Chapter 90
A site where people who enjoy every minor hobby in the world gather.
Naturally, among the communities known as “galleries,” there was also one where people who enjoyed Japanese songs gathered to discuss Japanese music.
The users of the “J-Pop Gallery” community had tendencies similar to those of other Japan-related communities.
Put simply, they believed Korean culture was inferior and Japanese culture superior.
[Japanese songs really are superior, I guess]
Seeing rookies like Mianseong pop out of nowhere, lol
- For real, lol
- How many years has Korea been milking the same old artists…
- All Joseon ever puts out are shitty idols, and there’s no one making music
[Personally, I think Mianseong is the real deal]
This one could seriously go global. Her writing and composing, as well as her singing, are no joke
- How the fuck would you know when you haven’t seen her live?
↳ A Short was uploaded
↳ You can tell just by listening that it’s been edited, though
- She’s even pretty, for real
↳ How the hell did you even see her face?
↳ Are you hallucinating now too? Go to a hospital.
The J-Pop Gallery’s recent main topic of discussion was, as expected, the monster rookie whose origins were unknown.
It was Mianseong.
In Japan she was called Mikansei, but in Korea she was known by the more familiar name Mianseong.
[But Mianseong seems like the type that could never come out of Joseon]
Not a shitty idol but a soloist who writes and composes her own songs… And judging by her voice, she sounds young, too.
Joseon can’t produce soloists anymore.
- This is absolutely true
- It pisses me off how they keep churning out shitty idols just to sell to fangirls
- Still, shouldn’t Seo Siyeon count as a soloist?
↳ She’s practically retired for the time being
↳ I don’t think she’s coming back
↳ For real, with how much money she makes, why would she put herself through being a singer…
[I’ve been seeing people say Mianseong = Seo Siyeon lately]
What do you think?
- Makes no sense
- Her style is way too different from Seo Siyeon’s songs, though
↳ That’s not quite true. Try listening to glassy sky.
↳ Isn’t that a Blooming song?
↳ But Seo Siyeon composed it
- Why would she do J-pop? You have to say things that make sense, at least
↳ Maybe she came to experience superior music
↳ What a load of crap
Naturally, they didn’t take the bait that Mianseong was Seo Siyeon, either.
They thought that, logically speaking, there was no reason for Seo Siyeon to go out of her way to work under Japanese nationality while hiding her face.
Even so, the rumor that Mianseong was Seo Siyeon continued to circulate without losing steam.
It was because the rumor that Seo Siyeon, one of the pillars of Korean music, was active as a Japanese singer was simply too juicy not to keep rolling.
In fact, the J-Pop Gallery itself at this point was less about seriously discussing Japanese singers and more about bashing Korean music, which was another reason.
[How about we all praise the GOAT of Joseon music and call it a day?]
(A collection of cute GIFs from Seo Siyeon’s Jellypop performance)
I’m a Korea-hating Japanophile, but if you stan Seo Siyeon, you get a huge upvote, lol
- Smashing that upvote button like a madman
- She’s the GOAT for schoolgirls worldwide, no question
- She’s prettier than most shitty idols
- Is that even a human face? Her face is freaking tiny
- Someone like her is doing Mianseong? That makes no sense, lol
↳ If that’s true, she’s wasting her looks on an incredible level
- She can count as an honorary Japanese singer, yeah. I, Kim Min-su, recognize her
↳ Who’s Kim Min-su?
↳ A six-year Hip Gallery veteran and three-year J-Pop Gallery veteran with a sophisticated ear
↳ Min-su hyung knows what’s up, lol
While the moderator was debating whether to stop the rumor they had been casually circulating, news arrived that put an end to the argument once and for all.
[Blue Sky Entertainment insider: “Seo Siyeon scheduled to return in the first half of this year”]
It was news of Seo Siyeon’s return.
* * *
Blue Sky Entertainment had rapidly rebuilt its standing over the past two years.
It had hired several managers, as well as employees for the design and planning departments needed for production, bringing the total staff to more than ten.
Of course, they were all carefully selected, but that still made it impossible to control everything.
“Another leak?”
“I’m sorry.”
In truth, leaks at a mid-sized company like Blue Sky Entertainment were hardly unusual.
