Chapter 46: Once Again, as One

Moon Jungbae suddenly thrust an animal mask toward me.

It was basically cute and adorable… but there was something strangely eerie about it.

Almost as if it was trying to talk to me.

The expressions on the ajusshis’ faces as they looked down at the mask were all different.

Bewilderment, absurdity, curiosity. Even a sense of plausibility…

Excluding Moon Jungbae, there were four members in total.

Opinions were split evenly in half.

First, bassist Bang Gicheol and keyboardist Kang Musong were vehemently opposed, visibly disgusted.

“A mask? Now you’ve really run out of ideas.”

“…Is this some kindergarten talent show? I’m not doing it.”

On the other hand—

“Oh, that actually sounds fun. I’ve always wanted to try something like this.”

“Hiding our identities is the trend these days. Won’t the internet go wild trying to figure out who we are?”

Guitarist Ham Doyoung and drummer No Byeongcheon cast their votes in favor.

“The tiger is mine. The king of animals is, of course, the tiger.”

“Wouldn’t that be the lion?”

Ham Doyoung picked up the tiger mask and smirked.

‘It should be fine, right?’

After a brief moment of hesitation, he seemed to make up his mind and pulled the mask over his face.

Maybe because his face was big, the elastic band dug into his ears a little, but it didn’t matter.

Once he put it on, it felt like…

“Roar!”

“…?”

…he had really become a tiger.

A young, fierce, and spirited tiger at that!

Who cares anyway? My face was hidden, so if I said I was one, I was one.

“You guys try it too. Churai, churai.”

I offered the masks using the trendy gamer slang I’d picked up from games.

The bassist and keyboardist still wore expressions of utter distaste.

Only drummer No Byeongcheon stroked his chin, looking deep in thought.

Ham Doyoung said,

“No need to think so hard. It’s not like it costs anything to wear one.”

“That’s not it.”

“Then?”

“I was wondering… which one I should try on.”

“Smart man. We’re going to end up doing this anyway, so it’s better to pick first.”

“Oh-ho? Then I’ll take this one.”

No Byeongcheon chose the lion.

The full, thick mane was exactly to his liking.

“Not bad, using the mane to make up for the hair I’ve lost.”

“Looks good. But what’s a lion’s roar like?”

“Grrraaaah?”

“Khahaha, that’s hilarious. Grrraaaah!”

Honestly… these guys.

The bassist and keyboardist stared at them with dumbfounded faces.

Had they eaten something weird today?

“Glad you’re enjoying yourselves…”

“Try it on. You’ll feel the same way.”

“What are you, a kid?”

“That’s why people call you an old man.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Oh, really?”

Bickering.

The 2:2 argument dragged on for quite a while.

It was a fight with no end in sight.

Of course it was—after all the years they’d known each other.

Some even resorted to low blows, bringing up past incidents.

Moon Jungbae shook his head and rubbed his forehead.

‘They haven’t changed.’

Since he was the one who made the suggestion, it was right for the four of them to work it out.

Cheongseong was a fairly reasonable band. All decisions were made by majority vote.

Otherwise, nothing ever got decided.

‘At 2:2, this is doable.’

He never expected unanimous approval from the start.

He just needed one person to switch sides.

Restarting their music was what mattered. Masks, alter-egos—that could all be dealt with later.

If the opposing side dug in their heels?

He was even willing to handle that part with an MR track. That’s how serious Moon Jungbae was.

But he was confident it would never come to that.

No matter how much they argued about who was better, they always followed the rules.

Moon Jungbae called over the most vocal opponent—bassist Bang Gicheol.

"Hey, hey, Gicheol. This isn’t the time to be bickering about masks."

"What are you talking about?"

"Heh heh."

The moment Bang Gicheol saw Moon Jungbae’s expression, chills ran down his entire body.

That expression… that expression…

Why did it look so sly?

"Alright, alright. Let’s go back to the start. How about we just think about the song?"

