Chapter 175 : An Interesting Asian DJ
Chapter 175: An Interesting Asian DJ
Dding–
7th floor.
The elevator arrived at its destination.
Mom didn’t say a word.
I had no idea what she was thinking.
“Hoo……”
Why was I so nervous about this?
With trembling fingers, I unlocked the door.
Maybe this was what I’d worked so hard for in music.
For my music to bring joy to someone.
And for that joy to return to me as a tangible reward like this.
When my parents divorced during my childhood, we moved out of Bundang to a small villa in Yeonsinnae.
I remember the day we left the neighborhood in Mom’s car.
I kept looking back the whole time.
I was too young to remember why I did that.
But one thing was certain.
At some point, I started wondering about this place.
Was it the neighborhood I liked? Or the childhood friends I played with? Or maybe…
The time when we all lived together—Mom, Dad, and me.
That part, I wasn’t sure about.
Why was my nose stuffy and my throat prickling now?
Still, no way was I going to ruin such a good day with this mood!
“It’s here.”
Clearing my throat, I opened the door.
With a classic BGM playing—
“Ddalalalala–!”
I’d learned this backstage last time.
When entering anywhere, you had to hum the Love House BGM.
If I sang “Ddalalala–,” I was told the response “Ddalala–” would naturally follow. It was the unspoken rule.
“……”
“……”
Even after I opened the door and entered, neither Mom nor Auntie reacted.
Was it… because the place was old?
That’s how most apartments in Bundang were.
Especially the one we used to live in—it had been built before I was even born, so yeah, a bit worn down.
Inside, I thought: This is a disaster.
Did I just do something totally unnecessary?
I was smiling on the outside, but inside, I wanted to cry.
Wasn’t this not what Mom had been hoping for?
……Should I have gone for a place with a bigger deposit?
As those kinds of stupid thoughts filled my head—
“Taeyoon, look at this kid.”
Auntie behind me let out a quick chuckle.
Then she gently patted my arm and said:
“He doesn’t even realize his mom is crying.”
……Huh?
“Unni, say something. Taeyoon’s going to misunderstand. He’ll think you don’t like the place.”
At Auntie’s words, I turned my head—and finally saw Mom’s face clearly.
The strongest person in the world—Mom—had tears welled up around her eyes.
“Who said I’m crying.”
She wiped the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand and continued.
“Maybe because it’s old. There’s so much dust. Makes my eyes sting, that’s all.”
It had always been like that.
Mom always said the opposite of how she really felt.
It must’ve been embarrassing for her to cry in front of her son and younger sister.
Pride, joy—whatever it was, I understood.
And that was enough.
Because I loved that side of Mom too.
As I stood there, trying to figure out what to say—
“Taeyoon, do you remember this place?”
Mom made the first move.
She walked over to the veranda window and stood there, gaze fixed outside for a long while.
Auntie and I silently watched her back.
After a long pause, Mom finally spoke.
Her finger pointed at the old wall next to the window frame.
“Right there, we used to measure your height.”
“Ah……”
“We drew lines on the wallpaper. Your dad measured you.”
I didn’t remember.
Probably because I’d been too young.
Besides, this wasn’t exactly the house we used to live in.
It had the same layout, but it was just another unit in the same apartment complex.
Even so, it seemed to stir a lot of memories for Mom.
She walked around the place, retracing the past.
“Here, you scribbled with crayon right after we re-wallpapered. Ah! You ran around and lost your baby tooth right over there. And here…”
So this was what adults called “memories.”
Mom’s memories seemed to be of me, Hyung, and this house.
To be honest, I didn’t really know what memories were.
To me, the past was just a series of things that happened.
Like stored data.
I used to live in Bundang, my parents got divorced, we moved to Yeonsinnae, I got through school somehow, and I occasionally visited Dad in Ulsan……
I never had the luxury to revisit the emotions of the past.
For me, what mattered was always finding a better tomorrow.
So when Mom sometimes wore that wistful expression, I never knew what to say.
