Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 48

48. Starting Image Management

Because he had to quickly rearrange and prepare, Rembrary practically lived in the agency’s practice room until Monday.

Jongwoo had to come out with him, and Jungseo followed, constantly bringing him lunch boxes and tomato juice.

Finally, the day of the competition arrived.

Rembrary, who had placed 15th in the previous competition with the theme of dance, was now performing sixth.

As he had prepared in advance, Rembrary went out wearing a mask that was ornately decorated but had a crying expression.

Wearing that mask, he followed the simple choreography that the dance teacher had created while tearing at his hair.

Around him, other dancers wearing masks were expressing sadness with their bodies.

Rembrary quietly sang a song of farewell in a very sad voice.

It was a song that resonated with the listeners.

However, the song did not seem to fit the theme of ‘Carnival.’

“It’s too different from the theme, isn’t it?”

Because of that, the AD [Assistant Director] clicked his tongue while watching the stage.

“It seems like they just completely changed the stage because the concepts overlapped. It seems like an overreach.”

Kim Murok PD [Production Director] also agreed.

“I know, they should have just done it the original way.”

Oh Jungshin’s manager seized the opportunity to add a word of pity while watching the stage.

“But if it deviates from the theme to that extent, shouldn’t they be penalized with something like last place?”

It was at that moment.

In the part of the original song where the mournful emotion should have exploded, the composition of the song suddenly changed, and the sound of the instruments increased dramatically.

As if small firecrackers were exploding, the dancers covered their crying masks with both hands, and conversely, Rembrary took off his mask and smiled.

The lyrics were still sad and pathetic, but the expression of the person singing the song looked very happy. That incongruous appearance harmonized with the festive music.

Oh Jungshin’s manager’s expression quickly hardened.

“It’s a carnival.”

The AD, who had been feeling sorry, widened his eyes and muttered.

“But that, the stage composition seems to have changed a lot from what they originally prepared, right?”

Oh Jungshin’s manager, who had seen that the composition was different until just now, raised his voice as if he had just discovered the fact.

“Is this okay?”

Kim Murok PD watched Rembrary’s stage and chuckled.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

In the meantime, the music on the stage had returned to a calm and sad farewell song, and Rembrary was wearing a sad mask.

Finally, the moment the stage ended.

When Rembrary lifted his mask halfway up, the smile hidden beneath was revealed.

It was a chilling ending.

* * *

After finishing the stage, Rembrary walked alone to the waiting room.

It was because Jongwoo had gone to Keshi’s side since it was almost his turn.

But it was when he had walked halfway. Unexpectedly, Oh Jungshin was standing near Rembrary’s waiting room.

“Hello.”

Rembrary greeted him casually and passed by.

They weren’t particularly close to begin with, but since Oh Jungshin, who was always smiling brightly, didn’t have a good expression, he didn’t feel like talking to him today.

However, before he completely passed by.

Oh Jungshin asked from behind.

“Did you do this on purpose? To screw me over?”

Rembrary turned around, holding the doorknob.

“Excuse me?”

Oh Jungshin’s expression was stiff.

“What are you talking about?”

When Rembrary asked again, Oh Jungshin asked again in a low voice.

“I originally wanted to do an Eastern carnival. So I kept preparing for that. But I heard that I had to go with a concept similar to yours, so I reluctantly changed the concept even though I didn’t want to. But what is this? You put up four masks or whatever on your side, and then you completely changed the concept on your own?”

Rembrary raised his eyebrows.

Oh Jungshin’s words were a bit different from what he had heard.

“A setting where we had to go similarly?”

“Even variety shows have scripts to some extent. I heard that the script that came out this time said that our two concepts were coincidentally similar.”

Rembrary tilted his head.

“It’s a little different from what I heard.”

“What did you hear?”

“That someone completely copied my concept.”

When Rembrary said exactly what he had heard, Oh Jungshin’s expression turned fierce.

“Who copied whose concept?”

“You copied my concept.”

Rembrary smiled and repeated it.

Oh Jungshin’s expression hardened even more, but Rembrary smiled kindly, regardless.

