The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol Chapter 45

Chapter 45 

 

As I rounded the corner, I spotted the sign for the men’s restroom.

Without hesitation, I shoved the door open and stepped inside, but there wasn’t a single sign of anyone.

“Where the hell did he go?”

I called Seo Hayul on my phone, but only the ringing tone echoed back.

The missed calls kept piling up.

‘Why isn’t he answering? This is making me nervous.’

Just as I opened the emergency stairwell door to check the restrooms on another floor…

“Hey, who the hell do you think you are?”

“…”

“What? Not gonna answer?”

A familiar voice drifted over.

“…Stop it.”

It was Hayul’s voice.

My entire body froze.

The conversation I’d had with Hayul while watching Episode 5 of ‘Star Picking 5’ flashed through my mind.

“I’m okay.”

‘Bullshit. How is that okay?’

“I don’t get shaken up as easily as before. I have friends now too. So please just watch and trust me.”

I clenched both fists tightly and took a deep breath.

‘Just hold back for now. He asked me to trust him.’

“What? Stop? The quiet little bastard from the agency sure got full of himself after coming here.”

“Yeonghun, this makes me uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable? Hahaha!”

Jin Yeonghun’s booming laughter echoed through the stairwell.

“Our Hayul’s grown up a lot, huh? Maybe it’s time for another lesson.”

“…No.”

“Then try running away, asshole.”

Thud!

A dull impact rang through the stairwell.

My senses instantly snapped into focus.

My feet moved before my thoughts could.

“You piece of trash! Aren’t you going to stop?!”

‘Damn it. I shouldn’t have waited, I should’ve gone down immediately.’

“Hey, you–!”

But what I saw at the bottom of the stairs was completely different from what I expected.

Jin Yeonghun was sprawled on the floor, his face bright red.

“…Why are ‘you’ the one lying there?”

“…”

The moment I saw Hayul standing there completely unharmed, a wave of hot emotion surged inside me.

“You okay?”

“Of course. Siwoo hyung, how did you get here?”

“Long story. More importantly, what the hell happened?”

“…I dodged him, and Yeonghun just fell over by himself.”

“Good job, kid.”

After ruffling Hayul’s hair, I turned my gaze elsewhere.

Yeonghun awkwardly got to his feet and scratched one cheek.

“Siwoo hyung, I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”

“What wrong idea? That you were bullying Hayul?”

“Bullying? We were just messing around as friends. Don’t you know this is how people our age play?”

“Nope. Sure don’t.”

“Come on, hyung. Why are you acting like this?”

“You keep calling me like we’re close. I’ve never had a little brother like you.”

“Ha…”

“Where does a brat get off sighing like that?”

“Seriously. So what are you gonna do about it? Hit me?”

His expression changed instantly.

“No? Why would I bother hitting something not worth hitting? I’m just gonna send you to prison food.”

“What’s with you acting so tough when you don’t even have an agency?”

“And what exactly are ‘you’ relying on? You’re the one about to eat prison food.”

“What? Why would I?”

“Because you’re getting criminal charges for spreading false information.”

“…What?”

“asdfg18. That’s your account, isn’t it?”

“…”

“The one that posted those fake accusations about Hayul online.”

“Got proof?”

“Yep. Sure do.”

What does a paparazzo do for a living?

We catch celebrities in the middle of scandals.

For someone like me, finding the owner of an account was child’s play.

Accounts contain all kinds of information, and digging through them is practically a paparazzo’s basic skill.

“To be honest, you were way too sloppy. Just looking at Gogling and Byulstagram made it obvious asdfg18 was you.”

“…Fuck.”

“Language.”

“…”

“The police are on their way right now, so if you’re gonna run, now’s your chance.”

“…You’re lying, right?”

“You know running adds evading arrest to the list, right?”

Yeonghun looked around nervously before his face crumpled.

Thud.

He dropped to his knees on the cold floor.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“You’re apologizing to the wrong person. There’s someone else you should be apologizing to.”

“Seo…”

His lips trembled.

After several failed attempts, he finally forced the words out.

“Seo Hayul… I’m sorry.”

Hayul looked at him with surprisingly indifferent eyes.

“What exactly are you sorry for?”

“For posting online that you were the bully. It was just a joke, okay? I didn’t really mean it.”

“…A joke?”

“We’re friends, so stuff like this happens. And honestly, you can’t say you had absolutely nothing to do with that guy wrecking his leg. Please let me off.”

‘This idiot still hasn’t learned his lesson.’

I was about to speak when my eyes met Hayul’s.

He subtly shook his head.

Seeing that, I swallowed my words.

“You.”

Hayul let out a sigh and stared directly at Yeonghun.

“Huh?”

“You’re even more pathetic than I thought.”

“What? You little–!”

“Don’t expect any mercy.”

“…I apologized already. You’re supposed to accept it!”

“I have no obligation to accept your apology.”

The firmness in Hayul’s voice caused the focus in Yeonghun’s eyes to disappear.

“Seo Hayul…! What’s wrong with you?”

“This is the consequence of your actions. Take your punishment and come back after you’ve properly reflected on what you’ve done.”

Turning around, Hayul began climbing the stairs.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Only the steady sound of footsteps echoed through the stairwell.

For some reason, his shoulders looked broader than before.

‘When did this kid grow up so much?’

Halfway up the stairs, Hayul suddenly stopped and looked back.

“Siwoo hyung. Let’s go.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

I followed him up the stairs.

The moment we stepped through the emergency exit door, I finally noticed it.

Hayul was silently crying, his lips bitten tightly together.

“…Ngh.”

“You did well, kid.”

The moment I placed a hand on his head, he finally broke down.

“Waaahhh!”

Oddly enough, he looked relieved.