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“It must have been shocking for you.”

“Yes, I was at a loss for a second and slipped up.” Woo-Jin then told her how he had been so shocked and agitated at that moment that he hadn’t even realized the electricity flowing from the lie detector had shocked his hand.

“So, what are you worried about?" his mother asked. Woo-Jin was worried his mother would get a huge shock when she watched the episode on TV. And he was also worried about Chae Woo-Ra’s reaction when she later found out from her father that he, Chae Woo-Jin, was actually her older brother. Presently, she was already his fan and had been bothering him, so Woo-Jin was worried Chae Woo-Ra might cause some trouble in the future.

“If you are worried about me, then I will let you know that I’m fine. We live in Seoul, and it\'s not that big of a city. Did you think that we would never run into any of them? I’ve seen that woman several times when I dropped by the department store for work.” Park Eun-Soo had run into Chae Woo-Ra’s mother when she was looking around the stores at the department store for market research. Being satisfied with their position, Chae Woo-Ra’s mother had even tried to blatantly mock and look down on Park Eun-Soo. However, it would have only worked if Park Eun-Soo still had any lingering attachment to the hell she had escaped.

Even though that woman had changed Park Eun-Soo’s life, she was also the reason why Park Eun-Soo could escape from hell all by herself. From a certain perspective, she was Park Eun-Soo’s savior[1], as well as a victim that voluntarily chose to enter the hell of her own accord. Even though it was ridiculous, she didn’t want to envy that woman or go back to the past.

“Compared to seeing her mother, seeing that child’s face isn’t a big deal. She isn’t even my biological child. Where she is or what she is doing has nothing to do with me. Instead, I’m worried about you. Nevertheless, both of you….”

Regardless of how much Woo-Jin wanted it, he couldn’t deny the fact that they were blood-related. When Park Eun-Soo remarried, Choi Min-Woo wanted to legally adopt the children and change their last name to his at the same time. If that were the case, their last name would no longer be ‘Chae’ but ‘Choi,’ so Park Eun-Soo was hesitant to give her consent. No, to be precise, she wanted to give her approval immediately, but if they were to do that, it meant the children would have to let go of their roots.

Regardless of how rotten their roots were, the children had the right to make their own choices. At the very least, they wanted Woo-Hee to do it of her own will when she was no longer a minor, instead of doing it to fulfill her parents’ wishes. Not long ago, Park Eun-Soo had cautiously mentioned this to her children but was instead told that she worried about it for nothing.

“Like we said a few days ago, the last name ‘Chae’ truly means nothing to us. In fact, it’s better for Woo-Hee to change her last name as soon as possible. Having a different name from father[2] might even be detrimental to Woo-Hee. ‘Chae’ is simply a last name and blood relation that mean absolutely nothing to us. Nothing would change with us by calling Chae Woo-Ra our biological father’s daughter.” They had no feelings towards their biological father, and similarly, didn’t have any feelings towards their half-sister.

“I’m fine with anything as long as it’s okay with you both. You don’t have to worry about your biological father either. You might remember what he was like, but I assure you, he isn’t someone who cares about his children. He cared for you and loved you only because you were a son. He never truly loved you as a parent. And he didn’t care about Woo-Hee at all. Even now, I doubt he’s changed much.”

Even at that time, Woo-Jin’s biological father hadn’t shown much affection towards Chae Woo-Ra. He had only performed his fatherly duties because she was his daughter – nothing more and nothing less. It didn’t seem like he would watch a TV show just because his daughter appeared on it.

“I mean, I doubt he even remembers your names properly.” When Park Eun-Soo had run into that woman at the department store by chance, she had said something scornfully to obviously agitate Park Eun-Soo – Oh my goodness! Woo-Ra adopted a cat, and her father suggested naming it Woo-Jin. So I asked if we could change it a little and call it Woo-Ja instead, but he seemed annoyed. When I asked if it was really okay to name it Woo-Jin, he acted in an oblivious manner and asked why it even mattered.

Woo-Jin’s father was originally bad at remembering other people’s names. He hadn’t called Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee’s names in years, so they might have ended up getting erased from his memory altogether. He wasn’t stupid, so it was probably due to his lack of interest in his children. He seemed to have a function in his brain that allowed him to erase the names of the people he didn’t care about with no regrets. Hence, Park Eun-Soo wasn’t shocked by what that woman said, just that it was hard for her to endure the fact that Chae Woo-Ra’s mother dropped all honorifics and spoke to her casually the entire time, even though she was younger. That woman would remember who Woo-Jin was, but she wasn’t the type of person to come forward and reveal his identity.

“Additionally, he only watches the TV for news. He has no interest in male celebrities. He only likes women, just enough to meet them via a matchmaker.” Park Eun-Soo wondered if she had revealed too much since she spoke so bluntly, but Woo-Jin was already an adult. He already knew why his parents had divorced, so there was no reason to hide it.

“You said you were shocked to hear that girl’s name, right? Tell them to just air it without editing that part out. Even though nobody knows about it right now, you can’t keep it a secret forever. If the truth about you both being half-siblings comes out, people would know exactly when you found out who Chae Woo-Ra is. In that case, you won’t need to explain yourself, and it would serve as proof that both of you spent your entire lives living apart like strangers, such that neither of you recognized each other’s faces.”

The older generation might not know that the younger generation had changed a lot these days. They were now living in a world where the public would fully understand and show their support if there was a good reason justifying why a person would treat their blood-related relatives coldly. Nobody would talk about family obligations or duties after seeing a pair of siblings who grew up without knowing what each other looked like.

