HLnovel Chapter 193 : The Body Really Is Honest
Chapter 193 : The Body Really Is Honest
When I stood behind the DJ booth, I could actually see the audience's reactions quite clearly.At first, I had been far too busy worrying about whether I'd make mistakes or lose the beat to pay attention to the crowd.
But now, I had a little room to breathe.
You could call it a form of communication that only I could feel between myself and the audience.
What points they reacted to.
What they were thinking at that moment.
I could usually guess just by looking at their expressions.
That was why I deliberately chose this song as the opener.
Michael Jackson's
Da-da-da-ran, da~ran.
A song that began with a rhythmic, powerful rock guitar riff.
No matter how unfamiliar someone might be with music...
Most people had probably heard it at least once.
This is the kind of place Club Sierra is.
This is the kind of music I've prepared tonight.
I thought it was a perfect First Introduction to convey exactly that.
After all, the original song itself was already a masterpiece.
The audience's first reaction went exactly as I'd expected.
"Wooah!"
Some let out quiet exclamations, barely able to contain their excitement.
Sometimes I thought about it.
The body really was honest.
The moment a familiar riff struck your ears, your body naturally started moving.
Whether you were good at dancing or not...
That didn't matter.
Heads nodded.
Feet tapped.
Everyone pretended they weren't moving.
But nobody could resist that riff.
By the time the guitar riff was nearing its end...
The audience was enjoying the music with expressions that clearly said,
'This is it.'
However, as the song progressed, it seemed like they wanted to say something else.
A knowing smile gradually appeared on their faces.
'Just about what I expected.'
'So that's all the famous Blackhole amounts to? Pretty predictable.'
'I could get people excited with this song too.'
Some had even relaxed enough to pick up their drinks and casually glance into their glasses.
But they still didn't know.
The real performance was only just beginning.
The day I had gone down to Ulsan.
My older brother had said that people kept listening only to the songs they'd heard in their youth, no matter how old they became.
Dad had immediately disagreed.
That's just prejudice. Of course I know today's good songs. I just don't go around talking about them. But accepting something that's completely unfamiliar is a little troublesome. It feels awkward... embarrassing, you know?
Those words from Dad, his cheeks flushed as he held his beer glass...
Had given me the answer.
I'd let them lean comfortably into familiarity...
Then suddenly pull them toward something completely new.
That was my strategy.
I wasn't using nostalgia as a weapon.
I was simply using familiarity to persuade the audience.
Executive Director Park Sangwoo wasn't the only one whose excitement had cooled because of the predictable opening song.
He glanced around.
Most of the audience looked like they were having fun...
Yet their expressions all conveyed the same thing.
'It's exciting, but...'
'Hmm... is this really all?'
Their faces practically said those words.
A trace of disappointment crossed Executive Director Park Sangwoo's brow.
Soon the song ended.
A brief silence settled over the club.
His body, which had unconsciously been moving with anticipation, naturally shifted into a guarded posture as he folded his arms.
'I even wore a tie that doesn't suit my age for this...'
'...Show me something.'
Some kind of unexpected twist.
At the very least...
Something that would make his heart race.
The instant that thought crossed his mind—
A ridiculously sharp DJ scratch shattered the silence without warning, instantly capturing everyone's attention.
Scratch sound (DJing)- Whiiiiing—
"Huh?"
The sharp scratching and heavy filter sweep sound struck everyone's ears.
"Huh? What's this?"
"Is he about to perform something different?"
The audience looked around in confusion at the unfamiliar flow.
Then the lights flashed like lightning.
The entire club plunged into darkness.
As though everything were about to return to the very beginning.
Silence filled the room.
Even the laughter stopped.
Then came the next track.
An unbelievably lively one.
Bam— Bababababam—
It was none other than
The familiar synthesizer melody wrapped around their ears.
Several people exclaimed,
"Huh? This song!"
It was unmistakable joy.
The body truly was honest.
No matter how much people complained...
The moment a familiar song played, their bodies naturally began moving.
That was music's power.
Everyone hurried to show they recognized it.
"Ha! This used to be my favorite singer!"
"I still have the cassette tape! I played it so much it stretched out, so I'd even put it in the freezer to fix it...."
"They really were amazing. Great dancers, great songs."
"If you're going to start with something familiar, this is how you do it. Excellent song choice."
But that feeling of nostalgia didn't even last three seconds.
At some point, the original song's rough beat vanished completely.
Instead...
A heavy sub-bass surged upward as though breaking through the floor, pounding against their feet.
Boom! Boom!
The original song's iconic synth disappeared.
In its place...
A cleaner, more polished sound took center stage.
Even the intro was special.
The rhythm.
The theme.
Everything was familiar.
Yet the entire soundscape had been completely transformed.
The refined lo-fi rainfall instantly brought back memories of yesterday with a strangely sentimental feeling.
But beneath it...
Barely audible.
A dry siren sample subtly hinted at hidden uneasiness.
People on the dance floor murmured in amazement.
