Mask Singer 5-Time Champion? (1)
"Actually, I'm the white-haired prince riding the black horse."
"Huh? You, hyung?"
"Huh? No, I'm not? I'm the white-haired prince riding the black horse?"
"You? Pfft, hahaha!!"
The members took my words as a joke and burst out laughing, messing around. Rather than trying to convince them with words, I decided to show them directly by singing the song I'd performed on Mask Singer again.
"Gasp!"
"Whoa?"
"What is this? I heard it on Mask Singer."
Only then did the members realize it was real, their jaws dropping in shock.
"What? For real?"
"Insane."
"Whoa!"
"Hyung was the white-haired prince on the black horse? Now that you mention it, the voice matches!"
"How did we not know this?"
"When the hell did you even film it? Does anyone know? How did no one find out?"
"With hyung going out every other day without saying where, of course no one knew."
Since I was often heading out to meet women without mentioning it, no one questioned my absences—even when I slipped away for Mask Singer shoots.
"Honestly, I thought at least one of you would recognize my voice. But nope, not a single one."
"No way! I knew it!"
Ki Uyeon shot his hand up, making the utterly unconvincing claim that he'd known all along.
"Don't bullshit us, Uyeon!"
"If you'd known, you'd have blabbed to us ages ago!"
"Yeah, yeah. That loose-lipped mouth of yours couldn't keep a secret like that."
Among us, Ki Uyeon had the loosest lips by far. The members were dead certain he'd have spilled it immediately if he'd really known, so they brushed off his nonsense.
"Nooo, it's true! I knew! But it seemed like you were hiding it, hyung, so I kept quiet. My lips are sealed like a lock!"
"But seriously, hyung, how'd your singing get this good?"
Ignoring Uyeon completely, Nam Eungyu kept marveling at my skills. Kang Jun chimed in innocently to him.
"Hyung's always sung like that, though?"
"What are you on about, idiot? Step aside from main vocal! Give it to Haesol hyung."
Bicker bicker!
While Kang Jun and Nam Eungyu squabbled endlessly, Uyeon clung to me, fawning over how cool I was. Kang Kyungtae and Jeki nodded along repeatedly as they replayed the black horse prince's songs.
"But if you're really the black horse prince, isn't that huge?"
"Whoa, yeah. Everyone's been going nuts trying to figure out who he is lately."
"Seemed like no one had a clue."
"Guess the male idol image throws people off—no one even considers it."
In this world, male idols have a hell of a time proving their talent to the public. Too many other groups have screwed up big time. They debut pretty-faced kids with zero skill, but women flock to them anyway, building fanbases. That karma spills over to us—boy groups get dismissed just for existing.
No wonder that No Hee-kyung woman casually spewed sexual harassment the second she saw me.
No one was as blatantly insulting as her during activities, but there were definitely people who snuck in sly or covert harassment.
"Guess you're the one carrying our group, huh, hyung?"
"Hyung's seriously amazing."
I'd suffered through acting gigs for a while, and now here I was promoting the group on Mask Singer on the sly. Worthy of admiration, sure.
"Where's the black horse doll? Lemme put it on my shoulder too!"
"Then you'd be a 5-time champ?"
I shook my head at Kyungtae hyung's question.
"It's not like I can just decide to be a 5-time champ. I figure I'll probably get eliminated next appearance."
"Nah. From what I saw, you could've gone further. The black horse white-haired prince is blowing up right now. The production team probably wants to milk the hype longer."
"Then like 3 wins?"
"Pfft, 3 is still lame! With your skills, it's gotta be 5."
"3 wins is plenty, right? We've got overseas prep too."
"If we're doing it, go out with 5 wins! It's got prestige. Everyone's freaking out over this hidden master, and when it turns out to be a male idol? Shock city."
Very few people graduate Mask Singer with 5 wins. The production team's too good—they dig up buried talents from everywhere. That's exactly why the 5-win honor holds weight; they run it tight.
"Everyone who's graduated with 5 wins has been a legit pro. Not a single idol among them."
Even skill-heavy girl groups couldn't crack it. If I pulled off 5 wins, it'd be massively symbolic.
"No one'll be able to question your talent anymore."
