Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 303

303. The Thing You Should Stop Caring About

The live viewers were roaring with laughter, but the MC on set was utterly bewildered. Had the situation been any more precarious, it could have been classified as a broadcasting incident.

The MC’s fingers trembled, their expression a mask of amusement and dismay. It was a tightrope walk; they were desperate to laugh, but wary of provoking Woo Yeon-woo and his fervent fanbase. The PD [Production Director] signaled that the viewers were loving the spectacle, leaving the MC stuck in an awkward limbo.

“What the hell!”

Woo Yeon-woo, never anticipating Rembrary’s on-air antics, clutched at his eyes and exploded with a curse.

“Are you crazy?”

“No.”

Rembrary responded with unnerving calm, even offering an explanation to the bewildered MC. “If you poke someone in the eye, 99 out of 100 people will experience pain. Like this. However, this isn’t an effective way to defeat a monster. In fact, it might enrage the monster, causing it to rampage even more. It’s best to avoid this tactic unless absolutely necessary.”

The MC, utterly flustered, was momentarily speechless. What could they possibly say? If they responded with a simple, “Oh, really?” Woo Yeon-woo’s fans would undoubtedly erupt in fury.

“You didn’t have to poke him directly…”

That was the most they could manage, a weak, muttered protest.

However, amidst the chaos, there was one person who remained untouched by anger, laughter, or embarrassment.

‘That situation…?’

It was Jong-woo, Woo Yeon-woo’s manager. In any other circumstance, he should have been furious. Yet, a different, more unsettling emotion took precedence. Instead of anger, he found himself frowning, head tilted in confusion.

‘What is this familiar situation? This familiar craziness?’

The tone, the mannerisms… Even with the real Woo Yeon-woo standing right there, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the blonde hunter trainee beside him was somehow channeling Woo Yeon-woo’s persona.

‘That hunter named Rembrary… Is he perhaps mimicking Yeon-woo’s wilder days?’

* * *

―As expected, the world is vast, and there’s always someone crazier than the last……

―The law of crazy person preservation seems to apply even among crazy people. lol

―Yeon-woo, a newbie has appeared who can surpass your craziness. TTTTT

―But Woo Yeon-woo. LOL. He tried so hard to change his image after becoming a hunter. The moment he gets poked in the eye, he immediately curses. LOL

ㄴAnyone would curse in that situation. lol

ㄴGive him a break. TTTT. Even a minor car scratch would elicit a curse, so getting poked in the eye warrants a swear word.

* * *

Jong-woo wasn’t the only one struck by a sense of déjà vu after witnessing Rembrary’s eye-poking incident.

“What? Isn’t that him?”

The Wild Animal members, gathered in their living room to watch Woo Yeon-woo’s show, pointed at the screen, their voices laced with disbelief.

“That blonde? Rembrary?”

Tae-in asked, gesturing towards Rembrary. Kesh nodded emphatically.

“Yeah, why? Jung-seo showed us a picture before and said he looked similar to Woo Yeon-woo. You said he didn’t look alike at all. Or was that Yeon-woo who said that? Anyway…”

“Ah, right. That’s him.”

“Before, when Jung-seo said that, I thought it was nonsense. But looking at it now, doesn’t he really look alike?”

Kesh, Tae-in, and Hye-gyeol exchanged knowing glances, recalling the time when Woo Yeon-woo had poked Kesh in the eye during a music show. They nodded in unison.

“He does look alike. Wow. He’s exactly like Yeon-woo hyung [older brother/senior] when he lost his memory. Wow. Seeing it like this, I miss it.”

Hye-gyeol was both amazed and amused. Woo Yeon-woo’s amnesia had been a bit of an ordeal, but it had also paved the way for Wild Animal’s comeback, their album achieving unprecedented success. In many ways, that period held a special, nostalgic significance.

Tae-in, however, who had never quite clicked with Yeon-woo, either before or after his memory loss, simply clicked his tongue.

“Two people with that kind of personality? That’s insane.”

Kesh scoffed at his remark.

“It’s not two people. Yeon-woo isn’t like that anymore, right?”

* * *

At roughly the same time.

Jung-seo was hunched over her laptop, replaying the scene repeatedly.

‘Yeon-woo getting angry and denying any resemblance to Rembrary. Rembrary using the strange 말투 [manner of speaking] that Yeon-woo used when he lost his memory.

Rembrary mirroring the actions that Yeon-woo did when he lost his memory. The fact that Rembrary is staying with Shin Jo-woon, who Yeon-woo was close to when he lost his memory…’

Jung-seo recalled Rembrary’s fascination with the restaurant menu, his eagerness to find delicious food. Even his love of eating was eerily similar. Honestly, wasn’t it all a bit creepy?

‘Yeon-woo’s personality underwent a complete transformation when he lost his memory. Yeon-woo’s personality reverted to normal as soon as he regained his memory. His abilities as a healer also vanished when he lost his memory……’

Jung-seo tapped the table rhythmically, lost in thought. It sounded like a ludicrous idea. But the crazy thought kept resurfacing in her mind: that ‘Woo Yeon-woo who lost his memory’ and ‘Rembrary trainee’ might be one and the same person.

Seeing Rembrary trainee holding a microphone and rapping off-beat only intensified that feeling.

‘But how? Is that even possible? That personality that emerged when he lost his memory… Could that personality somehow transfer into another person’s body?’

* * *

“Hey, Sloth.”

Rembrary, having finished filming, was heading out of the broadcasting station to return to the Worldboom building when Woo Yeon-woo’s voice cut through the air. He had been called in a hushed tone from behind.