Even professional baseball teams frequently had the details of trades or free-agent contracts leaked, so news of my return could certainly leak.
“This keeps happening.”
“We can’t exactly say it can’t be helped… though this has been going on for quite a while.”
“Still, it can’t be helped.”
Information that was genuinely important, at least.
For example, NOIRIS’s comeback concept or the fact that I was Mikansei.
Especially the latter, since it wasn’t particularly kept secret within the company, meaning every employee knew about it.
Since information like that hadn’t leaked, the person seemed to know where to draw the line.
“Shouldn’t we give them a warning, just once?”
“I’ll bring it up at the next company dinner.”
Ah, hearing the words “company dinner” made me want a drink.
I didn’t miss cigarettes all that much, but I did miss the taste of ice-cold draft beer sliding down my throat.
Anyway, my return to Korean television had been set for Masked Singer.
The program Masked Singer had an extremely simple format.
Contestants competed while wearing masks and concealing their identities, and a singing king was chosen.
The king remained in the position until defeated by a new challenger.
Sometimes, if they held the position for too long, they deliberately chose a strange song and lost.
“…Eight straight wins. That’s a long run.”
Since the position could change once every two weeks, eight straight wins meant holding it for four months.
I didn’t know who it was, but they probably wanted to quit soon, even if it meant throwing a match.
“So who’s the current singing king?”
If someone had enough skill to win that many times in a row, there was a good chance I knew them, too.
Without giving it much thought, I searched YouTube for a performance by the current king, “The Frog Prince Who Sings Well.”
The first performance that came up immediately was his first king-of-singers battle, which had over 300,000 views.
The moment I heard a single line of the song, I was certain of his identity.
Because he had sung without even trying to hide his voice—and he was someone I knew well.
“He isn’t even trying to hide it.”
It was Joo Jin-woo, who had appeared on Singer Star 5 and competed alongside me in the finals.
* * *
In truth, the most important thing on Masked Singer was hiding one’s identity.
Winning was important, of course, but for the program to be entertaining, concealing one’s identity whenever possible was even more important.
However, as the program continued for a long time, the importance of hiding one’s identity had gradually faded as well.
In the past, contestants at least tried to hide themselves by changing their singing styles, but these days, everyone had simply given up and sang the way they normally did.
Because it had become impossible to evade the netizen detectives’ investigative net.
Thanks to their increasingly ingenious methods of narrowing down identities, contestants were effectively exposed within a day even when they tried to hide.
“Even so, we have to hide Miss Siyeon’s height.”
“…I agree.”
The Masked Singer PD was an extremely driven person.
“So! We, we’ve prepared several plans, so… first, may I ask your exact height?”
“I’m 142 centimeters.”
I said it while slightly lifting my chin with a proud air.
I couldn’t exactly call myself tall compared to others my age, but I had grown quite a lot by this point.
The hospital said I could keep growing for roughly another year and a half, so I should be able to clear 150 centimeters comfortably.
They said the hospital expected me to reach around 157 centimeters.
Still, if I had received injections to treat precocious puberty… considering I might have reached somewhere in the mid-160s, it stung a little.
“Adding about ten centimeters should be enough.”
There weren’t many entertainers in the low 150-centimeter range, but it wasn’t as though there were none.
Even Starlight had a Japanese member who barely cleared 150 centimeters.
Some famous singers were in the low 150s as well.
If they adjusted it by about that much, no one would find out I was Seo Siyeon because of my height.
“…So what should I do?”
“We’re thinking of putting several insoles in platform sneakers. On top of that, we’ll have you wear wide-legged pants to hide the shoes.”
“Hmm. I’ve never worn anything like that before.”
“That’s why I’m telling you in advance. You’ll need to practice walking in them.”
When I tried on the shoes the production staff had prepared, my field of vision definitely changed dramatically.
It was as if I had gained omniscience and could look down on everything…!
Well, not quite, but adding ten centimeters definitely made the world look different.
So I began stopping by the company from time to time to practice walking in high-heeled shoes.
“…What the hell? Why are you so tall?”
“Heh-heh.”
“Th-this is cheating!”
It was only natural that Jo Na-eun, who had become slightly shorter than me while I was wearing heels, got angry in the process.