The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 109

Chapter 109

 

I wanted to say something about how broken this balance was, but there was nothing a rookie who had just debuted could do.

For the sake of the show’s entertainment value and ratings, I willingly kept my mouth shut.

‘Fine. We’ll just win this too.’

At that moment, a powerful cyberpunk-style b-boying beat exploded from the speakers.

While everyone else froze in surprise, Kang Chan curled the corner of his lips upward and strode confidently toward the center.

Swoosh—!

He planted his hands on the ground and launched himself into the air.

A windmill that seemed to defy gravity swept across the waterpark floor before flowing into a freeze, supporting his entire body on just a few fingers for a brief instant.

“Whoaaa!”

“No way!”

“He’s doing that on bare ground?!”

That wasn’t even the end.

As the beat reached its climax, Kang Chan performed a double spinning flip in midair before planting one hand on the floor and transitioning flawlessly into a Thomas flare, spinning like a top.

His movements were as flexible as if he had no bones at all, yet carried the elasticity of forged steel.

Clap, clap, clap!

The cast members and staff alike stared in awe as they applauded.

It didn’t feel like a variety show segment.

It felt like watching a complete professional b-boy performance.

“The final winner of the Random Dance Challenge is… Lucy Star Boys!”

“Woooooo!”

“Yeah!”

We had won the second game as well.

‘Oh yeah! We’ve completely taken over the screentime for this episode of Run Star .’

The first game had been dominated by my wit.

The second game had been crushed by Kang Chan’s dancing skills.

If we could just secure the final game, the solo ending stage was practically ours.

At that moment, Fault’s leader, Gu Jihyeok, glared at us while trembling with frustration.

Oddly enough, the look in a loser’s eyes was rather sweet.

‘Looks like we’ve properly taught him a lesson.’

“Current score: Lucy Star Boys, 200 points! Fault and Umbraze still have zero points! Lucy Star Boys are completely dominating!”

At MC Kang Jungho’s praise, the faces of the other teams turned ashen.

They tried to force smiles, but they couldn’t hide their trembling hands.

‘What a great place for reactions.’

I flashed them the most harmless smile imaginable and casually drove the final nail in.

“Thank you for the good match, seniors. We learned a lot.”

That one polite-sounding sentence made sparks fly from their eyes.

Nothing irritated people quite like fake courtesy.

“Everyone, don’t be disappointed yet. The winner hasn’t been decided. Because we still have the grand finale… the Name Tag Elimination Race!”

The atmosphere instantly flipped at the MC’s announcement.

Now it was time for the real hunt.

‘Shall we get serious?’

I tightened the laces of my sneakers.

The signature game that had carried Run Star for over ten years… Name Tag Elimination was waiting for us.

“There will be a special rule added to this Name Tag Elimination Race.”

“Huh?”

“That’s right! Treasure Hunting!”

“…!”

The simple physical showdown had been upgraded with a strategic treasure-hunting mechanic.

“Treasure chests hidden throughout the waterpark contain points. The more treasures you find, the more points your team earns!”

“Ohhh!”

“And every opponent’s name tag you capture in the Name Tag Elimination Race is worth 50 points!”

“Awesome!”

“Wow…!”

“Finally, if you remove the name tag of someone carrying points, you steal all of their points!”

The real highlight was elsewhere.

In other words, it was possible to funnel points to a single person and stage a comeback.

The expressions of Fault and Umbraze instantly brightened with scheming excitement.

“Haha. It’d be pretty unfortunate if someone worked hard all day only to get overturned at the end, wouldn’t it?”

The leader of Umbraze openly tried to provoke us.

I smiled at him with the gentlest smile in the world… the same kind Kim Sunyoo always used.

“It’s okay. We’re going to win anyway.”

“…!”

“You certainly have a lot of confidence, Siwoo. I’m looking forward to it.”

I firmly shook the hand he extended.

A chilling battle of wills passed through our palms.

“Cut!”

At last, the director called for a cut.

“We’ll continue filming after moving to your designated starting positions!”

“Yes!”

Following the staff’s instructions, each team headed to a different starting point.

Our starting location was the northern sector, where a giant waterslide towered overhead.

After waiting briefly, the show’s signature tense signal music blasted through the speakers.

[Can everyone hear me clearly?]

It was MC Kang Jungho’s voice.

“Yes!”

[We’ll now begin the Name Tag Elimination Race in earnest! I’ll provide live commentary throughout, so have fun out there!]

‘Let’s do this properly.’

[3, 2, 1… Race Start!]

The moment the fast-tempo background music kicked in, the members took their first determined steps forward.

I quickly stepped in front of them.

“Everyone, wait a second!”

“Huh…?”

“Siwoo, why?”

First, I needed to stop them from rushing out blindly.

“Let’s have a quick strategy meeting before we move.”

Games like this rewarded brains before brawn.

At the mention of a meeting, the members naturally gathered around.

“There are two ways to earn points in this game, right?”

As I held up two fingers, everyone’s attention focused on me.

“What if we prioritize finding treasure rather than tearing off name tags?”

“Why?”

“Why do you think that?”

I immediately laid out my analysis.

“There are two reasons. First, removing name tags inevitably leads to physical confrontations. If we waste our energy early on, we won’t have enough left for the endgame.”

“Yes.”

“That’s true.”

“Second, the production team specifically chose the word treasure.”

“Huh?”

“If they’re calling it treasure, the point values are probably high. Since a name tag is worth 50 points, there’s a good chance the treasures are worth even more.”

