Chapter 107
"The American version is on a completely different scale compared to Korea from the very start."
Kim So-young stared blankly at the broadcast screen that had just ended for a moment, then muttered softly.
She had only turned it on to confirm whether Eugene Kim had appeared or not.
But somehow, she ended up watching the broadcast intently even after the Black Cat's stage ended, right until the program finished.
"I feel a bit drained..."
The reason Kim So-young couldn't take her eyes off the screen for even a moment until the broadcast ended was because the impact of the first match was just that intense.
The first match of Round 1, a head-to-head showdown between the Black Cat and the Crocodile.
As soon as the stage ended, the judges' lavish praise was poured onto the Black Cat.
However, since the outcome of the match depended on the choices of the entire judging panel of 99 people, including the judges, the result couldn't be easily predicted.
And then, the result was announced.
[As a result of the judging panel's vote, the winner of the first round is... no one. It's the first draw in Masked Singer history...!]
When the result was revealed, exclamations of astonishment erupted from the audience.
The vote count of the judging panel was 49:49. An exact tie.
[What? A draw? There are 99 people, so how is that possible?]
[How on earth did a tie happen? Where did one member of the judging panel go?]
[Did someone pass out while listening to the singing or what?]
At the unexpected result, the judges appeared thoroughly flustered.
"W-what. What's this situation?"
Just as Kim So-young was looking at the screen in bewilderment at the unusual atmosphere,
suddenly, one of the judges looked around cautiously, then carefully raised his hand and spoke.
[I'm sorry, everyone... I couldn't press the button...]
[Oh! The culprit was here!]
[Hey Daniel. Were you dozing off? Why didn't you press the button?]
At the revealed identity of the culprit, the surrounding judges fired questions with bewildered expressions.
[Well, actually, I couldn't bring myself to choose either of them. It would have been too much of a shame for both of them to be eliminated in the first round.]
When the judge named Daniel, who had been bombarded with questions, answered in a quite serious tone, his fellow judges finally nodded and began to agree with Daniel's words.
[Hmm... that's true, but...]
[I actually don't want either of them to be eliminated either.]
[But then what happens to the result? Who is eliminated?]
[Surely not a rematch?]
While everyone on site, excluding the two participants standing blankly on the stage, was panicking over the unprecedented situation of a draw caused by one person's invalid vote,
the result that would finally decide the fate of the two was announced.
[Now, now, everyone please calm down. The solution to this situation, just decided by the production team, has just been handed to me.]
At the MC's words, the commotion at the scene momentarily quieted down.
[First of all, there is one piece of good news.]
The MC, receiving everyone's attention, made a mischievous expression, paused for effect, and then announced the result.
[The two participants who achieved a draw... will both advance to the next round without elimination.]
Waaaaaah-
As soon as the MC's words ended, cheers erupted from the audience.
[Wow! Has this ever happened before?]
[Not even once.]
[Something amazing has happened.]
While the judges were muttering with surprised expressions at the mention of no elimination, the MC's words immediately continued.
[However, the production team stated that they will prepare measures to ensure that a draw never happens again. In other words, this draw is the first and last in our program. Anyway, both participants have advanced to the next round. Congratulations!]
Along with the resounding applause, the two participants were seen slowly waving their hands toward the audience, looking bewildered themselves.
In the end, the new season of Masked Singer.
Along with the spectacular match that unfolded from the very first match of the first round, it left an unprecedented record of the first draw and joint advancement to the 2nd round, grandly announcing the start of the new season.
***
The viewership for the first episode of the new season of Masked Singer was tallied at 12 million, easily surpassing the 10 million viewers of the previous season's finale.
Riding on the buzz of the previous season, Masked Singer smoothly opened the door to its new season.
The stage videos from the 1st episode were already recording massive views on video sites.
Once again this season, as soon as the first episode's broadcast ended, netizens began their investigation to find the participants' identities.
Not long after the broadcast aired, the names of several figures who came under suspicion began to be mentioned.
And the two participants who were the main characters of the draw that sparked the most buzz.
