After Seoyeon's concept for
It seemed he really liked that Seoyeon was participating in
However, one important thing remained.
"I'll have to check out
Seoyeon had, of course, watched
In her previous life, that is.
However, even though Seoyeon had consumed various visual media, she didn't watch
That was because
The reason Seoyeon watched various visual media was solely to memorize the emotions expressed in them.
Naturally, with faces covered by masks and songs that didn't resonate emotionally with her, fast-forwarding through
Even if she were to learn something, it would only be the surprised faces of the panelists.
Looks of dismay.
The tearful eyes of those moved by the songs.
That was about all she could learn.
She didn't even watch that much after it devolved into a laundry program for celebrities.
"Oh my, our daughter. Are you watching Masked Singer?"
"Yes."
Today was the weekend.
Seoyeon had been watching
Since it was a program she would be appearing on, she couldn't afford to make a mistake.
Moreover, after she started feeling emotions properly, the emotions she felt while watching
She could definitely understand why
The identities of those who sang strangely well were actually so-and-so!
There was definitely a catharsis that came from that.
'It would be nice if Lee Ji-yeon went on it too, not just me.'
Actors or comedians with low name recognition often popped up in between.
Of course, Ji-yeon wasn't exactly lacking in name recognition.
Still, she had played a fairly recognized role in a cable drama.
It wasn't for nothing that she was the popular girl at Yeonhwa High School before Seoyeon stood out.
Still, if she went on, it would definitely be helpful.
"Honey, come here and look at this."
When Young-bin, who was lounging around because it was the weekend, appeared in the living room scratching his stomach, Soo-ah gestured.
At the word "honey," Young-bin scanned his surroundings with sleepy eyes for a moment.
A strangely guarded gaze.
It was a look he regularly showed after filming
"There's no c-camera today. Really."
As if Soo-ah felt needlessly poked and said that, only then did Young-bin casually throw himself onto the sofa.
And he dozed off again, half-asleep.
"Oh, honestly."
Soo-ah seemed displeased with Young-bin's reaction.
That was because Soo-ah was an avid viewer of
'When I watch occasionally, Dad is strangely awkward with the word honey.'
Actually, Seoyeon knew.
That when Soo-ah called Young-bin, she used the term "Young-bin oppa".
They probably called each other that when they were dating.
Looking back and forth between the two, Seoyeon turned her gaze back to
She had heard that a new contestant had made it to the King of Masks match today.
The mask was a woman wearing a black crow mask.
Her outfit was also full of feathers, so Seoyeon watched, wondering how hot it must be.
Apart from that, her attitude felt very languid.
The emotion of being annoyed but forced to appear was strong.
Because of that, the MC of
'Did she not want to come out?'
It felt that way.
Naturally, when she casually checked the community reactions, sure enough, they weren't very good.
- Why come out if you're going to be like that?
- Looks like they worked hard on the mask, only the mask maker is pitiful
- The songs she's sung so far are just average, and her voice has no distinct color
- Still, she sings passably well, cheers
With reactions roughly like that, it felt like she would be cursed out a lot once her identity was revealed.
Even to Seoyeon, such an attitude didn't look good.
That was because Seoyeon always approached most things with sincerity.
Naturally, she didn't like doing things half-heartedly.
However.
"Then, we look forward to a wonderful song!!"
Along with Park Ki-chan's shout, Seoyeon found herself naturally immersed in the flowing music.
The song was quite old.
Easily 10 years.
An opening that Seoyeon couldn't help but be very familiar with.
It was an arrangement of the OST from
A song that was originally a ballad was mixed with a lively metal tone.
The crow grabbed a guitar she had only thought was a decoration.
It was hard to see because it was covered in feathers, but it seemed her hands were not wearing gloves.
Probably to play the guitar.
People's gazes focused on that sight.
The crow brought her mouth to the microphone standing on a stand.
And.
"!!"
Seoyeon doubted her ears for a moment.
Because she was bad?
No, quite the opposite.
Because she was too amazing.
The difference in skill was so stark that the masked singer who performed right before her looked amateurish.
A clean voice.
There's a saying that a clean voice usually lacks character and is monotonous.
However, on the contrary, it has the advantage of being less polarizing.
In that clean voice, natural high notes.
Added to the distinctly felt technique, Seoyeon opened her mouth without realizing it.
Unlike acting, singing makes it easy to gauge one's skill just by listening to it.
