Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 155

< 155. What's That Sound? >

September 26th

Weather: Hot.

Jungseo said September is autumn, but why is the weather so hot?

If Keshi had told me that September is autumn, I would have scolded her immediately.

When I scold, people sense my authority and become a little intimidated.

Keshi would probably be surprised by my scolding and apologize for spreading incorrect information.

That’s just how it is… Even a single word from me carries such weight.

How should I put this… what’s the right word? Should I look it up in a dictionary?

But dictionaries aren’t a cure-all.

When I want to express a specific idea, how can I possibly find the perfect word among the countless options in the dictionary?

I might find it if I spent days searching, but I can’t exactly use it in the moment, can I?

Available when needed… I’m getting sidetracked.

Anyway, this authority of mine? Let’s call it authority. My authority was on full display when I went to Jungseo’s filming set.

Correction. Not the filming set, but the script reading.

It happened when Jungseo passed the audition for a movie called , and I went with her.

The reason I went… I had a perfectly good reason, but my manager told me never to record it in my video diary, so I can’t say.

…Is this really happening?

If I can’t say the reason, I can’t even share how cool I was there!

***

September 27th

Still hot.

Jang Taeri called, suggesting we go to some famous ice cream shop that just opened in Korea.

I asked my manager if I could go, but he said no.

He said there might be dating rumors, so going alone is absolutely forbidden. If I really want to go, I should call Shin Joowoon and the three of us should go.

Honestly, I was a bit reluctant.

Although it hasn’t been revealed on broadcast, my relationship with Shin Joowoon is a bit strained.

The reason is Jungseo’s birthday a few days ago.

Shin Joowoon sent pizza to Jungseo on my behalf.

So far, so good. Because I asked him to. So far, I’m grateful.

The problem is that something else came with the pizza, something I didn’t ask for.

A giant teddy bear with a person inside. Why did he send that?

The teddy bear played something that looked like a trumpet, sang and danced in front of Jungseo, and then left.

And to make matters worse, that day was when Jungseo was feeling down because something bad had happened.

Jungseo thanked me, but the atmosphere turned cold, and I demoted Shin Joowoon, who had been promoted to a whale [a high-level investor or supporter], back to an anchovy [a low-level position] in 30 minutes.

Shin Joowoon is angry about this and has been ignoring my texts since the next day… Oh, I just got a text.

What is this? A tattletale?

Is he calling me that right now?

Ha! I’m speechless! I’m not a tattletale.

The PD gave me a self-camera and told me to write a video diary.

What is a diary? Isn’t it about recording what happened to me?

So I’m just saying that something happened, and he calls me a tattletale!

…I got another text.

That I have a loose mouth?

Ha! I’m speechless! I don’t have a loose mouth.

There’s no way to weigh my mouth, but if there was a way to weigh a mouth, there would be no mouth as heavy as mine.

Shin Joowoon is the one with a light mouth! Because he’s an anchovy!

Shin Joowoon is an anchovy that crumbles when you touch it after drying it in the sun!

…Another text.

If I don’t apologize right away, he’ll send 100 boxes of anchovies to my dorm so I can never escape the smell of anchovies.

Oh my, people of the world, this is what this CEO is like!

4 PM.

I was in the dorm earlier, but now I’m in the office.

The reason I took refuge in the office is because Shin Joowoon really sent 100 boxes of anchovies to the dorm.

I didn’t count whether it was 100 boxes or not, but it felt like 100 boxes.

We decided to leave a few boxes of anchovies in the dorm and give most of them away to people.

Senior Oh Jungshin was among those we were giving them to. When I went to him with a box of anchovies, he asked if I had put poison in it, so I told him to try it and let me know. He said he wouldn’t take it.

8 PM.

I didn’t say what I was doing in the office earlier, but we had a meeting about the new album.

We had received a few songs, but since only five songs would be on this album, we decided to listen to a few more.

