Chapter 178

Young-bin had been doing some unexpected thinking lately.

Well, he couldn’t help it.

Once he accepted the director position, there was no backing out from then on.

Refusing outright would be awkward, and if he accepted and later withdrew, it would be like saying he was done with Raywill Games.

So, for him, there were only two options: to accept or not accept.

A game director at a big corporation.

For some, it could be a lifelong goal.

However, Young-bin’s concerns stemmed from a different reason.

He just couldn’t let go of his childhood dream.

That tiny desire to create his own company and make games again with his colleagues.

Of course, he had already decided in his heart.

Being a game director was just fine.

What kind of adventure was that?

With two daughters and a wife, it already felt too late to cling to the past.

Yeah, that’s what he thought.

‘Seo-yeon and even that guy.’

He never imagined they would end up facing off in the King’s Battle.

He was honestly shocked by the song Seo-yeon sang, but figured it could happen.

The opening.

It wasn’t an actual title, of course.

It was just a hastily completed song that got slapped with the name ‘Opening’ in the game.

But honestly, there was no better title to fit it.

Who would have thought she would sing that song in the King’s Battle of all places?

It was a song no one knew about.

“Huh, you’re gonna regret it. I dumped you.”

It was twenty years ago, but the memories were still vivid.

That girl, always confident and proud, became a teary mess as she spoke.

“You don’t have to tell me; I’ll be fine. I’ll live well and make you regret it. This isn’t the end!”

Words showing her strong pride.

“Just wait and see, you fool!!!”

She had run after him, yelling as he left for Seoul.

What happened after that, he didn’t know, but he heard later that she moved up to Seoul.

Before long, she appeared on TV, successful, so he figured she was doing well.

‘She said she’d make me regret it.’

With a smirk, he stepped out of the company’s elevator.

After passing through the transparent glass walls, he entered the familiar planning room.

“…….”

“……?”

It felt strangely quiet.

As soon as he walked in, everyone turned to look at him at once.

Young-bin, who had intended to greet them casually with a wave and a “Wow, you all got here early,” slowly lowered his hand in the face of this bizarre atmosphere.

“What, what’s going on? Why is everyone gathered here?”

Stammering in confusion, the people who had been huddled together parted.

There was a monitor turned on and several articles up on it.

It was footage and details about the King’s Battle from [Masked Singer] that had aired yesterday.

‘Ah.’

He realized a bit too late.

Young-bin hadn’t actually watched the live broadcast.

He had his own thoughts to ponder during that time.

He might have fallen asleep a bit early.

Thinking back to the King’s Battle, he had completely forgotten what Yeo-hee had said, but he certainly felt like Seo-yeon had said something.

‘……What on earth did our daughter say?’

Suah hadn’t told him even when he asked her.

He wondered why.

‘Daughter, did dad do something really wrong?’

The content of the articles was as follows.

[‘Ashen Crow.’ Is that Yeo-hee?]
[Internet users uncover the backstory: The surprising past of popular singer Yeo-hee!!]
[The Shocking Past of Popular Singer Yeo-hee!!]

[Yeo-hee’s Song is a Nostalgic Tune from School Days]

Up to that point, sure, that makes sense.

There had already been plenty of clues.

Yeo-hee’s song, and what Suah said in [Golden Duckling].

From those, it wasn’t hard to infer that ‘Ashen Crow’ was Yeo-hee.

Tracing Suah’s past leads to the game club.

And since there were only four members in that club, finding Yeo-hee among them wasn’t that tough.

The problem was the shocking expertise about her past that was uncovered.

It was all organized down to the details in a timeline.

I couldn’t help but wonder how they knew all this, but then again, if it was a singer like Yeo-hee, it made sense.

After all, a star’s past tends to stick with them like a scar for life.

“…… Team Leader.”

“Wait a second, could it really be the truth that’s on the internet? This could be a huge misunderstanding.”

Young-bin reached out to block the not-so-good vibes from the group.

“Think carefully; after all, it’s just speculation. It’s true that she was a classmate in high school, but….”

Just then, one employee pulled out their phone and played a video.

It was Yeo-hee, looking defeated, doing a recent interview.

