The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 110

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 110
It was Embrace, all dressed in matching black tops.
“Huh? Aren’t those the Lusbo members?”
“Yeah, I heard they’ve already found two treasures.”
“Really? If we rip off their name tags, we could steal all their points at once?”
Three members of Embrace spotted us with predatory eyes and picked up their pace.
‘Just as I thought.’
Watching Embrace charge toward us, Seo Ha-yul jumped in surprise and pressed himself behind me.
‘Seriously? Am I your shield now?’
I was about to say something to Seo Ha-yul, but seeing him trembling with fear, I swallowed my words.
“S-Si-woo hyung! Those are Embrace seniors! There are three of them, what do we do?”
They were three, we were two.
We were outnumbered, and besides, the Embrace guys clearly had less physical prowess than us—they were in a lower weight class entirely.
‘How nice of them to come running right to us.’
Thinking about the easy points coming our way, my lips curled into a smile without my realizing it.
“Ha-yul, just run!”
“Yes? Where to?”
“Over there toward that pillar! And when I say so, hide behind it, got it?”
“Yes!”
Splash. Splash.
I deliberately made more water sounds as I charged deeper into the swimming pool.
The Embrace guys sneered and chased after us.
“Lusbo members! Don’t you know you get slower in the water?”
“Hahaha. You’re like rats trapped in a cage!”
The Embrace Leader shouted confidently as he closed the distance.
‘They’re really acting like villains.’
The moment they tried to surround us, I stopped at precisely the right timing.
“Ha-yul, now!”
The instant I confirmed Seo Ha-yul hiding behind the pillar, I quickly reached into my pocket.
And without hesitation, I crouched down while pressing the control panel button.
Whoooooosh—!
A massive jet of water burst out suddenly, hitting the Embrace members’ faces dead-on.
‘Perfect hit!’
“Ugh! What the—!”
“Aah, my eyes sting!”
The sudden water pressure knocked them off balance, and they staggered.
‘Good thing I picked up that control panel.’
Equipment advantage really did matter in any situation.
I darted like lightning behind the Embrace Leader, who was too busy rubbing his eyes to notice.
‘Now’s my chance!’
Thanks to my intense focus, my fingertips moved with razor-sharp precision.
Riiiiip—!
The crisp sound of tearing fabric echoed through the swimming pool.
[Embrace Leader, out! Lusbo’s Cha Si-woo. 50 points earned!]
“…What?”
The leader stared in disbelief, his eyes darting between his torn name tag and me.
Riiiiip—!
“Hyung! I got one too!”
Seo Ha-yul emerged from behind the pillar, bouncing excitedly with another Embrace member’s name tag in hand.
“Nice work!”
In an instant, Embrace was reduced to a single member, teetering on the brink of total annihilation.
Kang Jung-ho’s astonished commentary burst through the speakers.
[This is incredible! Lusbo’s Cha Si-woo has just hunted down the senior team Embrace with a perfectly executed trap using the terrain! This is practically special forces-level strategy?!]
The last remaining Embrace member stumbled backward in panic, desperately fleeing.
‘That won’t do.’
I pressed the control panel once more.
“Ahhhhh!”
As a massive jet of water suddenly erupted, I watched the startled Embrace member and quickly reached out.
Riiiiip—!
I twirled both name tags around my fingers and winked at the camera.
“Seniors, you shouldn’t get careless just because you have more members.”
‘Screen time? Points? I’m taking it all.’
At that moment, I noticed Gu Ji-hyuk from the Fault Team watching from a distance, his face draining of all color.
‘What are you staring at?’
The moment our eyes met, Gu Ji-hyuk quickly retreated.
“Come on, Ha-yul. We’re warmed up now—let’s go hunt for treasure.”
“Yes, hyung!”
“My instincts tell me that area beneath the Safety Officer Tower looks very suspicious.”
I strode forward with unwavering confidence in victory.
As we made our way toward the Safety Officer Tower, Seo Ha-yul gazed at me with admiration.
“Hyung, that was seriously insane. When you fired that water cannon earlier, it looked like a movie scene!”
“It’ll look even cooler when it airs.”
‘The camera angles should capture that water cannon moment perfectly.’
