Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 215

< Fireworks >

“Hurry up.”

“Take your time.”

As Shin Jo-woon and Jang Tae-ri said opposite things, Rembrary frowned, glancing back and forth between them as he stepped out of the front door. Seeing this, Jang Tae-ri burst into laughter and corrected herself.

“Actually, the sooner you come, the better.”

“Let’s go,” Rembrary replied, pulling his wheeled suitcase toward the car. As he approached, Shin Jo-woon got out and took the bag, loading it into the trunk.

“You have a lot of luggage?”

“Not as much as the baggage in my heart, right?”

“What baggage?”

“The new year dawned ages ago, and now we’re going to see the sunrise?”

“That’s what’s bothering you?” Shin Jo-woon asked, dumbfounded. Rembrary shrugged and got into the back seat, feeling a little bad for sounding so annoyed.

Closing the door, Jang Tae-ri offered a bag of snacks from the passenger seat with a grin.

“Yeon-woo tends to sleep a lot.”

“Thank you,” Rembrary said, accepting the snacks. Shin Jo-woon got into the driver’s seat, and the scenery began to flow by the window. Rembrary leaned his head back against the seat.

“The selfie cam? Did you bring it?”

“It’s in the bag. The bag is in the trunk.”

Jang Tae-ri yawned and playfully chided Shin Jo-woon.

“But seriously, why did you suddenly want to see the sunrise?”

“Just because. I haven’t been able to see you both much lately because you’ve been so busy.”

“If you’re busy, we can meet nearby.”

“We always see each other nearby. Let’s go somewhere far away for once.”

Rembrary also yawned. Despite the streetlights, it was still late at night. Looking at the flickering lights, he felt sleepy again.

“Sleep if you’re sleepy. I’ll wake you up when we arrive,” Shin Jo-woon said, glancing at his appearance in the rearview mirror. Rembrary nodded and lay down on his side.

* * *

“Wake up.”

Someone was shaking him. Rembrary opened his eyes wide. It was Shin Jo-woon.

“Have we arrived?” Rembrary asked, sitting up. Looking around, the car was stopped, and Jang Tae-ri was gone from the passenger seat.

“Where’s Tae-ri?”

“She went to buy a fireworks set or something.”

“We were coming here?”

“Yeah.”

Rembrary yawned and got out of the car. The cold dawn breeze made his arms prickle.

There was no one else around.

*Well, it’s not New Year’s Day, and it’s a weekday, so there’s no way anyone would come to see the sunrise out of the blue,* Rembrary grumbled inwardly, rubbing his arms.

As he did, Jang Tae-ri came across the road carrying three or four black plastic bags.

“Ta-da! I swept up everything they had.”

Jang Tae-ri was busy taking things out of the plastic bags, mostly small, flat paper boxes labeled ‘Fireworks Set’.

“There are snacks too.”

She also had a few snacks.

While Jang Tae-ri was unpacking, Shin Jo-woon took off his coat and put it over Jang Tae-ri’s shoulders.

“Wow. What’s with Shin Jo-woon? A gentleman in the new year?”

“You’ll catch a cold.”

“Woooow. What’s wrong with you? It doesn’t suit you.”

“Yeah, the clothes don’t suit you.”

“Hey!”

“If you catch a cold, I’ll get it.”

As Jang Tae-ri pretended to grab Shin Jo-woon by the collar, Shin Jo-woon chuckled and buttoned the top button of the coat.

Meanwhile, the practical Rembrary took out the most delicious-looking snack and opened it.

A little later, the three of them unfolded three portable chairs side by side and placed a portable table in front of them.

On the table were various kinds of food, and all three had their own fireworks sets on their laps.

“I don’t know why we’re doing fireworks when we came to see the sunrise.”

“Give it to me if you don’t like it.”

Shin Jo-woon complained and almost had his fireworks taken away by Jang Tae-ri, but the atmosphere was generally peaceful.

Jang Tae-ri glared at Shin Jo-woon and pointed to the sky.

“Look at the sunrise.”

“I’ll look when the sun rises. There’s not even a hint of it yet.”

“What are you talking about? It’ll rise if you keep looking.”

While the two of them were bickering and Rembrary was focused on eating snacks, the darkness gradually receded from the sky.

In the blink of an eye, the sky turned dark blue, and the sun popped out from behind the sea. Jang Tae-ri stopped arguing with Shin Jo-woon and cheered.

“Wow! Amazing!”

“You didn’t even want to come.”

“Shin Jo-woon, are you picking a fight even at a moment like this?”

Jang Tae-ri glared, so Shin Jo-woon quickly pretended to look at the sun. Jang Tae-ri then urged Shin Jo-woon and Rembrary.

“You both make a wish, make a wish!”

“What wish at a time like this? It’s not a shooting star.”

“It’s more visible than a shooting star.”

Shin Jo-woon retorted with a dumbfounded face, but Jang Tae-ri put her hands together and closed her eyes tightly, regardless.

Rembrary, who liked to pray, quickly put his hands together and prayed inwardly.

*I hope this world is safe. There are many people I don’t like, but I still hope everyone is safe. I don’t know if Redrin [likely referring to a deity or higher power] is listening.*

In the end, not wanting to be the only one not participating, Shin Jo-woon put his hands together and closed his eyes.

After about two minutes, Jang Tae-ri took her hands away and asked Rembrary.

“What did you wish for, Yeon-woo?”

“World peace.”

It was true. Jang Tae-ri burst out laughing, thinking Rembrary was joking. Shin Jo-woon, who had finished making his wish, also laughed and shook his head.

“What did you wish for, Tae-ri?”

“Oh, I wished for a lot of things.”

“?”

