Did They Fight? Or Did He Get Dumped?
Though he had no idea what it meant, the account had appeared among his recommended follows and his name was somehow in it, so Rembrary tapped on it.
Astonishingly, the account was a running feed of photos of himself — shots taken at the fan event, screencaps from his variety appearances, all lined up one after another.
Most of the posts were silent uploads of photos alone, but beneath them hung stray letters like "8? 1?"
What manner of thing is this?
As he stood staring in bewilderment, a brand-new photo dropped in with a cheerful ting.
Rembrary's eyes went wide. The fresh upload was a picture of him fiddling with a collar up on the rooftop.
Across from him, the tiger-headed monster had been standing stock-still, watching him.
Wondering when on earth this could have been taken, Rembrary tried to reconstruct the scenery of the agency rooftop in his mind.
Was there a building nearby tall enough to catch this angle?
In any case, Rembrary's believers appeared to be deeply enamored with the photo.
Not long after the photo went up, comments like these came flooding in.
Rembrary deliberated a moment, then left a comment of his own.
He had asked out of genuine curiosity, but the sight of the real Yeon-woo appearing sent everyone into a fresh frenzy.
Rembrary waited for this Homtleman fellow to reply. He had uploaded the photo mere seconds ago, so surely an answer would come.
Just as expected, before long a comment marked as the account owner appeared among the flood.
I did not ask about the weather, fool.
So this one is a bit slow on the uptake. Rembrary clicked his tongue, set the SNS app aside for the moment, pulled up the dictionary on his phone, and looked up what "homma" meant.
"Ah, ah."
So that is why there were so many photos. It is simply their nature.
Having looked up the meaning, Rembrary understood at last. So one of my believers was this.
Satisfied, he closed the dictionary app and reopened the SNS one.
In the meantime, Homtleman had once again left a comment beneath Rembrary's.
True to the dignity of a homma, not a single word about him being stupid was anywhere to be found.
A man of discernment! After being called an idiot so relentlessly following the flower photo earlier, Rembrary warmed at the compliment and left a reply: Thank you >-<
Then he checked the clock and found that nearly thirty minutes had slipped by, so he closed SNS and dialed Hwanshin again.
Happily, this time Hwanshin picked up.
"Hello? Who may I ask is calling?"
"It is Woo Yeon-woo."
Perhaps it had never occurred to him that Rembrary would call. The line went silent for a moment.
Why does he not answer?
Wondering if the call had dropped, Rembrary checked the screen — the timer was ticking along just fine.
Only after some ten seconds did Hwanshin murmur, "Ah, Woo Yeon-woo."
"I have a question for thee."
But Hwanshin's unhurried drawl did not stop there.
Rembrary had spoken with grave seriousness, yet instead of answering, the man burst out laughing.
As though he'd just heard the funniest joke of his life. Rembrary scowled and demanded, "What amusement doth find thee there?"
"Ah, ah……" Hwanshin let the syllable trail off, then answered with the same languid slowness as before.
"No, nothing. I was just out watching something."
"Was the thing thou wert watching a demon, perchance?"
Cathy, walking past with a konjac jelly clamped between his teeth, let out a strangled "Hulgh." Judging by the way he was staring at Rembrary like a lunatic, casually invoking demons apparently looked truly insane.
This is what comes of a cramped dorm. Rembrary waved Cathy off with a flick of the hand and pressed the phone closer to his ear.
And why is this fellow laughing now? Hwanshin was laughing harder than ever.
When Rembrary tapped the phone impatiently with his fingers, the man finally offered, "Ah, forgive me," in a tone that forgave itself nothing, and scrambled for an excuse.
"I was doing something rather similar, as it happens. But anyway — what did you want to ask? It must be important, if you're contacting me directly after turning down my offer."
"The collar from before—"
"The place I'd take you is by introduction only, so it's hard to buy anything without me along. Shall we go together?"
"What nonsense dost thou speak?"
"Woo Sung-woo was saying that you'd like to buy one of the collars I carry around."
"!"
"He even asked me to show you the ropes so you don't get scammed."
Consideration where none is wanted.
Rembrary's brow furrowed as he cursed Woo Sung-woo's meddling. No — more than that, if Hwanshin had already heard all that from Sung-woo, why on earth had he played innocent and asked who was calling?
