Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Is the Writer Omnipotent?
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[Mask Singer! It's starting!]
The Mask Singer broadcast began.
The camera swept dramatically over the panelists.
Every time the MC introduced a panelist, the audience responded with applause and cheers.
The peak came with Gabriel.
[The hottest star right now? The one who captured every woman's heart in one go on Otherworld Chef—Gabriel!]
[Kyaah!]
[Gabriel's so cool!]
[Wooo!]
Cheers poured out as if it were Gabriel's solo concert.
Gabriel's close-up shot aired nationwide.
"Whoa..."
"He's insanely handsome."
"Can a person even look like that?"
Everyone watching that scene couldn't hold back their admiration.
In an instant, his name flooded the top spot on every portal site's real-time search rankings.
And throughout the rounds, it never dropped from number one.
On Mask Singer airing days, related names always climbed the real-time searches.
Especially the eliminated performers each round or those expected to shine took the top spot.
But today, theirs was second place at best.
Unshakable.
Gabriel sat on the throne of number one like a king, with no intention of stepping down.
The production team seemed to know it too, capturing Gabriel frequently on camera.
"My goodness, he's so handsome."
As Mother Lee Hye-jeong spoke, Tae-seong peeled an apple and nodded in agreement.
"Isn't he?"
"Our son has become quite the looker too, but that young man is just as pretty."
Her words, said first to spare her son any hurt, brought a smile to his face.
'I should arrange for him to come say hi sometime.'
Since she liked Gabriel so much, setting up a meeting once would make a great gift.
"Have some fruit."
"Thanks, son!"
"Hmm."
While his parents ate the fruit, the second round wrapped up.
After the loser's solo song, the third round began.
[Introducing the third-round performers!]
With the MC's words, spotlights focused on both entrances.
[Flying in to claim the King of Singers as prey—Golden Eagle!]
Whoosh!
Piercing through the fog from the machine, Golden Eagle made a stylish entrance onto the stage.
[The singing bard! Shaking emotions to the core—Pen on White Paper!]
From the opposite entrance came the performer wearing a rice paper mask.
"Oh my, what's that mask?"
"It's kinda funny."
Tae-seong shook his head slightly at his parents' reactions.
'To think I have to go out there wearing that again.'
He regretted not pushing harder to change it.
But regrets always come too late, no matter how quick.
He couldn't change it now.
Soon the intro music played, and the cameras caught the panelists' reactions.
[Whoa—singing this song.]
[It's tough; can they pull it off?]
Subtitles revealed the song title: [Vibe—Come Back to Me].
After the intro, Pen on White Paper brought the mic to his lips.
His voice soon flowed through the speakers.
"Whoa..."
"Oh..."
Both Mother and Father gasped in admiration from the very first line.
The mic passed to Golden Eagle, and their harmony blended.
A duet only creates synergy when the voices complement each other perfectly.
In that regard, these two performers' harmony was phenomenal.
Especially in the climax, as they alternated high notes, the audience's stunned expressions filled the camera.
The song ended.
But neither the audience nor the panelists moved.
Not until the MC came on.
[What a fantastic stage! Yoo In-tae, what did you think?]
The MC pointed to one panelist.
Yoo In-tae, the most knowledgeable about singing, took the mic.
[Truly... We have incredible singers in this country. No need to mention the technique—it was perfect.]
The panelists shared their thoughts next.
Some even speculated on identities.
Watching it all, Mother pondered deeply before turning to Tae-seong.
"Son."
"Yes?"
"Is that Pen guy... you, by any chance?"
His heart skipped a beat.
At that moment, Father asked her.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"No, his voice just sounds familiar. Doesn't it?"
"Nah, totally different."
Father was right.
His singing voice as Pen on White Paper was nothing like his normal one.
He'd hidden his real voice as much as possible.
But he couldn't fool Mother's intuition.
Still, he couldn't admit it.
"No, it's not."
"Oh, okay?"
She had no choice but to believe him when he denied it.
[The voting is over. Who advances to the second round?!]
With voting done and only the results left.
Mother focused back on the TV.
[The second-round advancer is—!]
A massive monitor soon displayed one face.
[Pen on White Paper!]
The second-round winner was decided.
The mic went back to Yoo In-tae.
[Both contestants digested the song brilliantly. But what decided it was the interpretation.]
[Interpretation?]
[Yes. Golden Eagle sang like pleading a departed lover to return. But Pen on White Paper was different.]
