Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 119

< 119. 8:1:1 >

The man in the suit was even more impressed by Woo Yeonwoo’s boldness.

Woo Sungwoo, sitting in the driver’s seat and observing the scene, couldn’t quell his conflicted emotions, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

He’d brought his brother here because of a strange story from Hwan Shin.

“My contact says that white-haired guy you brought isn’t human. Is that true?”

Woo Sungwoo had been shocked. Despite their differing values and clashing personalities, Hwan Shin wouldn’t fabricate something like this.

Hwan Shin harbored a deep interest in yokai [supernatural monsters/spirits in Japanese folklore]. The yokai that fell into Hwan Shin’s care no longer harmed humans, and he maintained a cordial relationship with Nakru [a fictional organization or character, contextually related to yokai].

Having received Hwan Shin’s help in locating harmful yokai on several occasions, Woo Sungwoo couldn’t simply dismiss the claim.

Besides, Woo Sungwoo already harbored suspicions about Woo Yeonwoo’s identity. The sudden memory loss could be attributed to burnout from his celebrity life, but the inexplicable disappearance of a large scar, previously deemed impossible to remove with plastic surgery, was beyond belief.

A secret about his birth had surfaced during a blood test, and his brother had momentarily reverted to his original appearance, so he hadn’t pressed the issue. But now, Hwan Shin’s words were enough to pique his curiosity.

However, merely watching Woo Yeonwoo and the man in the suit meet and observing them made him unbearably anxious.

He was also deeply uneasy. If Hwan Shin was right about Woo Yeonwoo not being human… Was Yeonwoo not originally human, or had someone assumed Yeonwoo’s appearance after his memories and scars vanished, or had he become non-human after being human? And if so, what should he do?

* * *

Meanwhile, inside their small lodging, a fierce and realistic power struggle was unfolding.

“I went through all the auditions, and it was decided that I would do it.”

“What am I supposed to do when you disappeared as soon as you started practicing after taking the tests?”

“Are you saying it’s my fault?”

“Isn’t it your fault?”

“It’s not like I was kidnapped or anything.”

“I didn’t run away from home either!”

“Anyway, isn’t it fine if all three of us are doing the same song? Do you have to hog it all to yourself to feel better?”

“Damn it, you two are vocalists, so you always get a big part! This is the first time I’m going as the main vocalist, so of course I’m upset when you try to take that away from me!”

“You two? Damn it? Wow, this guy’s really lost it. ‘You two’ to your hyungs [older brothers or male seniors]?”

“Yoo Hyegyeol. Please watch your words.”

It was a fight between Hyegyeol, Taein, and Kesh over the summer song. Fortunately, it hadn’t escalated to physical violence yet, but Kesh, who was physically the weakest, seemed to be preparing, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists.

Jungseo watched them bicker, then turned and pressed the blender button. The loud whirring temporarily drowned out the argument.

After watching the tomatoes being finely ground, she pressed the button again. As the blender sound subsided, the increasingly heated sounds of the argument flooded back into the kitchen.

Jungseo glanced at them, poured the smoothly ground tomato juice into a cup, covered it with plastic wrap, and placed it in the refrigerator.

However, even while maintaining a calm facade, she was inwardly worried about many things.

Rembrary’s warning about the song being haunted, the members fighting more intensely than usual, and Rembrary’s meeting with a potential sponsor…

Jungseo glanced at her watch. It had been quite a while since Rembrary left.

* * *

“Three minutes left.”

“What?”

“Summarize the main points and conclude the conversation within three minutes.”

At Rembrary’s firm statement, the man in the suit frowned, though a smile remained on his face.

After refusing to shake hands with gloves on and declining to wear the necklace, a subtle standoff had ensued.

Rembrary had firmly rejected the man’s offer, assuming their business was concluded. However, the man hadn’t indicated he was leaving, nor had he mentioned any other matters, simply dragging out the time.

Rembrary had initially promised Woo Sungwoo that he would only take 15 minutes, and he was eager to wrap things up and return to the lodging.

“Now look.”

When Rembrary displayed the rapidly counting-down timer, the man narrowed his eyes and muttered something.

“What did you say?”

Rembrary asked, as he hadn’t heard clearly. The man shook his head, then removed his gloves, extended his hand to Rembrary, and smiled.

