Chapter 216 : Turns Out She's an Incredible Talent?!
Chapter 216: Turns Out She's an Incredible Talent?!
Blackhole was special.
At least, that was how Etica saw him.
Was it because his DJing skills were outstanding?
Because he possessed incredible musical sense along with excellent performances?
Because he always presented new performances?
Because he knew exactly how to draw attention?
Yes. All of those were true.
However, those were traits every DJ shared.
Blackhole had heard those compliments countless times himself.
At the very least, any DJ whose name carried weight in the DJing scene was expected to meet that standard.
But the thing Etica found truly special—and terrifying—about Blackhole was...
'The early version of Lunatic Beat... here...?'
Recently, there was one subject that the DJ scene practically worshipped like a god.
Appearing to be a genius.
That had become the hottest topic in the industry.
The "genius DJ" had become the scene's newest trend.
One after another, everyone began pretending to be geniuses.
They denied the countless sleepless nights and the brutal hours of practice.
Acting as though they had never put in any effort became the norm.
Both they and everyone else knew the beat had only come together after moving their fingers until their veins nearly burst.
Yet they would simply tilt their chin arrogantly, as if it had always been something anyone could play one-handed.
'I did the same thing.'
Etica had been no different.
"She's good... for a female DJ."
"She's good... for a performer."
Those words clung to her like chewing gum stuck in her hair.
The harder she tried to peel them away, the more stubbornly they stuck.
So she gritted her teeth.
She vowed to create something no one else could imitate.
Whenever she stepped onto the stage, she hid every trace of the effort she'd poured in.
She stood before the Turntable wearing a casual smile, pretending it was all natural talent.
She deliberately wore flashier, more provocative outfits.
As if to say—
I've made it this far.
Perhaps it wasn't exposure.
Perhaps it was a declaration.
This is something only I can do.
Her agency wanted exactly that.
They called it her "brand."
Whether she was merchandise or an exhibit didn't matter.
As long as they could sell the brand called "Etica," they would do anything.
Because she loved being on stage that much.
And so, the Etica of the past—the one who created her own beats and practiced mixing no one had ever attempted—gradually disappeared.
Because no one looked back at the sweat-soaked hours of practice anymore.
She had to do it.
Otherwise, the desperate passion she'd once possessed would only look pitiful compared to her glamorous success now.
But...
'Blackhole is different.'
The slightly off beat.
The mistimed rhythms.
Etica knew.
She knew the early version of Lunatic Beat contained every record of his failures.
Blackhole was proudly revealing his own past.
The messages she had exchanged with Blackhole three years ago suddenly flashed through her mind.
[ Paru: I completely ruined a track yesterday. The beat got all tangled up. Total disaster. Want to hear it? ]
[ Skippy: You can do better next time. Maybe the off-beat timing is actually charming? ]
[ Paru: I should just remake it. I guess I should throw it away... ]
[ Skippy: 2:12. I think it'd be fine if you just cleaned up the part where the kick stands out too much. The Loop is nice. The one that starts at 1:30. ]
[ Paru: That happened by accident. I loaded the wrong Sample, but when they overlapped, it actually sounded okay. ]
[ Skippy: There aren't any accidents in music. Maybe you instinctively designed it that way? ]
They had only talked about music.
Nothing more.
But looking back now...
It was embarrassing enough to make her jump awake in the middle of the night.
Because...
Who was she to have given advice to Blackhole?
That's right.
Perhaps the Lunatic Beat back then had been Blackhole's frustration.
Those chaotic tracks.
The traces of all his 고민.
The countless hours of relentless effort.
Whenever Taeyoon agonized over what he called a failed work, Han Youngseo—who was both Etica and Skippy—had always told him:
[ Skippy: There's no such thing as failure. That's how everyone grows. ]
It had only been simple encouragement.
But thanks to those words, Taeyoon had grown.
He never abandoned his very first beat until the very end.
Even though Etica herself had never realized it.
He didn't throw away failure.
Instead, he used his past mistakes as ingredients to create something new.
The awkward off-beats and cold rhythms from his very first composition had now become Blackhole's Signature Sound—
Lunatic Beat.
Blackhole never denied his past mistakes.
Instead...
Here.
At the very moment he was supposed to shine the brightest.
He was the DJ who celebrated his failures more brilliantly than anyone else.
Perhaps...
This was what a true genius really looked like.