After a thorough review, we picked ten candidate songs, and now we need to narrow it down to five.

We decided to have all the company employees, trainees, and affiliated actors pick them through a blind test.

Ah, I didn’t turn on the self-camera to say this,

But after finishing the meeting and coming outside, guess what? Shin Joowoon parked his car in front of the office and was standing there.

I hurriedly made Jungseo and Keshi my shields and hid, but that bad kid Keshi shouted, “Yeonwoo is here!” and I got caught.

Actually, it’s not like I was hiding because I felt guilty.

I’m always a confident… idol, so I don’t feel guilty about most things. No way!

So I confidently straightened my shoulders and went out, and Shin Joowoon smiled, saying he had something to say to me.

I said I didn’t, and he asked a bit more coldly than usual.

Was I really that upset that he sent a person inside a teddy bear?

It’s not like he killed someone and put them in there, he sent them alive, so what’s wrong with that, he asked.

Is this a word or a fishy smell [a pun, playing on the similar sounds of the words]?

I told him I was tired and needed to go back to the dorm, so he should move quickly, and he even said this.

“Pig. If you keep doing that, I might sic a dog on you.”

I was about to get angry, but when I thought about it, a dog seems a bit cuter than a pig.

Of course, I’m neither a dog nor a pig.

Anyway, I demanded that he not call me a pig in the future, but call me a handsome and intelligent Malamute. He laughed so hard at what I said that he grabbed his stomach and left.

He’s weird.

***

“Is something good happening?”

At his secretary’s question, Shin Joowoon pursed his lips and shook his head.

But the secretary had a keen eye. Shin Joowoon was clearly twitching one corner of his mouth and trembling.

However, as keen as his eyes were, he was also perceptive, so instead of asking why he was laughing to himself, the secretary handed over the bunch of keys he had brought. It was a classic key with five keys attached in a row to a round ring.

“These are the keys you asked for.”

“The dog?”

“I don’t think we can use it anymore.”

“It breaks so easily.”

Shin Joowoon clicked his tongue, put his cell phone in his jacket pocket, and got up from the sofa.

After leaving the room, he went to the garage next to the house and pressed a button. Then, with a clunk, the car parked in the corner of the garage slid sideways along with the floor, revealing a door.

Shin Joowoon put the key in the keyhole, and this time, a faint hologram appeared above the keyhole, revealing a hidden fingerprint recognition device.

He placed his hand on the fingerprint recognition device, and after a short scan, the door opened with a clunk. The door automatically closed again as Shin Joowoon went inside, and the wall covered the spot.

Inside the door was a long staircase and hallway leading down. As Shin Joowoon walked down the hallway, the heels of his shoes clattered against the floor, making a clear sound.

The hallway continued in a straight line and then turned to the side at the end. When Shin Joowoon turned there and walked a little further, a bright chamber appeared.

The chamber was paved with stone and had various mechanical devices attached to it, so although it was underground, it was filled with pleasant air.

However, the labored breathing mixed with the whirring of the machines did not sound pleasant.

Shin Joowoon approached his dog, who was panting, with a smile on his face.

“Hello.”

As Shin Joowoon approached and greeted him, the dog only turned his eyes to look at him. The eyes that were once filled with anger now had almost no focus.

Shin Joowoon put the keys down next to him, pulled a chair to the bedside, sat down, and asked.

“Have you contacted your colleagues?”

“…”

“Why didn’t you ask them to save you? You should start looking for a replacement soon.”

“…”

“Isn’t it unfair to suffer alone? If your colleagues hadn’t abandoned you in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened, would it?”

“…”

The other party showed no reaction, but Shin Joowoon continued to speak alone. However, as there was no reply, he seemed to lose interest and eventually clicked his tongue and got up.

“Do you know Sacheon Pass [a dangerous and haunted location in Korean folklore]?”

