Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 87

< 87. Performed a Solo Stage as Two >

Rembrary chuckled and lightly nudged Woo Sungwoo’s arm, replying,

“Who else? Your brother.”

His tone was like that of an old man, but Woo Sungwoo didn’t seem to care about the oddity.

“My brother has a big scar on his side and can’t swim. He’s crazy but ashamed of being crazy. You’re telling me that changes just because he lost his memory?”

“Isn’t the scar on his side, not his back?”

Woo Sungwoo, who had deliberately set a trap, flinched when Rembrary naturally brushed it aside.

“You really don’t care about your brother.”

Rembrary clicked his tongue, adding fuel to the fire, and Woo Sungwoo snapped, telling him not to change the subject.

“Who are you? Who are you to be using my brother’s face and name?”

“I told you, I’m your brother.”

Two guests who had come near the lockers hesitated at the serious atmosphere, glancing back and forth between Rembrary, Woo Sungwoo, and Sa Gamjae’s swimsuits.

The three moved to a more secluded spot.

Once they were alone, Woo Sungwoo grabbed Rembrary’s arm roughly and threatened,

“Give me your hair.”

“Are you crazy?”

“I need to do a DNA test.”

“What test?”

“I’m going to check if you’re really my blood.”

What was he talking about? While Rembrary was trying to understand, Sa Gamjae quickly called Jongwoo to explain the situation.

Of course, Jongwoo was furious.

– Absolutely not! Who knows what kind of crazy rumors people will spread if you do a DNA test!

His voice echoed loudly enough to be heard outside the phone.

Woo Sungwoo stared coldly at Sa Gamjae and said,

“You don’t have to come to the center with me. Just give me the hair. I’ll get it tested and bring you the results.”

Rembrary sighed and obediently plucked a few strands of hair, handing them to Woo Sungwoo.

It wasn’t just the shell that had been replaced with Woo Yeonwoo; his soul had entered Woo Yeonwoo’s body entirely.

He didn’t know exactly what a DNA test entailed, but if it only tested the bloodline of the ‘body,’ he had nothing to fear.

***

In the car on the way back to the dorm,

Sa Gamjae, who was surprisingly good at driving, smoothly turned the steering wheel and looked at the back seat through the rearview mirror, asking,

“Did you say you came from another world?”

Rembrary, who was lying down in the back seat, staring blankly at the ceiling, turned his head.

“Me?”

“Is there anyone else here?”

“I know. I was just asking.”

“Is it okay to do a DNA test? Didn’t you say your original name was Rembrary?”

“That’s right.”

“Is there any chance the DNA test will come back strange?”

“I’m not sure. But I didn’t come in my original body. I entered the body of a young man named Woo Yeonwoo.”

Rembrary stretched out his hand and moved it in front of his eyes.

Come to think of it, what happened to his real body?

His soul flew over here, but what about his body? If his body was without a soul, wouldn’t it die if someone just touched it?

The thought suddenly scared him. Even if he found a way to return to his original world, what if his body was already dead? It would be useless.

“Gamjae, has there been any word from the underworld yet?”

“You mean news from your world?”

“Yes.”

“They haven’t said anything.”

“I see…”

***

Rembrary sighed in frustration.

Three days had passed since Woo Sungwoo took his hair, saying he would get a DNA test.

Today was the day Rembrary was starting his solo activities.

Even though it was just a track from the same album, Rembrary was more famous as an individual than as part of a group.

Thanks to that, there were surprisingly many people looking forward to his stage even before he went on. The anticipation was reflected in the real-time search rankings.

Rembrary nodded as he listened to Jungseo tell him about it.

He was currently in the waiting room for a music show recording, and Jungseo had come along to be with him.

Rembrary wasn’t good at using his phone except for posting photos on social media and searching for words on the internet, so Jungseo was there to be his eyes and ears.

“Do you think you can do well?”

Rembrary nodded at Jungseo’s question.

“It’s not like I’m doing this for the first time.”

“It’s your first solo stage.”

“I kept doing it in Sing Survival.”

“I guess so. That’s true.”

Jongwoo, who was bringing Rembrary warm water, stared in amazement at Jungseo taking care of Rembrary.

Jungseo had always been responsible, but he never gave more than that. But since Rembrary lost his memory, it was strange how well he took care of him.

“You’re more like a real brother than someone who suddenly demands hair for a DNA test, Jungseo.”

Anyway, it looked good, so Jongwoo complimented him and handed water to Rembrary and Jungseo. Then, he asked Rembrary,

“Has your brother contacted you since then?”

Rembrary shook his head. They said it would come out in two or three days at the earliest. Woo Sungwoo hadn’t sent a single text yet.

Because of that, he was slowly getting anxious. What if it turned out they weren’t really siblings?

Then maybe he didn’t enter Woo Yeonwoo’s body, but only took on Woo Yeonwoo’s appearance?

Or maybe the soul can affect the body, or an evil spirit influenced it…

Once he started doubting, there were many possibilities. Rembrary rubbed the spot where he had given Woo Sungwoo his hair.

As he was doing that, Jongwoo checked his watch and urged him.

“Let’s go. It’s almost your turn.”

As they walked down the hallway, fellow idols, whom he didn’t know yet, greeted him frequently.

Rembrary greeted them back as he passed, but as soon as he went backstage, he forgot all their faces.

Instead, he hummed the lyrics of his solo song.

The solo song, which had shot up to second place after the cat kiss incident, had been stuck in second place ever since.

