The S-Rank Paparazzi Reincarnates as an Idol - Chapter 71

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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 71
I shook my head side to side as a wave of headache crashed over me.
“No. I need to find a way forward.”
“Could you explain to me exactly what’s happening to you right now? I’d like to understand the details.”
‘Would explaining this even solve anything?’
I had no desire to bare my circumstances to another person.
“Well…”
Truth be told, my family affairs had already been forcibly exposed by that article, so there was little left to hide.
And since Kim Sun-yu was my teammate and showed no character flaws, I decided it would be fine to tell him.
“I don’t know how it leaked, but first—everything in that article is true.”
“…”
“My parents passed away in a fire accident, and I’m currently taking care of my younger sibling. I never thought becoming an idol would become a burden around their neck.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Seeing the gravity in Kim Sun-yu’s expression, my mouth continued moving without pause.
“Journalists and fans have been showing up at the hospital constantly.”
“…!”
“When I went to the ICU today, complaints kept coming in, so they asked me to transfer my younger sibling to a different hospital.”
“…What?”
“I understand the hospital’s and other patients’ positions—we can’t cause harm to others, and it could be dangerous. …Moving is the right thing to do.”
“….”
“The problem is there’s no hospital willing to take them. I spent all day today searching, and there’s not a single hospital that can accept my younger sibling right now.”
Speaking so honestly made me feel both sorrowful and frustrated.
‘I haven’t done anything wrong, and I’m not committing any crime!’
The reality was harsh—they were simply ill, yet had nowhere to go.
Kim Sun-yu’s brow furrowed deeply as he approached me, then gently placed his hand on my shoulder.
“…?”
In that moment, a warm presence softly settled upon my shoulder.
Comfort that arrived before words could.
“Si-woo. You’ve been through so much.”
“No. They’re family—it’s only natural.”
“It’s not natural; it’s remarkable. There aren’t as many families like that in this world as you’d think.”
Kim Sun-yu’s expression grew even more complex.
“But Si-woo.”
“Yes?”
“Why won’t any hospital accept them?”
‘Is he… joking right now?’
Heat suddenly surged up from the center of my rapidly beating heart.
“No, I’m telling you there’s no hospital that will take them! Before coming here, I visited several hospitals… and they all rejected me!”
My voice rose involuntarily as emotion welled up inside me.
‘Damn it.’
It wasn’t Kim Sun-yu’s fault, but I became too emotional in that moment.
“…I’m sorry. I wasn’t angry at you, hyung.”
“I know. And I should have reached out sooner…. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“…What?”
Kim Sun-yu, who had been patting my shoulder, soon offered that characteristic gentle smile of his.
“Si-woo. You know our hospital, right?”
“…!”
“The one where you were admitted before.”
‘…That’s right! Why didn’t I think of Kim Sun-yu?’
I suppose the overwhelming rush of events had left me too confused to reach that conclusion.
‘They say the brightest place casts the darkest shadow…. I really did lose my mind, didn’t I?’
“But… is it okay to do that?”
Though it was a sweet offer, being accustomed to rejection made me hesitant.
“Of course. If you’re comfortable with it, would you let me admit your younger sibling to our hospital?”
“Why…?”
My voice trembled without my realizing it.
“Hm?”
“Why are you being so kind to me?”
There’s no such thing as kindness without reason in life.
Anyone who works in society will understand this.
‘That there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.’
“Si-woo, do you remember what I said before?”
“What do you mean?”
“About debuting together. I genuinely want to debut with you.”
“…!”
“If we debut together, we become a team and family, right? Then your younger sibling becomes like my younger sibling too, doesn’t he?”
My heart trembled with an unexpected warmth.
“I’ll handle this problem. So…. don’t worry too much.”
The warmth radiating from him was both comforting and tender.
Despite being younger than me, Kim Sun-yu somehow made me want to lean on him.