“…”

“It’s a place where vengeful ghosts gather. Rumor has it that a kind-hearted saint lives there and lends his power to help the pitiful ghosts resolve their grudges.”

“…”

“You must know. Because that’s a place you guys challenged several times and failed.”

“I’ll drop you off there tomorrow.”

The unfocused eyes stared at Shin Joowoon for the first time. Fear and confusion filled the eyes that had been full of resignation.

“You said Nakru’s work is great and noble, right? And the sacrifices of the saints are unavoidable, right? I wonder if you really think so. You can ask the saint. If he agrees, he’ll save you too.”

Shin Joowoon smiled, picked up the keys he had left, and turned around.

The dog reached out his hand. He moved his mouth as if he wanted to say no, but no sound came out.

The clattering footsteps moved away mercilessly, and the light that had come in brightly went out at the same time as the door closed.

Listening to the whirring of the dehumidifier, the one who was once Nakru and is now Shin Joowoon’s ‘dog’ twisted his body.

***

[Hey, you said you’re a fan of Song Seoyoung, right? She’s returning to Korea tomorrow.]

Jongwoo sent a text.

While eating anchovies dipped in soybean paste and watching sloth videos, Rembrery widened his eyes in surprise.

Song Seoyoung is returning to Korea?

She was one of the three candidates who might have stolen Daeju’s brush.

With an anchovy in his mouth, Rembrery quickly texted Jongwoo.

[Can I meet you for a moment?]

[Are you going to meet her in person?]

[I just want to get her autograph in person.]

[I can ask someone to get it for you]

[I want to get it in person.]

About 30 minutes later, Jongwoo sent a reply.

[I have a close older sister at Song Seoyoung’s agency, so I asked her. Song Seoyoung is also enjoying the variety show you’re on, so she said she’ll let you meet her if you go there. She’s going straight to the office from the airport.]

Can things work out this easily!

Since her activities as a model rarely overlap with mine, I was worried if I could even meet her even if she returned to Korea.

Rembrery said he would definitely go and got the time from Jongwoo.

Jongwoo, who usually blocks me from getting involved with female celebrities, was unusually compliant, but the important thing is to meet Song Seoyoung and ask her about the brush.

***

The next day.

Rembrery learned why Jongwoo was so actively helping him see Song Seoyoung.

It turned out that Jongwoo himself was a fan of Song Seoyoung.

I thought he liked the girl groups from other companies because he always played their songs. Jongwoo said that liking those idols is just being a fan, but his feelings for Song Seoyoung are a one-sided love.

I don’t know what the difference is, but Rembrery didn’t care and just brushed it off.

Anyway, the important thing is that Rembrery himself was able to meet Song Seoyoung, but Jongwoo couldn’t go to Song Seoyoung’s agency with him due to urgent family matters.

“Make sure you get my autograph too. Definitely!”

“Alright.”

Jongwoo was crying and trying to get Sagamjae to come with him, but Sagamjae was MIA again for some reason and couldn’t be reached.

So Rembrery asked Shin Joowoon, who he had reconciled with yesterday, for help. Shin Joowoon asked where Song Seoyoung’s agency was and said he had business near there anyway, so he readily agreed.

And three hours later.

Rembrery was in the passenger seat of Shin Joowoon’s car.

Shin Joowoon’s car was spacious, comfortable, and cool. Even Rembrery, who doesn’t know much about cars, thought it was a good car.

Rembrery praised the car enthusiastically to express his gratitude to Shin Joowoon, and Shin Joowoon smiled and readily accepted the praise.

“Can’t you drive?”

“I just don’t do it. Driving is for coachmen.”

“…So. You’re saying I’m a coachman?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I hope you keep in mind that I don’t usually drive myself either.”

“Why should I keep that in mind?”

While Shin Joowoon was gripping the steering wheel tightly and driving.

Rembrery was sketching Shin Joowoon’s profile on the second page of the sketchbook that Jongwoo had given him to get the autograph and asked.