Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 219

< 219. What's Up with the Underworld...? >

Sagaejae stood blankly, looking around. What on earth…? Cracks were everywhere in the Underworld. It looked like being inside a broken mirror or trapped in a maze of shattered glass.

Sajikjae clicked his tongue beside him.

“It’s a mess. Is the situation in the Living Realm any better?”

The cracks in the Underworld were different from those in the Living Realm. While the cracks in the Living Realm were like spiderwebs, the ones here were simpler, just single lines. The problem was the sheer number and size of the cracks, making it seem like the whole world was fractured, sending chills down your spine just by looking at it.

“Is the world really going to turn upside down? I have no idea what’s going on.”

Sajikjae grumbled again.

It wasn’t just the Grim Reapers who felt something was off. Those who lived between the Living Realm and the Underworld also seemed disoriented by the sudden change, pausing in their pursuit of the deceased to look around.

“This can’t have been going on for long. …Let’s go see the Great King [Lord Yama] first.”

Sajikjae nudged Sagaejae’s back and walked ahead. Sagaejae nodded and quickly walked alongside him.

The two Grim Reapers walked across the river to where Lord Yama resided.

On the way, they encountered a Grim Reaper they occasionally met when traveling between the Living Realm and the Underworld. It was a colleague whose jurisdiction was similar, with whom they had collaborated during the amusement park incident.

Sagaejae approached the colleague and demanded,

“If things were going to be like this, you should have said something in advance.”

But the colleague’s answer was surprising.

“It’s not that I didn’t tell you; I just saw it myself. It wasn’t like this this morning.”

Not like this this morning? It happened in just a few hours? Sagaejae was about to ask again in surprise when a deceased person in a school uniform, standing behind the colleague, exclaimed in surprise.

“Wow. Is the Underworld always like this? What’s it usually like?”

Sagaejae glanced at him, and the colleague chuckled, defending him.

“He’s just curious.”

Now wasn’t the time to worry about the deceased, so Sagaejae turned his gaze back to his colleague. But the deceased in the school uniform pointed at Sagaejae and shouted.

“Oh! Wooyeonwoo’s handsome manager! Swimsuit?! Is the manager a Grim Reaper?”

Sagaejae glanced at him, and the colleague waved his hand to quickly block his view.

“Don’t glare at him like that; you’ll scare him.”

The student hid behind the Grim Reaper accompanying him, peeking out with only his face showing. He seemed to be interested in celebrities, muttering, “He really looks like Wooyeonwoo’s manager.” Then, the student suddenly jumped up again, his eyes sparkling, and asked.

“Then is Wooyeonwoo also a Grim Reaper? Is that why he sees ghosts and stuff? Wow! I’m a fan of Wooyeonwoo!”

“Liar.”

“……Is it obvious?”

“It’s obvious.”

“Do Wooyeonwoo fans get bonus points? Like, if they’re going to hell, they get to be reincarnated, or if they’re going to be reincarnated, they get to go to heaven.”

“There’s no such thing.”

“Ah.”

The student turned away coolly, as if he didn’t need to worry about it then.

“Actually, I’m a fan of Oh Jeongshin.”

The Grim Reaper guiding the student smiled approvingly.

“He’s a smart kid. He’ll do well wherever he goes. He’ll be smart even after he’s reincarnated.”

‘Is he his descendant…?’ Sagaejae found the biased interpretation strange, so he cast a stern gaze at the student once, then at his colleague, before asking.

“Where is Lord Yama?”

“Inside.”

* * *

Going inside, Yama was rubbing a cracked spot with his palm. Even blowing on it.

“Great King.”

“What are you doing?”

As Sagaejae and Sajikjae approached, Yama lowered his hand and muttered gloomily.

“That Saint complained to you about the interior. The interior has really become a mess. I don’t know if the world is broken or if my eyes are broken.”

“Are you alright?”

“It’s not visually pleasing.”

Sagaejae looked around Yama’s residence. Indeed. The other parts of the Underworld, where the deceased walked, were already somewhat desolate, so it was less noticeable. But here, because it wasn’t desolate, the cracks everywhere felt even more alien and bizarre.

“What happened?”

Sagaejae asked, and Yama frowned and put his hands behind his back.

“I don’t know. I was working when I felt something was wrong, so I came out, and it was like this.”

“You don’t know the cause?”

“I don’t know exactly.”

Yama couldn’t stand it and rubbed the area near the crack with his sleeve again, but the crack didn’t disappear this time either. Yama became completely dejected and simply went into his private room and plopped down on his throne.

Sagaejae and Sajikjae followed him inside.

As the two Grim Reapers approached, Yama lowered his hand from his chin and asked.

“You two. Don’t you think the cause of this situation might be that Otherworld Saint [Rembrary]?”

Sagaejae and Sajikjae looked at each other. Sajikjae signaled to Sagaejae with his chin. ‘I’m not that close to him. You talk.’

Sagaejae cautiously asked Yama.

“Do you have a reason for thinking that…?”

“I don’t know. But the biggest change in this world recently is that Otherworld Saint coming here.”

