Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 130

< 130. I'm Quick on the Uptake >

After the filming ended.

While those with important supporting roles were filming, Maeng Woo-shin watched Woo Yeon-woo while drinking water.

Woo Yeon-woo was asking Sa Gam-jae, who was getting him water, for cider instead.

“I’m sorry, but Jong-woo told me to give you only water. He says we don’t know what CEO Shin and CEO Jang are feeding you.”

‘That guy’s manager is weird too,’ Maeng Woo-shin thought, clicking his tongue as he listened to Sa Gam-jae’s tone.

He refers to the manager, the head of another large entertainment company, and another CEO so casually, but speaks so politely to the young idol in his agency.

‘Isn’t it because they praise him so much that he’s got celebrity disease, or rather, king disease?’

‘Ah. Was it his own words that he had celebrity disease? I think I heard something like that.’

Shaking his head, Maeng Woo-shin approached him. It was to ask about that voice he heard whispering in his ear, just like the feeling he got when he first put on the earphones during filming earlier.

Before, when that strange phenomenon occurred under the streetlight, he felt uneasy but couldn’t ask. He didn’t know how much the other person knew.

But now that he had officially met Dae-ju, he was going to ask properly.

“Hey.”

Woo Yeon-woo, who was demanding cola if there was no cider, glanced over.

Maeng Woo-shin handed Woo Yeon-woo the water bottle he was holding and asked,

“Hey, idol.”

“Is this cider?”

“Barley tea. But idol, did you, by any chance, when filming… you know, that board in the middle? Did you stick to it and say your lines?”

Rembrary opened the barley tea lid and looked at Maeng Woo-shin as if he were a strange person. His eyes seemed to say, ‘Are you crazy?’

Maeng Woo-shin was taken aback, but he was still curious about the answer, so he asked again.

“No?”

“No. But are you giving this to me? Are you giving it to me to drink?”

Maeng Woo-shin moved his lips. He wanted to ask if some strange power had been exerted. But Sa Gam-jae was nearby, so he couldn’t ask.

Maeng Woo-shin thought Sa Gam-jae didn’t know about Dae-ju, so he just moved his lips and took the barley tea back to his manager.

“He’s a bit strange.”

Rembrary frowned and muttered. Coming up to him out of nowhere and asking such strange questions.

However, on the way back to the waiting room, Sa Gam-jae also asked a strange question.

“Actually, I have something to ask you too.”

“What is it?”

“During filming, did you have any strange memories?”

“Memories?”

“Like, a temporary loss of memory.”

Rembrary raised an eyebrow. He wondered, ‘What’s wrong with him now?’

But Sa Gam-jae was serious. He had also sensed the dark energy that flowed out briefly and strongly from inside the confessional when Maeng Woo-shin heard Rembrary’s voice strangely.

When ‘the real Woo Yeon-woo’ came out, Rembrary didn’t remember that moment. Sa Gam-jae was asking, recalling that time.

He wondered if it was the same case.

“What is it that you and Maeng are wanting from me? Dark history?”

“…Your vocabulary is improving?”

“Praise my brilliance. That is who I am. I adapt well.”

Rembrary reacted to the praise, then frowned again.

“No, why do you keep saying such things?”

“The atmosphere was a bit… during the last line.”

“Was it cool?”

“It was demonic.”

“Was it that cool?”

“…Aren’t you a saint? Why are you taking this as a compliment?”

“I don’t like demons. But objectively, they have beautiful faces. You have a sublime taste, but your face is similar to ascetic.”

Sa Gam-jae frowned, his words getting twisted.

Since the other person was taking the demonic atmosphere he was thinking of as a compliment, it was awkward to ask, “Did a real demon briefly switch bodies with you like with Woo Yeon-woo?”

But thinking about it, Rembrary himself noticed something was wrong during Woo Yeon-woo’s case. Like the memory loss. But there was nothing like that now, so maybe a demon didn’t come out.

However, even as he tried to think naturally, Sa Gam-jae kept feeling uneasy and rubbed his chin.

On the other hand, Rembrary sat on the waiting room chair with a clearer mind than anyone else and began texting Dae-ju.

Before, So-merri had treated him kindly, and Sa Gam-jae had said he felt a slightly dangerous aura from him.

He had been meaning to ask Dae-ju about this, but he had forgotten about it when he was immediately put into another variety show. Seeing Maeng Woo-shin reminded him again, and he was going to ask properly.

[Dae-ju, I have something to ask. When can we meet?]

Rembrary thought about just asking directly in a text, but he decided to ask in person. It’s better to talk about these things face to face.

Less than a minute later, a reply arrived.

[Come whenever you want. I will always welcome High Priest.]

[Can I come now?]

[Not right now. I’m out.]

[How about 7 PM tomorrow?]

[I have a dinner appointment.]

“?”

[When does the dinner appointment end?]

[I think I have to meet to know.]

However, it wasn’t easy to make an appointment with Dae-ju, who had said to come anytime.

Instead of asking for another date, Rembrary tilted his head and stared at his phone.

In this world’s way, doesn’t ‘come anytime’ mean ‘come anytime’? He said to come anytime, but why is he so busy? He said he would welcome me, but who is welcoming me? Maeng Woo-shin?

In the end, before texting Dae-ju, he asked Sa Gam-jae first.

“Gam-jae.”

“Yes.”

“If someone says to you, ‘Come anytime,’ when should you come?”

“It means don’t come until they call you.”

“!”

