Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 227

< 227. V-Logs Aren't Easy >

“I hope the group’s image doesn’t get overshadowed by Yeonwoo’s individual success.”

Team Leader Yoo was briefly surprised by Taein’s concern. He’d naturally expected Taein to ask for personal benefits, like more screen time or promotional pushes. But this was unexpected.

“Really? That’s your only condition?”

Team Leader Yoo asked, looking rather displeased.

“There must be other things you want?”

“No. That’s it. Please ensure the company balances things well so the group’s image isn’t overshadowed by Yeonwoo’s.”

Taein gestured towards the other members.

“Honestly, none of us can compete with Yeonwoo’s current popularity. If we try to emulate Yeonwoo’s image, only Yeonwoo will thrive, and the rest of us will fade away. It’s fine if Yeonwoo soars in solo activities, but please consider this during group promotions.”

The crisis that briefly threatened Wild Animal—whether they would become a quartet, be reorganized with new members, or disband into solo careers—fortunately didn’t last long and was resolved.

Even though it was brief, it still took almost four days, during which the fans were incredibly anxious. However, when the news broke that ‘the discord rumors are clearly false, and the members will continue as they are,’ everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

* * *

“Fan meeting?”

One evening, when life seemed to be returning to normal, Jongwoo, after taking Taein to a music show, mentioned the fan meeting to the members.

Hyegyeol asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

“When? When is it?”

Taein wore a sulky expression, but he took off his jacket noticeably slower than usual, indicating his own interest.

Rembrary tilted his head, wondering what a fan meeting was. The term sounded vaguely familiar, though.

“It’s not going to be a huge fan meeting. More like a guerrilla-style one. As soon as possible.”

Rembrary didn’t understand the difference between a large-scale fan meeting and a small-scale one, or what ‘guerrilla-style’ meant, so he focused on the main point.

The conclusion was that ‘the fans are very concerned about the recent discord rumors, so we’re holding a small, surprise fan meeting under the guise of celebrating Taein’s number one song.’

“What do we do at a fan meeting?”

“Meet the fans, right?”

“Is it just seeing faces and then it’s over?”

“We’ll talk with the fans. Play some games. It would be nice to show them a performance too. We need to brainstorm ideas for the event. But since it’s small-scale, let’s not overdo it.”

Rembrary recalled the times in his original world when he met with his followers and had conversations. Was it something similar?

Back then, he would often perform miracles for his believers while talking to them. Was this going to be like that?

* * *

“It’s not similar at all.”

If he shouted, ‘This is my divine energy for you all!’ while dancing and singing to his followers, they would have been bewildered and struggled to keep up with the rhythm.

Rembrary, who lost his footing while trying to keep up with the complex choreography, stopped, feeling dejected.

The performance they were going to show at the fan meeting was Taein’s solo song that had reached number one, and a medley of Wild Animal’s hit songs.

Because of this, Rembrary, who wasn’t familiar with Wild Animal’s early performances, had to quickly memorize several dances and inevitably struggled the most.

“They didn’t even have any real hit songs on their first or second album. To include the title track in the hit song medley is just shameless promotion.”

Even if they claimed the title track was a hit song, so be it. Having to memorize the choreography and performance was exhausting, so Rembrary stopped dancing and muttered.

However, if he just stood there blankly while the other members were performing, it would fuel more rumors.

“Woo Yeonwoo, why are you standing there all alone?”

“Jongwoo, doesn’t this seem strange to you?”

“What? Is there something you don’t understand? Should I call the dance teacher?”

“No. The song, I mean.”

“?”

“Will the fans even remember it if we sing this song? It’s a song that probably doesn’t even register in their memories. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave it out?”

“……Yeonwoo, don’t say that in front of the fans. Promise me.”

Several days later.

As soon as he managed to synchronize with the members, the fan meeting date quickly approached.

And on the day of the fan meeting, in line with the ‘event for the fans’ theme, the members wore outfits based on their assigned animal concepts for the first time in a while.

Unfortunately, Rembrary didn’t like this either, so he sulked in the waiting room, staring at his reflection.

However, the stylists found the sight amusing, laughing as they bustled around with brushes and costumes. A serious and handsome man wearing a sloth hat and looking depressed was, frankly, both strange and endearing.

Amidst all this, only Jungseo tried to comfort Rembrary.

“It’s okay. It suits you well.”

Rembrary saw the deer antlers Jungseo was wearing on his head and resisted the urge to retort, ‘You’re not exactly in a position to offer comfort right now.’

* * *

After two rehearsals, the fans finally began to enter, and the fan meeting began in earnest.

Rembrary had attended a few autograph sessions for cosmetics promotions, so he adapted to the atmosphere easily.

The cosmetics were marketed in a way that pitted Rembrary against Oh Jungshin, which stimulated fan interest, so many fans attended each event.

After cutting a simple cake to celebrate Taein’s number one hit, playing a few simple games that had been prepared, and performing the practiced stages in between, an hour and a half passed quickly.

Finally, it was time for the fans to have a brief conversation with the members.

The question and answer session was conducted in a format where a fan would ask a question, and then a member to answer would be randomly selected using an app, to prevent fans from only interacting with one member.

However, despite the large number of fans, the questions were all similar: How do the members usually get along, who is closest to whom, who bickers the most, and so on.

Perhaps because of the discord rumors, the fans seemed most concerned about the relationships between the members.

