Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 243

< 243. The Moment the Door Closes >

Though viewers frantically tried to stop him from beyond the internet, Rembrary ultimately opened the door. At that moment, thousands of people screamed simultaneously.

Some even squeezed their eyes shut. Earlier, a staff member and a participant had been injured, but those attacks weren’t shown on video. Now, they were about to witness an attack up close.

Moreover, Rembrary was a familiar celebrity. Even people who weren’t interested in idols knew Woo Yeon-woo’s face and name. Because of this, everyone reacted even more strongly to Rembrary’s crisis.

However, Rembrary, unaware of the reactions he was causing, even greeted the person at the door.

“What kind of consultation are you looking for?”

The viewers, who were more frightened themselves, were even more shocked when they saw the person at the door.

―Isn’t that participant Cheong? What Cheong?

ㄴLee Gi-cheong!

―Isn’t he one of the suspects who attacked the staff?

―Didn’t he go into the dorm and not come out?

―Seriously, I thought people were guarding the dorm;;;

―WTF, why is that person there?

―Crazy, did that person stab the other participant too? Or is he not even human?

―OMGㅠㅠㅠ What is thisㅠㅠㅠ

Rembrary, who had confidently opened the door, was also a little surprised to see Lee Gi-cheong. In fact, Rembrary had imagined a monster with a human voice, or a participant or staff member with a completely different appearance.

‘I thought there might be two culprits. But it seems there isn’t.’

Lee Gi-cheong smiled at Rembrary and asked again.

“Can I come in?”

“What do you want to consult about?”

“Monsters.”

At Rembrary’s question, Lee Gi-cheong narrowed his eyes and looked around with a frightened expression. Then, he lowered his voice and whispered.

“I think I know who it is.”

―Don’t let him in!

―Don’t listen, Yeon-wooㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

―Close the door! Close the door!

Despite the viewers’ screams of protest, Rembrary calmly stepped aside, and Lee Gi-cheong slowly entered.

Rembrary closed the door.

“Ah, then will you tell me who it is?”

And the moment he turned around, a strange vine burst out of Lee Gi-cheong’s mouth.

―Eek!

―Aaaaaah ㅅㅂㅅㅂㅅㅂㅅㅂㅅ [Korean slang, a string of curse words]

―Yeon-wooㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

―Crazy, crazy, crazy 1191119119 pleaseㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ [Korean emergency call number]

―Production team, you crazy bastards, if Yeon-woo gets hurt, you’re all going to get hurt too!

However, the moment the vine came close.

Rembrary flicked the vine away as if swatting a mosquito and began to wrap it around his hand. It happened in the blink of an eye, before the viewers could even react. Lee Gi-cheong, on the other hand, made a sound like ‘Ack!’ and his head tilted to the side.

Regardless, Rembrary continued to wrap the vine around his hand, understanding.

“So, it’s you. I see.”

Rembrary, who had wrapped the vine from someone else’s body around his hand as if it were a bandage, smiled gently and even greeted him.

Speaking informally.

Lee Gi-cheong was still waving his hands wildly with his head tilted to the side. It seemed like he was trying to shake Rembrary off, but Rembrary cleverly flicked the vine whenever his hand seemed like it would touch him, causing him to flail in the wrong direction.

The viewers stopped screaming and were bewildered.

―Is that Lee Gi-cheong really Lee Gi-cheong?

―Is Lee Gi-cheong a monster?

ㄴUse some common sense. Would vines come out of Lee Gi-cheong’s body? It’s a monster imitating Lee Gi-cheong!

ㄴYou use some common sense. Awakened people can produce fire from their bodies, so why can’t vines come out?

ㄴAwakened people don’t attack people! That guy is attacking! So he must be a monster!

―But how did he catch it?

―Is that how you’re supposed to catch it?

―Is it okay to wrap it around your hand? Isn’t that a monster’s tongue?

―Are monsters usually that weak?

―Why is Woo Yeon-woo talking like thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]?

―The moment the door closed, one person became a monster and the other became a king;;;

―They both revealed their true natureㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

The viewers were dazed and stopped screaming, exchanging jokes with each other. But even so, they were all confused, not understanding what was happening.