When you’re a high priest, there are times when you have to smile even in unpleasant situations. Rembrary was skilled at faking a kind smile. Like now.

That smile made Oh Jungshin’s expression even darker.

“You don’t have the confidence to face me head-on, so you used your head to make me do a weird concept. And then you say I copied your concept? I’ve heard a lot of talk about your personality, but I thought it was a misunderstanding. But seeing it in person, the rumors are actually less severe.”

Then, unable to bear it any longer, he began to spew harsh words.

“Hey. It’s because your personality is like that that your group still hasn’t made it. Do you know that? You’re just starting to get your name out there, and you already have nothing to fear?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s no use apologizing now-”

“But, it’s not my fault that I can’t see you even if you wear shoe inserts.”

“Hey.”

“There’s no correlation between personality and success. If there was, you wouldn’t have made it either, but you did well.”

“Hey!”

Oh Jungshin’s face became fierce.

The staff who were passing by stopped and glanced at them.

Even though it wasn’t going to be broadcast, fights between celebrities were common, so they weren’t watching because it was strange for two idols to be fighting.

They were just curious to see how Woo Yeonwoo, who was famous for his bad personality, would fight.

Rembrary did not lose his kind smile even in this situation.

And Oh Jungshin was furious as he looked at Rembrary.

People on the side might not know, but it felt very bad to be provoked with that silly smile on his face.

Besides, from Rembrary’s point of view, Oh Jungshin was being stubborn, but from Oh Jungshin’s point of view, what he said was the truth.

Not just empty words, Oh Jungshin really wanted to do an Eastern-style carnival concept. He had been hastily changing the concept because of the talk about the script.

Oh Jungshin was convinced that Rembrary was angry with his fans and was doing this.

But before he could truly get angry,

“Coming through. Coming through. Move aside.”

Seon Woosil approached like an automatic vacuum cleaner, quickly grabbing Yeonwoo and taking him away.

Before he knew it, Yeonwoo was inside Seon Woosil’s waiting room.

Seon Woosil closed the waiting room door and scolded Rembrary.

“Don’t you know how scary his fans are? What are you fighting for?”

“He’s a very wicked person.”

“What did you fight about?”

“He copied my idea, and when I found out and changed it, he got upset.”

Seon Woosil clicked her tongue as if she understood what happened, and tossed a bottle of beverage on the table to Rembrary.

“Even if it’s dirty and cheap, just bear with it for now. Write it down well in your diary with the date and pay him back later. But not now. Fighting now will only hurt you, whether you win or lose.”

“Is it because I haven’t left yet?” [Referring to leaving the group or the industry]

“No, it’s because your image isn’t good.”

Seon Woosil calmly told him the truth, then paused for a moment and asked.

“I’ve been wondering. Why don’t you manage your image a bit? Did the company tell you to go with a bad boy concept on purpose?”

* * *

Tuesday.

As the performance was broadcast, the public’s reaction was as expected.

– Woo Yeonwoo’s hyperrealistic stageㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ- Life acting^^ It suits him well because it’s a concept similar to his original personality ㄴ Does a good person act well in good roles and a bad person act well in bad roles? Funny.

ㄴ So whatㅗ [Korean slang, equivalent to ‘So what?’]

ㄴ Get lostㅗㅗ [Korean slang, equivalent to ‘Get lost!’]

– Isn’t Woo Yeonwoo’s voice really good? Isn’t his tone a total killer?

– Our Yeonwoo, if he just kept his mouth shut, he would really take off. But if he shut his mouth, he wouldn’t be able to sing ㅜ

People ridiculed Rembrary for expressing pretense on stage, saying that it was Woo Yeonwoo’s true self, but they couldn’t deny his skills.

The music scores were also the best for Rembrary from the moment they were released.

The album review section was a mess with fans, antis, and Oh Jungshin’s fans mixed together, but the music scores were solid.

On the other hand, Oh Jungshin’s performance received some ridicule.

– Jungshin······ Four masks are too muchㅠㅠ- He missed his singing ability because he was too concerned with the mask. His visuals were buried because they were covered by the mask. Even his dance was buried.

