The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 117

Chapter 117

 

“Quite a crowd showed up.”

At the same time, thousands of camera flashes exploded before my eyes like flashbang grenades.

The sight of white light flickering from every direction was practically an attack in itself.

Click, click—!

‘This is one hell of a flashbang.’

Under the relentless barrage of flashes, some of the members instinctively closed their eyes or turned their heads away.

For an ordinary rookie, it was a battlefield of light where it was difficult not only to keep your eyes open but even to tell what was in front of you.

But I was different.

Tens of thousands of lenses stared as if they wanted to swallow me whole, yet my eyes never wavered for even a moment.

‘I’m used to this kind of attack.’

I looked straight ahead.

‘The paparazzi world was a bloody battlefield too.’

In my previous life, chasing targets and getting into physical scuffles with rival agencies had been part of everyday life.

That world was a place where people casually exchanged flash attacks, blasting flashes into each other’s faces to block vision, as casually as drinking coffee.

This level of illumination was nothing more than a machine for causing dry eyes.

In fact, I was reading the angles of the cameras hidden among the flashes.

Instinct told me which angle would sharpen my jawline and which lens I should make eye contact with to get the perfect shot.

As I leisurely raised the corners of my mouth and swept my gaze across the lenses, a familiar face entered my sight.

‘…That guy came too.’

Among paparazzi, there were quite a few who made side money by taking high-resolution photos and selling them to fansite masters.

‘Feels weird meeting him like this.’

I gave the paparazzo I hadn’t seen in a long time my professional social smile, looked directly into his camera, and gave a light wave.

‘By the way, make sure you get a good shot. I’m worth more these days.’

While I was leading the cameras, screams came from beyond the barricades.

“Kyahhh! Didn’t Siwoo just look over here?”

“Oh my god, we just made eye contact!”

‘Ah. Those are my precious fans.’

A genuine smile escaped me without me realizing it.

The instant change didn’t escape either the press section or the fan section.

Screams erupted everywhere.

Click. Click. Click.

The shutter sounds accelerated like machine-gun fire.

Forty-five degrees left, straight ahead, then even the jib camera far away.

I methodically looked at each one, instinctively identifying the cameras that would make me shine the brightest and gradually taking control of the red carpet.

“Wow… Siwoo hyung, you’re seriously like a machine.”

Seo Hayul, walking behind me while using me as a shield, muttered in admiration.

“Hayul, calling me a machine? At times like this, you call it professionalism.”

“Every time I look at you, I realize you’re really weird.”

“Thanks. And stop closing your eyes. Keep smiling.”

“Yes! But hyung, the flashes are too bright.”

“Endure it.”

While I bickered with Hayul, I noticed Kang Chan maintaining a poker face and walking down the red carpet stiffly like a robot.

‘Kang Chan… looks way too nervous.’

Just as I was about to look after him, I noticed Rua and Kim Sunyoo expertly working the cameras while positioning Kang Chan between them to take care of him.

‘The hyung line’s handling it just fine.’

Kim Sunyoo was experienced, sure, but Lua’s innate star quality was genuinely impressive.

‘He really is something.’

After enduring countless camera flashes and cheers, we finally reached the stairs in front of the main photo zone.

‘For a first red carpet, this is going smoother than expected.’

The atmosphere was burning hot as we waved to fans and climbed the photo wall stairs.

Then it happened.

Yoo Hoseung, confidently walking ahead of me, suddenly stumbled.

“…!”

Was it because of excessive nerves?

Or accumulated fatigue?

Unable to overcome gravity, Hoseung’s body tilted backward.

‘Ah, this is bad.’

My paparazzi instincts, sharpened from taking countless embarrassing celebrity photos, immediately sounded an alarm.

If he fell like that, tomorrow morning’s headlines would undoubtedly be something like:

[Lucy Star Boys’ Yoo Hoseung Makes a ‘Spread-Eagle’ Entrance at Awards Ceremony]

‘He’d be upset if he saw articles like that.’

And if he got hurt in a bad fall, it could affect the team’s activities.

The moment the thought finished, my body reacted.

Instead of grabbing Hoseung’s arm, I wrapped an arm around his waist and dramatically dipped him backward.

“…!”

The pose looked exactly like the finale of a tango.

“Siwoo hyung…?!”

Hoseung’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

‘This pose actually works?’

Keeping a relaxed smile, I whispered near his ear.

“Hoseung, smile. This is a perfect performance moment.”

Supporting his waist firmly with one hand, I gently lifted his chin with the other so it faced the camera lenses.

Then, like the protagonist of a movie escorting a lover, I lowered my head and stared directly into his eyes.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

Click-click-click-click!

The reporters who had been trying to capture an embarrassing moment suddenly switched to frenzied bursts of shutter clicks filled with shock and excitement.

“Holy crap! What was that? A movie scene?”

“Wow, taking care of the maknae like that? So cool!”

“What are those two? Why do they look so good together?”

“Siwoo’s charisma is insane. He and cute Hoseung match so well.”

The fan section was already on the verge of collective collapse.

A near-disaster had transformed into peak bromance energy.

‘Well… as long as the fans like it.’

I slowly helped Yoo Hoseung back to his feet and straightened his collar.

“Let’s go, maknae.”

“Yes!”

The venue became complete chaos.

The reporters were thrilled that they had gotten a photoshoot-worthy moment instead of just a scoop, while the fans looked at us with delighted expressions.

Though there had been a brief incident, all the members finally took their places at the main photo zone.

Click. Click!

With flashes pouring down on us, I forced energy into my eyes and smiled brightly while waving toward the cameras.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Lucy Star Boys!”

