The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 112

—————

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

—————

Chapter 112
The fans shouted in unison.
“Yes! It’s really delicious!”
“A culinary genius! A face genius!”
“It’s the best!”
“The sandwich of a lifetime!”
Fortunately, the response was explosive.
The Broadcast Studio overflowed with confident praise pouring forth.
Fortunately, our dedication pierced straight through the fans’ hearts.
Kim Sun-yu flashed his characteristic gentle smile toward the fans.
“Thank you all for enjoying the food. You know this is our last stage for this promotional cycle, right? Please don’t hold back your voices and enjoy it with us until the very end!”
“Waaaaaah!”
With an explosive roar, the familiar intro to “First Greeting Hello” flowed from the speakers.
During our first broadcast, the Group Members had been so overwhelmed by tension that we could barely find the camera lens with the red light.
But true to their quick adaptability, things were different now.
Now the Group Members understood exactly when to look at the camera and from which angles it was positioned.
We savored the Stage, pinpointing the moments that would make the audience go wild.
As I surrendered my body to the rhythm and nodded my head to the beat, the fans’ roars crashed over the Stage like a massive wave.
Kang Chan’s explosive dance break followed, and at the song’s climax, the Group Members gathered at the center.
As if we’d promised each other, we threw heart signs toward the Audience Seating with bright smiles.
“Hello, Lumina! See you again!”
The moment I struck the ending pose, I could see each fan’s expression in vivid detail.
Fans wiping away tears and fans cheering flashed before my eyes.
‘I wonder what I did to deserve being loved this much.’
A peculiar emotion swirled in a corner of my chest.
Wrapped in this strange feeling, our final Music Broadcast stage finally came to an end.
The Music Broadcast activities ended today, but this was far from a period—it was merely a comma.
As I descended from the Stage, I roughly wrapped my arms around the sweat-soaked shoulders of the Group Members.
“Well, everyone worked hard. Now we need to go hunt for that rookie award, right?”
At my words, the Group Members’ eyes gleamed once more like hunters on the prowl.
Now it was time to prepare for the hunt toward the rookie award, our next album, and even greater heights.
☆☆☆
Our official Music Broadcast activities had come to a close.
But our schedule had actually become twice as packed as it was during the promotional period.
Including web variety shows and advertisements, we were now grinding through the relentless schedule as it came.
‘Even though it’s tough, I need to solidify our current standing right now.’
Thanks to the synergy between our debut track’s success and the massive hit of the variety show “Run, Star,” love calls poured in from major names that everyone would recognize.
One of them was the University Festival.
‘It’s a stopgap, but it’s actually a great opportunity.’
Usually, University Festivals arrange their lineups months in advance as a matter of convention.
I never dreamed that we, rookies who’d just debuted, would find ourselves standing on a university festival stage this year.
‘We got lucky.’
A popular singer who was scheduled to perform had fallen into disgrace due to drug scandal rumors, and that vacant slot had come to us instead.
“Listen up, everyone. You need to stay sharp. Today’s stage is on a completely different level from music broadcasts.”
Kim Sun-yu’s voice carried a weighty tension.
“The audience might not be our fans. So even if the response is lukewarm, don’t let it hurt you. Understand?”
His serious expression seemed to stem from bitter past experiences.
“Yes! Sun-yu, don’t worry too much.”
“Yes! We absolutely won’t get hurt!”
I added my own words among the Group Members’ cheerful responses.
“We’re rookies, so of course the audience might not be our fans. Isn’t the point to turn them into our fans and leave?”
“What…? Ha!”
Only then did Kim Sun-yu’s expression relax somewhat.
Finally, the car came to a smooth stop, and we had arrived at Minguk University, known as the flower of university festivals.
‘It was tough preparing in such a rush despite the busy schedule.’
A single debut track couldn’t fill a university festival stage.
So we’d hastily rearranged and practiced the theme song from the Survival Competition ‘Star picking5’, along with tracks like ‘The Story Left Unfinished’ and ‘KING’ for the festival.
As I quickly passed through the Waiting Room Corridor, I spotted a senior group in flashy outfits in the distance.
‘Who are they?’
There were three teams of singers invited to today’s festival.
“Senior, hello!”
Following the Group Members who quickly bowed, I lowered my head as well.
“Oh, who’s this?” “Isn’t this the water cannon expert Lusbo?”
“…!”
The one who spoke was Raiden, South Korea’s top-tier male idol group.
That’s right.
Because this was a university festival famous enough to represent South Korea, even a group of Raiden’s caliber was participating.
For a festival of this scale, it made sense that Raiden would attend.
“It’s been a while, everyone. How have you been?”
As Yu Hae-in approached with a harmless smile, I felt my brow twitch involuntarily.
“Yes! Yu Hae-in, senior!” “It’s an honor to see you again.”
The Group Members, unaware of anything, laughed brightly and exchanged pleasantries, but I couldn’t shake an odd sense of unease.
The sudden opening at the festival, the singer who’d fallen into disgrace over drugs, and now encountering Yu Hae-in.
‘Could that bastard have had a hand in this?’
Psychopath Yu Hae-in was certainly capable of such things.
‘I need to keep some distance between this guy and the Group Members.’
As I watched him with a wary gaze, Yu Hae-in laughed heartily and introduced his teammates.
“You haven’t met our team before, right?”
“No!”
