Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 51

51. Ahead of the Script Reading

“Hey, what are you saying to the kid!”

Jong-woo hurriedly pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned around, scolding.

Sa Gam-jae tilted his head, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

“Oh, is this a secret?”

Then, he added suspiciously.

Jong-woo felt a strange chill and regretted hiring the new manager. Of course, he hadn’t been the one to hire him.

But no matter how surprised Jong-woo was, it wasn’t as much as Rembrary.

‘What does he know about me to say something like that?’

A guilty conscience needs no accuser. What Sa Gam-jae said might sound like nonsense to Jong-woo, but it was different for Rembrary.

‘Is he talking about the evil spirit in the shadows? Or does he know something about my abilities?’

Of course, even if he knew about his abilities, he wouldn’t know the full story.

Rembrary’s ability was holy divine power, but they were treating him like some kind of wicked and evil demon.

There were many things he was curious about, but he couldn’t just ask what his identity was right here.

‘Let’s keep an eye on him for now.’

* * *

Since there was a script reading for on Tuesday afternoon, Jong-woo called Oh Jung-shin’s manager to ask if they could do the ‘errand filming’ [a segment where one cast member performs tasks for another] at 10 AM.

The other side also thought it would be better to get it over with early, so the schedule was immediately set.

The filming location was set as the dorm.

Rembrary, who had woken up at dawn and gone to the salon to get his makeup done, sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, happily waiting for Oh Jung-shin to arrive.

His curiosity about Sa Gam-jae was secondary.

First, he had to get legitimate revenge on Oh Jung-shin, who kept picking fights, and in such an unpleasant and brazen way.

Finally, the clock’s hand pointed to the number 10.

As if he had been waiting on purpose, the doorbell rang right at that moment.

Rembrary got up from his seat and went to the front door. Eun-sun, who had arrived 30 minutes earlier, stood at the front door with her camera.

When he opened the door, Oh Jung-shin appeared with a sheepish expression, accompanied by his manager and cameraman.

Just like Sunwoo Sil, Oh Jung-shin was surprisingly good at managing his expression in front of the camera.

“It’s already the second time I’m playing the role of a slave,” he said to Rembrary, sounding both disgruntled and cheerful.

Rembrary smiled and replied.

“That’s right. You’ve come full circle and become my slave again.”

Oh Jung-shin’s manager turned his head at an incredible speed after they exchanged greetings.

Jong-woo also looked at Rembrary in horror.

After suspicious words like ‘human speech’ and ‘whip’ came out of Rembrary’s mouth yesterday, Jong-woo became anxious.

In the end, he directly decided on the errand for Rembrary to give to Oh Jung-shin tomorrow. It shouldn’t be too difficult to feel like harassment, but not too easy to not relieve his pent-up feelings.

Rembrary reluctantly agreed with a dissatisfied expression, and Jong-woo felt relieved.

But the greeting… that mouth was greeting!

Oh Jung-shin flinched but laughed as if he had heard a funny joke.

Rembrary also smiled kindly as if he had made a joke.

And the moment Oh Jung-shin’s laughter ended, he smiled even more gently and ordered.

“Call me Master for three hours.”

Jong-woo covered his face with both hands.

Sa Gam-jae watched the scene with amusement.

Only after Oh Jung-shin’s manager sent a signal from outside the camera’s view did he come to his senses and laugh awkwardly.

But inside, he thought Woo Yeon-woo was crazy.

They had fought, but like most colleagues in this industry, he thought they would pretend to be friendly in front of the camera. He calculated that it would be the same even if he had to play the role of a slave. He had already been targeted by his fans once because of the drink errand.

But what was this psycho doing now, openly?

“Haha… should I? Master.”

Still, Oh Jung-shin obediently followed Rembrary’s instructions.

It was obvious who would lose if he acted like that. Wouldn’t the one who couldn’t even maintain their public image be the idiot?

Oh Jung-shin deliberately kept asking submissively.

“What should I do?”

“What did Senior Ma Bu-young order yesterday?”

“He had me give him a massage. Should I give Woo Yeon-woo a massage too?”

“Uh-huh. Master.”

“…Should I give Master a massage too?”

A vein popped out on his forehead, but Oh Jung-shin still stubbornly kept his smile.

Jong-woo was worried that Rembrary would break his promise and order a strange errand, so he couldn’t even blink.

Other members also became nervous and looked back and forth between Rembrary and Oh Jung-shin.

Especially Tae-in and Keshi felt very strange.

They had mixed feelings, wanting Rembrary’s bullying of Oh Jung-shin to be on TV, and wanting him to stay still in case it became a problem.

They were all tangled up in various ways because Rembrary was annoying, but they hated Oh Jung-shin even more, and if Rembrary got hate, they, as the same group, would also be harmed.

In this complicated situation, Rembrary calmly ordered.

“Entertain me.”

“!”

* * *

PD [Production Director] Kim Mu-rok watched the videos taken by Eun-sun and Oh Jung-shin’s cameraman and fell backward with joy.

He laughed, even making an “Euhahaha” sound, then waved his hand and shouted.

“That’s it! The viewership ratings will explode!”

In the video, Oh Jung-shin was dancing, singing, and even doing awkward situational dramas.

The errands were clearly from the list given by the production team. But was it because of the attitude of the person watching the scene? Somehow, the atmosphere was very subtle.

