Chapter 175: Opening (3)
Chapter 175: Opening (3)
"Wow, today’s King of Singers Tournament is truly a tough one."
As Song Byung-soo, the MC of Masked Singer, spoke with his trademark banter, the panel of judges reacted instantly.
It had been several years since Masked Singer began filming. By now, they were all experts at giving the perfect reactions.
"I’m rooting for Gray Crow. It’s been almost half a year since we’ve had a singer enter the Hall of Fame, hasn't it? It’s about time we see one."
"Ah, but Max Level Rabbit’s skills are no joke either, so I’m really not sure."
While the commentary framed it as a neck-and-neck race, the reality was that most people were betting on Gray Crow’s victory.
This was largely because the style Max Level Rabbit had shown so far was very consistent. She avoided songs requiring high technical difficulty, opting instead for tracks layered with deep emotion.
While that was certainly impressive, the audience was beginning to grow a bit tired of it. Unless she showed some kind of transformation in the finals, Gray Crow was the presumed winner.
That was the general consensus.
If this were a live broadcast, I’d be curious to see the real-time reactions, Song Byung-soo thought as he looked at the two performers on stage.
The sentiment on internet communities also favored Gray Crow. However, there were still those who held out hope for Max Level Rabbit.
"And now, the challenger to the King of Singers! Her skill level is truly maxed out—Max Level Rabbit! Let’s hear what song she has prepared for us today!!"
With that introduction, Song Byung-soo handed the microphone to Max Level Rabbit—or rather, to Seo-yeon.
Please, I hope he didn't hype me up too much, Seo-yeon thought sincerely.
To be honest, she hadn't expected to make it all the way to the finals. She had worked hard on the arrangement, but still...
No.
She shouldn't be weak-hearted. She had made it to the finals, after all.
Looking toward the audience, she saw her mother, Sua, and Su-yeon clapping. Her father, Young-bin, was sitting next to them yawning, but she knew he was cheering for her in his own way. He was likely hiding his recent worries so as not to show them.
Of course, I’m doing the same.
But it was a problem without an easy answer. Because of that, it had been relatively difficult to focus on Masked Singer, but... even so.
As the instrumental began to play, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
Was it because the song was unfamiliar? No, with so many unique arrangements on the show, there were many songs that couldn't be identified by the intro alone. The reason their expressions changed was something else entirely.
"A cartoon song?"
"Whoa, she’s doing that here?"
The song Seo-yeon had chosen was a nostalgic one—an original theme song created in Korea for a specific animated series. In the past, it was common for imported animations to have original theme songs produced locally.
The song Seo-yeon had chosen was one of the most famous among those themes. It was a song the general public was somewhat familiar with. However, no one expected her to bring it to the King of Singers finals.
Even Song Byung-soo, listening intently, was taken aback. It wasn't that no one had ever rearranged an animation theme before, but he hadn't expected to hear one in the final round. Especially not from Max Level Rabbit, who had mostly stuck to sentimental ballads until now.
This particular arrangement, crafted by Summer Girl, was a song titled "Stillness."
The original was sung by a famous Korean rocker.
I’m pretty sure that was an anime about guns...
Despite the genre, the song wasn't a rock track; it was a rare, deeply emotional piece. If you just listened to the music, you would never guess it had been used as a cartoon theme.
Of course, Seo-yeon had never seen the animation herself, so she didn't know much about it. Everything she knew, she had heard from Sua.
Seo-yeon brought the microphone to her lips and looked toward Sua in the audience.
Sua and Young-bin were both wide-eyed, as if they never dreamed Seo-yeon would choose this song. Seeing them, the tension that had filled Seo-yeon’s chest seemed to melt away.
"Back then, your mom was in a game club," Sua had said while explaining the song.
She told her there were only three members in the club.
"My friend, and a boy who ended up joining by chance."
Originally, there were about three more, but Sua’s friend was so serious about game development that the others couldn't handle it and quit.
"I think they joined thinking it was a club for playing games."
