Chapter 169 : Advertising Comes Full Circle
Chapter 169: Advertising Comes Full Circle
For the first time in a while, the meeting room was in total agreement.
Talks about this and that ad.
This and that about the DJ.
Those people who had been raising their voices moments ago—
The moment they saw Blackhole’s face, they all became one.
— “Blackhole’s face is a weapon!”
The rumors were clear.
He was ugly, had scars, a master of angles.
Some even said he looked dirty.
There was even a strict clause in the contract banning the disclosure of his appearance.
So there hadn’t been any expectations—no thoughts, really.
‘What’s this atmosphere?’
‘There’s not a hint of gaudiness.’
‘Dear DJ teachers, I’m really, really, really sorry for holding prejudice all this time!’
‘……I want to have a son like that.’
The moment they saw his face, they couldn’t help but let out a deep gasp of awe.
Especially excited was Hong Seungmin, General Manager of Marketing at KW Electronics.
‘Has the headquarters marketing department lost their minds?’
He hadn’t cared much for looks.
That serious, intense gaze above the mask was enough.
Blackhole’s identity as a DJ, his duality.
That alone was attractive. Those kinds of traits were trending these days.
That was what he thought—until five minutes ago.
But he quickly changed his mind.
Seeing Blackhole sitting right in front of him made him think differently.
‘Advertising is, after all, about the face!’
To hide the face of a model with those eyes and that expression?
That’s just losing your edge.
Back in the day, that’s how it was.
You’d cast a famous celebrity and bombard the visuals like brainwashing.
Humans are naturally drawn to beauty and good looks, so as long as you paid the model fee, there was nothing to worry about.
Their looks would solve everything.
But as generations changed, so did advertising trends.
Emotion, nostalgia, family, and so on.
Drawing consumer empathy became the focus.
So KW Electronics followed the trend.
What could they do when it was the global direction?
They featured ordinary people you’d see around, or people with unique jobs chasing their dreams.
They put in a lot of effort to make ads different from the rest.
And yet—
The moment he saw Blackhole’s face, the past came rushing back in vivid detail.
‘Advertising really does come full circle. Old ways are the best!’
Someone cool.
Someone you want to be.
Someone you trust.
Isn’t that the foundation and core of advertising?
General Manager Hong Seungmin was convinced.
This Orbit ad would stay true to the core message of advertising.
It would shift the whole landscape of advertising.
The king of commercials—
The longing to reclaim that glorious old title surged within him.
With Blackhole by their side? There was nothing they couldn’t do.
But amid all this chaos—
Seo Taeyoon simply sat back, calmly observing the situation.
He hadn’t said a word, yet found the stares and evaluations thrown at him quite amusing.
His feelings were split.
Half pleased by the unexpectedly warm welcome, half baffled that they were only talking about his looks and not his music.
‘So this is how it’s going, huh?’
Whether anyone knew how he felt or not—
General Manager Hong Seungmin quietly brought the situation to order, cautiously and respectfully.
“Mr. Blackhole.”
“Yes.”
“Heh. It’s not that we’re all about looks. It’s not about looks being important—it’s about needing someone people can trust.”
The eyes in the meeting room all turned to them.
“In all ads, isn’t the most important thing building trust? And that starts with the face.”
Taeyoon nodded for now.
It wasn’t a wrong point.
“The mysterious concept is great, but from DJ Blackhole’s perspective, I think this ad might be the formal first introduction to the public. We fully acknowledge Blackhole’s musicality and influence. That’s why we sincerely hope this first meeting with the public will be through the Orbit commercial.”
General Manager Hong Seungmin bowed deeply to Kim Minsoo and Taeyoon.
Even with this sudden gesture, the quick-witted staff cautiously added their voices.
“We feel the same way.”
“This will be a legendary commercial.”
“You remember the People Phone before the Orbit smartphone launch, right? We’re certain this will have just as much impact.”
Encouraged by his employees’ reactions, Hong Seungmin spoke more firmly.
“We understand the philosophical value of the mask. But advertising gives you only one shot. It might be an opportunity that never comes again. If you agree, we’d like to revise the concept.”
A strange silence fell over the room.
Some looked a bit uncomfortable.
The most flustered of all was Kim Minsoo.
‘What kind of situation is this…?’
They’d asked to meet once to discuss ad planning, and all they’re doing is going on about his face.
No matter how handsome Taeyoon might be, should the person in charge really be acting like this?
He subtly turned to check Taeyoon’s reaction.
The guy was sitting there with his usual unreadable face, listening quietly.
Times like this, he had to be the one to hold the reins and steer the conversation.
As he looked at him, Taeyoon lifted his head.
Now was the time.
Kim Minsoo signaled with his eyes. Taeyoon would get it right away.
‘Ah, is it my turn to step in?’
Wasn’t there a saying—telepathy between hearts?
Taeyoon responded with a look too.
‘Yes, right now!’
Kim Minsoo cleared his throat and called out to Hong Seungmin with a calm face.
“Excuse me, General Manager.”
“Yes, go ahead, CEO.”
“Given that we’ve already reviewed the storyboard and all, this sudden shift puts us in a tough spot.”
“Ah, I understand. But… don’t you think it’s such a waste?”
That’s true. That face really is too good to hide…
Oops. Almost agreed there.
Kim Minsoo coughed lightly and responded with a composed expression.
“I fully understand, but I believe ignoring the original plan is risky. The brand of Blackhole has been differentiated through elements like anonymity, mystique, and the mask.”
He glanced sideways at Taeyoon.