[How so?]
[The cry to come back is the same. But it felt like the lover hadn't just left—she'd gone somewhere impossible to return from. Like dying in an accident or leaving for another country, forever out of reach.]
[Oh—really?]
[Yes, exactly.]
The modulated voice came through the mic.
Yoo In-tae's interpretation nailed it.
He hadn't earned his title as Korea's top composer for nothing.
[Alright, Pen on White Paper, please head to the waiting room. We'll learn Golden Eagle's identity while enjoying his solo song!]
Pen on White Paper shook hands with Golden Eagle and entered the waiting room.
The stage cleared, and Golden Eagle's solo began.
As it played, the panelists kept exclaiming.
[Whoa...]
[The duet was great, but the solo's even better.]
[What a shame.]
[If he'd been in another round, he could've aimed for King of Singers.]
All agreed it was a pity.
After the first verse, Golden Eagle walked to the stage's edge and turned his back.
[Golden Eagle, please remove your mask and reveal your identity!]
With the MC's cue, Golden Eagle slowly took off his mask.
The moment his face appeared.
[Kyaah!]
[No way!]
[Nooo!]
The audience erupted in shocked screams and regretful sighs.
[Who is it?!]
[Who's that?]
[Golden Eagle is—!]
Golden Eagle turned around.
* * *
In the 2000s.
A singer debuted and rocked the music scene.
High notes hitting the third octave cleanly as a man, a husky voice shifting seamlessly between falsetto and true voice.
Above all, the emotion poured into every song.
A singer with monstrous talent in everything.
Lee Sang-jin.
He topped charts right out of the gate and sold a million albums.
Each subsequent album sold more, and by his fifth, cumulative sales hit ten million.
But after the fifth, he vanished.
No more albums.
Amid endless rumors, he appeared on Mask Singer.
As a first-round elimination, no less.
The public was stunned.
Lee Sang-jin was Korea's representative vocalist, always picked for his stellar singing.
For him to drop in the first round was shocking.
Yet no one blamed or mocked him.
His first-round [Come Back to Me] stage earned legendary praise.
The completion level was that high.
He didn't lose because he was bad.
Even ordinary viewers knew it was an exceptional performance.
That's why so many applauded the eliminated Lee Sang-jin.
Now all eyes turned from Golden Eagle Lee Sang-jin to his opponent, Pen on White Paper.
Proof: his name held real-time search number one for three straight days.
* * *
Ratings: 22.1%.
Terrestrial broadcast.
How long since a variety show broke 20%?
Ratings were a program's report card.
Over 20% was an A, no, A+.
Shin Young-sik PD, holding the best score, couldn't stop smiling.
'Heh, who knew the writer could sing that well.'
He'd been surprised at first listen.
Incredibly well sung.
Still, he'd thought Lee Sang-jin would win.
But the main stage performance was awe-inspiring.
Audience members wept openly.
The live thrill only felt on-site moved them.
It came down to a razor-thin battle, and Lee Sang-jin fell.
Unexpected.
But perfect for the show.
'The message boards are exploding with people hyped for the next episode already.'
Mask Singer's viewer board buzzed daily with comments.
Most wanted the next episode ASAP.
Some posted plausible guesses on Pen's identity with evidence.
But no one nailed it.
'Of course. Who'd think the guy singing like that is a writer, not a singer?'
An unforeseen twist no one saw coming.
When he unmasks, it'll be massive shock.
He could already picture it.
* * *
Carrying huge anticipation, the second round aired.
Pen on White Paper chose Psy's [Father] for his second-round song.
After a ballad duet showcasing insane vocals and emotion, most expected another ballad.
But [Father] was fast-tempo, mostly rap lyrics.
Everyone wondered how he'd handle it.
Pen on White Paper sang true to the original vibe.
He rapped it himself.
In the singing parts, he maxed out his signature emotion.
Above all, his arrangement added a high-note section for punch.
As his high notes exploded, tears flowed in the audience.
After the stage, panelist Kim Sung-sik grabbed the mic.
[This song brings back my late father. Man... You really need to call yours while they're still around.]
Yoo In-tae took the mic next.
[Amazing skill. The rap was especially impressive. We already knew the vocals were top-tier from round one... Add rap mastery, and his identity's even more intriguing.]
Panelists heaped on praise.
The audience matched round one's heat.
The result.
[Pen on White Paper advances to the final round!!]
Third-round qualification secured.