Chapter 42: You’re Changing It Like This

After passing through a familiar street and arriving at Club Sierra, I could see the audience from afar.

Even though there was still over an hour until opening, groups of people had already gathered, seemingly waiting for the show.

It felt like the audience had been gathering earlier and earlier lately.

“I’m here! Another pleasant afternoon today!”

I greeted cheerfully and headed into the waiting room.

As soon as I opened the door, the smell of tteokbokki rushed in.

The ajummas and hyungs who were sitting welcomed me warmly.

“Taeyoon, come on in.”

“You look even prettier when you smile. Come, sit down.”

The irresistible temptation of tteokbokki!

I naturally joined the tteokbokki party.

As soon as I sat down, MD-hyung scooped some tteokbokki onto my plate and asked.

Yongsik-hyung.

My closest hyung.

“Rackhole, something good happen?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“You don’t realize your greeting changes depending on your mood, do you?”

“Me?”

“What, you really didn’t know?”

Did I?

“I’m always the same though?”

“When you’re in a good mood, you say ‘pleasant afternoon.’”

“And normally?”

“You say, ‘I’m here. Ajumma, I’m hungry.’”

At MD-hyung’s words, the kitchen ajumma and the other hyungs looked at me and laughed.

Is it funny to clock in for a meal?

The truth is, half the reason I come to Sierra for work is because of the ajumma’s dinner.

It saves on meal costs. And I get to eat something like homemade food every day.

That’s why I like it here.

I gave the head kitchen ajumma a thumbs-up and asked MD-hyung,

“Seems like you’re the one with good news, hyung?”

“Kid, your sense…”

With a grin so wide it was impossible not to notice.

He’d been here since I first came… we’d seen each other almost every day for over a year now.

Sometimes he even looked after me better than my own brother. So by now, I could tell just by looking at his face.

“Hyung, did you get accepted?”

MD-hyung made a V sign with his fingers.

“Wow! Congratulations!”

“It’s thanks to you, Taeyoon.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Your portfolio. You helped me, remember?”

Hmm? Did I?

Yongsik-hyung had wanted to become a performance planner.

But every single application he sent got rejected.

According to him, it was because of an unimpressive academic background and a bland portfolio.

Apparently, fresh, original concepts were the most important—but he complained he had no idea what that meant.

So I’d just added a few words.

Told him to make use of his club MD experience.

Suggested he try planning around DJing performances.

“You know the DJ shows you’ve done? I analyzed the videos, the audience reactions, changes in attendance and all that. When I looked at you, Taeyoon, I saw it. It really helped a lot.”

All eyes in the waiting room turned toward me.

I shrugged and replied,

“I’ve only done DJing though.”

“That’s already everything.”

Yongsik-hyung continued, his tone turning rather serious.

“Sometimes I visit other clubs, you know? But it’s definitely different. Both in audience distribution and in preferences.”

“I do hit it off a bit, right?”

Even though I said it half-jokingly out of embarrassment—

Hyung reacted in strong agreement.

“Not just a bit. I really only analyzed DJ Blackhole, but that seemed to land fresh and strong. Thanks. Really, it’s because of you.”

“Did you mention your MD experience too?”

“Of course.”

“How was the reaction?”

I’d always thought of club MD experience as a double-edged sword.

People often had the stereotype that anyone working in nightlife gave off a certain “flashy” vibe.

On top of that, most large entertainment companies were labels under major corporations.

Which meant they probably still had some conservative culture left.

Still, I had pushed strongly.

Since he kept getting rejected anyway, I told him to at least say everything he wanted to say.

We weren’t doing anything bad, so I told him to be confident.

“Since it went well, you must’ve passed the third interview, right?”

“Yup?”

Yongsik-hyung raised his right hand.

I raised mine too and gave him an enthusiastic high-five.

The smack of our palms sounded unusually cheerful today.

“Just have the physical left now.”

“Aren’t you 180cm and 70kg, hyung? Then that’s a free pass. They say these days even office workers get judged by looks, and you’re really cool.”

