The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 114

Chapter 114

 

For a moment, my mouth went completely dry.

As a former paparazzo, I had seen countless stars, but facing the presence of a top-tier idol from the perspective of an idol myself was a different kind of pressure altogether.

But before fear could take hold, a strange sense of exhilaration welled up inside me.

The skill gap was larger than I had expected, but that was something I had already anticipated, so it didn’t matter.

Because there was nothing more thrilling than surpassing someone standing that high above.

Every time Yoo Haein casually threw me a wink from in front of me, my instincts reacted sharply.

‘Damn. I want to poke his eyes out.’

Without avoiding Yoo Haein’s gleaming gaze on stage, I watched the performance with sunken eyes.

 

☆☆☆

 

At last, when Raiden’s stage came to an end, the stadium erupted into thunderous cheers.

After answering countless encore requests and delivering a performance worthy of the top, they came down backstage drenched in sweat.

Even while catching their breath, they casually waved at their fans.

They were the very image of professional top-tier idols.

Amid the chaos of staff swarming them with towels and water bottles, we lined up and bowed ninety degrees.

“Great work, sunbaenims!”

“That was an incredible performance!”

In an industry with strict seniority, just because our stage had ended first didn’t mean we could casually leave.

Even going home had to happen in order of seniority.

Forcing my facial muscles not to cramp, I put on my professional social-life smile.

‘I’m dead tired, so hurry up and go home already.’

While screaming internally for them to leave, I spoke words I didn’t mean.

“Your performance was amazing!”

“Thank you. Lucy Star Boys, your performance today was very impressive too.”

Raiden was no different.

Perhaps conscious of the self-content cameras filming them, the members of Raiden put on the act of warm, supportive seniors as if they had rehearsed it.

Then…

“Mr. Siwoo.”

Yoo Haein brushed back his wet hair and approached me.

“Your handling of that sound accident today was impressive. Filling an entire stadium with nothing but your raw voice without a microphone. That was truly amazing.”

Yoo Haein displayed the most harmless smile in the world.

The moment I saw that smile, I became certain.

‘This bastard definitely had a hand in it.’

To everyone else, he looked like a dependable senior praising his junior’s quick thinking.

But to me, it was obvious mockery aimed directly at my nerves.

The bizarre curiosity flickering behind his narrowed eyes made me want to flick his forehead again.

“You’re too kind. It’s all thanks to the path you paved for us, sunbaenim.”

‘The sound accident was your doing, wasn’t it?’

“Haha!”

Apparently pleased with my insincere response, Yoo Haein laughed out loud.

He stepped right up beside me, draped an arm over my shoulder, pressed his lips close to my ear, and whispered.

“Mr. Siwoo, shall we stop pretending? There are too many ears listening here.”

His cold voice scraped against my eardrum.

“Come with me.”

“Yes, sunbaenim.”

I answered with my professional smile.

Yoo Haein then turned toward the members, who were looking at us in confusion, and put his mask back on.

“Everyone, I actually have something personal I’d like to discuss with Mr. Siwoo. Would it be alright if I borrowed him for a moment?”

The members’ gazes immediately focused on me.

I nodded and explained.

“I’ll just have a quick chat with sunbaenim. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“No.”

At that moment, Lua firmly refused.

‘Hey, Rua… even if he’s a senior, isn’t a flat-out rejection a bit much?’

While I was staring at Lua in bewilderment, Yoo Haein turned toward him with a relaxed smile.

“I’ll send Mr. Siwoo back soon. Now then, Mr. Siwoo. Shall we go?”

“Yes, sunbaenim.”

I followed behind Yoo Haein.

I could feel Rua’s sharp gaze stabbing into my back like an arrow, but I deliberately ignored it and headed into the dark backstage corridor.

The private conversation I had long been waiting for was finally about to begin.

 

☆☆☆

 

Since there were people everywhere, we ended up heading behind the stage to a temporary storage area piled high with discarded equipment.

The moment we opened the rusty iron door and stepped inside, a damp wave of air stabbed into my lungs.

It was a sealed-off place untouched by light, filled with the smell of moldy dust and the sweet rot of aging wood.

Creeeak— Bang.

The heavy iron door slammed shut, severing all outside noise.

The excitement of the festival, still audible in the distance, suddenly felt as though it belonged to another world.

Only the intermittent sound of water dripping from the ceiling and our rough breathing remained to fill the silence.

In the dim darkness, Yoo Haein slowly turned his head.

There was no trace of the dazzling image he had worn on stage.

Dust settling atop stacked speaker boxes made his pale complexion appear even more ghostly.

“The air is pretty filthy here. The worst possible place for singers.”

Yoo Haein muttered quietly.

His voice echoed eerily against the enclosed warehouse walls.

“You’re the one who brought me here.”

“…There were too many people everywhere else. I didn’t have much choice.”

A brief silence followed.

Then my eyes met Yoo Haein’s expressionless gaze.

“Mr. Siwoo, isn’t that system starting to become a burden?”

“Well… sometimes.”

‘Every time it makes me do weird aegyo that doesn’t even work, I want to blow it up.’

