Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 178

178. Just a Little Help

“I’ll stop here.”

I felt uneasy the whole time. Jong-woo cut off the interview right before the members could answer.

“Why? It’s just a question, isn’t it? Many people are curious about this part.”

“Bringing up something that was concluded as completely irrelevant doesn’t sound like just a question to me.”

“If you have nothing to hide, why be afraid?”

“Even if you have nothing to hide, it can still be annoying. Especially with people trying to exploit it.”

I brought a recorder just in case. Jong-woo was determined. If the reporter held a grudge and wrote a strange article because of this, he would release the recording. They were just starting to shine. How could anyone try to take advantage of them and use them for their own issues when there were so many other things to exploit in the world? He was furious.

“Jung-seo, take care of the kids. Let’s go.”

As Jong-woo left, the Wild Animal members hesitantly followed. The fully packed chairs emptied in an instant.

The reporter forced a smile. It was a fake smile. He was smiling, but his eyes were cold.

“He’s fiery.”

The photographer grumbled from behind.

“They’re getting cocky as soon as they get a little popular. They haven’t even shot the commercial yet, and they’re acting like they’re already famous. Who knows if the commercial will be a hit or a flop?”

“Whatever. There’s no need to try to bring them down.”

“He could have just said, ‘We won’t answer those questions, sorry,’ and apologized, but he had to get all heated up and leave. That’s why I’m annoyed.”

He knew the question was unpleasant. But weren’t they both in professions that thrived on attention? Like lions and hyenas. It was natural for a hyena to poke at a lion cub. Why did he have to criticize them like that?

“There’s something bothering him.”

The reporter smirked and gathered his recorder, pen, and notebook, then stood up.

“I have something too.”

“What is it?”

“The thing that’s bothering me.”

“Are you talking about the sponsor? But the police already confirmed that there was no connection at all.”

“Right. But doesn’t it seem strange that they’re suddenly getting so many commercials when there’s no connection at all?”

“Do you think so?”

“Usually, it doesn’t happen like that. So, it’s suspicious.”

As he left the cafe, the reporter said with conviction,

“I need to dig into this.”

* * *

After finishing the schedule, I returned home at 8 PM.

“Did you hear what that person said?”

“How did he come out so strong like that?”

While Keshi and Hye-gyeol were imitating the comedian they met on the variety show, Jung-seo took out a salad from the refrigerator.

“I’m going to shower first.”

Keshi yawned and went into the bathroom. The atmosphere was peaceful. Everyone was moving leisurely, trying to relieve the fatigue of the day. Only Rembrary was isolated.

Rembrary was on the veranda. He was holding his phone, his face troubled as he pondered. Nakru and Wild Animal, twelve commercials, sudden success… These things were filling his head with worries.

After a long while, Rembrary searched for Woo Sung-woo’s name on his phone. He pressed the call button, and after a moment, the other person’s voice was heard.

[Hello.]

“It is I.”

[How old are you to answer like that already?]

“I have thought about it carefully.”

[About what?]

“Helping you.”

[You’re going to help?]

From behind, there was a noisy sound, “He’s going to help?” “He’s coming?” followed by the sound of people pushing each other away, “Ah, get out of here.”

Rembrary waited for the other side of the phone to quiet down, and when the commotion subsided, he continued.

“I resent that you used these tricks, but what can I do?”

His gaze automatically turned to the living room. Through the curtains, he could see the members playing around. Annoying things. Except for Jung-seo, none of them were pretty. But he couldn’t let their dreams be ruined because of him.

“The Nakru thing. I will help.”

[……]

Woo Sung-woo didn’t answer right away. He expected him to say he thought it over well, or why did he hold out, or to act all high and mighty.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

[I’m not entirely happy about it.]

“Liar.”

[I’m serious. You won’t be able to handle it if you come, so I don’t want you to. Are you really going to do it?]

“There are conditions.”

[What is it? Are you short on commercials? Should I get you more?]

“I will only help a few times.”

[Will that work?]

“After that, you guys get lost on your own. Naturally.”

A blatantly soulless platitude came back.

[Uh, yeah.]

* * *

Late at night, Rembrary came out of the dorm and looked around.

Woo Sung-woo was visible not far away. He was standing in front of a parked car. When he made eye contact, he gestured for him to get in and got into the driver’s seat first. Rembrary opened the passenger door and got in, and the car moved forward without delay. Two pairs of eyes watched the scene from afar.

“Who did he go with? Is it a sponsor?”

One was a person holding a camera.

“Looks like his older brother.”

One was the reporter who had done the interview during the day.

“His face looks like a Ctrl+V copy [copy and paste].”

The reporter lowered his binoculars, and the cameraman wrapped his arms around himself and asked,

“It’s cold. Should we go in for today? He’s not going to get sponsored by his brother, is he?”

“Should we?”

* * *

Woo Sung-woo parked the car in the parking lot of a cold noodle restaurant.

“Why are we here?”

Rembrary immediately recognized that this was a restaurant. One entire wall was made of glass, and people could be seen dining beyond it. But he was puzzled. He said he would tell him about the work he had to do and introduce him to someone. Why did he come to a restaurant?

“She likes to eat. I’m trying to win her over with food.”

The person who answered was a woman standing in front of the door with her arms crossed. Rembrary turned his head indifferently, then was surprised. His eyes widened.

“Huh?”

It was a familiar face. Ms. Gu Se-ji, who came to LLL Entertainment as a cultural knowledge teacher. It was her. He knew she was Woo Sung-woo’s acquaintance, but… why was she here?

“She’s the team leader of Seoul Team A.”

Noticing his surprised expression, the woman quickly introduced herself anew. Team leader, she said.

