The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 115

Chapter 115

 

When Cha Siwoo was still wondering, Yoo Haein finally stopped laughing and opened his mouth.

“Cha Siwoo, you’re seriously one ridiculous guy. Even your system is raising you while hiding its purpose. Just what exactly… are you?”

The playfulness in Yoo Haein’s eyes disappeared, replaced by a deeper wariness mixed with a strange sense of kinship.

“What do you mean, what am I? You already know I’m a former paparazzo.”

“Are you perhaps a T?”

“I’ve never taken an MBTI test, so I don’t know.”

At my indifferent reply, Yoo Haein shrugged as though dumbfounded.

“A bug? Or a joker intentionally planted by the system?”

Resting his chin on his hand as if deep in thought, Yoo Haein slowly curled his lips upward again.

“This is interesting. The fact that you’re unexpected makes it even more enjoyable.”

Finding this enjoyable of all things… Yoo Haein really was a psychopath.

“Go ahead and ask your next question. It’s my turn to reveal my hand.”

I swallowed hard and stared at the purple window.

This question had to shake the very foundation of who he was.

“What exactly is your system? My system identifies you as an ‘Observer.’ Tell me specifically what kind of authority that gives you.”

Yoo Haein seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking as though resigned.

“The name of my system is ‘The Road of the Idol King.’ And my role is the Observer of that path.”

[Judgment: Truth.]

‘It had a name…!’

“The authority itself is simple, but powerful. I can observe every piece on the enormous chessboard that is the entertainment industry in advance and calculate the optimal moves needed to become the Idol King. I can see who will cause a scandal and when, which songs will become massive hits, and even which direction public opinion will swing before it happens.”

Yoo Haein’s voice was arrogant.

Having eyes that could see the future, the entertainment industry must have seemed like a simulation game set to the easiest difficulty for him.

“But an Observer is, in the end, merely someone who watches. If I personally jump into the board and forcibly move the pieces myself, severe penalties follow.”

“…!”

“So I usually manipulate other people or create circumstances instead.”

As his confession continued, the purple window repeatedly flashed green.

A chill ran down my spine.

‘How many people’s lives has Yoo Haein manipulated using this ability?’

“Like the sound-system accident at this festival? Or creating a replacement performance slot through a drug scandal? Don’t tell me you even arranged for the next team to be late out of sheer pettiness?”

Yoo Haein’s eyes trembled ever so slightly.

Judging by his reaction, I had hit the mark.

“Haha, you have quite the imagination, Cha Siwoo.”

“Not imagination. The truth.”

“Believe whatever you want. While we’re at it, let me propose.”

“What proposal?”

“Your system seems extremely secretive, so how about sharing it with me?”

‘Systems can be shared?’

“Aren’t you curious about your own system? I’m suggesting we join hands. An alliance, if you will.”

“An alliance?”

“Yes. The route I possess is different from yours. I know the optimal path through this industry. If we share information, I can help you grow rapidly in this field.”

‘…’

“In return, you share that unique system of yours with me. You lose absolutely nothing from this arrangement.”

Yoo Haein’s proposal was not merely tempting… it was lethal.

It was the sweetest and fastest route to becoming a world-class idol.

Sharing the optimal route was no different from solving an exam while holding the answer sheet in your hands.

But my instincts were screaming.

‘This bastard is dangerous.’

I sank into thought, trying to uncover the true intention hidden behind the proposal.

‘He’s pretending to offer information while trying to confirm something about my system.’

There was no such thing as free information in this world.

And the sweeter the information, the more certain it was to contain a lethal dose of poison.

“Well, the idea of sharing an optimal route is certainly tempting. But there’s something I’m curious about, Senior.”

I met Yoo Haein’s cold gaze head-on and continued.

“You said you’re an Observer. And you said Observers receive penalties if they directly interfere with the board.”

“…!”

“Then why are you reaching out to me in the first place?”

His eyes widened slightly.

“You don’t even know whether I’m a bug, a joker, or something else entirely.”

I gave Yoo Haein a crooked smile.

“Could it be that your penalties have already reached a level that’s becoming difficult to bear?”

“…!”

“You can’t move the chess pieces yourself anymore, so you need someone else to flip the board over for you. Isn’t that right?”

Yoo Haein’s smile froze for an instant.

The purple truth window flickered.

Instead of answering, he chose silence.

That silence was an answer in itself.

“…Your line of questioning is sharp.”

“We need to lay our cards on the table if we’re going to talk. That proposal of yours… weren’t you actually planning to take control of my system’s authority and dump your penalties onto me?”

Yoo Haein’s pupils expanded dramatically.

His smile slowly faded.

The snake that had come to extract information had instead found a trap set above its own head.

“Ha! Cha Siwoo, you really… know how to make people sick of you.”

“I can do even better. This will be my second question.”

“What are you–!”

Ding.

[Judgment: Truth.]

The purple truth window flashed brightly.

“I already knew it, but you’re garbage after all, Senior.”

Yoo Haein’s expression hardened further.

“Now it’s my turn to ask a question, isn’t it?”