“Starting with business success and my parents’ health… Ah, I also wished for Yeon-woo.”

“My wish?”

“That this year, everyone in the world will know that Yeon-woo is a good person.”

“!”

Jang Tae-ri smiled brightly at Rembrary, and right at that moment, the world behind Jang Tae-ri was completely bright. Rembrary stared blankly at the sight and seriously suggested.

“Tae-ri, do you have a religion?”

Shin Jo-woon covered Rembrary’s mouth, and Jang Tae-ri giggled and asked Shin Jo-woon.

“What did you wish for?”

But Shin Jo-woon said firmly.

“I won’t tell you.”

Jang Tae-ri frowned and nudged Shin Jo-woon’s toe with her own.

“Mean! Tell me! Let me know! Yeon-woo and I told you everything.”

“I didn’t ask you to tell me.”

“Wow, so mean from the new year.”

Jang Tae-ri nagged a few more times, but Shin Jo-woon never revealed his wish.

Rembrary watched the two bickering and opened the fireworks set box. There was a thin wick inside.

*What do I do with this?*

As Rembrary fiddled with the wick, Shin Jo-woon, who had finished arguing, held out a lighter and told him.

“Light the wick there.”

But when Rembrary didn’t understand, Shin Jo-woon lit the end of the wick himself.

“Hold it carefully.”

The moment Shin Jo-woon finished speaking, a small vermilion [a vivid red or scarlet color] light flickered from the end of the wick, and Rembrary was startled and asked.

“What is this?”

At that tone, Jang Tae-ri giggled and teased.

“Yeon-woo speaks strangely when he’s flustered.”

Rembrary was so busy looking at the flames burning at his fingertips that he didn’t even realize he wasn’t managing his tone. He was just completely mesmerized by the sparkling flames.

Jang Tae-ri and Shin Jo-woon laughed as they watched, and the three of them played with the fireworks for about 30 minutes.

But in the middle of having fun, Jang Tae-ri suddenly stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“To buy ice cream.”

“At this hour?”

“There’s a convenience store open all day over there.”

“Wait, let’s go together.”

“I want to eat something cold.”

Shin Jo-woon tried to stop her, but Jang Tae-ri took off her coat and handed it back to Shin Jo-woon, and handed her sparkler to Rembrary as well.

In the end, Shin Jo-woon stood up as well, unable to just watch.

“Let’s go together.”

Then he asked Rembrary.

“Pig, can you be alone for a moment?”

“Do you really think I’m a pig?”

“Don’t go anywhere else.”

Shin Jo-woon put his arms into the coat, but Jang Tae-ri pushed Shin Jo-woon back down.

“No, you stay with Yeon-woo. The convenience store is right in front of us. Yeon-woo is a celebrity, what if someone picks a fight with him while he’s alone?”

Rembrary shook the sparkler and announced his dignity.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m okay too, so take good care of my sparkler. Don’t let it go out.”

But Jang Tae-ri smiled brightly and ran off before they could even grab her. Shin Jo-woon looked at her retreating figure worriedly and shook his head.

“She secretly likes to eat too.”

“Don’t you tease Jang Tae-ri by calling her a pig?”

“Why is she a pig?”

“You call me a pig.”

“She doesn’t call me a whale or an anchovy. You keep calling me a whale or an anchovy.”

“I meant whale in a good way.”

“I’m calling you a pig in a good way too.”

*Is he even saying that? It’s something no one would believe.* Rembrary narrowed his eyes and stared, but Shin Jo-woon just smiled and tapped Rembrary’s sparkler with his own.

“Do you know what I wished for earlier?”

“That’s Tae-ri’s sparkler. It’s Shin Jo-woon’s fault if it goes out.”

“I wished that the three of us could always laugh and see each other like this.”

“The moment that sparkler goes out, Shin Jo-woon won’t be able to see Jang Tae-ri laughing.”

Rembrary pushed Shin Jo-woon’s sparkler away with the two sparklers in his hand as if fighting with a spear, and then, belatedly understanding the wish Shin Jo-woon had made, widened his eyes in surprise.

“This guy, he doesn’t look like it, but he’s cheesy.”

As Rembrary muttered, Shin Jo-woon lightly smiled and tapped the sparkler Rembrary was holding.

At that moment, the light went out on one of the sparklers. Shin Jo-woon quickly straightened his upper body and asked.

“Is that Tae-ri’s? Did I turn off Tae-ri’s?”

“I’m going to tell her everything.”

Rembrary said firmly, and the moment Shin Jo-woon was about to protest, Jang Tae-ri called out to them from across the road.

Shin Jo-woon put one hand on his forehead with a ‘I’m dead’ expression.

Rembrary quickly got up from his chair, thinking of telling Jang Tae-ri everything.

Meanwhile, Jang Tae-ri carefully looked at the road, confirmed that there were no cars, and was about to cross.

But suddenly, a car came speeding by, and Jang Tae-ri was surprised and stepped back.

“Why is he speeding like that where there’s no crosswalk?”

Shin Jo-woon, also surprised, cursed lowly as he watched the car speeding away.

But Rembrary was looking the other way. The air. Cracks suddenly started to appear like a spider web in the middle of the road, in the empty air.

Seeing that, Rembrary was so surprised that he dropped the sparkler he was holding, and Jang Tae-ri’s flame went out completely.

Rembrary widened his eyes and looked at Jang Tae-ri.

At that moment, the car that had sped past Jang Tae-ri collided with the crack and bounced out with a bang, and the car flew straight towards Jang Tae-ri.

Time seemed to stop.

Shin Jo-woon’s eyes widened. Rembrary hurriedly ran to Jang Tae-ri.

< Fireworks > End