King of Mask Singer 5-Time Champion? (5)
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After hugging my crying noona and barely managing to soothe her to sleep, I moved on to comfort Jeonghwa, who had to be feeling down about it too.
It was a fight born out of how much they cared for each other.
Knock knock knock.
"Jeonghwa? I'm coming in."
I opened the door and stepped inside to find her sitting in a vanity chair, head bowed low. Looked like she'd been crying too. Feeling guilty for rushing off to console Jua noona and leaving her hanging, I approached, gently resting her head against my stomach and patting her back.
"How's Jua?"
"She cried herself to sleep."
"Was she that upset?"
"More like she felt bad about making you feel bad."
"...Seeing her cry out of guilt means she's not backing down, huh."
It was a shame for Jeonghwa, but even in tears, Jua noona hadn't budged an inch. She knew it was her mom's words out of love for her, but Jua was a mom now too. The kind who could sacrifice herself for her kid without a second thought.
"Maybe I've been treating Jua like she's still a kid."
"To parents, kids are always kids, no matter how old they get."
"I'm so glad you're by her side. Thanks, Haesol."
I couldn't help but think how adorable Jeonghwa looked, tears of frustration in her eyes. Before I knew it, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.
"Eek! Mmch, smooch! Mmm...!"
I slipped my tongue between her parted lips, teasing her palate before our tongues tangled like snakes, savoring the soft, sticky breaths.
"Haa... mmm!"
Slurp, sluuuurp! A flush spread across Jeonghwa's tear-streaked face. I slowly lifted her up, hoisting her hips.
"Hah!? N-no, not there. There's a blessing on the bed!"
"Oh."
I'd naturally headed for the bed, but she snapped me out of it, urgently tapping my shoulders to remind me of Blessing's existence. The house had been turned upside down over Blessing, and here I was, the so-called dad, forgetting about him for a moment.
Ahem, sorry, Blessing. You're a guy too—you'll get it when you grow up.
I quickly tucked Blessing away in the nursery and turned back to Jeonghwa to finish what we'd started. But her flushed face had cooled right off.
"That's it?"
"What else were you gonna do here? Get a grip!"
She punched my back—silently, so it wouldn't carry. Couldn't exactly ask a baby who couldn't even hold his head up if he wanted a sibling, either.
"Tch."
My go-to comfort method had failed, so I switched tactics.
"Want me to cook for you?"
"...Cook?"
"I don't do it often, but I'm pretty good when I do."
I'd leveled up my arts and physical stats recently, including cooking. Of course, just pumping cooking skill didn't make me a master chef. These practical skills needed "required reading" books bought with coins to unlock the real knowledge. And I'd stocked up on all the essentials just for times like this.
"I'll treat you to something insanely delicious."
Last day of vacation—we deserved to end it smiling. No holding back on my secret weapon.
The cooking session kicked off. We woke Jua noona and gathered at the table, devouring the meal in pure bliss. The gloom vanished like it'd never been there, and we spent the rest of the time in perfect harmony.
My week off ended on a high note. A few days later, Blessing got his official name: Jin Taeyang.
Jin Jua's son, Jin Taeyang. Jua noona's firm resolve sealed it, plus Jeonghwa loved that we wouldn't need to change his surname later when I added him to my family register.
Back at the dorm, I got an earful from the company and members for a good while. Self-inflicted wound from my little escape (?), so I kept my head down and took it.
Still, singing on that show during my runaway stunt? Solid choice. And I made it up to Manager Noona big-time with a gift.
"Thanks, noona."
"What's this? Oh my god! For me?"
"Yup. Couldn't thank you enough."
"It was just what I had to do—why'd you go and buy this?"
"I was out of it back then, total mess. You saved me from a huge screw-up. This is the least I could do. Next time, real fancy dinner on me."
"Hehehe! Alright, you rascal. Anything comes up, you tell noona right away. I'll handle it."
