Chapter 15 : My Hometown, My Sanctuary

Chapter 15: My Hometown, My Sanctuary

A place where you can find raw, unfiltered reviews of an album.

That would be the music communities.

I browse there quite often myself.

The good thing is that you can freely share your opinion without logging in.

Of course, the downside is that, because you don’t need to log in, there are tons of trolls and junk posts.

Like this one right here.

So my friend’s cousin’s sister-in-law’s eighth cousin’s neighbor’s younger brother’s acquaintance works at ToMe Entertainment, you know? I heard through the grapevine that Han Yujin got a song from a rookie composer again this time… Is this for real? Isn’t the company basically neglecting her at this point?

↳ At that level, isn’t it basically just a random person?

↳ I heard Han Yujin is secretly really stubborn.

↳ She tanked her first album because of that stubbornness… oops

↳ She’s an ex-idol, so it must be a tricky situation.

↳↳ Tricky my foot, I just hope she doesn’t do another weird concept;;

↳ I feel like something more provocative would suit her better than cute.

↳↳ Her eyes have that spark, right?

↳ If the song sucks again, I’m quitting this fandom. ToMe Ent, do your job, please.

↳ I heard the song’s fire though;;;

↳↳ Okay, sure, composer detected.

...Ah, crap. That’s not me.

Has the rumor already spread that far?

Whenever a new album drops or there’s something questionable about a song, I tend to dig around the community a bit more thoroughly.

It’s nice when someone shares the same opinion as me.

‘Even major labels can’t seem to keep their employees from leaking stuff, huh?’

I used to wonder if these posts—saying they heard from a friend, or a trustworthy source, or claiming to be an insider—were true or not.

But now that I’m on the inside myself, I’ve realized they’re not all nonsense.

Even if it’s not 100% accurate, the way things roughly line up makes me realize that there really are no secrets in this world.

Anyway.

Thinking about Han Yujin getting beat up by anonymous users kind of left a bitter taste in my mouth.

So I decided to chime in.

It’s Han Yujin, sure, but isn’t it also my song?

Seeing it get trampled on like that really ticked me off...

...Deleted it. Too aggressive.

Nope. That’s too childish.

What would be the best thing to say?

There was a reason I was hesitating.

Han Yujin said she lurks on these forums too.

If by any chance—just maybe—she reads this post, even if it weighs heavy on her and puts her in a bad mood, I hoped my comment would give her a bit of strength.

I wanted her to be confident that we made the right choice...

So, after some thought, I finally posted this and shut my laptop.

Uh... That works, right?

“How have you been? Why do you look so scruffy?”

“Ajumma, it’s because I haven’t eaten. Is that spicy stir-fried squid today? Looks amazing. Can I get some crushed seaweed too?”

“What’s with the confidence? Did winning a million won change you?”

“Manager-hyung… No, you’re the owner now, right? I’ll be in your care.”

“Nice to see you after so long! Now can we please ditch the mask? If I were you, I’d print your face and hang it in front of a club.”

“As if this face is worth printing.”

I was back.

My hometown, my sanctuary, Club Sierra!

Even though it had gone through a renovation and the owner had changed, Sierra was still Sierra.

The kitchen ajumma who made delicious daily meals, the manager-hyung who was now the owner, and the MD-hyungs who looked rough but were actually warm-hearted.

They were all the same.

What made me feel especially good was—

“Hey, did you look outside? So many people showed up.”

“I was worried it’d flop, but thank god.”

“How could it flop with Blackhole on the setlist? Don’t you see the line? They’re all here to see you. It’s gonna be wild tonight. You practiced a lot, right?”

“Get ready.”

“Wow, tickets were 50,000 won today so I wasn’t sure... But damn. Blackhole’s name value really pulls weight.”

All those people came just to see my performance.

Today was finally the day I’d unveil Lunatic Beat.

I thought I’d be nervous, but I was actually calm.

Inside, I kept repeating like a mantra:

‘Who am I? The composer of Han Yujin’s second album’s title single.’

Just the fact that I’d succeeded in pitching a song to a major label felt like a major boost to my self-esteem.

“I really love your scratches, Blackhole. That scratchy scratchy sound. Your juggling’s art too. Teach me sometime.”

“Hyung, you tried once and the ajumma scolded you for spinning dishes instead of DJing, remember?”

“Ack, right. Maybe I should’ve been a DJ, not an MD. No matter how you look at it, DJs are the crown jewel of the club.”

Strictly speaking, I was closer to a turntablist than a DJ.

Instead of just picking songs, I combine beats using two turntables to play them like a musical instrument.

It all started when a band performed Rockit live at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

That’s the kind of DJ I wanted to become.

I bet most DJs today were influenced by that performance.

“Taeyoon.”

“Yes, Owner-hyung.”

“Here, take this.”

While I was adjusting my mask for the final prep, Owner-hyung handed me a box.

Uh... A white shopping bag with a luxury brand logo in simple black font. Balenciaga? Huh?

“What’s this?”

“I thought about it carefully, and well, now that I’m officially the owner, I figured I should get gifts for the team. Your mask’s become kind of your signature, right? So stop using that worn-out thing.”

“Luxury brands make masks too?”

“What don’t they make? They even sell erasers.”

Not sure what erasers have to do with masks, but okay.

