The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 107
Chapter 107
The memories of his previous life made one thing certain: Umblaze had never been involved in any major scandals.
“It feels strange. It feels like we debuted just yesterday, but it’s already been eight months.”
“Seriously. It feels like we debuted the day before yesterday. Time really flies.”
“We’ll do our best on today’s broadcast!”
“You’re saying you’ll do your best? Now I’m really looking forward to it!”
Kang Jungho and Umblaze exchanged a few rounds of conversation.
Apparently satisfied with the amount of airtime they had secured, Kang Jungho smoothly passed the baton to the next team, showing off the polished skills of a veteran MC.
“Next up is a rookie group that has been steadily gaining popularity and momentum since their debut. Please introduce yourselves, Fault!”
Fault’s concept was cute.
As a result, they were dressed in pastel-colored outfits and wore adorable accessories.
“Jumping today too!”
At their leader’s cue, every member of Fault performed a little hop in place.
‘…?’
“We’ve loaded your hearts with laughter! We’re Fault!”
‘You guys really don’t have a name that lets you make fun of anyone else.’
Watching Fault hopping around, Siwoo had to admit they had chosen a remarkably fitting name.
‘Isn’t that more fidgety than jumpy?’
They had exactly the kind of restless energy that suited the word.
Thinking back to the way they had tried to pick a fight in the music-show waiting room with their pathetic attempts at intimidation, his competitive spirit flared.
‘Looks like I’ll need to teach them what real broadcasting is today.’
‘We absolutely have to win the games today.’
The other members of his team seemed to be thinking the same thing, judging by the intensity in their eyes as they looked at Fault.
“Wow~ That greeting is incredibly cute!”
Kang Jungho skillfully accepted even that hyperactive greeting.
As expected, veteran MCs didn’t earn their careers for nothing.
After a brief round of questions and answers, the turn finally came to them.
“Last but not least, here’s the monster rookie group that’s been sweeping every award and chart since debut! Please introduce yourselves!”
It was finally their turn.
“One, two, three!”
At Kim Sunyoo’s cue, they synchronized their breathing.
“We are shining stars! Hello, we’re Lucy Star Boys!”
After bowing at a ninety-degree angle, Kang Jungho’s eyes lit up, and he let out an impressed exclamation.
“Wow… Is it because this team came from a survival show? Everyone’s visuals are insane. I can already hear the ratings going up!”
Honestly, their members’ visuals could compete anywhere.
Since appearance was such an important part of being an idol, seeing his well-dressed teammates naturally made Siwoo feel proud.
“Thank you!”
They answered energetically and bowed once more.
“Lucy Star Boys only debuted recently, right? How does it feel?”
“It hasn’t even been two weeks since our debut, so it still doesn’t feel real yet.”
“I suppose that makes sense. Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?”
“To all our Lumina who love our songs and support us, thank you so much!”
As expected of a veteran, Kim Sunyoo skillfully continued answering the MC’s questions.
Meanwhile, Siwoo didn’t forget to throw hearts toward the camera.
“Lumina, we love you!”
“Haha. The fresh energy unique to rookies is really nice to see.”
Just as Kang Jungho let out a hearty laugh…
“Hey, we’re rookies too!”
“That’s right! We’re still fresh too!”
Fault and Umblaze suddenly jumped in from both sides as if refusing to lose.
‘Look at these guys.’
They were like venomous snakes constantly waiting for a chance to steal their screen time.
Variety shows were a completely different ecosystem from music broadcasts.
It was a survival-of-the-fittest world where the funniest and most noticeable person got even one extra second of airtime.
Naturally, everyone had to compete for every shot.
‘No way I’m losing.’
The moment his competitive spirit ignited, a familiar notification sound rang out, and a translucent blue window appeared before him.
Ding!
—
[To secure more screen time, choose one of the following responses.]
- What the heck! I’m screwed! These senior jerks interrupted and stole all our screen time!
