The finalists of this <SIT ON THE MONEY> competition are all skilled performers.
Among the finalists, no one stood out significantly or lagged far behind.
A very slight difference could determine the outcome.
Thus, they hoped that slight difference wouldn’t belong to them.
Perhaps that’s why.
“This is really something, I can’t even like it.”
“My luck is terrible.”
A few days before the live finale of <SIT ON THE MONEY>.
The news that the female singer who was supposed to feature in Hwang Ji-hyuk’s finale stage had to drop out due to unavoidable circumstances reached the other finalists.
While they managed their expressions, the other finalists felt a sense of sadness for Hwang Ji-hyuk but were secretly relieved.
After all, their competitor’s downfall was something they didn’t have to worry about.
Regardless of Hwang Ji-hyuk’s circumstances, it was his problem.
The decline in the quality of Hwang Ji-hyuk’s finale performance due to the absence of the featuring female singer was also just a disadvantage for him.
As time passed, and finally, it was the day of the live finale of <SIT ON THE MONEY>.
Even until their own finale stages ended without any significant mistakes.
Even until the moment when Hwang Ji-hyuk’s final stage began.
The other finalists had entirely excluded Hwang Ji-hyuk from their competition considerations in their minds.
They believed that the hastily altered performance created just days before the final could not compete with them.
However, after Hwang Ji-hyuk’s solo rap part concluded, which was beyond what they had expected.
When the stage camera momentarily aimed toward the very back of the stage.
[ Feat. Pinocchio ]
A line of subtitles that appeared in the corner of the live broadcast screen froze the eyes of all the finalists for a moment.
What followed was a clear voice that had once existed on countless people’s playlists.
Despite standing still without any notable choreography, her presence was enormous.
The distinct voice that showed no signs of wavering dominated the stage atmosphere.
The noise that had been frequent began to fade away.
In its place, puzzlement and murmurs directed at Pinocchio filled the air.
The finalists sitting in their respective waiting rooms also seemed mesmerized, watching in silence.
Finally, when the second featuring part started, and the black silhouette took a few steps forward.
“Uh…? What, what is that!!”
I unconsciously rose at the sight of a familiar face with a voice I had heard many times before.
At that exact moment, the number of text votes began to explode literally.
A sensation akin to being hit in the back of the head crashed over the finalists.
They stared blankly at the rapidly rising text vote count, with only the thought, “Does this even make sense?” lingering.
Strictly speaking, the stage performance was also a part of this <SIT ON THE MONEY> finale.
If you break it down, all Pinocchio did was walk to the center of the stage while singing her featuring part.
There was no part that violated the finale rules.
Nevertheless, the unbelievable identity of the performer.
The uproar of cheers pouring towards a single individual.
“Wow, oh…”
“Insane.”
“Did they really bring in a cheat key!!”
The finalists and their producers instinctively felt that something was terribly wrong and were dumbfounded.
From the get-go, assuming Pinocchio as a featuring singer was an unexpected situation.
Bringing in someone whose voice had been praised for perfectly matching Daulby’s songs to the finale and placing her on the same stage was a mismatch from the beginning.
Regardless of what anyone said, Daulby was one of the top singers in the music industry.
Having a voice that suits songs of such people means that she would inevitably succeed as a singer.
The nickname ‘The Top of the National Hip-hop’ was earned because she genuinely achieved number one on music charts with her hip-hop songs.
Unlike other female singers who were playfully given the title, her basis was entirely different.
The problem was that her true identity was unveiled in this finale.
The bigger issue was that the identity of the faceless singer Pinocchio turned out to be a famous actress.
[ Text Vote Count: 71249 ]
“…It’s over.”
The biggest problem was that the first digit of the final text vote count received by Hwang Ji-hyuk’s stage was different.
Although the votes from the live audience were reflected in the score, they too were likely shocked by Pinocchio’s real identity.
On top of that, Hwang Ji-hyuk’s rap part had also been beyond what people expected.
It was clear to anyone watching that he would be the ultimate protagonist of this finale.
About 20 minutes later, the final winner announcement began.
As expected, the name announced as the final winner of <SIT ON THE MONEY> was Hwang Ji-hyuk.
I felt no sense of reality at all, so I wasn’t even angry.
I simply clapped for Hwang Ji-hyuk with a sense of resignation.
The same was true for Ha Eun in the waiting room, who also applauded Hwang Ji-hyuk.
However, since Ha Eun’s phone had quite literally caught fire recently.
