Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 250

250. I Feel Safe When You’re Here

Nokcha Rocha gritted his teeth, frustrated by events he couldn’t undo. He’d been training hard since awakening his powers, but he was, at his core, someone with no background in sports or martial arts.

He couldn’t risk using his powers, which were far too destructive to unleash on another person, even as revenge. Besides, he couldn’t even remember the guy’s name.

‘Just you wait. I remember your face… Damn it, I don’t even remember the name. Anyway, I remember your face, Swimming No. 3.’

Nokcha Rocha forced himself to calm down and refocused on the monster eggs. However, the other participants had already grabbed all the eggs near the pool ladder, leaving him no choice but to swim for the farthest one. But the moment he reached for it, the black membrane inside the egg pulsed noticeably.

“!”

Nokcha Rocha recoiled.

‘It’s not supposed to break in the water!’

It hadn’t broken, but the pulsing was a clear warning.

‘Are we sure it won’t break?’

In a situation involving monster eggs, could anything be considered ‘certain’? Nokcha Rocha concluded ‘no,’ and warily watched the egg before finally giving up and leaving the pool.

‘I have no choice but to leave it to the vote.’

“Oh, what’s this! Mr. Nokcha Rocha has failed!”

The host’s surprised announcement boomed across the set. Nokcha Rocha wiped his face with a towel offered by a staff member and headed for a resting chair. Spotting Rembrary standing nearby, looking lost in thought, he lowered his voice and offered a warning.

“Be careful of the other participants. Some of them seem desperate for that two billion prize.”

* * *

After multiple rounds of four to nine participants entering the pool, Rembrary was in the last group to enter the new pool. Perhaps it was because Shin Jo-woon had only frozen the immediate area around the egg in the previous round, or because the mission was proving harder than Kim Mu-rok had predicted, but the last participants looked particularly nervous.

The participants glanced at Rembrary occasionally, but as soon as the whistle blew, they all plunged into the water without hesitation. Rembrary also submerged himself completely, instead of just showing his upper body as he usually did.

Fortunately, there was a large egg not far from his starting point. Rembrary swam to it and reached out to push the squishy surface.

‘Oh, it works.’

The frog egg moved easily under his touch. Rembrary pushed it with both hands, like a dung beetle rolling its ball. But when he reached the swimming pool ladder, he paused.

‘So that’s why there were so many dropouts.’

He needed to lift the frog egg up and out of the water, but simply pushing it wouldn’t work. He’d have to lift it from below, which meant getting close to the egg with his whole body, knowing there was a monster inside. It was unsettling.

But I’m okay. Rembrary steeled himself and reached down to lift the egg. But the moment he was about to hoist it up…

“!”

The black membrane pulsed violently, and a huge eyeball popped out from inside. The viewers watching the broadcast screamed in unison.

Rembrary was startled by the sudden appearance of an eyeball the size of his head and almost dropped the egg.

However, the large eyeball met Rembrary’s gaze, then quickly retreated back into the black membrane as if it had never appeared.

‘What is this?’

Rembrary was bewildered, but he lifted the frog egg out of the water anyway.

The viewers watching the scene were even more shocked and frantically typed on their keyboards.

―My heart almost dropped;;;

―Wow, Wooyounwoo’s mentality is unrealㅋㅋㅋ He doesn’t even flinch

―Isn’t that an eyeball? Why is an eyeball coming out?

ㄴI guess eyeballs can come outㅋㅋㅋㅋ Going back in is weirderㅋㅋㅋㅋ

―Am I the only one who thinks the monster went back in after seeing Wooyounwoo?

ㄴIt looks like that to me tooㅠ

ㄴDon’t cry, why are you crying? This is not something to cry about

―Why isn’t Wooyounwoo using his dolphin ability?????

ㄴWhy don’t people listen? That’s not Yeonwoo’s Awakening ability. Wooyounwoo always swam like thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m a Yeonwoo fan, and he swam like that even before the upheavalㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

―Does Wooyounwoo’s ability seem like a roar?

ㄴWhat roar?

ㄴThey say that when a tiger cries, infrasound makes people unable to move. Isn’t it something like that?

ㄴWooyounwoo didn’t cry

―Didn’t that color-sucking monster avoid Wooyounwoo during the first mission too?

ㄴHuh? That’s right. Wooyounwoo didn’t budge when he tried to break the egg, but as soon as Wooyounwoo went to borrow a knife or something, it broke right away, right?

ㄴIt’s not that Wooyounwoo has an ability, but the monsters sense strong people and avoid them, right?

ㄴIf that’s the case, they would have rushed at Shin Jo-woon right away

ㄴShin Jo-woon didn’t step up during the training camp. This actually makes sense

ㄴIs it like a cockroach? They say that when one is attacked, it sends a wave or signal to other members of the same species. Maybe monsters also send and receive such signals? Like, don’t touch this person.

* * *

While the viewers debated the eyeball incident, Rembrary was privately celebrating his successful mission.

Nokcha was still fuming about the participant who had stolen his egg, and Shin Jo-woon was chatting with his butler with an air of nonchalance, despite being watched warily by the other participants.

