Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 231

< 231. Courage Overboard >

“What are you talking about?”

Rembrary asked nonchalantly, and Taein chimed in from the sofa.

“I don’t think I saw anything?”

“That can’t be,” Hyegyeol muttered, asking again. “Like frog eggs. Didn’t you really see them? They’re all over the place, aren’t they? You couldn’t have missed them, could you?”

“Ah, you mean that. I saw them.”

“You saw them and you’re acting like this?”

“What else do they do but float around?”

“No, is that all they do? Just floating? Well… I guess they are just floating.”

Keshi was about to scold Rembrary in disbelief, but then she realized what Rembrary said was true, so she shut her mouth. It was actually right. The big frog eggs were really just floating around.

There was a big commotion when they appeared, and some people got hurt, but to be precise, the accidents were caused by people getting scared and running away. They crashed into walls with their cars, ran into streetlights, or fell over each other and trampled on each other.

The frog eggs, or the stream of water that flew quickly through the sky before that, hadn’t directly caused any accidents yet. Although the signs were dented.

“I feel better after talking to him.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll all work out somehow.”

Keshi mumbled gloomily, hugging her frying pan, and Rembrary smiled gently, patted Keshi’s shoulder, and went into his room.

The members chuckled among themselves, saying, ‘I feel relieved now that Yeonwoo is here.’

But the moment he closed the door with a click, Rembrary’s expression darkened.

* * *

That evening, the members tried to order pizza to change their mood, but no pizza places were open.

Because of this, the members sat in a row on the sofa and turned on the TV news, listening intently to what the anchor was saying.

—Things that look like frog eggs over the capital have occupied not only the city center but also the countryside. A Blue House official [referring to the South Korean equivalent of the White House] is currently preparing a related briefing and has asked that people ‘absolutely not touch them’ since nothing is known yet.

“So even the country doesn’t know.”

But it was no use. The anchor, who seemed like he was going to give some great explanation, repeated what he had said earlier, and the screen returned to the frog eggs on the road, similar to before. All the information they had was that frog eggs had appeared nationwide and in foreign countries as well.

Keshi grumbled and got up.

“It’s been like that for 30 minutes. Let me know if something else comes on.”

Taein tossed his hair back in annoyance.

“Is the world really going to end like this?”

Jeongseo seemed worried about her mother, repeatedly picking up and putting down her phone. She looked worried because she hadn’t received a reply to her calls or texts.

Rembrary also sent a text to Sajae, [Where are you?], and checked his phone every two or three minutes to see if he had received a reply.

Hyegyeol was glued to her phone as usual.

“Huh?”

Just then, Hyegyeol, who had been lying sprawled on the sofa, pushed aside the cushion she was holding and suddenly sat up.

“What is it?”

As soon as she heard the sound, Keshi, who had gone into her room in a chic manner, ran back out, opening the door.

“Did they get rid of the frog eggs? They didn’t hatch, did they?”

“A YouTuber did!”

“What YouTuber?”

“He’s gone crazy!”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a YouTuber? Rembrary also became curious and approached Keshi on his knees, sticking his face into the screen.

On the screen, there really was a YouTuber, talking to himself and wandering around somewhere, but the YouTuber’s face wasn’t visible, only the frog eggs were.

[I woke up and this stuff was here. It’s crazy.]

And the sound of giggling could be heard from the screen, and the YouTuber kicked the frog eggs with his slippered feet.

The chat window next to the screen was scrolling quickly.

—Don’t touch it

—Don’t touch it, you crazy bastard ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

—Who knows what will come out of it

—The country told you not to touch it, so listen, you crazy bastard

—Kick it moreㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—I’m a fan, but I wish you wouldn’t do thatㅠ

—I really enjoy watching you do stupid things, but this is really not itㅠ

Some people were teasing and egging him on, but most of them were horrified and trying to stop him. What was amazing was that the number of real-time viewers was rapidly increasing.

The YouTuber, who wasn’t visible on the screen, kept muttering to himself and kicking the frog eggs, but fortunately, there was still no reaction from the frog eggs.

“This is really crazy.”

Hyegyeol clicked her tongue.

“He’s famous for being a psycho, but he really is a psycho.”

Since it was difficult for the three of them to watch the small screen together, Rembrary got the address from Hyegyeol and turned on the broadcast on his own phone.

In the meantime, the YouTuber had brought a knife from inside the house.

[I’m going to investigate this. Huh? You’re telling me not to? Why? It’s just a frog egg, isn’t it? What’s there to be scared of?]

The screen got close to the frog egg and suddenly shook wildly. It seemed like the camera was shaking because the YouTuber was doing something. When the shaking subsided, the knife could be seen going into the frog egg right in front of their faces.

—Shibaㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ [Korean slang expressing frustration or shock]

—Don’t do itㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

—He’s crazy he’s crazy he’s crazy

—Stop!!!!!!

—Shouldn’t we call 112 [South Korean emergency number]

—Report him

—What are you going to report him for, you idiotsㅋㅋㅋㅋ Let’s just watch

—I have a feeling something weird is going to come out ㄷㄷ;; [Korean internet slang expressing fear or anticipation]

But nothing happened this time either. The YouTuber seemed a little nervous at first, but when nothing happened, he giggled even more and poked the squishy, transparent membrane here and there.

—It’s like a grape

—A giant grapeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—What if it’s not really a frog egg but a grape?

—Alien grape;;

—Boring

—Stop poking it

—Cut it open! Cut it open! Cut it open!

The YouTuber poked the frog egg several times here and there, then put down the knife. Then he moved inside the house and found a camera stand.

[It would be nice to have a saw. I don’t have a saw.]

—He doesn’t even have a saw at home! What does he have!

