The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 115

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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 115
Yu Hae-in stopped laughing and opened his mouth.
“Cha Si-woo, you’re really something else. Even the System hides its purpose while nurturing you. What exactly… are you?”
The playfulness that had lingered in Yu Hae-in’s eyes vanished, replaced by deeper wariness and a peculiar sense of kinship.
“What do you mean, identity? You already know I’m a former paparazzi, Senior.”
“…Are you perhaps a T?”
“I haven’t taken an MBTI test, so I wouldn’t know.”
At my flat response, Yu Hae-in’s shoulders sagged with exasperation.
“Are you a bug? Or perhaps a joker the System intentionally created?”
Yu Hae-in rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought, then twisted his lips upward once more.
“This is fun. I’m enjoying it even more because it’s unexpected.”
Only Yu Hae-in would find amusement in something like this—he truly was a psychopath.
“Go ahead, ask your next question. This time it’s my turn to lay down my cards.”
I swallowed hard and stared at the purple window.
This question needed to shake the very foundation of his being.
“Senior, what is your System’s identity? The System window shows you as an ‘Observer’—explain specifically what powers that grants you.”
Yu Hae-in hesitated for a moment, then parted his lips as if resigned.
“My System is called the Path of the Idol King. And my role is to be an observer of that path.”
[Judgment: Truth.]
‘The System has a name…!’
“The power is simple but formidable. I can see all the pieces on the vast chessboard of the Entertainment Industry beforehand and calculate the optimal moves to become the Idol King. I can observe in advance who will cause accidents and when, which songs will become massive hits, even which direction public opinion will shift.”
Yu Hae-in’s voice dripped with arrogance.
With eyes that could see the future, the Entertainment Industry was nothing more than a simulation game on the lowest difficulty setting for him.
“But an Observer is merely someone who watches. If I try to directly enter the board and forcibly move pieces, severe penalties follow.”
“…!”
“That’s why I primarily use methods of manipulating others or creating environments.”
As his confession continued, the purple window ceaselessly emitted green light.
I felt a chill running down my spine.
‘How many people’s fates has Yu Hae-in manipulated using this ability?’
“Like the sound accident at this festival? Or creating a replacement stage with the drug scandal? Surely you didn’t go so far as to make the next Team late?”
Yu Hae-in’s pupils trembled microscopically.
His reaction confirmed my suspicions were correct.
“Ha, Si-woo, you certainly have a vivid imagination.”
“It’s not imagination—it’s the truth.”
“Well, think what you like. While we’re at it, let me make you a proposal.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“Your System seems quite rigid given how many secrets it keeps, so how about sharing your System with me?”
‘The System can be shared?’
“Aren’t you curious about my System? I’m asking you to join hands with me. A sort of alliance.”
“An alliance?”
“Yes. The routes I have are different from Si-woo’s. I can see the optimal moves in this industry. By sharing information, I can help you grow quickly in this field.”
‘…’
“In exchange, share that unique System you possess with me. This isn’t a loss for you at all.”
Yu Hae-in’s proposal was less than fascinating—it was fatal.
It was the fastest and sweetest path to becoming a world-class idol.
Sharing the optimal route was no different than holding the answer key in this opaque Entertainment Industry and solving the problem.
But my instincts were screaming.
‘This bastard is dangerous.’
I fell into thought, digging into the intentions hidden behind the proposal.
‘He’s pretending to give information while trying to confirm something about my System.’
There’s no such thing as free information in this world, and the sweeter the information, the more certain it contains a lethal dose of poison within it.
“I see. The optimal route is certainly tempting. But Senior, I have one question.”
I met Yu Hae-in’s cold gaze head-on and continued.
“You said you were an observer, didn’t you? You said observers receive a penalty if they directly shake the board. So why are you extending your hand to me?”
“…!”
“When you don’t even know if I’m a bug, a joker, or something else?”
I smiled coldly at Yu Hae-in.
“Could it be that the penalty has become unbearable for you now?”
“…!”
“Since you can’t move the pieces on the chessboard directly, you need a hand to flip the board instead. Isn’t that right?”
Yu Hae-in’s smile froze in an instant.
The purple window of truth flickered.
Instead of answering my question, he chose silence.
That silence was a clear affirmation.
“…Your line of questioning is sharp.”
“We should talk with our cards on the table. What you proposed—isn’t it really about taking my System’s authority and dumping your penalty onto me instead?”
Yu Hae-in’s pupils dilated sharply at the direct hit.
Yu Hae-in’s smile slowly faded.
I had set a trap above the serpent’s head that was trying to extract information.
“Ha! Cha Si-woo, you really… are tiresome.”
“Let me make it even more tiresome. I’ll use my second question for this.”
“What do you—!”
Ding.
[Judgment: Truth.]
The purple window of truth gleamed.
“I knew it, but you really are trash, Senior.”
Yu Hae-in’s expression hardened further.
“Now it’s my turn to ask questions, isn’t it?”
Yu Hae-in leaned forward from the darkness, drawing closer.
“Cha Si-woo. How did you die before the regression?”
