Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 299

299. I Have Something to Say

‘What on earth is that?’

The cameraman was so surprised that the camera shook for a moment. He hurriedly grabbed the camera, which he almost dropped, and rubbed his eyes.

‘Did I see something wrong?’

But even after rubbing his eyes and looking again, Rembrary was emitting a halo.

In that state, Rembrary introduced himself.

“The more dangerous the times, the more we need a great being to believe in and follow. I know about that being, and I can convey his voice. Viewers, follow me. Become my followers. I will lead you to him.”

It was too much to be called a self-introduction. Besides, he wasn’t joking. The staff who saw his serious expression were flustered and whispered among themselves.

“What is that? Is he a cult leader?”

“He’s blatantly a cult.”

“He’s so openly cult-like that he seems less cult-like. It seems like a concept.”

“Is he trying to push that kind of character? He’s not serious, is he?”

“Of course. Who would say such a thing openly if they were serious?”

While the staff was horrified, Rembrary lowered his arm, turned off the halo above his head, and spoke gently to the main MC [Master of Ceremonies, the host of the show].

“Is this enough?”

“Uh……”

It doesn’t seem like a self-introduction… I’m afraid to ask him to do it again. The main MC stared at Rembrary’s head with his mouth open, then shifted his gaze to Gu PD [Production Director]. What should I do?

Gu PD didn’t answer the main MC, but calmly said to Min, the lawyer.

“We absolutely cannot praise him. If we praise that, our entire program will become a cult.”

You’ll admit it if you have any conscience, right? Gu PD’s gaze toward Min, the lawyer, was so earnest that it would make even the most heartless person feel guilty. Even Min, the lawyer, who was trying to create a contract as favorable to Rembrary as possible at Shin Jo-un’s request, felt sorry.

“Hmm.”

Min, the lawyer, reluctantly nodded, checking if there was a light-emitting device behind Rembrary’s head.

“Then let’s exclude the praising part. We’ll edit it as favorably as possible and make sure not to do any devil’s editing [editing to make someone look bad].”

* * *

“Still, there will be a lot to broadcast.”

“Right. It’ll be a hot topic. If we edit it well, we can just go with the feeling of a fourth-dimensional hunter [someone eccentric or unconventional].”

“Well, it’s better to have something like that for broadcasting.”

Rembrary, who only briefly answered the main MC’s kind greetings and constantly said things that were hard to understand, but the staff decided to think positively, keeping in mind that this was a broadcast.

After all, they wouldn’t be seeing each other for long, and if the ratings were good, it would be good for them too.

However, after a few days, they realized they had made a big misunderstanding.

Rembrary, who had exuded a strong presence from the first meeting, turned out to be living very quietly and peacefully once they started filming.

“Um, Mr. Rembrary.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Are you just going to stay in here again today……?”

“I have nowhere else to go.”

“Aren’t you bored?”

“Isn’t it spacious here?”

“Don’t you have any friends to meet?”

“Almost all the friends I can meet are here. And the friends I can’t meet are in a situation where I can’t meet them no matter where I go.”

The staff and MCs, unable to watch any longer, took turns subtly trying to get him to go out, but it was no use.

Moreover, since Rembrary wasn’t a formal hunter, he hadn’t even received any requests yet, and since he was living in the Worldboom dorm, one of the safest zones in the city, he had no chance of encountering monsters.

Gu PD’s interesting idea of ‘getting an early departure signature’ was also said to be handled by CEO Shin Jo-un, who took the signature paper and didn’t return it.

“This is a big problem. All he does is eat, sleep, eat, and sleep, so there’s nothing to broadcast.”

It wouldn’t matter if this program was a calm healing program or a mukbang [eating broadcast], but it was a problem because it was a promising hunter program.

Moreover, thanks to the puppet lord using a video of him vomiting blood as a teaser, viewers’ interest in the next broadcast was at its peak.

But if they released such a stimulating teaser video and then broadcast something like ‘Rembrary’s eating and sleeping mukbang’…….

“Damn it. I’m going crazy.”

“I know. We were worried he would go too far, but we never thought he would be such a quiet and gentle person.”

In the end, as the first broadcast date approached, the production team went into an emergency meeting, discussed it among themselves, and decided to openly ask Rembrary to show them a different side of himself besides his daily life.

“You want me to show you a different side?”

“Yes. Mr. Rembrary, you’re a promising ‘hunter.’ What our program viewers expect from the subject of the interview is a hunter-like appearance, but since he doesn’t have much experience yet, they expect a fresh appearance or the spirit, passion, and so on of a rookie.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. If we only show his daily life of eating, sleeping, eating, and sleeping, people will think he doesn’t seem like a hunter.”

“……”

“It’s not that Mr. Rembrary’s lifestyle is bad, it’s just for the sake of the broadcast.”

As the assistant PD [Production Director] asked so as not to offend him, Rembrary pondered for a moment and nodded.

“I do have something to do. If you wish, follow me.”

Unexpectedly, Rembrary readily agreed, and the assistant PD’s face brightened as he asked.

“That’s great! Where are you going? Training? Volunteer work? Are you just going to play outside?”