Rembrary in the video was sitting elegantly on the sofa, enjoying Oh Jung-shin’s antics while picking grapes next to him, and the scene looked like a Roman emperor enjoying the antics of a slave.

The languid attitude that came from real-life experience even looked like the leisure of an evil ruler.

PD Kim Mu-rok grinned and asked the staff.

“Is there anything else that will be a hot topic besides this?”

Several opinions came out. But in the middle of the conversation, surprisingly, Sunwoo Sil’s cameraman shouted.

“Ah! That’s right!”

When PD Kim Mu-rok looked at him, Sunwoo Sil’s cameraman clenched his fists and moved them as if playing the drums.

“Did you see the article about San Sora collapsing this morning?”

“Ah, yeah? I saw it, but why?”

“Before, Woo Yeon-woo tried to approach San Sora. Woo Yeon-woo’s manager thought he was trying to make a move, so he scolded him.”

“What, what, is it a dating rumor?”

The AD [Assistant Director], who had been fiddling with his phone as if he wasn’t interested in Woo Yeon-woo or anything, finally put down his phone and asked.

“Does Woo Yeon-woo like San Sora?”

“No, it’s not that. Woo Yeon-woo explained to his manager like this at the time. He said San Sora had something wrong with her body, so he chased after her? Something like that.”

“Wow. Is that true?”

“Yes. Isn’t it amazing?”

“It’s amazing, but… it’s just good observation skills. Will this be a hot topic?”

Sunwoo Sil’s cameraman also laughed, saying he just brought it up because it came to mind.

However, this story reminded PD Kim Mu-rok of something that happened a few weeks ago.

A few weeks ago, when Rembrary said something eerie and acted like a psychopath on the haunted house set.

Eun-sun said there was something strange when Rembrary was doing a photoshoot, and PD Kim Mu-rok ordered her to find the footage.

PD Kim Mu-rok had kept the footage of that photoshoot and the haunted house shoot, believing that there would be a day when he could use them.

But this time, it’s San Sora?

“It would be fun to combine them.”

PD Kim Mu-rok muttered with a smile.

The assistant director asked.

“But even if this is released, I don’t think people will feel curious about Woo Yeon-woo, they’ll just hate him, right?”

“Hmm?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to release the Oh Jung-shin stuff for one week and then release this next week? Wouldn’t the buzz last longer?”

PD Kim Mu-rok shook his head, clicking his tongue as if saying, “What are you talking about?”

“I want buzz, but I’m not trying to make Woo Yeon-woo a punching bag.”

“…Wasn’t that the plan?”

“Think about it. It’s not fun if Oh Jung-shin’s fans unilaterally harass Woo Yeon-woo. That’s a flame that quickly dies out. It swallows and ends. But what if Woo Yeon-woo’s fans have similar power to Oh Jung-shin’s fans and fight back?”

“They’ll… fight for a long time, right?”

“That’s right. If they fight for a long time, the buzz will last a long time too. Battles are more fun than solo performances, right?”

PD Kim Mu-rok’s words were sincere.

Because of this, he packaged Woo Yeon-woo as ‘bad personality, but genius talent’ during the first competition to create buzz.

For PD Kim Mu-rok, Woo Yeon-woo was a clay doll that he could shape as he pleased with the approval of the agency.

He was planning to use him as much as possible, not to break and ruin him unconditionally.

“Besides, it’ll have more impact if we broadcast it right after San Sora collapses. It’ll be too obvious if we broadcast it a week later, right?”

“Ah…”

“Bring all the footage. Let’s make a proper puzzle.”

* * *

“Your life as a celebrity can be shattered! Do you think celebrities are scared of Oh Jung-shin’s fans for no reason?”

In the car, on the way to the script reading for , Jong-woo shouted.

His expression was like lava flowing from a volcano that had just erupted, and his voice was as acrid as the volcanic ash being spewed out.

Listening to Jong-woo’s words, who was expressing his anger with his whole body, Rembrary asked with a puzzled look.

“Didn’t I order the errand you chose? I originally wanted to order something else.”

“Hey! The errand isn’t the problem! Your expression is the problem!”

“My expression?”

“Your expression when Oh Jung-shin was doing his antics was unbelievably annoying!”

Rembrary smiled nonchalantly and brushed it off.

“Still, I feel a little lighter, I do.”

Jong-woo opened and closed his mouth, then lightly hit his head against the window while the car was temporarily stopped.

“Okay… I’m glad even if your heart is at ease. You know, Yeon-woo, I used to envy your face the most.”

“?”

“Now I envy your mentality the most. You’re really the best in the world when it comes to mentality.”

But Jong-woo didn’t nag any further.

Anyway, he felt relieved as Oh Jung-shin’s manager’s expression crumpled.

Besides, even if he didn’t order an errand or managed his expression well, Oh Jung-shin’s fans would have made a fuss anyway.

“It’s funny when you think about it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh Jung-shin’s fans. They seem like the biggest troublemakers now, but I used to feel the most sorry for them.”

“Is that so?”

“Since he rose to the top from his rookie days, several existing fandoms harassed his group and fans to keep them in check. Then a big rumor broke out once. But they overcame it well and the fans rallied together, and now they’re harassing you guys?”

Jong-woo clicked his tongue and smoothly parked the car in the parking lot.

“We’re here.”

Rembrary tucked the practice script that Jong-woo had printed out under his arm and got out of the car.

Jong-woo pulled out the key and followed him out, patting Rembrary’s shoulder.

“Do well. Please be careful with that mouth of yours.”