Chapter 99: 99

“I have to step down because of that. I know I might fail, but I still need to study and make sure I don’t get a terrible grade, else I won’t be able to face my mother. And who knows? Maybe I’ll get eliminated before the fifth episode. I intentionally cannot get eliminated as The King of the Masked Singers has credibility, and I’m sure you don’t want to tarnish that either. So it’s better to get eliminated by someone with better skills. Don’t you agree, Production Director Son?”

Production Director Son gritted his teeth at Woo-Jin’s bright reply. He was going to ask Woo-Jin if he was willing to be eliminated intentionally since he didn’t want to step down voluntarily. But before he could mention it, Woo-Jin brought up the credibility of The King of the Masked Singers first. If it were an ordinary celebrity, he would calmly appease them by saying that a variety show didn’t have much credibility and try to coax them. However, Production Director Son felt uncomfortable about exposing the broadcast’s weakness to the person who wanted to take the bar exam and his family.

— Right….

“I’m only an actor, so I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about since there are plenty of people more talented than me. Everything will work out. Plus, once The King of the Masked Singers and the bar exam is over, I’ve personally planned something in March, so even if I really wanted to help you, I won’t have the time.”

Previously, Woo-Jin had mentioned having free time starting from March, but now he retracted that statement, bluntly saying that recording one episode won’t resolve the issue. Regardless of whether Production Director Son was affected by his terse reply or not, Woo-Jin smiled innocently and said that winning five times in a row was a difficult thing to do.

Even though Woo-Jin was an actor, he possessed skills that no one could surpass, so hearing Woo-Jin’s futile assurances didn’t help Production Director Son at all. He still recalled when the Director of Entertainment gave him an earful and told him to prevent Hanryang Doryeong from voluntarily stepping down.

“What the hell did I do?”

After getting off the phone, Production Director Son mumbled dejectedly. He took in Woo-Jin thinking that he was an innocent cat, but he grew up and became a ferocious tiger.

<Chae Woo-Jin, Reported at the Library (?)>

Recently the xx Library’s administrative office received a few complaints. Even with the flu season going on, a suspicious man who covered his face a little too much was seen frequently, and of course, it wasn’t like the man was doing anything dubious. All he did was visit the library at dawn when it opened, study, and would sometimes appear in the lounge. However, even though the library had a perfect heating system, the man wore a hat, glasses, mask, and scarf inside the library so anyone would think that he was suspicious. It also made people warier because of a recent violent crime.

Since the office received several complaints, they had no choice but to check the man’s identity, and surprisingly, this suspicious man was none other than the actor, Chae Woo-Jin. Many thought he was taking a break after the drama ended, but he was living his life being a devoted student. Even though he covered his face to prevent others from getting distracted, it only instilled fear in them. The library users expressed their disappointment when they heard about this later on.

“Woo-Jin~!” Hwang Yi-Young had read the entire article and eagerly called out to Woo-Jin, who was getting his makeup done as Hanryang Doryeong.

“Did you drink the vending machine coffee while looking at a wall? Or sleep while being curled up in one of the chairs in the lounge?”

“They already released an article about that day?”

“That’s not the important part. I was afraid something like this would happen, that’s why I suggested you go to the school library. Even if you cover your face there, no one will report you.”

Students who were used to Woo-Jin pretended not to notice him whenever he walked around with his face covered, so that part was definitely convenient, but going all the way to the school instead of the nearby library was a waste of time.

“They didn’t do anything bad to you, right?”

Hwang Yi-Young must’ve imagined Woo-Jin getting dragged away and tortured somewhere as she looked almost in tears. However, Woo-Jin couldn’t help but laugh after looking at Hwang Yi-Young’s expression that suggested he had been dragged away after participating in an independence movement.

“No, everyone was nice and told me they were just checking after receiving several complaints and asked whether I had caught a cold or if I had a scar on my face that I was trying to hide.”

When Woo-Jin revealed his face, all the people in the administration office recognized him. They were polite even when they didn’t know who he was, and once they recognized him as Chae Woo-Jin, everyone treated him even better, so he actually felt bad.

“I probably can’t go there anymore, right?” Woo-Jin mused.

“Were you thinking about going there again?” Hwang Yi-Young almost rolled her eyes.

“It was fun.”

Whenever he got tired of studying, he would amuse himself by sitting in the lounge, listening to others talk about things happening in the world and recent trends, and so on. He would sometimes hear them talk about him, which wasn’t bad either.

“I can imagine that since you’re Chae Woo-Jin. Stay still! You need to look handsome when you remove your mask.”

This was his last day standing on The King of the Masked Singers’ stage. Only the third round remained and Woo-Jin was getting his makeup done during the break. No matter the result after the third round, Woo-Jin would be removing his mask today, so he had to dress up.

This time, Hwang Yi-Young wasn’t worried about the results. However, she had her doubts when he won the second time in a row by beating Choi Hee-Jung, the Queen of Ballad, and after that, he managed to rap to Leessang’s ‘Clown’ and beat Kwon Yeol, the Master of Rock, to clinch his third victory in a row. His fourth opponent was Jo Dong-Il, known as the best male vocalist after having an honorary graduation on I’m a Singer. It was funny how Woo-Jin felt nervous at that time because he managed to take the fourth win easily by singing Kim Soo-Chul’s ‘A Flower That Didn’t Bloom.’

“Who do you think is going to appear today?”

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“I know who it is, but I can’t tell you.”

“Tsk, I can never win against you.”

