Chapter 168 : The Reason Behind the Craze
Chapter 168: The Reason Behind the Craze
It wasn’t like I had to assemble the smartphone myself or stick labels on the shipping boxes just because I was shooting a commercial.
But the moment I stood in front of the camera—
Every word, every scene, every expression—
Each one became the face of the brand.
Simply put, it was like saying, “This is the kind of feeling you get from using this product.”
That’s branding.
…Or so CEO Kim Minsoo told me.
If I had to describe how I felt when I heard those words—
“...Me?”
—that would sum it up.
Not long ago, I had been just an ordinary student on leave, working as a DJ part-time at a small club.
And now I was shooting a commercial for a massive brand with over 50 trillion won in annual sales?
Sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder if it was all just a dream.
I had been dazed when I stamped the seal on the contract.
But now, it was finally starting to feel real—and the weight of responsibility hit me.
This Orbit Phone commercial had always been a rite of passage for big-name celebrities and people who held serious influence in the industry.
The Orbit Phone commercial wasn’t just some promo video to push more product.
Someone had become a generational icon through it.
Someone else had grown alongside the brand.
And now, the one standing in that spot was me.
What kind of person was Blackhole? Why was I famous?
The general public probably didn’t know.
No, not even just the general public.
Let’s be honest.
Even among the Orbit Phone staff, there were surely some who thought, “I’m not sure who this is, but HQ told us to work with him, so let’s give it a go.”
No amount of video footage or explanations would help.
Trust wasn’t something you could force like that.
So I decided to show them myself.
What kind of music I made, what thoughts I had going on stage, and why I needed to walk alongside the Orbit brand.
Not with clumsy words—but with something much more solid.
That way, maybe they’d change from, “I kinda knew what Blackhole was about,” to, “Now that I’ve seen this, I actually want to work with him.”
I stood in front of the mirror.
There was no need to dress up flamboyantly or disguise myself as someone I wasn’t.
The symbol of Blackhole. My familiar black mask.
A clean crewneck sweatshirt with a jacket on top.
As always, this was the real me.
I checked my outfit and reached for my bag when—
“Oh, right! Gotta bring the important stuff.”
I had almost forgotten the most important thing.
What was a commercial to me?
It was showing the truth behind the mask, and connecting the public and the brand through music.
Then what was this item?
The beginning of the ad—and the only way to truly express who Blackhole was.
That was exactly why I had personally prepared the <Limited Edition Blackhole Mix Tape> CD and a handwritten note for the Orbit marketing team.
Standing on Teheran-ro, Taeyoon looked up at the KW Electronics headquarters.
“Whoa…”
The grand and sleek building he’d only seen on the news.
Just how cool must the people working inside be?
They must be way more serious and intimidating than his hyung.
As he was lost in those thoughts—
A familiar voice called out.
“Taeyoon, you’re early.”
It was CEO Kim Minsoo.
Kim Minsoo looked over Taeyoon’s outfit and let out a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness…’
He had secretly worried that Taeyoon might overdo it and show up in a full suit and dress shoes.
But it was the perfect Blackhole look.
“You look great today too, CEO. Just like yourself.”
“Thanks. Let’s head up.”
Just as they were about to enter the building—
Kim Minsoo noticed the large shopping bag Taeyoon was carrying.
“What’s this?”
“Oh, this?”
Taeyoon glanced down at the shopping bag and started to explain, but then stopped.
It wouldn’t be as fun if he spoiled it.
He was still a little shy about it too.
So he simply said—
“You told me once. That people need to have a strong punch.”
“I did.”
“This is mine.”
“Ooh…”
Kim Minsoo resisted the strong urge to snatch the shopping bag and peek inside.
Instead, he firmly patted Taeyoon on the back and declared:
“Let’s go. To the battlefield.”
“…Uh-huh.”
He says childish things like that sometimes.
But, oddly enough, they’re not wrong.
With a faint smile, Taeyoon followed behind confidently.