Rembrary turned to find Woo Yeon-woo standing alone, arms crossed, Jong-woo nowhere in sight.

“Where did Jong-woo go? Why are you alone?”

Rembrary’s question was met with a cold sneer, as if Woo Yeon-woo was deeply displeased.

“Can you stop concerning yourself with my manager’s business?”

“I’m not concerning myself with you.”

“!”

Woo Yeon-woo, momentarily taken aback, quickly regained his composure. Knowing Rembrary’s knack for drawing people into his orbit, he clamped his mouth shut and jerked his chin in a specific direction.

“Follow me for a second.”

“Are you asking me to find your manager? Are you a baby?”

“Shut up and follow me!”

Woo Yeon-woo led Rembrary to a secluded spot, meticulously ensuring they were out of sight of any onlookers or CCTV cameras. Once they were alone, he unleashed his pent-up frustration.

“What are you? Why do you keep catching my eye?”

“Isn’t it you who keeps looking at me?”

Rembrary, viewing Woo Yeon-woo as a pathetic but easy target, simply smiled and retorted, seemingly unfazed by the outburst.

Woo Yeon-woo, his fury escalating, shouted, “Hey!” Rembrary merely smiled and continued to provoke him.

“It would all be over if you just looked away. Aren’t you paying me too much attention?”

It was a teasing remark, but it carried a deeper meaning. Whether it was at the training center or now, Rembrary believed that Woo Yeon-woo was needlessly creating problems for himself.

If he truly disliked him, he could simply ignore him, avoid seeking him out. He didn’t have to go to the training center to threaten to expose his identity, or attempt to interfere through another trainee, or even orchestrate this joint appearance on the broadcasting station. Rembrary found it all rather excessive.

“Are you that scared of me?”

Rembrary’s question struck a nerve, causing Woo Yeon-woo to flinch. He had hit the mark. But he could never admit it.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Nonsense?”

Rembrary chuckled at Woo Yeon-woo’s dismissive word and continued, “You took the money I earned, and ah… Give me back the money.”

“What?”

“Give me back the money.”

“!”

“Right now.”

“Why, wha, what did I do!”

Rembrary fixed Woo Yeon-woo with a narrowed gaze, watching him stammer and make excuses. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to recover the money anyway, he skipped that topic and moved on. “You took the money I earned, and I tweaked your reputation a bit as I pleased, but you also tweaked my reputation as you pleased. Now we are separated, and there are no overlapping parts.”

“…….”

“If you don’t care about me, we will continue to live without overlapping. You belong to 낙루 [Nakru, likely a company or group], and I have no intention of joining 낙루. So why do you keep coming to me?”

Rembrary’s words ignited Woo Yeon-woo’s anger. He desperately wanted to retort, but he couldn’t articulate his feelings logically.

“Don’t care?”

Just because he couldn’t express it didn’t diminish the frustration that churned within him. Woo Yeon-woo gritted his teeth, his life irrevocably altered by his entanglement with Rembrary. He had lived in Rembrary’s body, and Rembrary had lived in his. Now, the Demon King that Rembrary had brought into the picture was also residing within him.

Their souls and bodies were intertwined, and he was suggesting it could all end with a simple ‘don’t care’?

Woo Yeon-woo felt a surge of rage, a sense of explosion in his head. His consciousness flickered and then vanished.

“Hello.”

In Woo Yeon-woo’s place stood another soul, the Demon King.

‘This…’

Rembrary had been watching Woo Yeon-woo’s outburst with detached amusement, but he now raised his eyebrows, sensing a profound shift in the other person’s demeanor. The voice and face remained the same, but the change in expression and tone was unmistakable. It was no longer Woo Yeon-woo.

Moreover, the atmosphere had shifted. The aura of being pushed around that Woo Yeon-woo projected towards Rembrary had vanished, replaced by an air of composure.

That aura of absolute control, of never having been subjugated, was something only a born ruler could possess.

“The one hiding behind the shadows.”

Rembrary stared at the other person for a moment, then asked, “Demon King?”

The Demon King’s lips slowly curled into a smile. It wasn’t a direct confirmation, but it was close enough.

Rembrary now knew for certain that even after he had left Woo Yeon-woo’s body, the Demon King had remained.

“Not the main body……”

Rembrary muttered, scrutinizing the Demon King from head to toe.

Even in this borrowed form, his presence and aura were formidable. If it were the main body, it wouldn’t be trapped inside Woo Yeon-woo’s body. It couldn’t be the main body.

“A fragment? Why are you still attached there?”

The Demon King remained silent, but his gaze was intense, analyzing Rembrary from head to toe. His pupils shifted minutely, like the second hand of a clock. He was clearly dissecting Rembrary, just as Rembrary was dissecting him.

The sound of Jong-woo honking the horn, signaling his arrival at the broadcasting station lobby to pick up Woo Yeon-woo, was loud, but the Demon King remained motionless.

How long had it been? Suddenly, the Demon King slowly raised his hand and brought his fingers to his cheek.

‘What is he doing?’

It was a strange gesture, but not immediately threatening. Rembrary simply watched, curious to see what the Demon King would do.

In that instant, the Demon King seemed to sharpen his nails and then slashed his own cheek, or rather, Woo Yeon-woo’s cheek. Despite the use of only his nails, a bright red line appeared on his skin, as if he had been cut with a box cutter. Blood welled up and trickled down.

It was still an incomprehensible act, but it was undoubtedly malicious. The wound, from which blood continued to flow, looked excruciatingly painful.

Yet, instead of looking away, Rembrary continued to stare at the Demon King. To Rembrary’s surprise, the Demon King smiled lightly and demanded, “Heal it.”