So the reason Hwanshin had been on another call in the first place was, apparently, that he'd been talking to Woo Sung-woo.
As Rembrary clicked his tongue, Hwanshin pressed on with his unnecessary kindness.
"Really, it's a shame you didn't wear it around your neck back when I told you to try it on. Though there's no need to buy one, truly. If you'd like, I could simply give you one as a gift."
"I have no need of it. I called to ask thee of the demon thou keepest on a collar."
"Hm?"
The voice, brimming with mischief, shifted in an instant to one brimming with interest.
Rembrary paused there, weighing what precisely to ask.
Should he ask what contract the man had made? Ask whether he knew how dangerous it was to contract with a demon? No — first he should ask whether a contract had been made at all?
But the moment he actually tried to put the question to Hwanshin himself, the words jammed in his throat.
Because he had just learned that Woo Sung-woo had called this man directly to talk about the collar.
What if Rembrary pressed Hwanshin about the demon contract, and this fellow immediately rang up Woo Sung-woo and relayed every word?
Woo Sung-woo was Yeon-woo's own older brother. He eyed Rembrary with suspicion. And, decisively, he was Nakru.
It was already known to Nakru that he possessed the Eyes — but beyond that, he had no wish to advertise that he was some tremendous, extraordinary being.
So Rembrary stood frozen, unable to decide, shuffling his feet in silence — until Hwanshin, voice dripping with curiosity, asked first.
"So what is it you want to ask?"
His voice was that of a cruel man luring a dog out with a strip of jerky.
Rembrary hesitated, then — just as he had lied to Woo Sung-woo — he lied to Hwanshin too.
"That demon…… I wish to paint it."
Hwanshin pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, wondering if he'd misheard. A painting?
He glanced at the demon seated on the nearby sofa. The demon was reading a newspaper — held upside down, as always.
According to the demon, if you read a human newspaper upside down, you could see the news of the demons' world. Whether that was true or not, who could say.
Perhaps it felt his gaze, for the demon lowered the paper and tilted its head. As if to say, What are you looking at?
That thing. He wishes to paint that?
Meanwhile, Rembrary pressed on with perfect confidence.
"I paint exceeding well. That creature's face is most grotesque-tesque, and so I judge it would make a truly magnificent painting."
"Its face is…… unusual, I'll grant you. But what in the world is 'grotesque-tesque'?"
"Art thou a simpleton? Go look it up in thy dictionary."
Hwanshin could not fathom what Yeon-woo intended by all this — whether he genuinely loved painting, or what "grotesque-tesque" was even supposed to mean — but one thing alone he understood with perfect clarity.
There was no reason on earth to refuse.
He had been itching to observe Woo Yeon-woo up close anyway. If he could observe him from mere inches away, so much the better.
Hwanshin agreed readily.
"Very well. Then let's set a date. I'll bring Labrum along."
Rembrary hung up and relaxed, satisfied with a job neatly done.
And so Woo Sung-woo would never learn how remarkable he truly was, Hwanshin could no longer tattle to Sung-woo, and he would get to meet the demon face to face. Three birds, one stone.
Meanwhile, Jong-woo — who had come by early to haul the members out before dawn — had overheard a chunk of the call, and asked Rembrary, "You can actually paint?"
"Of course! I paint exceeding well."
Rembrary answered without missing a beat.
The demon-painting business had been pure improvisation, but it happened to be true: Rembrary really could paint.
How well? Well enough that he had painted murals with his own hand upon the temple walls. Believers and priests alike would stand before Rembrary's paintings and marvel, always, at how metaphysical and wondrous they were.
Remembering all this filled him with confidence, and Rembrary murmured contentedly, "Come to think of it, I should do quite nicely on one of those painting programs. Is there no such variety show?"
At that, Jong-woo gasped, "Oh wow, would you look at that."
Such a thing truly exists? As Rembrary blinked at him with wide round eyes, Jong-woo said, "Actually, a drama offer just came in for you."
"A lead role?"
"……You're sneakier about wanting the lead than you let on."
"Hyung, that one wants leads out loud and proud. What is there to sugarcoat?"
Ignoring Cathy's grumbling as he shuffled past, Rembrary pressed on. "So? Is it a lead?"
