Episode 29
"Want to grab a can of soda?"
"Sure."
On a weekend afternoon, I traded verses back and forth with Lil Flex as usual.
After finishing his rap, he smiled and headed toward the vending machine.
He always looked that happy after a cypher ended, you know.
"Thanks."
"Yeah, sure. But Jahun..."
Lil Flex's gaze on me suddenly grew strange.
Did he have something to say?
"You ever think about joining a company?"
"A company?"
"Yeah, you're young and your skills are outstanding. It wouldn't be strange at all for you to join a label."
"Hmm..."
A label.
A kind of agency that supports musicians' album activities.
"It's not that I haven't thought about it."
In my previous life, the problem was getting entangled with trash like Baek Cheolho, but the truth was that an agency had a huge influence on a rapper's activities.
Just look at Lil Jason's example, for instance.
The rappers belonging to his label AOG had no restrictions on the activities they wanted to pursue.
On the contrary, thanks to their external image, they were even rated more highly by record companies and broadcasters.
"Really?"
Lil Flex's expression brightened as if relieved of a burden.
"But I'm not at the stage of worrying about it specifically yet."
"...Really?"
But I wasn't thinking of joining one right away.
'Come to think of it, it seems he got calls from people around him.'
Seeing his ever-changing expression, I got a hunch.
Although Lil Flex was spending his time doing cyphers with me, his influence in this scene couldn't be ignored.
First, his solid skills.
And the network he had built going around based on those skills.
'Was it likely Don Mile, or maybe around the level of Keisiseu?'
If I thought about the history of labels, the answer came quickly.
Companies that emerged during hip-hop's transition period and had maintained their lineage until now.
They looked impressive and grand on the outside... but they were actually precarious places.
At this point in time, they must be striving to find a new breakthrough.
Perhaps they were thinking of chemistry with young rappers as the starting point?
"Well... let me know if you change your mind."
"Sure, Hyung."
He really was a more affectionate person than he appeared.
He kept his word to rappers who asked him for help, and he probably wanted to respect me too.
'...Still, he asked, and that's that.'
Should I probe a bit too?
"But Hyung, you still haven't changed your mind?"
"About what?"
"Broadcasting. Last time, you were a bit negative about it."
"...Broadcasting."
Lil Flex, who had been thinking for a moment, tapped my shoulder.
"Well, seeing you work so hard, I've changed a bit. I'm not as opposed as I used to be."
"Haha, that's a relief."
I quietly sipped my drink.
Perhaps in this life, he could become known to the public faster.
No, I would make it happen.
I thought of the upcoming missions and Lil Flex alternately, then shook my head.
'I'll think about this when I reach the finals for now.'
It was still too early.
Even so, I could tell things were settling into place quite a bit.
After all, compared to before he met me, he was becoming more favorable toward broadcasting.
"Refreshing."
Feeling the summer breeze, I savored the drink in my mouth.
Before the regression, the worlds had always been dizzying.
It felt like they were being sorted out little by little.
-Buzz.
A phone vibration. It was Lil Flex's.
"Oh, honey. What's going on?"
Lil Flex's expression subtly changed as he took the call.
"What? On the test... it showed two lines...?"
An expression that seemed both happy and worried.
"Jahun... Hyung has something to do, so I'm leaving first, okay?"
"Yes, Hyung."
Lil Flex waved his hand and disappeared.
The sight of him running busily was etched on my retina.
He was still busy. And so was I.
Right now was the time to focus on the mission at hand.
I picked up my phone and checked the team group chat.
[Seoul Team 1]
Choe Hyeok: Is everyone practicing well? Haha.
Choe Hyeok: I'm not the only one doing it, right!?
Choe Hyeok: Haha, everyone is so quiet....
'Only Choe Hyeok is talking.'
Choe Hyeok, who had collected all our numbers recently, was sending messages enthusiastically.
