Chapter 977: I Am the King of Singers, But...? (12)

Another cheerful day in the NewBlack household!

“Our Ri Hyuk’s vocals are finally being revealed to the world~”

“He’s gonna blow up~”

“I’m so excited~”

As we danced around going “Ooh la la~” like Shinchan, Ri Hyuk waved his hand at us like he was shooing away flies.

“Stop being so noisy and sit down already. I’m trying to watch TV.”

“How can we not be excited?”

“Why are you all more excited than the actual person involved?”

“Why?”

We stared at him like the answer was obvious.

“Think about it, our triangular friend!”

“What. Wait... what did you just call me?”

“Out of all the criticism we’ve received while promoting, what’s the one thing nobody’s ever criticized us for??”

“Our faces.”

“Other than that!”

Ri Hyuk rubbed his chin for a moment before going, “Ah.”

“Our singing skills?”

“Exactly.”

Even back during the Ten Tin New era when endless rumors were flying around, nobody had ever criticized our vocals.

Normally, if you promote alongside an exceptionally talented main vocalist, people inevitably start saying things like:

—

“The main vocal’s good but the rest are honestly... no comment...”

“I can’t watch this.”

“This is painful to witness.”

“What’s the point if only the main vocal can sing lol”

“Just watch the encore. Everyone mumbles while only the main vocal actually sings lol”

—

But we had never received criticism like that.

“Think about it, Ri Hyuk hyung. Once people watch this broadcast today, what are they gonna think? ‘Wait, Ri Hyuk was THIS good at singing?’”

Jiho’s eyes sparkled.

“But the members singing next to Seo Ri Hyuk don’t sound weak either? Huh?! NewBlack can actually sing insanely well too! I thought Jiho was just cute and handsome, but he’s actually incredible!”

“That’s exactly it.”

Starting with me, Biju and Junghyun joined in too.

“Members who never sound lacking even beside someone who sings that well. People are gonna go, ‘Ah~ I hope they promote forever~.’”

“And I’m a rapper with nothing to do with vocals.”

“Correct.”

We shouted in unison.

“This is what you call the rediscovery of NewBlack’s talent!”

What a wonderful thing this was.

Ri Hyuk’s skills, which normally didn’t receive much spotlight, would finally get attention—and our abilities as a whole would be re-evaluated too. Two birds with one stone.

Ri Hyuk looked at us like we were pathetic.

“Alright already, just sit down. I can’t see anything.”

“That’s because your sitting height is sm—”

“Kyah!”

“Jiho. Feed him snacks.”

Jiho shoved a dried sweet potato strip into Ri Hyuk’s mouth while the rest of us awkwardly crouched down together.

Junghyun looked fascinated by the commercials playing on TV.

“There are fewer ads than I expected for an episode Ri Hyuk’s in.”

“Well, nobody knows yet.”

“Ahh.”

Naturally, nobody would know until King Sun Wooju actually appeared.

After swallowing the sweet potato strip, Ri Hyuk said,

“Today’s episode was always going to have lower ratings anyway.”

“Oh really?”

“The show alternates every other week. One competition gets split into two episodes, right? First week focuses on Rounds 1 and 2, then the next week airs the king match.”

So apparently the first episode of each competition usually had slightly lower ratings, while the second episode got higher ratings.

After looking it up, there really was a small difference.

Kind of like how Thursday episodes of Wednesday-Thursday dramas usually performed slightly better.

While Eunsung appeared on TV proudly showing off his glowing skin in a face mask commercial—

“Whew.......”

I turned away from the ad where my military junior was pretending to look seductive and looked at Ri Hyuk instead.

He had his legs tucked beneath his hoodie and wrapped his arms around them.

Seeing his toes wiggle nervously made me smile unconsciously.

“You nervous?”

“Well, kinda.......”

“?”

“But probably not in the way you think. I’m not nervous about how people will react to my skills or anything.......”

“Then what?”