“Team leader? Seoul Team A?”

Did Team A mean there was also a Team B and a Team C? He hadn’t memorized all the English alphabet yet, but Rembrary knew ABC. He was confused after that. Anyway, since there was a team name, it was clear that there wasn’t just one team.

“Let’s go inside and talk. It’s cold.”

Instead of answering, the team leader quickly rubbed her arms and gestured towards the store with her eyes.

* * *

Inside the store, there were two types of seating. There were six rooms on the left and right, and there were standing tables in the center.

“We’re over there.”

The team leader went into the room on the left. As soon as they sat down, food came out. It seemed like they had ordered in advance.

But…

“Why are there two dishes only in front of me?”

“The one that’s sloshing around is *mul-naengmyeon* [water cold noodles]. The red one next to it is *bibim-naengmyeon* [spicy mixed cold noodles].”

“?”

“*Mul-naengmyeon*, *bibim-naengmyeon*. Eat both. They’re both delicious. This is a famous restaurant. Yeon-woo, you need to eat a lot.”

Was she a better person than he thought…? As Rembrary opened his mouth in surprise at the unexpected consideration, Woo Sung-woo kicked his ankle under the table, not painfully.

“Don’t fall for it. Are you stupid?”

Meanwhile, the team leader used new scissors to cut the noodles to a suitable length herself. Rembrary ate the cold noodles and widened his eyes. It was a new world in a different sense than pizza.

“Woo Sung-woo. You make so much money, how could you starve him like this?”

“I don’t live with him, how would I starve him? He probably can’t eat because he’s on a diet.”

While the team leader and Woo Sung-woo bickered, Rembrary slurped up the noodles. The team leader tried to start a conversation but closed her mouth when she saw him. She thought they should talk after he finished eating. Only after he had eaten almost all the food did she bring up the matter.

“First of all, I’m sorry for using this method.”

Only then did Rembrary put down his chopsticks and make a serious expression.

“Yes. I wasn’t happy. I was embarrassed.”

Wipe your mouth first and get serious, you idiot… Woo Sung-woo handed him a tissue as he watched, but Rembrary refused, saying it was okay, and continued.

“I don’t know if you heard from Sung-woo, but I’m really only going to help a little. I’ll only help a few times, so after that, get out on your own.”

Woo Sung-woo looked down at the tissue that hadn’t been handed over and sighed. Regardless, the team leader continued the conversation with a serious face.

“People with ‘eyes’ are very rare. It seems like there are a lot when you put them together, but they’re really rare. Even in Seoul Team A, there are only a few people with ‘eyes’. But you have ‘eyes’ and you’re also quite effective against monsters, right?”

Rembrary ate the cold noodles again and thought.

People who lived in his world and people who lived here weren’t that different. There were more priests and magicians in his world, but there weren’t any here. What was the reason for that? As monsters and *yokai* [supernatural monsters] decreased, did people’s powers also decrease?

“If Yeon-woo had a good personality, I might have thought he was a saint.”

The serious thought was immediately broken. Rembrary, the current saint, was embarrassed and opened his mouth. If he was a good person, she would have thought he was a saint? Did that mean he didn’t seem like a good person? He was active, wasn’t he? He was a high priest, wasn’t he?

“Why? Did I say something strange? Ah. Maybe you don’t know what a saint is…?”

“……”

“Ah. No, I didn’t mean that Yeon-woo was a bad person. I mean, saints are more… uh, they have a certain feeling when you actually see them. And those people can’t catch monsters like that.”

* * *

A few days later. As soon as the music show schedule was over, Rembrary followed Woo Sung-woo somewhere again. This time, they were going quite far, as the car didn’t stop for nearly three hours.

By the time the car stopped, the sky was already dark, and a faint reddish aura remained between the black clouds. Rembrary rubbed his eyes and checked the time.

“Where is this?”

He had agreed to lend his ‘eyes’ a few times for Nakru’s work, but the team leader said that Rembrary couldn’t be put in right away. Even though Rembrary was the best at dealing with monsters, it was dangerous because he had no experience. From the perspective of an experienced person who had set out to catch the Demon King, it was an absurd claim, but Rembrary didn’t bother showing off his skills. For this reason, he and Woo Sung-woo had come all the way here. To observe Nakru’s work.

“I still oppose you doing this.”

“I also oppose myself doing this. So, tell that to your team leader.”

“I did. Several times.”

Woo Sung-woo clicked his tongue, unbuckled his seatbelt, and turned off the engine. As the lights went out, the surroundings immediately darkened. Rembrary belatedly realized that there were no streetlights here.

“And even if it wasn’t you, I don’t like carrying anyone around like a burden. I only took Kyung-eon with me before to show you, I usually work alone.”

“So what.”

“You’re such an annoying bastard. That’s why the team leader is sure you’re not a saint.”

“……”

The high priest, who was denied being a saint for the second time, felt disgusted and opened the car door and went outside.

Hehehehehehehe.

He came back inside as soon as he heard the eerie laughter as soon as he went outside. It wasn’t because he was scared. Rembrary wasn’t afraid of ghosts or monsters. He was just taken aback.

“What’s outside?”

“You went out while I was talking, didn’t you?”

“I heard the sound of a child laughing strangely.”

“This time, I called you on purpose. The incident at the police station before. Remember?”

“No sponsor.”

“Besides that. The person who was turning into a monster, you released him.”

“Ah. Why is that?”

“Another person like that has appeared. But this time, he’s almost completely turned into a monster. I’m going to show you.”

* * *

Not far away, on the rooftop. Shin Jo-woon sighed as he looked down.

“It was touch and go. Did they finally become one team?”