At that very moment, as the two stepped into the building—
The marketing team at KW Electronics was already gathered in the conference room, watching Blackhole’s highlight performance video.
Their voices drifted out like murmurs of appreciation.
Too soft to be real opinions, too heavy to be idle thoughts.
“He’s pretty cool.”
“Very flashy.”
“This is so different from what I imagined a club to be. It’s wild that people really go just to listen to music.”
“He’s good, I’ll give him that. It’s not hand-sync, is it?”
“Oh no, definitely not.”
Blackhole.
A bunch of different keywords came to mind.
Even though they were all watching the same video.
Each person had different thoughts.
Mask, mysterious, club scene, famous DJ, idol features, excitement, vibe maker, sense of rhythm, star of the night, connection with the crowd…
Some staff had these positive or neutral impressions.
While others—
‘Still, there’s just something…’
Delinquent, unstable income, minor culture, non-mainstream, impulsive, drinking, poster boy, performer, party animal…
—clearly associated him with negative words.
Maybe it was prejudice, maybe it was media-driven stereotypes.
But one thing was certain—
The difference didn’t come from age.
Whether that was a good or bad thing—
The eldest among them, the General Manager of Marketing, was the first to speak up strongly.
“A DJ, huh… HQ finally did something right for a change. I think it’s fresh and great. What do you all think?”
The conference room fell silent.
They’d been taught to go overboard with agreement whenever the boss talked—“Absolutely! Spot on! Well said!”—but this time, it was tricky.
‘Could be a trap.’
‘Better be careful what I say.’
Their glances clashed midair as they tried to read the room.
And rightfully so—it could very well be a trap.
They’d been caught off guard by subtle fishing questions more than once.
One wrong word in front of the General Manager, and they might spend the rest of their career under scrutiny, constantly being asked for their opinion at critical moments.
So—
Most staff gazed into the distance, awkward smiles on their faces.
Just as the mood in the conference room was about to freeze—
“That’s right, General Manager!”
Was she just clueless, or did she simply have strong convictions?
Song Hayoung, Assistant Manager of Marketing Team 1, nodded vigorously as she voiced her opinion.
“I’m especially confident that the fact he performs wearing a mask will resonate deeply with the public.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
Intrigued, the General Manager straightened up in his seat.
Song Hayoung thought to herself.
‘The contract’s already signed. What’s the point of playing it safe now?’
Since it had come to this,
She had decided that at the very least, she would firmly stand by Blackhole.
No, more than taking sides—it was about persuasion for the sake of a better commercial.
A good advertisement can only be born when both the advertiser and the model are looking in the same direction.
And if the people who had taught her that were going to sit there so expressionlessly, then that wouldn’t do.
Even if some of the gazes felt a little sharp, it didn’t matter.
Her goal was to soften the atmosphere at least a bit before Blackhole arrived.
That way, when he joined the meeting,
He could show them his true self more confidently.
Song Hayoung took a deep breath and clearly articulated what she had to say.
“All of us wear masks in life. Everyone in this room is no different. The mask of an employee, the mask of a parent, the mask of a child. That mask isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But don’t we all, at least once, feel the urge to cast that mask aside and bare our true feelings?”
The air in the conference room began to shift.
“Hiding your face isn’t just about concealing who you are. Sometimes, it’s a way of protecting your sincerity.”
A way of protecting sincerity.
That phrase gave strength to her words.
“Blackhole stands on that very boundary. He hides his outer appearance but reveals his inner self more clearly. That’s why the public is so captivated by this masked DJ. So, in other words…”
She looked around the room, making eye contact with each person.
Only when she saw that the manager who had been sitting with his arms crossed had relaxed into a more respectful posture—
Did she deliver her final line and take her seat.
“I believe Blackhole represents the duality we all carry—and the sincerity within.”
The heavy air had transformed into nods and applause.
Yes. Blackhole wasn’t just a “masked DJ.”
Now they finally understood why HQ had chosen Blackhole as their model.
The conference room had warmed with a noticeably different atmosphere.
