Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 234

< 234. That PD Must Be Crazy (3) >

Rembrary was still struggling to understand.

‘Why am I involved in this again?’

A monster appeared, a video of its defeat went viral, and now they’re planning a variety show about it, with casting decisions underway?

“I doubt anyone will actually watch this.”

[Well, who knows? People might tune in out of sheer boredom. If something like that came on, I’d probably watch out of curiosity, but I wouldn’t exactly be excited for it.]

“What exactly are they planning to do on this show?”

[I have no idea. Even when I first heard about it, I thought Kim Murok [the PD’s name] was just spouting nonsense.]

While Rembrary was on the phone, the driver kept glancing at him through the rearview mirror, a mix of curiosity and fascination on his face.

The driver couldn’t hear Jongwoo’s voice, but hearing Rembrary talk about a TV program reinforced his impression that he was dealing with a celebrity, which he found amazing, especially after witnessing a monster and a monster egg firsthand.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Thank you.”

Arriving in front of the accommodation, Rembrary quickly exited the car and headed inside. But once again, he was greeted only by Keshi, wielding a frying pan.

“Where’s Jongwoo?”

Keshi lowered the frying pan and pointed towards the veranda window.

Through the glass, Jongwoo was engrossed in a phone call.

‘I’ll have to ask him about this later.’ With that thought, Rembrary turned to head back to his room.

“Is it true?”

But Hyegyeol stopped him.

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard you’re going to be on some TV show? And it’s about monsters? Is that even possible? Is it a documentary? Where did those things even come from? Is there a way to send them back to space?”

Jongwoo had apparently told Keshi about the program, albeit without many details.

‘So, this TV show idea is actually serious?’

Rembrary stared at the back of Jongwoo’s head through the veranda window, the same thought echoing in his mind.

Another hour or two passed before Jongwoo finally came to the room.

“What’s this all about? A variety show?”

As soon as Rembrary saw Jongwoo, he pressed him for information. Jongwoo pulled a chair over and sat down, his expression troubled.

“It’s just like you heard. I don’t have many details myself. Apparently, PD Kim Murok is planning this variety show and specifically wants you involved.”

Jongwoo studied Rembrary’s face and asked, “Will you do it? Will you go on the show?”

“Do I even have a choice this time?”

* * *

Rembrary and Jongwoo thought PD Kim Murok was strange, but the truth was, the most bewildered person in this whole situation was PD Kim Murok himself.

‘What in the world is going on?’

It was strange that a frog egg appeared in front of his house. It was strange that a person was devoured by a frog egg. It was strange that a monster emerged from the frog egg, and it was strange that someone managed to defeat it. And now he was meeting with government officials about it.

Moreover, what these government officials were proposing…

“Recruit people who want to become monster hunters – Hunters, if you will – and have them compete against each other?”

“We’ve heard your editing skills are exceptional, and that you have a knack for making audiences root for the contestants you choose.”

“Well, if you give me the go-ahead, I can do it. But wouldn’t it be better to just eliminate the monsters? Why bother with all this…?”

“To be honest, we don’t currently have a way to eliminate them all at once. So, we want to show people how to deal with monsters, to reassure them.”

PD Kim Murok felt increasingly uneasy. It was better than losing his job as a PD because the world had suddenly gone crazy, but still…

“In that case, wouldn’t an observational reality show be better? Something like ‘A Hunter’s Daily Life’?”

“That’s something you can plan once the term ‘Hunter’ has become established with this program.”

“!”

“When people can continue living their lives even with monsters around. Plan it around that time.”

Gu Seji, the government official in charge, asked with a businesslike, and therefore even more intimidating, smile.

“You can do it, right? Actually, in this situation, the answer is already decided.”

“But why are you so insistent on including Woo Yeonwoo…?”

“…”

When Gu Seji suddenly turned serious, Kim Murok quickly changed the subject.

“Ah, never mind, I won’t ask.”

‘I guess there’s a reason, but they don’t want to tell me,’ he thought.

“Then, I’ll leave it in your capable hands. I’ll let you know if any other issues arise.”

“The broadcast schedule…”

“That man who caught the monster that caused all the commotion recently…”

“Are you going to have him appear on the show too?”

“People will come to revere that man like a hero.”

“He already is a hero! Are you going to have him appear on the show?”

“Before long, there will be people who voluntarily try to become like that man.”

“?”

“The broadcast will begin after that.”

* * *

It was worth waiting several days for Woo Seongwoo’s call.

Woo Seongwoo finally called and told him to come outside because he was in front of his house.

“Can’t I come too?”

As Rembrary grabbed his mask and hat, Hyegyeol rushed over and asked. Hyegyeol seemed completely obsessed with Woo Seongwoo’s video.

“Later.”

“Later when? Later today? Tomorrow?”

“Later, whenever.”

Rembrary shook off Hyegyeol, who was clinging to him like a magnet, and quickly took the elevator down. As soon as he reached the parking lot, he spotted Woo Seongwoo’s car. Rembrary hurried over, opened the passenger door, and got in.

“Why did you come here today?”

“People recognize my face.”

