Holy Idol

Chapter 18: Cruising Smoothly

Before Jongwoo could say anything, Rembrary first approached the women and smiled broadly.

The women stomped their feet due to excitement and amazement when Rembrary came towards them.

“Wah, It’s Yeonwoo, What to do!?”

“He came right in front of us!”

Wild Animal was not popular enough to have any sasaeng.

(T/N: Sasaeng: an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other behaviour constituting an invasion of the privacy of celebrities)

Naturally, all the fans that gathered were all ordinary fans.

It wasn’t even a fan meeting, but when a favorite celebrity approached with a smile, everyone was so happy that they didn’t know what to do.

On the contrary, Rembrary was accustomed to dealing with his believers, so he asked his number one believer.

“You’ve been here before. You often come.”

According to his experience, believers are moved when one would remember their face.

The question was asked with a thorough understanding, and this time as well, it was effective.

Translated by RainofSnow

“Oppa, do you remember me?”

“Aren’t you my number one believer?”

Another woman next to her raised her hand.

“Oppa, do you remember me?”

“Weren’t you the one who said you bought our songs since our debut?”

The fan who had bought their songs since their debut, screamed and shouted.

“I bought four more using my family ID!”

Another fan next to her shouted.

“Oppa, I also bought the song money, money, money, money that you sang this time!”

“I even had a fight with those malicious commenters!”

“I’m the 223rd heart!”

“I pressed it two times! It’s money, money, money!”

“I’m working hard to promote Oppa to my classmates!”

As they began to brag about their achievements here and there, Rembrary smiled happily.

They really are true believers.

Looking at their promising attitude, the talent of the promoters are abundant.

“Good job. Gather more followers. Let’s increase our power.”

The women who fully accepted Rembrary’s words as a concept laughed softly this time as well.

They took a picture together because they wanted to take a picture with him, they shook hands because they wanted  to shake hands with him.

However, as they shook hands, he noticed that one of them looked fine but was not in a good physical condition.

He couldn’t exactly tell what was bad.

But it was clear that she was ill.

Rembrary secretly poured divine power to that person alone.

The effect of the divine power won’t be immediately visible, so the fan who received it was just happy to be able to hold hands with Rembrary without knowing that a miracle had happened to her.

Rembrary only shook hands with all of them once before returning to the car.

Jongwoo, who was waiting in the car, was dumbfounded and asked, “You’ll get used to it later, but usually, when a fan fist comes in, a person would feel shy. How come you’re fine?”

While Rembrary was listening to him, KC was holding a big teddy bear.

“What kind of doll is that?”

When Rembrary noticed the doll, Jongwoo explained, “It was given by KC’s baby fan.”

“Baby fan?”

Hyegyul chuckled and added, “ I saw her come while holding her mom’s hand. About seven or eight years old? They want him to raise it for them”

“Aah.”

Rembrary looked at KC as he nodded his head.

It was strange to see the member, who was snarky and blunt towards the members, hold a large doll that a fan gave him and love it.

While he was looking at KC, Jongwoo called them out.

“Yeonwoo-ya… And you too, KC.”

“What is wrong?”

“Why, hyung?

“The next time an individual fan comes, talk about the group as well. Tell them you’re close with the other members, try doing something like that.”

“Okay. I got it.”

“I understand.”

“You want to get paid, right? The group has to take off. The songs need to also take off, so we could do a concert-”

Jongwoo tried to nagged more, but his phone rang.

“Yes, this is Wild Animal’s manager… Yes… Yes, yes… Ah, Aah… Ah, Ah, of course. Yes. Ye, yes. Wah! It’s okay. Yes. Yeess. Yes, about the schedule later. Yes. Yes, yes.”

After hanging up the phone, Jongwoo grinned and said, “Yeonwoo-ya, they want you to do a photo shoot.”

Rembrary then remembered the photographer who abruptly asked him to strip off.

“Last time I was in a coffin, you mean something like that?”

“That was a shooting for a portfolio. This time, it’s going to be published in a magazine.”

Jongwoo took notes about the call earlier and texted the same to CEO Im.

“The concept is, “The Evil Me and the Good Me.” We don’t have any advertising brand, so it will go without any problem. Aah, and your new song’s concept.  I haven’t told you yet, have I? CEO Im made the decision himself.”

Jongwoo put down his phone and looked at the members before pausing.

The atmosphere around the members was awkward, probably because Rembrary is going to have a photo shoot alone.

But Jongwoo tried to ignore the atmosphere and spoke brightly.

“A demon disguised as an angel! How about it? Isn’t it cool?”

Fortunately, most of the members were quick to hide their envy.

Taein didn’t have a good expression, but the other members laughed and added that it will be fun.

It was said that they won’t be able to release a new album, so they were genuinely happy.

However, it was Rembrary, not Taein, who had the darkest expression in the midst of this.

Jongwoo raised his eyebrows while talking about the new concept for a while.

“Yeonwoo-ya? What’s wrong?”

The eyes of the members also turned to Rembrary.

Rembrary asked frankly.

“Do we really have to go with that concept?”

“Don’t like it?”

“… I do not like it.”

Jongwoo looked at Rembrary with a confused expression.

“What?”

“The fact that it’s about the devil.”

Jongwoo looked puzzled.

Translated by RainofSnow

The members also had faces that said, ‘What’s wrong with him?’

Instead of explaining further, Rembrary smiled helplessly and waved his hand.

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

It’s not being a real devil, it will just be pretending.

If they would make such a request to him, the High priest and the other priest, they would be angry, but not in this case.

Whoever is inside, he is the idol Woo Yeonwoo right now.

He was not pleased by it, but he had no choice but to adjust to it.

