Black Label [EN]: Chapter 6

Black Label 5

6. Dongdaemun Revisited

“What? Where are we going?”

“Dongdaemun.”

On the way home from school, Young-guk looked puzzled at Jae-seung’s words and asked again.

“To buy clothes?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Because of a secondhand deal. I’m a little hesitant to go alone. Will you come with me?”

Young-guk put his arm around Jae-seung’s shoulder and asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Sure, I’ll go with you. But what are you buying? Is there another hot item up for grabs?”

Around this time, Jae-seung frequently engaged in secondhand transactions.

He aspired to wear clothes from premium brands, but lacking the funds, he turned to the secondhand market.

Specifically, he sought out clothes from popular streetwear brands. Luxury items, too, were often actively traded secondhand.

There was a healthy supply and demand.

Unless it was a design destined to be a major hit, items sold quickly after being listed.

Moreover, since prices were generally fixed, careful owners could resell items for nearly what they originally paid.

For example, jeans bought for 320,000 won six months prior, if well-maintained, could be resold for around 300,000 won.

You could resell items when you tired of them and use the proceeds to finance new purchases.

Of course, there were downsides. The legwork and travel required for in-person transactions could be a hassle. And there was always the risk of being scammed.

From Jae-seung’s perspective, with his perpetually thin wallet, secondhand purchases were the only viable option.

“By the way, I’m not buying clothes.”

“Then what are you buying?”

“It’s a secret.”

“What?”

When Young-guk asked again, sounding slightly annoyed, Jae-seung shrugged.

“Let’s change clothes and meet up again. An hour should be enough, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Okay. See you later.”

With that, Jae-seung tapped Young-guk on the shoulder and headed toward his house.

Young-guk stood for a moment, silently watching Jae-seung’s retreating figure.

* * *

“Wow, the condition is way better than I expected!”

The place where Jae-seung picked up the sewing machine was a small workshop near Dongdaemun Market.

The seller was a woman in her 40s who appeared to be the owner of the workshop.

As Jae-seung examined the sewing machine with a pleased expression, the woman, who was counting the bills Jae-seung had given her, spoke.

“That’s exactly 100,000 won. But can you carry it? It’s quite heavy….”

“Ah, yes. It’s okay. We’re going to carry it together.”

Jae-seung replied, nodding toward Young-guk, who stood awkwardly behind him.

* * *

After completing the secondhand transaction, the two headed to a street food stall near Dongdaemun Traditional Market.

It was a regular spot that Jae-seung used to frequent when he lived in Dongdaemun.

‘The owner is still here.’

It felt strange and nostalgic. The old man was still there, stirring the *tteokbokki* [spicy rice cakes] with a spatula in front of the stall.

Jae-seung remembered that the old man’s hair had been completely white just before he returned to the past, but now he looked much healthier.

“Here you go.”

The *tteokbokki* and fried snacks that Jae-seung ordered were served promptly, along with a few *fishcakes* [Korean fishcake skewers].

“Thank you for the food.”

Jae-seung replied and immediately grabbed a fishcake skewer, and Young-guk followed suit.

“Hey. Aren’t you being a little stingy with a friend who came all this way with you and even acted as a porter?”

“Eat quietly. The workshop owner gave me an extra 10,000 won for transportation, so I’m treating you to this.”

“What? So you weren’t going to buy me anything originally…?!”

Young-guk blew on the fishcake skewer he was holding.

October. It was late autumn, verging on early winter. The night air felt quite chilly.

“Hey, Jae-seung. But why did you buy a sewing machine?”

“Just because. I’m going to learn how to use it.”

“A sewing machine?”

“Yeah.”

Young-guk shook his head and muttered sarcastically.

“Wow, Lee Jae-seung. You’re going to be super busy now. You have to study, and you have to learn how to use a sewing machine….”

“Maybe?”

“But it kind of suits you.”

“Huh? What does?”

“Making clothes.”

Young-guk smiled brightly and continued.

“You always liked clothes. You dressed well, too.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m jealous, you jerk. I really don’t know what I’m going to do for a living when I grow up….”