Her expression was like she was saying, ‘Whatever will be, will be.’

“Ah, yes, that’s a song I sang back in high school, and at that time I was in the game club….”

At first, she seemed to just want to talk vaguely about the past and wrap it up.

However, flustered Yeo-hee couldn’t find her words.

She was completely caught off-guard by the overly diligent journalist’s probing.

‘Is this what they mean by regret?’

Over 20 years of revenge?

That was pretty much the vibe of that interview.

“This is wrong.”

Young-bin said seriously.

But the team’s gaze didn’t change.

And who could blame them? Young-bin’s Suah was a stunning beauty known by everyone in the office.

In fact, her life had been laid bare recently through [Golden Duckling].

‘Can an unreasonable existence like this really be allowed?’

‘When my wife comes back, she’s just cleaning up after the bar.’

His one-year-younger wife didn’t seem to age and looked as young as a star.

And one of his daughters was a well-known actress in South Korea.

The second one was just absolutely adorable!!

Sure, he was willing to overlook that much, but now? A female singer who was a high school classmate?

Not to mention the song sung during the King’s competition had significant meaning.

After all, Young-bin and Suah were right there on that stage during the King’s competition.

What female singer sings a song from their high school days?

Especially a song nobody knows on such an important stage.

No matter how much of a variety show it is, you can’t miss that if you’re not a fool.

Naturally, the internet exploded.

– Joo Young-bin is a crazy bastard.

– Is this for real? Is this an WWE interview?

– No, no, this isn’t it; Yeo-hee looked like her soul was gone during the interview.

– What the hell did this guy do in high school???

The biggest uproar happened in two places.

Yeo-hee’s fan community.

And the gaming communities of Raywill Games, which Young-bin was in charge of.

Especially in the gaming communities, the firepower was not one to be trifled with.

– I let Joo Seo-yeon and Suah-mama slide, but…

– Ah, life.

– This must be the grace of Shin Young-bin.

– What? What’s going on?

Those who belatedly entered the community found themselves confused and baffled.
Those who found themselves in this situation had a puzzling reaction.

Well, if they’re not particularly interested in celebrities or TV variety shows, it’s understandable.

But once it gets spread all over various communities, the story changes.

– So, to sum it up, Joo Young-bin was in a game club during high school, and there were only three girls, one of whom is his wife, and another is Yeo-hee??? Who’s the third one???

– I heard she was the story manager; there’s talk of her writing a novel now.

– How ordinary.

– Ooh, except for the fact that she was his childhood friend.

– Damn.

– So, there were only three girls in the game club and just one guy. And all three girls liked Joo Young-bin?????????

– Nah, the others are just speculation, but judging by Yeo-hee’s reaction, their relationship seems a bit unusual, haha.

– Hah, damn, this is real… I thought it was just in novels…

Once the story was exposed, rumors spread quickly.

Well, if you’re part of the internet generation and went to high school with Young-bin, you would definitely struggle to keep quiet at this chance.

– I’m Joo Young-bin’s high school classmate. It’s all true.

There were even posts showing student IDs from the same high school for verification.

– Where is that bastard Joo Young-bin?

– Give me a break.

– Damn it, this isn’t right; how can this be happening between us? Aren’t you turning the broadcast on right now??

– I should have realized he was a jerk when he said he was making a new gacha game.

Anyway, the community was on fire.

Just as a video of Young-bin apologizing with his head down started circulating,

“Um, Seo-yeon? Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

Seo-yeon was happily eating her ice cream.

The ice cream was sweet and delicious.

*

The aftermath of Masked Singer was more intense than expected.

After all, it’s not the star but the star’s parent.

The issue gained traction largely because of Seo-yeon, but Yeo-hee played a significant role too.

Yeo-hee isn’t just any figure in the music industry.

She’s been active in various ways and even spent some time performing in the US, often featured on the national pride channel.

An issue involving a singer with that level of recognition and ripple effect.

While attention was relatively focused on that side, Seo-yeon also had quite a bit of attention on her, definitely not negligible.

It makes sense that she lost by just two votes against such a prominent Yeo-hee.

– Joo Seo-yeon can sing this well?

