Black Label [EN]: Chapter 76

Black Label 75

76. Rot Like a Cavity

How much time had passed?

Only after a long while did the sobbing from the other end of the receiver subside.

Jae-seung, who had been patiently waiting for Yeong-guk’s emotions to calm down, finally spoke.

“Yeong-guk, tell me what’s going on. What happened?”

– Jae-seung….

“Yeah.”

– I think I can at least ‘start’ something.

“Start? What are you talking about? Explain it to me.”

A moment of silence passed. From the other end of the receiver, Yeong-guk’s voice, still trembling slightly, was heard again.

– I got a contact from a hip-hop crew today.

As expected.

Jae-seung nodded to himself and then smiled brightly.

He had expected that Yeong-guk would have a series of opportunities.

But he hadn’t anticipated that such a clear opportunity would be presented so soon.

“Contact? That’s great! Congratulations, man!”

– Thanks. It’s really all thanks to you….

“But from where?”

What mattered was which ‘crew’ (a concept similar to a team, a gathering for friendship and networking) had made contact.

To put it mildly, hip-hop crews were so numerous that you could trip over them, and only a handful were well-known enough to count on one’s fingers.

Soon, Yeong-guk carefully continued.

– Jae-seung, do you happen to know a ‘crew’ called MGM?

As soon as Jae-seung heard the name ‘MGM,’ his eyes widened in surprise.

He chuckled and replied in a somewhat excited tone.

“What? Of course, I know them!”

– Re, really?

“How could I not know them….”

Jae-seung, who was about to continue, suddenly swallowed his words.

The hip-hop crew that sent Yeong-guk the contact email today, ‘MGM (Money Getter Music).’

Although it was still in the form of a hip-hop crew, it was a place that would soon develop into a ‘label’ (a group aimed at generating revenue through albums).

It was even scheduled to undergo a merger and acquisition process with a large corporation and be reborn as a record label.

But all of that hadn’t happened yet. When Jae-seung suddenly stopped talking, Yeong-guk began to speak, sounding puzzled.

– It’s strange. Maybe it’s because it’s a label that only operates underground, but most people don’t seem to know it.

Jae-seung asked back, “Really?” and then smiled faintly.

That’s how it is now.

But in just a few years, it would grow into a label that anyone with even a slight interest in hip-hop would find it strange not to know.

Even though its artists never showed their faces on public broadcast channels, it was a place that showed tremendous ticket power at every performance.

For example, they held a concert at ‘AX-KOREA,’ which has a capacity of over 3,500 people, and they showed the power to sell out that vast number of tickets in just a few minutes.

Soon, Yeong-guk began to explain the process of receiving the contact email.

– So, there’s a hip-hop community bulletin board called ‘Soulplayer.’ On that site, there’s a space where individuals can post their work.

“Yeah, so?”

– I happened to have a few demo songs recorded. But I felt like it would be a waste to just let them rot on my hard drive.

Yeong-guk took a breath and began to reveal his inner thoughts in a calm tone.

– I hesitated a lot. I’m still not good at the basics, and I wondered if I could dare to upload them….

“And?”

– You know the teacher who taught me MIDI [Musical Instrument Digital Interface]? He said something.

After a moment of hesitation, Yeong-guk conveyed his words in a determined tone.

– He asked what would have happened if a friend named Jae-seung had stopped at the blog market. Would he have been recognized for his skills overseas now?

“Hey, it’s not quite that level yet!”

– It’s true. If you had stopped at the blog market because of the risk, you wouldn’t be where you are now.

It was embarrassing, but it was also true.

If you don’t take even a small risk, you can’t enjoy anything.

Perhaps the reason why he was driven to the edge in his past life was because he couldn’t overcome his fear of failure.

He kept postponing challenges and adapted to life in the shadows.

Eventually, he was even branded as a criminal, making it impossible to recover.

– Anyway, what he said next really hit me hard. He said that since I was just posting a few demo songs that I had already recorded, I had nothing to lose. He asked what I was afraid of.

“So?”

– I just went for it. I felt relieved after uploading it. It was also kind of amazing to see people listening and leaving comments.

“Good job.”

– Yeah. But I wrote a line at the end of my post. It said that I personally really liked the music of the ‘MGM Crew’ artists….

“Wow, so they contacted you after seeing that line?”

– Yeah. I’m not sure, but I think that’s probably it.

Yeong-guk replied shyly and then continued.

– I’m not officially a member yet. We’re going to meet this weekend to talk in detail.

“Really? What do you want to do?”