Ri Hyuk lowered his head and let out a deep sigh.

“King... Sun Wooju.”

“Ah.”

The moment he said that, I immediately understood.

Memories resurfaced of the Sunflower Mask’s ridiculous behavior.

—

“Kyaaaahaha! I’m King Sun Wooju~!”

“Oh my? Are you questioning someone selected as a Super Fashionista at the Met Gala?”

“I love my younger brothers! Love them so much!”

—

“Yeah, that’s understandable.”

“This is when you’re supposed to tell me not to worry...!”

“No, Ri Hyuk. I think worrying is the correct response here.”

Even with a mask on, it would probably still feel deeply embarrassing.

The other members asked,

“Why? Did Ri Hyuk do something?”

“Uh... you’ll understand once you see it.”

“??”

The younger members blinked.

Meanwhile, the Mission Singer title logo finally appeared on TV.

The hit variety show Mission Singer.

The program, where contestants hid their faces behind masks while showcasing their singing skills, had a massive loyal viewer base.

—

“Jorim-ah, please make it to finals todayㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

“Is Yoo Jaechan winning king again today??”

“No no, Dokgo Young gave up challenging for king last week so this week’s unpredictable”

“Ballad vs ballad”

“Today’s lineup’s gonna be insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ excited”

—

While viewers spammed comments online, the TV replayed last week’s highlights.

[Last Week!]

Countless curious eyes watched.

Among them was a college-aged Souffle currently watching TV with her family.

‘Who’s appearing today?’

She was an avid Mission Singer fan.

—

“It’s just fun to watch!”

—

Unlike typical survival shows, the contestants came out with pro-wrestling-style gimmicks and filmed skits, which made it entertaining.

Rather than carrying the suffocating tension of singers desperately competing against each other, the show felt more like everyone collectively enjoying a performance.

There was only one thing she disliked.

‘I wish people would stop bringing up the members already.’

Every time a contestant with a slightly refreshing vocal tone appeared, people immediately started saying:

—

“That vocal color’s insane.”

“Who is that?”

“Could it maybe be NewBlack’s Ri Hyuk...?”

—

If a male contestant had a clear vocal tone, people immediately started freaking out going, “Ri Hyuk-nim?”

And she hated it.

‘Ri Hyuk sings WAY better than that!! Way better than whoever’s singing right now!’

Hadn’t they watched the Korean Series national anthem performance?!

The college-aged Souffle pouted internally while yelling at imaginary commenters.

Though honestly, she couldn’t entirely blame them.

Just because NewBlack were beloved national idols didn’t mean non-fans needed to know exactly how good their vocals were.

[Alright! Let’s introduce today’s contestants!]

The MC’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

The comment section immediately became chaotic.

People were already trying to identify contestants just from their silhouettes and body types.

—

“ㄷㄱㄷㄱ”

“I’ve got a feeling today. Feels like someone huge is coming.”

“Big one incoming.”

“Law of the show: if someone gave up challenging for king last week, a monster appears next episodeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“Frㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

—

As contestants appeared one after another, the comments filled with impressed reactions.

The chat bustled with people trying to guess identities from nicknames and clues when suddenly—

—

“????”

“Huh??”

“This background music???”

—

Question marks began flooding the comments at terrifying speed.

The special background music Mission Singer used whenever a dark horse contestant appeared began playing as someone slowly walked up backstage.

Heavy smoke.

A man climbed through it while his cape fluttered dramatically.

“?”

The Souffle sat upright on the couch.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“That looks weirdly familiar...?”

At that exact moment, ominous music echoed through the TV alongside the ringing of hellish bells.

“!”

Then the Sunflower Mask appeared.

A dramatic rearrangement of Bunny Uncle played in the background as the Sunflower Mask finally introduced himself.

[There’s a saying that if you must strike someone, strike them with flowers. Because flowers are beautiful.]

That familiar nonsense.