Meanwhile. Rembrary, who was calm all along, still had the vine wrapped around his hand and reopened the closed door. When Rembrary took Lee Gi-cheong out with the vine still attached, a passing staff member screamed at the sight.

“Aaaaaaack!”

People who were startled by the scream and rushed over also screamed in horror when they saw Rembrary.

“Ugh, Woo Yeon-woo!”

“Where’s Eon Du-shin? Where’s Eon Du-shin?!”

They thought at first glance that Rembrary had been caught by the monster. But when Rembrary dragged Lee Gi-cheong towards PD [Production Director] Kim Mu-rok, people realized a beat late that the situation was the opposite. That it was the monster, not Rembrary, who had been caught.

PD Kim Mu-rok was at a loss, wondering what to do now that even Rembrary had been caught, and trembling because he had written a safety guarantee in the contract, but when a monster with vines in its mouth appeared nearby, he was so surprised that he almost dropped his jaw.

“PD-nim [PD title of respect].”

When Rembrary came closer, PD Kim Mu-rok flinched back and raised his hand.

“Talk over there, talk over there! I can hear you from there too!”

“I caught the culprit.”

When Rembrary pulled the vine-wrapped hand as if manipulating a puppet, Lee Gi-cheong, or rather, the monster that looked like Lee Gi-cheong, waved his hand again.

“No, how did you……?”

However, the moment PD Kim Mu-rok tried to ask a question. Lee Gi-cheong’s head, which had been swaying all along, suddenly fell off his neck. With the vine still wrapped around Rembrary’s hand.

Because of that, Rembrary inadvertently ended up holding the head. Rembrary tilted his head in confusion towards the direction where the monster’s body should have been.

The torso, which had fallen off and retreated on its own in the blink of an eye, was already transforming into the red-bodied monster that everyone knew. The form most often taken by the monsters that emerged from the frog eggs.

People who had gathered, wondering what was going on, screamed again and retreated. As the monster began to rampage like a mad horse, the production staff and participants were surprised and searched for Eon Du-shin again.

“Eon Du-shin! Where’s Eon Du-shin?”

“Instructor!”

However, instead of going elsewhere, the monster shook its body greatly and rushed straight at Rembrary. As if it was very angry at being attacked by Rembrary earlier.

The sight of it attacking a perfectly fine person like a monster beast made the screams even louder. Eon Du-shin, who had rushed over from another place after hearing the commotion, quickly grabbed his weapon, a spear.

“Everyone, step back!”

And just as he was about to go forward.

Rembrary, who was standing calmly whether the monster rushed at him or not, gripped the head he was still holding a little more tightly. Then, he began to hit the approaching torso with it.

Eon Du-shin, who was going there 멋지게 [Korean expression for ‘coolly’ or ‘impressively’], was so taken aback by the sight that he stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud.

PD Kim Mu-rok also crouched down crying, then sobbed and raised his head again.

The chat window, which had frozen like ice since Lee Gi-cheong turned into a real monster, also began to pick up speed again.

―Wow. He’s hitting it hard.

―Is the monster a pushover?

―Isn’t it just scary on the outside?

―It looks so weakㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

―It sounds like ‘pang pang pang pang’ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

The monster, which had been getting hit by Rembrary for a while, turned around and ran away in the opposite direction, thinking it couldn’t take it anymore.

As the monster ran away, the people who were blankly watching this scene, especially those in the direction the monster was running, screamed again and stepped aside.

Rembrary asked Eon Du-shin.

“Aren’t you going to catch it?”

“Huh?”

Eon Du-shin, who had heard the story that Woo Yeon-woo had caught a monster by throwing his shoes, but was seeing it for the first time, finally came to his senses and quickly ran towards it, raising his spear.

After the Cataclysm, he, like other ‘Eye’ holders, had undergone Awakening, and the ability he gained was ‘Launch.’ ‘Launch’ was just a name he had arbitrarily given it, but it was a name he gave it because he could shoot anything he held in his hand at tremendous speed, as if shooting a gun without a gun.

Using that ‘Launch,’ Eon Du-shin immediately threw the spear at the monster’s back.