Just then, Manager Park curled up one corner of his lips and spoke in a lightly sarcastic tone.
“Assistant Manager Song sure sounds philosophical. I mean, that kind of spin has been done before. But in the end, aren’t DJs all about flashy performances? Last time, too, we tried using a similarly niche model, and…”
But he didn’t get to finish that sentence.
The General Manager raised a hand to stop him.
With that one simple gesture—
Manager Park fell silent, his face frozen in surprise.
“Manager Park?”
Called out briefly, he replied in a trembling voice.
“Yes, General Manager.”
“Captivating the public with a powerful performance—that’s the most ideal trait for a brand model, don’t you think?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Making shallow judgments is exactly what marketers should avoid the most. I think Blackhole—the DJ—has a pretty compelling way of presenting himself. Duality… I have it too, you know.”
The General Manager smiled faintly and met eyes with Song Hayoung.
He genuinely liked that perspective.
Though he couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud here, it was true.
To him, DJs had been a saving grace during his high school years.
In those restless teenage days, when his pockets were always empty—
Snack shops had been the only legal space where he could enjoy music.
Sitting in the music booth, listening to the cheesy lines of the DJ-hyung—
It felt like finding a sanctuary.
The afternoon sunlight shining through the conference room window now reminded him faintly of the snack shop in Sindang-dong.
In front of him was a smartphone advertisement planning sheet—but in his heart, he saw a mid-80s Sindang-dong alleyway.
‘Those were the days.’
Inside a shabby shop,
Sitting on plastic chairs scattered about, warming his mouth over bubbling tteokbokki—
That thrilling feeling of filling his belly with spare coins.
The scent of tteokbokki sauce that lingered on his fingers.
The music drifting out from behind the little square booth.
— When I was young, listen to the radio…
The General Manager briefly closed his eyes.
Like Blackhole hiding behind a mask.
There had been times when he, too, had wanted to wear a mask.
He had been nothing but a youth.
A time when choices and responsibilities hadn’t yet weighed heavily on him.
Spending the last of his pocket change to buy a single rose for the girl he liked, dreaming of a rosy future.
And that dream—had come true.
‘Duality, everyone has it.’
Even now, wasn’t he the same?
He wanted to return to those carefree days.
But no—how could he let go of everything he’d worked so hard for?
He was torn, swaying back and forth between both sides of himself.
When he opened his eyes again—
To his surprise, the employees were watching him with serious expressions.
The General Manager smiled slightly, speaking like a quiet soliloquy.
“Duality isn’t something to hide—it’s something to protect. And a mask is a way of preserving identity. In that sense, I like characters who wear masks. With such meaningful symbolism, does appearance even matter?”
That’s just how our General Manager was—he had his sentimental moments.
So it was decided—the main concept would be about preserving identity through the mask.
Knock knock.
A knock, followed by the conference room door opening.
“Good afternoon.”
“Oh! You’re here. Nice to mee…t you?”
“Uh…”
The employees froze as they saw Blackhole enter alongside Kim Minsoo.
Everyone was fumbling with their words, and Song Hayoung finally asked in a trembling voice,
“Um, are you… Blackhole-nim, perhaps?”
A noticeable silence fell across the office.
Taeyoon looked around with confused eyes and nodded.
“Yes, I’m Blackhole. Nice to meet you.”
Even the General Manager reacted just like the rest of the employees.
He was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Um… Blackhole-nim?”
He finally managed to speak, forgetting even to greet properly as he blurted out:
“Why… are you hiding your face?”
Contradicting everything he’d said just five minutes earlier.
It’s only natural—the higher-ups tend to change their minds a dozen times a day, and the ones doing the actual work just nod along with hollow agreement…
“...Right?”
“We could honestly just do a 1-minute close-up shot at this rate.”
“Think the mask concept can be scrapped?”
But now, everyone chimed in with the same thought.
“…All of a sudden like this?”
Yes.
The storyboard for the commercial had been changed on the spot.