Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 324

324. Let’s Sing a Song!

That text was too familiar. It felt like talking to someone you’ve known for a long time, someone you can get straight to the point with. The kind of text you’d send when you can skip the greetings and still talk comfortably.

Jongwoo was momentarily flustered and confused. Who was Rembrary again? Wasn’t he the hunter trainee currently away filming? But was he close enough to exchange such casual texts with him?

‘I think I’ve only met him once. Or have I?’

Jongwoo’s fingers busily searched through his message history, scrolling up repeatedly. But no, they had only met once, and there was no record of any previous texts. This was the first time, for sure. And the other person was sending such a familiar text on their first exchange.

‘Well, if you think about it, it’s not exactly a friendly text, but….’

Why did it feel so familiar? After pondering for a while, Jongwoo realized why and sighed, “Ah.”

Woo Yeonwoo. Back when Yeonwoo had lost his memory and was acting like a sloth [referring to his lazy and unmotivated behavior], he used to talk exactly like that. That memory remained, making him unconsciously accept such rude behavior as familiarity.

‘It’s a side effect, a side effect.’

Jongwoo clicked his tongue and shook his head. Nevertheless, he replied to Rembrary’s text seriously.

[Are you saying you want to join our agency?]

He didn’t want to use honorifics when the other person was being so casual, so he slipped into informal language. Fortunately, the hunter trainee Rembrary wasn’t two-faced. He seemed not to mind others using informal language as much as he freely used it with others.

[No, that’s not it.]

He had given him his business card, but he didn’t expect to receive a call about releasing an album. This was truly unexpected. Jongwoo hesitated for a moment before asking:

[Are you free to talk now?]

Soon after, the other party called him.

“Hello?”

As soon as he answered, the hunter trainee Rembrary immediately stated his business.

[I want to release an album.]

This was so similar to when Woo Yeonwoo had lost his memory that Jongwoo couldn’t help but chuckle. When they had met before, he wondered if he was mimicking Yeonwoo’s crazy days.

Seeing him act the same way not only on TV but also during private calls, it was just funny for some reason. He thought there couldn’t be two people like that in the world, but there really were two.

‘They say doppelgangers come in threes, but I hope there isn’t another one. That would be a bit much.’

[Jongwoo? Are you there?]

“Yeah, just thinking. So, you want to release an album, but you don’t want to join our agency?”

[Yes.]

“Um… then what, a collaboration? Is that what you’re thinking?”

[No, just tell me how to release an album.]

In fact, Rembrary had initially thought of Shin Joowoon regarding the album, but Shin Joowoon had completely changed the company’s direction from an entertainment agency to a hunter company. On the other hand, LLL was still an entertainment agency, so he asked Jongwoo.

However, LLL had its own circumstances, so Jongwoo scratched his cheek, feeling awkward.

“Um, I don’t know why you suddenly thought of that, but our company is almost exclusively managing Wild Animal right now. We’re not in a position to produce anyone else, especially someone unrelated.”

[Just tell me how to release an album.]

“No, you can’t just do it right away after I tell you, can you? Is the planning done? Do you have songs? Lyrics? Do you have activity plans? Do you just want to release the music online, or do you want to release a physical album too? Have you thought about whether to go with a single, an EP [extended play, a music recording that is longer than a single but shorter than an album], or a full album? How are you going to promote it? What’s the purpose of releasing the album?”

As Jongwoo rattled off questions, there was a rustling sound from beyond the phone. What was he doing? Waiting curiously, he suddenly heard singing.

Jongwoo was about to say, ‘It’s not enough to just sing to me,’ but he was taken aback by Rembrary’s singing.

“!”

Even though it was a low-quality recording coming through the phone, he could tell that the other person’s voice was chillingly good. It was a good voice just by itself, but when combined with the melody, it was like….

‘He’s just like Yeonwoo!’

[I want people to be captivated by my song, Jongwoo.]

‘He’s not answering my questions and just saying what he wants to say, just like Yeonwoo when he lost his memory.’

Was he really a doppelganger? Jongwoo sighed. But hearing that singing and thinking about the words ‘I want to release an album,’ he felt less bewildered than before.

‘That kind of singing definitely… it would be good to preserve it as a recording.’

The problem was….

“Let’s meet and talk in person.”

Jongwoo’s statement that LLL wasn’t producing anyone other than Wild Animal was true, so Jongwoo first suggested a compromise.

Besides, he was a bit embarrassed by the sudden talk about an album. But when he thought about it, didn’t he owe this hunter trainee Rembrary a debt? Or rather, Woo Yeonwoo did.

This trainee had been choked by Woo Yeonwoo before, and he hadn’t said a word about it. Of course, there wouldn’t have been many people who would have believed him even if he had spoken up, but he was still grateful. So, even if he couldn’t officially produce him, he thought it would be better to help him with a few things to ease his conscience.

[Meet?]

“Yeah. But don’t bring any broadcasting people. What program are you filming right now? And don’t bring a camera either. Can you do that?”

[What about Jungseo?]

“You can bring Jungseo.”

After setting the time and place to meet, Jongwoo unconsciously chuckled as he hung up the phone.

“He really is a lot like him.”