Even if people said her acting was great, it didn't emotionally resonate with her that much.
But right now, Seoyeon was showing the same reaction people showed whenever they saw her acting.
'But I think I've heard it somewhere.'
However, Seoyeon didn't listen to music enough to distinguish singers by their voices, so she was a bit confused.
It seemed like it was among the songs Lee Ji-yeon had recently played for her...
"Oh my."
Soo-ah heard the voice and became slightly flustered.
But that was the extent of her reaction.
Seoyeon and Soo-ah waited until the crow's song ended.
"Wow!! That was seriously amazing."
"I was really surprised."
"Ashen Crow is so cool!!"
Ashen Crow was the title used to address the person who just sang.
Amidst everyone's praise, the crow merely raised one hand with a slouching posture, reacting half-heartedly.
Still looking annoyed.
But if you have the skill, this all becomes a character and a color of your own.
- No, this is fucking hilarious lol
- Is the crow's song crazy?? She sings so fucking well lol
- Wow, she's the best out of everyone who's been on Masked Singer recently? Who is she?
The communities that were cursing her until just now completely reversed their reactions.
As expected from such reactions, the match was a unanimous decision victory for Ashen Crow.
With a victory close to a landslide, the opponent's shoulders slumped.
For reference, this round wasn't an ordinary one.
It was none other than the King of Masks match.
In other words, she literally crushed the previous winner.
"I wonder if a King who will reign for a long time has appeared for the first time in a while."
If you win for a long time, you enter the Hall of Fame.
To Seoyeon, the Ashen Crow who appeared this time seemed to be a powerhouse of that level.
Having learned singing, the current Seoyeon could tell at a glance how outstanding she was.
"Huh? Ah, right. She sings really well."
But Soo-ah's reaction was quite peculiar.
A face that looked like she wanted to say something.
She didn't seem to be in a bad mood.
Rolling her eyes around for a moment, she quietly turned her body to look behind her.
At Young-bin, who was lying rolling around on the sofa until just now.
Young-bin was still lying on the sofa with his eyes closed.
It was hard to tell whether he was asleep or awake.
"How was the song just now? She's really good, right?"
Still, when Soo-ah asked, unable to contain her desire, Young-bin opened his closed eyes and slowly yawned.
"She was originally good."
That was all he said.
Seeing Young-bin quickly fall asleep snoring, Soo-ah became a little surprised.
As for Seoyeon.
'Originally?'
Young-bin's words lingered in her mind a bit.
That remark didn't simply feel like he had figured out who the singer was.
It was a tone as if he had listened to her very often.
A trust that it was only natural to be at that level.
Feeling that way from those words, Seoyeon turned her gaze back to the TV screen.
A crown was being passed to Ashen Crow, who had become the new King of Masks.
'If she keeps defending her throne...'
She might be able to see her when she appeared on the show.
Ashen Crow sitting on the throne with a languid posture.
***
Preparing for a new variety show like that, Seoyeon frequently visited Hoyeon Studio.
It was to get Na-hee's help to appear on
Conversely, it was also to watch over Na-hee's acting.
She was also an actress appearing in
And as a friend of Lee Yoo-ju, the character Seoyeon played, no less.
"When you stand next to me, Seoyeon, it's more noticeable if I don't do well."
Na-hee would say that.
It wasn't simply words to praise Seoyeon, but the truth.
Acting right next to someone meant it was bound to be compared.
She could tell from the atmosphere on the set since
Even if there were no complaints when acting alone, there were many times she had to retake when acting with Seoyeon.
"Since you appear together, Na-hee's presence is significantly diminished. Should we change the scene?"
Kim Pil-seok, the director of
The relief was that after Seoyeon consistently watched over her acting, that aspect had improved a lot.
"Just a bit more, please show the character clearly. The emotional line is thin right now, the emotional line!"
Director Kim Il-soo would shout that and film the scene again.
Since there were no more comments about her lacking presence like before, she had improved significantly.
"...What do you think, Seoyeon?"
"I think your acting has gotten much better."
"No, I mean Sky Garden."
Seoyeon was singing.
Na-hee was on a break after finishing her acting.
"Is it really okay? You don't seem anxious at all, Seoyeon. I'm like this every time I appear on a drama."
What if it fails?
Such worries.
But Seoyeon was relatively free from such worries.
