Chapter 177 : Deal
Chapter 177: Deal!
A message had arrived.
From the agency of an Asian DJ—Blackhole.
It began with a simple email.
[ Dear, DJ Koda ]
[ Hello. This is KIM Entertainment, the agency of Blackhole.
We are sending this email after watching the live broadcast that aired last Saturday. The reason is… ]
DJ Koda’s heart began pounding like crazy.
When an agency of a musician mentioned on his show contacts him first, there are only two possibilities.
The first possibility.
A lawsuit.
Sometimes companies tried to threaten him like this.
Artists from the Asian market were especially sensitive about these things.
But it was useless.
This was America—freedom of speech existed.
And this time, there had been no intention whatsoever to belittle a specific artist or spread false information.
If anything, it was the opposite.
He had merely introduced the hidden gem called Blackhole and re-evaluated his worth.
Because of that, Western music YouTube channels were now busy reviewing and praising Blackhole’s videos.
A lawsuit? That would make no sense.
It would never work anyway.
Which meant…
The second possibility.
Collaboration.
It was probably closer to that.
With nervous anticipation, Koda continued reading the email.
[ We would like to inquire about the live joint performance proposal mentioned during the broadcast.
Please reply at a convenient time. ]
Oh?
Koda straightened his posture.
He had thrown out bait, and it had been swallowed.
And faster than he expected.
‘This is interesting.’
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
He hadn’t expected Blackhole’s side to react this quickly.
Either his broadcast had that much influence.
Or…
‘It means Blackhole is just that eager to appear on our show.’
Either way, it was the best scenario for Koda.
A convenient time, huh?
When would that be?
Right now!
Honestly, he wanted to reply immediately, but he didn’t want to appear impatient.
He wanted to properly expand the scale of this opportunity.
Simply inviting Blackhole to the studio for a joint performance wouldn’t be enough.
A massive event.
Koda decided that would suit Blackhole better.
Of course.
He was the model of the Orbit Phone, after all.
Koda stared down at his foldable phone while thinking.
Even just a joint performance would generate plenty of buzz.
But—
‘Collaboration? Boring.’
Making a big catch like Blackhole fly all the way to LA just to show a few DJing tricks would be disrespectful.
He had to come up with a plan that would make the live stream far more entertaining.
But before that—
‘Email. Send the email!’
He decided to reply faster than ever before.
Meeting Blackhole excited him that much.
“This should be good enough, right?”
Emails were frustrating.
They made his insides burn.
So he immediately included his direct contact information.
The gist of the email was simple.
Forget the formalities—let’s meet. If not, at least let’s talk on the phone.
He waited anxiously for a reply.
Since they had contacted him first, the response should come quickly.
But strangely—
One day passed. Two days passed.
No reply came.
“…What? Are they trying to fight over control?”
The email had clearly been received.
Koda waited nervously.
Then, after three days—
“…Oh.”
He finally received a reply from KIM Entertainment.
Along with somewhat absurd content.
[ We will appear on the live streaming broadcast. ]
The statement that they would appear on the live stream caught his eye first.
That part had been expected.
However—
[ …However, there is a condition. ]
When he read the unexpected condition included in the email, his vision darkened and the back of his head tingled.
Appearance fee? No.
Exclusive appearance? No.
It was—
[ The first-class flight ticket and Ritz-Carlton LA hotel stay mentioned during the broadcast must be provided directly by DJ Koda.
For reference, this condition is not the opinion of KIM Entertainment, but the personal request of DJ Blackhole. ]
They were telling him to keep the words he had carelessly thrown out during the live broadcast.
And it was DJ Blackhole’s personal request.
Koda’s heart began pounding violently again.
This wasn’t shock or anger.
Blackhole… was this bold of a person?
To take what had been said as a joke and present it as a real condition…
Was it confidence?
Or just an oblivious fool?
But because of that, Koda became even more curious about him.
A DJ who doubled his bet and made the game even bigger.
That was a rare kind of character.
“Damn it… why am I excited?”
He reopened the laptop he had just closed.
Then he immediately tried to look up plane tickets before suddenly pausing.
Right. Reply first.
Without hesitation, he sent a response.
The email contained only a single word.
[ Call! ]
---
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“First class and the Ritz-Carlton?”
“Yep. The flight ticket alone probably costs about ten million won.”
“…That’s insane.”
