The Heavenly Demon Becomes an Idol chapter 4

The Nine Sects’ fan app was ablaze like never before. The fans, known as the ‘Gaebyeok’, had endured odd fandom names, the CEO’s whims, and frequent changes in the lineup, but they couldn’t stomach a nobody suddenly appearing in their idols’ final broadcast for their latest song.

The CEO’s social media comments section was filled with insults in languages from around the world, the likes of which he’d never seen before.

└WorldRank0SwordMaster: CEO, are you trying to tank your own business?

“This person is usually very polite; this fan must really be upset.”

“Our Gaebyeok curse so well.”

The Alliance Chief and Juja were browsing through the comments on the CEO’s social media.

While many comments were insults, there were numerous concerned messages about the members.

Contrary to the fans’ worries, the Nine Sects members gathered in the practice room didn’t seem too shocked.

The reason was simple.

Despite the hype around a newbie who was given a debut right after joining, the Heavenly Demon had only two lines in the song.

Unsure if the Heavenly Demon had a powerful backing or not, Juja decided to let the fans do the cursing and gave up on getting angry.

“Is this even possible? We have less than a week left. When are we going to adjust the choreography and formations for six people, and when will we memorize it all?”

“Are you doubting your capability?”

Provoked by the Heavenly Demon’s challenge, Juja retorted.

“My capability? No, you! We’ve performed with choreography that changed right before going on stage. How many years of experience do you think we have? Heavenly Demon bro, have you ever been on stage? Do you even know how nerve-wracking it can be?”

The Heavenly Demon stared at Juja with piercing red eyes and asked.

“Do I look like someone who gets nervous?”

To Juja, it seemed unimaginable that this bizarre man would tremble on stage, and he stepped back hesitantly.

After a moment, Juja asked again.

“…So, do you sing?”

“No.”

It was a remarkably indifferent answer for someone who showed up to debut as an idol, but Juja seemed relieved that he wasn’t in the same vocal line.

“Oh, then are you a dance (english) member?”

“Dance?”

“Oh right, you’re a foreigner. I mean, do you dance (korean)? But you’re a foreigner, why don’t you know English?”

“I’ve never danced.”

“What? Then are you an amazing rapper? If so, why not go to the hip-hop scene instead of becoming an idol?”

“I’ve done something similar to dancing.”

“Oh, like gymnastics?”

“No, Martial arts.”

“Taeguk also did martial arts! You must be confident in using your body?”

At Juja’s question, the Heavenly Demon laughed as if it was absurd.

“Executing moves in sync with music is hardly a challenge.”

“Your concept is really something else.”

As the choreographer entered the practice room, the members who had been scattered and chatting gathered in front of the large mirror.

While the other members greeted the choreographer, the Heavenly Demon looked curiously at the full-length mirror.

Even though he had changed into more comfortable clothes, not a brand-name shirt, he still looked impressive. Perhaps it was his athletic build, but casual wear suited him even better.

The choreographer waved the Heavenly Demon over.

“I can see you’d want to keep looking at yourself, but could you come over here?”

The Heavenly Demon tilted his head as if hearing something unexpected.

“Do I need to move?”

“Huh? Oh right, the Heavenly Demon concept. I really don’t know what The CEO is thinking. Right, Mister?”

“Exactly.”

I was in the middle of tying the Heavenly Demon’s long hair back with a scrunchie to make practice easier.

“Let’s see what your dance skills are like first, and then we’ll adjust the choreography and formations accordingly.”

“Bro! Why adjust the choreography for him?! He should practice and catch up with us!!”

Juja was predictably outraged.

Meanwhile, the main dancer Taeguk seemed indifferent, and the Alliance Chief, aware of the Heavenly Demon’s true identity, watched over Juja with a concerned expression like a parent watching a child by the water.

“The CEO insists on debuting him. How would it look if we guys are soaring and the Heavenly Demon is the only one struggling? It would only ruin our image.”

