Little Pink Starfish

By now, even the members of Sedalbaekil knew that Koo Taehwan was someone who picked up on things quickly.

And they also knew he was someone who didn’t make that too obvious.

Koo Taehwan was someone who learned during his school days that while he might see more than others in people’s actions, voicing those thoughts required careful consideration.

In that sense, Koo Taehwan had a perfect read on Choi Jaesung’s state of mind.

He also knew that Han Sion didn’t fully understand how Choi Jaesung felt.

Han Sion, as a member of society, had an immense level of social awareness, but when it came to irrational emotional situations, he often missed the cues.

For example, there’s this kind of thing.

When your significant other is struggling with something and seeks help from someone of the opposite sex, you might feel hurt.

Even if you’re not in a position to help them with that issue yourself.

But not Han Sion.

“Nothing changes just because I say something, right?”

“This wasn’t asking a guy or a girl for help—it was asking someone capable.”

…That’s how he’d respond.

This wasn’t just an MBTI T-type issue (though MBTI spread quickly in Korean society thanks to Han Sion, who learned it from Koo Taehwan).

It was existential.

If there was no logical grounding in reality, it couldn’t even proceed into the realm of emotion—that’s just how Han Sion was.

So it made perfect sense that Han Sion didn’t fully grasp what Choi Jaesung was really asking.

Choi Jaesung had made several requests of the Sedalbaekil members.

He asked Han Sion to win Show Me the Money, asked EEON to graduate with honors from The Masked Singer.

Told Koo Taehwan to try something like being a fixed DJ on a radio show, and told Onsaemiro to get first place on the weekly charts with a solo single.

Han Sion and Onsaemiro were preparing seriously to complete Jaesung’s “missions” (EEON was on the fence), but Koo Taehwan knew.

It wasn’t really about achieving those goals.

Honestly, they didn’t even need to go on Show Me.

They didn’t need to do anything.

They could just live their lives faithfully while leaving Jaesung alone.

That was it.

In Koo Taehwan’s eyes, Choi Jaesung’s requests were really just his way of saying “Please stop paying attention to me.”

He wanted his hyungs to stop observing, recording, and cheering on his recovery.

Not because he hated it—but because it was pressure.

He hated being the only one everyone focused on just because he wasn’t there, even though their second album was a massive hit.

This didn’t apply to Sedalbaekil alone.

If Sedalbaekil stopped all activity, the public’s attention would naturally shift toward Jaesung’s recovery.

And that, he’d hate even more.

That’s why he blurted out random missions for each member.

Just a string of nonsense.

He probably got flustered when he heard Han Sion was actually going on Show Me.

So Koo Taehwan understood what the others were really doing.

They were doing their best—for Choi Jaesung.

So that people wouldn’t stay fixated on him.

So that Jaesung could feel like, “Ah, my hyungs are living their lives well.”

Of course, humans are creatures whose minds change with circumstance, so if everyone really did forget about him, who knows how Jaesung might feel then?

“Ah, maybe I’m thinking too much like Sion.”

That’s something to think about later—if and when it happens.

For now…

“Real Original, are you ready?”

He had to give it his all on The Masked Singer.

“Yes. I’m ready.”

With those words, Koo Taehwan stepped onto the stage.

“Real Original” was a nickname he and EEON had come up with as a joke.

They once performed as the masked unit “Masked Robbers,” and The Masked Singer used masks too.

Of course, Masked Singer had a much longer history of hiding identities behind masks for entertainment.

But if you thought about it—wasn’t the first man to wear a mask a robber?

So they’d once joked, “We’re the real original,” and that’s where the nickname came from.

The moment he stepped on stage, he felt a different atmosphere than usual.

How should he put it?

It was lukewarm.

When he performed with Sedalbaekil, the energy was always at 100%.

That had been the case since the middle of Coming Up Next.

But this wasn’t that.

Temperature-wise—about 60 degrees?

Not boiling.

During Coming Up Next, he’d once asked Han Sion,

“Why do you always smile on stage?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You always smile before you start performing.”

“Ah, just. It’s fun.”

“What is?”

“When the song ends and the people who hate me uncross their arms. Then they look like real people.”

Koo Taehwan hadn’t quite understood what Han Sion meant.

He might’ve even thought it was kind of a cringey, try-hard answer.

But now, he sort of got it.

The entertainment industry, the music industry, showbiz.

Call it whatever you want—this world poisons people.

Singers are products, the stage is home shopping, and popularity is money.

And the more popular you get, the truer that becomes.

The harder it becomes to see real people behind the faces.

You stop seeing them as human.

Maybe that’s why celebrities throw tantrums or obsess over exclusive celebrity cliques.

Even though SBI Entertainment and Sedalbaekil were relatively free from that kind of atmosphere, he could still feel it—so it must be worse elsewhere.

So Han Sion’s comment—that he felt something “real” when people who doubted him dropped their jaws—wasn’t so incomprehensible after all.

“But back then, Sion was still a nobody.”

They were filming, but it hadn’t aired yet.

It didn’t seem like he would’ve been able to feel that yet.

Anyway, Koo Taehwan stepped onto the stage and grabbed the mic.

Masked Singer filming takes only a few hours, even though the show airs across two weeks.