Someone who accepted past mistakes not as failures, but as nourishment for growth.
That was what frightened Etica the most.
And...
'Could I do the same?'
She wanted to show everyone.
She wanted to speak through the beats she'd painstakingly refined after countless sleepless nights of mixing.
To tell them—
This is the kind of music I make.
Now...
She had finally reached the turning point.
The chance to reveal that music.
Whether she let that opportunity slip away or seized it...
That decision belonged entirely to her.
Etica picked up her phone.
She called the Planning Director.
As soon as he answered, a cheerful voice came through.
"Ah, yeah. I've been watching the NewTube live broadcast. Whew... Club Lunatic is absolutely insane. You can really tell they spent money on it."
Simply appearing in Club Lunatic's opening performance...
Would raise Etica's name value by another level.
Which would naturally lead to stronger branding.
Before she even had a chance to speak...
He immediately started talking about sponsorships again.
"Make sure the sponsored accessories are clearly visible. They're expensive. You know how much they paid for the advertising, right? They don't hand out sponsorships that easily."
That wasn't what mattered right now.
Suppressing the sigh rising from deep within her chest, Etica interrupted him.
"Director."
Her voice sank low.
Normally cheerful and kind.
The unfamiliar tone made the director fall silent.
"Just for today... I'll perform my own way."
His reply came back in disbelief.
"...Your way? What exactly is your style?"
My style...
A bitter smile escaped her lips.
Yeah.
What even was my style?
She hadn't thought about that in a very long time.
Was it waving her arms around while wearing clothes that barely qualified as clothing?
Was it hyping the crowd with the same predictable Repertoire she'd shown countless times?
Was it smiling like a mannequin while wearing clothes covered in giant sponsor logos?
Compromises hidden behind the excuse that it was what the audience wanted.
But...
Today, she wanted to be different.
The voice she'd kept buried in her heart finally escaped.
"Working hard."
"...Working hard?"
"Yes. Staying up all night making tracks... and showing them even though I know people will criticize them."
"You really..."
He seemed to keep talking.
But...
His voice was swallowed by DJ Guldan's explosive beats and the roaring crowd echoing from the stage.
Maybe that was for the best.
If she couldn't hear it...
Then it might as well never have happened.
Thinking that, she quickly finished what she wanted to say.
"Today, instead of selling a brand... I want to sell my music for once. If I'm performing at Lunatic, shouldn't I at least play music worthy of this place?"
"Yeah, alright. I get that. But you know today's sponsor necklace..."
Ah.
She finally understood.
The company wasn't worried about what she was going to show.
They were worried about...
What she wasn't going to show.
Maybe that actually worked out better.
"Don't worry about that."
"Fine. As long as that's taken care of."
A brief silence settled between them.
Then Guldan's Drop exploded across the venue.
The cheers and vibrations filling the Dance Floor.
It was a sight she'd seen countless times.
Yet today...
It felt different.
Etica smiled.
This...
This was probably what Blackhole had wanted.
Not sponsor logos.
Not SNS hashtags.
But showing yourself through music alone.
Just as Skippy had done three years ago.
Just like Blackhole had done moments earlier, gathering together his old, worn-out beats and transforming them into brand-new music.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
The Dance Floor fell quiet.
Which meant DJ Guldan's performance had ended...
"Etica, please get ready. You've reviewed the Lift safety procedures, right?"
After a brief moment to catch her breath...
Etica's performance was about to begin.
"Yes."
"Um... Excuse me, Etica... by any chance..."
One of the staff members examined her carefully.
"Yes?"
Etica tilted her head, wondering what was wrong.
But something definitely was strange.
This wasn't her performance outfit.
'...She hasn't changed yet? No way.'
The staff couldn't bring himself to ask.
She looked oddly out of place standing there in comfortable clothes while wearing a sparkling necklace.
And yet...
For some reason...
She looked more like a real DJ than ever before.
Etica politely bowed to the confused staff member.
Then she pulled the zipper of her jersey all the way up.
DJ Guldan's performance had also been a success.
Not only his usual wild beats...
But the warm beats themed around moonlight also drew thunderous applause from the live viewers.
[ Did anyone just watch Guldan? What was that second beat sample? It sounded different from his usual stuff. ]
↳ It's from a famous song. Search DJ Koze - Pick Up.
↳↳ Ohhh, thanks. The original is amazing too.
↳ Yeah, maybe because Blackhole's performance was calmer?
