Chapter 179: The Great Reversal (3)
Chapter 179: The Great Reversal (3)
Young-bin had been doing some uncharacteristic soul-searching lately.
He didn't have much of a choice.
Once he accepted the Director position, there would be no backing out. It was awkward enough to refuse it now, but accepting it and then quitting later would be tantamount to declaring war on Raywill Games.
Thus, he had only two choices: take it or leave it.
A Game Director at a major corporation.
For some, it was a lifelong goal. However, Young-bin’s hesitation didn't stem from the position itself. It was simply because he couldn't let go of his high school dream—the small, lingering desire to start his own company and make games with his old comrades again.
Of course, he had already tried to put those feelings aside.
Being a Game Director is the right move.
What's the point of an adventure now?
With a wife and two daughters, it felt far too late to be clinging to the past. Yes, that was what he thought, but...
'Between Seo-yeon and her...'
He never dreamed the two of them would face off in the King of Singers Tournament.
He had been genuinely shocked when Seo-yeon sang that song, but he figured it was possible.
Opening.
Naturally, it wasn't a proper title. It was just a track hastily finished and inserted into their game under the file name "Opening." Yet, no other title suited it better.
He never imagined she would sing that song of all things, and on the King of Singers Tournament stage, no less. It was a song no one should have known.
"Y-you're going to regret this. Regret dumping me."
It had happened twenty years ago, but the scene was still vivid in his mind. The girl who was always so confident and arrogant, sobbing as she spoke.
"I'll live a good life even if you don't say it. I'll live so well it'll make your head spin, and I'll make sure you regret it. This isn't the end, you hear me?"
Words that reeked of wounded pride.
"Just you wait, you idiot!!!"
The sight of her screaming at the top of her lungs and running away as Young-bin left for Seoul.
He didn't know what happened to her immediately after, but he later heard she had moved to Seoul as well. A few years later, she appeared on TV as a success, and he simply thought, Good for her.
'She said she'd make me regret it...'
He let out a short, dry laugh as he stepped out of the company elevator. He passed the transparent glass walls and entered the planning office he had grown accustomed to.
"..."
"...?"
The atmosphere was strangely quiet.
The moment he stepped inside, every head in the room snapped toward him. Young-bin, who had been about to raise a hand and give a casual "Oh, everyone's early today," slowly lowered his hand at the eerie vibe.
"W-what is it? Why is everyone gathered around?"
As he stammered in confusion, the group huddled together slowly parted. There, on a glowing monitor, were several articles pulled up.
They were videos and reports regarding yesterday's broadcast of the Masked Singer King of Singers Tournament.
'Ah.'
He realized it too late. Young-bin hadn't actually watched the live broadcast. He’d had things on his mind at the time and had fallen asleep early.
Come to think of it, he had been so focused on Yeo-hee during the tournament that he’d forgotten, but he vaguely remembered Seo-yeon saying something.
'...What on earth did my daughter say?'
He had asked Sua, but she wouldn't tell him. Now he knew why.
'Daughter, did Daddy do something terribly wrong?'
The headlines read:
['Gray Crow.' Is Her Identity Yeo-hee?]
[Netizens Uncover the Backstory. The Shocking Past of Popular Singer Yeo-hee!!]
[The Song Yeo-hee Sang Was a Song of High School Memories]
Up to that point, fine. He could accept that. There had been plenty of clues. Between Yeo-hee’s singing and what Sua had said on Golden Duckling, it wasn't hard to deduce that 'Gray Crow' was Yeo-hee.
If anyone traced Sua’s past, they’d find the game club. Since there were only four members, finding Yeo-hee among them was trivial.
The problem was the "shocking past" they had uncovered. It was laid out in a detailed timeline. He wondered how they found out so much, then realized that for a singer of Yeo-hee’s stature, it was par for the course. A star's past usually followed them like a scar for life.
"...Team Leader."
"No, wait a second. Is what's on the internet actually true? This could be a huge misunderstanding."
Young-bin held up his hands to ward off the team members, who looked like they were about to judge him.
"Think about it. It's all speculation. Sure, we were classmates in high school, but..."
Just then, an employee held up a phone and played a video.
It was a clip of Yeo-hee from earlier today, looking like she had completely given up as she gave an interview. She had the face of someone who didn't care anymore.
"Ah, yes. That was a song I sang in high school. I was in a game club back then..."
At first, it seemed like she was going to give a vague answer and move on. But a flustered Yeo-hee couldn't speak properly. She ended up spilling everything under the pressure of a reporter who had done far more research than expected.
'Ah, is this the "making me regret it" part?'
A revenge twenty years in the making? The interview felt like nothing else.
"It's a misunderstanding," Young-bin said with a straight face.
However, the team's gaze didn't waver. It was only natural; everyone in the company knew Young-bin’s wife, Sua, was a legendary beauty. On top of that, his entire life had recently been laid bare through Golden Duckling.
'Is it even legal for such an unfair existence to exist?'
'My wife just nags me the moment I get home.'
His wife, who was a year younger, looked as young as a celebrity as if she didn't age. One of his two daughters was a top actress in Korea. And the second daughter was incredibly cute!
Fine, they could overlook all that with a generous heart. But now what? A female singer who was his high school classmate?
Furthermore, the song she sang at the King of Singers Tournament was incredibly meaningful. After all, Young-bin and Sua had been right there in the audience.
