Chapter 101 : I Have to Go Catch Them Right Now
Chapter 101: I Have to Go Catch Them Right Now
When I opened my eyes, I was a superstar.
I could finally feel what that meant.
These days, I was living the life of an insider.
Every time I woke up, I’d have at least a hundred messages waiting.
[ New messages 100+ ]
I wasn’t even the popular type.
When I opened the chat, red notifications filled the screen.
I slowly began checking my messages.
Of course, the one who sent the most was Han Yujin.
[Following “Holdabit,” “Stay in the Roof~” was absolutely insane!]
[How did you even come up with that idea for mixing Dexter?]
[And!! The rabbit!! My rabbit!!! Thank you for turning it into Blackhole merch. (Rabbit emoji)]
[No matter how I think about it, it’s unfair.]
[I’m Blackhole’s No.1 fan.]
[If you ever do another event like this, promise you’ll tell me first.]
[(Chicken gift) Eat some chicken and cheer up.]
[ㅠㅠ I’m the only one without a Blackhole bracelet.]
I wondered how I should reply—
but after seeing the last message, I quickly typed a response.
[Me: I don’t have one either…….]
Then I calmly went back to checking the rest.
Next was CEO Kim Minsoo.
[Today, Blackhole, who stole the audience’s hearts with sound on the deck—was that mixing, or was it love? I nearly lost my mind. To be honest, when I realized it was Dexter’s beat at first, I was worried, but on the other hand, I trusted you. ……(omitted)…… So, when are we going out for barbecue?]
This guy, seriously……
What’s wrong with him?
So long. Way too long.
I couldn’t even bring myself to read it properly.
All I needed to see was the part about barbecue.
[Me: I like barbecue.]
And so, I kept scrolling through the mountain of messages.
[Hyung: Crazy. You call that mixing?]
[Seonghan-hyung: Hey, stay away from CEO Minsoo for a while. He’s totally lost it.]
[Teacher Oh Jisoo: -_-b All I can say is thumbs up…….]
[Teacher Moon Jungbae: You’ve been practicing a lot. Seo Taeyoon earns another 100 pork cutlets!]
[Teacher Bang Gicheol: When are you going to show me? That was the best Dexter mix I’ve ever seen. Good.]
Most of the messages were music-related.
But among them was one I hadn’t expected—
a message from a college friend.
[Baek Junhyun: Busy? When are you coming back to school?]
[Me: Soon?]
Even replying was exhausting.
After sending all the replies, I checked the clock.
It was already close to 4 p.m.
‘……Did I sleep for ten hours?’
No wonder I felt so refreshed.
Opened the door feeling good, and as soon as I stepped out, Mom jumped up from the sofa.
“Just woke up?”
“Yes.”
“Our son— I thought you were dead, so I even put my finger under your nose.”
“……Sorry.”
“Sorry for what? You should sleep when you’re tired. You’re not going to your part-time job today?”
“No, I only go three times a week. But what’s this smell?”
Sniff, sniff.
A familiar oil smell stung my nose.
This smell was definitely pork cutlet.
Suddenly, hunger struck me hard.
Wait a second.
Why on earth did my house smell like Backstage?
Drawn by the mysterious scent, I headed to the kitchen and……!
“Uwaaaah!”
There it was— pork cutlet and Napolitan spaghetti, looking exactly like what I used to eat at Backstage.
“You like it that much?”
I nodded my head so hard I thought it might fall off.
It was so nostalgic my eyes almost teared up.
As soon as I sat down, a freshly fried pork cutlet was placed in front of me.
바사삭–
The moment I took a bite—
it really was that taste.
No words came out.
I just quietly chewed, swallowed, and chewed again.
I thought I’d never get to eat it again, so how did my mom manage to recreate it?
While wondering in awe, I quickly emptied the plate.
This time, Mom brought me the Napolitan spaghetti and said,
“You said you ate pork cutlet and spaghetti every day at Backstage. How’s the taste?”
Without saying a word, I raised my thumb.
Even talking felt like a waste of time.
It had to be eaten before it got cold.
Ah! That smoky flavor, that ketchup tang—
it was divine.
I’d felt so empty thinking I’d never taste it again, yet here it was, revived perfectly through Mom’s hands.
How amazing.
I always knew my mom was a great cook, but still.
