Chapter 47: He Really Wasn’t Ordinary

A band and a DJ.

At first glance, the combination of a band and a DJ might feel mismatched, but it brought innovation to modern rock music.

A prime example would be Joseph Hahn of Linkin Park.

As a Korean-American, he broadened the band’s reach by building Linkin Park’s unique, differentiated sound with his distinctive DJing style.

‘It’ll give it a much more sophisticated feel.’

These kinds of attempts kept expanding.

Like DJ Lethal from Limp Bizkit, or Sid Wilson from Slipknot.

Each one presented an innovative sound in their respective bands.

They didn’t just do simple DJing—they redefined the musical identity of their bands.

And for that reason…

“Hey, Minsu. I’m here.”

That was why Moon Jungbae came to see Kim Minsoo first thing in the morning.

Since they had decided to do it anyway,

wouldn’t it be better if things moved quickly?

Kim Minsoo replied.

“What brings you here so early?”

“I need you to introduce me to a DJ.”

“Huh?”

Kim Minsoo’s hand, which had been pouring coffee, stopped above the dripper.

“A DJ?”

He looked puzzled.

Why would Moon Jungbae want a club DJ?

Didn’t he know Taeyoon was Blackhole?

…No, he probably didn’t.

At Kim Minsoo’s question, Moon Jungbae shrugged.

“There’s gotta be a DJ at a club, right?”

“By any chance… do you know our DJ?”

“How would I know your DJ? I don’t, so I came to find out.”

Moon Jungbae sat down on the sofa and continued.

“If you want to see Cheongseong together again, go find me a DJ right now.”

Kim Minsoo’s eyes widened.

Even if it was just Moon Jungbae singing again, that would be shocking enough—but Cheongseong getting back together?

No, getting back together was fine, but… why a DJ?

This situation needed sorting out, fast.

What wind had blown to make this man, who swore he’d never sing again, change his mind?

Handing over the coffee, Kim Minsoo asked,

“I think I need to hear what’s going on first.”

“What?”

“Cheongseong. Suddenly? You’re getting back together? Why?”

“Well… you see…”

A radiant look spread across Moon Jungbae’s face.

Seo Taeyoon.

Just thinking about that guy made a smile creep onto his face.

Kim Minsoo, who wasn’t about to miss that look, quickly cut in.

“Did you happen to meet the composer Angkora?”

“Writer Seo… he’s really not ordinary.”

“What? You met Taeyoon?”

“Yeah. So, here’s how it happened…”

Moon Jungbae briefly shared his impressions of meeting Taeyoon.

The conclusion was this:

Not only did the young man write music exceptionally well, he also had a brilliant way with words that could charm people!

Kim Minsoo simply nodded along, listening intently.

‘Taeyoon accomplished something I couldn’t?’

No, more than that—

It was Angkora, sure, but he even brought a band song.

…When did he even have the time?

Was he even human?

And apparently, after hearing that band song, every Cheongseong member had agreed to reunite.

Kim Minsoo sipped his coffee and studied Moon Jungbae’s expression.

Just how much of this was he supposed to believe?

“Why are you looking at me like that? You think I made it up?”

Alright, let’s take this step by step.

Kim Minsoo asked again.

“No, there’s still something you haven’t answered. How did you meet Writer Seo?”

Moon Jungbae shrugged.

“Who am I? I already knew him.”

“You knew Taeyoon?”

“We’re close. We’ve even been to karaoke together. What’s the word… a three-in-six?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Did I have to?”

“Well… I guess not?”

Kim Minsoo looked dejected.

Taeyoon had thought he was the closest to him, but after hearing the story, it felt like Moon Jungbae was actually closer than he was.

He thought he knew Taeyoon well—maybe he didn’t.

For him to play his song for Moon Jungbae first, instead of him.

It wasn’t like he was an exclusive composer or anything, so it was up to him, but still…

‘What is this feeling?’

A faint sense of disappointment began to creep in.

“What’s with that face?”

“It’s just strange.”

“What is?”

“You don’t like kids these days, remember? You’re always going on and on about them. So how did you fall for Taeyoon so easily?”

“Watch it. I’m not that narrow-minded.”

Truth be told, even if he said that, it was something he couldn’t deny.

As he got older, he’d caught himself spouting the very “kids these days” talk he used to hate so much.

But Taeyoon was different. He was sure of it.

“Our Seo Rabbit is special.”

“What? Seo-ra-beat? Taeyoon doesn’t even live in Seorae Village.”

“No, it’s… something like that.”