I didn’t know what lay at the end of those memories.
I just wondered—
Maybe when I got older, I’d be able to fully grasp the weight of Mom’s emotions.
That was all.
But then—
“It feels so good to be here. Makes me feel younger again. Thanks to you, Taeyoon……”
Watching Mom smile as she reminisced here—
I felt like I could finally begin to understand what memories really were.
As I stood there blankly, Auntie jabbed me in the side again.
Then she whispered playfully into my ear.
“Did you tell your dad?”
“……Not yet.”
“Still, you should tell him you bought a place. He might feel hurt if he finds out later.”
Wait a sec. She whispered that, right?
But Mom’s shoulders visibly tensed.
Still staring out the window, Mom snapped back.
“Forget it. What’s there to talk about.”
Wait, she heard that?
Well, now it was confirmed.
I definitely inherited these sharp ears from Mom. One hundred percent.
Anyway, I couldn’t tell if she was really fine with it or if she was just being proud in front of her son.
I just answered honestly.
“Later. I’ll see how things go.”
To cut through the awkward air, I walked across the living room and opened the smallest room’s door.
The master bedroom was for Mom, the second-biggest for Hyung.
And this—was my small, precious room.
Trying my best to sound cheerful, I raised my voice to Mom and Auntie.
“Tada~ This is my room. I’ll be working and sleeping in here now.”
Because I wanted to pull them out of their clinging memories, and bring them into the present.
At my words, Mom stared into the room for a long time.
The red around her eyes still lingered.
Then, with a low yet unmistakable voice, she said—
“……You’ll do a proper soundproofing job, right? Music noise can be a huge nuisance, you know?”
Ah, there she was—my real Mom, finally back.
Absolutely, absolutely.
“I made the reservation exactly at the place Mr. Moon Jungbae recommended!”
The mood softened again.
We finished looking around the house.
Discussed how we’d handle the renovations.
Strolled through the apartment complex, now lusher with trees than before.
Time flew by just like that.
As we toured the shopping area for the last stop,
Mom’s eyes lit up as she turned to me.
“Shall we check that place out?”
“Are you hungry, Mom? Then how about dinner…”
“No, it just reminds me of the old days. That place used to be here too, and they’re still in business.”
It was a skewer shop I’d never been to, but heard of many times.
The grilled chicken skewers cooked over a wire rack were pretty good—I ended up eating a ton.
“Taeyoon, you still like chicken skewers, huh.”
“Yeah. They’re really good.”
“You were so tiny but used to sit there and finish off five at a time.”
Well now, I’m big enough to eat ten.
Ahem.
Mom and Auntie each had a beer, and I had a cola.
After our fun skewer gathering, we were waiting for the red bus headed to Seoul Station.
“You’re really coming all the way to Seoul Station with us?”
“Just wanted to see you off.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“Two lovely ladies headed all the way to Gimhae—I ought to escort you.”
Ah, I tried copying Mr. Moon Jungbae’s tone there.
But yeah… that didn’t land, huh?
Mom stuttered a bit like her brain had short-circuited—
“When did my little boy get so big…”
Then pulled me into a hug.
As we looked up at the twilight sky,
I hugged Mom tightly and rested my chin on her shoulder.
Ah… Mom’s scent.
The scent of the fabric softener I remembered only in memories—
It made my eyes close helplessly.
Childhood memories came flooding in.
In the middle of that warmth, I found myself whispering without even realizing—
“Mom, I missed you. Let’s live together now.”
Chiiiik—
At that moment, the red bus we were waiting for pulled into the stop.
I wasn’t sure if the sound of the bus arriving drowned out my voice, or if Mom had heard it clearly.
That, I couldn’t know.
I just boarded the bus, pretending like nothing happened.
For the first time in my life—
I wished the bus would take its time arriving at its destination.
It was such an old place that the interior renovation was expected to take about three months.
Which meant I had to wait nearly 100 days to live with Mom. I felt a little deflated.