"Yes ma'am! Loyalty!"
Bribe worked like a charm on her lingering grudge. Members were next...
"Good?"
Nod nod!
Nom nom—
"Hey, that's mine!"
"Thought you didn't want it."
"Wanna die?"
Feed 'em tasty stuff, problem solved. They weren't even that mad anyway.
Of course, one round didn't cut it. They milked me for three meals before calling it even, no hard feelings. Clean slate on my escape (?)—they never brought it up again. Like it never happened.
Time flew, and King of Mask Singer finally aired—the episode I'd half-forgotten.
"Insane."
"Holy."
"That's really hyung, right?"
"Whoa! Standing ovation! Epic! Goosebumps!"
They'd heard about my 3-crown win, but not how godly I'd sung. Jaws on the floor.
"You ate 'em alive."
"Wasn't that the day hyung ditched?"
"Yeah."
"How even, with all that chaos?"
Under their sharp stares, I scratched my head and spilled.
"Honestly, barely remember. Just thought, 'Gotta sing my absolute best so the audience votes fast.' Something like that."
"Whoa."
"And you dropped that stage on autopilot?"
"Talent freak."
"Jealousy hitting hard."
The kids shivered and whined enviously.
But the production team, clueless to my side, milked the audience reactions: panels in awe, standing O's, encore screams. Quick vote tally, then the white-haired prince on the black horse claiming his 3 crowns.
"So the Sunflower Fairy King was Hwang Jaekyung sunbaenim."
"Knew it! Voice was too familiar."
"Dude sweeps charts every comeback. And he lost."
"To Jin Haesol, no less!!"
"Best ep ever."
"Knowing the masks makes it funnier."
"Hyung, articles blowing up online!"
"White-Haired Prince on Black Horse—who is he? Total chaos."
"They still don't know?"
"Our Wings suspect it's you but can't say it out loud."
No room for male idols in that arena. Shout "Jin Haesol!" and you'd trash the fans, drag Airplane down too.
"Can't wait for the reveal reactions."
"Hyung, 5 crowns! Go for it!!"
"Don't we gotta practice?"
"Gah! Yeah! Next song picked?"
"You were nursing in the hospital all week—no way."
"Crisis!! Crisis!!"
Two more to 5 crowns. Producers don't nerf challengers for easy crowns—they hunt top talent to block 4-crowns. That's why 5-crown legends hold prestige.
Honey Enter smelled the hype and went all-in supporting my 4-crown push.
"3-crowns happen more than you'd think. 4? Rare as hell."
"That's when producers get nasty."
"Yup, unleashing their secret aces."
Manager Noona dug up patterns, fan-fave song lists. Hired killer arrangers for Mask Singer tweaks. Security slipped a bit, sparking rumors: White-Haired Prince = Airplane's Jin Haesol.
Fans couldn't confirm it was Haesol, so regular fans of the White-Haired Prince shot down the rumors hard. His skill was just too good.
Production hyped my next personal stage even more.
I ground my teeth at the hate: "Dead serious, not an idol." Couldn't deny, couldn't confirm.
Idols can't have talent?
Arm bends inward. No shame in being an idol. Doing it seriously for Taeyang—not some side gig. Time to clap back at the "never an idol" crowd.
What if Taeyang grows up embarrassed his dad's an ex-idol?
To be a proud dad, shatter the "male idol" stigma.
I'll flip the stage upside down.
Leave my performance as the last thing burned in those audience minds. Violent. Intense.
"Rock-pop song."
"Rock-pop??? You doing rock?"
"Yup. Turning it into a full concert."
Make the audience my concert crowd.
"You good at rock-pop?"
"Obviously. You probably haven't heard me do it. Want a taste?"
Company folks and members never heard my rock—expect shock. I'd barely sung it myself.
But no worries.
◈ Cost: 1,200 Coins
◈ Cost: 1,500 Coins
My head was packed with every scrap of "Rock" knowledge.
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