“Guys, these are those juniors I told you about before.”
Raiden consisted of a total of five members, each with distinctly vivid personalities.
True to their status as seasoned first-tier male idols, the entire group exuded an effortless composure.
“Oh? Hello there, juniors.”
The gentlest-looking member greeted us first with a warm smile that reached his eyes.
“Hello, senior!”
“We’re fans!”
The two members with sharper features scanned us with obvious disdain before quickly shifting their expressions and nodding toward the camera.
“Is this your first university festival performance, juniors?”
“Yes!”
“How are you feeling?”
“To be honest… I’m quite nervous.”
“You’re all so talented, I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“Thank you so much!”
“That’s right. I’m looking forward to your stage.”
Raiden displayed the warmth of true seniors, offering encouragement with genuine kindness.
Yu Hae-in, wearing a harmless smile, slowly approached and came to a stop directly in front of me.
“By the way, Si-woo.”
“…Yes, senior.”
I carefully managed my expression, acutely aware of the surrounding gazes and the camera.
“I watched Run Star well on the broadcast. You seem quite talented at variety entertainment?”
Despite his serene face, his words carried an unmistakable edge and barely concealed hostility.
I offered him my professional smile.
“Thank you for watching so kindly, senior.”
“Haha… If you have time later, let’s meet up separately, shall we?”
“Of course. It would be an honor.”
‘Perfect.’
I’d been waiting for this opportunity all along.
That day, I’d been too caught off guard by the revelation that Yu Hae-in was a regressor to ask him everything I needed to know.
I needed to extract information about regression and the System from him.
‘My System refuses to tell me anything, claiming it’s all classified.’
So I had no choice but to gather intelligence from another regressor.
‘I’ll squeeze every detail out of him.’
“Sure.”
Yu Hae-in departed, slipping back into his harmless mask.
‘That psychopath.’
He had a peculiar talent for making me feel increasingly disgusted the more I conversed with him.
“Wow… Si-woo, when did you get so close with Yu Hae-in senior?”
I gently placed my hand on Yoo Ho-seung’s head as he marveled at the exchange.
“Ho-seung.”
“Yes?”
Conscious of the documentary camera rotating around us, I swallowed my words and gave a brief response instead.
“It’s not like that, so let’s focus on the stage.”
“…?”
Leaving Yoo Ho-seung in confusion, Kim Sun-yu clapped his hands and seized control of the atmosphere.
“Alright, since we’re going first, let’s hurry and get ready!”
“Sounds good!”
Only one hour remained until the actual performance.
☆☆☆
Minguk University Grand Stadium.
The scorching heat and smell of beer from tens of thousands of students filled the outdoor stage.
This was Lusbo’s first performance and the opening moment of the Minguk University Festival.
As I climbed the stage stairs, I caught sight of Raiden preparing in the adjacent waiting room.
Yu Hae-in, standing at the center, twisted his lips upward as he looked at me.
‘Man, I really want to punch that smug face.’
One day I’d have to give that pretentious expression a good knuckle sandwich to wipe it clean.
“Alright, Lusbo everyone. You’re heading up on stage now!”
The moment I stepped onto the stage following the Staff Member’s guidance, the MC’s booming voice thundered across the stadium.
“The first protagonists to open the doors of Minguk University Festival are monster rookies!”
As the lights illuminated us, the stadium erupted with a roar that seemed to shake the ground itself.
“Lucy Star Boys!”
Though I hadn’t expected much from this makeshift opening slot, the energy was beyond imagination.
“One, two, three!”
Following Kim Sun-yu’s count, I bent my waist at a ninety-degree angle.
“We are shining stars! Hello, we’re Lucy Star Boys!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
The raw, unfiltered energy unique to outdoor festivals—so different from music broadcasts—washed over me all at once.
Kim Sun-yu, holding the microphone, flashed a warm smile toward the audience.
“Actually, since we debuted not long ago, this is our first university festival stage. It’s an honor to perform first at Minguk University, which is famous for its festivals!”
The crowd’s response grew even more fervent, pleased by the rookie’s confidence.
“With that in mind, the first song we’ll share with you is our debut track, ‘First Greeting Hello.’ Please enjoy it with us!”
The moment I gripped the beat, the familiar intro began to flow.
As I moved my body to match the intro choreography, another wave of cheers erupted.
‘Good response, everything’s going smoothly.’
That was the exact moment the song finally reached the highlight chorus.
Screeeech! Bzzt— thud.
A sharp mechanical screech pierced my eardrums, and the majestic speakers died completely.
“…!”
Tens of thousands of spectators fell silent as if doused with cold water.
The audio staff members turned pale, scrambling frantically below the stage.
It was an unmistakable sound system failure.
“Hyung, what do we do? The microphone isn’t working either….”
Seo Ha-yul’s voice beside me trembled.
Without a microphone, the stage was essentially over.
A typical rookie would have walked off stage with tears glistening in their eyes or in a state of panic.
But I didn’t have that option.
‘The momentum’s broken. I need to fix this right now.’
Remembering my paparazzi days when I had to capture the perfect shot even in the worst situations, this was entirely manageable.
I hurled the dead microphone to the stage floor.
Thud—!
The dull sound of the microphone striking the stage shattered the silence.
The Group Members and every audience member stared at me in bewilderment.
I pressed my finger to my lips, drawing out an even deeper silence.
Then I pulled my voice from the depths of my lungs.
“Everyone!”

—————

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

—————