If You're Going to Sing Like That, Just Quit

So in exchange for the Devil's Editing, they would give him more airtime?

It sounded plausible enough at first glance, but in the long run it was absolutely out of the question.

When the Devil's Editing got its claws into someone, even beloved top stars went down easy. And now they wanted to do it to Yeon-woo, who had only just begun to make a name for himself?

His image was already in bad shape. If that kind of editing piled on top of it, people might genuinely start believing Yeon-woo was a bad person.

For an idol, that would be fatal.

But because of what CEO Im had said, Jong-woo had no choice but to go along with it.

The only thing Jong-woo could do for the group in this situation was slip the other members in alongside Yeon-woo and soften the group's image as much as possible.

But PD Kim Moo-rok, apparently no fan of bundled deals, went silent in an instant.

Jong-woo tapped the floor with the toe of his shoe, unable to help his nerves. Then he tried persuasion, as gently as he could manage.

It was phrased as let's, but it needed to be heard as do it.

Jong-woo knew this was PD Kim Moo-rok's final offer, so he hastily forced out a hearty laugh.

The schedule was already out — did that mean all the other participants had been confirmed? Jong-woo wondered, but Kim Moo-rok hung up before he could ask.

He bowed a few times at the empty air, then pulled the phone from his ear, let out a long sigh, and trudged back to his seat.

Rembrary practiced the group choreography as usual, then spent the rest of his time singing before the vocal trainer — songs where it was hard to tell whether this was training or a full-blown performance.

"Isn't it strange? You're supposed to get sick of hearing the same song over and over. But I never get tired of yours," the vocal trainer said, seeming — without quite realizing it — to have fallen head over heels for the divinely infused quality of Rembrary's voice.

Rembrary was doing his best to keep it under control, but he couldn't completely block the divine power that quietly threaded its way into his singing. It was faint enough that he'd assumed it was nothing to worry about — yet perhaps because the trainer's ears were unusually sharp, the man seemed to sense even that.

I may need to be more careful.

Rembrary clicked his tongue, thinking of the systems in this world called recording and the internet.

Right now, he danced to and lip-synced over recordings of the real Yeon-woo's voice. But he'd heard that once the next album went into production, he would have to take part in the recording himself. What if his divine power somehow got captured along with his voice?

It likely won't be. But one can never be too sure.

And even if it wasn't — what if he sang with even a measure of real divine power woven into the song and ended up healing an entire crowd of people at once? This was a world where information traveled at ludicrous speed; the rumor would spread whether he liked it or not.

That is the prospect that troubles me.

"Yeon-woo?"

Just then, the vocal trainer snapped his fingers and started nagging. "Look, I'll admit I'm crazy about your singing, but if you're going to phone it in like that, it shows."

"Forgive me."

He was in the middle of practicing again when the door opened and Jong-woo walked in. When Yeon-woo glanced up at him, Jong-woo waved a hand — keep going — then fetched a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠folding chair and sat down. Only after the song ended did he rise from the chair and gather the members together.

"What's going on?"

"Did we land a schedule or something?"

Once everyone had assembled, Jong-woo turned to Rembrary and said, "Remember what I mentioned a few months back? A program called Sing Survival."

Hye-gyeol's eyes went round. "No way! We got on?!"

"Yep."

A pleased buzz went through the members at Jong-woo's words. Jungseo, the leader, and Hye-gyeol, their dancer, offered warm congratulations to Taein and Cathy — after all, Jong-woo had warned them in advance that since the show was built around a singing competition, he'd be putting the two vocalists forward.

"Yeah. Except Yeon-woo's the one going on it."

Because of that one line, delivered so awkwardly, the atmosphere turned strange. As far as Jungseo and Hye-gyeol were concerned, it made no real difference whether it was Taein, Cathy, or Yeon-woo who went. But they couldn't help stealing glances at Taein and Cathy, whose faces had crumpled outright.

"For real-ham?" Cathy asked, clutching his cheeks in both hands as though he'd just been told the sky was falling.

"Yep."

Jong-woo answered flatly while sneaking a look at Rembrary. Rembrary, understanding not a word of what was happening around him, was in no state to react to any of it.

"What, pray tell, is this Sing Survival?"

When Jong-woo turned to stare at him, Rembrary belatedly threw out the question. And so, for a good thirty minutes, Jong-woo delivered a lecture on the concepts of reality shows, variety programs, survival shows, and singing competitions — not expert knowledge, but the sort of common understanding that passes between ordinary people.

Rembrary nodded slowly, having just barely grasped it. So it is, in essence, an improvised play with scarcely a script — seasoned with singing and rivalry.

Once Rembrary seemed satisfied, Jong-woo looked back and forth between Cathy and Taein. "Yeon-woo isn't going alone."

Cathy and Taein, who had been glowering down at the floor, finally raised their heads.

"Then who?"

"Don't tell me. One of the two of us is going as well?"

"Yep."

At Jong-woo's answer, the mood shifted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once more. This time it was Taein and Cathy who eyed each other uneasily.

An idol group was a single entity, and at the same time, a collection of individuals. Together, they flowed along like a community bound by a shared fate — but the moment the group disbanded, every one of them would have to go looking for his own rice bowl. And to find that rice bowl, you had to build your popularity while you were still in the group. Two people, one rice bowl: of course they watched each other like hawks.