I let out a deep sigh at the idea that it'd shatter male idols' bad rep. I'd joined just to show off a few songs and prove my chops, but now it was getting way more attention than deserved—tricky.
"So get practicing Mask Singer already. This ain't the time to slack!"
"You've been hiding it from us, so you probably skimped on practice too, huh? Obvious! Hyung, practice room—now!!"
The same members who'd whined to go on Mask Singer flipped, hounding me to nail 5 wins. I'd figured they'd just be shocked I was on it—didn't expect this pressure.
"What song were you planning for next?"
"Haven't thought about it."
"You should've planned ahead! When's the shoot?"
"Uh... a week left."
"Only a week!?"
"Pick a song first—quick!"
"Hey, hey, calm down."
"Hurry hurry! We don't have time for this!"
"To the company! Company!"
Swept up in the members' frantic "we'll help!" energy, we nailed a song for Mask Singer in just one day. I ditched my plan to coast on 2 wins.
They want it that bad? What's stopping me from 5?
This singing prowess came from pouring in coins. With my cheats, if I couldn't do it, who could? Still, 5 wins meant minding details. So I diligently practiced the song I'd planned to sing with my base skills on Mask Singer.
A genre that suits me well!
With this level, any song fits—but yeah, I shone more on stuff I enjoyed and felt comfy with.
I got serious about practice, and Kang Jun started shadowing me, ramping up his own singing.
"I'm main vocal—if you outsing me, that's no good."
That was his excuse. Couldn't shake the goldfish-poop tagalong.
"Can't have us looking lazy."
"Gotta grind dance more."
"Been slacking—time to write some rap lyrics."
The others wouldn't sit idle either. They carved out time from language studies for dance, vocals, rap.
Our sudden fire puzzled the dedicated team.
"What's up with them all of a sudden?"
Manager noona, in the know, explained.
"They heard Haesol was on Mask Singer, got hyped about making him 5-time champ, and next thing you know, the whole group's obsessed with practice."
"???"
"Kang Jun's main vocal, but Haesol's stealing the show vocally. Crisis mode kicked in, they started grinding, and the rest saw those two holed up in the practice room—couldn't just sit, so they're squeezing in sessions."
"Weird kids. Most would've caught star fever by now, dodging work."
"These guys are gonna make it big."
Veterans who'd seen it all were shocked—no star disease, just steady self-improvement.
"Even Red Witch shook with ego at this stage."
"Ugh, cleaning up their messes back then... I was a rookie. Hell."
"Those guys were animals. Animals."
"Haha! Yeah, beasts. Now they've eaten their garlic and become human."
If only things always went smoothly. But young groups brew trouble. Red Witch fought internally, boozed hard, caused chaos—the agency babysat till they matured and soared.
Airplane? Smooth sailing, too tame.
"That's what makes it scarier—no incidents yet. Bound to blow eventually; when?"
"Totally. Like selling first to dodge the hit."
"Quiet ones crash hard when they do."
They'd shattered expectations from debut—Honey Enter hype first, then visuals carried it. Humans waver at praise. They weren't immune; just good kids powering through.
"Gonna burst once..."
Oblivious to the staff's wary eyes, they just honed their craft.
Mask Singer round 3.
"White-Haired Prince on the Black Horse, got any special talents?"
The production team asked for a personal stunt.
"Hmm."
They film tok segments with the king for footage—guess they wanted mine then.
"No one's guessing who you are. So, show a talent to drop hints."
"Wouldn't hiding till the end be better?"
"Identity always leaks eventually. If it drags, reporters hound us. Better we seed hints first. Once the outline's there, they back off the digging."
"Ah~"
"You're an idol, right? Bet you've got talents galore."
As if. Never bothered with those.
Couldn't say none, though.
"What'd be fun and intriguing? Writer-nim, hit me with ideas?"
"Even if I suggest, if you can't pull it off, it's a dud..."
"~Don't worry. They call me the talent whiz at the company. 'You can do that too?' all the time."
The writer cracked up at my banter.
"For real? Okay, lemme throw some out."
"Fire away. I can nail 'em all."
Of her suggestions, dance medley hooked me most—perfect idol hint, and she agreed it'd land.
Second: impressions. Every idol's got one; impressions dominate.
Third: athletic feats or physical tricks others can't do.
And I could ace all three.