A club for playing, not making. But Sua’s friend was dead serious about creating them. However, they were making little progress on how to start or what kind of game to make.
"My friend was a really good writer... well, I don't know about the writing itself, but the stories were great."
But when they tried to turn those stories into a game, they couldn't implement them well. Since there was no one who could handle programming, Sua, who did the art, ended up taking on that responsibility as well. It was partly because Sua’s personality made it hard for her to say no.
"But the teacher said we needed one more person..."
They were warned that the club would be disbanded if they didn't find another member. So, while everyone was searching, Sua happened to cross paths with a certain male student.
"That was your father."
If he likes games, he must like cartoons too!
Thinking that, and feeling it would be easier to talk to someone with similar interests, Sua had gathered her courage to speak to him.
"But I was talking about the original Japanese version of the song, and your dad was talking about the Korean arrangement. I was so embarrassed back then."
No wonder their conversation had felt slightly off.
Anyway, through that chance encounter, Young-bin followed Sua and joined the game club. At the time, he didn't have much else to do, and it seemed fun enough.
"And your dad? He fought so much after joining."
He’d complain about how this was all they had, or ask if their only goal was just to finish making a game. He’d say if they were going to do it, they should do it for real. Things like that.
Through all that, after many ups and downs, they actually managed to make a game. They even won an award. Sua said she still wasn't quite sure how it all happened.
"This song is the reason your mom and dad first got involved with each other."
That was how precious this song was. And it was the song where her father’s dream began.
"Your dad probably didn't know he’d end up where he is now when he was listening to this song."
A small spark. You never know what catalyst will start your journey.
Seo-yeon realized why Sua was telling her this. It was likely about the role Seo-yeon had taken, Lee Yu-ju, and the reason Seo-yeon had started acting in dramas.
Looking back, Young-bin’s career had also started by chance through someone else’s suggestion.
"But I think you’re different from Lee Yu-ju."
Lee Yu-ju was a character who could only see one path. That was all she had been taught, and she couldn't even see other options. That was why Sua felt so sorry for the character.
"But Seo-yeon, you’ve wanted to do something else since you were little, haven't you?"
At first, Sua thought it was acting, but as Seo-yeon grew, she realized it was something slightly different.
"There must be a reason you’re acting now, right? You know the reason too... you’re just not sure if it’s the right one."
The catalyst.
The reason Seo-yeon started acting was because of Sua’s suggestion. It was the same as her father, Young-bin. But Young-bin had used that suggestion to decide his own future and his dream.
Was she the same?
Did I really decide to become an actress because of what Mom said?
She didn't know. Her desire to become a great actress was sincere. However, she felt a bit shaken regarding the catalyst that sparked that desire and whether that reason was "right." And also regarding what she truly wanted to do.
In the end, was this "Ju Seo-yeon’s" dream? She wasn't sure. Perhaps it was a legacy left behind by her past self.
Sua said Lee Yu-ju and Seo-yeon were different, but Seo-yeon thought that was wrong. Ju Seo-yeon and Lee Yu-ju were the same—especially in the sense that they were both bound by the past.
Of course, the catalysts were different. Lee Yu-ju was bound because that was all she could see. Ju Seo-yeon was bound because she could never forget what she had seen in the past.
Wasn't it because, like Lee Yu-ju, she naturally couldn't think of anything else? That was why she couldn't let go easily. Because it was something she had desired so desperately in her previous life, choosing it felt like she was becoming her past self rather than Ju Seo-yeon.
That’s why I chose this song.
Seo-yeon hadn't chosen this song solely because of Sua and Young-bin.
"Stillness."
The title of the song felt like it was telling the story of her own past life. A life that ended without truly gaining anything. The shining things she saw back then—those lingering regrets were what held her back even now.
That stillness. That solitude.
Deep emotion flowed from Seo-yeon’s lips. Her clear, resonant voice captivated the audience, echoing throughout the stage.
Was she always... this good?
