Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 28

28. Drunk Talk

It seemed a follower had sent it.

While waiting for CEO Lim to arrive in the conference room, Rembrary unwrapped the gift.

It was a brown bottle full of yellow pills and a letter.

“What is this?”

Rembrary asked, and Jongwoo replied,

“It’s vitamins.”

“I guess they put in vitamins to cheer you on.”

“Vitamins?”

“They give you energy when you take them. Relieves fatigue.”

Rembrary nodded, saying, “Ah…” and then opened the envelope and took out the letter.

The letter, written on stationery adorned with hearts, was filled with tiny writing.

– To my beloved Wooyeonwoo oppa [older brother/term of endearment used by a younger woman to an older man]♡

It described when she first saw Yeonwoo, why she fell in love, and how she gained strength from him.

– Do you know? The power of love overcame my illness! My friends say it wasn’t a misdiagnosis from the start lololol [laughing sounds]. But I think it’s the power of love! I even applied for an interview on purpose ㅎㅎ [laughing emoticon] I want to increase the number of Wooyeonwoo followers!

Rembrary burst out laughing as he read the last part of the letter.

It continued with how she would be a fan of Wooyeonwoo for the rest of her life and would believe in him no matter what others said.

It was signed at the end as ‘Your No. 1 follower who loves you, Oppa.’

“Looks like you’re happy?”

HyeGyeol, who was sitting next to him, asked teasingly as Rembrary chuckled.

Rembrary nodded and put the letter back in the envelope.

“I am happy.”

“What did it say?”

“It seems Follower No. 2 is eyeing Follower No. 1’s spot.”

“Huh?”

HyeGyeol tilted her head, wondering what that meant.

Rembrary put the letter in his pocket and fiddled with the vitamins.

Follower No. 2 said her illness was cured thanks to Rembrary, but she didn’t seem to really think it was because of him.

Well, how would she know after just shaking hands once?

But if this happens repeatedly, someone might recognize the divine power.

Rembrary unconsciously opened the vitamin box and took off the lid.

What would happen if someone recognized the power?

Lost in thought, Rembrary took a yellow pill from the bottle, put it in his mouth, and crunched it.

HyeGyeol stared at him with wide eyes, but he was too deep in thought to even taste it.

“Ugh.”

Belatedly, Rembrary frowned at the nasty taste.

“What is this?”

“Who chews and swallows that? You’re supposed to swallow it with water.”

While Rembrary was sputtering, the door opened and CEO Lim walked in.

“What’s wrong with him?”

CEO Lim asked, pointing at Rembrary as soon as he came in, and went straight to the head seat.

“He chewed an entire pill raw.”

“What?”

CEO Lim looked at Rembrary in disbelief.

“Why would you do that?”

In the meantime, other employees were entering the conference room one after another.

The number of people gathered was a whopping nine.

CEO Lim had called all the employees, determined that this would be the last album.

Even the team in charge of acting was there to brainstorm ideas.

Once everyone had gathered, CEO Lim closed the door and began to speak.

“As you were told in advance, this Wild Animal concept is ‘Demons disguised as angels.’ I’ve already commissioned three composers to write songs in that style.”

After speaking, CEO Lim looked around at the employees and said,

“Give me your detailed opinions on this concept as the main theme. Music videos, styling, specific concepts, anything is fine. And you guys too.”

The ‘you guys’ that CEO Lim pointed to with his chin were the members of Wild Animal.

Rembrary thought it was a meeting, but probably only a few people would speak.

Meetings sometimes happened in the temple too, but it was always like that.

However, surprisingly, all thirteen people opened their mouths.

Rembrary was startled by the suddenly bustling atmosphere.

“How about tearing the clothes off after the song ends? Like when the Hulk transforms.”

“Isn’t the Hulk’s image far from a demon?”

“Besides, you get cut off these days if you tear your clothes [referring to censorship or negative reactions].”

“How about putting devil horns on angel wings?”

“Are you going to an amusement park?”

“Why are you always picking on me? Don’t just refute, give your opinion, Mr. Park?”

“Let’s go with a modern demon. Dressed in a black suit and wearing red lenses. How about that?”

“Oh, that’s good.”

“If you wear red lenses wrong, it’s horror.”

“Isn’t horror the concept?”

Opinions popped out simultaneously from everywhere.

Rembrary smiled when he heard the suit idea, imagining the real appearance of a demon.

Demons, whether male or female, were almost always half-naked.

They enjoyed fighting all the time, so their clothes were repeatedly torn or soaked in blood, so they became too lazy to wear them.

Some demons had horns, but some didn’t, and their eye colors were even more diverse than humans.

And there were surprisingly many demons with the ‘angel wings’ that people were talking about.

‘Well, those demons are really demons disguised as angels.’

It was then.

Leader Jungseo, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth and said, “How about this?”

Surprisingly, as soon as Jungseo opened his mouth, the room became quiet.

Everyone was listening carefully to what Jungseo would say.

I didn’t know when we were just hanging out with the members before.

It seemed that the employees had a great deal of trust in Jungseo.

“Tell me, Jungseo.”

“Make the visuals angelic, and express the demonic nature in the lyrics.”

“In the lyrics?”

“Yes. A sarcastic character who says bad things with a smile? I think it would be okay to handle it that way.”

The employees

“Oh, that’s good.”

