The Police Investigation Results
Today's shoot gave Rembrary slightly longer lines than usual.
But as with all of Rembrary's lines, his scene partner this time was Maeng Woo-shin.
Maeng Woo-shin, who had made it abundantly clear he wanted Rembrary nowhere near him, now had no choice but to stand face-to-face with the man.
Maybe it was the tabloid rumors. The moment Maeng Woo-shin and Rembrary squared off for the rehearsal, the entire staff fell silent at once — even though it was only a run-through.
Rembrary couldn't have cared less, but to Maeng Woo-shin that silence was unbearable. Unbearable enough that the impulse to slam his script down on Rembrary's skull rose up in him again and again.
"Alright, ready."
At the director's signal, Rembrary quickly assembled a facial expression.
In episode one, scenes of the past were contrasted with the present, ending with Deungbaek recovering his memories of a previous life and reeling in confusion. In episode two, the story centered on Deungbaek meeting Yangheung — a woman identical to his past-life lover — and sinking deeper into bewilderment. In episode three, Deungbaek finally resolves to bury his past hatred, only for the couple who murdered him in a former life to appear at the parish cathedral he serves as a priest, dredging the whole wound back up.
Confronted with his past-life murderers, Deungbaek (Maeng Woo-shin) rages and despairs at the sight of their happy life together, then awkwardly consults Im Seo about it — and Rembrary's lines were the counsel given at that moment.
Maeng Woo-shin clicked his tongue repeatedly while looking at Rembrary, but the instant the lines began, he plunged into the scene and asked,
"If you saw the enemy of your past life, what would you do?"
"My enemy?"
"Yeah. Someone who, say... ruined your life, killed the person you loved, and ultimately drove you to your death. Someone truly evil. What would you do?"
The heavy voice echoed through the studio, saturated with despair.
"Would you take revenge? But that was a past life. If you let a past life rule you, your present one falls apart, doesn't it? So should you just stay true to the life you're living now? That would be the wise thing, wouldn't it?"
Rembrary gazed at the pitiful Deungbaek, then spoke.
"That depends on the situation."
"What situation?"
"Is that enemy also living in the present?"
"No."
"No? Then that enemy is still a murderer, aren't they?"
"I... suppose. I'm the one who reincarnated, not them. They killed me and went on living well, didn't they? That's how it is?"
While Deungbaek, drowning in confusion, muttered to himself having all but forgotten Rembrary stood before him, Rembrary looked at Maeng Woo-shin with a benevolent expression — the way a high priest might regard a pitiful believer.
After Rembrary's scene wrapped, the next shot was Maeng Woo-shin brooding and agonizing alone — content that technically belonged later in the episode, but which they were shooting now for convenience's sake.
Since the following scene showed the couple who'd killed past-life Deungbaek living in bliss, Rembrary retreated behind the set with an easy heart and drank some water.
That was when it happened.
"Is it true?"
A quiet voice asked from beside him. It was Lim Yu-han.
"I beg your pardon?"
As Rembrary set down his water bottle and asked, Lim Yu-han smiled playfully and pressed again.
"The rumor. That you and Maeng Woo-shin, Yeon-woo..."
"No."
Rembrary answered quickly, smiling. He had analyzed CEO Im's reaction beforehand, and never even broached the cult business.
Lim Yu-han seemed pleased by the answer, laughing brightly as she asked,
"What a relief. So no goalkeeper yet, then?"
"What is a goalkeeper?"
"Haha. Yeon-woo, are you advertising yourself as an easy catch?"
"?"
Rembrary blinked, then simply laughed along.
Lim Yu-han asked again.
"They say your ideal type is Guan Yu. Is that for real?"
"Yes. To be precise, a woman skilled in horsemanship and the spear—"
Recalling the answer Jong-woo had recently drilled into him, Rembrary hurriedly tacked on,
"—a brave woman."
Lim Yu-han, a veteran of the entertainment world by leagues, clearly understood why Rembrary had abruptly course-corrected, and burst out laughing again. Then she casually fished out her phone, pulled up a photo, and showed it off.
"Look at this."
On the screen was Lim Yu-han riding a horse in a bright red riding outfit.
"You can ride."
"I'm an excellent rider. Can't manage a spear, but I throw things well. Dead center every time — not that I'm bragging."
What does throwing things have to do with spearwork? Rembrary thought, but clapped his hands together — clap, clap, clap — and managed a "Wow."
Lim Yu-han smiled warmly.
"If you like horseback riding, want to come out to a riding range with me sometime?"
Rembrary answered "Yes!" and immediately amended it to "No, I cannot."
"Why not?"
"I'm an idol."
"Oh, come on. It's just a leisure trip, who cares. And if it still bothers you, we can bring a whole crowd of people from Dear God."
Rembrary was tempted — until he spotted Jong-woo glaring daggers at him from across the set, and ultimately declined.
Lim Yu-han said it was a shame, but didn't push, steering the conversation elsewhere.
Jong-woo watched the two of them with mounting anxiety the entire time.
