Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 249

249. Surviving to the End

On the day the second mission began, Rembrary went to the gathering place with a light heart, only to be slightly taken aback by the unusual atmosphere.

‘What’s with everyone?’

On the first day of filming, the participants were awkward, fidgeting under the gaze of numerous cameras and unfamiliar faces. But as time passed, the atmosphere gradually shifted as they began to greet and converse with one another. Some participants even formed close-knit groups.

But what happened in just one week? The atmosphere was completely different today. Even while talking, they glanced around nervously, hesitating and rolling their eyes mid-sentence. Some were either excessively cheerful or stiff.

“It’s probably because of the comments and votes. Those who got flak are shrinking back, and those who got praised are getting caught up in it, acting awkwardly. It’s inevitable once you’re in the world of broadcasting.”

As Rembrary was looking around, Maeng Woo-shin approached him, yawning as he spoke.

“They’ve probably seen the popularity rankings shift dramatically too.”

“Popularity?”

“Before, they were all in the same boat, right? Now, that’s not the case anymore.”

Maeng Woo-shin kept yawning. Seeing Rembrary’s uncomprehending face, he waved his hand in front of him, explaining,

“Even without popularity, you can survive if you have the skills. Conversely, even without skills, you might not get eliminated if you’re popular. So, the participants are now conscious of people’s opinions, making them so awkward.”

“Ah, because the eliminated are chosen by vote?”

“Yeah.”

Maeng Woo-shin yawned again, making Rembrary want to shove something in his mouth to shut him up.

“……I can roughly guess what you’re thinking. But try not to think about it, okay?”

“What did you think I was thinking?”

“You were probably thinking something weird, weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“What were you thinking then?”

“About putting something in your…….”

Before he could finish, Maeng Woo-shin covered Rembrary’s mouth.

“Yeah, it’s better not to hear it.”

Rembrary tried to protest with his hands, but before he could, the sound of a broadcast using a megaphone echoed from somewhere.

[Thirty-four hunter candidates who survived the survival. Are you all gathered?]

It was the voice of PD [Production Director] Kim Moo-rok.

“That guy really loves to show off.”

Maeng Woo-shin clicked his tongue and lowered his hand. The participants, who had been nervously sizing each other up, were also taken aback by this absurdity, looking around for Kim Moo-rok with bewildered faces. But Kim Moo-rok was nowhere to be seen, and the staff were pulling a large speaker on a flat cart.

[I tried to add a new introduction to lighten the mood.]

Rembrary crossed his arms and looked around, trying to find Kim Moo-rok, who was probably hiding and broadcasting.

[Woo Yeon-woo, I’m not there.]

“!”

Kim Moo-rok was not visible, but his voice continued.

[Long introductions are tiring. Let’s get straight to the point. The second mission is an individual competition. If you succeed in the mission, you pass unconditionally. If you fail, the person with the fewest votes from the viewers will be eliminated. Simple rule.]

“It’s not a team battle?”

Maeng Woo-shin muttered, sounding disappointed. Several others besides Maeng Woo-shin scratched their heads, also seeming displeased.

“Do you prefer team battles, senior?”

“You can freeload.”

Rembrary surveyed the atmosphere. While some were disappointed, a significant number were also worried. The viewers watching were also flustered, bombarding each other with pointless questions.

―Are they going to fight one-on-one?

―Is that even possible? lol [laugh out loud]

―Damn, special report tomorrow: Three survivors make headlines lololololol

ㄴLet’s pick three. I bet my dinner on Shin Jo-woon, Nok-cha, and Eon Doo-shin surviving.

ㄴHow much is dinner?

ㄴWhy is Eon Doo-shin, the instructor, included?

ㄴI bet my coffee on Shin Jo-woon, Nok-cha, and Woo Yeon-woo.

ㄴIs the order significant? If it’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd, then I’d say Woo Yeon-woo, Shin Jo-woon, Nok-cha.

ㄴPutting Nok-cha last? Are you crazy lololol Have you not seen her wipe out monsters with a single clap? lolololol

ㄴI’m a Nok-cha subscriber. I still watch her videos, and I’ve been watching since the beginning when she was joking about whether she could do a mukbang [eating broadcast] with frog eggs instead of grape eggs.

ㄴContinuing. Nok-cha’s ability is OP [overpowered], but her hit rate is too low. Plus, if it’s based on popularity votes, celebrities have an advantage.

ㄴDamn, monster mukbang lololol Nok-cha lololol She looks so chic now, but she had a dark past lolololol

―If it’s based on popularity votes, the Maengs might do surprisingly well lololol

ㄴIf they’re still alive……ㅠㅠ [crying emoticons]

ㄴMaengs need to survive firstㅠㅠ

[But it’s still too much for you to face monsters one-on-one. Even in team battles, that’s the result. So, this event isn’t just about combat ability, but also allows you to participate in other ways.]

Rembrary looked at the speaker, thinking. Is there such an event?

[It’s about retrieving frog eggs from the water!]

* * *

―This is too tailored for Woo Yeon-woo

―Isn’t this blatant pushing? lololol

―There’s not a single water-type Awakened besides Woo Yeon-woo.

―They even changed the rules to bring in Woo Yeon-woo from the start of the program. They’ll probably drag Woo Yeon-woo by the collar to the end.

As soon as people heard the second mission, they grumbled, thinking it was too advantageous for Rembrary. Rembrary’s fans thought it was fortunate, but the fans of other participants and the other participants themselves complained that Kim Moo-rok was being too biased.

Rembrary kept denying it, but everyone was amazed by Rembrary’s dolphin swimming during the training camp, so they were convinced that Rembrary was a water-type Awakened.