Taeyoon’s eyes seemed to say:
‘I knew I could count on you!’
Just then, out of nowhere, Manager Park—who had been listening silently—suddenly cut in.
“I share a similar view with CEO Kim of KIM Entertainment.”
He’d been sitting with a subtle, moody expression all along.
Sure, he was shocked by Blackhole’s appearance.
But wasn’t this decision just a bit too impulsive?
“A clean-looking mask—yes, it’s great. But the public doesn’t really know who Blackhole is, or what kind of music he makes yet. If we were doing a trilogy or something, that’d be a different story. To be honest, even us sitting here… no, let me correct that—we’re not even that familiar with DJing.”
His words were blunt, but not wrong.
As chaos began to spread, Kim Minsoo knew the time to act was now.
“He’s right. I completely agree with Manager Park. Blackhole—even the people in this room might be unsure. You might just be following orders from headquarters without knowing who or what Blackhole even is.”
As expected, Kim Minsoo was no pushover.
Even with contracts and everything else—
There was no need to bring that up.
For now, he would pretend to be calm and gentlemanly, while sharply gauging the situation.
That way, the punch that came after would hit even harder.
“So, if we want to avoid confusion, the people in this room need to be convinced first.”
At his words, Manager Park hid a faint smirk slipping out.
What kind of impressive card did he have up his sleeve to sound that confident?
He had already watched the videos. A DJ is just a DJ.
“Are you saying you’ve prepared something to help us better understand DJing?”
“Yes.”
“And what would that be?”
Alright, good.
Kim Minsoo grinned.
What did they prepare? He didn’t know.
Would it work? He didn’t know that either.
But if it was Taeyoon, he had no doubt he would’ve come prepared with a killer move—one that would shut up these clingy big corporate types who kept pestering them even after signing the contract.
He gave Taeyoon a look.
Okay, it’s your turn. Show them what you’ve got.
Nod.
With a light nod, Taeyoon rose to his feet.
As if waiting for the cue, he placed a shopping bag on the table.
He glanced around the meeting room.
Who here held the most sway? Probably the General Manager.
To him, he handed the first CD.
General Manager Hong Seungmin’s eyes widened as he saw the CD placed in front of him.
In a world where people stream music—CDs? That was oddly refreshing.
The CD had a label Taeyoon had made himself.
[ Blackhole Mixtape ]
[ Orbit Edition ]
[ <Take a Bow> ]
Someone at the center of the digital age knew how to deliver analog emotion.
Hong Seungmin’s fingers slowly brushed over ‘Orbit Edition.’
‘Something’s on the tip of my tongue.’
Before the General Manager could even feel moved—
Taeyoon calmly handed each person in the room a CD, one by one, and got to the point.
“I’ve heard that advertising is about image. But I’m someone who speaks through sound.”
His deep voice reverberated through the meeting room, drawing all eyes to him.
“Before I meet the public, I wanted to first connect properly with all of you at KW Electronics through this music. Please listen to it yourself and decide.”
Taeyoon’s secret weapon was a success.
The mixtape, “Orbit Edition,” was enough to shake the hearts of KW Electronics’ employees.
However, there was one small problem.
A detail so awkward that no one dared to bring it up and spoil the mood—
Where in the world do you even find CD players these days?
…Excuse me?
I let out a sigh of relief without making it obvious.
Thank goodness.
I nailed the prepared speech perfectly!
I did consider slipping in something like “I wanted to connect with Orbit through music” in the middle, but…
That felt a bit too cheesy, so I left it out.
Anyway.
What just happened was a rare sight money couldn’t buy.
Front-row seat to a big corporation meeting stumbling along awkwardly.
Not just anyone gets to witness something like that.
There were a few moments I wasn’t sure how to feel.
I mean, this was supposed to be a meeting.
Just a simple get-together, they said.
Then they suddenly gang up asking me to take off the mask, then swarm in wanting to change the concept.
I was honestly a little flustered.
But—
…it was kind of fun.
I used to think corporate employees would be scary.
Turns out office workers are all the same.
These people, and even my hyung—
The way they threw themselves in like moths to a flame when they were passionate about something—it actually looked pretty good.
Yeah. It’s a blessing to be working with people this passionate.
Anyway, whatever the case, now it was time to show them through music.
Take a Bow.
I deliberately gave the title a sentimental tone.
Somehow, the phrase felt like it suited Blackhole.
But then—
The KW Electronics employees started moving around, only to end up awkwardly looking at each other.
“Uh… how are we supposed to listen to this?”
“Do we even have a CD player in the meeting room?”
“Pro…bably not.”
They exchanged whispers with panicked expressions.
Of course, I heard every word.
Makes sense.
How many offices these days actually have CD players lying around?
Which is why!
I took out the backup weapon I had prepared.
“I also brought a USB version.”
“……!”
Everyone turned to look at me at once.
It was a bit much, sure, but honestly, the CDs were just for image-making.
Of course I brought USBs too.
“If you’re using a MacBook, I’ve got a USB-C adapter as well.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have an HDMI adapter too, would you?”
“Wouldn’t happen? I did bring one. Here.”
After a brief silence, laughter burst out.
“No way……”
“Your preparation is seriously next-level.”
The assistant manager sitting by the laptop scrambled to plug in the USB.
Click.
The mouse hovered over the Play button and clicked.
The first beat began to fill the meeting room.
Of course, the first track was <First Spark>.
This was Blackhole.
This room, this audience—
For the first time, I stood before the public without my mask.
Even though it wasn’t live—
The response wasn’t bad at all.