“Make a heart!”

Every time we struck a pose requested by fans and reporters, the cheers grew even louder.

 

☆☆☆

 

‘Phew, now the awards ceremony finally starts for real?’

The seats assigned to us at the ceremony were prime locations among the rookie singer section.

We had also been assigned the very first performance of the night.

The significance of being the opening act at an awards ceremony was enormous.

The first performance was the face that opened the show, the spot reserved for the most talked-about rookie team of the year.

In other words, the opening stage effectively belonged to the rookie group with the highest buzz that year.

As a result, the moment we sat down, sharp gazes stabbed into us from every direction.

“So that’s them? The rookies who sold over 500,000 albums in first-week sales?”

“I heard they did a tango outside earlier.”

“A rookie group putting on a show during the red carpet.”

“Guess they’re attention seekers.”

Our rivals seated nearby whispered loudly enough for us to hear.

Open jealousy filled the eyes of our Rookie of the Year competitors.

‘Cute.’

I didn’t avoid their gazes.

Instead, I met them head-on and smiled sweetly.

The moment they awkwardly turned away, a male idol sitting in the row ahead turned around with a chilly expression.

‘That guy… I saw him in the hallway earlier, didn’t I?’

He was the same person I had seen shouting at his stylist in the corridor while moving from the waiting room to the artists’ section.

“Looks like rookies these days don’t know proper manners. Their necks are awfully stiff when seniors are sitting right here.”

Classic military-style seniority bullying.

The pressure was delivered from an angle that cleverly avoided the cameras.

The members’ shoulders twitched.

‘Why are there so many old-fashioned jerks in this industry?’

Without panicking, I quickly bowed.

“Hello, sunbaenim!”

“…”

The senior idol who had demanded a greeting now looked like he had just eaten something foul after receiving one.

‘Hey, you told me to greet you. Why are you ignoring me?’

Seriously childish.

I immediately drove the nail in.

“To be honest, I wanted to greet you in the hallway earlier, but you seemed to be having a serious discussion with your stylist about a wardrobe issue, so I was worried about interrupting and greeted you quietly instead.”

“…!”

In reality, what I had witnessed was him dumping blame and nitpicking his stylist over everything.

Anyone could see it was power harassment.

My polite attack, mixed with facts, distorted the male idol’s expression.

Even if he wanted to refute me, he couldn’t.

After all, the witness account was true.

“If you were upset because of the greeting, I’ll come greet you properly after the performance.”

“…It’s fine. I got your greeting, so it’s okay.”

Just as the tense atmosphere was reaching its peak, someone approached, accompanied by the scent of strong perfume.

Click. Click.

‘…What now?’

I turned toward the sound of heels.

A woman wearing a revealing outfit and glamorous makeup was walking toward us.

“Hello. You’re Lucy Star Boys, right?”

The moment I looked up, I made eye contact with the visual center of the top-tier girl group Floris.

‘Damn. A landmine.’

For a member of an opposite-gender idol group to approach first in a public setting was extremely unusual.

As a result, everyone’s attention instantly shifted toward us.

‘Damn it. Why come to us?’

There were several unspoken rules in the idol world.

One of them was that male idols and female idols absolutely should not have any visible points of contact.

‘Because the moment even the slightest connection appears, chaos erupts.’

“Hello, sunbaenim.”

‘Ugh. I can’t ignore her greeting since she’s a senior.’

Answering on behalf of the members, I greeted her.

She narrowed her eyes and smiled charmingly.

“Your performance outside earlier was so cool. I became a fan.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Your name is Siwoo, right? Your quick thinking was incredible. I also really enjoyed watching you take first place on the survival show.”

Having approached closer, she casually tried to place a hand on my arm.

‘What a fox.’

Using praise as an excuse for physical contact.

As an idol, that was practically a suicidal move.

This surprise approach was exactly the kind of thing that would become tomorrow morning’s tabloid headline:

[Lucy Star Boys’ Siwoo – Pink Atmosphere With Girl Group Member?]

‘The worst.’

Whether she wanted to attach herself to a hot rookie, whether this was Yoo Haein’s scheme, or whether she was simply boy-crazy… I didn’t know.

But one thing was certain.

She was a landmine.

I stepped back and avoided her touch.

“Thank you, sunbaenim! But I suddenly have an emergency poop signal.”

“…Excuse me? What…?”

Her hand froze awkwardly in midair.

“Emergency poop! I really need to get to the restroom quickly. I trust you’ll understand.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Faced with an unexpected poop attack, her voice visibly trembled.

‘As expected, there’s no better weapon for repelling the opposite sex than this.’

As soon as she retreated with a stiff expression, Seo Hayul leaned in and whispered.

“Hyung, wasn’t that atmosphere just now really weird?”

“Yeah. A low-level trick.”

“A trick?”

“Exactly. Stay sharp. This is a place where people smile while stabbing you with knives.”

Hayul’s expression immediately hardened.

All the ease from moments ago vanished, replaced by obvious tension.

“Hayul, listen carefully. The moment a woman who isn’t a fan starts talking to you, it’s a landmine for idol activities. Just immediately announce that you’ve got an emergency poop signal. Got it?”

“Yes! Got it!”

The other members, having overheard our conversation, wore strange expressions.

‘What? Is there a better way to handle it than this?’

Ignoring their looks, I turned my head and looked toward Yoo Haein.

Sitting in the top-tier artist section befitting a first-class idol, Yoo Haein was watching me with his chin resting on his hand, as if thoroughly enjoying the situation.

Ding.

At that moment, the translucent blue window flashed.

[Observer’s Afterimage item has been consumed.]

‘…What?’