Jae-seung looked at Young-guk with a hint of pity. There was a reason why he was particularly concerned about Young-guk among his many friends.

“Jae-seung. If I had focused on music during the time I was wandering around like that, how much better would it have been…?”

It was a memory from before he returned to the past.

It was what Young-guk from his past life had said to him during a visit.

Those words kept echoing in his mind.

Young-guk had found his path too late.

It was only after he was discharged from the military that he had jumped into hip-hop music.

He didn’t have any exceptional musical talent, and his family wasn’t wealthy enough to allow him to focus solely on music.

But the results weren’t entirely negative.

He had even managed to gain some recognition in the underground scene.

However, he had to work at a fast-food restaurant during the day. It was nearly impossible to live on his music income alone.

That wasn’t the only reason why Young-guk caught his attention.

The reason why Young-guk had decided to pursue hip-hop music was Jae-seung himself.

‘If I start a little earlier, I might achieve better results.’

There’s not much I can do.

A dream is not something that can be forced upon someone, and even if it were, I don’t have the time to constantly persuade him, as busy as I am.

Just once. I’ll try it once, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll give up.

‘Hmm….’

Jae-seung took out his smartphone and spoke.

“Hey, Young-guk. Take a look at this for a second.”

“What is it?”

On Jae-seung’s phone screen was ‘YouTube’, a popular video streaming site.

Jae-seung typed ‘Kanye West’ into the search bar.

“Kanye West?”

“Yeah. He’s a famous American rapper.”

“Rapper?”

Soon, a performance video began to play.

It was a performance video that garnered attention as much for the clothes he wore as for the song itself.

The clothes Kanye West wore in the video were a collaboration between himself and the luxury brand ‘Louis Vuitton’.

“The clothes Kanye is wearing are from a collaboration between Kanye West and Louis Vuitton.”

“Collaboration?”

“Yeah. Premium brands sometimes collaborate with famous *celebs* [short for celebrities, famous people]. It’s a form of marketing.”

Young-guk stared at the video as Jae-seung spoke.

This video was the one that had inspired Young-guk in his past life to get into hip-hop.

In his past life, around the time Young-guk was discharged from the military, the two had met for drinks.

That day, Jae-seung had shown him this video without much thought.

He had simply asked, “Aren’t the clothes this rapper is wearing cool?” That was all.

After that day, Young-guk became obsessed with Kanye West, and a few days later, he announced that he was going to pursue hip-hop music.

“I wanted to become a designer because of this video. I wanted to make clothes like that.”

Young-guk asked quietly, seemingly buying into Jae-seung’s white lie.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Young-guk’s gaze returned to the smartphone screen.

Jae-seung had decided that if he showed him this video and there was no reaction, he would stop trying to influence Young-guk.

‘I guess this won’t work?’

Then, Young-guk’s eyes lit up with interest, and he muttered.

“That’s so cool.”

“Huh?”

“This black guy is really cool.”

“He is cool.”

“Yeah. What’s this black guy’s name again?”

“Kanye West.”

Young-guk repeated ‘Kanye West’ to himself several times, and then continued.

“Thanks for showing me a good video, Jae-seung. You’re finally repaying me for the precious porn that your brother sends me every day.”

“Oh, my?”

Whether it had a positive influence or not, Jae-seung felt much better knowing that Young-guk was showing interest.

Just as Jae-seung was smiling contentedly, Young-guk continued, making a fuss.

“Anyway, is there anything else you want to buy? I don’t think I can express my gratitude by just carrying one box.”

“Anything else to buy? Hmm….”

Jae-seung paused, lost in thought. He wanted to go to the fabric market and buy a few yards of muslin fabric to practice with.

But….

‘No, not today.’

If I set foot in the fabric market in this state, I would definitely have to deal with the merchants’ territorial behavior and dismissive attitudes.

He decided to return to Dongdaemun after preparing thoroughly. If possible, tomorrow.

“Today is enough.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. If you’re really grateful, come with me again tomorrow.”

“Again tomorrow?”