Woo-Jin’s opponent in the third round was known as the ‘Hand Warmer That Sets Your Heart On Fire’. He wore a mask that was shaped like a hand warmer and a warm, brown outfit. He would be singing first, followed by Hanryang Doryeong.

The judges said that Hand Warmer was under better circumstances as compared to the ‘Invincible Band-Aid’ earlier and that he was lucky. Because both contestants had already competed in two rounds prior to this, based on their previous performances, the judges had already picked a winner in their hearts. ‘Hand Warmer That Sets Your Heart On Fire’ was a good singer, but he was not as talented as Hanryang Doryeong.

Hand Warmer sang a jazz version of Bobby Kim’s ‘When We Are Able to Love’. He didn’t let Hanryang Doryeong’s previous performance get to him and he was able to finish strong. However, when he received a half-hearted reaction from the crowd that was contrary to his expectations, couldn’t help but feel baffled. Strangely enough, the celebrity judges and audience members became less and less enthusiastic with each passing round.

Shortly after, Hanryang Doryeong went up the stage and sang. Only then did Hand Warmer find out the reason behind their lack of enthusiasm. Hanryang Doryeong’s choice of song was ‘Collar’ by Im Tae-Kyung. Woo-Jin’s song selections were made based on the concept of a doryeong who dreamed of becoming a hanryang. He figured that singing songs with a heavy beat while wearing a Hanbok[1] would not match the first impression which he had created. Kim Joong-Sun had also advised him not to take any risks from the beginning unless he had already become The Masked King

Thus, Woo-Jin picked songs that would go well with the Hanbok. As a result, all the songs had one thing in common – the lyrics were about the sorrow of those who had been left behind by their lovers. Even though most of the songs were about love, one would realize that the songs Woo-Jin had picked today had similar moods and lyrics after taking a closer look. While arranging the songs, Woo-Jin had decided to express the emotions differently for each song.

In round two, Woo-Jin sang ‘You to You’ with han; he tried his best to express the stages of resignation while understanding and accepting the unavoidable reality despite feeling disconcerted. The sorrowful song made the listeners’ hearts ache and caused them to weep. But in round three, Woo-Jin sang ‘Collar’ in a grim tone. After getting over his prior emotions, he had reached a stage of enlightenment. Like the tranquil flow of water, Hanryang Doryeong had acknowledged reality. However, the regret that was hard to let go of clung onto him like the last hope. The foolish person only became aware of how precious the relationship was after it was over, and dared not to speak of the word ‘regret’. It was tragic, but after listening to the song, the audience felt strangely relieved, as if they had let go of the bitterness in their heavy hearts.

The audience had been sitting down for a long time today just listening to songs, and they were subconsciously weighed down by weariness. Listening to the song relieved them of their fatigue and they felt refreshed. It was a somewhat comforting and refreshing feeling which traveled throughout their body. The audience looked down at their fingertips; they were subconsciously trembling with excitement. Appreciation and judgment were not important to the people who wanted to bask in the afterglow of the song. However, the curiosity about the person who evoked all these emotions grew bigger.

“I’m curious about your thoughts and feelings about advancing to round three. Frankly, did you expect yourself to make it this far?” It was only natural for Gam Sung-Joo to ask that question. Everyone in the studio knew that Hanryang Doryeong would become the finalist today. It was neither a speculation nor a prediction, but a fact.

“Yes.”

“You’re honest. In that case, do you think you can become the next Mask King?”

“I think I’ll have to listen to The Masked King sing in order to find out. I must become The Masked King today in order to get two mapae[2].” Gam Sung-Joo laughed in response and told the audience about the anecdote pertaining to the mapae.

“Hanryang Doryeong was dissatisfied with the fact that there was only one horse on the mapae, so he protested to the production team. In response, they told him that every time he becomes The Masked King, they would add one more horse to the mapae.

“So if he continues to become The Masked King, won’t there be ten horses on the mapae?” After hearing Kang Goo-Ra’s question, Woo-Jin imagined what a ten-horse mapae would look like, and burst out laughing. A ten-horse mapae was used by the king, so it was as though they were telling him to plot treason. But Woo-Jin wondered if taking the throne away from ‘Commander of the Universe’ when he became The Masked King would be akin to treason, so he laughed.

Woo-Jin’s laughter in his altered voice made him sound like a mischievous child, to the point it raised suspicions as to whether he was the same person who sang the tragic and heartbreaking song just a moment ago.

“Mr. Hanryang Doryeong burst out laughing. By any chance, did thinking about it make you that happy?”

“No. In any case, regardless of how well I sing, I can only get a 5-horse mapae.”

“I’m sorry? What do you mean by that?” Gam Sung-Joo widened his eyes and looked at Hanryang Doryeong, as if it was the first time hearing about it. The cue card didn’t mention anything about it.

“Even if I continue to be The Masked King, it’ll be hard for me to go on the show after four more episodes because of my busy schedule. Right now, I can only make time during these five weeks. It’ll be hard for me to do so after that. I told the PD that I’d be able to stay throughout the competition if he put me in after March, but he wanted me to just go on the show today.”

Woo-Jin told the production director that if he were to go on the show today, he could only do five episodes in total. However, if he were to participate around March, he would be able to appear in as many episodes as the production director wanted. Woo-Jin told him to choose between these two options. The production director wanted to strike while the iron was still hot, so he had no choice but to pick the former. Additionally, if he waited till March, there was a chance that Woo-Jin might change his mind and back out.

“No! Why did the production director make such a decision?”