↳↳ You can tell he was trying to match the atmosphere. I like it.
↳ Wow. I'm used to Guldan smashing everything with aggressive beats. Hearing him play something like this makes him seem like a completely different person. He even looks more handsome.
↳↳ Shut up. LOL.
↳ They said Guldan's close with Blackhole. Guess he's been influenced.
↳ Pick Up really suited today's performance. The song choice was perfect.
↳↳ Seriously... I hope Blackhole plays it next time too.
As Guldan's changed musical style spread through the chat...
His performance left behind a lingering impression.
The sound once criticized as overwhelmingly selfish had changed.
The man who had been trapped inside nothing but wildness...
Now radiated an emotion as cool and tranquil as moonlight.
It was a fitting choice for a club named Lunatic.
The viewers credited Blackhole for that transformation.
[ Oh? At this rate, is Guldan going to join Lunatic? Is that even called joining? Becoming part of them? Honestly, it seems possible. DJ R.O.K. too! ]
↳ No way. LOL. Guldan wouldn't.
↳ Huh? I think it's actually possible. He played Sierra's final show and now Lunatic's opening show. They're practically family now.
↳↳ "Family"? LOL.
↳ Ooh... Then Lunatic's lineup would be ridiculously stacked. Blackhole alone is already untouchable, and now Guldan and R.O.K. too?
↳↳ Why R.O.K.?
↳↳↳ R.O.K. is practically Guldan's keychain. LOL. He's always following him around.
↳ If it's KW Hotel, couldn't they really recruit both Blackhole and Guldan?
↳ Money isn't everything. Guldan would basically become a foreign worker.
↳↳ Calling him a foreign worker is hilarious. LOL.
↳ Anyway, it's true Guldan's been influenced by Blackhole's sound lately. That's why people keep saying he'll sign with Lunatic.
↳ Exactly. Their chemistry is great.
Listeners were sharp.
Blackhole's music did more than delight the ears and move people's bodies.
It even had the power to change the musical worlds of other DJs.
And now...
Etica had been given that same opportunity.
She intended to ride this momentum and finally show everyone her own music.
However...
Neither the audience inside Lunatic nor the viewers watching the live stream...
Expected anything from her.
They weren't even excited.
To be more precise...
They weren't waiting for her at all.
They merely saw her performance as a short break before DJ R.O.K.'s set.
[ Why's Etica even performing? Am I the only one not looking forward to this? ]
↳ Feels like someone sprinkled Etica onto an already perfect Lunatic lineup...
↳ Exactly. Is Etica even at the level to be here?
↳ Calm down. At least her performances are entertaining to watch.
↳↳ What are you talking about? Music should be enjoyable to listen to.
↳ Then by that logic, Blackhole's performances are entertaining to watch too. Everyone keeps saying he's cool. LOL.
↳↳ That's because he's good at both music and performance. Etica just pretends to scratch records. Honestly, people in the scene don't even consider her a real DJ.
↳ If she's not a DJ, then what is she?
↳↳ A performer. Someone who just plays music while hyping up the club atmosphere.
↳ Playing music is literally what DJs do...
↳↳ Stop nitpicking. The point is, nobody's looking forward to it.
↳ Go watch Etica's old videos... She's definitely not just a performer.
↳ Oh, I actually agree. Blackhole personally chooses Lunatic's DJ lineup. If he invited her to the opening, there has to be a reason.
↳ Hmm... What if Etica actually turns out to be insanely talented?! That would be awesome.
Taeyoon knew the viewers would leave comments like these and that the community would become noisy.
Even so...
He offered no rebuttal.
No reaction.
If you're a musician...
Then you prove it with music.
There's no need to add unnecessary words.
Bzzzzz—
Just as Etica stepped onto the Lift...
Someone hurried toward Taeyoon.
It was Yoon Seonghan.
"Huff... H-Hey, Taeyoon."
Seeing him panting for breath, Taeyoon asked,
"Hyung, did something happen?"
Yoon Seonghan answered with a puzzled expression.
"Etica... says she's changing her Set List."
"Oh? Really? To what?"
"The first track is GLUE."
"Oh. So it actually happened."
"'It actually happened?' What does that mean? What's going on here? Did you already know something?"
What was going on?
His prediction had simply come true.
Taeyoon grinned and made double V-signs with his fingers, waving them around.
At this point...
Stage one was a success.