Pork cutlet, sure— but this spaghetti? How did she make this? It had such a unique taste.
“Why? Does it taste exactly the same?”
“Yes. It’s amazing.”
“Well, that’s because I’m the one who gave them the recipe.”
“…Huh?”
I looked between Mom and the spaghetti.
How could that make sense?
“When I was in college, we sold it at the festival. I even made it for you when you were little, remember? But you said it wasn’t that good.”
“I did?”
“Mm-hm. So I stopped making it. But when I heard from Jungbae-oppa, I was shocked. Well, back then, you said everything tasted bad.”
“Oh wow. I guess I just didn’t know any better.”
I laughed awkwardly and picked up my fork again.
No need for words.
Eating well was the best compliment for Mom.
“You’re eating so well.”
Seeing her sitting across from me, smiling endlessly as she watched me eat— somehow made me feel sad.
Tomorrow, I’d be heading back to Gimhae.
And suddenly, I wanted to stay by Mom’s side a little longer.
“It’s seriously, totally delicious. The best. You could sell this, and I’d buy it every day.”
“Should I? Maybe I’ll sell it in Seoul.”
“Yes. It’d become a famous spot right away.”
Even at my meaningless words, Mom chuckled and replied,
“Do you know how hard it is to run a restaurant in Seoul? The deposit, the premium…… Forget it. Taeyoon, just enjoy your meal. I’ll make you more later.”
Huh? Wait a minute. It’s me— Stay.
I mentally recalled my bank balance.
At this rate…… it might actually be possible?
At the same time—
in a studio in New York, filled with expensive equipment that looked more like decoration than tools.
A man sat at a desk, browsing YouTube.
On his monitor played none other than [ BLACKHOLE - Live @ Club SIERA ].
“Hmm……”
An unfamiliar name. An Asian face.
Up to this point, nothing had caught his interest.
But then.
“Oh?”
Catching a glimpse of the DJ in the thumbnail, he felt a spark of curiosity.
The lighting was dim, yet the impression was sharp.
He straightened his posture.
Even through the mask, that boyish charm leaking out was enough to grab his attention.
Artists with star quality were always worth noting.
But only for a moment— soon, an ominous thought crossed his mind.
‘Don’t tell me… it’s one of those?’
Korea, China, Japan.
He’d heard rumors about the trend — so-called “DJing Star-Making Projects” — where agencies put pretty faces behind the decks, faking DJing to gather fans.
He’d seen a few.
His verdict? Terrible.
Looks, top-tier. DJing, bottom-tier.
No— “bottom-tier” was being generous.
They were hand-syncing their sets, pretending to mix. It was unsettling.
Yes, that wasn’t music — it was acting.
Acting with a handsome face as your only weapon, pretending to grip the fader.
‘Let’s see how good this kid is at acting.’
He had no expectations.
It was just a twisted hobby of his — watching laughable hand-sync performances and sneering at them.
So, resting his chin on his hand, he casually clicked on the video.
“Oh, shit.”
Maybe thirty seconds passed.
He paused the video and caught his breath.
“The mixing… what the hell? How’s this even possible?”
Something felt off.
It was too precise.
He switched from Dexter so seamlessly?
That calm confidence?
He straightened up and focused.
Now, he began to study the video carefully.
Unlike American clubs, the atmosphere was a little subdued.
But within that quiet— there was power.
A solid pull, a delicate sense of rhythm.
Who was this kid? That focus, that command of space—
His eyes widened as if he’d seen a ghost.
Judging by the look of it, it was a small, backstreet club.
But the DJing— was anything but small.
It wasn’t the level you’d expect from such a place.
He opened his notebook.
And scribbled something in messy cursive, barely legible except to himself.
– DJ, Blackhole.
– South Korea.
– Club Siera.
– Look into it, Now.
He tore the page out of the notebook, clutched it, and made a call somewhere.
“Hey, it’s me. Come up for a second. There’s a pretty interesting video on YouTube. What? A joke? ……Does this look like a joke?”
In a sharp tone, he calmly gave the order.
“I think you should check this out. Who he is, what company he’s from, whether he’s reachable— everything. Yeah. Right now.”
He sprang up from his seat and stared out the window.
For the first time in a long while— he’d found someone he wanted to meet.
His name was Wyatt Ellison.