“He must have gauged that it would be difficult for me to win more than five times in a row. I felt that it would be hard for me to do that as well, so I agreed.” Hanryand Doryeong proceeded to say that was the reason why there wouldn’t be a ten-horse mapae, and smiled innocently. It was uncertain if this scene would be edited out, but at the very least, the people present in the studio had heard it.

As Woo-Jin’s fifth victory approached, the production director would become increasingly frustrated. If someone failed to defeat Hanryang Doryeong with their vocals, the first Mask King would voluntarily step forward to have a showdown against him. Because the production director insisted on getting someone who could only appear in five episodes on the show, he was responsible for everything. The production director had no choice but to send in the people he had been saving, to use at a later date, to meet their demise.

The viewership ratings were high right now as the show had reached the peak of its popularity, but there was no telling how long they could keep it up for. Every time Woo-Jin won, the production director would have no choice but to send in his trump cards[3] to try to knock him down his throne. Although that might not happen, Woo-Jin could always trigger the production director, using the same method as what he had done to Woo-Jin.

Naturally, if that were to happen, there was a possibility that Woo-Jin would not be able to hold on to his title as The Masked King by achieving five consecutive victories. However, Woo-Jin wanted to make full use of this opportunity to sing as an actual singer. Woo-Jin wasn’t in a rush to protect his title as The Masked King; he wanted to enjoy new challenges.

If everything went according to his plan, then The King of the Masked Singers would maintain the highest viewership count while Hanryang Doryeong was still the Masked King. However once he stepped down, the show would come to an end unless the crew could find another strong candidate who could revive the dying embers of the show. It was most likely that The King of the Masked Singers would suffer for a bit.

But this plan would only be possible if Woo-Jin completely captivated the public, on top of becoming The Masked King and achieving five consecutive victories. If Woo-Jin couldn’t do that, then his plan to secretly take revenge on the PD would be futile and he would have to leave without truly being able to even attempt his revenge. However, Woo-Jin was so confident that he was already thinking about the next Masked King candidate whom he would be up against.

This time around, Woo-Jin evaluated and compared himself objectively and not subjectively. Woo-Jin felt that he had a good chance of winning this competition. Woo-Jin wouldn’t have participated in the first place if he had no chance of winning. As if responding to Woo-Jin’s conviction, Hanryang Doryeong became the finalist of today’s competition.

“The defending Masked King will now say a few words.”

“Umm… The Hanryang Doryeong is a very talented singer, so I’m very nervous and excited today. I will do my best to keep my title!”

Nobody could see the ‘Commander of the Universe’s’ facial expression because of his mask. It was hard to say anything because it was difficult to guess what he was thinking just by listening to his altered voice. This was one of the pros of The King of the Masked Singers. It was good for the contestants as they were able to protect their pride by hiding their emotional state from viewers, and the viewers could imagine whatever they wanted to keep their fantasies alive.

The Masked King, ‘Commander of the Universe,’ would be singing the late Kim Kwang-Seok’s well-known song, ‘Becoming Dust.’ As a fellow contestant, Woo-Jin was able to catch a glimpse of Min Si-Hoo’s hard work as soon as he heard the accompaniment. Min Si-Hoo had excellent vocal techniques, but he was criticized for his lack of emotions. Woo-Jin wondered if he picked this song to make up for his shortcomings. Even the song title, ‘Becoming Dust’, had the effect of making one feel emotional. If a good singer like Min Si-Hoo used a little technique, he would be able to bring the song to the next level.

Min Si-Hoo was doing a really good job at executing a rock version of this song. He had a wider range and better vocals compared to before, thus making the song sound bold and refreshing. Even from Woo-Jin’s point of view, it was as though Min Si-Hoo had combined all his strengths and displayed them together through this song.

CEO Jang was right – he wasn’t the Min Si-Hoo he used to be. All of Min Si-Hoo’s songs that Woo-Jin had listened to were recordings. Regardless of how good technology was, it couldn’t fully capture the reverberation and fine technical skills that could be heard during a live performance. Min Si-Hoo had evidently grown a lot as a singer, and he knew his strengths and weaknesses very well. His progress was unexpected and terrifying, so much so that Woo-Jin’s hands started sweating without him realizing it.

However, Woo-Jin furrowed his brows towards the middle of the song. What they thought was the best song choice for Min Si-Hoo backfired. The public was familiar with Kim Kwang-Seok’s ‘Becoming Dust,’ and he did give them the emotions they wanted. There was a unique emotion that was hard to draw out with just technique alone. If he couldn’t do it, it would be hard for the song to touch the hearts of the listeners. No, Min Si-Hoo’s virtuosic song would have been enough to captivate the people, if they had not heard Hanryang Doryeong sing.

Min Si-Hoo’s performance was better than the other contestants that performed today, so it would have been enough for him to keep his title as The Masked King. If the audience had not listened to Hanryang Doryeong sing, they wouldn’t have detected the problem within his song.

After experiencing Hanryang Doryeong’s cathartic songs, the listeners had a harsh evaluation of the Commander’s songs. Additionally, the high notes that were trying to tap into their purified emotions were nothing more than noise to them. Initially, the listeners weren’t aware of it, but as time went by, they began to feel fatigued from listening to Min Si-Hoo’s song. Several audience members that were sitting in front of the stage eventually blocked their ears with both hands as they couldn’t bear to listen any longer.

1. Traditional Korean clothes ☜

2. Horse pass(es) ☜

3. The other Mask Kings ☜