Thankfully, there wasn’t much I needed to handle myself.
It was Hyung who had remembered which apartment we used to live in.
And it was CEO Kim Minsoo who had helped a great deal with the house contract and interior planning.
Apparently, contracted composers should focus solely on their work?
Well, that made my life easier.
On top of that, Mr. Moon Jungbae helped out with installing a soundproof booth and soundproofing setup for home use.
So in the end, I’d barely done anything on my own—
But regardless, Seo Taeyoon: First Home Purchase had been successfully completed.
I dropped by Seoul Station before heading home.
It would’ve been a little lonely if no one had been home, but I heard movement.
“You did great today.”
Hyung greeted me with a soft grin.
I scowled at him and whined,
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Just because? It’s more touching as a surprise, right? Mom and Auntie looked really shocked.”
“Huh? How do you know that?”
Hyung held out his smartphone.
There was a long message from Mom.
[Today, thanks to Taeyoon, I was so surprised… (omitted) …I don’t know how he came up with such a thoughtful idea. I’m always thankful for and love my sons… When I go up, I’ll cook lots of yummy things for you…]
It wasn’t a text—it was a letter.
It was clear she treated me and Hyung very differently.
Hyung, the dependable eldest son.
Me, still the baby of the family?
Didn’t matter either way. I’d be living with Mom soon!
I’d get to eat her japchae and tonkatsu every day!
“But hey, Taeyoon.”
“Yeah?”
“You went to Bundang, right? I thought we agreed to show her after the renovations were done.”
“No, it’s not like that!”
Hmm. Let me sum up the situation briefly.
The apartment in Bundang was purchased 100% under my name.
But Hyung and I had split the cost of the interior and furniture 50/50.
So technically, he had a share too.
Still, I kind of jumped the gun like this…
Because I just really wanted to live with Mom as soon as possible.
But I didn’t want to say that out loud, so I just said—
“She doesn’t believe I’m Blackhole.”
“So you showed her the house?”
“Exactly.”
“Who would believe that?”
Well, even if Hyung didn’t believe me—
“Here, take a look.”
He showed me another message from Mom.
…Oh, come on.
[……Your little brother is still just a baby. Take good care of him……]
And there it was—the usual scolding.
“You upset Mom again? Did you whine or something?”
“I didn’t!”
Hyung gave me side-eye.
I was innocent, seriously.
As I racked my brain for how to defend myself, Hyung relaxed his expression and said gently—
“Still, you did good.”
“Huh?”
“Mom seemed really happy.”
Yeah, she was. Really happy.
I quickly retreated to my room and called back casually,
“I’ll call Dad.”
“When?”
“…Soon?”
That’s what I said, but—
Because of an upcoming event, I completely forgot.
It was about ten days later that I finally got around to contacting Dad.
The next morning at dawn.
In a live streaming studio somewhere in Los Angeles, USA—
A live broadcast was underway on the channel <Aether Sound>, operated by the enigmatic DJ, Koda.
The artists featured on this channel were primarily experimental sound creators from across Europe and North America.
Musicians who called themselves “pioneers,” exploring the audio spectrum all night long with old gear and experimental methods.
As was typical with these kinds of channels—
They acknowledged no musical boundaries.
Ambient, techno, fusion jazz, neo-classical…
In short, it was a community of musicians firmly rooted in the underground music scene.
Perhaps it was this unique avant-garde spirit and the depth of their melodies—
Or maybe it was because artistic eccentricity transcends race and age.
Either way, <Aether Sound> had surpassed 5 million subscribers.
It was that influential a channel.
At least among listeners and musicians.
Even the live stream drew in hundreds of thousands of viewers.
They always discussed fascinating topics—
Trends in music, live rap battles, or even composition battles.
And today’s topic, unexpectedly—
“An Asian DJ?”
“Probably just a pretty boy pretending to scratch records.”
“Will he take his shirt off too?”
The face of the Orbit Phone advertisement.
The intriguing Asian DJ.
It was Blackhole.