Chapter 176: Opening (4)
Chapter 176: Opening (4)
A light, upbeat electric guitar riff rang out.
The music swelled as the accompaniment followed.
Since it was an unfamiliar song, most of the audience and the panel wore puzzled expressions.
It was similar to when Seo-yeon had chosen an old anime song for her performance.
However, back then, there were at least a few people in the crowd whose faces lit up with an "Ah, this one!" expression. That song had been famous enough that many recognized it even with a new arrangement.
In fact, the most common reaction then had been, "I've heard this somewhere—was it a cartoon song?"
Because of that, it was praised for being unique. Even if it felt a bit awkward, the audience hadn't looked quite as bewildered as they did now.
The show Masked Singer was not a place to debut original songs.
Naturally, the audience came to see how a singer would reinterpret a song they already knew. It wasn't a venue where people expected to be presented with the unknown.
Even Seo-yeon was well aware of that.
This is...
But the moment the first notes of the electric guitar echoed across the stage—the moment Gray Crow gripped the microphone and the music began to flow—Seo-yeon realized.
She had heard this song before.
And very recently, at that.
"A CD? What's this?"
Ji-yeon’s house had a somewhat old PC. It was the kind that still had a CD drive.
In modern PCs, a CD slot generally didn't exist. No one bothered to install one, and unless someone specifically ordered that part, CDs had become relics of the past that couldn't even be played.
"I heard it’s a game CD."
"Ju Seo-yeon, if you keep picking up random weird things..."
"My parents said it’s a game they made in high school. Their first one. A memento."
"Well, sometimes you find memories when you pick things up. That’s actually quite lovely, isn't it?"
Ji-yeon’s sharp nagging softened instantly.
Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes at the sudden shift in attitude, but Ji-yeon simply avoided her gaze.
How was she supposed to know the CD Seo-yeon brought over out of the blue would be such a significant item?
More importantly, it was the first time Seo-yeon had heard that her parents had made a game in the past. Had they been in a game development club in high school?
Then again, considering what they did for a living now, it wasn't exactly strange.
Click.
At any rate, Seo-yeon had been able to run the old CD using the dated PC at Ji-yeon’s house. She had considered buying an external CD drive, but she was worried about compatibility issues.
There was no guarantee that a self-made game from over ten years ago—not even one from a professional company—would run on a modern OS.
Fortunately, thanks to Ji-yeon’s old PC, it ran without a hitch.
"This is..." Ji-yeon murmured quietly.
The game was surprisingly ordinary, steeped in a nostalgic, old-school atmosphere. But there was one thing that stood out.
"It has an opening?"
A song played when the game started.
The song didn't seem to have a formal title; the word "Opening" was simply written in the corner of the screen.
The melody was relatively serene. It was a song cheering on a traveler setting out on an adventure, perfectly suited for a classic fantasy RPG.
But Ji-yeon thought the voice sounded strangely familiar.
It didn't take long for her to realize.
Wait, isn't this Yeo-hee?
Seo-yeon didn't seem to notice, but Ji-yeon, who truly loved Yeo-hee’s music, could sense it.
Though the voice sounded a bit younger and greener, it bore a striking resemblance to Yeo-hee’s. Of course, the skill level couldn't compare to the current Yeo-hee, but for a high schooler, it was exceptionally good.
...No way.
Come to think of it, they had said they were classmates.
At the time, Ji-yeon had thought they were just ordinary classmates, but hearing this song changed things. They wouldn't have collaborated on a game if they weren't close.
So, what exactly was their relationship? Ji-yeon wondered.
She stole a glance at Seo-yeon to see if she had noticed anything.
But Seo-yeon showed no such sign, simply listening to the song in silence.
Opening.
Perhaps because it had been added in a hurry, the video accompanying the song was crude. It was more like a montage of illustrations—what people often called a "mad movie."
However, the very fact that a song had been included made it special.
It was a game that felt youthful, as if the creators had tried their best to make it look professional.
It was a song that strangely tugged at the heartstrings.
Seo-yeon looked up.
Having stepped down from her own performance, she watched the singer who had newly taken the stage.
Gray Crow.
No, knowing this song meant she was definitely someone connected to Sua or Young-bin.
How is that possible?
She had her doubts, but the song was proof enough.
Opening.
Even without a formal title, no word suited this song better.
An opening song.
A voice that had matured from its youthful past.