“Even if they didn’t, everyone on the internet is saying you look like Woo Yeonwoo [a famous celebrity].”

“You’re the one who looks like me.”

Rembrary almost said, ‘We’re not blood-related, so it’s not like I’m trying to look like you,’ but he stopped himself, remembering how shocked Woo Seongwoo had been when he learned they weren’t actually brothers. Woo Seongwoo had seemed incredibly surprised that they weren’t real brothers with Woo Yeonwoo.

“Anyway, explain this to me. ‘Sacred Idol’? What on earth are you talking about?”

“Look at this first.”

Woo Seongwoo stopped talking and pulled out a dagger-like weapon. At first glance, it looked like a regular dagger, but Rembrary had seen it shoot out something strange when Woo Seongwoo activated it.

“Why that?”

As soon as Rembrary asked, something amazing happened. Woo Seongwoo was standing still, but the dagger floated upwards.

Rembrary stared blankly, then pushed the dagger back down into Woo Seongwoo’s hand. Woo Seongwoo looked even more surprised and asked,

“Why did you push it down?”

“The blade was facing me.”

Woo Seongwoo looked at Rembrary in disbelief, then burst out laughing. The laughter was so loud that Rembrary briefly wondered, ‘Is he crazy?’

But Woo Seongwoo wasn’t crazy. In fact, after the wave of monster appearances, Woo Seongwoo had been suffering from constant tension. The identity of their secret group had been exposed, and people who didn’t even believe in ghosts or spirits were suddenly sharing the world with monsters.

Before, they fought monsters in secret, but now they were fighting them in the public eye. As the tension that had been steadily building up during these upheavals became futile, it transformed into laughter.

“You really have no sense of urgency.”

“Just explain.”

“Suddenly, there was a change where the number of monsters increased dramatically.”

“Yeah.”

“The change didn’t just happen to the monsters.”

Even though Woo Seongwoo didn’t touch it, the blade that had been facing Rembrary suddenly flipped towards Woo Seongwoo.

“I couldn’t do this before.”

Only then did Rembrary show some curiosity.

“So…?”

“I found out while chasing that monster that came out of the frog egg.”

“!”

“Our team leader seems to have gained strange abilities too. When I looked into it, all those with the ‘Eye’ [referring to a specific group or ability] showed changes. Even those without the ‘Eye’ showed changes, though in smaller numbers.”

Rembrary immediately thought of Shin Jo-un. He was a bit taken aback. No, the other people with the ‘Eye’ are gaining strange abilities, so why is that guy the only one fainting?

Did I call him a sardine so much that he really has the stamina of a sardine?

Rembrary realized a beat late that Shin Jo-un being a sardine wasn’t the important thing right now.

Monsters were emerging from the rifts, and strange powers were appearing in the people here, who seemed a bit weaker than the people in the world Rembrary lived in. This was no ordinary situation.

It wasn’t just a matter of visible monsters or abilities. The fact that it caused such monstrous phenomena meant that a tremendous power was involved. That was the real problem.

“Nakru [likely a company or organization] will promote me as a hero. The government will push me too. The broadcast will continue to talk about me.”

“Oh my. Your nose is practically touching the sky.”

“It’s not arrogance. I’m saying they’ll do that on purpose.”

“Why?”

“Because the number of monsters has increased too much. They don’t have the power to stop them all. There’s a serious manpower shortage.”

“?”

“It’s a kind of project. I’m the first hero. Those who are inspired by seeing me and voluntarily participate in eliminating monsters, promote themselves, and become famous on their own are the second heroes. At the right time, they’ll run articles calling those people ‘Hunters.’ And…”

Woo Seongwoo flipped the dagger over and lifted Rembrary’s chin with the handle.

“You’ll go in there. If you’re among unfamiliar Hunters, the public will feel that much more familiar.”

They’re trying to make Hunters feel like celebrities so that many people will apply. But to call those who catch monsters Hunters…

“That’s a pretty transparent name.”

It’s packaged with a celebrity-like feel, but isn’t it a subtle way of expressing that the essence is still monster hunting?

“Wouldn’t ‘Frog Egg Hunter’ be more familiar?”

Woo Seongwoo put the dagger away. Rembrary frowned.

“Besides, if that’s the case, why does it have to be me? Any other celebrity would be fine, right?”

At Rembrary’s words, Woo Seongwoo burst out laughing.

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know? All our team members were looking forward to it?”

“To what?”

“If we’ve become this strong, how much more of a monster would you, who were originally strong, have become?”

The moment he was about to answer that he was originally great and there was nothing like that, his phone vibrated. Rembrary stopped talking and took out his phone. Sa Gamjae’s name was on the screen.

“He’s finally calling.”

Rembrary clicked his tongue and answered the phone. But because Woo Seongwoo was too close, he went out of the car in case he could hear the call.

“The world is overrun with frogs, where on earth have you been?”

Rembrary poured out his complaints as soon as he answered the phone.

[The underworld.]

“I knew it.”

[There’s a problem.]

“There’s a problem here too.”

[Your god has come looking for you. You need to come for a bit.]

“!”

< 234. That PD Must Be Crazy (3) > End