Then, one fan asked, “What do you think the members are to you?” and pressed the button, and Rembrary was selected to answer.

‘Oh dear.’

As soon as Rembrary’s name appeared on the screen, Jongwoo, who was watching from the side of the stage, inwardly groaned.

Funnily enough, the fan who asked the question also became nervous when Rembrary grabbed the microphone.

Jungseo watched the fans’ faces and suppressed his laughter.

When Rembrary grabbed the microphone, his personal fans were the most anxious. You could easily identify Rembrary’s fans by their expressions.

In any case, there was no stopping Rembrary from speaking. Besides, unlike his initial unfiltered remarks, Rembrary had recently been moderating his words to the point where others were less shocked, so Jungseo trusted him and waited comfortably for his answer.

“Brothers.”

However, Rembrary’s answer was so unexpected that even Jungseo couldn’t have predicted it. In a positive way.

Not only Jungseo and Jongwoo, but even Taein and Kesh were surprised and looked at Rembrary.

As if unaware of how impactful his answer was, Rembrary smiled gently while holding the microphone and repeated.

“They’re really like my brothers.”

After the fan meeting, Kesh hesitated and approached Rembrary.

“Hey, Yeonwoo.”

Rembrary, who was taking a selfie while wearing a sloth hat, responded.

“What is it?”

Kesh continued to hesitate and asked awkwardly again.

“What you said earlier about us being like brothers. Is it true?”

If Jungseo or Hyegyeol or another member had said it, Kesh would have dismissed it as lip service. Maybe he would have even playfully agreed.

But because Rembrary said it, it felt more significant. Because he knew that Rembrary never said empty words.

That’s why Kesh was surprised and asked again.

At Kesh’s question, Hyegyeol also secretly glanced at Rembrary.

Rembrary lowered the phone, which he had raised at a 45-degree angle, slightly and smiled.

“Of course.”

At those words, Kesh felt genuinely touched.

‘He may seem aloof on the outside, but inside he thinks of us as……’

“Just because you’re brothers doesn’t mean you have a good relationship.”

‘He’s so annoyed with us.’

The touching feeling lasted less than 5 seconds.

“Having to put up with something annoying is exactly like you.”

Rembrary spoke gently to Kesh, but this time without any emotion.

* * *

As if the brief discord rumors had been a catalyst, Wild Animal’s activities proceeded smoothly afterward.

Taein’s number one song occasionally dropped to second or third place, but it maintained a strong position in the rankings and didn’t easily fall.

The fans, alarmed by Wild Animal’s discord rumors, seemed more united than before.

Recently, there was a film premiere for a movie in which Jungseo played a supporting role, and Jungseo received positive reviews.

He wasn’t particularly prominent in the movie. Because the role itself wasn’t too significant, his acting was considered solid.

In this positive atmosphere, Jongwoo asked Rembrary if it was a good time to start preparing for the next album.

“I’ll create a schedule that’s not too demanding. Let’s prepare at a relaxed pace. The fan base isn’t large enough yet to withstand a long hiatus.”

Since the incident where he went to the cliff due to difficulties with activities was a misunderstanding, Rembrary readily agreed.

“Do so.”

“Should I thank you?”

“You may.”

“……Are there any roles for a crown prince or a young king? It seems like it would be a perfect fit.”

After confirming the preparation for the new album, while the members except for Taein and Jungseo were taking their final rest, CEO Im suggested filming the album preparation process as a vlog .

* * *

‘……I don’t know why we’re doing this kind of thing.’

Solely because the video diary being filmed on the show was popular, Rembrary became the first to do a vlog, arriving at the broadcasting station with just a camera in his hand.

Of course, they didn’t just hand him the camera. Sajamjae [likely a staff member or manager] was standing nearby as a supervisor.

And the ‘setup’ that Rembrary was assigned with this camera was to bring gifts for the staff and fans to Taein, who was nominated for first place on a music show.

In his hand, he also held a bag of cookies baked by the owner of the bakery next door and diligently packaged by the employees of LLL Entertainment.

If he brought this, Taein would pretend to be surprised and receive it, but…….

‘Why bother?’

Rembrary didn’t understand at all, but he followed the instructions, holding the self-camera and the bag of cookies, and muttered as he walked blankly down the hallway of the broadcasting station.

* * *

I’m here now to support Taein.

Taein is singing somewhere on this floor. Ah, is he not singing yet?

Anyway, I came to surprise him. Because Taein is nominated for first place this time.

Ah. I also prepared gifts. For the fans and staff who came to support Taein.

This…… is bread that the owner of the bakery next door and his employees worked hard to make. Our employees put them in diligently packaged bags and brought them.

I don’t know if it’s delicious. I haven’t tried it. The owner of our bakery next door is good at making crispy things, but not good at making soft bread.

But the one I received now is soft bread, so I’m honestly not sure about the taste. Our owner makes the best baguettes.

But it doesn’t matter since I’m not going to eat it anyway.

I’m just going to deliver this to Taein…… wait. I know that person? Isn’t that Im Yoohan’s manager?

Hello!

“Yeonwoo-ssi [honorific], Woo Yeonwoo-ssi, is the camera rolling right now?”

“Yes. I’m doing a vlog. Would you like to say hello?”

“Can you turn it off for a moment? There’s something I need to ask you urgently.”

< 227. V-Logs Aren't Easy > End