Seeing my expression, CEO Kim Minsoo asked,
“Why are you so surprised? Because it’s expensive?”
I answered while keeping my eyes fixed on DJ Koda’s video.
“No.”
I had been a little surprised by the enormous amount, but that wasn’t the main reason.
“Then?”
“Even if it was said as a joke, a promise is still a promise. Someone who keeps it… that’s cool.”
“How bland.”
I hated empty promises.
Especially in this industry.
People lured others with impossible dreams.
And when the time came, they would back out saying, “It was just a joke,” or “I didn’t think you’d take it that seriously.”
When DJ Koda mentioned first class and the Ritz-Carlton during the live broadcast, I thought it was just showmanship.
Something to heat up the broadcast.
Or maybe arrogance born from the certainty that I would never actually contact him.
“I didn’t expect him to really keep the promise.”
“True. Want to hear something even more surprising?”
“What?”
“In cases like this, the company usually covers the expenses. But this time, Koda’s paying out of his own pocket. He bragged quite a bit about it in the email and asked me to make sure you knew.”
“…Wow.”
That made me want to meet DJ Koda even more.
Taking responsibility for the words you say.
That wasn’t easy.
And people who had that kind of responsibility were always good people.
Of course, the man sitting in front of me—CEO Kim Minsoo—was one of those people too.
“I was surprised too. I only suggested contacting him because you asked.”
“What if Koda had refused?”
“What else? Then we just wouldn’t go.”
Seeing CEO Kim Minsoo making a ridiculous face, I ended up laughing.
That was exactly like our CEO.
Even though he said it like that, he was the kind of person who would gladly send me with company money.
“So when should I book the reservation?”
“What did they say?”
“They said they’d clear their schedule even if you came tomorrow. So? Want to go tomorrow? You have a passport, right?”
“Yes. I made one.”
“Is our Taeyoon finally going on his first overseas trip?”
“Yes.”
Now that I thought about it, it really would be my first time leaving the country.
My first overseas trip being LA.
And visiting the Aether Sound studio.
It felt like a dream.
They said it was a completely unscripted live broadcast.
I’d have a lot to prepare.
“Please book it for the end of this month.”
“Oh? I thought you’d want to go immediately.”
“I should finish the mixtape album first.”
“Oh, finishing a big project and then taking a vacation. Nice.”
“I also have to go to Ulsan. I can’t leave immediately. I should notify the audience at Club Sierra too.”
More than anything—
I was worried about leaving the club for a long time.
I knew people fought for tickets every day just to see me.
If I disappeared for a week, they would be disappointed.
“Don’t worry. While you’re gone we can renovate Sierra a bit. Perfect timing.”
Seriously.
He was naturally good at reassuring people.
With the Aether Sound matter settled, I asked something truly important.
“So then… when will the album be finished?”
“It should arrive today or tomorrow.”
The album we prepared for the Orbit advertisement client meeting—
Mix Tape: Orbit Edition.
We produced only one thousand copies.
Instead of handwriting each jacket, we printed them, but my intention should still be clear.
“Still… isn’t that too few?”
“Who buys DJ albums? It’s partly a test, partly self-fulfillment. That’s all.”
“Always so humble.”
I awkwardly scratched the bridge of my nose.
It wasn’t humility. It was the truth.
“Oh, and that rabbit bracelet you mentioned before.”
“Yeah, we prepared exactly a thousand of those too.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed slightly and asked CEO Kim Minsoo,
“I’m going to buy the limited Blackhole album myself too. Want to come with me?”
“Oh? Confident about the open-run?”
“Come on, it can’t be that intense.”
The place selling the album was none other than
Almond Young.
---
Unlike KIM Entertainment, which felt like it was in festival mode every day—
A deep sigh echoed inside Daebak Sound.
The one who sighed first was the CEO of Daebak Sound, Park Taekeun.
“Ha… so it ended up like this after all.”
At that, his right-hand man and the company’s real power figure, Director Lim Geonwoo, bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the floor.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“No, why are you apologizing?”
To summarize—
The Almond Young Luxury Transformation Project had been postponed indefinitely.
Park Taekeun smiled kindly, but Lim Geonwoo knew better.
Looking at his clothing through narrowed eyes, he noticed it had become even flashier and bolder.
That was… the newest Dior Homme jacket.
When this old man went shopping, it meant his mind was in complete turmoil.