“You keep saying ‘something like that.’ Let me in on it too.”

Moon Jungbae felt strangely thrilled.

It was like he had become secret friends with Taeyoon, who was over thirty years younger than him.

A sort of age-transcending friendship that Kim Minsoo didn’t know about.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. I’m going to try singing again.”

“That’s good news.”

“So, about why I was thinking of a DJ…”

As soon as the topic turned to music, Moon Jungbae’s voice grew calm.

Watching him, Kim Minsoo thought,

‘Come to think of it, Taeyoon and Moon Jungbae have a similar streak.’

They might seem laid-back, but the moment music came up, their eyes would change completely.

Quickly brushing aside the lingering image of Taeyoon that came to mind, he said,

“If you came here looking for a DJ, then you came to the right place.”

“Yeah?”

“But…”

The way he said it so casually made it clear—

Moon Jungbae definitely didn’t know who the DJ at Club Sierra was.

If he did, he’d probably be shocked out of his chair.

…This could be fun.

Kim Minsoo’s hidden mischievous side started to stir.

If the man just barged in asking for a DJ, this much was fair game, right?

Leaning back arrogantly on the sofa, he crossed his arms.

Seeing that, Moon Jungbae narrowed his eyes.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Our DJ doesn’t have the kind of career that fits… no, the kind of time to join some old band.”

“If he knew we were Cheongseong, he wouldn’t say that.”

“He’s probably more famous than Cheongseong now.”

A childish back-and-forth went on.

Somehow, it was getting more and more fun.

Kim Minsoo straightened his back.

“You really haven’t seen our show?”

“What, clubs go on TV these days?”

“Ha… YouTube. YouTube.”

He almost wanted to clutch his chest in frustration.

He’d meant to tease the man, but now he just felt exasperated himself.

Pulling out his smartphone, he held it out.

“Here, check this out.”

[Club Sierra – Authentic DJ spins a disco mix (DJ Blackhole)]

It was Taeyoon’s DJing video with over 500,000 views.

Moon Jungbae took the phone without much thought.

“What, some small-time club DJ, I bet he’s— Hm?”

He ended up replaying the video several times.

His brow furrowed, and his lips quivered.

This was… the DJ from Club Sierra?

What on earth had happened without him knowing?

Moon Jungbae looked back and forth between Taeyoon in the video and Kim Minsoo.

He could hardly believe it.

“Ho… It’s like Jam Master Jay came back to life.”

“That’s high praise.”

“Where’d you find a DJ like this?”

“He walked right in.”

Kim Minsoo quickly snatched his phone back.

“Wait! Let me see another video!”

“Go watch it at home.”

Moon Jungbae was getting impatient.

The fact that such an incredible DJ was at Kim Minsoo’s club—

Kim Minsoo, reading his expression, thought,

Something laugh-out-loud funny was about to happen.

“Give me his contact.”

“Ask Taeyoon first. Shouldn’t you get the composer’s permission before you do anything?”

Kim Minsoo smirked.

A message came from Moon Jungbae.

[Moon Jungbae: Please check your email]

What kind of email could it be?

Surely he wouldn’t send a long rejection in an email.

I steadied my pounding heart and opened it…

“Oh?”

I straightened up and focused on the video.

The members of Cheongseong were performing my song.

With completely natural, happy expressions.

“So you can express the bass… like this.”

The “confession song to the bass” had become a “youth story where every instrument shone equally.”

Cheongseong’s sound perfectly embodied the “youth” I dreamed of.

Drums, guitar, bass, keyboard—

Balanced in perfect harmony, with nothing sticking out.

I couldn’t hold it in.

My whole body tensed, my feet tapping automatically to the BPM.

And the fact that they’d sent me a video of them performing it themselves—

that meant my mask plan had worked, right?

I wanted to see, hear, and feel Cheongseong’s performance in person as soon as possible.

I quickly sent a message.

[Me: Cheongseong is really going to make a scene, huh?]

[Moon Jungbae: The one who made a scene was Writer Seo, right?]

[Me: When are you meeting again?]

Why did it feel like the reply was taking forever?

[Moon Jungbae: This weekend?]

So frustrating.

It took ages to get an answer.

I couldn’t stand it and called Moon Jungbae.

The first thing he said when he picked up was—

– You’re impatient too, huh?

“If you can hear such a great band performance and not feel urgent, isn’t that neglecting your work?”

– Heh heh.

A hearty laugh came through the receiver.

That voice was pleasant no matter when I heard it.