Intoxicated by dopamine, Seo Ha-yul and I arrived beneath the Safety Officer Tower in high spirits.
Suddenly, a clear instinct struck me.
The treasure the Production Team had carefully hidden was here.
As I scanned every corner of the sand beach, a glimmering light caught my eye between the cracks of an artificial rock.
“Bingo! Found it.”
Just as I reached out, a cold voice came from behind me.
“You might want to leave that alone—it’d be better for your image.”
As I turned my head, Gu Ji-hyuk, the leader of Fault Team, appeared with three members in tow.
‘A four-versus-two fight, then.’
The pressure was on a different level than it had been with Embrace.
Especially Gu Ji-hyuk’s eyes—gone was the false modesty from before, replaced entirely by venom.
“Si-woo, it seems you don’t know much about variety shows since this is your first time. The protagonist always makes their entrance last, you know.” “More like an uninvited guest who’s being sneaky about it.”
I picked up the treasure chest and responded with ease.
The Fault Team members fanned out to surround us.
“Hand over the treasure chest and let us tear off your name tags quietly, yeah? That way the editing will at least look decent.”
At Gu Ji-hyuk’s words, I burst out laughing.
Then I pulled out the golden box gleaming from my pocket and held it high.
“Is that why you sneakily followed us all the way here? Because you wanted this so badly?”
“What? Sneakily followed?”
“I heard you started as a child actor, so maybe you can’t have a conversation without a script.”
In that instant, Gu Ji-hyuk’s face flushed red and purple.
“Tch…! Everyone, get him!”
All four Fault Team members rushed at me at once.
Just as Seo Ha-yul flinched in fear, I pushed his shoulder and spoke in a low voice.
“Ha-yul, you run with the treasure chest. I’ll handle the rest.”
“But Si-woo—”
“Go!”
The true power of an A-tier Charisma stat wasn’t limited to acting ability alone.
It commanded overwhelming presence—the ability to draw every eye in the room and dominate the space itself.
I met the Fault Team members’ gazes head-on as they charged, then extended my leg.
Whoosh—thud!
Unable to match the speed of the first one to rush forward, a Fault Team member crashed into the sandy ground.
‘They know how to take a fall well enough.’
Simultaneously, I caught the wrist of the one beside me who was reaching for my name tag and spun him around.
“Whoa—?”
Two of them, having lost their balance, tangled together and fell.
I never thought the survival self-defense techniques I’d learned while being chased by angry celebrity managers during my paparazzi days would prove so useful.
“What is this?! Can’t you do anything right?!”
Gu Ji-hyuk screamed and rushed at me directly.
I stepped back and lightly evaded his hand.
Then I whispered low near his ear.
“Where did that skill go from when you were trash-talking us in the Music Show Waiting Room?”
“…!”
“Your mouth runs free, but your body doesn’t seem to follow.”
Gu Ji-hyuk’s eyes widened in shock.
Unlike his usual false modesty, panic was written all over his face.
I didn’t miss that opening.
Screech—!
With a sharp sound, the name tag that had been attached to Gu Ji-hyuk’s back was now in my hand.
[Fault Leader Gu Ji-hyuk, out! Lusbo Cha Si-woo. 50 points acquired!]
“Ahhhhh!”
Gu Ji-hyuk let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
With the leader down, the remaining Fault Members rushed at me without hesitation.
I hunted down the name tags of the remaining three members one by one in an instant, like a predator.
Screech! Screech!
“How is this even possible?”
I flashed a gentle smile at the Fault Team Member who spoke in utter disbelief.
“It’s possible, senior.”
Screech—!
The cheerful sound rang out in succession.
I gasped for breath, stared at the camera, and waved the name tags.
Sweat dripped down from my chin.
From the speaker came Kang Jung-ho’s voice, nearly breaking into sobs.
[Unbelievable! Cha Si-woo of Lusbo! Si-woo has single-handedly annihilated all four members of Fault! This is an unprecedented reversal in the ten-year history of Run Star, no—a complete massacre!]
Moments later, Seo Ha-yul returned after opening the yellow box and shouted.
“Hyung! This one is worth 100 points!!”
The Fault Team Members lay sprawled across the sandy ground, their expressions vacant.