What kind of female singer sings a song while reminiscing about high school? And an obscure song no one knows, on a stage as important as the King of Singers?
No matter how much of a variety show it was, anyone with a brain could put two and two together. Naturally, the internet was in an absolute frenzy.
The two places seeing the most chaos were Yeo-hee’s fan community and the game communities for the titles Young-bin managed at Raywill Games. The game communities, in particular, were filled with "community ghosts" who possessed terrifying firepower.
Those who checked the communities late were confused, unable to understand the situation. It was only natural for those who weren't interested in celebrities or TV variety shows. But once the posts were archived and circulated through every corner of the web, the story changed.
Once the story broke, the rumors spread like wildfire. Anyone from the same generation who used the internet—especially those from the same high school as Young-bin—couldn't resist the urge to chime in.
Someone even posted a verification photo with their high school ID card.
As the communities burned and memes of Young-bin bowing his head in apology began to surface...
"Um, Seo-yeon? Are you okay?"
"About what?"
Seo-yeon was happily eating ice cream. It was very sweet and delicious.
*
The aftermath of Masked Singer was more intense than expected.
In truth, the parents of a star usually don't generate this much buzz. The reason this issue blew up so much was partly due to Seo-yeon, but mostly due to Yeo-hee’s influence.
Yeo-hee was a titan in the music industry. She had a diverse career, and her brief stint in the US was a staple topic for "Korean Pride" YouTube channels. An issue involving a singer with that level of recognition and impact was bound to explode.
While the spotlight was largely on that side, the attention focused on Seo-yeon was nearly equal. After all, she had lost to the legendary Yeo-hee by a mere two votes.
As long as the song choice didn't make the identity too obvious, people were generally forgiving. Even so, winning by two votes after singing her own song became a bit of a running joke. Of course, it also highlighted how incredible Seo-yeon’s performance in the finals had been.
"Ju Seo-yeon!!"
Having heard the rumors, Jo Seo-hee had arrived on her bicycle again today. Wait, what happened to the Mercedes she used to ride?
"Is this true? Is it really true?"
Her reaction was so violent that even Seo-yeon, who usually treated Seo-hee with indifference, flinched and backed away.
"I-it's true."
"Then introduce me to Yeo-hee Sunbae!!"
As expected, she had come to ask for an introduction. Between Ji-yeon and Jo Seo-hee, it was clear that Yeo-hee’s status was truly immense.
'Knowing Jo Seo-hee, she's just trying to build her network.'
In truth, Seo-yeon didn't have any particular plans to meet Yeo-hee again. At first, she just thought of her as her dad's old club friend. But reading the posts on the internet made the whole thing seem incredibly exciting. She had even made a mental note to visit her at least once later.
Of course, when she went home, Sua would look at her with resentful eyes, which made her feel a bit guilty. But at the same time, her mother looked both happy and conflicted about reconnecting with Yeo-hee.
'This is all Auntie Yeo-hee’s fault for beating me.'
She knew it was only natural to lose. However, Seo-yeon was exceptionally, incredibly competitive. Her comment had been a small act of spite, and she hadn't expected it to have this much of an impact.
She had thought it through and figured it wouldn't be a big deal, but lately, she was starting to wonder if she’d gone too far.
"But I think it was good that you said it."
Seo-yeon couldn't just leave Jo Seo-hee on her bike, so she dragged her to a nearby McDonald's. Jo Seo-hee spoke while munching on a burger.
"It creates buzz, doesn't it? Honestly, it won't hurt your image. It's such a far-fetched story from decades ago. There's no safer topic than this."
She had a point. No one was really getting hurt by this being known. At most, people just felt a bit sorry for Yeo-hee for being single.
'Ah, I guess my dad is a victim too.'
Lately, Seo-yeon’s hobby was watching AI-generated videos of her dad bowing and apologizing. The way he bowed in time with the beat was so satisfying that she played it on both the TV and her monitor. Seeing Young-bin nearly have a fit when he came home made it twice as fun. Seo-yeon had always been the one getting teased, but now she finally had the chance to strike back properly.
"And the synergy with Sky Garden is great."
"I don't think they're related."
"People are paying attention. Search volume has skyrocketed."
Until now, they had been trailing far behind Grand Game. But since Masked Singer aired, they had caught up, and as of today, they were starting to dominate. Word of mouth was drawing massive attention to the recent episodes of Sky Garden.
"I saw the last episode. They went on a trip together, and it ended with a hint of an incident about to happen."
Jo Seo-hee had been keeping up with Seo-yeon’s drama, even recording it. Part of it was for study, and part of it was to keep pace with Seo-yeon’s acting. But most importantly, it was because it was fun. Jo Seo-hee was a fan of Sky Garden. She had already pre-ordered all the related albums.
"The next episode will be crucial. You've built up the expectations, so you have to deliver a big hit... How is it?"
At Jo Seo-hee’s question, Seo-yeon took a large bite of her burger.
And then.
"There's no problem."
In the upcoming episodes 11 and 12, Kim Hyun-seok, who played Lee Min-hyuk, was finally hitting his stride. His recent performance, vividly portraying Lee Min-hyuk’s inferiority complex, was a masterpiece. Even Seo-yeon had found it convincingly real.
Furthermore, this week's content was set to carry the explosive momentum from the previous week.
She was confident. Confident that she would crush Grand Game completely.