“The CEO is too much! It’s our final performance! Are you saying we should just perform a sloppy stage and get it over with?!”

“Calm down, Juja. Heavenly Demon might actually be good at dancing.”

As Juja was about to erupt, Taeguk stepped in to calm him down.

Everyone turned their heads towards the Heavenly Demon at the mention of his name, but his reaction was unfazed.

“I don’t think he’s likely to be bad at dancing,” Nahhan commented quietly, changing the mood to a more wait-and-see attitude.

“Nahhan has been talking a lot lately.”

“No, why is Nahhan taking the Heavenly Demon’s side after all that talk about ominous and disturbing auras?”

Juja grumbled, but there seemed to be a consensus to first watch the Heavenly Demon’s dance.

As the choreographer connected his phone to the Bluetooth speaker, he asked the Heavenly Demon,

“What song will it be?”

“Heart as Unbreakable as Diamond,” replied the Heavenly Demon without hesitation, referring to the Nine Sects’ latest song, which seemed to brighten Juja’s mood.

“Have you been practicing our choreography in advance? Was that rude demeanor just part of your concept?”

“Juja, your speech is becoming increasingly unrestrained,” the Heavenly Demon said with a chuckle.

“Heh. How much have you practiced? Our choreography is tough, isn’t it?”

“I haven’t. I just saw it once on Nertube.”

Juja’s face contorted strangely.

As Juja looked ready to explode, the Alliance Chief stepped in to manage the situation.

“Let’s calm down. He said he’d dance to our song, so let’s just see it first. We can judge after that.”

“…Maybe we won’t need to change the formation. If I leave, he can take my spot.”

“Juja, don’t say things you don’t mean just because you’re upset.”

It would be problematic if Juja, the main and only vocalist of the Nine Sects, left the group.

Originally, the Nine Sects started with two main vocalists, two sub-vocalists, two rappers, and four dancers. But after numerous change and recruitments, only Juja, the rappers Il-geom and Nahhan, and main dancer Taeguk remained. There was also the recently added rapper Namgung Jun. This meant that the current Nine Sects was almost a hip-hop group, and without Juja, they might have to shift from martial arts idols to purely hip-hop.

The Heavenly Demon remained serenely uninvolved as discussions of departures floated around him.

I gestured to the choreographer to start the music quickly, hoping to shift the focus.

Eager to break the tense atmosphere, the choreographer promptly played the song. What followed was astounding.

“…Huh?”

Amazingly, the Heavenly Demon knew the choreography. But what truly shocked me wasn’t just that he remembered it.

He was the Heavenly Demon, after all; mastering idol choreography from a single viewing would be trivial for him.

And he performed it well. Even Juja was watching, stunned.

Given that the Nine Sects’ choreography often incorporated martial arts movements, it wasn’t surprising that the Heavenly Demon performed it so seamlessly.

What shocked me was this:

Despite being in a completely sealed practice room with no windows, a chilling breeze brushed my skin and even tousled my hair.

What was this?

“…Could it be?”

The Heavenly Demon had just moved into the part of the choreography with the lyrics “What’s possession to a demon?”

I shouted in panic.

“Don’t channel your inner power!”

As the Heavenly Demon finished his move, a sound like tearing metal filled the air, and the practice room’s full-length mirrors shattered to pieces.

***

CEO K-tsch stood looking at the walls of his office, which were undergoing reconstruction.

“I wanted to preserve the Heavenly Demon’s marks as they were.”

Instead of the open office layout, a temporary office on another floor of the building had been arranged.

Known for his obsession with martial arts, he had always tried to fulfill his human and CEO duties.

Fortunately, only the manager of the Nine Sects had been in the office when the Heavenly Demon appeared, so there were no injuries.

However, late-arriving employees speculated about terrorist attacks by anti-fans or signs of structural failure.

Leaving the damaged building as is would certainly provoke rumors.

“Regrettable, but it can’t be helped.”

There’s no need to cling to remnants.

The Heavenly Demon was securely within his grasp now.