In that instant, the air inside the desolate Warehouse froze solid.
The final memory I’d tried to forget came alive, and the sensation of cold metal pressing down on my entire body was resurrected.
“That’s quite a question.”
Yu Hae-in’s question was cruel.
That attitude of treating another’s death as mere entertainment was proof that he was already a Regressor who’d lost his human sensitivity.
Yu Hae-in flashed a bloodstained smile.
“Your expression looks pretty rotten, so I’m guessing you didn’t die gracefully?”
“…At our age, isn’t it actually harder to die gracefully?”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
“Sigh… I died in a traffic accident in a Taxi.”
“Oh my. So you just died a dog’s death?”
‘This really is a person I can’t stand.’
Yu Hae-in treated others’ deaths as nothing more than entertainment.
“This is more boring than I expected.”
‘This person is definitely dangerous.’
For a moment, the deafening screech I’d encountered inside the Taxi and that cold sensation flashed past me rapidly.
After my brief answer, I shook off the unpleasant afterimage flooding over me and prepared my final question.
“Is it my turn now?”
“You could say that.”
I parted my lips to drive the final arrow into the purple Window.
This was the question that would completely crush his composure and put an end to this game.
“What is it that you ultimately want to obtain by completing the System’s Quests?”
‘What exactly do you want to face at the end of this round?’
The air inside the Warehouse turned ice-cold.
The bloodstained smile that had hung at the corner of Yu Hae-in’s mouth vanished without a trace.
In its place, a chilling murderous intent coiled like a viper.
“Si-woo, be careful. If you try to know too much about me, you could really be in danger.”
A warning is as good as a confession.
I didn’t flinch at the pressure he was radiating and leisurely stepped closer to respond.
“Thank you for your concern. But honestly, I’m not particularly afraid of you. This Window is demanding an answer. Go ahead and speak.”
The purple Window of Truth emitted a sharp warning sound, urging for an answer.
Yu Hae-in reluctantly bit his lip, then spat out his answer in a mangled voice.
“…Deletion.”
My eyebrows twitched at the unexpected word.
“Pardon?”
“I’m going to delete this tedious System. The deletion of the System itself that records my existence. That’s my final reward and my purpose.”
“…!”
[Judgment: This is the truth.]
It was a shocking answer.
Not to reach the pinnacle and rule from it, but to destroy and erase the very massive mechanical apparatus that made him king.
“Why?”
“That’s… a secret. Because you don’t get any more questions now, Si-woo.”
“…”
“Well, this is my final question.”
Yu Hae-in glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
The purple window emitted its last radiance.
“Cha Si-woo. What ending do you want through the System?”
My heart pounded as if it would burst.
I hesitated, biting my trembling lips.
[Warning: A penalty will occur if you do not answer within 3 seconds.]
Recalling the penalty that would lower all my stats, I reluctantly opened my mouth.
“A panacea.”
“…Ha!”
“I’ll achieve all Quests and receive the panacea.”
[Judgment: Truth.]
The opaque purple window flickered.
Yu Hae-in looked at me with hollow eyes.
“Si-woo, you’re more boring than I thought.”
“It might seem trivial to you, but it’s absolutely necessary for me.”
“Is it because of your younger sibling?”
“…”
“Betting your life for someone else—you’ll definitely regret it.”
“I make my own decisions, and I’ll bear my own regrets.”
“Well. Let’s end it here for today. Still, this was the most enjoyable time since my regression.”
Yu Hae-in extended his hand forward.
“And Si-woo, think about it once more. If you join hands with me, you can achieve Quests faster. You should think of your younger sibling, right?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever join hands with you, senior.”
I struck his extended hand away sharply and didn’t forget to flash a contemptuous smile in his direction.
“Oh, and next time, skip the pathetic tricks like drug tampering and show me real skill. This is getting boring.”
I strode out of the Warehouse, leaving the frozen Yu Hae-in behind.
‘Still, I gained something from this.’
I would never join hands with a regressor as broken as him.
As I pushed through the iron door, a sharp metallic sound struck the back of my head.
Clang—.
The moment the door closed, that overwhelming and viscous purple air inside the Warehouse cut off as if it were a lie.
Simultaneously, the blue window before my eyes, which had been deathly silent, began flashing frantically.
Crackle, crackle—!
[Warning: Rebooting the System that was forcibly suspended due to external interference.]
[Checking log records….]
[Analysis: The ‘Observer’ target attempted interference, but defense was successful.]
‘Good, well done.’
But my System didn’t simply hide in the shadows.
Ding!
[Special Event: Absorbed ‘Causal Fragments’ from the opponent’s System that leaked during the synchronization process.]
‘What?’
[Data Recovery: The moment the target’s authority was deactivated, we succeeded in ‘recording’ the exposed internal information.]
An unexpected windfall made the corners of my mouth curl upward involuntarily.
‘Yu Hae-in let his guard down.’
Yu Hae-in must have been certain that my System could do nothing before his authority, but he was wrong.
The System didn’t miss that microscopic gap as he withdrew his Room, licking up every scrap of his information.

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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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