Little Pink Starfish

Of course, not all viewers believed Harmless Electrolyte was Lee Ion.

There were still those who shook their heads.

After all, even with Goo Taehwan, many insisted he couldn’t possibly be an idol until he unmasked.

-Here we go again lol

-Aren’t you tired of calling anyone who sings well an idol?

But Lee Ion was in a different situation from Goo Taehwan.

-You tone-deaf or what? It’s Lee Ion, no matter how you slice it

-Facts lol

-How do you not recognize that? Why even watch Masked Singer?

There were far more people saying it was Lee Ion than not.

If you had to assign a ratio, it was around 7 to 3.

Maybe even 8 to 2.

There were several reasons, but the biggest was the vocal tone.

Lee Ion’s voice was distinct.

Of course, the general public couldn’t always point out the pros and cons of a vocal tone like they could with Han Shion.

But at the very least, they could recognize whose voice it was.

In that sense, Harmless Electrolyte’s voice was, no matter how you listened to it, Lee Ion’s.

Not just the tone—but his absurdly precise pitch control too.

Another reason people were sure Harmless Electrolyte was Lee Ion was Goo Taehwan.

Yang Jungtae, the main PD of Masked Singer, assumed that since Goo Taehwan had already appeared, Lee Ion’s identity would remain safe.

He figured people would think, “There’s no way two members from Sedalbaekil would show up in a row.”

But that was an overly simplistic and uniform way of thinking.

Instead, the public thought the opposite—“Goo Taehwan showed up, so why wouldn’t Lee Ion?”

They also considered that Lee Ion’s individual activities since Choi Jaesung’s injury could include Masked Singer.

-Is Han Shion going to show up at this rate too?

-For real lol

-No way, Han Shion would look at Masked Singer with utter disgust and call it a bug-ridden show

-How amazing is HipShion’s personality anyway?

-TT TT Our Shion isn’t like that TT TT TT TT

-You sound like you don’t actually know Han Shion lol

The final reason was the nickname.

Goo Taehwan’s nickname True Original had a meaning only he and those close to him would understand.

But Harmless Electrolyte was different.

At first, no one immediately linked “electrolyte” to ion drinks—but once someone thought, “Isn’t this Lee Ion?” the connection was easy.

-Electrolytes are replenished with ion drinks.

-Oh wow, yeah. Harmless ion drink.

-So it’s like he’s pitching for a Pocari Sweat commercial?

For all these reasons, people were confident that Harmless Electrolyte was Lee Ion.

But even so, it didn’t cause much trouble.

After all, the further someone advanced on Masked Singer, the more inevitable it was that their identity would be revealed.

In that sense, Goo Taehwan had created a huge buzz.

Even up until his honorary graduation attempt, there was no overwhelming consensus on who he really was.

So Lee Ion’s identity getting out wasn’t anything bad—in fact, this time it was good.

-Is he really going to pass the baton after Goo Taehwan?

-If so, Sedalbaekil’s a total legend;

-Onsaemiro – Goo Taehwan – Lee Ion honorary grads? Is that even possible?

-This is throwing off my entire perspective… I always thought Sedalbaekil was good, but not top-level idol good?

-Including Han Shion?

-Except Han Shion; Anyway, if all the members end up honorary grads, what happens then?

That confusion was exactly what Han Shion had been aiming for.

As of 2018, people still held prejudices against the idol industry.

Those prejudices wouldn’t vanish completely—but by the 2020s, they’d started to fade.

Thanks to the rise of true world stars.

But in Han Shion’s eyes, the Sedalbaekil members’ skills were the real deal.

He had thought about this before: potential and ability performance (the ability shown at the current moment) were separate things.

There are singers with a potential of 1,000 who can only show 700 of it, and singers with a potential of 900 who show all 900.

The former is common.

Lazy geniuses and those who don’t know how to work hard fall into this category.

But the latter is rare.

Even in his long years, Han Shion had never seen anyone fully realize their potential.

Even the GOTM members didn’t fully unlock theirs in some areas because of their stubbornness.

There was a wall that stopped them from fully accepting Han Shion’s advice.

In that sense, aside from Goo Taehwan, the Sedalbaekil members’ potential ranged from 700 to 800.

Respectable talent, but not outstanding.

There are artists on the Billboard charts who can hit 700–800 in performance without even trying.

But their performance varies wildly.

If they sing a song they like, they hit 700–800. If not, they drop to 300–400.

Sedalbaekil’s members, however, consistently reached their full capability.

They rarely dropped, and whatever song they sang, they showcased their class.

These kinds of people had gathered into one perfect team, led by a captain who had done music longer than anyone else—Han Shion.

That meant Sedalbaekil was a group in a class that had never existed before.

They hadn’t completely converted their potential into performance yet—but it wasn’t wrong to say they were close.

Han Shion wanted them to be properly evaluated, starting with Masked Singer.

You might think a single variety show couldn’t have such a major impact—but it absolutely could.

If they kept proving themselves starting with Masked Singer, they could receive proper recognition.

-This time, not even haters can deny it. Honestly, Goo Taehwan’s honorary grad lineup was insane.