Hong Hyeonsik and Bak Yunseok hadn't joined the conversation yet.
[Me: Everyone, prepare a lot of verses.]
I couldn't give a direct hint that it was a cypher, but this much should be okay.
Hong Hyeonsik: Thank you.
What's there to thank.
By the way, the number 1 still hadn't disappeared.
...What was Bak Yunseok doing?
I remembered how on the filming day, he had left the set with an expression deep in thought.
It was surely needless worry. Because it was Bak Yunseok.
He was obviously making something somewhere again.
* * *
"Ah, really? So you can't come today?"
On the other side of the alley where Bak Jahun and Lil Flex had been talking.
Don Mile hung up the phone, swallowing his disappointment.
"Lil Flex says he can't come."
"Is it because he's doing a cypher with that student?"
"That's finished, but it seems something came up with his wife."
Don Mile, who had drank with Lil Flex for the first time in a while.
Thanks to the old memories that surfaced, they had gathered in the Hongdae streets today.
'I made time and was going to go all out in a cypher... a bit of a shame.'
He looked at the rappers around him.
The rappers gathered today weren't bad, but there were none at Lil Flex's level.
"Hyungnim came out for a cypher for the first time in a while, it's a shame."
"What can you do. Let's just do it among ourselves."
Right when he pushed those thoughts back and picked up the mic.
'Isn't that the kid from yesterday?'
A student came into his vision.
The guy who had been hovering around them when he rapped briefly yesterday.
Don Mile, thinking it was that student, asked without hesitation.
"Hey, you there, student. Do you happen to be interested in rap?"
A blunt question.
But the student nodded as if he had been waiting.
"May I join you?"
"Of course. Have you rapped before?"
"I'm majoring in it at school."
'Oho...'
A rap major.
Feeling interested by those words, Don Mile passed him the mic.
"Do you have a rap name?"
"I don't have one separately."
"Really? Then what's your name. We should know who is rapping before we listen."
"I'm called Bak Yunseok."
Having finished his introduction, Bak Yunseok pricked his ears at the beat playing.
It was a random beat playing for the cypher, but Bak Yunseok matched the timing well.
Don Mile's eyebrows twitched as he listened to that rap.
'He's got the basics down.'
The evaluation of Bak Yunseok in Don Mile's head was revised.
However, he still couldn't shake off the air of a student.
There were still immature parts compared to an active rapper.
"How was it?"
"You did well, but...."
The video of Bak Jahun that Lil Flex had shown him yesterday came to mind.
Thanks to that, his standards for students had risen.
He wondered if Bak Yunseok could really reach that level... and felt like testing him.
Finishing his thoughts, Don Mile picked up the mic.
"I'll answer with rap."
Wouldn't it be faster to show with rap rather than a hundred words?
'Of course, only if you can understand it.'
Don Mile spat out rap without hesitation.
"-Ay, my nine whose first digit changed before I knew it, only wrinkles creased, even when I become an adult, it doesn't change, I'm me, sil--"
A verse from a song called "Nine" that he had written long ago came out of his mouth.
Of course, he didn't perform it exactly as written.
He predicted the flow of the beat, deleted unnecessary parts, and even emphasized parts to salvage.
Utilizing his own experience and know-how, he turned this very moment... into a single stage.
"How's that. Was that a bit of an answer?"
At the point the rap ended.
He asked Bak Yunseok as if tossing it to him, and he nodded.
"...Yes."
"Your expression tells me your head is busy? Kekeuk, it must be hard to do it all at once. Practice hard later and then...."
Seeing his troubled face, it seemed he had some sense for it.
But rap isn't something that changes all at once.
The moment he was about to tell him to take his time and try slowly.
-Gulp.
Bak Yunseok brought the mic to his mouth again.
At the rap that followed... Don Mile's eyes went wide.
"Huh?"
He was definitely spitting the same verse as just now, but it was different.
Unnecessary parts deleted, parts to be emphasized salvaged.