“That’s good.”

Nodded.

Since the majority agreed with Jungseo’s opinion, CEO Lim moved the conversation to another topic.

“It’s the first time we’re trying this concept, so let’s go with a digital single for now.”

However, the vocal trainer opposed this opinion.

“CEO. How about putting Yeonwoo’s solo song in this time?”

He kept singing solo, solo while giving vocal lessons.

It seemed like he was serious.

Rembrary was startled, but surprisingly, even an employee he didn’t know agreed with the vocal trainer.

“The choir arrangement version was good, and the duet with Seonwoo was good too. That’s right, I think he’d be good for a solo.”

“How about one group title song and one Yeonwoo solo song, or even two or three songs in EP [extended play] format with solo songs by Kesina and Taein added?”

Other employees added their voices.

Rembrary noticed Taein clenching his fist across from him.

He was smiling, but his hand was clenched tightly.

“After doing ‘Demons disguised as angels’ as the title song, put in the Yeonwoo version as a continuation of the story.”

On the other hand, Jungseo surprisingly gave ideas again this time.

“A continuation of the story?”

When CEO Lim pricked up his ears, Jungseo

“Yes.”

Replied and continued.

“Yeonwoo hits the lyrics like, ‘People fall for it if you pretend to be nice?'”

“Like a monologue?”

“Yes. Yeonwoo’s concept is that the devil is talking to himself. The devil’s inner thoughts or something.”

CEO Lim

“That’s good.”

Nodded.

Then the other employees got excited again and offered their opinions.

“The choir response was good. How about singing grandly as a group like a choir, and the concept of the devil conducting it?”

The meeting branched out into various topics such as solo concepts, music videos, lyrics, overall styling, and album jackets.

By the time all the stories were over, it was already evening.

The employees got up, twisting their shoulders, and the members also got up, rubbing their stiff necks and saying goodbye.

Rembrary also took the vitamin bottle that he had been holding all along.

“Then I’ll take the kids home and leave.”

But just as Jongwoo was about to take the members out,

“Jongwoo. Just a moment.”

CEO Lim called Jongwoo.

“Yes?”

“The kids have been through a lot lately, so I’m going to buy them dinner today.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yeah. The kids have to go on a diet when they start preparing for the new song anyway.”

Rembrary was listening quietly to the story and was shocked.

Even now, it’s just a salad with a little chicken breast and eggs.

Are you going to diet more from here?

Are you telling me to starve to death?

But Jongwoo

“That’s right.”

Agreed.

“So let’s feed them as much as they want for the last time. Drink alcohol too.”

CEO Lim

“Are you okay with that?”

Asked the members.

The always hungry members would never refuse food.

* * *

CEO Lim took the members to a barbecue restaurant.

Rembrary was curious about the barbecue restaurant, which he had never been to before, and looked around the store.

“To the room.”

CEO Lim booked a separate room so that the members could eat comfortably.

When I went into the room, a strangely shaped table was set up.

Then, bright red raw meat was placed on a tray, and Taein started grilling the meat.

“Ah, that’s enough. You guys just eat today.”

CEO Lim stopped Taein and grabbed the tongs and scissors himself.

Rembrary was just staring blankly at the scene, hesitated to put the meat that CEO Lim had cut into his mouth, and was shocked.

‘It’s delicious!’

His stomach, tired of chicken breasts, cheered.

Then beer bottles came in, and the atmosphere quickly became noisy.

Rembrary only pretended to drink moderately and ate the meat diligently without saying a word.

How long had it been?

After changing the grilling pan three times, Taein started nodding off, drunk.

HyeGyeol got up to do a breakdance, but was scolded by Jongwoo and sat down again.

The only one who wasn’t drunk at all was CEO Lim, who had to drive.

“Yeonwoo. Aren’t you drinking?”

“I’m not drinking.”

At Rembrary’s words, Jongwoo ordered cider this time, and Rembrary was shocked for the second time after drinking the cider.

‘It’s delicious!’

After that, Rembrary hugged the cider bottle and ate the meat quickly.

It was then.

The moment I saw HyeGyeol, who was drunk, trying to breakdance again.

Suddenly, a very good idea came to my mind.

‘If they become mentally lax, won’t everyone’s mouth become lighter?’

Wooyeonwoo’s mother said that there was someone among the members who threatened Wooyeonwoo.

Everyone usually builds sharp walls and keeps their mouths shut, but when they get drunk, their guard will drop.

If I pry well, I might be able to dig up the past.

When I thought about this, now was not the time to drink cider.

Rembrary ate the meat and then carefully watched the members.

The most drunk person… is HyeGyeol after all.

Rembrary waited for HyeGyeol to sit down again and moved forward slyly.

“Yeonwoo hyung [older brother/term of endearment used by a younger man to an older man]. You rude Yeonwoo hyung.”

When their eyes met, HyeGyeol smiled and cursed.

He was completely drunk.

Feeling confident, Rembrary asked subtly.

“HyeGyeol, if you’re up for it, can I ask you something about the past?”

“My story?”

“Your story.”

“Hyung’s story? What about hyung’s story?”

“I think I’ll remember if I hear old stories. Well, don’t you have anything to tell me?”

HyeGyeol tilted her head and opened her mouth.

“Hyung is…”

“Yes. I am?”

“He said he would stop him.”