-Yeah yeah, maybe not the most famous names, but they were amazing singers, and Goo Taehwan beat them all.

-I’m excited. Wonder if Lee Ion will graduate.

Amid all this, Harmless Electrolyte finally became the mask king for the third time.

Next week would be the episode where the honorary graduation challenge began, though the actual battle would happen two weeks later.

Masked Singer splits one mask king selection into two episodes.

The challenger chosen from those two weeks would then face off against the defending king who’d held their crown for three weeks.

-So many masks, it’s ridiculous.

-lol I’m more hyped for WWDC.

-Apparently it’s getting streamed by an online broadcaster this year.

Finally, what netizens were most interested in: Apple’s new product showcase at WWDC.

Of course, WWDC was held annually—there wasn’t anything inherently new.

But what mattered was that Han Shion had composed the advertisement music for it.

And the entire country had watched that process unfold through Self Made.

-Seriously can’t get over it lol. He was just messing around in a fake identity, and then went, “Should I get an Apple commercial?”

-And then he got it lol

-MShow’s re-airing Self Made in time for WWDC.

-And Self Made had a perfect ending. Dropped three unit albums and then the full album just like that.

-At first I thought MShow was promoting Sedalbaekil too much and I didn’t like it? But turns out it was the other way around.

-What do you mean?

-Sedalbaekil was promoting MShow.

-lol TRUE.

-How can a random show beat Sedalbaekil lol

Of course, there were those who couldn’t sit still and watch someone else’s party.

-You heard? Apparently the cast of the variety show featuring Sedalbaekil is going to WWDC too.

-Oh really?

-But they’re actors lol

-Clearly gonna be a bunch of actresses.

-lol enjoy watching your boys drool over pretty actresses.

-Honestly, Sedalbaekil doesn’t even have a company, so even if they dated, no one could stop them.

-What do you mean. They’re probably already dating.

-True that.

In reality, the Sedalbaekil members were mentally solid (largely thanks to Han Shion), but the poisonous jealousy directed at successful people was still incomprehensible.

At first, it was rival fandoms jealous of Sedalbaekil’s spotlight.

But not anymore.

Now it was a mix of every kind of person imaginable, all focusing their envy on Sedalbaekil.

Partly because they were famous—but more so because they never gave up.

Even when Take Scene somehow won, even when Choi Taeho sabotaged their broadcasts, even when Han Shion’s miserable past was exposed—

They never gave up, and kept winning. And sometimes, that reminded people too painfully of their own failures.

Of course, there were just as many people who loved Sedalbaekil for that very reason.

Amid all these gazes, the day of WWDC finally arrived.

The public didn’t know, but Han Shion had received exactly two days off from the Show Me production team.

Or rather, it wasn’t even vacation.

They just removed the major filming segments because Han Shion wouldn’t be there.

The major content—the Saoi-related footage—was postponed, and they were filming minor parts they might not even use.

Some might wonder if that was even realistically possible…

‘When will Han Shion finally call me “hyung”?’

It was only possible because the PD of Show Me was Yoon Jungseop—who believed in Sedalbaekil’s rise and was buying low while he could.

As the online broadcast, which had won the streaming rights (though there wasn’t much competition—it was basically just adding subtitles to the WWDC feed), went live, the first ad people saw was—

-Huh? They’re already advertising Sedalbaekil’s variety show?

-Seriously?

It was Sedalbaekil’s Vocal Classroom.

On screen, Sedalbaekil was starting a meeting in front of a whiteboard.

The exact content wasn’t clear, but it was obvious from the clips that they were meant to teach someone.

Then came the interviews.

[Q. What kind of teacher do you want to be?]

[A: A kind one.]

Cut to Han Shion pointing something out to Onsaemiro.

He didn’t look particularly unfriendly or aggressive, but paired with Onsaemiro’s interview, it was funny.

[Q: What about you, Lee Ion?]

[A: I want to be a polite teacher.]

Same deal.

Then more member interviews flashed by, and the scene transitioned.

Sedalbaekil waited in anticipation, faces full of excitement. Han Shion wore a subtle smirk.

-It’s more like a teaser than a commercial lol

-Yep yep, kinda long for a commercial too.

-Am I the only one who thinks it’s gonna be boring?

-Yep. Probably just for the fans. Who even watches vocal classrooms?

-Idol trainees might.

In that moment, the door to the classroom opened.

Slow motion captured the members turning their heads, with a youthful BGM swelling in the background.

And then—

Joo Seonghan walked in.

And not just Joo Seonghan.

The overlapping cuts revealed all the cast were older actors.

The youngest looked to be in their 50s, and some were in their 60s.

Joo Seonghan was the only singer—and the youngest at 49.

[I came to learn how to sing, teachers.]

The members of Sedalbaekil sprang to their feet like bullets, bowing deeply in shock, and the title screen rolled.

The word “Vocal Classroom” in Sedalbaekil’s Vocal Classroom was repeatedly X-ed out, and the title changed to Reversed World.

-lol

-What even is this lol

-Why are those people there?

-But what are they going to do?

-No idea. But it looks hilarious lol

They still had no clue what the actual content would be—but the vibe was good.