It was because a singer, known as a music chart monster [a singer who consistently tops music charts], was currently at the top and wouldn’t come down. Since the release of their music was similar, Rembrary was blocked by that singer and couldn’t rise any higher.

So Jongwoo kept emphasizing to Rembrary that today’s stage was very important. Depending on the music shows that would continue for the next three days, he might be able to go from second to first place.

He had heard that so many times that he was voluntarily humming the song backstage.

Rembrary’s appearance, humming with his eyes half-closed, was as beautiful as a painting.

Jongwoo nodded proudly as he checked that. Other than that, his mentality is incredibly strong.

An ordinary idol would be nervous and trembling in this situation, but he wasn’t even shaking a finger.

He just needed to perform as usual. If he just did what he always did, he would captivate the audience with his live performance, and word of mouth would spread like wildfire. Today, he wasn’t even dancing, so he didn’t have to worry about what he looked like on screen.

“Okay. Let’s go in. Get ready, get ready.”

Finally, it was Rembrary’s turn.

Rembrary handed the water bottle to Jongwoo and went up the stairs next to the stage.

***

As Jongwoo thought, Rembrary wasn’t nervous at all.

He was used to being the center of attention, used to being loved, and used to being cheered on.

Idols receive love from many people, but it was nothing compared to the popularity of a high priest who had followers in many countries.

As he went on stage, he saw the faces of many people, but Rembrary calmly grabbed the microphone.

He even smiled at the people waving fluorescent paper with Woo Yeonwoo and Wild Animal’s names on it.

Finally, the lights went out completely, and the stage, which had been rehearsed in advance, began.

An eerie violin sound was laid down, followed by a Black Christmas-style bell sound.

Cutting through the eerie music, Rembrary began to utter lyrics that mocked people as if whispering.

It was a voice that pulled people in so much that they involuntarily swallowed hard.

Rembrary loosened his suit tie and recited lyrics that ridiculed people’s affection, then sped up the tempo as he entered the chorus.

It was when he was continuing the teasing humming of the last chorus.

As Rembrary turned around as planned, he noticed a shadow behind the stage that was larger than usual.

It was mixed with the shadows of the various sculptures around him, making it confusing, but if you looked closely, you could see Rembrary’s shadow grabbing someone’s neck with one hand.

He wondered what that was, but Rembrary continued humming and pretended not to notice.

He had been told never to be noticed. There was nothing he could do in this place.

A discerning audience might notice the shadow, but they would probably think it was just a stage effect. Most people here are so used to advanced technology that they consider even amazing scenes to be part of it.

At that moment.

A white flash appeared before Rembrary’s eyes.

***

People screamed and ran away.

The thick smell of blood filled the air, and chaotic screams seemed to tear at his eardrums.

Rembrary looked around.

This time, someone passed by him. Very close, almost bumping into him.

He reflexively flinched, but the person’s shoulder passed right through Rembrary.

Surprised, Rembrary turned his head to look at the person running away.

The ground rumbled.

Rembrary turned his head back to look ahead.

Something about three times the size of Wild Animal’s van was dragging its heavy body slowly.

A chilling sound of grinding could be heard.

‘It’s the original world!’

The moment he thought that, another white flash appeared before his eyes.

***

Rembrary opened his eyes and quickly raised his upper body, gathering divine power in both arms.

“It’ll be a disaster if someone comes.”

A calm voice stopped Rembrary.

Rembrary was surprised and looked to the side. Sa Gamjae was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, reading a magazine.

“Gamjae?”

Rembrary called out blankly, and Sa Gamjae slammed the magazine shut and placed it on the table next to him, asking,

“Your body is probably fine, but what about your mind? Are you okay?”

“Okay?”

Rembrary recalled the brief scene he had just witnessed.

Whether it was a hallucination or real, it was definitely a scene from his original world. The scene after the Demon King’s invasion.

Rembrary frowned and pressed his temples.

Did Redrin show him that? Is that the current situation in his original world? Or was it just a nightmare because he was too worried?

No, more than that-

“Where is this?”

Rembrary realized he was in a place he had never seen before and asked.

Sa Gamjae calmly replied,

“My house.”

“What?”

Rembrary’s eyes widened even more.

“Why am I in your house?”

Sa Gamjae silently picked up his phone, found something, and handed it to Rembrary.

Rembrary looked at the phone. It was a video of Rembrary’s solo stage.

In the video, Rembrary, who had perfectly finished the first verse, suddenly staggered.

But that was it. He soon regained his balance and started singing the second verse again.

Very… clumsily.

With trembling hands,

After finishing the stage, he hesitated for a moment, shouted, “Thank you. This is Unicorn Woo Yeonwoo!” bowed, and went down the stage.

Rembrary’s mouth dropped open.

“What is this?”

“That’s you.”

***

– Does Woo Yeonwoo have two personalities? Why is he suddenly like that?

– I know. It’s like a different person sang the first and second verses.

– He’s suddenly so nice at the end ;;

– No professionalism.

– He made a name for himself by not dancingㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅅㅂ Is he half-assing the song this timeㅋㅋㅋㅋ [He made a name for himself by not dancing, lol. Is he half-assing the song this time?]

– Why can’t he have two personalities? The personality of a tree beam and the personality of a unicorn.

– ㅅㅂ Otherworldly conceptㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Otherworldly concept, lol]

< 87. Performed a Solo Stage as Two > End