Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 16

16. First Broadcast

“Wow… was that Woo Yeon-woo?”

Kim Mu-rok PD, who was staring intently at the monitor in the sub-control room, asked.

The others, who had also been spacing out, finally snapped out of it and replied,

“Yes, it’s Woo Yeon-woo.”

“The one who’s been a hot topic online recently… you know, that one?”

“I know. I’m asking even though I know. That’s why I scouted him.”

Kim Mu-rok PD clicked his tongue, complaining that he was being treated like an old-timer, and then turned his gaze back to the monitor.

What others didn’t know was that Kim Mu-rok PD had heard that Yeon-woo would sing in a choir style.

At first, he scoffed as soon as he heard about the choir.

He thought, ‘Since nothing else works, are they just going to push forward with a unique concept?’

But after seeing the stage, he thought it was better than he expected…

“Not bad. Visuals, story, singing ability, buzzworthiness, all good.”

He exclaimed in admiration.

He thought it was crazy to sing a ‘I’m so great’ song full of slang in a choir style.

But he had calculated the stage quite cleverly.

To think he would completely turn all the lyrics into irony.

Even though he was showing off his wealth, abilities, popularity, and looks on stage, Yeon-woo looked rather empty.

After the stage.

The sound of the staff applauding mixed into the audio.

Kim Mu-rok PD smiled broadly as he watched and said,

“I’ve decided.”

The assistant director looked at him with a puzzled expression.

What had he decided?

Kim Mu-rok PD said that he would give Woo Yeon-woo the ‘devil’s edit,’ as it had already been agreed upon with the agency.

Not all the staff knew, but the directors all knew.

But had he changed his mind now?

However, Kim Mu-rok PD had not changed his mind.

“A genius with a bad personality. An annoying but undeniably skilled person.”

He was just changing the direction.

The assistant director, not understanding at once, asked, “Huh?”

Kim Mu-rok PD said excitedly,

“Let’s edit in this direction. It’ll turn out great!”

* * *

After the competition, Rembrary said goodbye to Eun-sun and got into the car.

They had been together for a week, so they had become quite close and familiar. But they wouldn’t see each other until the following Monday when the competition results were announced.

He personally wanted to exchange contact information, but Jong-woo glared at him, so he couldn’t.

Jong-woo, who got into the car, patted Keshi and Rembrary on the back with a moved expression.

“Good job. You both worked hard. Let’s just rest well today.”

“Just today? Isn’t the next shoot next week?”

“We need to start preparing for the new song soon. We have music shows scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”

Rembrary was taken aback, but Keshi clenched his fist and was happy.

“I don’t mind sleeping only three hours a day, I just want a full schedule.”

Rembrary asked, bewildered,

“New song?”

He had vaguely heard that they might not be able to release a new song. He was surprised that Jong-woo was suddenly talking about a new song.

“The CEO said that if we get some recognition from the program broadcast, we should release a new song right away.”

“Right away?”

“Right away. Well, not really right away. We still need to scout a composer and lyricist. But anyway, we’ll try to release a new song without a break this time.”

Did actors and performers in the original world also handle this kind of schedule?

Rembrary suddenly wondered.

Of course, there was no way to know now.

And that day, Rembrary, who returned to the dorm, lazed around doing nothing.

‘I need to go back to the original world… I need to find a way to go back…’

If I keep living like this, will I even have time to look?

* * *

The next day.

Rembrary, who woke up as soon as the bell rang, washed up and got dressed like clockwork.

He didn’t stop by the salon since there was no schedule, but instead waited for the members and got into the car with a piece of chicken breast and a plate of salad for breakfast.

After arriving at the agency, greeting the staff, and going to the practice room, it was back to practice, practice, practice.

The only difference was that, unlike the previous week, this time they were practicing Wild Animal’s choreography again.

They said they were going to use it for the new song, but the practice song remained the same.

When he asked Jung-seo about this, Jung-seo explained slowly.

“The process of making an album is complicated. It would be good to use famous composers and lyricists, but they have their own schedules, and even if we succeed in scouting them, the song doesn’t come out right away.”

“Ah.”

“After receiving the song, we also have to practice, record, and then choreograph. We also have to shoot a music video.”

“It’s complicated.”

But while he was being explained the process of making an album by Jung-seo,

Hye-gyeol, who had gone to the bathroom for a moment,

“Wow, wow, wow!”

She shouted as she came in.

“Did you see this?”

Then she held up her phone and showed it to Yeon-woo.

“Your face is on it!”

What Hye-gyeol showed was the screen that Rembrary saw first when he connected to the internet.

At the top of that screen, a rectangular advertisement always passed by.

Surprisingly, as Hye-gyeol said, Woo Yeon-woo’s face was there today.

Only three contestants’ faces were visible along with the words . One of them was Woo Yeon-woo’s face.

“Oh ho? It’s me!”

The other one was Seonwoo Sil, and the other one was a contestant he had briefly greeted on the day of the assigned song announcement, which he thought was a preliminary meeting.

As he was watching in surprise, this time the screen passed by and another phrase appeared.

Hye-gyeol muttered, “Ugh, so cheesy,” and spat out a small curse.

Then the screen changed again, and this time all twenty people were there.

“Look at this, look at this.”

Keshi took the phone, pressed something, and then held the screen out to Rembrary again.

Before he knew it, the other members had gathered together and were all staring at the small screen.

“It’s broadcasting at 11 PM tonight, and three pre-release videos have been released.”

Tae-in asked, with shining eyes,

“Are Yeon-woo and Keshi in it?”

“No. I watched it, and you weren’t there. But it seems like the unaired contestants’ appearances will all be released after the broadcast.”