– It’s definitely a bit much for an idol to come out on a singing competition. The performance is good, though.

– From the start, Oh Jungshin was in charge of performance, not vocals ㅇㅇ [Korean abbreviation, meaning ‘yes, yes’] If the performance guy does this much, he did well.

ㄴ If you put it that way, Woo Yeonwoo isn’t the main vocal either?

The employees of LLL Entertainment, who were watching whether to release the prepared article, decided not to release the article first under the direction of CEO Lim.

The stage is receiving good reviews, and no one is saying that Oh Jungshin and Rembrary’s stages are similar.

Releasing such an article when the stage reaction is much better than Oh Jungshin’s would only provoke Oh Jungshin’s fans and make Kim Murok PD dislike them.

* * *

That evening.

Rembrary called Jungseo and confided in her about what Seon Woosil had said yesterday, asking for advice.

“Seon Woosil, who saw Oh Jungshin and I fighting, told me that it would be better to manage my image. Do you think so too?”

“Seon Woosil said that to you?”

“Yeah.”

“She must really like you.”

“Do you think it’s better for me to manage my image?”

“It’s good that you have your own personality now. You haven’t caused any accidents lately. But you have a kind nature. There’s no point in being misunderstood, so it’s good to manage your image.”

At Jungseo’s answer, Rembrary asked seriously.

“How do I manage my image?”

In his original world, he didn’t care about others except when taking care of the believers until he became a high priest.

However, after becoming a high priest, he had no choice but to care about his reputation, but Rembrary didn’t think this experience would be of much help.

At the time, people accepted everything that the high priest Rembrary said in a good way.

Moreover, the values ​​were too different between where Rembrary lived and here.

It was also difficult to act based on morality. Morality is also greatly influenced by values.

You could see it just by looking at what happened when Oh Jungshin played the role of a slave. In his original world, Rembrary, who only ordered him to run errands for drinks, would have been considered a kind master, but here, he was just following the punishment, but he was still criticized.

Rembrary was not sure how to act to get a good evaluation from the people here.

“Just speak kindly.”

“That’s not easy. I don’t have any memories. Sometimes I can’t tell what’s kind.”

“Then let’s do this. When I’m next to you or nearby, I’ll send you a signal or match the beat.”

“Is that possible?”

“You’ll get a feel for it after doing it a few times. Let’s start with the agency tomorrow. The acting teacher doesn’t like you very much, right?”

“That’s the vibe I get.”

“Try to be nice to that person first. That person is an acting expert, so they’ll be able to tell if you’re really kind or just pretending. Maybe they’re the best person to practice with.”

* * *

The next day.

Rembrary went to the agency for acting practice and recalled what Jungseo had said yesterday as he opened the door.

‘Be gentle. Be kind.’

When he said he was confused about the standard of ‘kindness,’ Jungseo corrected him again.

Jungseo said that if he answered gently, he would be halfway there.

Gentle gentle gentle…

Repeating the same words several times in his mind, Rembrary bowed to the acting teacher in the practice room.

“Oh, you’re here?”

The acting teacher greeted Rembrary and Jungseo with a cold smile as usual.

Rembrary was relieved.

He had to play a kind role today. He was worried that the acting teacher would suddenly become kind overnight.

Fortunately, the acting teacher was very strict with Rembrary as usual.

“You’re going to be in a supporting role on a public broadcast soon, and this is all you can do? If you got here more easily than others who are working hard, you have to do it right! If you took other people’s opportunities, you have to earn your keep!”

Rembrary cheered inwardly and asked gently.

“Do you like me?”

The acting teacher frowned, stopping his scolding of Rembrary.

“What?”

“You always seem to be worried about me. It’s all because you have affection and high expectations. Isn’t it?”

“!”

The acting teacher’s eyes widened.

Rembrary thought it was a very gentle thing to say, even by his own standards, and added a considerate remark, using his application skills.

“Take care of the other trainees as much as half as much as you care about me. They’ll all be sad.”

After finishing his words, Rembrary finished with a kind smile and looked at Jungseo confidently.

‘How is it? Did I do well?’

Jungseo shook her head as quickly as possible.