[But sometimes there are people even more beautiful than flowers. Heh heh! Greetings! The man more beautiful than flowers, King Sun Wooju~! Kyaaaahahahaha!!]

The Souffle’s eyes widened.

Even her parents, who had been casually sitting nearby, suddenly shot upright.

“Wooju?”

“He said Wooju?”

The audience inside the studio looked shocked at the words King Sun Wooju.

But the first reaction from people watching at home wasn’t surprise.

The college-aged Souffle unconsciously cursed.

“......Is he insane?”

She immediately realized she had cursed in front of her parents, but their reactions were similar.

‘Who the hell is this lunatic?’

‘Is he crazy?’

Online reactions were no different.

—

“???”

“Is this guy insane??”

“The attention-seeking is crazyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ what a psycho”

“King Sun Wooju????”

—

Unlike the live audience, who had already gone, ‘Ah! It’s Ri Hyuk!’ based on his silhouette and vibes, TV viewers reacted differently.

Everything felt different through a camera lens.

And everyone shared one subconscious assumption.

—

“There’s no way NewBlack would appear on a show like this.”

—

Would a global superstar group currently touring stadiums around the world really appear on a variety show like this?

Even NewBlack’s antis were stunned.

‘What is this?’

‘What the hell is he trying to do?’

‘Why?’

This was like charging naked into a battlefield full of flying arrows.

What kind of position was a top-tier group?

A position already proven.

Had anyone ever seen a wildly successful businessman suddenly say, “I will throw away all my wealth and prove myself from scratch”?

No.

This wasn’t something top idols did.

Rookies or rising idols desperate to prove themselves might appear here.

But top-tier idols shouldn’t.

The antis automatically began imagining the scenario in their heads.

—

“Wow! I thought I was hearing the voice of an angel!”

“That was beautiful~”

—

He would smoothly pass Round 1 while receiving compliments from celebrity panelists...

Then immediately crash and burn in Round 2 after facing a truly elite vocalist.

—

“Unfortunately, King Sun Wooju has been eliminated in Round 2!”

—

Normally they would’ve been excited.

But the antis didn’t look very happy.

NewBlack wasn’t the kind of group that carelessly handed people opportunities to criticize them.

‘Damn it, they definitely have some kind of hidden scheme again.......’

‘But seriously what is this? Why did he come on the show?’

Their common sense completely failed to explain this situation, leaving them blinking blankly.

Meanwhile, the viewers were growing increasingly excited.

—

“Today’s lineup is insane”

“The Wolf sounds like Jo Yuri??? Is that matchup happening?”

“Ri Hyukㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

“The chills when King Sun Wooju appearedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“CHILLS”

—

But as things calmed slightly, viewers also started growing confused.

‘Why though?’

Even people who didn’t know much about idols understood that someone like Seo Ri Hyuk had little to gain from appearing on a show like this.

‘Even if Ri Hyuk sings well... is he really king-level?’

With Seo Ri Hyuk’s level of fame and popularity, anything less than becoming king would hurt his reputation.

Of course, his skill level wasn’t so low that becoming king was impossible.

But that only applied when the competition was weak.

Today’s lineup was terrifyingly stacked.

—

“That stage was insane”

“Everyone came prepared todayㄷㄷㄷ”

“Jo Yuri’s personality aside, she really can sing..ㅎ”

“Nobody can criticize the skill”

“Today’s lineup is absolutely brutal”

“Probably gonna become Yoo Jaechan vs Dokgo Young vs Jo Yuri”

—

Yoo Jaechan, the current king and hot ballad singer behind multiple hit drama OSTs.

Dokgo Young, who won first place in KNet’s national survival show purely through singing skill.

Jo Yuri, one of the strongest vocalists among indie bands.

“Ah... why did Ri Hyuk choose an episode like this?”

“Seriously.”

Every Round 1 performance inspired awe.

As the bracket for the semifinals slowly formed, viewers realized who Ri Hyuk would likely face if he advanced.