‘Whatever he does, there will be more to film than now!’

* * *

“Mr. Rembrary. Are you sure you have business here……?”

The place Rembrary visited with the cameraman and guest Jungseo was unexpectedly outside the city.

The cameraman, who thought he would just be wandering around the city even if he went out, was trembling and looking around.

He was lucky enough to live in the city even after the upheaval, but the cameraman had many opportunities to go to non-urban areas because of broadcasting. Because of this situation, he felt more acutely than the city people how scary non-urban areas were.

But a promising hunter, or more precisely, a hunter trainee who wasn’t even a hunter yet, was going out to a non-urban area without a single weapon! He wanted to grab him and drag him back into the city right away.

If a skilled hunter from Worldboom hadn’t come along, he would have refused to come at all, even if it meant rebelling against Gu PD.

However, whether the cameraman was scared or not, Rembrary calmly looked around and kept walking somewhere.

“Where are you going? Do you…… know the way?”

Later, even the hunter who followed him was curious and asked, Rembrary’s steps were so unstoppable.

“I am looking for someone.”

“A person? Who? What’s their name? It would have been faster to tell the president if that’s the case.”

“It’s someone I don’t even know.”

“Yes?”

The hunter was wondering why Rembrary was looking for someone he didn’t know, but Rembrary was diligently looking around.

What Rembrary was looking for was a ‘dying person.’ He had something to say to Sagamjae. Since there was no way to find him, he was trying to use the fact that Sagamjae was a grim reaper.

However, the cameraman, Jungseo, and the hunter, who didn’t know this, wondered, ‘What on earth is going on?’ and quietly followed him.

After about 40 minutes outside the non-urban area, Rembrary finally found someone who met his desired conditions and quickly ran towards them.

‘Is he trying to rescue them and take them inside?’

When Rembrary squatted in front of the injured person, the hunter and cameraman were impressed that Rembrary was unexpectedly kind.

“Excuse me. I saw you because I have a favor to ask.”

However, when Rembrary squatted in front of the injured person and suddenly said he had a favor to ask, everyone was puzzled. The words that followed completely overturned their expectations.

“You will meet a grim reaper soon, right?”

“!”

“I have something to tell the grim reaper. So you…….”

The hunter hurriedly ran over and covered Rembrary’s mouth.

“Oop.”

Rembrary protested by quickly tapping his hand on the back of his hand, but the hunter didn’t let go. He was afraid that a terrible thing would come out the moment he let go.

What Rembrary was trying to ask was to hold on until the grim reaper came, and he would heal them, but the others had no way of knowing this.

Rather, because the hunter blocked his mouth in an ambiguous part, even the injured person was surprised and widened their eyes in fear.

The cameraman swallowed hard. Rembrary, who was saying such things with an angelic face, suddenly seemed a little scary.

* * *

A promising hunter who looked like he had popped out of a picture book was saying eerie things to an injured person with a gentle face, and a surprised hunter was hurriedly covering his mouth.

That scene became a very hot topic in the first broadcast. In particular, as soon as Rembrary said, “You will meet a grim reaper soon,” a thumping sound effect was heard, the background darkened, and an eerie violin sound was played, making Rembrary look like a psychopath in a movie.

With the caption ‘What on earth is this?!’ appearing and the first episode ending, Rembrary once again dominated the real-time search rankings.

Even the Worldboom hunter who was blocking Rembrary’s mouth was caught up in it.

―Wow, his face and personality are separate;;;

―LOLOLOLOLOL The introduction said ‘A promising hunter who walks a tightrope between villain and hero’ LOLOLOLOLOL He’s just openly a villain? LOLOLOLOLOL

―They said to listen to what people have to say until the end. How do you know what will come out later and judge his personality after watching the first episode?

ㄴWhatever comes out later, he looks like a psychopathㅠ

―He seems nice on SNS, even though his 말투 [manner of speaking] is weird

ㄴThen it could be that the broadcast was edited maliciously

ㄴㅇㅇ A hunter trainee who was interviewed before got angry and explained that he was maliciously edited

ㄴHow can you edit it maliciously to make him talk about meeting a grim reaper to an injured person? LOLOLOLOLOL

―I don’t know why you’re all surprised. Isn’t it time to know that most hunters have bad personalitiesㅋ

―Whatever you say, a hunter with a bad personality is better than a villain with a good personality

* * *

Gu PD packaged Rembrary throughout the first episode as a quirky but peaceful and simple hunter prospect, but put in the grim reaper scene at the end.

Thanks to this, and Rembrary quickly gained a lot of attention, but Shin Jo-un was a little angry.

If Gu PD had violated the contract and done devil’s editing, he would have raised an issue with it. But since Gu PD didn’t do devil’s editing, it was ambiguous to respond.

Except for the last point scene, Gu PD packaged Rembrary throughout the broadcast as a handsome, talented, and unpretentious hunter prospect.

Moreover, since his face is originally angelic, there were more people than expected who found his chilling words and contrasting cold behavior attractive.

One more thing. This wasn’t entirely ineffective, and Sagamjae, who saw the broadcast, actually came to find Rembrary.