The members slapped their knees in realization.

“That’s actually a good point.”

“Hyung really is smart.”

With everyone’s agreement, the strategy was set.

As the leader, Kim Sunyoo immediately issued follow-up instructions.

“Then we’ll focus on treasure hunting. But since the other teams could ambush us, how about splitting into pairs?”

“Sounds good!”

“Should we decide pairs with rock-paper-scissors?”

“Sure!”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

“…!”

Miraculously, after just one round, we split perfectly into pairs of two.

“Wow, that’s creepy. How did we divide up perfectly on the first try?”

“Seriously.”

“Alright, let’s search this slide area first, then spread out into our assigned zones.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s all survive and meet up again!”

We conducted an initial search of the northern sector together before splitting into the east, west, and south sections.

Apparently no treasure had been hidden at the starting area, because no matter how hard we searched, we found nothing.

I lightly tapped Seo Hayul, who had become my partner, on the back and surveyed the terrain.

Maybe it was because I used to be a paparazzo, but I could spot blind spots others would overlook.

“Hayul, just trust me and follow along.”

“Yes, hyung!”

Our assigned area was the southern sector.

‘Let’s see. If I were on the production team, where would I place the cameras?’

Wherever treasure was hidden, there would inevitably be a fixed camera or a VJ nearby.

‘Because if they miss the dramatic moment someone finds a treasure, it’d be outright negligence from a TV producer’s perspective.’

I carefully observed the camera operators’ lines of sight, lighting angles, and even the rotation paths of the jib cameras.

Following the instincts shared among camera people, my gaze naturally landed on the kinds of shots VJs loved most.

In the distance, I could see members of the other teams crowding together with their backs against walls to protect their name tags.

In contrast, we boldly stepped into the wide-open central plaza.

A magnificent fountain rose from the center.

‘Oh? That’s the perfect place to hide one.’

Climbing onto the fountain railing, I spotted a yellow plastic box the production team had hidden carefully, along with a small mounted camera guarding it.

“Found it!”

The moment I proudly held the treasure chest up in front of the camera, Kang Jungho’s voice echoed across the entire waterpark through the speakers.

[Cha Siwoo of Lucy Star Boys has found the very first treasure chest!]

“Yesss!”

Seo Hayul, who had been searching below, ran over immediately.

“Hyung! You found one already?”

“Yep. Hayul, want to open it?”

“Really?!”

I hadn’t forgotten to give the younger member some screentime.

‘There’s no way a PD would edit out the decisive moment of opening a treasure chest.’

When Seo Hayul opened the yellow plastic box, the number [70] was written inside.

“Hyung! We got 70 points!”

“Nice!”

‘My prediction was right.’

It was more efficient than stealing a name tag.

After a satisfying high-five, we started moving again.

‘Now then, where’s the next one hidden?’

Considering the geographical layout of the waterpark, a few other likely locations came to mind.

“Hayul, let’s head to the main pool next.”

“Sounds good!”

According to the map, the main pool was right nearby.

When we finally arrived, the area was eerily quiet, as though everyone else was hiding somewhere.

“Hayul.”

“Yeah?”

“Search around the edges. Especially the corners.”

“Got it! I’ll take the right side.”

“I’ll check the left.”

In a waterpark, there was no better place to hide a small camera than the shallow edges of a pool.

‘Once the water gets deep, there are too many variables.’

As I continued searching, concentrating intently, I noticed something unexpected near a pillar.

A water cannon control panel.

‘What’s this? They had water cannons here?’

Looking around, I realized there were event-style water sprayers installed throughout the main pool area for guests.

‘Well, considering it’s a waterpark, it makes sense.’

“It’s not treasure, but maybe I’ll keep it anyway.”

I boldly stuffed the control panel into my pocket.

At that moment, Seo Hayul’s bright voice rang out.

“Hyung! I found treasure!”

“Oh…!”

When I approached, I found Seo Hayul grinning brightly while hugging a yellow treasure chest.

“Would you like to open this one, hyung?”

‘This kid’s grown up so much. When did that happen?’

I gently patted his head.

“It’s okay. Stuff like this is for the youngest members.”

“Hehe, okay!”

Filled with anticipation, Seo Hayul carefully opened the box.

Once again, it contained 70 points.

“Ah…!”

“Oh… jackpot!”

Once more, Kang Jungho’s voice echoed throughout the waterpark.

[Seo Hayul of Lucy Star Boys has found the second treasure chest!]

“Nice.”

Hayul raised his hand excitedly.

After naturally returning the high-five, we began searching for the next location.

“We found one at the fountain and one at the main pool. The rest are probably near large structures or attractions.”

“That definitely sounds right. Hyung really does think fast when it comes to stuff like this.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Whether it was because my charm stat had increased, or because of my former paparazzo instincts, I wasn’t sure, but my variety-show sense felt especially sharp today.

[Lucy Star Boys have earned 140 points from treasure alone! Their total score is now 340, putting them far in the lead!]

Kang Jungho’s excited voice boomed through the speakers.

‘Wait, they’re announcing the treasure scores too?’

That was an unexpected variable.

The atmosphere of the previously quiet waterpark suddenly shifted.

‘In that case… they’re going to come for us soon.’

I could feel it instinctively.

Like hunting dogs catching the scent of prey, fierce competitiveness began to fill the air.

And sure enough, on the opposite side of the pool, I spotted a familiar team color approaching from the entrance in the distance.