Taein asked, unable to keep the resentment out of his voice. "But aren't you pushing Yeon-woo way too hard? The guy doesn't even have his memories back. What if he goes on some show like that and puts his foot in his mouth?"

"I'm not pushing him. The PD over there's the one who told me to bring Yeon-woo in."

"......"

Jong-woo held out the sheet music he'd brought to the dispirited Cathy and Taein. "This is the assignment song."

"Assignment song?"

"Where'd an assignment song come from all of a sudden?"

"Fine, say Yeon-woo's going for the buzz. You two are the vocalists in name, aren't you? We're sending whichever of you sings it better. So prepare it."

That night, Cathy and Taein didn't come back to the dorm, saying they would be practicing the assignment song. Only Rembrary, Jungseo, and Hye-gyeol returned.

"With two gone, the dorm feels considerably more spacious."

"Guess you like it better without Taein and Cathy around, huh?"

"The space allotted to each man differs now, does it not?"

Rembrary murmured with deep satisfaction and made for the refrigerator to fetch some bread — only to be caught by Jungseo.

"No. I told you to lose three more kilos."

"In my judgment, my current weight is perfectly suited."

"That's your judgment."

Stripped of his bread by Jungseo, Rembrary collapsed onto the sofa in a state of profound shock. In a dorm this cramped, there was nowhere to go and suffer alone. Yet for some reason, Jungseo — who on ordinary days only spoke to him when he needed something or had something to explain — was the one who came over first.

"Yeon-woo."

"What is the matter?"

When Rembrary lifted his head, Jungseo stole a glance at Hye-gyeol. Hye-gyeol was absorbed in a game on his phone. Seeing that he had no interest in the conversation, Jungseo finally lowered his voice.

"I'm only saying this just in case. If Taein ever gives you a hard time — anything like that — tell me right away."

"Taein?"

"Yeah."

Jungseo didn't elaborate, but Rembrary gathered what he was worried about. Taein was a young man who had shown open hostility from the very moment Rembrary first entered this body ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— and judging by everything he'd observed, it had been that way even before Rembrary arrived. Lately, though, as Rembrary's singing had thoroughly captivated the vocal trainer, Taein had grown sharper still. As the group's lead vocalist, he apparently considered their positions to overlap, and was keeping a wary eye out.

Hye-gyeol, who up until then had seemed entirely occupied with his phone, chimed in. "He wasn't like that originally, you know. His years as a nobody just dragged on so long that the bitterness got into his eyes."

Then he turned straight to Jungseo. "By the way, hyung, how's your mother doing?"

"Good. She's stabilized a lot."

With that, the two of them drifted into talk of things only they shared, so Rembrary picked up his phone and began searching the internet for one thing and another on his own. These days, his routine was to make a note of any unfamiliar word and look it up later when he had a free moment.

Then, all at once, yesterday's business at the relic came back to him. He waited for a lull in the other two's conversation before asking, "About the cathedral we visited yesterday. I saw no priest anywhere."

"A priest? You mean the Father?"

"Yes. The Father was nowhere to be seen. How must one go about securing an audience with him?"

"No idea. I don't go to church."

"I see......"

"Hyung, is this because of the memory-loss thing? Why are you talking about religion so much these days?"

Because I am a priest of another world's faith. Concealing the truth, Rembrary smiled with benevolent grace.

The next day, the assignment song contest between Cathy and Taein was held in front of the other members and the vocal trainer.

Rembrary watched the two of them sing solo with genuine fascination. Unlike Wild Animal's title track — an awkward mash of unfamiliar, peculiar sounds that never quite fit together — the song Taein and Cathy sang now was clean, the melody resting easy in the ear. What's more, it was remarkable how differently the two men made the very same song feel. Where Taein poured burning passion into every note, Cathy's rendition seemed almost careless — and yet it was tremendously refreshing.

Having listened to both, Jong-woo and the vocal trainer withdrew to another room and spent a long while exchanging opinions. Rembrary studied the coiled-wire tension on Taein's face and privately concluded that, for the sake of the group's atmosphere, it would be better if Taein were the one chosen.

But Jong-woo picked Cathy.

"You both sang well. But since this is a reality survival after all, I think Cathy's the better fit — stronger character."

Taein looked furious, though he didn't let it show in front of Jong-woo and the trainer. Jong-woo, casting anxious glances Taein's way, filled Cathy and Rembrary in on the Sing Survival schedule that had arrived the previous evening. They were to meet the production once, as a courtesy, before the first recording — and the date, surprisingly, was close at hand.

"The budget was already locked in back when the proposal was going around, and the studio's supposedly set up and ready to go."

A few ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fields on the sheet were still blank, but most of the participants' names were printed there. Rembrary, of course, recognized not a single one of them.

Then Cathy, who had been idly flipping the pages back and forth, suddenly sucked in a breath. When they looked over, he was making a very strange face at Rembrary.

"What is it?"

Since the expression was beyond interpretation, Rembrary asked — and Cathy, glancing nervously at Jong-woo, said, "This person who's appearing on the show with you. He's that senior you're on bad terms with, isn't he? You gonna be okay?"

"Who might that be?"

"Back when we were rookies, this guy said to you — if you're gonna sing like that, just quit already..."