[Mill Cat]

The ballad singer who had won last week but declined to challenge for king.

Even during Round 1, the sorrowful vocals pouring out from behind the cat mask had nearly moved the audience to tears.

‘Even if he gets through that, he’d still face Dokgo Young.......’

That cat mask radiated black killing intent.

And even if Ri Hyuk somehow defeated Dokgo Young, Jo Yuri in the wolf mask would probably be waiting for him in the finals.

“Mmmmm.......”

“Mmm.......”

Viewers wore worried expressions.

Unlike other contestants, Ri Hyuk somehow gave off the feeling of watching the talented kid from your neighborhood.

And his first opponent alone was no joke.

[Another cute newbie has arrived! So you’re today’s challenger facing me, Luxury Supporting Actor Jangjorim! Heh heh!]

It was none other than veteran musical actor Jang Jaerim.

Nicknamed the “newbie exterminator” because he uprooted inexperienced newcomers like weeds with overwhelming skill.

As Jangjorim’s stage continued, viewers reacted in awe.

—

“Did Jorim eat something special today”

“He’s singing insanely wellㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“He looks desperate”

“Frㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ his opponent’s no joke”

—

In reality, Jangjorim had sensed defeat and sung desperately.

But viewers interpreted it as, ‘I refuse to lose!’

Because they had no idea how enormous the skill gap actually was.

“Ri Hyuk’s coming out now.”

“He’s walking up.”

At last, after Jangjorim’s stage ended, Ri Hyuk appeared.

As the public unconsciously swallowed nervously while watching—

“Heh heh.”

There were also people watching comfortably from living rooms, bedrooms, and offices during overtime work.

‘Ri Hyuk’s gonna crush him.’

‘Feels like Ri Hyuk’s definitely winning.’

Those people were the Souffles.

Completely relaxed expressions.

Partly because they already knew how good their singer was...

...but mostly because they were convinced Ri Hyuk would win today.

‘If he wasn’t confident about winning, he wouldn’t have appeared.’

And the biggest reason fans were certain.

The Souffles’ eyes sparkled.

‘If he wasn’t planning to win, Ri Hyuk never would’ve borrowed that name!’

‘There’s no way he’d use Sun Wooju’s name casually.’

The fans firmly believed there was a reason Seo Ri Hyuk had appeared under the name [King Sun Wooju].

As everyone’s attention gathered toward the TV and ratings began climbing—

“Oh, Ri Hyuk’s starting.”

“It’s starting!”

『 Girl of the Forest 』

Original Song: Choi Seorin

Arrangement: Kim Hyungseop

A solo song from a first-generation girl group member known as a national karaoke classic began playing, bathing everything in blue light.

And then.

The moment King Sun Wooju lifted the microphone—

“!”

“!!”

It didn’t take long before people felt as if their vision itself had turned blue.

They stared blankly, mouths hanging open.

Naturally.

The comment section exploded.

“Khhh.”

“This is it!”

The instant Ri Hyuk sang the first line, the number of comments online exploded at a horrifying pace.

Every refresh added ten comments, twenty... forty, ninety... two hundred eighty.

“Seo Ri Hyuk!”

“Seo Ri Hyuk!”

Watching viewers react in real time filled me with satisfaction.

“Ah. I seriously wanna brag about him somewhere.”

“Same.”

Our main vocalist singing with such a refreshing voice that it made me want to scream, ‘This is my little brother!’

Just as I was about to take a screenshot of the Sunflower Mask singing on screen and make it my profile picture—

“Huh......?”

The only person saved in my favorites list.

[KingGodKimDeoksun] had changed both her profile picture and status message.

Beside a photo of King Sun Wooju was written:

[My Grandson]

I had always believed King Sun Wooju’s achievements were my achievements as Sun Wooju......

Right then.

The status message refreshed again, almost mockingly.

[My Grandson♥]

What was this?

Why did this suddenly make me feel strangely complicated...?