Was a mere shattered wall really a big deal?

“But what Nahhan said bothers me.”

Nahhan had mentioned feeling a ‘sinister aura.’

Why did Nahhan say that? Had he noticed something?

“Il-geom is keeping an eye on Nahhan, so it should be fine for now.”

Having reached a conclusion, the CEO courteously bowed to the construction workers.

“Please take good care of the reconstruction.”

Receiving a reassurance from the workers, the CEO smiled lightly and left the construction site.

By now, the Heavenly Demon would be casually fitting in, practicing simple moves with the kids.

After fitting him for clothes and having a brief chat, it turned out the Heavenly Demon possessed surprisingly substantial modern knowledge.

It was biased towards idols, specifically the Nine Sects, but there was a reason for that.

The CEO recalled their conversation.

* * *

It was when the CEO was having clothes tailored for the Heavenly Demon at his favorite brand.

The CEO had asked the Heavenly Demon…

“Lord Heavenly Demon, if I may ask, where did you acquire such knowledge?”

“What kind of knowledge?”

“About the Nine Sects and debuting as an idol…”

“Why do you wish to know?”

“I find it fascinating that you’ve taken the time to learn such trivial knowledge.”

The Heavenly Demon, now dressed in a shirt, glanced at himself in the mirror and smirked at the CEO.

“CEO, you seem cunning yet perceptive, so I will tell you.”

“Thank you, I’m all ears.”

“You mean, you are all hearing.”

“It’s K-hearing.”

“What are you talking about? Anyway, when I first fell to this place, I sought the Gaebyeok. However, there were oddly no Gaebyeok here. I asked a passing child for the whereabouts of the Gaebyeok, and he directed me to a place called a PC bang.”

“A PC bang…? You mean you used a computer?”

“It took me some time to learn how to use the internet, but I learn quickly.”

“That’s… quite the investigation, the internet world…?”

But how he concluded from that to debuting as an idol was beyond me.

The Heavenly Demon continued, “That child then told me about a ‘Gaebyeok’ café. Apparently, inns are called cafés nowadays?”

“That’s right, but it’s probably not the kind of café you’re thinking of.”

“From that café, I learned that the Nine Sects were active here, amassing many followers among the Gaebyeok. As always, the righteous ones are cunning.”

“…Was that our fans’café?”

“Even though much has changed, the Gaebyeok kids still talk a lot. You are the subject of much of their discussion.”

Silenced, The CEO looked on quietly as the Heavenly Demon, in an arrogant tone, made a request.

“So, bestow upon me as well.”

“What would you like?”

“That tiny PC you people carry around. The one the manager had.”

“You mean a smartphone?”

“Is it expensive?”

The CEO couldn’t help but smile, considering that the smartphone cost less than a fraction of the shirt the Heavenly Demon was wearing.

“You needn’t worry about the cost. I really, really have a lot of money.”

“Is that so?”

“Truly, I have money to burn.”

“Then buy the latest model right away.”

As The CEO reached for his phone to make arrangements, he hesitated and then cautioned the Heavenly Demon.

“I’ll buy it for you, but you must be careful not to become addicted to the smartphone.”

“I am immune to all poisons.”

“?”

***

…Who could have imagined that the Heavenly Demon, in search of Gaebyeok (beggars or normal people), would end up here?

It was beyond anyone’s expectations, but perhaps for the best.

The CEO still hadn’t figured out why the Heavenly Demon wanted to debut as an idol.

He felt the brand-new smartphone in his jacket pocket, ready to be given to the Heavenly Demon.

If it meant winning the Heavenly Demon’s favor, he was willing to buy anything.

Yet, an unnecessary curiosity nagged at him.

‘Can his immunity to all poisons really ward off smartphone addiction?’

Truly a needless thought.

Shaking his head, the CEO turned back to the practice room to deliver the smartphone.

What greeted him were the shattered mirrors and Juja dancing among the fragments, with the Heavenly Demon watching contentedly.