“Okay. Then let’s shake hands barehanded. You said it’s okay to shake hands like this, right?”

“You’re that eager to shake hands with me?”

Rembrary clicked his tongue.

Among the believers, some were particularly fond of physical contact. Usually, they felt too honored to even make eye contact with him, the high priest, but there were always those who were a hundred times more bold.

Rembrary figured that the man in the suit, who wanted to be his sponsor, was likely one of those types. He was acting so pathetic just for the chance to hold his hand after being rejected as a sponsor.

‘I must shine everywhere, even if I’m not a high priest.’

Rembrary let out a proud sigh, a sentiment only those burdened by excessive admiration could understand, and extended his hand.

“I understand. Here.”

The man in the suit felt a strange sense of displeasure at the emperor-bestowing-tribute attitude, but he reached out his hand anyway, wanting to confirm whether the other person was human or not.

Many yokai harmed others through physical contact. Therefore, using gloves or collars was the safest way to discern a yokai’s identity, but it was also possible to identify them simply through touch.

In fact, direct skin-to-skin contact was the most accurate method for the man in the suit to identify yokai.

And… finally, their hands met. It was a seemingly insignificant gesture, but Woo Sungwoo, waiting in the car, and the demon, craning his neck while concealing his features, stared intently at the handshake.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. At least, that’s how it felt to the man in the suit.

The moment he released Rembrary’s hand, his eyes widened, and he looked at Rembrary with a horrified expression, muttering,

“Who the hell… are you?”

* * *

Rembrary, upon returning to the lodging, raised his eyebrows in disbelief as soon as he opened the door.

It was quite a sight. Kesh, Hyegyeol, and Taein were grabbing each other’s hair, kicking, and rolling around on the floor.

But what truly surprised Rembrary wasn’t the fight itself, but the enormous upper body laughing while pulling their hair above their heads.

The upper body was fifteen times the size of a normal person’s, and it was playing with the three of them like toy soldiers, pushing and pulling them. Each time, the three became red-eyed and attacked each other more fiercely.

When Rembrary whistled, the huge upper body, which had been teasing Kesh, Taein, and Hyegyeol, trembled and quickly vanished.

‘Is that the reality of the summer song?’

Rembrary clicked his tongue.

When the huge upper body disappeared, Kesh, Taein, and Hyegyeol stopped fighting, but they continued to glare at each other, panting.

“It’s noisy. Go fight outside.”

Rembrary said sharply and looked for Jungseo. He wondered if she had been caught up in the fight, but fortunately, Jungseo was on the phone on the veranda. When she noticed Rembrary’s arrival, she hung up and quickly entered the living room.

“You’re back?”

“It’s a mess.”

“They’re fighting because they all want to sing the title song alone.”

Rembrary clicked his tongue and said coldly to Kesh, Taein, and Hyegyeol.

“There’s an evil spirit hanging over your heads. How can you let yourselves be swayed without realizing it?”

The three of them looked at Rembrary with ‘Is he crazy?’ expressions and dispersed.

Rembrary clicked his tongue again and said to Jungseo,

“We need to find a solution quickly. Whether it’s an evil spirit or a ghost, it’s toying with the kids.”

“Can’t you just get rid of the ghost from the song altogether?”

“Probably not.”

The evil spirits dwelling in songs or dances were weak, but their vitality was tenacious, making them extremely difficult to eliminate completely.

Even if Rembrary drove out the evil spirit from ‘this place,’ if someone else sang the song, the evil spirit would resurface and reawaken.

“Ah, how did it go with hyung [older brother or male friend]? Did you resolve it well?”

Belatedly, Jungseo remembered why Rembrary had left and asked.

Rembrary nodded confidently.

“I told them I would never do anything like that.”

“Good job. You’re doing well now without resorting to such things, so don’t get involved in anything strange.”

“Of course.”

“And while I was telling Jongwoo hyung about Kesh, Taein, and Hyegyeol fighting on the phone, I heard about a new entertainment show.”

“Entertainment show? Again?”

“Yeah. There’s an entertainment show called where you live in a different time period for a week. They’re going to film a Gunjunggunggwol [Korean traditional palace] concept this time, and they want to invite you, CEO Jang, and CEO Shin. The team said they can broadcast the filming site.”