Song Byung-soo, the MC, swallowed hard. Max Level Rabbit had always been a good singer; that was how she made it to the finals. But he had assumed that part of it was because her opponents had been relatively weak. Either they lacked skill, or they chose songs that didn't suit them.
He had judged that she had reached this point partly through luck... but now, he wasn't so sure.
The audience was listening as if possessed by her song. There were no flashy technical displays, but she made people immerse themselves in the emotion of the song more than ever before. She allowed them to naturally synchronize with the feelings woven into the music.
"..."
As the microphone moved away from Seo-yeon’s lips and the song ended, a momentary silence fell over the stage.
But it was only for a second.
"That was the performance by Max Level Rabbit!"
Along with Song Byung-soo’s shout as he snapped back to his senses, a thunderous roar of applause erupted from the audience. Cheers and clapping filled the air.
"You're the best!!"
The words were buried in the cheering, but Seo-yeon heard them clearly. Sua, lightly wiping away tears, and Young-bin, clapping and shouting that she was the best.
Seeing them, Seo-yeon smiled beneath her mask. She thought that expressing herself through song like this wasn't so bad after all.
And...
...Wait, that’s cheating!!
There was one more person here caught in the grip of lingering regrets.
*
"I’m told this song was the catalyst for my parents' first meeting," Max Level Rabbit said in her distorted voice after the song ended.
Listening to those words, Gray Crow—Yeo-hee—tilted her head to the side.
Oh, she knew. She knew all too well! How could she not?
Regardless, she could feel the pitiful gaze of her manager, Aram, who was sitting in the audience. It was the look one gives a woman who can't let go of her past. Since Aram knew the general situation, she was definitely looking at her with those eyes.
‘It’s a song of her parents' memories.’
‘Indeed.’
‘Then doesn't that mean you’re in those memories too, Unnie?’
‘I suppose so.’
‘You’ve become a mere memory...’
‘...’
It was an exchange of glances that felt roughly like that. Well, it might have just been her imagination. Regardless, it was a fact that her manager was looking at her with pity.
Does she really know my identity?
Yeo-hee watched Seo-yeon give a brief interview to the audience in her distorted voice. Aside from that, this girl was also overflowing with some kind of lingering regret. Was there something she was worrying about because she was still young?
I don't know what she’s so worried about, though.
Then again, at that age, the world can be full of worries. She had been the same way. She still was. But that was only natural for a human being.
Yeo-hee looked at the audience and heard Young-bin’s voice shouting something toward Seo-yeon. He seemed to be yelling that she was the best or something similar. To an outsider, it looked like a very cheerful scene, but Yeo-hee knew better.
Because she had overheard their previous conversation, she knew the worry hidden beneath that cheerfulness.
How ridiculous.
To be honest, it was a side of him that felt foreign to Yeo-hee. The man she knew was someone far removed from deep agony. When did that man, who used to charge forward even if his head got cracked, start having such hesitations?
It means time has passed.
Even if she was still a child at heart, Young-bin and Sua might not be. Did she feel sorrow at that thought? Not a chance.
"Wow, what a wonderful story. A song filled with her parents' memories. This won't be easy, even for Gray Crow!"
Song Byung-soo turned to Yeo-hee, who was up next. His face seemed to say that even she would have a hard time this time. Of course, Song Byung-soo wasn't such an amateur MC as to let such a rude sentiment show openly, but the implication was there.
"The final battle, with the King of Singers title right in front of you!! Do you think you can achieve victory against the formidable Max Level Rabbit?"
As he handed her the microphone, Yeo-hee smirked beneath her mask. Sure, Seo-yeon had done well today. It was a performance that utilized her strengths one hundred percent. Honestly, even Yeo-hee had found herself clapping without realizing it.
"Well."
But, sorry. She had absolutely no intention of losing.
"My memories will win."
At least for today.
As she spoke, Yeo-hee gestured behind her, and a sharp zing of an electric guitar rang out. The moment the waiting band began the accompaniment...
...!!
Seo-yeon, who was walking down from the stage, whipped around.
The prelude to the song starting now was one she had heard recently.