Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 108

< 108. What a High Priest Is >

The man who bent down to pick up the phone looked directly at Rembrary.

‘Doesn’t seem like just someone passing by….’

Rembrary’s heart pounded.

He was right. It couldn’t be just someone passing by. If it were, they would have looked around for the owner as soon as they picked up the phone. If they were going to steal it, they would have quickly left.

Besides, there was a commotion nearby because of that black hat, but he didn’t even glance in that direction.

He stared at Rembrary for a moment, then turned and walked away from the scene altogether.

“What’s going on?”

As he watched him, Sajamjae belatedly appeared.

“Did you finish your main task?”

“I sent them all. It was quite a large scale.”

“Large scale?”

“There was a big accident. More than that… I smell blood.”

Despite arriving late, Sajamjae noticed quickly and immediately looked towards the commotion. An ambulance was arriving, sirens blaring.

“Was someone hurt?”

“Cow Head stabbed the man with the spear. You know, the one I said might be Nakru.”

“I see.”

Sajamjae, without any change in expression, stared blankly into the air for a moment before adding,

“He won’t die.”

“That’s a relief. Sajamjae, shouldn’t we do something about that Cow Head quickly? Those cute sheep horns are a scam. He’s stabbing people with them. He seems more dangerous than he looks.”

“He didn’t look cute from the moment his head was a cow. He looked dangerous.”

“One more thing. The man with the spear was on the phone with me when he was attacked.”

For the first time, Sajamjae’s expression changed from indifference.

“Really?”

“Yeah. But he dropped his phone when he was stabbed by the sheep horns. A man in a black hat picked it up.”

“A black hat? Who is he?”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know.”

Rembrary looked at the spot where the black hat had been standing, but he was already completely out of sight.

The air, filled with the smell of blood, mixed with the heat, making it feel muggy.

Rembrary looked down at his phone and quietly asked,

“Everyone saw I was here, so it won’t be a big problem if the phone thing comes out, but I still don’t want it to get noisy. Can you handle this kind of cleanup?”

“I’ll do what I can.”

As he said that, Jongwoo came running, sobbing, from near the scene.

“Yeonwoo-ya! Are you okay?”

***

Jongwoo was bringing Rembrary a cool drink when he saw people gathering in one place and a commotion breaking out, so he was surprised and ran over.

All the staff were gathered there, and he couldn’t even see who had collapsed, so from Jongwoo’s perspective, it was understandable that he was momentarily panicked.

Thanks to that, as soon as today’s filming was canceled, Jongwoo took Rembrary back to the dorm and bought him a whole container of ice cream, which he usually wouldn’t let him eat, before leaving.

Rembrary was puzzled as to why Jongwoo was acting like this when he had nothing to do with the incident, but he just accepted the ice cream without saying anything.

However, the members he met in the dorm that evening also acted as if Rembrary had something to do with the incident.

“Wow, Wooyeonwoo, you’re on the news.”

Kesh teased, and Taein sneered.

“Wooyeonwoo is a regular on the news.”

Hyegeol grumbled.

“No, did Yeonwoo hyung [older brother/male friend] stab someone with a knife? Why is Yeonwoo hyung’s name attached?”

The incident at the filming site had just been reported on the main news, and the reporter, while reporting the news that someone had been attacked and injured at the filming site of a famous drama, added this phrase at the end.

– Meanwhile, Wooyeonwoo, a member of the currently popular idol group , is appearing in a significant role in this drama.

Not only the news but also the articles were the same.

The worst articles brought up the names of Rembrary, Maengwooshin, and Lim Yoohan, and the rest brought up one of the three names according to the reporters’ preferences, as if the actors had something to do with the incident.

If it becomes known that Rembrary was on the phone with the victim just before the incident, they will probably attach his name even more noisily than now.

However, Rembrary was more concerned about the phone that the man in the black hat had taken than the members’ worries, teasing, or his name being mentioned in the news.

So he couldn’t take his hands off his phone because Sajamjae, who said he would investigate him, might contact him at any time.

But the first person to contact Rembrary was not Sajamjae but Jang Taeri.

– Yeonwoo-ya, are you okay? Is anything wrong? I turned on the news and suddenly your name came up!

She must have seen the news that the members had just watched and called.

“I’m okay.”

Rembrary answered firmly.

– Really?

“Yes.”

Jang Taeri breathed a sigh of relief at Rembrary’s firm answer.

Almost simultaneously, Rembrary let out a heavy sigh.

He’s okay now, but if the phone gets into the hands of the police, it will be a hassle.

He would have to be investigated about what he was talking about, what his relationship with the injured person was, and whether he saw the culprit, etc.

If the culprit were an ordinary person, Rembrary would have done his best to help, no matter how difficult the investigation was.

The problem was that the culprit was a yokai [supernatural demon/spirit]. The police would not be able to see the yokai, let alone know of its existence, and if he testified, “Cow Head wielded sheep horns and attacked,” it was obvious what would happen.

“Jang Taeri-ssi [formal address].”

– Yes! Tell me everything I can help with!

“What do you think if a person with a cow-shaped head is walking around with sheep horns and pulls them out to attack the person in front of them?”

– Huh? A movie? Why does a cow have sheep horns?

This level of reaction would be very mild.

Rembrary brushed it off as nothing and hung up the phone, then waited for Sajamjae’s call again.

Not long after, a text message came.

