed Yu Hoseung’s shoulder, who was breathing heavily beside him.

“Hoseung, wait a second.”

“Yes?”

“See that direction at eleven o’clock? I think one of your fans is over there. How about striking a proper pose before we leave?”

“Ah, should I?”

The moment Hoseung flashed a dazzling smile toward the eleven o’clock direction, a storm of shutter clicks erupted through the brief silence.

“Alright, next is Sunyoo hyung.”

“Hm?”

Kim Sunyoo, who had been kindly asking the fans whether they had eaten breakfast, turned toward him with widened eyes.

“Sunyoo hyung, look toward two o’clock and strike a pose.”

“Uh…? Sure!”

Kim Sunyoo also gazed toward the two o’clock direction and, like the veteran he was, effortlessly showed off a variety of poses.

“Alright, shall we all pose toward the center together?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Only after showing as many different poses as possible to the fans’ lenses until the staff urged them along did they finally step down from the stage.

“Wow… that was really exhausting, right?”

“You all worked hard, guys.”

“I’m so glad it ended safely.”

Now that the tension had eased, some members collapsed onto the floor the moment they got offstage.

Thanks to the relief of having completed the first step, everyone’s faces were brighter than ever.

“The pre-recording was a success, so should we head back to the waiting room now?”

“Yes!”

“Sounds good.”

The dawn pre-recording was over, but the music show schedule would not end until the winner was announced later that afternoon.

Group shots, interviews, and finally the ending segment remained.

They still had a long way to go.

 

☆☆☆

 

They weren’t simply waiting around for the remaining music show schedule.

It was more accurate to say they were surviving the day by breaking it into tiny pieces.

While waiting, they efficiently filmed short-form videos and recorded content for their own variety program.

They also continued delivering albums to every senior artist who had newly joined the broadcast.

“Now all that’s left is the first-place announcement!”

“Exactly. I wonder who’ll take first place this week?”

While a currently popular idol MC delivered the lines, they stood at the very back like background decorations.

‘At this position, the camera probably won’t even catch us.’

But what could they do?

In music shows with strict seniority culture, the place for rookies who had just debuted was always the very back row.

‘Since I never know when the camera might catch me, I’ll just keep smiling.’

While maintaining a professional social smile, suspenseful music flowed from the speakers.

“First, please show us this week’s nominees for first place!”

Three teams appeared on the giant screen.

Wild Boyz, Fault, and a second-year girl group.

‘There’s no overwhelmingly dominant giant among them, so we’ve got a chance.’

“Among these strong candidates, who will take first place this week?”

Short, controlled beats stacked one by one like a countdown.

“Congratulations! This week’s first-place winner is…!”

“Fault!”

“Waaaaah!”

This week’s winner was Fault, their fellow rookie rival and the same group that had tried to throw their weight around in the waiting room.

Clap, clap, clap.

Watching the camera’s red light switch on, Siwoo maintained his professional smile and applauded enthusiastically.

The emotional Fault members cheered and quickly moved to center stage.

Responding to congratulations from all around them, they shared their joyful acceptance speeches.

“We really didn’t expect to win first place. Thank you so much!”

Fault’s leader raised the golden microphone-shaped trophy high into the air.

“We’re truly happy to achieve first place despite only having debuted six months ago!”

The microphone was then passed to another member standing beside the leader.

The same guy who had called their team losers.

“Since this is our first time winning first place, we’ll continue doing our best to maintain this position! Thank you!”

‘Go ahead and enjoy it while you can.’

Because next week, that first place would belong to them.

Still functioning as a clapping machine, Siwoo finally heard the encore song begin.

‘At last, I can go back to the dorm and get some rest.’

The schedule had stretched from dawn until late afternoon, and fatigue had piled up considerably.

‘The first thing I’m doing at the dorm is eating mayonnaise.’

Just as he was wondering what he should cook for dinner…

“Hello, sunbaenims!”

Following the members who bowed, he automatically bent his body ninety degrees as well.

Like the lowest-ranking rookie he was, he entered greeting-bot mode and diligently greeted every senior artist passing by.

“Sunbaenims, thank you for your hard work!”

The funny thing was that the same people who had ignored greetings earlier were now, in front of the cameras, returning greetings with unbelievable sincerity.

‘This industry really is entertaining.’

When they finally left the stage last, an unfamiliar sight greeted them in the hallway.

“…!”

The idols who had already finished their schedules were lined up on both sides of the corridor.

‘Is this the farewell greeting line Sunyoo hyung mentioned before?’

Looking at the idols standing stiffly with serious expressions, they moved to the very end of the line and stopped.

‘Music shows are basically a broadcast version of old-school hierarchical nonsense.’

Making children participate in this kind of thing was ridiculously childish.

But what choice did they have?

If a rookie who had just debuted skipped a tradition that even senior artists followed, their chances of appearing on future broadcasts might become uncertain.

‘This damn military-style seniority culture.’

The heat of the stage had not even faded yet, and they hadn’t had time to remove their makeup, but they stood perfectly upright in attention.

A moment later, staff carrying heavy equipment walked through the corridor.

And finally, the PD who had overseen the entire shoot appeared with imposing authority.

“Everyone worked hard today.”

The instant those words were spoken, every singer standing in the hallway bowed simultaneously as if they had rehearsed it.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Dozens of voices overlapped and echoed throughout the corridor.

The timing of the greeting was perfectly synchronized.