'Because I know what kind of drama Sky Garden originally is.'
With that thought underlying her mind, she was relatively less worried.
Of course, to those who didn't know the truth, they just thought Seoyeon's mental fortitude was absurdly strong.
That was because the one most affected by a drama's success or failure was usually the main lead.
Seoyeon, taking on her first lead role, was bound to carry the greatest burden.
"I think it will go well. Really. More than that..."
Seoyeon turned her gaze.
She saw the members of Summer Girls huddled together near the entrance.
"Why are you standing over there? We're all Sky Garden family."
'What family!!'
Rabin nodded with a smiling face, but screamed that inwardly.
'Why does Na-hee keep bringing that monster bitch?'
At least recently, she didn't seem to be doing that weird coin folding.
Rabin had almost suffered a seizure from the clinking sounds every time she came before, but recently she had regained her peace of mind.
'If you hear the clinking sound of coins, do not turn your head.'
An urban legend roughly like that had spread around Hoyeon Studio for a while.
The celebrities under Hoyeon Studio who didn't know the reason giggled at it, but Rabin, the victim of the ghost story, couldn't laugh.
Do you know that horror?
I'm telling you, a crane folding in half!
"By the way, Rabin."
"Y-yeah? Why?"
"Na-hee unnie's contract was until this year, right?"
"R-right?"
At that answer, Seoyeon softly curved the corners of her mouth with a "Hmm."
Rabin thought she was probably smiling.
"I understand."
That was enough, Seoyeon simply replied.
Because Summer Girls was too small a group for Cha Na-hee to be in.
***
[The world is ruled by those who hold money.]
[Money is the justice that moves the world!]
The broadcast of
A Mon-Tue drama.
The most important metric for those who would become Drama Department 2.
Naturally, anyone working in the KMB drama department had no choice but to be interested in the viewership ratings of
'Please succeed, please succeed!!'
'Please be mediocre! No, crawl on the floor!!'
The result of those conflicting emotions crossing.
The viewership ratings of Grand Game were...
[Episode 1 ratings 12 percent!! A sign of a hit for
[Following Dream Future, KMB's second consecutive hit!!]
Renewed with a very high number.
Naturally, this was absolutely not good news for Lee Min-hwa, the PD of
Moreover.
"Hello, PD Baek."
"Oh my, isn't this PD Lee Min-hwa."
PD Lee Min-hwa inwardly cursed at the sight of PD Baek Tae-soo greeting him with smooth talk.
Of all people, he had to run into the person he least wanted to see first thing in the morning.
"Congratulations on Grand Game doing well."
"It's only the beginning, you know. Nothing is certain yet."
It was a very meaningful statement.
But it didn't feel like he was simply spouting nonsense and lying.
He was genuinely saying that.
Also, as he slowly opened his smiling eyes.
"...Sky Garden airs tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. So you can hit another single for KMB."
"A single...?"
"Haha, a home run would certainly be even better. It seems you're worrying about a lot of things because of the drama department, but there's no need to be too anxious."
PD Baek Tae-soo said that, patted his shoulder, and turned his back.
At those words, the employees who were watching the situation with nervous eyes finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They were worried there might be some friction.
'Fortunately, does he have no intention of competing?'
'Maybe we were thinking too sensitively.'
There were even people who thought that way.
However, PD Lee Min-hwa touched the shoulder that PD Baek Tae-soo had just patted.
His face was smiling, but his eyes were not.
'He knows that our side still has the upper hand.'
PD Baek Tae-soo had the strong backing of the KMB president.
However, he didn't ignore the current head of the drama department, Ha Tae-oh.
In fact, he respected him quite a bit.
'...He's definitely not an easy enemy.'
But that respect comes from power.
If PD Baek Tae-soo continued his winning streak and had nothing left above him, would he still maintain that attitude?
Lee Min-hwa wasn't sure.
At least, he could tell that his own situation wouldn't be very good.
'Sky Garden has to do well.'
The drama was now completed up to episode 5.
Lee Min-hwa, who had checked it without missing anything, was confident in the drama's quality.
But whether the drama's color would appeal to the public... he wasn't sure.
'Joo Seo-yeon.'
The lead of this
The undefeated actress who had never experienced failure in any movie or drama she had appeared in so far.
Her career was still short, but Lee Min-hwa believed.
In Seoyeon's foresight.
And the character she took on, Lee Yoo-ju.