—헐 [Korean slang expressing disbelief or shock] Is he going to cut it?

—Just stop hereㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

—Why don’t we just watch him take the lead in researching itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—What if that wave-like thing comes out again if he does that;;;

—If you cut that open and that wave-like thing comes out again, it’s all your fault

—These kinds of guys should be fined

No matter what others said, the YouTuber seemed to be in his element, even humming as he went back to the yard. Then he set up the camera stand and put the camera on it, and the YouTuber’s face, which had not been visible at all, finally appeared.

[Will the country give me an award if I figure out this secret?]

The YouTuber joked as he stuck his face into the camera, and the chat window sped up again. The Wild Animal members watched the scene on their own phones and sighed at the same time.

Keshi looked at Rembrary and clicked her tongue.

“There’s an even crazier guy than you.”

“Yeah, there are a lot of people like you in the world.”

Keshi was furious at Rembrary’s immediate reply, but when Hyegyeol shouted, “Oh oh oh!” she raised her phone again.

Rembrary also ignored Keshi and focused on the video again. In the video, the YouTuber’s hand was touching the surface of the frog egg.

[Has anyone touched this? It’s squishy… Someone said it’s like a grape, and it really is like a grape.]

—What does a frog egg feel like?

[I’ve never touched one. Who touches a frog egg? I’ve never even seen one in real life.]

—The generation gap hereㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—They sold them at stationery storesㅠ [referring to a past trend of selling frog eggs as novelty items]

Maybe it was because nothing had happened yet. The chat window was calmer than before.

But the number of streaming viewers was still increasing rapidly.

The YouTuber also glanced at the number of viewers and exclaimed, “Wow.” Then, in a more exaggerated manner, he imitated a doctor, reaching out his hand towards the camera and saying, [Scalpel.]

—헐 [Korean slang expressing disbelief or shock] Is he really going to do it?

—He’s crazy

—I reported himㅇㅇ [Korean abbreviation for ‘yes, yes’] You’ll hear sirens soon^^.

The YouTuber saw the report comments and smirked, then picked up the knife. And he really started cutting the surface of the frog egg.

[You reported me? What did you report me for? Ah, someone is investigating a giant frog egg! Like this? Will I get arrested if I do this? Is there a law?]

The YouTuber mocked the person who reported him, cutting the surface of the frog egg one by one and placing it on the floor.

—He’s really doing it, the crazy bastard

—He’s doing it

—Is it being cut?

—ㄹㅇ [Korean abbreviation for ‘real’] Isn’t it a grape?

—Ew, it looks squishy

The surface, which was surprisingly soft, was easily cut off. The YouTuber used the knife to successfully create a large hole about 20cm wide and long.

The YouTuber stopped cutting only when he reached the vicinity of the black membrane.

[Can you see it? This black membrane?]

The YouTuber picked up the camera and this time brought the lens closer to the black membrane.

—Ew! Don’t do it!

—I think there’s something inside?

—Grapeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—No, I really think there’s something inside?

—What is that?

—Something’s wriggling

—It looks like a human hand?

[Did you see it?]

The YouTuber put the camera back on the stand and glanced at the people’s chat window, then picked up the knife again.

[I’m going to cut that open too.]

The viewers were horrified again and started trying to stop him.

—I think there’s something inside

—Don’t do it don’t do it

—There was something that looked like a human hand

—If there’s a person, shouldn’t we save them?

—Try to cut it avoiding the person

—What personㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—Isn’t it a frog’s hand? Aren’t frog’s fingers clear too?

—헐 [Korean slang expressing disbelief or shock] Really

—It looks like a frog’s hand

—A giant frog inside;;;

[If this is a frog egg, a tadpole will come out of it. Why would a frog come out?]

People were noisy, but the YouTuber calmly held the knife and brought his face close to the membrane. Then he carefully examined the membrane, took his face away, and lightly touched the membrane with the blade.

[I think there’s something there.]

The YouTuber muttered, poking somewhere with the tip of the blade.

[I don’t know what it is. I’ll cut it avoiding what’s inside.]

People screamed in horror. But the YouTuber counted, “One. Two. Three.” Then, he put the blade on the black membrane and pushed it in with force.

“Ah!”

Taein screamed in real time, and Keshi flinched.

Rembrary also squeezed his eyes shut. He had already seen the centipede made of just a head that had come out of the crack, so he wondered if there were more of those inside.

At that moment, Keshi screamed, “Wah! Wah! Shit! Wah! Ah!” and threw her phone. The phone she threw spun around on the floor and stopped, hitting Rembrary’s knee.

Wondering what was going on, Rembrary opened his eyes and was shocked to find a bright red hand sticking out of the black membrane in the screen, grabbing the YouTuber’s arm and pulling him inside.

“What the heck is this?”

The chat window was filled with screams.

—Report it! Report it!

—I did

—You said you did it earlier

—Where are the police?

—Isn’t there anyone living nearby?

—Go help him!

The YouTuber grabbed the surface of the frog egg and tried his best not to be dragged in, but the pulling force seemed enormous.

[Shit! What is this! Help me! Ah! Let go! Ouch! Ah!]

He seemed to be barely holding on. But the hand that was holding the slippery surface slipped for a moment. The YouTuber’s head went completely inside.

The red hand was no longer visible. In an instant, the YouTuber’s upper body was stuck in the frog egg, and only his struggling legs filled the screen.

People screamed in horror, but there was nothing they could do to help from outside the screen. The legs, which were initially fully visible, gradually went inside, and eventually disappeared into the black membrane.

Only one of the slippers the YouTuber was wearing fell off and rolled down. The sound of sirens rang out from beyond the screen.

< 231. Courage Overboard > End