***

Rembrary, who left early Saturday morning and finished his schedule by the day, stayed at the agency until the late evening to wait for Woo Yeonwoo’s mother to call him.

The other members returned to the dorm first, so the only one who stayed was Rembrary.

As he was looking around the inside of the agency, his phone rang.

When he tapped on the screen of his phone, the word ‘Mom’ appeared.

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother was calling him.

“Hello?”

He pressed it with a complicated feeling and answered the call.

Then, “Son!” A loud voice was heard.

Rembrary awkwardly opened and closed his mouth, then he remembered Jongwoo’s words.

‘The relationship between Woo Yeonwoo and his parents is good.’

They haven’t seen each other for a while since they were abroad.

He was told that he shouldn’t talk to his parents with his king-like speaking, and be as friendly as he can.

That way even if his memories come back, he won’t regret it.

“… Yes, Mother.”

As Rembrary hesitated and answered, a loud laughter was heard over the phone.

[Why are you suddenly calling me Mother?]

“…”

[I’m in front of your agency right now.]

As Rembrary left the office, he saw a woman standing near the front door.

Once Rembrary approached, he was hugged by her first before he could say anything.

“Yeonwoo-ya!”

‘So she is Woo Yeonwoo’s biological mother.’

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother was happy to hug Rembrary. She was then surprised when Rembrary behaved awkwardly, and bursted into tears.

After staying in the front door for 30 minutes, Rembrary went to a nearby restaurant with Woo Yeonwoo’s mother.

It was a restaurant that Jongwoo had reserved in advance for Rembrary, who had lost his memory.

Since it was a restaurant that was a separate room, Rembrary and Woo Yeonwoo’s mother had a more comfortable conversation in it.

“I’ve heard about it. Do you really have no memory?”

“I’m sorry, but yes.”

“…”

“I’m sorry.”

When Woo Yeonwoo’s mother bursted into tears, Rembrary panicked and held out the hand towel in front of him.

“It’s really true,” Woo Yeonwoo’s mother said as she cried and slimed.

“Do you remember your father and brother?”

“I have a brother?”

“You can’t remember anything at all?”

“Nothing at all.”

“I see.”

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother comforted Rembrary by holding his hand, which was placed on the table.

“Since there’s nothing wrong with your body, it will come back slowly. Don’t worry. Okay?”

“I know.”

Even when the food arrived, Woo Yeonwoo’s mother only took care of her son the whole time.

She barely ate, and her caring attitude made Rembrary feel more uncomfortable than grateful.

By the time that they had almost finished eating.

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother opened her mouth heavily.

“Also… I was contemplating whether to tell you this or not.”

It was a different attitude from the way she comforted Rembrary earlier.

She has a darker expression.

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother hesitated for a while and then said, “Your Father is in the hospital right now.”

He had heard that part from Jongwoo.

But what followed was unexpected.

“He got involved in a gun shooting incident.”

“If it’s a gun, there will be a ‘Bang’ then you’d fall down..?”

Rembrary recalled a scene from a movie that Hyegyul watched and asked.

He thought it was a magic weapon and asked, “What kind of magic is this?” He remembered for sure because he was treated like an idiot.

There were no magic weapons here, but there was a gun, so they could attack people from a distance.

But in Korea, it was said that ordinary people rarely get shot.

Just what on earth happened…

Rembrary, who did not know that the USA was a different country, asked in bewilderment.

“How did he get involved?”

“We don’t know, the killer just shot and ran away.”

As Woo Yeonwoo’s mother recalled it, her voice trembled like she was feeling sad again.

“The culprit hasn’t been caught yet. The police asked if they knew someone who had a grudge on him, but what kind of grudge could an ordinary office worker receive that he’d get shot?”

“Ah…”

“After the surgery, I was hesitating whether to tell you or not, but this time your boss called and said that you lost your memories…”

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother burst into tears again, probably because of heartache.

Translated by RainofSnow

Rembrary reached out and grabbed Woo Yeonwoo’s mother’s hand, pouring out a little divine power to her.

As he poured in more than  usual, she felt more at ease little by little, and Woo Yeonwoo’s mother gradually stopped crying.

“Haist, what am I even doing, you must be having a hard time as well.”

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother laughed and wiped her tears.

Rembrary laughed along but he thought that something was odd.

Can this thing happen to a father and son almost at the same time?

“Can’t there be a connection between Father’s gun accident and my loss of memory?”

In the end, when he asked because he felt uncomfortable, Woo Yeonwoo’s mother laughed as if he was saying something ridiculous.

“Also, how far are we talking about?”

“How far is the USA?”

“It’s not a neighboring country, it’s across the sea so it’s quite far.”

Rembrary, who now realizes that America is a foreign country said, “Ah.” and understood.

Well, it’s an embarrassing coincidence, but it wasn’t really a coincidence.

Sometimes, a lot of weird things happen in the world.

After struggling to convince himself, Rembrary thought of one more strange thing.

“By the way, Mother. Did I have a fight with you and Father before I lost my memories?”

“No. Why?”

“There’s nothing like that?”

“Yeah.”

Rembrary frowned.

Then why did Woo Yeonwoo block his parents?

“Ah, it wasn’t a fight. You just said something strange. You did take it back halfway through, saying that it was a joke.”

“Woo Yeonwoo did?”

“Huh?”

“I did?”

“Yeah. Among the members…”

Woo Yeonwoo’s mother, who was talking, shook her head.

“Ah, nothing. You said strangely that your relationship is bad.”

“It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“That’s… If you’re on good terms right now, don’t cause trouble for nothing. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“You said that one of the members threatened you or something.”

***