Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 61

< 61. If You Tell Me Where to Sell >

The person who came out was Kesh. Kesh took a picture of the business card and thought.

‘If he doesn’t want to do it, I’ll do it. Isn’t this how you make it, even if it’s like this? What’s so difficult about this?’

Idol groups, by the nature of the job, have a short lifespan.

Therefore, you have to prepare for activities after the group in advance, but the problem is that the group’s success and the individual member’s success are completely different areas.

Kesh was honestly not confident that he would definitely succeed after Wild Animal disbanded. This was the same even if Wild Animal became popular with this album.

Jungseo will succeed. His face is that of an actor, and he is the leader that CEO Lim likes the most. CEO Lim will push Jungseo as the next-generation actor as much as possible, so he will take care of his own livelihood.

Hye Gyeol also seemed to be settling in well as an actor, unexpectedly. Hye Gyeol was originally an aspiring actor, so he was good at acting, and as the dance 담당 [pronounced ‘damdang,’ meaning ‘in charge’ or ‘responsible’ for dance], he was also good at using his body.

Whether he takes advantage of his physical skills and goes into action acting, or takes advantage of his natural bright younger man image, if luck follows, he seemed to have a chance to become popular.

Woo Yeon-woo, who boasts the best topicality while carrying all sorts of rumors, also seemed to survive on his own. Even now, there are many people who say, ‘I don’t know Wild Animal, but I’ve heard of Woo Yeon-woo.’

But Kesh’s situation was different. Kesh knew himself well. He had no interest or talent in acting. He was good at singing, but his tone and singing skills were not outstanding enough to guarantee solo success.

To make up for his lack of skills, he had to desperately raise his personal recognition and popularity. Kesh felt that now was the perfect opportunity to do so.

After confirming that the photo was saved properly, Kesh returned to the bedroom.

* * *

Rembrary, unaware that one of the members had actually decided to use this business card, handed the business card to Jongwoo, who visited the dorm the next day.

Jongwoo, after hearing the story, was dumbfounded and accepted the business card. The dumbfounded expression contained a slight surprise after checking the business card.

“You received a business card from this person?”

“Do you know him?”

“Not exactly. I just heard about him indirectly. So it was true.”

“What did you hear indirectly?”

“This Chairman Lee. He’s famous for sponsoring actors, especially handsome actors. And when he does, he definitely sponsors them, but it never lasts long.”

“Ah.”

“I don’t know why, but they say he’s not interested in anyone unless they’re an actor, no matter how handsome they are.”

Jongwoo looked at Rembrary strangely.

To Rembrary, it was a story he heard ‘indirectly,’ but in fact, it was a definite story. He’d heard that some unscrupulous companies pick celebrities based solely on their looks, then connect them with sponsors to make money and turn them into stars.

There was also a famous anecdote about introducing a very handsome idol who came out solo from that company to a certain chairman, who rejected him, saying, “Do I look like I’m going to play house with an idol?”

No one knew why sponsoring an idol was called playing house, but if they had common sense and morality, they wouldn’t be acting as sponsors in this area in the first place, so no one thought deeply about it.

Anyway, that chairman was the main character of this business card. Only the secretary’s name and phone number were on the business card, but it was clear.

“Does he like slightly crazy types? He really just sent a secretary to give you a business card? Didn’t he say anything else?”

“Ah. Because he kept looking at me, I thought he was a fan and gave him a finger heart.”

“A finger heart?”

“This.”

“That’s a pincer, isn’t it?”

“Hye Gyeol said it was a heart?”

“Hey Yoo Hye Gyeol! You brat, you can’t play pranks like this on someone who believes everything you say!”

Jongwoo bared his teeth and chased after Hye Gyeol, who hurriedly took refuge in the bathroom.

Rembrary watched the scene and made a finger heart to Jungseo.

“Does this look like a pincer to you?”

“It looks like an okay sign.”

After a while, Jongwoo, who had scolded Hye Gyeol, returned and praised Rembrary.

“Still, you did well. If you accept things like this, you’ll be in big trouble later. Even if you receive similar offers in the future, make it clear that you will never do such things.”

“I understand.”

* * *

After practicing the title song for a while in the morning, Rembrary went back to the studio for the next filming of . [The blank space likely refers to the title of the show they are filming, but it is not mentioned in the text.]

In the current scene, Rembrary is always following Maeng Wooshin around, so he didn’t have to wait long in the waiting room.

Rembrary, dressed in a priest’s robe and wearing a solemn expression, trailed behind Maeng Wooshin, thinking that acting wasn’t so bad after all.

Then, when Maeng Wooshin and Im Yu-han’s dental clinic scene came up, Rembrary waited outside the set for a while. Since the conversation scene between Maeng Wooshin and Rembrary was scheduled next, he couldn’t return to the waiting room.

Suddenly, an extra, whom Rembrary had only briefly greeted during the script reading, approached him and said in a low voice,

“Hey, fox.”

“I’m a sloth, though.”

“What, you little punk?”

Moreover, when Rembrary pointed out the error in his words, the man even cursed at him.

‘Why is he suddenly cursing at me?’ Rembrary wondered, taking another look at the actor’s face.

Was his name Do Ji-ho? Yes, that was his name.

His role was Junseo, the son of the villainous couple who killed the female lead in her past life. The synopsis described him as a kind-hearted and filial [devoted to his parents] son, struggling and agonizing between his love for his parents and his sense of morality after learning about their sins.

But again, he didn’t remember anything about the actor himself.

“What, you little punk?”

So, when he simply echoed the question, Do Ji-ho’s face turned red. However, he seemed conscious of the people around him and hesitated to speak right away.

“Come here for a second.”

