Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 258

258. (Former) Purple Hair’s Resolution

From the moment Tae-in heard that Sa Gam-jae was coming, he had been waiting for him. He wanted to ask Sa Gam-jae about his solo activities.

So, when he heard the door open while he was brushing his teeth, he quickly rinsed his mouth and came out of the bathroom. But to his surprise, Sa Gam-jae was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Jong-woo was grumbling as he headed to the living room.

“Jong-woo, where’s Gam-jae?”

When Tae-in asked, Jong-woo nonchalantly pointed to the kitchen with his chin.

“He said he had something to talk about with Yeon-woo, so he told me to get lost.”

Jong-woo exaggerated his words because he felt a little hurt, but Tae-in didn’t pay any attention and frowned as he looked toward the kitchen. Sa Gam-jae had something to talk about with Woo Yeon-woo alone? What could it be?

From the moment Sa Gam-jae arrived as their new manager, Woo Yeon-woo and Sa Gam-jae’s relationship had been strange. They didn’t seem very close, but they seemed to have a code that only they understood. Tae-in considered it a kind of favoritism and didn’t like it.

He’d thought it was getting better recently, but now Sa Gam-jae was *again* only calling Woo Yeon-woo to talk? How could he be sure there wasn’t an important audition or valuable information in that conversation?

‘Sa Gam-jae seems to only look out for Woo Yeon-woo when good opportunities arise.’

It seemed clear this time, too. Woo Yeon-woo had awakened as a healer, improving his image considerably, and Sa Gam-jae was only taking care of him again. Besides, there was a rumor that Sa Gam-jae was CEO Im’s [the CEO of their agency] hidden son.

As suspicion quickly turned into certainty, Tae-in decided that Sa Gam-jae was trying to secure opportunities for Woo Yeon-woo, so he hurried to the kitchen.

The kitchen was partially hidden from the living room, and a large refrigerator further obscured the view, making it feel like a separate space. Tae-in muffled his footsteps and pressed himself against the side of the refrigerator. Then he heard voices.

“Have you decided not to hide your powers anymore?”

It was Sa Gam-jae’s voice.

“Would I have stopped at this level if I had?”

This was Woo Yeon-woo’s voice.

‘Hide? There’s something going on.’

Tae-in’s lips twisted when he realized the unusual nature of their conversation.

‘Did Sa Gam-jae know that Woo Yeon-woo was an Awakened [a person with supernatural abilities]? Was he an Awakened even before it became public knowledge?’

While analyzing the conversation, the two continued to talk.

“If you’ve come to pick a fight, today isn’t the day. I’m in a bad mood.”

‘Would someone planning a fight announce it beforehand?’

Tae-in clicked his tongue at Woo Yeon-woo’s naive words, but leaned closer.

“I’m not here to pick a fight, but to ask for a favor.”

“A favor? You’ve shown hostility toward me, but now you want a favor?”

‘Hostility? Sa Gam-jae toward Woo Yeon-woo? Did they have a fight?’

Tae-in frowned, unable to understand Woo Yeon-woo’s words. Meanwhile, Sa Gam-jae asked:

“Please look at this and tell me your impressions.”

It sounded like he was showing something only to Woo Yeon-woo, so Tae-in quickly peeked around the side of the refrigerator, thinking it might be something that would help his entertainment career.

But Sa Gam-jae suddenly held out his hat.

‘Why a hat?’

He didn’t know what it was, but was there some secret information engraved on the hat? Tae-in smiled awkwardly, finding his suspicions absurd. Still, he couldn’t rule it out.

Then, Sa Gam-jae reached inside the hat and pulled out a pigeon.

“What do you think?”

Tae-in was so dumbfounded that his mouth fell open.

‘What is this random magic trick?’

Was he asking for a critique of the magic trick? Tae-in started to speak, but then dismissed the idea.

No way, it couldn’t be. If he just wanted feedback on a trick, he wouldn’t have sent Jong-woo away. The more people who saw it, the better.

Tae-in calmed himself and refocused.

“It’s amazing.”

However, Woo Yeon-woo’s indifferent reaction confused Tae-in again.

‘Is it really just magic?’

“Is that all?”

Sa Gam-jae’s disappointed voice, which clearly expected more, made Tae-in suspicious again. Yes, if he only wanted feedback on the magic, he wouldn’t sound so disappointed. It had to be some kind of code.

“Do you need other impressions?”

“I need help.”

Help. Tae-in congratulated himself for not going to the living room after seeing the pigeon. It wasn’t just a normal magic trick after all! He needs help?

Tae-in opened his ears wide and narrowed his eyes, sticking to the refrigerator like a slime. He desperately wanted to hear what kind of help Sa Gam-jae was talking about. Audition? Advertisement? Investment? Filming a movie or drama? Had he found a great song?

“What should I do to transform this into a human?”

When Sa Gam-jae pointed to the pigeon and asked, Tae-in was completely dumbfounded. The strength left his shoulders, and a ridiculous laugh escaped him.

