The Masked King's Voice
The recording of had begun.
Under the cascading lights, the dazzling opening remarks of the main host, Kim Woo-jin, flowed on.
The elegant tongue that guided the long-running variety show, Masked Singer.
“Behind the mask, the voice conveys a story, the mysterious music show, . Let us begin right now!”
On the opposite side, the celebrity panelists responded with enthusiastic applause.
The panel, composed of PDs, composers, singers, comedians, and variety entertainers, listened to the contestants’ songs, deduced their identities, and added entertainment value.
“Today, we have a special guest on the panel. A singer who shook generations with a single voice. The true emotions contained in rough breaths, the soul vocal representative of Korea! Mr. Shin Jae-ho is with us.”
After Kim Woo-jin’s introduction, the general panelists’ ninety-nine people erupted in applause.
Shin Jae-ho.
Simply seeing him on air for the rare broadcast made the set bustling.
Sadness and anger, comfort and screams.
The voice that embraced all those emotions.
He was not just a singer, but a person who had lived through song.
“Hello, I am Shin Jae-ho.”
A low, dry yet strangely powerful voice.
“Today, I simply wanted to listen. Rather than why this person is on this stage, I will enjoy the song itself.”
A short yet weighty sentence.
Only someone who had shaken generations with song could utter those words.
Main host Kim Woo-jin said playfully.
“This… the contestants today must be quite nervous, right? Each word will feel like they are being judged.”
That was not wrong.
Inside the waiting room.
Flower Girl’s expression was distorted with irritation in front of the stage.
On the screen, the celebrity panel seat.
Among them, Shin Jae-ho came into view.
“Oppa, you knew Shin Jae-ho was coming out? You knew, right?”
Jisoo glared at her manager sharply and spat out the words.
“I, I didn’t know. I didn’t share that kind of thing…”
“You’re joking? That guy used to diss my songs. No emotion, like a machine, you don’t remember? You want me to hear that again?”
The manager tried to calm Jisoo cautiously.
“No. You wouldn’t know even if you tried? You wore a mask.”
“You’re funny. After going on stage, just sing one verse. That guy won’t know?”
Flower Girl.
Her identity was the main vocalist of the girl group Love Cats, Jisoo, under the pseudonym Flower Girl.
An idol who stood out with a cute appearance and idol-like singing ability despite not being typical.
“Annoying. Annoying. Annoying.”
Jisoo crossed her arms and exhaled roughly.
“You know what? I made up my mind this time. I have to become the King of Mask no matter what. Otherwise, I won’t be able to catch up with them, right?”
“Y, yes. If I become the King, I will.”
The manager smiled awkwardly and agreed.
Jisoo had many accumulated complaints against her group Love Cats.
'Why, my singing is better. I’m pretty too, why do I have to be a backup singer?'
It was also because of pushing her to appear on .
She wanted to be known as 'Jisoo' alone, not the group Love Cats.
The timing was perfect.
Currently, the King of Mask was the veteran singer 'Dancing Butterfly'.
Good sense but high notes were not good, so the evaluation that she was weak in competitions was dominant.
Moreover, the song selection was mixed.
It would not be easy, but if luck favored her, she could aim for the King title.
'...... I’ll earn it alone, I’ll eat it all alone. No more giving in.'
If she got the King title, the company would not be able to oppose putting her as a solo.
She did not have to share the hard-earned popularity, income, attention with other members.
'Perfect timing, the draw luck is good too.'
She had prepared by rehearsing twice as much.
She had begged the agency head to meet PD Han Kyung-il in advance, prepared separate rounds for round 2, 3, and the final King song after the duet.
Her mind was already full of imagining releasing a solo album and activities.
Knock knock.
A knock sounded.
“Flower Girl, standby please!”
Jisoo got up from her seat listlessly.
She breathed in lightly.
The irritated expression remained the same.
When she left the waiting room and arrived at the studio, 'Checkmate' was already there below the stage.
Her duet partner and round 1 competitor.
He bowed and greeted, but Jisoo ignored it and simply lifted her chin.
'...... He didn't come to perform, right?'
Since the first duet practice, it had been serious.
It improved a bit during rehearsal, but the vocals and emotion expression were just at average level.
Round 1 was thought of as warm-up.
To warm up her throat.
It was not a real competition with herself aiming for the King title and someone satisfied with one broadcast.
'Please do some promotion and go back.'
Jisoo swallowed the mockery in her mouth.
At that moment.
The main host Kim Woo-jin’s voice echoed.
“Then, the next two, please come to the stage!”
Jisoo first, then Checkmate followed to the stage.
The two standing side by side.
“The left is Ms. Flower Girl, and on the right is Mr. Checkmate!”
Applause poured from the audience seats, and then the panelists’ deductions began.
Panelist Yoon Jin-seok opened first.
“Ms. Flower Girl is… somehow feels like an idol. Just from the clothes, it shows.”
“Mr. Yoon Jin-seok, didn’t you make a mistake last time too?”
“Recently, Jin-seok’s batting average isn’t great.”
A lively atmosphere.
Then the gaze shifted to Checkmate.
“Checkmate, is it chess? I make a prediction. Just looking at it, it’s an older, mature uncle. Can’t hide it.”
“Ah, I agree too.”
“These people are too simple. Who knows, it might be a twist.”
After some talk,
simple gestures and personal skills that could guess the contestant’s identity were introduced.
Unique poses.
Short personal skills.
Feeling that enough broadcast time was secured, PD Han Kyung-il gave the next cue.