Gu Ji-hyuk in particular stared blankly at the sky, unable to believe his name tag had been torn off.
I passed by him and gave his shoulder a light tap.
“Senior, you worked hard.”
At my sarcasm, Gu Ji-hyuk’s face turned pale.
“Well, shall we search for the remaining treasures?” Just as I was about to move, Kang Jung-ho’s voice came through the speaker once more.
[Kang Chan and Rua each acquired 50 points respectively. Embrace is entirely eliminated!]
The remaining members were also securing their screen time diligently in places out of view.
Thanks to that, Run Star was able to wrap up quickly.
[Final results announcement! Today’s Water Park Race champion team is… Lucy Star Boys, who demonstrated overwhelming skill!!]
“Waaahhhhh!”
Our team’s name echoed across the entire water park.
Members who had rushed over from afar lifted me up.
“Ooh…! Wait a moment.”
“Si-woo hyung!”
“Si-woo! You did great.”
Seeing the members’ joy, a thrill of victory coursed through my body.
Our first terrestrial broadcast variety show ended in perfect victory.
The screen time was successful too.
“Cut!”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you so much!”
Once filming wrapped, the set erupted into organized chaos as crew members began breaking everything down.
That’s when the nation’s beloved MC, Kang Jung-ho, strode over and gave my shoulder a firm pat.
“Si-woo, you were absolutely incredible. The editing team is going to shed tears of blood trying to trim down your footage. Let’s definitely do this again next time!”
That single comment was all I needed.
It meant my broadcast segment was already in the bag.
‘If the nation’s MC is reacting like this… then the variety show must have absolutely killed it, right?’
I caught sight of the Group Members’ faces, all beaming with radiant smiles.
The tension that had been weighing on my shoulders finally melted away.
☆☆☆
Choi Mo was in an exceptionally foul mood today.
There had been no word whatsoever about her favorite group’s comeback, the weather was sweltering, and the terrestrial variety show “Run, Star” that she’d put on as background noise was packed with unknown rookies.
“Ugh, another rookie special? Besides Fault, I don’t know any of these nobodies….”
Choi Mo grumbled while fiddling with the remote control.
She decided to stick with the channel since at least Gu Ji-hyuk, a former child actor, was appearing with Fault.
But fifteen minutes into the broadcast, her eyes narrowed.
“Wait? Who’s that black-haired cold beauty? Cha Si-woo from Lusbo?”
The moment Cha Si-woo from the team Lusbo started the “Speak with Your Body” game, the potato chip in Choi Mo’s hand tumbled to the floor.
“Insane… look at him acting out getting scammed in a secondhand transaction and a stock delisting postponement. Is this guy really an idol?”
Those eyes, completely hollowed out of their soul, bore the exact same expression as when she’d been scammed and when her stocks had tanked.
Without realizing it, Choi Mo scooted closer to the TV.
This wasn’t mere acting.
It was a depth that could only come from someone who’d tasted life’s bitterness.
“Cha Si-woo, who is this guy? Has he also been scammed in secondhand transactions and had his stocks delisted?”
Just as she was bewildered by the audacity so unbecoming of a rookie idol, the “Random Dance Challenge” game began.
When Kang Chan, Lusbo’s main dancer, absolutely tore up the stage, Choi Mo’s jaw dropped.
“Wow, the dancing is insane… way better than most idols. How is this guy a rookie?”
The bar for rookies these days must have gotten incredibly high.
“But look at Cha Si-woo doing facial acting in the background. He’s not dancing—he’s radiating pure charisma.”
As she became engrossed in the variety show, the climax came with the final name tag ripping race.
Cha Si-woo turned the tables on three members of Embrace with a water cannon trap and single-handedly decimated all four Fault Members—he was the very picture of a madman with crystal-clear eyes.
“Insane… is that seriously not scripted? How does he even get the water cannon to shoot like that? Is this guy actually insane?”
A close-up shot of Cha Si-woo tearing off Gu Ji-hyuk’s name tag and bowing respectfully while thanking his senior filled the screen.
Choi Mo’s heart began racing.
“This guy is seriously the real deal, isn’t he?”
“Is this guy seriously crazy?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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