By the time the tabloid furor had died down following the hardline statement — Rembrary had completed the 7th contest round, themed on rap. The episode aired the next day, and all hell broke loose.
Just as Eun-seon had suggested, people described Rembrary's rap as being like ASMR — and, quite separately, hated it.
Monitoring the backlash, Jong-woo sank into gloom. With the album release right around the corner, generating buzz like this was anything but good.
Worse, Yeon-woo's solo track was themed on "the Demon's Whisper." What would happen if people heard that solo song and flashed back to today's ASMR rap?
But a few hours later, Jong-woo's mood shot straight back up.
Against all odds, a beverage commercial offer had come in for Wild Animal.
The office staff went into a frenzy.
"Whoa, isn't that the drink that's famous for tasting amazing?"
"Is that the one? Where you wear an orange wig, dress all in orange, and dance cutely?"
"Perfect for our kids! Hye-gyeol doing it would be seriously adorable!"
Jong-woo was overjoyed too. This wasn't a CF for Yeon-woo alone — it was for Wild Animal as a whole.
They were about to release a new song, and now a commercial, too? Honestly, the group hadn't even taken off yet.
Floating on air, Jong-woo excitedly dug up the drink's past commercials and checked whether the image suited Wild Animal.
Then, the moment he confirmed the name of the beverage company's manufacturer, his mood plummeted.
"It's an affiliate of the company that handed Yeon-woo the business card?"
"Yes."
At Jong-woo's report, CEO Im asked, flustered.
"Yeon-woo's not actually being sponsored, is he?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then why are they suddenly coming to our kids...? Honestly, we haven't gotten big enough to even do a CF yet, have we?"
"That, I'm not sure..."
Jong-woo trailed off, worried.
"What do we do, sir? The CF itself would be great for raising the kids' name recognition — it really is a good opportunity, but..."
CEO Im crossed his arms, his face grave.
The commercial was, without question, a good opportunity. It would be their first activity generating real revenue, and with the entire group appearing, it would boost their profile. If the finished product landed around the same time as the upcoming album, it could even be a win-win.
The problem was that only days had passed since the tabloid rumors about Yeon-woo had finally died down.
Sharp-eyed netizens were bound to assume that if Wild Animal filmed the CF, it was because a sponsor had slipped them the deal.
"Ah, what a mess."
CEO Im pressed a hand to his forehead and sank into deliberation.
Should he accept the CF even at the cost of the rumors, or kick away a golden opportunity out of fear of them? The answer did not come easily.
The answer to CEO Im's dilemma was provided by public opinion instead.
An actor got caught on camera leaving a hotel with a sponsor, and the internet exploded — and thanks to that, the celebrities who'd recently been named in the tabloids suddenly had their names dragged back into the light.
Naturally, Woo Yeon-woo's name was among them, and people demanded that every single one of those celebrities be investigated.
It was nothing but hearsay, and under normal circumstances it might have blown over — but with Do Ji-ho undergoing a police investigation, the turn finally came to Yeon-woo himself.
Do Ji-ho had let Yeon-woo's name slip mid-interview.
True, this side of things was merely a "person of interest" interview, but the mere mention of Yeon-woo's name sent people into an uproar.
CEO Im decided to accept the CF. With things as they were, the only path left was a head-on charge.
They were going to get hated on and investigated either way, so they would take the commercial, sit through the interview, and then prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Yeon-woo was clean and uninvolved.
CEO Im had articles published on a massive scale to that end — and Rembrary, entirely unbriefed, found himself on his way to a police station.
And so, after Jong-woo had departed with Rembrary for the station, CEO Im and his staff crowded in front of their computers, hammering the refresh button in real time.
The investigation was being reported live as breaking news, so the plan was to watch carefully and, the instant an article about Yeon-woo dropped, immediately fire off their own articles while gauging public reaction.
Everyone knew Yeon-woo had never taken a sponsor, but no one knew how the public would respond, and the tension was suffocating.
"Has he arrived? Yeon-woo just pulled up in front of the station. He's getting out now."
As the employee who'd received Jong-woo's text shouted the update, the staff seated at their several computers all hit refresh at once, waiting for the article to drop.
A short while later.
Under a [BREAKING] headline, a single photo went up: Yeon-woo smiling and waving at the reporters.
The office atmosphere froze over — and into that chill, someone let out a short, strangled shriek of "Urk."
CEO Im pressed a hand to his forehead and silently counted from one to a hundred.
The tense staff members pored over the comments, poised to post replies at a moment's notice.
But mercifully, the reaction to the photo wasn't bad.
People were unexpectedly positive about Yeon-woo's attitude.
Relieved, CEO Im dragged a nearby chair over, sat down, and let out a long breath.
Now all they could do was wait for Yeon-woo to finish the interview and come out.
Three hours later, the breaking news they'd been waiting for finally dropped.
CEO Im shoved the employee seated at the monitor aside and took the seat himself.
Roughly five minutes later, a different article bearing an [EXCLUSIVE] tag climbed to the main page.
"What the hell did that boy go in there and say?"