The PD paused briefly, looked over each of them one by one, then smiled faintly and nodded.

“You’ve only just debuted, but you certainly have good energy.”

“Thank you! We look forward to working with you in the future!”

They bowed deeply once again.

By the time they raised their heads, the PD’s figure had already disappeared into the distance down the hallway.

Only then did Seo Hayul, standing beside them, let out a small breath as though finally relaxing.

“Wow… It’s really over.”

“Seriously. We even got to stand in the farewell greeting line.”

Every time he experienced it, he was reminded that being an idol was far from an easy profession.

 

☆☆☆

 

[Are These Really Rookies? Lucy Star Boys Shake Up the Industry by ‘All-Killing’ the Music Charts]

[Lucy Star Boys Hit the ‘Golden Path’ Immediately After Debut… Racing Toward 500,000 First-Week Album Sales!]

[‘Their Peak Begins at Debut’ — Lucy Star Boys Reach No.1 on the Charts and Continue Their Long Run]

[A Single Photocard Worth Tens of Thousands? Lucy Star Boys Cause a Shortage Frenzy in the Merchandise Market]

[Servers Crash and Resale Prices Soar… Why Lucy Star Boys’ Fandom Power Is So Terrifying]

[‘Legendary Debut’ — Massive Demand for Lucy Star Boys Fan Sign Events: “We’ve Never Seen Odds Like This”]

[Lucy Star Boys Fancam Views Explode!]

 

Only one day after their debut song was released, powerful headlines poured out like a waterfall.

In short, it was a massive hit.

To add fuel to that momentum, strategic scheduling aimed at winning first place on music shows began.

Winning first place on a music show wasn’t achieved simply by having a good song.

Digital scores, album sales, broadcast points, and even fan power through pre-voting and live voting were all necessary.

Only when every factor meshed together like gears could someone claim the throne known as a music-show win.

‘Some of the photocards included photos I took myself, too.’

He had handed over good photos of the members lying around exhausted in the practice room and candid waiting-room shots to the company.

Those had been produced as “hidden photocards,” creating a shortage phenomenon among fans.

‘As expected, everyone’s eye for quality is pretty similar.’

As a result, albums sold like hotcakes, and fans followed the company’s voting guides with military precision.

Thanks to that, both pre-voting and live-voting numbers were overwhelmingly strong.

‘If the fans are doing this much for us, failing would practically be a crime.’

His sense of responsibility burned even hotter.

The company he had secretly worried about fortunately demonstrated exactly why it was a major agency.

From fandom management to tailored strategy notices for each broadcasting station, there wasn’t a single gap.

Honestly, it was impressive.

Now all that remained was the part that depended on them: broadcast points.

Since those points depended on how often they appeared on that station’s programs, it was an essential category if they wanted to win awards.

‘The only way to earn broadcast points is by running around nonstop.’

As a result, their schedule became truly murderous.

The moment they finished a music show performance at Station S, they rushed straight to a flagship radio program without even a chance to catch their breath.

Their bones felt like they were screaming, but the members’ expressions were brighter than ever.

Because the goal of first place felt close enough to touch.

“Everyone! This song is a huge hit! SNS is completely flooded with stories about you guys!”

The waiting-room door burst open, and the manager rushed inside.

Dark circles hung almost to his chin, but his voice overflowed with excitement.

‘The manager must be exhausted too, so I’m really grateful he’s celebrating with us like this.’

The members, who had been sprawled around like zombies after arriving at the radio station without any sleep, immediately sprang to their feet.

“Really?”

“I want to see too!”

The members grabbed their phones, checked their articles and social media posts, and began smiling like excited children.

‘These guys are completely fired up.’

“Wow, hyungs, look at this! ‘Hello, Hello’ entered No.7 on the chart! Not even the real-time chart… the daily chart!”

Yu Hoseung shouted while bouncing up and down in place.

“Seriously? That’s amazing!”

“This isn’t a dream, right?”

The members were grinning from ear to ear as they enjoyed the moment.

‘The start is good.’

But times like this were exactly when they needed to tighten the reins rather than relax.

‘This is the most important golden time if we want to turn buzz into solid results.’

“Don’t you think we can really aim for first place?”

Hoseung’s hopeful voice echoed through the waiting room.

‘You little punk.’

Siwoo lightly ruffled his hair and answered firmly.

“We’re not aiming for it. We’re taking it, no matter what.”

At his confident words, every member’s gaze immediately turned toward him.

Their eyes held a strange mixture of excitement and nervousness.

Suppressing his own excitement, Kim Sunyoo stood up.

“Alright, I know everyone’s happy, but calm down first. You all know this radio show is live, right?”

At Kim Sunyoo’s warning, the members swallowed nervously.

“One careless remark could hurt us badly, so stay focused and let’s do our best. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Got it, hyung!”

“Yes!”

Their replies were energetic, but rather than looking nervous, they seemed more worried that they might get carried away and do something reckless.

Feeling that the atmosphere had become a little too stiff, Siwoo quietly poked Kim Sunyoo in the side.

“For someone saying that, Sunyoo hyung looks pretty excited too, doesn’t he?”

“Huh? Am I showing it that much?”

“Yes. The corners of your mouth are practically reaching your ears.”

The moment the members noticed Kim Sunyoo’s twitching grin after Siwoo pointed it out, they finally burst into laughter.

“Alright then. Shall we keep this momentum going and do well on the radio too?”