If nothing else, I do understand that they slap the luxury label on the most trivial stuff just to overprice it.

Anyway.

I stared quietly at the luxury box I was touching for the first time in my life. It was fascinating.

“If you stare at it like that, will it open on its own? Let me open it for you—”

“No!”

“Whoa, crap. That scared me.”

“It’s mine, so I want to open it myself.”

“You’ve got quite the temper, huh? Scary, real scary.”

When I opened the box, a genuine luxury mask was neatly inside.

A simple logo was placed on the lower part of the black mask.

“Ah…”

“What? You don’t like it? Want me to exchange it? For something flashier?”

“No. It’s expensive, but isn’t the logo too small?”

“Geez. Who does logo play these days? It's only cool if it’s barely noticeable.”

“How much does something like this cost?”

“Not that expensive. I’ll get you another one, so use it freely.”

Even though he said that…

I couldn’t help but grin.

It was a bit unusual that my first luxury item in life turned out to be a mask.

But it wasn’t bad. In fact, I liked it.

Like Hyung said, the mask was DJ Blackhole’s trademark.

“Whoa, it suits you well.”

“Even if it’s a luxury, it’s nothing that special.”

“A mask is a mask. What were you expecting?”

“Well, for this price, shouldn’t it at least make my face look handsome? Or smell nice, maybe?”

“Our Taeyoon… says weird things when he’s happy, huh?”

Man, the guy notices everything.

Good thing my silly grin is hidden behind the mask.

“Oh right, Taeyoon. We’ll film today too.”

“To show the former owner? I thought he stepped down?”

“I told you. I’m just the figurehead. There are some circumstances.”

“Well, sure. I don’t mind. It’s not like this is the first time.”

Apparently, it was a kind of monitoring.

Since the former owner couldn’t visit in person, they showed him videos of my DJing.

Suddenly, I got curious about how I looked in those videos.

“But you know what? Taeyoon, your eyes are smiling. Like crescents. Don’t let your guard down just because your mouth isn’t visible.”

“Hmm?”

Oh, crap.

He noticed.

Flashing lights filled Club Sierra.

Standing in front of the DJ booth, Taeyoon took a deep breath.

His fingertips trembled slightly.

He put on his headphones and looked down at the stage.

With a familiar touch, the music that had been shaking the club slowly faded out.

At that moment, the noise from the crowd also died down.

‘Right now.’

Taeyoon’s fingers delicately moved the fader.

Boom, boom, boom—

The first notes of Lunatic Beat flowed from the speakers, the bass and drums vibrating the club floor.

The crowd dancing in the dark paused and looked up at the stage.

Slowly, one by one.

He calmly began stacking layers.

A frenzied synth sound, a drum beat that chased it madly, and a dreamy vocal sample gently laid on top of the beat, barely audible.

Lunatic Beat breathed and came alive at Taeyoon’s fingertips.

“Blackhole…!”

“It’s finally here.”

The crowd’s reaction shifted.

They had hesitated at the unfamiliar beat, but now they began moving again.

“Lunatic…!”

“Wow, damn. This is insane.”

The club lighting changed as well.

On the LED, a bright full moon gently revealed itself.

Tonight, the music and atmosphere of Club Sierra—

All of it was meticulously calculated for Taeyoon and Lunatic Beat.

“Hold The Beat!”

Taeyoon shouted his signature sound.

Cheers intensified.

Behind the black mask, the corners of Taeyoon’s mouth curved. The tension was gone.

In this moment, this music, this heat—this was everything.

From the DJ booth, the club looked like a giant organism made of music.

It breathed, moved… and lived to the beat of Lunatic Beat.

The music slowly built toward its climax.

Taeyoon’s fingers moved in sync with it.

The night was still long.

↳ What’s that, you weeb lol

↳ Honestly, DJs are just about the aesthetic, right??

↳ Isn’t it just spinning records all messy like, who cares lol

↳ Who even watches DJing, lmao

↳ DJs are so extra, seriously not my thing ;;;

↳ Wait, did you guys actually click the video? Damn

↳↳ Why?

↳↳↳ Just click it, trust me.

↳ I’m watching on repeat too, holy crap

↳ This is what DJing is? Freaking amazing.

↳ Why does the DJ look so soft and gentle?

↳ Why the mask though?

↳↳ Probably ugly lol, obvious.

↳↳↳ I actually think the opposite. Look at his eyes—you can already tell he’s a total looker.

It’s ‘Club Sierra’ in Ilsan, and the DJ’s stage name is ‘Blackhole’. The name’s a bit cringe, but once you’re there, it clicks. Seriously one of the few DJs I actually respect. His scratching hits right on beat, and the way he works the knobs—definitely not someone who picked it up casually. Argue and I’ll assume you’re a tone-deaf loser using dollar store earbuds.

↳ And who are you to say that lol

↳↳ This person is a super famous composer, didn’t you know?

↳ And apparently, it’s his own track.

↳ I searched Club Sierra and never heard of it before?

↳↳ It’s about to get packed, trust me.

↳ Damn, it used to be my hidden gem…

↳↳ Hidden gem confirmed. Those beats are delicious.

The video spread rapidly across SNS and YouTube.

It only took 30 minutes for the small, out-of-the-way Club Sierra to trend in real-time search rankings on social media.