As they waited for the last participants to either bring out their eggs or give up, a stranger approached the production team.

“You can’t come in here.”

When a staff member tried to stop him, the stranger pulled out a notebook from his pocket and showed it.

“Detective?”

The staff member jumped back in surprise after confirming the man’s identity.

“What’s wrong? No one’s been hurt here yet.”

The staff members had been whispering amongst themselves, saying things like, ‘There have been too many injuries. If the eggs disappear from the world and the situation calms down, will Kim Mu-rok be arrested as the person in charge?’ So, they were naturally scared when a detective actually showed up.

“Not here.”

The detective said calmly, scanning the participants and staff. He fixed his gaze on one spot and asked the staff member, “I need to see PD [Production Director] Kim.”

Is he really here to arrest him? The staff member trembled and hurried to find Kim Mu-rok.

“PD, detective, detective!”

“Huh?”

Kim Mu-rok looked up from watching the viewers’ comments about the eyeball story.

“Why a detective?”

He spotted a person in casual clothes walking behind the staff member and quickly stood up. The detective showed Kim Mu-rok his notebook and requested, “I’d like to borrow Undushin for a bit.”

Kim Mu-rok was just as scared as the staff member, but when he heard Undushin’s name, he asked, “Excuse me?”

* * *

“I want the situation to calm down quickly so I can act.”

Rembrary was about to enjoy the snacks and coffee from the coffee truck when he heard Maeng Woo-shin complaining beside him.

“Senior, you’re just naturally coming to sit next to me. Were we ever the type to sit side by side?”

“It’s because the atmosphere gets weird if I join other seats. Understand.”

“Is it because I’m the weakest, so I’m useless?”

“It’s because I’m a popular celebrity, so they’re curious!”

When Maeng Woo-shin glared, Rembrary reluctantly agreed, saying, “Ah.” Maeng Woo-shin clicked his tongue and put a coffee straw in his mouth.

“A detective came to look for Undushin. I don’t know what’s going on again.”

“Senior, you’re good at talking with something in your mouth.”

“……”

“Why are you moving away?”

“No. It’s a bit creepy.”

“The detective?”

“You.”

Why is he like that? Rembrary looked away from Maeng Woo-shin, trying to spot the detective. But it was hard to find him.

“That’s him, that person. Can’t you see him at first glance, even though he’s someone you’ve never seen before?”

“Isn’t he one of the participants?”

“At least distinguish the faces of the participants. We’ve had a training camp and this is the second mission.”

Rembrary chewed on a cookie, watching the person Maeng Woo-shin was pointing at. The man was talking to Undushin, explaining something at length.

‘Is it a serious matter?’

Undushin listened with a nonchalant attitude at first, but his expression changed, and he nodded seriously. The atmosphere was so tense that even the participants who had been focused on the swimming pool were now glancing at Undushin and the detective.

Watching the scene, Rembrary quietly stood up, prompting Maeng Woo-shin to ask in surprise, “Where are you going again?”

“That way.”

“Why there? Hey, don’t go next to the detective. Strange rumors will spread if you go.”

Rembrary handed his coffee and bread to Maeng Woo-shin and quickly approached Undushin and the detective. As he got closer, he could hear their conversation.

“When I inquired with Nakru [a hunter dispatch service], they said that the number of hunters applying for broadcasts has increased this time, so there are no hunters left nearby.”

“There’s a labor shortage here.”

“What should we do? Is it not possible?”

‘Something must be going on?’

“How many victims are there?”

“There are two. One man and one woman, sitting side by side on a bench in XX Park. It seems they were attacked while watching this program.”

‘Victims? If they’re looking for Nakru, does that mean monsters are roaming around?’

Rembrary tried to recall which monsters were known to be roaming outside. Two monsters had escaped only during the program, and there were also a few that had been accidentally touched by ordinary people or by Awakened who claimed they would hunt them.

Not only that, but there’s also the possibility that someone will break an egg at this very moment.

“Moreover, this monster is particularly dangerous because we don’t know how to treat the damage it inflicts. They’ve been transferred to the hospital, but the doctors are helpless because the victims have turned into something like vinyl.”

Vinyl? Rembrary realized they were talking about the monster his team had missed during the first mission.

“I’ll go.”

“The other hunters…”

“I’m the most skilled.”

At Undushin’s words, the detective looked reluctant, but given the urgency of the situation, he didn’t argue and immediately started to leave.

As Undushin followed, Rembrary ran after them.

“Let’s go together.”

Hearing someone approach, the detective assumed it was another Nakru hunter. He turned around and frowned when he saw it was Wooyounwoo. He thought, ‘Why is that idol here?’

Rembrary’s easy disposal of monsters in the hunter survival show had been broadcast, but his crazy idol image was still strong in many people’s minds. The detective was taken aback by his offer to help.

If he gets hurt, we’ll only get complaints from the fans. The detective cursed inwardly and waved his hand, saying it was okay. But before he could speak, Undushin patted Rembrary on the back.

“I feel safe when you’re here. Let’s go.”

Safe?