The monster, which was running, was pierced through the back with the spear in one shot and collapsed. The surroundings became quiet as the monster fell.

Not only Rembrary, but people also saw Eon Du-shin’s ability for the first time this time. It was known that he was a hunter affiliated with 낙루 [Nakru, likely a fictional organization or place], but since nothing else was known about him, everyone was surprised.

In fact, there were those who knew that Eon Du-shin was a government-affiliated hunter but secretly ignored him, thinking, ‘Is Woo Seong-woo stronger, or are you stronger?’

People looked back and forth between Rembrary and Eon Du-shin in silence, then almost simultaneously began to cheer. Kim Mu-rok also stopped crying and let out a sigh of relief.

“We’re alive. We’re alive.”

Eon Du-shin approached the fallen monster and checked to see if it was completely dead instead of pulling out the spear.

* * *

―I guess that’s why they put Woo Yeon-woo in as a special case

―I think the government knew about this side of Woo Yeon-woo

―There was a reason why they insisted on including him while getting 욕ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’, 욕 means curse or criticism]

―ㅅㅂ [Korean slang, curse word] They knew about this and put him in as a candidate, but he 떨어졌 [failed/dropped out] in the voteㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

―Woo Yeon-woo is going to be number one?

―Is there any competition? He seems stronger than Eon Du-shin

ㄴBut isn’t Eon Du-shin stronger?

ㄴEon Du-shin caught it with a spear, and Woo Yeon-woo caught it with his bare hands

ㄴWhy are we talking about weapons here? Depending on the ability, there may be different efficient ways to fight, whether it’s with weapons or bare hands.

ㄴDidn’t they say Woo Yeon-woo wasn’t an Awakened?

ㄴIs that not an Awakened? He’s stronger than an Awakened?

―For now, Woo Yeon-woo has secured first place. He can broadcast comfortably.

―Even if you’re passing by on the KTX [Korean high-speed rail], Woo Yeon-woo will be number one

―It’s a scam if Woo Yeon-woo doesn’t get first place

―Noㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’] But seriously, some fairness. If it’s that level, Woo Seong-woo is similar in skill, right? He should be coming out as an instructor in a hunter survival show, but they put him there?

―Is it 원래 [originally/inherently] that if you have that face, you’re strong? Aren’t Woo Seong-woo and Woo Yeon-woo’s faces similar?

ㄴ헐ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean slang for ‘omg’ + laughter marker] Reallyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

ㄴWoo Seong-woo originally had a lot of talk about being a Woo Yeon-woo 닮은꼴 [look-alike] when he first became famousㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

ㄴThey really do look alike! Why didn’t I know?

ㄴEven their names are similar

―Just give Woo Yeon-woo first place and make a Woo Yeon-woo program. That would reduce the number of people getting hurt, save time, and be the best

―My husband stands out no matter where he is^^

ㄴ?????

ㄴIs your husband that vine monster over there? He stood out the most

ㄴㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean slang, curse word + laughter marker] Husband vine monsterㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

―There’s nothing our Yeon-woo can’t do. He sings well. He sees ghosts well. He catches 요괴 [Yokai, Japanese spirits/demons] well. His face shines. 크! [onomatopoeia for admiration]

ㄴHe can’t dance

ㄴHis personality disappeared

ㄴThe absence of 싸가지 [Ssagaji, Korean slang for rudeness/lack of manners]

ㄴSomething recently added. His 존댓말 [formal speech] disappears when he’s in a hurry.

ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’] There’s a lot he can’t doㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

ㄴPlease say he’s not 못하는 존댓말 [bad at formal speech], but he’s good at 하대 [speaking informally]ㅠㅠ

ㄴWhat’s the differenceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughter marker, similar to ‘lol’]

* * *

While the viewers were excited and pounding on their keyboards at the first achievement made by the people’s side after being constantly attacked by the monster, Eon Du-shin and the production team went to the dorm where Lee Gi-cheong had entered after becoming a suspect.

Even though the monster was already dead, the production team was nervous and gripped their weapons tightly, not knowing what might happen.

Eon Du-shin signaled the production team to stay a few steps away and quickly opened the door.

< 243. The Moment the Door Closes > End