Chapter 98: 98

The conversation came to a halt.

He was laughing internally but ended up laughing out loud, so the people around him suddenly stopped talking. They had assumed he was asleep the entire time and paid no attention to him, only to be startled for a second when they heard his laughter. After that, nobody spoke again because of suspicions that he had overheard their conversion while pretending to be asleep.

As the conversation came to an abrupt end and the surroundings became quiet, Woo-Jin eventually pretended to be asleep; he intentionally tossed and turned and snored softly. Thanks to his acting skills that were wasted in a place like this, the girls seated in their chairs soon let their guards down and started talking again.

“I’m really not asking for much — I simply hope that I can live with Woo-Jin for just one day. I’ll be happy for the rest of my life if I can have that one day with him.”

“And it would be a nightmare for Chae Woo-Jin which he would try to forget for the rest of his life?”

After that, the group of friends exchanged some dirty jokes among themselves. Listening to their conversation made Woo-Jin writhe, and he was at a loss for what to do. While it was hard to put up with insults, listening to people make sexual jokes about him was also hard. As was finding himself in a tough spot, not being able to get up and leave or do anything about it; fortunately for him, they got up and left first.

“Don’t you think the guy next to us was a little weird?”

“In what way?”

“His head was hanging low, but whenever we said something, he would flinch. I honestly doubt he was actually sleeping.” Finally, the girl came clean and told her friends her reason for purposely making the dirty jokes — she wanted to test the man’s reaction. Just as she expected, he flinched and looked uncomfortable, so she urged her friends to leave earlier than planned.

“Yeah! Recently, whenever I see that guy, he’s always covering his face with a mask and a hat, looking so suspicious. People normally remove their scarves when they study, right? I wonder if we should report it to the management office because he looks so suspicious of being covered up. Besides, didn’t he look like a loser earlier? Crouching down the entire time.”

Nonetheless, the man seemed to be studying very hard, so she couldn’t bring herself to report him. She ended her story there, and the girls soon forgot about the man’s existence. As soon as those people left, Woo-Jin also got up. Hearing what people had been saying about him was an interesting experience for him. He also gained a lot from this experience as he learned how the public viewed him and what they thought about him.

“Nonetheless, the part where she said she wanted to lock me up in a basement was kind of….”

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Woo-Jin happened to see a life-size cardboard cutout of himself in front of one of the branches of the telecommunications company on his way home from the library. Because of what he had overheard earlier, he found it hard to move along casually like it was nothing. Just like what one of the girls had said earlier, a few people were waiting to take a picture with the life-size cutout.

“You have to wait in line for your turn to take a photo.” Someone told Woo-Jin to get in line behind them. As soon as Woo-Jin shook his head and said he was just looking around, they pouted their lips in displeasure. They seemed to have misunderstood him, thinking he was mocking or judging them.

The store was playing Hanryang Doryeong’s song while people outside were lining up to take pictures with Woo-Jin’s life-size cutout. Woo-Jin felt this moment to be incredibly bizarre and looked at the current situation like a bystander.

“Business hours are now over.” An employee of the store went out and tried to bring the life-size cutout inside. One of the people in the line protested but to no avail; she had been standing at the back of the line waiting the entire time, and it was finally her turn.

“I am sorry, but we are closed. We have to take it back into the store.”

“Why? Why can’t you just attach it firmly to the pole and leave it outside?” The cutout had several firm rings placed behind it and was attached to the pole outside the store with a chain and a lock. It seemed like it would be difficult for anyone to steal it, and bringing it into the store every day in the evening seemed like a laborious task as well.

“There have been a lot of thieves stealing the cutouts lately. The headquarters said they don’t have any more of them, so we have to be careful.” As the employee said that, they looked Woo-Jin up and down. It was as though they were rebuking him, saying, ‘You look so suspicious, so even though it’s troublesome, I have to lift this thing every day and bring it inside.’

The people around Woo-Jin also stared at him. They could understand why he was wearing a mask and a scarf, but wearing a hat late in the evening was suspicious. Standing idly around the life-size cutout despite having no intention to take a photo made him look even more dubious. Rumors had been circulating around about people that weren’t Chae Woo-Jin’s fans stealing the life-sized cutouts and selling them at high prices.

As soon as the people around him started getting suspicious of him, Woo-jin had no choice but to leave. He walked down the street where his songs were playing everywhere. Hanryang Doryeong’s songs that were playing everywhere were familiar yet new. As long as there were groups of people around, hearing someone mention his name or talking about him was nothing new, but he had always found it awkward. ‘Is becoming more well-known to the public and making them remember and like me really the end, or is it the beginning?’Woo-Jin pondered about that. Perhaps, the answer could change any time depending on one’s limits.

“So, are you satisfied right now?” Instead of answering his own question, Woo-Jin looked up into the sky; nothing was visible in the black sky. This wasn’t the only dream he wanted to achieve in all his current and past lives. Suddenly, he wanted to be the only thing shining in the night sky where the moon couldn’t be seen.

***

Ultimately, The King of the Masked Singers’ Production Director Son personally contacted Woo-Jin via Kang Ho-Soo. This was Woo-Jin’s first time talking to the production director because all the things pertaining to the recordings that needed to be addressed had gone through his manager.

— I know it’s shameless of me to ask for this favor, but can you reconsider leaving the show?

At this juncture, Woo-Jin only had two more episodes left. Furthermore, It was difficult for them to recruit a singer that would be talented enough to defeat Woo-Jin with just their skills alone. Therefore, while the show’s ratings were on the rise, Woo-Jin leaving the show voluntarily was bound to be a fatal blow. Even though the third episode hadn’t been aired yet, Hanryang Doryeong’s popularity was unprecedented.