– Of course, I want to join! Then I can perform regularly, get help with releasing music officially, and I really respect the artists….

Without realizing it, a satisfied smile seemed to spread across his face.

That’s right, Yeong-guk. You’ve thought this through really well.

It’s a place with a very bright future.

At least it’s a place where you won’t lack anything.

“Wow, man! So, you’re going to perform and prepare for a full album?”

– Yeah, maybe? I’m already nervous. But I’ll probably have to prepare for the album for at least a year. I need to rebuild the foundation and prepare properly.

“Really? Anyway, I sincerely congratulate you. Don’t pretend you don’t know me when you become successful, okay? Take good care of our brand’s ‘Celeb Marketing,’ too.”

– Celeb Marketing?

“It’s simple. I’ll send you a few pieces of new merchandise every time they come out, and you just have to wear them and walk around diligently. And give some to the famous people around you.”

Yeong-guk replied coolly, “If I become famous, I can do all that,” and then continued.

– Jae-seung. Anyway, thank you so much. It’s all thanks to you.

Jae-seung replied in a somewhat blunt tone.

“Hey, I’m going to get calluses on my ears! Stop saying that.”

– Still….

“If you really want to, do it in an interview or on TV later! In a place with a lot of people.”

– Okay, I will. Definitely.

Then, for a while, they began to have an ordinary conversation, just like usual.

After exchanging silly jokes and talking about each other’s recent events for a while.

Yeong-guk suddenly asked a very serious question.

– Jae-seung. Do you know why I’m so happy right now?

“I don’t know? Why?”

– I haven’t even taken my first step yet, but I’m really happy because it feels like I can see hope now.

Hope. Jae-seung repeated the word a few times and then smiled faintly.

Jae-seung had also experienced what it was like to live a day without even a glimmer of hope in his past life.

Passion is a surprisingly easily depleted fuel. If no change comes even with repeated efforts, it tends to be depleted more and more easily and quickly.

Such a life.

A life where you have to constantly repeat efforts without any reward is as painful as slowly ‘drowning.’

The question of whether his youth was sinking into meaningless time would come to mind from time to time, making him miserable.

Also, the question of whether he was being deceived by ‘ambiguous talent’ and wasting his time would come to mind and choke him.

Jae-seung was lost in thought when.

– If I just work hard now, can’t I continue to be with you like this in the future?

Jae-seung unknowingly let out a groan at Yeong-guk’s sudden words.

He realized that the hope Yeong-guk felt was somewhat different from the hope he had imagined.

He seemed to be happier about the fact that he might be able to narrow the distance a little, rather than the joy of taking a step forward.

– And when you achieve even greater success, I think I’ll be able to be even more genuinely happy for you than I am now. To be honest, sometimes I feel more envious than happy.

He wanted to ask, ‘Why are you worrying about such unnecessary things?’ right away. But on the other hand, he could understand Yeong-guk’s feelings.

Originally, excessive differences between friends naturally create distance.

Although Jae-seung had never thought deeply about it, he thought that it might have been a big concern for Yeong-guk.

‘When you look at it, he’s a surprisingly deep guy….’

Jae-seung forced himself to speak in an indifferent tone.

“Hey, Son Yeong-guk. If you have time to think about such useless things, you should invest it in worrying about ‘how can I repay my brother’s grace even one day sooner?’”

When Jae-seung asked playfully, “Do you understand?” Yeong-guk laughed helplessly and continued.

– Hey, do you have to ruin the mood like that in a situation like this? I’ll take care of repaying you, so don’t worry.

At that time, Ashley, who had finished showering, came out of the bathroom. She shook the water that was still dripping from her hair and asked in a lip shape, “Friend?”

Jae-seung nodded in response and then continued in an indifferent tone.

“Okay, Yeong-guk. I have to go now, so I think I’ll have to hang up for today.”

– Ah, okay. I understand. Let’s talk again.

“Anyway, congratulations again.”

– Okay, thanks.

Jae-seung, who was about to end the call, spoke again.

“Yeong-guk.”

– Yeah?

A moment of silence passed.

“I know you’ll do well, but you know you have to work harder in the future, right?”

– Of course. Don’t worry.

“Okay. I understand. Let’s talk again.”

With those words, he ended the call with Yeong-guk. Jae-seung put his cell phone in his pocket and smiled brightly.

That’s right, Yeong-guk.

Now that you’ve been given the opportunity, think of yourself as dead for the time being and rot in the studio. Rot like a cavity, and rot and rot, and in the end, become gold.

Let’s laugh together like this then, too.

Definitely.