The members were all excited and threw out a word each.

Keshi seemed to be getting nervous again, and his face was pale again.

That night at 11 PM.

The members didn’t spend time separately, but instead sat huddled together on the sofa and turned on the TV.

* * *

At the same time.

CEO Lim, Jong-woo, and a few staff members were also left at the company in the audiovisual room.

It was to check how the broadcast was going.

Unlike the members who were watching TV comfortably, they held notebooks or turned on their phone notepads.

Keshi and Yeon-woo didn’t have a week’s worth of footage, but Jong-woo, CEO Lim, and the staff had to keep an eye on the music, viewer reactions, and YouTube views for the next week.

“It’s starting.”

Finally, when the commercials ended and the program started, CEO Lim nervously put a candy in his mouth.

The first scene was of the twenty contestants gathering at the meeting place.

CEO Lim made an ‘oh dear’ sound from the first scene.

Because Yeon-woo and Keshi were the first to arrive, thinking it was a preliminary meeting, they were the first to appear.

“Still, it’s okay. This part is okay.”

The sight of Yeon-woo and Keshi standing blankly like lost ducklings waiting for Jong-woo still showed the clumsy and innocent charm unique to young people.

And Seonwoo Sil appeared…

Before the next scene came out, Jong-woo swallowed hard, watching CEO Lim’s reaction. He could guess what scene was coming next.

As expected. It was the Seonwoo Sil scene as Jong-woo had expected.

Seonwoo Sil approaches Yeon-woo, and Yeon-woo looks at Seonwoo Sil with surprised eyes. He looks at his phone picture and Seonwoo Sil in surprise and says that their faces are completely different.

CEO Lim’s groan was heard, and Jong-woo shrank back.

Kim Mu-rok PD had foreshadowed the devil’s edit, but even so, when you actually saw it, Yeon-woo really seemed like he didn’t know who Seonwoo Sil was. But on the broadcast, it looked like he was teasing Seonwoo Sil while pretending to be innocent.

“How are people reacting?”

When CEO Lim asked, the staff member who was checking real-time comments on the tablet quickly held the screen out to CEO Lim.

“It’s like this.”

[100% intentional]

[He knows what he’s doing lol]

[Our Yeon-woo is a fox ^^ His skills at messing with people are no joke]

[Woo Yeon-woo did what Woo Yeon-woo does lol]

[Look at how he treats his senior, he’s such a jerk]

[Isn’t it 꼰대 [Kkondae – a Korean slang term for an older person who is condescending or acts superior] to go out of your way to receive greetings?]

[Seonwoo Sil is꼰대 ㅅㅂ]

[The guy who shits on his senior at work is an asshole, what’s wrong with Seonwoo Sil]

[But Seonwoo Sil does photoshop a lot. I saw her in person and didn’t recognize her.]

Although he had agreed to the devil’s edit, Jong-woo felt a little wronged.

He had gotten along well with the other contestants afterwards. But that scene had been completely edited out and disappeared.

Keshi’s screen time was almost non-existent.

Then the scene from the practice assignment came out, but Yeon-woo’s declaration that he would sing in a choir style was also not shown.

Instead, only the scene where he arrogantly said he wasn’t nervous in response to Eun-sun’s question about whether he was nervous was shown.

In contrast, Keshi’s side had a little more weight in the practice scene.

And finally, the day of the competition.

Perhaps because he was particularly nervous, this scene showed Keshi throwing up and struggling.

“Keshi did well during the competition, right?”

“Yes.”

“I guess they’re trying to give him a dramatic performance on purpose. They put in a lot of scenes of him struggling.”

There were even fewer contestants appearing in this part, and Yeon-woo comforting Keshi was naturally omitted.

Then the competition stage screen came out.

CEO Lim repeatedly chewed and sucked on the candy, staring intently at the screen.

He had heard that the performance went well, but he was still worried about how it would turn out.

When Keshi’s turn was over, CEO Lim first let out a sigh of relief.

“They edited it well. He came out like a successful hard worker. What’s the reaction?”

“Uh… the real-time reaction is good. There are a lot of comments saying it’s like a drama.”

CEO Lim nodded.

Yeon-woo had the most buzz, but since he was being half-abandoned, he had to pay more attention to the other members in the long run.

However, after watching Seonwoo Sil’s performance, CEO Lim’s expression darkened even more.

It would have been a shame to be behind the worst contestant, but to be behind Seonwoo Sil of all people.

But as soon as the competition performance began, not only CEO Lim but also the staff who were checking the reaction froze.

Jong-woo also opened his mouth blankly, even though it was the second time he was seeing it.

Unbeknownst to them, the real-time comments in the tablet were rising upwards at an incredible speed.

When the performance was over, CEO Lim stood up without realizing it.

Jong-woo was also flustered and muttered,

“Huh? Huh?”

It was an outstanding performance to begin with. Kim Mu-rok PD had edited this performance to make it even more outstanding.

He said he was going to do a devil’s edit. At least not in this scene.

The scene of the staff watching the performance in horror continued to appear, and the scene of other contestants watching the screen in the waiting room in surprise also continued to appear.

It was edited to make everyone look like they were shocked by Yeon-woo’s performance. It was edited to make him stand out even more than the other contestants.

After the first broadcast ended, CEO Lim quietly spat out the candy and clenched his fist.

It was better than he thought. Much better.

Above all, Yeon-woo’s broadcast time was particularly long.

CEO Lim excitedly called Jong-woo.

“Jong-woo. I’ve decided on the concept for the kids’ next song.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s go with that.”

“Choir… you mean?”

“A devil disguised as an angel.”