Lead Show Director of Vanta Global, the largest entertainment production agency in the United States.
In Korean terms— the Executive Performance Director.
He sat back down, intending to rewatch Blackhole’s video when—
Bang.
The door opened, and a staff member walked in.
The same one he had just spoken to on the phone.
The employee immediately held out a tablet.
“Director, sorry, but that’s not the big news right now— have you seen this?”
Wyatt met the staff’s eyes briefly.
Then pointed his chin toward the monitor.
“This one?”
The staff pointed at the screen excitedly.
“Yeah, that’s it! As expected— you’re already watching the trending video.”
A short silence followed.
Both of them—
had fallen completely under Taeyoon’s beat once again.
“Downstairs, everyone’s watching it on repeat. They’re saying this DJing style is really something. What do you think, Director?”
What would be the right answer?
If he wanted to show his intent without sounding too eager—
Wyatt paused, choosing his words carefully as he put on his jacket.
“……We have to go catch him right now.”
And just like that, time passed.
Taeyoon’s first album as a producer—
Signum’s second single comeback—was right around the corner.
[ Signum, 2nd single tracklist revealed. ]
[ ‘Comeback countdown’—What’s Signum’s title track? ]
[ ‘5th-Gen Hot Rookie’ Signum, 2nd single title track is <Avalanche.> ]
[ Band idol ‘Signum’, a colorful tracklist draws attention. ]
[ ‘Jaw-dropping’ music video—Signum shoots full-location in Switzerland. ]
With this new wave of teasers—
there was no way the K-pop community would stay quiet.
[ (BEST) Signum tracklist dropped!! ]
Signum and Busan Goblin ㄷㄷㄷ
↳ Manny did what Manny does best.
↳ Huge expectations.
↳ The main title is “Avalanche”?
↳↳ ㅇㅇ Apparently Busan Goblin got cut.
↳ Title lyrics by Oh Jisoo ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ She doesn’t usually write for rookies, right?
↳↳ Stay’s not a rookie though.
↳ ㄷㄱㄷㄱ The title alone already sounds tasty.
↳ Hope they perform live properly this time ㅠㅠ
↳↳ Even just decent performance would be fine, no?
Most of the comments showed excitement.
But there were definitely a few voices of concern too.
Hard to tell whether it was trolling— or genuine worry.
The reactions were so extreme even fans couldn’t tell.
For example—
[ ㅅㅂ Manny Ent’s lost its mind ㅇㅈ? ]
Like seriously ㅋㅋ still can’t get over the band concept;; why are they holding instruments again;; got crushed by UTAR and still didn’t learn?
↳ Got crushed by UTAR, exploded with rage, and then went to get a song from UTAR’s composer ㅅㄱ
↳↳ (OP) rly?
↳ What ㅋㅋ you didn’t know that?
↳ Everyone’s been talking about it all along.
↳ (OP) Ah, just looked it up, yeah, you’re right.
↳ (OP) But what’s up with that Stay guy??? Why’s he here and there all the time; I really don’t like him.
↳↳ So what if you don’t?
↳ Composers sell songs where the money is, duh;
“What kind of nonsense is this!”
Signum’s bassist and Stay’s follower no.1, Lee Yehwan, fumed as he glared at his smartphone.
Normally, he wouldn’t even think of commenting himself.
He could handle insults toward him— but not toward Stay.
Writing, producing—
People had no idea how much effort Stay had put in.
If they did, they’d never talk crap like this.
And what? Got crushed by UTAR?
……Well, okay, maybe that part was true.
Anyway.
In anger, he left a reply and hit send before he could stop himself.
↳ The song sounds great, so why are people fighting? It’s not too late to judge after it’s released. They said they’ve prepared a lot this time—let’s trust them.
Gasp. Should I not have written that? Should I delete it?
While he hesitated—
[ This post has been deleted. ]
Phew.
Yehwan sighed in relief and glanced around.
Luckily, no one had seen it.
A few days later—
along with the album sampler video and snippets of the highlight tracks came……
the behind-the-scenes footage of Taeyoon’s directing work, released on Signum’s official YouTube channel.
[ Signum 2nd Mini Album <Avalanche> Highlight Sampler. ]
[ Signum – ‘Avalanche’ Recording Behind. ]
The response went in an unexpected direction.