Chapter 16: Bit by Bit, Myself
As soon as I got home, I flopped down on the sofa.
I didn't even know how tonight passed.
It was the first time in my life.
I found out that I was someone who could immerse deeply in something.
I'm tired.
Tired like I’m going to die.
Caught up in the atmosphere, I found myself swaying unconsciously.
The excitement still hadn’t left me, as if I were still at the club.
My head was still full of the heat from the club.
The smell of the stage with a hint of alcohol, the bass buzzing in my ears, the people cheering while looking at me…
The shouts exploding at the climax replayed in my head like a YouTube video. On a loop.
“This is insane, seriously.”
I murmured as I suddenly stood up.
Turns out, I liked attention more than I thought.
Now I get why celebrities desperately try to stay on stage.
Maybe it was thanks to the mask I received as a gift.
Confidence surged within me.
A desire to slowly reveal myself started rising.
‘Nah, not yet.’
‘Try performing with your face shown. It'll be even more fun.’
Two versions of myself were arguing in my head.
Introverted Seo Taeyoon versus Seo Taeyoon bundled up with groundless confidence.
What kind of situation was this?
The voice of ‘Seo Taeyoon who suddenly exploded with confidence despite having nothing’ was louder.
It kept whispering to me.
‘Take off the mask now! Reveal that you're Seo Taeyoon! It’s going to be made public in Han Yujin’s album anyway!’
I’m not ready yet.
And… showing my face is burdensome.
If I saw my face floating around on social media… just thinking about it makes me want to hide under my blanket.
‘But you’re handsome, aren’t you? Mom says it all the time. That her son is the best!’
Moms always say their sons are handsome.
Even my mom says my hyung, who looks like a bandit, is dependable and a perfect eldest son-in-law.
‘Come on, be honest. You felt good seeing people talk about you on social media, right?’
Well… that’s true.
My fingers moved wildly on my smartphone on their own.
The Owner-hyung, Manager-hyung, MD-hyung, even the kitchen ajummas.
They all sent messages saying I looked cool today, but I hadn’t replied yet.
Because I was busy looking at all the talk about Blackhole flooding the communities and social media.
I understood now why celebrities check fan cafes and online forums.
Compliments not only make whales dance but even outskirt-level DJs too.
I was grinning at the endlessly rising feed when a new message came in.
“Huh?”
A photo, sent without context.
It was Han Yujin.
As if possessed, I opened the message window…
‘It’s a rabbit. How did she even capture the mask so well?’
The drawing had been upgraded!
A rabbit standing in front of a large console, wearing headphones, completely immersed in DJing again.
It had been upgraded with the black mask the Owner-hyung bought me, perfectly depicted.
More than the photo posted on social media.
More than the video filled with heat.
This single drawing made my heart race more.
And the line added to it.
[ YO! DJ! That was a real Blackhole performance today! ]
It made me fall into a deep question—what does being truly myself even mean?
A DJ performing with a mask?
A loner college student wandering campus alone?
A rookie composer just stepping into the industry?
It was complicated. Hard to answer.
But one thing was clear.
I now had the desire to slowly show more of myself.
At the same time.
A man was smiling with a fatherly grin as he watched Taeyoon’s DJing video.
“He’s good.”
“Yes, yes.”
He let out a few admiring sounds.
“What kind of guy has such delicate fingers?”
“Does he DJ with fingers? Oh, right. He does.”
“Phew. That gaze alone radiates the scent of a handsome guy. The mask suits him well too.”
Whether he was a fan or a boss, he kept murmuring nonsense while focusing intently on the video.
He wasn’t some elementary school kid.
He was so captivated, he looked like he might drool on his tablet.
Seeing that, former Club Sierra manager and now current Owner Yoon Seonghan frowned and called the man.
“Excuse me, CEO?”
“Wow, he splits the beat like this here? How did he program this beat?”
“CEO Kim Minsoo?”
“This is self-composed? He’s better than most composers. No, not just better. This shouldn’t be played only in our club. The whole universe should listen to this.”
He didn’t care whether a staff called him.
Or if his phone was blowing up.
He just kept saying whatever he wanted.
Once fixated on something, he’d go through fire and water.
Family or whatever—if he wanted something, he’d even sell his soul to get it done.
He was the real acting owner of Club Sierra and the heir to a conglomerate, the fourth-generation chaebol black sheep, Kim Minsoo.
“CEO!”
“Ah, why are you yelling? So unrefined.”
“You’re the one being unrefined, CEO. What are you even doing right now?”
“What do you mean what? Watching Seo Taeyoon—our Sierra’s ace, treasure, one-man army, key player, golden egg, relief pitcher…”
Even while talking, he couldn’t take his eyes off the video.
He didn’t monitor it daily, but at least once a week, he checked Taeyoon’s videos.
The day Taeyoon came for an interview, he thought, ‘Well, he’s good-looking, maybe he’ll at least look the part.’
Guys who came to an outskirt club like theirs were usually predictable. As much as he loved the place, that was reality.
He figured, as long as he had a decent-looking guy scratching the decks, that would be enough. That was his honest thought.
But yet…
“Taeyoon really is something, isn’t he?”
“What’s this—praising someone for once?”
“Oh, CEO. How do you see me? You need someone to praise. Seo Taeyoon of Golden Demon really became someone.”
“How’s his personality?”