And the penalties were complete garbage too.

Other than that, the system wasn’t bad.

‘It’s actually a pretty capable assistant.’

“Being forced to dance and sing. Getting quests thrown at you and having to overcome them somehow.”

At his words, my mind immediately started turning.

‘Does his system operate similarly to mine?’

“Eventually, you’ll realize something. That you’re not an idol… you are the system’s avatar.”

“…!”

My heart dropped.

‘Avatar? What the hell does that mean?’

I quickly brought my expression under control.

Thankfully, it was dark.

‘He’s the one who mentioned the system first and dangled the bait.’

Given how many questions I had, this was an opportunity.

“An avatar? Personally, I quite like my system.”

“Hmm… I doubt that.”

“How long ago did you regress, sunbaenim?”

His eyes narrowed at my direct question.

“Mr. Siwoo, you seem to have a lot of questions.”

“Of course. That’s why I willingly followed you all the way here. Otherwise, why would I come?”

“Haha!”

Yoo Haein laughed dryly, apparently amused.

“Then let’s do this.”

“What?”

“We exchange three pieces of information each. Three questions and three answers. No lies.”

“…And how am I supposed to trust that you won’t lie?”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. I have a method.”

Ding.

A translucent purple notification window appeared.

[Observer Yoo Haein has requested “Three Questions, Three Answers: Room of Truth.”]

[Rule: All questions must be answered truthfully. Any lie will result in a permanent stat reduction penalty. Do you accept?]

‘I had mountains of questions anyway. This works out nicely.’

I had no idea what Yoo Haein would ask.

But for someone as lacking in information as I was, there was almost no downside.

“Fine. I accept the deal.”

Ding! Ding!

[By mutual consent, “Three Questions, Three Answers: Room of Truth” has begun.]

The purple window cut through the air with an eerie glow.

The atmosphere inside the warehouse distorted strangely.

Then identical translucent purple windows appeared in front of both Yoo Haein and me.

A bizarre chat room had been established, completely isolated from the outside world and accessible only to system holders.

Through the purple window, Yoo Haein smiled coldly.

“Then who should ask the first question?”

Not wanting to surrender the initiative, I fired off my first question immediately.

“I’ll ask first. Exactly how long has it been since you regressed, sunbaenim? And what is the real name of your system?”

Yoo Haein’s eyes twitched.

“Mr. Siwoo. I know you’re in a hurry, but one question at a time.”

‘So tricks like that don’t work after all?’

“Fine. How many years into the past did you regress?”

As though he had expected it, he let out a dry chuckle while staring at the purple window.

“…Five years.”

His voice split the silence of the warehouse.

‘The exact same point as me?’

Ding.

[Judgment: Truth.]

Bright green letters appeared across the purple window.

The realization that he had regressed to the same point in time as me sent a chill down my spine.

“Now it’s my turn, right?”

Yoo Haein stepped forward.

In the darkness, his eyes flickered with an eerie violet light.

“Mr. Cha Siwoo. What exactly is your system? For an ordinary growth system, your actions are far too abnormal. You gather information and overturn entire situations. Tell me your system’s name and ultimate purpose.”

The moment had finally come.

Swallowing hard, I recalled the system window visible only to me.

“Sunbaenim, that’s multiple questions.”

“…What?”

“If you think about it, it is. Just ask one.”

Yoo Haein sighed.

Then he slowly spoke.

“What exactly is your system?”

Meeting his expectant gaze head-on, I answered.

“…I don’t know.”

“What?”

Yoo Haein’s face twisted instantly.

“I genuinely don’t know. Its name just appears as ‘System.'”

“…”

“It never properly explains anything and always tells me to figure things out myself.”

I met Yoo Haein’s stunned eyes directly.

“Whenever I ask questions, it says everything is classified and refuses to answer. So I honestly don’t know what it really is.”

It was the truth.

If anyone wanted to know more about the system, it was probably me even more than Yoo Haein.

Yoo Haein glared at me fiercely, but the words displayed on the purple window were unmistakable.

Ding.

[Judgment: Truth.]

“…That’s impossible.”

For the first time, Yoo Haein completely lost his composure.

According to the rules of the game, it couldn’t be a lie.

Yet the fact that my identity remained unconfirmed was clearly shocking to him.

‘Well, I managed to score a free point.’

The system always answered that it didn’t know whenever I questioned it.

I never imagined that frustration would help me like this.

“You’re saying the system’s name is literally just ‘System’? And you’re completing quests without even knowing its purpose?”

‘The way he’s talking makes it sound like his system actually has a proper name.’

I had just gained another piece of information.

“The window itself is proving that I’m not lying.”

I pointed at the purple window displaying the judgment.

Yoo Haein fell silent.

“…”

“The truly frustrating one here is me. Every time I ask my system anything, it tells me it’s classified. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with that.”

I shrugged as if I were the victim here.

For a long moment, Yoo Haein stared at me blankly.

“Ha… haha! Hahahahaha!”

Pressing a hand to his forehead, Yoo Haein suddenly burst into laughter like a madman.

‘Did he finally snap?’