"How... is this even possible?"
"It's definitely the song we know."
"He changed it like this? What's something like this called?"
"An arrangement."
Their minds clearly recognized it as
Yet their ears and bodies reacted to an entirely new groove.
The raw texture of the analog turntable radiated powerful energy.
Combined with the precision of modern digital sound.
It breathed today's life into yesterday's memories.
"It's obviously a song I know... so why does it feel completely new?"
"Wasn't this released in the '80s?"
"Yeah...."
"If you told me this was a song by today's idols, I'd believe you. The beat sparkles."
Taeyoon's specialty.
The bass gradually revealed itself.
Solid.
Heavy.
As the atmosphere intensified...
The beat became even more explosive.
The original brass section transformed into future bass-style synth waves, adding a softer atmosphere.
Then came the highlight.
A completely new breakdown that hadn't existed in the original song.
Created solely to emphasize the emotional recollection.
Every beat disappeared.
Only the nostalgic melody of the original remained.
Joined by a piano drenched in reverb.
Last night, I...
Just as the emotions were about to continue flowing—
'If people can predict it, it's no fun.'
I played the theme live on the touch pad.
The atmosphere instantly returned to the beginning.
"Wow...."
Instead of explosive cheers...
Quiet admiration spread throughout the club.
Thanks to Taeyoon's exquisite arrangement...
The air inside Club Sierra completely changed.
The awkwardness from earlier disappeared.
An undeniable thrill appeared across the executives' faces.
The song that had preserved their happiest memories of youth...
Had been reborn beneath Blackhole's fingertips.
The atmosphere had changed completely.
"This is fun!"
"I didn't know music could make you feel like this. It reminds me of the old days... and I miss them... but somehow it also makes me feel that the present isn't bad either."
"I guess... the accompaniment feels more comfortable now?"
This wasn't an ordinary arrangement.
It was something closer to magic.
It revived forgotten memories while simultaneously creating an entirely new experience they'd never known before.
A strange sensation where unfamiliar things gradually became familiar...
And familiar things became completely new.
Eventually...
Even those pretending to remain dignified raised their hands high and began moving their bodies.
And...
Executive Director Park Sangwoo finally uncrossed his arms.
Even he, who had spent the entire time cautiously observing while openly displaying disappointment...
Was now unconsciously keeping time with the rhythm using the tip of his polished shoes.
'So... this is what a club is.'
The door to his heart swung wide open.
And once a heart had opened...
It rarely closed again.
By the time the song ended...
Every executive—including him—wore the exact same expression.
No longer cold observers.
No longer stern critics.
They had simply become Audience Member No. 1 at Club Sierra, embracing the atmosphere with their whole bodies.
"Wooooooah!"
When the song ended...
Executive Director Park Sangwoo shouted together with the audience like a young man in his twenties.
He simply couldn't hold it back.
Everyone probably felt the same.
Who was it that once said every Korean secretly carried an incredible passion inside?
That when a truly exciting moment finally arrived...
People cast aside appearances and status to completely enjoy themselves.
For them...
That moment was now.
The honest emotions they had spent years suppressing in conservative workplaces burst forth from every corner of the room.
Hearing the thunderous cheers...
Taeyoon smiled beneath his mask.
'Good. Everything's going according to plan.'
If I'd intended to stop here...
I wouldn't have started at all.
I immediately picked up the microphone.
"Alright, everyone's properly warmed up now. Shall we really begin?"
"Wooooooah!"
The roaring cheers became the answer.
The lights dimmed.
Then the song I'd prepared especially for tonight began.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom-boom.
A powerful kick drum echoed with heavy precision.
Above it...
Bright sounds poured down like rain.
"...
Cheongseong's song burst in with an entirely different rhythm.
The melancholy unique to the original had disappeared.
Sparkling synthwave and a minimalist bass line beautifully wrapped around the emotions of that era.
Director Go Daeyeong, who had just raised his drink, suddenly froze.
His eyes met Executive Director Park Sangwoo's.
Just for this moment...
He wanted to be honest.
He quietly raised his glass high.
Just because people grew older...
Didn't mean they only listened to old songs.
They searched for today's hit songs on YouTube too.
They checked the charts.
Of course they knew today's good music.
But...
Things that were too unfamiliar still felt difficult.
Sometimes even frightening.
They feared losing the comfort that familiarity provided.
In that sense...
Blackhole's music was the perfect answer.
One after another...
The songs Blackhole had prepared with such ambition filled the club.
Now...
No one doubted him anymore.
Normally, these were songs they never would have listened to.
Yet everyone was completely swept away by Blackhole's selections.
Long ago...
Their stiff suit jackets had been tossed aside.
Their ties had been loosened and stuffed into trouser pockets.
Even the tight-fitting vests constricting their waists had been casually removed and draped over nearby chairs.
"I'm really glad I came."
"So this is why young people are so obsessed with clubs...."
"Now I understand."