[Min Da-yeon] – Hey
[Min Da-yeon] – Hey
[Min Da-yeon] – Hey
[Min Da-yeon] – Hey
[Min Da-yeon] – Miss Pinocchio
[Min Da-yeon] – National Hip-hop Top Pinocchio
[Lee Ha-eun] – (Otter emoticon looking around)
[Min Da-yeon] – It’s chaotic here right now
[Min Da-yeon] – Everyone’s talking about you
[Lee Ha-eun] – (Running otter emoticon)
In the end, she switched her phone to airplane mode.
She didn’t feel capable of handling the flood of messages.
However, she couldn’t help but realize the impact of this <SIT ON THE MONEY> finale even slightly.
For good reason.
“I posted this quickly because I was in a rush. If there’s anything to correct, please let me know.”
This was because she had checked an article about Pinocchio from Heo Ju-eun, whom she reunited with at a cafe near the finale venue.
Strictly speaking, there was nothing to correct in Heo Ju-eun’s article.
There were a few expressions that were a bit embarrassing for Ha Eun, but it also included mentions of <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds>.
The comment section of the article was lively.
Since Heo Ju-eun’s article ended up in the [Hot Topic] section, its view count was rising rapidly.
“It seems you wrote it well… Thank you.”
Right after that, another interview request came from Heo Ju-eun.
It was implied right after that Heo Ju-eun thought or was sure that there would be a lot of buzz around ‘Lee Ha-eun’ for some time.
However, there was a reason she had to attend the afterparty following this finale.
“It seems I can’t do it right now. I’m sorry.”
The interview with Heo Ju-eun was postponed for a few days.
Heo Ju-eun nodded with a somewhat disappointed expression, saying she understood for now.
After parting with Heo Ju-eun, she hopped into Ju Jung-yun’s black van and headed to the meat restaurant near the finale venue for the afterparty.
“I’m here.”
After lightly greeting the people who welcomed Ha Eun warmly, she headed straight to sit next to Lee Jun.
From then on, she kept a close watch.
“Um, ribeye is perfect with sake—”
– Pinch.
“Ah!! If you keep doing that, I’ll tell Geon-yeol Uncle everything.”
“I-I was just saying. Just saying…”
“Don’t even say it.”
Currently, Lee Geon-yeol had rushed back to his hometown right after the finale due to a relative’s memorial service.
Thus, instead of heading to where Yu Sung-jae and Da-yeon were, he had to stay next to Lee Jun and take care of him.
Well, either way.
The promise made by Hwang Ji-hyuk to win was kept, and it was just the right timing as <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds> episode 1 was about to start.
“Excuse me, Boss. Can I change the channel for a moment?”
After asking the meat restaurant’s owner for permission, she switched the TV channel.
What came up was episode 1 of <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds>.
“Oh? Is that <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds>?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, it’s well-shot. The boar CG looks so realistic. Cutting the boar also looks real.”
“………………”
“……It’s CG, right?”
“………………”
“……Over there?”
“It’s going to get cold. Hurry and eat.”
After that, she just repeated using chopsticks, putting well-cooked beef into her mouth.
In the meantime, while everyone attending the afterparty was enjoying delicious beef and watching Ha Eun’s acting in <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds>, a little distance away from the afterparty venue of <SIT ON THE MONEY>.
“Director, did you see the internet? There are tons of articles about Ha Eun!”
“Yes, Writer Seong already informed me.”
Discussions were happening regarding the unexpected promotional effect <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds> had received due to Ha Eun.
However, they still didn’t have a clear understanding regarding the current viewership ratings.
For now, the focus was only on whether episode 1 of <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds> aired successfully.
Director Jin Kyu-seong of <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds> wasn’t particularly concerned about anything else either.
“Director!”
“I saw that article about Ha Eun.”
“Ah, no. It’s not that. It’s about our viewership ratings!”
“?”
Upon hearing that the current viewership ratings of <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds> vastly surpassed those of the competing show <Full Moon Lovers>, Yu Sung-jae, who had overheard, hurriedly approached Da-yeon, retrieved the teddy bear she was holding for a moment.
“Today’s MVP! Let’s give a round of applause!”
He made the production team and cast members of <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds> gathered there applaud the teddy bear emblazoned with Ha Eun’s picture.
“…She’s really impressive.”
He drastically revised his evaluation of Ha Eun.
Somehow, in the midst of all this, he had completely forgotten about the upcoming episode of <2 Nights and 3 Days> that would be aired before episode 2 of <The Moonlight Parted by Clouds>.
No one—including Director Jin Kyu-seong—could have predicted what the result would be of ‘Lee Ha-eun’ being in the spotlight for two consecutive days.