As the years flowed by, transcending memory.
From a small stage, the song began to spread out into the world.
*
To put it simply, this was a small whim.
"Unnie, are you crazy? There are so many other songs."
"Why? What's wrong with it?"
"Who’s going to recognize a song like that?"
It was practically an original song. No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't a fit for Masked Singer.
"Oh, come on. Someone sang this at a song festival back then. it was actually quite a hot topic. 'The theme song for a game made by high schoolers'..."
"But it doesn't even have a title."
The title was just "Opening." Nothing more, nothing less.
When they were trying to name it back then, nothing fitting came to mind.
So, Young-bin had said to her:
" 'Opening' is good."
Because it was the song that announced their first start.
Was there a more fitting title for a song dedicated to an adventurer taking on a new journey?
Well, that was that. Or maybe he was just being lazy.
Looking out at the stage, she could feel a rabbit wearing a bizarre mask staring up at her.
She couldn't see the girl's expression, of course, but her shock was palpable.
The child didn't take after her father; she seemed to have far too many thoughts for her own good. Perhaps she took after Sua in that regard.
Yeo-hee gripped the microphone.
An unfamiliar track, an unfamiliar song.
But it was fine.
A song that moves the heart comes from empathy.
Given the nature of Masked Singer, an unfamiliar song could feel more out of place than on any other stage.
However, people would be able to empathize with the lyrics and the theme.
And perhaps, there might truly be someone who had heard it before.
What she told her manager wasn't a lie. It had been a bit of an issue back then. As an original song for a game made by high schoolers, it had circulated on the internet for a while.
Well, back then, people weren't very aware of copyrights, so it had just been distributed illegally everywhere.
Anyway.
She looked away from the rabbit and toward the audience.
A sea of people.
Among those swaying to the rhythm, she saw two people who were frozen solid.
She had seen them from a distance during the semifinals, but they were much clearer from the stage.
They looked older than they used to. Their appearances showed the passage of time.
Her manager had told her that they had become nothing more than a memory.
Well, that wasn't wrong. In the end, she had become a memory, reaching a position where they couldn't even meet.
She thought their changed appearances were still wonderful, but that didn't mean she liked everything about the situation.
Unlike her, they had a family now. They had things to protect, so they probably had much more to worry about.
But I'm still a child.
I still only remember the things you said back then.
"A creator must live like a child."
That was what he had said to her when she was feeling depressed.
"...What?"
"Exactly what I said."
"Are you saying I'm being childish?"
It was probably back when she had received harsh criticism for her singing.
There are as many talented singers as there are stars. Simply being "good" wasn't enough to survive in this world.
Faced with that vast emptiness, she wondered if she could really make a living with her voice. She had probably been feeling quite gloomy.
"You like singing, don't you?"
"Just liking it isn't going to solve my problems."
"But you have to keep liking it. Always."
A creator must live like a child.
He always said that.
At first, she thought it was just nonsense, but now she felt she understood.
"You said it was your dream."
A creator must love what they do and be able to keep liking it.
But no emotion lasts forever; eventually, it fades.
That’s why you have to keep liking it. You have to hold onto that childlike heart to keep loving your dream.
If you are worn down by society and the times...
If reality makes it impossible to love your dream...
That is when you truly grow old.
You can't be a child anymore. Once you grow old, there’s no turning back.
When a dream becomes a job, you can no longer love the things you once loved.
"Then I'll stay a child for as long as possible."
He had said that as he reached out a hand to her while she was crouching on the ground.
"There's no need to rush."
It was as if he were asking if her dream was so weak that it couldn't even wait a little while.
It was okay to start a little late. As long as you could keep loving it, an opportunity would surely come one day.
"You're a good singer."
Sometimes, a simple, trivial compliment can become the catalyst for everything.
That was certainly the case back then. Just hearing a classmate say she was good made her feel like she had to become that person.
She began to dream that vague dream.
I was lucky, though.
Of course, that might have just been a vain hope.
There are countless people who are good at singing. No matter what you want to do, there are infinite competitors. Having the talent to realize a dream was a great blessing in itself.
But even so.
Wouldn't any time be okay?
Before standing on this stage, Yeo-hee had originally planned to sing a different song. She had prepared a track familiar to the public.
But the reason she chose not to was obvious.
The moment a dream becomes a job.
He had asked: Is your dream so weak that it can't even wait a few years?