Which means the first performance is crucial.

The ones who leave a strong impression in Round 1 are the ones who survive.

Koo Taehwan chose to sing Kito’s “From a Place That Doesn’t Come.”

Kito was the main vocalist of an R&B group that dominated the early 2000s. After the group disbanded in the mid-late 2000s, he debuted as a solo artist.

That was about 12 years ago—and he ended up winning music awards not with R&B, but with a rock ballad.

Not those random awards you get from anywhere, but two out of three of Korea’s most credible public broadcast music awards.

Han Sion, considered Korea’s best in music, had this to say:

“Perfect song—except for the chorus.”

It was a weird take.

“From a Place That Doesn’t Come” had become a hit because of its high, explosive chorus and addictive guitar riff.

But Han Sion thought the melody leading up to the chorus was so good, even a basic high note would’ve gotten the same acclaim.

“If it were me, I would’ve held back once.”

“Held back what?”

“The chorus has two high notes, right? I’d have only done one.”

“Wouldn’t that feel bland?”

“What are you talking about? You should only use your ultimate move once.”

Koo Taehwan still didn’t study music in any formal way.

He’d been doing a ton of listening practice after Han Sion told him to focus on rhythm, but he had no interest in theory.

As far as he was concerned, as long as he listened to Han Sion—it’d be fine.

So this time, he’d do the same.

---

The Masked Singer’s format is simple: choose that week’s winner, who then faces off against the previous week’s champion.

But this time, there was no reigning King.

It wasn’t an honorary graduation.

It was a dishonorable one.

The reigning two-week champion “Awakening” got caught for illegal drug use and went from showcase to prosecutor’s case.

– He lived up to his name;

– Bro really wanted the “Awakening” effect, huh?

– lololol

– Told you—naming is important.

– Exactly. Look at Onsaemiro. True to his name, he stayed unchanging and graduated with honors.

– Did you see the YouTube video in Trending? List of dishonorably graduated Masked Singer contestants lololol

– lol there’ve actually been quite a few who caused scandals after appearing on Masked Singer.

– Is Awakening the first King to get busted?

– lolol looks like MBN’s morality radar activated. My friend on staff said they’re doing a full background check on every contestant now.

– Let’s call it the Awakening Radar instead.

– Agreed

– Ah… Awakening bro. Were you trying to enlighten the dark broadcast world by burning yourself?

– Why are you glorifying a criminal?

– That’s not glorifying him;

People poured in endless mockery (well-deserved), though some were disappointed.

Awakening had been so dominant, talk of an honorary graduation had started floating around.

So far, only two people had managed it on Masked Singer—the vocal god Do Jae-wook, and Sedalbaekil’s Onsaemiro.

Awakening failed to be the third.

Of course, there were differing opinions.

– lol he wasn’t gonna make it anyway.

– Yeah, the producer’s hammer usually drops in week 3. The lineup probably got way tougher lol

– Wait, then today’s broadcast lineup was already booked to take down Awakening, right?

– Oh? You’re right?

– This should be good lolol

– Rumor says Joo Sung-han is appearing.

– Huh?? How do you know that? It hasn’t even aired, what rumor lol

– He teaches all over the place, and suddenly postponed all his classes for 4 weeks. Never happened before.

– For real?

– Yep. His students said he didn’t say why, just that it might take four weeks or maybe just one.

– Oh… that does sound like Masked Singer.

– Right? lolol

– Damn, if it had been Joo Sung-han vs. Awakening, that would’ve been a bloodbath.

– Isn’t Joo Sung-han better?

– Yeah, he was Do Jae-wook’s rival back in the day. Got underrated because his albums were always meh.

– lolol dude was like a magic show, saving trash songs with pure vocals lolol

– It’s been 10 years, but the Big Three of Korean vocals is still Do-Joo-Park.

– What about honorary grad Onsaemiro?

– Needs to show a bit more, no? One Masked Singer isn’t enough to rank him with them…

– What about Han Sion?

– Isn’t he Loopy? Leader of the Worst Generation.

– “Worst Generation” my ass lolol So then Do-Joo-Park are the Seven Warlords? lolol

As all eyes focused on what came after Awakening—

The Masked Singer aired its next episode to find the new King.

Eight contestants. Four matchups in Round 1. Four survivors. Then semifinals. Then the final.

But everyone knew the truth.

Of those four Round 1 battles—the last one was the most important.

The producers usually stacked the strongest singers in the final round.

Because that’s how the show ends.

One unmasks. The other’s a powerhouse?

The media explodes.

It was a brutal format—but nothing generated buzz like it.

So the last Round 1 battle often determined the quality of that week’s broadcast.

Usually, one of the two unmasking in that round was among the top 1 or 2 best singers of the entire lineup.

The first three battles finished in a flurry.

Now, the final battle began:

“Real Original” vs. “Professor, Please Give Me an A.”

– Yo lol that professor has to be Joo Sung-han lolol

– Yeah, totally sounds like him. Even the nickname fits lolol

Professor took the stage first—and blew the audience away.

– Sir, you should be on I Am a Singer lolol

– No doubt. That’s Joo Sung-han.

Then came “Real Original” with Kito’s From a Place That Doesn’t Come.

The song began.