Since that was true, Sagaejae was agreeing when Yama muttered, lost in thought.

“I should send him back to his original world, even if I have to force it. I was keeping him here to maintain the status quo, but it’s turned out like this….”

Sagaejae’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re sending him back even though he’s still filming the drama?”

Yama frowned.

“What about the drama?”

Only then did Sagaejae quickly put aside his side job and correct himself.

“It’s nothing.”

Sajikjae had been listening carefully to the entire conversation, and he raised one hand halfway and asked.

“I agree with sending him back. Anyway, the demons’ atmosphere hasn’t been good since that Saint appeared. But Great King, um… I’m not suggesting we kill him, am I?”

“Kill the Saint?”

“No, that’s not it. Usually, in this kind of situation, wouldn’t we suggest killing him?”

“What’s the point of killing him? He’ll just come here directly, right?”

“Ah.”

“He’s already a Saint, so even if he comes here, we can’t send him somewhere else to be reincarnated.”

“That’s true.”

Yama rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache, shook his head, and ordered Sagaejae.

“Sagaejae. You’re close to that Otherworld Saint, right?”

“Yes.”

“When a crack big enough for a person to pass through appears, I’ll twist the dimension enough for the Saint to pass through. Push the Saint into it.”

* * *

‘Is he okay?’

Rembrary stared blankly at his phone, then turned off the screen. Then, he turned it back on to check the time and went into his text messages.

Even after doing this, he didn’t receive a reply from Im Yoohan.

The last time Rembrary sent a text was a week ago. But for a week, Im Yoohan hadn’t replied.

He always replied within 30 minutes, or at the latest, within three or four hours.

Normally, he would have just forgotten about it, but the last time they were in contact, Im Yoohan wanted ‘eyes’ [surveillance]. Given the situation, he couldn’t help but worry.

He didn’t even care about the article that decorated the front page of the internet, ‘Accidents happening around Wooyeonwoo. Coincidence?’

He heard the door open, but Rembrary didn’t look towards the door, leaning his upper body on the table.

He was sure it was Jongwoo.

Or maybe Keshi, who had gone out three hours ago all dressed up.

“Oh, Sagaejae hyung [older brother/friend] went on an unauthorized vacation. He came back surprisingly early?”

Only after hearing Hyegyeol’s voice did Rembrary move his head up while keeping his body still. Sagaejae was coming in, dressed in a black suit.

The smell. He came with the smell of a place other than the Living Realm.

“Is your business finished?”

Rembrary asked, and Sagaejae came over and lifted Rembrary’s head. Rembrary reluctantly sat up straight and asked again.

“Anyway? What’s the reason?”

“The situation is similar in the Underworld.”

“There are cracks there too…?”

“There are cracks everywhere.”

“Oh, dear.”

Rembrary frowned.

“Lord Yama said that this phenomenon might be related to Wooyeonwoo.”

“Me?”

“Yes. So he said he would send you back to your original world, even if he had to force it.”

Rembrary was listening indifferently when he jumped up in surprise.

“Me?!”

Hyegyeol, who was watching TV, was startled and asked Rembrary.

“Why? Did you get cast in something good? What is it?”

Rembrary waved his hand, signaling no, and quickly sat back in his chair. But even though he covered his face with both hands, his excitement didn’t subside.

“When?”

“I don’t know. But when a crack big enough for a person to pass through appears, he will twist the dimension in the meantime, so he tells me to push Wooyeonwoo into it.”

“……You don’t have to push me; just tell me where it is. I’ll go in willingly.”

* * *

That night, Rembrary sat blankly at his desk, thinking all sorts of things.

He was overwhelmed with the thought of going back to his original world and saving those in need.

Even though someone else was in his original body, the divine power seemed to follow the soul, so whether he regained his body or not, wouldn’t he be able to help people again?

‘This time, let’s drive out the Demon King this time.’

Rembrary made a firm resolution, then suddenly felt sad as he thought of the people he had become close to here.

‘Those people, won’t they feel empty after I leave?’

‘Of course, Wooyeonwoo won’t disappear just because I leave…….’

The members would just think that their strange colleague had returned to normal, so even if they were awkward at first, they would adapt again. The same goes for Jongwoo. Sagaejae would quit his manager job and focus on his main job.

But…….

He was a little worried about Jang Taeri and Shin Joowoon.

Because the two of them had met and become friends with him, not the ‘real Wooyeonwoo.’

In the end, after much deliberation, Rembrary sent a text message to both of them, saying goodbye.

‘I have to say my last farewells before I leave.’

* * *

I’m leaving. Goodbye.

Shin Joowoon was sitting alone in a chair when he checked the text message that had suddenly arrived and frowned.

“What are you talking about? Leaving?”

Then, the next text message arrived.

We won’t be able to see each other in this world anymore; it was fun, Mr. Whale. I’ll call you Whale as a last farewell. This isn’t a permanent farewell. There will be another world. Goodbye.

Shin Joowoon was startled and jumped up.

< 219. What's Up with the Underworld...? > End