Of course not.
And he must have lived his life that way too.
That was why he had hesitated. Whether to grasp reality or keep loving the dream. Whether to remain a child or become an adult.
Forty.
It was by no means a young age. To anyone's eyes, it was middle age. Anyone would say it was too late to chase a dream.
But Yeo-hee didn't care.
She had always been a child. And she would continue to be.
She was a woman full of lingering attachments. Even if she remained a child, shackled to the past of twenty years ago, she could accept even that.
So what? It’s cool.
Being able to just keep loving something.
Some might call it foolish. Some might point fingers.
But as long as I don't think so, that's enough.
If creation is pain, isn't that pain also mine? Isn't being stupid and lingering also a part of who I am?
Just like the title of this song.
Because her life had always been an Opening.
*
Seo-yeon thought to herself.
Sometimes, a song can truly move a person's heart. At least, it did for her.
Maybe I was rushing.
Lately, Seo-yeon had been hesitating.
About why she became an actor. And about the things she had wanted to do in her past life.
Her hesitation stemmed from a deeply personal reason. She wondered if those dreams were truly what Ju Seo-yeon wanted.
Being a VTuber was something her past self had wanted to do. Pursuing it felt like she was failing to break free from her past self.
She felt that if she did it, she might never truly become "Ju Seo-yeon."
It might have been an exaggerated thought, but that was how it felt to her.
It was the same with acting. At first, it was something her parents made her do, and her decision at the aquarium to become a great actor had been sincere.
But lately, she had questioned if that was truly Ju Seo-yeon’s sincere desire.
Meeting Yu-na made her realize she was still tethered to the past.
Perhaps the reason she started acting was, in the end, due to lingering attachments to her past.
All the media she had watched to learn emotions. All the actors she had seen there.
Just like them, she wanted to show herself through the TV. Through the movie screen.
A desire to show her past parents that she was doing well. A desire to send a signal.
She had wondered if that was the real reason she was an actor.
Everything she had said to Writer Min Se-hee was in a similar vein. She thought that if she could perfectly "graduate" from her past, she wouldn't have to worry about these things anymore.
That was why she might have been rushing.
She thought that by declaring a perfect end to her past self, she could move forward as Ju Seo-yeon.
But this song seemed to refute Seo-yeon’s thoughts.
It was funny, but the song was thick with memories of the past and lingering attachments.
And yet, the person singing it seemed perfectly fine.
So what? That was her attitude.
As if Seo-yeon’s worries were foolish.
As if she were saying that all those lingering attachments were also a part of who she was.
There was a line in the lyrics:
Is your dream so weak that it can't even wait a little while?
So, there's no need to rush.
It was true.
As long as she kept loving it, it was something she could do at any time. If she was still conflicted, she didn't need to rush; she could just wait until she had a complete answer.
This song...
It felt like it was giving Seo-yeon the answer to the past she had been agonizing over.
There was no need to force herself to forget. Having lingering attachments wasn't a bad thing.
What mattered was how one acted while carrying those attachments.
As long as you keep loving it, your dream will never leave you.
Even until the moment you finally close your eyes.
Seo-yeon watched the stage until the song ended with the final pluck of a guitar string.
She probably wasn't the only one.
There was surely one more person here who had been struggling with a similar worry.
*
"You lost by a mere two votes. Are you alright?"
"Yes."
Slowly, Seo-yeon spoke as she removed her mask.
As the mask came off, a small commotion broke out in the audience.
The song "Max Level Rabbit" had sung was that impressive. Everyone had assumed she was a professional singer.
But to think Ju Seo-yeon would appear here!
While everyone was in shock, Gray Crow—Yeo-hee—was able to enter the Hall of Fame as the Masked Singer King.
By a margin of only two votes!
Gray Crow, Yeo-hee, stood there with a somewhat awkward expression. She watched Seo-yeon giving her interview and then looked down below the stage.
Her manager was looking at her with an incredibly pathetic expression.
I thought you said memories were stronger.
That’s why I won. Have a drink on me.
By only two votes?
Well, that happens.
It felt like the atmosphere had become quite rowdy because of something Seo-yeon said in her interview, but it didn't matter to her.
She was preoccupied with something else.
Amidst the chaos, she saw someone in the audience quietly give her a thumbs-up.
Yeo-hee gave a thumbs-up back and smirked beneath her mask.