“You’ve been through a lot. Once we resolve your sibling’s situation, let’s focus entirely on the Final Stage starting tomorrow.”
Overwhelmed by this unfamiliar, poignant emotion, words wouldn’t come.
Kim Sun-yu stepped closer and carefully embraced me.
“…!”
A sense of security and warm comfort—beyond words—seeped into me.
‘It’s been so long since I felt this warmth.’
Until now, I’d always handled everything alone.
The solid hand patting my back melted away all the tension and anxiety that had accumulated in my chest.
“Sun-yu…. Thank you so much. I’ll never forget this kindness.”
My voice trembled without my realizing it.
“Hmm… Si-woo? I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but you should still call me hyung.”
‘Oh, that’s right.’
“Thank you, Sun-yu hyung… I mean it sincerely.”
Kim Sun-yu simply patted my back with a gentle smile.
☆☆☆
The next morning, my younger sibling’s situation was resolved directly.
Thanks to Kim Sun-yu’s help, he was transferred to a Large Hospital.
Indeed, a major hospital was different.
The ICU with its pristine cleanliness and state-of-the-art equipment was visibly superior in every way.
‘Wow… I’ve never seen a VIP room in an ICU before in my life.’
Beneath white lighting, the latest equipment blinked softly, monitoring my younger sibling’s condition.
The walls were a clean ivory, the floor gleamed with polish, and sunlight streamed gently through a large window on one side.
‘Even the air itself feels different here.’
“Just to be safe, don’t worry about security. Our hospital has many VIP patients, so we have far more security personnel than other hospitals.”
“Yes!”
Just as Kim Sun-yu said, you had to swipe a card three times just to enter the ICU where Cha Si-hyun was staying.
Because of this, it wasn’t easy for ordinary people to get in, and with security guards on every floor, the security was airtight.
“Especially for your younger sibling—I’ve made sure the staff will pay extra attention, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Sun-yu hyung, thank you so much!”
I bowed ninety degrees toward Kim Sun-yu.
After Kim Sun-yu awkwardly stopped me several times, I was finally able to straighten up.
‘What a thoughtful guy.’
From now on, Kim Sun-yu is my second priority in life.
“By the way, your younger sibling looks exactly like you. Si-woo, would it be okay if I said hello to him?”
“Of course.”
Kim Sun-yu approached Cha Si-hyun, who was breathing heavily.
“Si-hyun, hello?”
“…”
Kim Sun-yu’s face bloomed with his characteristic gentle and serene smile.
“I’m Sun-yu, on the same team as your hyung. It looks like we’ll debut together soon and stay on the same team with your hyung for a long time.”
Kim Sun-yu’s voice carried genuine sincerity from the depths of his heart.
“Since Si-woo’s younger sibling is like my own sibling, I’ll visit often from now on.”
“…”
“Si-hyun, I know it’s tough, but we’ll always be cheering for you. So hang in there!”
Watching Kim Sun-yu treat Si-hyun with such warmth, I couldn’t help but smile.
I couldn’t remember the last time I heard someone else cheering for Si-hyun like this.
‘Kim Sun-yu really passes the character test with flying colors.’
The warm feeling I experienced for the first time in a long while seemed to wash away all the stress and headaches I’d been carrying.
‘No matter what happens, I must never forget this kindness.’
It looked like I’d be carrying Kim Sun-yu’s favor for a long time to come.
☆☆☆
When I finally checked the public sentiment, the tide had shifted in an instant.
‘…What is this?’
Whether the article had served as a catalyst or not, the internet was already in complete chaos.
‘I knew that misfortune could become content, but to this extent?’
Currently, Star picking5 had reached peak broadcast recognition, earning the title of this year’s biggest sensation.
Because of that, the attention directed toward me had become excessive.
‘Still, this is a bit much.’
Public opinion had fixated on me as a socially vulnerable person who needed unconditional protection, and viewers were becoming overly invested.
>Is the Cha Si-woo article real?
