Chapter 180 : The Track Selection Is a Cheat Code
Chapter 180: The Track Selection Is a Cheat Code
Behind the special stage where the EDM festival was being held.
The cheers of the audience surged like waves.
— Waaaaaaa!
“Wow, more people came than I expected.”
One staff member exclaimed in admiration.
The other staff nearby chatted excitedly as well.
“Looks like twice as many as last year. EDM really suits the night sea!”
“I was worried since rain was forecast, but thankfully it’s fine.”
But along with the overwhelming excitement came a hint of disappointment.
“The stage setup is perfect, but isn’t the lineup a bit… questionable?”
“Nothing we can do. Most of the audience just comes to take photos and enjoy the atmosphere anyway. Not many actually come to enjoy real DJing.”
For a festival of this scale, they should have been able to invite at least one famous DJ.
But as always—
the problem was the budget.
Since they spent money inviting a trot singer for the closing performance, the EDM main stage ended up with a rather weak lineup.
“What’s the point of a flashy stage if the substance is lacking?”
“At least they prepared the stage and equipment like this. There’ll even be fireworks. Honestly, DJing is just a side attraction. Don’t take it too seriously.”
“Well, putting that aside… I heard half the DJs are performing with masks.”
“They couldn’t invite famous DJs, so they’re just imitating them.”
A staff member participating for the first time pouted repeatedly.
It was always like this.
At local festivals, EDM and DJing were often nothing more than decoration.
Just a trendy device to make the event look stylish and impressive.
“You had high expectations, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
“That’s how it usually is. Honestly, even getting official permission to use the songs is already a miracle.”
Despite the complaints, the conversation ended with awkward smiles.
What could they do now?
The festival had already started.
All they could do was hope it finished without any accidents.
“Shouldn’t local governments start changing things by now?”
“They should give our team the fireworks budget instead. What is this every year?”
“Sigh… We say that every year, but nothing ever changes.”
Just as the complaints were wrapping up,
a man with dreadlocks entered the staff tent.
It was Cha Ihyun, the event planner in charge of the EDM planning department.
He glanced around at the atmosphere before sighing.
“Ha…”
Calling it a staff room was generous.
It was just a temporary tent.
Listening to the staff complaints leaking through the gaps in the tent made him hesitant to come in.
It felt like everything was his fault.
The DJ booth, lighting, effects, lasers, VJ visuals—
everything was perfect.
Except for the most important thing.
They hadn’t secured proper DJs.
As a former DJ himself, he had even briefly considered something ridiculous.
‘Should I just go up there myself?’
But that thought quickly faded.
He was already someone considered washed up.
Having been pushed out of the scene and now making a living planning events, what business did he have DJing?
He designed the stage as safely as possible.
Nothing controversial.
Flat and standard.
Looking at the walkie-talkie in his hand, Cha Ihyun spoke to the staff.
“Regardless of everything else, music should be the center of the stage. Let’s make sure there are no mistakes.”
Just as the staff seemed ready to pour out more complaints at his arrival,
another staff member—his long hair tied up like an artist’s topknot—interrupted.
“Come on, why are you all like this? Did you expect someone like Blackhole to show up in Ulsan or something?”
It was meant as a joke.
But the moment the word Blackhole was mentioned, everyone reacted excitedly.
“If Blackhole came, I’d have no more wishes. Our festival would explode.”
“Exactly. Today’s special guest—Blackhole! Just imagining it gives me goosebumps.”
“I don’t even need anything else. If he just performed Lunatic Beat live tonight, that’d be enough.”
“Right, right. And it’s a full moon tonight too.”
What? Blackhole?
Cha Ihyun chuckled.
Blackhole?
Of all people?
Even for casual joking, that was a bit much.
Although his identity hadn’t been revealed, Blackhole was currently the most talked-about DJ in the scene.
Would he appear at some small regional event like this instead of a major DJ festival?
Not a chance.