* * *

When Rembrary arrived at the dorm late in the evening, Jung-seo was in the living room, surrounded by the members.

“Jung-seo.”

As soon as Rembrary saw Jung-seo, he quickly went to sit near her and asked,

“So, how was the audition?”

Jung-seo awkwardly rubbed her hair.

“I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?”

“The atmosphere was okay, but it’s not confirmed yet.”

“It will be fine. Don’t worry.”

Rembrary recalled Jung-seo practicing with the script and spoke honestly.

It was also to make her feel better, but it wasn’t just empty words.

Watching Im Yu-han, Maeng Woo-shin, and other actors with excellent acting skills, Rembrary’s eye for acting had improved a lot.

Jung-seo, who was practicing the script, had stable and smooth delivery and emotional processing.

Her face was already proven, so if she didn’t make any mistakes at the audition, she would likely get the part.

Rembrary lightly patted Jung-seo’s back and stood up.

It was to bring a selfie camera from the bedroom to record a video diary.

However, before he could take two steps, Jung-seo grabbed Rembrary again.

“Just a moment.”

Looking at her, Jung-seo made all the members pay attention to her and delivered the news.

“Jong-woo told me to tell you. About the dorm relocation we talked about before.”

The members were about to scatter, but their eyes widened and they asked and urged her.

“How did it go?”

“What did he say?”

“Who’s splitting up with who?”

Jung-seo replied,

“We haven’t established ourselves as a group yet. He said that if we split up in this situation, it would be neither here nor there. So, they decided to allocate more of the budget to move to a place where all five of us can live together and that has good security.”

What Jong-woo actually said was, ‘If you guys live separately, there will be rumors of discord, bullying, and disbandment right away,’ but Jung-seo deliberately left that part out.

Rather than splitting up in a dissatisfied state, the members moderately agreed that it was better to live together and began bombarding her with questions again.

“Where is it?”

“But the person who was sending strange letters before, hasn’t it been a bit quiet lately? I think we can keep living here.”

“Still, it would be nice to move to a better place.”

“No, so where is it?”

When Jung-seo replied, “XX Villa,” the members were silent for a moment, then picked up their phones to search for the location and started chattering again.

“Oh? Isn’t that a good place?”

“I heard it’s a good place?”

“That’s right, the security there is really good. Yul-ri said that other idol teams besides us also…”

But Keshi, who was excitedly chattering, suddenly froze.

“What’s wrong?”

Hye-gyeol was searching for photos of XX Villa on her phone and looked at Keshi strangely.

However, Jung-seo seemed to know why Keshi was acting like that and answered calmly.

“Yeah. So?”

Hye-gyeol was even more puzzled and asked again.

“No, so what is it?”

Instead of answering, Keshi covered her head with both hands and shouted.

“That’s the place!”

“No, so what place is it-”

“Oh Jung-shin’s group’s dorm!”

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone reflexively looked at Rembrary.

But Rembrary himself was calm.

“Why are you looking at me? I don’t mind.”

“You say you don’t mind even though you might run into Oh Jung-shin coming and going?”

Tae-in clicked his tongue.

“Hey, you should ask Oh Jung-shin if he’s okay with it. Why are you asking him?”

* * *

It was late at night.

Hye-gyeol was playing a mobile game, Keshi was texting with Yul-ri O, Tae-in was studying composition, and Jung-seo had fallen asleep first to relieve the tension from the audition.

Rembrary put on a mask, hat, and sunglasses, a set of three, and slipped out of the dorm.

It was to find a demon to give to Im Yu-han as a gift.

Two days later was Im Yu-han’s birthday. Almost a day had passed, so the day before her birthday would be soon. She had taken good care of him and helped him in many ways during filming, so he definitely wanted to give her a birthday present.

Rembrary searched and wandered around, focusing on what demons would like.

But are the tastes of demons in the original world different from the demons here? Or is it because the number of demons in this world has decreased? They weren’t easy to find.

It was very easy to find demons in the original world…

‘Ah. I heard that the monsters here like people who are loved. So, do I have to go to a place where there are loved people to find them?’

But the only one he could see on the set was So-merri…

He couldn’t give her the evil spirit dwelling in the song. That evil spirit was only sinister and not cute at all, and more than anything, the song itself wasn’t Rembrary’s.

‘So-merri is a bit cute, but he targeted Senior Im, so of course, that’s a no…’

Are there any harmless, small, and cute demons? Rembrary tilted his head, then flinched at a sudden thought.

Come to think of it, Senior Im didn’t say she liked small and cute demons? That small and cute demons were suitable for gifts was Rembrary’s own preference.

Senior Im might like the large, human-shaped monster that the man in the suit led around on a leash.

‘That’s right. I should have asked this first.’

Rembrary hurriedly sent a text to Im Yu-han to ask.

[Senior >ㅅ<] [ㅇㅇ What's up?ㅋ] [Korean slang abbreviation for 'Okay, what's up?'] [Do you like small, fluffy animal types, or large male types?] [Large male ㅎㅎ] [Korean laughing emoticon] Oops! Rembrary blamed his naivety for looking for small and cute demons first. 'She likes human types.' [Then I'll look for that] [What?] [Senior's gift] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAre you trying to introduce me to a guy?] [Korean laughing emoticon] [Is it better to give him with a leash?] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋHow did you know my taste?] [Korean laughing emoticon] [I'm quick on the uptake >ㅅ<] < 130. I'm Quick on the Uptake > End