– If she lost by just two votes to Yeo-hee, that’s practically a win.

– But Yeo-hee sang her song awkwardly…

– It was a song nobody knew, though, hahaha.

As long as it’s not a song that makes it too easy to guess the identity, they usually let it slide.

Still, singing her own song and winning by just two votes falls into the realm of comedy.

Of course, Seo-yeon’s performance in the finals was impressive too.

“Joo Seo-yeon!!”

Whether she heard the rumors or not, Jo Seo-hee showed up on her bicycle today.

Wait, what about the Benz she used to ride around in?

“Is this for real? Is it true?”

At her intense reaction, even Seo-yeon, who usually treated Seo-hee indifferently, flinched and took a step back.

“Y-yeah, it’s true.”

“Then introduce me to Senior Yeo-hee!!”

It turned out she was there to ask to meet Yeo-hee, just as expected.

Both Ji-yeon and Jo Seo-hee definitely gave off the impression that Yeo-hee’s recognition was huge.
There was a strong sense that Hee’s recognition was incredible.

“With Jo Seo-hee’s personality, she must be trying hard to build connections.”

In fact, Seo-yeon wasn’t particularly keen on meeting Yeo-hee again.

At first, they were just friends in the same club, nothing more.

But seeing what was posted on the internet was utterly fascinating.

She was even determined to check it out later.

Of course, when she got home, Suah looked at her with reproachful eyes, making her feel a bit guilty.

However, at the same time, she felt a complex mix of joy at reconnecting with Yeo-hee.

“This is all Yeo-hee’s fault for beating me.”

Of course, she knew losing was only natural.

But aside from that, Seo-yeon had an exceptionally strong competitive spirit.

So, what she said in a small fit of spite ended up making quite an impact.

Well, she thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, but now she’s been considering if it was really that harmless.

“But I still think saying it was good.”

Not being able to leave Jo Seo-hee on her bike, she dragged her over to a nearby McDonald’s.

Munching on a burger, Seo-hee said, “It’s creating a buzz, right? Honestly, this won’t seriously damage your image. I mean, it’s such a ridiculous story, and it happened decades ago. There’s no safer material than this.”

True enough.

If this gets out, no one is going to be seriously harmed.

It’ll just be pity for the unfortunate single lady, Yeo-hee.

“Oh, is my dad a victim too?”

Recently, Seo-yeon’s hobby had been watching AI-generated greeting videos of her dad.

The way Young-bin waves in sync with the beat was so comical, she played it on the TV and the monitor.

When Young-bin returned home, it was doubly entertaining to see him nearly having a meltdown.

Seo-yeon, who used to be the punching bag, was finally able to fight back properly.

“And the synergy with ‘Sky Garden’ is good.”

“It doesn’t seem related, though.”

“Attention has shifted, right? Search volume has skyrocketed.”

Up until now, the show had been trailing significantly behind “Grand Game.”

But recently, after “Masked Singer” aired, it had caught up.

By today, it had even begun to surpass it.

Thanks to the word-of-mouth, “Sky Garden’s” latest episode was starting to gain attention.

“I saw the last episode. They went on a trip together, and it ended in a way that hinted at some events.”

Jo Seo-hee was diligently recording Seo-yeon’s drama episodes.

Part of it was for study, and part to match Seo-yeon’s acting.

Of course, the most important reason was that it was just plain fun.

Jo Seo-hee was a fan of “Sky Garden.”

She had already pre-ordered all related albums.

“The next episode will be crucial. With the rising expectations, it really has to hit hard… What do you think?”

In response to Seo-hee’s words, Seo-yeon took a huge bite out of her burger.

And then.

“No problem at all.”

The upcoming episodes 11 and 12 were getting everyone excited.

Kim Hyun-seok, who played Lee Min-hyeok, was also slowly building up momentum.

Especially with his recent acting.

His performance, showcasing Lee Min-hyeok’s insecurities, was truly a masterpiece!

Even Seo-yeon believed it was real.

Plus, the content airing this week continued the explosive momentum from last week’s episode.

So she was confident.

She was sure she could completely crush “Grand Game.”

---

Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.