“Alright, now let’s open the stage with the two of your voices. Music, please!”
Host Kim Woo-jin quietly stepped aside.
The stage lights went out, then dimmed again.
Flower Girl breathed lightly and glanced at Checkmate.
'Please match the first note properly. Don’t mess up.'
The piano intro flowed quietly.
A more melodious reinterpretation than the original song.
Checkmate slowly brought the mic to his lips.
The first verse.
A word referring to the forgotten you.
With that one word, the air on the stage changed.
An echo that seemed to embrace the entire scene with just a breath.
'What, what is this?'
Jisoo’s expression hardened instantly.
It was completely different from rehearsal.
The low texture touching the whole body.
The awkward, common uncle’s tone was gone, and a thick echo spread, overwhelming the stage in an instant.
'...... No, it should just be good at the beginning.'
Jisoo gritted her teeth in her heart and denied reality.
But the solid echo deepened more and more towards the chorus.
Full-voiced.
Controlled emotion.
But deep echo.
'Wait, joking? Suddenly singing like this?'
It was irritation, not surprise.
Goosebumps ran up her arms, but it was when it became unpleasant.
Finally, the highlight of the first verse.
The lyrics containing the song title.
“......!”
As he murmured one verse casually, Jisoo’s breath was blocked.
The depth of sound.
Emotion in the breath.
Insane persuasiveness.
Without forcing or extracting, it seeped into the heart as if digging.
'Why... does this make sense?'
For the first time, panic set in for a moment.
Unbearable anger rose.
'This, this kind of scammer!'
A completely different person on the stage she should lead, the feeling of being pulled by an ordinary person, breath blocked.
This was her stage.
She was the protagonist.
But now.
Completely overwhelmed by Checkmate’s voice.
Even without high notes.
Even without technique.
Grabbing the entire stage, the sound itself melted in.
Not only the audience or panel, but even herself, the duet partner.
'This can't be...'
Jisoo gritted her teeth.
This should be her stage.
However.
On this stage now, she wasn’t leading, she was being led.
She couldn’t accept it.
No, she didn’t want to accept it.
Her breath quickened, her insides dried up.
Irritation beyond embarrassment, and anger.
Only that emotion was boiling her insides.
***
“...... Give it to me.”
The first verse of her part ended, and the accompaniment started flowing.
Through the mask, people were visible.
Startled celebrity panelists.
Jumping up from their seats, covering their heads, mouths closed, eyes moving busily.
Below the stage, PD Han Kyung-il and writer Jung Sung-hee were facing each other with serious faces.
I glanced and opened the system window.
Talent: Singing (A)
The old me, even making sounds was a burden.
Matching notes was hard, and even if I wanted to convey emotion, the sound coming out and my heart played separately.
Not a singer, but hard to see as having musical talent.
Exactly average.
Not above or below that level.
But now it was different.
I felt like I had become a 'different person' literally.
Emotion, notes, rhythm.
Without forcing, it naturally came together and flowed as sound.
'...... I poured all the remaining roulette tickets.'
In fact, I hesitated until the last moment.
If there was no contact from Head of Department Jeong Soo-yeon, and no Netflix meeting scheduled, I might have just passed it.
'Don’t regret it.'
There were coincidental situations.
But I wanted a talent I really wanted at least once.
A talent that anyone who has been to a karaoke room would dream of at some point.
For me, it was 'singing'.
'...... The lottery luck also helped.'
Of course, I did not spin the roulette recklessly.
The 'Talent Enhancement Ticket' to bring Chess from C+ to A was saved separately.
A 'Gold Roulette Ticket' aiming for 'English' talent needed for future variety filming also remained.
And I calculated that there would be additional rewards if I became the King.
It was a conclusion based on thorough rationality, not emotion.
'Even if not others, I can definitely secure the topic.'
is a long-running variety show, but there has never been a 'normal person King' so far.
That means this stage was originally 'singing' itself was the domain of professionals.
But if I cut that ticket?
It changes things.
With Jeong Soo-yeon’s capability added, the domestic topic condition presented by Netflix can be sufficiently met.
At that time, the accompaniment gradually faded.
Flower Girl’s mic touched her lips.
A plain introduction.
Unwavering notes.
High notes were easily surpassed.
But.
'...... She sings well, but that’s it.'
When I first heard it at vocal academy, I was amazed.
I thought this was a real 'singer'.
But now it’s not.
It wasn’t just a comparison issue. The most important expression in singing was lacking.
'Singing is not just technique.'
It’s not that there’s no echo just because notes are accurate.
There could be emotional distance for male singing, but the emotional line conveying the lyrics was clearly lacking.
And the following chorus highlight.
The high note part was Flower Girl’s.
I supported the low notes.
'I don’t have to stand out.'
Normally, I would have chosen to quietly fade away.
But now it was not.
But now it’s not.
Even if not high notes.
I had the confidence that the weight of the sound I make could change the center of the stage.
If Flower Girl’s high notes pierce the top, I would embrace from below.
It wasn’t simple low notes.
Rather, it became the pillar of echo that made the high notes deeper and richer.
Even, a heavy and deep persuasiveness that seemed to swallow Flower Girl’s high notes.
As my sound formed an ensemble, the feeling that the temperature of the stage itself changed.
At that moment, I felt Flower Girl’s breath slightly falter.
I quietly smiled.
On the opposite side of the stage, the expressions of the celebrity panelists were telling everything.
My sound.
My music.
Just by supporting someone.
Now, the center of this stage was me.