Yoo Haein leaned forward out of the darkness.

“Cha Siwoo. How did you die before the regression?”

For an instant, the air inside the warehouse froze.

The final memory I had desperately wanted to forget resurfaced, along with the cold sensation of metal crushing my entire body.

“That’s a cruel question.”

Yoo Haein’s question was merciless.

His attitude of treating another person’s death as mere entertainment proved that he had already lost the sensibilities of a normal human being.

A twisted smile appeared on his lips.

“The look on your face tells me you didn’t die peacefully.”

“…At our age, isn’t dying peacefully the harder thing to do?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“…I died in a traffic accident while riding in a taxi.”

“What a shame. So you died like a dog?”

‘I really can’t stand this guy.’

To Yoo Haein, someone else’s death was nothing more than amusement.

“That’s more boring than I expected.”

‘This man is dangerous.’

For a brief moment, the deafening crash and icy sensation from inside that taxi flashed through my mind.

Shaking off the unpleasant afterimages that followed my answer, I prepared my final question.

“Then it’s my turn for the last question?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

I parted my lips to drive the final arrow into the purple window.

A question that would completely shatter his composure and bring this game to its conclusion.

“What is it that you ultimately want to obtain by completing your system’s quests?”

‘At the end of this board, what exactly is it that you want to face?’

The air inside the warehouse turned as cold as ice.

The twisted smile hanging on Yoo Haein’s lips vanished without a trace.

In its place, a chilling killing intent coiled like a venomous snake.

“Cha Siwoo, be careful. If you try to learn too much about me, you could genuinely put yourself in danger.”

A warning was an affirmation.

Without being intimidated by the pressure he exuded, I casually took a step closer.

“Thank you for your concern. But honestly, Senior, I’m not afraid of you. This window is demanding an answer, isn’t it? Go ahead.”

The purple truth window emitted a sharp warning tone, urging him to respond.

Reluctantly, Yoo Haein bit his lip before answering through gritted teeth.

“…Deletion.”

My eyebrows twitched at the unexpected word.

“What?”

“I’m going to delete this damned system. Delete the system itself that records my existence. That’s my ultimate reward and my final goal.”

“…!”

[Judgment: Truth.]

It was a shocking answer.

His goal wasn’t to reach the top and reign over others.

It was to destroy the very machine that made him king and disappear along with it.

“Why?”

“That’s… a secret. Because you’ve run out of questions, Cha Siwoo.”

“…”

“Now it’s my final question.”

Yoo Haein glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

The purple window released its final glow.

“Cha Siwoo. What ending do ‘you’ want through your system?”

My heart pounded violently.

I bit down on my trembling lips and hesitated.

[Warning: If you do not answer within 3 seconds, a penalty will be applied.]

Remembering the penalty that would reduce all my stats, I reluctantly opened my mouth.

“A panacea.”

“…Ha!”

“I’ll complete every quest and obtain a panacea.”

[Judgment: Truth.]

The translucent purple window flickered.

Yoo Haein looked at me with empty eyes.

“Cha Siwoo, you’re even more boring than I expected.”

“It may seem boring to you, but it’s something I absolutely need.”

“Because of your younger sibling?”

“…”

“You’re staking your life for someone else. You’ll definitely regret it.”

“I make my own decisions, and I’ll deal with my own regrets.”

“Well, let’s end it here for today. Even so, this was the most entertaining time I’ve had since regressing.”

Yoo Haein extended his hand.

“And Cha Siwoo, think about it again. If you join me, you’ll be able to clear your quests much faster. You should think about your sibling, shouldn’t you?”

“I don’t think there will ever be a day when I join hands with you.”

I forcefully slapped away the hand he had extended and didn’t forget to sneer at him.

“Oh, right. Next time, try setting up the board with actual skill instead of cheap tricks like drug scandals. It’s boring.”

Leaving the frozen Yoo Haein behind, I strode out of the warehouse.

‘Still, I got something out of this.’

There would probably never come a day when I joined hands with a regressor who was already broken.

The moment I pushed open the iron door, a metallic screech struck the back of my head.

Bang

As the door shut behind me, the oppressive and sticky purple atmosphere filling the warehouse was cut off as though it had never existed.

At the same time, the blue system window that had been silent as death began flashing wildly before my eyes.

Bzzzzt, bzzzt—!

[Warning: Restarting system operation that had been forcibly suspended due to external interference.]

[Checking log records….]

[Analysis: Interference from target ‘Observer’ detected. Defense successful.]

‘Good job.’

But my system hadn’t merely hidden itself.

Ding!

[Special Notice: During synchronization, a fragment of causality leaked from the opposing system has been absorbed.]

‘What?’

[Data Recovery: At the moment the target’s authority was released, internal information was exposed and successfully recorded.]

The corners of my mouth rose on their own at this unexpected gain.

‘Yoo Haein let his guard down.’

Yoo Haein must have been certain that my system could do nothing in the face of his authority.

But he was wrong.

The system hadn’t missed the tiny opening that appeared when he dismantled the room.

It had licked up his information through that microscopic gap.