- Waaah! Waaah! But since we only debuted two weeks ago, aren’t we the biggest baby rookies? We’re the freshest!
- Kyaaang >_< Hey ugly losers~ You think you can challenge adorable Siwoo with your freshness? I’m the cutest and most handsome one, teehee~ (wink)
—
‘Damn it. Why does this stupid system always give me garbage choices?’
[If you do not choose within 3 seconds, a response will be selected at random.]
He still couldn’t get used to these options.
[3… 2…]
“Waaah! Waaah!”
“…?”
Every gaze turned toward him at once, filled with shock, confusion, and an indescribable sense of disbelief.
“But since we only debuted two weeks ago, aren’t we the biggest baby rookies? We’re the freshest!”
‘…I seriously want to beat up this system.’
Option A was basically the answer of a trainee swearing on broadcast… a response that would justify immediate expulsion.
Option C would turn the entire fandoms of Fault and Umblaze into his enemies.
Not only would it create an attitude controversy and personality scandal, but every sentence ended with that bizarre cutesy speech pattern that sounded like someone’s tongue had been cut off.
No human being should ever say that.
Forced into choosing B, Siwoo’s inner self was already screaming and coughing up blood.
“Pwahaha! Baby rookies? Siwoo-ssi, you look like the coldest handsome guy in the world, and you’re saying ‘waaah’?”
Kang Jungho burst into laughter, clutching his stomach, and even the members couldn’t stop themselves from laughing awkwardly.
Meanwhile, the forced smiles on Fault and Umblaze slowly stiffened.
‘…At least I got airtime in exchange for my dignity.’
“The rookie teams all have such different vibes already. I’m really looking forward to today! Now, let’s begin our games in earnest!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Today’s competition will consist of three games!”
Following Kang Jungho’s energetic hosting, a giant screen in the center of the water park lit up.
“At the end of all the games, the winning team will receive an exclusive performance slot for their new song during the broadcast ending!”
In an instant, the members’ eyes changed into those of starving beasts.
‘An exclusive stage on a terrestrial variety show.’
That was basically the equivalent of dropping a nuclear bomb on this week’s broadcast score.
‘We have to win that.’
“We seriously have to win!”
“Alright, let’s do this!”
Amid the overheated enthusiasm, the first game officially began.
“The first game is Charades!”
A classic variety-show segment, but one guaranteed to generate laughs, making it one of the Running Star production team’s favorite mini-games.
One representative from each team would act out a keyword while the remaining teammates guessed it. The team with the highest score would win.
“Then we’ll start with the senior group, Umblaze!”
Following Kang Jungho’s cue, the sexy-concept Umblaze began preparing.
At the sound signaling the start, urgent background music blasted through the water park speakers.
[Keyword: Washing Machine]
‘How are they going to express that?’
The Umblaze member chosen as their representative was, true to his rookie status, overflowing with enthusiasm.
The moment he saw the keyword Washing Machine, he immediately started flexing his abs and performing intense body waves.
‘They’re really committed to their concept.’
Refusing to abandon the sexy image and throwing his whole body into it, Umblaze ultimately managed to answer six questions correctly.
‘That’s a respectable score.’
Siwoo would bet both eyebrows that the footage of someone expressing a washing machine by rippling his abs would definitely make it into the broadcast.
Next came Fault’s turn, with their cute concept.
“Who will be the member acting out the keywords for Fault?”
“I will.”
Fault’s leader, the one with red hair, confidently stepped beside Kang Jungho.
“Wow…! If Jihyuk-ssi, a former child actor, is participating, isn’t that basically a cheat code?”
That’s right.
Fault’s leader, Gu Jihyeok, was a former child actor with extraordinary expressive ability.
“I’m really looking forward to this. Then let’s start with Fault immediately!”
“Yes!”
As the start signal rang out, upbeat music flowed through the speakers.
Fault’s first keyword was:
[Macho Man]
At first, Gu Jihyeok’s gestures were somewhat restrained, conscious of maintaining their cute concept.