Still, he didn’t want to ruin the mood.
So he calmly said,
“You all know we can’t invite Blackhole. At least we can perform using Blackhole’s tracks. The audience will like it.”
“Ah… that’s true.”
“The DJs practiced a lot, so let’s look forward to it. There are more people than last year, and the reactions will be good.”
Listening to the staff’s hopeful complaints, Cha Ihyun left the tent.
The EDM performance was about to begin.
Standing behind the stage, he looked out at the lights filling the beach and popped a piece of candy into his mouth.
People packed tightly on the sand.
Chemical lights waving in the darkness.
Countless cheers forming their own rhythm.
Not everyone in that crowd had come to watch the stage he planned.
Some would be disappointed by the lineup.
Others would just enjoy the atmosphere and leave.
But that was okay.
If tonight became the moment someone first became curious about DJing—
that was enough.
Creating a stage for people who loved music.
Doing his best.
That alone made this place beautiful enough.
Thinking that, Cha Ihyun blended into the crowd.
---
“Whoa!”
“Alright, everyone take one bracelet.”
Since an LED bracelet was essential for nights like this, Dad had bought them for us.
“Is this the only color?”
“Hey, if Dad bought it for you, just wear it.”
“I want pink though… Hey! Hyung, yours is pink. Trade with me.”
“No. I like pink too.”
“What kind of mountain bandit likes pink?”
“Real men wear pink.”
Watching that giant body wave a pink LED bracelet around was honestly disturbing.
Anyway, the bracelet looked cheap, but once I wore it, it actually looked pretty good.
“Should we go over there?”
“Wow, there are so many people.”
The crowd was even bigger than expected.
All these people came out in this heat just to watch an EDM festival?
Even though it wasn’t my stage, my chest swelled with excitement.
We squeezed through the dense crowd until we finally found a spot where we could see the stage.
“This is it!”
“You like it that much, Taeyoon?”
“This is my first time at a festival like this!”
“You’re someone who makes music. You should come to places like this more often.”
The stage was impressive.
The equipment looked incredible.
When the laser lights lit up the night sky, it made Club Sierra look tiny in comparison.
“Unbelievable…”
I muttered while looking around.
“Did all these people really come to watch a DJ performance?”
For some reason, my nose stung.
But at that moment—
Dad poured cold water on my excitement.
“Nope.”
“…What?”
“Want me to be honest?”
What did honesty have to do with it?
Seeing my confused expression, Dad patted my shoulder.
“There’s a trot performance at the end. More than half the crowd probably came for that.”
“…Ah.”
“I come here every year. The last stage is basically the main event. They said Hero Park is performing tonight.”
I stared blankly at Dad before turning my head back toward the beach.
My excitement suddenly deflated.
“Well… still…”
“Unfortunately that’s just how local festivals work. The highlight is always the last stage.”
Unable to believe it, I searched “Ulsan EDM Festival” on the portal.
Turns out—
EDM Festival wasn’t even the official name.
“Ah… it’s true.”
Still, the organizers seemed genuinely serious about the DJ performance.
The promotional images were surprisingly detailed, listing DJ introductions and even the setlists.
As I looked through the setlist, something caught my attention.
It was more carefully prepared than expected.
“What are you looking at?”
My hyung asked.
“The setlist.”
“Why? Something wrong?”
Maybe my expression looked too serious.
He leaned over to look at my phone.
“Wow. The track selection is good.”
The DJs had unfamiliar names.
But the tracks they chose were far from ordinary.
It wasn’t just a list of popular songs.
The opening was relaxed.
The middle section added variation with style.
And the final portion built up emotional intensity.
It was carefully structured.
“Yeah… this is actually good.”
My hyung replied without taking his eyes off the phone.
“Usually at these local festivals they just play famous songs to hype the crowd. Sometimes they barely even scratch records and just end the show.”
“Really? But…”
I checked the setlist again.
