Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 10

10. If You’re Going to Sing Like That, Quit

Offering to secure screen time in exchange for some devil’s editing?

On the surface, it sounded like a decent deal, but in the long run, it was a terrible idea.

Even popular top stars could get ruined by devil’s editing [malicious editing intended to create a negative portrayal of someone].

And to subject Yeonwoo, who was just starting to gain recognition, to that kind of editing?

With his image already tarnished, such editing might lead people to genuinely believe Yeonwoo was a bad person.

That would be devastating for an idol.

However, Im CEO had said something that forced Jongwoo to accept his terms.

“Oh, of course. But, PD-nim [PD-nim is a Korean title for a producer or director].”

– I knew our manager Lee would agree. He’s smart, right? Maximum buzz. And you have five members! If Yeonwoo gets buzz, the whole group takes off. You know?

“Yes, PD-nim. But…”

– Yeah, what is it?

“Originally, the members I included in ‘Sing Survival’ were two vocalists, Keshi and Taein.”

– Oh, was that it?

“Could we get all three of them on the show?”

– ······

In this situation, all Jongwoo could do for the group was to include other members with Yeonwoo to soften the group’s image as much as possible.

However, PD Kim Murok didn’t seem to like the idea of bundling members, and he quickly fell silent.

Jongwoo nervously tapped the floor with his toe.

Jongwoo tried to persuade him as gently as possible.

“If they get hit with devil’s editing, the other members might get a bad image too. They’re just starting to get their names out there; it would be too much. Don’t you think? PD-nim wouldn’t want to sink our submarine idol group [an idol group that is not well-known or successful, struggling to rise to fame] just as they’re struggling to surface, would you? Right?”

After an awkward minute or so, PD Kim Murok finally spoke, “Ah…”

– Right, okay.

“Thank you!”

– But three is too many.

“!”

– Yeonwoo and one other member. Let’s do it with just those two.

He said ‘let’s do it,’ but Jongwoo knew he had to take it as ‘do it.’

Knowing that this was PD Kim Murok’s final compromise, Jongwoo quickly pretended to be cheerful and laughed heartily.

“Oh, of course, of course!”

There were many aspiring entertainers who would do anything to get their face on TV, even if it meant being subjected to devil’s editing.

Given the recent buzz, Yeonwoo was being brought in as the villain, but if Jongwoo pushed any further, even that opportunity might be rejected.

– Okay, then I’ll email you the detailed schedule, so check it out.

“Yes, goodbye.”

Did the schedule being released mean that all the other participants had been confirmed?

Jongwoo was curious, but PD Kim Murok hung up before he could ask.

He bowed to the empty air, took the phone away from his ear, sighed, and returned to his seat.

* * *

As usual, Rembrary spent time practicing group choreography and singing in front of the vocal trainer, in what felt more like a performance than training.

“Isn’t it strange? You should get tired of hearing the same song, but I never get tired of your singing.”

The vocal trainer seemed to be subtly captivated by Rembrary’s singing, which contained divine power.

Rembrary was trying to control it, but he couldn’t completely block the subtle mixing of divine power into his singing.

However, it was such a minor level that he thought it would be okay. Was the vocal trainer’s hearing so good that he could sense even that tiny bit of divine power?

‘I might need to be careful.’

Rembrary frowned, thinking about the ‘recording’ and ‘internet’ systems here.

Right now, he was just dancing and lip-syncing to the voice that the real Woo Yeonwoo had recorded.

But he heard that when the next album came out, Rembrary would have to participate in the recording.

He was worried that his divine power might get recorded along with it.

‘It probably won’t get recorded, but just in case.’

Even if it didn’t get recorded, what if he put a little too much divine power into his singing and ended up healing people en masse?

This world had fast information sharing, so the rumors would definitely spread.

He was worried about that.

“Woo Yeonwoo?”

As he was thinking, the vocal trainer snapped his fingers and scolded him.

“I may be hooked on your singing, but it’s obvious when you sing so carelessly, you know?”

“Sorry.”

He was practicing singing again when the door opened and Jongwoo walked in.

Yeonwoo glanced at him, and Jongwoo waved his hand, signaling him to continue practicing, then brought a folding chair and sat down.

Only after the song was over did he get up from his chair and gather the members.

“What’s going on?”

“Is there a schedule?”

Once the members were all gathered, Jongwoo spoke to Rembrary.

“Remember what I mentioned a few months ago? The program called ‘Sing Survival.’”

Hyegyeol’s eyes widened as she asked.

“Crazy! Did it happen?!”

“Yeah.”

The members buzzed with excitement at Jongwoo’s words.

The leader, Jeongseo, and the dance lead, Hyegyeol, congratulated Taein and Keshi.

Jongwoo had said that he would recommend the two of them since the program was based on singing competitions.

“Um. But Yeonwoo will be going.”

Because of that, the atmosphere became strange when Jongwoo spoke awkwardly.

From Jeongseo and Hyegyeol’s perspective, it didn’t really matter whether Taein, Keshi, or Yeonwoo went.

But they were unnecessarily conscious of Taein and Keshi, and Taein and Keshi’s expressions were completely sour.

“Really?”

Keshi covered her cheeks with both hands and asked in disbelief.

“Yeah.”

Jongwoo answered nonchalantly, watching Rembrary’s reaction.

Rembrary didn’t understand what they were saying at all, so he couldn’t react.

“What is Sing Survival?”

When Jongwoo looked at him, Rembrary finally asked the question.

And for over 30 minutes, Jongwoo explained the concepts of reality programs, entertainment programs, survival programs, and singing competition programs.

Not exact knowledge, but knowledge that was generally accepted by most people.

Rembrary nodded, understanding with difficulty.