Moon Jungbae replayed Taeyoon’s track.

A refreshing sound. On top of that, Taeyoon’s voice filled the backstage with a crisp breeze.

Only then did Bang Gicheol’s eyes light up.

He had gotten so caught up with the mask that he’d briefly forgotten—

Just what kind of song this was.

This was, without a doubt…

"A song made just for me."

A song for the bass.

Feigning ignorance, Moon Jungbae asked again,

"And what’s a song made just for you?"

"Don’t pretend you don’t know. You think the guys here wouldn’t get it?"

Bang Gicheol shot up from his seat.

Now that he was listening again, his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest.

"Ah, I can’t take it anymore."

He rushed straight to the back of the stage where the instruments were gathered and began playing along to the bass part.

"Oooooh!"

"That’s our Gicheol! Still got it!"

It was like a sweet revenge match, washing away all the bitterness he’d endured as a bassist.

He’d always been disappointed that whenever people talked about the rhythm section, it was only the drums they mentioned.

And being told to just keep playing “thump thump thump” as backup—that stung, too.

But today, Taeyoon’s bass line had lodged itself firmly in his ears, and that alone was enough to completely captivate Bang Gicheol.

"Is that guy letting out years of pent-up frustration?"

"Shh!"

A little over-the-top, but deeply sincere.

The powerful bass riff came alive again under Bang Gicheol’s fingertips.

There had never been a bass line like this before!

"This is what real bass is! This is what a real band song is!"

His long-buried passion burst out like fireworks.

Seeing Bang Gicheol so absorbed in the bass, the other members exchanged glances.

The mood was shifting.

They were all fidgeting in their seats, glancing around nervously.

"Huh…"

The second opponent, keyboardist Kang Musong, was restlessly tapping his feet.

While Bang Gicheol was rocking the bass groove, his own fingers were forced to tap at an imaginary keyboard.

The keyboard had plenty to say too!

‘This is where I should be jumping in!’

Kang Musong had always felt this way.

In the band, the keyboard was the most supporting of supporting roles.

When the guitar and drums roared, he felt like just a side extra filling in empty spots.

The synth sounds were nothing more than mood-setters, and the solos always went to the guitar.

But this song was different!

A bright synth theme from the very start that grabbed the ears instantly. The moment he heard it, his fingertips tingled.

‘This is the kind of song I’ve been dreaming of.’

It was the sound of his most exciting days.

And of all times, now, young Taeyoon had revived the theme of that youthful era.

An intro led not by guitar, but by keyboard.

Thump-thump.

Even his heartbeat rang clearly in his ears.

"Screw it, I can’t take it anymore!"

Kang Musong finally jumped up from his seat.

Mask or no mask—

Just for this moment, he wanted to be the star. No, he had to be.

"Play the song again."

"Aw, but we were just having fun!"

"Let me have some fun too!"

Moon Jungbae grinned as he watched the two former opponents bicker on stage, then restarted the track from the beginning.

Like opening an old photo album—

Kang Musong’s first stage came vividly to mind.

"This song’s like a spring breeze…"

A small smile crept across his lips.

The sound he had long admired.

Band music didn’t always have to be intense.

There could be sounds this fresh and bright, like the sunshine of a spring day.

"Whoa, what’s with Kang? He’s totally lost in it."

"Can’t remember the last time Kang Musong smiled like that."

The members whispered in surprise.

But Kang Musong heard none of it.

Eight bars. In that short moment, he fully basked in the feeling of being the star.

"Guess I can’t just sit here? Hey, the real star is the guitar!"

"You can’t leave the drums out."

The drummer and guitarist stood up too.

And just like that, they naturally found their places again.

Just like they had twenty years ago.

With Taeyoon’s song, Cheongseong was ready to be one again.

"Strange. Why do I feel so confident all of a sudden?"

"Told you I was right."

"Bright and refreshing song? Possible."