"No, not the lead. A supporting role — but a great part. Honestly, it suits you even better."
"What manner of part?"
"A painter. Quiet, mysterious type."
"……Why is it that every role that comes to me is a quiet one."
Cathy, passing by again, sniped, "Right? He's a perfect fit for the mute-idiot roles."
Jong-woo smacked him square on the back — paang! — and only then did Cathy yelp "Ow—" and scurry off.
Shooting a glare after Cathy, Jong-woo told Rembrary, "I'll send you the synopsis later."
"Am I cast already, then?"
Rembrary asked, recalling the time CEO Im had taken him to meet screenwriter Shim Gyeong. An offer had come straight to him this time too, so he wondered if he was simply being slotted in again.
At first everyone had assumed that was how it always worked, but after watching Jeong-seo prepare for an audition, they'd learned that wasn't always the case — hence the question.
Jong-woo shook his head. "We did single you out and send the synopsis, but it went to three people total. So it might not be you. We've still got to review the script and the schedule on our end, too."
Having said his piece, Jong-woo turned apologetically to Jeong-seo, who was hovering by the refrigerator giving him side-eye.
"Ah, and Jeong-seo — your result isn't decided yet either. But don't be too discouraged. The fact that they're still deliberating means they're still seriously considering you."
The next day, the group set out from the house before dawn to record the Chuseok special program.
As Rembrary muttered his rap verses over and over to commit the lyrics fully to memory, he found himself thinking it was all rather strange.
Why is it that ever since I came here, I keep getting cast as the demon?
They say the first stitch sets the seam…… It must trace back to that photoshoot at the start — the one with the corrupt priest, or was it a vampire?
Even after arriving at the shop, Rembrary drilled the lyrics he'd been assigned, over and over and over again.
While he was at it, some thirty minutes in, the members of Long Distance appeared.
Normally the two groups used different shops, but for some reason today their schedules had happened to overlap at the same one.
It was the first time they'd run into Long Distance at a shop, so the Wild Animal members and the Long Distance members exchanged awkward greetings all around.
Then, unexpectedly — Yuli. The very person everyone assumed would greet Cathy first. Yuli blew straight past Cathy and greeted Rembrary instead.
"Hi, Yeon-woo."
Had Rembrary been standing ahead of Cathy in the line, the order would have made perfect sense — but Cathy was the one standing closest to the entrance.
And yet she had pointedly skipped him to greet Rembrary first.
To be fair, Yuli and Rembrary had visited a haunted house together once, so there was a certain familiarity — but it ended exactly there.
They had never even exchanged phone numbers, never mingled privately. For Yuli, who was dating Cathy, to snub him and greet Rembrary first was, frankly, bizarre.
Did they quarrel?
"Ah — yes, hello."
As he returned the greeting, Rembrary stole a glance and caught Cathy staring fixedly at his phone, the very picture of unconcern.
Composed as he pretended to be, his jowls were drooping in a sulk.
They did quarrel.
Yuli went on to greet every other member and Jong-woo as well — everyone, in fact, except Cathy, whom she breezed past and left behind as she headed deeper into the shop.
As Rembrary was puzzling over it, one of the other Long Distance members sidled up and asked him quietly, "Did those two have a fight?"
"That is precisely what I wish to know."
At Rembrary's answer, the Long Distance member fixed Yuli's back with a gaze full of naked curiosity — then, swift as a hawk snatching prey, darted over to her and whisked her off somewhere, clearly intending to interrogate the situation out of her.
That group must be close with one another.
Rembrary stole a glance at Hye-gyeol.
Still, this was one of their own group. Ought he to ask Hye-gyeol what had happened, and offer him some comfort?
After deliberating, Rembrary sidled up and asked, delicately:
"So. Hast thou been cast off?"
Cathy, who had just slid into the chair beside Rembrary, turned and stared at him with terrifying eyes.
Rembrary sighed.
"Cast off, then."
"I was NOT dumped!"
"To walk through life with a companion at thy side is a great blessing — yet it seems it is not to be thy blessing."
"Hey, you son of a—!"
"Even without a companion, one may find happiness in loving a god. Shall I introduce thee to a good one? She would guide thee well."
"Ugh, stop messing with me! I wasn't dumped!"
— End of Chapter 136: Did They Fight? Or Did He Get Dumped? —