‘So, it’s like an unscripted improvisational play mixed with singing and competition.’

When Jongwoo saw that Rembrary seemed to understand, he looked back and forth between Keshi and Taein and said.

“Yeonwoo isn’t going alone.”

Keshi and Taein, who had been staring at the floor with sullen expressions, finally looked up.

“Then?”

“Don’t tell me. Are you adding one of us?”

“Yeah.”

The atmosphere changed again at Jongwoo’s words.

This time, Taein and Keshi awkwardly looked at each other.

Idol groups were a unit, but also individuals.

When they were in a group, they were like a community bound by fate, but when they disbanded, they eventually had to find their own livelihood.

To find that livelihood, they had to build their popularity while they were in the group.

There were two people, but only one opportunity, so they couldn’t help but be wary of each other.

Taein asked disgruntledly.

“Aren’t you pushing Yeonwoo too much? What if he makes a mistake on the show because he doesn’t remember anything?”

“I’m not pushing him; the PD there asked to bring Yeonwoo.”

“······”

Jongwoo handed the sheet music he had brought to the disappointed Keshi and Taein.

“This is the assignment song.”

“Assignment song?”

“Why an assignment song all of a sudden?”

“Yeonwoo is going because of the buzz, but you two are vocalists. I’ll send the one who does better. Prepare it.”

* * *

That night, Keshi and Taein didn’t return to the dorm, saying they were going to practice the assignment song.

Only Rembrary, Jeongseo, and Hyegyeol returned to the dorm.

“It feels like the dorm has gotten a lot bigger with two people gone.”

“You like it because Taein and Keshi aren’t here?”

“The space per person is different, isn’t it?”

Rembrary muttered proudly and went to the refrigerator to take out bread, but Jeongseo stopped him.

“No. I told you to lose another 3 kilograms.”

“In my opinion, I’m at my ideal weight right now.”

“That’s just your opinion.”

Rembrary, shocked that Jeongseo had taken his bread, went to the sofa and sprawled out.

Even when shocked, there was no place to be alone in the cramped dorm.

But for some reason, Jeongseo, who usually only spoke to Rembrary when necessary or to explain something, approached Rembrary first.

“Yeonwoo-ya.”

“What’s up?”

When Rembrary looked up, Jeongseo glanced at Hyegyeol.

Hyegyeol was engrossed in playing a game on his phone.

Seeing that Hyegyeol didn’t seem interested in the conversation, Jeongseo lowered his voice and said.

“I’m just saying this in case. If Taein is bothering you, tell me right away.”

“Taein?”

“Yeah.”

Jeongseo didn’t elaborate, but Rembrary sensed what he was worried about.

Taein was the young man who had shown hostility from the moment Rembrary entered this body.

Judging by the looks of it, it seemed like he had been like that even before Rembrary entered this body.

But recently, as Rembrary’s singing skills captivated the vocal trainer, Taein had become even more sharp.

It seemed he was wary because he was the lead vocalist in the group, and he thought their positions overlapped.

Hyegyeol, who seemed to be just playing on his phone, chimed in.

“He wasn’t like that before. He’s just become bitter because the time as an unknown was too long.”

Then he immediately asked Jeongseo.

“But is his mother okay?”

“Yeah. She’s much more stable now.”

Then the two of them started talking about things that only they knew, so Rembrary picked up his phone and started searching the internet for various things.

His daily routine these days was to write down unfamiliar words and look them up when he had time.

Then, Rembrary suddenly remembered the holy object incident from yesterday, waited for the two to stop talking for a moment, and asked.

“About the cathedral I went to yesterday. I didn’t see the clergyman.”

“Clergyman? You mean the priest?”

“Yes. I didn’t see the priest. How do I meet him?”

“I don’t know, I don’t go there.”

“I see…”

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], is it because you suddenly lost your memory? Why are you talking about religion so much these days?”

Because he was a religious person from another world. Rembrary hid the truth and smiled kindly.

* * *

The assignment song competition between Keshi and Taein took place the next day in front of the other members and the vocal trainer.

Rembrary watched them sing solo with fascination.

Unlike Wild Animal’s title track, which mixed unfamiliar and strange sounds and felt awkward, the songs that Taein and Keshi were singing now were clean and easy to listen to.

Moreover, it was amazing that the two of them sang the same song with completely different feelings.

If Taein sang with passion, Keshi seemed to sing casually, but it was very refreshing.

Jongwoo and the vocal trainer, who had listened to all the songs, went to another room to exchange opinions for a long time.

Rembrary watched the tense Taein and thought that it might be better for Taein to be chosen for the sake of the group atmosphere.

But Jongwoo chose Keshi.

“Both of them sang well. But since it’s a reality survival show, I think Keshi, who has a stronger character, would be better.”

Taein seemed angry, but he didn’t show his anger in front of Jongwoo and the trainer.

Jongwoo, feeling uneasy, told Keshi and Rembrary about the ‘Sing Survival’ schedule that had arrived yesterday evening.

They were supposed to meet for a greeting before the recording, and surprisingly, the date was soon.

“The budget was already set when the proposal was made, and the studio is all set up.”

Although there were a few empty slots, the names of most of the participants were listed.

Of course, Rembrary didn’t recognize any of the participants’ names.

But Keshi, who was flipping through the paper, suddenly gasped.

When he looked, Keshi was making a strange expression at Rembrary.

“What’s wrong?”

He asked because he couldn’t understand the expression, and Keshi, glancing at Jongwoo, asked.

“The person you’re appearing with… Isn’t he the senior you don’t get along with? Are you okay?”

“Who is it?”

“When we were rookies, this person said to you, ‘If you’re going to sing like that, quit…’”