Namely, the 'Crocodile' and the 'Black Cat'.
The discussions regarding the identities of these two participants were receiving a level of interest that was hard to compare with the other participants.
Regarding the Crocodile's identity, along with the speculation that the Crocodile was a former rock star, the names of several famous band vocalists who had been active in the US were being mentioned.
The Black Cat also, due to its unique tone, quickly led to the discovery of a few figures with similar tones.
Among them was the name of Eugene Kim, a former runner-up of American Idol.
However.
-Eugene Kim? Who is that? A runner-up on American Idol? What are they doing now?
└They debuted in a group called We:uS through an idol audition in Korea. They're quite a popular group in Asia.
└An idol...? Are you perhaps talking about K-pop?
-The song I heard from the 'Black Cat' wasn't at the level of an idol. I don't know much about a singer named Eugene Kim, but since he's a member of an idol group, he probably isn't the Black Cat.
Relatively, compared to the other candidates, the response to Eugene Kim wasn't very good.
Nevertheless, since Masked Singer was receiving such huge attention, it became an opportunity for the name Eugene Kim to be mentioned again in the US.
Little by little, people began looking for videos of Eugene Kim from the past. In particular, local K-pop fans in the US started taking an interest in We:uS through Eugene Kim.
-Eugene Kim is We:uS's main vocalist, right? I saw him on an audition before, but I didn't know he was active as a K-pop idol.
-I just found out about a group called We:uS this time, does anyone know them well? Where can I get some information?
└They had a joint stage with James Blake last time, go watch that stage! We:uS is the hottest group in Korea right now.
└I heard they're currently preparing for a new album. When the new album comes out, maybe they'll be active in the US too?
Around the time when the interest in Eugene Kim and We:uS, sparked by the first broadcast of Masked Singer, was gradually growing beneath the surface.
We:uS, who had not shown their faces in any official capacity due to album preparations, broke their long silence and appeared in Korea for the first time in about a month.
***
-I'm your SHINING★STAR!
A gymnasium in Incheon where the finale of National Idol Season 3 was being broadcast live.
The stage for 'I'm your SHINING★STAR', which was this season's theme song and the first stage of today's live broadcast, had just ended.
Waaaaaaah-
Cheering sounds roaring loudly inside the gymnasium.
'The vibe is different from our time.'
Needless to say, since Season 3 was a season featuring female trainees, the proportion of men among the audience was much higher.
However, the female fans who were visible in no small numbers in between were probably...
Kyaaaaaah!
I smiled as naturally as possible at the camera that felt like it was right in front of my nose.
By now, the large screen was probably filled with my face. Even without looking at the screen, I could tell from the fans' reactions.
'It's been a while since I stood in front of a camera, so it feels a bit awkward.'
As I was feeling sentimental anew, I could feel the cheering sounds gradually getting quieter.
Soon, a familiar face appeared on the stage.
"Welcome everyone to the final live broadcast stage of National Idol Season 3!"
The voice of Yoo Dong-wook, the MC for this season, rang out.
"Wow... Season 3 is already ending. So we're getting direct juniors now?"
"Direct juniors..."
As Kang A-jin had said, while we were preparing for our album, the final ranking ceremony for National Idol Season 3 had already arrived.
On this spot today, the third group following We:uS would soon be born.
And to celebrate that birth... no, actually it was closer to being dragged here, but anyway, we were carrying out an official schedule after a long time.
'But whether it's the podium or the stage, it's almost exactly the same as last year.'
While I was looking at the familiar stage and recalling past memories. The introduction to the live text voting ended, and the on-site interview time arrived.
"Yes, the members of We:uS have also joined us here today."
"Hello! We are We:uS!"
We greeted the camera happily in response to the MC's words.
"Yes, nice to meet you! I remember Rin-ssi participated as a daily judge during the first grade evaluation. Also, you debuted in this very spot last season. You must have special feelings today. How is it?"
The first interview was naturally my turn.
I ignored Kang A-jin's muttering beside me saying, 'I participated as a daily judge too...' and answered Yoo Dong-wook's question.