“If someone hasn’t attended tons of DJ shows… I think the person who made this actually understands music. Maybe someone on the planning team used to be a DJ. Right?”
My hyung shrugged.
“How would I know?”
Even with his casual response,
the tracks in the setlist began playing in my head one by one.
It balanced trends, popularity, and technical composition.
I loved the structure.
I even felt like meeting the planner personally.
Then I muttered without thinking.
“That’s unfortunate…”
“What is?”
“I’m worried the audience won’t realize how good this is.”
My hyung silently fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist.
And Dad watched us with a proud smile.
At that moment—
A heavy bass sound burst from the speakers.
Boom, boom-boom!
It was the signal that the performance was starting.
“Oh, it’s starting.”
“It’s been a while since I watched a DJ performance. I’m excited.”
A DJ slowly appeared on stage.
Seeing his face, my hyung laughed.
“Is he copying Blackhole? What’s with the mask?”
“DJs usually don’t like showing their faces. It’s normal.”
I scolded him lightly and focused on the performance.
The masked DJ tried to deliver bold performance gestures,
but his movements were somewhat awkward.
My hyung and Dad, with their sharp ears, couldn’t miss it.
“He seems inexperienced.”
“His hand positions are strange and the cue timing is off.”
I smiled slightly and replied.
“But… isn’t it exciting?”
An awkward crossfade.
Slightly misaligned beat matching.
Noise bursting out while turning the knobs.
It clearly wasn’t the movement of a professional DJ.
But—
“He’s trying really hard. I was probably like that at first too.”
I knew.
He was enjoying it sincerely.
He felt the beat with his entire body and moved to the rhythm.
He raised both hands to hype the crowd.
And when he made mistakes, he raised his hands to apologize.
Every clumsy movement carried pure joy.
Even if his skills were lacking,
his passion and immersion were unmatched.
In fact, the imperfect DJing suited the atmosphere perfectly.
“Waaaaaaa!”
Even if it wasn’t perfect, the venue filled with energy instantly.
Yes.
This was DJing.
Dad and my hyung seemed moved too.
“Oh.”
“The track selection is a cheat code.”
I nodded in agreement.
Avicii’s Levels.
Even people unfamiliar with EDM would instantly react, “Wait… this is good.”
It was the perfect track for a beginner DJ to play.
See?
The event planner really knew what they were doing.
After that great opening performance ended,
murmurs spread through the crowd.
“DJing is cooler than I thought.”
“This is so fun. My shoes are full of sand.”
It had exceeded expectations.
Even though it wasn’t my performance, seeing everyone enjoy the stage made me strangely proud.
Then—
before the excitement from the first performance even faded,
the second DJ stepped onto the stage.
“Kyaaaaa!”
“Huh?”
“Oh… what is that…”
“That’s a bit…”
Dad turned his head away.
My hyung frowned.
Yes.
Determined to show a strong performance,
the male DJ appeared—
shirtless.
“Wow…”
His face was decent.
And his body was sculpted like a statue.
Standing in the DJ booth like that, of course the crowd cheered.
Clothes or no clothes didn’t matter.
As long as the DJing was good.
…Or so I thought.
The problem was the track selection.
David Guetta’s Titanium.
It was a powerful track.
I loved it too.
I had high expectations after seeing the setlist.
But—
“Huh? Why is this different from before?”
“…Is it just me?”
It was a difficult track for a beginner to mix.
Honestly, he could have just played it normally without adding effects.
“…Oh no.”
The excessive effects were painful to the ears.
The mixing timing kept slipping.
Right before the drop, he raised his hand unnecessarily and threw off the rhythm.
“Huh?”
His skill was so poor that it erased even the charming passion of the first DJ.
I felt embarrassed just watching.
He confidently wore his headphones on one ear and struck flashy poses—
but he shouldn’t have.
The energy that had just been built slowly faded.
Confused, I stared at the stage and muttered without realizing.
“…That’s not how you DJ.”