-Yeah
-There’s even authentication posts from high school classmates and eyewitness accounts of him working part-time
Is that real/genuine?
>How can our Si-woo be so pitiful?
-He was the head of a household… . You’ve had a lot of trouble since you were young.
ㄴI cried when I saw the articleㅠㅠ
Once the article came out and the news broke, all the speculation and malicious comments just disappeared.
Were those jerks really bullying a kid like this?
ㄴNow all we can do for Siwoo is voteㅠㅠ
It’s nice to see a young person working hard and living well.
That bachelor is amazing!
That’s cool for someone who could be your son^^
I should vote for that unique young man.
>But how did the journalist get that photo?
-You can’t enter the ICU unless you’re a guardian, right?
Yeah, right. It’s giving me the chills.
-I heard journalists and obsessive fans have occupied that hospital now
Yeah, that’s right. In the end, I heard Younger Sibling got kicked out.
That’s really disgusting.
That’s a real hassle.
Then where is Younger Sibling going?
I don’t know.
>Am I the only one who finds the timing of this Cha article suspicious?
-So ㅠㅠI guess he wanted to debut while selling his familyㅜㅜ
It seems like they’re appealing to people’s sympathy because they’re worried they’ll drop to -222, trying to get even one more vote?
Trying to sell a sob story to get sympathy votes
Damn, the debut standards are crazy high these days. Do you really need that kind of family background to debut?
>Looking at the detailed article content, didn’t he reveal this himself?
-Yeah, the article broke before the debut team selection, so was the timing intentional?
Isn’t that comment really too much?
Is there something wrong with their character?
Now we’re criticizing people who work hard too?
Of course, there were malicious comments as well.
But because the number of people defending me increased overwhelmingly, the negative comments were quickly buried.
‘But couldn’t others reasonably interpret this as me exploiting my circumstances for sympathy?’
Though I hadn’t intended for this situation to unfold this way, it was reassuring to see my fans protecting me.
‘…I’m grateful.’
My fingers, which had been scrolling rapidly through countless posts, stopped at a comment from a High School Classmate I barely remembered.
‘Who is this?’
>I was Cha Si-woo’s classmate in high school, and his nickname was Jack of All Trades.
After school, he’d be at the Convenience Store, at night he’d be serving at the Cafeteria, and there were even rumors of seeing him at the Construction Site—that’s why his nickname was Jack of All Trades.
Usually after school, everyone either goes to an Academy or hangs out, right?
But Cha Si-woo was always working part-time jobs, so I was curious, but I had no idea his circumstances were like this.
Anyway, there’s probably no part-time job he hasn’t done.
We weren’t particularly close, but I found it interesting seeing him on the broadcast, so I’m writing this.
By the way, rumors about him being a delinquent or being rich—basically all of it is false.
You’ll know right away once you see the High School Classmate verification post.
Let’s not criticize someone who works hard. Seriously.
‘Who is this classmate?’
During my school days, I was too busy surviving to have developed close friendships with anyone.
‘I don’t know who they are, but I’m grateful they defended me instead.’
The flood of comments that continued had shifted dramatically from the beginning—now decidedly supportive.
Whenever someone appeared trying to criticize me, the fans would counter them fiercely.
‘In a way, did things work out well?’
My family circumstances were something I didn’t want to expose, but now that everything had come out, there was nothing I could do about it.
Since the damage was irreversible, whether I became a pitiful figure or someone exploiting my story, as long as I could gain even one more vote, that was enough.
After all, pride doesn’t feed anyone, and there’s only one thing that truly matters to me.
☆☆☆
The moment Kim Sun-yu and I opened the Practice Room door, three Entertainment Company trainees’ gazes poured down on us all at once.
“Hey…Si-woo’s younger sibling!!”
“Are you okay?”
“…You alright?”
Judging by my teammates’ cautious attitudes, it seemed they’d all seen the article.

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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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