Everyone laughed and looked at me at my comment.

Ah, again, why?

“Rackhole… that’s not it.”

Huh?

“There’s stuff like blood tests and urine tests.”

Ah, so that’s what it was.

How would I know? It’s not like I’d ever interviewed at a big company. Learned something new today.

Hyung hesitated, then handed me a small shopping bag.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“As thanks. Thought of you and bought it.”

It was a Nike cap.

A simple cap with just the logo—it was totally my style.

“But is this… a letter?”

Inside the bag was an envelope.

When I opened it, I just stared back and forth between the paper and Yongsik-hyung’s face, unsure how to react.

[Wang Yongsik One-Time Use Coupon.]

“What’s this?”

“Can’t you read Korean?”

“No, I mean… why would I use you, hyung?”

“You never know. In life, you might need my help someday.”

Yongsik-hyung scratched his head awkwardly and added,

“I wanted to buy you a good gift, but I can’t afford it now. When I succeed, I’ll give you something really nice.”

“This is already good enough.”

“The Wang Yongsik coupon?”

“As if. Hahaha— no, I like it.”

I tried to smile as widely as I could.

Hopefully it didn’t look awkward.

Tonight’s performance at Club Sierra was especially unique.

A familiar intro flowed from the speakers.

Han Yujin’s .

The regulars knew—Taeyoon never performed using the latest K-pop songs.

In this fresh, unprecedented style, the crowd’s response hit its peak.

“Wow, you’re changing it up like this?”

“Isn’t this Han Yujin’s song? Su-su-su-super Ride.”

“K-pop’s not bad either.”

“This would kill no matter who touched it.”

Performing hit songs rearranged in an EDM style was a common format.

And popular too.

Because people could sing along naturally.

K-pop’s addictive hooks paired with electronic music fit the club’s atmosphere perfectly.

Still, Taeyoon mostly mixed foreign tracks.

A full set of only K-pop could feel predictable.

Besides, people often came to Sierra to hear him reinterpret unfamiliar foreign tracks in his style.

It was like saying, “This is how I enjoy music in a special way!”

But today was different.

“This vibe suits you too.”

“You could do this more often.”

This wasn’t just ordinary K-pop.

It was his own song.

He knew exactly which parts to highlight, where to drop the beat.

He scratched at the bass-emphasized remix record—BPM slightly raised—building tension.

‘…!’

The stage I climbed every night felt extra special today.

I naturally bobbed my head to the beat of Super Ride.

The highlight was definitely the bridge.

Han Yujin’s whispering voice tickled the ear, instantly captivating the crowd.

– Super Ride, Ride…

I worked the crossfader quickly to make the drop explode.

Taeyoon looked down from the stage.

Every audience member sang along to Super Ride, their eyes locked on his fingertips.

A bigger reaction than expected.

The thought that his own song could stir such frenzy brought a strange thrill.

Taeyoon raised his hand high.

Cheers erupted from below.

“Please take off your mask just once!”

“Face reveal, let’s go!”

My hand almost went up to my mask for real.

‘…It feels completely different.’

Even seeing Han Yujin perform Super Ride on a music show or hearing people sing it on the street hadn’t felt like this.

Boom boom boom—

It was such a blissful moment, I couldn’t tell if the pounding was from the subwoofer’s vibrations or my own heartbeat.

I gripped the fader tighter.

The tingling that started in my soles shot up to my crown in an instant.

That’s how Taeyoon accepted his first encore request from the crowd tonight.

[ Check out this insane DJ set. ]

Ilsan Club Sierra – DJ Blackhole

(Video link)

↳ This is what DJing is? I can’t stop watching ㄷㄷㄷ

↳ Wow, putting a Han Yujin song here? The mood flipped in an instant, goosebumps.

↳ When Han Yujin whispered and then the beat exploded, my dopamine exploded too ㅇㅇ

↳ I wanna go see thisㅠㅠㅠㅠ

↳ Why’s he so cute when he focuses and rides the rhythm ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

↳ Why won’t he show his face?