“He seems gentle, but if he flips, he’d pee himself.”
“Does he have a temper? If he gets excited and doesn’t think ahead? That could be problematic.”
“No. That subtle madness drives people crazy.”
“It’s scarier when someone’s just a bit crazy than snaps all at once.”
Taeyoon definitely had a peculiar charm that made you expect something from the stage.
I already knew he was good at DJing.
No, he wasn’t just good.
He was musically complete from day one when he joined.
He was on another level compared to those flashy kids trying to work in a club.
He even grew every single day for a year.
There wasn’t a single day wasted.
Watching Taeyoon’s DJ videos, I lost track of time.
His skill at chopping the beat was extraordinary.
And the amount of music he knew—astonishing.
He picked impressive tracks from 80s and 90s hip‑hop that I’d never even heard.
That wasn’t just deep knowledge.
He was an otaku. A music otaku.
His eyes would roll just at music.
That’s why Kim Minsoo loved him.
It was a pity he didn’t show his face.
“But, Taeyoon never takes off the Golden Demon mask?”
“It’s his trademark.”
“Is he a shy type?”
“He said he likes hiding behind the mask? He said that lets him fully express himself. Funny, right?”
“Philosophical….”
His charm could make even absurd claims sound plausible.
His talent was too good to stay in a neighborhood club.
After hearing this Lunatic Beat, I realized.
He wasn’t just skilled at handling others’ tracks.
At this level, he’s a young man who could flourish as a creator.
As the owner, isn’t it your role to let an employee swim in bigger waters?
Kim Minsoo was a person with considerable room to breathe—financially and mentally.
Then… either make the waters bigger. Or move him to bigger waters.
As the representative, find ways you can do.
“Find someone who can edit videos.”
“For what?”
“It’s too wasteful if only we see this. Let’s grow Sierra’s official SNS. Put Blackhole DJing at the core.”
“That’s music to my ears.”
Sudden acceleration is prone to causing accidents.
Quick enough, but not rushed.
Raise tempo so speed builds naturally.
Just like DJ Blackhole’s beat.
That was Kim Minsoo’s usual approach to doing things.
But… this time was a bit different.
“I want to sponsor Seo Taeyoon.”
“Sponsor him? It’s not like helping disadvantaged neighbors. The word choice is….”
To others, it might seem like a sudden acceleration.
Watching Kim Minsoo for over ten years, this time his decisions were unusually bold.
If this isn’t a sudden move, what is?
Yoon Seonghan stared intently at Kim Minsoo.
I still couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“The word doesn’t matter. What matters is the intention, right? No, wait. They say the most important sincerity to modern people is money? Whether it's a studio, financial support, or thoughtful care—whatever’s needed, we’ll support.”
“You’re already supporting well enough now.”
Even without a day off every day.
His pay already dwarfed that of a corporate manager at a large company.
What’s amazing is he started near minimum wage at first.
That was the norm for a rookie DJ with no experience.
He gradually increased monthly, and eventually got to this level.
“This is my sincerity.”
“Just throwing money at him?”
“No, I envelop him in money. Caress him with money. Aren’t there nicer ways to say that? Thanks to audiences coming to see Blackhole, revenue increased too.”
Yoon Seonghan just nodded.
Right. This guy would never shortchange someone with money.
Of course Taeyoon seemed to chase things bigger than money.
“I’ll think about it. What would be good… So you want to grow him not as a DJ, but another angle?”
“Yes!”
Kim Minsoo snapped his fingers with a click!
As expected, Yoon Seonghan was sharp.
“Then first find a video‑editing producer and prepare SNS and official Youtube… support equipment or a studio so he can make music… what else was there? Oh, Taeyoon has one flaw.”
“A flaw?”
“He can’t dress.”
Yoon Seonghan hurriedly swallowed a sigh escaping him.
Mid‑flow, suddenly talking about clothes.
“Is clothes that important in this circumstance?”
“Of course. Look today. Wearing that mask instantly elevated the dignity. In a visual job, fashion matters too. No, wait…”
Kim Minsoo crossed his legs and struck a pretentious pose.
Cold sweat dripped down Yoon’s back again.
That man. When he crosses his legs like that, it means he’s about to make some momentous decision.
Then once again snapping his fingers, Kim added:
“I’d rather meet him myself. If someone smooths in while I hesitate, I’d be so aggrieved I couldn’t live with it. Since he started in our world, it's right he goes with us till the end. Yeah.”
I saw it for the first time.
So many shopping bags.
What is all this…?
“Nice to see you. Wow, it’s our first time in a year?”
“Exactly one year and two months.”
After a long time, Kim Minsoo appeared at the club.
He said he’d stepped down as representative.
Yet the other staff all bent over bowing and treated him like the CEO.
Should I do that too? I don’t know.
“I watched the video well. Always thanks for amazing performances.”
“Thank you more for watching well.”
“I have so much to tell today. But before that. How are the gifts? You like them? You will, right?”
CEO Kim slid all the shopping bags toward me.
They glided across the big table and arrived in front of me.
These club people have such big hands.
The mask he gave yesterday was great, but this was on another level.
Just looking at the clothes, shoes, hats… it was extraordinary.
Why go to such lengths to say something?
Hyung said.
If someone gives expensive gifts, it’s not goodwill—it’s solicitation!
I narrowed my eyes and inspected Kim Minsoo.
But why does this person look so familiar?