Woo-Jin smiled awkwardly after hearing his mother’s clear judgment. He was most worried about his mother, but she took it so well that he wondered if he had been worried for nothing. However, in truth, the most important subject still remained. These were stories he never wanted to tell others, stories that he wanted to keep a secret for the rest of his life. However, CEO Jang and Kang Ho-Soo said there was no such thing as keeping a secret forever. If the truth would be revealed one day, he had to be the one to tell everyone about it.

“Also, there’s one more thing we have to decide whether to edit out or not.”

“Go ahead and tell me everything.” It made Park Eun-Soo very happy to see her son consulting with her like this, as he had always taken care of everything by himself. However, as Woo-Jin continued with his story, her face turned darker by the minute.

CEO Jang continued to frown long after the episode of The King of the Masked Singers ended.

“Who are these people trying to mess with?” Ultimately, he picked up his phone and called The King of the Masked Singers’ production director.

–– Who is this?

The person at the other end of the line gave a less than enthusiastic response after receiving a call from an unknown number. He received many work-related calls from unknown celebrities and agencies in his line of work, thus explaining his terse response when he picked up the call. However, he had no choice but to pick up the calls because he didn’t know if they were important.

“I’m Jang Soo-Hwan from DS.”

–– Jang who? Ah, CEO Jang. What brings you… You must have watched today’s episode!

Production Director Son sounded serious at once because the only reason CEO Jang Soo-Hwan would call him was to talk about today’s episode. How much ever he tried, he couldn’t think of a reason why CEO Jang wanted to talk about it. In the end, Chae Woo-Jin became The Masked King, and the episode went smoothly without a hitch. There was no need for the CEO of Woo-Jin’s agency to call the production director.

“I watched the episode and I was wondering why Woo-Jin sounds worse than he normally does. Was Woo-Jin not able to sing well that day?”

–– I…don’t understand what you’re getting at.

As soon as The King of the Masked Singers’ Production Director Son feigned ignorance, Jang Soo-Hwan smirked.

“Is that so? So Woo-Jin must have been in bad condition that day. But, seeing that he managed to become The Masked King at that level, he must have been very fortunate indeed.”

–– Of course, luck is needed to become The Masked King, but this time around…

“Exactly. Woo-Jin will be too ashamed to face his maternal grandfather. After all, he decided to go on The King of the Masked Singers because his maternal grandfather is a huge fan of the show. He only participated out of filial piety.”

–– Ah, is that so? He will be delighted to see his grandson’s face when he takes off his mask later on.

Production Director Son responded very calmly, so Jang Soo-Hwan decided to be similarly shameless.

“Nevertheless, even if that were the case, wouldn’t he want to see his grandson be at his best, showcasing all his skills when he performed? He has a very discerning eye. Perhaps, you know that too. He is the CEO of Rome law firm, Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather. He loves his grandson so much that he would call me and kick up a huge fuss at the slightest mistake, so I’m in a tough position too.

Production Director Son couldn’t respond to CEO Jang’s supposed predicament for some time.

Jang Soo-Hwan thought about how the father and daughter must have reconciled with each other by now. It was the virtue of a businessman to use everything possible with no shame.

–– Is–is he really…Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather?

“Are you going to lie to him of all people? But is that the only sound system in The King of the Masked Singers? Or did Woo-Jin not perform well that day?”

Rome law firm was different from several law firms in Korea. As a production director of a broadcasting station, he was well-aware of the influence and connections Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather had in political and business circles. He even managed to make CEO Jang Soo-Hwan take a step back. He wasn’t a person to be trifled with. Just hearing about it over the phone made sweat trickle down Production Director Son’s back.

Although he had never dealt with CEO Jang Soo-Hwan before, according to the rumors circulating in the broadcasting industry, many people said that CEO Jang was extremely well-mannered and prioritized pleasure over work. On the other hand, he knew nothing about the CEO of Rome law firm, but he had a strong impression of him as a scary figure. In other words, he was a person in a high position, and provoking him would do no good.

“I’m not telling you to make him sound better beyond his abilities. But shouldn’t we show everyone how good he truly is?”

–– I think there’s a misunderstanding. It was just the first round, so he didn’t give his all. We didn’t use anything to manipulate his voice. You’ll be able to verify this when you watch the next episode.

Production Director Son was aggrieved. Chae Woo-Jin didn’t reveal 100% of his skills in the first round. He revealed his true abilities as he advanced to the second and third rounds, so Production Director Son thought of meddling only after that. Since Chae Woo-Jin had announced that he would only appear in five episodes, he had to take him down somehow before he left the show.

When he first cast Woo-Jin in the show, Min Si-Hoo was doing much better than he had anticipated, so he never expected Woo-Jin to become The Masked King. Even if he did, he assumed that everything would be over within five episodes. He planned to publish the story about Chae Woo-Jin and Min Si-Hoo’s rivalry without going too far and profit from it. But as soon as he heard Woo-Jin sing in round three, he realized how difficult it was going to be.

Nobody would be able to beat him. The best record in the show so far was nine consecutive wins. Woo-Jin possessed such great singing skills that he would be able to break that record. But what would happen if such a Masked King voluntarily stepped down after five episodes? The production director was also the one to force Woo-Jin to go on the show this time around instead of March next year. He was indeed caught between a rock and a hard place. Hence, he had no choice but to rig the sound system.

1. The writer used ‘동아줄’ here to describe Chae Woo-Ra’s mother. It’s a reference to a Korean folktale (Sister Sun and Brother Moon) where a sturdy rope (동아줄) falls from the sky to rescue a pair of siblings from a tiger. ☜

2. Woo-Jin is talking about his step-father and not his blood father here. ☜