“When should I come? Since we’ve decided to do this, how about doing it quickly?”

I heard him laugh again.

Don’t just laugh—answer me, please, sir!

– Hold on a second… hmm…

“If our schedules don’t match, I’d still like to see you alone. I also need to discuss the lyrics.”

– Oh right, I wanted to ask you that. Why are there no lyrics?

“Well…”

I began explaining slowly.

I had decided it was right for the Cheongseong members to work on the lyrics together.

I was in my twenties now.

And they had lived their twenties a long time ago.

Surely, our sensibilities would be different.

I wanted to fully capture Cheongseong’s sensibility.

– Writer Seo, you’ve got depth.

“We’re making this together.”

– Alright then… come to the shop by 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“Today’s Tuesday, though.”

– Yeah, and? Why?

“How am I supposed to wait until the weekend?”

– Close your eyes a few times and it’ll be here.

“Ugh…”

This week felt like it would drag on forever.

And in times like this?

Time to work on music.

‘You’re a bassist, huh?’

Moon Jungbae’s comment after hearing the band song kept replaying in my head.

A confession song to the bass, huh.

Since it’s come to this…

‘Why not try making a real confession?’

I decided to make a song purely for the bass.

Saturday morning.

Before Taeyoon arrived, the Cheongseong members had already gathered.

“…You know this DJ?”

“I told you to bring in a decent DJ, and you brought in Jazzy Jeff?”

“At this rate, he could go head-to-head with Mix Master Mike and win.”

“You guys don’t know Blackhole? Geez… go online and check YouTube sometime. He’s been blowing up lately.”

They huddled together, staring intently at a small smartphone screen.

Soon, the conversation turned to summoning every famous DJ they knew.

Moon Jungbae cut in firmly.

“Hey, Blackhole is just Blackhole. Don’t compare him to anyone else.”

They hadn’t met him in person.

All they’d done was watch his videos dozens, even hundreds of times.

But already, their sense of familiarity was at MAX.

They felt like storming into Sierra and snatching that DJ away right then and there.

“Can you really bring him here?”

All eyes turned to Moon Jungbae.

All he could do was shrug with an unreadable expression.

The members could see right through him.

“You’ve just gotten more full of yourself with age, huh?”

“Being a YouTube fan doesn’t mean you can book him.”

Moon Jungbae slowly nodded and replied.

“That’s true. But you know Minsu, right?”

Of course they did.

“The rich kid?”

“He’s not a kid anymore.”

“Anyway, why bring up Minsu all of a sudden?”

“They say Minsu’s club DJ is him. At the very least, we can get his contact info.”

“And then?”

Kang Musong spoke up.

He was the most objective member of Cheongseong.

Speaking in a calming tone to the troubled members, he said,

“From what I see, he’s a really famous DJ. Let’s just be satisfied with having seen a great video.”

“R…right?”

Red sun.

It was time to come back to reality.

No matter how much they wanted him,

a DJ that successful wasn’t likely to collaborate with them.

Even if they somehow got him to do a recording, just slapping on ‘feat. DJ Blackhole’ would be enough to create a buzz.

But a DJ truly shone when performing together on stage.

The chances of Blackhole joining them? Close to zero.

“He looks way too young.”

“He doesn’t really match us.”

“A band suits a more composed DJ.”

“He’s good, but… his style’s too flashy, right?”

All they could do was console themselves, thinking it was just sour grapes.

The Cheongseong members were still smiling wryly and staring at the video again when—

Ding–

The door opened, and someone stepped into the backstage area.

A young man under the dim lights.

It was Taeyoon.

The members were still completely absorbed in watching DJ Blackhole on the smartphone.

Finally snapping out of it, Bang Gicheol stood up and spoke politely.

“Oh, sorry. We’re not open today. If you come back another time, the boss over there will give you plenty of service.”

At Gicheol’s reaction, Taeyoon thought,

‘Huh? Did they not tell them a composer was coming today?’

Taeyoon rolled his eyes around.

Bang Gicheol, wondering why he wasn’t leaving, swung the door wide open.

A strange tension filled the air.

A moment later, Moon Jungbae, who had been sorting CDs at the counter, came rushing out.

“Hey, this guy’s not here just to eat! Well, he will eat too, but still!”

“Huh…? What’s he talking about?”

“I told you a composer was coming today.”

“You did?”

“He’s here now.”

The gazes that had been fixed on DJ Blackhole just moments ago all turned toward Taeyoon.

The Cheongseong members looked surprised at the sight of a composer who was younger than they expected.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.