What. It really *was* just magic. Why were they whispering about magic…

Tae-in, upset that he had suspected such a ridiculous conversation, gave up listening and stormed off, huffing and puffing.

* * *

Rembrary didn’t huff and puff like Tae-in, but he was just as dumbfounded. They said they had something to talk about, but why the sudden appearance of a bird from a hat…?

“What do you want me to do?”

When Rembrary asked in bewilderment, Sa Gam-jae explained stiffly.

“This pigeon is my colleague.”

There was a subtle rebuke in his words, as if he couldn’t understand how Rembrary didn’t recognize him.

“Is that true?”

Rembrary asked in surprise. He didn’t know how Sa Gam-jae could tell, but it just looked like a pigeon to him. But the Grim Reaper [a supernatural being who guides souls to the afterlife] wouldn’t joke about this, so it must be true. Rembrary decided to trust Sa Gam-jae’s words for now.

But apart from belief…

“Wouldn’t it be better to go to King Yeomra [the ruler of the underworld in Korean mythology] rather than me?”

He was glad his colleague was alive and well, but he still didn’t understand why Sa Gam-jae was showing him his bird-turned colleague.

“Lord Yeomra is busy blocking the cracks [tears in the fabric of reality] right now. I can’t even talk to him.”

“Ah.”

“The number of people dying without fulfilling their lives has increased because of your god [Rembrary used to be a high priest], and the number of Grim Reapers, already insufficient, has decreased significantly because of your god. You should have a conscience and clean up the mess your god made, shouldn’t you?”

“Still, how can you call your colleagues trash?”

“It’s an analogy to the actions of your god.”

When Sa Gam-jae said this, grinding his teeth, Rembrary nodded and held out his hand.

“I’ll try for now. Give me your colleague.”

* * *

Meanwhile, as Rembrary stared blankly at the Grim Reaper’s colleague, now a bird, perched on his palm, Detective Kim, who had worked with Rembrary on the transparent vinyl case, was constantly giving instructions to his team members.

“Purple hair. Purple eyes, too. XX Park side, CCTV video file? Did you send it?”

“Yes, I received it!”

“But Chief, purple hair is rare, but not *that* rare. There was a purple hair trend a few months ago…”

“What the witnesses are all saying is that the hair color isn’t from dye. If they all say that, it must be a naturally different color.”

“Yes.”

“The cameras are recording in real time, so many people must have seen him. This isn’t a secret investigation, so publicly ask for help, and… what was it? Even if you find him, just report it and never get close!”

Detective Kim muttered in a low voice, rubbing his short beard, wondering if there was anything else to say.

“It would have been nice if Woo Yeon-woo had caught him right away back then… Damn it, where did he go? Did he run far away?”

* * *

However, contrary to Detective Kim’s expectations, the ‘purple hair’ monster wasn’t far away. In fact, he was in a subway bathroom, just a few steps away from many people.

But fortunately for them, the purple-haired monster had no intention of revealing his location right now. His back, where that unpleasant human had hit him, was still tingling. The pain wasn’t debilitating, but it lingered, disturbing him.

The monster was worried about running into that human again in his current state.

Just then, someone appeared in the narrow passage leading into the bathroom. The person walked in slowly, and his eyes widened when he saw the purple hair. He immediately recognized him as a monster.

But before he could scream, the purple hair grabbed the person’s head, and in the blink of an eye, all the person’s pigments flowed up to his head and were absorbed into the purple hair’s hand.

When the person turned into vinyl and slumped, the purple hair released his head. The vinyl person fell helplessly to the floor, but the purple hair simply kicked him aside and looked at his reflection in the large mirror.

His purple hair had turned black, and his purple eyes had also turned black.

‘I won’t be noticed right away at this level.’

After checking his face in the mirror a couple of times, the purple hair rolled up the vinyl person, stuffed him into the long trash can under the sink, and went outside.

‘The immigration process isn’t as easy as I thought.’

The purple hair walked down the hallway among the people, snatching a hat from a stand and putting it on his head with unnoticed speed.

‘The humans here are generally weak. If I awaken a few skilled ones, I can easily take over this place… I just don’t know which humans have potential.’

The people passing by glanced at the very tall man, but they didn’t suspect that this black-haired man wearing a hat was the purple hair.

Thanks to that, the purple hair comfortably walked through the crowd, recalling the human who had so easily subdued him.

‘That strange guy. What the hell was he? Will he appear again if I start taking over again?’

At that moment, the purple hair spotted a large painting hanging on the wall and stopped. The painting was a picture of the guy who had defeated him with just his shoes.

It wasn’t a painting but an advertising photo, but the purple hair couldn’t distinguish that yet. He was just amazed that the painting had captured the guy so elaborately.

‘His hair color is white, but it’s definitely that guy.’

Moreover, the guy’s name was written under the picture.

‘Mint Sparkling.’

The purple hair clearly remembered the face and name of the person who had defeated him.

‘I lost this time, but I won’t lose next time. I’ll remember your name clearly. Wait, Mint.’