Perhaps he was trying to transform the frightening two-faced personality he’d shown in the waiting room into acting, because he put on quite an act.
But eventually, perhaps realizing it wasn’t enough, he began revealing his true self.
His years as a child actor clearly hadn’t gone anywhere. He displayed facial expressions and movements so precise that anyone could immediately guess the keyword.
‘He’s good.’
Without a moment of hesitation, Gu Jihyeok demonstrated fitting actions and expressions for every keyword, and Fault rapidly piled up correct answers.
Thanks to the cheat-code-level former child actor, Fault scored eight correct answers, effectively securing victory.
“Wow, former child actors really are different! He’s much better than I expected!”
At Kang Jungho’s admiration, Siwoo’s brow naturally furrowed.
‘Yeah. That score is higher than I expected.’
To win, their team would need to get at least nine questions right within the time limit.
‘That won’t be easy.’
“Alright, last up… the hottest group these days! Lucy Star Boys, are you ready?”
“…Yes!”
“Which member will be acting out the keywords?”
‘Someone capable of outperforming a former child actor in expressiveness…’
Looking around, every member seemed visibly intimidated by Gu Jihyeok’s acting ability and high score.
“Who should go?”
“Anyone want to volunteer?”
“Honestly, I’m not confident…”
Beyond the voices of his discouraged teammates, he heard a faint whisper from the production staff in a corner.
“They only debuted recently. How much can they really do?”
“Exactly. I’m not expecting much.”
“If they bomb it, we’ll just cut most of it and focus on Fault.”
“Looks like Fault’s taking this game entirely.”
The moment he heard that, something snapped inside his head.
“I’ll do it!”
“…!”
Everyone’s attention immediately focused on him.
“Excellent! Lucy Star Boys will proceed with Cha Siwoo as their representative!”
Just as he stepped forward beside Kang Jungho…
“…Cut!”
The cameraman’s voice rang out from behind.
Everyone turned toward him.
“We need to change the battery before continuing!”
“Then we’ll take about a ten-minute break before resuming. Anyone who needs makeup touch-ups can go now!”
“Yes!”
With the staff’s announcement, a brief break settled over the filming set.
‘Perfect timing.’
“Um, I need to use the restroom urgently. Is it okay if I go quickly?”
“Ah, of course. Go ahead, Siwoo-ssi!”
After getting permission from the staff, he sprinted toward a restroom on one side of the water park.
Only after entering the third empty stall and locking the door did he finally catch his breath and call out to that thing.
‘Hey.’
Ding!
A familiar notification sounded, and the translucent blue window appeared before him.
[Yes, Cha Siwoo-nim. Did you call for me?]
‘Let’s use a gacha pull.’
[Yes!]
With another assault on his eyes, a square gacha machine materialized beside the system window.
‘Been a while.’
Inside the machine, colorful capsules floated leisurely in defiance of gravity.
‘Something capable of beating a former child actor has to come out…’
As he approached the machine, a now-familiar instruction message sparkled before him.
[One coin is required for one use.]
‘I’ll use one silver coin.’
The system window produced a silver coin and placed it onto his palm.
‘After this, I’ll only have three silver coins left, huh?’
Thinking about his remaining coins, he clenched the silver coin tightly.
‘Please do it in one shot.’
He inserted the coin into the machine and spun the dial.
Clack, clack—!
The interior of the machine shook violently, and the capsules began spinning like a storm.
Thunk—!
The bottom dispenser automatically opened, and one capsule dropped out.
‘…Whoa! It’s gold?’
[Congratulations! You have obtained an S-Rank Capsule.]
‘There were S-ranks too?’
[Of course.]
A capsule ranked higher than A-rank could only contain something incredible.
The moment he opened it with eager hands, dazzling golden light burst out from within.
A noble golden ticket floated before his eyes.
The instant he grabbed the ticket, clear letters appeared upon it.
“…!”
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