"Yes, watching the stage brings back old memories. I hope everyone shows a great stage without being too nervous. I will be cheering for you all from here."
Since it was a live broadcast, formal questions and answers were exchanged.
Starting with me, the other members also sent messages of support.
Just as the interview was starting to wind down. Yoo Dong-wook suddenly called Eugene Kim's name with a mischievous smile.
"Eugene Kim-ssi! Nice to meet you. I think this is our first time meeting."
"Yes, hello."
"I'm personally curious about something. Do you happen to like cats, Eugene-ssi? How about it? Personally, I find black cats cute and nice... hahahaha."
At Yoo Dong-wook's sudden question, the gymnasium became a bit quiet, but soon, those who understood the meaning of the question let out late gasps of realization.
"Umm..."
I didn't know who it was among the members, but I could hear someone making a tense sound next to me.
'I didn't expect him to ask so blatantly.'
As I looked at Eugene Kim with a slightly flustered mind, Eugene Kim suddenly looked at me, then grabbed the microphone and spoke.
"Rin-hyung likes cats more than I do. Even though he doesn't look it, Rin-hyung likes cute animals."
"Huh?"
"I prefer puppies over cats!"
When I let out an awkward sound, momentarily flustered by Eugene Kim's words, laughter burst from the audience.
And when Kang A-jin even raised his hand in support and answered from beside me, the venue became noisy with the voices of fans screaming at that sight.
"Ah...! So it's Rin-ssi who likes cats. A-jin-ssi likes puppies...! Yes, yes, we've learned new information. Now then, moving on..."
Yoo Dong-wook trailed off with a slightly disappointed expression at the answer, but soon smiled and continued the hosting, starting the introduction for the next stage.
'Phew, did it pass over well?'
Fortunately, it passed without much issue, but my head started to ache a little thinking that I would probably receive similar questions wherever I go from now on.
Even just going home today was going to be a problem.
'Don't tell me I won't be able to get out of here today?'
While I was having such worries.
The interview time finally passed, and the full-fledged final round stages began.
Just like last year, the stages prepared by the trainees up to 15th place continued.
'Hmm, was it Kang So-hee?'
A somewhat welcome face was seen; Kang So-hee, who had flustered me during the first grade evaluation, had somehow made it into the top 15, and she could be seen performing hard on stage.
And if there was another unusual point.
'There are quite a lot of foreigners?'
Almost half of the trainees who made it to the final round were foreign trainees.
'Are they trying to advance into the overseas market right away?'
No matter how much National Idol is a popularity vote, that popularity also varies depending on the production team's editing. There must be an intention from the production team in having so many foreign trainees make it this far.
Is this a good thing for us? Or does it not matter at all...
While I was watching the final round stages and analyzing the production team's intentions.
Time flowed quickly, and the stages that had been going on for about an hour all came to an end.
'Is it finally starting now?'
Regardless of what anyone said, the moment of the debut group announcement, today's highlight, was gradually approaching.
"3! 2! 1! The live text voting has now closed!"
And the fact that the debut group announcement was just around the corner meant.
'It's probably coming out now.'
For the first time since coming here, I looked up at the stage with a slightly pounding heart.
"Now, the time for the ranking announcement has come."
On stage, Yoo Dong-wook could be seen building tension with a slightly flushed face.
"Alright! Then! The ranking announcement is..."
Ahhhhhh-
As the MC dragged out his words, the voices of the audience, who sensed something was up, erupted in exclamations.
"We'll be right back after this."
Aaaagh!!!
The commercial break that came without fail.
While the audience was wearing bitter smiles at the sad reality of knowing but still falling for it.
Flash!
The large screen suddenly turned pitch black. As the black screen appeared, the stage lights dimmed.
Uhhhhhh-
Just as the audience was looking bewildered, realizing it wasn't a normal commercial.
[03.02]
Numbers suddenly floated up.
And.
[We:uS -
The 1st Album
'CHALLENGER']
The news of We:uS's comeback was revealed for the first time through the live broadcast.