‘Is it Sajamjae?’ Rembrary hurriedly checked his phone, but it was Shin Joowoon who sent the text.

[Piggy. Your name is on the news]

Seeing him asking how he was doing at this hour, everyone must have been surprised that his name appeared on the main news.

[Anchovy]

[You called me a whale before?]

[Anchovy crumbs, tail, skinny seahorse]

[What about the whale?]

[How dare you. How dare an anchovy covet the whale’s position?]

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Piggy, are you sulking?]

But even with the same comfort, Shin Joowoon was almost as unhelpful as Sajamjae.

Instead of replying to Shin Joowoon’s text, Rembrary anxiously waited for Sajamjae’s contact again.

About 3 minutes later, another text message came.

‘Is it Sajamjae?’

This time it was Seon Woosil.

[Check SNS [Social Networking Service]]

Besides, this wasn’t even comfort or worry.

Still, out of curiosity, he checked SNS as he was told, and there was a well-edited picture of himself on Seon Woosil’s SNS, with this phrase underneath.

[My dearest younger brother was very surprised today ㅠㅠ Cheer up, Yeonwoo-ya!]

Below that, Seon Woosil’s fans were crying together.

He didn’t think he needed to reply, so Rembrary turned off SNS and waited for Sajamjae’s contact while holding his phone again.

About 2 minutes later, this time he heard a ringtone.

‘Is it Sajamjae this time?’

Rembrary hurriedly checked his phone, but it was Woo Sungwoo. Wooyeonwoo’s older brother.

‘Did Sajamjae, that grim reaper, go off track again…’

Rembrary clicked his tongue, but reluctantly answered the phone.

However, unlike when he talked to Jang Taeri earlier, this time he was a little nervous.

He had to talk well here.

If Woo Sungwoo was related to Nakru as he guessed, and the man with the spear was also related to Nakru, he didn’t know how things would turn out.

Rembrary cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“Hello?”

Even though he was the one who called first, the other person was silent for a moment. Still, he waited patiently, and exactly 30 seconds later, Woo Sungwoo’s voice was heard.

– Are you okay? Your name was on the news.

He must have seen the news and called. While feeling relieved inside, Rembrary quickly brushed it off.

“I don’t know why my name is coming up, but it has nothing to do with me. I’m just one of the many people who were around the scene.”

After speaking, he felt like he had explained it too wretchedly more than necessary, but he couldn’t take back his words.

– Oh, really?

“Yeah.”

Fortunately, the other person didn’t seem to think much of it. His voice was calm and he didn’t say much. He called because he was worried, but maybe he still didn’t think of Rembrary as his younger brother.

Thinking it was rather fortunate, Rembrary opened his mouth to say, “I’ll hang up now.”

– It’s a little different from what I heard.

But the other person hit his eardrums with words first.

Rembrary flinched. What is this sound? As he listened, he could faintly hear the sound of tapping on glass or metal over the receiver. Followed by a dry voice.

– It’s also a little different from what I saw,

Rembrary swallowed hard.

Could it be… is Woo Sungwoo the man in the black hat?

“What are you talking about?”

Still, when he asked pretending not to know, Woo Sungwoo spat out unexpected words.

– My friend said you’re his savior.

“Friend?”

– The guy on the news.

“!”

– He said he was stabbed avoiding the vital point thanks to you.

Rembrary froze and only moved his lips. He didn’t know if Woo Sungwoo was the man in the black hat or not, but it was clear that Woo Sungwoo knew the man with the spear.

– So, Yeonwoo-ya. My friend’s boss said he wants to thank you. Is the time okay?

“No.”

Rembrary said firmly and quickly pressed the end button. His heart was pounding like the beat of a crazy song.

‘Who is the boss? Is it Nakru’s boss? Is he really going to thank me, or is he going to come to check me out under the guise of thanking me?’

His head was in chaos.

‘No. He won’t know I’m a Saint. When you think about it, I’m not a Saint but a High Priest. No, Yeomra told me I’m a Saint from another world, so am I a Saint?’

Still, just in case, Rembrary thought back to the past. First of all, it was clear that he didn’t use his abilities in front of the man with the spear or in front of Woo Sungwoo.

It was exposed that he could see yokai, but that was the same for the man with the spear himself. He wouldn’t know that he was a Saint just from that.

Then it doesn’t seem like he’s asking to meet him knowing he’s a Saint…

But what if the man with the spear’s boss recognizes him as a Saint as soon as he sees his face, saying that he has a holy aura?

Lost in confusion, Rembrary scratched the phone screen, went out to the veranda, and called Shin Joowoon.

As soon as Shin Joowoon answered the phone, he sneered.

– Where did the spirit of ignoring texts go and you’re calling?

“I need help.”

– Oh, the spirit of ignoring texts has changed to the spirit of talking informally?

“I need help.”

– What is it? Is there anything I can help with??

“You just have to answer one question seriously. You can’t tease me.”

Shin Joowoon initially sneered, but when Rembrary’s voice was so serious and grave, he also spoke in a subdued voice.

– Okay. What’s wrong? Is there anything I can help with??

“You just have to answer seriously.”

– Tell me.

“Do I have a holy aura?”

– !

“You have to answer seriously. It’s very important.”

– Hmm… I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.

“Quickly.”

– …Did someone say something to you?

“When strangers see me, will they think, ‘Ah, that person has a holy aura!’?”

– …Well. Wouldn’t they usually not think anything?

End of < 108. What a High Priest Is >