[TS] Starting the Broadcast - Chapter 120

"... Mysterious Magician H!"

"You may go now."

The voice introducing me comes from the center of the stage.

Hearing the security guard's urging, I slowly take a step.

I paid a lot of attention to making my walking look natural, as I was wearing shoes with heels about 7cm higher than usual and even insoles.

Wooooah-!

The gazes that pour in the moment I emerge from the passage.

And everyone's cheers.

They all seemed to be marveling at my appearance.

I did put a lot of effort into everything from the mask to the outfit.

Han Sung-joo comments that it's very cool and then turns his body to the opposite side to call my round 1 partner.

Wooooah-!

The cheers rise once again.

From the far end of the opposite passage, 'Beautiful Assistant Alice' reveals herself.

A very elegant and haughty walk.

We slowly match our timing and stand side by side at the center of the stage.

"Wow, the visual of the masks is really!"

"I think they match the best among the couples that came out today."

I can't help but smile at the sight of the celebrity judges making a fuss.

The song begins.

IU's song "Nagging" that beautifully decorated 2010.

Lights sparkle from all directions and cute patterns like hearts float around on the screen behind.

Alice takes a small step forward to signal the start of the song.

"Don't stay out late. Try to stay away from alcohol. You don't listen like a rebellious kid."

Everyone's attention is focused on the soft, warm tone and precise pronunciation that tickles the ears.

"Haha, I can only laugh. Who's calling who a child. Haha, I can only laugh."

"Ooh?"

"This is amazing!"

My voice, going beyond softness to be sweet, wraps around their ears languidly.

The eyes of both civilians and celebrities round in surprise.

However, experts like Lee Young-seok seem to sense something unusual, tilting their heads.

"You don't know my heart that has to say these harsh things."

"You don't know my heart that only wants to talk about love."

Our parts alternate.

Gazes meeting while wearing masks.

Everyone's lips curl into smiles hearing our fantastically matching tones even before the singing skill.

"Everything from A to Z is for you. To you who brushes off my words, it's just nagging."

"Let's stop, let's stop. We don't have time to just talk about love."

The vocalization gives an even stronger and cleaner feeling than the original singer Lim Seulong.

Jang Yun-seok, who was listening from the celebrity judges' seats, jumps up, and Kang Gura holds up binoculars.

Now it's the part where we harmonize.

I slightly reduce the power in my voice out of consideration for Alice.

"Let's stop, let's stop, I can hear your crying."

I turn away from Alice's gaze that had met mine.

A short instrumental break before going into the second verse.

I look at the civilian judges.

Friendly gazes directed at me from below the stage.

Especially in the eyes of young women, I can almost see hearts.

No, what an unexpected side effect?

"Are you eating on time, are you keeping your distance from women? I want to stay by your side all day."

Alice sings cutely while tilting her head.

The cheers from the male judges grow louder.

It's annoying, but I can't lose either.

I recall memories from before becoming a woman.

That heart-fluttering feeling from when I was dating.

I put that honest emotion, without adding or subtracting anything, into the lyrics.

"That's my true heart. If I could put you in my pocket... I would be so happy."

Kyaaaa-!

A collective scream rises from the female judges.

They seemed to be fully immersing themselves in emotion, seeing the sweet voice reminiscent of Sung Si-kyung along with the cool mask and outfit.

"Our story that can't be without being together."

"A story that others would laugh at as childish if they heard."

"Should we stop?"

"Let's stop."

The lyrics and gazes cross again.

As practiced, we enact approaching each other closely and then moving apart.

People sigh in disappointment, even more immersed in the song.

Alice's clear, clean tone wakes them up again.

"Everything from A to Z is for you. To you who brushes off my words, it's just nagging."

"Let's stop, let's stop. We don't have time to just talk about love."

It's something everyone experiences when dating.

Nagging towards each other.

How we accept it will determine the fate of our relationship going forward.

I empathize with the lyrics and focus even more on the song.

Many celebrities are seen holding binoculars following Kang Gura's lead.

Now it's the highlight part of the song.

"Even if I glare and shout."

"To me, it's just a lovely face."

"If you keep doing this, I can't stand it anymore."

"Really... I might get angry!"

Kyaaaa-!

The screams of women overwhelm the male judges.

Then Alice sings her heart out heading towards the end of the song.

"Words I wouldn't say if I was going to stop loving. The voice of my heart that cherishes you more than anyone."

Her voice shakes and vocalization falters as she puts out more power than her skill allows.

But what does that matter in this situation?

I turn my body to face Alice and whisper softly in a different feeling from the original:

"Even if I get angry... Even if I shout. Even your nagging makes me happy."

"A story we can only tell together. To you who brushes off my words, it's just nagging."

Now for the finale.

I add an ad-lib of "Ahahaaaa!" matching Alice's voice.