When Woo Yeonwoo, who had lost his memory, spoke in that precise, kingly tone, he always wanted to poke him in the head. But human hearts are strange, and when he didn’t do that, he missed those days. The hunter trainee Rembrary was poking at those aspects of Jongwoo perfectly.

Just then.

“Who does he look like?”

A head popped out from behind the refrigerator, asking sharply.

“Jeez, give me some warning before you do that.”

It was Woo Yeonwoo. Jongwoo was surprised and scolded him, but Woo Yeonwoo frowned and asked again.

“Who does who look like?”

“Ah, well….”

Jongwoo recalled what he had said during the phone call. He didn’t mention Rembrary’s name directly, did he? Should he just vaguely say it was another trainee or rookie from another company? Because he was someone who hated even hearing Rembrary’s name.

‘Where did Yeonwoo hear this from?’

“Who are you collaborating with?”

“Oh, just….”

However, Woo Yeonwoo wasn’t dense.

“Hyung [an honorific used to address an older brother or male friend], were you talking to Rembrary?”

When Woo Yeonwoo immediately guessed and asked, Jongwoo was dumbfounded and asked back.

“How did you know?”

Woo Yeonwoo gritted his teeth.

“Did he ask you to produce him? But why is he contacting you? Why are you going out? Why did you tell him to bring Jungseo? Does he want to do a duet with Jungseo?”

“No, how do you know all this? Can you hear the phone call from all the way over there?”

“He’s filming a program, and you told him not to bring a camera. Then it’s Rembrary, isn’t it?”

Jongwoo clicked his tongue but couldn’t deny it. It was exactly right.

Since he wasn’t expecting an answer anyway, Woo Yeonwoo didn’t ask again but said firmly instead.

“Hyung, don’t help him.”

Woo Yeonwoo knew Rembrary’s voice better than anyone. He also knew the captivating timbre and the effects that Rembrary’s singing brought about.

He had seen the reactions people had when Rembrary sang, and there was still a recording of that bastard singing with his voice. As long as he had ears, he couldn’t not know that sweet voice. That’s why he couldn’t help but be wary.

‘What the hell is Rembrary doing? He shows up as a rival hunter and threatens me, and now he’s even trying to sing? Is he really after my spot?’

Woo Yeonwoo was dumbfounded. That pseudo-shaman, after acting all high and mighty, saying things like, ‘You won’t meet me or get involved with me unless you approach me first,’ or telling him to just forget about him and live his life. Now he was calling his manager behind his back to talk about an album.

As Woo Yeonwoo’s face turned fierce with anger, Jongwoo approached him and patted him on the shoulder as if to soothe him, saying, “Hey, hey, hey.”

“Why are you so angry? Do you think I’m listening to him because I like him? I’m doing this because of you.”

“If you’re thinking of me, you shouldn’t be contacting him. You know I hate that bastard Rembrary!”

“That’s because you choked that bastard!”

“……”

“Even though he acts crazy on TV, he’s tight-lipped. He hasn’t said a word about what happened and has kept his mouth shut. Shouldn’t I at least help him out of guilt?”

“That’s!”

“I’m just trying to help him out once and ease his mind. It’s not like we’re helping him big time with our agency’s power, just simply telling him about the procedures or something.”

When Woo Yeonwoo couldn’t find any more words and quieted down, Jongwoo was relieved and quickly turned around. He wanted to get out of there before the kid found another excuse to throw a tantrum.

“Ah, Woo Yeonwoo! Stop yelling so much! Your voice echoes even when I’m in the bathroom!”

Just as Taein burst out of the bathroom, Jongwoo quickly went into his room.

* * *

On the day he was supposed to meet Jongwoo, Rembrary was about to leave the Redrine building with Jungseo, after telling her about it in advance.

“Oh? Where are you going, Rembrary? Let’s go together!”

However, somehow knowing about it, Kim Murok immediately ran out to the lobby, trying to squeeze between them.

Ever since the day Rembrary went out to get a believer and returned covered in blood, Kim Murok hadn’t been able to find any filming material because Rembrary had been too quiet. So, when he heard that he was going out, he excitedly rushed over.

“No can do.”

However, Rembrary couldn’t take Kim Murok with him because he had a promise with Jongwoo.

“No, you said you wanted to promote Redrine. Rembrary, if you keep doing this, you’ll only be promoting the Redrine building’s cafeteria menu. Well, it is delicious, but hunters aren’t going to come in after looking at the menu, are they?”

He also indirectly pointed out that Rembrary had been doing nothing but eating, resting, eating, and resting since he came here, but it was no use.

“Me going out right now is for the sake of promoting Redrine.”

“No, how are you going to promote it without even bringing a camera?”

“I’ll tell you when the time comes. I’ll need your help anyway later.”

Still, Rembrary didn’t budge and instead smiled warmly as if soothing a crying baby, which made Kim Murok bristle. But instead of expressing his honest feelings, he just shrugged as if he couldn’t help it and let it go.

“Okay. Have a good trip. You too, Jungseo.”

Then, pretending to pat Jungseo on the shoulder, Kim Murok dropped a pen-shaped recorder that he had brought in advance into Jungseo’s bag.