After hesitating, Do Ji-ho finally pointed with his chin towards a corner of the set.

Once they reached the corner, Do Ji-ho angrily whispered, just like before.

“Hey, you little bastard, what gives you the right to steal someone else’s girlfriend?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You called a senior [someone older or more experienced] ‘you little punk’ earlier, but why are you suddenly using honorifics? Feeling guilty?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you kidding me?”

When Rembrary shook his head, Do Ji-ho huffed and spoke again.

“Don’t play dumb, you son of a bitch. I lost a billion-dollar deal because of you.”

“Is your girlfriend a deal, then?”

“Hey.”

“Earlier, you said I stole your girlfriend, but now you’re suddenly saying a deal fell through.”

“Stop pretending you don’t know.”

Do Ji-ho glared coldly at Rembrary.

In fact, the chairman who had given Rembrary his business card two days ago had come to see Do Ji-ho.

As the chairman seemed to be slowly getting tired of him, Do Ji-ho, with his advertisement renewal period approaching, had deliberately invited the chairman to the set.

The plan was to show him a great acting performance, since the chairman liked actors. But the chairman came and left.

He even called to ask where to go after arriving and waiting. But he left without even showing his face.

After the filming, when he called again to ask about this, the secretary delivered shocking news.

“There will be no renewal. The chairman is interested in someone new.”

When Do Ji-ho jumped up and asked who it was, the secretary only told him it was an idol.

There was only one idol on the set of [the show they are filming]. Woo Yeon-woo.

Do Ji-ho checked the cue sheet and found out that Woo Yeon-woo had no filming scenes at the time the chairman briefly visited.

Then the answer was obvious. That sly fox, Woo Yeon-woo, had snatched someone else’s sponsor.

However, Rembrary’s expression was indifferent, leaving no room for Do Ji-ho to dig in. Besides, it was awkward to openly fight here over a stolen sponsor.

Do Ji-ho gritted his teeth and pointed his finger at Rembrary’s face.

“You. You better watch out later. I’m never going to let this go.”

Rembrary grabbed that finger and kindly folded it back.

“Senior, you should be careful with your fingers.”

“You… why… you arrogant bastard.”

Do Ji-ho huffed and turned away abruptly.

Rembrary tilted his head, watching Do Ji-ho’s retreating figure.

‘What a strange person. Is his lover one of my ardent fans?’

“Woo Yeon-woo!”

But the floor director (FD) called him, so Rembrary quickly dismissed the thought and went closer to the set.

“Come quickly.”

The FD was slightly agitated.

Afterward, the FD briefly explained the next scene to Rembrary, and Rembrary nodded.

In the meantime, the staff moved busily to prepare for the next scene.

The next scene was a two-shot of Rembrary and Maeng Woo-shin, where Rembrary asks Maeng Woo-shin, who came in with a swollen cheek from a dental procedure, if he could touch the wound.

But while waiting for a moment,

Maeng Woo-shin, who was waiting next to him, said.

“I told you to raise your profile, but aren’t you using rather extreme methods?”

The voice was neither loud nor soft, but it sounded slightly mocking.

Rembrary, who was drinking water, turned to look at Maeng Woo-shin.

Maeng Woo-shin was getting makeup from the makeup team to make his cheek look a little more swollen. His face was facing forward, but his eyes were directed towards Rembrary.

The makeup team staff were not at all surprised that the senior actor was mocking the idol, and they moved their hands busily.

It wasn’t the first or second time that actors had fought with each other, nor was it the first or second time that proud actors had ignored idol-turned-actors, and trouble between seniors and juniors with bad relationships was commonplace.

When you’re a rookie, everything is surprising, but those attached to Maeng Woo-shin were not rookies. This was nothing.

Rembrary asked Maeng Woo-shin.

“What do you mean by that?”

Maeng Woo-shin mocked again with a meaningful look.

“Just like I said. Aren’t you doing *that* to raise your profile quickly?”

‘That’ Maeng Woo-shin was talking about was a sponsor [a wealthy individual who provides financial support in exchange for favors or companionship].

He had heard that Do Ji-ho had a big sponsor and that the sponsor was getting tired of Do Ji-ho.

Do Ji-ho suddenly taking Rembrary to the corner and getting angry? It was obvious what was going on without even hearing the conversation.

So Maeng Woo-shin deliberately attacked Rembrary in front of people to make those with good sense listen to his story and gossip about Rembrary.

Maeng Woo-shin was going to take revenge on Rembrary for insulting him as an attention seeker.

However, Rembrary interpreted ‘that’ as acting and calmly replied.

“It’s all because of you, senior.”

“What?”

“If you had accepted me willingly from the beginning, I wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths.”

At that moment, the brush that was quickly moving across Maeng Woo-shin’s cheek slipped.

“I’m sorry.”

The makeup team staff apologized with a red face, then quickly dabbed and rubbed the affected area with a sponge.

Maeng Woo-shin raised his eyebrows at Rembrary.

Rembrary continued indifferently.

“I have to get involved in anything interesting to be satisfied. So I started it. So please don’t change your mind, senior, and wait until I’m qualified. You can’t allow anyone else in the meantime.”

The staff’s sponge slipped sideways again.

Maeng Woo-shin jumped up and grabbed Rembrary’s mouth.

As two staff members awkwardly left their seats, Maeng Woo-shin quickly took his hand off and gritted his teeth.

“Hey, does your mouth run faster than your brain? Are you crazy? Do you have no filter? Buy one. Buy one and put it on. I know you’re crazy, so think before you speak, huh?”

“Senior, what does ‘run faster than your brain’ mean?”

“Hey!”

<61. If You Tell Me Where to Buy It> End