A sudden high note soars.

Lee Young-seok, who had been nodding along, jumps up in surprise.

And the finish.

"Believe in this love of mine."

The gentle piano sound signaling the end.

Alice and I approach each other, link arms, and lean our heads on each other.

A sweet and lovely stage that satisfies everyone!

What you'd call an explosion of cheers erupted.

The set was a crucible of excitement.

It was really rare for this level of reaction to occur in round 1 in King of Masked Singer history.

Thinking back carefully, it could be counted on one hand?

Especially since the combination of Magician H and Alice wasn't expected much from the casting stage, it was even more unexpected.

"We'll increase the footage for this pair. Ask them lots of questions too. Magician H said he prepared many special talents, right? Check the reactions and if it's good, we'll draw them out as much as possible."

PD Hwang Un-sung, who had been monitoring, spoke quickly.

MC Han Sung-joo nodded slightly, receiving the message in real-time.

He quickly runs to the center of the stage to summarize the situation.

"The battle of the third pair in round 1 duet songs has ended. My, this was really a stage with hot reactions, now I'll introduce these two. First, Magician H!"

"......"

As soon as Han Sung-joo pointed to me, I took a small deep breath and waited.

And the moment everyone's gazes and expectations focused, I quickly turned on the spot!

Fluttering my white cape, I said:

"Mysterious Magician H! Nice to meet you all."

"...?"

"......"

"Is that perhaps the end?"

"Yes."

MC Han Sung-joo is momentarily flustered by the very brief self-introduction in contrast to the flashy gesture.

Seeing that, Kang Gura bursts into laughter.

"My, this person is really interesting. Yes... But I'm curious about one thing, how tall are you?"

"We'll take questions after this person's introduction is finished."

Han Sung-joo hurriedly changes the subject.

It seemed he was trying to help hide information as much as possible since he knows my identity.

I had talked with the writers about the concept I was thinking of, and of course that information would have been passed on to Han Sung-joo too.

I quietly returned to my original position, and in the meantime, 'Beautiful Assistant Alice's' introduction ended.

"Yoo Jang-hyuk, who was watching with eagle eyes! How was it?"

Yoo Jang-hyuk, who is evaluated as having good sense among the expert group classified as Lee Young-seok, Oh Hyun-chul, Yoo Jang-hyuk, and K, started first.

"Alice's clear voice and precise pronunciation that sticks in your ear. It was very charming and good. She sings well too. However, considering her microphone holding motion and appearance shown in between, I think she's not a singer."

"Not a singer! That's what you think. Then what about Magician H?"

"That person is......"

The evaluation of Alice ends relatively quickly and moves on to me right away.

Gazes pouring in from all directions, hot enough to burn.

Yoo Jang-hyuk, who had been drawing out his words, opened his mouth.

"What on earth do you do?"

"What?"

"What does that mean?"

Receiving people's puzzled looks, Yoo Jang-hyuk shook his head.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure yet if they're a singer or not."

"What? How can that skill not be a singer? Of course it's a singer."

"I vote singer too!"

Shim Bong-sun and Jang Yun-seok firmly shouted that it was a singer.

K and Lee Young-seok had thoughtful expressions, and Oh Hyun-chul said he was a bit confused too but eventually cast a vote for singer.

"If you just look at the skill, they're definitely a singer, and they seem young too. But there are no habits. No, rather than none, they're different?"

"What's different?"

"They don't have the standardized vocalization or such that most young singers these days have. It's not easy for recent singers to be like that. Entertainment companies' training is so programmed."

Yoo Jang-hyuk tilted his head, and Lee Young-seok, who knows the industry well, added a word agreeing that was right.

"It feels like they learned by themselves? It's a bit different from recent trends. Ah, of course that doesn't mean the style is outdated or behind. Rather, it was good. Fresh, and I'm really looking forward to the next round."

"Um... Isn't saying that disrespectful to Alice?"

Saying such things when the results aren't even out yet.

Alice turns her back completely to Lee Young-seok as if offended.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. Alice did well too. But what can we do when this person is just so good."

Everyone nodded slightly even if they didn't say anything.

"It was similar to Lim Seulong, but replacing the falsetto ending in the original with chest voice was good, and I liked the ad-lib too. And the unwavering pitch and centered vocalization were stable and good. I think they're skilled enough to aim for the king's seat."

"Ooh! Is that so?"

Han Sung-joo jokes at K's high praise and looks in my direction.

It seemed to mean I should respond, so I lightly put my right hand to my chest and bowed my head.

Kyaaaa-!

"......"

That gesture must have looked quite cool, as screams rise again from the civilian judges' seats.

"Now then, it's time for the special talents you've all been waiting for. Whether these people can show off talents as impressive as their previous stage... We'll start with Magician H!"

The atmosphere was gradually building up.