↳↳ They say he’s ugly;;;

↳↳↳ Yeah, look in the mirror.

↳ As long as he DJs well, what does his face matter? These days, there are plenty who just bring in pretty boys to stand there and pretend.

↳↳ True that ㅋㅋ Even DJing has its “face representative” era now!

↳ I went to see him in person, and I was just speechless…

↳↳ If you like old-school funk or disco, you have to go. The DJ really knows his music.

Sometimes, when a post about Blackhole came up in a music community, I would tap on it nervously.

You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I still got nervous every time.

Because there might be negative comments.

Luckily, since it was a community of people who genuinely listened to music, there wasn’t any malicious criticism.

At least not yet.

Sometimes I still couldn’t believe that so many people beyond my smartphone screen were sending support for my music.

Why did something like this make me so happy?

I barely managed to suppress the smile tugging at my lips and sat down.

The sun was already starting to rise outside the window.

Hyung should be waking up soon…

I must have sat there with sleepy eyes wide open for about an hour.

Hearing the clattering sound, I happily headed into the kitchen.

“Hyung!”

“You’re still up? You should’ve slept early. Bring out your laundry. Why didn’t you eat the kimchi stew? I told you to take care of your meals.”

Judging from how he rattled off nagging like a rap, he seemed fine.

I hadn’t had much time to see him lately.

Over breakfast together for the first time in a while, we chatted about this and that.

“Your hair looks cool, hyung. It suits you even better.”

“It’s the same as before.”

“I’ve been listening to that new song your company released. Didn’t you say you pitched it? As expected, my hyung’s golden ears.”

“Hm…? What did you listen to? Tell me the title.”

“…My apologies.”

“This guy, talking without even listening. If you’ve got a request, just say it. I need to leave soon.”

Still as sharp as ever.

“I’m going to see Teacher Jang this weekend. Can you come with me?”

We called the head teacher of the music academy we attended as kids “Teacher Jang.”

“You go fine on your own.”

“It’d just be nice to go together. Are you busy?”

“Saturday should be fine. But why all of a sudden?”

“The truth is…”

I stabbed my toast with a fork and looked at hyung.

He must really be busy, because he was shoving the toast into his mouth in huge bites.

Better to ask when he’s distracted.

“I want you to listen to one of my songs.”

Hyung’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You wrote another one?”

“Yeah.”

“What is it? Can I even listen? Did you forget what I do for a living?”

It didn’t matter.

This was a request as a younger brother, and as a long-time music mate.

“Normally, you shouldn’t listen.”

“…?”

“But if you’re going to do the guitar session, you need to hear it. How else would you play?”

“Keck-keck.”

Suddenly coughing, hyung looked at me with hesitant eyes after a while.

This wouldn’t be easy.

Time to negotiate.

Rule one of negotiation—offer a tempting reward.

“I’ll pay you a session fee. How about… 300,000 won?”

“You think I’d take money from you?”

Not that then.

Rule two—

“I’ll do the cleaning for a month.”

“What nonsense.”

Not that either?

I hadn’t prepared for a third option…

If not money or chores, then what? While I was thinking, hyung shrugged and said,

“I’m not sure I’m up to it.”

“Huh? What’s with the modesty? Show your skills, hyung. Doesn’t your company still ask you for guitar sessions?”

“That was back when I first joined. These days I’m too busy.”

If that was the reason, there was no need to hesitate.

“It’s not the final recording, just a demo. No pressure.”

“What kind of demo needs a session player?”

“It’s a band track, so I have to get the vibe right.”

“Hm… alright. I’ll tell them we’ll come on Saturday then.”

“Yes!”

“Is that really worth celebrating?”

“I just saved money.”

I said that, but I was genuinely happy.

Both about going to see Teacher Jang for the first time in a while—

And about getting to play guitar with my hyung.

There wasn’t much time if I wanted to rearrange the song in the direction I’d imagined.

I quickly cleared the dishes and stood up.

“Hyung, have a good day.”

“Go to bed early.”

“Okay.”

Once I confirmed hyung had left, I darted back into my room and grabbed my bass.

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