"You only truly understand after experiencing something yourself. Come on, let's have a drink. Tonight's on me."
"I heard Blackhole's paying for everything."
"Huh? Really?"
"He invited us! All the drinks, the food, the music—he's paying for all of it!"
"Wow!"
Blackhole planted new beats and new sounds inside familiar melodies.
Borrowing the rhythm of the past...
To make hearts in the present race.
A performance so intoxicatingly exhilarating.
Now they couldn't help looking forward to what came next.
Several executives who had stubbornly insisted,
'What kind of club is appropriate at our age?'
Crossed their minds.
Park Sangwoo.
Go Daeyeong.
Both watched the performance with similar thoughts.
'If this is the kind of club it is...'
'Then I'd welcome it a hundred... no, a thousand times over.'
Titles.
Pride.
Age.
None of those things meant anything here.
Only audience members remained.
People who had devoted their time to Blackhole's performance.
There was music.
There were drinks.
And between them...
The traces of years that had once felt so heavy.
No one mocked those years.
No one tried to hide them.
At least today.
At least in this moment.
They were reminded that the person they were now wasn't somehow worse than the person they had once been.
And what made that possible wasn't expensive alcohol.
Nor the glamorous atmosphere of the club.
It was Blackhole's carefully crafted song selection and mixing that allowed them, for the first time in their lives, to let go of everything and simply enjoy the night.
"Did you know it's already past two o'clock?"
"Already?"
"Aren't you tired?"
"Ah, maybe because I've been drinking non-alcoholic cocktails with energy drinks. I don't really feel tired."
"What? They had non-alcoholic drinks? You should've told me!"
"You say that after happily drinking because everything was free?"
"Getting drunk is fun too... but I wanted to enjoy the whole night with a clear mind."
"At this rate, even staying up all night won't be enough."
Eventually...
The entire performance they'd prepared came to an end.
Only one final song remained.
Taeyoon slowly smiled beneath his mask once more and shouted,
"Hold the beat!"
A powerful roar answered him.
The final song began.
The very identity of Blackhole.
And the track destined to become the main theme of the newly reborn KW Gangnam Hotel.
"...Huh? This song..."
"It's that one!"
"Oh, I know this one too!"
"Lunatic Beat!"
Not a single person looked away.
Every eye gazed up at Blackhole in fascination.
Someone murmured as though completely enchanted.
"Ah... so that's why it's called Club Lunatic."
After countless melodies had played throughout the night...
There couldn't have been a more fitting beat or melody to conclude the performance.
The reopening of KW Gangnam Hotel's club as Club Lunatic...
Was now all but officially decided.
The following morning.
KW Headquarters.
After receiving the report about the previous night's events, Executive Director Kim Jinsoo sat in his office wearing a deeply satisfied smile.
Blackhole was even more incredible than he'd expected.
Winning over those stubborn old men who were more conservative than people from the late Joseon Dynasty using nothing but music?
It sounded easy.
But no ordinary person could ever accomplish that.
And to do it this quickly.
In a single performance.
He had never imagined it.
He'd assumed it would take several performances before they were convinced.
'Then again... after seeing that stage, no one could possibly oppose it.'
The previous night.
On the second floor overlooking the stage.
He had secretly watched everything from above.
Every song in the set list remained vividly etched in his memory.
He hated admitting it.
But Blackhole wasn't simply a DJ.
He persuaded audiences.
He understood spaces.
He read people...
A perfect planner.
Every single song carried its own unmistakable logic.
He never forced his own tastes onto others.
Yet he drew upon emotions from the past, reorganized them into his own style...
And changed the very standard itself.
'At this point... there's no reason to hesitate.'
Executive Director Kim Jinsoo quietly summoned his secretary.
"Call an executive meeting for KW Hotel immediately, and prepare the press release right away."
"Yes, sir."
The secretary immediately began organizing the necessary documents.
Executive Director Kim Jinsoo smiled to himself and muttered,
"Right... if it were just another club, it wouldn't be interesting."
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, nothing. I'm just in a good mood today. Good work."
As the secretary respectfully bowed and left with the documents, one thought crossed their mind.
'I didn't know Executive Director Kim could make an expression like that.'
During the five years of serving Kim Jinsoo...
It was the most genuinely human smile the secretary had ever seen.
Then, that afternoon.
The moment KW Hotel released its official announcement—
[ KW Gangnam Hotel Rebranding Confirmed, Main DJ Is 'Blackhole'. ]
[ KW Group Executive Director Kim Jinsoo: "KW Gangnam Hotel Will Be Reborn as a Multifunctional Cultural Space." ]
[ KW Gangnam Hotel 'Club Lunatic' Sets Admission Fee Comparable to Ordinary Clubs. Why? ]
[ Exclusive: "Only Those Over Forty May Enter." Special Club Sierra Performance Video Released. ]
[ "I Want to Show You Real Music." Exclusive Interview with DJ Blackhole Released! ]
Not only the club scene...
But the entire popular music industry erupted in excitement.