“Well… Almond Young said they would postpone the project until the second half of next year. The reason is budget shortages…”
Despite Lim Geonwoo’s efforts to soothe him, Park Taekeun only nodded silently.
Indefinite postponement.
In other words, the project had effectively collapsed.
Both of them knew it was just wordplay from a large corporation.
Talking further would only irritate the CEO.
It would be better to let the matter slowly fade away.
To do that, they needed to change the topic.
“Ah, right. CEO. About that Orbit advertisement.”
At the word Orbit, Park Taekeun slightly turned his chair.
He seemed interested.
Encouraged by his gesture, Lim Geonwoo spoke confidently.
“That DJ in the commercial… the one called Blackhole. It’s that guy Stay.”
“What?”
Park Taekeun’s eyebrows twitched.
This time, his chair turned completely toward Lim Geonwoo.
It was the most absurd thing he had heard recently.
Even more shocking than the Almond Young project being postponed.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“No. I’m certain.”
Park Taekeun recalled the Orbit advertisement.
The DJ with his face covered by a mask.
And even the beat he created himself.
Lately, that was all anyone in the industry talked about.
If you secured Blackhole, your company would survive.
We should recruit a DJ before it’s too late.
DJing was about to become a much bigger trend than anyone imagined.
He agreed with that.
Trends often arrived unexpectedly like this.
But Stay and Blackhole being the same person?
That had never crossed his mind.
And even if they were the same person—so what?
If anything, it was good news for him.
Stay was already clearly affiliated with KIM Entertainment, so there was no point chasing after him.
He didn’t want to waste any more energy on Stay.
Yes.
He admitted it.
He had already lost the battle to that sly fourth-generation chaebol kid.
“Let’s say you’re right and Stay and Blackhole are the same person. So what?”
Lim Geonwoo looked at Park Taekeun in frustration.
What else?
They should use it as leverage and twist the situation somehow.
Nobody was completely clean.
That had always been how Daebak Sound dealt with timid musicians who had only ever focused on making music.
Park Taekeun read those words clearly in Lim Geonwoo’s eyes.
At that moment, he failed to hide the tremor in his gaze.
Meanwhile, Lim Geonwoo sensed hesitation in Park Taekeun’s eyes.
That was understandable.
After all the talk about fair play, it wouldn’t be easy to immediately agree to such tactics.
But knowing this information and not using it?
That wasn’t how Daebak Sound operated.
Hadn’t they used similar information countless times before to generate profit?
Lim Geonwoo was certain.
Park Taekeun would eventually use this information.
While he thought that—
Park Taekeun looked down and let out a long sigh.
“Ha… Director Lim.”
Park Taekeun slowly stood up.
“Yes, sir.”
Lim Geonwoo straightened up as if awaiting orders.
But Park Taekeun simply patted his shoulder.
“Leave it.”
“…Excuse me?”
Did he hear that wrong?
Lim Geonwoo stood there stunned.
Then Park Taekeun continued.
“Whatever song Stay makes, whatever Blackhole runs around doing—leave it alone. Or what? You want to keep chasing him and sabotaging him? For what?”
“…Ah.”
Instead of answering, Lim Geonwoo let out a quiet sigh.
Park Taekeun turned toward the window and spoke calmly.
“I don’t even remember why I started this job anymore. I began because I wanted to find good music and good musicians…”
He paused briefly before scratching his brow.
“But now I’m obsessed only with games I can win.”
Then he chuckled quietly and added, almost like a personal vow.
“Let’s stop now. Signing kids by exploiting their weaknesses. You should stop struggling like that too. You’ve already proven enough.”
Leaving the stunned Lim Geonwoo behind,
Park Taekeun placed a fedora on his head and left the office.
“…Where are you going?”
“You know where I go.”
Whenever he felt troubled, he had the habit of visiting Myeongdong alone.
Foreign tourists with excited faces.
The lively streets.
The laughter of young people.
Standing in the middle of bustling Seoul sometimes made him think—
There had once been a time when he moved around just as busily as they did.
A short time later, he arrived in Myeongdong.
Walking through the crowded streets, enjoying the feeling of youth—
“Hmm…?”
He suddenly stopped.
In front of him was a crowd gathered like a swarm of clouds.
“What’s going on?”
The place was none other than
Almond Young’s Myeongdong flagship store.