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Even the people within the Korean traditional dance and pansori communities started to take an interest in Hanryang Doryeong. But regardless of how hard they searched, nobody like him had ever gone on The King of the Masked Singers before, so people kept questioning his identity.

Judging from his two traditional dances and his voice they briefly heard, they noticed that Hanryang Doryeong’s skills weren’t at the level of an apprentice. It was way beyond a level that a mere celebrity as such could imitate. However, nobody they knew fit the bill, so they had a hunch that he might be a rookie. Some people welcomed him, and some felt nervous as they already saw him as a threat. Either way, they were all curious about his identity.

Recently, famous people in the traditional culture field or Living National Treasures[1] had personally stepped forward and expressed their interest in him, thus putting Production Director Son in a tough spot. It was not just once or twice where he felt as though he was truly at his wit’s end. If he were to let Hanryang Doryeong go just like that, it wouldn’t be just a matter of writing a written apology and explanation.

“I had already informed you in advance before I went on the show. You are putting me on the spot by saying that at this point in time.”

— I know! But if you leave the show now, it’ll put a lot of people in a difficult position, so….”

Production Director Son himself was one of those people; he would be in the most difficult position. He tried to appeal to Woo-Jin’s empathy and compassion. But, since Woo-Jin had already predicted what would happen, he simply listened to the production director’s words with a blasé attitude.

— Nobody has ever dropped out of the competition of their own accord thus far, so we’re very concerned about what our next step should be. We don’t know if you should remove your mask at the end of the fifth episode, and we’re uncertain how we’re going to pick the next Masked King. To put it bluntly, we can’t possibly have the runner-up be The Masked King. They couldn’t beat you after all. I’m worried we might hurt the pride of the person we crown as the next Masked King in the following episode after your departure….

Production Director Son subtly warned Woo-Jin that they might not remove his mask at the end of his journey should he choose to leave midway. The claim about Chae Woo-Jin being Hanryang Doryeong had only come from his fans; it didn’t have much traction. To put it bluntly, fans of celebrities that could sing or tall actors and singers had made that claim before. Thus, Chae Woo-Jin’s fans’ claims weren’t convincing enough and ended up getting overlooked. They didn’t insist they were right either.

More importantly, regardless of who Hanryang Doryeong was, many people became his fans solely because of his songs and performance. Therefore, if they didn’t reveal Hanryang Doryeong’s identity, Chae Woo-Jin would ultimately have nothing to gain.

“You don’t have to reveal that I’m Hanryang Doryeong. Frankly, when I defeated Min Si-Hoo and ousted him as The Masked King was kind of an awkward situation. I’m an actor, after all. It’s not exactly a good look for me if I were to come across as enhancing my presence by singing on a music variety show. I’ll go with whatever you decide, so it’s up to you.”

Instead of wanting to reveal his identity to the public, Chae Woo-Jin expressed his thoughts that it would bring him more trouble, thus making Production Director Son flustered. Production Director Son’s voice instantly became harsher because things didn’t go the way he wanted.

— Once you go on the show, you have to think about your duty and responsibility towards it!

“I want to make things easier for you too, but the circumstances aren’t allowing me to do that. If I had gone on the show in March, none of this would have been an issue. I also think it’s such a shame.”

— I looked into your schedule and heard that you don’t have anything lined up for you in the first half of the year because you’re taking a break. Can’t you make time for just one day? As long as you make some time for just one day, it wouldn’t matter whether it’s March or not.

Two weeks after Woo-Jin’s fifth recording session, it would be March. He only had to squeeze in one recording during that period somehow. In that case, just as Woo-Jin asserted, he wouldn’t have any problem continuing his journey in The King of the Masked Singers.

Hearing how persistent Production Director Son was, Woo-Jin struggled to hold himself back from laughing and cleared his throat. Fortunately, they were talking on the phone as it would have been hard for him to act and control himself if they were talking face-to-face.

“I have an exam in late February.”

— An exam? Wouldn’t you be on a semester break from school?

“I’ll be taking the bar exam.”

— Bar….

Judging from his voice, it was evident that Production Director Son was taken aback. However, Woo-Jin continued speaking while pretending to sound regretful and sighed.

“I can’t go into detail because it’s a personal matter, but my mother really wants me to take the bar exam. There’s no way I would pass, but nevertheless, I’m going to prepare for the exam out of filial piety. You told me to make time for a day, but it takes up much more time than that to prepare for that one day.”

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After hearing Woo-Jin's reply, Production Director Son was once again reminded of who Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather was. After hearing about it from CEO Jang, he went to look into the CEO of Rome Law Firm as he didn’t know much about him previously. Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather was the CEO of the law firm, and even though Woo-Jin’s uncle was currently working at the law firm, he used to be a prosecutor general. Moreover, Woo-Jin’s cousins from his maternal side had also passed the bar exam. One of them had become a prosecutor, while the other was currently training at the Judicial Research & Training Institute (JRTI).

Under such circumstances, it was inevitable for Chae Woo-Jin to take the bar exam. Regardless of how successful he was as a celebrity, as a mother, she could have different ideas of what she wanted her son, a student of Korea University, to be. It was understandable. It was understandable, but it didn’t discount that it was a bad situation for him.

1. Formally known as Holders of Intangible Cultural Heritage. For example, Song Deok-Gi, one of the last practitioners of traditional martial arts, is the holder of Intangible Cultural Property No. 76 (Taekkyon). ☜

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