―Woo Yeon-woo just needs to push the frog eggs with his head using the dolphin technique. Isn’t that easy?

―What’s the dolphin technique?

―Don’t dolphins attack by pecking with their snouts?

―Are you crazy? Woo Yeon-woo is a dolphin Awakened, not a dolphin. Are you telling him to push the eggs with his snout and jump out? ;;

―lololol I want to see it lololololol

―Damn, as soon as the mission starts, Woo Yeon-woo lololol plunges into the water lololol bubbles briefly appear on the surface, and then Kim Moo-rok says, “Where did Woo Yeon-woo go?” to build up the atmosphere lololololol and then suddenly he pops up with an egg on his head? lololololol

ㄴThen I’ll vote for Woo Yeon-woo.

ㄴMe too lololol I’m a Nok-cha fan, but if he shows that, I’ll vote for Woo Yeon-woo lololololol

But Rembrary himself was actually taken aback when he heard the second mission.

‘The eggs are not of ordinary size, how am I supposed to retrieve them?’

The cameraman, seeing Rembrary’s expression, said,

“Woo Yeon-woo, you’re the public’s pick. You’ll probably be in the top ranks just by swimming in the water like a pictorial, what are you worried about?”

He said it as if it were nothing, but that was just the cameraman’s opinion.

Rembrary had already experienced being eliminated in all three categories in the group vote. There was no guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen this time.

In the end, after thinking it over, Rembrary posted a message on his SNS [Social Networking Service] encouraging people to vote.

―Woo Yeon-woo is so serious lololol

―He really wants to win, huh.

―What are Wae [his fan club name] fans doing? He wants to win, so hurry up and load up on texts.

Some people who saw it mocked Rembrary, who was already in the top ranks in terms of popularity, for begging for votes himself, but Rembrary’s public favorability had increased significantly due to his actions of taking care of the fallen and eliminating the monster alone. The number of people cheering him on, saying they would definitely vote, was greater than the number of people mocking him.

Only after counting all the messages of support that people sent did Rembrary feel relieved.

‘I just need to put in a moderate amount of effort. Even if I fail the mission, I won’t get eliminated, right?’

But he also felt a bit wronged.

‘The production team prepared this mission because of me. That’s not the case…… it’s upsetting to be misunderstood.’

* * *

“They’re pushing him this hard. Woo Yeon-woo will do well this time, right?”

Inside the outdoor swimming pool found for the mission. The FD [Floor Director] asked Kim Moo-rok while checking the underwater camera screen. Kim Moo-rok sat in the director’s chair and chuckled.

“Of course. He’ll do well this time. He’s a dolphin, after all.”

Kim Moo-rok smiled contentedly as he looked down at the set.

Most of the frog eggs were created outdoors, with some in the water. That is, there are eggs in the sea or river, and there are eggs in streams or outdoor swimming pools.

However, retrieving eggs from the sea or river was much more dangerous and cumbersome to film, so they installed underwater cameras in an outdoor swimming pool.

Moreover, in this carefully selected location, the eggs were spaced apart from each other, reducing the possibility of accidentally touching other eggs while trying to retrieve one.

To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, other hunters besides Eon Doo-shin were also watching the situation, making it much safer than the first mission.

“At this rate, there won’t be any major injuries.”

“But are you sure the eggs won’t break in the water?”

“That’s what they said in Nakru, so that must be the case.”

“They won’t break immediately after coming out of the water…….”

“They say they don’t break immediately. We have to believe them since they’re sure. We can’t test it ourselves, can we?”

* * *

Finally, the second mission began.

As soon as one of the staff blew a whistle, the four participants who had been dropped off in four directions of the swimming pool as the first group hesitated and entered the water.

The story that the eggs would not break in the water or immediately after coming out of the water was something they had also heard from Kim Moo-rok, but they were still cautious.

Although they didn’t know the difference, a foreign YouTuber who claimed that ‘water is the weakness of these eggs’ became a hot topic after trying to hunt monsters on a rainy day and dying instead.

‘I can’t show a scared face. If I’m scared, I have to carefully package the fear.’

The only one among the first four who acted nonchalantly was Nok-cha. Nok-cha glanced at the participants who were repeatedly entering and exiting the water, and then dove in without hesitation. Then, she used her ability on the nearest egg.

As she twisted her hand in the water, the egg immediately twisted with a crack.

“…….”

The probability of a monster emerging from a broken egg is fifty-fifty. Nok-cha watched nervously, but this time too, no monster emerged from the broken egg.

‘Phew.’

Nok-cha felt relieved and reached out to pull out the egg. As long as a monster didn’t come out of the egg, taking it out itself wasn’t that difficult.

However, just as Nok-cha was about to touch the egg, one of the participants hiding behind the egg quickly pushed the egg and started swimming.

‘That bastard?’

Nok-cha chased after him, but that participant was the one who had placed third in the training camp swimming.

‘Damn bastard!’

In the blink of an eye, the participant lifted the egg onto the ladder and got out himself. Nok-cha, who saw it right in front of her eyes, clenched her fist in anger, but she couldn’t drag the participant who had left back in.

―Wow, so cunning lololololol

―There’s always someone like that in movies, and there’s one in real life too lololol A character who survives the most cunningly until the end lolololol

―What if he gets eliminated in the vote for acting like that lolololol

―I’m getting pissed just watching, I want to punch him

―If he succeeds in the mission, he won’t be voted out. He’ll pass unconditionally

―Awwㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Nok-chaㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

―Isn’t Nok-cha’s ability once a day?

―Nok-cha unnieㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Nok-cha unnie can’t swim wellㅠㅠㅠㅠ