'He's doing exactly the same as I did with "Nine"?'
Exactly as he had just shown... Bak Yunseok was doing it in one go.
"...He changed his rap style right away?"
"Wow, how can he do it like this?"
The surrounding rappers muttered in surprise.
That was how great the performance Bak Yunseok showed was.
"How was it this time."
Don Mile stared at Bak Yunseok, who asked again.
A change that happened in an instant.
It wasn't easy for Don Mile to put it into words either.
Because it was that unbelievable.
-Gulp.
Swallowing his saliva, he picked up the mic.
"...I'll answer with rap."
If he couldn't say it in words, he could show it through rap.
Don Mile spat out a verse with a bit more greed.
'He won't be able to follow this.'
He wanted to know if what just happened was a simple coincidence, or the kid's skill.
The conclusion came quickly.
Bak Yunseok started rapping again right away.
It was the same as before... yet another rap.
"-Pick up the pen, inspiration that snuck into the studio. Snatch it before it escapes, draw the path to chase it down."
"...Huh."
"Hyungnim... right now he...."
A hollow laugh escaped.
A situation where they had only exchanged a few raps.
He had no choice but to summarize it like this.
"Yeah, he grew during this cypher...."
He didn't bother with the meaningless question of whether this made sense.
Because Bak Yunseok was already showing it.
'He said he was a student, definitely.'
A young age, and the speed of growth shown right before his eyes.
Expectation spread throughout his body before he knew it.
The rapper Bak Jahun that Lil Flex had boasted about.
And Bak Yunseok, whom he had discovered.
'I wonder which of the two will become bigger....'
* * *
"Yes... yes, I understand."
A hospital near Seoul.
Lil Flex, seated in the examination room, nodded.
"Haha, it's still early, so there's no need to worry too much. Still, try not to let your wife be too shocked. Please watch over her well from beside her."
Lil Flex nodded quickly.
Beside him sat his wife.
"Why are you so nervous?"
"Uh... no, are you okay?"
His wife found the flustered Lil Flex cute.
'He was the one who wanted it more.'
Lil Flex, who had fantasized about a child since early in their marriage.
But for a long time, a child did not come, and it was when they had eventually tried to give up.
As if God had heard their prayers late, at an unexpected moment, pop, a child came to be.
"Of course I'm fine. Congratulations. On becoming a father."
"...Yeah."
A subtle smile bloomed on Lil Flex's expression, which had been stiff the whole time.
"You'll have to do even better from now on."
"I was already doing well, though."
"No, I was sorry for always running around doing rap and not being able to take care of you well."
"Puhuhu, you can just do better from now on."
He nodded.
'Until now, I was too recklessly devoted only to rap.'
Actions he had taken because he simply loved rap and the culture called hip-hop.
But could he keep living like that in the future?
No. The situation had changed.
He and his wife had become parents.
Now he would do many things for the child.
But to do that....
'...I have to earn money properly now.'
Lil Flex, who originally would have approached the public in earnest after the child was born.
-Pssht.
Lil Flex, who went out of the hospital first, pulled open a drink can.
The drink he had hurriedly stuffed into his pocket earlier.
'...It's lukewarm.'
Just like himself, as if his passion and youth were cooling down.
Wasn't this truly a time when change was needed?
He recalled the earlier conversation, worrying.
'Hyung, are you still negative about broadcasting?'
'He asked what I thought about filming.'
Lil Flex, who had always held an opposing stance regarding the spread of hip-hop through mass media.
The walls in his heart were slowly crumbling.
The most hip-hop student he knew was doing broadcasting too, wasn't he.
'For now, don't miss the opportunities that come.'
His child who would be born now.
Even if he couldn't be a parent without shortcomings, he shouldn't block the path ahead.
One rapper who had dominated the indie scene.
He was stepping away a bit from the life of a rapper... and becoming a father to a child.
The Regressor on the Beat