"Don’t I look like a high schooler with this on?"

"Mister… that’s a stretch."

At the central table backstage—

All five members sat facing each other, wearing animal masks.

Only two masks remained.

There was a bit of squabbling over the dog and the chicken.

But the negotiation reached a dramatic conclusion when they swapped the chicken for a monkey!

"But hey…"

Bang Gicheol stroked his chin for a moment.

Now, the masks didn’t matter anymore.

In his imagination, he was already sweeping the stage, basking in passionate cheers and support.

Was the bass line overpowering the other instruments? Of course he knew. They had already talked it over.

Adjusting it properly—now that was nothing for him.

The problem was…

"Something, something… hmm…"

He couldn’t quite put it into words, but something was nagging at him.

Moon Jungbae shot him a look and said,

"What’s this? You’re suddenly thinking the mask isn’t a good idea? No turning back now—you know we already settled that, right?"

"Hey, what do you take me for? Just play the song again for a second."

"Which version?"

"The original version."

Cheongseong wasn’t called Cheongseong for nothing.

In just two hours, they had tweaked the song and nailed a perfect live version.

They had even made a recording to send to Taeyoon.

The harmonious rearrangement had come together in a flash. And yet—

"When the fill-in comes in mid-song, I think maybe I put in too much bass because it felt a little empty."

"And if we take it out, won’t Bang Gicheol sulk?"

Even at Moon Jungbae’s joking jab, Bang Gicheol’s face stayed serious.

Drummer No Byeongcheon chimed in,

"Yeah, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want Gicheol to pout, but maybe there’s a better way when going from the verse into the chorus?"

"Don’t hold back on my account. Ah, the life of a bassist is tough."

"You know that’s not what I mean? You’re the one who brought it up…"

Fill-in was a term used in drumming.

It meant a short drum pattern used between sections or when changing phrases.

A brief variation played when the vocalist paused to fill in the space, or after four or eight measures before moving into the next part.

Simply put, it was like a comma between sentences.

If used well, it could make the song much more dynamic…

"What would be good, I wonder."

"Moon Jungbae, you’re the one who has to come up with it. Songwriting is your specialty, isn’t it?"

It was already good enough as it was.

But there was definitely a better solution out there.

The members put their heads together, mulling it over.

"Ah?"

"I’ve got it!"

"Oh!"

At the same time, they all shouted out a band name.

"Linkin Park!"

"How about we do it like Linkin Park?"

"Yeah, that’s what it reminds me of!"

And right after—

"DJ Hahn!"

"DJ Hahn… he was awesome."

"DJ!"

Even after all these years, Cheongseong was the same as ever, thinking of the exact same thing.

That’s right. They were thinking of DJ Hahn, the Korean member of Linkin Park.

He had been responsible for a crucial part of the band’s sound through sampling and scratching.

A pioneer of nu-metal, blending hip-hop and rock.

"Yeah, but where are we gonna find a DJ?"

"It’s hard to find a good one."

"And they’ve gotta be tight-lipped too."

"You think there’s one in Sindang-dong? Should we check behind the tteokbokki shops?"

"Stop showing your age…"

But reality was reality.

Where on earth were they going to find a DJ?

While the others laughed helplessly, one man seemed lost in thought, as if an idea had struck him.

It was none other than Moon Jungbae.

He knew that Kim Minsoo ran a club. And a club meant there’d definitely be a DJ.

He might be able to persuade them somehow.

Snapping his fingers, he said,

"I’ll find one."

"Oooooh…"

"You? A DJ?"

"Well… I’ve got some connections here and there."

"You’re not seriously going to look in Sindang-dong, are you?"

No one had high hopes.

What kind of fresh, top-class DJ could a man in his sixties possibly bring back?

Even so, Moon Jungbae was confident.

"You think I can’t? I just happen to know a club owner pretty well. If it’s a club, they’ve gotta have a DJ, so I’ll lure one over somehow. Just wait and see."

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