Woo-Jin could’ve “accidentally” let such information slip from time to time, but he never did that. Instead, he would just tell her to watch the episode, making her feel even more curious. Thanks to that, she enjoyed watching the show, but she would start going crazy when the time came for someone to be crowned The Masked King.

“When you remove your mask, don’t touch your hair too much and just push it back once. When you first make eye contact with the camera, smile bashfully, then immediately change to a dignified and confident smile. Then, when you make eye contact with the audience, don’t forget to smile softly at them!”

Hwang Yi-Young stressed that the moment he removed his mask was critical and pointed out a few precautions to take. After thinking that today would be his last day in this waiting room, Woo-Jin looked around the room before leaving when the staff called his name.

Woo-Jin wore his golden mask and cape, then sat on The Masked King’s designated seat to watch the third round. He picked the ‘Warm Snowflake Fairy’ as the one who’ll advance to the next round, and as expected, her performance didn’t disappoint him.

The ‘Warm Snowflake Fairy’ picked SG Wannabe’s ‘As I Live,’ and despite the song having a deep tune, she succeeded in singing it in her own style. She released a strong resonance, and it was such a moving performance that the audience was constantly amazed by her. However, because she showed off too much of her skills, everyone knew who she was.

“I don’t think there’s a need for me to ask Hanryang Doryeong who they think ‘Warm Snowflake Fairy’ is.”

Since the panel of judges and audience knew who she was, Gam Sung-Joo held back his laughter and continued with the show, and as everyone expected, ‘Warm Snowflake Fairy’ became a finalist for The Masked King spot. When it was Hanryang Doryeong’s turn, he walked up to the stage.

“Before this, you’ve competed against very talented people, and this time too, you’re going up against a strong opponent. So let me ask this. Are you confident?”

“Before coming on the stage, I told my Fashion Coordinator noona that I plan to enjoy this to my heart’s content. I won’t abandon my duty and enjoy the stage without being too attached to the result.”

When Hanryang Doryeong mentioned the word noona, there was a small commotion among the panel of judges as well as the audience because everyone had assumed him to be in his mid-30’s.

The skills and emotions that Hanryang Doryeong had were difficult for a young man to express, making a few of the younger candidates that were thought to be him not get acknowledged in the end. But when he said the word noona, people started getting confused. They didn’t know whether his fashion coordinator was simply older than him or if Hanryang Doryeong was younger than what they thought.

“Oh my, Hanryang Doryeong is going all out since it’s his last day.”

Since Gam Sung-Joo knew who Hanryang Doryeong was, he made a meaningful remark and walked off the stage. When the instruments started playing the music, people tilted their heads to the side in confusion as they didn’t recognize the song. People were unfamiliar with Woo-Jin’s pick, the musical number ‘The Blue Crane Cries in the Clouds.’

To sing this song, Woo-Jin specifically requested today’s outfit to be blue. Even though the song was about hopeless dreams and despair, he picked this song because he recalled his past lives.

He lived many lives where he gained power and wealth, but most of his past lives were filled with hopelessness and loneliness. It wasn’t because he didn’t have talent, but he always had to live against the trend of each era, so he was never in the spotlight. Their dreams and hopelessness were also his, and Woo-Jin, despite feeling bitter, wanted to understand and comfort them more than anyone.

This was also his way of thanking his past lives even though they lost their dreams or had to give them up to make a living and had to live a tormented life. He didn’t deny that he was Chae Woo-Jin and that what he was now was because of his past lives or him living those lives.

He sang with more sincere and mournful desperation than the time he competed against Min Si-Hoo.

The moment he sang the song, countless stories ran through his head. Woo-Jin always placed a wall between his past lives and his current self, and at this moment, he broke it down, accepted it, understood it, and embraced it. Just like the song’s lyrics, instead of giving up on the dream and despair because of his status, he was going to spread his wings and someday fly powerfully towards the blue sky. He’d go wherever he wanted to go, freely and confidently, so that he could become the blue sky.

That’s why the song that Woo-Jin sang overcame despair and confinement and showed hope. Beyond the dead end, the crane that hid within the clouds flew high towards the sky.

Hanryang Doryeong was excellent in delivering his feelings to others, so whenever a song ended, there was always silence. Whether it was sadness, hopefulness, or happiness, it was a moment of sympathy difficult to escape. As always, the ones that broke this kind of magical moment were the cold-hearted people.

“Wow, this guy! When I first listened to the song, I thought he was trying his best to get eliminated, but that wasn’t the case.”

Singing a popular song gave the contestant an advantage because it was effective in getting votes. Even when it came to musical numbers, it might’ve been different if it were the Phantom of the Opera, but many people were confused after hearing the unfamiliar instrumental.

However, they fell in love with this song to the point that they didn’t care about the song’s unfamiliarity anymore. When they started listening to the lyrics, they became sad with him because of the despair, and as the last part of the song brought hope, they all released a sigh of relief.

Hanryang Doryeong proudly said that today was his last recording regardless of the result, and there wasn’t going to be a next time. Many had high expectations and he was so popular that people signed a petition, asking to stop Hanryang Doryeong from leaving the show voluntarily. Because of that, Woo-Jin thought they were planning for him to naturally hand over The Masked King’s throne to an opponent who was better in terms of skills.

Knowing that his opponent was talented, he picked this song to get eliminated successfully, but that wasn’t the case. In the end, Hanryang Doryeong didn’t sing while being considerate to his opponent and like he said, he planned on having fun to the fullest while doing his best before leaving.

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